The Fitness Guru

Finally, a great piece in the New York Times last week to only add to the confusion.

First, the linear thinking: if one pound of fat is 3500 calories, then wouldn’t it make sense to simple cut our intake by a small amount, say 100 calories, daily? That way, in a little over month, we would be down one pound, right?

Wrong. It’s an argument that I am sure many of you are tired of hearing from me. Nothing about the health and well-being of the complex systme known as your body is ever that linear. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) notes that this line of thinking fails to take into account the body’s adaptive qualities. As you take in slighty fewer calories, you will lose a few pounds but then your body will adapt to function with a lower intake. As you take in a few more, it will adapt to function with the higher intake. The extra calories go to supporting the new extra weight.

But I still want you to think about the small steps.

Combine this with an increase in physical activity and the benefits increase. Now, start working out at a very high level, the “zero to 60″ theory of January 1st, and your body is going to crave the extra calories to support the new stress and strain of all the work. Fail to give the body the right materials and you are setting yourself up for breakdown. However, cut back slightly on the calorie intake, you can then increase your activity level slightly and start to roll back the dial on the scale. Then increase the activity level, then decrease the calorie intake…… you starting to get the picture?

The key is working intelligently and strategic and listening to your body. Cutting out 100 calories a day? You should be able to do that without blinking and without that horrible feeling of deprivation. Increasing the number of steps you take daily by 2000? Again, very easy to incorporate into your agenda if you know what to do.

But strict focus on calories in/calories out? Eventually your body is going to catch on and balance itself out……and then you are going to be frustrated……

…….and, of course, that’s not even taking into account what those calories are comprised of……..

Hey Gang!

The iTunes link, long dormant to the point where I thought it had disappeared, is now up and running again thanks to the good folks at Apple. Check out the NPR-like, quick spots on all health and fitness related topics.

Got a question about your health and fitness? Send it to me HERE and it could be the very next podcast. Hit “subscribe” and have the quick link every time a new podcast is launched.

……and tell your friends…….

Rock on!

Bridgette asks: You always hear people say that the “trouble areas” of your body are the last to start losing inches. For example, I tend to put on weight first in my thigh area (definitely my trouble spot) and last in my mid-section. Over the past two weeks, I’ve had significant loss in my waist, yet haven’t lost even a centimeter in my thighs. So, tell me, is it truth or a myth that what someone would refer to as their “trouble areas” are always the last to show any sign of weight loss? Thanks!

Bridgette, good question. It reminds me of the old saying, “Look for something lost and you’ll always find it in the last place you look.” You are probably exercising and eating right in an effort to lose some pounds and inches and that is terrific. It may be that there is a particular are that, when you look in the mirror, your critical eye is immediately drawn to. That’s the case for many, many, many people. Your focus may be on that area for numerous reasons dating all the way back to childhood insecurities, and over time, you develop a hyper-critical view. Consequently, as you lose weight, you will always be slightly more critical of that area than others.

Now you may really have some extra inches in those areas. That may be the cause of your initial feelings. Through puberty, your body will build fat cells throughout the body. No matter how hard you work, you can shrink those cells, but you can never get rid of those cells. As you exercise, your body will burn fat from throughout your body without any sort of of strategy. So as you burn fat, stores will shrink from all the fat deposits. You can’t focus your burn in one particular area, or what people call “spot reducing”. It simply isn’t possible. What you can do is continue to burn your fat stores knowing that, at some point, you will get to the area you want to reduce. And the size of the fat cells will shrink, but they will not disappear.

A good friend of mine, a professional dancer, used to work out like a madman. He would dance several hours every day, work out, eat right, everything that you should be doing. But he had a little fat on his thighs that drove him nuts. As he had to stare in the mirror hour after hour for his profession, and as his thighs drove him crazy as the one imperfect area on his body, he finally had liposuction on that area. That is the only way to rid an area of the fat cells.

So keep up the work and know that you will hit those spots soon enough. You just need to be patient and keep fighting the good fight.

Rock on!

The final days of February…….New York was hit with about a foot and a half of slush……it’s kinda gray, very cold……..I don’t feel like doing anything……you?

When I feel down, I like to the sages for wise words to reignite my inner fire. Here are some of my favorite words….

I hope you enjoy…..

(please note, there are several cuss words as well as a reference to Hitler. Those easily offended should perhaps refrain from viewing…….but at the same time, it’s pretty damn funny….)

How do you know when it’s time to make a decision?

“How can I lose this weight? I don’t get it.”

“Are you eating healthy? Exercising regularly?”

“Well……kinda…….but, I mean, come on…….”

Riddle me this:

Let’s say your driving off for a weekend’s retreat. For New Yorkers, I will use the Hamptons as the example. So it’s Friday afternoon and you set off and drive for a while. You get to about exit 38 on the Long Island Expressway and all of the sudden you get the urge to sit in this really wonderful chair in your living room back in the city. It’s a nice chair, so soft and comfortable, and, damn it, you should sit in it. So you turn around, wrestle traffic and drive back to the city so that you can sit in the chair for a couple of minutes.

Pretty stupid, right?

So why the HELL, if you are trying to lose pounds and inches and get “healthy”, do you keep reaching for sugar-free muffin tops and low fat pudding and frozen pizza with half the calories? Why would you go to the trouble of getting in the car and driving, dealing with idiot drivers and traffic congestion, only to turn around and go home– all to sit in a chair?

Honestly, I have no interest in the Hamptons, but if you’re going to go, go! Enough with the chair and enough with the indecisiveness. There will be lots of chairs for you in Montauk but you have to get there first!

And if you do decide to sit the chair, great! Enjoy the chair! But don’t complain about how long it took you to get to the beach.

Rock on.

Yeah, yeah, yeah…..it’s cold and wet and snowy…..whatever……We have five more days of February then comes the official countdown to SPRING!! WHOOPEE!!!!!

And, before you know it, the panic of having to shed layers is going to hit! Start getting ready now! We have new BOOT CAMPS forming: 6am, 7am and 9:30 am! PLUS we may just add a YOGA BOOT CAMP on the weekends if you folks seem interested!

Want to know more? Email Michael at michael@fitnessgurunyc.com.

And for those of you who don’t have easy access to our BEEEAAAUUUTIFUL DUMBO studio? Check out the training podcasts online! All the joys of the Guru right in your own head (well…….iPod…..)!!

Rock on!!

How many calories should you consume in one day in order to lose weight? The Fitness Guru tackles this question in his latest podcast.

The Fitness Guru

www.fitnessgurunyc.com

The Fitness Guru

www.fitnessgurunyc.com

In the event you are looking for a………different……..way to jog to the supermarket, well, HAVE WE GOT THE GIZMO FOR YOU!! Check out the SpeedMobile– a new creation that brings all the joy of indoor running outside! Add the Shake Weight for an upper body workout. It reminds me of when I came up with the revolutionary idea of putting Spinning bikes on the back of a flat bed truck and teaching a spinning class while driving around the countryside. Yes, that idea never took off. But this one has! And all for the low price tag of $5999.00! Please feel free to comment at will.

Check out today’s task! And, again, bookmark the Games Page so you can check in for the next three weeks!!

Start getting in to the rhythm and bookmark the Games Page! Today’s task should only take a few minutes– and all the will power you can muster! It’s five quick, but not-so-easy, points!! Good luck!!