8 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight. Part 5

In part five of our series we will now touch on how the wrong cardio can stop you from losing fat.

I know this might get some people fired up, but that’s alright. After all, this is the Hype-free, Fad free zone, so you need to know the truth. Sometimes the truth that challenges traditional thinking gets push back, but my jobs to get you results.

If you want to lose fat, cardiovascular exercise is part of what we call the FT Essentials: resistance training, moderate aerobic exercise, supportive nutrition and accountability/support system. Think of it like a four legged chair. If one legs missing the chair falls over. Hopefully without you in it!

Cardiovascular exercise doesn’t mean you have to run or be on a treadmill. It means we have to elevate your respiration and heart rate. There are endless ways to do this. Your body doesn’t know the difference between chopping firewood and going for a run.

The key is many people have a misconception that more is better and that aerobic exercise is the key to losing fat. I’m here to tell you it’s not.

Oh boy, I can imagine the remarks going on in some people’s heads now! But stick with me, today may be the day you end your fat loss frustration and the painful, long and boring cardio forever. Part of the reason for this myth and misconception is what people see on the cardio equipment dashboard. You will often see a chart explaining the “Fat Burning Zone”. It gives you the impression that if you stay within a certain heart rate zone you will burn fat, but if you’re out of this zone you won’t.

Often it’s explained that you have to stay within an aerobic state to use more fat for energy. You will have some inexperienced trainers explain that you should maintain a conversational pace to stay within this zone. This means you should be able to hold a conversation while doing aerobic exercise.

I debunk this entire misrepresentation in another blog I wrote on March 12th called the Fat Burning Zone, so I won’t go into length about it here.

The reality is that you do use more fat for energy in this aerobic state described on the cardio machines, but I’m not concerned with how much fat you use for energy during a given amount of time. It doesn’t mean it’s the most effective to lose overall fat and get you to your long range goals. I’m also not concerned just about the amount of calories you burn during this time. Although the method I will suggest in a moment can equal the same amount of calories burned in a shorter period of time.

Most importantly, I’m interested in the hormonal responses I can create from exercise to send the right signals to the body to release fat for fuel. Here’s the kicker. I’m more interested in what happens to your body after you’re DONE with a cardio workout, then while you’re working out.

If you would do high-intensity cardio or what we often call interval training. It’s the most effective way to release and burn fat for fuel because it’s the post exercise responses created by this method. Interval training stimulates the central nervous system to release growth hormone. If you read my previous blog posts in the series I wrote about hormonal responses and the effects on fat release for energy you now know how important creating the right hormonal environment is to losing fat. Specifically, interval training will stimulate adrenalin and noradrenalin. It drives the good guys to go to the cells to open them up and use fat as fuel. If you want to not only burn fat during exercise, but throughout the day, you will want to do interval training. In addition, you will have raised your metabolic rate for a longer period after you’re done exercising. The good news is interval training is often done in half the time, so it’s a double win for the busy person.

If you're still skeptical, see the results our Fitness Together Transformation contestants are gettingand specifically listen to Michael Long explain how he was surprise how 25 minutes of cardio has helpedhim lose over 60 pounds: http://www.fitnesstogether.net/

I do want to say, I’m not bashing regular lower intensity cardiovascular exercise because you can’t do interval training every day. It has its place in your overall exercise plan. In fact, I don’t recommend doing interval training more than 3 times per week. Therefore, two other times per week you can do low intensity cardiovascular exercise, but you don’t need to do more than 30 minutes if you apply a balanced approach to your overall fitness and nutrition plan like we do with the FT Essentials. This balanced approach is not only physiologically more beneficial to achieving your goals, but psychologically more stimulating.

From an exercise prescription standpoint, know that high intensity cardio is always going to be better than lower intensity steady state cardio. Also know that you have to progressively build up to interval training. You don’t want to just jump into a program that is too intense for your ability level or you won’t enjoy yourself. When working with our clients we always use progress exercise prescription principles. It allows the client to work at their ability level and often exceed what they thought they ever could do because we progressively increase the challenge as their fitness level increases. Our comprehensive health and fitness assessments allow us to specifically target heart rates to the client ensuring a perfect cardiovascular prescription and intensity.

Please do not think because it’s often call high intensity interval training that you cannot do it unless you’re in great shape. High intensity is relative to the individual and why appropriate exercise prescriptions are important.

You can read a previous blog I wrote to get more details on what interval training is and additional recommendations. It was written on March 20th and call Chuch Saves The Day.
Thank you for allowing me to guide you through the health and fitness maze.
In good health,

Pete Piranio BS, CSCS
Owner/Fitness Consultant
Fitness Together
Brookfield: 262.780.6350
Delafield: 262.646.5444
Wauwatosa: 414.453.9800
Woodbury,MN: 651.436.8137
http://www.fitnesstogether.net/

P.S. If you would like to learn more about our services you can schedule a complimentary introductory session and consultation or request our DVD and information guide at our website: http://www.fitnesstogether.net/

8 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight. Part 4

Today we will be continuing our discussion on why you may be eating healthy
and exercising, but still not losing weight.

There is nothing worse than seeing the frustration on someone's face that
feels like they are doing everything right, but just can't shed the weight.
I've consulted with hundreds of clients and this always hits you right in the
heart.

The hardest part for us is knowing that we have a psychological battle on our
hands with a client in this situation. We also know that the clock starts
ticking to win this battle before they consider us another failed attempt.

The fact is everyone (except for rare instances) can achieve a healthy
weight if they are committed to it. You have to truly commit to making
changes in your life. Sometimes the changes you have to make don't always
fit into the exercise and nutrition category alone, as you have been learning
in this series. Today, we will discuss hormonal imbalances as one more example.

Before we dive into hormonal balances I want to discuss a very important
point that is a critical piece to the fitness and fat loss puzzle. It's
critical because without understanding this point, you may never get a chance
to put all the pieces to the puzzle together.

You have to accept that making health, fitness and weight loss changes may not
come easy. You have to accept that it's a process and the process may have
many ups and downs. The right methods and approach will make it easier, but
there is no silver bullet.

If you read one of our Fitness Together Transformation contestant's blog
entries on May 16th, you will see a perfect example of how easy it is to get
frustrated, lose focus and potentially derail yourself for good. I'm happy to
say Jason Fritz stayed mentally tough long enough to start seeing terrific
results. These results have fueled his fire ever since and now he's on a roll.
Unfortunately, some people give up before they experience success. Read Jason's
May 16th post here:
http://jasonfritz-ftc.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html

If you can understand it is a process and for many, this process is not
"quick and easy", you are much more likely to stick with it. You are much more
likely to put all the pieces together. You are much more likely to get the 8
Reasons in this series right.

If you have gained the knowledge to put together the right fitness and weight
loss plan, you must trust your plan and avoid the gimmick temptations. This
is what we asked our Fitness Together Transformation contestants to do and
they are getting terrific results (www.fitnesstogether.net). I'm sure contestant Michael Long was skeptical when he discovered he was only going to
do 20-25 minutes of cardio, but after losing 60 plus pounds lost later I'm sure
he's not.

We live in America and culturally we want everything fast, so let me reassure
you can still have ups and downs in the process and achieve quick results.
Jason Fritz had a few mental ups and downs, but he also lost 20 pounds in less
than three months. Heck, there are a lot of people that would be very happy!

Here is another example, a month and a half ago I had a phone conversation with
a client that was frustrated because she was not losing weight, but felt like
she was doing everything right. Understandably, she wanted to vent some
frustrations and I was going to be on the receiving end. She had stated that
our web site said we never fail and she obviously felt like we did. I responded
by stating we never do. We will never give up until we are successful with the
client. We weren't giving up on her either. The question was she going to give
up? Was she going to commit to making the necessary changes? Was she going
to accept responsibility or blame someone or something else?

We know our methods are scientifically based and proven to be successful and
we have hundreds case studies to prove it. In each and every one of our success
stories we were able to help the client not only learn what has to be done, but
commit and take responsibility for making the changes necessary. Sometimes
these changes were easy and results came quickly and other times it's tough
like the aforementioned example.

I am happy to report that this client did accept responsibility, made the
recommended changes and has since lost 30 pounds!

The moral of this story is there are reasons for your struggles. It's very
rare that someone is genetically "stuck" with being obese. Very rare! I don't
care what you read in a magazine or see on TV. You just have to be willing to
stick with it long enough to get all the pieces working together and to find
what's missing in your fat loss formula.

Let's look at hormonal imbalances as one possible problem in the fat loss equation:

I've been writing a lot about this in the other posts for good reason. Many
of the exercise and nutrition strategies and techniques I've previously
discussed are to create the right hormonal response to release fat for fuel.
You can have one hormonal imbalance and do a lot of work for nothing. Even one
imbalance can be the missing piece to the puzzle.

Over the years I discovered hormonal imbalances to be one of the biggest reasons
people were not losing fat, even if they truly were doing just about everything
else right. I've found that if people are hitting a plateau we just need to dig
a little deeper to find out why, rather than, make drastic changes.

I've seen people drastically cut calories or start excessively exercising when
they are stuck on this plateau, when really they needed to find the real culprit.

The best way to make sure your hormones are not the culprit is to see a medical
specialist. We typically recommend our clients see a physician for testing of
hormonal imbalances and metabolic diseases if every other possibility has been
exhausted. They can either discuss this with their physician or see a few of our
recommended physicians who specialize in this area.

The four key areas to ensure are normal are:
1. Thyroid levels
2. Insulin
3. Cortisol
4. Testosterone and Estrogen

In the previous post in this series we have discussed how Thyroid levels
significantly affect your metabolic rate and caloric expenditure. We also discussed
the importance of stabilizing insulin to optimize the release of fat as fuel.
Insulin resistance can have a dramatic impact on your ability to lose fat because
the body continues to secrete higher and higher levels if the cells are not
accepting insulin. This ultimately creates an environment that will increase
calories store as fat.

In earlier posts we discussed how cortisol levels can be increased with stress
and poor sleep because the body perceives the lack of sleep as stress. You can also
have high cortisol levels even if you get adequate sleep and handle stress properly.

Lastly, low levels of testosterone in men and low levels of estrogen in women will
increase a person's fat storing. Women can often experience weight gain when
entering menopause because of drops in estrogen.

Understanding that any imbalance in these hormones can make fat loss very difficult
even with the best exercise and nutrition plan can save you a lot of frustration.
We work with our clients to create an optimal hormonal environment with an exercise
and nutrition plan first, but if progress is at a standstill we often work with
medical professionals to find if this is the missing pieces. If you have the right
exercise and nutrition plan that will naturally create the right hormonal balance for
fat loss and have hit a plateau you may want to do the same.


Thank you for allowing me to guide you through the health and fitness maze.

In good health,


Pete Piranio BS, CSCS
Owner/Fitness Consultant
Fitness Together
www.fitnesstogether.net
Brookfield: 262.780.6350
Delafield: 262.646.5444
Wauwatosa: 414-453-9800
Woodbury,MN: 651-436-8137

8 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight Part 3

In this blog series we’ve been discussing some of the most overlooked reasons you may be hitting a fat loss plateau or not losing weight. Today we are going to discuss diet imbalances.

First, I usually don’t like to use the word “diet” when discussing this topic because it implies calorie restriction or changing your nutrition temporarily. My preference is to use nutrition versus diet.
You might be saying, “Pete this is being pretty picky. What difference is this going to make for me losing weight or not losing weight?” It actually can make a big difference because it’s a state of mind. It’s your point of view and how you see food mentally.

Most people I know that have good nutritional habits look at food differently than those who don’t. People that have good nutritional habits tend to look at food as fuel or energy. They don’t diet. They don’t look at food as the most important thing in their day. They don’t use it as emotional comfort. They don’t use it as a reward. They don’t think they “deserve” food after a hard day’s work.

This doesn’t mean these same people don’t enjoy food. They just don’t make the enjoyment of food the most important event of the day. They see food as something that is needed to be healthy and effectively do other things in their day that are of greater importance to them.
People who see food as fuel, energy and a necessity don’t “diet.” They change their nutritional selections in order to increase or decrease their weight.

The quality of your food, not just quantity makes a big difference in achieving your fat loss goals. I have consulted with many people who tell me, “Pete, I already eat healthy. There is no need for me to participate in your nutritional program.” Their assumption is they will only need the exercise program.

Unfortunately, many people think they are eating healthy, but after further diagnoses they discover they are not. This can be for two reasons. First, their education about healthy food is inaccurate. Second, food companies have very deceptive marketing and people get tricked into believing they are eating healthy.

However, even if a client is eating healthy, they may not be eating to support fat loss. Let me give you an example:
Let’s say you wake up in the morning and have a bowl of Wheat Flakes with milk and a glass of orange juice. This is a healthy breakfast right? But does it support your fat loss goals? If you look at your body’s hormonal response to this breakfast you may be surprised.
There are three macronutrients most people are aware of: proteins, fats and carbohydrates. The combination of these macronutrients has a significant effect on your body’s hormonal responses and fat loss. If we look at the breakfast described you will discover this breakfast may be healthier than bacon, eggs and a donut, but it won’t help you lose those extra pounds.

Let’s look at each of the breakfast foods described above. First, the Wheat Flakes is almost 100% carbohydrates. The milk has very little protein and is practically all sugar. Most people won’t argue that milk contains a lot of Lactose. Lactose is a form of sugar. Anything ending with ‘ose’ is a form of sugar (sucrose, fructose, etc.). Yes, milk is not the best option if you want to lose fat. I know this is going to throw some people off their rocker. I’ve had people go bananas over this in my seminars before, but it’s the truth. Lastly, let’s look at the content of orange juice. Yes, this is practically all sugar as well. If you don’t believe me look at the nutrition label of a bottle of orange juice and hold it side by side with a Coke. I think you’ll be shocked!

This healthy breakfast we have been breaking down is all carbohydrates. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not advocating carbohydrates are the devil like some would have you believe. Carbohydrates are an essential macronutrient especially when you are exercising often. The problem with this breakfast is it contains a lot of simple carbohydrates, which in many cases is sugar. It also doesn’t contain any protein. In short, the macronutrients are not in balance, thus creating an unsupportive physiological environment for fat loss.


Meals high in simple carbohydrates will stimulate high levels of insulin and put the body into a fat storing state. If we are trying to lose fat we want to keep the body in a fat burning state all day. The best way to do this is by controlling your insulin levels.


The best strategies to control insulin levels and keep them steady through the day is to have a balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins in every meal or snack you eat. In our nutrition program we teach our clients easy ways to get the right percentage of each without counting grams or other tedious methods. There is an easy way to do this. You also want to make sure the quality of carbohydrates, fats and proteins support your goal as well. This is a whole other topic that will have to be covered in the future.


The second way to control insulin is by implementing frequent small meals throughout the day. Just ask a diabetic. It’s why frequent meals are important for them. They are living proof this works to control insulin.


Not only will these two strategies stabilize insulin for an optimal fat releasing environment, but it will also improve your energy, mental alertness and control your appetite so you don’t over eat. Many people will reach for a coffee when their energy is low, when in reality their energy is low because they have not eaten in awhile.


The second component of nutritional imbalances that affect fat loss is low calorie dieting. This is the most common mistake I see. Many people restrict their calories too low, creating a series of events that inhibit fat loss.


This is one of the most difficult concepts for people to understand because for years people have been told to eat less to lose weight.



Yes, in some cases people simply need to eat less, but in many cases people are not eating enough.
There are two scenarios I typically see. First, there is the person who simply cuts their calories too low or is following one of a hundred restricted calorie diets. The second case is what I call the American Epidemic. This is the person who only eats two meals a day. Either scenario has terrible consequences to your fat loss goals.


What’s important to understand is that your body perceives any extended period of time without nutrients as a form of starvation. This perceived starvation causes a series of physiological responses necessary for the body to preserve and protect itself. It doesn’t require days of starvation for this physiological response to kick in. It can occur when you haven’t eaten in 4 or 5 hours. Obviously, the longer the period of time or lower amounts of calories the greater the physiological response.


This self preservation tends to decrease your metabolism or the rate at which your body uses energy and creates heat. It also wants to store excess energy as fat for a rainier day. First, your body will create a surge in an enzyme called Lipo Protein Lipase. The sole job of this enzyme is to store calories as body fat. Second, your Thyroid Hormone production will decrease, thus decreasing your metabolic rate. It does this to conserve energy and control your body’s heat production.


If we look at the American Epidemic scenario, you will see how important this is. This person may eat breakfast, but doesn’t eat the rest of the day until dinner. Throughout the day the body’s metabolism decreases and surges of Lipo Protein Lipase are released. Now this individual will go home and eat a large dinner because they are starving after not eating all day. Not eating all day not only causes over eating, but now many of these calories are more readily stored as fat with the presence of Lipo Protein Lipase being so high. This person has essentially created a fat storing machine and can’t figure out why they gain weight, when “they don’t eat.”


The solution to creating balanced nutrition and an optimal state for fat loss is to eat 5 frequent meals/snacks every 3-3 ½ hours with a balance of good proteins, fats and carbohydrates. No gimmicks, no fads and no starving. It really is simpler than you think! This is assuming you know the other 7 Reasons You Are Not Losing Weight.


Thank you for the opportunity to lead your through the health and fitness maze.

In Good Health
Pete Piranio BS, CSCS
Owner/Fitness Consultant
Fitness Together
Brookfield 262-780-6350
Delafield 262-646-5444
Wauwatosa 414-453-9800
Woodbury, MN 651-436-8137
http://www.fitnesstogether.net

P.S. Don't forget to check in and vote for our Fitness Together Transformation Competition contestants here: http://www.mycommunitynow.com.

P.P.S. If you need help putting together a complete program to achieve your fitness goals and want a support system to implement customized plan, come see us for a complimentary introductory session and consultation. Learn more here.

8 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight. Part 2

Last week we started looking at the 8 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight, even when you seem to be doing everything right. Number one was Don’t Fall for Gimmicks. This one might have seemed obvious but it affects your psychology. Falling for gimmicks or at the very least, questioning your current weight loss method derails your efforts.

The second point we covered was the lack of sleep and how your body perceives it as stress and the physiological impact this has on your ability to lose fat. We also discussed how it will impact your workout recovery and the long term effects this has.

Today, we are going to look at the effect Chronic Stress has on your ability to lose fat. We touched on this a little bit when discussing sleep, but today we are going to dive deeper into stress and its physiological effects.

I want to start by sharing a story about my first discovery of how stress triggers physiological changes in the body. Some people think stress is strictly psychological or behavioral and they don’t respect its ability to change your physiology. I think it’s common knowledge that stress is not good for your health, but unless you experience the physiological impact you can often underestimate the importance of controlling stress. I know I did.

My experience with stress impacting physiology dates back to when I was in my final days of college. I was living in Waukesha and was offered a three month long internship in Oshkosh. It didn’t make sense to move since the internship was temporary. My internship started at 6:00 a.m. each day which meant waking up at 3:00 a.m. and driving for an hour and a half. This wouldn’t have been a big deal but it was an unpaid internship. I still wanted this internship because I knew what I would learn was much more a valuable than getting paid but it also meant working a 4-5 hour night job to pay the bills.

I believe when a particular goal is focused on, one can get in a zone and as Nike says: “Just Do it.” Unfortunately, this decision had consequences I didn’t expect. I was only sleeping four hours every night for three months. I was willing to do whatever it took. Even though my mind wasn't tired, my body decided it was time to chill out. I started having stomach and digestive problems. These issues dissipated as soon as I returned to decent sleep patterns and allowed my body to rest.

To put this in perspective, I was in the best physical shape of my life. I had just completed my senior year of college football and had applied everything I learned in my exercise physiology courses. If stress can have that kind of effect on a 21 year old body in top physical condition, what kind of effect is it having on the many baby boomers struggling to lose weight?

Let’s look at the specifics and see.

First, as I mentioned last week, the body doesn’t know the difference between psychological and physical stress. Each one will trigger the release of Cortisol, which will decrease your ability to release fat as energy.

The second impact stress has is making it harder to stay on a good nutrition plan. A major contributor is the altering of Serotonin levels in the brain, which is the “feel good” hormone. An increase in Serotonin occurs when additional stress is present. Serotonin has a direct link to food cravings.

Let’s think about a typical pattern that can occur for many people. You come home from a stressful day at work. What type of food do we go after when we are stressed? Is it a chicken breast, brown rice and a salad? Not likely.

Serotonin kicks in and we typically reach for sugary, salty or fatty foods.
What we have to realize is that stress is the factor that triggered this action. We have strong chemicals produced by stress in our body, creating this response.

You could be trying to be good with your nutrition and working out consistently, but you don’t always think to evaluate your stress and the role it has on losing fat or fitness goals. You could have everything on track, but stress will sabotage all your other efforts.
How do we minimize these food cravings?

First, the obvious is to work on stress management. In addition, let’s look specifically at what we can do to address the food cravings. One of the keys is to eat every three to four hours with small supportive meals/snacks. This means incorporating a balanced meal of lean proteins, fibrous carbohydrates (fruits and veggies) and starchy carbohydrates (wheat breads, brown rice, sweet potatoes, etc). These smaller and more frequent meals not only stabilize insulin, control hunger and improve your metabolism but they also control cravings and serotonin levels. This can be a whole other topic in itself.

Another affect stress has is on your Adrenal glands. Your adrenal glands end up working overtime producing Cortisol, which sends a whole series of signals to your body inhibiting the recovery and building of muscle. Muscle is a critical component to increasing your body’s metabolism. A decrease in muscle that occurs as we age is one of the contributors to a decrease in metabolism and calorie demand as we get older.

Your Adrenal glands also produce Adrenalin. Most people are familiar with Adrenalin and the surge of energy that takes place in an emergency/stressful situation. It’s also produced naturally throughout the day and one of its responsibilities is going to a fat cell and opening it up to release it for fuel.

The Adrenal gland also produces Adrenalin’s sister call Noradrenalin which gets to the fat cell systemically through nerve endings.

Without getting too technical, just know that your Adrenal gland produces not only the “bad guy” Cortisol, but the "good guys" Adrenalin and Noradrenalin. We want the body to release Adrenalin and Noradrenalin, so we can get to the fat cell and release it for fuel. Without these two, “burning fat” won’t happen.

When you get into stressful situations for long periods of time, these Adrenal glands get overworked and no longer produce Adrenalin and Noradrenalin like they should and you start to lose acceptance of these hormones at the cell receptor site. Your body almost becomes resistant.

This is all a series of events that has a major impact on your ability to lose fat. It not only affects your eating patterns, but creates a physiological environment not conducive to fat loss.

As you can see stress is by far one of the most overlooked components to losing fat that most don’t take into consideration. If you feel you have the exercise and nutrition plan down, but just can’t get the results you want, I would highly recommend you look at your sleep and stress levels. If stress is currently part of your life, you need a plan to make improvements in this area just like you need an exercise and nutrition plan.

Next week we’ll look at the fourth reason you may not being losing fat.

Until then, thank you for allowing me to guide you through the health and fitness maze.

In Good HealthPete Piranio BS,
CSCSOwner/Fitness Consultant
Fitness Together
Brookfield 262-780-6350
Delafield 262-646-5444
Wauwatosa 414-453-9800
Woodbury, MN 651-436-8137
http://www.fitnesstogether.net

P.S. Don't forget to check in and vote for our Fitness Together Transformation Competition contestants here: http://www.mycommunitynow.com.

P.P.S. If you need help putting together a complete program to achieve your fitness goals and want a support system to implement customized plan, come see us for a complimentary introductory session and consultation. Learn more here.

8 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight

Over the 13 years I’ve been helping people transform their lives through health and fitness; I’ve come across a few challenging clients. It would be untruthful to say every client we’ve worked with has got results effortlessly. You see, that’s the point. Anything in life that has a large enough impact to improve the quality your life won’t come easy.

If you’ve seen our website (www.fitnesstogether.net) you’ll see our current theme (and picture): We Are Not a Gimmick. I felt this was something very important to communicate to the community and our clients because at some point a person looking for real lasting change has to stop looking for the easy way – the gimmick! Everything is “quick and easy” - right? Well not exactly.

When you stop looking for the easy way, you stop falling prey to the infomercial and hype advertising pandering to your weaknesses. You also stop veering of course from doing it the right way. You stop jumping from diet to diet and exercise program to exercise program. You actually stick to a plan and give it enough time to work.

To get the results you want, you have to change your habits and beliefs. You have to change the way you move, the way you eat and the way you think. Yes, I know this seems a little vague, but when you get right down to it. This is what it takes. I also know it sounds like a lot of work, but that’s only because most people have the following problems:

1. They don’t have the knowledge to put together a workable plan of action in this area of their life.

2. They don’t know how to implement a complete health, fitness and nutrition program that address all key areas required to getting lasting results.

3. They have too much misinformation and therefore are utilizing ineffective technologies and methods.

4. They don’t have a support system, accountability or coaching to help them follow through on the plan.It can be easier than you think when you have the right system. Not “quick and easy”. Not in the next 24 hours.

But sure is fun to see the smile on a client’s face, when they put it all together.

This is when everything really begins to happen.

What does this have to do with 8 Reasons You’re Not Losing Weight?
You just got number 1: Don’t Fall for Gimmicks.
It takes a real plan, effort and persistence.

Let me leave you today with number two. One that may not be so obvious to some: Sleep.
A lot of studies have shown that the lack of sleep is one of the other biggest contributors to America’s weight problem. If you are not getting at least 7 hours of good sleep, you can be significantly hindering your fat loss goals (and/or fitness goals).Why?

There are two reasons:
1. Lack of sleep reduces your body’s ability to recover from your workouts and make the physiological adaptations resistance training and aerobic workout is meant to create. A slowed recovery can also affect your motivation because staying with an exercise program becomes more difficult if you’re tired going into each workout.

2. Your body perceives the lack of sleep as stress. When your body is stressed it releases a hormone called cortisol, which Cortisol counteracts insulin by increasing gluconeogenesis and promotes breakdown of lipids and proteins, and mobilization of extrahepatic amino acids and ketone bodies. Longs story short, this leads to increased circulating glucose concentrations (in the blood) by increasing gluconeogenesis. This increases blood sugar inhibits your body’s ability to release and use fat as energy.

Next week we’ll look at the remaining six. If you’ve been following a good plan, been consistent and persistent and you’re still not getting results. You’ll want to tune back in to some of these not so obvious reasons you may be struggling:
3. Chronic Stress
4. Diet Imbalances
5. Hormonal Imbalances
6. Digestive Imbalances
7. The Wrong Type of Cardio
8. Prescription Medications

Until then, thank you for allowing me to guide you through the health and fitness maze.

In Good Health
Pete Piranio BS, CSCS
Owner/Fitnss Consultant
Fitness Together
Brookfield 262-780-6350
Delafield 262-646-5444
Wauwatosa 414-453-9800
Woodbury, MN 651-436-8137

http://www.fitnesstogether.net

P.S. Don't forget to check in and vote for our Fitness Together Transformation Competition contestants here: http://www.mycommunitynow.com.

7 Simple Fat Loss Rules When Dining Out

It’s Friday, which means the start to a great weekend with family and friends. Unfortunately, it’s also one of many people’s primary barriers to achieving their fat loss goals.

In my experience people can do pretty good nutritionally throughout the week, but when it comes to the weekends it all falls apart. During the week it’s easier for people to stay on track because we have structure with work schedules (if a lot of travel isn’t involved) and family routines. On the weekend, traditionally social events, family gatherings and dining out happen more often. These three things can be a major hurdle – if you let them be.

Today, I’m going to share 7 simple rules when dining out that will give you the tools to enjoy the weekend and still get back into those skinny jeans again! After all, swimsuits are just around the corner.

You can still go out and enjoy a good time AND lose fat, if you just follow these 7 simple rules. I’m big on setting little “rules” for myself. These rules help me make good decisions, even when the environment makes it challenging. Little rules help guide you and keep you on track. I know if I’m following my own little rules that the cumulative affect over time will get me the results I want.

The key to your fat loss success is striking a balance between effective and enjoyable. Otherwise, it's not at all realistic that you'll stick with your plan. So go out and enjoy yourself, just try to follow 7 of my simple rules for eating out:

1. Develop a plan in advance. Look at the restaurant menu online and decide on the healthiest option that you’d enjoy …and stick to it.

2. Eat a small, healthy snack before dining out. If you’re pleasantly hungry, rather than starved, you can relax, eat slowly and enjoy the meal, rather than risk losing control by overeating unhealthy foods.

3. Load up on vegetables. Unless they are fried or soaked in butter or oil, you cannot go wrong with veggies because they are very low in calories, high in fiber and loaded with other beneficial nutrients, and have almost no adverse affect on blood sugar levels.

4. Include a lean protein source. For example, if you order a large salad, ask the waiter to add grilled chicken or cottage cheese. It’s more filling, you’ll feel satisfied longer and you’ll keep your insulin levels optimal for fat loss.

5. Make simple, healthier changes to the meals you enjoy. If you only order what you think you “should” rather than what you really want, you may be satisfied physically, but not psychologically. You will most likely crave something more and end up making poor choices later on.

6. Drink plenty of water and eat slowly. Enjoy your company and food.

7. Listen to your body and stop eating when you begin to feel full, not necessarily when your plate is empty. No one says you have to eat the entire meal – box it up and enjoy the rest later.

Here are a few more tips to keep you on track this weekend if the menu doesn’t look so healthy:

Remember, you are the paying customer and can request that your meal is prepared however you like. Here are some examples of what to tell the waiter to help keep your meal healthy, yet still enjoyable:

• Could I have that with white breast meat instead of dark meat, please?
• Could I have my fish grilled instead of fried?
• Could you please go light on the cheese (oil, butter, cream, etc.)?
• Could I have my baked potato with everything on the side?
• Could I please have my sandwich (or burger) without cheese and mayonnaise, add extra lettuce, tomatoes and mustard?
• I’d like your low-calorie dressing on the side, please.
• Can you steam the vegetables without any oil or butter, please?
• Please make my omelet with just the whites and go light on the cheese.
• May I get half of my meal boxed-up in advance, please?
• Could I have marinara sauce instead of the creamy one used in this dish?
• Instead of French fries, could you please bring me a salad, dressing on the side, about 10 minutes before my entrée?

There you have it, road map to enjoying the weekend and enjoying a new healthy and fit body.

In good health,

Pete Piranio BS, CSCS
Owner/Fitness Consultant
Fitness Together
Brookfield 262-780-6350
Delafield 262-646-5444
Wauwatosa 414-453-9800
Woodbury, MN 651-436-8137
http://www.fitnesstogether.net/

P.S. Don’t forget to check in on our Fitness Together Transformation Competition contestants here: http://www.mycommunitynow.com/. Over time you will see the aforementioned concept and other proven techniques we use to get results quickly.

Milwaukee, no goal is achieved without it.

I’m writing this in my car while I am on a family road trip to Pennsylvania visiting family over Easter weekend. Don’t worry I’m not driving :) . My two sons Peyton (3yr) and Preston (6yr) are asleep, so I got a little extra time and it’s pretty quite.

This got me thinking about why some people who follow Fitness Together’s program get rapid results, while a few others get results at a slower pace?

When my staff and I usually discuss a client getting rapid results, I always like to probe my staff with ‘why’? We know the answer. It’s always, “They’re doing what we tell them to do. They’re following the plan.”

So what makes the difference? Why do some follow the program from day one and others need coaching to get the “switch to flip”.

Over the years of working with hundreds of people on their health, fitness and fat loss goals one thing has shown through as the critical reason why some people succeed and some people don't (or at least at a slower pace).

It's simply this...

A compelling reason why.

You see, over the past few months I have been watching a friend busting his butt, following the program I gave him, getting all his workouts in, tightening up his diet and staying focused on his goals. This is the same guy who came to me for help three months ago, but only three and half months ago would tease me all the time for eating healthy wherever we were.

What created the change for him all of a sudden?

He found a reason why for the moment. In his words:

"To look darn good on one of the most memorable days of my life - my Wedding day. I also wanted to be proud of my body while standing on the beaches of Mexico and have a fabulous honeymoon in the sun..."

For him that simple 'reason why' has driven him to train when he was tired...

To eat right when temptation was whispering in his ear, to ignore his friends harassments (just as I’ve done for years) and to stick with the plan I gave him and stay the course.

When doing initial consultations with our clients we ask them 'why' they wanted to work with us and why they want to achieve the goals discussed in the consultation.

Most would say they simply wanted to get in better shape.

How motivating is that?

Can you REALLY picture 'getting in better shape?'

I can't...

You need a compelling vision to get you through those tempting moments when that cheeseburger is sitting there in front of you, you NEED that compelling vision to get you to exercise when you are tired and don't feel like it.

His wedding day is a mere 3 months away and his 3 months of hard work has already paid off. He is seeing the difference already and he is excited for how his commitment will change his body and mind. I can see it in his eyes. He’s got the health and fitness bug that can only be understood and caught if you get started.

His reason why has fueled his workouts for the last three months and as soon as he has reached that goal I recommended he switch his focus to yet another compelling ‘reason why.’ Otherwise, he may lose his drive for staying committed. Eventually, his new body, mind and energy will be his main ‘reason why.’ He won’t want to lose it and return back to his previous condition. This often becomes what I call the “lifestyle reason why.”

Your 'reason why' should motivate you and drive you...

I encourage you to schedule and Introductory Session and Consultation and we’ll help you find your reason why and give you a plan to get there. If you’re already a client and need to reset your reason why to get to the next phase of your fitness journey see one of our Fitness Consultants for a Goal Review Session and we’ll help you gain that extra leverage to skyrocket your results.


Pete Piranio BS, CSCS
Owner/Fitness Consultant
Fitness Together
Brookfield 262-780-6350
Delafield 262-646-5444
Wauwatosa 414-453-9800
Woodbury, MN 651-436-8137
www.FitnessTogether.net

P.S. Don’t forget to check in on our Fitness Together Transformation Competition contestants here: www.mycommunitynow.com. Over time you will see the aforementioned concept and other proven techniques we use to get results quickly.