By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Are fat loss lies ruining your chances of success?

I sincerely hope that your 2007 workout and nutrition plan is already wildly successful and that you are well on your way to achieving your fat loss and fitness goals. But if you aren't, let me know why and what I can do to help.

Many people's programs suffer from misconceptions about fat loss - i.e. that cardio must be done everyday - and also false perceptions about how well they are eating.

I've reviewed hundreds of client evaluations forms in my career, and just recently I reviewed 5 more for a transformation program we are working on over at Men's Health magazine.

And time and time again I see the same problem.

I have one question on my feedback form that asks the client:

"Do you eat lots of fruits and vegetables?"

Almost everytime the client's answer is "Yes".

On the next page, I have the client list their food intake.

And guess what rarely shows up?

If you guessed fruits and vegetables, you'd get a prize if I were giving them away.

There are too many inconsistencies in our thoughts and actions when it comes to weight loss.

And the misguided notions that well-meaning fitness articles heap on us simply adds to the ever-growing confusion.

Here I want to shed some light on some of the most common misconceptions about training and dieting for fat loss.

The more I discuss weight loss and read the research, the more I realize fat loss results come from your nutrition, and that training is just a relatively small part of the equation.

But knowing this "truth" allows me to confidently design shorter fat loss workouts than most people traditionally use or expect are necessary.

Listen, you can spend 60 minutes on a cardio machine if you want. Sure you will burn 500 calories during that session, but your metabolism won't be significantly elevated after exercise AND you'll still have to find some time to do the mandatory strength training that a beautiful and healthy body requires.

Or you can do what I suggest...

Scrap the long, slow, excruciatingly boring cardio workouts and instead stick to a much more manageable approach of...

A bodyweight movement warmup (5 minutes)
Turbulence Training Strength Training Supersets (20 minutes)
Turbulence Training Interval Training (20 minutes)

Done only 3 times per week, these 45 minute workouts still burn plenty of calories during training (300-400 calories), but the workouts also boost your metabolism for hours and hours (some research suggests up to a day and a half!), therefore burning far more NET calories AND fat than slow, mind-numbing cardio.

All you really need are some short intense training sessions to boost your metabolism and sculpt your body. And then you really just have to trust your nutrition to strip the fat.

Look at it this way...imagine you are carving an ice sculpture out of a block of ice. Your nutrition would be responsible for lopping off the big chunks to get down to only the amount of ice you need...and the Turbulence Training workouts would be responsible for chiseling in the details of your final sculpture.

As no matter how much confusing information there is about exercise, the debate over the best way to eat for fat loss is always much more ridiculous.

(That's why I went to a credible and sensible source - Dr. Chris Mohr, Ph.D. - for the TT Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines.)

As far as dieting misconceptions go, I think too many nutritionists are trading political correctness for results. In my opinion, PC diets don't work.

Take a look at the American Diabetes Association...they still make room for sugar in a diabetic's diet - because they don't want to deprive anyone of sugar.

Well that's not going to work. You have to make sacrifices. You have to stick to at least a 90% nutrition compliance if you want big-time results.

You can't go with the political correct approach of "having a little bit of your favorite foods everyday so that you don't deprive yourself".

Think about the person that has your dream body - whether it's a cover model, your neighbor, a TV star, or the fittest person down at your gym. Do you think they haven't made sacrifices? Of course they have. They've done the work to get their reward.

Now its your turn!

You have to get strict and stick to whole, natural foods (fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and nuts) if you want to succeed.

You need to accept that every action has consequences...

If you want to live a lifestyle where you don't deprive yourself of daily treats, that's fine. But realize the consequence of this action will be that you will always remain a few pounds of fat away from your goal.

According to your actions, you value your treats higher than you value your fat loss success.

But if you place your desire for fat loss success above your desire to eat junk, than the consequences will be that you will reach your body composition goals. It's that simple. We all get what we deserve and unless someone is holding a fork to your mouth, you are responsible for your own success.

And my last "non-PC" tip on dieting...almost all the people that tell me they are eating very well are lying to themselves and to me - as I mentioned before based on my client feedback experiences.

So do what Dr. John Berardi calls a compliance grid. Take a piece of paper and make a 6x7 grid (6 meals over 7 days). Then check off each time you eat according to plan and mark an "X" for each time you miss your goals.

Realize that you only have 4 mistake meals for an entire week if you want to stick to the 90% compliance.

Most of the time this is a bucket-of-cold-water-to-the-face wake up call to people. They quickly realize their nutrition compliance is much closer to 75% than 90%...and that explains why they aren't getting anywhere.

So the bottom line for fat loss:

1) Nutrition is where the hard work really is for fat loss.

2) The workouts don't have to be super-long to get fat loss results. You just need short, intense, and efficient. And that's what my workouts are all about. Nothing fancy, no rocket science, just FUN workouts that are over quickly...and who wouldn't want that considering today's busy lifestyles.

Sincerely,

Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training

About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com