There are many misconceptions when it comes to diet and exercise, and lots of gimmicks designed to make money from an overweight and desperate American public. You won’t find a single gimmick here, no promises of incredible results in only 28 days. The human body is just not designed like that. Additionally, the human psyche is not designed like that.

I’ve been studying nutrition and exercise for over 20 years. I’ve experimented with all kinds of weight training and diet regimens, trained for running, triathlon, bodybuilding and powerlifting, all of it at the recreational level. I am not an athlete. What I am providing you here is the culmination of a lifetime’s practical experience and self-study.

In January of 2009, after 18 months of overeating to intentionally put on weight for a powerlifting competition, it was time to get lean again. I had put on 33 lbs over those 18 months, much of it in the form of body fat. I weighed 222 lbs, the most I’ve ever weighed in my 45 years.

I’m going to take you through exactly what I did to get here:

As I’m sure you can tell, these are not professional photographs; they have not been doctored in any way. The first one was taken January 2, 2009, the second on October 16, 2009. A roughly 9 ½ month fat loss odyssey and I’m going to show you exactly how I did it. If you’re ready, let’s get to it.

The basic components of the plan are diet, cardio, and weight training. These are the building blocks of any healthy fitness program and should be a lifestyle, not a temporary, short-term solution. How you manipulate the three components will determine your results, and I’ll cover that at the end.

Cardio Training

Cardiovascular training is essential for the health of your heart and lungs, as well as keeping body fat levels in check. The 3 Keys to cardio success:

1. Actually do it.
2. Complete cardio on an empty stomach.
3. Keep your heart rate in the 65%-85% HR zone.

There are lots of different activities you can use for cardio, from walking to cycling to in-line skating. Any form of cardio equipment will work as well, as long as you follow the 3 Keys.

Q & A

Q: Why on an empty stomach?

A: Your body’s primary fuel source is stored glycogen. Glycogen is stored in the liver and muscle cells. If you perform your cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, your glycogen levels are at their lowest point so your body will have to tap into its other fuel source, stored body fat.

Q: How do I find my 65%-85% HR Zone?

A: The first thing to do is get your resting heart rate. You then plug that and your age into a handy spreadsheet I’ve made for you and you’ll get your HR Zone.

http://howjoeseesit.net/2008/12/30/how-to-calculate-your-training-heart-rate/

I recommend you purchase a Heart Rate monitor to make your cardio life easier. Otherwise you’ll have to be checking your pulse and doing the math as you’re trying to do cardio.

You can purchase your HR Monitor here:

• Full disclosure. I am an Amazon Associate. I get a commission if you purchase through my Amazon A-Store. I’ve associated with Amazon because they are a reputable and trustworthy company. If you’re going to purchase the various items I suggest anyway, I’d greatly appreciate you considering purchasing them through my Amazon A-Store.

What I did:

Over the course of my odyssey I did various forms of cardio, including running (which I hate).  But my mainstay, especially in the last 6 months or so, is the Stair Climber.  My reasons are simple (I try to keep everything as simple as possible):

1. The Stair Climber is a non-impact activity, which is very easy on the body.
2. Climbing stairs is tough, so it’s easy to get your heart rate into the HR Zone.
3. I can read, or use twitter, facebook or any of my other iPhone apps to entertain myself while doing my cardio.

Weight training

Resistance exercise is an important component of a fitness lifestyle. But don’t take my word for it:

Resistance exercise is used to develop the strength and size of skeletal muscles. Properly performed, resistance training can provide significant functional benefits and improvement in overall health and well-being.

The goal of resistance training, according to the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI), is to “gradually and progressively overload the musculoskeletal system so it gets stronger.” Research shows that regular resistance training will strengthen and tone muscles and increase bone mass.

It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female; the training program I’m going to outline works the same way for all humans. Women who are concerned about growing large, masculine muscles need to stop worrying about it. First of all, it’s incredibly difficult to grow large amounts of muscle mass generally, but as a female, it’s 10 times more difficult. Women have 1/10^th the testosterone men have, and testosterone is THE anabolic hormone. So unless you plan on injecting yourself with large quantities of anabolic steroids, you will not grow large muscles.

The 3 Keys to making progress with any weight-training program are:

1. Warm up properly. Prepare your body for the hard work ahead.
2. Learn and practice proper form and technique.
3. Strive for incremental progress.

Rather than re-write the program in this post, here’s a link.

Diet:

I saved the best for last. Your diet will literally make or break your results. No manner of exercise can overcome a poor diet, especially if fat loss is the goal. I’ve experimented with all kinds of diet strategies, but the one I used during my 35 lb fat loss odyssey was my most effective.

There are only three macronutrients, and your body requires all three.

1. Protein
2. Carbohydrate
3. Fat

There are good and bad choices in each of the above. Here are the good ones:

Protein

Chicken

Turkey

Fish

Extra Lean ground beef

Eye of Round

Flank Steak

Eggs

Milk

Cottage Cheese

Whey Protein powder

Carbohydrates

Best

Oatmeal

Brown Rice

Sweet Potatoes

Not as good, but okay

Bread

Pasta

White Potatoes

White Rice

Fats

Olive oil

Walnuts

Almonds

Omega 3 EFA’s

Free Foods

Broccoli

Spinach

Romaine Lettuce

Asparagus

Green beans

Cauliflower

I ate 6 meals a day (and have for the last 23 years) which means eating every 3 hours or so. The way to put the meals together is using a rotational carbohydrate plan. There are low carb days, moderate carb days and one high carb day each week. This is a highly effective fat loss strategy because the low carb days keep insulin levels low allowing you to burn more body fat, moderate days are kind of like maintenance days and the high carb day boosts your metabolism and tops off your glycogen stores.

It sounds complicated, but once you put it together, it’s not. This article will give you the basics you need.

The 3 Keys to dieting success:

1. Consistency. The more consistently you stick to your meal plans, the quicker your results.
2. Adjustments. When you first start, you’re using a baseline of macronutrients. You will need to weigh in and look in the mirror at the same time every week to check your progress. If you haven’t made any, you need to make small adjustments by cutting some macronutrients (likely carbs).
3. Patience. Most people bail out on their diet strategy because they want instant results. Your body doesn’t work that way.

Putting the whole thing together:

Here’s what your week will look like:

• 3 days – AM Cardio and low carb
• 4 days – AM Cardio, PM Weight training and 3 medium carb, 1 high carb

Example:

• Monday: AM Cardio followed by low carb day
• Tuesday: AM Cardio followed by medium carb day, PM weight training
• Wednesday: AM Cardio followed by high carb day, PM weight training
• Thursday: AM Cardio followed by low carb day
• Friday: AM Cardio followed by low carb day
• Saturday: AM Cardio followed by medium carb day, PM weight training
• Sunday: AM Cardio followed by medium carb day, PM weight training

What level you start on will depend on your fitness level. If you’re a complete beginner, 20 minutes of cardio 3 days a week might be enough. Add 1 day every two weeks until you’re doing cardio every day. Then add 5 minutes every two weeks (every week if you’re up to it) until you’re up to an hour a day. Follow the guidelines in the weight training program regarding progress. Again, start at the appropriate fitness level. The single most important aspect of the program is to check your progress on a regular basis. I did it every week, weighing in every Saturday morning before I had anything to eat or drink. If I made progress, I’d continue as I was. If I didn’t, I would look back honestly at my week to determine how tight my diet was. If I cheated or didn’t stick to it, I would change nothing and just vow to nail the diet the next week. Depending on how much body fat you have, you should look for about 1 pound of weight loss per week. If you’re losing more than that, you are probably losing lean muscle mass as well as fat, which indicates you’re not eating enough. This is a rough estimate because if you’re very heavy, you may drop 2-3 pounds a week early on.

• An important note about adjusting your diet. I would go many weeks without having to change a thing on my diet. The cardio burns the body fat and is much more effective than trying to starve yourself leaner. If you’ve stalled on your fat loss, add more cardio before you cut your food intake. For about two months during my odyssey I would come home from work on my cardio and low carb days and do a second cardio session of about 20 or 30 minutes. It really kick started the fat loss again without touching my diet.

I wish you much success in your fat loss efforts. If this sounds difficult, that’s because it is. If it were easy, we wouldn’t have an obesity epidemic in this country. 65% of Americans are overweight, with approximately 31% clinically obese. If you decide to pursue your own odyssey, know that you will come out in the end not only a healthier, leaner and sexier individual, but one that is immensely stronger in character and psyche.