When someones sets out to lose weight they have a number of resources they can turn to for information. But most of these resources make a critical error that can stall your weight loss before it ever gets started. And that error is assuming there is a right and wrong way to lose weight.

Eating for weight loss is already tough enough, and being told there are right and wrong ways to do it makes it feel even harder. This is where the fallacy of fitness and health come into play.

The local gym personal trainer or fitness magazine will suggest there is a correct and healthy way to eat for weight loss. They’ll go on to also explain how to exercise to become fit and lose weight.

In both cases the emphasis is turned away from the fundamental principles of weight loss and turned towards the nebulous and entirely undefinable conceptions of ‘health’ and ‘fitness’…but this was never the point…the point was ‘weight loss’…that’s it.

The truth of the matter is that there is no correct way to lose weight. However you can get it done is the right way…The weight loss itself is what will produce most of the health benefit.

This is evident from people who use laproscopic band and gastric bypass surgery to lose weight. They obviously didn’t adopt the typical fitness marketing strategy of ‘eating clean and working out’.

In this case they have a surgical intervention to get to the root of what causes people to be overweight…eating too much. And the best thing for them isn’t to adopt some workout routine or start eating spelt and quinoa…no the thing they need is to eat less…even if it means a surgical intervention to allow less food to enter their stomach.

If weight loss is your goal then you have to keep your eye on the prize and don’t allow yourself to get side tracked with popular fitness media dogma about the right or healthy way to lose weight.

There is no correct way to lose weight, there is only weight loss, or no weight loss.

John

One of the popular diet and fitness myths is the concept of meal timing, specifically the idea that you should eat more frequently than the standard breakfast/lunch/dinner that north american society has become accustomed to.

Pro Bodybuilder Lee Priest "Bulking" in the offseason

This is a concept borrowed from bodybuilders who followed a ‘bulk and cut’ cycle routine where they would eat massive amounts of calories during their ‘bulking’ phase and then gradually drop their calories for their ‘cut’ phase.

In some cases it could have been necessary to eat 5-6 meals if these guys were trying to eat 5000-6000 calories each day…that would be 1000 calories at each meal…that is quite a bit of food, and it wouldn’t feel too good to try and each that much food in only 3 meals…think about how gross that would be, 2000 calories at breakfast lunch and dinner!

The pseudo scientific claims of ‘insulin control’ and ‘revving up your metabolism’ followed as a reason for eating in this pattern in order to lose weight…but the reality is that the frequency of your meals cannot change your metabolic rate, and it won’t make any difference on your hormone or insulin levels (beyond the effect that changing the total amount of calories would have).

This concept of ‘meal timing’ has been thoroughly investigated in the scientific literature and shown to be completely irrelevant to metabolic rate, weight loss, energy levels, hormonal balance (and just about any other claim that the fitness media drum is still beating)

I go into a much more in depth investigation into this concept in my new weight loss program called “The Anything Goes Diet” that will be coming out tomorrow! AWESOME!

But what about the snacks?

Anyway I’ll be posting some updates this week and more info if you’re interested in picking it up (on sale this week).

This is the diet program I’ve been working on for the past year, and if you been reading my blog for any length of time you might have already heard about this (or at least had an idea that I was writing this thing)

The take home message on meal timing is this:

Eat as many or as few meals as you like as long as your total calories are where you need them to be for your goals (weight maintenance or weight loss).

John

Now that the ‘holiday’ season is over it’s business as usual…or is it?

January is usually a time when many people start to crack down on diet and exercise as a new years resolution. For most people this is short lived. They start the year off with every intention of making a change and even sign up for the gym and start working out…they might even make some progress with their diet and lose some weight. Then about 4-6 weeks later ‘life catches up’ with them and they fall off the wagon.

Badlands Booker is a competitive eater, for him eating this 6lbs burger could be 'normal'.

This scenario seems to repeat itself year after year. In fact you could say that for these people this is their ‘normal’ January.

Then this got me thinking…there is no such thing as ‘normal’ eating. At least not in a way that can describe the entire year.

It’s more accurate to say there is the ‘normal’ way you eat throughout December and the holiday season…there is the ‘normal’ way you eat in January…and there is the ‘normal’ way you eat when summer rolls around etc.

If all of these ‘normal’ ways you tend to eat don’t produce the body you want, then obviously something has to change.

you cannot simply go back to eat the ‘normal’ way you always during each season or time of year.

This same situation goes for people who have successfully changed their bodies and now want to maintain that new body.

If your old ‘normal’ pattern caused you to gain weight, it will not help you maintain your new weight.

The point is there is no such thing as the ‘normal’ way you eat all of the time.

Instead there is the way you eat at certain times of year, and given certain events (weddings, birthdays, holidays, stressful situations etc)

I have found that having a goal and a date to hit that goal by is one of the only ways to force yourself to create a change on your body and make it happen.

You could even say that you’ve created a new ‘normal’ way of eating by setting a goal for being in a transformation contest like the Adonis Index or Venus Index transformation contests, or simply setting a date for a photoshoot to see how far you can go in a given amount of time.

In this case you’ve created the ‘normal’ way you eat during a transformation, or the ‘normal’ way you eat when you’re getting ready for a photoshoot.

When you look at it this way, you can more easily decide which ‘normal’ pattern you want to follow.

The big difference is that eating the way you ‘normally’ do to prepare for a photoshoot will set you on a course to get into and stay in a shape that you really want…none of the other ‘normal’ ways you eat can do this.

The point is that nobody gets in shape by accident. It always happens because of a conscious effort to do so. But it can also be a normal part of your yearly routine to work towards a better shape and then maintain that shape.

John

The 3rd Adonis Index transformation contest started yesterday and it’s not too late to enter today.

You can go to this link to find out how to enter: Transformation Contest

Here is a look at some of our previous contestants:

Pierre was one of the first winners

Ron won the overall at the first contest

Rich finished second overall in the second contest

Nate also won cash in our second contest

The result of two contests...amazing

(sorry ladies this one is for guys only…venus index is coming in October, there will be a contest for the women then)

So why bother entering a contest anyway?

1) It gives you a clear time frame to set your sights on

2) Gives you motivation to make a serious change in your body in a short period of time

3) Teaches you to challenge yourself and support others who are competing to challenge themselves too

4) Introduces you to a community of rare people who have entered and completed a contest (most people will never try this sort of thing and will never know how much their body can really change)

5) Teaches you what is truly possible when it comes to changing your body when you put your mind to it

6) You can win MONEY!

I’m sure there are dozen’s of other personal benefits you can get from competing in a transformation contest and they’re all good.

This is why we hold frequent transformation contests and they’re getting bigger every time.

Look, I can build you a workout, I can show you how to do it, I can write as many motivational blog posts as possible, and I can give you the best nutrition and fat loss program and information around…BUT I can’t make you follow any of it.

That part is up to you.

The best I can do is give you money of you follow what we say…and that is what the contest is for. I’m simply asking you to follow our recommendations take a couple pics and collect your winnings!

If you’re serious about changing your body don’t wait another day, make today the day it all changes. (and for the girls make mid october the day when the Venus Index workout comes out!)

John

As far as I’m concerned the gym is mostly (if not entirely) meant for building muscle. Sure you can do some ‘cardio’ there and try to burn a few extra calories, but I think the bulk of your time in the gym should be spent building muscle (that includes women too)

Muscle Building Happens In The Gym

I think many people run into a problem trying to make their workouts do more than they really can. For example the other day I was at the gym and saw a personal trainer making her client push a sled (loaded with 150lbs of weight) back and forth across the entire length of our gym (about 30 yards).

The poor guy pushing the sled must have been at least 70lbs overweight and I’ll bet he is hoping that these workouts are going to somehow make him lose weight.

This is a perfect example of having the wrong expectations. If that guy doesn’t start revamping how much he eats (aka eat less) then all the sled pushing in the world isn’t going to cause him to lose any weight.

It just seems like a lot of wasted effort because pushing that sled around isn’t even building his muscles in a way that will look good when he finally does (if ever) lose the weight.

The point is not to mix up what your diet and your exercise can do.

Use the gym primarily for building muscles and use your diet for weight loss.

IF you don’t have much bodyfat to lose (ie: you’re in that last 10lbs range) then you can certainly accelerate the process in the gym…but it’s still dependent on keep your calories in check.

The bottom line is to stick with a consistent workout for building muscle and use your diet to lose bodyfat.

John