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"The Essentials"

By Pete Piranio

What do you have to do to lose weight? For most people responding to that question their answer comes quickly and without too much thought-diet and exercise. And if further quizzed on the type of exercise they had in mind, "aerobic" is the typical answer. While those are simple answers to simply stated questions, the real answer to successful weight loss is somewhat more involved, however, the good news is there is an answer!

The proliferation of fad diets and infomercials have confused many Americans into believing there is some supplement or macronutrient-eliminating-diet that will solve our weight loss woes. To make matters worse we've all been told for years that aerobic exercise is the answer to burning fat. You've seen the "fat burning zone" on cardio equipment. Just another example of misleading marketing designed to sell weight loss solutions in the billion dollar weight loss industry.

Forget all that misinformation then let me clear up the confusion and give you the three Essentials that clients who have successfully transformed their bodies have found so effective The answers to what's wrong with aerobic exercise and how to master your weight loss are: synergistic implementation of resistance training (weight training), moderate aerobic exercise and the right nutrition, or what we call The Essentials.

It almost seems like common sense, but yet, very few people effectively implement all three components when pursuing their weight loss goals. Significant fat loss and avoiding the common fat loss plateau can be accomplished by incorporating a balanced effort of resistance training and moderate aerobic exercise with the support of the right nutrition. Too often fat loss efforts rely on a diet and aerobic exercise exclusively. This approach will only lead to a small amount of weight loss, a slower metabolism and the frustration of regaining the weight.

Diets normally don't work. Diets are not realistic and are often short lived. One of the most popular diets actually asks you to practically eliminate an essential macronutrient. In reality, the answer to your nutritional program lies in educating yourself about balanced nutrition and eating behavior modifications-not in eliminating nutrients or severe calorie deprivation.

The severe calorie deprivation diets will only slow down your metabolism by decreasing metabolically active muscle tissue and putting your body into a natural defense mechanism we commonly call the starvation mode. The release of a weight regulating hormone and an enzyme (lipo-protein lipase) will slow your body's metabolism when it interprets your diet as starvation.

In addition, an hour of cardio will not give you the long term weight loss you desire. If you want to change your body you must decrease the importance of aerobic exercise and shift some of your efforts to implementing resistance training. Resistance training is critical if you want to take control of your metabolism. An increase in muscle (and I don't mean bulking up) will increase your metabolism.

For example, one pound of muscle requires 40-50 calories a day just to maintain it. Think what five added pounds does to your bodies caloric needs in a day-in a week! Not to mention, 48 hours after a resistance training workout your metabolism will still be elevated to aid muscle recovery. That's the key to long term permanent fat loss. It's not just what you do 5 percent of your day (exercise)-it's what your body does the other 95 percent of the day.

Let's face it, most people really don't enjoy the boredom of a long drawn out cardio workout. Don't get me wrong, cardio is an important component to the Essentials, but in moderation. Excessive aerobic exercise will unravel your toning efforts by decreasing lean muscle. If your body is not being provided the right nutrition and resistance training to increase or at least maintain your body's muscle, your body will break down muscle protein as an energy source and you now know how important muscle is to your metabolism.

The synergy of all three components is critical. If your nutrition does not provide the right "fuel" for your resistance training efforts you will not increase your muscle tone and therefore not increase your metabolism. What's more, poor nutrition will not help in optimizing fat utilization during moderate aerobic exercise. You see, with the right nutrition you can decrease the amount of cardio you have to do, this reduction will allow for optimal maintenance of muscle tissue, and you will effectively turn your body into a fat burning machine.

Let me give you one more way to look at it. If you look at the chart on this page, all three components have equal percentages of the pie chart (33.33percent)-and all Essentials have been perfectly executed making a perfectly round wheel. Now imagine that resistance training remains at 33 percent of the chart, aerobic exercise is 20 percent and nutrition is 10 percent. It is no longer a perfectly round wheel. So which wheel do you think would allow your car to run the most effectively?

You can see, an equal concentration on all three components of the Essentials will eliminate frustration, make your pursuit enjoyable and reward your self confidence with a successful body transformation.

About the Author:

Pete Piranio is the owner and fitness consultant for Fitness Together in Delafield, Brookfield and Wauwatosa Wisconsin. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Fitness Management and Busness Administration from Carroll College in Waukesha Wisconsin. He is by the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

He is also Editor and Publisher of FT Magazine a fitness and lifestyle magazine. He has been an expert contributed to numerous books and publications. Additionally, he is a speaker and consultant to Fitness Professionals throughout the United States. Learn more at www.FitnessTogether.net