It’s Saturday and you know what that means?

Oh, you don’t?  Well in my house it means…it’s Saturday.

I know I’m a boring dude, but we have a 5-year old and 10-month old and it’s January in Nebraska.  Not exactly conducive to living an exciting life!

I kid.  I love my life and wouldn’t change it for anything and the fact that Nolan is getting closer to walking everyday scares the bejesus out of me because I know I’ll have to somehow make eyes grow all around my head, or do some crazy flexibility work on my neck to be able to turn it 360 degrees like an owl to keep an eye on that little daredevil.

At least he has his sister to keep an eye on him…although that could be worse!

Anywho, I received some great emails over the last couple weeks (most specifically about weight loss) and I want to share a couple of them with you today in the form of a little Q&A.

So without further ado, let’s get this Weight Loss Q&A party started!

1.  “You mentioned in a post earlier this week you don’t like commercial snack or protein bars, but never said why.  So why don’t you like ‘em smarty pants?  I need to lose weight and rely heavily on the things.” – Jane

The main reason I don’t like most snack or protein bars is because many are glorified candy bars and don’t do much in the way of weight loss.

They use sub-standard ingredients, pass it off as “healthy” and lead you to believe you can lose weight by snacking on the thing 1 or 2 times per day.

About 5 years ago, the most popular protein bar on the market, that you could purchase everywhere from gas stations to health clubs to giant warehouse stores, boasted that it tasted like a Snickers bar and it really, truthfully did taste like a candy bar and people loved it.

It flew off the shelf like crazy because it tasted so good and it was assumed to be healthy because it was a “protein bar.”

You know what?  A company that independently tests supplements ran a test and found the reason it tasted so good was because it really was a candy bar.  They flat out lied on the label about how much protein and sugar were in the bar.

It tasted like a Snickers bar because it was virtually the same thing, except it was more expensive and had MORE calories.

Holy cow!!

It’s incredibly difficult to make a good tasting, and truly healthy, snack bar or protein bar and produce it on a huge level.  Corners usually need to be cut, or if they’re not, and it truly is a decent bar, it’s usually a bit on the expensive side, but because the weight loss market is so HUGE, unscrupulous business people get involved.

Having said that, I do enjoy a Cliff bar from time-to-time and they seem to be one of the good guys.

So you can find good snack bars, but you have to pay attention – NEVER trust the front label, always flip it around and read the ingredients and calorie breakdown and do a bit of research, otherwise you’ll find yourself eating a glorified candy bar and wondering why you’re gaining weight rather than losing.

2.  “I’ve tried diets in the past and had mixed results with my weight loss (lots of yo-yo).  Why is it that every New Year’s I make resolutions, try a diet or workout program and maybe see some results, but then fall into the same rut?  Why can’t I make anything stick?” – Jennifer 

I don’t know why.  If I knew the answer to that I’d be in the fitness/ weight loss business…

…Oh yeah!  I am!  Woo-hoo!

The answer varies from person-to-person and can be as simple as choosing programs that are set-up to make you fail.  I seriously think there are programs out there that are designed to make you fail so that they can turn around and try to sell you something “new” 6 or 12 months down the road.  It’s truly all about marketing and it drives me crazy.

For instance, right now on the radio I am hearing commercials for the “most effective fat burner,” and it makes me crazy because just a few months ago this same company advertised essentially the same thing, but with a different “twist.”

So that could be one reason, but I knew the person who sent this email and the answer she needed wasn’t determined by whiz-bang supplements, rather it was more mental and most who struggle to find a “happy zone” with weight loss fall into this category and the answer is two-fold.

One, there’s not a strong enough “reason why,” and their reason for eating is wrong.

If you truly want to make a change and lose weight, you have to find an incredibly strong “Reason Why” and it can’t be wimpy.

It can’t be something like “I want to lose 10 pounds in a month” because that won’t cut it.  If you’re trying to make a positive change that lasts a lifetime, a change that won’t leave you in the same position in the next 6 months or a year, you have to dig down deep and find out what makes you tick…

…This “Reason Why” has to be strong.

For instance, the person who wrote that email loves her kids more than anything and has a bad family history of heart ailments and cancer and she needs to lose about 30 pounds – intelligently – otherwise she may fall prey to the same issues.

That is her Reason Why, but for most, including her, the health issues aren’t strong enough because they’re not really visible – especially if there’s no issue right now.  So I told her that her kids had to be her Reason Why and I also knew she loved to hang by the pool in the summer, so I used the next 4 months as her guide.

I told her to focus on her kids as her big Reason Why (being a good role model and having the energy to keep up), but also to think about fitting into a smaller swimsuit so she doesn’t feel self-conscious at the pool.

Is that vain?  Sure, but who cares.  It’s important to HER, and will help her lose weight, and it’s important to a lot of us and there is absolutely nothing wrong with a little vanity, although it can NOT be the BIG Reason Why because it usually leads to unhealthy decisions and habits that won’t “stick.

I told her to be active with her kids – get out and run around with them, play games, play sports AND to be a positive eating role model so her kids won’t struggle as they age with health issues or weight concerns.

As parents, it’s our responsibility to be the lead role models when it comes to eating meals and snack and it’s not enough to tell our kids to “eat this…” while we eat and drink crap.

They follow our lead and they’re smart enough to realize that they don’t have to do something YOU won’t do yourself.

Obviously that’s just the beginning of my answer to her and I had some other things to share as well, including workouts and nutrition information, but that’s a secret (unless you’re a member of my super-secret club!).

3.  “Any workouts to share with me workout dude?” – Sam 

Yes, the workout dude does have some workout stuff.  I’m still tinkering with this whole Fusion Conditioning thing and in case you missed it, you should really check out the workout video I gave you a couple weeks ago.

To check it out, head to –> Fusion Conditioning Fat Loss Workout Video

Click here –> weight loss for another workout video…and it’s a 10-minute workout video (of course!!).

It’s an awesome example of what I’ve been working on lately and it’s incredibly effective.  It’s bananas.

That’s all I have for you today.  I’ll be back next week with more good stuff to help with your weight loss goals and workout programs!

Same Bat-Time…Same Bat-Channel!

Later,

P.S. – don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions.  I’m here to help and will do whatever I can to help you reach your goals!