Well, the simple answer is that no diet will *burn* fat, however, if weight loss is your goal - and you want to lose “body fat” - then you are about to learn the ultimate “body fat” weight loss / gain formula to achieve weight loss using a *level 1* strategy.

Ultimate Weight Difference Formula

Energy Supply - Energy Demand = “Body Fat” Weight Difference (Loss / Gain)

Energy Supply

To understand how your diet fits into the “Energy Supply” part of this formula, lets look at how much energy is provided by food.

There is a measure of energy provided by what we eat, when our body digests food which creates heat energy (kilocalorie or calorie) and smaller properties which our body can use for activity and function. In this post we will be using the smaller measured energy amount, calorie (cal).

The following is the definition of calorie, as defined by Oxford University Press, “Despite an international convention which agreed to use the joule (J) as the standard unit for energy, work, and heat, the calorie is the unit most commonly used in written work about nutrition. One calorie is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 g of water through 1°C (more precisely, from 14.5°C to 15.5°C). It is easy to convert calories into joules, as one calorie equals 4.2 joules (more exactly, 4.184 joules). These units are very small in relation to the energy used by a person, so it is usual to use units 1000 times larger. These should be called kilocalories (often written as Calorie), but most diet and exercise books use ‘calories’ to mean kilocalories; so a 1000 calorie diet is really a diet that provides 1000 kilocalories a day.”

The Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. defines calorie as “[KAL-uh-ree] A unit measuring the energy value of foods, calibrated by the quantity of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by one degree celsius at a pressure of one atmo- sphere. The four sources from which calories are obtained are alcohol, carbohydrates, fats and proteins however all these sources are not equal. For example, fat packs a hefty 9 calories per gram, over twice as much as the 4 calories per gram carried by both carbohydrates and proteins. Alcohol has 7 calories per gram, almost as many as fat. Clearly, fats and alcohol have a much higher caloric density than carbohydrates and proteins, so it’s obvious that a 6-ounce serving of steak will be much more expensive calorically than 6 ounces of cauliflower.”

So as you can see, the energy your body is given to raise the temperature of the water in your body - and your body is approximately 60 ~ 70% water - is measured in calories. Different foods have different types of calories and Barrion’s Educational Series, Inc. broke them down nicely:

• Carbohydrates: 4 calories / gram
• Proteins: 4 calories / gram
• Alcohol: 7 calories / gram
• Fats: 9 calories / gram

So at a basic level we can see that fats provide us with the greatest amount of energy (9 calories per gram), then alcohol (7 calories per gram), then proteins and carbohydrates “carbs” (4 calories per gram).

So as you can see, the type of food can play a major role in our weight loss program. Weight Watchers understands this concept very well, so does L.A. Weight Loss, Jenny Craig, Nutri System, and many others! What they do is provide you with a strategy that makes it easy for you to follow and provides you with the weight loss you desire.

Energy Demand

Our body uses energy to “power” itself, to function and perform activities. This is what I call the “Energy Demand” of the body. Of course, the more active you are, the more energy your body demands in order to provide the power to function and *be* active!

There are three major ways your body demands energy :

• Daily Function
• Digestion
• Activity

Through the body’s demand for energy, to satisfy the above three conditions, our body creates a process called the “metabolic rate” or “metabolism”. The “Energy Demand” by our metabolism is a crucial part of any weight loss strategy - one that is commonly overlooked by many individuals and professionals.

The Minimum Energy Needed to Lose Weight

In order to lose weight, we need to calculate what the minimum energy is needed by the body in order to lose weight. This involves calculating your lean mass (taking your total weight and subtracting your body fat % in pounds), and adjusting for your daily requirements for function and activity. This can be a very complicated process and will need to be calculated by a weight loss professional - like the Weight Loss Mastery Coaches of Adam Aulenback Coaching - and even then it will be an estimate because your body’s demand for energy is always changing.

The output you are looking for is your body’s Basal Metabolic Rate or “BMR”. Your BMR is your base metabolism which your body needs to satisfy with energy. Each person’s BMR is individual and unique to their own body. In order to lose the greatest amount of weight, we MUST supply our body with this minimum amount of energy so that our body is *allowed* to lose weight.

If we do not provide the minimum amount of energy to satisfy our BMR, our body will go into what’s called “starvation mode”. This is not good. People who go into starvation mode can actually gain weight! Let me explain.

If your body does not get enough caloric energy to meet its BMR requirements, it will start to “tear down its house” (your body) in order to burn the materials (muscle and muscular energy) the house (your body) is built on to get the energy it needs. I’m sure you’ll agree it is not good when your body starts to tear itself down in order to “survive”. If your body does go into “starvation mode”, and you do sacrifice muscle to perform daily energy functions, you have instantly lowered your metabolism! That means that your body will be automatically burning LESS ENERGY! Not good, not good by any means!

I’ll explain why muscle is so important. For each one (1) pound of muscle, your body needs an average of fifty (50) calories per day to maintain that pound of muscle tissue. But for each one (1) pound of body fat, your body needs an average of ONLY one (1) calorie per day to maintain that pound of fat - a BIG difference. In fact, we substituted only 10 lbs of body fat for muscle tissue, your body would burn an average of 490 calories MORE PER DAY, EVERY DAY!!!! You would weigh the same, but you would look smaller too! The reason is that muscle is more densely compacted than fat, so it appears much smaller. And it has a better “tone” to it appearing more tight and firm.

Those 490 calories will create a difference of 1 pound of weight loss in about 7 days (if everything else stays the same in your body’s Energy Supply and Demand) - because one pound of fat equals 3500 calories.

There are MANY variables and influences that affect this basic Weight Difference formula, but this basic understanding is used by many weight loss professionals in order to achieve great weight loss results.

If you are truly serious about weight loss, and would like to have a Weight Loss Mastery Coach teach, assist and motivate you to your weight loss goal, you can view our Weight Loss Mastery packages here.

I wish you all the best on your journey to the body you deserve!

Earlier this week I released the “Weight Loss Mastery Coaching” programs which I’ve been working on for nearly 3 years - whew! There is nothing like it on the market right now, it’s really going to make some waves when people understand the power behind it, and the results start pouring in - it’s truly amazing!

Right now I’m working on my book-in-progress and do-it-yourself Weight Loss Mastery Program! They’re going to be best-sellers

Several of my friends, and personal training clients, have been pushing me to write a book and offer weight loss programs for years, but I never took the time to do it until now. I’ve researched and disected all the major weight loss clubs: Weight Watchers, LA Weight Loss, Jenny Craig, Nutri-System, etc… and I haven’t found anything profound. Then I went to weight loss diets: The Atkins Diet, The South Beach Diet, Body for Life, The Blood Type Diet, etc… and again, nothing really earth-shaking. So, I decided to work for the largest retailer of nutrition products in the world, GNC. There I studied all the weight loss supplements like: Hoodia, Hydroxycut, Rev, PGX Fiber, Slim Styles, etc… and you’d be suprised to learn what I did. As a manager for GNC, I had the opportunity to get the inside scoop for many different products and the “magic” ingredients they used.

With all of my knowledge, experience with weight loss, personal training, and managing a retail store for one of the largest companies in the world, I decided to break it down for people to understand in an easy and clear way to remove the confusion that overshadows the weight loss industry.

My products, services and blog posts aim to provide easy, step-by-step methods and strategies for achieving real weight loss. So, I think my wisdom will appeal to people who are fed up with being overweight and are ready to understand how to lose weight, and willing to do whatever it takes.

When I was 17 years old I discovered a sport that I was extremely good at - natural bodybuilding. Most people when they think of bodybuilding think of the really big 300 lb guys, which look like the incredible hulk. But what I’m talking about is natural bodybuilding - without steroids.

I discovered the gym through my unyielding desires to continuously improve my skills in Track & Field, Volleyball, Soccer, Badminton and Basketball. I started a sports and personal development path which led me to the library, and then to weight training at The YMCA.

I started out by talking to the guys who had the “look” I wanted and the performance I was looking for. I bought every current magazine that had to do with weight and performance training, as well as books that I could afford at the time. I also checked out as many books as I could to learn everything there was to know about the different training strategies, principles and research that had been done on athletic performance, weight training and bodybuilding. I studied them every chance I could get. Then with eager passion I poured my heart and soul into making my skinny 121 pound frame into a sculpted 154 lean body, it was a lot of hard work.

I then competed at the age of 19, in the Nova Scotia Atlantic Bodybuilding Show, where I placed first in my division (out of 10) and overall for all categories of Men’s Junior (19 and under).

After winning, I contemplated how I achieved my newly found success. I realized that I had no formal training in weight lifting or bodybuilding and that my passion for achievement created a learning desire to become great. Learning on my own, and using trial-and-error, I quickly realized what worked well (and what didn’t), and how to combine strategies for faster results. I also had a few mentors of the bodybuilding world - but since they were using steroids, I refused to use their strategies fully.

Bodybuilding taught me at a young age that it takes more than just lifting weights every now and then to achieve the result you want. I had to be consistent, so I lifted 6 days a week, and I had a goal to move toward - Mr. Flex Wheeler’s symmetry, balance, fullness and definition (I had his pictures everywhere).

Through a focused eating plan, proper stretching, hydration, and vitamins, I was able to reduce my repair time and increase the speed of my results.

Since then, I’ve used a similar strategy for everything in life. I create a vision to move toward, inspire the passion for learning everything about what I want to achieve, take consistent action (6 days a week with one day off), and use multiple action strategies to work synergistically to create my desired outcome.

Why Muscles Grow

Bodybuilding, like losing body fat, is a mathematical and scientific calculation. Understanding the formula and how the calculation works will allow you to always have results!

The basic reason that muscle grows is due to the amount of force exerted on the muscles. But it is a bit more complex than just that. Muscle grows because the force exerted is greater than what the muscle is comfortable resisting and so you force the muscle to respond by building more fibers to become stronger and larger.

How Muscles Grow

In the past when I hit a plateau, the times I didn’t see any progress in my training, I found they were due to either one or a combination of the following reasons :

• » Not enough total force was exerted on the muscle. Our bodies are extremely intelligent! That is a very good thing for survival, but can make it tough to consistently see results with muscle and / or strength building. If you have exerted a certain total force on your muscles in one workout, and use the same total force in the following workout a week later, you will not see the same growth after the last workout that you would have seen after the first workout. The reason is that your body adapts very quickly. Basically, your body does not like stress, and will try to make anything you encounter easier based on what you have recently encountered. Because your body tries to become more conditioned to handle the stress it recently experienced, it adapts to become more fit to the environment it was subjected to. So, if you consistently place the same force on the body (mentally, physically, emotionally, etc…), your body will adapt to it and you will not be affected by it as you did the first time you encountered it. That is one of the secrets to always achieving consistent growth. If you want to grow, always place more force on the body so that it has to grow in order to adapt to it.
• » The type of force is always the same. If you are always putting the same kind of force on the muscle, your body will get use to the way the force is exerted and adapt to that movement - very quickly! If you always do bicep curls with a barbell, your body will get use to that position and motion, until it becomes strong only in that type of exercise. Instead, change the type of exercise so your body has to adapt to a different movement. Perhaps you could use dumbbells. Or you could use the cable machines. You might even use a preacher bench to do your barbell curls on. You can overcome this obstacle by always change what you do from one workout to the next.
• » The intensity of the force exerted on the body. This is related to the type of exercise, but here we are considering how the exercise is performed. If we go back to the barbell curl example, we could keep the exercise the same but change the intensity we create to provide consistent growth. Here are some of the ways we can change the intensity of force we exert on our muscles :
  • » The amount of force we exert. Through changing the amount of force we put on our muscle, we require the body to respond differently. One way is to increase the force you have previously encountered in order to force your muscles to grow.
  • » The number of repetitions in each set. By changing the number of repetitions (”reps”) we place a different stress on the muscle because it has to resist the force in a different amount than it was previously use to. If we increase the number of reps over the previous workout, with the same exercise, we force our body to adapt to the greater quantity of repetitions.
  • » The speed of the repetition during an exercise. The time it takes you to contract your muscles with the exerted force changes the intensity of the repetition. This applies to the length of time you concentrically contract the muscles, hold the “peak” contraction, and how long you resist the force on the eccentric contraction. When you are doing a bicep curl, the concentric contraction is when you are raising the weights toward your upper body. The peak contraction is when you have concentrically contracted as high and intense as you possible can. And the eccentric contraction is when you are bringing the weight back to its starting position. Through changing the speed of each of these contraction periods, you will change the intensity of the repetition.
• » Not using proper form when exercising. There can’t be enough said about using proper form. Not only does using proper form keep you from getting injured, but it allows you to target the muscles you want to grow. I learned quickly that using a greater amount of weight will not mean bigger and stronger muscles if you “cheat” it up with other muscles. Going back to the bicep curl example, if you put too much weight on the barbell and use your back and shoulders to “swing” the weight up to the position of a full bicep contraction, you are not focusing on the biceps, but instead you are focusing on your lower back and shoulders and your biceps are assisting. This can, and in some cases does, lead to a lower back injury or shoulder strain. Instead, lower the weight and stick to good form to target the muscles you want to get results from. Always use proper form when training, if you do you will get bigger and faster gains!
• » Not keeping the muscle contracted during the entire exercise. Unless you are doing a plyometric exercise, you should always keep you targeted muscle(s) contracted during your entire rep and set. When do you force your muscles to tear and break down? During the contraction of course! So why would you not contract your muscles as much as possible during every part of your repetition and set? It might be easier not to, but when you squeeze the muscles you are targeting the entire time, you will get a greater workout ( in less time! ) and create what the advanced bodybuilders call the “Mind-Muscle” connection.
• » Overtraining. This is a big one for most people. Because we get so passionate about building muscle we can get caught up in the more you do, the faster you will see results. This is not always true. Let me define what overtraining is before we continue. Overtraining is working the same muscles in another workout before they have had time to fully recover. There were times when I would train every muscle for a half an hour every day of the week (6 days straight with 1 day off) and I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t growing. I was working harder and with greater intensity, and I was more sore than I had ever been - and then I learned that I got bigger when I wasn’t training, I learned that when my body was resting and repairing was when I got bigger muscle gains stronger muscle fibers. I learned that if I was not stronger when I got back in the gym, how did I expect to increase my intensity grow more muscle? The answer was that I couldn’t. So I designed a routine which built in rest and repair for certain muscles when I trained other ones.
• » Not getting enough nutrition. Here is another huge area of growing muscles. If you don’t give your body enough energy or materials to build your muscles, they can’t and won’t get bigger, or stronger! I learned that to build muscle I needed a lot of protein! I also needed certain carbohydrates and fats at the right times. And what shocked me the most is when I discovered how important vitamins, minerals and herbs were to muscle performance, growth and recovery! I could be here for years writing about the importance of nutrition and the details of how and what to take - nutrition is that important! Make sure you are getting at least 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body weight. If you don’t know your lean weight then just use your total weight. Protein breaks down into amino acids when digested. And amino acids are like the bricks you use to build a wall. Without the bricks you would just have a mushy, goopy mortar to work with - that will not build very high or very quickly.
• » Not drinking enough water. Did you know that your muscle is anywhere from 70 ~ 80% water?! Let me ask you a question. Is an object smaller and weaker when it is full and dense, or is it stronger and bigger? You bet it’s bigger and stronger! That’s one of the reasons why creatine is so popular. Creatine basically allows you to hold more water in your muscles, giving you greater hydration for stronger and bigger muscles - but it doesn’t work without first drinking the water. This is a big reason to drink lots of the clear stuff!
• » Lacking a specific goal. If you don’t have a goal, how are you ever going to reach it? I use to cut up magazines and use pictures of what I wanted to accomplish. I always used the bodies that I thought were the perfect reflection of what I wanted to accomplish. I put the pictures on my workout books, on my bedroom walls, on my mirror, in my wallet - anywhere and everywhere that I could look at them and keep me focused on that goal. Sometimes when I didn’t want to workout, I would look at one of the pictures and I would be motivated to get my butt to the gym!
• » Not visualizing your new body as if you already achieved it. You have to own what you want. If you possess your goal in your mind through visualization, your subconscious will cause your unconscious actions to create what you see yourself already having. See and feel how good it is to have the body you want. The more you do this, the more action you will take to create that result!
• » Not rehearsing your workouts before you do them. Michael Jordan use to play every game in his mind before he even stepped on to the court. Was he perfect? No, but he is one of the greatest players to ever play basketball! When he played the game in his mind, there was no limit to what he could achieve or do. He carried this mindset of “no limits” on the court with him. It was though this mentality that he was able to do the amazing things he did. You can apply this same strategy to your workouts. I use to visualize myself lifting more weight that I previously did. I would see and feel the weight, through my own eyes, and have incredible workouts without even working out. Then while the mental workout was still fresh in my mind, I would go to the gym and do what I had visualized doing. You see, your mind does not know the difference from what you see in life and what you create in your imagination. The reason is that in order for your brain to process what you see in life, your mind must create the image, or a visual representation, of what is being perceived. When you visualize, you create the visual representation without the need for visual perception - basically you skip the step of seeing it first before creating the visual image in your mind. Pretty powerful, isn’t it?!
• » Not having a pre-written strategy to follow. Your strategy is one of the best ways to achieve your goal faster. Without a specific, pre-planned strategy, you are doomed to follow whatever happens to come before you. If you have a strategy on how to achieve something, you’ll be able to just do the next step, execute the next part of the formula, to reach your intended goal. Would you attempt to travel to a location you’ve never been before and not look at a map, or follow the directions from a source which knows how to get there? The answer is most likely no. You would probably research the best way to travel there based on your time restrictions, physical and financial allowances. So make sure you have a pre-written strategy to follow so you don’t get lost on the way to your goal.
• » Not recording the results of your workout. Would you try solve an algebraic equation without recording your answer to see if it was right? Not unless you were Einstein! Treating your workouts like an advanced mathematical or scientific equation just makes good sense. The reason is that you will be able to not only chart your progress, but you will be able to see what’s working for you, and what you can tweak to get better results. Without any specific data, you cannot make specific changes to acquire more specific or accurate results. Get a training journal or notepad and record what you do in your workouts, you will be surprised by what you find.
• » Not stretching after your workout. Most people don’t understand why stretching is so important for building muscle. Did you know that in untrained athletes, stretching alone can build muscular strength. With trained athletes, stretching will help reduce the amount of time required for repairing torn muscle fibers, and the soreness associated with torn fibers. When you stretch you tear the fascia (a thin membrane surrounding muscle tissue) to allow more nutrients to the muscles. Not only does this allow you to repair faster, it also helps to relax stressed muscles and allow for greater flexibility.
• » Not using supplements. Supplements are a great way to increase your workout performance, intensity and overall muscle growth. Not all supplements are for everyone, nor for every goal. Make sure you get the right supplement(s) for you and for your specific goal(s).

I will leave you with one final note, if you get a personal trainer (or coach), make sure they have achieved the results you are looking to achieve. Do not be hypnotized by credentials or certifications. Make sure you are learning from someone who has “been there and done that”! You want to learn from a Master, not a student who can’t achieve the results themselves. What makes you think they know the proper information, or strategies, to help you achieve the results you want if they cannot do it themselves? Ask lots of questions and remember, it’s your time, money and body

Most fat burners, which increase your metabolism with caffeine and other metabolic shifting ingredients, are ok to use short term, but your body will adapt to these ingredients quickly and your results will peter off.

The reason for taking fat burners multiple times a day is to increase your metabolism multiple times per day. The concept is like pouring gas on a fire. The fire does not stay ignited at an elevated level for a long time, it only stays elevated until the gas has been burned - this is the same with fat burners.

Some alternatives to increase “the fire”, your metabolism, are :

Deep breathing increases blood flow and stimulates oxygen within your body

Deep breathing will increase blood flow, like a fat burner, which will help you to get your system moving better as well. Taking deep breaths will help you to eliminate toxins within your body and increase oxygen being taken in by your cells (something a fat burner will not help you achieve! ).

If you add oxygen to a fire what happens? The fire will burn hotter and brighter, won’t it?! This can help you to increase your metabolism as well!

The best way to do deep breathing exercises is to inhale and “fill your belly with air” until you can’t fit any more in your lungs, then hold the air for a minimum of 5 seconds, and exhale for a minimum of 5 seconds. Repeat this 3-10 times.

Doing short bursts of intense exercise multiple times a day

If you do very intense exercise (8-10 level of intensity) for 1 minute, 3 or more times a day, you would have similar effects to a fat burner.

Your intensity is measured by your own level of fitness. You would ultimately be aware of how hard your body is working and measure it from a level “10″, which is your most intense level of exercise. This could be doing jumping jacks, running on the spot, going for a run, pushing/pulling a resistance intensely, speed walking, cycling, etc… The key is to do something multiple times during the day, consistently.

A huge benefit will be that you will tighten your body and tone your muscles - something a fat burner will not do for you

You should, like a fat burner, do your intense interval of exercise before eating (and on an empty stomach) to get the best results. Then eat a proper portion (we’ll discuss this later in this post) to nourish your body.

Eat consistently, in small amounts

To keep a fire going what’s required? That’s right, fuel. We also need to fuel our metabolism the same way.

Keeping your fire going to burn body fat with food, isn’t as hard as you may think, you just need to understand the concept.

Your metabolism, like a fire, will only burn a certain amount of wood at one time. If you put too much wood on the fire, the fire will not be able to burn it all (and it will leave a lot of ash behind - body fat), and it could smother out the fire and keep it from burning bright and intense.

You also do not want to forget to put wood in the fire, for the fire will have no fuel to keep going to burn off body fat. This is why you do not want to starve your body!

Keep the fire stoked every couple of hours, it depends on your metabolism (hint: you should never feel hungry), and you need to put the right amount of wood in the fire (not too much or you’ll kill your fat burning fire! ).

Ultimately, you want to do deep breathing exercises first (1 minute), then your intense “short burst” of exercise (1 minute) and then feed the fire (8 minutes). The whole process will take about 10 minutes - if you are dedicated to losing body fat, this is a healthier, more long-term strategy to use instead of fat burners.

Today, I’ve started my “spring cleaning” with a product called
CleanseSmart, by RenewLife (which can be viewed in greater detail on Amazon.com)

This 30-day product cleans your liver, heart, lungs, kidneys, skin, lymphatic system and colon. The reason I choose this cleanse is that it is not harsh due to the herbal ingredients they choose for their formulas. The CleanseSmart does not irritate the bowel to “open up” and drop everything out - this can be an unpleasant experience, instead it cleanses thoroughly without the irritable damage (something I’m a big fan of )

Most people who eat a “healthy” diet will say that they don’t need to cleanse. I am one of those “healthy” eaters, but I still need to clease my body twice a year to remove what our environment allows us to consume. Through the pollution in our air, water and soil, there’s plenty to clean out from our natural resources.

The best way to describe the results of doing this cleanse is an “open” feeling in your stomach area. I experience more energy (as do most who use it), and I often have a reduction in the waist line due to the removal of unwanted toxins and some undigested foods. The average person has between 5 and 30 pounds of undigested food in their digestive system. Imagine how different you would feel, look and how much better your system would work if this was removed!

This is definately something to take a look at, and is a great cleanse without the harshness of others.

CleanseSmart gets “Two Thumbs Up”!