Selecting a plan that fits your mental model
Some people need strict and specific eating directions. It's not always a knowledge or experience thing. They just do better when things are laid out in VERY black and white terms. i.e. "8 oz grilled or baked chicken or turkey breast." On the other hand, some respond much better to looser, no-counting type recommendations like "a palm sized portion of lean meat or fish." You can make intelligent...
Confidence is a big part of successful fat loss
While the basic physiological tenets, like a sustained calorie deficit, HAVE to be in line, a so-so plan you believe in 100% will be more successful than a Perfect Plan that you just don’t think is good enough to work. That’s the reason so many people get into shape following such wildly different approaches. As long as the basic principles are respected, anything can work — if you can stick to...
Getting Lean in 2025 starts TODAY
I’m gonna let you in on a secret that I learned over 25 years ago, when I was cutting my teeth as a personal trainer and (desperately) trying to “look the part,” when we all used to worry about that kind of thing. 😉 Back in those days I ALWAYS struggled with food around the Holidays, and as a result would enter the New Year feeling more chunky than fit. Yes, even me. Despite setting up silly...
Why make things harder?
While contest dieting for the Olympia, Dorian Yates would dream he was bingeing on sausages and fast food. He’d wake up panic-stricken, and for a brief moment, he'd think he had just eaten those foods. And then he'd remember—he doesn't keep junk food in the house. So, arguably the most focused bodybuilder of all time wasn’t 100% confident in his willpower. Nor did he feel it wise to test it...
Give a stressed out mind the chance to take a deep breath and the body exhales
“Why aren't you adjusting my calories? I’ve been stalled for 2 weeks!” I get variations of this question a lot from coaching clients. As with many things, the immediate answer is IT DEPENDS: on your caloric needs, age, activity, and body composition, etc. But beyond that, there are a number of reasons why its best to wait before making changes to the plan. First, sometimes it just takes time for...
Is there a healthy amount of alcohol?
PSA: The ideal or healthy amount of alcohol in your diet is ZERO. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Not one glass of wine a day for the resveratrol or a drink after work to take the edge off. The much-celebrated health benefits were all a ruse—a classic case of "when marketing meets wishful thinking." The results from multiple randomized trials keep rolling in and they’re unequivocal: ANY amount of alcohol—even...
A solid foundation of structure and habits for fat loss
"I want to build muscle but keep reading that I should get lean first. Is that BS?" Sorta. The gurus say you have to be lean before you try to add muscle. Some even give targets like under 10% body fat. Why? Broadly speaking, the leaner you are, the more insulin sensitive you are, which means better nutrition partitioning. Surplus calories/carbs get "shuttled" towards muscle cells as opposed to...