When my clients are “stalled,” I wait to adjust calories. Here’s why.
I get variations of this question a lot from my coaching clients: "Why u no adjust my calories? I've been stalled for 2 weeks!" As with many things, the most 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 I tend to wait a bit. Let me go through a few of them... First, sometimes it just takes time...
Cardio goals vs. weight training goals
This week I'm gonna cover a really good question from a client: “Bryan, it ok to have both a goal for lifting AND a goal for cardio? I want to make big progress with my programs AND I want to be able to head out and run a 5k-10k if a pal asks without much notice. I hear so much conflicting information about ‘running will ruin your gains’ or ‘you can do cardio but keep heart rate.” Great...
Coming back from Spring Break
I hate Spring Break. Well, no, I don't have an issue with a week off in the sun with family and friends. This is even more true for those summer vacations many folks are thinking about or planning right about now. Even from a coaching fat-loss perspective, there's nothing wrong with a week off the program. And yes, I do mean REALLY off: booze, tacos, pizza, zero exercise... IF — and it's a big...
How much sugar can I eat?
I get this question a lot and again the answer is IT DEPENDS on your caloric needs, age, activity, and body composition. First of all, sugar isn't evil. It's simply glucose bound to fructose; however, it's "refined" using chemicals such as sulphur dioxide, phosphoric acid, and calcium hydroxide. But once you eat it the body breaks it down to glucose. In other words, effectively, it's a damn...
Fat loss facts that… suck
Here are three fat loss facts that suck: The healthiest diet ever is a bad fat loss diet if you aren’t in a weekly calorie deficit. If you're never hungry on your diet you probably aren’t losing any fat. The more your weekend diet resembles your weekday diet, the leaner you get. I can't change the rules, but I can help you win the game. 3 Fat Loss Facts that Suck • The healthiest diet ever is a...
The first step to losing weight? Go full “method” actor
...a lesson "in reverse." In 1997, Sylvester Stallone starred in Cop Land. It caused quite a stir as Sylvester Stallone gained a lot of weight — 40 pounds — for his Cop Land role as an out-of-shape cop. No one would've guessed an action movie star known for his physique would go full method actor rather than just put on a fat suit. Perhaps Stallone wanted to impress his co-star Robert De Niro,...
Fat loss rhythms (…and daylight savings)
Fat loss is about rhythm. The most perfectly planned diet or system won’t accomplish much if you don’t or can’t stick to it for an extended period. Most assume that it’s knowledge or willpower that separates the successful from the rest. While those things help, a less inspiring factor is just plain ol' familiarity, that is, getting used to the diet to the point it becomes, simply, “how you...