So You Wanna be a Fitness Model
People that follow my stuff know I generally write about nutrition, supplements, training, and other topics that are more science based than subjective topics, such as what is covered in this article. I decided to shuck my science geek persona, and write on a topic I know will be helpful to thousands of would be and wanna be fitness models.
As well a known “hard core” science based no BS writer, why I am writing what some will perceive as a “fluff” article? Over the years I have gotten hundreds, perhaps thousands, of gals that ask me via email, letters, or in person “how do I become a fitness model Will? You have been in the business a long time, surly you of all people should know.” I get this from newbies and I get this from women that have been at it a while but have been unable to “break in” effectively.
The fact is, I have been in the fitness, health, and bodybuilding biz a long time, and though I am known as a science and nutrition based “guru” type, I have trained many a fitness athlete, and judged fitness and figure/bikini shows for the NPC, Fitness America, Fitness USA, and other federations as well as given marketing and business advice to all sorts of athletes, including fitness models. So, it’s not as far fetched as it might seem that I am going to use this space to cover a non scientific topic, which is, how one goes about being a fitness model.
This article will be useful to both experienced and novice types looking to “break in” to the biz. If you are already a professional and successful fitness model, I am sure you may still glean some useful information from this article.
First the bad news, there is no one way to become a successful fitness model. There is no single path or magic secret. There are however some key things a person can do to greatly improve their chances of “making it” in the fitness biz as a model, and perhaps using that success as a launching pad to greater things, such as movies, TV, etc.
Several of the top fitness models (Trish Stratus and Vicki Pratt come to mind but there are many others) have gone onto careers in entertainment of all kinds. Bottom line, though there is no magic secret to being successful as a fitness model, this article will be about as close to a blueprint for success as you will find.
“Do I need to compete?”
This is a question I get asked all the time and it’s not an easy one to answer. In fact, the answer is (drum roll) yes and no. The person has to deicide why they are competing in the first place to answer that question. For example, do you need to compete if your goal is to be a successful fitness model?
The answer is no. Many of today’s well-known fitness models have never competed, or they competed in a few small shows and it was clearly not part of their success as fitness models. However, competing does have its potential uses.
One of them is exposure. At the upper level shows, there will often be editors, publishers, photographers, supplement company owners, and other business people. So, competing can improve your exposure. Also, competing can make sense if you are trying to build a business that is related to your competing or will benefit from you winning a show.
For example, say you have a private training gym you are trying to build. Sure, having the title of say Ms Fitness America, or winning the NPC Nationals and being an IFBB pro, will help your reputation and the notoriety of your business. There are many scenarios were it would help to have won a show for a business or other endeavors.
On the other hand, it must be realized that winning a show does not in any way guarantee success in the business end (and it really is a business) of being a fitness model. The phone wont ring off the hook with big offers for contracts. Also, it’s very important to realize that it’s common that the 4th or 6th or 8th place finisher in a fitness or figure show will get more press than the winner. Why? Though the winner might have what it took to win that show, it’s often other gals the editor, publishers, supplement companies etc, feel is more marketable.
I have seen it many times where the winner was shocked to find she didn’t get nearly the attention she expected and other girls who placed lower have gotten attention in the form of photos shoots, magazine coverage, etc. Something to keep in mind when you ask yourself the important question “do I need to compete and if so, why am I competing?” Answer that question, and you will know the answer to the heading of this section. Winning a title of some sort can be a stepping stone, but it is not in itself any guarantee of success in the fitness industry. It’s like a college degree; it’s what you do with it.
Now. If you compete for the fun of it, then by all means go for it, but the above is focusing on competing as it relates to the business aspect of being a fitness model.
Right body, wrong federation?
Ok, so after reading the above you have decided you are going to compete, or will compete again. If you don’t plan to compete, you can skip this section. The biggest mistake I see here is so many gals have the right body for the wrong federation. Each federation has its own judging criteria and a competitor will do poorly simply because they didn’t bother to research which show would be best suited for them.
I will give you a perfect real world example of this. Recently I judged a show whose criteria for the figure round was the women should be more on the curvy softer side with some tone, vs. being more muscular and athletic with less bodyfat that other federations might allow. At this show one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen came out. She was very proportional, great muscle tone, lean, and athletically shaped with narrow hips and waist and wider shoulders. How did she do at this show? She didn’t even place in the top ten!
Why? Because she was not what we were instructed to look for and didn’t fit the criteria. After the show I informed her that she looked great, but this may not the federation for her. I told her she had much more of an NPC type body, where a little more muscle, athletic build, and less bodyfat is rewarded.
The following week I was judging an NPC fitness, figure, and bodybuilding show and there she was. How did she do? She won the entire show with all judges voting her number one unanimously.
Conversely, if your body type tends to be more rounded and toned, but with a little more bodyfat, wider (but not fat!) hips, you may be better off competing in say the Fitness America Pageants. If you are going to compete:
(1) find out exactly what the judging criteria is for that federation and
(2) go see those shows as a spectator for several different federations and see which one your physique, style, etc will fit into best.
(3) You have to decide if you truly have the athletic abilities to compete in a fitness competition (which requires a routine) or a figure/bikini competition.
I often see women who would do well in a figure show but really don’t have the athletic abilities do the routines required to be competitive with other athletes in the show. Some shows will allow you to do both competitions and some wont.
Networking 101: dos and don’ts…
In so many respects, this is the area that will make or break you in any business, and yet, people in the fitness industry do an amazingly poor job at it. If you don’t network and market yourself properly, you can pretty much forget about having any real success as a fitness model, or a success in virtually any business. For the sake of space, we will stick to fitness.
When I first started out, I was a self marketing machine. I could be found at every show I thought might be an opportunity, walking the isles of trade shows, bodybuilding, shows, fitness show, and others. I gave out a zillion cards and I took a million home with me, and followed up on each and every one. I went to as many industry related meetings, outings, parties, etc. as I could get into. I now have the reputation and experience in the industry that I don’t have to go to such a show unless I feel like it, or have meetings, but they were quite helpful in the beginning.
I am always amazed at the number of fitness models who contact me who have never even been to the Arnold Classic Fitness Weekend, or the Mr. Olympia, or the trade shows like the NNFA Expo West and others. If you want to make it in the fitness business you sure as hell had better treat it like a business.
I have seen many a pretty girl who wants to be a fitness model who thinks if they stand there looking pretty long enough, someone is going to offer to put their face on the cover of a magazine. News flash, there are millions of beautiful women out there and to be noticed, you have to hussle to get that business like everyone else by networking your butt off, or having a good agent (if you can afford such a thing) who is doing it for you.
Pick a few major industry shows to attend (some of which were mentioned above) and go to them every year. Have a plan of attack of exactly how you plan to market yourself and network. Many fitness models, bodybuilders, etc see a show as one big party. If that’s you, then have fun at the party, but don’t think you are really marketing yourself as a serous business person or athlete.
Another thing that always amazes me is the number of fitness models who either have no business cards, or have some cards they printed up on their bubble jet printer at home! They ask me to help them or what ever and I say “give me your card” and they look at me like “I am so pretty I should not need a card you fool.” This attitude turns off editors, photographers, writers, and industry people faster then if they found out you were really a transvestite. Don’t do it. For every pretty girl out there who thinks the world owes them a favor, there are 100 who are ready to act like professionals.
Ever wonder why some fitness model you know is doing better than you are even though you know you are prettier than her? That may be why…never ever go to a show to network without good cards, bios, and professionally done head and body shots you can give to said editors, publishers, photographers, industry types, etc. Don’t stand around looking pretty assuming they will find you, find them first and introduce yourself. And of course it should go without saying you should be in good condition and have something of a tan to look your best.
You want to go to the shows and party? Fine, but do it in private after the work is done and don’t make a fool out of yourself at some industry sponsored get together. Hell, I was virtually poured into a cab at last years Arnold Classic after going to a sushi place with some well know industry types and companies owners (you know who you are!) but at least no one saw me! We had our own little private get together after the show to let loose.
Let me give you one final real world example of how NOT to market yourself. Last year I was on retainer as a consultant to a mid sized supplement company. The owner of the company asked me if I knew a couple of fitness model types that could work his booth for a trade show. In fact, he requested “unknowns, some new faces people had not seen yet but had real potential to grow with the company.” I went and found him two such gals I thought fit the bill.
He offered to pay their flights, room, and food plus a thousand dollars each for the days work. The two girls were told to be at the booth 9am sharp. The night before at the hotel, I saw the two girls getting in a cab at 11pm or so dressed to kill, clearly on their way out to party. The next day they showed up at the booth an hour and a half late and hung over! What was the result of this? (1) it embarrassed me to no end as I had recommended them to the company owner (2) they would never get work from that company again (3) they would never get any work from me again and (4) they would not get a reference from either of us for other jobs.
I see this type of thing all the time in the fitness biz, and it’s not limited to fitness models. Amazingly, a few weeks after the show they emailed me and the company owner wanting to know when their next job would be! Amazing…
Who loves you baby?
If there is one universal truth, it’s that the camera either loves you or it does not. Any professional photographers will tell you this. For some unknown reason, some people are very photogenic and some are not. Truth be known, there are some well known fitness models (who shall remain nameless as they would probably smack me the next time they saw me) who are not all that attractive in person. It’s just that the camera loves them and they are very photogenic, but not terribly pretty in person.
Conversely, I have seen the reverse many times; a girl who is much better looking in person than in photographs. Such is the fate of the person who wants to be a model of any kind, including a fitness model. If you find you are not very photogenic, keep working with different photographers until you find one that really captures you well and pay that photographer handsomely!
Now, to be bluntly honest, there are also some wanna be fitness models who are not “unphotogenic”, they’re just “fugly”! There are some people out there who have no business trying to be fitness models. It does not make them bad people, it just means they need to snap out of their delusions and find a profession they are better suited for, like radio personality….
“How do I get in the magazines?”
This section sort of incorporates everything I have covered above, and adds in a few additional strategies. For example, as I mentioned before, competing in fitness shows and or figure/bikini shows can increase your exposure, thus getting the attention of some magazine publisher or photographer. Networking correctly at the various trade shows may also have the same effect, and of course having a good portfolio done by a photographer that really captures your look, a good web site, etc., will all increase your potential for getting into the magazines, or getting ad work, and so on.
However, all of these strategies are still somewhat passive versus active in my opinion. It’s still the fitness model waiting to be “discovered.” As far as I am concerned, waiting is for bus stops and pregnancy tests. Success waits for no man…or woman as the case me be. So, after all the above advice is taken into consideration as having an added effect to getting you magazine coverage, what else can be done?
For one thing, you should read and be familiar with all the magazines you want to be in so you know who is who and what the style of the different magazines are. I can tell you right now, if say the Editor-in-Chief of a good sized fitness or bodybuilding publications and says “hi, I am the Bob Smith what’s your name?” and the fitness model has no idea who Bob Smith is, Bob will not take kindly to that. Why should he? You should know who the major players are in the publications you want to be seen in. He is doing you the favor, not the other way around. You should know who the major players are and actively seek them out, don’t wait for them to “discover” you.
If you look at the masthead inside any magazine, it will tell you who the publisher is, who the Editor-in-Chief is and so forth. The mailing address for that magazine, and often the web site and email, can also be found. What is to stop you from looking up those names and mailing them your pictures and resume directly? Nothing, that’s what. If you see a photo spread you think is really well done, what is to stop you from finding out who the photographer is and contacting them directly and sending them your pics? Nothing, that’s what.
My point being, you want a get a break in the business, make the break, don’t sit there thinking it’s looking for you, because it’s not. Be proactive, not reactive! Luck is the residue of design. Be successful by design. As my older brother used to say to me as a kid when I told him I was too scared to ask out a pretty girl “what’s the worst that can happen Will? All she can say is no.” That’s the worst that can happen to you also.
Beware of web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids!
This part is sort of self-explanatory but worth mentioning. As with all industries that deal in entertainment based media (e.g., television, theater, modeling, etc.), the fitness industry attracts its far share of web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids, to name just a few.
There is also the class of person known as the schmoe, but we will leave that for another place and time. Point is you want to meet the right people while not getting involved with that group of worthless types who will only drag you down, delay you, or just flat out screw you up and over.
For example, a guy comes up and says he wants to “shoot you” for the magazines, but what do you really know of this guy? He has a camera and some business cards, so that makes him a photographer right? Wrong! If someone want to shoot you and they are not a well-known name (and you should know who the well known photographers are because you researched that already!), find out who they are. Do they have references you can call? Girls you can contact he has shot before and were happy with the work? What magazines has he published in? Does he do it professionally or as a hobby? That type of thing.
Another thing I see is the big web scam. I’m amazed how many girls get scammed by these web idiots. Lesson here is you get what you pay for, so when some person wants to build you a web site for free, you are getting what you pay for. Yes, there is good money to be made on the ‘net, and the net can be great for marketing yourself and making contacts, but most of it’s a scam.
You are better off paying a good web designer and web master who has experience with other fitness model types and has references you can talk to. I can’t tell you the number of girls who have been screwed over by some internet thing that went to hell, like the “fan” who volunteers to build a free web site and either runs off with any money made from the site or puts their picks on porn sites and any number of other things that made them regret like hell ever agreeing to the site in the first place.
Clearly, I can’t go down the list of all the possible pitfalls of the web idiots, schlubs, morons, perverts, scum bags, and sleazoids out there to be found in the entertainment business, but you get the idea. Be careful!
Conclusion.
Well that pretty much concludes my down and dirty guide to the basics of “making it” as a fitness model. Of course there are tons of business related issues I could cover and tricks I could give, but the above is the best advice you are going to find in s small space and will do more for you-if properly followed-than you may realize.
Discover on How you can be fitness model Here
The Big Picture of Permanent Weight Loss
By Will Brink
Most people who read my articles and e-books know me as a science guy who likes to quote studies and apply research to everyday problems such as weight loss, bodybuilding, and other health/fitness related topics. However, sometimes you have to step back from the science and look at the big picture to help bring people back into focus, so they can see the forest for the trees, so to speak.
For most people reading this article, finding an effective diet that works most of the time must seem as complicated as nuclear physics. It’s not, but there are a bewildering number of choices for diets out there. High fat or no fat? High carbohydrate or no carbohydrate? Low protein or high protein? To make matters worse, there are a million variations and combinations to the above diet scenarios to add to the confusion. It seems endless and causes many people to throw up their hands in frustration and give up. In this article I will attempt to change all that.
There are some general guidelines, rules of thumb, and ways of viewing a diet program that will allow you to decide, once and for all, if it’s the right diet for you. You may not always like what I have to say, and you should be under no illusions this is another quick fix, “lose 100 lbs. in 20 days,” guide of some sort. However, if you are sick and tired of being confused, tired of taking the weight off only to put it back on, and tired of wondering how to take the first steps to deciding the right diet for you that will result in permanent weight loss, then this is the article that could change your life…
Do you need to be a scientist to apply what you will learn here? No. A mind reader or clairvoyant? No. A nutritionist or medical doctor? Not at all. What you need to be is open-minded and willing to learn a few key concepts that will allow you to sort through the confusion.
You will be able to apply what you learn here to any diet you are considering and decide if it makes sense, once and for all! The process, however, is neither easy nor quick per se, but I never promised you either of those things… T
his article does not look at specific diets but will teach you to take a logical approach and apply some common sense to choosing a nutritional plan for life long weight loss. If you are willing and able to make a paradigm shift, then let’s proceed.
Does your diet pass “The Test”?
What is the number one reason diets fail long term; above all else? The number one reason is…drum roll…a lack of long term compliance. The numbers don’t lie; the vast majority of people who lose weight will regain it - and often exceed what they lost. You knew that already didn’t you?
Yet, what are you doing to avoid it? Here’s another reality check: virtually any diet you pick which follows the basic concept of “burning” more calories then you consume – the well accepted “calories in calories out” mantra – will cause you to lose weight. To some degree, they all work: Atkins-style, no carb diets, low fat high carb diets, all manner of fad diets - it simply does not matter in the short term.
If your goal is to lose some weight quickly, then pick one and follow it. I guarantee you will lose some weight. Studies generally find any of the commercial weight loss diets will get approximately the same amount of weight off after 6 months to a year. For example, a recent study found the Atkins’ Diet, Slim-Fast plan, Weight Watchers Pure Points program, and Rosemary Conley’s Eat Yourself Slim diet, were all equally effective. (1)
Other studies comparing other popular diets have come to essentially the same conclusions. For example, a study that compared the Atkins diet, the Ornish diet, Weight Watchers, and The Zone Diet, found them to be essentially the same in their ability to take weight off after one year. (2)
Recall what I said about the number one reason diets fail, which is a lack of compliance. The lead researcher of this recent study stated:
“Our trial found that adherence level rather than diet type was the primary predictor of weight loss”(3)
Translated, it’s not which diet they chose per se, but their ability to actually stick to a diet that predicted their weight loss success. I can just see the hands going up now, “but Will, some diets must be better than others, right?” Are some diets better then others? Absolutely. Some diets are healthier then others, some diets are better at preserving lean body mass, some diets are better at suppressing appetite – there are many differences between diets. However, while most of the popular diets will work for taking weight off, what is abundantly clear is that adhering to the diet is the most important aspect for keeping the weight off long term.
What is a diet?
A diet is a short term strategy to lose weight. Long term weight loss is the result of an alteration in lifestyle. We are concerned with life long weight management, not quick fix weight loss here. I don’t like the term diet, as it represents a short term attempt to lose weight vs. a change in lifestyle. Want to lose a bunch of weight quickly? Heck, I will give you the information on how to do that here and now for no charge.
For the next 90 to 120 days eat 12 scrambled egg whites, one whole grapefruit, and a gallon of water twice a a day. You will lose plenty of weight. Will it be healthy? Nope. Will the weight stay off once you are done with this diet and are then forced to go back to your “normal” way of eating? Not a chance. Will the weight you lose come from fat or will it be muscle, water, bone, and (hopefully!) some fat? The point being, there are many diets out there that are perfectly capable of getting weight off you, but when considering any eating plan designed to lose weight, you must ask yourself:
“Is this a way of eating I can follow long term?”
Which brings me to my test: I call it the “Can I eat that way for the rest of my life?” Test. I know, it does not exactly roll off your tongue, but it gets the point across.
The lesson here is: any nutritional plan you pick to lose weight must be part of a lifestyle change you will be able to follow - in one form or another - forever. That is, if it’s not a way of eating you can comply with indefinitely, even after you get to your target weight, then it’s worthless.
Thus, many fad diets you see out there are immediately eliminated, and you don’t have to worry about them. The question is not whether the diet is effective in the short term, but if the diet can be followed indefinitely as a lifelong way of eating. Going from “their” way of eating back to “your” way of eating after you reach your target weight is a recipe for disaster and the cause of the well established yo-yo dieting syndrome. Bottom line: there are no short cuts, there is no free lunch, and only a commitment to a lifestyle change is going to keep the fat off long term. I realize that’s not what most people want to hear, but it’s the truth, like it or not.
The statistics don’t lie: getting the weight off is not the hardest part, keeping the weight off is! If you take a close look at the many well known fad/commercial diets out there, and you are honest with yourself, and apply my test above, you will find most of them no longer appeal to you as they once did. It also brings me to an example that adds additional clarity: If you have diet A that will cause the most weight loss in the shortest amount of time but is unbalanced and essentially impossible to follow long term vs. diet B, which will take the weight off at a slower pace, but is easier to follow, balanced, healthy, and something you can comply with year after year, which is superior? If diet A gets 30 lbs off you in 30 days, but by next year you have gained back all 30 lbs, but diet B gets 20 lbs off you in the next 3 months with another 20 lbs 3 months after that and the weight stays off by the end of that year, which is the better diet?
If you don’t know the answer to those questions, you have totally missed the point of this article and the lesson it’s trying to teach you, and are set up for failure. Go back and read this section again…By default, diet B is superior.
Teach a man to Fish…
A well known Chinese Proverb is;
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.
This expression fits perfectly with the next essential step in how to decide what eating plan you should follow to lose weight permanently. Will the diet plan you are considering teach you how to eat long term, or does it spoon-feed you information? Will the diet rely on special bars, shakes, supplements or pre-made foods they supply?
Let’s do another diet A vs. diet B comparison. Diet A is going to supply you with their foods, as well as their special drink or bars to eat, and tell you exactly when to eat them. You will lose – say – 30 lbs in two months. Diet B is going to attempt to help you learn which foods you should eat, how many calories you need to eat, why you need to eat them, and generally attempt to help teach you how to eat as part of a total lifestyle change that will allow you to make informed decisions about your nutrition. Diet B causes a slow steady weight loss of 8 -10 lbs per month for the next 6 months and the weight stays off because you now know how to eat properly.
Recall the Chinese proverb. Both diets will assist you to lose weight. Only one diet, however, will teach you how to be self-reliant after your experience is over. Diet A is easier, to be sure, and causes faster weight loss than diet B, and diet B takes longer and requires some thinking and learning on your part. However, when diet A is over, you are right back where you started and have been given no skills to fish. Diet companies don’t make their profits by teaching you to fish, they make their money by handing you a fish so you must rely on them indefinitely or come back to them after you gain all the weight back.
Thus, diet B is superior for allowing you to succeed where other diets failed, with knowledge gained that you can apply long term. Diet programs that attempt to spoon feed you a diet without any attempt to teach you how to eat without their help and/or rely on their shakes, bars, cookies, or pre-made foods, is another diet you can eliminate from your list of choices.
Diet plans that offer weight loss by drinking their product for several meals followed by a “sensible dinner;” diets that allow you to eat their special cookies for most meals along with their pre-planned menu; or diets that attempt to have you eating their bars, drink, or pre-made meals, are of the diet A variety covered above. They’re easy to follow but destined for failure, long term. They all fail the “Can I eat that way for the rest of my life?” test, unless you really think you can eat cookies and shakes for the rest of your life…Bottom line here is, if the nutritional approach you use to lose weight, be it from a book, a class, a clinic, or an e-book, does not teach you how to eat, it’s a loser for long term weight loss and it should be avoided.
The missing link for long term weight loss
We now make our way to another test to help you choose a nutrition program for long term weight loss, and it does not actually involve nutrition. The missing link for long term weight loss is exercise. Exercise is the essential component of long term weight loss. Many diet programs do not contain an exercise component, which means they are losers for long term weight loss from the very start. Any program that has its focus on weight loss but does not include a comprehensive exercise plan is like buying a car without tires, or a plane without wings. People who have successfully kept the weight off overwhelmingly have incorporated exercise into their lives, and the studies that look at people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off invariably find these people were consistent with their diet and exercise plans. (4)
I am not going to list all the benefits of regular exercise here, but regular exercise has positive effects on your metabolism, allows you to eat more calories yet still be in a calorie deficit, and can help preserve lean body mass (LBM) which is essential to your health and metabolism. The many health benefits of regular exercise are well known, so I won’t bother adding them here. The bottom line here is, (a) if you have any intentions of getting the most from your goal of losing weight and (b) plan to keep it off long term, regular exercise must be an integral part of the weight loss strategy. So, you can eliminate any program, be it book, e-book, clinic, etc. that does not offer you direction and help with this essential part of long term weight loss.
Side Bar: A quick note on exercise:
Any exercise is better than no exercise. However, like diet plans, not all exercise is created equal, and many people often choose the wrong form of exercise to maximize their efforts to lose weight. For example, they will do aerobics exclusively and ignore resistance training. Resistance training is an essential component of fat loss, as it builds muscle essential to your metabolism, increases 24 hour energy expenditure, and has health benefits beyond aerobics.
The reader will also note I said fat loss above not weight loss. Though I use the term ‘weight loss’ throughout this article, I do so only because it is a familiar term most people understand. However, the true focus and goal of a properly set up nutrition and exercise plan should be on fat loss, not weight loss. A focus on losing weight, which may include a loss essential muscle, water, and even bone, as well as fat, is the wrong approach. Losing the fat and keeping the all important lean body mass (LBM), is the goal, and the method for achieving that can be found in my ebook(s) on the topic, and is beyond the scope of this article. Bottom line: the type of exercise, intensity of that exercise, length of time doing that exercise, etc., are essential variables here when attempting to lose FAT while retaining (LBM).
Psychology 101 of long term weight loss
Many diet programs out there don’t address the psychological aspect of why people fail to be successful with long term weight loss. However, quite a few studies exist that have looked at just that. In many respects, the psychological aspect is the most important for long term weight loss, and probably the most underappreciated component.
Studies that compare the psychological characteristics of people who have successfully kept the weight off to people who have regained the weight, see clear differences between these two groups. For example, one study that looked at 28 obese women who had lost weight but regained the weight that they had lost, compared to 28 formerly obese women who had lost weight and maintained their weight for at least one year and 20 women with a stable weight in the healthy range, found the women who regained the weight:
• Had a tendency to evaluate self-worth in terms of weight and shape
• Had a lack of vigilance with regard to weight control
• had a dichotomous (black-and-white) thinking style
• Had the tendency to use eating to regulate mood.
The researchers concluded:
“The results suggest that psychological factors may provide some explanation as to why many people with obesity regain weight following successful weight loss.”
This particular study was done on women, so it reflects some of the specific psychological issues women have - but make no mistake here - men also have their own psychological issues that can sabotage their long term weight loss efforts. (6)
Additional studies on men and women find psychological characteristics such as “having unrealistic weight goals, poor coping or problem-solving skills and low self-efficacy” often predict failure with long term weight loss. (7) On the other hand, psychological traits common to people who experienced successful long term weight loss include “…an internal motivation to lose weight, social support, better coping strategies and ability to handle life stress, self-efficacy, autonomy, assuming responsibility in life, and overall more psychological strength and stability.” (8)
The main point of this section is to illustrate that psychology plays a major role in determining if people are successful with long term weight loss. If it’s not addressed as part of the overall plan, it can be the factor that makes or breaks your success. This, however, is not an area most nutrition programs can adequately tackle and should not be expected to. However, the better programs do generally attempt to help with motivation, goal setting, and support. If you see yourself in the above lists from the groups that failed to maintain their weight long term, then know you will need to address those issues via counseling, support groups, etc. Don’t expect any weight loss program to cover this topic adequately but do look for programs that attempt to offer support, goal setting, and resources that will keep you on track.
“There’s a sucker born every minute”
So why don’t you see this type of honest information about the realities of long term weight loss more often? Let’s be honest here, telling the truth is not the best way to sell bars, shakes, books, supplements, and programs. Hell, if by some miracle everyone who read this article actually followed it, and sent it on to millions of other people who actually followed it, makers of said products could be in financial trouble quickly. However, they also know - as the man said - “there’s a sucker born every minute,” so I doubt they will be kept up at night worrying about the effects that I, or this article, will have on their business.
So let’s recap what has been learned here: the big picture realities of permanent weight loss and how you can look at a weight loss program and decide for yourself if it’s for you based on what has been covered above:
• Permanent weight loss is not about finding a quick fix diet, but making a commitment to life style changes that include nutrition and exercise
• Any weight loss program you choose must pass the “Can I eat that way for the rest of my life?” test,
• The weight loss program you choose should ultimately teach you how to eat and be self reliant so you can make informed long term choices about your nutrition.
• The weight loss program you choose should not leave you reliant on commercial bars, shakes, supplements, or pre-made foods, for your long term success.
• The weight loss program you choose must have an effective exercise component.
• The weight loss program you choose should attempt to help with motivation, goal setting, and support, but can’t be a replacement for psychological counseling if needed.
Conclusion
I want to take this final section to add some additional points and clarity. For starters, the above advice is not for everyone. It’s not intended for those who really have their nutrition dialed in, such as competitive bodybuilders and other athletes who benefit from fairly dramatic changes in their nutrition, such as ‘off season’ and ‘pre-contest’ and so on.
The article is also not intended for those with medical issues who may be on a specific diet to treat or manage a specific medical condition. The article is intended for the average person who wants to get off the Yo-Yo diet merry-go-round once and for all. As that’s probably 99% of the population, it will cover millions of people.
People should also not be scared off by my “you have to eat this way forever” advice. This does not mean you will be dieting for the rest of your life and have nothing but starvation to look forward to. What it does mean, however, is you will have to learn to eat properly even after you reach your target weight and that way of eating should not be a huge departure from how you ate to lose the weight in the first place. Once you get to your target weight - and or your target bodyfat levels - you will go onto a maintenance phase which generally has more calories and choices of food, even the occasional treat, like a slice of pizza or whatever.
Maintenance diets are a logical extension of the diet you used to lose the weight, but they are not based on the diet you followed that put the weight on in the first place!
Regardless of which program you choose, use the above ‘big picture’ approach which will keep you on track for long term weight loss. See you in the gym!
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My Diet Secret
By: Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
www.TurbulenceTraining.com
I’m not a “low-carb guy” by any means, but I have found something that works wonders for fat loss. And it does involve cutting back on whole-grains.
Back in December, I substituted more fruits and vegetables for any whole-grains in my diet, and I was as lean as I’ve been in years with this approach. So if you’re trying to lose fat and look better than ever this summer, try this approach.
Here are some easy changes to make.
a) Instead of having toast for breakfast, have an apple.
b) Usually have a side of rice at lunch? Have 1 cup of broccoli.
c) Typically have a bowl of cereal at night? Have an orange and an ounce of pecans (or walnuts or almonds), instead.
Think I’m out to lunch?
Check this study …
(For science nerds like me, here’s the reference: Amer. J. Clin.
Nutr. 85: 1465-1477, 2007.)
Woman on a low-fat diet that ate more fruits and vegetables lost
more fat than another group of woman on only the low-fat diet.
After 1-year, the low-fat, fruits and vegetables group (LF-FV) lost more weight than another group of woman on the low-fat (LF) diet only.
Why?
The LF-FV group reported being less hungry, thanks to being able to eat more food than the LF group.
So you’ll eat fewer calories if you are filling up on fruits and
vegetables, while keeping un-necessary fat out of the diet.
And isn’t the summer a great time to implement this program? With watermelon, berries, apples, and cherries all in great abundance, you can satisfy your sweet tooth naturally, while burning fat with the Turbulence Training fat loss workouts at home.
Sincerely,
Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, MS
Author, Turbulence Training
About the Author
Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com
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I recently read Will Brink’s Fat Loss Revealed e-book. This might well be the most complete online & offline fat loss product I’ve come across.
He’s split the e-book up into easy chunks, a chapter on supplements, in which Will reviews over 40 fat loss supplements,this alone is worth the price of his e-book, then a chapter on how to construct and apply his scientifically proven fat loss diet then a final chapter on how to train to elicit the fastest fat loss.
As if that was not enough, when you purchase Fat Loss Revealed or “FLR” for short, you receive free access to an amazing members area, this is NOT like the normal junk bonuses you receive with some products.
This members area was a real eye opener, you get 24/7 support on diet, training and supplements from a human, not to mention one on one access to Will himself who is on the forum in the members area every day.
You get access to a huge array of tools designed to help you lose body fat fast, like for example a diet planner to keep track of your progress, a nutrition database, members only articles, online exercise videos, a meal and calorie planner and a incredibly well organized forum packed with information on gaining mass. It has over 250 brand name supplement reviews on it and that’s just to start with.
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Getting Good Liquid Nutrition
For years we have been encouraged by the experts to consume more water. The bottled water industry has taken off in a big way in the last 20 years. I often wonder how I could have survived all that time without my trusty bottle of water, especially in the cup holder of my car. Now I hear that all that water may not only not have helped me but might have actually hurt me!
Water and Good Nutrition
Long ago I read that a good nutrition program meant eating the right foods to maintain an alkaline not an acid body PH level. My Naturopath tested my saliva at every visit and I was always acidic. She told me that acidic bodies are more prone to disease and are very susceptible to cancer growth. There is much anecdotal evidence that being properly hydrated makes one healthier and increases lifespan. There are also medically supported arguments that some of our most basic complaints, such as headaches and joint inflammation, are caused by not enough water in the system. As part of my nutrition program both my Naturopath and my conventional doctor advised me to drink at least a gallon a day. So I commenced to guzzle a gallon of what turns out to be acidic water every day!
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Using Power Fitness Training To Improve Athleticism
Power fitness training is when an athlete applies the greatest amount of power in the shortest period of time. Power is simply the rate at which work is performed. Work is the product of force and distance. Thus, power is force times distance, divided by time. Power training is crucial for sports because athletes generally do not have a lot of time during a game to empower themselves.
There are two main theories for quality power fitness training. One is to use strength training that imitates the skills that are used in the actual sport—this includes most plyometric and ballistic movement. The other theory is to practice the actual skills in a controlled atmosphere, separate from the weight room, and to condition the entire body that way. Knowing this, there are many sufficient power fitness training methods.
Increasing Force With Power Fitness Training
Increasing the force while keeping the distance and time constant is one approach to improve power. You have to boost your strength levels if you’re going to successfully increase the force. Strength and force are directly related because strength is the ability of skeletal muscles to produce force. Increasing your strength allows you to increase your force, which ultimately increases your power.
Increasing Distance With Power Fitness Training
Increasing the distance while keeping the force and time constant is another way to improve power. The most effective way to do this is to increase flexibility, range of motion in a joint or group of joints, because it will result in a distance increase. Consider tilting your arm back when you’re going to throw a football. Improving the flexibility in your arm will increase the distance that is used to apply the force for the throw. Full range of motion and flexibility training will improve your power fitness ability.
Decreasing Time With Power Fitness Training
Decreasing the time while keeping the force and distance constant will help to improve your athletic power. If you decrease the amount of time to train then that means you will have to increase your speed. This will also result in improved athletic power. The only way to improve speed is to continuously practice the specific skill that you’re trying to speed up.
If you increase the distance or the force and you decrease the time then obviously that will further improve your athletic power. Overall conditioning is also important. Power fitness training overall is essential if you’re going to play any sport.
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Are you worried about the amount of calories in your diet?
Rapid progress in economies over the years has brought about tremendous changes in lifestyle. People brace the changing lifestyle with open arms and accept the wealth and the food that comes with it. Each day they introduce something new to their diet. The tastier the food is, the more calories you take in. Have you fallen prey to the art of over-eating? Have you gained more weight than you desired?
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What is The Best Mother’s Day Gift ?
Mother’s Day is here.. and if you are a mother it is important that you take care of your body, and your health is no exclusion to this rule. From the way you eat, to taking the time to give yourself a break from it all; each of these factors can have a detrimental impact upon your body.
This being said, finding the time to actually eat properly is easier said than done. With your mind 100% focused on looking after your child, finding the time to eat right can be hard. Instead it is much easier to eat on the go and to put your body on hold until later.
Yet if the Wellcome Trust is correct, making the time to focus on your health may be more important than you think.
In their current study which looks into the inheritance of genes in children, they believe the way you eat during pregnancy could have a direct effect upon the way your children develop when they are born.
From the way they look, to the characteristics they develop, the Wellcome Trust have developed the theory that even the foods you eat during pregnancy could have an influence over their eating habits as an adult. Including their ability to experience effective long lasting weight loss.
Taking statistics offered by the Heart Institute’s Canadian Cardiovascular Genetics Research Centre, they found that due to DNA methylation particular mechanisms that control weight loss in muscles can be capped making it harder for the said individual to lose weight.
And this capping is rooted in the belief that external environmental elements can impact upon the way genes are expressed in children.
So if this thesis is to be taken seriously it would mean from the moment you conceive you need to take care of your diet in order to ensure your children have the best possible start in leading a healthier lifestyle.
Now when this information is compared to the recent revelation that nine in ten children will be obese by 2050; the time to take action and put a stop to this statistic is now – beginning with yourself.
By offering your body a healthy and nutritious diet combined with regular exercise, you can directly pass on this lifestyle change to your children.
Taking charge of your health doesn’t have to be a solo act. You can get your whole family involved and can set the precedent for your children to follow for many years to come.
Plus to top it all, by changing your dietary habits today, your body will be able to cope with everything your children have got to throw at you: from action packed weekends playing on the park, to going for a bike ride… with a healthier, happier body you’ll always be able to keep up.
So make this Mother’s day one to remember… as the day you took charge of your body, toned up and achieved the body you always wanted.
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Muscle Fitness Training is Good for the Body
When getting in shape, many people are interested in building their muscle and toning their bodies. Doing so doesn’t mean that you have to be fully buffed out and cut like body builders; it’s simply a way to stay in shape and become strong and healthy.
In fact, muscle fitness training can be right for anyone who wants no muscle build up but wants to strengthen muscles, and it can be right for those who do want the big muscle build up. This kind of training is pretty universal, and can usually be tailored to just about anyone’s needs.
What to Expect
Depending on what type of muscle fitness training you are interested in, there are programs that range in intensity and length. As with everything else, the variations may not be for everyone.
You should expect to sweat and use most of your energy during a proper muscle fitness training program. However, you should not use so much energy that you feel weak or are unable to complete the training session. Make sure you eat plenty of healthy food and drink a lot of water before starting your training.
Options
You can hire a trainer to customize a program for you that fits your needs, you can go to a gym and join one of their already created programs, or you can customize a plan yourself to do at home.
If doing it yourself, you’ll want to determine how long of a workout is best for you. You can experiment by putting together all of the exercises you enjoy doing and seeing how many of them you can get done within 1 hour and without exhausting yourself or hurting yourself.
If you can’t fit everything you want to get done into one muscle fitness training session, consider splitting the exercises into multiple sessions, and alternate them from day to day. This will also help to keep you from being bored with your training, which should keep you motivated and help you to stay on track.
You should also consider adding new exercises to your muscle fitness training sessions as you learn them. Add extra time before and after your workout to allow for warm ups and cool downs to make sure you get the most of your sessions, and this should ensure a long lasting fitness program that benefits your health, body and your mind.
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Counting The Benefits (And Calories) In Fruit
What is one of the best ways to get all the nutrients you need in a day? Eating a lot of fruit! Fruits are perhaps the healthiest dietary options, and the USDA Food Pyramid guidelines state that five to nine servings of it should be consumed every day. This quota isn’t hard to fill, considering the wide variety of fruits available in grocery stores. Fruits are chock full of the nutrients that the body needs, and the amount of calories in fruits are low as well. All in all, there are no downsides to making fresh fruit a part of your everyday diet.
Making Poor Choices Challenging
It is difficult to make a poor choice when it comes to fresh fruit—all types of fresh fruit are extremely healthy. However, certain fresh fruits might be considered healthier options than others, simply because the calories in some fruit are less than those in others. Being able to distinguish the high calorie fruits from the low calorie fruits can be helpful to those on low calorie diets; otherwise, there really is no need to count the calories in fruit.
Fresh Vs. Frozen
Some fruit choices can be deceiving. While it is true that there are very little calories in fresh fruit, the same cannot always be said of frozen fruit. A half a cup of fresh strawberries contains a mere 26 calories, while a half a cup of frozen strawberries contains 122 calories. The difference is in the sweeteners—fresh strawberries have natural sugars to make them taste delicious, while frozen strawberries are full of other sugars that make them higher in calorie.
The same can be said of canned fruits and of dried fruits as well. The calories in fruit that has been canned or dried are higher due to the syrup and sugar used to preserve them. Raisins, otherwise known as dried grapes, are one of the highest calorie fruits, with 217 calories per half-cup serving.
A Sweet Treat
Substituting fresh fruit for dessert is a great way to lower your caloric intake. However, be careful of what you put on top of the fruit. Adding whipped cream, cool whip, and sweeteners can increase the amount of calories from food you consume. Fresh blueberries alone contain 42 calories per half cup, but sweetened blueberries contain 193 calories per half cup. If you want a treat that’s sweet and light, opt to top your fruit with fat free cool whip or Splendid.
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