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*The title of this post is from The Distillers song of the same name*

There’s a problem with dieting.

Hunger.

It’s uncomfortable. It’s frustrating. It lingers. And sometimes right when you think you have it cracked, it comes around again.

Now, there are things you can do to make dieting (and hunger) less uncomfortable.

You can eat more protein.

This typically has the effect of being a more satiating macronutrient plus having this really nifty thing called a high thermic effect. In other words, your body has to work harder to metabolize it. In numbers, if you consumed 800 calories per day from protein on your diet, you could burn 160-280 calories just trying to digest it. That’s pretty awesome. By comparison, you won’t burn anywhere near that much via carbohydrates or fat.

You can eat more fiber.

This will also help you feel more full. The downside is that you may have to experiment with different sources of fiber (grains, fruits, veggies) because they all may affect you (and your digestive system) in different ways.

You can drink more water.

It’s not glamorous or sexy. It won’t sell magazines off the rack if you talk about it’s allure in a diet. However, it can help with some oral fixations if you’re just used to consuming something and it can help fill you up. Add a bit of lemon or lime if you get bored of plain old water.

You can distract yourself.

I hate to break it to many of you but the pattern that many fall into of heading home and plopping on the couch to catch up on TV is not the best route for weight loss. Not only are you at the mercy of every food-themed commercial (which will likely cue you to get up and eat some more), you may find yourself in the unenviable trap of eating out of boredom, anxiety or frustration with your day.

Find an outlet. Anything that will break you of the patterns that lead you back to the fridge or pantry. It doesn’t have to be fancy. You can walk your dog, read a book, clean a room, etc. All you’re trying to do is break the cycle that leads to thoughts of food.

You can exercise but…

For all of its great attributes, certain people will get hungrier with exercise. Adhering to your calorie plan (which is hopefully set for weight loss) will keep your eyes set on the goal. You may also have to drop the intensity with which you’re training if you find that your hunger skyrockets and you can’t temper it.

Or, you can get comfortable being uncomfortable. 

The sad truth of dieting is that there will be hunger pangs despite your best dietary efforts. The sooner you can prepare yourself for that feeling the easier the process will be. This may be harder to deal with when you’re getting started until your body and mind acclimate to the change. Even after you’ve adjusted, there will still be certain days that affect you more than others. If you fall off the wagon, always remember to minimize dietary damage where you can, forgive yourself (you’re not broken/worthless or a failure), and get your eyes back on the prize.

And this would be Matt, Sarah and Marta from last week. Undoubtedly, a little worn out from their workout…and they were probably a little bit hungry afterwards. 🙂

Meghan Callaway joins me this week to talk about her efforts in empowering women to be and achieve more with their fitness plans. We discuss some of the pervasive notions that women can only achieve great bodies through low resistance and unrealistic time constraints that seem to be perpetuated by the media and fitness celebrities. You can follow Meghan’s incredible exercise demonstrations and read more about her philosophies at http://www.meghancallawayfitness.com or follow her on Facebook. To learn more about your host, please visit http://www.jasonleenaarts.com Also, check out our new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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*The title of this post was taken from the Self song of the same name*

After 18 years floating around this industry as both consumer/client and trainer, I should know better.

Hell, I’ve spent tens of thousands of dollars on books, certifications and other avenues of continuing education to teach me better.

Yet even as the years have gone on and I’ve learned more about what does and doesn’t work in the supplement industry, every so often I manage to get duped into buying something I know won’t be as effective as I’d like.

A few months ago, I was looking through the nutrition/supplement section of a local grocery store and I saw a sale on a new line of pre-workout powder. For those of you who don’t know much about them, pre-workouts typically have some combination of creatine, amino acids, and/or stimulants in them to assist in giving you the boost you need for a better workout.

Depending on the brand, any of these ingredients could be cleverly marketed as organic, non-gmo, stimulant-free, or with faster absorption to appeal to whatever your hot buttons are. In the industry, many experts shy away from them saying that what you’re purchasing is really expensive ways to color your urine.

Truth be told, stimulants can positively affect your workout.

Want to know a great one?

Coffee.

And if you don’t like the taste of coffee, you can opt for a bottle of caffeine pills which will cost you a fraction of what your funny looking/smelling/tasting powder does.

Is it sexy? God no. But it’s effective.

Creatine is effective too but that’s a topic for another day.

But here I was, spending money I knew I shouldn’t have been buying a powder I was not likely to get my money’s worth from.

The thing is, there was nothing particularly wrong with the powder. There were just better ways to accomplish the same goal. Had I not buckled to the call of my impulsivity, I would have been perfectly fine with some black coffee before training.

Then I realized, that if some clever marketing can sucker me into a purchase, how does it affect the average person who doesn’t know as much about this industry and still wants to improve their physique?

As of 2015, revenue generated by the US dietary supplement industry was expected to hit an amazing $37 billion.

One of our clients confessed that he averaged $200/mo in supplements that provided little to no benefit to him before he started training with us.

And while I can attempt to do my very best at helping to educate my clients on what could work effectively to help them on their journey, everyone is susceptible and everyone is a target for the companies vying for their slice of that $37 billion dollar pie.

So, this article is simply a cautionary tale. Some of the most effective supplements you can buy are, oddly enough, some of the least expensive. And, as you might imagine, many of the ones that claim to accomplish so much generally cannot (but the placebo effect is an amazing thing.)

When I think back to my pre-workout purchase a few months ago, I knew I would be disappointed. I don’t know if I was more intrigued by the fact that it was new, on sale, or just that I hadn’t purchased anything like that in a while.

Damn, that shiny penny syndrome.

Rather than be a sucker (like I was), remember that the basics (appropriate food/water intake, good sleep habits, consistent/progressive exercise, minimal alcohol consumption) will get you to your goal.

Almost anything else will just make your wallet a little bit lighter and your pee (or poo) a little bit more colorful.

We’ll help you navigate the basics.

Oh and this is Abe. He’s down 13lbs in less than 2 months. Working the “basics.” 🙂

 

 

 

 

Stephan Guyenet has delivered one of 2017’s finest books when it comes to the neuroscience of our eating behaviors in “The Hungry Brain: Outsmarting The Instincts That Make Us Overeat” He joins me this week to discuss some of the topics that he outlines in greater detail in that book. You can order your copy at HERE To learn more about all of Stephan’s incredible and insightful work, check out http://www.stephanguyenet.com To find out more about your host, please visit http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and check out our new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

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*The title of this post was taken from the Jane’s Addiction song of the same name*

Note: I have intentionally changed the name of my client to Jane for privacy purposes.

Late last year, Jane came in to to talk about joining up at RevFit. She had some mutual friends who were already clients and they were happy with their results. It’s my understanding that Jane had some apprehension because she was somewhat self conscious about form and exercising in front of others.

When we sat down to discuss health history and goals, Jane said, somewhat in jest, that she would be a handful. She had a history of medications and behaviors that at least alluded to why her weight had steadily escalated. Fortunately, Jane’s husband was excited that she made the step to come see me.

Medications can be a strange obstacle. I tend to see a little bit of everything too. Medications for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression, anti-anxiety, poor sleep, attention deficit disorder, birth control, thyroid dysfunction and more. Sometimes, the medication itself may not be the issue but the combination of one medication with another can make weight loss difficult. Not only that, but some medications have been known to affect hunger signals.

Imagine for a moment being overweight and depressed with high blood pressure (with a potential link between the three.) Your blood pressure medicine seems to be doing the trick but your anti-depressant medication leaves you in a state of never feeling hungry so you continue to raid the fridge. Next thing you know, your weight continues to go up which fuels the depression and the high blood pressure. Now, your doctor is tempted to raise your dosages on both of your medications to help control the emotions and keep your blood pressure down. Notice a cycle?

There was a similar thing happening with Jane. Because I am nowhere near a doctor or a pharmacologist, I will normally suggest to a client that perhaps their weight gain (or struggle to lose weight) is affected by their medication(s). Typically a follow-up with the doctor can unveil things that may not have been immediately apparent.

So, the medications were one obstacle. The other was Jane’s social life. You see, Jane has a bit of a stressful job and she and her husband have a large circle of friends they often hang out with. When she gets done with work, and definitely on the weekends, she and her husband will generally cut loose and go nuts. So Jane and I talked about what other things she could change in her diet so that she didn’t have to restrict too much on the weekends.

Over the next couple of months, Jane would tell me about all of the baby steps she was taking to get her diet in order. Each time we would step on the scale, the weight kept creeping up. We would chat about what more could be done but I could tell that mentally, she just wasn’t there yet.

One evening during one of her sessions, I asked Jane if she would mind that I reach out to her husband. I really wanted to see what more could be done to keep her on track and get her focused on her goals. Since her husband had expressed his excitement when she started, I was hoping he would be able to help me help her.

Jane was okay with it so I connected with her husband to express some of my concerns. Fortunately, he was on board but he also knew that the weekends were when things appeared to get out of hand the most.

When Jane came back in, she mentioned that she had a doctor’s appointment coming up and asked if there was anything that she should talk to her doctor about regarding medication. I told her some of my concerns and we agreed that maybe solving some of the dosage questions could bridge the gap with weight loss.

The next morning, I drafted a letter for Jane to give to her doctor. She never asked me to do it, I just wanted to write something simply from my perspective in efforts to get the doctor on the same page and to hopefully open up some doors of communication so that Jane could start seeing the results she was paying for.

I sent the letter to Jane and said “You don’t have to take this to your doctor if you don’t want. I wrote it because I genuinely care that you get to where you want to be. If this letter helps, I’m happy to have written it.”

Jane did take the letter to her doctor and he did mention some places where medication could have been taking her down the wrong road. He referenced a diet that he thought Jane might want to consider and gave her the option of either following his food plan or following the one she and I had discussed.

Jane and I discussed both options and while she wasn’t sure she could restrict to the level of her doctor’s food plan she still wasn’t quite ready to change her lifestyle either.

Until last week.

Jane came in for one of her sessions and she said “I’m going to try a week.”

“A week of what?” I asked.

“A week of not drinking. I would try for a month but I think that would be too hard for me. So, I’m going to try and not drink for a week.”

“Ok!” I said, “Give it a try and let’s see what happens. Worst case, if you happen to drink before the week is up, try and minimize the damage. If one night gets crazy, get back on track the next day and try again. Just don’t beat yourself up and let one night turn into two or three on the same path.”

The good news? Jane made it almost one full week without drinking.

The better news? When she did drink, she kept it to a minimum and called it a night.

The best news? For the first time since she started, Jane’s effort over that one week showed on the scale. She finally lost weight.

The great thing about Jane’s story is not that there was some secret solution. The medication was a piece of the puzzle but not a silver bullet. Jane made a conscious decision of her own accord to change what she felt was the most damaging aspect of her diet.

In my mind, perhaps one week of sobriety was too challenging. In 12-step programs, the motto is “one day at a time.” However, I applaud Jane’s attempt to right the ship. I know what she is capable of when she puts her mind to it. I believe that when (not if) she fully commits to her progress, she’ll be able to find the perfect balance between the crazy weekends and the not-so-crazy weeks. Does she have to adhere to total sobriety to see the progress she wants? Not necessarily. But the fact that she was rewarded on the scale when she dedicated herself to the change for a handful of days is promising.

For you, maybe drinking isn’t the issue. Maybe it’s a food that you crave or over-consume. All that matters is that you can diagnose the issue and come up with a plan to solve it.

I know in Jane’s case, it was really awesome to see the glimmer when she saw the weight come down.

Now it’s a matter of stringing together a sustainable plan to keep seeing those numbers come down.

And if Jane says she can do it, I’ll believe her.

And just in case, you’re wondering, Jane’s not pictured below. These are just some of our awesome RevLadies after their workout. 🙂

 

Amy Vandeputte of “Fast Forward Amy” fame hops on this week’s episode with me. If you’ve not heard of her yet, you can say you got your initiation through this show! Amy is steadily booming in the fitness industry by tapping into not only her native Belgium but also branching out to America and beyond as well. In this episode, we discuss how Amy began her business and what is making her stand out from the crowd. To connect with Amy and see what she’s doing, check out http://www.fastforwardamy.com To learn more about your host, please visit http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and check out our new Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

iTunes OR Stitcher OR iHeartRadio

*The title of this post was taken from the Guns N’ Roses song of the same name*

A fair amount of time elapsed from the time Chris first sat down in a consultation with me until he decided to sign up and get started. We had several mutual friends in common and I’m sure it helped that Chris saw those friends get good results here at the studio.

One of the hangups was that Chris wasn’t really interested in exercise. Nothing about it seemed particularly intriguing to him. So, even though he wanted to lose weight and get his body in a better place, the thought of exercise was not desirable.

We would stay in touch via social media over those months and little by little, Chris was teasing the thought of getting started. Even when it seemed like he would begin, he shared his hesitation by stating, “We’ll see if I can stick with this…”

Chris began and we had a very candid conversation about what needed to happen with his food plan. Like many people, I think Chris felt he would try to adhere to the plan making as few changes as possible. Typically, that bites clients in the ass. Calling it what it is, you either decide your in or your out. Calories don’t discriminate.

However, by replacing copious amounts of soft drinks with water and getting the food under control, Chris started dropping fat mass very quickly. Not only that, he barely plateaued. In the 2 months since he started, he’s lost just shy of 20lbs. That may or may not sound impressive to you, but I will tell you this: I generally don’t see people who have as little fat mass to lose as he does lose it so quickly.

Chris is literally just a few pounds away from his maintenance goal and he did it in the blink of an eye. No flashy supplements, no über-intense exercise regimen, literally no gimmicks.

I must say, Chris has had it “easy.”

Now, Chris himself may not say it’s been easy for him to do. I believe some days he really had to deal with the fact that a certain amount of hunger was going to be the new norm for a while. Some days were easier than others.

I will also mention that since Chris didn’t have a history of dieting, his body may have just been agreeable with his efforts to drop. Should he lose sight of his goals and regain everything he’s lost, Chris might find himself in the position many others do. That cycles of dieting have a potential of not yielding as promising of results with each successive try.

While the body will continue to fight for homeostasis, many people on their weight loss journey can find it significantly more difficult to lose the same weight that Chris has lost in the same amount of time.

But please don’t forget that detail I mentioned above: Chris committed to the plan and he saw almost immediate results. For someone who was not very motivated to exercise, Chris has had enough momentum to make him a believer.

Once he hits his weight loss goal, we’ll boost his calories back up and let him adjust to a maintenance phase for a while. After a couple of months, we’ll start strategically pushing the calories up so he can slowly build some muscle mass back onto his frame. That part, I’ve told him, will be a much slower process.

So, back to the title of the post. Weight loss isn’t easy. It is one of the hardest things the average individual could ask their body to do. For no other reason than, it takes a lot of consistent effort to get you where you want to be. The more fat mass you have to lose, the longer you would feasibly be on that journey. The rules may be simple in theory, the execution rarely is.

For people like Chris, he can thank his genetics, his adherence to the plan and maybe a little bit of beginner’s luck. I have to say, his results have been incredibly inspiring.

You’d have to ask Chris how much he imbibed on that drink he’s representing in the picture below. 🙂

 

 

She’s steadily conquering the world with better food options, sustainable planning, and the tips to make women succeed with their diets. I’m joined this week with Leslie Ann Quillen of Fat Loss Foodies to talk about why her program has been so successful. We discuss her online cooking program and why it works so well for the busy women who are trying to prepare meals that work for their families and for themselves. Balancing a realistic approach to cooking while also considering how hormones can affect the outcomes, Leslie Ann shares the concepts that have helped her help others succeed. To learn more about Leslie Ann and Fat Loss Foodies, check out http://www.fatlossfoodies.com or link up with Fat Loss Foodies on Instagram and Facebook. To learn more about your host, visit http://www.jasonleenaarts.com Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

iTunes OR Stitcher OR iHeartRadio

*The title of this post was taken from the Muddy Waters song of the same name*

Two years into my ten year addiction to drugs I was already in rehab.

It was something of a surreal experience.

I was on a co-ed floor of the hospital where the men were mostly recovering alcoholics and the women were mostly recovering crack addicts. The only thing we all had in common was the intent or execution of self harm.

Despite these facts, you could not convince me that I had a drug problem. I looked at the patients I shared the floor with and thought,

“YOU all have problems. I just need to get out of here.”

Denial is a funny thing.

It didn’t matter that they made us attend AA or NA meetings. I said the words, heard some stories, and felt sincere sympathy for other peoples struggles. There were people battling greater demons than I knew how to fathom at 22 years old.

The strangest thing about being a drug addict for all of those years was that I continued to see other people fall down a hole they didn’t know how to get out of. I just kept thinking I was invincible because I hadn’t overdosed or been arrested.

The fact of the matter was that I wasn’t invincible and I truly believe that ten years of shoveling every drug I could get my hands on into my system did damage I may not ever be able to undo.

All that aside, if you’re reading this now, you know that I came out of all this without a lot of scars.

How did I succeed at getting clean?

I was ready.

It didn’t matter to me that I was damaging relationships, my health and affecting my job performance. It didn’t matter that family and friends had suggested, implied or begged me to go clean. And for most of those ten years, it didn’t matter that I couldn’t pay all of my bills as long as I had money to support my habits.

I just finally had all I could take. So, I changed.

Does any of this sound familiar?

Maybe you’re someone who has allowed some patterns of addiction or a lack of appropriate coping skills to rule their lives. Maybe every time you felt sad, frustrated, unloved, unaccepted or stressed, you used food to comfort you (like I did with drugs.)

Granted, there are not many clients I’ve come across who have ever been drug addicts. But many people have let some self-destructive patterns dictate their well-being. Many of them come through our doors READY for change. So, we help them change.

And many come through are doors BELIEVING they are ready for change. But they’re not.

That’s not a bad or good thing. They’re just not ready yet.

Sometimes you can tweak a diet or get someone rolling with exercise. They lose some weight, start feeling better about themselves and ride that momentum as far as it will carry them.

Others have to sift a bit. They’re constantly dipping their toes in the proverbial water to decide “Am I jumping in or just splashing around?”

We’re happy to take any one on either end of the spectrum. We can’t change everyone but we’ve worked hard to build a community that has support coming from all angles.

Maybe you can take a cue from Mr. Slow-Learner over here.

Try not to take ten years to get your act together and start making yourself a priority again. Then again, maybe you’ve spent longer than ten years and you need to take a step back to ask yourself:

Am I ready?

Because if you are, then we’re ready for you.

Oh yeah…and this is Stephannie. She’s down 17lbs and counting. Suffice to say, she’s ready.

I have the great pleasure of sharing some time with Christian Finn from Muscle Evo this week. Knowing that he had so much information to share from decades in the fitness industry, we whittled it down to the questions he typically helps clients with regarding fat loss. This is an awesome episode and Christian has some great tips to share that will help anyone who might be struggling on their journey. To connect with Christian and learn more about his excellent products, check out http://www.muscleevo.net To learn more about your host, check out http://www.jasonleenaarts.com and like our new Facebook page for the podcast at http://www.facebook.com/revolutionaryou Download, subscribe, share with your friends and please take a moment to leave us an iTunes review.

iTunes OR Stitcher OR iHeartRadio