1. Eat Less – This one sounds obvious but it can’t be stressed enough. The only way to lose weight is burn more calories than you consume. One easy way of doing this is eating less. As a matter of fact the only way any of the popular diets cause weight loss is because you end up eating less while you follow them. It doesn’t matter if the diet is low carb, high protein or low fat. As long as you are eating less calories than your basal requirement you will lose weight. The easiest and most effective calorie reducing system I have come across is Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon.
2. Do High Intensity Exercise – High intensity whole body circuit training will ensure that you are burning lots of calories and working all the muscles in your body. This works better than traditional ‘cardio’ workouts for 2 reasons. First high intensity circuits burn more calories than ‘cardio’ can. Two, they build and tone muscle which keeps your metabolism up.
3. Get A Weight Loss Team – Social Support is the most important factor to realizing your weight loss goals. Get as many of your close friends and family on your side as possible. The more people that are pulling for your success the better. Make sure you always have at least two or three people to call that will help keep you on track when you feel like skipping a workout or cheating on your nutrition plan.
4. Eat more Fruits And Vegetables – This seems a bit simple but its one of the most effective things you can do to lose weight. Fruits and veggies take up lots of space in your stomach and fill you up without adding too many calories. They will also take the place of some high sugar and high fat foods you may have eaten instead.
5. Set Short Term Goals – Short term goal setting is often overlooked and is a powerful tool to realizing your eventual long term weight loss goal. Set multiple and attainable short term goals, and the shorter the better. At the start set goals for each day, morning evening and night. Set short term goals for finishing each one of your workouts, as well as for eating your fruits and vegetables. Set them each day, and mark it down each time you achieve one. As you build up your list of goals you have accomplished you will build up confidence and momentum towards your overall long term weight loss goal. Keep the list somewhere safe and keep marking down each goal as you achieve it. After a few weeks you should have a nice looking list of accomplishments to be proud of. Remember, every little bit counts. 

This video makes me laugh. 

Now, this video is funny but even funnier is the fact that some trainers do these same exercises.  Don't get me wrong...I think balance training is important and incorporating it into your program is great.  The thing is, if you can do the same thing at home on a toy, why would you pay $60+ to do this for an hour at the gym?

Maybe spending time on things that make a bigger difference, like calisthenics and weight training, would be a better use of your time...and money.

That's all for today,

Dan Webster


Dan is a boot camp instructor and personal trainer in West Vancouver, BC.  He specializes in small group training and bootcamps. His knowledge and use of kettlebells and other unique exercise tools and techniques makes him one of the busiest personal trainers on the north shore.