There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings about the best way to burn body fat and look great in your “skinny jeans”. The bottom line is that it is your daily habits that create your body, not just a temporary diet that you don’t stick with or a workout program that you do every other week if you have time.   It’s not just one thing you are participating in that is making you unfit, it’s many. 

If you change what you do and what you eat every day, this is called a lifestyle change. This overall change will affect you long term.  If you go on a diet that will be impossible to stay on the rest of your life or start another exercise plan that you give yourself permission to stop when you get bored or busy, then you should expect your body to return to its present state.  You might be weight challenged because you sit a desk for eight hours. If so, you will have to come up with some creative ways to get in some movement during the day.  It might also be that you skip too many meals which in turn will promote fat storage.  The list is endless, but the reality is that if you are more that five to ten pounds overweight, this is an indication that a lifestyle overhaul may be due.

An evaluation with a personal trainer might be a good place to start help put together a plan. A trainer should test your levels of health and fitness by giving you a variety of assessments to help establish a clear understanding of several aspects of your present state of fitness. The following should be measured before designing a program and deciding what would be best for you to reach your goals: blood pressure, body fat vs. lean mass, measurements, cardio respiratory screening, flexibility screening, posture analyses, strength test of core abdominals and back, and a strength test for upper body.

Now that we have established that it is your life style that is making you unfit, here are aspects that you will need to consider as part of your plan for getting fit and becoming a fat burner!

1.      Weight Training - Cardiovascular alone may help you loose weight, but as you age, maybe not. As we age our muscles atrophy approximately 5 lbs. of muscle tissue every ten years.  This is due to the aging process, poor nutritional habits, and lack of a resistance program.  Five pounds of muscle is equal to burning or not burning 300 calories daily.  The next time you hear someone say “my metabolism is slowing down as I get older” now you know one of the reasons why.  If you start or maintain a weight training program along with nutrition, you'll be able to increase about 5 lbs. of muscle tissue in approximately 3 months to a year depending on your genetics and other factors. 

2.      Cardiovascular - Question: What is the most effective cardiovascular workout?  Answer: The one that you actually do! Another factor to consider when doing a cardiovascular routine is the use of a heart rate monitor. A heart rate monitor will help you monitor that you are working at  65-705% of your maximum heart rate. This is called a target heart rate zone for fat burning. Heart Rate monitors can be programmed to alarm when you are training over or under your heart rate range and no longer having the most effective fat burning work out.

3.      Nutrition- Weight loss on many of the popular diet plans is about reducing calories or carbohydrates drastically. The weight loss is temporary water- not fat. After the initial weight loss, the body will then use muscle for more weight loss temporarily. Reduced muscle means you’re burning fewer calories.  Studies show that 95% of the people who go on a diet gain it all back plus more causing the yo-yo effect of dieting that occurs. A meal plan that considers quality of nutrition, the balance of vitamins and calories is essential to the long term success of weight loss.

4.      Motivation- If you can’t stay on a program, body fat will continue to be your nemeses.  The feeling of motivation to lose weight or exercise might help you get started, but motivation always fades at some point. Realize that when this happens, you need to have your schedule in place and support that will help to encourage you. A certified and experienced personal trainer is an excellent person to help you to develop strategies when motivation fades.

5.      Support systems - A common trait among individuals who make and keep healthy lifestyle changes is that they have a strong network of friends, family, places, and programs that they can rely on to keep them motivated and inspired to help them in their participation and continued success.  Who ever said being healthy should be easy, or it should just come natural?  Many people think that if they fall of the wagon, if they don't achieve success fast and easy, or if they become bored and monotonous, they should just quit.  Healthy people who have developed life long weight control and good health have developed HABITS. They all have excellent support systems to help them along the way.

By Carolyn Phillips

Carolyn Phillips has a 20 year history as a certified personal trainer with the American Council on Exercise (ACE) and Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant, teaching lifestyle management, nutrition, weight training, cardiovascular, fitness testing, and behavior modification.  Carolyn is featured on WFSB Channel 3’s, Better CT and on radio 96.5 TIC FM with Damon Scott as the fitness expert every Wednesday.

Carolyn Phillips is founder and CEO of Fit Behavior (http://www.fitbehavior.com) and. Carolyn’s Menu of Life (http://www.Caroylnsmenuoflife.com) The facility has a 13 -year history and has been awarded winner of the best place to workout and best Pilate’s studio by the Hartford Magazine and voted best by The Hartford Advocate for its nutrition and cardio program. Carolyn won the prestigious 40 Under Forty award from the Hartford Business Journal for outstanding leadership in the greater Hartford area.

Carolyn has over 25 years of combined comprehensive sports and education experience.

• ·         2000-2010 ACE Certified Personal Trainer
• ·         2010 ACE Certified Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant
• ·         2007-2010 Featured on Better CT Channel 3 as a Fitness Expert
• ·         2009-2010 96.5 TIC FM's Damon Scott radio show as the weekly Fitness Expert
• ·         2007-2010 The Mary Jones Radio Show, WDRC-AM 1360 - guest Fitness Expert
• ·         2008-2010 West Hartford Community Television - Fitness Expert and Group Instructor on air
• ·         1990-2010 Guest Speaker on ESPN, WHCN, WCCC, WDRC
• ·         2002-2010  President - Board of Directors at Chrysalis Center Inc.
• ·         2009 BS in Organizational Leadership, Quinnipiac University
• ·         2007-2008 Published writer for Natural Nutmeg Magazine
• ·         2007-2008 Nutmeg Community Television - Fitness Expert and Group Instructor on air
• ·         2000 40 Under 40 Award from the Hartford Business Journal
• ·         2004 Licensed Professional Mountain Biker
• ·         1998-2004 CT State and Regional Mountain Bike Champion
• ·         1990-1997 CT State Bodybuilding Champion and National Competitor
• ·         1974-1980 VT State Gymnastic Champion and Junior Olympics Competitor
• ·         3 years coursework in Health Sciences

·         Currently studying for Master's Degree in Nutrition

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