What's a Good Pre-Workout Snack? Q&A of The Week

Every week I answer a question or questions that are sent in to me regarding fat burning, weight loss, diet, fitness and or the Fat X Program (FX12).  This week's question was sent in via my Facebook and is regarding a pre-workout snack or meal.

Hey Coach,

I've recently started your program and I'm having a hard time with a pre-workout meal or snack to get me through the workout.  What's a good pre-workout snack?

Thanks,

Todd

Todd, I've had good success with having a small snack about an hour before my workout.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Peanut butter and jelly on one slice of whole wheat toast

Fruit and a handful of mixed nuts

Protein smoothie 

Small chicken breast sandwich with avocado

The key to a pre-workout snack is to eat something packed with nutrition, especially with at least some protein.  You also want something light, so that it digests before you actually begin your workout.  There's nothing worse than doing a tough workout with a full stomach.

Replacement Fat X Exercises

I often get messages from people that are doing the Fat X Program (FX 12) and they are concerned because they don't have the necessary equipment to do the exercises.  Here's a list of the most common exercises in the Fat X Program that people need replaced due to lack of equipment.

Pull Ups: If you can't do pull ups, or don't have the equipment to do pull downs, you can replace them with another pulling or upper back exercise like rows.  You can also use rubber tubing. (FX Day 3)

Sand Bag Slam:  If you don't have a sand bag, you can use a medicine ball, or make a heavy slamming object with old rags wrapped up in duct tape.  You can place something heavy in the middle to make the exercise more demanding.  The sandbag I use in my FX Boot Camp is currently about 35 lbs. (FX Day 12)

Bench Crawl:  You don't necessarily need to crawl under a bench, you can just crawl for a short distance. (FX Day 6)

For any exercise that requires dumbbells, you can either use a barbell or heavy water jugs.  You can also use dumbbells instead of a barbell.  (FX Day 2)

Don't let the lack of equipment stop you from getting in a good workout, burning the fat and losing that unwanted weight.  Be creative.  There's all kinds of things you can use to add resistance. 

Fat Burning Diet Killers Part 2

In part 1 I discussed one of the foods most people believe to be great when on a weight loss or fat burning diet.  I also discussed how it does have health benefits, but can actually be detrimental to your fat loss goals.  In this post, I'll expose the other top fat burning diet killer food that is hurting most peoples fat burning and weight loss goals.

Granola has long been assumed to be a health food.  And, just like yogurt, it does have some health benefits.  But let's look at what granola actually is, and how it can hurt your fat burning and weight loss goals.

Granola refers to baked rolled oats that are sweetened in some way.  Sounds pretty natural and healthy right?  Well, maybe not so much if you look deeper.  Depending on the fruit and nuts that are mixed into the granola, it will contain a good amount of fiber and other vitamins and nutrients.  Here's the problem, most granola is packed with excess sugar and oil (fat) to make the taste more appealing.  So while you are getting in a good amount of healthy nutrients, you are also adding excess sugar and fat to your diet.  Obviously that's not what you want to do when you're on a mission to burn fat and lose weight.

It's not that granola is bad, it's that over consuming it in your diet will add extra sugar for you body to digest and use.  And what happens when your body doesn't utilize those extra calories/sugar?  Yup, straight to the fat deposits on your body to be stored as fat.

In part 3 I'll discuss how you can implement both yogurt and granola in a healthier and more fat burning goal oriented diet plan.

Is There A Nutrition Program? Q&A Of The Week

Every week I answer a question or questions that are sent in to me regarding fat burning, weight loss, diet, fitness and or the Fat X Program (FX12).  I took last week off but I'm back this week with a question that was e-mailed in and is regarding a nutrition program.

Hi Coach!! I was   recently introduced to ur site and your workout  routine. I gotta tell you Im pretty excited.....I'm 37 years old and have three children under the age of 7. All are a year and a half apart. I'm 5'2 and am weighing in at 140lbs which has become a huge complex in my life. I carry most of my weight in my mid section and can understand that having three regnancy's back to back can take a toll on your body. I was told that the only way that i can have my tummy flat again would be through surgery because im abs are split.Im afraid of going under the knife and I dont want to have to resort to the knife as my way out ,unless I really need to. "i need help" Is there any way that along with your workout program,that I can follow some kind of a nutrition program?Exactly what i should and how much i should eat every day? I know that portion control is a factor for me, and I know that even though its good for u it doesnt mean you can eat it all. I just want my old body back and want to be trim lean and healthy.  I really look forward to hearing from you and appreciate any help that I could get!! Thanks again

Lauren R.

Lauren, the Fat X Program is not just the workout routines.  It's also the Fat X diet, which is more of an eating philosophy than a strict diet plan or program.  The links are on the left hand side and you can also check out my Fat X Approved Meals photo album on my Facebook.  The photos in the album are just an example to get you going.  

I hope that my sisters recent pictures serve as some motivation.  She had a lot of left over belly fat from her pregnancy and she was able to knock of 3 1/2 inches off in 12 days.  That's just a jump start.  Her results should continue, as I believe yours will.  

Burning Fat and Losing Weight With Fat X

My sister, like most people, stores most of her fat in her belly area.  After having a baby a year ago, she was having a lot of trouble losing the unwanted body fat.  If you've been following Fat X 101, you know I started her on the Fat X Program a couple of weeks ago.  Staturday was her 12th day, and I took final progress pictures Sunday.  Here are her results.

She lost 3 1/2 inches around her belly area, but most importantly she's developed a solid foundation that she can build off of.  She now knows what she should be eating most of the time, and has also increased her fitness level which will make it easier to burn fat and lose more weight as she continues on her fat loss and fitness journey.  

Fat Burning Diet Killers Part 1

Over the years I've come across two foods that totally kill a fat burning diet and bring the fat losing and weight loss to a screeching halt.  What's even worse is that most people consider these two foods healthy, or great for when you're on a fat burning and or weight loss diet.  While these two foods might have health benefits, they are terrible when you're trying to burn the fat and lose that unwanted weight.

First up is yogurt.  Health conscious folk usually advocate the implementation of yogurt into your diet because of it's good bacteria and it's beneficial effect on your digestive system. It also contains some protein,vitamins and minerals.  That's all good news, but now for the bad.

Yogurt contains sugar, and not that sugar is a totally bad thing, but when you're trying to lose fat on a fat burning diet, you want to minimize excess sugar in your diet so that you can burn stored fat for energy.  Now we've gotten to the big problem with yogurt.  Most yogurt products on the market have huge amounts of sugar.  

Let's take a look at Yoplait strawberry yogurt as an example.  A six ounce serving has 170 calories.  All the calorie counting fans out there are saying "great, only 170 calories".  But wait, let's take a closer look.  In that six ounce 170 calorie serving of yogurt there are 33 grams of carbohydrates, 27 grams of those coming from simple sugars.  That's a lot of sugar for only 6 ounces of food.

Here's the really bad part.  You're body will digest those six ounces of yogurt relatively quickly, meaning you will soon be hungry and probably craving more sugar.  Now that sugar has to go somewhere once it's digested.  If it's not being burned off in some sort of energy requiring activity, it's going to be stored.  And where is it going to be stored?  Yup, on your body as fat.  All bad if you're trying to burn fat and lose weight.  

Check in on part 2 where I'll discuss the other fat burning diet killer, and ways to include those foods in your diet while making them more fat burning friendly.

What Fat Burner? Q&A of The Week

Every week I answer a question or questions that are sent in to me regarding fat burning, weight loss, diet, fitness and or the Fat X Program (FX12).  This week's question was e-mailed in and is in regards to using a fat burning supplement.

Hi Coach,

Last time I did the Fat X Program (FX 12) I lost 11 lbs and almost two inches off my waist and belly area.  It took me 15  days to complete because I did as you recommended and added in extra active rest days when I was too sore to continue.  My diet wasn't that great so this time around I want to concentrate more on the diet and I also want to try a fat burning supplement.  Which fat burning supplement would you recommend?

Thanks a bunch,

Lisa

Lisa, congrats on completing the Fat X Program at least once.  Now that you have the hang of it, you can improve on the things you could have done better and shoot for even better results. While a fat burning supplement is not necessary, I get this question a lot and decided it was important to point people in the right direction once they've decided to try a fat burner.

Last year I had Aleene use Lipo-6 and it worked well for her.  Last winter I also had Subject X use Lipo-6 during his Fat X Project and although he had a terrible diet, it seemed to help him get good results.  I chose to recommend Lipo-6 because of the proven ingredients that it contains, green tea, caffeine and a few others.  

Just remember that a fat burner is a supplement to a workout and diet program and not a substitute.  Good luck with your next run through the FX 12 and your next Fat X Project.

Burned The Fat

I completed my most recent run through the FX 12 last Thursday and I took pictures of my completed Fat X Project Friday morning.  I managed to burn off most of the fat I had gained to start off this summer so I'm pretty happy with that, but like always I think I could have done better.

My diet went pretty well except for one or two days where I don't think I ate enough vegetables.  As always, I supplemented with protein just to make sure I had enough to feed my muscles adequately without getting in excess calories coming from fat and carbs. Getting in enough protein is always high on my priority list when it comes to my diet.  This time around I also supplemented with creatine to help with my strength. 

Now that I'm back on track with my summer body, it's time to work on another public Fat X project.  My sister has been bugging me to put her through the FX 12 and I've finally given in.  I'll be starting her tomorrow. I'll be posting her before and after pics in a couple of weeks when she's done with the FX 12 and her Fat X project.