An Alwyn Fat Loss Rant

By Alwyn Cosgrove

This week I’ve heard more excuses as to why people are not losing fat than I have ever heard in my life. I have literally heard people tell their trainers, “I’m following the nutrition program exactly, but instead of an egg white omelet for breakfast, I have a muffin and a latte.” Hmmm…not “exactly” the same thing, is it?

So I thought this would be a good time to share some of my ‘wisdom” with those of you still looking for the magic pill. Having worked with hundreds of individuals over the years and as a trainer, magazine writer, and lecturer to other fitness professionals, I’m amazed at how often I am asked, “What are the secrets to fat loss?”

I can vividly remember doing a photo shoot at our gym with a male client who had lost 85 lbs of fat and now had a nice six-pack to show off for his efforts. My own gym members came up and asked me what his “secret” was. The answer—THERE'S NO SECRET.

They seemed to think that I'd given him the “real” information and had withheld it from them! He's been given the same advice that I give to everyone else. He just chose to follow it a little more closely. Fat loss isn’t under the control of the magic fat loss fairies. It's based on simple changes in behavior.

I thought I would take this opportunity to launch into an Alwyn Cosgrove rant. Those of you who are politically correct and easily offended, stop reading now. And if the rest of you are offended, I'm sure there is a new diet book that will tell you exactly what to do to achieve fat loss nirvana. (Here’s a hint—“You have to eat less, fat boy” tends not to fill up a 300-page diet book). So put down your copy of “Eat Right for Your IQ” and listen up.

To lose fat, eat less calories than you burn. Yes, there are some factors that can make this a little more difficult such as metabolic type, medical disorders, food sensitivities, medications, sleep patterns, etc. However, these are the minutiae—the small details. Even if you adjust or control for every single other variable in your body and your environment, if you consume more calories than you burn, you are going to gain fat.

Here are a few basic truths that no one really wants to hear:

• Think about the foods that you are about to consume. Are they going to bring you closer to your goal? Or will they make you feel like crap and take you farther away from what you want? Yeah, I know that when you were younger before you had kids you could eat blah, blah, blah and not gain weight. Too bad. Times have changed.

And I know your friend can eat whatever he or she wants and is in great shape. Yay for them. That sucks for you. But no amount of whining will change the fact that you need to work to get your   butt in shape.

• Stop rushing your meals. Eat slowly. This will give your body a chance to actually realize that you've eaten and register that you’re full. It takes 20 minutes for the satiety mechanisms to kick in. Give your body a chance to tell you that it's full before you cram another 500 calories in your pie hole.

• Eat smaller portions. Unfortunately you can’t eat unlimited amounts of the food you would like and still get lean. Sorry. Second helpings? I seriously doubt it. Appetizers, main course, and dessert? You're kidding me.

• Make correct meal choices that contain appropriate servings of protein, carbohydrates, and fats. I love the new “low carb diet” options at most restaurant chains now. A steak with melted cheese on the top. That's not a diet food people. I also saw a low carb buffalo wings option. The difference? No carrots to dip in the blue cheese. Like that's your problem…too many carrots in your diet. A big ass bowl of pasta? That's what marathon runners eat the night before the race. If you have a marathon planned tomorrow, go ahead. If not, you don't need the calories.

• “You are what you eat” is a true statement. And it wouldn't surprise me to find out that some of you have eaten a fat bastard or two in your time. Are you a lean serving of protein or a saggy nasty sausage?

• If certain foods are a “trigger” for you and you can’t eat them sensibly, then you have to give them up. I have known very few people who can eat their “trigger” food and not end up blowing their diet. Once you “pop” you can't stop, right? Usually one cookie means the whole bag. You can't be trusted so don't have them in the house.

• You do not need something sweet to finish your meal. This is a conditioned response from your childhood days when cleaning your plate meant ice cream. “Need” something sweet? Do you realize how much you just ate? You don’t need anything. Dessert is not a physiological need for survival. It is just a bad habit. Habits can be broken. You do not need the cheesecake.

• Do not buy junk food. If it is there, you will eat it. If you have a craving for candy and there's none in the house, it's highly unlikely that you'll get up and go to the store. You'll just sit your ass back down and finish watching American Idol. Oh and buying the junk food “for the kids” is an absolute bullshit excuse. The kids do not need the cheezy poofs either. In my opinion, the childhood obesity epidemic has been caused by parents buying shit for their children. It's essentially child abuse, plain and simple. Depriving your kids of crap is a good parenting decision.

• If you screw up a meal, do not, I repeat DO NOT try to adjust the next meal to “make up for it.” All you’ll do is screw up two meals. If you overeat at meal number one, just get back on track. Immediately. Because thinking, “Well, I’ve blown it now so I might as well REALLY blow it” is akin to getting a flat tire as you drive down the freeway, getting out, and totaling your car.

• Cookies, doughnuts, and muffins are crap food choices. You can't ever justify eating them on a regular basis. And low carb, fat-free cookies, doughnuts, and muffins are still crap. Don't kid yourself.

• Yes, you can eat fast food. It's called grilled chicken sandwiches or a turkey sub, Jarod. Fries? No. And you do not need to “super size” for an extra 50 cents.

Yes, it's hard. Do you want to look great? Nothing tastes as good as lean and buff feels. It's true. This week I've heard, “It's too hard. I want an easier diet.” What that means is, “I'd rather eat crappy foods than look or feel any better. I have made a conscious decision to get fatter because my love for junk food is a more powerful love than my desire to get lean.” It's unfortunate, but you will have to work for the body you want.

Little changes add up. Switching from a glass of orange juice every morning to a cup of green tea will save you 100 calories per day. That adds up to over ten pounds of fat loss per year. Little discrepancies add up too. A Big Mac meal is about 1500 calories. You'll have to walk 15 miles to balance that out.

If you aren't a fat loss expert, hire one. Or follow a plan written by one. I wrote a 16-week all inclusive fat loss program called Afterburn that includes nutrition, cardio, and weight training. Using this approach means you can’t fail. You just need to follow the program. I'm amazed at how many people STILL ask me how they can get single-digit lean. The information is out there people.

This is by no means a complete list, but I think you're probably getting the point. There is no secret to fat loss. At any one time, your body is either getting leaner or it's getting fatter. You just need to adjust the balance. In today's world, it just takes a little effort on your part.

However, if you want to eat whatever you want, you have two choices.

1) Move  a lot. A LOT.

2) Gain weight, get fat, accept it, and stop complaining.

And if you want to look great, the keys to fat loss are (from my politically incorrect colleague, Lyle McDonald):

• Change your eating habits so that you're eating less.
• Change your activity patterns so that you're expending more calories.
• Repeat the above two. Keep doing this over a long period of time.
• Forever.

Newsflash. You don't EVER get to go back to your old eating habits unless you want to get fat again. In order to maintain weight loss, you have to maintain at least part of the changes that you made in your eating habits and activity patterns.

It really is that simple. If you are not losing fat, it's YOUR fault. It's not mine, it's not your trainer, it's not your husband, wife, kids, or your boss. It's YOU. There are 168 hours in each week no matter who you are. Maybe you train for three of them. That leaves 165 for you to completely blow it.

If you are not good at self discipline, hire someone who will make you accountable. Until then, realize that the choices are yours. Getting really lean is not difficult in terms of knowing what to do. It's doing it that makes the difference.

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Alwyn Cosgrove is a Tae kwon-do international champion. He has utilized his personal experience as an athlete and combined it with the advanced theories of European sports science and the principles of modern strength and conditioning systems. He has worked with a wide variety of clientele including several Olympic and national level athletes, five world champions, and professionals in a multitude of sports such as boxing, martial arts, soccer, ice skating, football, fencing, triathlon, rugby, bodybuilding, dance, and fitness competition. For more information, visit Alwyn’s website at: http://www.alwyncosgrove.com.

Elite Fitness Systems strives to be a recognized leader in the strength training industry by providing the highest quality strength training products and services while providing the highest level of customer service in the industry. For the best training equipment, information, and accessories, visit us at www.EliteFTS.com.