Congratulations on the success The Biggest Loser has had … 8 seasons and counting.

There is nothing more gratifying than helping people work towards and achieve their goals. There is nothing better than helping people transform their lives. And you get to witness people doing this in BIG, meaningful ways.

Lose 100+ pounds?

Reverse, even ELIMINATE disease?

Compete to win hundreds of thousands of dollars?

Yep, those are life changers.

But the contestants on the show represent only a small fraction of the people who need to lose weight. And so while you have your work cut out for you with several 400+ lb individuals on the show this season, all of us in the fitness industry have a huge responsibility.

And this is where we don’t think you’re helping.

One of the things we’ve learned from working in obesity research and our work with all shapes and sizes of women, is that people who believe in themselves accomplish HUGE things. Push clients, for sure…

…make them work as hard as they possibly can…

but above all empower them.

With that said, we were appalled at how you represented the fitness profession.

Screaming the f’ word repeatedly in someone’s face doesn’t empower them.

Yelling at a nearly 500 pound woman and telling her she is essentially worthless and full of useless excuses doesn’t empower women (or men for that matter).

Demeaning people and belittling them is not an effective training strategy.

And while we’re sure this wasn’t solely your decision, asking people who are 400+ pounds to race 1 mile for a prize to ’start’ the show, with 2 of them ending up in the hospital, surely doesn’t encourage people to get off the couch and start moving.

We get it – it’s TV. And it is reality TV at that –where hype and over the top sells. But we take issue with the “reality” term here. Nothing is real-life about it. Extreme dietary practices? Exercising 4-6 hours a day? Being isolated from family, friends and work? It’s exploitive TV. Hmmm, let’s take a few individuals who are struggling to lose weight and create a million dollar business around them. A few (hopefully) MIGHT be successful long-term. More will be successful short-term. And others will sacrifice whatever is left of their self-esteem because they were voted off and “failed” to become “The Biggest Loser.” It’s a title we don’t buy into anyway.

And can we talk about the training sessions? It doesn’t take an expert to know that people shouldn’t vomit when working out. That’s NOT a sign of a good workout – but of one that is poorly designed and innapropriate. Can it happen when working out? Sure…but it’s surely not something we’d encourage. You can take them out of their comfort zone without lunch ending up on the floor. And as far as motivating the masses? You’ve probably lost them on that one.

Who would want to go to a gym if they expected to throw up and get degraded? It isn’t necessary for results. Is it necessary for ratings? It must be.

What it really takes to be permanently successfully is a major mindset shift. But this mindset shift has to come from within the person. Not an external source, and surely not an external source who comes in the form of degrading comments and expletives. Teach people they are worth investing in themselves rather than beating them down.

Research shows people who are overweight or obese already have a lower self esteem; repeatedly suggesting they are "f’n lazy and worthless" isn’t supporting anything.

We hope the show can do what it’s intended to do. Help people in a positive way.

We have a major worldwide epidemic. 2/3 of Americans are overweight or obese. This is also a major epidemic in other countries around the world.

We’re not suggesting tip toeing through the tulips and pussyfooting around the issue. It’s a serious issue. And people need to take responsibility for THEMSELVES!

Excuses won’t get you anywhere.

Blaming personal health issues on others won’t help anything.

But supportive environments encourage permanent success. Positive reinforcement helps create habits.

So Jillian, please continue to push people to be their best. Please continue to join the good fight and help people transform their lives. But remember, you are supposed to be a qualified trainer. Not an actor. While reality TV sells, it doesn’t mean you have to sell out. Don’t give qualified health professionals a bad wrap for the sake of making a reality TV show. I do of course understand we only see the edited parts of the show … and I also understand that anyone who doesn’t want to watch it can turn it off.  I did.  I just don’t want people who struggle with their weight to get the wrong idea of what it takes to be successful.  

Sincerely,

The Team at Mohr Results

PS: Maybe we’re off and people do find her personality warm and supportive. Please let us know what you think!

I talked recently about the dangers of sugar – the ingredient that is single handedly killing us!

Well, lo and behold, the American Heart Association (AHA) stood up to the food industry earlier this month and essentially made eating and drinking a lot of items in the supermarket off-limits.

FINALLY!  

Sugar has earned a spot on the AHA’s black list — basically a "negative nutrient" that needs to be limited for your heart’s sake (and, really, every other organ in your body too).

Keep in mind that when we say "added sugars" — these are sweeteners that are used primarily in processed packaged foods and beverages—think sodas, fruit drinks, cereals, and desserts.  That doesn’t mean fruit, dairy, and veggies, which all have natural sugars.  So don’t take this as a suggestion to stop eating fruits and veggies.  That’s taking smart guidelines and applying them to what you may want to hear.

The AHA recommends that added sugar intake be limited to 100 calories (25 grams, or 6 teaspoons) per day for women, and to 150 calories (about 37 grams, or 9 teaspoons) per day for men.

Keep in mind that now, the average American eats over 350 calories each day in sugar alone (about 22 teaspoons,or nearly 3-12 oz cans of soda)!  Talk about a way to make sure you gaining belly fat and ruining your health!

Here’s the deal.

Adding sugar to your diet is like pouring mud down your throat.  Gross, right?  Yeah, they have about the same amount of nutrients — actually, the mud probably has more!

The study I’m referring to was published in AHA’s Scientific Journal, Circulation … and they talk about the link between high sugar intake and insulin resistance, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, and type 2 diabetes.  Of course we can also point to the increase in belly fat from eating too much sugar, which can lead to basically every other disease known to man.

Very simply, we are OVERFED YET UNDERNOURISHED!!!  And added sugars need to go.

In fact, the AHA has a very strong conclusion in their study: "There is sufficient evidence to link excessive sugar intake to the pandemic of obesity and cardiovascular disease."

Scary stuff.  That is, unless you’re not "in the know."

Tricks to limit added sugars

This is what I do to limit added sugars and make sure I don’t throw my overall "diet" in the toilet.

• Eat whole foods with a max of 5 ingredients each (preferably just 1 ingredient) — fruits, vegetables, raw nuts, grains, & fish, as each are void of added sugars.
• If it comes in a package, leave it on the shelf (think snacks, pastries, cookies, most breakfast cereals, etc)
• Leave a food on the shelf if it has any of these as the first few ingredients: brown sugar, corn sweetener, corn syrup, sugar (dextrose, fructose, glucose, sucrose), high-fructose corn syrup, honey, invert sugar, malt sugar, molasses, raw sugar, syrup.

And just to give you an idea — here are a few of the major culprits of added sugar in Americans’ diets.

• Regular soft drinks: 33% contribution to total added sugar intake
• Straight sugar and candy: 16%
• Cakes, cookies, pies: 13%
• Fruit drinks and “-ades” (not 100% fruit juice): 10%
• Dairy (watch out for sweetened yogurt and ice cream): 8.5%
• Grain-based foods (watch out for most breakfast cereals, waffles, and other similar foods): 6%

Kudos to the American Heart Association … most governing bodies haven’t stepped it up and made such a bold move.

Most "diets" tell you everything you shouldn’t eat.

I think that’s useless.

Who wants to think of deprivation?  Starvation?  Your goal isn’t to just burn belly fat, but it’s to burn belly fat FOREVER!

Who wants a quick fix diet that doesn’t last forever?

At Mohr Results, we focus on everything you SHOULD eat and include when trying to lose belly fat … and even when just trying to be the BEST physically and mentally.

So today I’m going to talk about 3 nutrients you’re not eating enough of and just how you can eat more, through real foods, since no one thinks in terms of "eating nutrients."

Vitamin D

Nutrition experts recently met again to see if the recommendation for this nutrient should be raised.  Most experts who study the vitamin agree that it should.

Why all the recent "noise" about this vitamin?  It’s been shown to help:

    * muscle strength
    * improve bone health
    * potentially play a role in reducing type 1 and 2 diabetes
    * slash fat loss
    * cancer prevention
    * Alzheimer’s
    * arthritis
    * decreasing falls with elderly
    * decrease inflammatory issues
    * And much, much more.
 

Our bodies make vitamin D from sunlight, but most people don’t get out enough … or when we do, we slather our bodies in suntan lotion so sun has no chance to hit our skin (I’m not saying don’t use sunblock, by the way).  
 
Believe it or not, Vitamin D deficiency is starting to resurface.  The problem is it is difficult to get from foods — milk is fortified, canned and wild salmon are good options, sardines, anchovies, egg yolks, liver, and only a few other foods provide decent quantities.  Unfortunately you’re probably not licking your lips thinking of sardines, washed down with a nice glass of milk, are you?  Me neither.  I do love salmon, though!

So what should we do?  

First, next time you go to your doctor, have them measure blood levels of Vitamin D — experts seem to suggest that levels should be at least 40 ng/dL for optimal health.  At Mohr Results, our goal is not to simply eat enough to prevent malnutrition, but rather aim to optimize health.
 
And this is one nutrient it might be wise to add as a supplement (1000 IU’s/day, unless your health care provider tells you differently).  Of course do try to include some of those foods, too, because you get other powerful nutrients in addition to D when eating whole foods.  A favorite product of ours is Nordic Naturals Ultimate-Omega with D (high concentration of omega-3’s + 1000 IU’s of vitamin D).  A true win win.  Of course this is in conjunction with a great variety of foods that provide loads of other nutrients too.

Omega-3 Fats

This one probably won’t surpise you.  It all started when scientists realized Eskimo’s had an incredibly low rate of heart disese, yet ate a diet that was about 70% fat.  When they realized where the fat came from (primarily seal, which are high in omega 3’s), the wheels started turning.

Now, over 7,000 scientific studies later, voila!  We’ve got a winner on our hands!

The American Heart Association suggests eating at 12 oz of fatty fish per week (such as salmon, tuna, sea bass, etc).  Fish is the best source of omega-3 fats, but without getting into technical details, you can also get omega-3’s from other foods, such as walnuts, almonds, and flax seed/oil.  They’re not exactly the same, even though they’re all under the "omega-3 umbrella."  But all are a healthy part of the diet and you should be eating more of them!  If you’re allergic, well, then stick with vegetarian sources of omega-3’s. 
 

Why should you care?

Some of the benefits of omega-3’s are similar to those listed above for Vitamin D.

    * potentially burn belly fat
    * improves skin

    * may play a role in reducing type 1 and 2 diabetes
    * cancer prevention
    * reduce the risk or progression of Alzheimer’s
    * slow progression of arthritis
    * decrease inflammatory issues
    * Decrease the risk of heart disease

Now if all those benefits above don’t impress you, nothing will.

Eat more vitamin D.  Eat more omega-3’s.  Notice salmon is a good source of both.  So are sardines and anchovies, but I bet you’re more likely to eat the salmon.  

Fiber

Most American’s eat an average of 10 grams of fiber each day.

It’s recommended that we get 20-35 grams.

There’s obviously a disconnect.

Here’s how to do it.

Replace all crap carbs — you know, the ones that increase belly fat FAST — with fiber filled carbs.  Fruits.  Veggies.  Grains.  If a carbohdyrate DOESN’T have 3 or more grams of fiber PER SERVING — toss it.  If it has more than 10 grams of sugar.  Toss it.  Deal?  In an ideal world, you’d get MOST of your carb intake from fruits and veggies, each day.  Trust me, you’ll feel like a new person. 

And why should you care?

    * incinerates belly fat
    * keeps blood sugar stable — this helps with energy and storage of body fat
    * Controls appetite
    * Keeps you regular

All those sound good to me!  Just as an aside, add fiber slowly … otherwise your spouse, co workers, and friends may no longer want you around.

Losing belly fat isn’t impossible.  But there surely are some "tricks" that can make it more simple.

The thought of dieting to lose belly fat is crazy — who wants to focus on everything you CAN’T eat?

Instead, these belly fat blasting tricks are focused on all the simple, positive things you CAN do to still lose belly fat FAST!

Ready?

1.  Decrease the size of your plates — switch up your dinner plates for smaller, snack plates.  Same with your bowls.  Guaranteed you’ll eat less.

2.  Use smaller serving utensils and eating utensils.  Ever tried eating with chopsticks?  You go much more slowly — same idea when your fork or spoon is smaller.  And when you can’t serve with a shovel, you’ll get "bored" more quickly and ultimately eat less.  

3.  Use candles — heck, who doesn’t want a candelight dinner — particularly when doing so can help slash belly fat!  And it’s not because you’ll eat less to impress your date, it’s because research shows that those who eat in a nicer setting practice more portion control.

4.  Serve individual portions, not family style — when you have the option to go back for seconds and thirds, you will (think Thanksgiving).  

5.  Brush your teeth — well, hopefully you’re doing that now — but do so immediately after each meal (and snack) to incinerate belly fat.  More food, or dessert, won’t sound so appealing with minty fresh breath (and your company will like it too).

6.  Eat with your non dominant hand – seriously.  Go ahead and try.  It’s great for your mind, but will also slow down the speed you eat, which correlates to less belly fat in the long run.

7.  Surround yourself with positive, active, healthy people –  1 simple strategy is is sure to keep belly fat at bay.  Research shows WHO you spend time with will dictate fat loss success.

As you can see, these 7 simple belly fat breakthroughs couldn’t be easier.

These are each baby steps.  I didn’t say don’t eat X.  I didn’t say go out and start running now. When added together, these will all help you reach your ultimate goals … lose belly fat, maintain that healthy body, and have more energy than 6 year old child on a sugar high.

What do you have to add?  Share your belly fat busting secrets in the comment section!