You may have read the recent news about the man who lose around 80 lbs eating only at McDonald's.

Now, he didn't live off French fries, Whoppers, and the chicken nuggets -- he instead opted for salads, wraps, and fruit with dipping sauce.

But what does this tell us?

First, even if he did want to live off of French fries, he could still lose weight. In fact, he could lose weight if he wanted to live off Whoppers too. As long as he didn't overeat either one.

Weight loss comes down to how many calories a person eats. If a person ate 1 Whopper each day, and that's all, he could lose weight.

Is that how you want to live your life, though?

Wouldn't you rather eat loads of fantastic tasting foods, eat more than just once each day, and also take a healthy approach about this?

Taking control of your health doesn't have to mean a major overhaul of your entire lifestyle -- it simply means minor adjustments in your daily lifestyle:

• Don't drink liquid calories, such as soft drinks and fruit drinks
• Eat more whole fruits and vegetables
• Eat breakfast every single day (and that doesn't mean a latte with a scone)
• Exercise daily
• Get at least 8 hours of sleep each night (those who sleep less, weigh more)

Those are all a great start to living a healthier lifestyle -- don't fall for gimmicks. The healthier you are, the better you can enjoy life!

Labels: fitness boot camp for women, losing weight by eating McDonald's, losing weight in boot camp, Louisville weight loss, Louisville's Women Only Fitness Boot Camp

Should you exercise to lose weight?

Well, of course you should.

But is exercise a magic bullet? Far from it!

Nearly every day we have clients who either exercise with us, in our Women's Only Fitness Boot Camp, or email us asking how it's possible that they continue to exercise daily, but aren't losing weight.

It doesn't make sense, really. When you watch late night infomercials, you might think that it takes just a few minutes a day to get 6-pack abs. But there is always that very, very fine print that says "with proper nutrition."

Why isn't exercise so magical?

If you walk 1 mile, you burn approximately 100 calories.

If you run 1 mile, you burn approximately 100 calories.

Now, you can ramp up that intensity, add some weight training, intervals, and other modes of exercise. Thse activities can "burn" more calories than just walking or running (and continue to do so after you stop the activity), but that calorie deficit can easily be wiped out with a medium latte on the way home, an extra piece of pizza, a hot dog from the concession stand of your kids baseball game, or even just a few handfuls of chips!

100 calories burned during exercise can be wiped out in no time.

We're not saying you don't need to exercise, trust us. There are an unlimited amount of other benefits outside of just calories burned -- in fact, exercise can truly prevent disease, but when it comes to weight loss, it's not a magic bullet.

On the flip side, it's interesting that once you do lose fat, you NEED to exercise to maintain that loss. And that is why it is so important to start today and get moving.

And of course the scale is just one measure of what's happening in your body -- there are a ton of other factors to where you can shift your focus, and some you can't even see (such as blood markers, like glucose, triglycerides, etc).

The key is to balance nutrition AND exercise. You will never reach your goals if you rationalize your eating with "I exercised for 1 hour this morning so I can eat xyz." With that approach, you'll continue spinning your wheels.

Would you really want to waste a hard exercise session by eating junk all day?

You wouldn't put sludge in the gas tank of your car to make it run efficiently -- why would you then put it in your body if you want to run optimally?

Remember, luck is indeed where preparation meets opportunity!

Labels: exercise, Louisville weight loss, Louisville's Women Only Fitness Boot Camp, Weight Loss in Louisville, women only boot camp

Most drugs have one thing in common -- they're addicting. And believe it or not, so is exercise. Exercise is the greatest "drug" in the world. But for some reason, few health care professionals actually prescribe this drug like they do others.

A friend recently sent us a copy of a prescription for exercise from a MD! Our friend is a trainer and a new client walked in with a prescription from his doctor that said "personal training to reverse diabetes and reduce blood pressure."

It didn't say drug xyz for these illnesses -- it said exercise. And notice the bold -- it said to REVERSE diabetes.

Exercise is so powerful, it can reverse disease. Or if you don't have it yet, exercise can prevent disease.

Drugs can't do that.

Nutrition and exercise can!

In fact, there's not one disease in this entire world -- or really one cell in the entire body that does not benefit from exercise. It is 100% the absolute most powerful "drug" in the world. What is interesting, though, is that a number of studies are now showing exercise has what is called a half life, just like prescription drugs, meaning you have to continue to be physically active to get the benefits. A half life is simply how long a drug will have effects in your body. So how can you take advantage of this amazing "drug" called exercise?

If you're completely inactive, simply start walking. 5 minutes, 10 minutes, whatever you can do. Do this several times throughout the day.

If you are active now, step up the intensity -- if you walk, try changing your course to add more hills. Or walk faster for periods of time (interval training) and then scale back to moderate intensity. Do the same distance in less time.

There are a million ways to bump up the intensity. Remember, if you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten.

Do something active every single day -- we all have the same 24 hours in a day, so no one is too busy to be active. It's just prioritizing your time.

There is NO substitution for regular physical activity. No infomercial gimmick, 5 minute abs, quick fix diet where you cut your calories dramatically to lose weight rapidly, etc. Nothing can replace exercise.

Exercise will give you more energy, help you manage your body weight, lose fat, or whatever your goals may be, and, most importantly, will help you live your life like you should! Go out now and do something. Anything! The key is to have fun and find something you enjoy!!

Louisville's Women Only Adventure Boot Camp teaches you how to do this -- our women make time for exercise every single morning!! Are you?

Labels: fitness boot camp for women, Louisville fitness boot camp, Louisville's Women Only Fitness Boot Camp