Our lovely David Kean is up for review again. David has done a great job staying focused on exercising regularly, eating well and dealing with the emotional side of not seeing results as fast as he wanted to see them.

David’s current stats are:

Height: 6’1” — Weight: 214.6 lbs — Body Fat: 18.7% — Neck: 16” — Shoulders: 49” — Chest: 43.75” — Biceps (left and right): 14.25”/14.5” — Waist: 41” — Hips: 43.75” — Calf (left and right): 16.5”/16.75” — Thigh (left and right): 25.25”/25.75”

To summarize, from the start until now, David has lost 15.4 lbs. His body fat has been reduced from 38% to 19.3% and all of his measurements are down significantly. The only bummer was that David expected to lose more weight faster. Unchecked thoughts like these could have unraveled the whole weight loss game. With ongoing reassurance and monitoring of his food and workouts I was able to help him stay motivated and on task.

This is one of the biggest reasons why a lot of people fail to get into shape. The effort and sacrifice are perceived as being too great with the payoff too slow. Most give up before they make any significant changes. My words of encouragement to you – “If you stick with it through thick and thin, no pun intended, you will achieve your goals. Never quit, quitters never win!”

Trainer Tip

This week’s trainer tip piggybacks with last week’s blog about the 10-minute workout / 10,000-step program. A Blogdowntown reader from West Virginia, believe it or not, Mika wrote in and asked, “My friend Kit and I are trying to figure out what the best gimmicky food trick is for losing weight. We both tried the Atkins diet and weren’t too fond of it as well as a number of the latest diet plans being pitched about. We did not connect with any of them. Kit loves the “6 on 1 off” eating plan, which is when you eat well for 6 days and have fun for one. What are your thoughts, Mr. Trainer?”

I agree with Kit. I like the “6 on 1 off” approach to eating and losing weight. This eating plan in conjunction with the 10-minute workout/10,000 daily steps is an easy and fairly painless way of losing weight. The “6 on 1 off” is great for everybody, dieters or non- dieters alike. As we all know, our food is the raw materials for our cells. By eating well more days a week than not, you are supplying your body with most of the nutrients that it will need. This is provided your diet is close to what the food pyramid suggests.

Taking one day a week to eat whatever you like is fine because you won’t feel like you are depriving yourself. It strengthens eating well all week when you know you have that one day to get nutty. The key to making the “6 on 1 off” work is to stick to the same day every week - otherwise you might find yourself cheating more days than not.

On your nutty day of dining, check out The Cork and Bottle Rock wine bars, two new additions to our downtown scene. The Cork and Bottle Rock are both located in South Park. They are great places to blow off steam and take in some really good food while sharing a laugh with some friends.

That is it for this week’s Ask the Trainer. Check back next Friday as we answer another email from askthetrainer@blogdowntown.com.

Til next time—Exercise More, Play Hard, Work Smart.

Billy Locke