Is the Biggest Loser a scam? Could this hit TV drama (oops, I meant weight loss documentary) be scandalous?  Maybe just a tiny bit?  Is it possible that the extreme fat loss results portrayed each week really weren’t as impressive as they seemed?

Gee, ya think?

For those of you who thought the miraculous, jaw-dropping averages (of fat loss) that most contestants were hitting each week, was actually doable…think again.

Oh, and the Tooth Fairy didn’t come and leave you money in exchange for your teeth when you were younger, either…after all, Tooth Fairies would have no need for money.

They carry a wand and fly for crying out loud (it was probably your parents who left the money after the Tooth Fairy had swooped in and grabbed your baby chompers).  Duh…

Sorry, where was I?  Oh yeah, the Biggest Loser and how Jillian and Bob freakin’ rock…

Seriously, I know most trainers and fitness pros hate these two ‘celebrities,’ but c’mon…you’re telling me you wouldn’t take that kind of money and fame to go jump on peoples’ backs and yell in their face?  Sure you would.

It’s the show that irritates me.  Because it confuses the hell outta the average person looking to drop some pounds (or kilos, depending on which side of the pool you’re on).  Let’s face it, our society is pretty damn gullible and if they see contestants on this show losing as much as 31 lbs in 7 days (I think that was the record, but don’t quote me…I didn’t care enough to look it up)…well, you know what they’re gonna think–that they can do the same.

Then you have 200 lb guys and 150 lb girls thinking they had a bad week if they only lost 1-3 lbs.  It’s misleading as hell and it’s all done for money.  I mean, would anyone watch a single episode if it wasn’t filled with a heart-wrenching plot, tear-jerking scenes and a miraculous ending where the underdog does the unthinkable?  Hells no, we wouldn’t…

So it’s our fault.  Kidding…

The Biggest Loser producers should take a little more caution with the powerful message they’re sending out with each of the 116 seasons that have aired so far.  You can’t blame them for wanting to have great ratings and rake in the dough (who doesn’t do that?).  It’s just that they could probably achieve that without having to exaggerate contestant fat loss results.

It’s obvious to anyone in the fitness industry that the results are completely bogus.  The problem is that most people aren’t in the fitness industry and they’re easily persuaded into thinking super duper extreme weight loss results should resemble what they see on the ‘ole flat screen.

I’m not a big fan of lying to or misleading people, plus this damn show makes my job as a fat loss coach even harder…since everyone has this perception that double digit loses indicate a ‘good week’ of dieting.

The reality is that extreme fat loss in the real world is a lot less spectacular.  Before I forget that the original point of this post was to put in a video of one of the former Biggest Loser contestants totally ripping apart the validity of the show, let’s roll that tape:

Hey, I’m all for pushing yourself hard and trying to outdo the safe industry standard of 1-2 lbs per week (yawn).  It’s just that if we’re talking pure fat loss (and not loses in lean muscle mass or water weight), it’s nearly impossible to achieve much more than this.  I thought this was a good video to give people a reality check about the artificial results portrayed on the Biggest Loser.

Plus, this chick has some balls to go public and spit the truth like that.  Can you imagine the look on the faces of any big wigs over at NBC when they saw this interview?  I’m sure they’ll slap a lawsuit on her so fast it’ll make her head spin…so props to her for voicing the truth.  At least it’ll open the eyes of some and give them a clearer vision of what’s actually possible with ‘extreme weight loss.’

What’s your take on the Biggest Loser scam? Overall, do you think the show is positive or negative for everyone at home who’s being influenced by it?  What about the characters Bob and Jillian play–yay or nay?  Side note, I think Jillian looks amazing in that picture (you go, girl).

Talk to you below.  Don’t forget to read how to get ripped without weights and carb cycling for fat loss (both killer blog posts…sorry, there goes my horn again…I’m always tooting that damn thing).

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

Any time I see the same question being asked by multiple cool people (translation:  TopFatLossTrainer readers), I’ll go ahead and address it in a blog post for everyone to see.  Not only will this delay the inevitable onset of my carpal tunnel, but I’m sure it’ll clear the heads of many curious readers who are undoubtedly wondering the same thing.

Since we’ve been primed to believe that we’re absolutely ‘starving’ if we go much longer than 4-5 hours without food intake, it’s understandable why you might be quick to question if it’s advised to workout on a fast day–and if so, how intense can this workout be?  Here’s the exact question (plus referenced links for your viewing pleasure)…

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I have been checking out your site pretty extensively the past few days since I discovered it.  Starting on Monday, or possibly Tuesday since I’ll be celebrating the 4th until then , I am going to start the UFC diet and exercising.   I have already been doing Insanity (not sure if you’ve heard of it but it’s a very intense cardio workout).

I just had a question about the fasting day.  If I fast after my overeating day, will I need to limit the amount of exercise on that day?   I know I’ll be hydrated from drinking a lot of water but will not eating affect any of my workouts?

I’m going to use workouts from the different celeb workouts you reviewed, mainly Cam Gigandet’s, David Beckham, and Ryan Reynolds.  I mainly want to get lean first then start adding muscle.  I have the dvds for P90X I got for Christmas I just need a nice chin up bar that will fit door frames that are 36″.

I really like your site and the amount of information you include for guests that are not in the inner circle is great. Keep up the good work and I’ll try to keep you updated with my progress.

Currently, I am 6’1″ and weigh about 200.   I have steadily been at the 195-205 mark for a while now and my diet is the main factor.

Thanks!

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Like I said, it’s a good question and lots of people have it simply because fast days aren’t typically a staple in the average person’s diet plan.  Before I directly answer the question, it’s important to remember the basis behind using a post-cheat day fasting period…which is basically to create the largest caloric deficit we possibly can, while in the presence of a newly rejuvenated metabolism (thanks to the cheat day).

This day is your best opportunity to drop kick body fat, so we need to take advantage.

This two day dieting zig-zag is a super powerful weight loss strategy by itself, but guess what makes it even more slick Rick-like…throwing in one of your most intense and effective fat loss workouts, of course.  In fact, you could even cross the line into full grind mode by knocking out two calorically expensive workout sessions on that fast day.

The fact is that you’re just not going to be near as weak and light-headed as you might think, especially if you’re working out first thing the morning after your cheat day.  True, a second workout later in the fast day may have you feeling a little low on blood sugar so you’d have to use caution and common sense when it comes to exercise selection and effort level.

A longer, less intense cardio session may be the best option starting out and you can up the ante as the weeks progress and you learn more about how your body will respond to the 24-hour fast coupled with a double dose of calorie-chomping movements we call exercise.

So what about the first workout on your fast day?

I recommend a metabolic weight training circuit, hardcore HIIT training, plyometrics or an evil combination of two or more to create a hybrid workout.  Here’s an example of one I used on a fast day a little while back:  fat loss workout after cheat day.

To summarize, not only can you workout on a fast day, but I highly encourage you to make sure that’s one of your most effective workouts in a given week.  You don’t have to use multiple workout sessions, but it’d sure help lead to the extreme fat loss results you’re looking for.  If you choose to go with just one workout, GIT ‘ER DONE, then treat yourself to some NASCAR later in the day (no Mt. Dew, though…water only).

In upcoming posts I’ll talk about another advanced fat burning supplement strategy that ties into the fast day and acts as a lean body savior.  One more thing–ain’t nuthin’ to it but to do it…YEAH BUDDY…

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

PS – Can you handle this?  Lean Ripped Workouts

When it comes to selecting a female celebrity body from which to use for inspiration, most girls would have Jessica Alba right at the top, along with girls like Jessica Biel, Megan Fox, Beyonce, Kim Kardashian, you get the picture.

Jessica’s managed to create a lean and tone body without sacrificing her feminine curves.  I think Alba has just the right mix of the hard and athletic look, blended with soft and curvy.

So what exactly is Jessica Alba’s height and weight, you ask?  Well, during the fiming of Into The Blue, the actress weighed 127 lbs (58 kg)…not too shabby given Jessica’s height of 5’7″ (1.70 m).

Allow me to break down her exact diet and workout routine so you know what it takes to get a Jessica Alba body.

I have to warn you that most celebrity workout reviews I’ve done end with me totally tearing apart their methods and suggesting more advanced strategies that will help transform your body faster than you otherwise would using these generic celeb routines.

For example, just check out that Angelina Jolie wannabe, Megan Fox’s Workout, and tell me this isn’t complete garbage.  Okay, back on subject…without further ado, let’s see how Jessica got to be such a lil hottie…

Jessica Alba’s Workout Routine:

–> This is a sample 40 minute home workout that Jessica used to quickly lose her pregnancy weight and get back into excellent shape.

–> Alba starts with 10 minutes of cardio work, jogging lightly for the first 2 minutes, followed by running 6 minutes hard and then jogging the last 2 minutes.

–> Next, Jessica rocks a weight training circuit.  She performs 3 sets of 20 repetitions using 3-lb dumbbells, for the following exercises:

1) Lateral shoulder raises

2) Reverse flys

3) Alternating forward lunges combo’d with bicep curls

–> After this brief strength training circuit, Alba heads back to the treadmill for more interval cardio.  This time, she completes a 5 minute session consisting of 30 seconds of light jogging, alternating with 30 seconds of sprinting.

–> After this, Jessica hits up more weight training, again performing 3 sets of 30 repetitions using 3-lb dumbbells, for the following exercises:

1) Chest presses

2) Squats combo’d with shoulder presses

3) Tricep dips

–> After this, Alba hops back on the treadmill for another 5 minute cardio session, using the same 30 seconds of jogging, alternating with 30 seconds of sprinting.

–> Now it’s time for core work.  Alba completes just 1 round of 20 repetitions for the following exercises:

1) Bicycle crunches

2) Reverse crunches

3) Plank hold x 30 seconds

My thoughts on Jessica Alba’s Workout:

Jessica’s workout routine is actually pretty solid.  This is similar to my hybrid-style workouts, where I like to blend weight training with cardiovascular training to promote a major post-workout boost in metabolism.

Another positive to Jessica Alba’s workout is that her cardio bouts use intense intervals, rather than simply jogging at an easy level for the entire time.  This will also contribute to a greater fat-burning effect after her workout has ended.

Jessica doesn’t overdo it on ab exercises, which is nice to see (most celebrities base their whole damn workout around useless ab crunches that don’t do squat for burning body fat).  I’m cool with you doing a small volume of ab training at the end of a workout, if that floats your boat…just remember, it doesn’t do much for creating a flat, tight stomach.

My major problem with Alba’s workout plan is that she does her weight training based off the myth that girls need to be doing very light weight and high reps, so they don’t get big and bulky.  I’m sorry, but 3-lb dumbbells just doesn’t cut it.

This won’t challenge your muscles enough to spark new growth, nor will it cause the fat-burning hormonal response we’re looking for.  If you want to lose fat and get tone, even if you’re a female, it’s best to use heavy weights.

Other than that, Jessica’s workout is actually much better than the typical, generic, cookie-cutter (straight out of an old fitness magazine) crap that other celebs report using.  Mixing cardio work into your weight training is a great way to save time, boost metabolism and work different energy pathways in the same workout.

Just don’t let me catch you doing your weight training exercises with hot pink 3-lb dumbbells, okay?  Cool, now let’s move on and review her diet plan, which is really where you’re able to sculpt a body like Jessica Alba…

Jessica Alba’s Diet Plan:

–> Jessica’s main secret weapon in losing fat and getting tone is portion control…and she reports being very good at resisting junk food and not overeating at restaurants.

–> Alba is very carb-conscious and leaves breads, bagels, pastas and desserts off limits…but will give in once in a while and have chocolate cake for a special treat.

–> Jessica’s typical diet plan includes lots of lean meat, fruits, veggies, whole grains and low fat cheeses.  Here’s a sample day of eating for Jessica Alba:

Breakfast – 1 cup of oatmeal with berries and 3-4 egg whites (scrambled)

Lunch – Salad with 6 oz of chicken breast, salmon, or tuna

Dinner – Sashimi or 6 oz of filet of beef (or other lean protein), lots of veggies and 3 small red potatoes

Snacks – A handful of almonds or popcorn

My thoughts on Jessica Alba’s Diet:

Jessica’s diet is very typical to anyone who has a lean and tone body.  This isn’t by coincidence…if you want to lose fat and flaunt shapely lean muscle, without giving up your curves in the process…you’ll need to eat a low calorie diet that is based around lean protein sources, veggies and healthy fats.

Note that it’s not mandatory to go extremely low carb…this just makes it easier to keep your total daily calories at a deficit, so fat loss can take place (see Fat Loss 101 for more info).  It’s just way too easy to overeat on carbs and the resulting insulin spike will give you more cushion for the pushin’ if you’re not active enough immediately after eating.

If you really want to speed up your fat loss results, though, you can get crazy with it and use a high calorie cheat day, followed by a fasting day.  This resets your hormone levels and keeps your metabolism running at a high level week after week…rather than risking the chance of your body going into starvation mode, where it tries to store fat and slow metabolism because of the prolonged low-calorie intake.

As you can see, it takes discipline, hard work and consistency to get a body like Jessica Alba.  Most people drastically underestimate just how hard it is to lose enough fat to get that super toned look.  Don’t worry, though, because once you’re there, it’s a lot easier to maintain than it was to make the transformation.

Click Here to download my partner’s fitness model body shaping program.  Forward your receipt to me and I’ll give you FREE lifetime access to my Inner Circle Coaching program.

Also, let me know your thoughts about this review of Jessica Alba’s diet plan and workout regimen.  Do you agree that she has one of the best celebrity female bods in the game?  If not, who’s got her beat?  Talk below…

Your Fat Loss Coach,

Brad Campbell

Happy fat hater Friday everyone.  Today I’m going to arm  you with a deadly circuit training workout that you can use this weekend to declare war on your body fat.  This is ‘new school’ cardio…and I say the hell with ‘old school’ cardio.  Okay, maybe that’s a lil harsh – standard cardio does have it’s place in your fat loss workout plan…it’s just not near as effective as the accelerated methods I’m preaching about in these posts.

Standard, slow paced cardio workouts can be useful as an additional calorie burning tool that you can use to further the caloric deficit you’re creating through diet, strength training and these more intense interval based workouts.  They can also be used to give your body, and especially your legs, a rest from the highly-demanding workouts you’ve been doing all week long.  But that’s about it…

My ‘new school’ cardio, as I’ve been calling it, will make those 45 min jogs on the treadmill look like child’s play (speaking of which, that movie used to scare the shit outta me when I was little).  And it will do so in about 1/4th of the time.

There’s really only one drawback to using this advanced fat burning cardio system – it sucks…bad…I mean it really requires you to dig deep and work hard, but only for a short amount of time.  And I know you’ll suck it up and do it anyways, because of the lean body it’ll help you sculpt in less time…much less time.

We all know that HIIT cardio is the latest and greatest thing for fat burning…but this type of circuit training workout I’m about to share is kind of like HIIT on crack.  This workout will hit all of your muscle fibers and put your strength and conditioning on blast.

There are several reasons this type of circuit training puts standard cardio and even traditional forms of HIIT cardio (such as jogging, walking for recovery and repeating) to shame:

–> Most cardio workouts, even many HIIT workouts, only work your lower body muscles…and even then, it’s not at an intense-enough level to reap the muscle building and fat burning effects of strength training.

–> If we can involve the upper body muscles, core muscles AND the lower body muscles —> this leads to a far greater number of muscle fibers that need to recover —> causing more calories to be burned post-workout to fuel the recovery process —> this also releases more fat burning enzymes, which means even more fat loss (can I get a Boo-Yah Jim Cramer?).

So what exactly is this crack-like, advanced HIIT, circuit training workout?

You’ll be performing 6 exercises for 1 minute each, with virtually no rest in between exercises (you’re allowed just enough time to transition to the next movement and that’s it).

We’ll be hitting muscles of the upper body, lower body and core, so we can cash-in on the benefits I just talked about.

One circuit should take you just over 6 minutes (it’ll take a few seconds to transition between each exercise) and if you don’t pass out or puke after one circuit, go ahead and rest just 1-minute and repeat another circuit.

Once you can do 3 circuits and you’re using the most advanced form of each movement, you’ve increased the intensity of each exercise and you’ve increased the weight of your dumbbells…you’ve graduated and are now a total lean body bad ass…just don’t forget to mention me when you start your new career as a fitness cover model.

Brad’s Advanced Circuit Training Workout:

–> Alternating lunges – can start with body weight only and progress to holding dumbbells

–> Upright dumbbell rows – start with lighter pair of dumbbells and try to increase the weight each time

–> Plank hold – forearms and toes only, with back perfectly straight and abs tight…if this gets easy, you can lift one leg for 30 secs each during the 1-minute hold

–> Squat jumps – explode up as high as possible, landing softly and going immediately into a deep squat (this will probably bring tears)

–> Dumbbell shoulder presses – start with light pair of dumbbells and press both together, using full range of motion, at the same time…aim to increase the weight when you repeat this workout

–> Hip thrusters – keeping back flat, jump both feet up and in, as you bring your knees up to your chest…if this is too difficult to do for the entire minute, you can step one foot at a time up and in (think slow mountain climbers)

*Remember, all exercises are done for 60 seconds (don’t stop early) and you need to transition immediately to the next exercise without resting…complete the entire circuit, rest only 1-minute and repeat 1 or 2 more times as your conditioning improves.

Give this advanced circuit training workout a shot this weekend and let me know what you think.  Before I wrap this up, I’ve got another semi-dirty joke for you.  I saw this on someone’s blog I was reading this morning and thought I would ‘borrow’ it to send you into the weekend with a smile on  your face.  Here goes:

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A kindergarten teacher is trying to explain to her class the definition of the word “definitely” to them.  To make sure the students have a good understanding of the word, she asks them to use it in a sentence.

The first student raises his hand and says:  “The sky is definitely blue.”

The teacher responds:  “Well, that isn’t entirely true…because sometimes it’s gray and cloudy.”

Another student says:  “Grass is definitely green.”

The teacher again replies:  “If grass doesn’t get enough water it turns brown…so that isn’t really correct either.”

Another student raises his hand and asks the teacher:  “Do farts have lumps?”

The teacher looked at him and said:  “No…but that isn’t really a question you want to ask in class discussion.”

So the student replies:  “Then I definitely just shit my pants!”

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Your Fat Loss Coach,

Brad Campbell

After reviewing many other celebrity workout routines and being totally bummed by the generic, outdated and ridiculous excuses for workout plans they were using to get lean and sexy for the camera…I finally found one that is “advanced fat loss approved.”

I’m talking about action movie bad ass, Jason Statham, who reportedly performed his own stunts and fight scenes in The Transporter, Crank, The Bank Job, War, Death Race and Snatch.  If you’ve seen any of those adrenaline-filled flicks, I’m sure you just gained massive respect for Jason Statham.

Before I dive into Statham’s training, I should remind you that I’ve got the perfect lean body solution, TopFatLossTrainer’s Inner Circle.  This coaching program is designed to melt the fat off your frame in record time and the feedback I’ve been getting is insane (my clients think it’s doper than dope).

But if you’re already good and lean…you might need to focus on adding more muscle mass to finish off your Jason Statham body.  If that’s the case, then I’ll recommend a wicked affiliate program that my partner (who’s a muscle building guru) has used to transform thousands of skinny dudes from across the world with: No Nonsense Muscle Building.

Okay, now that you know about those two killer body transformation resources, let’s take a look at the Jason Statham workout and diet plan that helped him to lose 17 lbs of fat in just 6 weeks…

Jason Statham’s Workout Routine:

–> You know it’s an effective workout regimen when the actor himself uses words such as:  brutal, nauseating, nightmare and horrible to describe the training sessions…of course, all of these words were preceded by an f-bomb in the interview I was listening to.

–> Apparently, Statham trained with a former Navy Seal named Logan Hood, who concocted this comprehensive workout routine.  They hit it hard 6 days per week for about 35 minutes per session and rested on Sundays.

–> Statham religiously followed two main principles:  1) every workout was at least slightly different from the previous one and 2) everything was recorded in detail, including weights used, times for active and recovery periods, etc.

–> Each workout consisted of 3 primary stages that progressively increased in ‘suckiness’:

1) a 10-minute warm-up using the Concept 2 Rowing Machine, which is easy on the joints, raises core temperature and prepares all muscle groups for the upcoming work ahead.

2) next is 10-minutes of moderate intensity work that is always varied and may include:  medicine ball throws, kettlebell circuits, ‘farmer walk’ type of exercises (carrying heavy shit while walking, like sandbags or dumbbells), circuit weight training or heavy compound strength training lifts.

3) the last phase is interval training, which again varies slightly every workout, but would look something like this:  8 pull-ups, 20 medicine ball slams, 20 weighted step-ups, 20 hanging knee raises, 20 barbell squats and 20 burpees.  All 6 exercises are performed back-to-back without rest, until you complete each movement in the circuit.  Rest briefly and repeat for up to 5 circuits total.

My thoughts on Jason Statham’s Workout:

Finally…I found a celebrity who followed a top notch workout routine to lose fat and get ripped.  I’m guessing his trainer was forced to give him a REAL workout, because he actually needed to lose 17 lbs of fat that had crept up on him…as opposed to most celebs, who are already lean and tone to begin with and therefore can get away with using half-ass workout programs to look great (assuming their diet is dialed in).

Jason’s workout was super successful in sculpting his body because it was based around some outstanding fat loss principles.  For example, his workouts were kept short and intense (unlike the marathon sessions we saw with other celebrities, such as Megan Fox’s Workout or LL Cool J’s Workout) to maximize the post-workout fat burning effects.

Statham relied entirely on heavy, compound weight training, grueling circuits and intense intervals to pack on lean muscle mass and turn his body into a fat-melting machine.  These strategies are on point with my advanced fat loss tips I discussed in this post:  7 Ways to Torch Body Fat Faster.  Sweetness…now that we’ve found a celebrity workout worth following, let’s check out his diet plan…

Jason Statham’s Diet Plan:

–> Jason credits his rapid weight loss success mainly to his strict diet plan, which ended up being around 2,000 calories per day.

–> He avoided refined sugars, flour, breads, pastas and booze like they were incurable STD’s

–> Just like with his workout routine, Statham recorded everything he put into his mouth.  This makes it literally impossible to screw it up…and if he wasn’t losing enough fat, it’d be easy to figure out why.

–> He drank a boatload of water and consumed 6 small meals per day, focusing on the typical lean body foods, like egg whites, veggies, lean meats, whey protein shakes, raw nuts and fish.  Desert would often include fat free yogurt with mixed fruit added for flavor.

My thoughts on Jason Statham’s Diet Plan:

Proven to be effective time and time again, the typical bodybuilder’s diet is definitely the safe way to go when you’re serious about losing weight and/or adding lean muscle.  Every single celeb I’ve reviewed so far has reported following these exact guidelines…so do you think it’s a coincidence that they all look fantastic?  I think not.

Statham’s diet plan is clearly going to be low enough in calories to create a caloric deficit, but high enough in protein to support muscle growth…this is a key step in building a lean and tone body.  Again, my only beef with this nutrition strategy is that it might be too consistent and a lil strict.

Most of us would slip up after eating this clean for too long because we don’t have million dollar movie deals providing us with crazy motivation levels.  Also, there’s a risk of entering starvation mode and slowing your fat loss progress, as the body becomes too accustomed to this lower caloric intake.

I suggest eating clean and sensible like Statham does for 5 days out of the week (here’s an example:  Fat Loss Diet Plan) and then rewarding yourself and resetting your fat burning hormone and enzyme levels by taking one entire cheat day each week.  Follow this cheat day up with a fasting day to round out the week and put your metabolism into overdrive.

I hope you enjoyed this review of Jason Statham’s diet and workout routine…you can definitely take away more from his style of training than you can from the other celebrities I’ve posted about.  Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below.  See ya on the flip side…

Your Fat Loss Coach,

Brad Campbell

PS – If you want my expert coaching lessons that’ll deliver a Jason Statham body right to your doorstep, sign up for my VIP list.  You’ll get awesome workout videos and diet plans that you can download instantly to start getting ripped today.

Before The Ultimate Fighter reality show that I’m totally obsessed with comes on at 11 pm, I wanted to hammer out a quick nutrition post for my fellow fat-haters.  Diet accounts for 75-85% of your weight loss and muscle building results – depending on the day, I may quote the low end or high end of that – but let’s just say that it’s far and away the most important aspect you should be worried about.

Because of that, I want to start providing you with some sample weight loss meal plans, fat burning recipes, supplement reviews and much more…so that you’ll have absolutely everything you need to sculpt a lean and tone body that sets you apart from everyone else.

Here’s a typical day of eating for me…this is exactly what I ate for one of my five ‘normal’ days last week.  Remember, for advanced fat loss and toning, I highly recommend using a cheat day and fast day back-to-back for two days out of the week.

*Here’s the most comprehensive and effective diet plan that’s available on the market right now.  My partner beat me to it and came out with this program first, but I’m happy to recommend it to my TopFatLossTrainer readers because I’ve used it and it WORKS.  Plus, you get to enjoy your favorite restaurant foods, sweets and guilty pleasures, all of which actually HELP you to burn fat faster and prevent plateaus.  Learn more here: Cheat Your Way to Rapid Fat Loss

This sample day of eating from my current diet plan is fairly aggressive, as I’m working my way down to the 4% body fat level (I usually ‘hang-out’ around 9% and once in a while will take it much lower for an upcoming occasion…in this case the pics I’ll be taking for the launch of my exclusive membership site).

Brad’s Sample Fat Loss Diet Plan:

Breakfast – 3 whole large eggs, 3 egg whites (scrambled), 1 cup cooked oatmeal with skim milk and 1 tbsp natural peanut butter

AM Snack – 1 scoop whey protein mixed with water (boring, but you have to suck it up), 1 tbsp natural peanut butter (I’m a peanut butter junkie)

Lunch – 4 oz deli-style turkey breast (yep, all by itself)

Midday Snack – 1 oz almonds

Pre-Workout – 2 scoops whey protein mixed with water (sometimes I’ll mix with fruit juice, but wanted to keep the calories low today)

Post-Workout – 2 scoops whey protein mixed with 8 oz grapefruit juice (the sugars are beneficial post-weight workout, as this causes insulin spike, which shuttles protein to your starving muscles so the repair process can begin immediately).

Supper – 1 oz lean sirloin steak (usually opt for chicken, but guess I was feeling froggy today) cut into strips and mixed with 2 cups green salad and 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.

Bedtime Snack – 1 cup fat free cottage cheese with a few almonds mixed in (can’t stand cottage cheese by itself, plus the crunch adds a nice twist).

Totals for the day – 2,017 Calories, 274 g Protein (63% of calories), 106 g Carbs (24% of calories) and 55 g Fat (13% of calories)

As you can see, this is pretty low calorie for a 175 lb dude.  Remember, you’ll have to adjust the total calories up or down slightly, depending on your gender, starting weight and activity level.

Also, notice that the majority of my food choices were lean proteins, which accounted for 63% of the total calories eaten.  This provides me with enough building blocks to allow muscle grow, but keeps the total calories low enough to create a caloric deficit that is required for fat loss.

Don’t get too fixated on the individual breakdown of things…as you’ll see in upcoming sample weight loss diet plans, my macronutrient percentages (protein, carbs, fat) will vary quite a bit from day to day.

What’s important is that you’re getting tons of quality protein with each meal/snack, you’re laying off the processed carbs and you’re creating a large enough caloric deficit to promote fast fat loss.

I don’t recommend counting calories and measuring out your food on a daily basis…I think this is ridiculous, borderline OCD and not very conducive to…what’s that one thing…oh yah, LIVING.

However, I do recommend counting your calories and measuring out your food choices very thoroughly for a day or two, just so you know what the actual serving sizes should look like for the most common foods you’ll be eating.

If you’ve never done this before, I guarantee you’re underestimating how much food you’re eating on a daily basis.  It’s a good eye-opener to try this for one whole day that you’re around home…so you can get a more realistic feel for just how small some of these serving sizes are and just how fast the calories can add up.

Time for me to enjoy some caged fighting, UFC style.  Hope you guys enjoyed that meal plan and can try that bad boy out sometime to help you lose weight and tone up.  Be sure to drop me a line in the comments section…love to hear from my community of lean body lovers.

Your Fat Loss Coach,

Brad Campbell

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Happy Fat-Hater Friday everyone

I’m taking my cheat day today and I’m starting to feel like K-Fed looks – fat and sloppy.  It’s almost like my neighbors know that I’m cheating today too, because when I came home from my caffeine run, there was a huge bowl of Halloween candy that someone had sneakily left at my front door…two words: CHA – CHING.

So I just polished off a half-bag of the Baby Ruth candy bars and now my stomach could almost serve as a table for my laptop.  Earlier I ordered a large pepperoni pizza and took down the whole damn thing.  It was probably the cheesiest and greasiest pizza I’ve ever tasted in my life…eating it was wonderful and disgusting at the same time.

Let’s see…what else have I devoured today?  I made nachos several times, had about a pound of string cheese, apples and cinnamon oatmeal packets with peanut butter and honey added into the mix (cuz’ that’s how I roll)…and a bacon cheeseburger, french fries and spinach artichoke dip with chips for supper.  By the way, it’s only 7 pm and who knows what else I’ll eat before the day is through.

One of these cheat days I’ll have to get out the Flip Cam and post some footage so you can have a visual of this madness.  Seriously, K-Fed has nothing on me.

So what’s the point of me bragging about putting down such a large amount of low-quality calories on my cheat day?

Inspiration.

That’s right…you can still indulge on comfort foods and lose fat at the same time, as long as it’s built strategically into your fat loss nutrition plan.  In fact, it actually HELPS you boost metabolism and get lean, when done correctly.

Here’s the simplified explanation of how cheating on your diet gives you a sexy, flat stomach…

A typical diet has you fighting your own metabolism week after week and month after month.  The longer you make it, the more your metabolism slows down and tries even harder to store body fat.  When you finally throw in the towel and start eating a ‘normal’ amount of calories again…you can really blow up like K-Fed because of your metabolism getting ‘Chris-Browned’ (aka battered…low blow, I know…sorry Chris) by the previous weeks of restrictive eating.

By intentionally having a high-carb and high fat cheat day at the end of a week, we cause leptin levels to spike.  This is important because low leptin levels caused by prolonged dieting will lead to a decrease in metabolism and an increase in appetite.  That’s about as cool as K-Fed rhyming while Britney Spears handles the beatbox.

However, with strategic cheating, we can trick the body, avoid starvation mode and maintain a high metabolism week after week.  Plus, you get the psychological benefit of not wanting to eat your arm because you’re so hungry and deprived.

There’s always a cheat day to look forward to and reward yourself with, when that day arrives.  And after the planned cheat day, you’re so freakin’ disgusted by the low quality junk you ate, that you’re not even tempted to cheat the next few days.

In fact, the day right after a cheat day is a great opportunity to cash-in on a fasting day (or at least a very low calorie day) and burn through some blubber with a newly-revved metabolism.  Fasting is another advanced fat loss technique that I’ll break down for you in an upcoming blog post.

For now, just know that feeling like K-Fed looks and being a cheater too, are both okay as long as it’s just one day a week and it’s planned.

Happy cheating.  Register for my fat-hater VIP list using the box below.

Your Fat Loss Coach,

Dr. Brad Campbell CFT, PharmD

PS – If you want a step by step dieting system that shows you exactly how to capitalize on this advanced and cutting-edge nutrition strategy, I’d highly recommending my partner’s program:

++++++++ Lose Up to 25 lbs In 25 Days With This “Xtreme” Fat Loss Dieting Solution ++++++++

*I’ve tried this myself and experienced faster fat loss than before, which of course, didn’t surprise me, as I’d already been studying this concept.  Join the thousands of people we’ve already helped from all over the world who’re losing fat faster than ever AND still enjoying all of their favorite comfort foods

After all, there’s plenty of other general weight loss sites, books, programs and information products out there for people who are cool with losing only a few pounds per month and blending in with everyone else.  My advanced fat loss coaching blog, however, is for a different crowd.  This is for those who truly want to stand out…

I’m talking fitness model fit, not Joe Schmo, blend in with the rest of society crap.  This is for other fat-haters and lean body lovers (I should brand those terms); the guys who want that appealing v-taper and the girls who desire a toned, tight body without sacrificing their feminine curves; for everyone who wants to look great in their clothes and even better naked; and for those who agree that the IDEAL body is one that is lean and defined – not bulky or skinny.

If this is you, then I commend you for having great taste   I think lean and ripped is the only way to go and speaking from experience, I must say that life is so much better when you’re lean and mean.

Face it, we live in a superficial world and having an attractive body is like having a winning lottery ticket.

I know that being in great shape has helped me get ahead in almost every area of life – from picking up girls, to receiving compliments from random strangers at the grocery store (my ego needs a lot of stroking), to being handed surprisingly quick promotions, bonuses and special treatment at pretty much every job I’ve ever had, to getting better service at restaurants and malls and the list goes on and on.

You name it, I’ve witnessed it first hand and can tell you that this special treatment is either a direct or indirect result of having a better-than-average, super-lean physique.

The direct part is obvious – you see those ‘undercover’ studies all the time on TV, where they stage some hot chick with a flat tire on the side of a busy road.  Dudes will pretty much risk their life to dart across traffic to help this poor, distressed HOTTIE.  Then they have some fat girl in the same scenario and it takes like 30 minutes for someone to finally help her out.  Gee, shocker.

The indirect benefits of having a lean body may be a little harder to visualize.  Unless you’ve experienced that inner-confidence and swag that comes from being lean and standing out in a crowd, you may not even be aware of this part.

But I can assure you that the hard work and dedication you put in to sculpt a killer, lean physique will pay you back 100-fold for the rest of your life.  You begin to see things more positively, you start bulldozing through what used to be major obstacles, you develop a winning attitude and generally start kicking life’s a*s.

I admit, these reasons for losing fat and shaping your body with lean muscle are totally superficial, but in most cases it’s the irrational reasons that have the greatest motivational impact.  Very few of my coaching clients are working this hard to lower blood pressure, despite what they originally want to claim.

When you dig deeper, the driving force behind them wanting to get into jaw-dropping shape is usually more along the lines of wanting to feel more attractive.  It’s harder to admit, but that’s a much more powerful reason to put yourself through brutal fat-burning workouts and remain disciplined with your nutrition plan.

You have to be honest with yourself and find the TRUE reason for wanting to sculpt a lean body.

Then get to work and start cashing in on these benefits yourself.  Everyone has the opportunity to lose fat, tone up and develop a lean body that demands respect.  Yet, very few people choose to take action and make it happen.

This only makes you that much more privileged when you become the exception and go from zero to hero   Are you with me?  Are you going to start the body transformation process this very minute and enjoy a better life that is full of new opportunities?  Hope so…see ya on the flip side.

Your Lean Body Coach,

Dr. Brad Campbell CFT, PharmD

The take home message of that post was to never forget that fat loss is simply a matter of burning more calories than you consume on a daily basis.

Although the total amount of calories you burn daily depends on several factors, including your basal metabolic rate, activity level, job duties, etc…obviously the easiest way to increase this number is through exercise.  This is where the confusion begins.

With all the fitness magazines, online resources, tv products and recommendations by unqualified people (who are basing their strong opinions off misinformation they’ve acquired over the years), it’s no wonder so many suffer from what I call ‘paralysis by analysis’ when searching for the perfect fat loss workout.

In other words, there’s so many options that people don’t know where the hell to start or who to listen to.  I encourage you to let go of everything you THINK you know about losing body fat and getting lean and open yourself up to more advanced tactics.

The best way to get ahead at anything in life is to take a look around and check out what everyone else is doing.  Then, do the exact OPPOSITE.

Seriously, you walk into a gym and what do you see?  Dozens of fat people reading magazines and talking on their cell phones while they pretend to ‘workout’ on the elliptical.  Why do you think they’re still fat?  To get different results, you’ll need to take different actions.

Also, start challenging everything you hear in regards to fitness and fat loss.  If someone is giving you advice, you need to ask yourself what makes them qualified.

Sure, fancy degrees are great – in fact, I have to admit I totally beat my Doctor of Pharmacy degree to death because I think it makes me unique as a personal trainer and fitness expert.  And it does, but that’s still not a good enough reason for you to believe everything I say.

I’d take it one step further and ask yourself if these so-called fitness experts and fat loss gurus actually have a killer body themselves.  I think it’s extremely hypocritical to say:  “Well, I know how to get people into great shape, I just choose not to do it myself.“  I call BS…

Okay, so now that you know you shouldn’t be listening to about 999 out of 1,000 people and you should only be following the information on this blog (wink), let’s look at some out-of-the-box ways to put your fat-burning into serious overdrive.

Here’s 7 of the absolute best techniques you can use to make your workouts more effective at burning fat, adding lean muscle and boosting metabolism – all of which will help turn you into a fat-burning machine.

–> Use metabolic resistance training.  The best way to describe this is weight training on crack.  Emphasis will be on compound movements (using more than one muscle group per exercise), multiple exercises performed back-to-back with little to no rest and short breaks in between sets.

–> Lift heavier weights.  Here’s where we get into the whole ‘letting go of what you think you know,’ as I can imagine some of you will fear lifting heavy weights will turn you into a bulky version of Incredible Hulk overnight.  Trust me when I say we all (that goes for the girls as well) need to challenge our body by lifting heavier weights.

–> Use explosive reps and plyometrics.  Remember, we have to train like an athlete to look like an athlete.  Learn to use jump training in place of your standard cardio workouts and I guarantee you’ll love the fat-burning results.  Many of my advanced workouts in the membership area will incorporate explosive weight training also, which really takes your body to another level.

–> Use shorter rest periods.  For optimal fat loss, I like to keep rest periods to about 30 seconds – maybe 45 to 60 seconds if the workout is super intense and produces a lot of lactic acid.  By forcing your body to continue working when you’re short on oxygen, you’ll effectively boost post-workout metabolism, which is probably the single most important factor in achieving greater fat loss.

An added bonus is that you can tear through these workouts in 15 minutes or less – anything longer really leads to a sharp decrease in intensity level and therefore, diminished returns for your efforts.

–> Stop focusing on reps.  Most of my workouts will have you performing an interval or strength training exercise for a given number of seconds, not reps.  The reason for this is because we know from research that you have to subject your body to specific levels of time under tension (TUT) to achieve specific results.

Take strength training for example.  Most people who count reps (ie 3 sets of 8 reps) are falling short of the optimal fat-burning TUT, which is about 45 seconds.  Switching the emphasis to TUT alone can skyrocket your metabolism, since most people are nowhere near this duration on any given exercise.

–> Cash in on hybrid training.  I’ve discovered that some of my absolute best (and most challenging) workouts are the ones where I get really creative and blend metabolic weight training with interval cardio and plyometrics.  Now we’re hitting up multiple energy pathways, we’re using varying rep speeds to account for both slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers and totally putting our body through total chaos.

–> Combine, Intensify and Kick A*s.  Take all of these advanced fat loss workout tips, combine aspects of each technique into almost every workout you do and attack these workouts with serious intensity.  The end result is a lean, tight and athletic body that torches stubborn fat around the clock.  You may end up resembling Brad Pitt in Fight Club, if you’re not careful.

Your Fat Loss Coach,

Dr. Brad Campbell CFT, PharmD

PS – If you aren’t on my VIP subscriber list yet, make sure and enter your name and email in the box below.  I’ll hook you up with free fat loss workouts, coaching lessons, blog updates and a sweet e-book package that discusses the truth about weight loss supplements.

I’m sure it gets a lil overwhelming trying to sort out all of the factors that go into losing body fat.  But let’s not forget that losing fat is simply a matter of creating a negative energy balance.

In other words, if we burn more calories than we take in on a daily basis, we’ll lose weight.  Nothing earth-shattering about that concept.  Yet, most people are so damned worried about what types of carbs to avoid, which cardio machine to use, how many reps and sets work best for weight training, if their Nike Shox match their Under Armour shorts or if they should rock the Pumas instead (okay maybe that’s just me) and so on.

Our society is constantly searching for the next best diet, the greatest fat burning workouts, weight loss supplements, advice from fitness experts, opinions from everyday people on fat loss forums that couldn’t tell their a*s from a hole in the ground, etc.

When the truth is, there are literally THOUSANDS of ways to successfully burn fat and lose weight.  Some are far better than others, but nonetheless, there are a boatload of methods that can get the job done.  What we forget is that it still comes down to burning more calories than we take in over a period of time.

Here are the 3 ways we can create a caloric deficit without injuring our brains by over-thinking the process:

–> Keeping everything else the same, we can create a negative energy balance by eating less food

–> Keeping everything else the same, we can create a deficit by exercising more (or more intensely)

–> We can both decrease our daily calorie intake AND exercise more (or more effectively)

So which is best?

This depends on the individual, but assuming no one enjoys starving themselves day in and day out…and assuming most people are too busy to workout 10 hours each week…I’d recommend both cutting caloric intake and burning more calories through your workouts.

Think about it like this – creating a deficit of 1,000 calories per day simply by eating less and without changing anything else, you will have theoretically burned off an extra 7,000 calories in 1 week.  This would equal a whopping 2 lbs of body fat.  Not very impressive at all…and just think about eating 1,000 LESS calories each day for an entire week – not cool.

That last paragraph pretty much sums up why people who only crash-diet almost always fail in the long run.  It’s flat out too hard to be that disciplined for much longer than a day or two, let alone the months it would take to make significant body transformations.

Exercising more, without changing anything else, would probably be an easier option, at least for me.  But again, I could only last so long before I’d get lazy or burn myself out…not to mention I hardly have time as it is.  Plus, you have to workout like an absolute maniac to burn an extra 1,000 calories per day.

It should be clear by now that the best and fastest way to lose body fat – both short term and long term – is to lower the amount of calories you’re eating AND burn more calories through working out.

In theory, the more calories you cut through diet and the greater the amount of calories you burn through exercise, the larger the energy (nerdy term for calorie) deficit you create…and the faster you can burn body fat.

Always remember this simple equation and if you’re not getting the fat loss results you want, stop overthinking it – you’re either putting too much sh*t in your mouth, not exercising properly (this could be not working out consistently, not exercising hard enough or not following the right workout plan) or both.

Trust me when I say there’s no hex on you, your genetics aren’t the reason behind your failed fat loss and you’re not doomed…it just takes an honest, no-nonsense assessment, a few tweaks to your nutrition plan, workout routine or both…and you’ll be on your way to a tight body in no time.  It really IS that simple.

Thanks for joining me at Fat Loss 101.  Class dismissed.

Helping you burn body fat faster and sculpt a lean body,

Dr. Brad Campbell CFT, PharmD

PS- If the title of this post offends you, you’re taking life way too serious…that’s just my opinion though.  Also, if you haven’t already, go ahead and put your name and email in the form below to join my VIP list – I’ll be hooking you up with all kinds of free info that will help get you lean in less time.