FACT: The typical human being has enough body fat on her person to last for tens of thousands of hours of physical activity – perhaps even more.
Even if you had the time and inclination to be active enough for meaningful fat loss to occur, somewhere along the line SNAP! CRACK! or POP! and you’ll be visiting your friendly neighborhood orthopedist for a pow-wow.
The fitness industry has done an excellent job of making us believe that physical activity is the answer to our fat loss/health prayers. Millions have tried it and millions have failed. The amount of heart attacks suffered in the pursuit of preventing one is staggering.
The definition of insanity is:
Doing the same thing over and over again hoping that the outcome will somehow be different.
Last week I had the privilege of attending a rare day long seminar with Seth Godin. A woman at the lecture who had heard of my book spoke to me on a break. She woefully explained that she had started a running program at 45 years old to lose fat and get fit and, over the past several years has been injured 4 times. She has gotten not a jot closer to her goal. I felt for her.
I explained that:
- Fat loss is entirely a matter of eating less food specifically less refined sugar/carbohydrates and
- Strength training a couple of times a week for 20 minutes per session to preserve and hopefully build muscle and bone while losing fat.
That is it. Really. Like, if you try it and it doesn’t work, I’ll come scrub your floors, hand wash your linens and give you a foot massage like you’ve never experienced (ladies only pending wife’s permission).
This is the secret everyone is searching for but have been bamboozled into disbelieving.
The current worldview for fat loss/health is:
I must be very aerobically physically active and eat little to no fat
The truth is:
Eat less food preferably less carbohydrates and more healthy fat and strength train (lift weights) 2X per week and be only as active as you like mainly for fun.
By the way I’m a neat freak with powerful hands. I urge you all to give my worldview a try. If it doesn’t work…
