General Fitness

Yes, I have had cardiac dysrhythmia (irregular heartbeats.)  And yes, I have had patients and clients with it as well.  It is not uncommon, in fact it is very common... BUT that does not mean that it is not a problem.

I can't tell you why you are having them, or what to do about them specifically without more data.  What I am certain about is that you must go to your doctor and have test done.  This is the same advice I've given myself and others.  Go to your doctor and get the necessary tests done to get clarity on the issue.  Tests will most likely include blood labs, imaging, and other lab tests (i.e. stress tests, etc.)  Do NOT mess around with your heart!

It may be something easy and simple like you are dehydrated, or low in magnesium.  Or you may be low in testosterone.  Or it may be something far more serious... We just don't know, until we know.  So go get more intel.

Call and make an appoint now. Don't hesitate or assume it will resolve on its own.

Answered by Roman Footnick

Thanks for your questions.

Answered by Roman Footnick

Thanks for the question and info. Your diet looks good and you lost a healthy amount of weight for in a year. Stubborn belly fat is just that... stubborn. Give yourself time and make more demands on your body and you'll find the rewards you are looking for. Some suggestions: fasted cardio, intermittent fasting, ketogenic dieting, occasional cheat meals, and varied training (i.e. martial arts, cross fit, boot camp, etc.)

Don't do all these at once. Try one for 6-8 weeks and see how you do. Then another technique and compare results. Then trying combining a couple of these tricks for a few months. Have fun with the process and focus on steadily attaining a healthy weight for you.

Answered by Roman Footnick

First get blood work done. It will inform you about your endocrine health which may be an issue. Sometimes when people diet/ exercise and lose a lot of weight the endocrine system can "slow down" to protect us from starving or dying (it doesn't know you're trying to lose weight.) Most common is the thyroid reducing t4 or t3 conversion.
This can be corrected with supplements or drugs. Often simply adding "cheat meals" once a week is all one needs. A cheat meal is ONE meal that is way off your normal diet and is supposed to trick you body to think you're no longer starving and prime the endocrine system.
Also, if your on a low fat diet then your testosterone may be low. Again this will stall fat loss.

My second suggestion is to begin weightlifting. High intensity resistance training builds muscle, and more muscle means more caloric demand on your body. So as long as you don't start regularly eating more calories (again occasional cheat meal is good), then you should begin losing more fat again.

Finally, start getting more focused on how your clothes fit instead of the scale. If you're putting on a pound of muscle and losing a pound of fat - the scale will be misleading.

Answered by Roman Footnick

Great question with a relatively easy answer.  Just move.  Squats, chair squats, lunges, stairs, assisted push ups (like off a counter top), pick heavy things up and put them down.  Do it repeatedly and consistently, and you'll be burning more calories versus just sitting.  In fact, stand when you would otherwise sit. Bottom line... MOVE!

Now to the more important part... Get out of your home and walk.  Put on headphones and listen to uplifting music (I love Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, etc., but you may like jazz, rock, or rap...  what ever it is- it must be positive and uplifting to you!) and go outside and walk.  Hold your head up high, smile, feel the music, be grateful for the ability to walk, and walk like there is nothing that can stop you.  Develop an uplifting incantation that you can repeat to your self over and over again as you walk.  It can be a prayer, mantra, phrase, quote, etc.  But it must be something that you can say and FEEL as you walk.  For example, one that I used to motivate me when I was having a hard time was simply "Every day, in every way I'm getting stronger and stronger" and I just keep adding more things... "Every day, in every way I'm feeling more and more happy" "Every day, in every way I'm getting better and better" On and on I would recite out loud these kinds of incantations (and many more)... and still do decades later.  And yes, you must do them out loud!  If I could do it before cell phones, then you have no excuse why you can't do it now. Everyone will simply assume your are on the phone.  You are going to become your own best friend to yourself who motivates rather than critiques, who inspires rather than shames, and feels immense gratitude rather than depression.

Finally, the most important part... After working with hundreds of women I've learned that in general (you may be an exception) when there is a woman who is very obese, there is often trauma in her past.   If you have trauma in your past (psychological, emotional, sexual, and/or physical) I highly recommend you work with a great person to get you out of the self defeating trance you are in.  This person may be a priest, minister, rabbi, psychologist, hypnotist, or simply a wise friend.  But the deeper issue that brought you to where you are today, the issue that causes you to make bad decisions when you know better - must be dealt with. Then you can free yourself from your self imposed limitations, and allow the fit, joyful, and grateful girl inside shine and help others.

Good luck and God bless

Answered by Roman Footnick

Amino acids are simply building blocks of protein.  They shouldn't be a big problem with fat burners if you really want to try them.  One specific amino acid is thought to be beneficial for fat loss, L-Carnitine.

Answered by Roman Footnick

Forget cardio unless you simply enjoy it. Spend your time doing intense work (i.e. weights or sprints) to build muscle and reduce or regulate your diet to lose the fat.

Answered by Roman Footnick

You have the right idea and are doing well.

With weights:
Start with the largest muscles and work to the smaller. So begin with legs (ie. Leg press then leg curl)
Next is back (keep doing pull downs, but also include rows)
Then chest (flys are great, now add dumbbell presses)
Shoulders (side laterals)
Triceps (pushdowns)
Biceps (curls)

30 min on the treadmill is an optional thing if you like doing it... but DO NOT do it right after you train (or directly before.) You can do it first thing in the morning, or on your 'off' days. Just know that it can be detrimental to what you are trying to do, IF you do it just before or after your productive time in the weight room.

also, notice i didn't include abs. Again... optional. I personally don't do them, nor do I typically have clients do them. Your abs will appear when as your body fat reduces, training abs does not spot reduce abdominal fat.

To further progress in your fatloss, I'd start looking at other sugars you are ingesting. I LOVE that you got rid of liquid sugars (I've started dozens of people that way.) But now you need to dig deeper, and see where the other culprits are in your diet. Sugar is literally hidden in all kinds of foods by a variety of names. Here's my list:

Agave nectar
Barbados sugar
Barley malt
Barley malt syrup
Beet sugar
Brown sugar
Buttered syrup
Cane juice
Cane juice crystals
Cane sugar
Caramel
Carob syrup
Castor sugar
Coconut palm sugar
Coconut sugar
Confectioner's sugar
Corn sweetener
Corn syrup
Corn syrup solids
Date sugar
Dehydrated cane juice
Demerara sugar
Dextrin
Dextrose
Evaporated cane juice
Free-flowing brown sugars
Fructose
Fruit juice
Fruit juice concentrate
Glucose
Glucose solids
Golden sugar
Golden syrup
Grape sugar
HFCS (High-Fructose Corn Syrup)
Honey
Icing sugar
Invert sugar
Malt syrup
Maltodextrin
Maltol
Maltose
Mannose
Maple syrup
Molasses
Muscovado
Palm sugar
Panocha
Powdered sugar
Raw sugar
Refiner's syrup
Rice syrup
Saccharose
Sorghum Syrup
Sucrose
Sugar (granulated)
Sweet Sorghum
Syrup
Treacle
Turbinado sugar
Yellow sugar

This crap is all sugar, and your fat storing hormone insulin loves it. So therefore you must be diligent about avoiding sugar.

Carry on and stay disciplined. You're on the right course.

Answered by Roman Footnick

First, I recommend getting some blood work done. It should include tests to make sure your testosterone/estrogen, thyroid, TSH, and IGF-1 are in good ranges. You didn't indicate if you are male or female, but both sexes need proper testosterone levels for muscular development and regulated estrogen levels for fat loss (e.g. low testosterone with high estrogen relative to each sex can make fat loss VERY difficult.) Same goes for thyroid and growth hormone levels.

Second, you can try restricting your calories, and seeing if that makes a difference. Try a 20-25% calorie reduction for at least 8 weeks and see if that helps. Also, make sure your "low carb" diet is NOT high protein. If your carbs are very low, and your protein intake is high your body will convert the protein into glucose (sugar). This is called gluconeogenesis. For this reason, a low carb diet should be high in fat (70%) moderate in protein (20%) and low in carbs (10% or less.)

Answered by Roman Footnick

There are more certifying bodies than I can count - and all of them are either worthless or worth very little in regard to producing quality trainers or trainers than can actually make a living.

If you are new to being a professional trainer, then yes - pay the $500 - assuming it is to a well recognized certifying organization (i.e. ACE, NASM, ACSM, ISSA, etc.)  If it is not a well know brand of cert, then go get one.  If you charge $50 per session, then the cert just cost you 10 sessions of work... that would be about one day to one week, depending on how much you are hustling - for 2 years of certification.  If you can't afford that cost of doing business, then you should look into another line of work.

If you are a somewhat experienced trainer (5 years of income as a professional trainer), then probably not - because you should already have a steady stream of clients, and a working relationship with one or more gym(s). But if its a big deal to a gym owner - do it... it should only be a day's worth of work... Plus it's just another business expense.

If this is for your own edification and improvement, then spend the money studying from the best trainers in your area (based on experience, expertise, ability to teach, etc.)  Learn from others who are actually good at training people, and don't limit it to "fitness."  Go to martial art studios, boxing gyms, gymnastic coaches, pilates, yoga, gyrotonic studios, aerialists, etc.....

Go to medical seminars, read medical books, and go to symposiums.

If you're serious, then get curious and learn from everything and everyone.

I've been doing this professionally for over 25 years, and am always learning or discovering something new.

Answered by Roman Footnick

Answered by Roman Footnick

Throw away your scale and throw away your machine... Or sell them on eBay.
You're focused entirely on the wrong thing... Numbers. The numbers are arbitrary. Nobody cares what your numbers are.... Even you!
If you look like crap in the mirror, but the machine says your built like Mr. Olympia - then it doesn't really matter.
Use your mirror. Use the camera on your phone. Have trusted and honest people critique you. Don't do it daily. Weekly at most. Monthly is best for most people to evaluate progress.
Improving your physique takes time. And you are young and not fully developed (i.e. HPTA axis) so be patient and ENJOY the process.
If you like crunching numbers (which I assume you do) then keep track of your weights at the gym and occasionally take some measurements (i.e. Height, weight, neck, waist, chest, arms, legs, calves.)
If you want a simple way to chart the ratio you are after, then every 3 months measure your waist and neck or arms. The smaller the waist and bigger the neck or arms the more muscular you've become.

Answered by Roman Footnick

Answered by Roman Footnick

Your current routine is a good one. It is working well for you, so I say keep up the good work. When you challenge your muscles, you strengthen then, and you also reduce your body fat percentage. However, it is important for you to allow your muscles to rest. Make sure that you have at least one rest day in your exercise routine every week.

Plan 1 is the best plan for building and strengthening your muscles. It is important to give your muscles rest, so you want to work different muscle groups on different days.

In order to gain weight, you will have to increase the number of calories you are eating per day. You should eat 250 more calories every day. You should also make sure you include plenty of protein-rich foods in your diet, such as meat, poultry, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds and yogurt.

Furthermore, it is important to include plenty of weight training in your regime. Squats, lunges, bicep curls and tricep extensions are some of the exercises you can perform. Weight training should be done three or four times per week.

Every person is different and every body stores fat in different areas.

From the areas you have described it sounds to me like some weight training might benefit you. Try a classic 5 day split in which you train each muscle on a different day, with 2 days of rest interspersed in your week.

For example:
Monday - Back
Tuesday - Chest
Wednesday - Rest
Thursday - Legs
Friday - Arms
Saturday - Shoulders
Sunday - Rest

You could start taking your basic supplements if it so pleased you, but don't expect them to do the work for you. They are simply lesser tools in your arsenal to aid in recovery. Training, nutrition and sleep should be first priorities.

And no need to take ZMA religiously unless you have trouble sleeping at night. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Pushups, lots of them. 
Pushups are plyometric by nature and therefore can be performed more often than say bench pressing.
Wake up every morning and do some pushups, do some more before lunch, and for good measure throw some pushups in before bed.

My point is that the more you do the more muscle you will stimulate, break down, and rebuild.

I would suggest a day off every now and again as your body does need rest.

Keep in mind you cannot spot treat fat, so if you have fat deposits in your chest you will need to lose fat in general for the fat in your pectoral area to dissapear and be replaced by muscle.

Good luck. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

What can you do? You can stay consistent! I do not know how long you have been sticking to this regimen, but if it hasn't been longer than 4 weeks, don't expect mind blowing results. It takes time + consistency + patience to equal noticeable results.

I also know that muscle carries more density than fat, so while you may be losing fat, you could also be gaining muscle in your legs (which are already fairly musclular). This could cause the scale to stay stagnant and your frustration to rise. Don't get hung up on the number, and rather use the mirror as your objective viewpoint. While you're looking in that mirror, focus on what you are doing right and the little changes you see vs. what you hate and what needs improving. It's okay to notice what needs work but do not place blame and negativity upon yourself or you will get nowhere

You could try switching up your cardio routines. Try so high intensity interval training, circuit training, or tabata, and switch up the types of cardio exercises. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

You sure can do both at the same time. While it's impossible to both put and and drop weight at the same time, it is possible to build some muscle while dropping fat levels, especially when starting at a higher body fat percentage. 
Remember, the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolism will be due to the energy expended just to keep that muscle.
In turn, the higher your metabolism, the more fat you can burn.

Start resistance training in order to build that muscle. If you'd like to focus on legs, split them into two days with one day focusing on quads and one day focusing on hamstrings.

Research how to basic exercises and practice them until you can do them perfectly, begin to add weight slowly but surely. Exercises you can focus on are: Squats, lunges, deadlifts, leg presses and more.

Another thing I would suggest is to include a day to train your explosiveness. Since you are training for a specific sport, include exercises thsat will directly relate to your playing on the field. Box jumps and agility drills will train your explosiveness and speed which will help you dominate on the field while you continue to drop weight and add muscle.

Good luck! 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Hello!
Just remember you are only fifteen. Because you are still very young your body is most definitely still growing naturally. You can supplement this growth with weight lifting and exercise but don't neglect the fact that you still have years before you reach your proper height and frame/structure.

Exercises that target the rear are squats, leg presses, lunges, deadlifts and sprints. SPrints will also target your arms and burn insane amounts of fat.

Keep working hard and staying true to this path for years and you will reap the rewards when you are older. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

I'm afraid you were mislead when you heard that bit of information!

There is absolutely no research concluding that soda water can reduce your belly fat. The only plausible way I see this statement holding true, is when you start to swap sugary sodas for a sugar-free soda water.

Soda water may help keep you hydrated during your workout, allowing you to perform better, but no research indicates it will reduce body fat on it's own, or is a direct contributor in any way in reducing belly fat.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Hello Komal,

I suggest you see a doctor. I know this may not be the answer you were looking for, but there are simply too many things that could be wrong with your knees, and unless someone physically looks at them, there's no way of telling the origin of the pain.

I would suggest refraining from climbing stairs for 45 minutes. If you are feeling this pain upon impact, switch to an elliptical trainer until you get checked out. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

I recommend eating more food. Simple as that.

If you, however, wish to add that mass in muscle with as little fat gain as possible, I suggest you focus on the macronutrient breakdown of your daily diet.

What this means is attempting to reach a certain number of grams of protein, fat, and carbs each day. Since you're trying to add weight, I would start around a ratio of 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat each day. Then start to tweak this depending on how you feel and look. You may want to go lower carb on days you don't train, as this unused energy source will just be stored as fat.

Start thinking of your food in terms of fuel for your body. Whether it be to fuel, refuel, replenish, recover, heal.
This doesn't mean you cannot enjoy your food, eat what you like and simply find ways to incorporate these foods into your diet. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

What kind of exercises are you doing when you train?

I ask this because you will not build muscle doing cardiovascular training. Muscular growth comes from muscular stimulus, and more importantly, the controlled breakdown of muscular tissue (and then regrowth)

This comes in the form of resistance training. Start focusing on compound exercise movements, things that will give you the most bang for your buck, and simultaneously build muscle and burn many calories. These include but are not limited to: 

Bench press
Squat
Leg Press
Deadlift
Lunge
Rows
Shoulder presses
And anything that involves more than one major muscle. 

When it comes to your eating, simply eat to fuel your training and recover from it. This means eat the majority of your carbs around your workout, when you need the energy most. Eat lots of protein (aim to consume about 1.5g of protein per pound of bodyweight - so for you ~160g) in order to build muscle and help recover from training so you can hit it hard again the next time you train.

Follow these tips and you willl be well on your way to a fit, muscular, lean body. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Whether this is sufficient or not will be completely up to how you look and feel.
It does take time to see results, so give it a few weeks before you change anything else as you may not need to, but if results are staggering and eventually static, you'll know its time to either increase the workload of your training, or switch up your diet. Find what works with your body and what makes you look, and more importantly, feel better. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Does this knee trauma affect your ability to train, or even to walk?

If you're looking to shed some weight, and are having trouble exercising due to a physical injury, I would suggest you focus on controlling your food intake to lose said weight.

Aim to eat a high protein, low carb diet. Since you won't be exercising with much intensity until your knee heals, you also won't be needing many carbohydrates. Think of carbs as your body's go-to energy source. It readily uses carbs to fuel exercise or practically any movement, and any unused carbs usually get stored away as fat.
Since you're not going to be using them, I suggest you not consume many of them. Eat your lean meats, dairy and eggs, and throw in some healthy fats in the form of nuts, oils, and nut butters.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

1) This could very well just be your body's reaction to a new stimulus - that is exercise. Sweat isn't usually the first indicator of fatigue and some of these symptoms sound like a body that has been at rest for 10 years and is now getting back into motion.
To be on the safe side I would head to a general doctor and have the run-of-the-mill tests done to make sure you're ready for exercise.

2) You could see results in as little as 4 weeks with regular exercise. This timeframe varies tremendously between person to person but stick with it and trust the process, you will undoubtedly see results.

3) Do what you enjoy! If you enjoy playing soccer, go play soccer. If you enjoy walking the dog, do that. Just get up, get moving, and get that heart rate going on a regular basis. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Hi Nikhil,

With such little information about you it would be hard to dole out a workout plan.
I can tell you that losing belly fat involves part cardio training (to burn calories and fat), part resistance training (to raise your metabolism and build muscle), and part solid nutrition (to keep calories consumed less than what is expended and for general health).

There are various supplements that you could experiment with to see what works best with your body. Do your research (or ask me) before you consume anything you're not sure of.
Some suggested supplements to start out with are a fish oil, multivitamin, and whey protein.

Hope this helps! 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

My first question would be to ask if you have seen any changes in your body? When you look in the mirror do you notice any difference than before you started?

The reason I ask is that you very well could just be putting on muscle as you lose fat - which is why you won't see the scale budge.
If you are lifting weights you could be adding lean muscle to your frame while your body fat levels drop from the aerobic training. Muscle is denser than fat so your WEIGHT (not your fat) could be lingering in the same area while your body composition changes.

If you'd like you could add in an extra day of aerobic training and see how it affects your physique. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Bone structure and musculature makeup isn't something you can necessarily change, i.e you cannot make your thigh bones smaller, but you can make them appear smaller by manipulating the rest of your muscles on your body.
That, essentially, is what bodybuilding is: creatine an illusion with your body.
Try focusing on more upper body exercises, you could even do swimming workouts that will not only effectively train your muscles to grow but help with your competitive swimming. Widening your lats (the outer sides of your back) will make your waist and thighs appear smaller. You can widen your back through exercises like pullups.

Lowering your body fat while raising your muscle percentage will also cause your thighs to appear smaller. Aim to consume enough protein in grams equivalent to your weight (~120) and watch your calories. Cut out the junk food and eat to fuel your swimming training! 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Creatine is perfectly safe to use along with a fat burner and whey protein.

To answer your question: Yes, creatine can help you lose weight, but not in a way you might think. Creatine ultimately provides more ATP allowing you to train harder for longer.. to squeeze out a few more reps or run for that much longer. In turn, your strength will increase and you will burn more calories through more exercise. This can aid in fat loss and muscle growth.

Keep doing what you're doing and let me know how you progress.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Hello Kathleen,

Weight loss is a fairly simple science: Consume less calories than you expend (burn off), and you will lose poundage.

You will need to find your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate). This is the number of calories a day you burn at rest. Then simply subtract 200 from this number, aim to consume that many calories a day in a stable macronutrient breakdown (40% protein, 40% carbs, 20% fat). This will of course take some experimenting to see what foods work best with your body type. You may even end up tweaking those ratios.

Don't forget to exercise as well. Exercising will burn more calories allowing your expenditure to be more than your consumption.

As for wanting to look like the girl in that picture, I can safely say you will never look like her, and that's okay, because you are not her!
I can also safely say that if you consistently exercise and eat well, you will look like the best version of you! 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Since time is of the essence in your situation, aim to do high intensity exercises.

You will get more bang for your buck in terms of cardiovascular training and burning calories, and your muscles can benefit from intense bouts of exercise.

Train in the morning. The EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption) will take place and burn more calories throughout the day.

Pick exercises that work major muscle groups. Burpees, lunges, squats, pullups, pushups are all great exercises.
Next, perform them back to back only resting for a minute or so after each round.

You'll be able to get a great workout done in 15 minutes. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

While I cannot speak for the Fitbit products, I used to own a Nike FuelBand and loved it. I was not new to exercise, but what I found was that the lingering thought that my calories burned for the day could be higher actually caused me to be more active. I would take the stairs instead of elevators, walk quicker, run and play with my pets and just be more active than usual.

I have heard good things about the Fitbit Flex. It is definitely sleeker than the fitbit force or zip. 

For the same price, the withings has one cool feature that I think your fitness lover would love herself: the ability to check her heartrate at a moment's notice will allow her to more precisely track her cardio workouts.

While I cannot make the decision for you, I hope that I've given you enough information and an expert opinion in order to get the gift she will love.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Hi there

My chest used to do the same thing. It is all a matter of body composition. First, aim to widen your chest with a variety of exercises. Increase your strength on the bench press, and really focus on the muscle when you are doing your isolation movements (like flyes). If you constantly add weight and progress, you will begin to see your chest "fill out" and widen.

Next, lose some body fat (notice how I said body fat and not weight - you are going to want to keep all of that hard earned muscle). Throw a high intensity interval training session into your weekly training. You could do a baseball affiliated workout like spriniting to first base, walking from first to second, sprinting form second to third and walking home. Repeat that process 4 or 5 times and you will burn enough calories to lose weight slowly.

Track your progress in the mirror, not the scale.

Good luck!

Answered by Jamie Kerem

There's one importat thing you need to remember, you might not see the scale moving because you are building muscle while losing fat. Your number will stay at 160 while your (more important) body composition will change.

Instead of constantly weighing yourself and stressing over the number, use the mirror as a gauge for your progress.

As for which protein brand to buy - whichever fits your budget and first listed ingredient is "whey protein isolate" or "hydrolyzed whey protein". 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Building muscle requires that very muscle to be put under tension, broken up, and rebuilt bigger and stronger - I can promise you now that your bike won't do that.

You're going to need to start doing some form of resistance training. Lifting weights can be the most beneficial way to build muscle, get stronger, and look great all at the same time.

Next time you go to the gym, head to the weight section instead of the cardio section. Look for a structured lifting plan and follow it. Aim to add weight each time you go. Drink your protein shake when you get back and eat your dinner. Your body should respond quickly and well to this and you will build the muscle you are looking for.

You can still ride your bike to keep your heart healthy, just make sure to separate it form your resistance training sessions. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Don't let a lack of time be the obstacle in the way of your dream body. It is all a matter of priorities. I don't know your exact schedule, but I find it hard to believe you cannot find 30 minutes to an hour each day to exercise. It does not have to take longer than that.

When weight loss is your goal and a lack of time is your lingering obstacle, perform High Intensity Interval Training, mixed with circuits and supersets of exercises. This will shorten the rest you have between exercises therefore bringing your heart rate up and burning more calories, and save you time in the process. You'll get a great workout in a matter of minutes and can move on with your busy day.

As far as dieting goes, you need to work with your diet, not for it. If a busy schedule gets in the way of constantly making or buying food, then do all of your meal prep in a couple of hours on the weekend, pre-package and refridgerate everything for the week, and simply take your meals with you. This is a technique I contantly employ to get me through a busy week.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

You should be the only judge of whether or not you'd like to focus on weight loss or muscle gain. If you are happy with your current body fat and fram then focus on adding a bit more size, however if you still want to pursue the ripped look, then continue dropping weight.

Your weight loss stall is due to an inefficeint workout routine. Doing abs for 45 minutes is doing nothing but put your spine in jeopardy. An hour of cardio is also redundant when you can get the same if not better calorie-burning abilities in a 20 minute window.

If you're up to the challenge, try this: Do your normal weight training routine except instead of resting between sets, do a minute of cardio. 
EG: Bench press x10 followed immediately by 1 minute of jumping jacks, followed immediately by your next bench press set, followed immediately by 1 minute of jump rope.

This will burn calories like no other, and can even serve to add some size to your muscles with the intense resistance training. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Of course, protein and creatine are not synergistic and can be exclusively beneficial.

Creatine provides more energy to the muscles by increasing the amount of ATP (a naturally occuring enzyme) in the body.

More energy for the muscles allows for more weight, more reps, and longer time under tension without exhaustion.

Start a creatine loading phase by consuming 20g of creatine monohydrate every day for a week. After that time you can start to take 5g a day to maintain the surplus of ATP in your body.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Gaining weight requires a surplus of calories. Focus on eating more calories than you burn. I cannot work out your basal metabolic rate with the information you have given me, but try to figure out how many calories you burn at rest, and add ~1000 to that number.

Aim for a 40/40/20 macronutrient split. This means you should aim to consume 40% protein, 40% carbs, and 20% fat in your diet.

As far as exercises are concerned, focus on compound movements. Your basic, multijointed exercises like squats, deadlifts, pullups, bench & shoulder presses etc will give you the most bang for your buck.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Your skin simply hasn't had time to adapt its elasticity due to the rate at which you lost the weight. The skin is a very elastic organ, but in this case it couldn't quite keep up with the speed at which you lost those 55 pounds.

Don't panic. Your skin will catch up. In the meantime there are tips to speed up the process.

Drink more water. If you think you've drank enough, drink another glass. Staying hydrated will teach your body to get rid of the water in your underlying subcutaneous layer to make room for more.

Moisturize and take care of your skin.

Eat and exercise correctly. Exercising 3-5 times a week will help you maintain your weight (don't lose any more or you'll be furthering the gap from your loose skin) and possibly tone up the areas of muscle where you have this loose skin. Eating enough calories and consuming enough protein will ensure those muscles are properly fueled for growth and recovery, tightening up the gap between your skin and your muscles.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

You sure could,

In order to build muscle (build bigger legs), you're going to want to use weight that continually challenges you. That means drop the pink dumbbells your gym offers and grab something heavy.

Aim to work out 4-5 times a week, giving your body the other 2-3 days to recover and grow. 

Big legs come from squats, deadlifts and all their variations. Focus on these compound movements to see the biggest growth in your legs and glutes.

Your abs will also be worked when doing these movements. Your abs stabilize you when under loads. Without this muscle (and help fromm your spine) when you squat you would simply bend in half.

The only way you're going to see your abs is through sound nutrition causing you to drop body fat. At 120 pounds you are not far off. Eat clean meat veggies etc and drink plenty of water.

Use these tips to further guide you along your journey. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

First off, 6 and a half stone is not even close to overweight on a healthy female.

If you want to improve your body image the first thing you need to do is stop comparing yourself to the girls you find in magazines or online. You will never look like the girl in the magazine because not even the girl looks like the girl in the magazine!

That being said, you can achieve your body in it's healthiest, most deisreable form through proper nutrition and exercise.

Since you are only 16, your muscles and body are still growing and developing. I wouldn't dive into heavy weights to spur more growth just yet, but I would supplement your body's natural growth with bodyweight exercises. Things like squats, dips, pushups, situps, planks, lunges, pullups and more will signal to your body that you'd like it to get stronger and leaner as it grows.

Binge eating is a way of your body telling you that you're not feeding it enough/the right nutrients. Eat enough of the right food and you would never feel the need to binge eat. Eat enough, but eat the right stuff!

With these tips you won't look like the girl in the picture, but you will look like the best you possible.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Remember one thing, you are 16. Your body is still growing and I know you want to be big and tall now, but your time will come. Let your body continue to grow as it is and will do.

No exercise will make you taller, there are exercises, however, that will fix bad posture which can give the appearance of added height, if you tend to slouch over, shoulders forward, you will want to stretch out your hip flexors (through a hip flexor stretch) and your pecs (through a pec stretch).

If you want to add 20-30 pounds (which won't come quickly), focus on eating lots of lean meat, clean carbohydrates (like brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat, nothing processed), and good fats (nuts, nut butter, oils etc). This will naturally supplement the body's process of growth.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

There are and you came to the right place.

I've been through what you are going through, stuffing your face with tons of clean food day after day only to find the scale hasn't budged.

For one, stop being so strict on your food choices. Yes, you need to make sure you get enough protein daily, but carbs and fat will work themselves out. Eat, and eat a lot. It may seem like the scale isn't going to move, but it will, slowly at first.

You also need to be doing the right types of exercises to signal muscle growth and tell your body where to put those calories.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to focus on compunnd lifts. These included but are not limited to: Bench Press, Squat, Deadlift, Shoudler Press, Rows, Pullups. Doing endless arm curls is not going to make you any bigger.

Try a 5 day split working one body part a day and focus on those movements for each body part respectively.

On chest day do bench press and variations of it, and at the end you can throw in an isolation movement or two like flyes. On your back day do rows and pullups and then focus on things like lat pulldowns. 

I also cannot stress enough how important it is to progress with your lifts. I would get frustrated when the scale wouldn't budge, and I came to figure out that all I needed to do was get stronger in order to get bigger. They are almost synonymous. Aim to add 5-10 pounds on everything you lift each week.

With these tips you will surely see that scale number rise.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

You are currently eating 550 calories less than maintenance.
You are also burning around 500 with your exercise.
That means that your daily caloric deficit is actually around 1050.

This can be counter-intuitive to weight loss and I would in fact suggest eating more. When you eat more you are doing several things for your body:

You are telling it that more food is coming so it need not worry about keeping the food (or weight) that it has now.

You are giving your body enough calories or energy to crush the next workout

Yes you could very well be losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time, which is why I'm not an avid fan of the scale in the first place. Use the mirror to judge your results, as well as how you feel each day. More energy? That's a good thing! If you can, try to take measurements where possible. This is aso a good way of determining whether you're losing any weight.

You might also want to give HIIT a try.

Instead of your 2 mile evening run, go for a 20 minute sprint interval. Warm up, sprint for 30 seconds and jog for a minute. Repeat this process for 20 minutes. This has been proven to accelerate fat loss through an extended period of caloric burning. It raises your metabolism.

Best of luck to you.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Hi there,

No need to apologize for the long post, in fact it is very informative and detailed. Let me start by saying that wwhat you're currently doing is absolutely spot on. You are definitely heading in the right direction to attaining your goal physique. I will add a few tips and comments to add to your daily routine.

If you want a toned stomach or pair of legs, I would highly recommend you begin resistance training. Contrary to (very) popular belief, lifting heavy weights will not make women big or bulky, because that's not in the very nature of the female body. Women do not produce enough testosterone to get overly-muscular. 
In your morning routine you do various body-weight resistance exercises. I want you to start using added resistance. Keep track of how much you use and add to that number every week.

E.g Wall sit holding 10lb dumbbells.
2nd week - Wall sit holding 12lb dumbbells.

Doing so signals your body that its going to have to get alot stronger if it wants to survive this continuous added weight, which in turn trains it to be a fat burning, lean muscle building machine.

Your nighttime routine is fine, but again, remember to use progression and added resistance with your squats.

As far as your diet is concerned, you're most certainly on the right track. Clean eating is the way to go. I would add in a little more protein, seeing as your calories are rather low, and this can in fact hinder weight loss. Add some lean meat to your lunchtime meal. This will also do wonders for your recovery and afternoon mental focus at work.

If you have any other questions feel free to comment below. 

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Hi Joshua,

I'm so glad you have decided to adopt this healthy lifestyle, not many 19 year olds care about health, or discover a passion like this. 

If your main goal is to attain maximum physical and intellectual performance, I would suggest a mimx of all types of training. You can incoporate both cardio and resistance training into one super-taxing workout. 

To achieve your goal you're going to have to focus on one thing. Progression. Whether it is getting quicker at running/biking, lifting heavier weights (in a structured way) every week, or beating your time on something, you need to strive for progression. With progression you wil continuously get better at whatever it is you are doing, and will come one step closer to peak performance.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Hi there,

Yes, you are making sense, and do not fret, thousands of teenage girls like yourself worry about this issue.

In a sense, yes, if you were more toned you would be able to eat more. Let me explain why.

Muscle burns calories. The more muscle mass and tissue you have in your body, the more calories your body burns in an attempt to maintain that muscle mass and fuel it.

Never be afraid to eat! Your diet should never control you. You need to take the reigns and feel fully in control of what goes in your body, what doesn't, and how you feel because of it.

You should also listen to your body. If it's hungry, feed it. Work with your body and not against it.

You seem to have a firm grasp of eating healthy foods, so you shouldn't have to worry about an extra meal when that meal is chock full of nutrition your body is obviously crying for.

Now, in order to put on the required muscle, you're going to have to start doing some resistance training. Next time you go to the gym, pick up a dumbell instead of spending your time on the treadmill.

If you'd like to know what kinds of exercises to be doing, feel free to comment below.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

A foam roller is a cylindrical piece of foam usually about 3 feet in length. You’ve probably seen one of these in your gym and not even given it a second thought. How could a piece of foam possibly do anything beneficial for your body?

Foam rolling prevents tightness, knots, and soreness in your muscles through a soft tissue therapy called myofascial release. This is achieved by relaxing tight and constricted muscles, boosting circulation within the muscles, and stimulating the stretch reflex of muscles. The foam roller essentially allows you to give yourself a deep tissue massage, and treat knotty, tender muscles.

This is beneficial to all people seeking health, wellbeing, strength, mobility, agility, even weight loss. Recovery is just as important as proper nutrition and training and is often overlooked by most people.

The foam roller helps your body recover from soreness and tightness, and primes your muscles for a new day and new workout by improving mobility and stretch of the muscles. It also improves blood circulation which, at a cellular level, allows for better uptake of nutrients and exchange of waste products.

So how exactly do you use this piece of equipment? You roll on it. Simple enough right? The foam roller can be used on almost all parts of your body (avoid torn muscles though). You simply place the body part in contact with the foam roller, and slowly roll back and forth over the surrounding area. Keep pressure for 30 seconds.

When you feel a tight spot, a spot that gives you more pain than usual, hold the foam roller on that point until pain begins to subside. This is the tight muscle lengthening up. You might find more trigger points (points of pain) in your body than you’d have expected.

Make foam rolling a part of your daily routine and reap the benefits of improved flexibility and strength and less injuries and stress!

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Hi there,

Losing 65 pounds is no small task. It's also far from impossible. The first step to losing that unwanted weight is making a commitment to do so. You've made the deicision to embark on this journey, so you've already completed the first step! Now all you need is to stay true on your path. It may take a hefty amount of time, but don't worry about that, the time will pass anyway. It also may be challenging at times, so here are a few tips to keep you straight on your road to healthy!

Stop thinking about diets and start thinking about life changes!
You'll never lose and KEEP OFF the pounds with a fad diet because it's exacty that, a fad. Start thinking about making changes to your lifestyle (and do so in small steps to avoid being overwhelmed). Start by cutting out soda and sugary drinks from your life, the next week make sure to drink at least 10 cups of water a day, the next week add a new challenge. In 2 short months you'll have made 8 powerful changes to your life and the fat will melt away without you thinking about it.

Stop eliminating foods and start limiting them.
You say you have a hard time saying no to certain foods. Why not start saying: "Not right now". If you try to eliminate foods you've had in your life for years, you're asking for trouble. Start limiting them, and have the good knowledge to know they do nothing good for your body. You'll begin to limit them more and more until you no longer even want them.

Make a plan! (Or plan to fail)
No one ever got thinner by just winging it. Find a good workout plan, a solid eating plan (that fits your lifestyle and food groups!) and make sure to do your research about both. Then stick to it!

Find your support
Staying accountable creates an urgency to succeed. Find yourself a good support group, whether it be family, friends or a social network. Call upon them for you to lean on. If they are true and genuine people in your life, they will be more than happy to oblige. Post pictures, statements and motivation, and you'll become accountable to them. You won't want to fail because you' be letting them down.

I hope you find these tips to be helpful!
Let me know if you have any further questions.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

You work hard. You lift heavy and you eat clean, and you do it day in day out. So how come every time you step on the scale, the number flashing back at you taunts you with stagnation? Why do you look exactly the same after a month of intense training as you did when you started?

You’ve probably heard that building muscle happens outside of the gym. Well I think it’s time I drive that point home. When you are in the gym training with utmost intensity (as you should be), you’re breaking down the muscle you have. You’re causing micro-tears in the fibers of your muscle, and you’re essentially “prepping” them for rebuilding and re-growth. What you do in the gym is only the first stage to muscle growth and the next can be considered even more important.

First off you need rest – and plenty of it. You are not a machine and your body needs some well deserved R&R to recover from the stress you placed on it, as well as time to rebuild itself. If you’re training more than 5 days a week at an hour and a half a session, chances are you’re not fully giving your body a chance to recover.

Second, you need a surplus of calories. This means you need to eat more than you burn off. If your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) burns 2300 calories a day, you need to be eating 2600 calories a day. Of course this can be tweaked for different people and body types, but the point is you need an excess amount of calories so your body can utilize them to rebuild the muscle you just broke down.

Note that not all calories are created equal so eat clean!

I know it may seem counter-intuitive at first, but train less, eat more (of the good stuff), and watch your body grow.

It’s not what you do in 1 hour at the gym that builds muscle; it’s what you do in the 23 others outside of it.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Hello Abhishek,

If you have a tendency to put on weight quickly, or you are an endomorph, I would not suggest taking a mass gainer. Instead, try and keep the food you eat as clean as possible, and eat most of those calories around your workouts. Meaning within an 8 hour window of your workout. The amount of calories you would need to eat depends on how much you weigh and your metabolic rate (among other things).

A decent protein powder can definitely assist in building lean muscle mass, aim to consume your protein shake right after exercise, and/or first thing in the morning.

Getting the right protein powder for you depends on numerous things: Price, taste preference, nutritional value.
Shoot for a protein powder that has 24 or more grams of protein, 2 or less grams of fat, and 4 or less grams of carbs.
Some popular brand names are Optimum Nutrition, MusclePharm, MuscleTech etc. You could also go for your local nutrition store brand as long as it fits the nutritional profile above.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Hi molly!

Congratulations on losing 40lbs in a year, that's no small achievement.

I'm sure you''ve learnt over the course of your journey that you can't spot reduce fat, meaning focusing on losing weight specifically from your lower abdomen is an impossible task. Instead, focus on losing weight in general, gaining a bit more muscle mass, and watch those love handles dissapear as you begin to ook more toned and tight.

My main concern is the amount of calories you're consuming everyday. Yes, you need to be at a caloric deficit in order to lose fat, but cut too much too quickly and your body goes into what can be called "starvation mode". The body is a very clever organism. It will hold onto fat because it thinks it's not getting much food over a period of time.
If you're eating 1200 calories a day, your body is going to hold onto every single calorie plus what's left in your body just in order to function efficiently.

Start by upping your caloric intake, focus on adding more protein into your diet. You've said you are doing resistance training, if you continue to do so, and up your caloric intake (in the form of protein) those extra calories and proteins will go towards building new muscle. This muscle will in turn elevate your metabolism, provide a toned look (to repllace the flab) and teach your body to use fat as fuel instead of muscle.

Comment below with your workout routines/exercises, and i'll let you know what's golden, and what needs revision!

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Supplements should be used to fill in the gaps of a whole food diet.

For example taking a multivitamin because you don’t get enough of the daily vitamins and minerals your body needs for proper function from fruit and vegetables. As your goals widen and expand, so might your arsenal of supplements.

You may start to take a whey protein powder post-workout due to its incomparable absorption rates, or creatine for its ability to maximize strength and endurance and flush water into the muscles. But always keep in mind that these substances should never replace a solid food diet.

Whey protein is found in milk, and creatine is found in most red meats and some fatty fish, albeit in smaller amounts than it’s concentrated supplement counterpart.

As long as you remember to keep food as your #1 focus for keeping that body running like a well oiled machine, it won’t hurt to throw in a few supplements to fill in the gaps.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

The options you have listed seem to be very balanced, I commend you on that.

You've picked a resistance training method and a cardiovascular training method per option.

For that reason, I would say that the most balanced, or best exercise plan for you, would be the one that you enjoyed most, or felt that it was working best for you.

If it were up to me, my personal preference would lean towards option A - You'll get a good dose of cardio with daily walking as well as weightlifting. You'll expose your muscles to physical stress causing strength and hypertrophy gains, and yoga will balance out your flexibility and keep you mobile. An all-round stellar package!

That being said, I wouldn't underestimte kickboxing as a killer resistance workout! Each punch puts your entire upperbody (from core to chest to tricep to forearm) under resistance, and each kick will do the same for your lower body. You'll also be doing what could be considered HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) so you'll be burning calories like crazy!

All in all picking any of the four options will land you in a healthier, happier body. Good luck!

Answered by Jamie Kerem

First off I would tell you not to worry too much about your calf. From the duration of the pain as well as its timely occurence, i think its safe to say your calf just needs strengthening as well as adapting to the new strain you are placing on it by running.

The stretched you do before and after are perfectly okay. I would advise an active, or dynamic, stretch beforehand. This includes something with a lot of movement in order to stretch the muscle as opposed to holding a static stretch. This will fire up the neurons in your muscle and prepare them for the stress. Try something like skipping on the spot or springing only on the balls of your feet.

Inflammation may also come into play that can cause pain in your calf muscle. Make sure to eat plenty of anti-inflammatory foods and drink PLENTY of water. A well hydrated muscle is a happy muscle!

If pain persists while you're running, you may decide to push through it until the end, but if it a bad pain, consider stopping to massage out any new-forming knots in the muscle.

You may also want to consider knee high compression socks which have been proven to improve circulation in the calf muscle.

I hope these suggestions help you!

Answered by Jamie Kerem

Isopure zero carb protein is safe to use. It is free of sugar, lactose and carbohydrates. NIsopure zero carb protein is safe to use. It is free of sugar, lactose and carbohydrates. Not only is this supplement safe, but it is also filled with many of the vitamins that your body needs, including vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin D. However, you want to make sure that you only take this supplement as directed.

Because you are an active person, you will need to take in between 1.0 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram body weight. You should strive to get between 98 and 147 grams of protein per day. In addition to taking the Isopure zero carb protein, you need to make sure that you include protein-rich foods in your diet. Turkey, chicken, lean beef, yogurt, and beans are excellent sources of protein.

There are several fat loss supplements on the market, and they are not all created equal. There are some fat loss supplements that have been shown to interact with medications and cause serious side effects. Therefore, you should speak with your doctor before you take a fat loss supplement.ot only is this supplement safe, but it is also filled with many of the vitamins that your body needs, including vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin D. However, you want to make sure that you only take this supplement as directed.

Because you are an active person, you will need to take in between 1.0 to 1.5 grams of protein per kilogram body weight. You should strive to get between 98 and 147 grams of protein per day. In addition to taking the Isopure zero carb protein, you need to make sure that you include protein-rich foods in your diet. Turkey, chicken, lean beef, yogurt, and beans are excellent sources of protein.

There are several fat loss supplements on the market, and they are not all created equal. There are some fat loss supplements that have been shown to interact with medications and cause serious side effects. Therefore, you should speak with your doctor before you take a fat loss supplement.

Answered by Jamie Kerem

If you have been struggling to lose weight, then you probably need to add more superfoods to your diet. Superfoods are high in nutrients but low in calories. Chicken, beans, apples, bananas, pears, berries, lean meat, leafy greens and salmon are examples of superfoods. You also want to make sure that you are drinking eight or more glasses of water per day. Water helps burn fat and keeps you feel so that you naturally consume less food.

Additionally, you should include both cardio and resistance training in your regime. Cardio training should be performed for at least thirty minutes, five days out of the week. Resistance training should be performed two or three times per week.

Enhancing stamina means getting your muscles to maintain the same energy level for longer period of time.

It is not recommended to rush the building of stamina due to high risk of getting injured in the process, building endurance should be a slow step by step program that is supervised by a professional.

The main idea behind endurance traning is to push the body to new heights with every traning session, the focus should be mainly in aerobic training, but make sure to include core and strength training.

Unless you're lifting for bodybuilding (which has its own specific rules about when and how to workout), you could go to the gym and workout even if you're still sore from your last workout session. Actually, keeping your body moving can help provide some relief from your soreness. Keep in mind to do an extended warm-up to loosen up your muscles. Stretching before and after your workout will also help release some tension. If your soreness is really bothering you than doing a lighter workout will still be beneficial while not overtaxing the sore muscles. Also, if you feel pain during your workout, more than just slight soreness, then you should take another day of rest before continuing with your workout goals.