The truth is, not a whole lot has changed in the past couple hundred thousand years when it comes to human physiology. And more recently, not a whole lot has changed in the scientific community either. In fact, you know those food labels on everything from Snicker Bars to rice cakes that show the DV% (Daily Value percentage)? These values, which show what is recommended for a 2000-calorie diet, were established in 1968 as the RDA, and are still in use today.

The food pyramid however, has come under scrutiny lately as it relates to carbohydrates and fats. But that is a highly debated subject, and results are still being discussed in the scientific community.

So, what’s a person to do? With product marketing skewing reality and even the scientifi c community debating some of the facts, it’s no wonder we get confused about what to eat and how much exercise is right for us. Fortunately though, there are some simple truths to weight loss, and I’ll try my best to clear those up.

One common misconception to weight loss has been that the more you sweat the more fat you’re burning. After all, when we get butter hot, it melts, so shouldn’t this be the same when it comes to our extra pounds around the thighs, hips, waist and other areas? Not exactly. That water you’re sweating didn’t come from fat. Fat is for energy (which I’ll discuss in more detail in just a moment). Sweat is water and salt; something your body desperately needs to survive and avoid dehydration. For instance, do you burn more calories walking in 60-degree temperatures or walking in 110 degree temperatures? Technically speaking, as long as your oxygen and energy consumption were the same, you would burn just about as many calories. You would sweat a lot more in 110-degree heat and risk dehydration as a result, but you wouldn’t burn all that many more calories. Remember, most gyms are air conditioned for a reason: you don’t want to have clients pass out from exhaustion and dehydration. Instead, it’s best to have as much energy as possible to exercise for the appropriate amount of time, and do it safely.

Weight loss occurs under one primary circumstance. You will lose weight if you burn more calories than you consume. It’s really that simple. This is known as the law of thermodynamics. So in reality, to lose some weight, you merely cut back calories through dieting, and then exercise to burn additional calories; thus, giving weight loss a double whammy. Approaching weight loss through diet and exercise could however have negative effects, and must be approached in a progressive manner. If for instance you starved yourself and ran a marathon, you’re body would take serious injury in not only the muscle tissues, but internal organs as well. To achieve a type of balance, a diet with proper nutrition is a must. On the exercise perspective however, things get a bit trickier.

A common myth regarding weight loss is what people refer to as spot reduction. This is where someone buys a product like the “Thigh Master” that will trim their thighs, or perhaps some special ab machine that will get them a washboard stomach. Fat however, cannot be reduced in one place in the body alone, at least not entirely. You can’t expect to lose inches around your waist and not be concerned about your hips. Fat is cumulative, and your body will stor e it where genetics say it is best placed. On women, this tends to be around the hips, thighs, and back of the arms. On men, this tends to be the belly. In either case, the fact remains the same that once your body as too many calories, and it can’t burn all of them, it will try to store them as fat on your body, and your body will put that fat where it sees fit. So, to tackle weight loss, we need to address it as a whole body function, and not just target areas.

The other myth is that there is a special “fat burning zone” that you can reach during cardio exercise that will burn fat at a rapid pace. Well, that’s not entirely true. The body will pull from two resources for its energy: carbohydrates and fat. Carbs, although they’ve been given a bad rap lately, are essential for energy and help supply your muscles with glycogen stores so that muscle tissues can function properly under stress. Fat can be thought of as your excess storage facility. But what is interesting are the times that your body decides to use either the immediate carbs stored in your tissues, or to utilize fat for energy.

As you increase your heart rate, caloric expenditure increases; hence, you burn more calories the more you move. Carbs are used as an immediate energy source to provide energy to muscle and other tissues, and fat is used more when you are at rest. So when you are sitting, you are burning more fat than carbs. When you are running a sprint, you are burning more carbs than fat. With this, one might think that all you need to do is sit around and you’ll burn more fat. While this is true, the amount of calories that you burn while sitting around is so low that weight loss just simply doesn’t occur. Therefore, there has to be a happy medium where you’re heart rate is high enough to burn calories while ensuring you don’t expend all your carb/glycogen stores yet still burn fat.

This is where the myth of a fat burning zone originated: the happy medium where energy stores are being expended equally. But it leaves out another important component known as EPOC, which stands for Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. This is fancy term that means after you put stress on your body, your body will then, during recovery (after you workout) continue to consume oxygen to restore the stresses placed upon it during exercise. This is an important point, since many people think that you are burning calories during the exercise, and count their caloric expenditure while in the gym. But, you are also burning calories afterwards as well due to the EPOC.

To ensure effective, injury-free weight loss, you need to first address caloric intake by reducing the amount of calories consumed. It’s highly recommended that you consult with your physician for recommendations that she or he can make based on your state of overall health and any special needs you may have.

Once your diet is in order, the next step is to have an exercise plan designed for your specific cardiac zones to ensure you achieve optimal caloric expenditure of carbs and fats during the workout while avoiding harm by over expending your energy stores, and also achieve optimal EPOC so that you continue to burn calories after your workout. Many trainers ignore the idiosyncrasies of the weight loss science like EPOC and the balance of cardio heart rate zones. But I can assure you using my NASM training and proven methods of cardio training concepts that I’ll design a program that safely and effectively meets your needs and addresses the true factors of weight loss and control.