In Q&A No. 2, we’re tackling a new round of topics based on burning fat, picking a training program, and “cheat day” nutrition. As always, if you have any questions you’d like answered in a future Q&A feel free to contact me and I’ll add it to the mix!

On to the questions…

What exercises should I do to burn belly fat? I can’t seem to get rid the excess fat around my waist.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news here, but burning fat in one specific area of your body is not something that is really under our control.

This concept is called “spot burning,” and while some workout programs or exercises will be billed as “the best for burning stubborn belly fat” or something similar, it’s not a concept that has much evidence behind it as actually working.

We’re all genetically different, and because of that we all store fat and burn fat in different ways. You probably can see this variance anywhere you look.

No two overweight people look the same. Some people store weight on their hips, others store it in their belly, some see it gather on their thighs. Some people will see their faces get puffier as they get heavier, while others will always have a leaner, more defined jaw.

The point of all of this is to help you understand that you store weight/body fat a certain way. Those areas that store fat first are the areas that take the most time and effort to burn, but that doesn’t mean you should target that area with exercise over and over until you see the results you’re looking for.

Let’s use an example that’s common for a lot of people. As we gain weight, many of us see body fat start to accumulate along our waist line, just underneath our belly button. If this describes you, and you want to shed that weight, the answer is not to train abs really hard 5 times a week to try to “turn the fat into muscle.”

Rather, the best approach is rooted in two areas (that don’t reside along our waist line): energy expenditure and daily calorie intake.

As with any weight-loss goal, your diet and the amount of calories you’re eating each day is of primary concern. Try and get a good idea of the amount of calories you’re taking in each day, on average, and then reduce that number.

Second, find exercises that promote the most energy expenditure. We’re talking total-body movements, compound movements, or cardio. Whatever gets your body moving through as big of a range of motion as possible, or physically moving around as much as possible (such as walking, running, biking, etc.).

Increasing the amount of calories you burn and decreasing the amount of calories you eat will help to burn body fat throughout your body — even in those stubborn areas. Obviously, we need to do this responsibly and not go overboard with either one (don’t starve yourself, or run yourself into the ground).

To answer this question, it’s pretty simple. Crunches aren’t going to burn belly fat.

Instead, focus on energy in vs. energy out.

Should I do the Military Fitness/Training Plan? Summer is right around the corner and I want to get started now. It looks pretty cool!

OK, I’ve seen this floating around social media. If you’re unfamiliar, here’s a breakdown of what the training program looks like… For one week, you’re looking at doing each of these exercises every day:

• Squats
• Planks
• Crunches
• Jumping Jacks
• Lunges
• Wall Sits
• Sit Ups
• Butt Kicks
• Push Ups

The reps vary by day, you’re looking at anywhere from 5-60 reps a day.

I understand why people are interested in workout plans like this. They’re very simple, they get you moving, they get you enthusiastic about improving your health and fitness.

All of that is good.

But generally, it’s a beginner audience that tries these plans. The amount of work ends up being waaayyy too much for a beginner, you become paralyzed by muscle soreness, and then you quit.

I wouldn’t ever ask someone to go from sedentary to doing 100+ squats, push ups, crunches, etc. a week. It’s just not a recipe for success or sustainability for most people.

So with that said, my answer is most often going to be:

No.

You’re better off going into the gym and finding exercises you like, or reaching out to a coach or personal trainer to help you identify a program and progression that is personalized to the goals you have.

What do I need to do to keep a cheat day from spinning out of control and becoming a cheat week?

The psychological aspect of dieting is probably the hardest piece of the puzzle to solve, so this is a great question and one that I won’t have a direct, concrete answer to.

Every one of us is so unique and has different triggers that cause a “cheat” day or meal to turn into a disaster.

For starters, I’d recommend we don’t even use that terminology. Calling it a “cheat day” implies that you’re going to cheat on your program or plan. You’re going to go off the rails and outside of the scope of what leads to success, what causes you to feel good, and what is in your best interests.

I like to call these “diet breaks” because it’s much more accurate what we’re talking about here.

Diet breaks are important. No person should diet constantly, every day, even if they have big goals of losing a lot of weight. If you’ve adhered to a program and experienced success, it’s important to have some days where we increase calories so that you can get a bit of a mental break and indulge in a food or two that you’ve abstained from during the diet.

But just a food or two.

That’s the break.

It’s not cheating. It’s not doing whatever the hell you want.

A diet break is still structured. Here’s an example:

Say you’re dieting on 1,800 calories (this number is completely hypothetical). After 2-3 weeks of consistent adherence and progress, as your coach I might give you a one-week diet break. This diet break wouldn’t be an “eat-whatever-you-want-and-let’s-talk-in-a-week” type of break. Rather, I’d give you an increase of 300-400 calories (again, hypothetical numbers here) so that you can eat a little bit more and fit in a food/meal two that you’ve been missing.

So to answer your question, I’d say structure and taking a different approach to what your “cheat day” is might put you in a better position to adhere to your plan and not have things spin wildly out of control.

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I hope you found this Q&A helpful! Like I said at the top, if you have a question you’d like answered, contact me and I’ll add it to the mix! And if you’re interested in taking your fitness or nutrition to the next level, check out my coaching page and let’s talk about how we can work together on your next program.

Thanks for reading!

CGF