DESIGNING BETTER LIVING THROUGH STRENGTH
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EUGENIZATION
a personal training blog

From the category archives:

Fat Loss

The Time Magazine Article. Does Exercise Really Help You Lose Weight or Not?

by Eugene Thong on August 20, 2009

It’s probably old news to you by now, but Time Magazine recently ran an article that ruffled the feathers of most of my fitness industry brethren.
Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin.
Of course, with a title like that, it’s understandable why fitness folks would be up in arms.  It’s akin to saying, “Why Bankers Steal Your [...]

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The Restaurant Analogy.

by Eugene Thong on June 18, 2009

Often I’m asked why I disagree that fat loss is “merely a game of calories in vs. calories out” and maintain that it’s a function of hormonal tone.  Gary Taubes makes an interesting analogy:
If you owned a restaurant and hired me as a consultant to help you figure out why business is down, and I [...]

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Do You Know What Today Is?

April 1, 2009

No, I’m not referring to April Fool’s (although it is April Fool’s Day).  April 1st is generally the unofficial first “Sleeves Day” – the first day warm enough to wear short-sleeved tops (although it’s 47 degrees and threatening to rain here in NYC).
Are you ready?  If not, why not?
Perhaps you haven’t been as diligent with [...]

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Don’t Change Everything…

March 16, 2009

…when you change up your program.  There’s a simple reason for this:  The most common reason for changing a routine is lack of results.
As an example, say you stop losing fat on a weight loss program, and you change your feeding schedule, your diet composition, your workout frequency, and your training partner.  Assume fat loss [...]

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A Neat-O Jedi Mind Trick (Goalsetting).

January 6, 2009

(Thanks to Ankur for sharing this interesting Jedi Mind Trick with me).
Take 2 sheets of paper.  Label the first thusly:
My Top 5 Fitness Goals (July 2009)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Proceed to fill in the blanks.  Don’t worry if you don’t have 5; it’s okay to leave some blank.  What’s important is that you think about what you want to [...]

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Five Easy Rules For Fat Loss.

October 7, 2008

1. Eat Food, not “foodstuffs” (food rots, foodstuffs don’t).
2. Clarification of #1: Food = meat, leaves, berries (low-sugar fruit), nuts, and seeds.  Food ≠ grains, starches, and (concentrated forms of) sugar, except – sparingly – honey, and the aforementioned fruit.
3. If you don’t want to eat it (or aren’t supposed to eat it), don’t keep [...]

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A Small Observation (or Two).

October 2, 2008

Your body is not 100% efficient.  At doing anything.
This implies:
Not all of the energy you apply to an exercise will be used in moving the weights.  This is why technique is so critical.
Not all the weight you lose on a fat-burning program is fat.  This is why you should lift heavy things while eating for [...]

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EAT FAT To Succeed on a Low Carb Diet.

July 10, 2008

(You could alternatively call this post, “How NOT to do a low carb diet.” I’d like to thank Dr. Barry Groves for introducing me to these concepts and Gary Taubes for the keys that finally unlocked my dormant intellect.)
There are tons of misconceptions out there about controlled-carbohydrate diets, most of them fueled by the [...]

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The Correct Answer is “C”: None of the above.

July 7, 2008

A common question from new clients:
“Which do you think is better: The low-sugar soft drink or the organic kind that’s made with cane syrup instead of high-fructose corn syrup?”
The point that’s unfortunately lost on them – “better” in this case is misleading. It’s still soda.
Truth is, it doesn’t matter if your cookie is milled [...]

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The Role of Exercise in Fat Loss.

June 27, 2008

Just a quick note to clear up any confusion -
When on a fat loss program, it’s the diet that causes you to lose fat.
Primarily, exercise (strength training) prevents the loss of muscle tissue while your body is burning fat tissue for energy.  If you’re a beginner, you’ll probably even gain muscle while losing fat.
Exercise can [...]

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