Reia Organa

A couple of months ago, during a casual talk, a friend of mine happened to mention his struggle with weight-loss. Well, it was not as if he was an obese chunk or something, he was around 240 lbs (~ 120 kgs), well, yeah - a bit, may be. :-)

He explained that he doesn't eat breakfast, to cut on calories; spends around 2 hours in the gym, 15 minutes spend on the treadmill, and the rest, weight-training. He kept explaining a lot more, and before long, I stopped him abruptly, with a blunt remark of "its no wonder you don't loose any weight - you are doing it all wrong!".
"What??!!" he was taken quite aback.

In the next 15 minutes, I explained him how the human body works, how it utilizes ATP, blood glucose, glycogen and at last, fat to produce energy. I explained him how a 15-minutes-on-treadmill has the least probability to reduce his huge deposits of body fat and described the gear-shift-like-mechanism which the body uses to switch from power sources (ATP, blood-glucose, fat etc). I told him how important is it to have a breakfast, and how skipping it works negative for him, making him put more weight. I described how his late supper assists him in putting on more weight, and his late-in-the-evening training affecting his sleep-cycle.

After my 15 minute lecture, he sat there wide-mouthed, and exclaimed, "I didn't know any of these... least of all, I didn't expect physical training to have any technicalities... I thought its as easy as just moving around, and losing weight".

With a smile, I replied "and, that's why you need a coach!"

I prescribed him a routine, of 30-45 minutes on the treadmill / cross-trainer at moderate intensity, workout methods for specific muscle groups which can enhance fat-burning. I explained how protein supplements and energy drinks would help his routine, and how an ideal day's food sessions have to be.

Two months later, now, he has reported that he has lost 30 lbs (~15 kgs), and still clocking. And, that my friends, is the importance of "doing it right"! Your body is an amazing piece of engineering - you need to know its precise clock work and technicalities, if you need to to make the maximum use of its potentials - don't assume that its your body, and you know everything about it - truth couldn't be any farther away! :-)