I don’t want to get too preachy, but here goes….
Shame on the media, I mean really. It is bad enough that we are constantly inundated with updates of the Train Wreck Trio, (Lindsay, Britney & Paris), but now the images we see of the beautiful people are apparently not quite pretty enough. The first I really took note of this was not long ago when Katie Couric took the anchor spot at CBS. Some genius decided that she was not thin enough and felt the need to retouch or “Photoshop” her photo to be released to the press.

Katie Couric

To be honest I am somewhat of an amateur Photoshop geek. I like putting pix of my kids in weird places like lion cages and what not. And I also understand that sometimes you need to adjust certain aspects of the photo like contrast, sharpness or whatever to make it look better. Retouch a laugh line here or there, fine I get it. But then there is flat out lying.

Nate & Gabe - I’m not Lion

The latest lie came to light this week. Country star Faith Hill is on a recent cover of Redbook magazine. Apparently the fine folks at Redbook thought Faith was not good enough as is, and ordered some Photoshop guru to fix her up. I don’t know who ordered this and truthfully it does not matter. I’m quite certain that Redbook is not the first major publication to use this tactic. This same crap has been going on for a while, but now we are seeing the proof. When mainstream media publications take it upon themselves to Photoshop a photo to drop 20 lbs and 20 years off a personality it is the equivalent of flat out lying. And it is nothing less than insulting. Here is the photo in question along with the original photo.

Faith Hill Retouched & Original

Faith Hill is a gorgeous near 40 (next month) year old woman. Most women would love to look anything like her. But notice how Redbook, thinned her face, thinned her arm (almost half the size!) and thinned her waist line. I ask - was any of that necessary? Would they have sold fewer copies had they used the original? I think not.

We all have our own little insecurities and body image issues. We all have some aspect of ourselves that we would rather not see in the mirror or in photos whether it is a big nose, pointy ears, a big butt or a bit of a tummy- whatever. Having the media perpetuating a body image that is quite literally unattainable does nothing but harm.

Of course I am all for looking good and being healthy. And please Photoshop out any zits I might have or whatever. But here’s my take on it- F the media and what they think. Having realistic goals is part of having a healthy life. I will never look like Brad Pitt. Most women will never have Angelina Jolie’s figure. That’s fine. For true health and happiness we need to be true to ourselves. For most of us there are adjustments that we can make to the way we live that will improve the way we look, the way we feel and therefore the way we feel about ourselves. There will always be people we wished we looked like – I do not need some computer dork making them look any better than they already do.

And this is just taking things too far….

If you need help setting realistic goals give me a call. When you make make health and fitness a part of your life you never need a Photoshop retouch (well, almost never)

Joshua Carter
The Body Transformation Expert
Carter Fitness
joshua@carterfitness.com
http://carterfitness.com/
818-337-6175

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I do a fair amount of online training these days. Many people who want to work with me simply do not live close enough to make it feasible. That is where the online training comes in. I wanted to put together a sample workout so you guys could see what I am talking about.

In my experience the fastest way to shed body fat is through circuit type training. In my gyms we use a training protocol that involves short circuits of weight training to achieve insane fat loss. With that in mind I present the following program:

The free workout I have this time out is the actual program I designed for my wife who after the birth of our second needed to lose some bodyfat. We have a small gym set up in our garage with dumbbells, a Swiss ball and a variable angle bench. So the program is designed with those limitations in mind. The program has worked even better than I expected and she looks great.

Perform the 2 ab exercises first, then the other exercises in circuit fashion one after the other. Then repeat the circuit. Only give yourself 30-60 rest between movements. Feeling studly? No rest between moves (but rest between circuits). Shoot for 3 complete circuits. If you can do all 3 circuits, then cut your rest time next time through.

Download Here

or

View Online with Videos

(This is how the Online Training works)

Joshua Carter
The Body Transformation Expert
Carter Fitness
http://carterfitness.com/
818-337-6175

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Just this morning a guy walked into my gym.  He lives around the corner from my West Hills location and he was interested in training. He belongs to a 24 Hour Fitness or some other big chain facility, but wanted to see some actual results.  He told me he spends most of his time on the treadmill and then hits some light weights – because his goal is fat loss.  I told him whether he ends up training with me or not, he needs to flip that ratio- focus on the weights and spend only a little time on cardio.  He thought I was joking. He asked why, only cardio burns fat right?  Well I went into my normal spiel about weights, cardio fat loss and metabolism.   I gave him a brief glimpse into the Carter Fitness philosophy of fat loss.   When I meet with him later this week he will get the full treatment, but it got me thinking…

I have been at this a long time.  I have done almost everything wrong that you could possibly do: I trained to much, too long, not enough, too much cardio, not enough cardio, ate too much, ate too little blah blah blah.  I wasted a lot of effort with little or no return.  So I’m not all that surprised when I see someone who has just accepted bad information as gospel.  I did it too. But now it is my job to give the best information possible to help others avoid the pitfalls of fitness.

I’m glad I did all my screwing up in the gym when I was young. I’m older and wiser now (ok, debatable), but there is much I know now with a great deal of certainty.  Thus, I have compiled a brief list.  Nothing here is written in stone, but right now this is what has been proven to be effective and to deliver consistent results.  I could probably write a chapter on each one, but here is the stripped down version.

Compliance Compliance Compliance
It’s like this: If I set you up on a mediocre program and you comply 95%, you will get better results than if I set you up on the best program ever but you only comply 50%.  If you are not complying with the program you cannot accurately measure the effectiveness of the program. If you can’t comply with program it is doing you no good, and the program needs to be altered or maybe you do.

Psychology is Huge
This is true on many levels. For one, men and women respond quite differently to feedback (in general).  Many men respond well to negative criticism.  Like when they do 10 reps you tell them you were expecting 12.  That generally does not work for women.  Most women respond much better to positive feedback. Like even if you expected 12, you offer praise for getting 10.  These are not hard and steadfast rules, but how each individual client (whether they be male or female) responds to various forms of feedback can alter the effectiveness of any program. A good trainer recognizes this, a great one uses it effectively to increase results.

Physiology is less Important

Men and women are different physically- duh.  But how I train them is not that really that different; how I treat them is (see above).  The exercise selection and overall programming is almost exactly the same.  What creates a lean healthy body on a woman is going to be the same thing that creates a lean healthy body on a man. 

The Importance of Optimizing Metabolism
To lose weight we need a caloric deficit.   There is just really no debate about that.  You need to consume fewer calories than you burn.  The tricky part is knowing the best way to accomplish that.  You could just eat less.  But that just sucks and comes with a whole host of problems.  Increasing the metabolism via weight training (and intervals) has proven time and time again that it is vastly superior to caloric restriction alone.  The true key is to optimize the metabolism through regular intense exercise and nutritional adjustment.

Low Carb Rules
If you are over fat chances are you eat too much, and consume too many carbs.  The bottom line is that you do not get to eat they way you eat now and expect your body to change.  As we age our bodies change and they deal with nutrients very differently than when we were young.  Study after study has shown carb modification nutrition plans out perform low fat diets when it comes to fat loss.  I wish I could stay lean eating carbs with the same veracity as I did in my younger days, but I can’t. And if you believe you are over fat – neither can you.

Fish Oil
When I tell my clients the long list of fish oil benefits they look at me like I am making it all up.  Well I’m not.  If for no other reason you should take fish oil for its effect on metabolism:  A resent study showed that regular fish oil supplementation increases the metabolic rate of test subjects by up to 400 calories per day.  Burn 400 calories from taking a few pills?  Count me in.  Oh yeah, it also reduces risk of heart attack, improves slipid profiles, increases insulin sensitivity, decreases cholesterol and blood pressure….

During is Good, After is Better
I really am not that concerned with how many calories a client burns during a session.  For that matter I’m not even that concerned if the calories come from fat. Sure it matters, but not near as much as what happens after the session. My colleague Alwyn Cosgrove calls it the “Afterburn” effect.  If we can create enough of a metabolic disruption during the session that it causes the body to increase the metabolic rate for 20-40 hours (no joke) post workout then we are really kicking ass.

(The next 3 I have written about before, but they are worth reiterating)
Harder is Better
I’ve said this before- exercising harder will always yield better results than less intense output.  It just makes sense- you body will be forced to respond to more intense activities.  Low intensity work requires hardly any adaptation at all.  So the harder we work, the better our bodies react. This translates to more muscle, less fat and greater overall health.

Smarter is Better
Sure you can get in shape if you train 6 hours per day.  But what if I could get you in the same shape in only 45 minutes 3 times per week?  That’s better right?  Well that’s the smarter part.  Intelligent program design will cut your total training time and give you greater results.

Bigger is Better
This goes along with the two above.  The bigger the move the harder it is.  The harder the move the smarter you are training.  If your goal is fat loss why would you spend any appreciable amount of time doing bicep curls when the metabolic effect is minimal?  Pull ups and rows will nail the biceps while igniting the metabolism for optimal fat burning.

Routine
I have 2 kids.  All the advice about raising kids says you need to have them on a routine.  The same is true for most adults. The most successful clients I see have made fitness and health part of their routine.  I always like to use the “brushing your teeth” analogy.  Brushing your teeth is not always fun, but you do it every day.  Probably at the same time every day. You don’t wake up and say “Yippee!  I get to brush my teeth!”, but you still do it.  And how well would it work if you only did it once per week?  Yuck. Well working out is the same way.  When you make it part of your regular routine you will see consistent results.

Got questions?  Email or call me anytime.

Joshua Carter
The Body Transformation Expert
Carter Fitness
joshua@carterfitness.com

http://carterfitness.com
818-337-6175

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First off, I can’t believe I referenced a Britney Spears song…

In the last newsletter installment I went over why at Carter Fitness we do not use steady state cardio as a primary fat loss tool.  I will not go into it in depth again, but suffice it to say that for the time you put in, the return in terms of fat loss is not all that great. If you missed it you can check out the entire article here. Then I alluded to the solution:  Intervals.

This type of training protocol has been know by many different names including  intervals, sprints and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), energy system work and even sometimes cardio (although technically incorrect). It doesn’t really matter what you call it, the point is for fat loss it is far superior.  Basically after a few minutes of warm up, you alternate periods of all out effort (sprints) with periods of low intensity work (rest).  You repeat this a few times and then call it a day.

Some months back I wrote a piece on how much better HIIT style workouts actually are with the studies to back it up.  One study showed the HIIT group lost 900% more fat than the steady state group.  Another study showed that the metabolic elevation from a HIIT style workout lasted over 38 hours.  You can read the full article here.

So now you know how cool it is, and how great it works.   Now I’ll show you how to put it into action.  The thing with HIIT training, and training in general is that it is as much art as it is science.   So there are a million ways to implement a HIIT program.  My preference is to either do it on non-weight training days, or directly following your weight training.  That will maximize the fat burning.  

You need to start out relatively slow and work your way up.  You can perform this on most any piece of cardio equipment you like including stairmasters, stationary bikes and elliptical as well as any bodyweight stuff like squats, actual running, stairs, heavy bag work etc.  My example will use the stationary bike.

Let’s assume the bike has ten resistance levels, with 1 being the easiest and 10 being the hardest. We will also assume the HIIT will be performed three times per week. Here is what I would prescribe for a relative beginner is decent shape with no major injuries or other health issues.

To be clear a sprint or the “on” should be an all out effort.  It lasts only 30 seconds in this example, and that means that it should be so hard that you could not do 31 seconds.  For a sprint on a bike, you would both increase your pedaling speed, and the difficulty level on the bike itself.

This is simply a hypothetical progression, and can be played with and altered in many different ways. In the beginning the whole workout only takes 14 minutes, and at the 4 week mark it is only taking 19 minutes- and 10 of that is warming up and cooling down. If you do this after your weight training you can almost completely eliminate the warm up.  

Other alterations can be made such as adjusting the work to rest ratios (more advanced can go 1:1) and changing the apparatus.   Another similar style of workout that can be used as an alternative or compliment to HIIT is the Tabata. You can check that out here.

Have at it, and let me know if you have any questions.

Joshua Carter
The Body Transformation Expert
Carter Fitness
joshua@carterfitness.com

http://carterfitness.com
818-337-6175

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Information rules the world. The more information you have the better off you are. But we run into problems when the information we get conflicts. This comes up time and time again in the health & fitness game. High carb, low carb, high reps, low reps, yes cardio, no cardio. And it goes on and on. Well that my friends is why I write these newsletters – to give you the best, most accurate and up to date information possible. You know who I am and where to find me, and hopefully you have come to trust what I tell you. Plus I back up what I say with results. So in this article I will be telling you why standard cardio is a lousy fat loss tool- and why I am right and everyone else is wrong (unless they agree with me ).

If you have ever talked to me, or read my articles on fat loss then you know I am not a fan of “steady state” cardio work. Steady state cardio can be defined as regular old walking on a treadmill (or whatever) at a relative steady pace for a period of time – say 30 to 45 minutes. I have always hated it, but now I have scientific proof to validate my hatred- which is always a bonus.

What we have discovered is that while steady state cardio promised us accelerated fat loss it never really delivered. In fact in some cases it made people fatter.

Why We Wish it Worked
What we were told is that standard cardio burns more fat while exercising. Plus it’s easy. Slow steady cardio will melt the fat right off! Hey great! Well, not really. What actually happens in traditional cardio is that calories are expended during the activity itself. That is all well and good, and it in fact does burn a greater PERCENTAGE of calories from fat. Yippee. But if you were to work out more intensely for the same amount of time the percentage of total calories burned from fat would be less, but the total number of calories that were from fat would be greater. Confused? Here is a completely hypothetical (I made up the numbers) example to illustrate the point.

First off, of course exercising harder for 30 minutes will simply require more calories- that is a no brainer. But even though the percentage of fat used in the low intensity exercise was higher, the higher intensity exercise had a greater total number of fat calories used. This tells us that low intensity cardio offers no real benefit over a higher intensity activity. Plus as it turns out it is not near as important how many calories you burn during the activity, or even where they come , but what happens after (more on that later). In the exercise world almost without fail harder is simply better, and will always yield better results.

Why it Steady State Cardio Actually Sucks (as a primary fat loss tool)

There are 2 major reasons in my book why standard cardio is a big loser for fat loss.

Reason 1
The first is EPOC. EPOC stands for Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption. Basically what EPOC does is tells us how long it takes the body to return to its pre-exercise metabolic rate. So after a bout of intense exercising your body will continue to burn extra calories for a certain period of time. From a fat loss perspective, the longer the EPOC the better. Some activities like weight training have an EPOC of 30 plus hours. The EPOC for steady state cardio is approximately zero. Yessir, give or take when you step off that treadmill or bike you are done burning calories – done.
You should think of exercising like investing your money. Let say you have a pile of money (you do right?) You are far better off investing it in a high yield account than you are burying it beneath the dog house out back. You want a return on your investment right? The same is true for exercise. If you are going to spend the time, get a high return on your investment and that means a high EPOC. You want to continue to burn extra calories for as long as you can post exercise. There are simply better choices than boring cardio.

Reason 2
The second reason cardio blows for fat loss is the adaptation factor. Your body is wonderful at adapting to various stresses. In general that is a great thing – it has allowed us to survive and thrive for hundreds of thousands of years as our world has changed. From a fat loss perspective it is a giant pain in the ass. Our bodies adapt to certain exercise quite rapidly, and that can bring fat loss to a halt.
As your body becomes accustomed to the activity, it becomes more efficient at doing it. With cardio that means that while walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes once burned 500 calories, 3 weeks later it only burns 300 calories. So for the same amount of work you are now burning 200 less calories per session. Sound good? I didn’t think so.

Real World Example
This has been proven in multiple studies but my favorite example is a client that came to see me a few months back. This is an absolutely true story. She was a woman in her 50s who had 30-40 pounds of fat to lose. She began to walk around her neighborhood to lose weight. At first it worked great, but then the weight loss stalled. So she walked more. Then it stalled again, so she walked more again. After she told me this I asked her how much she was currently walking per day. She said 3 hours per day. I kid you not. 3 hours per day. My jaw hit the floor. Can you imagine working out 3 hours per day and seeing no results for your efforts? I have clients who barely do 3 hours per week and have fat falling off them.

Here’s what happened: her body adapted AND there was zero EPOC. So first off the very second she was done walking she was also done burning calories. There was no carry over to the rest of the day, thus no metabolic increase. 

Then as she continued to walk day in and day out her body figured out what was going on and made the appropriate adaptations. Initially that meant weight loss. But that did not last long. So she had to walk more and more for the fat loss to continue. Eventually her body became very good at using fat for fuel – she was an efficient fat burning machine. While this might sound cool, it is most decidedly not cool. We want our cars to be efficient at using fuel, the less gas we use the better. But since the goal is fat loss we want our bodies to use as much fat for fuel as possible- we want our bodies to be fat INefficient. Her body was using less fat per unit of time while working out. Not only that, it taught her body to use less fat during the rest of the day too. The end result was stalled weight loss. The only method she knew to re-start the weight loss was walking more. But to what end?

There you have it, in a nutshell the reason why my training facilities do not use steady state cardio as a primary fat loss tool. Now I just spent over 100 words tell you how useless cardio is, but I will say it does have its place in certain fitness programs. But if your main goal is fat loss, steady state cardio should be very low on your to-do list. In the next installment I will share with you some of the metabolic trickery we use to elicit serious fat loss in a fraction of the time of standard boring cardio. I’ll give you a hint: INTERVALS.

Until next time,

Joshua Carter
The Body Transformation Expert
Carter Fitness
http://CarterFitness.com
818-337-6175

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A colleague of mine once said you cannot “out train” bad nutrition.  Truer words were never spoken, although that has not stopped some clients from trying.  It has always amazed me when certain clients would hire me to help them transform their bodies, yet not follow the nutritional advice.   A hard workout does not give you license to eat whatever you want.  Quite the opposite – it should give you the motivation you need to feed your body the quality nutrition it deserves.

I truly wish I could work the crap out of a client in the gym, and then they could eat whatever they wanted.  That would be awesome.  I wish it were that easy.  Sadly, it just does not work that way.

I will say those clients are easy to spot.  They are the ones that conveniently “forget” to bring in their food journal, and thus fail to see noticeable results.  By default, I have clients regularly bring in a food journal to keep track of what they are eating.  The clients that bring in their journals like clockwork are always the ones that see the most progress- always.  Actually, writing down what you eat is the best way to see what you have consumed in a day.  It keeps you accountable.  And a food journal is the best way to avoid bad nutritional habits.

But what exactly is bad nutrition? There are many forms of bad nutrition in my book, and they regularly fall into four basic categories

1. Eating Too Much
   Duh.  This one is easy. If you regularly eat more than you require in a day you will gain fat- plain and simple. This can take the form of eating too much of something good too. I have been guilty of this myself. For example, a chicken breast is a great food choice, but that does not mean you should eat four of them.
   
   
2. Not Eating Enough
   This one is more common in female clients who have had it pounded into their heads that they must restrict calories to a ridiculously low level to achieve any fat loss, which is pure nonsense.  I had one client not long ago who was not seeing any progress , yet told us she was eating “well” but of course never brought in her food journal. When we finally made her sit down and write out what she was eating it turns out that she had a low fat yogurt for breakfast, one for lunch and a lettuce only salad for dinner with low fat dressing.  My jaw hit the floor.  She had received the same nutritional counseling all our clients receive, yet she chose to ignore it.  What she was consuming was in no way similar to what we had tried to teach her about fat loss nutrition.  She was getting around 500 calories a day, and had in the process completely slammed her metabolism into the ground. From a metabolic standpoint, not eating enough can be even worse than eating too much and can require some serious metabolic repair.
   
   
3. Eating Infrequently
   Each time you eat you increase your metabolism.  It takes energy to digest and assimilate the food you consume.  So the more frequently you eat the higher your metabolism. That is why most progressive trainers agree that eating smaller meals several times a day will yield greater fat loss than fewer meals even when calories are held consistent.   Eating only once or twice a day is just a huge mistake.  One example I use to illustrate my point is Sumo wrestlers. These are arguably the fattest people in the world, and they only eat one meal per day.  Convinced?
   
   
4. Eating Crap
   Again, duh.  You cannot eat pizza, burgers and other fast food junk and have the body you want. If you could, you would and you would not be reading this.  Those people exist (and yes we hate them) but you are not one of them.
   
   

For fat loss, training smart is definitely key, but it will mean absolutely nothing if your nutrition is not in order.  Good food choices made on a consistent basis will yield the results you desire every time. For detailed nutritional advice, give us a call or email.

Joshua Carter
The Body Transformation Expert
Carter Fitness
http://CarterFitness.com
818-337-6175

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I had heard of this Tabata thing for a while - mentioned here and there - but I never gave it much thought. Then I tried it.

The Tabata Protocol was named after Japanese researcher Dr. Izumi Tabata. The workout was developed to increase the performance of Japanese speed skaters. The beauty of the protocol is its simplicity- 20 seconds of all out effort followed by 10 seconds of rest or moderate movement. Repeat that 8 times for a total of 4 minutes. Sounds easy right?

Tabata and his team found that this protocol increased both anaerobic and aerobic pathways at the same time. What the hell does that mean? It means that they improved their cardio vascular systems, which is to say they could perform longer AND they increased their work capacity – so they could also work harder longer. It was previously believed that these two systems could not be improved at the same time. The aerobic and anaerobic capcities were improved by 14% and 28% respectively. Another study that tested standard steady state running at 70% of aerobic capacity for 60 minutes for the same number of weeks showed an improvement in aerobic capacity of 9.5% BUT ZERO anaerobic improvement. Take a closer look at that – one group exercised for 60 minutes each time, the other group exercised for a total of four minutes each time. I wonder what they got to do the other 56 minutes?

Other timing splits were tested but this 2:1 work to rest ratio outperformed the rest. But here is the coolest part of all – bodyfat seemed to just fall off. The magic comes from the post-excercies fat burn. It is insane how well it works. Since this protocol was first developed advanced trainers have used this secret weapon to melt the fat off clients. There is of course one slight problem. It is f’ing brutal.

So the other day I thought I would try it- I mean how hard could it be? You don’t need any equipment, bodyweight moves work just fine. Burpees, pushups, heavy bag, jump rope, thrusters, jumping lunges – whatever. I chose the bodyweight squat. With a wall clock in front of me to keep time I went at it. The trick is to power these suckers out. No slow squatting here, as fast and as deep as you can. I pounded out as many full squats as I could in 20 seconds and then watched the clock for 10 seconds while I rested. No big deal. Another 3 sets in and I was singing a different tune. After 8 sets I was totally melted. I collapsed on the ground and tried to regain my composure. After being fully checked out by the paramedics on scene I was good to go (ok, not really).

I have been using intervals for a while now, but this is a different world. If anything I am up-playing the brutality of the protocol (I’m just mean that way), and down-playing its effectiveness. It is definitely hard, but it is EXTREMLY effective. For best results vary the exercise selection, and occasionally alternate this with the longer intervals (30 seconds on, 60 seconds off etc.)

This is an excellent addition to any fat loss arsenal.

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It is midnight on the 14th, and I just finished the newsletter thus this one did not get proofread. So please forgive any grammatical, spelling or “that doesn’t make sense” errors. I think you’ll still get the overall point.

My how time flys. It’s the 15th already and time for another newsletter. I have been fairly pressed for time of late (haven’t we all) so I will have to save some of the topics I wanted to talk about for another time. But there is one thing in particular that has recently pissed me off- the FDA (again).

THIS JUST IN…….

From the agency that brought you Phen-Fen,

ok’d a toxic flu vaccine

said Vioxx was okee-dokee,

now comes Orlistat! Squirt your way to fat loss!

Yes indeed, the fine folks at the FDA have just approved the weight loss drug Orlistat for over the counter sale. It is in fact the first over-the-counter diet drug to win approval from the Food & Drug Administration. I have just one question for you: How much anal leakage is too much? I know my answer, but more on that in a minute.

The drug works by blocking fat absorption in the gut, thus reducing the number of calories users actually consume. The undigested fat is then passed in the stool. Testing shows Orlistat blocks a whopping 150-200 calories. Obese people who took Orlistat in six month clinical studies lost on average 5.3 pounds to 6.2 pounds more than did those who were given placebo pills. Just so we care clear, that is about a pound a month. To be more clear, that is a really lousy rate of fat loss. The study did not indicate if the weight lost was actual fat mass.

Here’s the really fun part; noted side effects include “oily spotting on underwear, flatulence, urgent bowel movements, fatty or oily stools, increased number of bowel movements, abdominal pain or discomfort, and inability to hold back stool (incontinence).” You read that right, inability to hold back stool. Sounds like the wonder drug of the future doesn’t it? Sign me up.

So why if this drug is such crap (pardon the pun) is the FDA approving it for sale? They have 1.5 billion reasons. When offered over the counter, the estimated sale price of Orlistat will be between $15-25 per week, and with an estimated 5-6 million buyers per year that would mean 1.5 billion in revenue for Glaxo. Now I’m not saying that Glaxo bribed the FDA in any way, I’m just saying it would not be the first time money had something to do with a drug being ok’d.

I must admit though that I am slightly torn on this issue. On one hand if people are stupid enough to buy this stuff then they will get what they deserve- not much weight loss and messy underpants. On the other hand the people should be able to trust the agency whose sole purpose it is to protect them from any harm that might befall them in the form of food or drugs. The FDA has dropped the ball again.

So why do I care? Band-aids, that’s why. Stick with me here. Everyday I consult with people looking for a quick fix. The latest supplement that will help them lose weight, get to sleep, stop feeling the pain, whatever. I have had one client who unbeknownst to me was gulping down Advil like M&M’s because he was having some shoulder pain. It is extremely short sighted, and will ultimately lead to failure. It is not addressing the underlying problem, it is just putting a Band-Aid on it. And that is what Orlistat it doing. It telling obese people they can continue to eat what they want, and this magic pill will make it all ok. It does not address the real issue- they are eating like crap.

“Band-aids” are temporary solutions at best. At worst they will allow bad habits to continue. Orlistat is flawed in both concept and practice. If your shoulder hurts, figure out why and fix it. If you are overweight, figure out why and fix that. It is not always easy and it is not always fun (unless you train at Carter Fitness where it is always fun & easy- ok, not really), but there are those around you who care about you and can help. Please take responsibility for your heath, and make good choices for better health and a better life. Plus if stay away from Orlistat you are less likely to crap your pants.

A little ranty this time, but until next time…..

Feel free to contact me with any questions

Joshua Carter
The Body Transformation Expert
Carter Fitness
http://carterfitness.com/

818-337-6175

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I’m a pretty tough guy. Well, maybe not, but at least I look tough. Well, maybe not. In any event, when I heard this story at my gym in North Hollywood, it took every ounce of testosterone in my exceptionally masculine body to not cry like a baby. I was told the story by one of my trainers, Brandon, who worked part time at Universal Studios in Southern California as Captain America. This was probably best story I had heard in my life, and now I will tell it to you and do my best to do it justice.

As I said Brandon worked as Captain America at Universal Studios. Along with other characters like Spiderman and Wolverine they would cruise the park in superhero style ATV’s and greet and take pictures with the park patrons. Captain America is not quite as popular as some of the other characters, as he has not been immortalized in blockbuster movies featuring his character. None the less people are still always glad to see a superhero and love to take pictures with them. So a couple of years back, while cruising the park, a kid wearing a Captain America cap caught Brandon’s eye. It was a rarity to see anyone wearing Captain America gear so Brandon had the team pullover so he could spend some time with the young fan. The boy’s name was JC. He was around 8 or 9 years old, and in a wheelchair. Brandon took the time to talk to JC (in character of course) and JC could not have been more thrilled. Turns out Captain America was his biggest hero, and meeting him was probably one of the biggest events of his young life. Brandon stayed with him for quite a while, and also spent some time talking with JC’s mother. JC’s mom was extremely thankful to have so much attention paid to her son, and she eventually shared that JC was terminally ill, and the doctors said he only had about 9 months left to live. That was obviously tough to hear, and even tougher to share. Brandon felt touched by the little boy’s story. He stayed and had is picture taken, signed his autograph, played with him and let JC hold his shield until they finally said their good-byes.

Brandon must have thought that was the last he would see of JC. Over a year later, Brandon was once again working as Captain America, and who should catch his eye but JC. Brandon immediately went to greet him. The boy and mother alike were amazed that Captain America remembered them. He said how could he forget his biggest fan? They once again spent time together and did the picture and autograph thing. Brandon again got the chance to talk to JC’s mom. She asked “Do you remember that when we last saw you JC only had 9 months to live?” “Yeah,” Brandon replied, “but that was over a year ago.” The mother’s response was, “JC believes it is because you let him hold your shield.”

“…because you let him hold your shield.” The power of that statement did not escape him. His kind act enabled a young boy to believe he had the power to continue to live. That was the last time Captain America and JC crossed paths. We of course hope for the best.

How strong is belief? What could you achieve if you believe in yourself? How far could you go? How much better could your life be if you had a fraction of JC’s strength? You tell me.

Joshua Carter
The Body Transformation Expert
Carter Fitness Training
http://carterfitness.com
818-337-6175

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