Ask Gilad

How Can I Make My Workout Less Boring?

Gilad: I started a regimented exercise program 3 months ago and have managed to lose 20 pounds. I feel better than I have since high school. My problem is that I am starting to get bored repeating the same routine day after day. What should I do?

Answer: Your program can and should change from time to time based on your goals. You have lost the weight and met your first goal. Now it is time to have some fun. Set a new goal and change your routine. With a little imagination you will find that you can tailor your program to your changing needs.

For example, if your goal is running track, your focus would be on 3 or 4 track workouts per week and you would supplement these workouts with swimming, weightlifting, a bike ride or an aerobics class.
Be creative! Use the resources available to you and your healthy lifestyle will never get boring.

Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

What Does Being Fit Really Mean? (Part 2)

Two weeks ago Gilad responded to this same question by outlining the 5 components of fitness. (Read it HERE!) Today he explains how the body reacts to weight loss by diet only.

Question: I recently reached my goal of losing 35 pounds by altering my eating habits and counting calories. I didn't even have to exercise and I feel pretty good. Does this qualify as being fit?

Answer: Another important point to understand about dieting for weight loss is that if you lose weight that way once, and then, at a later date, try the same technique again, it will be much harder to do the 2^nd time.  Why? Simply because you've trained your body to react to what it perceives as 'starvation,' a decrease in the number of calories it gets each day. Our very clever bodies don't like that. They respond by activating their 'starvation response'.  Your metabolic rate goes down and consequently requires less food.  In this mode, your body will store anything it can as fat. So by repeatedly following low calorie diets you are teaching your body how to better store food as fat.

What you want to do instead is alter your fat to muscle ratio so you get more active muscle tissue busily burning calories.  Muscle tissue, unlike fat, actually burns calories while at rest. This means that increased muscle mass raises your metabolic rate so you can become a lean, mean fat-burning machine instead of a fat-storing body that is expecting to be starved.

Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

What Does Being Fit Really Mean?

Gilad: I recently reached my goal of losing 35 pounds by altering my eating habits and counting calories. I didn't even have to exercise and I feel pretty good. Does this qualify as being fit?

Answer: Some people equate fitness with losing weight and being slim. But slim people can be unfit. Other people equate fitness with lots of muscles. But muscular people, too, can be unfit. Some people think fitness means being able to do 100 push-ups or run a marathon or compete in athletic events.
What does it mean to be a fit person? It means that you possess each of the 5 components of fitness: cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength, muscular endurance, flexibility and low body fat.
You felt a sense of accomplishment when you reached your weight loss goal. Now it is time for you to discover the joy of an active lifestyle.

Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

Why Should I Continue To Workout?

Gilad:

I would like to be the good-looking, confident, successful guy that is in great shape, but I just can't seem to get it done. Everything I do is a chore. Exercising makes me uncomfortable. I just don't have much confidence in myself. Why does everything have to be so difficult?

Answer:

Finding out you have the perseverance to stick with an exercise program is a powerful discovery. It means that you possess a tool that can get you through some of the toughest times of life. You see, the strength you develop by sticking to your exercise routine, (even if you don't feel like doing it that day, or even if there are other things you would rather be doing) is the same strength that gives you control over other areas of your life.

Exercising regularly gives you a wonderful sense of self-control and boosts your self-confidence and self-esteem. Let's be honest, it takes self-discipline to exercise regularly...especially in the beginning when it feels uncomfortable, and your muscles get sore easily, and you think that everybody else is so much more advanced than you are.

But people who have done it - people that have gotten past this first stage - all have similar stories to tell. People who set and achieve physical goals discover time and time again that by tapping into their powers of perseverance and strength to do so, they suddenly realize greater success in other areas of their lives, whether it's building a stronger marriage or advancing in a career.  

Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.
Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

Coping with Sweet Tooth and How To Overcome Your Downfall

Gilad: I try desperately to eat healthy but 50 years of habits are hard to break.  Typically for dinner I will prepare a big salad, some type of lean meat, fish or chicken, a vegetable and starch.  Everything is good until later in the evening when I start to crave cookies or ice cream.  Do you have any tips to get me out of this cycle?

Answer: There are some very simple practical things that you can do to help yourself. 

You sound like you are using fresh ingredients in your meal preparation, but dinner is not the only meal you eat during the course of a day.  Avoid processed foods as much as possible because they are major sources of excess sugar, salt and preservatives.

Do not add salt when you are cooking.  Never add salt until you have tasted your food and are certain that it needs some....and then use 'lite' salt that is only half salt and half potassium chloride.

If you cook or bake at home try reducing the amount of sugar in your recipes by half.  The resulting product will still be delicious and, in most cases, you won't be able to tell the difference.

And finally, if cookies and ice cream are your downfall, don't keep them in the house.  Resist the urge to buy them when you are at the grocery store.  Try substituting fresh fruit.  Make sure you have plenty on hand.  Fruit is just like a dessert but with all those extra vitamins and minerals along for the ride.

Keep in mind that your food is the fuel your body runs on.  When you are deciding what to eat think to yourself, "What food will give me lots of energy and make me feel good if I eat it?"  The more you ask that question the better you will eat. 

Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

Discover Your Inner Athlete

Gilad: I have always wondered what it would be like to be in good shape but I have never been the athletic type. I need some motivation about how to start an exercise program. Can you help?

Answer: I believe we are all 'natural athletes', and our bodies are just waiting for the opportunity to exercise their innate physical abilities. However, somewhere along the way, many of us have forgotten these abilities because we didn't use them.

I make it a point to observe people that are just starting to exercise or participate in sports for the first time in their lives. It is beautiful to watch people that are setting and achieving goals for the first time.

Whether we build a castle on a hill or grow a rose in the back yard...whether we win an Olympic gold medal or make the cut on our bowling team, it's all about achievement! And achievement is about putting energy into motion!

Now get out there and discover your 'inner athlete'!

Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

Is It Too Late For Me To Start Working Out?

Gilad:

I am 63 years old and I have never really been on an exercise program. Now I am overweight and starting to have health problems. My doctor wants me to start taking pills for high blood pressure and cholesterol but they don't agree with me. Am I a lost cause?

Answer:
I can see that a person in your situation could be nervous about trying to start a regular exercise program. It must seem like an overwhelming task to you. But let me assure you, the people that achieve the greatest and most noticeable benefits from exercise are those that have never exercised before! Many studies have proven that even people in their eighty's and beyond can achieve significant physiological improvements, in muscle strength, bone mass, lowered body fat and cardiovascular health, by beginning an exercise program and watching what they eat. Exercise does not discriminate. It is good for everyone! 

Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

What Am I Doing Wrong?

Gilad: I exercise and eat well off and on. I set goals for myself and when I reach them I 'reward' myself letting go and eating whatever I want. It doesn't take long to gain the weight back. Each time I start the process over it seems to get harder and harder to stay motivated. What am I doing wrong?

Answer: Fitness is a journey, not a destination. Too often people look at fitness as a purely goal-oriented activity - a way to lose weight and look better. That's a start. Your real goal, however, should be to make fitness a part of your life. The benefits of fitness, both physically and mentally, are enormous and ongoing. But there is no end point to fitness. It is a life-long pursuit. But that doesn't mean it's a jail sentence. In fact, as any life-long exerciser will tell you, quite the opposite is true. I hear it time and time again from people who exercise on a regular basis. They believe that the physical and psychological benefits are so enormously rewarding that they wouldn't give up exercising for anything.

The next time you reach your goal, reward yourself by setting another!

Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

Metabolism Verses Diet

Gilad: How does what I eat affect my metabolic rate?

Answer: If your goal is to lose weight you are going to want to increase your metabolic rate. Regular exercise raises your metabolic rate and plays a major role in building lean muscles and burning body fat. The more lean muscles you have the higher your metabolic rate will be, even at rest, for this very simple reason. Muscles burn calories. Fat does not!

To better understand how food works in our metabolism I will use a campfire as an example. The flames represent the body's metabolic rate and the logs represent the food. If we don't add logs to the fire eventually the flames will burn out. If we overload the fire with logs chances are good that it won't burn well. In fact, it could easily choke! The best way to keep a good fire going is to add logs on a regular basis. The same goes for your body. You need to feed it regularly with quality food to keep the metabolic rate burning most efficiently.

Maintain a healthy balance between a good diet and regular exercise and you will be amazed at how quickly you will see and feel the changes in your body and energy level!

Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.

Is Gaining Weight During a New Workout Normal?

Gilad:

I have finished the first 4 weeks of the 'Quick Fit System' and am starting on week 5. The other day I unconsciously ran up some stairs at work and I was hardly out of breath. I completely surprised myself as normally when I climbed stairs I would have been huffing and puffing. Thank-you for such an effective program. My only concern is that I haven't seen any significant weight loss yet. In fact I have gained a few lbs. Is this normal?

Answer:

When starting an intense fitness program it is not uncommon to gain some weight because your muscles are developing and becoming denser. I would not worry about it at this time. Just stick with the program. Your body will adjust and will find its own balance and correct weight.

The true test to the success of your program was when you realized that it was easier for you to climb stairs without huffing and puffing. You are on the right track!

Have a question for Gilad? Click HERE and send it in! Gilad will choose one question each week to answer.

Find out more information about Gilad and his Fitness DVD's HERE.