Book Review: "Conquer the Fat-Loss Code" by Wendy Chant

Conquer the Fat-Loss Code is nothing short of a complete strategy to lose fat, raise metabolism, shed unwanted pounds, and remain fit for life. Wendy Chant has presented a book that not only explains the science behind the body’s reactions to food and exercise, but also details how to take advantage of these natural tendencies.

Chant’s book is a quick read because she explains the fat-loss code in simple, readily understandable terms. She also outlines all the principles involved in optimizing fat-loss (like the meal plan cycles) in straightforward bulleted paragraphs and in-a-nutshell “Conquer the Code” boxes for quick comprehension and reference. Testimonials to the success of the Fat-Loss Code (inserted in the book as “What the Code Crackers Are Saying”) are short stories that add to the credibility of the method.

Chant’s book is also a long-term guide because it has a complete 8-week planner that lists daily food suggestions, weight training and cardio schedules, and a feedback log complete with the day’s affirmation. The book not only explains the fat-loss code, it also provides the tools you need to apply the code to your particular situation. Chant even fine-tunes the program to differentiate plans for men and women, and those aiming to lose less (or more) than 30 pounds.

Of course, a plan is only as good as its Plan B. So, Chant also includes tips and tactics for special days like weekends, travel, and holidays, plus a special section on what to do if you fall off the wagon. And it goes without saying that the chapter on “Quick Tips for Ultimate Success” merits a permanent bookmark.

The last section of the book could be the most precious gift from Wendy Chant: it features her own recipes for breakfast, shakes, soups, salads, vegetables, entrées, and desserts. And to round out her comprehensive book, she adds an appendix of the Beginner’s Home Workout and several pages of references and scientific basis for her fat-loss code.

Anyone who has tried any kind of diet or regimen for losing fat (and maybe did not achieve the desired results) deserves to try Wendy Chant’s method. The science is sound, the code is simple, and this book is the key.

Just Say No

I have a new weight maintenance tool. I call it the “Just-Say-No“ technique because all you have to do is say, “No, thank you.” You don’t have to measure and weigh what you eat; you don’t have to take some funky pills; you don’t have to hop on a treadmill! How easy is that?

By responding, “No, thank you!” during potentially weight-maintenance-damaging situations, you can lose from 100 to 1000 calories every time. And you won’t even feel it! Here are the opportunities you can cut off those calories.

At the theater concession stand:
“Would you like butter with your popcorn?”
“No, thank you.” [Lose 220 cal.]

Also at the theater concession stand:
“Would you like to make your soda a large for just 25 cents more?”
“No, thank you.” [Lose 100 cal.]

At the coffee shop:
“Whipped cream?”
“No, thank you.” [Lose 150 cal.]

At the burger place:
“Would you like to supersize your order for just 99 cents more?”
“No, thank you.” [Lose 100 cal. on the soda, 500 cal. on the fries.]

With the boys:
“Another beer?”
“No, thank you.” [Lose 120 cal.]

At a party or at home:
“Second helping?”
“No, thank you.” [Lose 300-800 cal.]

For dessert:
“How about a vanilla milk shake?”
“No, thank you.” [Lose 1000 cal.]

Simple. A calorie refused is a calorie lost. Intake your calories wisely, is what I say.

So, next time someone asks you to an all-you-can-eat too-good-to-pass-up buffet apply the “Just Say No” technique and save yourself a few hundred hard-to-burn calories.

For more information on calories and how much effort you need to put into burning them (hint: you have to walk the dog for a little over an hour to burn the butter you added to your popcorn): Calorie-Count.com

Dieting, Eating Strategies, Fat Loss

I may just have accidentally stumbled on an article I had always wanted to write.

As a health/wellness writer, I’ve published pieces on stress, the fat-and-forty syndrome, backpacking, and other focused topics, but never one that can serve as a comprehensive guide to health and fitness. I planned on writing a simple bulleted guide that covers nutrition, weight maintenance, aerobics, and resistance training – the essential elements of a healthy lifestyle. But the most I’ve done is scribble pieces of a draft that gets shuffled around in a deep drawer marked “One of These Days” (oh, that’s a step up from being in the thick folder labeled, “You think?”)

Today, while surfing the ‘Net looking for the formula for how many calories a person burns at rest (don’t ask), I ended up here:

How Dieting Works by Marshall Brain of HowStuffWorks.com

Mr. Brain had the information I was looking for. And I quote:

“At rest (for example, while sitting and watching television), the human body burns only about 12 calories per pound of body weight per day (26 calories per kilogram). That means that if you weigh 150 pounds (68 kg), your body uses only about: 150 X 12 = 1,800 calories per day.

“Those 1,800 calories are used to do everything you need to stay alive:
- They keep your heart beating and lungs breathing.
- They keep your internal organs operating properly.
- They keep your brain running.
- They keep your body warm. “

The part I enjoyed best about Mr. Brain’s article was the section on weight loss myths:

“The myth that you can lose 54 pounds in 6 weeks - Despite what the ads say (I LOST 54 POUNDS IN 6 WEEKS WITHOUT DIETS OR EXERCISE!!! or LOSE 10 POUNDS THIS WEEKEND!), you cannot lose a pound of fat unless you burn off 3,500 calories. To lose 54 pounds in 6 weeks, you would need to lose 9 pounds in 7 days, or 1.3 pounds per day. That 1.3 pounds of fat is equal to 4,500 calories, so you would have to burn off 4,500 calories per day. The only way to do that would be to eat nothing AND run a marathon every day for 42 days. That's impossible. The only way to lose that much weight that quickly is either through dehydration or amputation. The ads are lying.”

With nothing better to do, I continued surfing until I found myself reading what I previously mentioned as the article I had always wanted to write. Obviously, someone already beat me to it. In 2002.

Eating Strategies for Permanent Fat Loss

It’s actually a handout created by Sheri Barke, MPH, RD, of the UCLA Arthur Ashe Student Health and Wellness Center. To learn more, explore the UCLA site she developed: Student Nutrition (& Body Image) Action Committee.

So, I can rest easy. The piece had been written. All I have to do now is bookmark and send the URL to my trainees. Thank you, Sheri Barke.

Treadmill Tunes

Long before I became a mountaineer (and that’s a long time ago!), I used U2’s The Joshua Tree album for my aerobic workouts.

For some reason, “Where The Streets Have No Name” and “With Or Without You” jibed well with my cardio workout rhythm. And that was before Tommy Lee Jones danced to these songs in the movie “Blown Away.”

Singing along with Bono (real name: Paul Hewson), I would jog in place and go through the warm-up routines I had learned as a student of Tae Kwon Do (okay, that’s even waaaay farther back – when everyone wanted to be Bruce Lee!). My routines were punches, blocks, and kicks, with the mandatory “kiya!”

Fast forward to today. Hell if my joints can still execute half of those karate moves, so I don’t even try. But I still do cardio with U2 – this time on a treadmill. I can’t do spinning back kicks anymore (I’ll be lucky to tear a ligament before I bash my head on a piece of furniture!), but on the treadmill, I can simulate hill climbing, and I can still dance-jog to the rhythm of “In God’s Country.”

In fact, I’ve created several playlists for my treadmill travails. These sets of tunes are 30 to 40 minutes long (my daily routine), some more aerobic than others. The first and last songs are warm-up and cool-down tunes; the ones in between vary from high-incline-slow-speed to no-incline-high-speed. Oh, no biggie... my high incline is only 10 degrees, and my high speed is a break-neck 3.0 mph, tops.

[Aside: The treadmill has a safety feature “key.” One end you attach to the machine, the other you clip on to your waistband just so if you fall, your body will tug the key off the machine and automatically kill it (kill the machine, that is, before it kills you). But, I don’t really want to have to experience that, so, I’m not braving any death-defying stunts like hoofing faster than 3 miles per hour. Maybe next year when I train for the marathon. Not.]

Here are my treadmill workout playlists so far:

U2 [The Joshua Tree]
With Or Without You
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
Where The Streets Have No Name
Red Hill Mining Town
Bullet The Blue Sky
In God’s Country
Trip Through Your Wires

Guns N’ Roses [Greatest Hits]
Welcome to the Jungle
Sympathy for the Devil
Sweet Child O’ Mine
Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
You Could Be Mine
Don’t Cry

Metallica [Black Album]
Don’t Tread On Me
Sad But True
Enter Sandman
Wherever I May Roam
The God That Failed
The Unforgiven

A Night At The Roxbury [Soundtrack]
What Is Love
Make That Money
Do Ya Think I’m Sexy
Be My Lover
Pop Muzik
Beautiful Life
Little Bit of Ecstasy
Careless Whisper

Satriani [The Extremist]
Friends
The Extremist
War
Summer Song
Why
Motorcycle Driver
Cryin’

Yanni [Live At The Acropolis]
Santorini
Keys to Imagination
Acroyall/Standing in Motion
Within Attraction
Reflections of Passion

I load these playlists depending on my treadmill mood. Yanni’s set is more for routines similar to the feel of stair climbers and elliptical trainers –- apart from the warm-up and cool-down songs, the set features backgrounds to a steady “orchestral” uphill pacing on 10-degree inclines at 1.8 - 2.5 mph. The Roxbury soundtrack, on the other hand, is all aerobic – disco dancing type of jogging at 0-incline, 2.5 mph (I adjust my stride and pace to the rhythm of the song, and I flail my arms mimicking an elliptical workout). The rest of the sets are, well, just music I enjoy walking/jogging/trekking with.

I should make a few more playlists. Maybe The Rolling Stones or Led Zep. The rock bands are the best to treadmill with. I tried jogging with the jazz guys... no good. Classical, uhm… I’ll have to look again.