Well, your muscles use glycogen to perform resistance training. So as you start to weight train, your muscles will use more and more glycogen. This in turn can make you heavier. However as a reminder understand that 10lbs of muscle takes up to 3x less space than 10Ibs of fat. Would you care if you fit those non stretch jeans now because you lost inches but the scale didn’t move much? Water weight is relevant as well. So body fat percentage is the real number that matters not the overall number on your home scale. ***It’s the “shape” not the “weight”

Your heart works when you work out.. low intensity cardio burns more calories from fat and higher intensity exercise burns more calories from carbs. That’s why carbs are your friend when you’re going hard Problem is, when you burn more calories from carbs, if you are low on glycogen storage, or are on a low carb diet, and your glycogen runs out, guess what, your body goes into what is called gluconeogensis and uses your muscles as an energy source. Look at Marathon runners who don’t strength train most don’t have an athlete build for a reason. We are all here to burn body fat, not carbs! To burn body fat, keep your intensity at most 65% of your max heart rate! Any higher, then you are burning carbs! Your fat burning zone is determined by your resting heart rate using the Karvonen Equation. *According to Lucho Crisalle, RD Exercise and Nutrition Works, if you can talk while performing cardio you are burning fat. If you are working too hard and are unable to talk while doing cardio, you are burning sugar! You want to burn fat while doing cardio and burning carbs while strength training.

Can you get away with it? Sure, but it is not recommended. Sometimes working out on an empty stomach can lead to being fatigued, feeling dizzy or sick.

You can, however your body needs rest. Remember, when you strength train, your muscles grow when you are at home, resting SLEEPING. It is recommended, if you are new to exercise to start twice a week at 20 minutes at a time, gradually increasing the time to 3 times a week at no more than 45 minutes. Generally, 4 times a week is sufficient to gain muscle strength.

You may be able to see results in the first 4-8 weeks. This depends in large part to your nutrition. You can work out as hard as you’d like. If you do not eat right, you will not get far.

Well it goes back to what nutritionists call “gastric emptying time.” This is basically how long it takes for a food to leave your stomach. Carbohydrates take 1 hour to leave your stomach, leaving you hungry again in an hour. This is why it is recommended to eat a protein with a carbohydrate. To keep your blood sugar levels even at 80-120, avoid crashing and keeping you full for 3 hours, until your next meal. If you are going to eat fruit, eat it with a carbohydrate. Also keep in mind, you are better off eating a whole fruit as opposed to fruit juice. Sugar is sugar and there is nothing worse than fruit juice. You get all the sugar with no added benefit of the fiber!

If you are very active, a light, protein filled snack would not be a bad idea 2hrs before bedtime. Many people have had success with a light, protein snack, like cottage cheese. The low fat cottage cheese has 19 grams of protein service and very little fat. While you are sleeping, your body is still performing metabolic activities and still needs to maintain its key objective: survival. So if you go to bed hungry, you are basically eating away at your own muscle! Yes, even as you sleep if you sleep hungry!

Well, first of all, your body is designed to survive. Plain and simple. Your body will store anything that it does not have enough of. If you deprive your body of carbohydrates for a while, your body will store them because it doesn’t have any, you are not feeding it any! So you end up with more than you wanted!!

Your body’s metabolism increases each time you eat! Your metabolic rate will increase with each meal. When you don’t eat, your metabolism slows down because it has nothing to do! You are not feeding your body. If you eat every 3-4 hours, not only are you keeping your blood sugar even, avoiding crashing, you are constantly spiking your metabolism!

Carbs are NOT the enemy. Just like GAS (energy source) is needed in a CAR for it to move and to keep it moving. Your body is the car and carbs would be the gas/(energy source) needed to help burn fat when you strength train. If you’re not working out (moving) carbs aren’t a needed or helpful energy source for burning fat, it then becomes the fat builder and then and only then is it the enemy. Most people love breads, pasta, pizza..etc.. The saying is, “if you can burn it, you can eat it.” Problem is, most of us eat more carbs than we can burn! Try this hack after 4pm or 5pm, replace your breads and pasta with vegetables! They are high in fiber, low in calories and count as carbs! Try to avoid too much rice, pasta or any starchy carbs later in the day. Why? Because you are likely not going to burn them and they will get stored as FAT! Also make use of exchanges! For instance, if you are going to have a cup of rice, don’t eat the roll! Which would you rather have? You’ll have to choose one or another! Cutting out is not the answer, moderation is! If you have been disciplined all week with your diet, have the slice of pizza, a piece of cheese cake, or whatever you want in MODERATION (1slice, not a whole pizza) Remember, your diet needs to be shocked too like your workout. You can’t do a workout the same and you can’t always eat the same exact way. Your body will get used to anything! You deserve it, if you’ve earned/burned it.

This is not recommended because too much cardio can eat away at muscle tissue, which is not good! Cardio is great for your heart and overall well being. However, to maximize your calorie burning, you need muscle! Muscle is the driving heat source that burns body fat, even when you’re workout is complete! So if you enjoy cardio, that’s fine, just don’t overdo it, and for that matter, don’t over do anything! If you are looking to burn fat while doing cardio, remember to keep the intensity level low, with going as high as 65% of your max. Find your max heart rate by using this formula, 220-your age=… this will give you your max, then take that number and multiply it by 65% to get your fat burning zone. This also has to do with your resting heart rate.