Laguna Beach Fitness Personal Trainer Answers Frequently Asked Questions

Find the answers to common fitness, exercise, health, diet and nutrition questions

• How do I dress for a workout session?
• What do I bring to my personal training session?
• How much water should I drink a day?
• Can a personal trainer help me lose weight fast? 
• Are there any problems with high-protein diets? 
• Is walking on the treadmill for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night as effective as walking 30 minutes straight?
• What can I do to increase my cardio without having to go to a crowded gym or use a boring piece of cardio equipment? 
• Will eating fat make me fat?
• Will eating past 7pm, especially carbohydrates, result in weight gain? 
• What is insulin' s role in storing fat? 
• Is it true that anyone attempting to lose fat and/or gain LBM should eat a high-protein diet? 
• Does whey protein build muscle quicker than other complete proteins? 
• Do protein drinks build muscle?
• Should I try to cut all fat out of my diet? 
• Is dietary fat bad for you? 

How do I dress for a workout session?

Where comfortable clothing that you can move in, preferable athletic wear, tennis shoes and remove all 'dangling' jewelry.

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What do I bring to my personal training session?

   Always bring and towel and water bottle/sports drink.

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How much water should I drink a day?

   At least 96oz., but try for 1 gallon of water a day.

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Can a personal trainer help me lose weight fast? 

   Yes. A trainer can most certainly help you lose weight fast. Due to their certifications, a trainer knows the most efficient ways to lose those extra pounds and they can create a program tailored to your needs.

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Are there any problems with high-protein diets? 

   While high protein diets can help you lose weight quickly, many negative side effects exist, such as calcium loss, acidic residue, and fluid imbalance. This type of diet can also slow your metabolism and cause uncontrollable cravings for carbohydrates. Generally, the lost weight is regained.

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Is walking on the treadmill for 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night as effective as walking 30 minutes straight? 

   The answer to this question depends upon your objective. If your goal is weight loss, you're better off in walking 30 minutes straight. The reasoning being as follows: the percentage of calories you burn from fat will be higher after the 15 minute point, but remember if you can't do the 30 min straight, then do what you can comfortably handle.

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What can I do to increase my cardio without having to go to a crowded gym or use a boring piece of cardio equipment? 

   I understand that a big hurdle for a lot of people is overcoming boredom while doing cardio. We recommend doing outside activities: running, bike riding, or swimming. We also highly recommend special cardio such as Boot Camps. Nutrition Is it true that carbohydrates make a person fat? If you eat more calories than you expend in energy, then anything can be stored as fat - protein, fat or carbohydrate. 

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Will eating fat make me fat? 

   As with the myth that carbohydrates make one fat, the answer to this is the same. Calories ingested and absorbed above expenditure contribute to increasing fat stores. However, there is some evidence that would suggest it is easier to get fat when consuming a high-fat diet. It seems the human body has a difficult time regulating food intake on high-fat diets, making it easier to accidentally eat excess calories. Also, because fat provides a lot of calories for a small volume (nine calories/g vs... four calories/g for protein and carbs) one may have a harder time feeling satisfied with the smaller food volume a high-fat diet would provide.

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Will eating past 7pm, especially carbohydrates, result in weight gain? 

   The body does not have an enzyme with a watch that after 7 p. m. preferentially stores items, especially carbohydrate, as fat. All of us have a certain number of calories we can consume without gaining weight. If you happen to change your daily schedule and end up eating a final meal or snack later in the evening without changing your calories, you are in no danger of accumulating weight as a result of that minor alteration. Ideally, however, you would spread your allotted number of calories throughout the day to prevent hunger and prevent wild fluctuations in blood sugar levels, which can sap your energy levels.

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What is insulin' s role in storing fat? 

   Humans, as periodic eaters, need insulin to survive. Following a meal, insulin is secreted, with its job being the storage of energy (glucose, amino acids) in the liver, muscle and adipose tissue (fat). We will always eat more at a meal than can immediately be used for energy, making this storage necessary. As the hours after a meal go by, this stored energy is released to fuel the continuous needs and activity of the body. The predominant fuel source for the human body during normal daily activities is fat. As insulin levels diminish after a meal (within an hour), another hormone, Glucagon, is secreted. It signals the body to begin releasing stored energy (glycogen from the liver and fatty acids from adipose tissue) into the blood stream to fuel the body' s energy needs, even though no new energy is coming in (from food). The cycle is repeated with every meal. Whether one increases or decreases the size of their fat stores day to day depends upon the relationship of calories consumed and absorbed versus energy expended on metabolism and daily activity. If you were in a caloric deficit at the end of the day, then more fat would have come out for energy than went in for storage, so your fat stores would be decreased. However, if you were in caloric excess, then more would have gone in than went out, so your fat stores would increase. As you can see, insulin is only a mechanism for fat storage. It needs material to work with to cause fat stores to increase and stay that way. That material is the calories we eat.

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Is it true that anyone attempting to lose fat and/or gain LBM should eat a high-protein diet? 

   No. Any amount exceeding 25% of total caloric intake would be considered high. There is no advantage to high-protein intake for the majority of fat loss subjects. It's all about calories. There are disadvantages to excess protein intake (see below). High-protein weight-loss diets are generally low-calorie diets in disguise that eventually will not satiate the user. This leads to uncontrollable eating behavior and concurrent weight gain. Initial weight loss from a high-protein diet is predominantly loss of body fluids.

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Does whey protein build muscle quicker than other complete proteins? 

   This is generally not true. The possible exception may be the underfed and over-trained athlete. For well-fed individuals, there is no nutritional advantage to whey protein over other complete proteins, except that one can consume less to meet protein requirements. No dietary protein initiates hypertrophy; appropriate exercise does.

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Do protein drinks build muscle?

   No. Appropriate exercise and adequate nutrition build muscle. 

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Should I try to cut all fat out of my diet? 

   No. Dietary fat calories should never dip below 10 percent of total caloric intake. Dietary fat can add to palatability and satiety. Dietary fat carries our necessary fat soluble vitamins & essential fatty acids.

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Is dietary fat bad for you? 

   Some fats are actually good for you, in moderation. Omega 3 & 6 fatty acids, found in some fish, can assist in lowering cholesterol as well as other positive physiological and psychological responses.

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