Nutrition Mistakes and Carbohydrate Diet Recommendations
Nutrition Mistakes & Carbohydrate Diet Recommendations
By: Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer
www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Get ready for Politically Incorrect Nutrition Mistakes and Carbohydrate Diet Recommendations from one of the most famous fat loss trainers in North America, Alwyn Cosgrove. I recently saw Alwyn speak at a personal trainer's seminar, and Alwyn showed study after study supporting his fat loss programs.
 
Today he will focus on the nutrition and the psychology of weight loss.
 
Alwyn Cosgrove is a superstar in the world of physique transformation for men and women. He's trained champions in
multiple sports and winners of multiple 12-week body transformation contests. Alwyn owns and operates a training facility in Santa Clarita, California and he's also written his own fat loss book called "Afterburn".
 
CB: Where do people go wrong with meal frequency when trying to lose fat?
 
AC:
Two primary mistakes.
 
One is trying to eat very little all day in a bid to keep calories low (and then blowing it every single night when they get home).
 
Two is actually the opposite -- putting too much faith in the "6-8 meals per day" theory.
 
As usual the truth is somewhere in between.
 
For a 200lb male eating 2400 cals per day - 6 meals is 400 calories per meal. If a couple of these meals are 200 calorie shakes - he can actually eat some decent size portions.
 
But for a 135lb female trying to drop a little more fat, who is eating closer to 1350 calories per day - 6 meals per day ends up
being 250 cals each. It's hard to get in decent sized meals. They'd do better on 4 meals per day.
 
So it's a sliding scale.
 
Almost every new client that walks into our facility usually skips breakfast, maybe has a coffee mid-morning, eats lunch, eats nothing all afternoon and eats a big dinner. They ARE only eating two meals per day. By switching their macronutrients around a wee bit, cleaning up their diet and getting them on 4-5 feedings per day - we really do notice a difference.

CB: You have an impressive list of low-carb studies cited in your arguments. What's the take home message about this issue?
 
AC:
At this point - a reduced carb, higher protein diet is superior for fat loss. Period. And probably superior for health.
 
There are several studies comparing the SAME caloric intake of higher and lower carb diets and a) the low carb groups lost more fat and more importantly b) there was a significantly greater client compliance with the low carb groups. Greater client
compliance is huge. This is real world value again.
 
I don't know the threshold that a diet becomes "low carb" at, and I'm not convinced that a diet that was 70% carbohydrate with all carbohydrate sources coming from vegetables would hurt fat loss at all. Adam Campbell of Mens Health shared a study with me that showed individuals on low carbohydrate diets tended to eat more vegetables than prior to beginning their program.
 
I guess a very low REFINED carbohydrate diet is what I recommend.

CB: In my opinion, the role of hormones in fat loss has been ignored. Do you do anything to manipulate hormone levels to get greater fat loss in your clients?
 
AC:
Insulin is the only hormone we really have control over. The main thing is keeping insulin in check. Here's how I explain it to
beginners - insulin is a fat storing hormone - if we can keep our insulin levels reduced around the clock (reduced carb diet) then we can effectively increase total fat oxidation.
 
Obviously that's an oversimplification and elevating insulin is useful around workouts - but that's the only thing I've been
concerned about.

CB: In addition to the "three keys to fat loss" that you covered in your presentation, how important are motivation and social support to success? How do you address these attributes with your clients?
 
AC:
Yeah - the three keys I presented are all physiological. But psychology trumps physiology every single time. There's a reason
why Weight Watchers and Curves are making more money than the majority of personal trainers: Social support. And social support drives motivation.
 
In our center we tend to get motivated people anyway - so that's less of an issue - but one of the things we always ask is "does your family/significant other support you on this journey?"
It makes a huge difference. That's the difference between a successful trainer and an unsuccessful one.
 
But I'll tell you one thing without going into too much detail - switching to semi-private training increased results across the
board. Probably because of group dynamics and social support.

CB: Most relatively good trainers can handle the physical components of fat loss, but how does a trainer succeed at the
mental game? Any resources you can recommend? And is the "mental component/mental drive" something you can immediately tell that a client has or is missing?
 
AC: 
Well I'd question that most trainers can handle the physical components of fat loss but I won't get into that right now.
 
As far as the mental component goes - my resources came from being exposed to a great coach at a young age.
 
We all remember the coach in our youth, who left us on the bench, or had us running laps in the rain. We also remember the coach who inspired us, picked us up and made our young lives a little better.
 
Which type of coach are you? That's the secret.
 
I instill in my clients that we are a team. I work for them. I deliver the best service I can in the position of their fitness
coach. Once they put their faith in you - never betray that. But their results will increase when they realize this is a coaching
relationship - not just a trainer - client.
 
Some very general psychological tricks: most females will only respond to positive reinforcement and don't respond at all being
compared to others or to 'norms'.
 
Occasionally they want comparisons but generally they respond better to comparisons to themselves.
 
Males in general will respond better to having to "prove" themselves and always need to know "what's good? Is this a good
number for me to be lifting?" etc. 
Girls just don't want to be intimidated. Guys just want to be "one of the guys".
 
A poor coach uses the same personality when working with all his or her clients.
 
A good coach recognizes that his or her personality only works with certain clients.
 
A great coach can change his or her personality TO the client.

CB: Bottom line: How do you help someone be more disciplined - especially with their eating and their habits outside the gym?
 
AC:
It's an understanding of the entire picture. It's not the workout.
 
It's not the diet. It's not the intervals - it's the synergy between all of these things.
 
At any one time a client is either getting fatter or leaner. If they get fatter this week - they haven't failed - they have just
found and executed the perfect system for increasing fat! All we have to do is to change that system (which we know doesn't work now) and we can't fail.
 
Clients have to make the mindshift that it's not about "will this piece of cake really hurt me that much?" to "is what I'm doing
getting me closer to my goals or not?" Just a little shift in thinking can reap huge rewards.
 
Yeah it's true - if you dieted and trained all week, a glass of beer and a few chicken wings won't hurt you that much - but it damn sure isn't getting you closer to six pack abs.
 
One thing I really liked was John Berardi's compliance grid - where we see overall compliance to the plan, as opposed to details. It helps clients see the big picture. A 90% goal is what we shoot for. 
So let's say the plan is 5 meals per day, and 3 workouts with post-workout nutrition per week. So we're looking at 38 meal
opportunities.
 
If a client misses a meal, or doesn't eat a meal that's part of the program, then they lose a "point". Our goal is a minimum of 34-35.
 
It lets a client see that if they eat perfectly on Sun-Fri, but miss a couple meals on Sat, and eat a couple of cheat meals that
day - in their head they were "on" the whole time.
 
But when we do the compliance grid we see that Sat alone cost them 5 points. So despite what they think or perceive to be happening - they are NOT compliant - just an important distinction to teach them.

CB: And finally, can you leave us with some of your best results or case studies?
 
AC:
I prefer to talk about average results - we all have star clients and testimonials that we can talk about. Generally across the board with a client who is doing everything right we see a consistent loss of 24 to 32 lbs of fat in our initial 16 week program.
Some people out perform that, or lose more over a longer period of time.
 
Some do less than that - but that's a fair average that I don't mind quoting.
 
But I'd be remiss if I didn't mention one girl who I worked with.
 
This girl's brother paid for her training sessions before being shipped to Iraq. Unfortunately he never made it back.
 
But he'd be proud of his wee sister. She trained her ass off, gained a ton of muscle, cut 20lbs of fat in about 12 weeks and now holds the record for kills as a freshman in D1 Volleyball at Idaho. Haley Larson - an amazing athlete - watch for her name.

CB: Alwyn, Thanks so much for your expertise and motivation.



About the Author

Craig Ballantyne is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and writes for Men's Health, Men's Fitness, Maximum Fitness, Muscle and Fitness Hers, and Oxygen magazines. His trademarked Turbulence Training fat loss workouts have been featured multiple times in Men’s Fitness and Maximum Fitness magazines, and have helped thousands of men and women around the world lose fat, gain muscle, and get lean in less than 45 minutes three times per week. For more information on the Turbulence Training workouts that will help you burn fat without long, slow cardio sessions or fancy equipment, visit www.TurbulenceTraining.com

Download Your Exclusive
Free Report!
 

The Dark Side of Cardio... And Other Over-rated Exercise Methods.

Simply enter your name and email address below and I will immediately send you a FREE copy of my controversial report about the most common exercis myths that are sabotaging your fat loss efforts. You will also receive a FREE subscription to my weekly Turbulence Training email newsletter containing free tips to maximize your metabolism, gain muscle and achieve success with your workouts. All these gifts are yours free as a thank you for visiting my website

E-mail:

Boost Your Fat Burning Program Immediately with the Research-Proven, Time-Tested Turbulence Training Workouts

You can download the program within minutes and get started today with a better way to workout for fat loss. No more slow boring cardio, no more long trips to the gym. Check out the this jam-packed, downloadable Turbulence Training package:

  • A 76-page e-book crammed with beginner through advanced workouts, giving you up to 26 weeks worth of fat-blasting workouts - VALUE of over $397
  • An exclusive one hour MP3 audio going over every detail of the Turbulence Training workouts and fat loss philosophy - VALUE $165

When I write montly workouts for clients, each 4-week program costs $100. But in the Turbulence Training E-book, you get access to four Advanced Fat Loss Workouts, and three introductory workouts that progress you from Beginner to Advanced. That 26 week package would easily be worth more than $397 if you were a private client of mine.

Plus, if you trained with me one-on-one, you would have to schedule your appointment 3-months in advance (my training schedule is booked solid~) at $150 per session. And if you had questions about Turbulence Training (like the ones I answer in the one hour MP3 audio program), an hour phone consultation would cost you $165. But instead, you get this in-depth audio interrogation for FREE as part of the Turbulence Training package.

  • Total Value of the Package is over $550. But you'll pay only $39.95.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S EVEN MORE!

1) Turbulence Training Fat Loss Nutrition Guidelines, by Dr. Chris Mohr, Ph.D.
(Retail Value = $24.99)

You need to eat right to lose fat, and this nutrition guideline shows men and women exactly which foods to choose, how often to eat, how much protein to get, and a shocking list of foods you MUST avoid to lose fat and improve your health. Dr. Chris Mohr, Ph.D., R.D., is one of the most respected Registered Dieticians in America, appearing on the Montel Williams Show, writing for Men's Health, Weight Watchers, and Prevention magazines.

2) Turbulence Training DB-BW Fustion Fat Loss 8-Week Program
(Retail Value = $24.99)

By combining a dumbbell exercise and a bodyweight exercise, you'll be able to do these Turbulence Training workouts even faster than ever before. Just wait till you try these workouts. You'll be blown away by the effectiveness of the dumbbell-bodyweight superset combinations. So fast, so simple, yet so efficient at burning fat.

3) Turbulence Training for Women 4-Week Program
(Retail Value = $29.99)
With both beginner and advanced versions, this program serves as a great add-on to the regular Turbulence Training program that hundreds of women have already used to lose fat and sculpt their bodies. All of these workouts can be done at home with a bench, a ball, dumbbells, and your own bodyweight.

4) Turbulence Training for Muscle 8-Week Program
(Retail Value = $24.99)

Burn fat, then build the muscle. Don't get caught without having a beach body. Once you lose all the fat you need, switch to this advanced muscle-building program to get the biceps, chest, and calves that will give you a "stand-out in the crowd" physique.

5) Turbulence Training Original 4-Week Bodyweight Program
(Retail Value = $19.99)
Sculpt your body without the need for any fancy equipment or even a set of dumbbells. This 4-week program contains beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels so that no matter what your fitness level, you can get a complete Turbulence Training work anytime, anyplace. Take this one when you travel for work or holidays, and you won't come home with any extra "baggage".

6) Turbulence Training 30-Days to Advanced Fat Loss Program
(Retail Value = $19.99)
Just what the title says. I designed this program for a personal trainer that I was training (Yep, I'm considered a trainer to the trainers) and we needed to get maximum results in only 30 days. By choosing the exercises that gave him the most results in the least amount of time, he was able to impress his clients (and get more clients) thanks to his TT fat loss.

7) Turbulence Training Advanced Fusion Fat Loss 4-Week Program
(Retail Value = $24.99)

The most challenging TT workout to date. This 4-week program combines advanced athletic moves with dumbbell exercises AND bodyweight exercises into one of the most intense bodysculpting workouts I've ever designed. Once you are finished with all of the Turbulence Training workouts, use this workout to build the body of your dreams in as little time as possible.


WOMEN: Click here to discover the truth about cardio for fat loss, and why the two components of short, burst exercise workouts have been scientifically proven to better for fat loss and losing your belly fat.


MEN: Click here to learn about the short workouts you can do to build muscle and burn fat at the same time, all while getting in and out of the gym in under 45 minutes only 3 times per week, so that you can get on to more important things in your life.

Fat Loss | Contact | Faq's | Testimonials | Free Report | Affiliates | Order 

Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Disclaimer | Affiliate Agreement