Over the years, and after working with thousands of clients, I have found that poor eating habits are the leading reason for failure in attaining optimal health and fitness. The habit of eating a balanced and satisfying meal is very often the missing link in optimal health and fitness. There are many reasons for not following a healthy diet; I have found that a lack of knowledge combined with an abundance of misinformation, tend to be the most common ones. With that in mind, I decided to write this article to “demystify” nutrition, and to educate you, the fitness professional, along with the general public on the topic. I have learned that people learn more easily with the use of analogies. Because everyone is familiar with how automobiles function, I have chosen to use them as the “vehicle” (no pun intended) to make this information even easier to understand.

In view of the fact that we are bombarded with so much nutritional information, it is very hard to decipher whether the source is legitimate or not. All the information in this article was based on clinical studies, along with my many years of experience as a clinical and sports dietitian.

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Recently I was in the locker room at the gym I frequent when I overheard a woman giving out free nutrition advice to a friend. No, I was not eavesdropping. When you speak loud enough for the entire room to hear, you are not having a “private” discussion. This woman, let’s call her Madame B(the B is for bonkers because that’s what she was), was listing her top tips to get results like she was David Letterman on a taurine fueled rant. I came in on what must have been her third or fourth magical fix it tip and her wide eyed friend was sucking down the information like it was an iced caramel machiato. Cleary she was in need of the 10 pound fat dissolving cure in a hurry because the kids have to be picked up by 4. Now I’ve heard it all. With over 10,000 diet books on Amazon.com there is nothing that surprises me. Well, until now.

“No carbs, no snacking, don’t eat after seven” and then she whispers “Do at least an hour of high intensity cardio every morning before breakfast” she says it with a such a solemn tone that I have to look up from my various state of undress. What?!? She moves on to the next tip but I am paralyzed from standing in a pool of quicksand that is my own disbelief. Armed with enough nutritional information to vacate a Krispy Kreme I prepare my attack. As I suck a quick breath of air in before my barrage on the metabolic wizardry of eating, I freeze. This wasn’t my conversation. This isn’t even my friend. Now I’ve been known to give advice to strangers on the aisle of the supermarket (don’t get this, do you know what’s in that) I consider myself to be a respectful locker room patron. Don’t show me yours, I won’t show you mine. I dressed quickly and retreated to the adjacent bathroom to wash my hands of the icky discussion.

What Madame B forgot to mention was that while it is possible to lose weight while exercising excessively on an empty stomach the weight you are losing IS NOT fat. Fat only needs 4 calories a day to stay warm and happy. Starve it all you like and you just might end up with more than you started with. Oh and the starving approach doesn’t last and can kill your metabolism. The sole purpose of fat in your body is for protection and warmth. Muscle on the other hand is hungry. One pound of muscle burns 14 calories a day to stay warm so if you are skipping breakfast your body isn’t. It’s eating your muscle. Yummy. The pound of muscle is a third of the size of the fat. So muscle is skinnier, burns 3 times the calories, and doesn’t jiggle. Go feed your muscle!