Losing weight is about gaining weight! What?

You are watching an OBESE man doing flying pushups. What?

It's true. According to the BMI scale that measures height and body weight, I'm an obese personal trainer and founder of bodystargym.com! Well, that's ridiculous and it says a lot about how you should measure and view your body and weight.

. In fact, according to the BMI (body mass index) weight chart, I'm OBESE. All you have to do is START to see how high you'll fly. There's an old saying: "keep working and your change will come," and we know getting to work works.

Losing weight also means gaining weight--doesn't that sound crazy? It isn't. If you want to lose weight, you really want to lose excess body fat and GAIN more metabolically active muscle! If you haven't been working out and you want to start, you can just diet like many people do. Problem with just dieting: you'll lose both fat and muscle weight, and weak and thin is a bad way to go through life.

You have to start working out (we hope here), and that means you'll change your weak "deconditioned" muscle into the metabolically active muscle that will burn more calories just sitting on your body! That begins the a "snowball" weight loss effect that will make you lean and happy.

To lose weight the old "diet and exercise" combo is true, but there are other factors, many of them personal to your lifestyle and choices. To a personal trainer, every client or random person asking advice is a puzzle. Usually I try not to say that I'm a personal trainer because I'm going to get some confessions: “I wish I could love exercising as much as I love food–I’m 20 lbs. overweight!” or “I’m way too busy to work out, and I’m tired all the time…” or “I’d love to have a trainer, but I don’t have the money…”

I don't want to make people feel bad, but I think some guilty parties view me as an exercise and diet policeman here to arrest the guilty! People say all kinds of things like “Umm, I normally don’t eat like this…” “Hey, how many pushups do I have to do for each beer?” Yikes. Yes, I guess meeting someone like me can feel like a sudden reality check, but that’s not my intention. Other times I hear about how fit someone used to be in high school or college. It also works the other way: fit people love to talk about their current programs, problems, and new approaches. In any case, my job is about understanding people. A good trainer understands where someone has been, where they want to go, and naturally how to get them to that new level.

The fun part of my training business is helping good people get a new start in life. I’m going to make them stronger, happier, healthier…and it’s amazing that they’ll pay me for it! I like to mix it up: strength training, cardio training, HIIT training, plyometrics, bootcamp training, kickboxing, yoga, and my own invented exercises–I always do something different, so my clients never get bored. One client/friend is a very busy executive but he takes the time for fitness training. He calls it his “Health Tax”; he says he’d rather pay to be strong and healthy now than grow sick and pay for doctor visits later. A healthy approach is not “if” you should exercise, but “how” and “when” you will exercise…this site is a way to get moving and stay in shape.

If you want to know how to lose weight, “how” includes finding good inspiration! I once read a story about a depressed, overweight woman who rarely left her house. After years of suffering, she decided to finally do something new–anything to change her life. She resolved to run about 20 ft. to her mailbox each day. After a few attempts, she made it, and I’m sure felt a victory that few could understand. Then she firmly resolved to run back. Over time, she could run to the corner, then around the block, then two blocks… Soon, she was out running marathons, loving life, and moving forward on all fronts.

Remember: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” and on Bodystar Gym, that step can be a 10 minute workout in your living room. Even if you do half of it, you’re on your way to the mailbox. The key is to start from where you are, take small steps, and congratulate yourself whenever possible.