The Fitness Guru: Recharging During the Day, Avoiding the Beer Gut, and Self-Amputation

The Fitness Guru Speaks

In January of this year, Adam Gilbert, a recent college graduate, left his high-prestige job at Ernst & Young to start My Body Tutor, a web-based company that has Adam, and his team of trainers, work daily with clients, through e-mail and phone, to help them lose weight and get into exceptional shape. The company has exploded in growth recently on the strength of its results. In addition, Adam recently signed on with Conde Naste to become one of their new fitness columnists.

A couple weeks back I asked you to send me your questions about health and fitness at college. I sent the best to Adam, who was kind of enough to provide us some of his expert wisdom…

I’m often tired in class and have a hard time concentrating while studying. What can I do to maximize my energy in the day? Specific food? Exercise? Powerful, powerful Drugs?

Exercise will make a huge difference. It helps you sleep better at night and feel better during the day. Also, make sure you are eating properly. If you don’t eat properly, it can make you feel tired. It’s very important to eat healthy, balanced meals so that your body gets the nutrition and energy it needs. Are you getting enough sleep? One of the most common reasons for feeling tired is not getting enough sleep.

I’m in a frat, so I drink a fair amount. And that probably won’t change. How do I avoid the dreaded beer gut?

To avoid the dreaded beer gut you simply have to burn as many calories as you consume. If you consume more calories than you burn you will gain weight.

Here’s a simple rule of thumb: If you’re going to drink 2-3 nights per week you want to be exercising at least 2-3 times per week for 30 minutes or more. Ideally, you would push this to 3-4 times per week. Remember: Something is always better than nothing!

Another tip: Do you eat late at night? (Something that seems to go along with drinking.) Don’t! You can easily consume an extra 500-2000 calories by eating those beloved cheese fries, wings and pizza.

Do you have any top-secret, dark magic get ripped fast type of gym tricks that I should know about?

I’ll let you in on a secret.

Do you want to lose 20 pounds fast? The easiest, surest, most effective way I know: saw off your leg!

In all seriousness, you have to make eating healthy and exercising a part of your lifestyle. There is no doubt that you feel better, perform better and live better when you do this. No excuses.