You know who is your worst enemy in the fight against fat?

Well-meaning, politically correct, fitness professionals that don't want to make you feel bad for being lazy and eating crap. That's who.

They write articles about how "diets are bad", how you can lift soup cans and get fitness model arms, and how you should exercise in the nice and easy "fat burning zone" to get results.

Basically, they give you what want to hear - plenty of excuses for avoiding hard exercise and strict nutrition (the real keys to fat loss).

But I don't. You'll get no such excuses from me.

Here's the real deal on fat loss. You have to work hard in your workouts and even harder on your nutrition if you want results. Or you can take the politically-correct easy way out and have the same body in 3, 6, and even 12 months from now.

Love me or hate me, I promise you results. Let's take a look at why the PC-solutions don't work...

Q: I've been told to exercise in my "fat burning zone". What's the best cardio method for weight loss?

Answer: Cardio is not the only solution.

Clearly it adds to the energy deficit and overall calorie balance that favors fat loss.

BUT it's not the "end all & be all" of fat loss success - and that is anecdotally supported by the number of overweight distance runners.

I almost never recommend long, slow cardio...simply because no one I train or consult with has the time for this, and it doesn't work any better than shorter, less frequent, more intense interval training sessions.

Five or six days of 45-minute cardio sessions in my fat-burning zone? Yeah right, like anyone has time for that.

If I told you that you could get the same results (or better, as recent research suggests) in three 20-minute interval sessions each week as you could from three or five 45-minute slower cardio sessions each week, which would you choose?

Yes, intervals feel about 10x's harder than regular, slow, boring cardio. And yes, you won't be able to read your people magazine when doing intervals. And you might breath a little heavy. So if you're worried about sweating, than maybe fat loss isn't for you.

But if you don't mind going against the crowd, intervals are worth every second for the superior results.

Q: Should men and women train differently for fat loss?

Answer: Nope. Next question.

Seriously, the answer is no, but just to add to that, men and women don't have that many differences when it comes to fat loss, so they both do well with the fat burning interval-style workouts.

Now here's one reason why intervals may actually work better for women than men...

More women tend to start interval training after having spent months or years using slow cardio and light (if any) weights.

And I could not be any happier - because when these dedicated women start using the shorter, more intense strength and interval sessions they make rapid progress and make me look like a genius.

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