These tips are meant to be (somewhat) simplistic and easy-to-follow, but as always you can find much more in-depth scientific research by Googling any of the key terms to follow.

The first axiom that helps plot the course to fat loss is to remember that DIET IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN EXERCISE.  I'm sorry for yelling, but often that point gets missed and requires loud tactics to drive home the point. I've used this saying before, but it bears repeating - great abs are made in the kitchen.

Now that we've successfully established that when it comes to fat loss, diet is more important than exercise, we can move on to some of the micro-level details:

#1 - Cut out the junk.

In-case you are puzzled as to what constitutes "junk", it would be any of the following: sugars, sodas, fried foods, white carbs like breads, pastas, white potatoes, and heavy dairy like cheeses or most regular milk.  None of these sorts of foods belong anywhere in a fat loss program.

 #2 - Keep it clean.

After eliminating the "bad", begin to focus on the good.  Your daily eating habits should be focused around solid clean food sources.  Base your grocery shopping and meals around lean proteins, LOTS of vegetables (particularly leafy greens and colors), moderate amounts healthy fats, low-to-moderate amounts complex carbs (more on this in a minute) and some select fruits.

Examples are as follows:

Lean Proteins: Lean turkey breast, organic chicken breast, Tilapia, Salmon, Egg Whites, organic eggs, Tofu, Bison.

Vegetables: Spinach, Kale, Swiss Chard, Mixed Greens Salads, Baby Carrots, Red/green/yellow Peppers, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Cabbage.

Healthy Fats: Avocado (this does NOT mean guacamole), extra virgin olive oil, Almonds, Almond Butter, organic Peanut Butter, Coconut Oil.  Eggs and Salmon also fit into this category.

Complex Carbs: Oatmeal, Oat Bran, Sweet Potatoes, Brown rice, Quinoa

Fruits: Blueberries, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Grapefruit

#3 - Reduce carbohydrates later in the day.

It's time to start looking at food (particularly carbohydrates) as fuel.  Carbs make up the body's most immediate energy source (especially fruits, sugars, and non-complex sources) so it makes little sense to load up on an energy source when the remainder of the day will be mostly spent sitting in-front of the computer or television, or preparing for bed.  Replace the space on your dinner plate that would normally be filled by pasta, mashed potatoes, white rice, or dinner rolls with salads and/or vegetables.

#4 - Focus carb intake around workouts

To build off of point #3, it makes little sense to continuously fill your body with carbs (think muffins and bagels around the office, lunchtime sub sandwiches) throughout the day if your energy expenditure is mostly walking back and forth to the copy machine or restroom.  One strategy that has worked well for me is to limit carb intake to pre-workout only.  The goal is to fuel up with energy and burn those carbs off during my intense workout.  I've even abandoned the long-held strategy of post-workout carbs (rice cakes, gatorade, bananas, etc) to "refill muscle glycogen stores" after an interesting read which made tons of logical sense. Post-workout carb refilling is appropriate if you are an endurance athlete. It does not fit into a plan focused around reducing body fat.

#5 - Limit "Reward Meals" to 1-2 times per week

I use the term "Reward Meals" instead of cheat meals to signify that these meals truly should be a reward for your hard work and diligent eating during the week.  The 90/10 rule applies towards your diet in that if you keep on-track 90% of the time, the remaining 10% may slow your progress slightly, but will not ultimately derail it.  It is important to remember however that a Reward Meal is not an entire Day's worth of gorging. It may also be helpful to plan your reward meals the day before a tough workout so that those extra calories go towards your energy level and performance in the gym.

#6 - Intensity of Exercise > Duration of Exercise

The metabolism is a lot like a fire.  Focus on using your brief-but-intense workout to rev up the metabolism for the remaining 23 hours of your calendar day. A fat loss workout does not need to be two hours.  It should not be an endless marathon on the stairmaster or elliptical trainer.  Those machines can have a small-but-focused role in your workout, but they should not be foundation of your plan as I so often see many women doing in the gym.

Those looking to shed bodyfat should instead utilize interval training like Tabatas, or High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) to get their heart-rate up, which takes advantage of the fat-burning qualities of Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) and Lactic Acid.  Intense resistance training (don't be scared ladies) also plays a HUGE role in priming the body's hormones to burn off stored fat cells.  A targeted clean diet plan sets the stage for the correct hormonal environment within your body.  Intense resistance training brings hormones like testosterone and HGH into the equation, which have proven fat loss attributes.

There are other aspects of your fat loss plan that need to be in-sync, such as getting a proper amount of sleep (8-9 hours per night is recommended), and avoiding a stressed daily mindset.  The body will not release stored body fats if your normal temperament is stressed and agitated, as this throws the hormones I mentioned earlier out of balance.

Losing body fat is a process not an event.  It is not a linear, mathematic equation (eat 500 calories less, burn 500 calories more, etc) that happens exactly as it would on a calculator.  It requires patience, perseverance, and a plan.  Life does not happen in a linear fashion, and neither will your fat loss.  But with the right tools in-place, it can be put into action just in-time for beach and bikini season around the corner.

Pictured on the right, is a "before" photo of my friend Brendan.  He has become one of the regulars who crushes the workouts at my YMCA Athletic Conditioning classes each week.  

I want to avoid spoiling the details of hisBrendan [Before] awesome story, in which he lost close to 95 pounds.  He was nice enough to share his story in our Q&A session below.

Be inspired.

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What's your athletic background?  

 I have been involved in sports my entire life. Was a three sport athlete in High School (Football, Basketball, and Baseball). However; my main sports were football and baseball. I attended Catholic University of America and played both Baseball & Football my freshmen year. It became too much so I chose to focus solely on football.

What was your weight at its highest, vs your current (average) weight? How long did the process take?

I graduated high school in 2000 right around 225 lbs. Finished football my 5^th year Dec 2004 right around 265 lbs (although it was an in shape 265 lbs). Once I graduated I dropped back down to 225 lbs. From Jan 2006 to May 2009 I slowly put on weight. The most I ever saw on a scale was 296 lbs in May 2009 (although it was very likely that I was 10 to 15 pounds bigger than that a few weeks before, just never got on a scale). In Dec 2009 I hit 203 lbs on the scale. On average I have been about 215 since.

What caused you to want to make a change?

One of my roommates from colleges’ girlfriend was venturing out on her own as a health coach. She had success in the corporate world as a health consultant and decided it was time to branch out on her own. I was her first client. I knew in order for ME to really make a long term change I would need to make a pretty big financial commitment. This way I would be forced to stick with the program (in fear of just wasting my money).

So it was time for my yearly checkup at the doctors office. On the way to the doctors office (I knew I was going to have to get on a scale and was mortified at what I would see) So, I called my Buddy’s gf and signed up. I paid $1400 upfront and the program lasted 6 months. I lost 93 pounds. Best money I have ever spent.


What were your initial first steps?

I had completely stopped working out for nearly 3 years. Which was odd because I had been so active my entire life. So I slowly started working out again. Along with working out again (at first just 2 times a week) I was watching what I ate. I was eating a great deal of organic foods for the first time in my life. I was also consuming a ton of fruits and veggies. However; I still ate what I what I wanted one day a week. She encouraged me to find things that I enjoyed to do. I started volunteering at Big Brothers and Big Sisters and started attending a class 2 times a week at the YMCA (Athletic Conditioning). I got hooked on both, and still do both to this day.

Did you ever get discouraged during the process?

I was by far the most out of shape person in the Athletic Conditioning Class. I was running 12 minute miles where the slowest person besides me was running under 9 minute miles. I couldn’t do a single pull up and I could barely do 5 push ups, where the rest of the class were doing sets of 25 push ups. However; I stuck with it and it paid off.

 Did your diet change at all from your heavier days, to now?

I have changed my diet, but not a great deal. I don’t eat fast food or anything like that, but for the most part I eat and drink what I want.

Describe your fitness activities these days 

 Working out has become a part of my everyday life.  I continue to take athletic conditioning class about 4 times a week. I am also a member of Crossfit, which I love. I also run competitive races now and compete in Crossfit events.

I have recently got my mile time down to 5:16 and can do 30 pull ups at once. I am by far the most fit I have ever been and stride to improve that fitness level each day.

 Losing weight is really quite simple. The key is to stay dedicated and find something that you really enjoy doing. Once you find something that you enjoy, it doesn’t become work anymore it becomes fun and you look forward to working out.

What other advice would you give to a heavy person who has yet to make a change?

 It took me 6 months to loose my weight. It comes off fast, you just have to stick with it and make a lifestyle change. The key is taking it off and keeping it off. Once your workout and diet become a habit, then its smooth sailing….

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There are many different paths to significant weightloss and body transformation, however the main consistent is a combination of work ethic and an internal desire to make a change in your life.  I hope to continue spotlighting people once in a while that have made dramatic physical improvements in their health and nutritional lifestyle. 

For anyone reading this who may not like what they see in the mirror, on the scale, or struggle fitting into their old jeans - hopefully Brendan's awesome transformation story help to inspire that with hard work, patience, and a plan, anyone can achieve great results.

But I believe "Black Friday" has another purpose that is greatly overlooked.

"Black Friday" is the single best day of the year to clean up your diet.

As our culture embraces, many people will stuff themselves to the point of food coma with turkey, pumpkin pie, cranberry sauce, and other family-made dishes.  Most of those same people face looming guilt the following few days after they see all the damage they've done at the dining table (and on the bathroom scale). But the Day-After-Thanksgiving also marks one of the best times to refocus and clean up your eating habits for the rest of 2011.

This is not meant to point fingers at anyone else but myself.  After training for, and completing two half-marathons in the past month, my diet has gotten way out-of-wack.  Not compared to the average person, or those around my office, but by my own personal standards.  When logging heavy miles and lots of hours of endurance training, it becomes very easy to allow dietary standards to relax by rationalizing things such as "I ran 5 miles this morning, I can have this cupcake that so-and-so brought into the office"  or "These fries from Chick-Fil-A won't kill me, I did 8 miles yesterday, I need the carbs."  Even someone like me who is heavily concerned with proper diet and nutritional function can rationalize eating junk, just because it tastes good.

One of the fitness experts I follow on Twitter, Jade Teta said it well in a recent article (he frequently drops Tweet knowledge), that there's no point in claiming you are "Eating Right" if your diet isn't giving you the results you're after.  As usual, he is spot-on, and might as well have been speaking to me directly.

Many people, myself included often have a single "tipping point" (credit: Malcolm Gladwell) that causes them to (figuratively) jump off the couch and decide to clean up their diet.  In-addition to finishing my endurance event calendar for 2011, my recent tipping point was seeing The Rock come back on WWE Raw last week (confession: we are potentially entering Man Crush territory). 

The People's Champ looked great, he was more ripped and defined than ever.  Some of his tweets while on-set shooting the movie "G.I. Joe 2" mention his diet, and Rocky eats clean even while busy.  The Rock trains hard, and he eats clean, it's not a magic formula.  It works for him, it works for Jade Teta and his wife Jill Coleman, it works for another of my fitness heroes Rob Riches, it works for Jamie Eason, it works for ironman triathlete Nell Stephenson, I think we're seeing a pattern develop.

I'm not "done" with running, I'll still work in 2-3 solid runs per week (one tempo/speedwork, one long run) but after close to six months away from regular resistance training, it's time to ditch some of the superfluous cycle classes and jogs, and get back to throwing some weight around. 

As for the rest of you, hopefully you enjoy your Thanksgiving dinners, and take time to enjoy the company of your family and friends and reflect on whatever it is that makes you thankful these days.  Even those with many problems in life have blessings for which to still be thankful.  Be sure to mix in some football games on the couch as well.

Then, come "Black Friday" take a detour from Best Buy or Nordstrom or the mall, and head to the grocery store and get a head start on eating clean for the rest of 2011.  Not only will your body will thank you, but bathing suit/bikini season will be here before you know it.

Lyndsay Braswell  (@FitRawChic) is a fellow fitness enthusiast, but her diet is completely vegan.  She is a walking example that disproves two long-standing stigmas: 

(1) Vegans can't be athletic or have muscle tone

(2) A vegan diet has to be boring and bland

She also serves as another example that if you want to badly enough, people with regular jobs can still find time to fit their workouts into the schedule.

Lyndsay's personal site, LilGreenDress.com is diverse in fitness guidance, as well as recipes, video How-To's and other culinary ideas.  We took a break from commiserating about our respective NFL teams' (Redskins & Panthers) terrible 2011 seasons to dive into a few questions about her background, current projects, and future plans:

How did you become a vegan?

 Several times in my life people have tried to convince me to go vegan, but I like many other people thought that meant a diet of twigs and berries. It also meant giving up the bodybuilder staples, chicken and eggs.  

What is your athletic background?

What are you up to now? (contests, competitions, recent or upcoming events, etc)

Due to my workload I decided to take the rest of the year off from competing. I plan to compete next Spring in Fitness America and/or the WBFF. I did just complete a half marathon on a whim, and want to set doing a marathon as one of my goals for 2012 if time permits.

What's a typical day's schedule for you (ex: from wake up including workouts/cardio, normal job, etc to bed)

My work dictates my workouts and my customers dictate my work! I try to workout before work and a normal day for me in the office is 8am-4:30pm.  If I’m traveling my workday could be longer and whereas it’s easier for me to hit the gym after an office day, when I’m traveling it is harder.  In a perfect world I’d be working out at 9:30am after a good nights sleep.  A 6am workout after a restless sleep is not exactly my ideal workout time, but you gotta do what you gotta do!

What is your diet like in a typical day? (normal circumstances vs contest prep)

Again my diet changes, it’s actually changed more so as a vegan than when I was a non vegan. Before my diet was standard and typical. I did the egg whites and oatmeal for breakfast, fish or chicken, sweet potato or brown rice, veggies for lunch and dinner,protein shakes in between. Thank goodness those days are over!

All in all, I try to eat a lot of antioxidant rich fruits and veggies, and my staples are black beans, chickpeas, quinoa, and spirulina. During contest prep I eat the same foods, just less and I don't like to cheat except for maybe a glass of wine here or there. :)

How do you manage to watch your carb intake being a vegan (versus a typical "all meat & veggies" fitness diet)?

I eat more carbs than the carnivore dieters.  It’s hard to get all the protein I want without added carbs.  I’ve tried to swig down just vegan shakes all day, but it was hard on my stomach and I didn’t feel good.  Tofu is another low carb source of protein and not that I’m against soy, just not for every meal. I am still working on finding the vegan competitor diet that suits me best. It’s always a work in progress.

Are you a fan of "empty stomach morning cardio" or not?

 I do believe in empty stomach cardio, especially since I have to workout so early. There is NO way I’m waking up extra early just to eat!  It’s also not like I’m running a marathon at dark thirty in the morning.  I mean we are talking no more than 45 min.  I’ve been fine with averaging up to an hour sometimes and did not feel as if it ate up my muscle.

What's the one "cheat" food you can't live without?

Cheat food: dark chocolate and Grey Goose. I love sweets!

What's your favorite exercise/activity? What's your least favorite?

If you could send one message to women out there (about taking control of their fitness/health...being afraid of lifting weights...anything) what would it be?

If you could send one message to people in-general about the typical American diet, what would it be?

Vegan is not a boring diet by any means, and you can still build muscle not eating animals. However, I understand unless you are passionate about one of the 3: health, animals, environment, it could be difficult to give up the animal kingdom. Although I believe the healthiest way to eat is a whole foods, plant based diet, I don't judge or force my lifestyle on anyone. Instead I encourage everyone to eat less meat and incorporate more fruits and veggies. Fruits and veggies are full of nutrients and our body needs them to prevent disease and to stay looking good! 

Whether you're a vegan, or still fit animal products into your diet - Lyndsay is still a great example from whom we can all learn.  We agree on many of the same fitness principals, particularly that women should never be afraid of the weights, and that both men and women should prioritize how you take care of your body (and what kinds of fuel goes into it) every day.

I've written about CrossFit before, but as a reminder each workout has a unique name, often in-memoriam of fallen soldiers and servicemen and women.  "Fight Gone Bad" was designed to mimic the physical endurance demands of a mixed martial arts bout, featuring five minutes of work, one minute of recovery, over three rounds. "FGB" got its name after all-time great UFC fighter B.J. Penn undertook the workout one day, and described it afterwards as being much like "a fight gone bad".  The name stuck.

Here's a glimpse at the workout structure:

Three (3) rounds of:

• Wall-ball, 20/14 pound ball, 10 foot target (Most reps) 
• Sumo Deadlift High-pull, 75/55 pounds (Most reps)
• Box Jump, 20" box (Most reps)
• Push-press, 75/55 pounds (Most reps)
• Row (Most Calories according to meter)

The weather was much cooler than a normal early September Saturday thanks to the cold front that came in yesterday, but the athletes toughed it out and I saw some tremendous performances. 

I had been debating taking a few breaks from my half-marathon endurance training (races in October and November) to add some Crossfit-style workouts.  Being in this atmosphere has definitely motivated me to get off the spin bike and put the running shoes away once in a while and not to forget mixing in a CrossFit-style workout.  I'll also be adapting the FGB workout for my YMCA classes, beginning next week.

Here's a sample video of "Fight Gone Bad":

Dumping as many handfuls of spinach as will fit into a blender is a great way to increase your daily dose of leafy greens.  Everyone has their own special tastes for what works with a blended smoothie, or "Green Monster" - here is one of my recipies:

• Spinach (2 handfuls)
• Protein (1 scoop)
• Oatmeal (1/2 cup measured dry)
• NAKED juice (1 cup)
• Blueberries
• baby carrots
• Ice

 Above is one of my regular go-to recipes before I have to hit the gym for a class plus longer workout or run.  Sometimes I'll add blackberries, a banana, flax seeds, or almond butter depending on what's available in the kitchen. There are also numerous other resources online for great "Green Monster" recipies.

Here's a recipe from another of the fitness/yoga instructors in Charlotte who you may see referenced again once in a while.  Her site is a firehose of information for you ladies who love yoga, running, and most of all healthy eating.

This woman has a cookies & cream version of a spinach smoothie.

Green Monster Movement is a pretty interesting project that you should check out for yourself when you get a minute.

Overall, the key takeaway is that if you haven't been adding spinach (or other leafy greens like kale) to your blended smoothies, you are really missing out on a great way to boost your daily intake of valuable vegetables and nutrients.

Get on it. 

Ideally I would have rested and taken an early morning heat, however I was a guest instructor at a charity fundraiser boot camp in the morning.  I was able to get into a later 1:30pm heat (which can also be taken literally, as it was ridiculously hot).  The schedule meant I had about a two-hour window to cram fast-digesting carbs (rice cakes, bananas, Gatorade, Gu gel) into my system to replenish muscle glycogen.

When I arrived for check-in, I was immediately intimidated impressed by the apparent fitness level of the other competitors I saw.  Even the female competitors looked like they could pick me up by my feet and hold me over a balcony. As I sat in a shaded part of the stadium I definitely had a few voices going through my head wondering if I should even go through with this.  My training wasn't ideal leading up to the event (more on this later), however I felt far more prepared for this event than my horrible showing at the Duke Energy Stair Climb this past March.

My waiting time flew by quickly, and after a few last-minute trips to the water fountain, I downed a Gatorade Prime and another Gu gel and headed over to the holding tank for my heat to begin. 

I ended up finishing the course in 11:39 (unofficial) which certainly was not the best time of the afternoon, however mostly I felt good about the performance.  Overall, I was pleased with how I did, since there was no point during the course when I felt the challenge was so great that finishing was in-doubt.

My worst challenge was the first one out of the starting gate - the ladder climb.  One of the tough aspects of an event like this is that unless you have tried a Metro Dash before, you're bound to face an implement for the first time ever.  I had never climbed a rope ladder of this nature before, so after getting my foot caught for the third or fourth time, I just took my legs out and climbed it with upper body alone.

After the subsequent sled push, during the crawl through pipes I paused for a brief moment to catch my breath. My body definitely had its first "woah this is insane, we should have stayed home and watched TV" moment.

After that, I was able to largely push through the rest of the course.  (*note - the one other scary moment was nearly racking myself at the top of one of the wall climbs, which momentarily put my baby-making future in serious jeopardy.) As I said, I was not the fastest competitor there, but definitely came away encouraged enough to be a lock for next year's event if they return to Charlotte.

I would HIGHLY recommend this event to anyone who thinks they are close to having the necessary physical skillset.  Here are a few other scattered thoughts and points of analysis from Metro Dash:

 Train specifically for this event

Much like the Stair Climb events, this event requires event-specific training, or as reasonably close as one can accommodate. If considering an event like Metro Dash, the check list of training disciplines would be:

• CrossFit
• Rock or Wall Climbing
• Bootcamp or Athletic Conditioning classes
• Pull-ups & Dips (should be able to complete 8-10 reps)

Guys - if you like fit women, this is the place to be.

Sorry but it has to be said.  I've never before been in an atmosphere where 75% of the females in attendance were probably better athletes than me (and I ran college Track & Field for 2.5 years).  In all seriousness, ladies if you spend an hour on the elliptical or stairmaster everyday and think you are getting the most out of your fitness, the women of events like Metro Dash (and CrossFit) would encourage you to branch out a little more.

Get comfortable being "one of the worst"

That's a bit misleading, however I was serious about my earlier point regarding comparative fitness of the ladies group.  Among the men, I would safely put myself in the bottom 25% of overall performers - and I'm a former two-sport college athlete, and certified fitness trainer who works out 5-6 days each week with targeted dietary habits. As I said, I was happy with my performance, but was far from the top of the group.  And I left this event feeling even more motivated (in a positive sense) to attack my training and diet moving forward. 

This is a lesson to anyone who stands on the perimeter of a group fitness class feeling too intimidated to jump in, or skips past P90X or Insanity infomercials on TV because they know they're out-of-shape compared to what they are seeing.  Once in a while everyone should be in an atmosphere that challenges them to improve.  Even the best and the fittest of recreational athletes should challenge himself or herself in an environment where they look around and wonder if they can keep up with everyone else.  Leave your ego in the bag with your car keys and wallet, and go compete.  Chances are one or two of the "all-stars" might end up giving you some encouraging words or helpful tips along the way.  And you might find yourself hungry to come back for more.

As I said, an event like this requires total body fitness, which is why groups like the Navy Seals endorse this style of training.  I will definitely be signing up for the 2012 event, and highly recommend this event to anyone who may fit within the necessary fitness range.

                One of my oldest friends, Alvin Pearman has a similar mentality.  Alvin and I went to the same high school and spent countless summers as workout partners while I was in college and he was preparing for his final high school seasons.  I graduated three years prior to Alvin, then he went on to break nearly every touchdown and rushing record at our high school.  He finished his career as the all-time leader in rushing yardage for Mecklenburg County in North Carolina.  He earned a scholarship to the University of Virginia and finished a brilliant career as the school’s all-time leader in pass receptions by a running back, as well as posting 1,938 all-purpose yards in his senior season, the fourth highest total in ACC history.

                In 2005, Alvin was selected in 4^th round of the NFL Draft, #127 overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars.  He spent five seasons in the NFL with the Jaguars, Titans, and Seahawks (where he would meet his future wife during time off due to a knee injury).

                Beginning the latest chapter in his life, Alvin has become more serious in educating himself about his diet and nutrition.  While neither of us enjoys being categorized or labled, his latest pursuit has taken him down the path of a Vegan diet. 

                Since I have been down this path myself (and am headed there once again as of this writing), I asked him to share part of his story and some of the things he has learned so far:

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(1) Compared to now, what was your diet like as a high school and college player at Virginia?

In high school, my diet consisted primarily of meats and starches. In college, the cheapest food definitely outweighed the healthiest food- especially when I started living off campus. Chicken Parmesan was my staple meal of choice. 

(2) When did you decide to switch to a more vegan/vegetarian approach?  What was your motivation?

For the last few years, I have become increasingly aware of the environmental and physiological benefits of a whole grain, plant-based diet however I was reluctant to make the switch due to the physical demands of football. Specifically, I have always had a difficult time maintaining the weight that I felt I needed to keep. Once the season would start, I would find myself loosing the weight I packed on during the offseason. I was afraid that if I stopped eating meat, I wouldn’t be able to maintain the weight I needed to for football. I finally made the switch to a whole grain, plant based diet when I hung up my cleats and transitioned away from the game in September of 2010.

(3) Were there any books that were key resources in educating yourself?

Three books that drastically influenced my diet are "The China Study", by Thomas M. Campbell and T Colin Campbell; "The Food Revolution", by John Robbins; and "7 Pillars of Health", by Don Colbert.

(4) What sort of physical changes have you noticed since the change?

The first thing that I noticed was my core body temperature decreased. When I was single, I would keep my house at 67 degrees. Once I got married, my wife and I compromised at 70 degrees. Once I made the diet switch, I soon felt more comfortable around 75 degrees, which made my wife happy. This may sound weird but I actually feel more in tune with my body. I seem to be more sensitive to what my body needs. I have also dropped about 15 pounds to a weight I feel more natural with.

(5) What does your meal plan menu look like on a typical day?

Sample day:

Early morning: Whole grain oatmeal with strawberries, bananas, and soy milk.

Mid-morning: cashews, carrots

Early afternoon: spinach salad with apples, cranberries, pecans,

Late afternoon: whole grain toast with hummus, pear

Early evening: quinoa with sweet potatoes and avocados

*3-4 quarts of purified water daily.

(6) Are you still able to stay active and have productive workouts?

My workload has dropped drastically since transitioning away from football. Gone are the 5-day-a-week, 4-hour, grind-till-you-can't-think-straight workouts and in are the 3-day-a-week, 30-minute maintenance workouts. My goal is no longer to be as strong or as fast as a possibly can, rather it is to be as healthy as I can. My workouts are productive and I have high energy levels throughout the day.

(7) How has your wife reacted to the change?

She's been supportive. Meals are always interesting since she cooks most often and still eats meat. She will normally prepare a meal and make some meat for herself on the side. Yesterday I had vegetarian chili with brown rice and she cooked ground lamb meat to put in her chili. Besides the tree hugger jokes she throws at me, we have a pretty good balance.

(8) Is this something you might teach to your son (just a few months old as of this writing) as he gets older and learns about nutrition and eating habits?

I will encourage my son to make informed decisions with what he eats.

(9) In your opinion - why are more college and NFL players hesitant to go this route?

I believe most college and NFL players are hesitant to go the vegetarian/vegan path due to fear and misinformation.

(10) What has been the most difficult part of your transition so far?

I am reluctant to label myself as a hard pressed "Vegetarian". As a dinner guest, I won't allow food to get in the way of fellowship. In other words, if I am presented with a meal, I will not turn away food that has been prepared for me- even if it includes meat.

A difficult part of my transition was moving away from the idea that a good meal is prepared quickly. We have found that we need to be more intentional with our prep time and cook time in order to make a flavorful, nutritious meal. I have grown to appreciate this time and dinners have become more of an evening experience with my wife.

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While some may feel that a vegetarian or vegan diet is not optimal for them, it’s always important to learn as much as you can about the human digestive system and what foods work best for your body.  Alvin comes from an athletic family (his father was our Track & Field coach, and his wife was a Track & Field athlete in college) so to some degree he will always be an athlete. 

                I am admittedly biased as his friend, however I think Alvin is a positive example of someone who continues to pursue not just optimal athleticism, but optimal health overall.  He has certainly inspired me to be more diligent about my nutritional pursuits as I learn more about what constitutes vegan nutrition.

                You can also learn more about Alvin Pearman’s latest venture in the world of photography.

I'm a big fan of plyometric bodyweight drills due to my time running track in high school and college. (note - I was not very good and probably lost 99% of my heats)  I use bodyweight plyos as warm-up drills for most of my fitness classes, and also as a form of Tabatas to get everyone's heart rate elevated and make them earn their trip to the water fountain.

Plyo drills are a great way to not only challenge your cardiovascular system, but build your explosive lower body power and fast-twitch muscle fibers.  These drills can be difficult to explain and are best demonstrated - so I've decided to use a pretty accomplished source as an example, IFBB Figure Pro Erin Stern.

Erin Stern is the 2010 Ms. Figure Olympia, and competed in the high jump and heptathlon at the University of Florida.  I'm always biased towards track & field athletes, and Erin Stern justifies my feelings with how well she hits each of these drills shown in the below videos.

Erin Stern is one example of why it takes a lot more than just "going for a jog" or reading a magazine on the StairMaster to achieve the sort of physique you can be proud of.

 These guys have tattoos in the maori tribal style very similar to The Rock:

I figured there were probably a few other cool body art designs out there on athletes and fit people, enough to put together a small gallery...

 US Women's National Team Soccer Player Natasha Kai  

The new tight end from my hometown Carolina Panthers, Jeremy Shockey:

 WWE's Randy Orton:

 US Men's National Team Soccer Players Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard:

Dempsey

 Howard

The famous David Beckham:

Boxer "Sugar" Shane Mosley:

US Women's National Soccer Player Amy Rodriguez:

And finally...The People's Champion one last time: