Cate - Throw out your scales: 21 ways to ditch the diet and lose fat forever

When I was in my early twenties, I was unlucky enough to lose a great friend well before his time. Jephys friendship, laughter, enthusiasm and shared experiences are still treasured, and greatly missed. However, I am forever grateful that his loss taught me to appreciate life, friends and family as if there is no tomorrow. Ive heard it said that nobody truly dies until every memory of them has faded, and every person who knew them is gone. This book is dedicated to Craig Jephy Jephcott, who lives well in the memory of his friends and family.

Im not often wrong. But when I am its really wrong. One of those occasions was when I spoke at a Fitness Conference in Sydney in the late 1980s and said that I thought that, unlike America, there was no future for personal trainers in Australia. I said this because I believed that Australians are more stoic and less influenced by gimmicks than Americans. There was also the issue of cost, and I believed that Australians were more like the Scotch when it came to handing over good moolah for something you could get out of a book you could borrow from a library.

Yes. I know. I was wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Personal trainers have sprung up like mushrooms in a cow patty. Ordinary people who baulk at paying $3.20 for a pie, will now happily part with $60 an hour for the privilege of comparing personal trainers at dinner parties. The personal trainers of today are now like the au pair girls of the 1960s and 70s. Everybody needs one, but theres no disadvantage if shes Swedish, blonde and beautiful and can double as a dinner date and concubine.

Ive even taken to using them myself. Not au pairs. And not as a trainer per se, Im still too proud to admit that I need one for that, but in the programs Ive developed and run; in particular the GutBusters and Professor Trims weight loss programs for men. Indeed, this was where I first encountered Andrew Cate. He became part of a small group of exercise specialists who were carefully selected to run weight loss groups for men. This was the only cohort of its kind in the 1990s, and I believe we learned more about the scientific basis of weight control and the ridiculousness of the abundant over-the-counter weight loss gimmicks than any group in the world.

Andrew and his colleagues also learned that your best resource is whats in your head. On one rainy night in Sydney, a GutBusters instructor was unable to get into a room for a mens class. So he ran it in the basement car park with a cars motor running and the headlights turned on to show the course overheads on the car park wall.

In another group, run on a remote Torres Strait island town square (in reality a sand patch) on a moonless night, the islands only public light cut out. After being told to just continue because this happens all the time, the instructor had to ask the men to smile so he could see the white of their teeth to know where they were, realising that these are amongst the darkest skinned people on earth.

One of the more embarrassing public gaffs though, came from one of my own public lectures to a large audience in a big theatre in Malaysia. The topic was mens health and I assumed the audience would consist largely of that target group. With a spotlight on my face and unable to see the crowd, I concluded the lecture in my usual fashion by claiming that there are really only four things associated with good health, and these slowly came up on the screen as I spoke. The first was to: work hard, about which I moralised for a while; the second to play hard, with again some explanation; the third to sleep hard, and the fourth to wake up hard. I thanked the audience and was preparing for questions when the lights were turned on to reveal a front row of nuns. There were few laughs.

Hopefully therell be more laughs in the other confessions of a personal trainer. I know there will also be useful information because thats the basis of Andrews work. And amidst the mire of useless information out there, its an accurate perception of what works that is often missing. This book will help to fill the gap.

Dr Garry Egger, founder of the GutBusters Program and Dr Trims Weight Loss Program.

Hi, Im Andrew Cate, and Id like you to think of me as your personal trainer for the next 152 pages. One of the main reasons I became a trainer was the loss of both my grandfathers at an early age through lifestyle-related illness. This helped me cultivate a passion for health, as I read everything I could get my hands on about fitness, sport and healthy eating. After studying health science and human movement at university, I worked for the NSW Health Department, then set up my own personal training studio. Ive also lectured numerous times on food, fitness and weight control, especially in my role as a weight loss coach for Gutbusters. After 15 years in the fitness industry, Ive been lucky enough to help thousands of people lose fat and get fit.

Lets face it, my background is probably not really important to you. Whats important is the knowledge and secrets I can pass on. Everything Ive learnt from books, courses, athletes, doctors, nutritionists, magazines andespeciallymy clients. In a way, my clients have been part of a big experiment, as I have gradually finetuned a number of strategies to find the most effective ways of losing body fat. This giant experiment has evolved into 21 key strategies for stripping body fat. The first five strategies help you build a foundation for change, and the remaining 16 strategies help you through the day-to-day process of fat loss. Im glad you can share in these experiences and strategies that I have seen work for so many others. For the best results, try to incorporate these strategies gradually into your life. Weight and fat loss is a challenging journey, but one thats well worth it. Its also important to enjoy the journey, and have a few laughs along the way.

Instead of boot camp, one-on-one training, or online personal training, this book puts a complete do-it-yourself personal training manual in your hands. You now have a personal trainer who supports you, motivates you and pushes you, and gives you a little company on your journey to a healthier self. Its an investment in yourself, and a step towards reaching your personal best. You will gain the knowledge, confidence and desire to get results. Trainers like to give their clients the skills and tools needed to renovate their body, so in addition to the 21 strategies, you will find all the tips, lists, quizzes, quotes, studies and stories I have used with my clients to help them get energised and motivated. You will be able to strip body fat and improve your health, and all at a fraction of the cost of having an actual trainer. Lets have a closer look at some of the fat loss tools I have included throughout the book.

Top tenBenefits of having a personal trainer

1. You are more likely to get results.

2. It helps you set training goals.

3. Your training is more planned and structured.

4. It keeps you motivated.

5. It adds variety by using different training methods.

6. It keeps you accountable and on track, even on the days you dont feel like it.

7. You get well educated and informed.

8. It reduces your risk of injury.