Alyssa Shaffer - Turn Up Your Fat Burn!: Go from frustrated to fit with our revolutionary 4-week weight-loss program!

To Scott, Layla, and Nolan:
You make every day sunny and bright.

A lthough much of writing is a solitary effort, this book would not have been possible without the help of a great many people. Im deeply grateful to everyone involved for their hard work, support, contributions, assistance, and valuable feedback.

To Fabio Comana, who helped me turn a seed into a flowering plan. Your patience and guidance were invaluable, and your knowledge and understanding of all things fitness help countless individuals live longer, stronger, and healthier lives.

To the Turn Up Your Fat Burn test panel: Marixsa Ali, Pete Brown, Annette Carpien, Kathy Chartier, Burt Duren, Pam Garin, Laura Goldy, Kimberly Hampsey, Anne Jenkins, Leslie Kingston, Wendy Klemka, Pat Lisetski, Loretta Mariscano, Susan Mauser, Lisa Miller, Patricia Rizzotto, Joyce Salter, Catherine Schaper, Audrey Stasak, Leslie Tang, Hans Wagner, Cindy Wenrich, and Michael Wunderly. Thank you so much for your perseverance, humor, and dedication and for your continued efforts to stay fit. Your efforts were impressive and inspirational.

To my editor, Andrea Au Levitt, without whose support and guidance this project would never have been possible. Thank you for believing in me and in the Turn Up Your Fat Burn plan. To Marielle Messing, for her amazing organization and assistance in putting together the test panel program and helping to guide it along. To Budd Coates and Tammy Strunk at the Rodale Energy Center, for helping determine those all-important VT1s and putting the plan in action. To Tracy Gensler, who developed the scrumptious and satisfying meal plan and contributed the cutting-edge nutrition research. To Michele Stanten, for her support, enthusiasm, and valuable feedback. And to the super-efficient and impressive photo and design team of Carol Angstadt, Mitch Mandel, Tom MacDonald, Susan Eugster, and Anne Marie Amatulli: The images on these pages are a testament to your talent!

The greatest thanks goes to my family and friends: To my wonderful husband, Scott, who after more than 22 years keeps me strong and centered, and to my amazing children, Nolan and Layla, who inspire me with their wonder, patience, and love. To Terry Manzella, whos always there whenever I need her with invaluable assistance and support. To my training partners, Elaine Yu, Judy Marshall, and Robin Durawa for their encouragement and feedback even when were on that third bike loop around the park or 4 miles into a run. To Gail Shust and Avery Brandon, whose monthly dinners help keep me sane. And to Dad, Susan, Andy, Jill, Cynthia, Joel, Lauren, and Jay, for all their love and confidence.

A s a writer and the former fitness director of a major health and fitness magazine, Ive done the old rev up your metabolism or drop a dress size in just a few weeks story at least a hundred times.

Ive written about running, walking, skating, hiking, swimming, belly dancing, jazzercise, circus arts, beach-body boot camp, kickboxing, and pretty much any other type of cardiovascular workout you can think of that will raise your heart rate and get you sweating. Ive described at least a thousand ways to strengthen your abs, your arms, your butt, your thighs, and any other muscle group you might want to tone, buff, sculpt, or lift. Ive investigated some pretty wacky diet recommendations and even explored how your clothes can help you burn more calories (the theory: the more comfortable you are, the more youll move around, the bigger your burn). Ive interviewed top researchers from universities from every corner of the globe, spent untold hours online looking up research studies, and called upon literally hundreds of trainers, from Hollywood types who work with some of the biggest celebrities in movies, TV, and music to your average Joes and Janes who teach at the local YMCA.

So I didnt expect to hear anything all that new or different when I picked up the phone to call Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise (ACE), while researching an article about different ways to lose fat and boost metabolism. For some time, Ive known that hes always up to date on the latest research and theories about exercise and performance. He also knows virtually everything about what works and what doesnt when it comes to helping the average person get results.

His organization, ACE, is also fabulous. They bill themselves as Americas Authority on Fitness and dont disappoint. This nonprofit group is committed to promoting safe, effective exercise and physical activity. They sponsor cutting-edge research into all sorts of fitness products and claims (among the many devices theyve debunked over the years are toning shoes, oxygenated water, and electronic muscle stimulation machines). Moreover, they are one of the largest independent fitness certification, education, and training groups in the world, with more than 50,000 certified professionals (including yours truly). Fabio is one of their go-to spokespersons for the media, as well as a faculty member at San Diego State University and the University of California, San Diegohe really knows his stuff.

I knew Fabio would provide some good ideas for my article, though I didnt expect anything groundbreaking to come out of our interview. But when Fabio started explaining his theories about how to help the average person burn more fat and boost his or her metabolism, I sat up and listened. His ideas were not only steeped in science but completely different from anything Id heard before. I was typing as quickly as I could (which, after my 20 years as a journalist, is pretty darn fast) and couldnt get my questions out fast enough. I knew, then and there, that this was the basis for a program that would truly make a major difference in the way people think about exercise.

Fabio outlined two new approaches to exercise. Individually, each sounds like an amazingly effective way to work out. Together, they are a one-two punch, a revolutionary program that provides results like nothing youve ever seen before.

The first new approach is called metabolic circuit training. It boosts metabolism by building lean muscle through a nonstop strength routine that will keep you burning calories even hours after youve finished. The second is a unique cardio regimen called VT training thats designed to turn your body into a more efficient fat-burning machine. Both ideas have been studied extensively by exercise scientists as ways to help the average person lose weight, burn fat, and get fit. In a few small ways, similar concepts have made their way to fitness centers and gyms around the country. This is the first full, real-world application of either approachlet alone both!

I was so excited about Fabios concept that I asked him to work with me on a program that would help ordinary people who have been frustrated with their weight-loss efforts achieve the results they really want. And he agreed!

We decided on a few rules about the program. It couldnt require a lot of time or equipment. It couldnt be superhard but had to be challenging enough to get results. And, of course, it needed to be a plan that people could realistically continue to follow for lasting results.

We recruited a panel of nearly two dozen ordinary men and womenteachers, business executives, retirees, husbands and wives, and sisters. Many had tried virtually every popular diet over the past 2 decades and were in a perpetual cycle of losing and gaining weight. Others had watched the pounds stealthily creep on each year. Some were just plain frustrated that despite their current exercise routines, they couldnt seem to lose any extra pounds.