Whether you're running twice a day, strength training all the time, taking spin classes religiously, participating in advanced aerobic classes...basically anything that involves an intense type of exercise that requires that you be in good physical condition, NONE of it means anything without proper nutrition.

Here is a perfect example of why intense exercise isn't enough and why it MUST be supplemented with health eating to be successful.

I started training a lady, Leslie three weeks ago.  She wanted to lose 15 pounds, tone up, the usual.

The Total Body Makeover program sparked her interest the most since we would be meeting 5x a week. 

After the first week, I noticed that Leslie was not like most of my clients. 

I could tell right away that the strength training exercises we were doing were too easy for her. 

In addition to that, she was practically running the entire hour for her cardio...AND she was having a normal conversation with me the entire time! 

My first and most important rule when training and I probably speak for most trainers (good ones anyway), is SAFETY first.  You never want to over do it and end up injuring the client.  Always start with the basics.

But Leslie was different. 

Although she was a little overweight, she was still in great shape. I could see that early on she would need something much more advanced. 

So, the second week we started to incorporate abs and cardio mixed with her strength training.  Additionally, I had her doing advanced movements. 

These are exercises I normally don't throw at a client until they are in peak condition, but Leslie got through them like it was a cake walk. 

I was thinking to myself "Wow, this lady is going to lose this weight in a matter of weeks...She's a Friggin Gamer!"

Week 3 came by and we upped the anny even more.  More Abs. More Cardio...Intense, Intense, Intense!

And guess what?

After 3 weeks of all that grueling exercise, Leslie hadn't dropped one pound.  Not only that, but she also, hadn't dropped any inches either.  Her clothes hadn't budged.  I was shocked!

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What the heck was she doing wrong?

Well, it turns out Leslie was not only aggressive with exercise, but also ambitious with her career as well.

She is a head consultant for a huge IT company. 

In other words, she would be on long conference calls, meetings (sometimes 4-5 hours), a lot of traveling and a lot of headache...all of which spell doom for her nutritional goals.

I had explained how important nutrition was to her, gave recommendations, the whole nine and since she was showing such quick progress with her exercise, I figured her nutrition was great.  She even told me she was eating healthy, so, I thought everything was fine.

Not the case.

I found out today that Leslie was only eating 1-2 times a day and sometimes only once!

She didn't realize it because she had been doing this for YEARS.  She was used to it. 

So obviously, the reason she hadn't lost any weight or inches is because her body was run down. 

Any calories that she DID consume were just protecting her deteriorating body.  Basically, all of her metabolic functions had come to a complete halt.  Not good. 

Without proper nutrition, the intense exercise we were doing, was putting her body in a WORSE position!

After finding this out, I told her that for us to continue the training, she had to start eating more...otherwise, we couldn't continue.  Hopefully, she'll start.

It goes back to the old saying, "You Are What You Eat."

The more you exercise...The more vital it is for you to feed your body properly.

I CANNOT stress this enough!  Your body NEEDS calories.  Do not attempt to exercise intensely, unless you are seriously prepared to eat every 2-3 hours - 6 times day...No deviations.   

To all of you who are great shape, doing intense exercise daily...kudos to you.  However, if you aren't getting the results you want, I guarantee something is wrong with your nutrition.

Maybe not like Leslie's situation.  But there is something you can work on to improve.

Until Next Time...Train Hard and Train + EAT Smart!

Jim Coughlin is a personal trainer and the owner of Coughlin Fitness & Results, a nationwide personal training company. He is also the author of The In-Home Personal Trainer, a helpful guide to successful in-home personal training in addition to other products and many other popular fitness articles.

Jim is very passionate at motivating people to empower themselves to live a healthy lifestyle through consistent exercise and proper nutrition. He has free weekly success tips which you are welcome to subscribe to on his website http://www.fitnessandresults.com