Super Food

I love to eat! That is just a fact! When it's time for me to eat I don't play. The best thing to do around my feeding time is to stay out of my way. Haha! There are foods that we eat that provide us with certain vitamins and minerals to keep us healthy, give us energy, etc. There are also some that I consider to be super foods. These foods do something that is outside of the ordinary that benefit us. One of my favorite super foods for this time of year is oatmeal. I know some of you may not like oatmeal, but read on and make up your own mind if it is worth giving it a try
Well we all know that oatmeal has alot of fiber. Alot of medical prefessionals will have  patients with high levels of cholesterol use oatmeal to lower it. So, I'm sure you are curious as to how exactly it works right? I'll explain. Oatmeal contains a molecule called Beta-glucan. What this does is bind itself to saturated and trans fat in the body. After it has binded that fat can easily be passed out of your system and not stored to make cholesterol. I've searched but I couldn't find any data that confirms that it could be a catalyst for weight loss. So......I did my own little independent study. I had someone I was training with cut way back on their exercise. I had them keep their diet the same except for one thing. I had them have oatmeal for breakfast every morning. The result was the person lost bodyfat and overall weight. I even tried it myself. I decreased exercise and started having oatmeal for breakfast. The results were exactly the same. A decrease in bodyfat and overall weight. There are products out on the market right now that are supposed to do the same thing. Before you go and invest in something like that. I suggest giving oatmeal a try. It's worth a shot.

Yum,Yum, Yum, give me some :-)

FAT LOSS AND EXERCISE IN A BOTTLE!

I normally don't talk about many products that I use but this one is almost too good to be true.Unlike what you normally hear about things that are too good to be true, this isn't. I mean, if you are a person who is trying to get in more exercise or more fat loss then this is a product you should definitely use. I've known about this for a while and I've talked to some of my clients about using it. I don't know if they take me seriously or not, but I wanted to share some information I acquired about it.

According to a recent study consuming this throughout the day can cause you to burn an extra 100 calories (Boschman 6017). That is the equivalent of running a mile. How cool is that!! The study suggests that consuming this supplement induces thermogenesis. Thermogenesis is a term used for a process in which the body raises its temperature, or energy output. This results in an increased metabolism and often fat cells are then utilized as energy to support this metabolic increase. This supplement could possibly increase your metabolism by as much as 30-40% (Boschman 6017).

So, I know you are curious as to what this stuff is so you can run right out and get some right? Well, it's already in your house right now. What I'm talking about is WATER! Everyone knows that if you get dehydrated you need to drink some water to get re hydrated. Or, if you want to offset the amount sodium you consumed you drink water to flush out the extra sodium, but to give you the equivalent of running a mile is excellent. Take the time right now and evaluate what you are doing with your diet and exercise regime. If you are doing all you can and you are still struggling, then ask yourself this one simple question. How much water have I drank today??

Study cited:
Boschmann, Michael, Jochen Steiniger, Uta Hille, Jens Tank, Frauke Adams, Arya M. Sharma, Susanne Klaus, Friedrich C. Luft, and Jens Jordan. "Water-Induced Thermogenesis." The Journal of Endocrinology & Metabolism 88.12 (2003): 6015-019. Web. 5 Nov. 2011. http://jcem.endojournals.org/content/88/12/6015.full.pdf+html.

Positive Attitude + Confidence= SUCCESS!

She was really nice but a little unsure about me. I could see her nervousness. She had never worked with a trainer before. I told her over a period of time she would see progress in her physical fitness. I told her to trust me, and she did. We started off slow at first, doing a little bit here and a little bit there. The day came when I asked her to do her warm up inside a gymnasium. I asked her to jog around the perimeter a few times to get the blood flowing a little. She looked at me like I had slapped her across the face or something, but she started jogging. At that moment she had gained confidence that what I was asking her to do was possible. Why wasn't it possible before? She had never tried it before, so it wasn't possible to her. A few weeks later she had doubled the amount of times she was able to jog around that gymnasium. I was so thrilled I started running beside her playing the theme song from the movie Rocky. She was pumping her fist and we were both laughing. It was a sight to see.

The whole point of me telling that story was to focus in on that person's attitude. If she had been completely negative and shot me down there is no way she would be able to do what she can do now physically. She decided to throw caution to the wind and give it a shot. Once that confidence was gained the sky was the limit and she became successful. It's important when training (especially when you have a goal in mind) to challenge yourself to be able to do more. If you get caught up doing the same thing or the same amount of everything you will not be able to move forward. It's kind of like only being able to add and subtract your whole life. Could you imagine how far your development in math would be behind as an adult? The same goes for your body. If you lift that same 5lbs each and every time you go to the gym you won't see any development. I have another client  who has embraced the whole idea of having a positive attitude. I mean this woman doesn't half way do anything. I could point to the 50lb dumbbells and tell her to do some shoulder presses with them and without even second guessing she will go right for them. I know she can't do that much but she is still willing to try because you don't know if you don't try. She has also been very successful.

If you are finding yourself in a rut in the gym and not seeing the results you want then maybe it is time to step it up a notch and challenge yourself a little more. Be positive, try new things, and I guarantee you will find success. I am very proud of both those ladies. The first lady I mentioned sent me a photo today that I just have to share. Keep up the good work!!!!

NOW THAT IS WHAT I CALL SUCCESS!!!!

THE SCALE-"Friend or Foe"

I had a client once when I worked as a weightloss consultant who really put forth alot of effort. When she first started dieting her weight was dropping really fast. She was losing between 1-2 pounds a week consistantly for about a month and a half. As time went on her weightloss seemed to stall. She was working out hard 5 days a week but the scale wasn't moving. She was getting so angry because she wasn't cheating on her dieting and she surely wasn't skipping on her exercise. Although she wasn't happy I could see the changes in her body. Eventually she got so frustrated that she said she was just going to give up. She said she was never going to get to her goal weight if things kept going so slowly. Now this lady was so focused on getting her weight down that she would always weigh in the same clothes each week to make sure her weight was accurate. As she stood up getting ready to leave I noticed something, a huge wrinkle in the side of her shorts. I asked her what was going on with her shorts because she had a safety pin in the side of her shorts holding them together. She had lost quite a bit of inches in her waist. Overall everything on her looked alot better. I asked her what size she was wearing when she was at her goal weight before and she said that she was 2 sizes smaller than she was last time she was at that weight.

Why was she not losing weight but her body was getting smaller? That is the question she asked me. Well, her workouts consisted of jogging and strength training. When you strength train you build muscle. Unlike the average person that walks or runs for exercise she was doing strength training for her whole entire body in which she had toned herself from head to toe. Muscle is more compact than fat. So instead of her not changing on the scale her body was getting more lean. She was losing fat and gaining muscle. The more muscle you have the more efficiently you will burn fat. I'm going to post a picture of this so you can see what exactly what I mean. So, the next time you decide to diet and you know you are exercising properly, don't get discouraged if the scale isn't going down the way you want it to. More than likely your body is changing but the scale isn't showing it. Instead of focusing on the scale try having an article of clothing around that wasn't fitting right a few weeks before around. Try it on and if it feels better than what it did before then you are on the right track. The scale is not always correct when it comes to what is going on with your body. It truly can be a foe instead of a friend when you are dieting and strength training.

They both weigh 5lbs, but look at how much bigger the fat is compared to the muscle.

Would you do it for a million dollars?

I had a tough work out yesterday. I mean it really wore me out. I was so tired this morning it felt like I had fought King Kong or something. Haha! As I was getting dressed to hit the gym again it made me think about all the excuses I used to use years ago to talk myself out of going. I mean I was so bad. Hahaha! I can remember some days I would get dressed to go to the gym then tell myself I was going to take a 10 minute rest before I leave. I would sit on the couch, turn on the t.v., and before I knew it that 10 minutes had turned into an hour. After that I would go and take off my clothes and say I'll make up for it tomorrow. Does this sound familiar to anyone?? How many excuses have you made up to talk yourself out of getting your workout in? I know I can think of 1,000 very good excuses. I could have easily used the excuse of being too tired to go the gym this morning, but I sucked it up and went anyway. I felt good after my workout was done.

I have clients ask me all the time about when to take a break and how to tell if they are really too tired to workout. I have a very simple response to that. Ask yourself this one simple question. "If someone was paying you a million dollars to go train right now, would you go?". If the answer is yes then you are definitely not too tired to workout. If money is enough to motivate you to move then your health should definitely make you want to do something. Besides, it wouldn't do you any good to have a million if you are spending most of it on medication because you are in poor health. So no more excuses, lets get moving!

Tortoise Mentality

 Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I've been training myself and my clients. Happy 4th by the way! I want to share with you what happened the other day when I went out for my morning jog. I jog around this awesome lake that is in walking distance from my house. It's about 2.25 miles for one lap around it. Depending on how I feel and the time of my next session I may run the lake multiple times. I start early so that I can beat the heat here in NC. Well, I was maybe a half of mile from completing my first lap when all of a sudden two guys past me running really fast. One looked at me and saluted me as if to say "See you later slow poke". Instead of me trying to speed up and trying to catch them I continued on with my comfortable pace. When I got to the end of my first lap, the same two guys that passed me earlier were laying on the side of the trail on a towel out of breath. I looked over at them and they looked worn out. I continued on and as I came to the end of my second lap they were sitting up. They were still out of breath and they were drinking water. I looked over at them and winked. As I was completing my third lap they got up and ran over in front of me. They asked how many times had I been around the lake. I told them that I was completing the third lap now. One of them said "I wish you could teach us to run like that." I replied " I could, but...." They said, "But what?" I said "If you walked into KFC and asked for the recipe for the 17 herbs and spices, do you think they would give it to you?" They said no. I said exactly! I don't give away my secrets either...Hahaha!

The truth behind it is that there is no secret. It's just plain ol common sense. If you know you are not able to keep up a really fast pace for a really long time then why go out and try to kill yourself running like a bat out of hell. Take your time and learn to enjoy the run. If you are killing yourself you are less likely to do it and you won't enjoy it. Think about this. If I gave you your favorite food in the whole entire world and you ate it in four seconds, how much would you enjoy it? Exactly! Now, if you take your time and savor every bite, your love for that food will increase. That is the way I approach my jogging in the morning. I call it my  Tortoise Mentality. You may move faster than me, but I bet i'll still finish. Not only will I finish but i'll probably finish multiple times and won't be about to die at the end. 99.9% of the time i'll be right back out there the next day doing it again and feeling great. The question is.....will you??

Sticking to that New Year's Resolution

Each and every year millions of people make a New Year's resolution. You go to any gym in Raleigh and you can almost forget about getting to any of the equipment. You would think that Oprah was doing one of her favorite things episodes in the gyms because of all the cars you see in the parking lot. You can't even get a parking space. So, what happens about 3 weeks later? The parking lot is  back to normal, there are machines available, and that New Year's resolution is out the window. Do you know anyone who has done this or been in this situation? Is this you I am describing?

What could you do to stick to your resolution? How about take more of a realistic approach. Most people get in the gym and do hardcore training for those first couple of weeks. Doing that burns most people out really quick. No one who is just starting out can stick to a really hardcore pace. What I am proposing it to take your time and do a little bit at a time a few days a week. The goal is to make it so that having an exercise regiment becomes a part of your life and not a chore. Right along with brushing your hair and brushing your teeth, exercise is needed for you to live a healthy life.

So, on January 1st when you hit the gym, spend no longer than an hour in there. Try to do no more than 2 or 3 days a week to start out with. When you feel like you are ready to add more then do so. Always listen to your body.It will definitely know when you need to take a break. And most importantly, don't talk yourself out of a workout. Ask yourself this. If I were getting paid a million dollars to do this workout, would I still decline to do it? If the answer is yes you would still decline to do it then you definitely need to take the day off. If you say you would get that million dollars then you definitely need to get up and go work out. You may not be doing if for a million,  but for something even more important. YOUR HEALTH!