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!

Raleigh Personal Trainer Emmanuel: A little holiday humor

Raleigh Personal Trainer Emmanuel: A little holiday humor: "Tis the season of the saboteur right? Have you been sabotaged this holiday season? I have and I am almost sure you have too. This saboteur i..."

A little holiday humor

Tis the season of the saboteur right? Have you been sabotaged this holiday season? I have and I am almost sure you have too. This saboteur is all in the grocery store with the speed and precision of a race car driver wheeling their cart through the isle picking up all their supplies to sabotage you. Their kitchen is like a battle station. Instead of guns and grenades it's pot and pans. Who is this saboteur? It's all of you ladies that like to bake during the holiday season. Each and every year you get in your kitchen and you bake until you get sleepy. I actually know a lady that had the back of her whole entire SUV loaded with cookies. Here is the funny thing, this lady was also trying to lose weight. I know it's part of Christmas tradition for some of you ladies, but I think it's time start a new healthier one.

I've consulted alot of women on losing weight and alot of them complained about that special someone in their lives setting them up for failure. Well, it's like a major role reversal doing the holidays. The bottom line is do all of us health conscience people a favor and ditch the sweets and start giving out fruits and vegetables. Haha! If you need help to get rid of them, send them all to me. I will definitely get rid of them for you (one at a time Haha!). I wish you all a happy and healthy holiday!

Cravings, Cravings, Cravings!

Ok, here is the scenario. You have been on a diet for a few days, then out of no where here they come. You know exactly who I am talking about. I am talking about those dreaded cravings. From chocolate to french fries our mind tells us that we need it and we want it now! I've had my theories about why we crave stuff like that and it turns out that there is research to back up what I have thought for a long time.

Former FDA commissioner David Kessler wrote a book called "The End of Overeating". In this book he actually looked into foods that he was craving. What he found was that these foods contains high levels of salt, fat, and sugar. Studies have revealed that this combination releases dopamine into your body. Dopamine is associated with the pleasure center of the brain, so eating this combination of salt, fat and sugar gives most people pleasure and has an addictive affect. The more you consume, the more you want. According to the Journal of Neuroscience, Cocaine works the same way. It is addictive because of the increase it causes in Dopamine. Yeah, you heard me right. Cocaine and the combination of salt, sugar, and fat both have some of the same properties. They both give you pleasure and make you addicted. Not convinced?

Have you ever eaten something and couldn't control the urge to say "Ummmm this is so good", and roll your eyes back. What about driving by a restaurant that you love and just thinking about the food in there makes you want it, even if you are not hungry. That is just part of that addictive behavior that is associated with consuming foods with this combination. I have heard some people say that they are food  addicts. That may very well be true. According to Kessler, the food industry figured this out a long time ago and actually designed foods like this to keep you wanting more.

The next time you go shopping  and you start to pick up your favorite things, take the time to turn it around and read the nutrition facts. What you find may shock you. At least now you will be more conscience of what you are consuming and hopefully you won't choose those foods that are just going to feed your habit.