It Gives Me Joy

I recently was asked the question, "Where do you get the passion to do what you do?" I don't think about it often, however, recently I sat down and wondered why after over 10 years of being in the fitness industry, my passion has grown and continues to grow.

Let me explain how I got into the industry in the first place. I worked in the financial industry for fourteen years where I thought I would never leave. That is what you think when you start your career, right? Well, many years prior to my departure, I started exercising in a fitness facility and noticed that as my body was changing, I would receive questions from random folks on what to do. At that point, I considered working as a personal trainer as a hobby. Again, I did not have intentions to leave my finance job, but wanted to help people with their fitness goals. As things changed within the company and my displeasure grew, my desire to help others and see their results was more gratifying than sitting at a terminal screen all day. After a year of contemplation and consternation, I made the leap from the corporate world and started my own personal training proprietorship.

When it comes to why I wanted fitness to be my next career, I noticed how society's health was changing for the worse. Direction and guidance was sorely needed in the field. Being a role model for good health was my goal and there is a piece of this that stems from my own family. Having good health is a gift and should not be taken for granted. I think we start to realize this as we get older, especially if we have not had exposure to an ill family member or friend early in life. In my family, both of my parents and both siblings have hypertension. My father has heart disease and arthritis and my mother has non-insulin dependent diabetes. In my extended family, I have two cousins that are survivors of breast cancer and an aunt who passed away of the disease. In addition, I have many first cousins that are overweight and obese. I would say good health is not in my genes, however, I choose to stay out of that population by consistent exercise and good food choices. This is MY testimony on why physical activity and optimal nutrition are important and should not be taken for granted. Just because your family members or prior generations are or were candidates for various diseases, does not mean you are destined to be as well. It can be a choice.

The smile on my face in the above photo represents the joy I feel when I work with my clients and know that I am helping them to reach their fitness and health goals. Consequently, when my clients work hard, follow my guidance and see results, we achieved their goal together. It gives my joy to inspire, motivate and to keep all of my clients and class members healthy, educated and fit.

Here is to your good health and prosperity in 2011! Cheers!

Is Your Life in Balance?

Many times if there is a struggle to lose weight or change the body composition, some people will look in the wrong areas for a reason. For example, one may think that the problem with following a diet is lack of discipline or the person may not want it bad enough. Optimal change is not necessarily from a specific diet but a decision to change your whole nutrition lifestyle. Your nutrition lifestyle is not a three or six month regiment but a plan to reduce non-healthy items and replace them with better options for the rest of your life. Remember, diets do not work. Outside of that, there are many factors that influence your decision to change that you probably did not consider.

Balance and happiness in various areas of your life can play a factor when it comes to your food choices. Areas such as career, relationships, finances, your health, confidence and spirituality along with physical activity are all important toward your well-being. If any of those areas are off balance, that may be one of the underlying reasons for the struggle and poor food choices.

If there has been on ongoing struggle, take a look at your life and think about those areas. It could be something that is going on now or something in the past, for example an unresolved issue with a loved one that weighs heavily on your mind, an unfulfilling job that you dread getting up for or there is a lack of peace or solitude that you connect with, whether is it a higher being or nature. All or any of these areas can be improved with small steps over time. This is just one thought as to why a change in your nutrition lifestyle seems tough. Look outside the box. Is your life in balance?

Cook For Them & Me? How?

Here is an issue that I commonly hear that you may relate to, “How can I change what I eat by prepping and cooking my meals and then cook differently for my significant other and/or the kids? I do not have that much time.” So I ask, why does it have to be any different?

When you are on a path to a healthier body and and well being, you need support from those around you, family, friends, and anyone that will uplift you during your transition. I suggest bringing the family along for the journey. There are so many types of food to eat that are tasty and healthy. If you are eating fried and processed foods or items that are full of fat, salt and sugar you may consider weaning everyone from those choices. Usually when there are cravings for those foods, the body is missing key nutrients and when you feed the body healthier choices, the cravings go away.

Remember, diets do not work. You should view new choices of food as a change in your lifestyle that continues with no end. That being said, it should be easier on you to make the lifestyle change for your family. Many of the issues of children being overweight and obese in this country start in the home. The children usually do not do the grocery shopping or the cooking, so if there is a need to change habits, it has to start with you. Your significant other may be a different issue as s/he has the ability to buy whatever they want but when there is subtle change, there is a hope that it will catch on.

Some of the subtlest changes are to start incorporating more whole grains into your diet. This could be as simple as infusing whole wheat and whole grain products into the menu and reducing white pasta, white rice and white breads. If there are sugar cravings in your house, add more fruits and sweet vegetables such as carrots, corn, winter squashes, yams, red and yellow peppers. For salt cravings, there are healthy foods that are naturally high in sodium such as beets, celery, celeriac, artichokes and seafood. The main way to substitute flavor is with seasonings and herbs, this could be fresh or dry, but getting flavor in your foods from this natural route is better then relying on the processed foods and other choices full of fat, salt and sugar.

You may be surprised of the positive response you get from your family with new and healthy choices. You have to make a choice to make the change. Your health and your family’s health starts with what you put in your body. Take charge of it!

Patience is a Virtue

When you give suggestions to friends, family, or even co-workers, usually the ones closest to you may listen to what you suggest, but may not really “hear” what you are saying. That means it goes in one ear and out the other or the information bounces off of them right back to you without being absorbed. Have you ever experienced this? You may think, let them hear it from someone else and they will get it.

My sister is one of those folks who was not ready to hear what I had been suggesting, with love, for years. The situation was that her weight was not in a healthy range and she had high blood pressure. Since health and fitness are my areas of expertise, I would always provide tips on exercise and nutrition. I even created a sample menu plan to give her ideas on the types of food she should eat, in addition to how often she should eat. For all of those years, she did not get it. I understood that she was not ready to make a change in her life; I accepted it and left her alone. I know that when it comes to change, the individual has to make a decision for them to commit to change and until then, it will not happen.

Today, I get a phone call and guess what? She got it, with the help of another source. She came across a book that informed her of the same information I was telling her. Now she was ready to hear and absorb it. She reduced her soda intake and is eating 5 small meals consisting of more fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and chicken. She used to stop by Wawa and pick up a bag of Doritos or some other chip and a soda. Now, she can go to Wawa and walk by that section without a need to fulfill a salt and sugar craving. The reason is because she is now providing her body the nutrients it needs with healthier options and her cravings are diminishing. She has exercised on and off for years, and that component will be more consistent. As a result, she feels better and is dropping weight.

For so many people like my sister, the idea of planning was not in the forefront of her mind. Her occupation made her transient and as a result, she was always eating on the go. In addition, she rarely ate breakfast. Now, she realizes that she has to eat breakfast daily, plan her meals for the day and even for the week. She cooks in advance and freezes her meals. She states it is work, but for her health it is worth it. I know it seems hard at first, but with anything when you commit to it, it becomes easier. I am proud of you big sis. All of the seeds I planted and patience I maintained has paid off.

If you can influence someone in your life to better his or her health, it is so worth it!

Food Plan and Prep

When you are on a path to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight, food planning and preparation is so important. Just like with anything in life, if you fail to plan, you may plan to fail. With food, if you have no idea what you will eat in a day, it could be left up to chance and chance can lead to poor choices.

To keep your body on an even metabolic keel throughout your day, you should eat 4-5 small meals. Start by always having breakfast and avoid letting your body go into starvation mode. It is imperative to have meals and snacks prepared, and if not, at least mentally prepared to stay on track.

A useful tip is to plan meals around foods (when prepared in large amounts) that can be used in one recipe one night, used for lunch the next day or in a completely different meal the next night (or two). For example, if you prepare chicken breast, you can make one or two pounds and have a portion for dinner day one with cooked vegetables and a baked sweet potato and lunch on day two chopped on top of a salad. You can freeze the remaining cooked chicken breast and take it out on day five and make a soup with rice and vegetables. It is really a time saver.

When it comes to your snacks, try to schedule eating something small such as a piece of fruit with yogurt or a handful of raw almonds or walnuts as a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack. When lunch and dinner time arrives, you should not be as hungry and you will eat a smaller portion. If you need to remember your snack time due to a busy schedule, another tip is to put a reminder on your phone, calendar or what ever you use to keep your day straight. It is that important.

You can train your body with food, just as you would with exercise. It needs to be fed on a regular basis because you are burning calories on a regular basis. Remember, the key to weight loss is burning more calories than you take in. When you take in quality, nutrient dense foods that you plan for during your day, you will be successful in your weight loss or weight maintenance plan.

The Supermarket Trap

How many times have you walked into a supermarket with items in mind that you know you need and somehow walk out with a few more items than intended? What happened? Did you have a plan? Another sign of not planning is when you start with a handheld basket and wind up with a cart. Sound familiar?

The supermarket is designed to try to influence you to buy more of what you really don’t need and it is usually not the healthiest items. Take a look around the next time you are in your neighborhood supermarket. What do you notice when you first walk into a Shoprite or other similar store? In your face are cookies, cakes or some type of packaged muffins on sale. What do you notice at the ends of each aisle? That would be some type of processed, packaged good. What about on those displays in the middle of the floor before you checkout? You can always count on more processed, packaged goods. What about at checkout? Candy. Placement of various foods in the store and on shelves is so important for food companies. I call it subtle buyer influence. Some foods and soft drinks are always at eye level for adults and if you have children or grandchildren, you know there are foods marketed to them at their eye level, especially in the cereal aisle.

Think about the layout of most food stores. You will always encounter the fresh fruits and vegetables along the first outer perimeter that you come to. Do you ever see fresh fruit that does not need refrigeration anywhere else in the store? If you continue around the outer perimeter, you will visit the deli counter, fish and meat sections, and then dairy in the far corner of the store. Did you ever notice how dairy is always the furthest point from the door? I think this is strategic because most people consume some type of dairy item whether it is eggs, milk, cheese, yogurt or butter. So even if that was the one item you needed, you have to walk by so many other products that say, “buy me” on your way to the dairy section and back to checkout. If you do not have a list or specific plan when you walk into the store, the trip from the front door winds up with some detours and that basket receives a few more items than planned.

I suggest to always have a list when you enter into a supermarket. If you don’t, you may feel like you entered a trap and might walk out with more of the items that are packaged, processed and not healthy. You may not even realize it, but take notice the next time you are in the supermarket. Above everything, avoid shopping on an empty stomach. You will surely buy more than you need and those will be impulse purchases. ShopRight not Wrong.

Carbohydrates and Sugar Cravings

There are various types of food cravings such as salty, crunchy, spicy, sour and of course sweet. A sugar craving tends to the most common and very detrimental to your health, especially if you exercise on occasion or not at all. When people crave sugar, they may go for a quick fix and opt for sugary drinks, candy, cake, cookies or other processed foods.

All carbohydrates contain sugar and are simple or complex depending on their structure; in addition, they are our main source of energy. Most of your processed foods are simple and contain refined sugar with little vitamins and minerals. Think of packaged cookies and cakes. When large amounts of simple sugars are ingested in the absence of other nutrients, they enter the bloodstream very quickly, which provides that quick burst of energy. In a short time, the blood sugar drops and hunger sets in again. The body is looking for an even level of blood sugar so it tells you to eat something to bring it back up. So you may go for sugar again and this starts a cycle of ups and downs until you eat a meal.

When complex carbohydrates such as vegetables or whole grains are ingested, it takes more time for the body to process; therefore, the bloodstream does not get flooded as when drinking a sugary drink. The sugar takes a longer time to be absorbed, which provides a longer duration of energy. Also, when complex carbohydrates or (natural) simple carbohydrates such as fruit are consumed with other nutrients (a healthy fat, protein or fiber) the absorption rate is slowed.

Exercise is so important to how the body processes carbohydrates, as well. The more you exercise, the more the carbohydrates are transformed and used as immediate energy. If a person is not exercising, the body will use what it needs from those transformed carbohydrates and the remainder may be stored as fat.

When you are feeling hungry and sluggish and need a snack, go for a piece of fruit and yogurt. Other options are one tablespoon of peanut butter on a whole grain piece of bread or carrot sticks with hummus. Whatever you do, make it more natural and healthy and let go of the processed to let go of the cravings.

What Exercises Can I Do for my Abs?

This is a common question, which you may be thinking about yourself. One of my cousins emailed me recently and stated, “I’m not joining a gym and want to exercise at home. What are some things I can do to get rid of my stomach besides sit ups?” I also had a class member that asked if I had a workout designed specifically for abdominals.

All of my clients and class members know that I will do some type of abdominal work throughout and at the end of our workouts. I also tell them that they can do abdominal exercises day in and day out, however, if they do not clean up what they eat in addition to adding at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise combined with strength training at least 3 days per week, their tummy will stay. Abdominal exercises mean nothing if you continue to eat in the same manner that put the extra inches around your waist. If you are a woman and your waist is equal or larger than 35 inches and as a man your waist is equal or larger than 40 inches, you are at risk for weight related illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes. Even if you are not in that category, you would still need to increase your exercise intensity and eat better if your abdominals are not where you want them to be.

First, reduce with intention to eliminate high sugar, high fat and processed foods from your diet. When your body consumes these items, there is no nutritional content. The greater nutritional value that your body needs is in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean meats. Once you have made the food commitment, add more cardiovascular exercise to your life. Find something that you love to do. See my last entry dated August 15, 2010 on Falling Off the Wagon. When these two items are part of your lifestyle, the abdominal work that you are doing will make more of an impact.

One of my favorite exercises for the abdominals is the Plank. Start by lying on the floor with your elbows directly under your shoulders. Push your body into a full flat bridge. Tighten your core, glutes and quads as you push into your forefeet to keep your torso rigid. Without allowing your hips to hike up or your tummy to sag, try to stay in the position as long as you can while looking at the floor. Try it at least 3 times working toward 1 minute each time. If you are new, start with 10 seconds. This is something that can be done during the commercials as you watch your favorite TV show!

Falling Off The Wagon

So, it has been a few weeks since you worked out or maybe a month . . . or two.

You made progress when you were exercising, whether you lost inches, weight or maybe you felt stronger and had more energy. Now the weight and inches are creeping back or maybe you feel a little more sluggish. The benefits of exercise happen when you participate on a consistent basis. It has to be consistent with an activity that you find enjoyable.

There are so many different types of exercise formats to try. It could be machines at a fitness center, an aerobic/dance/boot camp class in or outside of the gym or your own DVD or favorite on-demand show in the privacy of your home. Whatever it is, stay committed and add it into your schedule. Make time. If you get distracted at home, the camaraderie of a class or partner helps because you are working on a common goal together. This could be two or three times per week.

Even if you have fallen off the wagon, it is waiting for you to jump back on and keep going. Only you can do the work for yourself. Yes, it is harder to come back after a hiatus, but it is not insurmountable. Get back on and keep plugging along. It is important for your health and fitness. Our bodies thrive on movement and degenerates without it. Vary your workout, but always include strength, cardiovascular work, balance and flexibility. Be experimental as you consider rock climbing, skating, in-line or ballroom dancing, karate, Pilates, tai chi and yoga. Your options are endless; just get back on that wagon.

Fuel Prior To Exercise

Working out on an empty stomach is not the best choice, but with so many choices, including supplements, decisions become harder to make. It may be difficult to know what to eat before a workout and when. What you eat has a large impact on your exercise routine. It may make a difference between an energetic workout or a workout in which you lose energy quick, feel dizzy and want to stop. If you are already consuming a healthy diet and getting enough calories, you can rely on your appetite, experience and energy levels to tell you if you need anything more. If you are just starting out, find what works best for you. Here are some basic guidelines for fueling your body before workouts.

Early Morning
If you have the ability to workout in the early morning hours, try to eat something small to avoid feeling dizzy and/or having hunger pangs. Try eating around 200-300 calories snack/meal if you are going to workout within an hour of waking up. Avoid too much fat or protein since these take longer to digest. Suggestions: 2 slices of whole wheat toast or low-fat granola bars or dried/fresh fruit.

Midday
In order to avoid hunger during your noon workout be sure to plan your day and have a snack or eat your meal one to two hours before the workout. Also, target 200 – 400 calories (close to 2 hours = 400 calorie meal/snack) for your consumption. Great options are shakes/bars or yogurt or fresh/dried fruit or even a small bowl of oatmeal. Upon your return from your noon workout, eat a well balanced meal to refuel your body!

After Work
The key for a post-work workout is to plan ahead. One to two hours before leaving work, eat a small, balanced meal around 300 – 400 calories. Suggestions: reduced-fat cheese/whole grain crackers or low-fat cottage cheese and veggies, a whole grain muffin and/or fruit.

After Exercise
Once you have completed your workout, you need to replenish the nutrients and fuel sources you have just used during your workout and during the day if your workout is later in the day. Correct portion sizes and consistency help to engage the body for optimal recovery. A balanced meal of carbohydrates, protein and fat is important and an example meal is 3 oz. skinless chicken breast, 2 cups of vegetables, 1/2 cup of brown rice and 1/4 cup of avocado.

Keep hydrated before/during/after exercise
Your hydration is important before, during and after your workouts. Dehydration may cause headaches, fatigue and cramping. A good rule of thumb is to drink water throughout the day, then have 8- 24 ounces (depending on your body) an hour or two before a workout. Sip water during your workout and drink plenty of liquids after your session.

Shoud I Feel the BURN?

A question I often get from clients and class participants is: “Should I feel more of a “burn” after my workout?”

Sometimes people feel that if they are not getting a “burn” or muscle soreness, they are not getting an effective workout. This is not definitively true. I usually ask my clients how they felt after their last training session to see how their bodies responded to the workout. I get varying responses such as; “I felt the workout in this particular body part.” Or “I felt a good sore all over.” Or “I feel fine, no soreness.”

Muscles soreness is not always an indicator that you had a great workout and if you are not sore, you can still be productive. Muscles soreness usually occurs from your muscles doing something they are not used to doing or have not done in a while.

When someone is starting a new workout, his or her body will feel the effects and may get sore. After a while, the body will get used to it and may be not as sore in the weeks or months after. That person can change the intensity of the exercises by doing more repetitions, adding more weight or walking/biking longer on a hiking trail with inclines or maybe doing completely different exercises. Any of these changes could create muscle soreness.

There are some individuals that may be sore all the time and those that may not get sore too often or at all. Every person is different, so the only person you can listen to is you. Get in tune with your body as you travel your fitness journey. Are you getting stronger? Is your posture improving? Do you feel more balanced? All of these areas should improve if you are putting your all into your workout. You will only get out of your experience what you put in.

A better indicator of the effects of your workout comes from the scale, mirror, your clothes fitting, pictures and/or tape measurements. Remember, your workout is just one component toward a goal of a healthier you. The food you put in your mouth is a bigger component. More to come!

Age . . A state of mind and definitely Body

Getting older is a state of mind and body. You can allow your actual age to define you or maybe not. I want to discuss how exercising and eating healthier can help so that you are NOT defined by your age.
No matter if you are a man or woman, I ask if you take a look in the mirror can you tell me that you look and feel your age and maybe younger OR do you feel and look older? If you look older, there are so many ways to help stay young such hair color and make up, yet those methods of assistance cannot last forever. Now with hair color, that may be out of your control genetically, but with makeup ladies, it should be there to enhance your beauty without masking.

So maybe you are going out on the town with your partner or friends and you find ways to make you feel younger. It may not be just hair and makeup, but maybe something that your are wearing makes you look and feel younger for that moment, however, how do you feel the next day when you have an extra 20, 50 or 100 pounds that you should lose? You most likely feel your age because the weight is still there the next day, week, month or year. The makeup and outfit are not permanent. Are you tired? Do you have lack of energy? Do your joints hurt from carrying too much weight? All of the pampering and superficial stuff does not make that go away.

Think about when you see dramatic before and after pictures of people that have lost 50-100 pounds, you cannot deny that they look younger. They automatically have more energy because the body is not carrying extra weight that it is not meant to have. Everyone has an ideal weight range, which is your BMI or Body Mass Index. For the average adult, you can take a look at many websites to calculate this number, which is an indicator of where your weight should be for a healthier you. One of many sites I came across is, www.caloriecheckbook.com. Check it out!

You can reverse your age by exercising and eating healthier. With each decade of life there are changes that can occur if a person is sedentary. These changes can be a decline of aerobic capacity, body fat distribution around the hips and thighs for women and around the waistline for men, loss of balance, flexibility and core strength. Muscle mass has reached its peak in the late 20s and if the muscles are not challenged outside of what they do every day, they will decrease which contributes to the slowing of the metabolism and eventual weight gain for both women and men.

Eating whole grains, fruits, vegetables and other natural foods can only enhance your health. You have to take care of yourself from the inside out. Reduce or eliminate all of the processed, high fat, salty and sweet foods. The body knows what it needs. It needs nutrient dense foods that provide vitamins and minerals. When you take care of yourself on the inside with healthier food options, it shows on the outside and when combined with exercise, it definitely shows. So work on staying fit and healthy starting now and for your older years to come!

Ways To Include Fitness In Your Life

How much is enough? The bottom line is that, to achieve maximal gain, you need to get physically active every day for at least 30 minutes, preferably up to an hour (especially if you need to lose weight). Across the week, your fitness plan should include not only aerobic exercise, but also a routine to maintain your posture, strength, balance, and flexibility. If you don't know, or are having trouble starting, here are some practical tips to help you get going and stick to a very important component of your life.

1. Choose a time of day that works best for you to exercise. Is it early morning before your day starts? That way it is done and you have time after work for kids activities or anything else that requires your time. Or it may be after work. This time works better for your body and schedule.
2. Get your exercise clothes ready. If you are early morning, have them out waiting for you in clear view so when the alarm clock goes off, you are ready to go. Or if you decide to exercise after work, have your clothes in your gym bag so that you can change after work.
3. Find a partner who is at your fitness level and set dates to exercise together. That way, you keep each other encouraged and motivated.
4. Vary your exercises. Make sure you include cardiovascular challenges, strength training, balance and stretching into your regimen.
5. Discover ways to minimize boredom that may come with a routine. It could be different music, Fit TV clips, DVDs, fitness classes, books/magazines or podcasts when you are on your own.

Think about it. Would you go a day without taking a shower, brushing your teeth or combing your hair???? Include fitness in this list. It is possible; you have to make time to do it. Whatever it takes, GET MOVING!! When you start seeing results and change, you will be glad you did.

WHY am I not losing if I am exercising?

Many times there is the assumption for both men and women that when they start to exercise, the pounds will quickly melt away. If not, frustration sets in. The next question is, how is your nutrition? There are so many sabotaging factors to weight loss which include; eating the wrong choices, not eating enough or eating too much for your entire day, portion size is off, when you eat, where you eat and other possible reasons outside the scope of nutrition.

I want to briefly talk about the effect of proper nutrition when it comes to changing the body. I have been discussing food in the past few posts and would like to re-emphasize the importance of making better food choices.

When I ask participants what changes do they notice about themselves as a result of my fitness classes, I will hear that they are stronger and are losing weight and inches, etc. The few that have not had significant changes will lead me to ask how they would characterize their meals and how many times a day are they eating. The standard answer is, “ not so good and I eat once or twice a day.” What, when and even where you eat has an effect on your weight loss plan.

What are your food choices? Is it chicken wings, mashed potatoes and coleslaw after your workout or is it a boneless, skinless chicken breast with steamed vegetables and a baked yam? When refers to how often you are eating your meals. Is it every 3 hours? If the answer is no, think about how you feel when you have gone 5-6 hours without eating. When you eat more frequently, it prevents your blood sugar from spiking, which keeps it on an even level throughout the day. If you wait too long in between meals, you will usually eat more than what you need at that sitting and then go into a "food coma". This is when you feel sluggish and tired. Eating small portions every three hours is a good standard to follow. The location of when you eat can have an affect that you are not aware of it. Do you eat on the go? In the car? Standing up? If the answer is yes, then you need to take at least 20-30 minutes to eat and really take time to taste your food. If you eat quickly, you usually have no idea what you ate and then psychologically you may want more even though your body does not need it. Have a seat at a table and take time to enjoy your food. Try to chew at least 20-30 times with every mouthful until the food is completely liquefied. It will make a difference.

You can exercise vigorously several times a week, which is very important for your health, well-being and stress relief. The fact that you are not losing the weight you want may be from your nutrition habits that can be unlearned over time.

Take a good, hard look at yourself in the mirror and go to that place of uncertainty. Make a decision to change your eating habits one step at a time. It is always good to voluntarily make a decision rather than anyone (a doctor) or a medical issue to make that decision for you later in life.

Cholesterol, Salt and Sugar

When talking to various clients, I will often hear that they are pretty good with their food habits during the week, but when it comes to the weekend, it all goes down hill. I am a proponent that says, if you are eating incredibly clean and healthy 85% of the time, 15% of the time is okay to have a scoop of ice cream, a few chicken wings or a slice of pizza. Summer is around the corner and with that comes Bbq’s, carnivals, weekend festivals or any other outing where the food choices may not be the best. Many of these foods such as pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, chicken wings and lots of sugary snacks would not be found on the clean eating menu. Instead, these items cater to taste buds looking for something, salty, sweet or full of saturated fat.

This brings me to the topic of cholesterol, salt and sugar and how much your body should be taking in. First, what is cholesterol? Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance made in the liver and found in foods, such as animal products and some dairy products. The main problem with cholesterol is when there is too much; it can lead to heart disease. The maximum total amount that you should take in from food on a daily basis is 300 mg or less. Here is gauge; a large boiled egg contains 212 mg of cholesterol. Remove the yolk and you are down to 0 mg. As stated, your body creates cholesterol because it is needed for various functions. Consequently, you do not need much from food. If your cholesterol numbers are found to be high by your doctor, eat whole grain products such as oatmeal to help improve your overall numbers.

Table salt contains about 40% sodium and when you view food labels, sodium is a standard listing. Sodium is an electrolyte, which means your body cells need it to function. Your body does not produce it, but it can generally be found in your diet. Many of the packaged and processed foods contain sodium. The problem with excess sodium is that it can contribute to high blood pressure (also called hypertension), heart disease and stroke. The average amount of sodium consumed in a day for an American can be 4000 mg and the maximum recommended value by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is 2300-2400mg. Here is a gauge; one regular hot dog has 697 mg of sodium. A strong suggestions is to reduce processed, packaged foods as well as pork products.

Sugar and sweets can taste so good and are a comfort at times, BUT there has to be a limit. Natural sugar found in fruits, vegetables and milk can be enough for some individuals but others feel there is a need for their favorite chocolate bar or honey bun. For someone trying to lose weight, reducing and/or eliminating added or processed sugar from your diet is the optimal plan. If you look at the ingredients of some of your foods, there is a form of sugar in many foods. It can be called high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, or any other type of sweetener or syrups. You may find it in cereals, soft drinks, breads and condiments. According to the American Heart Association, a sedentary woman needs only 3 teaspoons of added sugar in a day whereas an active healthy man could consume up to 18 teaspoons in a day. Everyone else falls in between. Here is a gauge; a 12-ounce can of regular soda contains 8 teaspoons of sugar. One teaspoon of sugar equals 4.2 grams. When looking at a food label, sugar is always labeled in grams. So the sedentary woman should only take in a maximum of 13 grams of sugar in a day. Again, elimination of sugar is the best route because in the end too much sugar contributes to weight gain.

Your food labels have cholesterol, sodium and sugar as standard listings. Use them wisely when buying your foods and tracking your food intake on the journey of being a healthier you! When it comes to those weekend outings, I suggest to eat something healthy and filling before you get there, so you are not inclined to indulge too deeply!

How Much Do I Need?

In my last post, I discussed how you should eat to lose and I know the concept may be a bit confusing. The important point is to make better choices for your calories. Calories that are nutrient dense and healthier are the goal. It is also important to exercise and increase your lean muscle tissue through strength training to help change your body composition.
2000 calories to one person can be a completely different picture to another. For an example of how this picture is painted differently, I used one of the many online food and exercise trackers to input various foods to find the calorie value for two different people.
The first person consumes 2024 total calories and consists of:
Breakfast - 1 McDonalds Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit: 440 calories
Lunch - 2 Taco Bell Chicken Gordita Baja: 640 calories
Snacks - 2 Apples: 144 calories
Dinner - 2 slices of Pizza Hut Stuffed Crust Pork Pizza: 800 calories

The second person consumes 2033 calories and consists of:
Breakfast – 1 cup cooked oatmeal, 1 grapefruit, Yoplait yogurt: 358 calories
Snack – 1 whole wheat English muffin, 2 T almond butter, ½ T honey, 1 banana: 441 calories
Lunch –2 slices whole wheat bread, 4 slices of low-salt deli turkey breast, 1 tsp brown mustard, 1 cup of carrots, ½ cup lentils: 433 calories
Snack- 8oz soymilk, soy protein powder, and 1-cup strawberries: 272 calories
Dinner – 4 oz Atlantic wild salmon, 1 cup of brown rice, 2 cups of chopped spinach: 433 calories
Snack – 1 pear: 96 calories

The food choices are on an even scale when it comes to calories, but can you see how BETTER choices equates to MORE food? The second person has more nutrient dense, healthier options. The first person has less food, but more fat, cholesterol and sodium than one would need in a day. When you eat more quality choices that nourish your body and have good sources of fiber, fat, protein and carbohydrates, you will see better results in body composition change. It is important to eat 5-6 meals throughout the day and to balance your meals so that you are not eating too much at one time. One final note is to eat more of your calories in the first half of your day and reduce the calories of your snacks later in the day.

This brings me to how much of the nutrients your body actually needs. As stated in the last post, carbohydrates are the most important nutrient for energy. When you reduce this nutrient, you will start to feel sluggish. The body needs between 45% to 65% of total calories from carbohydrates. The better choices are brown or wild rice, whole grain pasta, sweet potatoes as well as fruits and vegetables. This number is a wide range based on the activity level of an individual. Fiber is part of the carbohydrate family and is essential for maintaining the health of the gastrointestinal tract. The body needs at least 25 grams and the natural fiber is in your fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and beans.

The next nutrient needed in the body is fats or lipids. This is the second source of energy and the body needs between 20% and 35% of total calories in a day. The sources are olive oil, nuts, seeds, fatty fishes (salmon and tuna), and avocado.
Protein should not be thought of as a source of energy. It takes a long process for your body to produce energy from protein, so stick with the carbs and good fats. The body needs between 15% and 20% of total calories and one of its many roles is to build blocks for your muscles. Great sources of protein are beans, legumes, yogurt, cottage cheese, milk, fish, and skinless/boneless poultry. Oh and if you eat really well and make great choices 80-90% of the time, it's okay to have a few Hershey's Kisses every now and then. Just watch your portion!
The online trackers are a great way to see how the foods you eat are broken down into the various nutrients. I named a few in the post dated January 31, 2010 entitled, Track Your Progress. In an upcoming post, I will discuss cholesterol, sodium and sugar.

You Gotta Eat to Lose

I know, I know. You hear it, but you just can’t seem to wrap your mind around the fact that in order to lose inches/weight and improve your body composition, you have to eat. Really??!! Let me explain this as simply as possible.

Most people think deprivation. If I cut calories, usually something like 500 calories a day = 3500 calories in a week, which will allow you to lose 1 pound. While that may be true, it may be short term depending a variety of factors. Factors such as physical activity, the types of foods one eats as part of their regular diet and body fat percentage. These factors vary for each person.

Some people may look at a magazine and determine for themselves that they should be eating between 1600-1800 calories to lose weight. Just check to make sure there is a disclaimer (in fine print) that says this advice should vary by individual. What happens is a 150-pound woman and a 180-pound woman will pick up the same magazine, see the main highlights and miss the fine print (if there is fine print). So do you think a 150-pound woman and 180-pound woman should be consuming the same amount of calories?? The answer is No.

The reason is that food intake has to be customized to be effective. When one is starting to make changes to their meal choices, eliminating processed foods and snacks high in sugar and saturated fats is a great way to start. There should always be a plan and roadmap for substitutions or better options.

Based on various factors, each person has a specific amount of calories they should be consuming to lose inches/weight and keep it off. It starts with knowing how many calories your body needs at the base level of functioning life. This would be the case if you were to sit on the couch each day, not move and need enough energy, (calories) for you to breathe and for your brain, heart and all other major organs to function. This is your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). For women, multiply your weight by 11 and men multiply their weight by 12 to get this BMR. The 150-pound woman needs a base level of 1650 calories and the 180-pound woman needs 1980. Remember the magazine article that states you should eat 1600-1800 calories per day?

Let’s move on. There are 3 more custom factors that will affect the total recommended calories needed in a day. They are physical activity, the thermal effect of food and body fat percentage. For example, if the 150-pound woman is active vs. sedentary, eats more nutrient dense carbohydrate foods than high fat foods and has a low body fat percentage, her daily recommendation can be up around 2600 calories. Yes, 2600 calories. If you are very active, you need food to burn to keep your metabolism up. Your metabolism is the chemical process in the body that destroys tissue and releases energy, thereby generating heat. The faster your metabolism, the more calories you burn. Carbohydrates provide less calories per gram of food than fat, therefore, one would need more calories if their daily intake was more carbs than fat. Finally, if someone has a low body fat percentage, their body has more lean muscle and (again) needs more calories to burn to keep the metabolism going.

Can you see how the 150-pound woman can need 2600 calories instead of 1600? 1600 calories would put her in a starvation mode. In starvation mode, the body will look for another form of fuel or energy and start to break down precious muscle tissue to create the fuel it needs. You do NOT want that to happen. I blogged about this issue and the importance of having lean muscle tissue in Dieting Truths, an entry dated July 1, 2008. Please refer back.

When you don’t eat enough calories in your day, that is one reason the body will not change composition and the other is not eating the right type of calories. Carbohydrates are your main source of energy and the more whole grain and nutrient dense the better. So think of sweet potatoes, brown rice, fruits and vegetables. Good fats (olive oil, avocado, and fat from salmon or tuna) are your second source of energy and protein is very last. Protein is last because it takes a lot for your body to process it for energy. In sum, stick with healthy carbohydrates, good fats and lean protein and eat them to lose. In an upcoming post, I will discuss how much of each nutrient you actually need.

Shopping List Suggestions

One of the questions I commonly get is what to have as food staples in the pantry because there are so many different food items in the supermarket. If you keep it simple, it takes a lot of the guesswork out when you create a solid list to choose from. I have created a list of ideal foods as you change your eating patterns to have more nutrient dense foods that are healthier options.

Your body would function optimally if fed whole grains, vegetables, wild caught fish, legumes and beans, raw nuts and minimal animal flesh. Chicken and turkey should be the skinless breast from steroid and hormone free chicken or turkey. If you eat the cow, look for grass fed beef. In addition, when you reduce or eliminate processed foods and snacks with high fructose corn syrup or any form of sugar listed in the first four ingredients, you will improve your overall health and energy.

Here is an example shopping list:
Whole Grains: Long grain brown or wild rice, oatmeal, quinoa, whole wheat or rye breads, buckwheat.
Beans & Legumes: Lentils, black beans, kidney beans, lima beans, navy beans, etc. (any other from the bean family), black-eyed peas, and edamames (soybeans).
Vegetables: Spinach, broccoli, asparagus, red and yellow peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, green beans, collards, squash, zucchini, garlic, Brussels sprouts, beets, cauliflower, sweet potatoes or yams. There are so many to choose, but you get the idea because the more the better.
Fruits: Berries, avocados, bananas, apples, melons, mangoes, kiwis, oranges, grapes, pears and plums.
Fish: Salmon, tuna, cod, flounder. (wild caught instead of farm raised)
Nuts & Seeds: Raw almonds and walnuts, natural peanut or almond butter. Pumpkin, sunflower and flaxseeds (all in moderation)
Dairy: Low-fat yogurt, fat-free organic milk, and cage free/steroid free eggs.
Other: Extra virgin olive oil, low sodium vegetable broth, low sodium soups, fresh herbs and no-salt spices. These are your items to cook with. The vegetable broth can be used in place of water to give flavor to your rices or quinoa. The soup is a staple to have as a quick meal for lunch or dinner.

I chose many of these foods for the nutrient dense properties. This means these foods provide the energy-yielding nutrients (protein, carbohydrates, and fat) along with many of the vitamins and minerals your body needs in a healthful and natural way. The foods are low in fat and although your body needs fat, it should be from sources such as salmon, nuts and olive oil that are not saturated or trans fatty.

Recently, I watched a documentary on the evolution of the food industry called, Food, Inc. It was very insightful on how the industry has changed over the years and why. I suggest you rent or buy it as it really changed my perspective on food and I thought I was eating healthy. Many of my choices stem from healthy and clean eating over the years, and this documentary help shape some of my suggestions above. Before I became a fitness professional years ago, I often wondered why the bodies and health of our children has dramatically changed since I was in eighth grade. When I was that age, there were a handful of kids that were overweight and a handful of girls that were more developed in their bodies. Today’s children are not as active and have all sorts of electronic media taking them from being regularly active. That is one problem, but the other problem is the hormones and additives that have been added to the food, which has helped to develop them beyond their years. So now the percentage of children being overweight and obese has skyrocketed. As adults, we have been eating these foods as well. This has led an astounding 2 in 3 adults to be overweight and obese, and consequently has led (and continues to lead) to all sorts of health problems.

If we eat more whole and fresh foods instead of processed, hormone injected foods, we will be better off. The list above is not exhaustive, however, it is many of the foods in the categories we need and something to consider the next time you go food shopping. Organic foods may not be in your budget, but when you can, try to include a few organic fruits and vegetables. The farm markets are a great place to get your fresh fruits and vegetables. Every once in a while, they have a few organic items that are less expensive than your larger food market chains. Shop and eat for better health!

Food: The Most Important Piece of the Puzzle

Food consumption is the hardest piece of the puzzle when trying to change one’s body. Whether your goal is to lose weight or define your muscles, changing what and how you eat is the most important component.

I experienced this myself when I competed in figure competitions several years ago. I had been working out hard with my exercise plan, but as soon as I cleaned up my diet, boy, did it really show positively in my physique. To this day, I still eat very clean and try to eat every three hours because just I have trained my body; I have trained my eating patterns.

When working with my clients, nutrition is one of the first things I talk about in our initial meeting. How one eats takes time to alter because it is something that you have to do everyday. You may not exercise everyday, but you eat everyday. Prior to someone needing assistance, they have habits that are ingrained in their daily life and brain. This is why it is the hardest part of the puzzle.

This part of the puzzle will not be successful until the individual is ready to change. I wrote about the Stages of Change in the January 4, 2009 entry. It discusses how you go through stages of precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance whenever you make a major change in your life. You first have to feel that you need to make a change and ready yourself to commit. Without it, you will not succeed. However, when you do commit, results happen.

In the past month, I have had several clients notice how when they finally committed to staying on course with a consistent food plan, their bodies responded. They have either started to track their food and activity (see January 31, 2010 entry on Track Your Progress) or started eating the right amount of calories their bodies need or started eating the right combination of fats, carbohydrates and proteins. Clients with both weight loss and body sculpting goals are succeeding.

I also want to discuss how if one wants to see change, they have to stick with the program. I am sometimes made aware of how the body is either not changing or the weight is going in the wrong direction. The truth is that when one is exercising to their maximum potential, you may think you can eat anything. There is a misunderstanding that when you are burning calories in a hard workout, you can have that extra glass of wine or that piece of cake won’t hurt . . but it does. Once you make a commitment, you have to stick with it. When you get to a point of maintenance (in the Stages of Change) where you have reached your goal and you are happy with what you see in the mirror, how you feel in your clothes or what the scale says, then you can stray from time to time. At that point, you deserve it.

Take CONTROL of your PORTIONS

When discussing diet changes with clients and class participants, portion size seems to be one area that puzzles most. When you are more conscious and working toward changing your diet, this is one of the many areas that has to be addressed. Food portion sizes today are far bigger than they were in the past, which means we are taking in far more calories than we realize. If you do not burn the extra calories that you take in, the waistline grows and the number on the scale continuously increases. Understanding healthy and correct portion size is critical to long-term weight management.
Most people may not use measuring cups, spoons and food scales, although, it is the optimal means to know food amounts with preparation and consumption. Once you have been using them for a while and consciously make an effort to be in tune with what is going in your mouth, you will probably be able to put them aside. The amounts will become second nature to you. If you choose not to go that route, the next best method is to use items that are common in everyday life and visualize your portion based on that item.

Here are some examples:
Checkbook = 6 oz of light flesh fish
Deck of cards = 3-4 oz of boneless and skinless chicken breast or lean beef
Compact disk = Size of 1 whole wheat pancake
Computer mouse = 4-5 oz baked sweet potato or yam
Poker chip = 1 Tb. Use for olive oil, light salad dressings and (nut) butter spreads
Golf ball = ¼ cup. Use for raw nuts (ie. almonds and walnuts)
Lightbulb = ½ cup. Use for frozen yogurt, cooked whole grain pasta and rices
Baseball = 1 cup. Use for high fiber cereals and vegetables (the more vegetables, the better)

Some tips:
1. Measure your foods. Either use the relationship size guide OR actual measuring devices.
2. Be mindful of what you are eating. Take your time when you eat, sit and chew slowly.
3. Stop eating when you are full. It usually takes 20 minutes for your brain to register that feeling.
4. Eat more of your calories in the early part of your day especially if that is when you are most active with life, work, and children. Eat lighter in the evening.
5. Eat 5 smaller meals in a day rather than 2-3 large meals.
6. Use your food labels to see nutrition values. What is the serving and how many calories are in it?
7. Check my entry on January 31, 2010 for free web sites that allow you to track your progress. You are able to see for your height, weight and age how many calories you should consume in a day. In addition, it allows you to see how many calories you should consume when you want to lose weight.

Don't Let the Winter Blues Throw You Off Track

I was speaking with a girlfriend today that lives in the Detroit area, which has had their share of harsh winters. Ironically, the winters in the Mid-Atlantic region of the country have been far more severe than what she has experienced so far. I always ask how her workouts have progressed. She was disappointed that she has not maintained her consistency and noticed that the gains she made in her strength training class has fallen short as a result. She attributed it to the Winter Blues.
She is in Detroit without back-to-back blizzards in a week and still has the Winter Blues. So I know many of my clients, class participants and future clientele possibly have the same issue. This weather makes you want to snuggle under a warm blanket on the couch, lounge and snack on comforting foods. You are tired of shoveling, tired of looking at the snow and tense up at the mere mention of another possible inch.
It is so easy to succumb to these feelings of fatigue and tension by grabbing something quick and unhealthy (comfort foods) to eat rather than thinking about what your daily food intake should be. It is also true with exercise. When you fall off track, you have to get back quickly because it is harder the longer you stay away. Even when there is a blizzard and you are home bound, that is the time to take 30-45 minutes or even an hour to get a workout in. What else do you have to do? Your health and well-being is worth that hour. When you exercise, endorphins are released. These are the natural feel good chemicals your body releases. So get moving, eat healthy and get out of the winter blues!

Track Your Progress

I have written many blog entries on food choices, quality diets, readying you for change, making decisions about change and so much more. Now that you have come to terms with making diet and exercise changes, are you tracking what you do? Journaling what and how much you eat can be eye opening when you first start. You have to be honest with yourself to keep track of everything you put in your mouth. Once you do, you will see where all of the extra calories are coming from. They are the calories that are adding up and adding inches to your waistline, hips and other parts of your body.
There are so many ways to keep track of what you eat. It could be manually, on the computer and even on your phone. If you are already tracking, you are on the right track. If not, there are so many on-line journals and I wanted to share a few that I have come across, which are all free. They allow you to register your age, height and weight and give a target weight. They all have food libraries so you can see how many calories you are consuming in a day. You can then compare that the amount of calories you should consume daily to reach your target weight. They also allow you to add your activity level because that plays a major role in determining how many calories you should consume. It takes some time to get started, however, once you find all of the foods and activities to add to your journal, it gets easier.
The ones I have come across are dailyburn.com, thedailyplate.com and my-calorie-counter.com. As stated, there are so many different on-line programs, so you should get the idea that this is important to weight loss and change in the body. These are tools that help you track your progress and allow you to maintain self-accountability. Let’s start journaling!

It's Your Call

Two weeks have passed into the New Year and maybe you made a resolution, commitment or challenge to get on a fitness track with the goal to lose weight and get healthy. Have you started? As I speak with clients and class participants, I know that getting exercise in either with me or even independently is usually not the hard part. The hard part is changing the eating habits.
I usually suggest taking things slow when altering what you eat because you have conditioned yourself to eat certain things and have a taste for them naturally. You also may be a creature of habit and have to really think about stepping outside of that comfort zone. What I hear when I ask my clients if they have made any changes to their diet, the response for some is usually “I know what I have to do or I need to sit down and just make the commitment or I am having a hard time with the discipline.” The process of change requires discipline wholeheartedly, however, getting started takes a fire being lit under the tush. Then inertia may set in. So, I ask my clients (and you the reader), if you want to improve your health or change the body image you detest or the fact that you are growing into the next unwanted pants size . . . What is MORE important? The change you want to achieve OR the food choices that you cannot seem to modify. It’s your choice. Although it’s NOT easy, when one puts their mind to it, all things are possible.
Exercise inclusive of cardiovascular and strength training combined with healthier eating choices is the optimal method to make changes in one’s physical well-being. My clients and class participants are able to maintain consistency for their exercise with personal training or group fitness classes, however that alone will not create change in the body. When it comes to food, starting with small steps such as reducing items incrementally will not send shock waves through your habits. Some ideas may be to:
1. Reduce your soda or juice intake and slowly incorporate more water.
2. Start changing your white food products over to whole grain products. Ie. White rice to brown rice or regular pasta to
whole grain pasta
3. Reduce your sweets and white sugar intake. Replace with natural honey as a sweetener.
4. Let go of fried and processed foods. Opt for more lean meats and vegetables.
So when it comes to choices of what you want your health or body image to be, it’s your call. It is so easy to give up on the hard work of diet change and exercise and take the easy path. If that is the path you choose, then accept the state of your health and image OR do something about it and get that fire lit under your tush.

Don't Let Others Negative Energy Rob You

This week one of my clients arrived to our session very lethargic. It was odd because I have not seen her like that in the few months that we have been working together. She stated if I was to leave her for a few minutes, she would probably fall asleep sitting not just in a chair, but on the stability ball she was on. I asked what happened and she said the day started out with negative energy that was all around her at work and lasted throughout the day. She let it affect her and consequently depleted her mental energy.

This can happen so often in our daily lives and if you let someone or something else affect you whether purposely or not, that can affect your outlook and demeanor for that day, week or even month. Once my client talked about it and realized what happened, the weight seemed to lift from her shoulders and she had a very productive workout.

What’s important is that she did realize it. Life is going to have negative energy and what I mean by negative energy in her case, was others having bad attitudes toward her or unnecessary complaining or just being uptight. You know these folks and you may have to encounter them in your day, however, the key is to not let their negativity spoil your positive energy. When you have a goal, whether it be weight loss with exercise and smarter food choices or something totally different, someone else can actually deter you and throw you off of your game. You have to be mentally strong to keep them out of your positive, goal-oriented and focused mindset. Don’t let others negative energy rob you!

Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

One thing that is common with my clients is whether they need to lose 5 or 50 pounds, everyone wants to have a flatter tummy. Three of my clients have mentioned this week how tighter abs seems to be the area that is the hardest to achieve. I agree, especially if that is where your body stores your fat. If you notice some people tend to carry more of their weight in their hips, butt and legs (pear shape) whereas some carry more weight in their stomach (apple shape). The apple shape is definitely more prone to health issues because the weight is sitting around the vital organs, such as the heart, lungs, and liver and can lead to various disease such as hypertension, diabetes, heart conditions and even cancer.
Losing inches in the abdominal region is like any other part of the body, you have to make healthy food choices, increase your cardiovascular activity and add resistance exercise. The abdominals can be trained with basic floor exercises, balance work using stability balls and balance tools, Pilates core work and light weights.
I notice even with my own training, that if I do not work on my abs or watch what I eat, it shows immediately, so I know what I have to do. I communicate to my clients and you the reader that if you are not satisfied with what you see in the mirror you have to stay focused and understand that it takes hard work. One of my clients complains each time we do ab work, but wants to have flatter abs. Although, she is not willing to go up in a pants size, she grabs at her unwanted tummy and wishes it away. She knows it is not going to happen that way and I am sure you do to. We all want to travel the path of least resistance that will get us to our goal quickly and easily. If you are committed to change, you have to put in the work and sweat to make it happen. Get comfortable with being a little uncomfortable. It is worth it for the flatter abs and an overall healthier you!