5 Ways to Stick to Your Meal Plan

A certain level of dedication is required when striving to see fitness and nutrition results. In the case of nutrition this means committing to the process of meal prep, planning ahead for your week, designing a menu, making good choices at business meetings or long weekends at sporting events, and expecting the unexpected. Here are a few ways you to help you nail your MetPro nutrition plan.

1. Schedule a Meal Prep Day
Designating specific days for 1-3 hours of meal prep can save you hours cooking throughout the week. It also means you are not waiting until you are hungry to scramble to put together a meal.

Meal prep can be daunting at first, realizing what measurements are needed, knowing food combinations for each meal, etc. When you first begin meal prepping allow for extra time to make sure you are comfortable and accurate.

2. Design a Menu. Don’t Let Monotony Affect your Success!
Sometimes the options become overwhelming, or you are SO sick of chicken your eyeballs will fall out if you see it again. Designing a menu for the week makes you consider new combinations. For example sick of steamed broccoli and green beans at every meal? Try out a BBQ grilled bell pepper and zucchini blend?

3. Bring an Ice Chest
Remember: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Have a small ice chest along with you with pre-packed with your lunch and snacks! When the doctors appointment runs late or meetings at work take longer than expected you don’t miss a meal!  You live a busy life, don’t let unexpected events interfere with your meals!

4. Make Educated Choices
You have knowledge now. Even when you are eating off a menu, you have the tools to make decisions that will still support your efforts.  It is normal to want to still go out with your girlfriends, meet up with the guys after hoops, or attend weddings. The important thing to remember is you still can make good choices. Go for the vodka soda instead of the margarita; choose the grilled chicken and side of veggies instead of fish and chips.

5. Be Committed to your efforts
Don’t be embarrassed or ashamed of your choices and lifestyle. Giving into the peer pressure of drinks, appetizers, or tolerating comments like “oh she can’t eat that” is easy, staying committed to your efforts takes resolve.

Remember it is your life and you are making a responsible choice to live a healthy lifestyle. If it were easy, everyone would do it. Perhaps your commitment to your health and nutrition will inspire those around to make better choices as well.

4 Travel Tips For Your Summer Adventures

Summer is full of family fun, adventure, and time away from your kitchen and gym. Allow yourself to enjoy your vacation without completely going off the rails. It’s important to find the balance of embracing life while staying healthy. You’ve worked so hard to get where you are and you can have fun while still making good choices while traveling. Here are a few ways you can travel smarter and healthier this summer!

1. Continue to Snack

Don’t let your metabolism tank while you are busy exploring museums, lying on the beach, or riding that roller coaster!!  Be sure to bring plenty of healthy treats when it is snack time or dinner is happening later than expected you will always be prepared.
Snacks that travel well:

• apples
• nuts
• jerky
• rice cakes

2. Be Active Wherever You Are

Is there a beach at your doorstep? A hike with spectacular views? Go explore!  A lot of clients end up losing weight on vacation because they are on the go non-stop either hiking, paddle boarding, or walking on the beach. This list is endless! Make the workout happen and capitalize on getting your sweat on with a new view!

 

3. Get On-The-Go Workouts From Your Trainer

Let your trainer know when you will be gone, how much time you will have to workout, and what equipment you will have access to. Continue your routine even when on vacation! I’ve had clients go on cruises, to cabins, or stay in hotels and get at least 1-2 workouts in while they’re gone because they planned ahead.  It’s easy for your trainer to text or email you a full routine. It’s better if done ahead of time so you can ask questions about the workout before you go!

4. Use What You Have

No gym? No Hikes? Body weight, a wall, and the floor are all you need to get a great workout!
Example Workout- Set a timer for 15:00 and complete as many rounds as possible:

• 1:00 plank
• 1:00 wall sit elbow touches
• 10 push-ups
• 20 wall triceps press
• 30 air squats

No matter where you’re off to this summer, we’re here to help! Part of making positive changes in your health is making an effort to fit healthy eating and exercise into your daily routine. At home and on the go, a healthy lifestyle and routine is possible. Let’s make this your healthiest summer yet!

Life On Shuffle

Every morning I get in the car to go to work at Whole Body Fitness and the first thing I do is plug in my iPhone to hear some good music on my commute. The coolest thing happened to me the other day when I plugged my phone in: during the software update I must have accidentally switched the music play mode to SHUFFLE.

Instead of the same playlist that I am used to hearing over the course of the last few months, with the same songs, the same mood being set, I heard selections that I haven't listened to since I don't know when. I was instantly struck by the contrast in my morning routine and was refreshed by the realization that I had been in a RUT.

That’s the first step to getting out of a RUT or, for that matter, making any kind of change. We have to recognize where we are at before we can set a course for change or behavior modification. I am speaking to all of you creatures of habit out there.

Variety is the spice of life-no? “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got!” Insert fifteen more quotes here about the importance of variance in life……

Here is where my Life on Shuffle relates to your health and wellness-

As the seasons change and the weather plays its usual winter-spring-summer games with our climate, I encourage you to shake it up a bit. Work on an area of health and wellness that is NOT your strong suit. Here are a few common areas that most folks can improve in:

Flexibility- Do you stretch your hamstrings, shoulders, and neck often enough to maintain proper posture and range of motion? If not, get to it! Come to one of our group classes at WBF that focuses on these areas.
Cardiovascular Endurance- When was the last time you broke a sweat in steady state exercise? If the answer is longer than a few days, get to it! Again, come to one of our group classes. We are constantly building new classes into our schedule to meet the needs of our members.
Body Composition- Meal prep and quality nutritional coaching are the way to get your body fat down and keep it there. Metabolic Profiling is a sure fire way to reach your body composition goals, come in to speak with Natalie or Stephanie ASAP. Swimsuit season is around the corner!

Now take a good look at your “playlist” of health and wellness activities and hit SHUFFLE. You will enjoy the variety and your mind and body will thank you for your new groove.

Attitude is Everything

Is your mind right? What is that one thought that keeps circling in your consciousness? Let me make a suggestion:

You can do it. Better yet, I can do it.

A few months ago Crystal wrote an article about Self Talk and it hit home with several people that I consider influential to my life. A few of those folks are trainers here at Whole Body Fitness. Echoes of their encouragement float through the gym like the sweet-sweet scent of hard work, as I prepare myself for my own workout and that has me PUMPED for my “Me Time”.

In that moment I recognized that I have eaten a healthy meal the night before, packed my meals in the morning, and took a gloriously warm shower to start my day. I am filled with gratitude as I hear myself reflecting on the past 24 hours. It strikes me that my preparation for this workout started with a simple decision I made Sunday afternoon; I chose to turn off Netflix and make a weeks’ worth of healthy breakfasts. 

In that moment it was affirmed that a positive thought (I can do this, not that) carried momentum forward into the preparedness of my workout. Good decisions stacked upon good decisions had prepared me to continue actions that lead towards habit. It is for this reason that I suggest monitoring your thoughts in order to set small mental goals that will eventually “ripple” towards actions that will help you build character in the form of physical, mental, and emotional strength.

Start here. Start now. YOU CAN DO IT!

Misinformation in the Health and Wellness Industry

Where did THAT come from?
Addressing misinformation in the Health and Wellness Industry

Here at Whole Body Fitness we have heard it all! Eat this not that, cardio makes you fat, eggs are bad for you, eggs are good for you, stretching is bad for you, and my all-time favorite:

“I am a lady and I don’t want to bulk up by lifting weights. I just don't want to get too bulky.”

Helping clients sift through the onslaught of information that is poorly presented, poorly researched, or learned out of context has become one of the key components of ensuring that a client sets appropriate expectations as they kick start their health and wellness improvement process.

Let’s call it like it is: most people get their health and wellness information through WebMd, Facebook posts, sound bites on the news, blogs, or through conversations with self proclaimed fitness specialists. The challenging part about hearing the content from these well-intentioned sources(second hand) is that the information that they are sharing is generally a half truth or its effectiveness depends on detailed variabilities amongst the population.

Eggs are not bad for everyone, nor are they good for everyone. Women come with varying amounts of testosterone, the more testosterone you have the more likely you are to add muscle mass and more quickly. Stretching effects performance of premier athletes in a specific motion(the bench press) and is generally understood to be productive for the average population.

The bottom line is simply this: ask more than surface level questions before you take information as THE ULTIMATE TRUTH. If the person that is sharing the information is truly knowledgeable about the subject, they will welcome your inquisitive nature in that it will validate their intention for sharing in the first place. Be wary of the “because I said so” crowd or the person that will not quote their source. Even those that DO quote their source will have some answering to do when it comes to how they understand and interpret research articles.

At Whole Body Fitness, we let our experience and our results do the talking for us. Having dieted thousands of individuals over the past decade, we have come up with our own conclusions on what will and what won’t work in your health and wellness routine. At Whole Body Fitness, the proof is in the pudding(which is healthy for you according to WebMd).

Toes to Nose

At Whole Body Fitness we do things differently. We literally train your whole body in ways that may seem simple to the untrained eye. In this article I am going to use an exercise that seems SO SIMPLE and yet is crucially important to training your entire body from where the rubber meets the road. Today I want to look at foot and ankle care through the “Ankle Circle”.

A staple in the WBF exercise catalog, the Ankle Circle involves dozens of muscles that effect your balance, your ability to walk, your ability to jump, and your ability to travel laterally. For all of you movement nerds out there(like me), the ankle circle effects the Posterior Chain of muscles that starts on the underside of your big toe and ends at the base of your skull.

Did you know that the muscles on the bottom of your foot can effect your lower spine? Did you know that the muscles on the front of your shin can effect your hip? Here comes your favorite existential quote- “It’s all connected!”.

By making sure that we warm up, challenge, and integrate the muscles around your ankles, we are literally training you from Toes to Nose. Can you say that about your current exercise program? If not, come check out how and why we do things differently here at Whole Body Fitness. If so, focus on the slow, smooth circle of your ankle and be grateful that you have the awareness it takes to keep all of the connected areas of your body working harmoniously towards efficient, pain free movement. Now, go do some ankle circles!

Client Success Tips: Debbie

Debbie recently premiered her wonderful transformation at Whole Body Fitness. Previously gyms intimidated her, she hadn’t been successful at sticking to exercise. Initially coming to WBF, Debbie felt embarrassed by her weight and poor fitness level; she committed herself to 3 months of “sticking with it”. In talking to her trainer, Kevin, about goal setting she expressed her desire to be a healthy fit grandmother. What she quickly discovered was she was losing weight easily, getting noticeably stronger every week.

“When Debbie was training to ride the 50 mile race up mountains (a bike race over table mountain) in September” says Kevin, “ Debbie has consistently impressed me with her ability to take things one step at a time and held true to one of the first things she said ‘I’m a worker bee’ and she does everything and anything I ask of her. She is willing to do whatever it takes to reach her next step. Takes things one step at a time willing to work towards her goals.”

She made a true lifestyle change from couch.

When I caught up with Debbie she was thankful she held true to her goal and was grateful her trainer gave her the knowledge to exceed her own expectations. I asked Debbie to share what guided her along her journey. Here are some tips that she found helpful!

Thank you for sharing, we are all so proud of you Debbie!

•   Positive Self Talk  I would tell myself both in training and bike riding“every time I do this I get stronger” Because of the expertise of my trainer, it was the truth. I'm lifting weights I would never have dreamed I could lift.

•   Give Yourself Permission When I was training to ride the 50 mile race up mountains I would give myself permission to stop. I would tell myself " just get to that tree, or to that stop sign etc. and I can turn around if I need to". Well I never turned around and every time I rode I got better.

•   Make it a Lifestyle I had previously dieted many times and had a pattern of gaining the weight back. The difference for me was viewing MetPro was a lifestyle change, which meant it took some adjusting. Which leads to my next tip….

•   Lose the ALL or NOTHING Mentality At first when I struggled staying on the diet my trainer would tell me it doesn't matter if I cheated and to just get back on track. That really helped me reset my all or nothing way of thinking. Funny but once I wasn't so worried about never cheating I found I didn't really want to cheat as often. Now when I do eat something I shouldn't it’s easy for me to go back to eating right.

•   Be Prepared I always pack my food for the weekdays. I have every meal and snacks planned out and take it to work on Monday for the whole week. Most of it is stored in my office with just a few things that need to be refrigerated

•   Never Let Yourself Get Hungry Always have a backup plan in your car, gym bag, or at work. I never let myself get hungry because that's when I make bad decisions about what to eat. I have prepackaged snacks that I can grab and go if I have to.

•   Don’t Lose Sight of Your Goal Remember why you began in the first place. When I wanted to quit I thought about my goal to be a healthy, strong grandmother. Because of the expertise of my trainer Kevin, I'm lifting weights I would never have dreamed I could lift.

•   Trust Your Team Surrounding myself with a positive support system and, most importantly, people who have the expertise to help me reach my goals was great. But I found success because I  truly trusted my team;  my trainer, my nutritionist and following the plan led to results that surpassed my expectations.

View Debbie's Video Transformation Here!

Improve Your Desk Posture

You owe it to yourself to take breaks for posture, so many benefits! Equally true is that performing daily tasks that encourage bad posture can lead to several negative effects on the mind and body. Long hours seated at a desk staring at a computer or driving causes some negative posture. Loosely speaking, shoulders rounded with rounded back and head forward. Technically speaking; lengthened rhomboids, tight pecs, traps, and cervical spinal erectors.

Good posture affects so much more than just standing taller.  

•   Optimizes breathing

•   Alleviates back pain

•   Increases self confidence

•   Affects how people view your self confidence

•   Increases core strength

•   Increases metabolism

•   Lowers cortisol levels

•   Increases testosterone levels

•   Improves core strength

In order to counter the multitude of hours that we sit, work, drive, stare at a computer, and text, doing our posture daily is crucial. To achieve that positive posture we need to awaken these muscles that are taking a vacation while we are hard at work. We can accomplish that by engaging rhomboids to support the upright torso and pull shoulders and head back, engaging glutes to counter tight hip flexors from sitting, and get the scapula moving!

Below is a short posture routine you don’t even need to take your bum out of your seat to do! Our focus is on NO EXCUSES!

Also try to enable a 20/20/20 rule in your workday. Every 20 minutes take a 20 second break and look at something 20ft away from your computer screen.

3-Minute Posture Break

Shoulder Rolls:  10 forward 10 back

Elbow Touches: 20

Foot Circles: 10 in each direction (internal, external, point and flex)

Arm Circles: 20 forward 20 backwards

Active Military: 10

Gluteal Contractions: 20

Seated Hip Stretch: 20 seconds per leg

Note: While many of the linked videos are done in the standing or lying positions, they can also all be done in the seated position.

4 Tips to Better Desk Posture

1. EYES Computer screen should be just below eye level and 18-24 inches away.

2. ARMS Forearms should comfortably rest on desktop, no shrugging of shoulders or arching of wrists to reach for the keyboard.

3. BACK Lumbar support chair, with 2degree tilt forward ensuring back of thigh isn't on chair edg

4. FEET Thighs parallel with floor and shins perpendicular to floor ensuring flat feet on the ground!

You, Inc.: A Practical Guide for Setting Fitness Goals

Want solid returns on your fitness investment in the new year? Get down to business — with a smart, strategic plan worthy of an MBA.

In business, planning is paramount. Whether lining up logistics, attending strategy meetings or digesting quarterly reports, savvy executives treat time as an ally, surveying the past for clear-eyed lessons about what worked and what didn’t, and looking forward for a chance to do it better next time.

At the gym, planning is too often an afterthought. Many of the same ambitious, practical people who divide their workdays into five-minute time blocks may amble aimlessly through their workouts like an office temp without a supervisor. They don’t know what tasks to perform, when to perform them or how to gauge success from day to day, let alone next week, next month or next year. “Most people never really get focused about fitness,” says Mike Robertson, MS, CSCS, co-owner of Indianapolis Fitness and Sports Training in Indianapolis. “They switch programs every few days or not at all. They miss workouts for weeks at a time.”
As a result, no matter how earnest our intentions, many of us miss the mark. Not for lack of trying, but because we don’t have a winning blueprint or a strategy. “It’s only when you focus on one or two well-defined goals and follow a clear plan to accomplish them that you start to make real progress,” Robertson says.
Robertson, along with many other leading trainers, is articulating a fitness truth grounded in the basic tenets of business: If you want to accomplish any complex, challenging objective, you have to set clear goals, approach each of your hurdles systematically, routinely assess progress, and course-correct when necessary.
“When you go to the office, you don’t just show up and putter around. You go in with a plan, a series of tasks oriented toward a long-term goal,” says Chicago-based personal trainer Jim Karas, author of The Business Plan for the Body (Three Rivers Press, 2001) and The Petite Advantage Diet (HarperOne, 2013). “That’s how you should approach your fitness program as well.”
The payoff? If you walk through the gym doors armed with a solid strategy like the one outlined on the following pages, you’ll not only leave feeling satisfied with your efforts, you’ll also find yourself looking forward to moving your fitness game plan forward — week by week, month by month.

The best part: You’ll get the benefits of working for the world’s best boss. You.

1.CREATE A MISSION STATEMENT

Just as Ben and Jerry probably would have blown a gasket building computer software, and Bill Gates might have imploded dishing up ice cream, your fitness plans will most likely fizzle if you try to follow someone else’s dream or template. You need a big-picture approach that matches your interests, goals, lifestyle and passions.
The first step along the fitness path, then, is to create a fitness mission statement. What, exactly, do you want to accomplish, both in the short term (up to three months from now) and in the long term (a year or more from now)?

“Figuring out where you want to go with your fitness is hugely significant,” says Jolie Kobrinsky, CEO of ThePrimeMethod.com and co-owner of Prime Personal Training in Monterey, Calif. “You’re taking a vague inkling and making it concrete.”

Your vision can be athletic, aesthetic or both: You can set your sights on running a half-marathon or losing 25 pounds, earning a black belt or gaining slabs of lean muscle. You can choose almost anything, but it’s essential that you choose something, since the mission statement is your road map for success. It’s the “true north” toward which every workout, meal, food choice and recovery session should ultimately lead.

To get started on the process, think “S.M.A.R.T.” — a goal-setting acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. In the business world, those are the goal-definition standards that help executives set well-defined agendas.
For instance, “getting fit” is a commendable ambition, but it’s vague. Fit in what way, and by when? You’ll have a better shot succeeding if you aim for a clear and achievable target, like losing a belt size by summer or attending a fitness class twice a week for the next six weeks.

The other thing your mission statement needs is passion. What gets you excited? What are you fired up to accomplish, learn or participate in? If you’ve always wanted to dance the tango, learn to fence competitively or complete a mud-strewn adventure race, find out what sort of regimen is required and get to it.
“What you want in any fitness program,” says Robertson, “is skin in the game.” If you can’t come up with a substantial list of reasons why you want to realize a given goal, choose something else that pushes your buttons right now. In business, passion drives profits; in the gym, it drives progress.

2. TAKE INVENTORY

Once your mission statement is in ink (or stored on your hard drive), take some time to clearly look at your assets and liabilities: What do you have going for yourself, and where are you now, relative to where you want to be?

If you’re trying to change the way you look, take a “before” photo. If you want to finish stronger in your next 5K, use your heart-rate monitor’s stopwatch function on your next run and get a baseline. If you want to deadlift 300 pounds, get a clear sense of what your muscles can heft now.

While taking stock, consider not only your present physical condition but also what has worked for you historically. “A lot of answers can be found in your past,” says Linda Spangle, RN, MA, author of 100 Days of Weight Loss: The Secret to Being Successful on Any Diet Plan (Thomas Nelson, 2007). So reflect on those periods when you’ve found success and enjoyment in your pursuit of fitness: Was it the era when you hit the gym every day before work? When you played on a team, worked out with a partner, trained for a competitive event?

It’s also wise to take inventory of any recurring injuries, pain and other functional limitations that might hold you back. Some of these problems might be obvious; others (like stiff hips or a tight back) might not be as evident, which is why doing an initial evaluation with a professional trainer can ultimately save you time and unnecessary setbacks. It can help you identify and remove any physical barriers to progress. “If a new client has movement or postural issues,” says Robertson, “I’d rather address that at the outset, before we jump into intense training.”

Finally, take stock of your available resources, including time, equipment and personnel: When do you have time to work out and prepare meals? Where can you find the necessary equipment? Do you need the support of a group, professional trainer or healthcare practitioner to help you get there? If so, who are those people and when can you see them?

At this stage, Karas also recommends that you “go public” with your goal: “Get your family and friends on board,” he says. That way they’ll do things like “bring you something healthy on your birthday instead of a triple-mocha cheesecake.”

3. MAKE AN ACTION PLAN

“The world gets out of the way for a man — or woman — with a plan,” says Karas, whose client list includes a host of Chicago’s most successful CEOs, plus celebrities like Diane Sawyer and Hugh Jackman. Just as a chief executive has to keep an eye on both short- and long-term goals, you need to think about daily to-dos and the big picture to make serious strides in your fitness objectives.
Whether you get the help of a pro at this stage or go it alone, always strive to break larger fitness goals into several smaller, more manageable bits. If you plan to do a triathlon this summer, start increasing your swim, bike and run distances now. If you’re trying to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks, focus on dropping 5 pounds in five weeks.
A well-constructed fitness program is systematically progressive: You’ll gradually lift a little more, run a little farther or learn more skills over the course of time.
Remember, though, that progress is never completely linear. Improvement in any physical endeavor resembles the stock market during a bullish period: a general trend upward with peaks and troughs appearing throughout. So it’s not important that you set a personal record every time you work out, just that over the long haul you get closer to achieving the objectives outlined in your mission statement.
As with almost any truly fruitful investment, you want to take the long view, and keep your focus on working your plan, week in, week out.
Ignore the get-fit-quick schemers who promise instant, spectacular returns — the kind that almost always end in injury, regained weight, undermined health or loss of interest.

“Too many people approach their fitness plan looking for the quick and easy payoff,” says Karas. “But the best results come when you’re slow and steady. Don’t be Bernie Madoff; be Warren Buffett.”

Remember, too, that a well-thought-out plan includes not just what to do in the gym, but also the smaller, behavioral strategies that make getting to (and through) your workout as easy as possible. “You want to remove the obstacles,” says Spangle. “I call it figuring out your ‘What It Takes’ list.”

For some people, that might mean laying out workout clothes the night before an early run or finding a gym that’s on the way home from work.

Elite-level ISSA trainer Angelo Poli, owner of Whole Body Fitness in Chico, Calif., requires his weight-loss clients to pack and carry an ice chest of food with them every day. “In my experience,” he says, “that’s the single action that makes the biggest difference for anyone trying to get and stay on a healthy eating plan.”

4. DO YOUR ACCOUNTING

Ultimately, success in any health and fitness program depends on hard data: mileage logged, weight lifted, nutrition consumed. By keeping track of the relevant numbers in a journal, you can celebrate successes, pick apart setbacks, and course-correct as you go.

For instance, maybe you’re dropping unwanted weight but you’re also feeling listless and struggling to build strength or endurance. If you’re keeping a food journal and a workout log, you can use the information and make small tweaks to your program, adding a little food, swapping some cardio for strength training to see what happens. But unless you have a decent record of what you’ve changed and how, you’ll have no clue what really worked, or why.
If keeping a journal helps, try ways to make the data crunching an enjoyable exercise. Spangle’s clients employ stickers on a calendar to keep themselves on course: “At the end of every day, put a green sticker on the calendar if you’ve adhered to your nutrition and fitness plan, a yellow sticker if you made a few mistakes, and a red sticker if you fell off completely. For best results, no fewer than 19 out of every 20 of those stickers should be green.”
Often, even the act of keeping notes is enough to effect a behavior change.

“Just keeping a precise food journal, without even trying consciously to change anything, can make a huge difference in your diet,” Robertson says, “because it makes you think about what you’re doing.”

Think of it this way: If you’re at a party and faced with a big bowl of tortilla chips, you’re less likely to overindulge if you’re keeping track of every chip you pilfer.

5. MANAGE THE CLOCK

Lack of time is one of the main reasons people cite for not exercising. They can’t see any way to fit a few hours a week of exercise into an already-crammed schedule. Generally, though, that’s bunk.

“When people tell me they don’t have time to work out,” says Robertson, “I’ll ask them for a daily schedule in which they account for every 15-minute chunk of time during waking hours. Most people don’t even have to fill it out before they realize their real problem is too much Facebook and TV.” By trading lower-value pastimes for top-priority self-care, he notes, most people stand to gain not just vitality, but also an enhanced sense of focus and self-respect.

How many minutes, hours and days you need to train also depends on the contents of your mission statement. For most people with general fitness-improvement and weight-loss goals, three hourlong workouts a week on nonconsecutive days, including some intensive interval training, does the trick, Poli says. “With those types of workouts, you’re combining cardiovascular training and strength work. You’ll stimulate your largest muscle fibers while deriving a huge cardiovascular benefit at the same time.”
If you have serious, sports-specific performance goals, you may need to commit more time. But contrary to popular belief, unless you’re training for an endurance event, long, slow cardio exercise generally isn’t necessary and may actually work against building muscle mass. “Muscle mass is your fitness capital,” says Karas. “You want to do everything you can to preserve it.”

When you are seriously strapped for time or low on energy, Spangle suggests the “10-Minute Solution”: “Tell yourself you’re just going to exercise for 10 minutes. Often, after 10 minutes you’ll have overcome your resistance and will want to keep going. But if you stop for the day at that point, that’s fine, too. Either way, you’ve been successful.”

6. REASSESS AND RECOMMIT QUARTERLY

In fitness, just as in business, you have to take stock at regular intervals. Once a quarter, either on your own or with a trainer, assess how you’re doing.

“Meeting a goal can be tremendously empowering,” says Kobrinsky. And periodic check-ins can spark a well-deserved mini-celebration.

Seeing that you’re falling short of a goal can be instructive as well. Was your plan itself ineffective? Was it too restrictive, time consuming and impossible to follow? Did work obligations, family stress or other distractions prevent you from fully committing to it? If so, don’t throw out the whole endeavor — simply rework your plan to better suit your current schedule and obligations.

“Perfectionism can be a real obstacle,” says Spangle. “People try to do these complex, time-consuming programs and decide that if they can’t follow them to the letter, they won’t follow them at all. It’s much better to be successful on a slightly less ambitious program.”

Whether you meet, exceed or fall a little shy of your fitness goals at any given time, it’s important to either recommit or thoughtfully reconsider your approach. Give some thought to what you most want to accomplish now, and how you might best be able to move toward that goal in the short term.

“After accomplishing a goal, most of my clients go through a doldrums period,” says Robertson. “They’re less fired up in the gym, less strict with their diet. That’s when I try to help them find something new that they’re excited about. If they’ve had a physique goal, for example, I try to get them to consider a performance goal.”

What’s important is that you keep your eyes on the prize, and your head in the game. When in doubt, go back to the mission statement that fired you up in the first place.

“Not every company can be Apple,” says Kobrinsky. “Just like not everyone will become an Olympic athlete. But companies that invest in quality, dependability and durability over the long haul typically find great success. By using that same strategic, committed approach to training, we can build great bodies, too.”

YOUR FITNESS MISSION Q&A

The first step toward accomplishing your health goals is to construct a mission statement — one that outlines who you are and where you want to go. Here are a few questions to get you started.

• What do I want to accomplish? (Compete in an adventure race, gain 10 pounds of muscle, cross-country ski competitively.

• By when do I want to accomplish this goal?

• Why do I want to accomplish this goal? (Try to list at least 10 reasons.)

• What are my physical strengths and abilities? (I’m flexible, have endurance, good coordination, solid strength, decent body confidence.)

• What activities do I enjoy? (Team sports, solo sports, endurance events, outdoor adventures.)

• What activities have been effective for me in the past? (Pilates, strength training, martial arts, dance.)

• What recurring injuries or pain do I have?

• How much time during a week can I dedicate to exercise? When can I fit in those workouts?

• Who can help me accomplish my goal? (Friends, family, coworkers, a support group, a professional trainer or coach.)

• What official events can mark my progression toward my long-term fitness goal? (Races, tournaments, competitions, group races or rides.)

• Five years from now, what would I like to have accomplished? How do I want my body to look, feel, perform?

• What will I need to keep track of in order to see progress? (Protein and veggie consumption, weight lifted, physical measurements, body-fat percentage, miles run or cycled.)

• What are some daily strategies I can incorporate to support my progress and overcome known obstacles?

By: Andrew Heffernan
   

7 Fall Food Essentials

 

Using foods in season are usually the healthiest way to shop for local fruits and vegetables. Harvest brings a bounty of crisp fruits, delicious roots, and vibrant squash. With fall flavor in full swing try fixing up a dish incorporating some of these ripe and plenty fruits and veggies!

1 Squash (winter/butternut)
• Harvest Season: October-February
• Health Benefits:  Omega-3 fatty acids source of vitamin A
• Try This: Cube squash, spray lightly with olive oil (try the
Misto). Season with cinnamon, minced ginger, salt, and pepper to desired taste. Bake at 400° for 25-30 minutes.

2 Sweet Potato
• Harvest Season: September-December
• Health Benefits: More nutritionally dense than a white potato. Good source of iron, vitamin A, and provides anti inflammatory benefits
• Try This: Oven roasted sweet potato wedges. Oven roasting will maintain more vitamins than boiling. Cut lengthwise, lightly spray with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Spread evenly on a baking sheet, bake at 450° for 30 minutes or until soft, turning occasionally.

3 Pomegranate
• Harvest Season: August-December
• Health Benefits: higher antioxidant levels than red wine, vitamin C, folate.
• Try This: Add to cottage cheese, salad, or oatmeal for a tart pop of flavor and crunchy texture **Check with your MetPro coach for recommended usage depending on your current nutritional phase.

4 Brussel Sprouts
• Harvest Season: September - March
• Health Benefits:  Source of folate, iron, and ½ C equals more than daily recommended intake of vitamin K. High content of glucosinolates, a phytonutrient responsible for a variety of cancer-protective substances.
• Try this: Balsamic Oven Roasted Brussel Sprouts. Season 1.5lbs halved brussel sprouts with salt pepper and Misto with olive oil. Roast at 400° for 20-30 minutes, until tender and browned. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and toss.

5 Apples  
• Harvest Season: August - November
• Health Benefits: High in antioxidants and full of fiber.
• Try This: Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal.  Bring 4 cups water to boil. Stir in 1C. Steel Cut oats, 1 C. peeled and chopped granny smith apples. When oats thicken, reduce heat, continue to cook until desired consistency, about 25-30 minutes. Add cinnamon and serve! 

6 Pears
• Harvest Season: August-February
• Health Benefits: Vitamin C, copper, 4g fiber/serving
• Try This: A delicious spinach, pear, pecan salad makes a yummy afternoon snack. 

7 Tangerines
• Harvest Season: November-April
• Health Benefits:  Good source of Vitamin C and beta-carotene.
• Try This: Juice them with oil, vinegar, and ginger for a delicious dressing.

Don't see your favorite fall food on the list?

Let us know your favorite fall food!  How do you use it in your kitchen?

For Recipe Ideas Visit Our Recipe Page: http://wholebodyfit.net/blog/category/metpro-recipes

10 Habits For Better Sleep

 

Sleep. The most overlooked factor in overall health. Getting some good Z’s is a major contributor that is typically undervalued, especially when it comes to weight loss. I have personally always had a love/hate relationship with sleep. I love a good night’s sleep, but I hate going to bed!

Often times playing volleyball abroad our practices would end late at night, leaving me full of adrenaline taking me hours to wind down. That second wind of energy that occurs after an exhausting long day is related to a higher cortisol level. Calories may be stored as fat when cortisol is at higher than normal levels. Cortisol levels begin torise around 10:30 11:00pm so head to bed before that for 7 hrs of shut eye.

Sleep allows for the restorative process to occur within the body. My schedule as a trainer has taught me to value of sleep on health and fitness. Training clients at 5:30am means I need to be functioning and fully awake! Now I crawl into bed around 8:30, asleep well before 10pm.

This did NOT come easy. I started to try different routines and created habits to ensure I get a good night's sleep. By creating habits that encourage restfulness, relaxation, and rest I have been able to get better sleep and maintain productivity throughout my day.

Here are 10 habits I have found key to getting amazing sleep

1 Get Moving!
Regular exercise can relieve insomnia and make for more restful sleep.
Participating in aerobic exercise 4 times a week is ideal.

2 Dim the Lights
I come home and turn on a lamp and light a candle. The body’s circadian rhythm
is controlled by a part of the brain that responds to light and darkness. Light
travels via the optic nerve to the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) signaling the
internal clock that you need to be awake or asleep. The SCN then sends signals
to parts of the brain that release hormones, regulate temperature, etc which can
make us feel more awake.  Exposure to bright lights when it’s bedtime can delay
the release of melatonin that assists with our sleepiness.

3 Wash Off the Day
Relax mind and body. Showering after work gives me time to process the day,
decompress creating a transition period from work mode to chill mode.

4 Dine
Take time to sit down and eat dinner, push pause and be still. Share your day
with your family, converse. I rush through my meals during the day, squeezing in
snacks and lunch, dinner is my time to sit down and enjoy my food.

5 Prep for Tomorrow
Preparing my food for the following day means it’s ready to grab in the fridge in
the morning allowing for a longer nights sleep and one less thing to worry about.

6 Setting a Bedtime
Having a regular bedtime and wake time keeps that circadian rhythm within your
body.

7 Make Your Bed
Pulling back the corner of my neatly made bed and crawling in! My routine for
getting a good night's sleep starts when I get out of bed in the morning! It’s like
you have a hotel maid.

8 Ban Devices in Bed
Blue light stimulation, caused by electronics, creates a block of melatonin which
signals sleep in the brain and body. Don't delay getting to that precious REM
sleep!

9 Read a Book
If you aren’t feeling heavy in the eyelids yet, a good relaxing read transporting
you into a story,  not real news or stressful reading. Skip the device reading, find
some old fashioned paperback reads.

10 Channel Your Inner Caveman
Let your bedroom be a cave, cool and dark. I sleep with an eye mask on
ensuring complete darkness.

Client Success Tips: Alex

I love Whole Body Fitness clients because they understand it is not simply a diet, or a shape up 6 week bootcamp. It is a lifestyle change and they are committed to it.

Who better to give us the keys to finding success than those among us who have accomplished their goals and continued to thrive?  I’ve been reaching out to clients who have found success to see if they’d have any advice, or tips for the WBF family that could enable us to find our success.

It’s been 3 years since Alex was rolling on the floor in agony. At 33 he was in unbearable pain caused by herniated discs in his lumbar spine. Work, sleep, and even holding his children became impossible without heavy medication. He was determined to get back his life and made an appointment at Whole Body Fitness. Focusing on posture, core strength, and a personalized nutrition plan in 3 months he lost 20lbs and 6in on his waistline.

Today Alex works 10-14 hours at his physically demanding job, holding his children pain free, and living an active life. With his postural and nutritional re-education he now understands what his body needs to maintain this physical level.

Tips from Alex:

I hope anyone who reads this understands with the right guidance, and motivation you can accomplish whatever you set out to do.- Alex

1.Work hard, you'll only get out what you put in, but don't push so hard you injure yourself.

2. Keep good form you'll get more out of clean full reps with lighter weight than ugly reps with heavier weight.

3. Don't get discouraged if you're not getting the results you want you just have to work a little harder.

We love hearing about ongoing client success.

Keep an eye out for Alex in our group classes and say hello!

Click Here to see Alex's Transformation Video

The Importance of Positive Self-Talk

Talk yourself into your goals.

We all have dialogue happening within our own head everyday. This can be referred to as self-talk. Think of it as your own personal announcer, giving a play by play of your life. Criticisms, support critique, and cheerleading.

When I was playing volleyball in college you have announcers of other teams sometimes being impartial or cruel with the commentary, especially in close rival games where even the fans were yelling and taunting from the sidelines or directly behind you as you are serving. This can get into your head if you don’t have your own positive dialogue to drown them out.

This continued as I played volleyball overseas. The taunting fans and announcers were now speaking languages I couldn’t process. I could always tell when my teammates heard them loud and clear though, the effect of negative thoughts transferring to negative outcome are fluent in any language. It’s easier to channel your own voice in your head when the announcer sounds like the teacher from Peanuts “womp womp womp womp”. 

My self talk, as an athlete competing became “You do this everyday. You know what to do. You have prepared for this challenge. You are good at what you do” You need to train the mind as equal as you train the body!

Remember, YOU have control over that voice.

Destructive self-talk leads to self-sabotaging outcomes. “I’m so stupid” “I can’t ever do that!” This leads you to question your ability, create insecurity, and fill you with doubt. The more you question yourself, others will follow suit.

Replace the dysfunctional self talk with a constructive statement. “You are good at what you do, accept praise for your hard work.” “I am strong. I can do this.” If you believe in yourself, and others will follow suit. Focus on positive statements and outcomes and give yourself permission to feel good about your accomplishments.

The internal thought process can snowball quickly. Starting with positive dialogue is key. Have a mantra or phrase that reminds you what you are capable of. That way, when the announcers in your life are critical and doubt your ability, your voice is louder.

Begin creating positive uplifting self-talk and you’ll find not only will you be able to inspire and influence yourself and others in a positive way everyday.

Get in the habit of being aware of your self-talk.
Do you hear your voice? What does it say?

Stop Working and Workout!

Make your workday a workout with 8 easy circuits! 

I have a highly motivated client who is willing to put in extra work to reach his goals. He had the brilliant idea of breaking up the monotony of emails, spreadsheets, and conference calls with some movement! 

Here are 8 circuits that should to be completed in about 5 minutes while you are at work!  He works from home and has cardio equipment as well. So if you have cardio equipment as well supplementing that in place of a few of the circuits.

These are all body weight exercises and all you need is yourself, some wall space, and floor space! This workout focuses on posture and core.  The emphasis is on moving, getting the heart rate elevated, but not “lets get drenched in sweat in my cubicle” status.

The goal is to keep moving, so something is always better than nothing. Don't be discouraged about not doing EVERY workout. Leave a check mark next to rounds workouts you complete.

Keep track of how many you squeezed in during the whole workweek and have that as a benchmark or goal to match/beat next week! My client has been completing between 4-6 per day on average.

After Lunch

2:00 PM 3 Rounds

20 Table Top Cruch

10 Push Up

20 Arm Circles Both Directions

3:00 PM 4 Rounds

20 Wall Sit Elbow Touch or Pullover

20 Ice Skaters

20 Clamshell Per Leg

4:00 AM 3 Rounds

20 Total Plank Taps

20 Total Alternating Reverse Lunges

5:00 PM 2 Rounds

1:00 Jump Roap

1:00 Wall Sit

30 Active Back Crunch

Before Lunch

9:00 AM 2 Rounds

1:00 Air Squats

1:00 Wall Sit Elbow Touches

20/20 Arm Circles

10:00 AM 2 Rounds

20 Total Plank Taps

20 Total Bird Dogs

20 Total Hero March

11:00 AM 3 Rounds

25 Wall Tricep Press

15 Jumping Jacks

12:00 PM 3 Rounds

20 Air Squats

20 Tiny Taps

20 Lying Reverse Presses

90/10: Committing to the Process

A certain level of dedication is required when striving to see fitness and nutrition results. In the case of nutrition this means committing to the process of meal prep, planning ahead for your week, designing a menu, making good choices on business trips and lunch meetings, or long weekends at sporting events for your kids.

Often times in the gym when discussing nutrition with clients we get questions like:

“How much do I need to be nailing it in order to see results?”

Or statements like:

“I AM doing it … 65% of the time.”

Sound familiar? The truth is in order to see real results and make your hard work pay off you need to be adherent 90% of the time allowing only a 10% window for non-adherence.

Recently I have had a few clients who had tremendous success right off the bat! They nailed it, lost weight fast, got complimented on how great they are doing, and then nailed it less. With others we get close to the goal, and then results begin to slow. It can be discouraging when you aren’t losing 2-5lbs a week anymore. We’ve all been there.

We tell ourselves that we are nailing it, tell our coaches we are nailing it, and then there’s that Ah-Ha moment. We realize our adherence to the program hasn’t been as spot on. We’ve lost a bit of that excitement we had when we first started.

It’s important to follow through fully with the plan, to eat ALL your meal carbs, all your snacks, etc.  It’s important to do some extra work, add cardio, etc. It is important to do all of these things effectively, when we get close to a goal or experiencing a plateau, BEFORE you want to adjust your nutrition. Commit to your process. It’s important to be 90% on track and stay committed to the process.

Realize, when striving for weight loss, the more weight you lose the less body fat you have to lose. So when you near the end and the finish lines in sight, which is when the extra push comes.

The hardest work of all comes in the end, and in the end it is worth it!

Stay committed.  We are all pulling for your success!

Get More Out Of Your Trainer

Whether you’re a long time client, or just had your very first session, why not maximize your time? At Whole Body Fitness we endeavor to help each client get results. While our amazing trainers work hard to enable each client is successful, a lot of it depends on you, the client.

Here are 7 tips to maximize your fitness and personal training experience.

1. Have Clear Goals
What and Why. It’s important to know what you are working for and why you are here. Is it to stay in shape and accomplish your daily activities pain free? Is it to be pushed like an athlete and build muscle? Perhaps you’d like to lose weight and lower your cholesterol levels.

Regardless, your goals should be attainable and need to be discussed with your trainer and/or nutritionist. If you are told your goal is unrealistic, don’t despair.  Your trainer and/or nutritionist is there to provide you with professional guidance, and can help you focus on a goal that is attainable.

Setting goals exponentially propels your success in the gym. Visualizing yourself accomplishing these goals can help you commit to them even further.

2. Be Vocal
Communication is crucial. Don’t be afraid to speak up! While Personal Trainers can be very perceptive, they are not mind readers.  Speak your truth. That means being honest about an injury. Speaking up if you feel you’re being worked too hard or not hard enough. Being open and honest about your motivation levels, needing a new goal, etc.

Your trainer wants you to have a positive experience and suffering in silence helps no one. Clear the air so you can keep moving in the right direction.

3. Respect the Time
Show up on time and be focused while you’re there. This can be extremely challenging. Every minute counts in a 45-minute session. Arriving even 5 minutes late can throw off your trainers programming for you. Checking email, visiting with others in your group, and answering calls and texts, can mean you miss important instruction from your trainer.
This is time for you, and your health and fitness goals. Distractions can limit your productivity, motivation, and can lead to injury as well. Devote this time to your health and make the most out of it by being 100% in the moment.

4. Be Honest
Lying slows your progress. It’s hard to manage a clients program when there’s no transparency. Sure, your trainer knows you well enough to see that you didn’t eat breakfast before coming, or that your shoulder pain is back although you say it isn’t. 

By claiming to be eating better or drinking less than you actually are, you’re bound to be frustrated that you aren't reaching your goals. If you’re in pain, hiding that injury could lead to a much longer recovery.  Trust that you’re in good hands and remember your trainers want you to succeed. Our trainers are still able to program challenging workouts around injuries. Be open. Only then can your trainer can be honest with you about the results you can expect.

5. Be Mindful
Put your heart into it. Wanting to have a good workout comes from your mindset. Your attitude is just as much fuel for your success as your nutrition. Make the most out of your time with a professional by showing up ready to work!

Focus on the reasons you came, why you’re there, why your hired a personal trainer, and what your goals are.

Sometimes a personal mantra such as “I’m here, I’m ready, I’m all in!” can help you get in the right mindset before your workout even starts, and remind you why you’re there to begin with.

6. Manage the Other 23
Your personal trainer typically sees you a few hours a week. That’s all they truly have control over. What you do outside the gym will have a much greater effect on your progress than the efforts you make in the gym. Whether that is a positive or negative result is up to you. The negatives outside the gym will always outweigh the positives in the gym.

Ask yourself; do you want to spin the tires or actually go somewhere?

7. Ask for Homework
Make the most of your off day! Many clients exercise on the days they aren’t in the gym, or jump in an extra group class.
You hired trainers to be motivators, but you are the one putting in the work! Is your goal to have more glut definition? Do you need more posture work?
Ask your trainer what series of exercises you could do on your off day to work toward your goal outside the gym.

No More Fitness Excuses

Don’t hit the snooze button on your fitness goals.

Here are 17 of the most common obstacles to exercising — and expert advice on how to overcome them.

We all know we’re supposed to exercise. There are so many good reasons! More strength and stamina. More energy. A sleeker, leaner physique. A longer, happier life. And yet, when the alarm goes off for that early-morning run, or quitting time rolls around and kickboxing class beckons, it’s always easier to think of a reason not to go: No time. No childcare. No energy. No motivation.

Longtime exercisers know that the additional energy exercise provides makes it well worth the time and effort they expend — and that before long, that charged-up postworkout feeling can become a powerful motivator in itself.

So why do we let so many things — real-life obstacles as well as imagined excuses — get in our way?

“There are lots of reasons to not exercise — including social, cultural, financial, and time limitations,” says sports psychologist Michelle Cleere, PhD, author of From Here to There: A Simple Blueprint for Women to Achieve Peak Performance in Sports and Business. Still, she notes, “it’s what’s behind these reasons that really makes it hard to exercise: worries, doubt, fears, lack of confidence.”

None of us needs another sales pitch on the value of exercise. But we could all use more practical strategies on how to squeeze that workout in when it would be easier not to.
Here are 17 of the most common reasons people offer for bailing on their workouts — including lack of time and lack of confidence — and expert advice for overcoming them.

Don’t see your personal favorite excuse here?

Send it to us at experiencelife@experiencelife.com and we’ll tackle it in the future.

“I JUST DON’T HAVE TIME.”
People sometimes assume that a workout has to happen in a certain place, at a certain time, and for a certain number of minutes in order to count. This isn’t true. “Some of the most fun training sessions my clients and I have done are under 30 minutes,” says fitness trainer Jen Comas Keck, NASM, cofounder of GirlsGoneStrong.com. “Set up a fast-paced circuit, keep your rest periods short, and you can get in and out in limited time.”

For days when you’re really pressed, keep gym clothes at work and a few pieces of equipment — a suspension trainer, some bands, a kettlebell or two — at home so you can squeeze in a workout even when you can’t make it to the gym. A 10-minute circuit (continuously rotating sets of, say, 10 pushups, 20 squats, and 12 lunges on each leg, resting minimally between sets) is far better than no workout at all.

“CARDIO IS SO BORING.”
Steady-state cardio canimprove the health of your heart, and some people find it meditative and relaxing. But for many others, it’s a time-consuming, pain-inducing bore. If you fall into the boredom camp, center your workouts on strength training, and add high-intensity, short-duration intervals for a cardio effect.

Sprints, jumping rope, kettlebell swings, and rope slams lend themselves well to high-intensity training. Build up to eight to 10 intervals of 30 to 45 seconds each, either between sets of other exercises in a strength workout, or with a 90-second rest between repetitions. Looking for more ideas? Check out “Three-Speed Cardio“.

“I’M NOT FIT, STRONG, THIN, OR [FILL IN THE BLANK] ENOUGH TO GO TO THE GYM.”
If you’ve never set foot in a health club before, it’s easy to assume that they’re just for the über-fit. Take a walk-through during peak hours, however, and you’ll likely see a diverse cross-section of beginners, intermediates, and advanced exercisers, all building their fitness chops. And many of them had to overcome the exact same resistance to get there.
“Everyone at the gym is there to improve their health and feel better,” says Keck. “And we all have a right to be there.” So don’t get hung up on how you think you should be. Just make peace with where you are, and enjoy the journey.

So don’t get hung up on how you think you should be. Just make peace with where you are, and enjoy the journey.

It also pays to remember that we’re all a little self-focused, especially during our “me” time at the gym. “I can assure you nobody is paying attention to what you’re doing,” says Keck. “They’re too busy worrying about themselves!”

“I HAVE AN INJURY, SO I SHOULDN’T EXERCISE.”
While an injury is good reason to use caution, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to curtail your workouts. “There’s always a way to exercise,” says Cleere.

Avoid anything that causes pain in the injured area, and do more of what you can do comfortably. When you have lower-back pain, you’re usually best off avoiding movements where you twist, bend to the side, or load the spine significantly — including heavy lower-body moves like squats and deadlifts. (Seeking advice on dealing with back issues? See “Back in Trouble“.)

If you have painful knees, skip exercises requiring your quads to do lots of work (such as lunges and leg extensions) and double down on hip-extension moves like Swiss-ball leg curls. Cranky shoulders? Don’t press anything overhead or in front of you, and focus on back exercises, particularly rowing, instead.

For acute injuries, Billy Anderson, Master Personal Trainer at Life Time Fitness in Eden Prairie, Minn., advises clients to simply “accept the limitation” and move on. Even if you have a sprained ankle, he points out, you can still do exercises for your upper body and the noninjured leg. If your physician clears you for activity, you can work with a limited range of motion in the injured area and gradually increase it as your symptoms improve. In most cases, a moderate amount of safe movement aids in recovery and reduces discomfort.

“I FEEL AWKWARD IN YOGA CLASS.”
The prospect of lunging, twisting, and downward-dogging in a room full of strangers can intimidate even the most enthusiastic of would-be yoginis. To make your initiation into the namaste crowd easier, Keck suggests, “find a beginner’s class, and set up your mat at the back of the room. You might also recruit a buddy to come along. Everything is a little less scary with a friend.”
Still gun-shy? Remember that yoga practitioners — newbies to experts alike — are rarely there to judge their fellow students. The culture of yoga is meant to be a gentle and accepting one. So go get your OM on.

“I’LL NEVER GET A SIX-PACK SO WHY BOTHER?”
Images of shredded, flat-abbed fitness models are everywhere in popular media, but that aesthetic — often achieved through a combination of extreme dieting, short-term dehydration, and aggressive photo retouching — may not be a particularly realistic or worthwhile goal for most people.

Rather than focusing on achieving a particular appearance, set attainable fitness-oriented goals that reflect your current lifestyle and abilities. Focus less on how your body looks than on what it can do. Set your sights on the regular, daily actions you can pursue to become your healthiest, strongest, most body-confident self.
And remember, athletic bodies come in many shapes and sizes. Check out the differing physiques of competitive swimmers, marathoners, and weightlifters: They look entirely different, and yet each is at the pinnacle of fitness for his or her particular sport.

“I’M WAY TOO TIRED.”
Fatigue can be due to many factors. Chief among them are poor sleep and poor nutrition, which often play roles in the same vicious cycle.

“Study after study has shown that poor sleep adversely affects appetite and food intake,” says ISSA elite trainer Angelo Poli of Chico, Calif. Being short on shut-eye can make you hungrier for processed carbs and other foods of limited nutritional value, which can undermine your energy levels. This combination has a direct negative effect on your desire to exercise and the efficacy of your workouts — and can, in turn, create additional sleep disruptions.

Consider making sleep nonnegotiable. Set a bedtime you can stick to, and create rituals that help you unwind, such as taking a warm bath and setting aside electronic devices. If sleep still eludes you, talk to a medical practitioner about testing to rule out certain sleep disorders.
On the dietary front, eating too close to bedtime can lead to sleepless nights, as can choosing foods that are difficult to digest. Food intolerances can profoundly undermine your energy and make you feel chronically sleepy. Have a health professional evaluate your diet, if necessary, to determine if food might be the source of your fatigue.

“I’M SICK.”
“If you have a fever or runny nose, or are otherwise in the acute stages of illness, stay out of the gym,” says Poli. “You’re likely to prolong your illness and may make someone else sick.”
Short of that, though, you’re probably OK to do at least a light workout when you’re under the weather. “Your aerobic capacity may be a little down, but lifting weights and light cardio are fine as long as you don’t go overboard,” he says.

Sometimes, the immune-system boost you receive from moderate exercise might even help you feel better. A 2009 study by University of Illinois researchers found that moderate exercise helped fight off viral respiratory infection better than either complete rest or intense exercise.

“I JUST DON’T LIKE WORKING OUT.”
The first step to overcoming this obstacle is simply recognizing that our bodies were designed to move and to feel good in motion. Exercise can and should be fun. In fact, for an exercise plan to be effective and sustainable, it has to be enjoyable.

Once you’re open to that possibility, the next step is to figure out what’s fun for you.
Some people love to run and lift heavy weights, while others prefer Rollerblading and trapeze classes. Open your mind to nontraditional activities — such as a half hour at the trampoline park or playing kickball on a rec league — and you may discover an activity that gets your heart rate up and puts a smile on your face.

The key to finding your passion is trial and error. You can test-drive many activities for little cost by dropping in at your local gym or fitness studio (many offer free introductory classes) or by renting a bike, paddleboard, snowshoes, or other equipment for a small fee at your local park.
Discover activities you love, and you’re much more likely to stick to them.

“I DON’T KNOW HOW TO EXERCISE.”
Consider rewriting that statement: You don’t know how to exercise yet. In other words, you are learning. Which, by the way, is how everyone starts.

You can pull great workout ideas from magazines, books, and websites (check out our collection at “Move“). You might also try fitness DVDs, which you can buy online or borrow from your local library, or hit YouTube for videos demonstrating key moves and form pointers.

If you’re a health-club member, consider trying out a group fitness class, or enlist a trainer to help you learn some basics. Adopt a beginner’s mind: Decide not to be intimidated by what you don’t yet know. Just start where you are, and over time you’ll gain both skill and confidence.

“I FEEL SELFISH TAKING TIME OUT FOR MYSELF.”
Let go of your guilt. First, the few hours you invest in your workouts will help you show up as a better, healthier, more energetic parent. Second, being a regular exerciser with the discipline to carry out a self-care plan makes you a far better role model for your kids to look up to — and quite possibly a nicer parent to be around.

“I DON’T HAVE CHILDCARE.”
Get strategic. If you have a partner, the two of you can set up a schedule that lets you swap exercise and parenting stints. No dice? See if you can find another parent who wants to trade an hour or so of babysitting for “me time.” This arrangement has the added advantage of breaking up the day-to-day routine of caring for a young child and giving kids some social time with children their own age.

Increasingly, health clubs offer onsite childcare — and even activity classes for kids — either as part of your membership or for a nominal fee. If you’re a gym-goer, check your options at the front desk. And if your gym doesn’t offer these services, consider switching to another facility.
Another workaround is to exercise with your kids. If you have small children, tuck them into a jogging stroller and head out for a walk or run. At the park or playground, create a circuit that you can do while your kids play: pushups and step-ups on a park bench, pull-ups on the monkey bars, sprints across the length of the field. Or try a game of tag with your kids. This way, everyone gets a workout, and you’ll help instill good habits that will last your kids a lifetime.

“I HATE WORKING OUT ALONE.”
Find a workout buddy, preferably someone who has similar goals and taste in fitness activities. Enlist a friend, or work through a social group such as Meetup.com. You can also join an exercise class, where high-energy instructors provide guidance on workout techniques, and the group atmosphere keeps you motivated.

“I DON’T LIKE WORKING OUT IN FRONT OF OTHER PEOPLE.”
Make a point of seeking out environmentswhere you have enough privacy to feel comfortable. Dance, lift, or do calisthenics in your living room. Bike some quiet park trails. Or hit the gym during off-peak hours.

And on the occasions when you just can’t seem to escape the madding crowd, pop in your headphones (the universal symbol for “leave me alone”) and get lost in your favorite songs or a terrific audiobook.
Focus on yourself and your goals, and you’re less likely to be bothered by the presence of others.

“I CAN’T AFFORD A PERSONAL TRAINER OR FANCY HOME-GYM EQUIPMENT.”
Weigh the relative costs of powering your exercise habit against the costs of being less fit and healthy than you want to be. Basic memberships at many clubs amount to less than a monthly cable (or daily latte) bill. If you work for a large company, you may get a fee discount, or your health insurance may give you a rebate for hitting the club regularly.

If a gym membership simply isn’t in the cards, there are plenty of other budget-friendly options out there. Running and walking require little investment beyond a pair of sneakers. Bodyweight exercises require no equipment at all, can be performed almost anywhere, and can be scaled to your goals and fitness level. Start with squats, lunges, and pushups. Add some squat jumps, jumping lunges, and plyo pushups for a cardio boost. Work in some burpees, mountain climbers, jumping jacks, and plank variations, and you’ve got the most affordable workout program around.

“I REALLY DREAD LOCKER ROOMS.”
Gyms offer locker rooms as a convenience to members who like to go right to work or a social engagement after they exercise. But you never have to set foot inside one if you don’t want to. Just go to the gym in your workout gear, lock all your valuables in your car, place your car key in a zippered pocket, and you’re off to the races. Afterward, motor home and shower there.

“I JUST CAN’T GET MOTIVATED.”
If you’re stressed out, undernourished, or exhausted, it can be hard to summon the motivation for anything, workouts included. But if you have a specific resistance to activity, there may be a deeper issue, such as body-image or exercise-related anxiety, that’s holding you back.
It can help to get in touch with your bigger “why” — the reasons you care about getting healthier and fitter, or why you feel compelled to take better care of yourself in general.

“Motivation is mostly a question of getting in touch with what you care about in life,” says Anderson, who, in addition to being a trainer, is also a leadership coach.

Your doctor may tell you to exercise to lower your blood pressure, for example, but until lowering blood pressure has meaning for you — because you want to stick around for your partner and kids, for example — the inspirational value of that objective will be limited.
It can also help to connect your fitness ambitions with bigger life goals, like being able to keep up with your kids, completing an active adventure, or showing up more fully for your work and relationships. From there, Anderson says, “the practice of fitness will become intimately connected with those reasons.” And accordingly, it will become much easier — and more rewarding — to embrace.

To read more articles visit www.experiencelife.com

by: ANDREW HEFFERNAN

Dieting Through The Decades: The History Of Weight Loss

What we choose to eat isn't simply about filling our bellies; it's an expression of who we are, when we are, and often, what we value. "You are what you eat" now takes on new meaning in a world of carnivores, herbivores, "fat free" fanatics, raw food artists, junk food junkies, and juicing warriors. Food and diets are as much of our pop culture as music and entertainment. We're fascinated with what people are eating and what diets the celebrities are following.
Reality television routinely showcases people with outrageous food cravings and uncontrollable obsessions -- it's our new voyeuristic entertainment. Meanwhile, diet propaganda shockingly encourages young women to starve themselves while other venues promote guzzling beer and inhaling pizza as a man's rite of passage. 

As a species, the human race is getting fatter. Obesity rates increased 214 percent between 1950 and 2000. Two out of every 3 people in the U.S. were obese or overweight in 2010. Not surprisingly, bookstore shelves are lined with new diet books daily. How did we arrive at this point, and what diets have been the most persuasive on our culture? What can we learn from the missteps -- and smart moves -- of the past?
 
The '80s
Journey, Depeche Mode, Back to the Future, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Full House. Ah, the '80s, notorious for many things -- including the turning point for our waistlines. It was the perfect storm, personal computers became mainstream, Nintendo ushered in the golden age of gaming with the NES, and the original Star Wars trilogy was completed. What further reasons did we need to sit and stare at a screen? Meanwhile, the food industry ramped up the packaged snack selections. Obesity began reaching epidemic proportions, and the need for an honest solution to the problem became obvious. 
To cater to the demand for less fattening foods, manufacturers began making everything "reduced fat" or "fat free." This was in response to the philosophy that fats made you fat. Since fats are the most calorie dense macronutrients, their reduction became a common way of cutting calories.
The concept of restricting the food we eat has been around since humans have had a desire for slenderness, but the low-calorie trend began to really pick up steam in the '80s. These diets used different methods to get their participants to eat fewer calories: Some promoted pre-made, calorie-controlled meals; others implemented low-calorie snacks aimed at reducing appetite. Most promoted restriction of all types of fats. 
 
What we got right in the '80s: Reduced calorie diets result in weight loss when caloric intake is sufficiently lower then what the participant is accustomed to. In other words, if the participant typically eats 2,500 calories per day and the diet reduces them to 1,600, the dieter will lose weight, at least for a little while. However, if the dieter is already used to eating only 1,600 calories, reducing it marginally further to 1,400 calories will only result in minor weight loss -- if any. 
 
Where we went wrong: Low-calorie diets are based on a false premise that a person's metabolic rate, or number of calories they require, is fixed. In reality, the primary function of our metabolism is to keep us in stasis (status quo), or to adapt to our nutritional environment. This means if we eat less, our metabolism will gradually re-adjust to run slower, negating marginal reductions to our caloric intake. This is known as the "survival mechanic." If a person burned a set, unchanging number of calories based on genetics, even a small reduction in calories would result in unending weight loss. We know, of course, that this simply isn't so; we hit plateaus and stop losing sooner than we'd like. Despite the fact that our bodies try to thwart our best efforts, fat and caloric restriction remain a principle method of battling the effects of overfeeding ourselves in America.
 
The '90s:
Sheryl Crow, Green Day, Jurassic Park, PlayStation, Friends, and the Internet forever changed the landscape of our lives. Welcome to the '90s, also the era when we decided all carbohydrates were to be drug out back and shot.  After years of chowing down on every cookie, cracker, and crust that manufacturers slapped a "low-fat" label on, we decided we'd had enough. Fats were in, carbs were out, and we quit caring about calories. Low-carb diets all revolve around the single theme of cutting -- you guessed it -- carbs. 

More aggressive variations on this theme actually promote entering a state called ketosis. Ketosis is triggered by fasting, starvation, intense exercise, and yes, low-carbohydrate diets. Reducing carbs too much can leave you with mental fogginess and even cause irritability. In the absence of carbohydrates our bodies are forced to use alternative metabolic pathways to produce glycogen. The flip side is it can lead to greater metabolizing of fats.
 
What we got right in the '90s: In many ways, your body views fat (lipids) as a second -ate energy source and needs a little encouragement to use them. Fats are your body's preferred fuel source for sustained low energy output activities. But by the 90's these activities (the foremost being walking and manual chores) had been replaced with power steering and remote controls. Cutting carbohydrates was a means of tricking your body into using more fat for fuel during a greater variety of activities. If you don't have enough sugars (glycogen) available, well then, I suppose you can burn a little more fat. It's this encouragement of using fats for fuel that's earned low carbohydrate diets their iconic status in weight loss history.
 
Where we went wrong: While cutting carbohydrates did indeed lead to increased fat burning, being over aggressive also led to the depletion of fuels necessary for intense activity making exercise, a key ingredient in long term weight loss, difficult. Furthermore, going for bouts with little to no carbohydrates leaves the body in a "carb sensitive" state. This environment isn't dissimilar to that of athletes preparing to carb load before a race. By reducing their carb intake the body readies itself to store additional rations when they become available. I teach my clients that there is a difference between the carb cost and the calorie cost of a cheat. When it's carbs you've been cutting the cost is much higher; a couple dinner rolls and a glass of wine can easily result in waking up to 2-3 pounds of extra you in the morning even though they only amounted to a few hundred calories.
 
 
Dieting since 2000 and beyond:
Eminem, Black eyed Peas, iPhones, The Office, and Mark Zuckerberg changing the way we connect with people. Today as technology marches ever forward, the trend in nutrition is going backward to our beginnings. What we have is a melting pot of diets under the broad theme of "eating natural". Among their ranks are; raw food diets, paleo and gluten free, vegetarian and vegan, and organic food plans. They each promote a chemical free, minimally processed approach to eating, but the similarities end there. Many of their proponents are at each other's throats vying for the label of "the human's natural diet". 
Any such claims are hard to make stick since humans have populated nearly every inch of the globe with nutritional variances as diverse as the climates and terrain these cultures were born out of. Arctic settlers and coastal cultures have thrived off food from the sea, including organ meats and even whale blubber. Jungle tribes and tropical civilizations have flourished eating a mostly plant based diet. Farming cultures have been among the most enduring consuming a mixture of grains and animal products. Some of these diets conflict philosophically over what humans were originally designed to eat, but they wholeheartedly agree that processed foods laced with high-fructose corn syrup, MSG, and artificial sweeteners aren't it.
What we're doing right: We're no longer in denial about the effects greasy--fried foods have on our bodies. And we know we probably can't get away with snacking on sweets and crackers every night. More recently we've learned to shop the perimeter of the grocery store and avoid foods laced with harmful ingredients. Overall we're trying to eat foods more like our grandparents did.
 
Where we're still going wrong: We're still overweight and filling hospital rooms with people suffering from preventable disease. With improved lifestyle and nutrition many of our country's ills would fade away. Why are we not acting? What is the missing ingredient that will solve our problems? The answer may surprise you: based on what I see in my clients, I think the answer is time. Most people cite "not enough time" as the reason behind their poor eating habits. Our technology-driven society rewards those who move fast, multitask, and rush. In the future I believe the most effective nutrition plans will place emphasis on practical strategies, simple food prep, and offer its patrons compelling evidence that investing the time in procuring healthy foods is a worthwhile investment.  
 

-Angelo Poli SET SPN CFT

Seven Tests of True Strength

By Andrew Hefferman, C.S.C.S, Photographs by Matthew Salacuse

"Are you Men's Health Fit? Prove it -- or improve

...

Sure, the definition of "fit" varies; power lifters and marathoners have different views. Still, every man should be able to meet certain standards before he can call himself in shape." And then there's Men's Health Fit.Take these tests to see how you measure up. If you don't clear our admittedly high bar, don't sweat it - we have tips from top experts to help bring you up to speed."

1. Jump

2. Squat, Curl, Push Press

3. Controlled Wall Squat

4. Beep Test

5. Deadlift

6. Clapping Pushups

7. Plank - Hold for more than 3 minutes

"A Chiseled core makes you stronger in everything you do, from carrying groceries to mastering the deadlift. It enables you to "produce, stabilize, and transmit force through out the body" says Angelo Poli, owner of Whole Body Fitness in Chico, California. But that armada of muscles is "on" whenever you're upright, so stamina is key."

See Full Article at "Men's Health". - requires digital subscription or purchase the issue at your local newsstand.

Paleo, Weight Watchers, Atkins: What diet is right for your body type?

Every month my clients ask me about one of the new nutritional trends. Last month everyone wanted to know about the HCG diet, this month it's Paleo. CrossFitters the world over swear by this diet yet most of the elite competitors by their own admission don't follow it strictly. Does that mean it's not right for you? Not necessarily. Having an understanding of what mechanics are involved in a nutritional model like The Paleo Diet is the key to knowing what's best for you. For the purpose of this discussion we'll review the steps needed to properly evaluate what your nutritional needs are. Then we'll consider the mechanics behind a few popular diets and see how they stack up.

One of my hobbies as a sports nutritionist is to follow trends in the nutrition field and observe as the public opinions of specific foods, even entire food groups shifts. It never ceases to amaze me how opinions thrash to and fro like waves in a storm being influenced by the media, advertising, and commercial stigma's. Remember when egg yolks were bad? Then yolks were good. Now the American Heart Association has settled on "Yolks are ok, but just in case no more then one per day". Really, that's no big deal when you consider that we're used to vilifying entire macronutients. It seems to go by decades. In the 80's yourleg warmers and sweat bands were kicked to the curb if you weren't low fat. In the 90's we packed up the carbohydrates. Breads, grains, and cereals were marched out back and shot. Even if they were allowed in the house they were hidden in the cupboards guests wouldn't see so you didn't have to explain yourself. On a related note laxative sales saw a noted increase those years. Today it's all about Gluten Free and Organic. Eat what you like so long as it comes naturally from mother earth and is sold to you by a cashier who smells of hemp seed and likely doesn't own a clothing iron.

So are all trends bad? No. In fact all of them have merit and benefits. The trouble is misapplication and extremes. Having a working understanding of the basic principles a diet is operating on can allow you to be a savvy dieter. With the mountain of opinions and endless stream of new diets entering the market it is definitely a "buyer beware" situation. My goal here isn't to promote or discourage any one method of dieting. Rather I want to arm you with knowledge that will allow you to make better informed decisions about your nutrition and health. Let me share with you my secret to making nutritional recommendations. Evaluation. Unless you evaluate your needs and goals you can only vaguely guess what nutrition plan is right for you. Here's an example of a full evaluative process:

1.) Determine your primary goal

Be a specialist not a generalist! I know, I know . You want to burn fat, build muscle, loose weight, increase your strength, shrink your waist, and grow 2 inches taller. Who doesn't? Your body responds best when focused attention is given to one primary goal at a time. Don't get me wrong, people can achieve multiple goals at the same time via diet and exercise but unless you prioritize your goals and have a clear defined focus, you'll never be able to maximize your results.

2.)Acknowledge your body type

-Are you a petite frame with longer arms and legs, prone to accumulating fat in your mid section more then legs? You're an Ectomorph. Can you wrap your thumb and middle finger around your wrist and easily touch your finger tips together, even overlap? Say it real slow... Ecto- morph. Does going more then 4 hours without food cause your alter ego to rear it's ugly head making your irritable, headachy, and ravenously craving carbs and sugar? Maybe your a different body type... just kidding. You're an Ectomorph.

- Did you have an athletic build in high school? Not to skinny or stocky, you know the Goldilocks zone. . just right. Mesomorph. You set some athletic records in high school, maybe even college, but now spend most of your time working late hours at the office crumpling pieces of paper to toss at the waste paper basket. Deep down you still think of yourself as a warrior and athlete. Yeah, you're a mesomorph. Food is good, but you'll gladly skip a meal to build an appetite for your favorite dinner. Mesomorph.

-You were bigger and stronger than all the kids in grade school. By high school you already began equating the word "metabolism" with various profanities. Endomorph. Gains in the weight room seem to come easy, as do gains at the buffet line. Everyone else seems almost delicate when compared to your sturdy bone structure and frame. You can wrap you thumb and middle finger around your wrist but most of you can barely touch. Endomorph.

Don't like your body type? Well, you'll have to take that up with your parents. Sorry, can't help you there. All I can do is give you a rough road map of how your body type "generally" responds to various nutritional activities. Each body type has their pre-disposed strengths and weakness, simply acknowledging them is a vital key in evaluating your nutritional needs. As for me, I'm an ectomorph. I live in perpetual irritation that my wife still has more developed calves then me. I comfort myself with the knowledge that I can drown my sorrows in a few extra carbs at night without paying too much penalty.  Now these are generalizations. Often people can have traits from more then one body type, however most people will quickly identify with one of the above somo (body types)

So what does your body type mean for you?

Ectomorph - Typically lower in body fat and often struggling to gain muscle. No matter how "clean" or "healthy" your diet, most ectomorphs will need more calories to make substantial muscle gains. Generally add in this order - assure that adequate (and possibly a little more) protein needs are met. Then begin liberally adding complex carbohydrates and a little healthy fat. If you still are not seeing gains, consider adding more fats as you will be too full to muscle down more and more carbohydrates. Fats will give you more caloric bang for your buck and as such remains the "end game" diet strategy for hard gainers by default.

Mesomorph - Change it up. Your body will respond to changes. Wanna build muscle? Fine. Do it for a while then switch it up. Get your body used to extra calories and carbs for recovery and then start scaling back and watch the body fat strip off. Or if you want to do it in reverse, cut back on your carbs or calories until you stop seeing changes in your body and then gradually increase both your food intake and training intensity and let your body build some muscle.

Endomorph - Your body doesn't play by the rules. Everyone tells you to eat this or take that to fuel your muscle and aid your recovery. Fuel the muscle starve the fat... right? Who cares about muscle. That's right you heard me. You've been building muscle since you were four years old!  Once all you fitness professionals finish gasping at the notion that I just suggested it's ok to allow your body to lose some precious muscle, consider this: Unless you plan on being a competitive powerlifter (even then strength is mostly neuromuscular) I can think of very few endomorphs that wouldn't sacrifice 10 pounds of muscle if it meant losing 25 pounds of fat. Even with restricted food intake, hitting the weights still seems to trigger muscular development. Use that to your advantage, but tune your nutrition more in favor of weight loss. You will likely have to be more diligent about monitoring your intake then the other body types, eating fewer calories and carbs than someone of similar height / weight but of a different body type. Be consistent and take full advantage of the benefits of aerobics.

3.) Evaluate your current diet. The only way to know where we're going is to know where we came from right? Keep a food log. I know, you're fed up and ready to start your new diet now. Don't. Most of you will ignore me because you have a friend who went on the ABC diet and got XYZ results so you think it's going to work the same for you. Wrong. The only way to know what diet approach will work best for you is to evaluate what your body is currently used to. If you aren't particularly savvy about nutrition and macronutrients use an online calculator. Over a few days of typical eating note your approximate calories and ratio's of carbs, protein, and fat. Based on that determine if you have the most room to adjust calories, carbohydrates, or a combination of both. Then make your choice what style of dieting best suits your needs. Don't forget to factor in your body type.

  So what diet options are out there? Basically there are 3 categories of diets. By decade popularity they are:

• Natural and gluten free. The Paleo Diet is one of several that fit this genre. (current trend)
• Carbohydrate restriction. The Atkins Diet is the popular grandfather to much of this genre. (Low carbohydrate diets have been popular from the late 90's through today)
• Calorie restriction. Weight Watchers is still a leader pioneering this principle. (popular in the 80's and now promoted differently, but the same basic science)

 

The Paleo Diet

Restricts dairy and gluten. It allows liberal use of everything else provided it's "clean" or "unprocessed". Basically what we have here is a "Hippie's guide to digestive treatment" .... and a pretty darn good one too. There are two failings. Difficult adherence and non-specific attributes (I'll explain that shortly). We have a 20 - 20 - 60 scenario here. Twenty percent of the population are going to find this diet to be the holy grail of digestive relief leading to massive improvements in their quality of life. Twenty percent of the population are going to see no digestion change and quickly get fed up with shopping from the one shelf in the grocery store that's gluten free. Sixty percent of the population will see some marginal improvements and could go either way. How do I know this? I evaluate people's nutritional needs every day. For every 10 people who sit in my office roughly two of them will have obvious digestion issues, discomfort, and problems. Two of them will be those who eat a diet of rusty nails and dry wall yet amazingly feel fine. (We all know people like that.. .. and yes we hate them) Six of them will land somewhere in the middle. Naturopaths who believe gluten and dairy to be the devil itself will think me crazy for not believing everyone has intolerance's. Meanwhile, the bread and dairy industry will ask how entire civilizations have flourished on diets rich in milk and grains for millennia. I have no interest in getting in the middle of their feud. I just call it how I see it. 20 - 20 - 60.

Those of you die hard fans who eat and breath paleo don't need to send me mail defending why you feel paleo is nutritionally superior to other ways of eating. I've heard your arguments, acknowledge them, and am now attempting to provide clarity and perspective for the "average" consumer trying to select a diet. In fact to be perfectly blunt, I'm not interested in recommending people follow the best diet (insert gasping sound here). What I'm interested in is helping people select the "best diet" that they can actually convert into a "lifestyle", and those are two very different things. If I were to put pen to paper and be forced to recommend the "best" diet to save humanity, it would probably end up looking like some sort of fusion high protein vegan diet (nutritionists know why that's funny). Rather my goal is to provide people with tools to identify the diet that will work best for their circumstance while considering all factors including goals and lifestyle.

Alright already lets get to the point, will Paleo make me lose weight? And the answer is (drum roll),  ... maybe. That's where the non-specific attributes come in. The paleo diet really is dominantly a digestive health program. In a effort to eliminate processed foods, chemicals, and inflammatory properties, junk food has been eliminated. By default that is going to result in a drop in caloric intake for most people. That will equal weight loss. In an effort to restrict gluten, most of our favorite carbohydrate options have been removed.. pasta, breads, etc. Therefore it will likely result in a significant reduction in carbohydrates. For most that will mean weight loss. Then why do I say "maybe"? Because even though as a matter of happenstance it will somewhat accidentally result in lower carbs and calories, there are still several foods allowed on the diet that are excellent for gaining weight. For example: banana's, sweet potato's, and nuts are perfect examples of high glycemic carbs, low glycemic carbs, and fats ideal for packing on pounds. So losing weight on Paleo depends on how you do the Paleo diet. Lots of people dance when they hear salsa music, but that doesn't mean they all know how to salsa. The moral of the story is if you don't know how to dance, get off the floor. My recommendation, if you want to try Paleo, more power to you, but use a qualified nutritionist to help you structure your Paleo plan to meet your needs.

Paleo is more for athletes anyway right? Consider your body type! It depends on your needs. For example, a Paleo diet structured to emphasize meats and veggies with moderate low inclusion of low glycemic carbohydrates and very low inclusion of high glycemic carbohydrates (banana's, raisins etc), canbe quite well suited for an endomorphic body type looking to lose weight. On the other hand an ectomorphic competitive athlete attempting to limit themselves to the recovery that fruits and veggie can provide alone will leave them falling short of their athletic potential every time. Unless they've developed romantic feelings about pounding buckets of mashed sweet potato's with every meal, they're simply not going to recover optimally. But I'll live off fats. I love nuts. No. You won't. Sporting a high fat diet, low in carbs defies every scientific study done on sports nutrition and performance in the last 60 years. If you want to perform your best in the glycolitic pathway (looking at you CrossFitters) you'll need carbs.That is why elite CrossFitters are rarely "strict" Paleo by their own admission. While only theoretical, I'd bet that if a pole was taken of truly elite CrossFit athletes who follow some variation of the Paleo diet what we'd find is that those who are Endomorphic break their diet and "carb up" less often then those who are Ectomorphic needing ample carbs at that level of performance. Ironically, Rich Froning Jr. and Annie Thorisdottir, the 2011and 2012 Reebok CrossFit Games Champions are both classic Mesomorphs - smack dab in the middle. Niether follow Paleo. Let the debates continue.

The Atkins diet

As some of us sports nutritionist call it "The Tyrannical Eradication of Carbohydrates from the Planet". So will I lose weight on it? Yup. So you see the battle us nutritionists have when convincing dieters to be moderate in their eating habits. It's a tricky one. People want instant gratification and if they see the scale dropping it's hard to convince them to do anything else. Carbohydrate restriction, especially when fairly severe, causes the body to metabolize a greater amount of lipids (among other energetic substrates) in the synthesis of ATP. Extremely low carb diets and exercise aren't good bed fellows.They're at each other's throats. Low carbs wants to take a nap while Exercise wants to hit the gym but needs a ride and Low carb isn't moving. Exercise keeps yelling "you'll never be healthy or fit without me!" Low carb just smirks"yeah but I can just lay around and still lose weight so why bother".

Ultimately most people will gain the weight back after following an extremely low carb diet. Here's why:
1.) Cutting all carbs does indeed make achieving any level of intensity while exercising difficult, therefore as a lifestyle change you're missing half the battle. Usually I spend my days managing people who think they can "just" exercise and get results... yeah, let me know how that works out. With the "low carbers" I find myself trying to convince them that a strict diet without exercise is just as bad. It's like they're all on a giant boat, "low carbers" on one side, "Exercisers" on the other. The Low carbers are laughing because there's a hole on the Exercisers side of the boat. Kind of short sighted.

2.) Difficult adherence, nearly impossible long term. Sure, I could spend a week or two living off bacon, cheese, and burgers wrapped in lettuce. Double double protein style at In-N-Out here I come. Course I'll need to buy stock in Metamucil and Exlax. Eventually I'll just need a bite of something loaded with carbs, and when I do...

3.) I'll wake up the next morning looking like I fell out of the "Fat Tree" and hit every branch on the way down. Good morning puffy face! You see several biological elements converge at the point of cheating on a low carb diet to make us instantaneously fat and filled with self loathing. After weeks of "low carbing it" your body is in full-on glycogen depletion mode. Athletes will purposely restrict a small amount of carbs just prior to carb loading. You have now achieved all the elements necessary to qualify for carb loading by having just one meal. The morning after... You wake feeling puffy taking notice that your rings are now stuck on your fat swollen fingers as you stagger to the scale. Looking down at your new number brings up feeling of guilt and remorse as you replay in your mind how it all happened. You walk away thoroughly depressed and console yourself with ....you guessed it. Carbs.

Notice that my reference is to extreme carbohydrate restriction. Moderate restriction is a completely different animal and can be applied to great benefit in many circumstances.

Weight Watchers

It's good old calorie restriction turned into a game with points. Significantly less structure than some recent diets. High emphasis on quick and easy identification of the lower calorie options across multiple venues via a "point" system. It may seem overly simple, but that's why it's been successful for many people for years. It's not overly cumbersome. In times past there hasn't been enough emphasis placed on making the right or healthiest choices with food. This diet has favored pure and simple identification of the lowest calorie option. From a nutritionists perspective that can be fraught with problems as selecting foods only based around calorie content can lead to a highly processed and nutritionally depleted diet. Individualization, adaptivity to unique needs, or athletic structuring is nearly absent. In recent times they have shifted to a more educational model promoting more balance and healthier selections. That is good, but a large percentage of their patrons are only exposed to a limited amount of the educational process, those who stay involved will likely do best.

Summary

The key lies in evaluating what your body's needs are based on your body type and previous nutritional history. Keep a food log, it will be enlightening. Research more about your body type and carefully consider your goal. Make sure the diet you're considering is compatible with your goal. If all else fails or you reach a plateau that you're unable to navigate, get help from a qualified nutritionist.

Angelo Poli SET SPN CFT