Our little buddy the adaptogen :)

(Expect more to come about this as I read more about it!! There's alot to know, apparently!! :) I can't wait to keep reading!!)

WOOOHOOOO!!!! I finally found something!!!!!!!

Since the webinar about Shakeology (for coaches), I have learned a new term. That term is 'adaptogen'. There are 6 adaptogens in Shakeology. This is part of the phyto-nutrients (which is one of the 6 categories of ingredients: proteins/amino acids, nutrients and minerals, prebiotics, anti-oxidants, digestive enzymes, and phyto-nutrients)

Adaptogen is apparently the 'up & coming' term in the nutrition world. Being the one constantly reading and researching, I latched onto that term like a leech and have been trying to find a good source of info to learn more and I finally did!!!!! WOOOHOOO

Based on my research, I have found that adaptogens are defined as 'plant derived agents that help to adapt the body or protect it from stress.'
In order to be considered an adaptogen it must be nontoxic to consume; produce nonspecific response in the body, such as increase in the resistance against stressors (good and bad stressors); have a normalizing effect on physiology (!!!! for someone in the research field!!! I want to research this one further!! That would be hard to uncover info for though, I'm sure....). Adaptogens can balance endocrine hormones as well as the immune system, allowing the body to maintain perfect balance.

I am soooo bummed that it is sooo freakin late (AGAIN!!!) because I just found a cool link!! 'Clinical Studies and Research' 'Biological activity' and 'Pharmacology' for adaptogens *sigh*

Beachbody is better than I thought--which was already amazing.....

I just watched (finally) the videos of the showcase pack.

The showcase pack is a great deal that coaches can order (ask me how if you're interested :)). It includes P90X, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Abs, Yoga Booty Ballet, P90, and Slim in 6. I have also seen (and done) P90X+ and the 10 Minute Trainer workouts. Man--BeachBody is amazing.

I say that because this company gives us something for everyone literally. It has something for beginners who have never worked out a day in their lives (hey, there's a first for everything); it offers something for the moderately fit who are looking to do a bit more; and it doesn't leave out the really fit folks who are looking to amp up their workouts for endless challenge and bringing it to the next levels.

There are many different places to start out at:
You can begin with Slim in 6, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Abs, Power 90, Power Half Hour. All these include AWESOME ways to get started and advance it as you need to. Each one of these have packages that allow you to advance and graduate to something more challenging still with those programs. Personally, I recommend finding a great resistance (with either bands or weights or both) that you can add to the regimen--you'll want to build muscle if you want to burn fat more efficiently day in and day out. Then there's also the Kathy Smith's Project YOU! Type 2 that is an incredible place to get started.

You can pick the middle of the road if you aren't starting out exactly at square one, and want to delay graduating to another program (be careful--they can be addicting :P) with Chalean Extreme, Power 90 Master Series, and even Power 90 X. Power 90 X does have a fit test to take before hand with minimum recommendations (if you don't meet those minimums, you might want to look into some of the beginners, or another middle of the road program). Each one of these middle of the road programs can remain your end point by adjusting your weights and rep counts, continuing to work hard with the cardio, and staying clean in the kitchen.

You can REALLY bring it up an incredible notch with Power 90 X+....this one is a monster. There really is nothing better for an intense extreme workout program.

If you've reached the middle of the road programs and you don't really want to spend the money on P90X+ or Tony Horton's One on One dvd series or any other workout program (because, as I said, it can be addicting....:P) do you NEED to? No absolutely not. You can continue to get and maintain great results with one of those workouts. If you began at the first level though, I do think you should consider adding some more resistance training to your plan to continue working hard and staying lean and maintaining your new body.

If you have questions about where to start or where to go on to, don't hesitate to shoot me an email--you let me know what program you're doing currently (or not) and I'll ask you the questions I have and we'll work together :) Don't be shy. I look forward to hearing from you.

All you ever wanted to know about free radicals

I found this in my searching for my last blog. It's all you could ever want to know about free radicals and their damage called oxidation.

Read, enjoy, learn :)

An excerpt from the medical textbook Contemporary Ayurveda
by H. Sharma, M.D., and C. Clark, M.D.
(Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone, 1998; ISBN: 0 443 05594 7)
ghostwritten by Bernard D. Sherman.

Cancers, strokes, and cataracts seem as different from one another as any diseases could be. It's hard to imagine them sharing a single cause. Yet a growing body of research suggests that they do. The causal chain behind these and many other diseases, perhaps behind aging itself, includes a common link: a class of molecules known as free radicals.

Some researchers believe that the discovery of the effects of free radicals may be as big an advance as Pasteur's insights into infectious disease. In a sense, free radicals take medical theory one level deeper. While the mechanisms of infectious disease involve microorganisms and cells, free radicals involve something more fundamental: the subatomic realm of electrons.

Free radicals are molecules, usually of oxygen, that have lost an electron. That loss makes them unstable (in chemical terms, reactive). They begin to covet their neighboring molecules' electrons. In stealing an electron, they operate as terrorists in the body. They can attack DNA, leading to dysfunction, mutation, and cancer. They can attack enzymes and proteins, disrupting normal cell activities, or cell membranes, producing a chain reaction of destruction. Such membrane damage in the cells that line our blood vessels can lead to hardening and thickening of the arteries and eventually to heart attacks and strokes. Free-radical attacks on collagen can cause cross-linking of protein molecules, resulting in stiffness in the tissue.

The most dangerous free radicals are the small, mobile, and highly reactive oxy radicals. Other dangerous atomic and molecular varieties of oxygen are known as reactive oxygen species (ROS). While ROS are not technically free radicals, they are no less unstable and are highly reactive with the molecules around them.

Biomedical research shows increasingly that oxidative stress - the constant attack by oxy radicals and ROS - contributes to both the initiation and the promotion of many major diseases. Oxidative attacks help cause the disease in the first place, then add impetus to its spread in the body. In the case of heart disease, oxidative stress can cause major damage even after treatment has been applied.

The implications of free radicals and ROS go further. It now seems that the 'clinical presentation' of many diseases - how the illness appears when a patient arrives at a clinic - may in part reflect not different causal mechanisms, but variations in the protection provided by the body's antioxidant (anti-oxidative stress) defenses. In a hurricane, the weakest section of a house collapses first, whether it is a window, a door, or a roof. Under oxidative stress, the weakest link in the body may be the first to give way.

A long and disturbing list of diseases is now linked to oxy radicals and ROS (see Box 8.1). The onslaught of free radicals and ROS also contributes to many of the less serious but still troubling symptoms of aging, such as wrinkled skin, gray hair, balding, and bodily stiffness. Oxy radicals have also been linked to such minor but bothersome conditions as dandruff and hangovers. One of the most experienced free-radical researchers, the Japanese biochemist Yukie Niwa, estimates that at least 85% of chronic and degenerative diseases result from oxidative damage (Niwa & Hansen, 1989, p. 9).

Box 8.1 Diseases linked to oxy radicals and reactive oxygen species

· Cancer.

· Arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis.

· Heart disease.

· Cerebrovascular disease.

· Stroke.

· Emphysema (Cross et al 1987).

· Diabetes mellitus (Sato et al 1979).

· Rheumatoid arthritis (Cross et al 1987, Greenwald & Moy 1979, 1980, Halliwell 1981, 1989, Del Maestro et al 1982, Fligiel et al 1984).

· Osteoporosis (Hooper 1989, Stringer et al 1989).

· Ulcers.

· Sunburn.

· Cataracts (Niwa & Hansen, 1989, Yagi 1977).

· Crohn's disease (Niwa & Hansen 1989).

· Behcet's disease

· Aging

· Senility

BENEFITS OF FREE RADICALS

The many chemical reactions that occur in the body inevitably produce free radicals. The body can, however, usually keep these free radicals under control. Moreover, despite the long list of problems they cause, free radicals are not all bad. They play an essential role in a healthy human body. The body tries to harness the destructive power of the most dangerous free radicals - the oxy radicals and ROS - for use in the immune system and in inflammatory reactions. Certain cells in these systems engulf bacteria or viruses, take up oxygen molecules from the bloodstream, remove an electron to create a flood of oxy radicals and ROS, and bombard the invader with the resulting toxic shower. This aggressive use of toxic oxygen species is remarkably effective in protecting the body against infectious organisms.

Unfortunately, the process may go out of control, creating a chain reaction that leads to over-production of free radicals. These reactions are no less damaging to the body than other formations of free radicals.



THE CAUSES OF FREE RADICALS

Production of free radicals in the body is continuous and inescapable. The basic causes include the following:

The immune system

As we have just seen, immune system cells deliberately create oxy radicals and ROS as weapons.

Energy production

The energy-producing process in every cell generates oxy radicals and ROS as toxic waste, continuously and abundantly. Oxygen is used to burn glucose molecules that act as the body's fuel. In this energy-freeing operation, oxy radicals are thrown off as destructive by-products. Given the insatiable hunger of oxygen, there is no way to have it suffusing the body's energy-producing processes without the constant creation of oxy radicals and ROS.

The cell includes a number of metabolic processes, each of which can produce different free radicals. Thus, even a single cell can produce many different kinds of free radicals.

Stress

The pressures common in industrial societies can trigger the body's stress response. In turn, the stress response creates free radicals in abundance. The stress response races the body's energy-creating apparatus, increasing the number of free radicals as a toxic by-product. Moreover, the hormones that mediate the stress reaction in the body - cortisol and catecholamines - will themselves degenerate into particularly destructive free radicals. Researchers now know one way in which stress may cause disease. A stressful life mass-produces free radicals.

Pollution and other external substances

The pollutants produced by modern technologies often generate free radicals in the body. The food most of us buy contains farm chemicals, including fertilizers and pesticides, that produce free radicals when we ingest them. Prescription drugs often have the same effect; their harmful side-effects may be caused by the free radicals they generate.

Processed foods frequently contain high levels of lipid peroxides, which produce free radicals that damage the cardiovascular system. Cigarette smoke generates high free-radical concentrations; much of the lung damage associated with smoking is caused by free radicals. Air pollution has similar effects. Alcohol is a potent generator of free radicals (although red wine contains antioxidants that counteract this effect).

In addition, free radicals can result from all types of electromagnetic radiation-including sun-light. Exposure to sunlight generates free radicals that age the skin, causing roughness and wrinkles. If the exposure is prolonged, skin cancer may result. (See Box 8.2).

Box 8.2 Some common external causes of free radicals

· Toxins

- carbon tetrachloride

- paraquat

- benzo(a)pyrene

- aniline dyes

- Toluene


· Drugs

- adriamycin

- bleomycin

- mitomycin C

- nitrofurantoin

- chlorpromazine


· Air pollution

Primary sources

- carbon monoxide

- nitric oxide

- aldehydes

- alkyl nitrates


· Radiation, sunlight


· Ingested substances

- alcohol

- smoked and barbecued food

- peroxidized fats in meat and cheese

- deep-fried foods



FREE RADICAL DEFENSES

Given the many sources of free radicals, it is not surprising that all aerobic forms of life maintain elaborate anti-free-radical defense systems, also known as antioxidant systems.

Enzymes

Every cell in the body creates its own "bomb squad"-antioxidant enzymes (complex, machine-like proteins) whose specialty is defusing oxy radicals and ROS. The most thoroughly studied defense enzyme, superoxide dismutase (SOD), takes hold of molecules of superoxide - a particularly destructive free radical-and changes them to a much less reactive form.

SOD and another important antioxidant enzyme set, the glutathione system, work within the cell. By contrast, circulating biochemicals such as uric acid and ceruloplasmin react with free radicals in the intercellular spaces and bloodstream.

Nutrients

The substances that plants create to fight free radicals can help the human body do the same thing. Thus, as a second line of defense, the body makes use of many standard vitamins and other nutrients to quench the oxy radicals' thirst for electrons. Among the many substances used are Vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and bioflavonoids. Some free radical researchers believe that to quench free radicals effectively, the general level of all of these free-radical-fighting nutrients needs to be much higher than nutritional experts have generally thought.

Self repair

The body also has systems to repair or replace damaged building blocks of cells. These systems are rapid and thorough. For example, the system for repairing damage to DNA and other nucleic acids is particularly elaborate and efficient, with various specialized enzymes that locate damaged areas, snip out ruined bits, replace them with the correct sequence of molecules, and seal up the strand once again. Every aspect of the cell receives similar attention. Most protein constituents in the cell, for example, are completely replaced every few days. Scavenger enzymes break used and damaged proteins into their component parts for reuse by the cell.



FINDING THE BALANCE

The body's elaborate biochemical responses to the free-radical challenge suggest that it is not necessary to reduce excess free radicals to zero. The body needs only to strike the right balance between the number of free radicals generated and the defense and repair mechanisms available. The goal is to keep oxidative stress from exceeding the capacity of the normal repair and replacement mechanisms. Oxy radicals might, for instance, slip through the enzyme and nutrient defenses and attack the DNA; but ideally these attacks would be few enough that the DNA repair mechanisms could fix the damage and maintain the genetic code intact.

How, then, can we keep the desired balance? That question is a major area of research, but the results have been mixed. Vitamins and beta-carotene have shown far fewer benefits than expected. One long-term, large-scale study found beta-carotene to have no effect whatsoever in reducing malignant neoplasms, cardiovascular disease, or death from all causes (Hennekens et al 1996). One problem may be that active ingredients like beta-carotene are not 'full spectrum' antioxidants: they affect certain free radicals but not others. Yet we have seen that each cell can produce a wide variety of free radicals.

Two recent studies suggest another problem. Beta-carotene and vitamin E were found not to prevent lung cancer in male smokers; in fact, beta-carotene was linked with higher incidence of lung cancer (Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta Carotene Cancer Prevention Study Group, 1994). Beta-carotene and vitamin A supplements, too, were found to increase the risk of lung cancer in smokers and in workers exposed to asbestos (Omerun et al 1996). A reason for the harmful effects may be that the vitamins, after quenching free radicals, become oxidized themselves unless they have been given in correct doses or regenerated by additional antioxidants, which must be in proper doses themselves. Moreover, beta-carotene works as an antioxidant only when oxygen concentrations are low; in high oxygen concentrations, such as those found in the lungs or heart, it becomes an oxidant itself (Burton & Ingold, 1984). In addition, large amounts of any one micronutrient may inhibit absorption of other micronutrients needed for proper nutritional balance.

Such problems might be offset if vitamins were taken in their natural condition, surrounded by dozens of apparently inactive ingredients that modulate their effects. This conclusion is suggested by a study that found vitamin E to have no effect in reducing death from coronary heart disease in postmenopausal women when taken in the form of supplements, but to have significant benefits when absorbed from food (Kushi et al 1996).

Even if these problems with vitamin supplements were solved, the supplements would still have a significant shortcoming. They are far less effective, molecule for molecule, than the body's natural enzymes. When a molecule of vitamin C or E sacrifices an electron to appease a free radical, the vitamin molecule becomes damaged and useless. Only if it is regenerated by a helpful companion can it re-enter the fray. Enzymes, however, can run through thousands of destructive free radicals and ROS without help and without pause.

Unfortunately, while internally produced enzymes are far more powerful than vitamins, they cannot be taken by mouth. They are gigantic protein molecules that cannot pass through the walls of the digestive system and into the bloodstream. Digestive juices break them down into their component amino acids. SOD has been injected directly into inflamed joints, but the procedure is not practical for home use. Moreover, it has limited effects, because SOD has only a brief half-life in the bloodstream. In less than 5 minutes, 50% of it is gone, broken down by natural bodily processes, and within an hour only 0.1% of it is left. Recently, the Japanese researcher Tatsuya Oda found a way around this: he succeeded in attaching SOD to artificial polymer molecules. Riding on the polymers, the SOD lasts in the bloodstream for at least 5 hours. As promising as this finding is, it raises questions about the long-term effects of adding an enzyme to the body in large quantities. These effects are not known as yet, and the question is far from trivial.

A preferred solution would be antioxidant substances with (1) low molecular weight, so they can slip from the digestive tract to the bloodstream undamaged, (2) the anti-oxidant ability, weight for weight, of an enzyme such as SOD, and (3) the ability to defuse a wide range of free radicals. In the next section, we will examine research on herbal compounds that appear to satisfy these criteria.

"It's you deep sea diving into the Fountain of Youth"

That's what happens when you eat right and exercise. How you might ask?

When you eat like crap--fast food, no veggies, no good sources of real protein--you are giving your body nothing good to work with. You are over-taxing all your organs because they aren't doing what they were designed to do. Our bodies were designed to process natural things effortlessly. When you consume too much processed foods and even cooked veggies, for instance, your pancreas makes up the slack. This over-taxes the pancreas. What do you feel like when you work too hard too long? Probably tired. Think about the pancreas too.

When you exercise, even moderate exercise....you don't have to run marathons or bike half-way across the country, you are diving into the fountain of youth because you are avoiding the pains of every day life. You are doing something good for your muscles, which supports the skeleton better. Supporting the skeleton better leads to fewer joint and back pains.

Don't you like when your car works more efficiently? When you eat right and get moving, you are allowing your body to work more efficiently and stay younger and stronger for longer. Your joints won't feel 'as old', your muscles will be strong and not groan at the simplest lifting tasks, your body will remain more flexible allowing you to turn your head in your car when backing up, for instance, without pain.

When you clean up your diet, stop eating fried foods, you are starting to eliminate some of the free radicals that do such damage to our bodies.

"Whoa....what is up with that term 'free radicals'?!?!" What is it? It is unstable oxygen molecules. They are fairly inevitable. Everyone has them. But you don't have to have a plethora of them. When you eat fried and smoked foods, your contributing to the free radical count. When you eat anti-oxidants, you're helping to protect your body from the damage of free radicals.

"BUT WHAT ARE THEY?!?! AND WHAT DO THEY DO!?!?!" you think. Free radicals are unstable oxygen molecules--this means that they are missing an electron....floating around your body. When they float around your body, they are looking to bind to any other molecule that will stabilize them--this is called oxidation. Another example of oxidation is a cut apple without lemon juice (the lemon juice drizzled on it acts as an anti-oxidant, just as blueberries do for the human body), the rusting process and 'the green crap on copper' (quoted from the hubby), 'the white powdery foamy stuff that forms on battery terminals in cars' (quoted again from the hubby :P), silver tarnishing. This isn't pretty! In the human body, this leads to many problems......they are linking free radicals to the aging process (balding, wrinkling skin, grey hair) as well as hang overs, dandruff and 85% of chronic and degenerative deseases (cancer, diabetes mellitus, atherosclerosis, cerebralvascular disease, stroke, etc etc etc).

I think it's worth watching what you eat and going for a dive in the deep sea of youth to prevent the oxidative damage of free radicals, don't you?!

The Secret to staying young is good health and lying about your age....or just some SHAKEOLOGY :D

Yes another fortune from a fortune cookie....I'm a dork and proud to be one :D (I don't think hubby and I would be a good match if I wasn't one :P)

So Beachbody just created this amazing thing called Shakeology (check it out shakeology.com....looks awesome). Shakeology is a meal (or a snack) in a glass. With 70 Healthy Ingredients--1 glass :). Welcome to your healthiest meal of the day.

In order to get all the things that the shake provides you have to have a salad with the following:
10 c cauliflower
4 c broccoli
4 c mushrooms
4 c radishes
4 c lettuce
1 c peas
7 carrots
3 whole raw onions.

It has proteins/amino acids, antioxidents, phyto-nutrients, digestive enzymes, probiotics, and 'adaptogens' (I'm unsure of this term....it's apparently an up and coming term in the nutrition industry....)
The counts:
140 calories
1 g fat
15-17 g protein
17-19 g carbs.
It can either be a meal replacement or a healthy snack.

They are not recommending eliminating all vitamins when you drink this wonder, but you won't need to do, say, a multi-vitamin as well as the additional calcium supplement (which all women, without this, should be taking)

The history of this stems from the fact that Carl Daikler's wife (a personal trainer and nutritionist) hates the fact that Carl hates vegetables and 'eats like a second grader'.

Shakeology certainly doesn't cover bases to negate the effects of a crappy diet, but it will supplement a clean diet beautifully.

What it does for us is help prevent the oxidative damage of free radicals (unstable oxygen molecules in the body that will bind to anything--this binding to anything is the oxidation). This prevention leads to the slowing of the aging process (arthritis, heart disease, cholesterol, high blood pressure, fun stuff). The digestive enzymes are protected from the processing of the vegetables so that it doesn't add the stress to the pancreas that cooked foods do.

And it tastes like chocolate (or green berry)

Seriously?

So if you're looking to tidy up your food a bit or jumpstart some serious weightloss efforts, you might want to look into trying Shakeology. This in addition to a regular workout regimen will have you in a new body before you ever drempt possible. It is possible. With great nutrition and some effort, it is absolutely possible.

Give it a try. Try it with a scoop of PB (in the chocolate) or some oj (with the green berry) for some variety. Try it and take the guess work and some of the rocket science out of dieting.

Below is alot of what you'll be getting in ONE SIMPLE GLASS.



That's a little bit about what you are consuming. This is a little bit of what you can get :):

I'm not a snob anymore

Not after doing a few of the 10 minute trainers. I should have known better. I should have known that Tony Horton would not put out a crappy workout. But, before I got them, I had my nose turned up. Not at the concept of them. Not at the super stacking theory. Not at anything, but the time. "10 minutes? Seriously? What is a whopping 10 minutes going to do for you?!?!?!?!" A good bit if you do it right that's for sure. But I like the workout long and hard. Give it all you've got and then some. (Do all that you can....and then two more is my theory :P)

On Friday night, I was running low on energy. Any other night like that, I would probably have just gone 'eh....I'll make it up with a double on another day.' I can take doubles. I love the challenge that doubles offer. Instead, I threw in both my TMT dvds and picked out three. I did cardio, total body, and abs. I had already done abs and knew that it was a killer 10 minute workout that definitely hit the core and did it well. I finished watching all the others, but didn't do them, so I didn't know what challenge they might be offering. I started them. By the end of the first 10 minute workout, cardio was first in line, I was dripping with sweat. Yea so what I looked like a dork (fortunately even Ryan wasn't around to laugh at me on this one :P) with the door attachment for the added challenge, but I enjoyed the workout.
Then came total body. 'Seriously, how much of the total body can you actually target in 10 minutes?!?!?!' Well, no, it's not an x+ workout that has your heart pumping and body going "Whoa!!!! Holy crap what in heaven's name was that?!?!?!" but you do hit every major muscle group and use the smaller muscle groups to support them.
Then came abs .. a second time. Yes still the same challenge as the first. Wow. 10 minutes can really get a good job done.

I will say this as a concession statement: I wouldn't do solely the 10 minute trainer. I wouldn't recommend sticking with the 10 minute trainer for years. I would absolutely recommend adding it to the repertoir on days that you're running on E, but you do have a tiny bit to give to a workout. I do absolutely recommend getting started with the wonderful 10 minute trainer, graduating to something longer, more extreme, but keeping this one around to add back in every now and then....just to head back to basics. It's a good one. So don't turn your nose up at the time, like I did. There's absolutely a place for it, somewhere in the mess of the schedule that we call our home :)
Keep bringing it all and leaving it all behind, buddies :)

Don't be a foot-tapper

"In today's American society, we have a plethora of people who stand in front of a microwave, tapping their feet"

I heard this quote from a motivational speaker, Les Brown (mentioned him in a previous blog), on a conference call with BeachBody. (very great call by the way--very bummed I won't hear more at the summit :()

A microwave delivers things quickly--2 minutes, 3 minutes, 10 minutes to thaw something, etc etc etc. Don't be impatient--appreciate the speed in which you can get things!!

Let me also say--do not stand in front of the mirror, tapping your foot, expecting to see your abs pop because you cut out your weekly McDonalds trip.

This is going to sound incredibly harsh, but I have to bring it up.

It did not happen over night that you put the weight on. It will not happen over night that you take that weight off. Whatever amount it is 5lbs, 50 pounds, 100 pounds. I don't care. None of it will happen over night. NONE of it will happen without effort, commitment, energy, consistency, effort, commitment, energy, consistency, oh yea and a little sweat will help too ;-> There is no cheat to it; there's no easy way; there's no "Krispy Kreme Diet" (Think Bruce Almighty). Whatever route you choose to start wanting to see change in the mirror--it will all take continued, repeated, thorough discipline and a bit of sweat to amp it up.

I know I know I know....we're all human....each and everyone of us. Each and everyone of us will want a cheat meal here and there (here and there is not equivalent to breakfast lunch and dinner, sorry). I want my cheats and snacks too. But you have to make the commitment to jump on and stay on the bandwagon, not expecting to tap your foot, eagerly and impatiently anticipating when you can jump back off for good (that's what we call yo-yo dieting.....not fun either I know).

I'm inviting you to jump on the bandwagon, stick around, make some friends (ask me how) rely on me and your other new friends for help to stay there to keep that 'undo' of however much weight gain coming.

Don't be a foot-tapper. Be patient, put in some effort....you will reap rewards for those efforts.

Stages of Change

There are 5 stages of change:
Precontemplation
Contemplation
Preparation
Action
Maintenance

Precontemplation is the stage in which folks see nothing to change, or rather, see no need to change what it is that arguably could use some tweaking. At this point, there is no 'starting to plan' or 'planning to plan' or anything of that source, at least in the near future. People in this stage probably aren't reading this blog.
In the stage of contemplation, the problem is known and there is thought about overcoming the problem, but there is no commitment to action to make the change.
Preparation is a place that people recognize. Its where people sit, making plans, thinking forward, intending on acting in the next month, familiar with this because they have not been successful at completing this in the past year. We come back here often.
The stage of action is the stage in which people adjust behavior, environment, and experiences to start to overcome the problem. This stage requires much energy, commitment, effort, and time. This is where the change actually happens.
The stage of maintenance is where people prevent 'relapse' and losing all that was attained in the 'action' stage. To prevent starting back over, this stage is as important as the 'preparation' and 'action' stages.

Where do you fall? What can I do to help you work through and get to (and stay at) the maintenance phase? Are you in the maintenance phase now, but there's a tweaking you need to do that brings you to the preparation stage? Anything I can do to help???

Right and Wrong--it really does matter

I'm sure you've heard that recent research is supporting the need to eat every couple (2-3) hours.

First of all this isn't:
A bowl of ice cream at noon
A few oreos at 2:30
A snickers bar on the way home from work at 5.

No no no no no no....sorry.

Try this:
Turkey on a 100% whole wheat wrap with lettuce, tomato, and cucumbers; yogurt with slivered almonds at noon
carrots at 2:30
fat free cottage cheese with peaches at 5pm

It's not this either:
Eggs, turkey sausage, whole wheat toast, oj, and coffee at 6am
Turkey on wheat with lettuce tomato cucumbers; yogurt with slivered almonds; a protein bar and water at 2pm
grilled chicken breast; mixed frozen veggies; baked potato at 9pm.

The reason it's not the latter is because it keeps a few things from happening. It keeps the insulin in the blood from spiking. What does this mean? If the insulin in your blood spikes, that means the amount of food floating through your system that gets pumped into fat cells, storing it for later (read: fat cells get bigger=no good) spikes, too.

There's another good reason for this:
If you go from 8am-2pm without food, come 2 pm you are going to be ravenous. You are going to have a case where your eyes are much bigger than your stomach. The problem with this is that there is a delay between when you're genuinely full and when your brain says "Ok hands, stop putting food in the mouth. We don't need anymore." This means calories that you're putting in your mouth that your body doesn't actually need. This means storing more fat for future use, giving you more pounds you need to work off when you get off the couch and get moving.

So....if you aren't going to get moving, see if you can adjust your diet a bit. I'm no nutritionist, but if you do have questions, I'm absolutely more than willing to share ideas. Don't hesitate to drop me an email :)

"The fortune you seek...."

Is in another cookie
No, I'm not telling you to eat a case of fortune cookies that you would get from your local chinese restaurant.
Yes....this was a fortune that I got in a fortune cookie one time a couple years ago. I think it's the best, most humorous fortune I've ever received. I scanned it. I probably have it somewhere because I think it's so entertaining.
But I'm going to apply it today to health and fitness :)

The goal you yearn for, the blood pressure you (and your doctor) would love to see, the medications you'd like to stop paying for, the waist size you dream of....that's all down another pathway. It's not down the same pathway of eating whatever you want, coming home from work, sitting down on the couch and not moving until you get up to go to bed. It's not down that way. "The fortune you seek is in another cookie" (no, don't eat more cookies).

If you want something different, you've got to DO something different. But the reality remains this: You CAN HAVE different. You aren't stuck where you're at. You can reach your [realistic] goals. Do what you've always done, get what you always got. DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT. Go down a different pathway. Seek out another fortune, another waistline, "diet controlled" diagnoses.

It's not just special people who get that fortune and 'luck'. It's the people who do something different. Write your script, seek another fortune, get moving, and get demanding something different.

Make some changes

I wanted to toss out there what is going on in my training. My new schedule (posted in a blog earlier) is going very well, but I decided to change up how I workout a bit in order to keep the results coming. I'm really enjoying the changes.

First of all in the schedule, I did not add in many doubles. I wanted to keep it free and allow it to do it as I'd be motivated, rather than have it be a chore and not bring it quite as well and much. I told myself that I wanted to do at least three doubles a week (including the Saturday/Sunday doubles that I have on the schedule). I wanted to get on the treadmill and enjoy some great runs as well. This has really worked on the weeks that I've been super pumped and ready to bring it. On the weeks that I struggled, it was good because I still did my regular workout and brought it with that, but didn't drag myself through and waste my time on a cardio workout that I was not feeling whatsoever.

Second of all, I usually lift heavy and feel the burn after 8-10 reps. This is my comfort zone. I have been kicking myself out of the comfort zone, though, and have been lightening the weight so that I feel the burn after a higher rep range (the series of workouts that I do, do 80 squats, as an example, with different counts and pulsing through the series) with focus being on form, depth/range of motion, sloooooow moves, and focusing on the muscle to feel the burn. Let me tell you, I have been feeling the burn. My concession statement to this is: You cannot get any results if you aren't feeling any burn. If you feel no burn through the series of reps (even in the middle of the series), you need to increase the weight. Since you are doing a higher number of reps keep the increase percentage quite low--10% or so. Not much more....if 10% isn't enough, increase it again in your next workout, focus on form, holding the counts, and using a slightly larger range of motion for the pulses)

Have you kicked yourself out of your comfort zone in a while? Have you treaded into unfamiliar territory? Venture somewhere new for a few weeks for something different--and results. Then stroll right back to your comfort zone for a bit--but don't stay there long!!