How to Snack Well

As a personal trainer who specializes in weight loss, I am constantly being asked “what am I doing wrong”? I then begin to ask some questions and the resounding response is snacking and portion size.

The remedy to both is sometimes the same thing. If you eat food that is healthy you can often get a bad result if you have too much of it. If you want to snack, you can eat the right stuff but again too much of it.

The best advice I can give you is to read the label. Most of the foods we buy comes in a package that allows you to find out how many calories are in a serving. We need to be careful that the serving size is not a trick. What I mean by this some companies give a small serving size that no one actually uses. Cereal is a good example. If you weight an ounce or cereal it is often half of what most people consider a bowl. Spray butter is another. They say it has no fat because one spray is less than a half a gram. When is the last time you only used one spray.

Next time you dole out a portion, look at how many portions are in the container. You can also buy a small food scale. After you use it on an item you can usually eyeball it for the next serving. Most people eat the same thing 80% of the time and eat new food item only on occasion. If you can learn the calories in the 80% the other 20% won't get you in much trouble.

Update on Family Weight Loss

     I posted something a few weeks back about a family member who asked how she could get back in shape. I had the unusual position where I didn't have to pussy foot around because of our long relationship and because of the fact that she asked for my professional opinion.

    Yesterday I got a text that she was doing great and had already lost six and a half pounds. We were both ecstatic. I then asked what was the secret. She said there are no short cuts but that one thing I said made a huge impact on her progress. I was curious what it was because I am always looking for a common denominator. If it works for one person it won't work for everyone but it may works for others as well.

    She said that one thing I said stuck out in her mind like never before. I don't remember the exact words unfortunately but it all came down to something like this. At the end of the day the only thing that matters is one word. "willpower". It may be two words "self discipline". She said that only thing keeping her fat and cutting her life span was her lack of willpower. No carb or fattening dish is worth my self esteem she texted! The good news was that there were only a few key times of day that she had to address to regain power and start making progress.

     If you are a successful business person and have done what it takes to succeed at work, just apply the same tenacity on something equally important, yourself. Someone once said that nothing tastes as good as being fit feels. You may find that if you try it for a few weeks you can create a new habit.

Should I Snack

     As a personal trainer who deals primarily with weight loss, I often get asked about snacking. The surprise is that I have done a 180 on what I used to think and do. The old mind set was to eat several meals a day to keep the metabolism up. The old rule also said eat breakfast as the most important meal of the day.

    I have to confess that at 60 my easy weight loss days are over. In the past with routine exercise and diet I could get in my best shape in a month or two. Now that old plan is not as effective. What I found was, that eating between meals was not working for me. There are several possibilities for this but the one that makes the most sense is the concept of glycogen depletion. What this means in English is when you snack you replenish your glycogen stores in the liver. This is the easy accessed fuel the body need for energy. Without this easy to accessed fuel,  the body must get energy from somewhere else. The body can now draw on fat to fill that requirement as an energy source.

     The good news is that it doesn't take long before this becomes second nature. We are all creatures of habit and good habits like bad are just that, habits. Give it a couple of weeks and you be surprised how the appetite is down along with your weight. 

How To Get Back On Track

     A family member asked me yesterday, how she can get back to her old shape. This lady has struggled  most of her life with weight until five years ago. She dropped about 30 lbs. and looked terrific, better than ever before. She is in her mid fifties and has put back 20 of the 30 lbs.

     Ever notice that after you drive to a new place the first time the second time is much faster. The same thing goes for weight loss. I'm not taking about a fad diet that you lose rapid weight in a short period of time. I'm talking about weight loss the right way with smart nutrition, exercise and most importantly willpower.

     There are no easy answers. Quick weight loss usually results in quick weight gain. The "exercise prescription" refers to three to five days a week of walking or exercise.  Food is often the hard part.
This lady knows what to do and already hits the gym.

     We went to a Mexican restaurant for brunch and I saw part of the problem. She had a omelet with rice, beans and tortillas. You cant eat carbs. like that and lose weight. My guess is the plate had about 2000 calories. She only had 1/2 but she brought it home WITH the tortillas.

    My suggestion was two things. 1)  Take the picture of you in the two piece bathing suit 20 lbs lighter and put it on the frig. 2) Hold off on the beans, rice and tortillas for four months. The immediate response was not even black bean?  My response was not even black beans for four months then you can go back to black beans.

     As I was leaving I left her with one thought, it all comes down to one word, WILLPOWER!
Are you going to let "it tastes so good" continue to be more important to you than looking your best?

Should I Eat Breakfast

When I started as a personal trainer 25 years ago, the conventional wisdom was very definite about not skipping meals. The most important meal of course was breakfast. If you follow the most current information, this is no longer a given. Many of the nutritional authorities have now put it out there that skipping breakfast many have other benefits.

The reason for this involves the concept of intermittent fasting. If you eat dinner at six or seven and skip breakfast, you add another four to six hours that the body is without food. After food is digested it is converted to glycogen which is easily converted to energy. Without a constant supply of this on hand fuel the body needs to convert fat into energy. Can you see where I'm going?

The old idea of six small meals made sense because something called the thermic effect of food. This means after you eat food the metabolism is boosted by 10% to convert that food to energy. If you eat 300 calories you burn 30 calories to digest it. We used to think if you ate all the time or grazed you would constantly be stimulating your metabolism. Look around,  we have more obese people now than ever.

If you eat 1000 calories you burn 100 calories. If you eat three meals of 333 calories you still burn the same amount but you continue to replenish your glycogen. The body never needs to burn fat reserves.

I don't recommend one meal a day but you may want to try eating a late breakfast and a early dinner or just skip breakfast and eat the same lunch and dinner. If you used to eat 21 meals a week and now you're eating 14, you will probably be eating less and losing weight. Try it, I did!

When is the best time of year to start working out

 After 25 years of helping the local Foothill residents get in shape I often get asked, when should I start. The age old wisdom is after the first of the year, a new years resolution. What I have found may surprise you. The people with the highest success rate start in December.

The reasons for this may vary and don't get me wrong January is a close second. The best time to get in shape is when you're  ready. This is one of the things that no one else can do for you. I think the reason December is effective is because you are making a decision for yourself, not because everyone else is doing something.

One of best things to do if you want to lose weight and get in shape is ask the special people in your life to help out. If being strong and lean were easy the scenery at the mall would be a lot better. Most people make MUCH better progress with a proven system in place. A proven system is always more easily accomplished with a team in place that all work together toward a common goal.

If you don't have supportive team around you which is often the case, try a  few sessions with a experienced certified personal trainer. Body Mastery is the business I started over two decades ago and I tailored it to the average person who hates exercise. I consider our system the un-bootcamp.

No matter how effective a program may be, it will never succeed if people find it too unpleasant to follow. If you hate the process good luck in making it a way of life. This obvious principle is why we try to make each workout not only productive but also enjoyable. The first thing most clients find attractive is that you are never in competition with anyone. We have  clean cool environment that only involves you and your trainer, no distractions. We have music, TV or other forms of entertainment that help pass the time more quickly than you'll expect. If you want to try a workout for free just mention this blog post and I can show you what I mean.  

How to Get Your Partner Going

     Many of my clients have partners that also work out on a regular basis, but some have to go it alone. The support system ranges from one end of the spectrum to the other. If your partner is already on the band wagon, good for you. If they aren't here are a few suggestions.
      If you're in a good relationship your partner wants the best for you. You can use that fact to help them by helping you. What I mean by this is you can ask your significant other to help you first with your food choices. I don't think a husband who brings home pizza on a regular basis is helping anyone with weight loss goals. Don't get me wrong I'm Italian and love Italian food but it can be enjoyed sparingly and certain foods are 1/4 the calories of others.
      The first thing to do is come out in the open and tell your partner you would like some help eating healthier. You can make suggestions for dinner like fish or chicken. Tell the waiter not to bring the bread or chips when you eat out. We often have a healthy salad or appetizer and then split an entry which is a habit that we really have grown to like.
      Snacking is often a problem after dinner. Sometimes you can make progress by switching to a smarter choice like popcorn or pretzels. Better yet ask you partner to skip a snack night here and there. That at least is a good start and you can build on to it.
       As far as routine exercise,  the best thing I have found is to ask for some company on a walk after dinner. It has been statistically proven that walking is one of the best things to speed up a sluggish metabolism. After 5PM the body begins to slow down metabolically. A walk anytime after can reap rewards that you wont get at other times. If you are a woman, you can use the safety issue of walking alone. Make your man play the protector role, we always love that even if we don't admit it.
     Finally you can buy a personal training session from a local trainer. Body Mastery has been helping the Foothill locals get in shape for 25 years. We have a private workout studio and also come to homes. If you get a bad response you just need to pull the "I love you and care about your health" card. Then use it yourself if that doesn't work.

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What Are You Waiting For

So many people who come to me tell me that they have been thinking about calling for some time. Many tell me they wanted to lose some weight first. Others just put it off because they are afraid that they will fail at their attempt.
The good news is that it is never too late to start. I have trained clients in their 90's and they are usually amazed at how much better they feel. The fact remains that exercise will always be the best thing to help you put off aging and improve not only how long you live but also how well you live.
If I had to pick one reason why the vast majority of people don't engage in a routine program is because they hate the thought of exercise. They do too much without a viable game plan. 
If you were planing a vacation to the opposite coast, would you just get in the car and start driving? That is the equivalent of wanting to get more fit and starting by running and lifting weights.
Fitness like other goals is more achievable when approached intelligently.
Before you start your workouts, do some research and find an experienced fitness pro who can make the process understandable. If you break things up into measurable steps you will find success you never thought possible.
Call us in La Crescenta for a free consultation

How to Follow Through on Your Goals

To find success in fitness like anything else you need two things: 1) a viable plan and 2) most importantly the follow through to make it work. Unlike the hard things like finding the right mate or a high paying career that you actually like, fitness is basically pretty easy.
All you need to do is eat health but not too much and spend two to three hours a week on an effective exercise program. The good news, the plan is a no brainer and its the same for everyone.
The only reason everyone is not in great or at least good shape is part two, the follow through. We all know what we need to do and only need the willpower and discipline to stick to our plan.
Although the first part (the plan) is the same for everyone, the follow through is different for each and every individual. I will now try to give some of the tips I've used to help motivate thousands of clients I've helped during my personal training career of 25 years.
1) Ask a family member or spouse to help keep you on your toes. You want accountability but you need the right approach. Tell people what you need or it will usually come across as nagging. There is probably a phrase that drives you crazy but also one that may really be helpful.
2) Right on a daily planner or calendar when you ate well and when you exercised. One client put a red check for ate well and a green check for a walk or exercise session. When you look at the month and see lots of checks it makes for a good visual.
3) Give yourself a reward for short term goals. If you lose five pounds treat yourself to a new shirt or a small splurge. You may not want the rewards to be in the way of food.
4) Find a partner of trainer who shares your fitness goals. If you ask 100 people I think you will find most will like to drop a few pounds. Finding a walking partner may be the first step to making fitness progress. 

Add One Hour a Week and Lose Weight

There is a simple way to lose weight if you are walking or doing just cardio. The good thing about cardio or walking is that it helps rev up your metabolism. Some studies show a several hour boost after just an hour walk. On the other hand if you build muscle your metabolism is accelerated for 24 hours. Fat is like dirt, it doesn't need to be watered or fertilized. Muscle needs nutrients like food to  be kept alive.

I have several clients that come to me for two half hour session a week to build and maintain new muscle. The good thing: the less you're used to the less you need to do. They call weight lifting progressive resistance because you progressively lift heavier and heavier weight. This means you never have to be overwhelmed. Start with a weigh that begins to get heavy after eight or ten reps and stop at 15 repetitions. You may find a pound or two for some exercises is plenty.

A good weight loss program might be to walk Mon Wed and Fri and then do some resistance training on Tues and Thur. Don't forget that you can't walk off bad eating. All the cardio is for naught if you don't follow a common sense eating program. For example a few appetizers at Friday's took a half marathon to walk off.

Take Fitness to the Next Level

                                                 
For those of you who are looking to get in better shape but are not making progress, here are some tips. If you aren't losing weight you need to switch up what you are doing. You can change your routine, ask a friend to join you, even take a few sessions from a personal trainer. If you are doing cardio for 20 mins, go to 30. If you workout two days a week add a day. The body can get in a rut and just may need a little change. Joe Weider the father of body building came up with the principal of muscle confusion. It has been proven for decades that the muscles respond better when they are given different stimuli. That just means changing your exercises. The problem is that most people have a limited amount of knowledge on how to change a routine. You can actually spend the exact amount of time and energy but make progress just by varying what you do.

The best thing to do is just ask a friend or a trainer to give you a new routine. You may not believe it but most people just need a little change to reap big results. The body loves regularity and small changes disrupts homeostasis. In English this just means but switching it up a little you can get a big pay off.  Personal trainers differ in many ways but we  all agree on this one. Don't take my advise give it a try. you'll be glad you did.

Keep Your Resolution

                                              

Is has been statistically proven that the majority of our resolutions are never accomplished. When it comes to fitness the major problem is the wording of the resolution. If your goal is to make progress with your health, longevity and  appearance, the solution may be as simple as the wording of your resolution.
There is acronym KISS. Keep it simple stupid (however I think we can do better than stupid). My experience over the past 20 plus years shows that a narrowly defined objective is easier to achieve that a goal like get more fit or lose weight.
If you are looking to lose weight and get more fit, the answer for most people is exercise routinely and eat better. The problem with that mission statement is: What does routinely and better mean? I would recommend that if you are starting at level 1 (couch potato who eats lots of fast food) , begin by saying you will walk two days a week and stop eating desserts after dinner. Get my drift. Make a strict goal that is clear to understand and easy to accomplish. In the coming weeks I will include a variety of tips that will hopefully include various people at different levels of making fitness a priority in their lives.

A Great Way To Make Exercise More Effective

For the past 20 plus years people have come to train with us. Almost everyone wants to lose fat and tone up. A heart monitor is a useful tool that makes this goal easier to accomplish. You can see what your pulse rate is by looking at a watch you wear on your wrist. This keeps you accountable and makes your workout not only safe but more precise and effective. Most people who have never worked out are amazed at how little they need to do to get "aerobic". We’ve proven that if you don't overdue it and you don't hate the process; you may actually stick with it.
One reason to work out a little longer is because of the fat burning equation. This tells us that during the first 19 mins. of aerobic exercise you burn mainly carbs that you've eaten (glycogen). After 20 mins. you begin to use fat as an energy source and hence begin fat burning. Think about this next time you stop your cardio after 20 mins.
Don't worry about figuring out your target zone. Every heart monitor comes with a simple chart so you don't need to do any math. Finally you can spend about $40 or $400 and the difference is mainly bells and whistles. The cheaper ones are also easier to set up and get going.

Eat More and Lose Weight

What most people find in a conventional diet is quick weight loss followed by an eventual plateau. What may unfortunately follow is an eventual weight gain. The reason for this is something called starvation mode efficiency. The body reacts to a sudden calorie deficit by slowing its metabolism down. This has been done over the centuries as a survival mechanism. The body begins to conserve energy and stores fat. It sees that calories have become scarce. If you were used to 2500 calories and then go down to 1500 you will initially lose weight. The body in time will learn to make those 1500 calories a set point. In other words it maintains body weight on 1500 calories. For additional weight loss you will need to cut the 1500 down to 1200 or even 1000 calories a day.

For most people, after a few weeks of starving yourself, the willpower will wane. After you went to 1500 calories you may start to inch up to 1700 or 2000 calories a day. The upshot: the calories that used to maintain weight will now make you gain weight. The simple answer is never cut your calories by more than 500 at a time. Slow weight loss can be permanent weight loss. Quick weight loss is usually followed by quick weight gain.

Weights or Cardio: What's Best?

Most people who want to lose weight take the diet approach. Some of the more ambitious add exercise or cardio. Walking, treadmills, bicycles or elliptical trainers are considered cardio. As a trainer who specializes in weight loss, I’m often asked “What’s better strength training or cardio.”

Making an effort to watch your calories is a good place to start. As you get older, unfortunately restricting calories will often be accompanied by a slower metabolism. This is the main reason that experts recommend that exercise accompany eating more wisely. Notice I didn’t say dieting. The first three letter of diet are what: DIE.

The answer to the question what’s better, weights or cardio comes with much debate. The vast majority seem to favor cardio. The reason to me is the fact that anyone can walk and it’s easier. Cardio will burn calories while you walk and for a short period after.

Exercise when performed correctly adds muscle. This increases your metabolism even while you sleep. For every pound of muscle, your body needs 30-50 extra calories to maintain this new biologically active tissue. The side effect is a tighter body and the need to eat more to sustain new muscle growth.

As you can see both methods are important, especially as we age. In a perfect world or for those with great willpower the answer is to do both strength training and cardio. If you have limited time like most of us, I have a suggestion. Try circuit training.

Circuit training is moving from one exercise to another in with little or no break. This may sound exhausting but when done correctly it’s not. I do this with 90% of my clients. You warm up on the treadmill or elliptical for 5 minutes. After that step off and do one or two exercises and then back on the treadmill. The treadmill keeps the heart rate up in between exercises. This way you get cardiovascular benefits while you tone and sculpt your body. If you don’t have a treadmill you can still do circuit training but you may need some help designing an exercise routine you won’t hate.

For more info visit us at body-mastery.net.

Get Healthy and Lose Weight Too

Now that we’re all done with the Superbowl celebrations it’s time to get serious about getting healthy. I have a few tips that make it easy to do a little and get big results.

The first thing is easy. Eat a healthy breakfast every day. Make sure you have at least 20 grams of protein. Avoid starchy carbs. such as bagels, toast and pastries. My favorite choices are Greek yogurt or cottage cheese. I use fruit and walnuts to make it taste better.

 

Make an effort to eliminate excess sugar. The sugar habit is one of the worst culprits when it comes to weight loss. The good news is that in a fairly short time you can break the cravings. Like salt, sugar is a taste you will stop craving if you go without it for a short while. Take a month off from sweets and you’ll be glad you did.

Drink more water than you are currently drinking. Most people including myself don’t drink as much water as they should. Many authorities agree that drinking more water can lead to weight loss and better health. A good trick is to start first thing in the morning with a big glass while you get ready. Have a glass before lunch and dinner and your set.

Load up on water based carbs. Try to add veggies and even fruit into your diet. Veggies have three things your body needs on a daily basis: fiber, water and minerals. This one thing alone will help you lose weight and become healthier. You can add veggies as a mid day snack or replace a starch side dish with an extra vegetable for dinner.

Finally add more movement into your life to boost your metabolism. Most fitness experts agree that the prescription for exercise is three to five times per week. Don’t worry this includes walking. Don’t forget weight training however. Thin and flabby is not a good thing either. You would be amazed how adding one or two more days a week can be the difference between gradually losing all the weight you want or just spinning your wheels.

Visit us at body-mastery.net.

The Eight Hour Diet Follow Up

 My last post was to the millions of people looking for a sensible way to lose weight. The diet I’m reviewing says you can eat all the foods you love and lose weight easily. The only real restriction was that you were to eat during an eight hour window. This means delay breakfast until 10:00 AM and have dinner by 6:00 PM. You can use any eight hour window.

What I found after three weeks, this is a great way to eliminate late night snacking. You are a little hungry in the morning but any restrictive eating plan requires some sacrifice. The author said you could lose seven lbs. in just 10 days. I only lost about 3.5 pounds. I didn’t go crazy and kept to my usual smart eating plan. I think if I ate all the fun foods that I love this would have been a crash and burn experience.

A few things differ with me that the usual person trying to lose weight. I didn’t want to lose any significant weight. I also workout more than most and burn a lot of calories with my personal training clients. These factors make me less likely to be a “Big Loser”.

Eating any way you want for eight hours is only going to make you lose weight if you used to pig out for 10-12 hours. For most people eating smart to begin with, this plan will be OK but will only produce modest results. One thing I found, if you wait until 10:00 or 12:00 for breakfast you sometimes skip lunch. This alone will cut calories if you skip a few lunches a week.

In conclusion, if you want to lose weight you need to burn more calories and take fewer calories in. Any program that gives structure and restricts calories is better than no plan at all. You want to avoid impulse eating be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. The Eight Hour Diet is easy to follow but eat smart. You will avoid late night snacking, skip a few lunches and lose a few pounds. 

For more info visit us at body-mastery.net.

A Diet That Isn't a Diet

I was watching the Today Show and they had an editor for Men’s Health on the program. He has written several books called “Eat This Not That”. His new book has a program that made several impressive claims. You can eat for any 8 hour period and then have nothing for the next 16 hours. This he said leads not only to quick weight loss but also to more energy and less catastrophic disease.

This plan says you should concentrate on 8 super foods and that this it is not an excuse to pig out. You could have large quantities of food during the 8 hour period and can also indulge in comfort foods like pizza, ice cream, cake and even wine. (You can have all your favorite foods).

When you get up in the morning just delay breakfast and start eating about 10:00-11:00. One important thing you miss with a program like this is the metabolism “jump start” you get in the morning by eating breakfast. You can get around this by having some coffee or tea and then walking for as little as 8 minutes. This is only for the morning jump start and should not replace any exercise you have planned.

On the one hand the author says you can eat all your favorite foods but on the other hand he says this is not an excuse to pig out. He says to make sure to concentrate on the eight “Super Foods” like nuts, legumes, yogurt, asparagus, turkey, whole grain and dairy etc.  So you can see this is not calorie restrictive only time restrictive.

What I plan on doing at this point is to conduct my own personal experiment. I weighed in this Monday and have begun my version of this program. Stay tuned for as update on what I found next week.

See more in future blogs or visit us at body-mastery.net

Eat, Drink And Be Merry

This is a nice time of year to party with friends and family. Unfortunately many people gain five or more pounds. The good news: it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are a few things you can do, enjoy yourself and not feel cheated.

The main thing to realize is that pounds usually come as a result of a week’s behavior.  You are allowed to have a bad day here and there. Actually you will make more progress with weight loss if you vary calories from day to day.

The reason for this is called starvation mode efficiency. If you have fewer calories than you need for a long period of time the body begins to thinks food is scarce. The thing that suffers most is your metabolism. You begin to conserve energy, feel sluggish and will have a hard time losing any weight at all. This is why so many people eat like a bird, are tired all the time and never achieve permanent weight loss.

Here is a simple proven suggestion. Budget you calories like you would your finances. Figure how many calories you have to spend for the week. If you have 1500 a day you can spend 10,500 for the week. You can have a few frugal days of 1000 and spend 2500 when you need to at a special occasion.

If you are real into numbers you can actually make this pretty scientific. If you’re like me, make it simple. Forget the numbers and just guess a little. Have a few light dinners and lunches leading up to your blow it days. When you do hit the parties you’ll have calories to burn and won’t feel guilty.

Another suggestion is eating a little before a party, especially when appetizers are served. Eating a small lunch before your 4:00 Christmas meal is a good way to save you from overeating when you finally sit down.

The rules that apply here will also be maximized with a few extra walks or workouts. Don’t forget the calories you burn during workouts are only a part of the overall benefit.When you add workouts you also increase your metabolism even after you’re done. This is what we call the afterburn. For more tips visit us at body-mastery.net