Assessments: "An Insight To Your Personal Weight Loss Trends"

In a previous article I discussed the myth of “Spot Reduction”. A concept that implies you burn fat from specific areas of your body that you exercise. As I had gone on to say, everybody’s body burns fat from different areas more than others, and spot reduction does not exist.

I personally experience the last of my weight to come out of my mid-section, while the rest of my body tightens up much quicker.

With all of my clients I do regular assessments to help track weight loss, as well as their inches lost. I measure 9 different areas of their body. From assessment to assessment you can follow the trends in inches lost to get a feel of what areas your body draws it’s fat energy from.

So, for example if you notice you are continually seeing a high number of inches lost in your waist then you can pinpoint that as one of the areas that your body draws fat energy from. If your legs continually lose minimal inches then you know it’s an area that your body does not draw from nearly as much, and you can anticipate that it will be one of the last areas to go.

In this way your assessment provides you some foresight into your future weight loss, and the new shape your body is taking on.  There are other factors that come in to play such as the exchange of fat for muscle, but even with that said. If you exchange fat for muscle in some areas more than others, you will be able to identify that with the information provided in your assessments as well. 

Starvation Mode

Depriving your body of calories, nutrients, or solid foods is a poor, and unhealthy way to go about achieving your weight loss goals.

One situation I have encountered frequently are clients whose weight gain doesn’t come as a result of eating too much, but rather from eating too little.

When people eat too little, or too infrequently, it slows their metabolism down, and throws them into a state known as “Starvation Mode”. It typically means their total caloric intake is less than 50% of what their body requires. As a survival adaptation on your body’s part it reacts to this lack of calories/nutrients by storing as much fat as possible.

This can come about for several reasons:

·         Many doctors I train have such hectic work schedules that they are lucky to get more than one solid meal in a day. Even if the meals they eat are healthy ones... people with very busy schedules who have a harder time getting in their 5 recommended meals a day metabolism's slow down, their bodies go into starvation mode, and as a result put on weight. 

·         Some people intentionally have a low caloric intake based on the premise of creating a calorie deficit. Attempting to create a situation where they are burning more calories than they are taking in. Creating a calorie deficit can be an effective weight loss method for some people under the right circumstances, but if your calorie/nutrient intake is TOO low, then you’re actually going to become counterproductive to your weight loss goals. It’s an EXTREMELY common mistake.

·         Some people will occasionally starve themselves in the literal sense in an attempt to fit into a dress for an event, or just to kill a few pounds. While this may work in the short term, the long term effects usually entail that person regaining more weight than they had to begin with. Your body is in no way, under any circumstances meant to be deprived of calories, nutrients, or hydration.

Starvation, strictly low carb, or liquid diets all garner the same effect. Once you re-introduce that which your body has been deprived of, your body will store as much of it as possible in an effort to prepare for what it expects to be another inevitable drought of calories/nutrients.

For example…

If you went a month of no carbs, lost 15lbs, and then went back to eating carbs again… you’re most likely going to put that 15lbs back on much faster than you lost it, as well as an additional 10-15lbs! Your body is now anticipating that it’s not going to see carbs again for a long while. It’s preparing for the next draught whether there will be one or not. It's doing this to protect you. A survival mechanism to help keep you alive! You must remember, that your body is not interested in your cosmetic appearance, only your survival. Cycling your carb intake however, can be a very effective way to burn fat when monitored by your personal trainer.

Depriving your body of anything it requires to function properly is bad for a number of reasons, but it is most definitely counterproductive to any weight loss goals you have. This is why creating a nutritionally balanced diet, with balanced meal frequency is going to garner you the best results whether it’s weight loss, muscle gains, or just your general health.

This is where I come in. To determine what areas of your diet are lacking, and what adjustments need to be made to allow you to achieve the goals you have set for yourself, and maintain your results for the long term.

Spot Reduction

One of the most common questions I am asked by clients is, “How do I get rid of this right here?”, as they are pointing to one of their problem areas. Regardless of where they point to, my answer is the same… diet and exercise.

What they are referring to is known as “Spot Reduction”… and I’m sorry to say, but it doesn’t exist.

The human body doesn’t burn fat specific to working the muscles that the fat surrounds. For example, you can do crunches all day, and while you are burning calories, and developing your abdominals, you are not burning more fat from your stomach than you are from anywhere else. Working your arms, abs, legs, or buttocks more doesn’t make them skinnier. Clean dieting and exercise in general does.

If spot reduction existed you’d have to find a way to put fat on in specific areas of your body to fuel them. Your body is sparing you that responsibility by just using all the fat in you as a fuel source for all of your muscles.

Now, you may find that you lose fat in some areas faster than others. This has everything to do with genetics. You may see a person with a gut, and tiny skinny legs, or someone with a skinny upper body, and big hips and legs. This is due to their genetic makeup, and has nothing to do with training certain muscles more than others.

Men and women tend to both store, and lose fat in different areas than one another. It’s just one of the many differences between the male and female of the species. If spot reduction existed, then men and women alike would benefit equally from similar training programs.

A Week Of Fitness

Remember Sharrann?

Sharrann took advantage of the August Training Incentive program I offered, and took on an entire week of training! We did this to give her routine an extra boost. We split up all of her body parts, so as not to overwork any one area. This endeavor was a lifetime first for Sharrann! This week not only included training 5 days with me, but also 2 additional workouts at the gym doing both Pilates, and cardio on her own!

As you exercise regularly your body makes adaptations which are beneficial up to a point, and then you can level out reaching that “plateau” so many people experience where you stop progressing. Your body will adapt to specific weights, motions, order of motions, rest period cycles, and even the number of days a week you train. This is why I stress variety in workouts, and why I offered the special training incentive rates to mix things up for some clients, and give them the opportunity to get that extra boost their body needs!

Sharrann’s efforts will no doubt contribute to her inevitable success on her next assessment!

As Sharrann likes to say... 

“Pain is temporary... it's merely weakness leaving the body.”

Congratulations Sharrann!

KEEP IT UP!!!

Understanding And Controlling Your Metabolism

Many people tend to resign themselves to the theory that if they have a slow metabolism, they are genetically doomed to this state for the rest of their life. This is just not so. We have an incredible amount of control over our metabolism, regardless of age or sex. Understanding how to control this can make a dramatic change in both your health and appearance. To have control over your body’s function, and appearance is an incredibly empowering feeling! So, here is a general overview as to how your metabolism works, and what you can do to have more control over it.

First, let’s start by educating you on what your metabolism is comprised of…

“Voluntary Activity Level” – This is all of the energy required for physical activity. Everything from flipping the pages of a magazine, to working out with your favorite personal trainer.

“Basal Metabolic Rate” – The energy needed to passively run all the processes required to maintain your body. Or in other words, it’s what keeps your engine running.

“Thermic Effect Of Food” – The energy cost to digest and assimilate the food you eat.

All three of these components can be tweaked and altered to raise your metabolism, once you understand how…

Your Basal Metabolic Rate accounts for about two thirds of your daily caloric intake.

One quarter of your calorie requirements are used for physical activity. This can vary depending on your job, general lifestyle, workout duration and intensity.

The Thermic Effect of food can account from anywhere from five to fifteen percent of your daily calories. It may not seem like a lot, but it can make a huge difference. This is of course altered through better diet.

So, let’s start by talking about your Voluntary Activity Level and making the most of it.

Getting The Most Out Of Your Cardio: "Quality Over Quantity"

Many of my clients either do cardio on their home machines, or go to a gym on their days off from training with me. Realistically, no one looking to burn fat and raise their metabolism should ever have to do any more than a half hour of cardio. Let’s face it, anything beyond that is incredibly boring for most people anyway. When it comes to cardio for the sake of weight loss, the focus needs to be on intensity. High energy output, in a short 30 min window of time. If it’s within your scheduling ability the morning is the best time to do cardio. Ideally you’re trying to crank your metabolism up, and better to do so as you go into your day to give you much needed energy, as opposed to night when you need to be able to relax, and get a good night sleep.

There are two mechanisms that burn calories from exercise…

1.      The calories actually used to perform the exercise.

2.      The energy needed to recover from the exercise. This is something greatly overlooked... the aftermath of the workout.

Get out of your head the idea of doing cardio to burn calories, but rather to ignite your metabolism!

Of course burning fat and calories is ultimately your goal, but you’ll burn more if you approach your cardio sessions with the goal of igniting your metabolism for a longer lasting effect, rather than just trying to burn as many calories as you can in the moment.

I try to stress the need for the combination of cardio, and weightlifting. Studies have found that following a traditional cardio session, your body will undergo a subtle metabolic increase for several hours. So, regardless of how many calories the machine may be telling you you’ve burned, the actual number is going to be higher. Now, this is where weightlifting comes into play. While you’ll experience a metabolic increase for several hours from cardio, studies have shown that a weight lifting session can increase your metabolic level for over 24 hours! In some cases up to 32!!! Lifting weights not only burns calories, but also requires fat oxidation for energy, a process resulting in burning fat.

People who should spend an hour doing cardio are those who need to do it for conditioning purposes. For example, somebody who is training for a marathon or a bike race. For those who are trying to burn fat, this just isn’t necessary, and in many cases longwinded bouts of cardio can become counterproductive to your goals!

Now, don’t get me wrong... Cardio is an extremely important aspect of the process and should not be overlooked. I’m simply talking about quality over quantity.

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

To get the most out of your cardio requires it to be performed certain ways, or at certain times. High Intensity Interval Training, (HIIT) is proven to be one of the best, and most efficient ways to fire up your metabolism, ultimately burning more calories/fat than typical cardio workouts.  The beauty of this is that it applies to any and all forms of cardio. So no matter what your machine/exercise of choice may be, you can apply this method and increase your productivity. So what is it? It is cardio performed in intervals shifting between high intensity and low intensity. The intensity can be altered in a few ways, through speed, resistance, or both.

Let’s use the elliptical as our example with contrasting levels of resistance. Rather than hop on, press “Quick Start” and go at it for 30 minutes at a steady pace, start off at a comfortable resistance. After 2 minutes raise the resistance to a point you find challenging. Then back down again after another 2 minutes. So, I might start at level 6 for 2 minutes, and then move up to level 10 for 2 minutes back and forth for the duration of the session. Most machines have an interval program built in so you don’t have to do all of this manually. This process does a few things. It breaks up the monotony and repetition, and it also is a more efficient way of revving up your metabolism. It's important to always continue to push yourself as well. If you start finding that your cardio is becoming very routine, then try mixing things up either by adjusting your speed, resistance level, intervals or even the type of cardio you're doing. Variety in both cardio, and lifting is essential to garner maximum results no matter what your fitness goals are.

But with what do you fuel this hard working machine?

The Importance Of Protein And Your Metabolism

There are three main reasons why protein should be a priority in your diet…

1.      You need the amino acids from protein to recuperate, and build strong new muscle tissue.

2.      Protein helps us stay lean by stabilizing our blood sugar levels.

3.      The Thermic Effect of protein.

It’s not uncommon for people to feel perspiration on their forehead after a protein rich meal. This is evidence of the increase in metabolic rate, and therefore temperature in your body. A higher metabolism, means a higher core temperature. Most people who get cold easily, typically don’t exercise often, and have slower metabolisms. In spite of their body fat levels.

Foods high in protein maintain this burning effect. Protein has DOUBLE the metabolic stimulating effect than nutrients such as carbs, or fat do. The calorie burning lasting effect from this can be from up to 5 hours following a meal. If you’re eating 5 to 7 meals a day, that incorporate protein into them, you’re feeding that metabolic fire all day long. Throw on top of all that your workouts with me, and you will soon be a well oiled metabolic machine!

Which leads into me into…

The Importance Of Eating 5 Times A Day

It’s important to eat multiple meals throughout the day in regulated portions, so as to give your digestive system work to do, which keeps your metabolism active, but with only enough work to do for three hours between meals.  So, once the first meal has been processed, then the next is on it’s way. Ideally, it is best if each meal contains SOME protein. This routine keeps the energy giving metabolic fire burning all day long.


This also prevents your body from going into "starvation mode", and storing fat. When your body sees a steady source of nutrition being delivered to it throughout the day, it doesn't see as great of a need to store fat away. Going long stretches in the day without eating, or starving yourself actually sets you up to store more fat. If you eat breakfast, and don't eat again till dinner, your body sees a long period of time go by without being fed the nutrition it needs. So, the next meal you eat, your body will stash as much of it away in the form of fat as it can... not knowing when it's next meal will be coming in.

The five meals consist of …

Breakfast

Snack 1

Lunch

Snack 2

Dinner

Your breakfast should be a combination of protein and carbs. The combination of the two will give you the metabolic boost you need in the morning to get going.

Did you know an apple will give you more energy in the morning than a cup of coffee? Your snacks may include fruits and vegetables. Fruit contains energy-giving fructose (low on the glycemic index), several essential vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals, plus dietary fiber for better health, digestion and blood glucose control. So, even if you're counting carbs to lose weight, make sure you eat plenty of healthy fruit.

Protein drinks, and bars make for excellent "snacks" to fulfill your Meal 2, and Meal 4 requirements. 

Lunch should be a combination of protein and carbs. Chicken, turkey, or fish with some vegetables would be ideal.

You usually want to cut your carb intake post lunch. 50 grams or less. This way when you get up and do your cardio the next morning, your body doesn’t have the carbs from the night before to draw on for energy. It must then resort to it’s backup, the stored fat in your body.

Dinner should fall along the same lines as lunch. A protein rich meat, and preferably some vegetables.

Your body is built for adaptation. By constantly keeping your metabolism working through proper diet and exercise, over time you’ll train it to continue to do so on it’s own, thus allowing you to maintain your new body. Everyone’s body is different, and has different needs. That is where I come in. To help you figure out your body’s chemistry, and needs. Together we can find the best exercise/diet plan to help you achieve your goals.

Sharrann's Success

Routine assessments are an important part of tracking the progress of an individual’s fitness goals. This allows the individual as well as the me the trainer to see what we’ve accomplished, and determine what the next set of goals will be. The assessment is typically comprised of tracking weight, measurements, as well as performing a few physical tests. Assessments are done every 6 – 8 weeks.

Sharrann started training with me back in February of 2009. She went from being someone with very little interest in working out, with knee problems, to training 3 times a week with me as well as a couple of days at the gym on her own!

Much to her own surprise she has even started compiling quite a collection of various weights, and workout equipment so that she may practice specific movements/workouts in her spare time.

Our cardio boxing sessions are by far and away her favorite of anything we do together. In fact they have become an incentive she earns now for good dieting, and tracking in her food log. She even picked up a set of her own pink boxing gloves. She never thought the day would come that she would be begging to box!

Since 2009, Sharrann has trained with me regularly, worked out on her own, been mindful of her diet, and supplemented CLA as well.  As of her August assessment she has managed to take 33 INCHES off of her entire body, and her knees are stronger than ever! She has more energy, and is finding her quality of life enhanced.

Long walks, and flights of stairs which were once more taxing of an endeavor are now performed with ease. Her accomplishments do not go unnoticed either, as she is reminded of them constantly by her peers as well as people whom she hasn’t seen in months/years. They notice a change in her appearance, and again her quality of life.

So, congratulations are in order to Sharrann for her dedication, hard work and determination which has clearly paid off. Sharrann remains steadfast in her pursuit of a healthier lifestyle, and I am very proud of her!

Congratulations Sharrann!

CLA

CLA stands for “Conjugated Linoleic Acid”

It’s a naturally occurring free fatty acid found generally in small doses in meat, and dairy products.

All CLA research to date has proven that it WILL build muscle, REDUCE body fat, and induce an optimum cellular environment in your body for good health.

The problem is to achieve the levels of CLA you need, it would require eating an absurd amount of meat and dairy products. The negative effects would far outweigh the positives.

Random fact about CLA: One processed food that contains high levels of CLA is Cheez Wiz… though I don’t recommend going that route.

Ideally the best way to get CLA is through supplementation. Through advanced lipid technology, a CLA synthesizing process allows for precision intake through premeasured softgel capsules. This allows for precise CLA intake at determined time intervals without the high calorie food consumption. Not only has CLA been shown to increase muscle mass while reducing body fat, studies have also shown remarkable anti-catabolic, antioxidant, and immune enhancement benefits.

CLA has shown to create increased feed efficiency. What that means is that it allows your body to garner the maximum positive effects from each meal. It increases muscle tissue, and decreases body fat. Studies have shown that while taking CLA supplementation, even with a decrease in food intake it still promotes lean mass growth. So, for those looking to lose weight it works great in conjunction with a clean diet.

Like L-Carnitine it is not a stimulant, nor a thermogenic. CLA simply a naturally fatty acid that when taken in proper doses, promotes a healthier body. For those looking to lose weight naturally I recommend a supplementation regimen of both CLA & L-Carnitine
.

For more information, or if you have any questions you’d like to see answered in this blog please feel free to contact me at Tommyelse@gmail.com

L-Carnitine

L-Carnitine is a vitamin supplement I'm suggesting now for my clients whose protein levels are lacking, and are looking to lose weight. A common trend I find.

Any nutrition or vitamin shop should carry it.

L-carnitine is very similar to the nonessential amino acid carnitine. It performs some of the same functions, such as helping metabolize food into energy. L-carnitine is synthesized in the body from the amino acids lysine and methionine. 

L-carnitine transfers long-chain fatty acids, such as triglycerides into mitochondria (a cell's energy powerhouse), where they may be oxidized to produce energy. L-carnitine promotes growth and development. It is also used for fat-burning, increasing energy, and improving resistance to muscle fatigue. L-carnitine helps to build muscle. It is also great in dieting, as it reduces feelings of hunger and weakness.

Studies have been conducted on L-carnitine since as early as 1937. Those studies yielded positive results suggesting that the body's cardiovascular system can greatly benefit from its intake. There are a variety of published studies that suggest L-carnitine is useful in increasing the heart's output and improving it's functioning, as well as stimulating the heart's energy supply and supporting cardiac performance.

For diabetics... L-Carnitine improved glucose disposal among 15 patients with type II diabetes and 20 healthy volunteers. Glucose storage increased between both groups, but glucose oxidation increased only in the diabetic group. Finally, glucose uptake increased about 8% for both.

Because kidneys produce carnitine, kidney disease may lead to the deficiency of carnitine in the body. Thus, carnitine may be prescribed to those with kidney disease. 

L-Carnitine has also been known to aid symptoms of depression.

It takes about a week or so of daily use for it to start taking effect. So I reccomend starting slowly. 1 in the morning the first week. Then add one at lunch the second week. See how your energy levels are. If you feel like you get through the day well then I'd leave it at that. If you still feel a lack of energy you could go as many as 3 a day but no more. Too much L-Carnitine in your system can lead to restless nights of sleep, and we don't want that. It is also not recommended for anyone who have an underactive thyroid condition, as it may aggravate it. Those with an OVERactive thyroid can benefit greatly from it.

L-Carnitine is not a stimulant, nor is it a thermogenic. It's simply a supplement of a chemical that your body naturally produces. Some people just produce more than others. I highly recommend this economical vitamin supplement for anyone looking to lose fat, maintain muscle, and reap the other endless rewards it offers.