Here Comes The Sun!! What's The D(eal)??

Here comes the sun! I come from a tropical country, so that makes my heart smile!

My body smiles too because that increases my chances of exposure to the sun with moderation, not only to look tanned, but also to boost my Vitamin D level.  The ultraviolet rays help the body synthesize that vitamin. However that’s just a small percentage from what your body needs.

As part of my current fat loss health recovery journey, I found out my Vitamin D level is low and I am not on a prescription dosage to bring it back up in addition to a higher nutritional supplementation. To me, that’s a big deal because studies show that low levels of vitamin D can be associated with cancer, multiple sclerosis, heart problems, and obesity.

The last one particularly interests me in my journey.

I had learned through Metabolic Effect’s Dr. Jade Teta that University of Minnesota’s researcher Shalamar Sibley has found that inadequate levels of vitamin D could inhibit a overweight person’s ability to lose fat, even on a fat loss/weight loss diet.

That totally caught my eye!

The doctor did not recruit specifically people who had low levels of Vitamin D. She was doing a weight loss study with overweight  and they all happened to be Vit D deficient! That obviously indicated some relation with the problem.

The more elevated vitamin D levels found in that study also predicted higher fat loss, specially in the abdominal area.

Now I’m sure more research is popping up with more definitive conclusions.

Also, how about your ability to exercise, exert without pain or injury? Certainly keep an eye on that too! Another research from the same University showed that in a group of 150 patients who had chronic musculoskeletal pain, an alarming 93% were deficient in Vitamin D.

So, if you are a calcium freak to get your bones strong, you’d better check your Vitamin D level because that’s essential for calcium absorption too.

So, get some sun, check out the food list below to boost your vitamin D intake, but most importantly, CHECK YOUR VITAMIN D LEVEL!!!!!

I’m not a doctor, so I can’t recommend dosages. Mine has to be kept between 3,000-5,000 IU just for maintenance! I’m also on a 3 month treatment of 50,000 per week prescribed by my doctor. Again, each person is different, so ASK YOUR PROVIDER, but please don’t let something so simple become a huge problem for you.

Here is a list of some foods and their Vitamin D content.

SOURCE:			VITAMIN D CONTENT
SALMON
	fresh, wild (3.5 oz)		about 600-1,000 IU of D3
	fresh, farmed (3.5oz)		about 100-250 IU of D3 or D2
	canned (3.5 oz)		about 300-600 IU of D3
SARDINES, canned (3.5 oz)			about 300 IU of D3
MACKEREL canned (3.5 oz)			about 250 IU of D3
TUNA canned (3.5 oz)			about 230 IU of D3
COD LIVER oil (1 tsp)			about 400-1000 IU of D3
SHITAKE MUSHROOMS
	fresh (3.5oz)		about 100 IU of D2
	sun-dried (3.5oz)		about 1600 IU of D2
EGG YOLK			about 20 IU of D3 or D2
EXPOSURE TO SUNLIGHT			about 3000 IU of D3
UV B radiation (0.5 minimal erythemal dose)
FORTIFIED FOODS
	milk		about 100 IU/8oz, usually D3
	orange juice		about 100 IU/8oz, D3
	Infant formulas		about 100 IU/8oz, D3
	yogurts		about 100 IU/8oz, usually D3
ASK YOUR PROVIDER ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS!!

What's Holding You Prisoner? Lighten up! IT'S OK!

Life is crazy. Yes, it is. And how long can we sustain that as an excuse to let go? Sorry, but that IS an excuse. It’s been mine several times because I was exhausted and feeling sorry for myself. Uuhhh yeah because I happen to be human, I happen to get tired, angry, frustrated at times, because things just happen and we have to deal with them.

Are you too busy to make things happen for yourself?

Here is the scenario of my busiest day: Wake up at 4am, start working at 5:30. Leave at 2:30 to pick my daughter up from school. Help her with homework, feed her, supervise her shower, take mine to get ready to go back, answer e-mails, make a couple of phone calls, go back to work at 5pm, work until 9:30pm. I’m POOPED!

Last year, that use to be my schedule Monday through Thursday and I'd work Saturdays until the afternoon. I’m no hero. This brought me down to my knees. My stress level was brutal and it took me almost 1 year to adjust my schedule.

Interestingly enough, the busiest time last year was when I was the most compliant with my fat loss lifestyle, seeing huge results. Had problems not getting enough sleep, but I was doing great! Surely enough, my poor stress management caught up with me, and I couldn’t keep up. I crashed.

Not getting into the details I already mentioned on a previous blog, my struggle was huge, gaining fat back, having health issues. I asked for help and am doing what I was told to do: to take care of myself. I'm following not only my diet but also my health plan. Hey! By he way, how is your health?

In what I DO NOT call a coincidence, I’m finally back to MY fat loss lifestyle, feeling right about what, when and how I’m eating. I’m indulging when I can, resuming my plan when I’m supposed to and slowly feeling the changes, even though I don’t see them as much as of yet. I made peace with the idea that this is going to be a bit long of a process, but feeling well makes it doable for me. Are you ok with taking time to heal? 

What makes it doable for you to sustain the lifestyle you wish to have?? Or simply what makes you want to get back to it.?

I felt I had hit the switch not too long ago, but couldn’t sustain it. It was terrible because I was all excited at first, but my body was so out of whack that I had to dig deeper. I’m currently following a plan to find the right balance for my body with the help of the amazing Naturopath Dr Jade Teta, also founder of the Metabolic Effect concept.

Do you need help? Are you ASKING for help? Instead of expecting people to understand how you feel or act, TELL THEM, ASK THEM.  Not talking about support only. Talking here about expertise too!!

How are your workouts? If you know what to do in terms of your workouts, do you have the motivation you need to get out there?

So, just brainstorming here on my favorite options.

Hire a trainer is my suggestion number 1. Why? Because you can have individualized attention, discuss your goals, setbacks, and get a good butt kicking. Basically your trainer will certainly help you push more than you would just by yourself if motivation is an issue right now. I personally think that having a trainer makes it soooooo much more fun and keeps you accountable. 

If you can get your butt out the door and just need somebody telling you what to do, you can take advantage of video/workouts such as the ones you find on FitnessByTY.com .

Take some group exercise classes! My suggestion is that you look for the short duration, high intensity ones. Flat out. If you are in the MD/VA/DC area, come take my Metabolic Effect class at Rio Sport&Health. If you need a guest pass to try it, let me know.

Stick to short cardio workouts too. Why are you going to spend 3 hours at the gym when you can barely convince yourself to get your foot out the door? So, pretty basic, do this quickie: hop on the elliptical, warm up at medium intensity for 5 minutes, then PLAY with the resistance! Go 1 minute super hard at higher resistance, than bring it back to low resistance and chill, just moving slowly for 1 minute, repeat and repeat until you get to 20 minutes, then do a cool down for 5 minutes on the elliptical, or walk around for 5 minutes. I like listening to Pandora, by the way. J

I’m not rediscovering gunpowder here. You’ve read or heard all this before, right? So, what’s the deal?

I heard from somebody the other day: “I don’t want to live in a prison”.

Fat loss is not a prison! It’s a choice. You can choose anytime. And yes, you can go off and on all the time. Just beware of what’s going to happen to your body, and specially to how you feel about yourself. Take responsibility too. Are you ready for the rebound? Is it worth it to throw everything up in the air and say “I’m done with this, give me chocolate and beer every night!” ?

Now, to me, THAT’S the prison. A fat loss diet can be hard because it does take will power and time to understand my body, but nothing can be worse to me than looking at myself and seeing that sometimes by choice, I’m letting myself go without looking back. When I reached that point, my own body felt like a prison.

I’m not talking about falling out the wagon here and there. That’s part of the process, bumps in the journey and it doesn’t have to be such a big deal to make you give up and say it won’t work for you. That’s too easy to say, but it will be much harder to deal with it.

If you are using your tools to control your cravings, hunger and energy level, guess what’s left?? Your compliance. And that’s key. That’s YOUR choice. But you will hop in, hop out, do it again, then slip, then every time you will learn something new, you can always take something good out of it.

You don’t have to convince me. Convince yourself. Wait! Do you really need to “convince” yourself? Find your purpose. Stop self-battling. Try the little things first if big changes are so hard for you. IT IS OK. Sometimes, that one, simple, little thing will open a big window to a beautiful new fat loss day. Be good to yourself.  J

Power in Transparency and Being You: Fitness Talent Jill Coleman's Success Story Interview

About 2 years ago, doing some serious fitness homework, looking for effective and motivating techniques to help my fat loss clients, I came across this CRAZY video, with this hot chick, HAMMERING heavy dumbbells, with an amazing coach in the background.

Freeze here for a second. J ) Jill Coleman, creator of JillFit Physiques, fitness pro competitor and model, Metabolic Effect’s Director of Instructor Training and the Fitness Coordinator at Wake Forest University. Jill holds a B.S. in Health and Exercise Science, an MS in Human Nutrition and is an ACSM-certified personal trainer. Well, I guess enough said…  

From Fluff to Buff: Meet Scott

You haven't seen the before and after pictures yet, can start this article by scrolling down and checking them out if you want. OR you can see the change happening through the lines, even before you get to the bottom line of this story. Your call.

It was January 2010. Gym packed with New Year’s “resolutioners”. Tons of brand new people. It didn’t take me long to find Scott. He was there, punctual, ready to be found. As I always do, I asked Scott what made him make the move to sign up for training. The first few sessions were a gift from his father, who listened to Scott’s desire to change his life. “I want to lose weight and get in better shape”, Scott answered. I insisted: “Ok, fair enough, now tell me WHY are you really here? Why do you want to lose weight?”

His answer made the world stop and reset for a second: “I want to see my daughters grow up.”

Scott was on several medications, for high blood pressure, cholesterol, sleeping meds. In addition to other things, there was also the inseparable mask that he needed to let him breath through his sleep apnea.

Being 5’4” and almost 190lbs, we both knew that was a serious talk. There was no half way, and for Scott, there was no way back. The game was ON.

Scott told me he would follow all my recommendations to achieve his goals. “Whatever it takes”. I loved the enthusiasm, however I knew the challenge we were facing. Even basic bodyweight movements were hard. Scott couldn’t do a lunge or go up the stairs without huffing and puffing. Tough grounds to move from a sedentary lifestyle and get into a healthy lifestyle HABIT.

To my surprise and excitement, Scott literally followed every single advice offered, in training and nutrition, and kept renewing his training packages. He cleaned his eating to a high quality fat loss diet, and trained 3 times per week with me. We concentrated in high intensity workouts, focusing on the Metabolic Effect's Rest-Based Training technique. Scott also added swimming and bike rides to boost the workouts and stay active.

It didn’t take long for Scott to start seeing results. The first 2 weeks, 10 lbs down. Whoa! That was A LOT. I was doing my best to motivate him to stay away from low calorie diets, and he listened! Scott started eating more protein adn vegetables, eating more frequently, and controlling his carbohydrate intake. He was eating more, and losing fat.

It’s been always a motivation to me as a trainer to see Scott’s commitment. Flawless punctuality, keeping track of his progress, asking questions to make sure we were on the right path.

The first short term goal was hit in March 2010. A ski trip with his father and brother. I can’t express how happy I was to get a quick e-mail update from Scott, thrilled to be absolutely ROCKING the ski trip. His quads didn’t let him down, he felt great, strong, lighter! It was just the beginning…

Summer came and the wardrobe was changing to much smaller clothes. The fat percentage coming down, as well as the scale numbers.

But the best updates start to come from his blood work and doctor’s check up. The meds dosages were dropping like dead flies, and it wasn’t even a year after the start, Scott was off of all of them, including the sleep apnea machine. Cured? You can call it whatever you want. I call it FREE.

Scott was experiencing the most important freedom. Freedom from the fear of not being around to see his children grow up. Freedom from discomfort, low self-esteem, from meds, and machines, from the body that just didn’t match such light spirit.

Scott’s shoulders were no longer rounded forward to hide the “unhidable” belly. Scott was then all shoulders back, chest forward. His muscle definition several times susrprised him and made him stop in front of the gym mirrors so he could appreciate it. J

The self-confidence was matching other changes in Scott’s personal and professional life too. It was all coming along, just because that one day back in January, he decided that not a single day would go by without him empowering himself.

Along this journey I had the pleasure to meet Scott’s parents. I trained his mom (my sweetheart) for several months and also had a chance to hug his dad and chat about how proud we both were to see Scott turning a heavy sluggish body into a fierce machine.

To balance out the intensity training, Scott also started doing pilates once a week, and is now digging the Trigger Point Performance Therapy. He is getting more flexible, more functional. He can perform exercises he couldn't before. He is absolutely an unstoppable inspiration.

The challenges keep coming. We’ve had to pull the horse’s rein to stay focused and go through ups and downs.  It was NEVER easy. Busy life, tons of business traveling, vacations… life didn’t simply stop to wait for Scott, but Scott didn’t stop to get run over by life either. He even came up with his own title for his fitness story: "From Fluff to Buff".

We are always working on his new goals, keeping his fat loss lifestyle in check. He never lets down the passion on his quest to keep the journey along his two beautiful daughters and his wife.  Specially now that he can enjoy more active time outdoors with them without losing his breath. Who knew.

Scott is now 46lbs down, no meds, no machines, and had a drop of ~9% in Body Fat.

	Jan-10	Apr-10
Body Fat	28.60%	19.90%
Arm	13 1/2	11 5/8
Chest	43 1/2	37 3/4
Waist	41 1/2	33 1/2
Hip	40	36
Thigh	22	19
Calf	16	14 1/4
Weight	190 lbs	144 lbs

To keep his privacy mainly for professional reasons, Scott’s face is cropped off the pictures. On the other hand, he’s proud to show his body. J Meet Scott’s body before, and recently at his best:

Fat Loss And Fun Getting Ready For The Weekend

Happy Friday!

For a lot of people, the lack of structure on the weekend can be a challenge when it comes to staying on the fat loss track. Getting some exercise done, dealing food options, different timing, parties, eating out, etc. Restocking on the right groceries on Fridays is a huge help to me. Even if I’m not doing my usual shopping, I make sure I don’t run out of the little things that could easily turn into an excuse to skip a meal or eat poorly for my metabolism.  So, let’s make this a good reminder for all of us. Protein powder, protein bars, berries, egg whites, spinach, enough chicken/steak for at least 4 meals, and cocoa powder. This is my emergency list. I can stick to my plan if I have those handy.

Remember that planning is key all the time. So, today check your plans for the weekend. Plan on getting some rest! Are you going to be eating out? Did you choose which one will be your reward meal? Any parties that will be a challenge for your fat loss lifestyle? Are you fitting your exercise in the schedule?

So, first thing I try to do is to make sure I plan some sleeping time because in my case that’s a challenge. I always find something to do early in the morning, even if I don’t have my regular 5:30am client. But if I don’t have to, I’m getting into the habit of blocking my plans to stay in bed a little longer. Remember, lack of sleep puts a hold on your fat loss.

Pack your purses, pockets and bags with the right snacks. I work on Saturdays, so I know I start the day right with my usual egg white breakfast. I make sure I take my protein powder and protein bars in the bag. Pre-packed nuts and sometimes sugar free fruits are helpful too.

If eating out is on the schedule, I choose grilled meat (usually steak), vegetables (making sure I ask the server to leave out any butter or sugar – yes, sugar… more on that later), and pick between starches or dessert. If I like dessert at that place, that will be my starch. Same choice I make with the alcohol. Always water with lemon on the table no matter what.

But if eating out is my reward meal, I don’t worry about that. However, I DO make sure I get all the right meals throughout the day, all snacks included, such as the one approximately 2-3 hours prior to my rewards meal. I DO NOT leave extra space and cause extra hunger to have more room to stuff myself with the reward meal. If there is a party, I make sure that’s my reward meal selection. Love when the perfect timing happens.J

I try to get metabolic rest-based workouts at least in one of the two days. If I can’t make it to the right hours at the gym, I do it at home with dumbbells, using FitnessByTY videos or Metabolic Effect workouts.

Structure is not prison. It sets you free to enjoy other things without worrying about how to take the next step.

Have a beautiful weekend !

What's Your Clock Ticking For? Chicken Salad or Quesadilla?

I have the icing on the cake for you today, following up on what falls in the same category of my previous post. How frequently should you eat?

Ultimately, you’re the one who will determine the final answer to that question, asking yourself another question brought up by Dr. Jade Teta, with Metabolic Effect: "if you have 6 hours between breakfast and lunch, what will you choose for lunch: chicken salad or quesadilla?" Understand the scientific background of eating frequency.

Trust me: you want to watch this video:

The Battle of Breakfast, Skipping Meals and the Abominable-Insulin-Ravenous-Monster

I’m sure you’ve already heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Well, keeping up with all your meals is very important, but I always take the breakfast as a starting point to help my clients adjust their eating habits, because that’s where the problem usually starts.

Reality is, every single meal will affect the next one. They all create compensatory reactions to the next meal.

As you can learn through the Metabolic Effect Fat Loss Program, the breakfast starts regulating the stress hormones that give you the jump start for the day. If you don’t do yourself the favor to start balancing things out in the beginning of the day, breakfast (and any other skipped meals) will turn into the Abominable-Insulin-Ravenous-Monster that will come back later and bite you in the ass. It generates mood swings, an energy roller-coaster and the sad ability to keep eating continuously and never feeling truly satiated by your last meal. Last meal? If there would ever be one, since you usually can’t stop eating when that happens.

If this sounds familiar, you can make your own experiment