Have you ever seen those weird looking round foam equipment lying around in your gym? Maybe, you’ve even seen people use it from time to time. They’re called foam rollers and it is an excellent tool for performing getting our bodies working as they should. Let me explain…

I’ve always known that stretching is an important part of any fitness program. But, I didn’t know how beneficial it really is to my overall well-being until I studied flexibility training in more detail and experienced how much better I feel after doing it regularly. Now, I’m not talking about the regular stretching exercises that people usually do before and after a workout. Those are helpful too but there’s nothing like a good self-massage a foam roller provides.

Ok, I’m going to be a bit more technical for a minute and I hope I don’t confuse you in the process. Self-massage exercises that are done with foam rollers are called Self-Myofascial Release (SMR). The process is basically done by applying gentle pressure on “tight” muscles.

So, how do muscles become tight? When we perform exercises regularly, carry out repetitive movements such as sitting at your work desk, standing, bending, etc, or simply have bad posture, our muscles tend to be overworked or “stuck” at a certain length. Your muscles will eventually tear or form adhesions and ultimately repair itself. The problem happens when they repair and they do not go back to their normal state. The muscles stick to each other which causes them to be stiff. Imagine a scar forming after being wounded – the skin is not as supple as it once was and it’s now replaced with hardened scar tissue. When this happens to your muscles, your movements, in exercise and everyday tasks, will not be as efficient as they once were. At the same time, your posture will be greatly affected. Just imagine an old person walking with a cane. This is, at some level, a result of bad posture and muscles getting tight.

Self-Myofascial Release is Like Deep Tissue Massage

Ever heard your massage therapist say that your muscles are tight in some areas? Self-myofascial release is basically deep tissue massage and does the same thing a massage would do to your muscles but it’s a cheaper alternative (although, I highly recommend getting a massage regularly especially for those hard to reach areas like the shoulder muscles). When done regularly, the pressure from the foam roller against your tight muscles will force them into their natural, straight alignment. This will help you achieve better posture and better movement patterns which may help us avoid joint pain or other types of body pain later on. At the same time, our muscles will be working at their proper length which will make our exercises more efficient and burn more calories.

Why do you not want tight muscles?

Tight muscles can cause many problems like:

• Increased pain from muscle soreness
• Muscle spasms during exercises – this used to happen to my calves a lot especially while I’m running
• Movement compensation – you would not be able to practice full range of motion during exercises because your tight muscles are preventing you from doing so.
• Further muscle imbalance – when some of your muscles are tight while performing any type of movement, the other muscles that participate in that movement will compensate for that muscle causing further harm to your posture and exercise form. In technical terms, this is called the Cumulative Injury Cycle

How does Self-myofascial Release work?

When you apply pressure to a tight muscle or “knot,” you decrease the activity of the muscle spindles and stimulate the Golgi Tendon Organ (GTO – no, not Pontiac GTO…lol). Muscle spindles lie parallel to your muscle and they are sensitive to the change in muscle length and how fast (or slow) that muscle is lengthening while GTOs are sensitive to muscle tension and how fast (or slow) the tension is being applied. When muscle spindle activity is decreased and the GTOs are activated, your muscles relax. It is only at this time when you can “straighten” your muscle. This means that when you apply gentle pressure on your tight muscle, your muscle relaxes and straightens.

How to Perform Self-Myofascial Release

Basically, you can apply tension on any muscle by rolling on top of a foam roller and using your body weight to create pressure on that muscle for 20 to 30 seconds.

Upper Body Foam Rolling:

Lower Body Foam Rolling:

Foam rollers can be purchased from places like Sports Basement in Walnut Creek, Sports Chalet in Concord, or Sports Authority at Sunvalley Mall in Concord. If you’d rather buy it online, you can do so at
Performbetter.com. Be sure to get the 3ft long and 6 inch round foam roller so you can do a lot more exercises with it. The shorter one does not support your upper body fully.

Foam Rolling Frequency

Currently, I’m doing 3 muscle groups a day, 3 times a week on days when I don’t workout. Most people would probably be better off doing more muscle groups at a time when they first start doing SMR but starting with just a few muscles makes it more manageable. I have to tell you that it can also be very painful especially if you have a lot of tight muscles. This may discourage some people from doing it on a regular basis but knowing the benefits that it can have on your posture and overall movement may just give you enough motivation to want to do it. I promise that it will be less painful the more you do these and you will feel better in the long run.

Lastly, most people forget that dynamic and efficient movement starts with proper posture. When your posture is not correct to begin with, your muscles will suffer in the long run which may lead to pain and injury.

In this post, I included a video wherein I interviewed one of my long time clients, Donna, about her experience. Donna came to me a few weeks ago because she wants to tell her story. By seeing her sisters go through the lap band surgery, she has seen that quick fixes do not give us long term success. As a fitness trainer who went through the trial and errors of losing weight, I truly believe that we can only achieve long term health and fitness success once we have changed our lifestyle and developed healthier habits by practicing sound and proven nutrition and exercise strategies.

Learn more about Donna’s story from this video:

About halfway through the video, I said that I do not have anything against quick fixes if we intend to use the momentum we gain from it to continually work on acquiring healthy habits. But, if we use it as a solution that will fix everything that we were doing wrong before without changing our lifestyle then we will be heading back the same road we came from. Real, lasting changes by changing your mindset, your lifestyle, and the way you think about your body. Fat loss is as much a mind transformation as a physical transformation.

Donna’s story is an inspiring one because she does not use her genetics as an excuse to let things be. Everyday, she works consistently on getting proper nutrition and keeping up her physical activity so that she may improve her quality of life and not let genetics rule her life. Her reason for sharing her story is to hopefully inspire people to do the same and not give up.

Since Donna has started working with me, she had lost a total of 32 lbs and 28 inches. She feels stronger, healthier, and more in control of her weight than ever before. She may not be done yet but I know she will surely achieve her goals.

This past weekend, my husband and I took our dog hiking at Tilden Regional Park in Berkeley. I’ve always wanted to hike during weekends but sometimes my busy schedule during the week just makes me want to sit around and relax over the weekend. This past saturday, we made it a point to go outside and check out some nice views the bay area has to offer.

Why Walk or Hike?

• Walking Reduces inflammation – while walking may not burn as many calories as much as high intensity intervals, it does have its benefits. Scientific studies have shown that walking can reduce inflammation in your body. So, if you’ve been doing intense workouts during the week, you’d probably benefit from walking to reduce any soreness and underlying inflammation that you may have from your previous workouts.
• Break the weight loss plateau – taking a week break from your workouts can help your body can recover from the good exercise stress you have put it through. I’ve found that I can break a weight loss plateau if I just back off from my workouts for a week which is a nice surprise for not doing anything at all. But, don’t make the mistake of taking a break too early, most people can see this benefit once they’ve been working out consistently for a good 12 weeks.
• Fasted morning walks – take advantage of the breath taking sunrise by walking straight to the beach or walking around the neighborhood without eating breakfast first. I’ve personally made it a habit to perform a lot of my more rigorous activities with an empty stomach. For instance, I would workout while fasting or take my dog on a long walk in the morning before I have my very first bite of food for the day. If you’re not ready for intermittent fasting yet, you can still harness some of the benefits of fasting if you perform your morning walks before you eat breakfast.

If walking or hiking is something you might enjoy, keep these benefits in mind and make a habit of doing them at least once a week to reap its benefits. I personally enjoy it because it gives my dog the opportunity to get her exercise and for my husband and I to spend some quality time together. Just like us, this can be a new tradition you can share with your family and spend quality time with each other. The best part is you also get to see some beautiful scenery Northern California has to offer.

I love weekends because it means that I can go to the local farmer’s market to get some fresh fruits and veggies. But, last Saturday, I was surprised to see a new vendor at the Pleasant Hill farmers market that sells grass fed beef. I’ve been on the lookout for local grass fed beef and I was hoping that if I hang out long enough at the markets, I will eventually see them there. To my delight, Alhambra Valley Beef was there and I had the pleasure of buying 2 lbs of ground beef from them. The owners were very friendly and they tell you how to cook the meat properly. They also told me that their farm is located in Martinez which means I can drop by there and buy grass fed meat whenever I want which is a huge plus.

I was so excited to cook the meat that same day and we made delicious, juicy burgers and a dish of lasagna from them. So far, the burgers are gone…haha. I wanted to take some pictures of the burgers for you but they were gone before I even thought about it. Besides eating a tastier version of burgers, there are many health benefits to eating grass fed, free range beef compared to conventional grain fed meats traditionally found in grocery stores.

Lower in Fat

Grass fed meats are lower in fat calories. For example, a 3 ounce beef loin normally has 8.4 grams of fat but grass fed beef has 2.4 grams. Rember that 1 g of fat is equal to 9 calories. So, this means that grain fed beef has 54 more calories per 3 ounce serving compared to grass fed. What a big difference! But, this gets even better. Grass fed beef has 2 to 6 times more Omega-3 fatty acids which we usually only find in fish. As we know, Omega-3 fatty acids are the good fats that help us lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. So, we can say that eating grass-fed beef is heart-friendly. Speaking of the heart, they also contain 3 to 5 times more conjugated linoleic acids or CLAs which has been found to reduce our risk of having cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

Most of us think that we can only get vitamins from fruits and veggies (and I’m guilty of this too). Well, I have good news for steak lovers who want to switch to grass fed beef because they also have:

• 4 times more Vitamin E
• 37% more Beta Carotene
• 2 times higher in Vitamin A

From all the benefits above, you can see that eating these types of meats are very beneficial to our health. Most of all, all these benefits are backed by research. If you’d like to read some of these research, you can find more information about them here: www.americangrassfedbeef.com. Aside from these benefits, I also feel good knowing that I’m helping local farmers stay in business and farm in a sustainable way with the cows roaming freely. Most of all, the cows are hormone and antibiotics free which lessens any toxin-intake we can get from grain fed varieties.

There’s also another reason the meat tastes better. The meat at Alhambra Valley beef is dry-aged for 28 days. This means the butcher hangs the meat in a temperature controlled refrigerator which allows the muscle fibers to relax and the flavor to build. I’ve never heard of this technique before but I can definitely taste the difference.

Difference in Cost

Of course, with all the benefits, there is a cost difference. There’s probably about $1 to $2 difference when getting cheaper cuts of beef like ground beef. Once you get into steak cuts like New York Steak or Filet Mignon, the price goes up a lot. For instance, their New York steak is $14.99 per pound which is actually cheaper when I compared it to the organic steak sold in Wholefoods and grain fed steak sold at Kinder’s meats. So, if you were to try it for the first time, try the cheaper cuts first and then decide later if you’d like to try the more expensive cuts.

Cooking Instructions

As for cooking instructions, grass fed beef are better cooked longer at lower temperatures because of its leanness. The literature from Alhambra Valley Beef says that it’s easy to overcook this type of beef so it is best to cook it medium-rare to medium if you do not mind eating it that way. They also told us not to microwave the meat due to the possibility of overcooking.

[Happy cows come from Northern California ]

I can’t help but look up to certain celebrities for keeping fit bodies all year round. While I love, love Jessical Biel’s physique, I also favor Hilary Swank’s fit body especially after I started researching her workouts and nutrition more.

Hilary Swank’s Background

Swank was born in Lincoln, Nebraska and was involved in junior Olympics, theater, and gymnastics. As we can tell, she already had an active lifestyle even before the age of sixteen. But, Swank first caught my attention in her role as a female boxer in Clint Eastwood’s film, Million Dollar Baby in 2004. For this movie, she had to gain 19 pounds of muscle so she can make her role even more believable. While she had good genes to begin with, she still had to eat very little carbs along with high protein and high fat meals in order to achieve the boxer look and gain minimal fat. Most of her fat intake came from flax oil which is high in omega-3 fatty acids to facilitate muscle building and decrease muscle inflammation.

Here is the movie trailer for Million Dollar Baby:

When she’s not training for a film, Swank is a big fan of Power Pilates and core fusion. Power Pilates is simply based on the classic teachings of the person who developed Pilates, Joseph Pilates while Core Fusion combines Yoga, Pilates, strenth training, cardio, and core training all in one workout. At ATD Fitness Bootcamp, the training is very similar to core fusion where I take a lot of the best core movements from Pilates and Yoga along with the most dynamic total body exercises.

For her cardiovascular training, Hilary uses Jump rope training and other types of high intensity interval training but never steady state cardio. Three months before her starring role in Million Dollar Baby, Hillary started boxing four to five days per week for an hour and a half per session. Her trainer, Grant Roberts, said that Hillary could not perform even half a chin-up when she started training but before filming began, she was able to do 10 unassisted full repetitions.

Other Movies by Hilary Swank

Another great movie by Swank is an independent drama film entitled, Boys Don’t Cry, which came out in 1999. The movie was a real-life story about a transgender man, Brandon Teena, who was raped and murdered on December 31, 1993 by male friends who found out about his secret. Swank had to get down to 7% body fat for her role as Teena for the sake of having a male-female look. This means that Swank is not stranger to preparing her body for extreme physical conditions even early in her career.

The lesson for this article is even with good genes, smart physical training that is tailored to your goals (i.e. weight loss or muscle gain) and proper nutrition are still the keys to success when it comes to achieving a great physique. No one person, not even celebrities, can look and feel fit without putting in the effort.

If you follow me on Facebook, you’ll know that I post fitness articles and tips there on a regular basis. In fact, I have received several Facebook messages from friends who really love my tips and ask me for specific advice when they start to think about working on their fitness goals. I am glad to know that people actually read the articles I post and that it helps them keep motivated or start thinking about their own health. Then it hit me…Facebook could be a great tool for people who want to lose weight and, in this article, I talk about just how you can use it to your advantage especially if you already spend a lot of time on it.

In my experience as a fitness trainer and working with clients, social support is one of the most important determinants of whether people will reach their fitness goals or not. Facebook is considered social media for one important reason – people actually interact in it and from my own experience, online social support is actually just as good as live social support.

#1 Post Your Goals on Status Updates

The first thing that I do when I want to accomplish something is to set some goals with a deadline. You can post your goals on facebook by updating your status under the “what’s on your mind” box. You do not have to be fancy with this. All you have to do is to write down your goals on a sheet of paper or type it out on a word document then copy and paste! For instance, you can write, “drink 8 glasses of water, exercise 3 times a week, and eat more veggies in the next 4 weeks,” on your status box.

This is such an easy way to get support from people who are already connected with you. Plus, scientific studies have shown that the probability you will achieve a goal increases to 65% when you tell somebody what you want to accomplish. Instead of playing Farmville and sit in front of the computer for hours, why not use this time to stay active? Trust me, your body will thank you later.

#2 Log Your Workouts

As always, follow-up and consistency are the keys to staying focused especially when you’re trying to lose weight. Logging your workouts by doing your status updates is another way to keep accountable to those goals. You can say,

“I ran my sprints at the park today with my dog. What a lovely way to start any day.” or

“I’ve been drinking my 8 glasses a day for a whole week now. What a difference it makes to my body and soul!” or

“I just did my strength training workout at the park. It’s amazing how much I can do with body weight exercises. Time for a nice, healthy dinner now.”

You would be amazed at how much support you will get from people who read your updates. But don’t just post the positive achievements, post your hard ships too! Most people are supportive when you are trying to do something good with your life or, in this case, with your health because at some point in their lives, they have gone through something like this too. Your reward? The probability that you will achieve your goals will increase to 95% when you report to somebody that you are doing them. Additionally, you will see the results in your clothes and around your waistline.

#3 Invite Friends to Join You

Do you have a friend or sister or brother who lives far away? Facebook has made it easy for all of us to stay in touch with those people. The best way to get even more connected is to ask them to join you in your journey to fitness. This can be as simple as leaving a message on their personal page or sending them a Facebook e-mail and saying, “hey sis, I just set some new fitness goals for the next 4 weeks, want to join me? I know you’re all the way over there in L.A. but we can keep each other accountable here on Facebook. What do you think?”

You will most likely get a positive response by asking people you already know because we are social creatures. We can’t help but be a part of something especially if that something will help us make positive changes in our lives.

#4 Create a Facebook Fan Page

Maybe your group has gotten bigger that it has gotten difficult to track everyone’s progress. Creating a Facebook Fan Page or group will do the trick. Create one that is just accessible to the members of your support group and tell them to post their updates there. This will give everyone a place to keep up with everyone’s actions while giving unending support to each other. This will also give everyone a sense of belonging and being “special.” In the end, you all can say that you helped each other navigate the path to wellness. It would be a great story to tell your kids and grand kids too!

#5 Create an Event

After you’ve created a fan page, you can effortlessly create an event. This can be an excuse to get together with the people that you haven’t seen in awhile and do something related to your goals. You can do an outdoor workout event at the park or a bike ride or a BBQ potluck at the end of the 4 weeks to celebrate your accomplishments. Either way, make the events fun and enjoyable so you can go home and feel even more motivated to continue what you have started.

These are only 5 of many ways you can use Facebook to get closer to your fitness goals. I am sure that there are many other great ideas out there that can turn this sedentary habit into more positive and active habits that will lead us to becoming more fit and healthy.

Kettlebells have been around for many years and it originated from Russia. The Russian name for it is Girya and their military used it to get fit for war and fighting. Kettlebells were brought to America about 10 years ago by Pavel Tsatsouline who is a former Soviet Special Forces physical training instructor. These cast iron metal balls that have handles on them can come in different colors but the most common and popular one is black. Their weight can either be measured in kilograms or pounds and can go from 5 lbs and up.

The Kettlebell (KB) is fast becoming one of the most popular training equipment in the fitness and entertainment industry because of its versatility. Ironically, I first heard about them while I was reading Reader’s Digest in an article interviewing actress, Katherine Hiegl. Hiegl was asked what she does to stay in shape and she mentioned that she works out with kettlebells twice a week for 20 minutes. I remember going, “are you serious?”

So, the curious creature that I am, I Googled the word “Kettlebell” and I landed on the Dragon Door web site. Back then, there were only a handful of retailers selling kettlebells and sometimes their sales people did not even know what the heck I was talking about (try the kitchen section?). To make the long story short, I bought two Kettlebells one is 8 kg. and the other one is 16 kg. I also bought an instructional DVD entitled, From Russia with Tough Love, by Tsatsouline. I know, it sounds corny but it really is tough love. I highly recommeng this DVD too because Tsatsouline goes over all the basics in every excruciating detail to make sure that you train safe. But, if you live in Concord, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Walnut Creek, and surrounding areas, you should come to one of my kettlebell classes to learn it from me as I am only one of the few certified kettlebell instructors in the area. If you’re not local and you’re reading this, find a local kettlebell instructor near you. Having someone teach you how to use a kettlebell is very important so you can make sure that you’re doing the exercises with proper form.

The swings are probably the most popular KB exercise that I see people do at the gym and, most of the time, they perform it incorrectly. To have an idea on how to do swings properly, please watch this instructional video of me doing Kettlebell swings:

Beginners usually start with 8 kg (~ 18 lbs) for women and 16 kg (~ 36 lbs) for men. This is a good guideline to follow because even if you’ve been lifting for awhile, Kettlebell workouts can be tough. Unlike traditional strength training or weight lifting, KBs can give you a full body workout because you are incorporating several muscle groups in one exercise. Some examples of these exercises are the KB swings and the Overhead Presses.

Here are some great benefits of KBs and KB workouts:

• Builds strength and endurance which can be great for sports training or just doing everyday activities like lifting heavy objects, etc.
• Builds core strength due to the use of your stabilizer muscles.
• The KB’s compact size makes it easy to travel with and workout in your home. It’s like a mini-gym in a ball.
• They can be a fun, cheaper, and more effective alternative to boring cardio.
• You can look cool (or weird) doing some exercises because no knows what the heck you’re doing (that is, if you work out in a public place).
• KBs can double as a lethal weapon…just kidding. But, be careful when you use them around other people especially kids or pets as they are heavy objects. Safety first.

Some of the negatives can be that it can be a little difficult to learn some of the exercises at first. As I’ve mentioned earlier, you should make sure that you’re performing the exercises correctly before you do them on your own. This can be prevented by getting your form checked by a certified kettlebell instructor.

So, now that you’ve had your introduction to the kettlebell, I’d like to leave you with my “light” day workout. It’s not necessarily light because I sweat profusely after this workout but it is a quicker workout than my regular ones. Here it is:

Warm-up: 50 reps (repetitions) of swings with 8 kg kettlebell

Workout circuit:

30 reps with 8 kg KB swings
20 reps with 16 kg KB swing
10 Burpees
I took a 1 minute rest and repeated the circuit 3 more times.

This workout usually lasts for about 20 minutes but boy those are 20 minutes of hard work! The good thing about this workout is I always have fun doing them. It never gets old because there are many other KB exercises to choose from. I can almost feel the fat melt off of me when I do these! For more information on ATD Fitness Kettlebell Classes, go to the Kettlebell Training page here. If you have any questions about kettlebell training, please do not hesitate to ask them in the comments section.

As a personal trainer in Concord, Walnut Creek and surrounding areas, I always advice my clients to eat less and move more in order to lose weight. While this is true and will always be true, you don’t hear many people ask how the two factors, diet and exercise, work together. Because I see so many people do one without the other I thought I would discuss how their synergistic effect can give you more results in less time. In fact, when you exercise and don’t eat less or vice versa, not only will your weight loss be slow but you probably won’t like the way you look even if you’ve achieved your goal weight.

So, what is synergy? Synergy happens when the result of two things coming together is greater than their additive effect. For instance, you have an exercise program that will make you lose 1 lb a week. Then, with a great nutrition program , you can lose 2 lbs a week. With synergy, 1+2 does not equal 3; it equals 7! This is how the combination of exercise and nutrition can be a powerful tool in fat loss.

I am baffled when people try to lose weight with just exercise or just eating less. Why not multiply your results by doing both? As our metabolism slows down with age, exercise is the only way we can even out the playing field or even increase the odds that we will lose stubborn body fat as it increases our metabolism. At the same time, taking advantage of eating nutritious foods is a great way to have food work towards achieving your goals instead of against them.

But, take note that you would have to have a good workout program, designed by for your goal by a fitness professional in order for you to achieve this synergistic effect. The same thing goes for your nutrition. While most people who just started the weight loss process may lose a fair amount of weight in the beginning, their body will tend to adapt to both diet and exercise that they would need a more advanced level of exercise and nutrition programming. Most of the time, this will involve changing their current programs to continually see results. In fact, this is how fat loss plateaus happen – people doing the same thing over and over again and yet they expect more results.

So, what can you do to continually harness the power of synergy? Here are some tips:

• Re-calculate Your Calorie Deficit - if you knew how many calories you were eating before you reached a fat loss plateau, you will know how many less calories you should eat so you can lose more weight. If you don’t know what your calorie deficit number is, download this document to calculate your calorie deficit.
• Try a Done-for-you Workout Program – you can accomplish this by hiring a personal trainer in Concord, Walnut Creek and surrounding areas or going to a fitness bootcamp. Most of these programs are superior to something that you make up on your own because fitness professionals have the knowledge to design goal-specific programs.
• Experiment with Your Nutrition – people may have very different responses to certain diets. In this context, when I say diet, I’m referring to the way you eat and not fad diets that you follow for a few weeks. It took me awhile to find the right nutrition strategy that fits my body type and my lifestyle. If you’re interested in reading more about what worked for me, check out strategy #2 in this article about my favorite nutrition strategies. Losing weight requires a fair amount of trial and error which is the reason why it can be frustrating for many people. But, once you try something that works for you, you will be set for life.

If you’ve been trying to lose weight without exercising or without changing your diet, this may be the answer to why your weight loss has stalled. Following these 3 strategies will sure help you get closer to your goal weight. You might be thinking that you can’t afford to hire a personal trainer here in Concord, Walnut Creek and surrounding areas but because losing weight gives you a great health benefit, not to mention a sexier body, you can’t afford not to. This process can be as simple as asking yourself, “how important is losing weight and living a healthier lifestyle to me?”

When I embarked on a journey to losing the belly flab and living a healthier lifestyle, I didn’t really know what I was in for. I knew I wanted the weight off completely and permanently. I knew that I had to put in the work to get there. By the time, I reached my goals, something amazing happened. I was a completely different person – inside and out.

You see, I wasn’t born skinny and I definitely didn’t have the genetics to stay skinny. To top it off, my cultural background had me eating rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I’m not saying rice is bad but it’s definitely not the food of choice if you’re trying to eat less. Just like many people, I had to carefully watch what I ate and find the best workouts out there to help me lose weight and keep it off. I had (and still have sometimes) the same miseries, dilemmas, and confusion just like many people do when it comes to losing weight.

While all those things are a part of everyone’s journey, I am thankful because I’m a better person for experiencing them. Having finally conquered my battle against unwanted weight which has plagued me for the longest time, something changed in my mind as well. My first ever (and hopefully last) “win” in the battle of the bulge made me realize that I can do anything that I set my mind to do. I know it may sound like a cliche but believe me when I say that during my physical transformation, I also transformed my mind in the process. I felt powerful! I felt unstoppable! You know when they say, “you can be whatever you want to be,”? I did that when I lost the weight and I still follow this philosophy everyday in my life.

Ending the Quest for the Quick Fix

Many of us are still looking for the “quick fix” or immediate gratification when it comes to weight loss or other areas of our lives. Believe me, I’ve also looked for these quick fixes in the past. But, once we realize that they do not exist, the sooner we will get closer to our fitness goals. The only way we can reach them is to let go of all our excuses and make the commitment to living a healthier lifestyle. To tell you the truth, finding a great nutrition plan and an effective exercise program is actually the easiest of all the steps that you’re going to take. The most difficult things happen inside your head once it’s time to execute them. But, paying attention to all the “chit-chat” you have with yourself and finding strategies to effectively deal with them will be the attitude that will lead you to the success and results that you’re looking for.

Let me give you a clear example of someone who went for the quick fix when she tried to lose weight. This example comes for the very first episode of Jillian Micheal’s new show, “Losing It with Jillian.” In this episode, the young daugther of an obese family went through gastric bypass surgery. I forgot her name but basically she’s the only “skinny” looking person in the family because she had the surgery done. She lost the weight without much exercise and she heavily relied on the surgery to help her lose the weight. There was a clip in that episode where she confessed that she still sees herself as an overweight person and she still does not believe that she’s finally at a normal weight. This type of belief comes from someone who did not put in the effort to deal with the issues that are happening in her mind. She didn’t feel as if she deserved her new body since she didn’t really do much to get there.

The Secret to Keeping the Weight Off

What I’ve been telling you throughout this post is this, the only time you will truly keep the weight off is when you undergo a mental transformation along with your physical transformation. The sooner you stop believing in short cuts, the sooner you will find the way to permanent weight loss, better health, and long lasting fitness. Instead of thinking of the word “diet,” think more along the lines of nutrition. Diets are short-term which is why their results are also short-term. Adapting a healthy nutrition plan that you follow daily will make lasting changes to your waist line and give you a better outlook in life. The same way of thinking goes for exercise. Including regular exercise in your routine will make it a habit that is hard to break. This is what it means to “live a healthy lifestyle.”

Final Thoughts

Many people have this idea that living a healthy lifestyle is boring. For me, the oppsite is true and it should be for you as well. I always find ways to make my workouts fun and my foods flavorful. You’d have to find out what kind of exercises you enjoy and try out healthy recipes before you start enjoying them but it’s definitely worth the journey. Of course, I occasionally enjoy eating “unhealthy” foods but I no longer rely on them to satisfy my soul.

The other day, I was thinking about my fitness journey and how far I’ve come. Gone were the days when I was a confused fitness newbie who didn’t know what the heck I was doing with my workouts and my nutrition. I learned a lot about myself during this process and I’m constantly learning each day. I’ve made some life changing decisions and actions and it has been quite an amazing ride. Then, it hit me. I got to thinking about the things that I wish I knew when I first started trying to lose weight. Then, I got to writing about the things I wish I knew back then. I made mistakes and learned from them. Now, it’s your turn to know them so you don’t make the same mistakes like I did.

Tip #1 The Right Way to Do Cardio

If you’ve read my previous posts about high intensity interval training, then you already know what I’m talking about. If not, go ahead and read this article, “Why Cardio is Overrated”. I go into much details why you should switch to sprinting in that article but in summary, doing sprints is way more effective than steady state cardio. Plus, you can perform it in less time and burn more calories even after your workout is done. Doing sprints will greatly improve your cardiovascular health not to mention trim down your mid-section as well.

Tip #2 Newbie Results

Newbie results are the really quick gains that you make when you are starting out. When you first start a workout and nutrition program, your body learns to adapt to your new ways. If you’re doing all the right things in these two areas, chances are you will get a lot of results during your first several weeks or few months.

You can expect a lot of weight loss during this time especially if your body responds well to your new programs. I’ve seen some of my clients who lose as much as 11 lbs during their first few weeks just because they follow what I tell them to do with their food and have 100% bootcamp attendance. Just like anything, you get what you put into it. If you’re not consistent during these first several weeks, your results will not be noticeable. Consistency is the key during this time if you want to take advantage of your newbie results. I really saw my results happen when I focused on my plan and followed through with it. The good news is, if you follow your plan 90% of the time, you will still see results.

[Stay away from the Elliptical unless you've already done your sprints.]

Tip #3 Fasting for Weight Loss

I’ve touched upon this topic when I wrote this article called, “3 Tips to Getting Sexy Abs”. Fasting is the simplest way to lose weight in my opinion. The fasting protocol that I follow is Brad Pilon’s, “Eat Stop Eat”, where I do not eat anything for 24 hours at time, twice a week. For instance, if I wanted to start today, my last meal would be lunch then I won’t eat until lunch the next day. You might be thinking: 24 hours without food! I used to think that this was going to be difficult but it really isn’t. Once I read Brad’s book and all the benefits of fasting and how it doesn’t slow down your metabolism, I was sold. I am proof that it doesn’t slow down your metabolism since this was (and still is) my main lose-weight-and-keep-it-off-diet.

There are also other fasting protocols you can do if you think that 24 hours is just too long for you. I will discuss this in a later post as it requires some description.

Now, don’t get the idea that I force my clients to follow whatever has worked for me. All of my the bootcampers choose their own nutrition programs. I pretty much say that people have different preferences and personalities. If you’ve tried something in the past and it has worked for you and followed it through then, it would be wise to stick it. Until you find something that works, you’re going to have to do some trial and error.

Tip #4 Not all Workout Programs are Equal

I used to think that I would get the body I’ve always wanted by following the workouts in women’s magazines. While those have helped me get a little bit stronger, they didn’t give me nearly enough work to burn calories. If you’re not seeing the results you want, it’s either your workout program sucks or it’s not designed for the goal that you’re working towards. For instance, I design the bootcamp workouts so you can burn as much calories as possible in a short time. Also, I design them so my clients target different muscles each day. This way, they can be sure that no area is missed and their body functions and moves efficiently as a whole.

I will be honest with you that if you’re goal is to gain muscle mass, ATD Fitness is not the bootcamp for you. But, I should also say that you can expect to gain muscle tone, get stronger, and feel energized when you workout with me.

Tip #5 Nutrition is Big Part of Your Results

No matter how we cut it, food is a big part of our lives. Think about it, we eat 3-6 times a day. This means that we have 3-6 times a day to mess up our nutrition whereas most people only workout 3 times a week! It’s not difficult to mess up a workout especially if you have a great workout program that you’re following. But, it’s easy to make a ton of mistakes in terms of our food choices.

[Be aware of how often you respond to fast food signs too. These are designed for you to take notice and get hungry ]

If you think that you’re eating “healthy” and not getting the results you’re expecting, try writing down every morsel of food you eat for a week. After the week is up, go through your journal and count how many times you ate the not-so-healthy-foods. You might be surprised how much “unhealthy” foods make its way to your diet on a daily basis. Remember the 90% rule? Make sure you stick to your nutrition plan 90% of the time. Of course, any fat loss program is not complete unless you’re working out consistently so make sure you’re on track in that area too.

I wish I knew these 5 tips when I first started trying to lose weight. It takes a lot of time and experience to find out what really worked for me. You can apply most of these tips right away and I know that you will start seeing results as soon as you apply these to your daily lifestyle. When you do try them, please let me know and tell me what kind of results you saw. I’d also be happy to answer any questions you have.