Don't Body Shame Yourself

Don’t Body Shame Yourself

Maybe I’m the only one that does this – maybe not – but the truth is none of us should do this ever, and here's why.

My story – I’m a 54 year old dad of 5 that had been fit most of his life till I put on weight at the worst time (at least in terms of cosmetically having my skin bounce back) – my late 40s. When I started to lose the weight at 50, there was no forgiving youthful skin.

Also at over 50, the metabolism doesn’t crank quite as fast as it did even in my 40s. So, while I see fabulous results from the programs I do and recommend for other folks, I myself see limited benefits – other than being in great health, being stronger than I’ve ever been and being able to embarrass most guys half my age – but I don’t have the fabulous abs that I think I want.

So, I body shame myself.  I think “Dude! You’re a Personal Trainer! You’ve gotten nutrition certification! You should be able to crack the code for all these mid-life crisis baby-boomers to get in phenomenal shape!

And truth, I can. But what I do is different. I like to eat dinner with my family. I don’t like to put pressure on my wife (who home schools my 3 youngest, is one of the co-administrators of the cooperative they attend, does the budget, shops organic, makes most of the meals for the family) to have to cook every meal to meet strict dietary guidelines. I also (because I have five kids) don’t train six times a week. I train 3 days with full body workouts and I get my 10k steps in every day. No half marathon training, no two a days. So, I really train a lot more like a normal 50-something year old guy with a family who wants to stay fit, strong and healthy.

But when I look in the mirror (other than flexing my arms ;-)) there are just some days I get mad. I’m frustrated. I think “DAMN! 10 years ago I would have already been 10 pounds lighter! How come I’m not?! I suck. I’m fat. I’m never going to look good in that bathing suit.”

And that’s wrong. Because, yes, 10 – 20 or even 30 years ago I would have dropped the weight in next to no time, but that’s not the case anymore. And the case is I’m studying for more certifications, getting my marketing strategy set to launch a business, working a full time mentally demanding job, and oh yes, being a husband, dad and general lawn maintenance guy for my household.

Here’s the TRUTH. Instead of being mad. Instead of body shaming myself because I’m not 20, I should be doing back-flips!

• I can run around with my five year old son and roll on the floor with him, coach his baseball team and play catch.
• I can intimidate the boys that want to suit my teenage daughters (yes, they’ve told me, and some of the guys have been six foot 200+ pounders).
• I can carry my youngest girl from the car to the emergency room after she sliced open her leg and needed to get stitches – without getting winded.
• I can carry all the luggage out to the van for my oldest girls going on a summer vacation.
• I can motivate my eldest girl to be a fitspiration herself.

The truth is, I’m exactly where I should be for a guy that likes to spend time with his family, likes to have a little chocolate sometimes and doesn’t want to spend his life in the gym.

So today, I’m not going to body shame myself, I’m going to rejoice. I’m going to celebrate four years of turning my life around and being in great shape. I’m going to celebrate that I just ran my 3^rd Warrior Dash, and did it in my best time and it had the most obstacles. I'm going to celebrate that I'm in good health, I'm not injured and I can enjoy every blessing I've been given, including time with my family.

Join me in the celebration!

EAT CARBS – GET FIT!

What! Blasphemy!

I know! I know! I’ve said what everyone says that you can’t do, but it’s true. EAT CARBS! And I’ll tell you why.

Before I start: this will take you about 10 minutes to read. I cut it down as much as I could while still providing at least the very, very minimal amount of explanation. To FULLY get all of the reasons for the science behind what I’m telling you, you’d have to study all the manuals I have and read all the books I have. Even to do a credible job of summarizing that, you’d be looking at about 20 pages (or so) of reading.  Go with me here – you’ll be glad you did. And, you can always as questions in the comments. :D

First

Understand that I am a big believer in eating grass fed beef, lamb, whatever – free range chicken and whole foods.  

Note: I didn’t include grains in there, especially not wheat or GMO corn (Momma says wheat is the DEBIL!) or even rice. Not even quinoa! But hang in.

Second

Also note that I didn’t say you couldn’t eat the above (well, other than wheat & GMO corn), but I don’t highly recommend it.

Third

Now you’re saying “But how am I supposed to eat carbs then?”  Great question.  An even better one is “How am I supposed to eat carbs and get fit?!”

Fourth

The answer is TIMING.

Fifth

What TO DO

Only eat starchy carbs within a three hour window from WHEN you worked out. Not before you work out, AFTER you work out. When you eat those starchy carbs, only do so with less than 5g of associated fat.

Sixth

WHY Do What You Do

Part 1 – Starchy Carb Storage

So, carbs are cool, especially carbs from green leafy things.  Carbs from tubers (sweet potatoes, regular potatoes), grains (including rice, whole grain rice, quinoa, oats, buckwheat) are starchy carbs and they’re not so cool – they’re HOT.

Starchy carbs get virtually immediately converted to glucose, which in turn wants to fuel your muscles or refuel depleted glycogen muscle stores.  When you eat starchy carbs without having worked out, guess what happens? They get stored as fat. Yay. Oh, wait, no that’s not good.

BUT

Part 2 – Starchy Carb Utilization for Recovery and Fat Burning

When you eat starchy carbs after a workout? They do exactly what you want them to do! They fuel your muscle and your recovery. This is the BEST way to utilize carbs! Your system gets revved up and the carbs don’t get stored as fat.

WAHOOO!

What Else You Need to Do

Part 1 – So Don’t have Starchy Carbs at Every Meal

While having those starchy carbs within a 3 hour window after a workout is great, having them at other meals is not so good.  Like I mentioned, carbs (and fat) are easy to process, so they’re stored as fat almost right away while your body is processing your proteins. They also have other effects like spiking your insulin levels and causing inflammation. So, instead have FAT.

Part 2 – FAT

What you say?  Yes, FAT. Fat gets processed differently (though it does process quickly) and the body does a much better job of getting rid of what it doesn’t need (like excess cholesterol) and it also doesn’t cause inflammation.

Eat foods that are high in GOOD fat. Good fat. Fat from grass fed cows. If you can’t afford grass fed beef (and I understand this, I have 5 children and even hamburger is $6 lb at Trader Joe’s) then get REALLY lean beef and eat other healthy fats like: coconut oil, avocado and raw almonds. And you can have eggs again – the whole EGG!

Part 3 – Eggs

Eggs (especially organic eggs) are REALLY good for you. The big thing they always got a bad rap for (because of some really bad science from the turn of the 20^th century – we’re in the 21^st BTW) was cholesterol. As it turns out the type of cholesterol they provide for us is HEALTHY. And, it’s what our brains use to function (so even if it doesn’t make you smarter, at least you think more clearly) and for guys – it’s what keeps our (in our own minds) most important body part functioning. So there, have an nice spinach omelet for breakfast. You’ll be glad you did.

Conclusion

So THERE. Yes you can have starchy carbs and get FIT! The key is when you eat them.  Try to stick to sweet potatoes or potatoes (though sweet potatoes are much better for several reasons). You can also have rice (about a cup) or so if you’d like. Stay AWAY from wheat and GMO corn. You’ll be rocking in no time!

PS Also, have a cheat day. At least once every two weeks, recommended once every 7 days (or even some people are recommending one every 5 days now – I’m still testing that on myself and doing the research to see if there were good conclusions for that).

PPS Got questions? ASK them!

It's All About That Bass (Bring Booty Back!)

While none of us want to end up with too much "junk in the trunk" especially while we're attempting to fit into our holiday finest, a lot of folks aren't really sure what they can do to maintain a toned deriere and firm toned legs.  Well, if you want to bring booty back, then keep reading to find out the BEST tips for building that killer tusche and rock hard thighs.

FIRST

Stop doing squats like you've probably been taught to do them. Usually, the instructions you hear are something like this. "Ok, get comfortable, feet about shoulder width apart toes forward." Which, is a commonly taught and "ok" type of squat to do. It has a couple of drawbacks, namely:

1. It really works your quads the more than anything else, so no booty for you.

2. Most people don't track out properly over your toes and it puts pressure on the knees.

Understand, these are good for what they do. They will build your quads, but if you want a better squat that builds your booty, then make this simple adjustment.

Goblet Squat

SECOND

The simple adjustment is to turn your feet out to somewhere between 11 and 1 and 10 and 2. This adjustment does a several things for you.

1. It really activates the inside of your thighs (the adductors and the gracilis muscles) much more. No worries, you're still getting plenty of work on your quadriceps group as well, but that's not the primary thing anymore.
   Note: The first time you do squats like this, go LIGHT, you won't believe how much you've never felt your gracilis muscles before. Trust me on this.
2. This squat works your butt in a MAJOR way. It's going to really fire those glutes - all of the glutes (max, min and med).
3. It protects your knees. Specifically, it saves strain on your Vastus Medalus, (the muscle that runs on the inside of your knee) and the tendons to the inside as well.

THIRD

Now you know the adjustment to make and the benefit, your question might be, what exercise(s) can I do?  The answer? Many.

1. Bodyweight squat. You don't need weights, and if you're doing this squat correctly when you do it the first week, I'd actually recommend doing body weight only.
2. The Goblet Squat (see image). This one is my personal favorite. It's GREAT beause just by holding the weight properly, you automatically keep yourself centered. You hold the weight close (it's not a big bar) so you don't need to be worried about being pulled off balance - even when you start to get the weight up there. Best chance to do your best and not get injured, which is critical.
3. Back Squats. Unless you're a body builder I tend to recommend against back squats. Especially if you're working out alone and/or in a home gym there are just lots of opportunities to get hurt. Additionally, even when done in proper form, they really load your lower back, so the potential to injure that in addition to other things that might happen don't seem to be worth it to me.

FOURTH

There you have the answers! If it's all about the base and you want to bring booty back - it's the right squats done in good form. Now go get them so you can rock that holiday outfit!

Shalom,

Phillip

It's Not the FAT that will kill you - it's the FRENCH FRIES!

It's Not the FAT that will kill you - it's the FRENCH FRIES

It's true!  The recipie for french fries is not good for you. The components? Well, that's different.

BTW, this is a post based on a real life conversation I was having, thought I'd share with you as well.

First
FAT isn't bad for you. In fact, fat is GOOD for you. It's essential. And, if you want to loose weight, you MUST eat healthy fats (about 20-30% of your caloric intake) to do so efficiently.

Second
The kinds of fats that are used to make most french fries areHORRIBLE for you. There are a range of oils and such that are used, and 99.9% of them are bad for you - so really, the bad fats in french fries are bad for you all by themselves. Avoid them no matter where they may be found.

Third 
The thing that kills you (or more accurately your weight loss effort) about french fries is the combination of fat (lots proportionately to the total energy) AND starchy carbs.
The reason why fat and starchy carbs together are bad for you is because of how your body processes fat and starch.

Essentially, both fat and starchy carbs are short term energy items and are burned or stored immediately. Also, as calorie sources, they're the most dense. Therefore, when you're having that traditional french fry made with oil or lard of some kind and potatoes, you're overloading your system with PANT loads of energy.

When you do that, your body does this: uses what it can immediately (replaces muscle glycogen stores) then stores the rest as fat.  SOOOOOOO... unless you've just done a killer workout of some kind, the likelyhood is that most of that calorie (read: energy) blast is going to be stored as (yup, you got it) FAT.

Summary
There you have it - FAT won't kill you - but french fries might (at least long term). Short term, they're also going to keep you from reaching your goal - becoming a leaner, stronger, healthier you.  I'd say go for the goal.

No Guilt. Be Fierce. Bring the Fit.

Shalom!
Phillip

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No Guilt Happy Holiday Health Strategies

Ok, so you just plowed through Thanksgiving  (possibly literally, figuratively and emotionally - which might also cause some additional eating) and now you're trying to

(a) recover(b) keep from going past the point of no return(c) still fit into your current sized clothes (nothing worse than needing to go out and buy bigger clothes for holiday parties right?)(d) navigate the rounds of office, church, organizations , friends and relations holiday parties, and(e) maintain your commitment to your health and well being.

GOOD on ya! You've taken the first step in the No Guilt strategies for a happy, healthy holiday season. W00t!

Having said that, here are some other strategies you can employ along with that "can do" attitude that will keep you tight, toned and looking good in that athletic fit shirt or holiday frock.

1. Plan Your NutritionThe most important thing you can do for your success in this season (and - bonus - any season) is plan your food. Be on a schedule. Have your food prepped the night before to take to work with you (or set to put together quickly in the AM). The WORST thing you can do is go into work (or your day) without your nutrition planned. Where you don't plan for your success, you'll find a bad alternative waiting to derail you. #BeFierce 

2. Plan Your Cheat DaysSay what?! Yes, I said PLAN. You know when those parties are going to be, so PLAN them. If your normal cheat day is Saturday and you've got a party on Friday, don't delude yourself into thinking you're going to keep your diet clean. And you SHOULDN'T. Listen, we all want to be fit so we can live long, healthy and prosperous lives. We all want to enjoy ourselves - it's kinda what makes life fun :-) So, plan to enjoy yourself that day instead of your usual day.  Have two parties that week? It's OK! Just split up your cheat day into two cheat meals (or deserts). You'll be glad you did.

3. Sync Your WorkoutsHow you workout is important - so is WHEN you workout. When you are doing a total body workout that's torching your major body parts (either bodyweight or using freeweights, machines, TRX or kettlebells) you WANT to be having some carbs on those days (Note: I believe in low to no sugar and amost no grains (the exception being occasional rice or oats on cheat days) so, plan your heavy workout days (and you should only be really hitting it hard 3-4 days a week) for the days when you know you're going to be cheating. Ideally, get them within 3-4 hours of that party if you can (all kinds of science as for why). Sync your way to success!

4. (Optional) Plan FEAST DaysThe first three are critical, I find this one to be helpfult but not everyone can do this. The concept is called intermittent fasting. You stop eating around 8:00 PM the night before and don't eat until lunch. Have a normal sized lunch and then you can have a "feast" at your evening holiday party.  Wait! You say your party is a work? Then have a good hearty lunch and plan for a more reasonable dinner.

There it is, your three (or four) point plan for No Guilt Happy Holiday Sucess.

Now's the time to make it a holiday success, so as Zig Ziglar always used to say: Plan your work and work your plan!

Shalom,Phillip