Handling Parties!

The 4th of July, like any other holiday, brings people together, usually along with lots of food! It can be challenging sometimes to stay on track during these occasions of potential indulgences. How you handle these occasions, primarily in the way you think about them, can make all the difference in keeping you on track with your goals.

Hamburgers, hot dogs, ice cream and cheesecake! Boy, these foods are tasty! However, if you weren't planning to eat them, then you may want to steer clear. Foods with low or no nutritional value can very well be a part of your plan if you allow yourself the freedom to eat it. You can balance the calories out with the rest of your diet and exercise plan. However, the key to this is PLAN!

In regards to weight loss, the body's main concern is deciding if it has enough energy to keep going or if it needs to pull from it's reserves (fat). If you give it cheesecake for dinner and you were running a little low that day on calories, then this may not be something that will get you completely of course. However, it's the going over and above what your body needs that is going to put the weight on.

Also, for some people who are trying to lose weight, unintentionally eating desserts and high fatty foods may spawn negative thoughts that tell you to quit your plan and forget about this whole ordeal all together! If this happens, remember that this is not an "all or nothing" process. If you eat more than you wanted to at the party, cut yourself some slack. Your weight loss progress doesn't end with one party. Get back on track the next day and move forward!

In the same vain, don't go into a party thinking that you can make up for whatever you stuff down your throat. This just creates way too much stress in your life and sets you up for potential binge eating disorders. It's about being reasonable with yourself, having a plan and remembering your goals.

Here are some tips to remember before your next party:

• Don't go to a party hungry! (you hear it all the time, now you just need to do it! :)
• Try to eat plenty of foods that are high in protein and low in fat
• Drink 2 cups of water every hour that you are there
• Try to mingle away from all of the food (if possible)
• Have fun and be active! Play games that involve exercise (volleyball, soccer, badminton, etc)
• Bring a few dinner appetizers that fit your plan

The main goal is to have fun with your friends and family during parties, so do it! Remember, food does not equal fun!

"They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over." Matthew 14:20 (New International Version)

Meal Timing, How I lost 5lbs in 1 week!

The timing of your meals actually makes a difference to your weight loss (or gain) efforts. Our bodies can process food more efficiently and be less susceptible to store body-fat if you plan to eat your meals in a certain way! Even if you don't change the foods that you eat, just by changing the time that you eat these foods, your body can be more likely to burn off calories and potentially lose weight.

Your burning ability!
When we wake up in the morning, we are actually at our highest potential for burning calories. Our daily burn rate starts off at a peak and then tapers off in mid-afternoon and is at it's lowest in the evening time. You can actually increase this rate by doing more exercise, but our normal daily rate peaks in morning and then declines. Understanding this concept can allow you to plan your meals accordingly and see the results on the scales!

For example, knowing that your body uses up more energy in the morning, if you plan to have a big breakfast and then a mid-sized lunch and a light dinner, then you would be far more inclined to lose weight.

Unfortunately however, most people follow the opposite program! They have a very light breakfast (or skip it altogether), have a moderate lunch and then go hog wild when they come home from work because they are starving! Then they wonder why their waistline is growing! Your body is primed to work in the opposite direction.

Meal Frequency
In addition to following the appropriate meal timing, eating smaller meals more often can also help your body burn the calories you are consuming. When you don't bog down your body with a huge load of calories in one sitting, you allow your body to efficiently use what you consumed and you can get back to work. Doing this actually increases the amount of calories you burn.

If for example, you ate a huge lunch (1000+ calories for example), you would probably feel highly sluggish afterwards because your body is spending so much time digesting what you just ate, plus you have to deal with a huge insulin surge that brings blood sugar down and makes you feel tired. Smaller meals on the other hand wouldn't cause the huge spike and crash in energy, which allows for greater calorie burning capabilities!

My recommendations
Eating 3 main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) is pretty standard in most people's lives. I would suggest adding 2-3 snacks (or smaller meals) to your day. This will help to keep energy levels up and allow you to feel like you don't have to wait so long between meals. I would also try to keep the majority of the calories skewed in the direction of morning and tapered off into the evening.

Consuming starchier foods (carbohydrate based) earlier in the day and then less in the evening will actually give your body the energy it needs to face the day, but not lots of energy in the evening when you aren't going to use it. Doing this will allow your body to burn up the energy consumed, but be less susceptible to store the energy as fat (especially with regular exercise).

Late night snacking
Many people I meet find that they eat a lot at night. The main reason for this is not having a big enough breakfast. Eating more earlier in the day can help calm the midnight cravings because you are telling your body that it will actually be fed and there is no reason to panic! If however, you tend to skip breakfast and eat lightly throughout your workday, your body has no other opportunity to get those calories except when you are home in the evening time, so of course you will be craving lots of food (and probably junk food too)!

Try to calm the midnight munchie beast by front-end loading your meals for the day. Also, making sure you give yourself a few hours to digest the last meal (or snack) before you go to bed can help make sure the majority of that food doesn't end up around your mid-section.

What I have found
Just this past week, I have personally put these principles to the test. I made sure that I didn't eat any later than 2 hours before I went to bed. I also made sure that the majority of the food that I ate was protein-based with vegetables for my last meal and I consumed a good quantity of starches in the morning so that I could have some good energy for my workouts.

Up until I made these changes, my weight had been stable at 205lbs for the past few months. After doing this, I have dropped to 200lbs in one week! Now, that being said, I don't expect everyone to see results like this. I am also doing 30-60mins of cardiovascular exercise 6 days each week and strength training on top of that. However, before I made that last change, even with doing all that exercise, my weight was stable.

Using your metabolism in its proper timing can really help you see the results that you want faster!

"Jesus replied, 'Now the time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory.'" John 12:23 (New Living Translation)

Keeping Track!

By far, the biggest component to achieving your fitness and weight loss goals is to keep track of what you do! Without some type of tracking system (it doesn't need to be complicated), you will literally have no idea if you are making progress or losing your fitness battle.

Become a student of yourself
Keeping a food journal and workout log helps you determine what works best for you. Everyone achieves their results in a different way. For example, some people need to do a little more cardiovascular exercise than others to see bodyfat loss. Or, you might find that by weight training four times each week instead of six times, your body is a bit stronger and more capable of pushing heavier weight. You may also find that if you eat lots of starchy carbohydrate food, you really don't gain weight when you exercise regularly! You will never be able to find out these aspects about yourself if you don't keep track!

What works for me, doesn't always work for you
After doing a few bodybuilding competitions (and kept good records), I discovered that I can eat a lot more than a lot of other people and still get my body to one of the leanest states the human body can naturally become (without severe illness). In fact, I tend to flaunt how I can eat 2 or 3 bananas each day and still shed pounds of bodyfat on a weekly basis. :) In fact, I eat about 3000 calories each day when I am "dieting" for a competition and I consume about 4000 calories to maintain my weight. However, I would never have discovered this if I never kept track of the food that I ate and the workouts that I did.
Now, just because I can eat these foods in a large quantity, and still lose weight, this doesn't mean that I would make the same recommendation to a 150lb female. You have to find out what works best for you.
I am also in preparation for another bodybuilding competition that is about to happen in a little less than 4 weeks from now. All I have to do now is look back to my old records from what I did for my last competition and either decide to follow it so that I will come in the same condition as last time or decide to do a little more than last time and maybe come in a little better condition. Again, I would have no clue how well I could do without having these records. It also allows me to keep my faith strong when I am not seeing everything that I want to see in the mirror. It's just a matter of following the blazon trail that I tracked before.

Keeping track keeps you on track!
I can tell right away the clients who will be successful with their goals within the first day we train. The number one thing that makes all the difference is if this client has kept track of their food and is keeping good workout records. If the client has kept a food journal (online is probably the easiest and best type) then all I have to do is steer him or her to their weight loss and fitness goals. If he or she doesn't keep track, the only chance of being successful is random chance.
ACE (American Council on Exercise) conducted a study and found that people who keep track of what they eat will be more than 100% successful in their weight loss/fitness goals than people who never keep track! The researchers found that those who kept track thought about the food just a little bit more before they made the final commitment and ate it. Knowing that you have to write down the second helping of cheesecake, it makes many people a little more conscious about their behaviours. Keeping track is by far the smartest way to make sure you stay on track with your goals!

It gives you Positive Feedback
When you keep track of your workouts and diet, you are able to see clearly when you have hit new highs and achieved greater success. For example, you may go to the gym and workout and think you are having a great workout because you did 12 pullups, however you did 15 pullups 2 weeks ago, but just because your body is tired, you think you are making progress and you are really just fooling yourself.
Of course, the opposite scenario can occur as well. You may squat 330lbs for 6 reps and be bummed. You thought you had done 350lbs last week, but you didn't it was actually only 250lbs, but because you never wrote it down, you had no clue you just set a huge record!
Your training records give you something to shoot for with each training session that you have. If you don't keep track, how can you make sure you can keep pushing yourself forward? If you don't keep pushing your own limits, you will not likely see the progress you want.
Your diet records give you the guidelines to shoot for each day. If you continue to meet the guidelines that you have set, than all you have to do is wait for the results to show up. You will have done everything that is within your power, and now you get to have faith and patiently wait for God to take care of the rest!

My recommendation
For a diet journal, you can either manually write down what you eat and drink in a diet journal book or even in a plain notebook. However, I have found that a very easy and convenient way to track your diet is with an online tracker like http://www.myfitnesspal.com/. This has been by far the best website to track meals because of the huge database of food that it has. It has many restaurant foods and about 95% of everything you would normally consume on a daily basis. After entering all your food and beverages in, you can see the total caloric, macro and micronutrient breakdowns, it's very enlightening!
I use this website personally to track my diet and all of my successful clients use it as well. The website is totally free to use for tracking your diet. Unfortunately, I don't get any referral bonus for it, otherwise I would be making millions :( since I refer just about everyone to it.
For your workouts, I would recommend just a training journal that you either get in a bookstore or even a plain notebook. Just as long as you can easily carry it with you when you workout so that you can note all of the progress you are making in the gym!

Keeping track really does keep you on track! Start today with taking charge of your fitness and weight loss goals by tracking what you do!

"By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus' name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see." Acts 3:16 (New International Version)

Writing Resolutions that are Realistic

Writing goals that are realistic is one great way to make sure you set yourself up for success. This of course applies not only to weight loss and fitness but to all areas of our lives. Sometimes having a huge monumental goal that's out there looming over our heads can really drag us down. For example, someone who is just starting a weight loss program knowing that she has to lose 100lbs to get her weight into a healthy range so she can lower her risk for heart disease may feel a bit discouraged or overwhelmed with the whole process. To her, It would be easier to say "you have to win the lottery to get out of debt."

Success breeds success!
Often, a great way to meet the long term goals you have for yourself is to focus on the short term goals that you know you can achieve. For example, if you would like to lose 50lbs, focus on what you think you can accomplish over the next 8 weeks. See if you can lose at least 10 of those pounds during that time. Competition is also a great motivator to help you strive to achieve your goals.

Also, base your future plans on what you have accomplished in the past. If you were able to lose 20lbs during a 12 week period about 2-3 years ago, think back to what you did during that time and try to visualize how you can do that again (as long as it fits your healthy guidelines).

Even if you have never seen great success in the field of fitness, look to other areas of your life. For example, maybe you were never a great athlete but you did well in school and were recognized for it or maybe you were "Employee of the Month" for helping your boss with a big project or maybe you met certain sales goals with work that haven't been met before. Whatever the past success, think back to when you achieved something that was important in your life and tap into that confidence to focus your efforts on your new goals.

The only real obstacle that is standing in your way to achieving everything you want out of life is you and your confidence! Thankfully, we don't have to rely on our own ability to create confidence. God wants the best for us! Having faith that comes from only knowing Jesus allows you to relax about your future plans. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones." Proverbs 3:5-8 (NLT) God's plan will never steer you wrong!

Prioritize your goals
In addition to goals for your health, you should consider goals for all areas of your life. These goals are listed in order of priority and you should consider keeping these goals in this order:

1. Spiritual
2. Health
3. Family
4. Education
5. Financial
6. Work

I am often asked by parents why I have health listed above family. This is usually one of the primary reasons why their health is deteriorating and not where they want it to be. Your health is more important than your family. In order to be the best parent that you can be, you need to first take care of yourself. What type of an example do you want to set for your children? Do you want them to see a mom or dad that uses their children as an excuse to be out of shape and overweight? Guess what these kids will likely do when they grow up. Exactly what you did! Set the example for your kids that you can live a healthy, active life and have time to take care of them as well.

It doesn't take much time to be healthy, 20-30mins of cardiovascular exercise each day and resistance training 30-40mins three times each week equals 4 1/2 hours each week at the most! Most Americans blow away that much time each night watching television thinking they are spending quality time with their kids!

Backwards Plan

Once you set your goals, reverse engineer them! For example, if you set a goal to lose 50lbs this year, plan your monthly, weekly and daily plans in order for you to accomplish this goal.

• To meet this goal, you will need to lose 4-4.5lbs each month.
• To meet the monthly goal, you will need to lose 1-1.25lbs each week.
• In order to meet your weekly goal, you will need to burn off at least 500 calories each day (500 calories x 7 days = 3500 calories, which also equals 1 pound of fat!)

Also, think about your other goals in your life. You can apply these same principles to helping you get your finances in order. For example, if you had $3000 of credit card debt that you wanted to get rid of, plan out how much you will need to put towards that each month, week and even a day (think about saving money on lattes!).

After you have your plan in place for the whole year, just work your daily plan and forget about your year long goal! You can only control today. You have no control over tomorrow. In fact, stressing about tomorrow is what brings about even greater agony. So much so that Jesus told us not to worry about it! He told us: "Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today." Matthew 6:33-34 (New Living Translation)

Putting it all together with Dairy

The final component of your diet is dairy. Dairy products provide your body with essential calcium which is normally very challenging to get. Most foods usually have very little calcium. In fact, a 2000 calorie diet that is void of dairy products and no fortified calcium foods (like calcium-fortified orange juice) will usually yield you approximately 333mg of calcium. That is about 1/3 of what your body needs in a whole day. However, 1 8oz cup of milk (any type) will give you the exact same amount!

It is recommended to consume at least 3 dairy sources each day to give your body approximately 1000mg of calcium from dairy products. In addition to that, the rest of the foods you eat should give you another 300mg which would put you at 1300mg for the day. If you are consuming at least 1000mg of calcium each day, your body would be more inclined to keep the amount of bone it has in tact. However, if your calcium level drops too low for too long, your body will begin to breakdown it's own bone to make sure your blood contains enough calcium for proper body functions.

Calcium in our body has many uses in addition to building healthy bones and teeth. One of the primary uses for calcium in our body is with muscle contraction. Not having enough calcium will create the need for our body to break down the calcium storage (our bones) so that our bodies can keep moving and stay alive!

Bone depositing actually doesn't occur equally throughout our lifetime. Unfortunately, as we get older, our body is much more inclined to break down bone instead of store it. The teenage years are the most prime time to store bone. During the teenage years, if you are consuming the recommended amount of dairy sources (3-4/day) then your body will potentially store the most amount of bone during that time. As we age, the body will be more inclined to breakdown bone to keep the body functioning. However, by consuming adequate amounts of calcium, the process of bone degeneration can slow.

Also, weight training is one of the best ways to help prevent bone degeneration in addition to consuming the recommended amount of calcium. Building muscle helps to increase the demand for stronger bones in our body, so our bodies would be more inclined to build more bone tissue.

If I take a calcium supplement, is that good enough?
Many studies show that the type of calcium in a supplement is not absorbed to the same degree as through consuming it in your diet.

What if I am lactose intolerant?
Many folks suffer with this condition these days. Fortunately, most soy milks and other soy products are fortified with calcium. Try making sure you get enough calcium (3-4 servings) from calcium-fortified foods.

What are the best types of dairy sources to consume and how much?
1 8oz cup of milk
1 6oz container of yogurt (standard size)
1 oz of cheese (the size of a domino)

Dieting with Dairy
For many people who are looking to lose weight, consuming too much dairy can be something that can get in the way. Yes, we all need to try to get the recommended 3 sources of dairy each day for the calcium, however over-consuming dairy is a good way to give yourself a lot of extra calories that your body may not make good use of. So, try to get the 3 sources in and then stop. Also, try to make sure all of your dairy sources are as low-fat as possible. Skim milk is the best low-calorie milk choice and actually gives you a little more calcium than low-fat or whole milk. Try also to make sure your cheeses are low-fat. Cheese will add on calories fast if it's not low-fat.

Putting it all together
Having 3 sources of dairy works out well with your 3 main meals each day: 1 cup of milk for breakfast, yogurt for lunch, low-fat cheese with dinner and you are all set. Also, using low-fat string cheese is a good way to get a protein source and a dairy source at the same time.

When thinking of meal planning, think about all the dietary components and how to put them all together. Each meal and snack should have a primary protein source, a quality carbohydrate a fruit and/or vegetable. Then for the three main meals, have a dairy source in addition to that. By doing this, you will give your body the necessary nutrients that it needs, keep your energy levels up, reduce the incidence of heart disease and cancer and help you feel great! Also, if you do this and keep your calories in line with what your goals demand (weight loss, weight gain, or stay the same), you can reach your weight goals as well!

"Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are of his making." Proverbs 16:11 (New International Version)