What if Everything You Learned About Weight Loss Is Wrong...

What if everything you learned about weight loss and living a healthy lifestyle was all wrong.

66% of the population is overweight.  95% of all people gain any weight they have lost and more.  Type 2 diabetes is an epidemic.  We are losing muscle and gaining fat.

 

They say insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  Is what you are doing for optimal health getting your the results you want?  

At Get In Shape for Women Danvers we are doing things differently.

 

So many women walk in our door thinking that they cannot maintain "being healthy and fit" and think it's a lack of mental strength.  But the reason you cannot keep the weight off, the muscle on, and the workouts strong is that your body is rebelling. The methods you may have used to get to a healthy weight are to blame, not your will power.  And if you remember it being so easy to lose 10 pounds quickly many years ago, that may be true... but those methods have made it harder to lose one pound now.  

I know there are some of you reading this email who are at a healthy weight or feel good about your lifestyle choices and may just want to feel better and tone up.  Good for you!  Our tools to get you in the best shape of your life are the same as for weight loss. From day one of our program you are learning lifestyle maintenance.  Permanent change.  No quick fixes. We do not eat differently for weight loss, optimal health or optimal energy.  

 Our clients are ages 18 to 84 and each and every one them are in better shape than when they started.  Do you want to feel better?

At Get In Shape for Women Danvers, we also recognize that you are all at different stages of eating and moving in a healthy way. Our job as coaches is to take you where you are at and move you in the right direction.  Progress, not perfection.  You still deserve to take care of your health even if you are taking care of children, working long hours and caring for elderly parents.  Our job is to give you solutions for the obstacles you face.  Our goal  is also to taylor the workout to your current fitness levels.  We work towards healing aches and pains, not working around them.  The purpose of our program is to create a state of health that KEEPS you running efficiently, feeling great and and living a long and healthy life.

What's so wonderful is the PROCESS that we use is good for you, not just the end result.  The foods, the movements, the support.  Our clients notice benefits right away, including a reduction in stress, getting off medications and an increase in energy.

You may be thinking that you will start in January.  Don't you want to start feeling better now?  Don't you want stress relief during the holidays?  We don't WANT you to change everything right away, so don't feeling joining our program needs to wait until you can focus on health and only health!!!  That's is too overwhelming, unnecessary and If you've lost weight in a way that you know you cannot sustain (boring foods,  hours of cardio) why would you want to start again?  Our process fits into your real life, which includes the holiday season.  The best gift you can give yourself is the gifts of health. Why wait to open that present!

 

This time it will be different, because you will start NOW!

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

Focus on a new habit: Get at least 7 hours of sleep.

 We have a few basic physiological needs (as defined by Malsow’s hierarchy of needs), which include breathing, food, water and SLEEP! We are all about health here at GISFW Danvers, which is why we focus on the foundational healthy habits that create a productive life. In other words, if you are not well nourished, hydrated, breathing and rested you will not be at your best to accomplish ANY of your goals. Building a healthier, stronger body STARTS with an effective workout, but will not be achieved with out the proper rebuilding plan – water, good fuel, and rest/recovery. It’s as if you want new siding on your house, but all you do pull the old stuff off and never put new GOOD quality siding back on. And there are serious health consequences associated with lack of sleep, including difficulty in complying with healthy habits.

 Why This is Important Sleep
 Weight Loss If you're trying to lose weight, sleep can help you in this area also. There's a strong correlation between sleep deprivation and being overweight and obese. Granted, correlation doesn't equal causation. But it's still worth noting that many of the people not getting enough sleep are putting on the pounds. Not getting adequate sleep for growth causes issues with your body's hormones, cortisol, ghrelin and especially leptin, which is responsible for regulating metabolism and your appetite! When leptin gets out of balance, you will end up eating more and the extra food will turn straight into body fat. - OUCH... There are some many more reasons why getting enough sleep is important and the handouts included are a MUST READ. Here are few highlights...

 Stress leads to a loss of sleep and a loss of sleep leads to an increase in stress, which can become a vicious cycle. Sleep is a basic human need, and when we don't get enough of it, just about every aspect of our functioning is affected. We move slower. We're less productive. We're more irritable. We make poor decisions (like what to eat). We forget things. And all of these problems are exacerbated as we lose more and more sleep. 

According to a survey by the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), over two-thirds of women associate their sleep problems with stress. Yet, when pressed for time, over half of the women polled said that sleep is the first thing they give up. Unfortunately, this is an all too common example of the short term gain, long term pain philosophy (don't sacrifice what you want MOST for what you want in the moment) that is becoming more and more common in our over scheduled lives.

Excessive sleep loss has been linked to mood disorders, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, substance abuse, obesity, impaired judgment, reckless behavior, and increased accidents at home, work, and on the road. In fact, in the most severe cases of sleep deprivation, hallucinations and paranoid delusions can develop. The worse case scenario is death. The point is ... if something has to get bumped from your to-do list, the last thing it should be is sleep. Sleep-maintenance insomnia is a common complaint among women at midlife.- That's most of us!!

Alright, you know you can't sleep, but what can you do about it? Choose a few of these tried and true ways to reduce stress and lower your cortisol before you go to sleep:

 · Turn off the TV. Read a book instead.
· Dim the lights - When your eyes are exposed to lights your pineal gland (a tiny endocrine organ in your brain) will not secrete the melatonin you need for a good night's sleep.
· Listen to relaxing music.
· Take a hot bath with Epsom salts before bed. · Use essential oils, like lavender.
· Ask someone to give you a foot massage (aka foot reflexology) - when cortisol levels are up, you can be certain that too much energy has gone up into your head. A foot massage is a great way to calm down that excessive nervous energy in your head.
 Make a list of all the things you are grateful for – We’ve heard that Oprah Winfrey does this every night

It's Been A While...

For those of you who knew me as a Weight Watchers leader, you may have wondered where I've been. I have been the manager of Get In Shape For Women in Danvers, an all women's personal training gym, since August of 2010. It may sound like I went from the nutrition side of wellness to the workout side of wellness, but the truth is I have always know women need both, and also the "spirit" side, to feel they can be their best self. At this time, I am becoming a certified wellness coach, and continue to learn the best tools to give my clients, friends and anyone who will listen. I plan on udpating this blog with the information I send to my GISFW Danvers clients, and maybe some of my own more personal thoughts. I will update this blog with a few of my most informative emails for the past 2 years and send you to web sites that I think you will find interesting. Information is power. You never know where you will find the words that will change your life. Or maybe you've heard it once, or twice before, but now you are ready to receive it. Here is one of most recent emails: The Weekly Weigh In Do you have water nearby? Did you eat protein today? Did you eat? Remember, don't go out tonight hungry - that bread basket will look very tempting... As you know, the GISFW franchise organization has mandated weekly weigh ins. I would like to tell you why this is a good idea. You know I like to say, information is power. For us to give you the best service, we need to know as much as possible about your health to get you to your goals. Here is some information for YOU. Normal fluctuation of water in your body can sway the scale 2 pounds either way. Your weight can be effected by hormones, salt, food in your belly and being constipated. It can also be effected by a hard workout, a bad night sleep or stress hormones. So, if we weighed you in every other week, and we missed you on one of the weigh ins, it would be almost a month before we weighed you again. And if that next weigh in was a day you had a reason mentioned and registered a gain, you would think "4 weeks and I GAINED 3 pounds!" and get discouraged, when we just caught you on the wrong day. AND even if you do everything right, weight loss is not linear. You may have 2 weeks with no loss and great compliance, and then have a 3 pound weight loss on the 3rd week. I just have to survive your other 2 weigh ins.... The weekly weigh ins are an opportunity to see if you need a different tool from me, or just encouragement that you are still on track, but may have too high expectations. It's also a way for my team to improve and create a better program to give you what you need. OK - you knew it was coming. One of my analogies. My 16 year old daughter has a checking account where she deposits her small weekly paycheck. She mostly uses her debit card to spend her money. We set up the account so she cannot buy something if she does not have sufficient funds. It doesn't mean I don't trust her, I just don't want her to make a mistake and incur fees. We are responsible for her spending habits, but the bank has got our back. However, when I signed up with my bank when moving to Middleton, I DID NOT sign up for bounced check protection (I am making that term up, but you know what I mean...) So, when we mistakingly underfunded my checking account, I got LOTS of FEES that added up to A LOT of money! I had hoped the person I signed up with would have had me signed up for the protection (a simple form). I am responsible for my spending habits, but I thought the bank would have my back. That they would have notified me before the fees got so high. I was very upset! (true story). We have your back. You came to us for a service - to help you reach your goals. The weekly weight ins are important because we don't want too much time (more valuable than money) to pass without us both knowing if you are going in the right direction. Or you may tell us that weight maintenance is what you want. Or that at this moment in time, just getting the workouts it enough for you. We do not make any assumptions about the weigh in. This is your program. The weight lns are not about your being "good or bad", it's about creating action plans and reviewing our progress and adjusting accordingly.

You Are What You Eat

Last week's homework assignment was to make sure you are eating within one hour of waking and then every 2.5 - 3 hours. I was not as concerned about what you ate, just as long as you were having frequent meals. I know some of you still have coffee, run out the door and don't eat most of the day. Don't worry about eating perfectly - yet. Sometimes we are so concerned about being perfect that we get paralyzed and do nothing. If you have mastered the skill of eating frequently, this week I would like your meals to consist of protein, healthy carbs, veggies and a little bit of healthy fat. Why? The answers are below, but natural, non-processed foods make better fuel and build a better body. That's what we are trying to do at GISFW - build a new you that feels better, works better and keeps the weight off, and create habits that last a lifetime.

I've attached the handout that I've been giving out at the nutrition consults. If you want me to go over it, please stop by my office. I also included a new document from franchise school that has 3 days of sample menus and the shopping list to go with it. Between the 2 documents, you should be able to plan you meals for the rest of the week!

I know you are all logging your meals on Vitabot and on paper logs. I've been reviewing the Vitabot accounts, but please email me if you want me to look at yours. Let me know if you have any particular questions or concerns.



Protein - creating a better, stronger you

Exercise is vital if you want to transform your body, and stay transformed. Exercise actually creates small tears in muscle fibers that need to be repaired. The feeling of being ?sore? after a workout is just that, you feel the minuscule tears that have occurred during your workout. To repair these sore muscles properly, you must fuel them with the proper amount, and type, of proteins. Just like a scar forming after a cut heals, the human body responds to stress by reinforcing the affected area; this tissue will grow back together stronger and denser than before to protect itself from continued stress. The denser and stronger the muscle is, the more fuel it requires to operate. Following a workout program consistently will build lean muscle and raise your body's resting metabolic rate, which means your body will burn more calories throughout the day. Good protein sources include lean meats, chicken, lamb, turkey, whey supplements, as well as fish, eggs, and Greek-style yogurts. Meat should be free of hormones and antibiotics whenever possible. To expedite the break-down of protein for use in muscle repair, certain fats should be utilized as well.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the main energy source for the body. We need carbs to fuel our bodies properly throughout the day. The best sources are fresh fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates such as brown rice, oats, whole wheat, quinoa, and potatoes. Complex carbs break down more slowly and contain more fiber, which will keep insulin sensitivity down throughout the day, leading to lower risks of diabetes and heart disease.
Simple carbs should be severely restricted, or eliminated entirely from your diet. These include white sugar, white breads and pastries, many breakfast cereals and anything else containing sucrose, glucose, maltose, and high fructose corn syrup. A diet high in these simple carbohydrates have been linked to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems and tooth decay. They will spike insulin levels, which will lead to calories being stored as fat instead of being used by the body for energy.

Fats, they aren't all bad

Making sure your body is being fed certain fats every day is just as important as keeping other fats out. Fats build and maintain healthy cells, insulate tissue, protect organs, help to absorb fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, and maintain skin and hair. Another benefit of having good fats in our diet is to help make you feel full for longer periods of time.
There are 4 types of fats ? monounsaturated fat, polyunsaturated fat, saturated fat, and trans fat. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat are the 'good fats' ? they are more easily broken down to be used for energy, and have great benefits. Any saturated fats should be kept to a bare minimum in your diet. Saturated fats are resistant to breakdown, and clog your body?s processes, raising your blood cholesterol levels. Documentation supports that people living with diets high in saturated fats have much higher instances of disease, especially over time. Trans fat should be totally avoided. Trans fats are the partially hydrogenated oils and shortenings that can be found in packaged goods and used in restaurants (which some states are starting to ban!). They are synthetic, not essential to the body, and highly damaging. Trans fats increase LDL (bad cholesterol) and decrease HDL (good cholesterol). Trans fats are being linked to increases in heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
Polyunsaturated fats are made up of essential fatty acids, and the two main essential fatty acids are omega-3 and omega 6. In addition to the benefits listed above, unsaturated fats can also help boost metabolism, mood, brain function and libido. Since your body cannot create these on its own, you must introduce these from an external source. Most people get enough omega-6's in their diet, from oils such as corn, canola, soy, sunflower and animal fats, but are lacking in omega-3's, found in flaxseed, walnuts, cold water fish, and dark green leafy vegetables. Having a balance of omega-6 to omega-3 in a 3-to-1 ratio is best. The average person has a ratio of 15-20:1, which can have a negative effect by causing inflammation and cardiovascular problems. Monounsaturated fats can be found in vegetable oils such as olive, canola, peanut, sunflower, and sesame, as well as avocados, peanut butter and many other nuts and seeds. They can help to lower bad cholesterol levels, lowering risk of heart disease and stroke.

Water, it's all around you, and chances are you aren't getting enough!

"Drink More Water", you hear it everywhere, but most people do not understand how it can help with proper bodily function. The liver is a very capable organ, it can even assist other organs to perform their jobs if things get too crazy. One of the liver?s jobs is to metabolize stored body fat and turn it into usable energy. Great! Getting the liver to work at its peak efficiency means getting the kidneys to work at 100% as well, since the liver takes some of the load off the kidneys when things get troublesome. Keeping the kidneys hydrated allows them to do their job, and reduces the need of the liver to get involved in the process. Getting enough water into your system will allow your kidneys, and thus your liver, to function properly, metabolizing the fats you have released by eating and exercising correctly. Staying hydrated also keeps your body flushing away any unwanted toxins from your system. Sodium can build up and retain water outside of the cells, giving your body that ?bloated? look. It may seem backwards, but drinking enough water actually reduces the bloat. Your body learns that it will be kept hydrated from an outside source, and does not have to hold on to water internally to function properly.

Calories Count on The Weekend, too!

You've made it to Friday! And guess what - all the nutrition guidelines still apply for the weekend. I know the rules aren't always clear, so I hope I've been able to answer your questions so we get you to your goals.

Let me give ylou a few tips to get through the weekend. Treat Saturday and Sunday as if it were Monday or Tuesday. Stay away from processed foods and plan a good breakfast, which sets the tone for the rest of the day. Many of us eat breakfast later on the weekends, or not at all, and then when the hole opens up in our stomach midday, we can't make rational decisions. Don't let yourself get too hungry.

Use Vitabot or your food log as a planning tool. So if you are planning on having some fun foods at dinner or brunch, figure that out first, and then plan around it. Make sure the rest of you meals have protein and veggies, and save more of the carbs for your PLANNED treat. Don't make the weekends all or nothing.

Bring food with you when you go out. Fruit and a string cheese are my favorites, but if you have a favorite high protein, high fiber bar you like, take that with you. But even gas stations have some better choices - don't get hungry!

Last, if you accidentally make a poor food choice (and no you're not BAD), make the next bite or meal a great choice. What's done is done. Don't punish or starve yourself. That only backfires.

OK - so here's my next story. 3 years ago, I decided to buy a new house and, based on my research, I found the house of my dreams in Middleton. I figured out what I could afford and signed a contract with my bank to pay a certain amount every month. Well,,,after a while, I got tired of paying that much money. I wanted to buy new furniture, go on more vacations and not work as much to pay for it. So, I called the bank and said, for a few months, I just wanted to pay 75% of the mortgage - just until I get motivated to work a little harder - and boy do I need more vacations!! They said, we can help you out for a month, if you are having troubles, but if you don't pay 100%, you'll not only lose your house, but all the money you invested in it. So, I kept paying 100%...

When you joined GISFW, you knew we are the best transformation program around. You wanted to get the best "house" possible - your body (you can't leave home without it). You signed a contract to give it 100% and we helped you learn what that is. I am not saying there wasn't a learning curve, but you now know what to do. So, if you only give it 60-75%, especially with your nutrition on the weekends, you're not only NOT going to get results, but you may lose all the progress you made at the beginning. Don't waste the hard work you do most of the time. You deserve the best, healthy body.

Don't give up want you want most for what you want in the moment.

Sunday is a Great day for Planning

I can't believe how quickly the weekend goes by. I know we want to get in as much down time as we can before it all starts again on Monday. However, I have found that Sunday is a great day to get prepared for the upcoming week. This is even more important when the week must include healthy meals. Simply looking at the week ahead and discussing it with your family can make a big difference in staying on track. In the Ford home we take out the calendar and look at each days to figure who is going to be around when and what nights we will be eating together. Well, really I am looking for when my husband will be home to cook, and that is definitely part of MY plan.

We schedule the meals ahead, so if I am in Market Basket on Monday and we are having chicken Picatta on Wednesday, I know to get some lemons. We do a lot of cooking ahead, so no matter who is where when, there will be food in the fridge. I am sure you've noticed me eating food, real food, at odd times in the studio. It's usually some leftovers from whenever. When you make your shopping list for the meals you've planned, don't forget to add healthy snacks like fruits, string cheese, Greek yogurt and a high fiber, high protein snack bar (for when you're on the run).

So now you have your meal plan, shopping list and are off to the supermarket. You can't eat healthy food, unless you have healthy food, so go get them! Then, since our meal plan is just mix and match protein, veggies and healthy carbs, cook up some protein. I love chicken tenders. They cook fast and you can flavor them in so many ways. A couple of ideas: marinate them in fat free or low fat salad dressing, season with taco flavoring, Mrs. Dash, Cayenne pepper, or low salt teryaki sauce. You can try different flavors and cook them all at once.

Another idea from one of our team mates (you know who you are) is to saute, with a little olive oil or Pam, vidalia onions and garlic, then add chicken tenders to brown and finish cooking with stewed tomatoes. Yummy! You can then add this to even more veggies. I always have bags of frozen BirdsEye Steam fresh veggies on hand to pop in the microwave to add bulk, and vitamins, to my meals.

I would love to hear some of you food ideas. Email me or let me know about them when you are in the studio.

To hear more information and ideas - come to my nutrition seminar in the studio on Sunday August 15th at 10:00 AM.

We don't plan to fail, we fail to plan! So, start this week out right! I'm going to Market Basket right now...

To Your Health,

BBQ Tips

Labor Day weekend is big for BBQs. Don't let that be an excuse to go off your healthy eating plans. Here a few tips to stay on track.

Don't go to the party hungry. Nothing good comes from being hungry. You can't make rational decisions, and we always think since we didn't have our 250 calorie breakfast, we can eat 2000 calories of appetizers.

Don't go too early. Unless you plan on playing volleyball all day, most people just eat and drink at BBQs. Don't make it harder than it has to be by staring at the food longer than you have to. And if you have those friends that say to be there by 2:00PM, but don't starting cooking until 5:00PM, plan accordingly.

Bring healthy foods and beverages. I always bring air popped popcorn and a fruit platter. Everyone always loves it! And BBQs are that rare opportunity to feel comfortable bringing you own chicken or even light rolls and no one cares. Try doing that when the host is preparing a 5 course meal. You would never ask to cook chicken breast when they had lasagna in the oven!

Stay active. If there are kids around, get up and do something with them. Go for a walk with your friends and relatives instead of sitting next to the chips.

Don't miss your next workout or weigh in! It doesn't matter what you've done, the next step is what's important!