What thighs lose, belly finds

I don’t believe in quick fixes and if it’s too good to be true, it’s probably not. I believe that hard work and perseverance will prevail, and good wins over bad. I also believe in Karma.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with someone having cosmetic surgery if that’s what they want to do. But to think it is a replacement for a healthy diet and regular exercise, well that’s just not very realistic is it?  This was a very interesting article regarding liposuction. Personally, the thought of having this type of procedure literally makes me nauseous, but then I have never been faced with the dilemma of "saddlebags", so perhaps if I were, I might have a different opinion on this. 

It's really something to give careful thought to if you are considering the cost and pain of this. Will you make changes afterward? Or will you end up with fat somewhere else?

By the way, this is NOT my butt!

By Gina Kolata

New York Times

The woman's hips bulged in unsightly saddlebags. Then she had liposuction and, presto, those saddlebags disappeared.

Photo after photo on plastic surgery websites make liposuction look easy, its results transformative. It has become the most popular plastic surgery, with more than 450,000 operations a year, each costing a few thousand dollars.

But does the fat come back? And if it does, where does it show up?

Until now, no one knew. But a new study, led by Drs. Teri Hernandez and Robert Eckel of the University of Colorado, has answered those questions. And what he found is not good news.

In the study, the researchers randomly assigned non-obese women to have liposuction on their protuberant thighs and lower abdomen or to refrain from having the procedure, serving as controls. 

The result, published in the latest issue of Obesity, was that fat came back after it was suctioned out. It took a year, but it all returned. But it did not reappear in the women's thighs. Instead, Eckel said, "it was redistributed upstairs," mostly in the upper abdomen, but also around the shoulders and triceps of the arms.

Dr. Felmont Eaves III, a plastic surgeon in Charlotte, N.C., and president of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, said the study was "very well done," and the results were surprising. He said he would mention it to his patients in the context of other information on liposuction.

The finding raises questions about plastic surgery. Liposuction has been around since 1974 and is heavily advertised. Why did it take so long for anyone to do this study?

Maybe it's because such a study is very difficult, said Dr. Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Washington University School of Medicine. It takes a team of researchers, and money. Fat must be measured precisely, with scans.

And surgery, said Jonathan Moreno, an ethicist at the University of Pennsylvania who has studied the field, is not like other areas of medicine.

"A lot of it has to do with the culture of surgery, which is literally hands-on," he said. Surgeons, he added, often feel a connection to patients that makes it difficult to agree to trials that involve randomizing them.

New Nutritional Guidlines

It's about time, that's all I can say. We all know that smoking dropped dramatically once they stopped advertising on TV right? Look how appealing this would be to a young male:

These people should be taken out into a field and shot like rabid dogs.

But the industry will be changing, and it's good for all of us! Take a moment to read this article.

Citing the goal of reducing childhood obesity, an interagency working group (IWG) comprising four federal agencies has released a set of proposed voluntary guidelines for the nutritional content of foods and beverages marketed to children and teens ages 2 through 17.

In 2009, Congress directed the Federal Trade Commission, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to form an IWG to develop such recommendations.

The proposed voluntary guidelines recommend that food makers adhere to specific limitations on saturated fat, trans fat, added sugars and sodium in foods marketed to children. At the same time, they recommend that companies use advertising and marketing to “encourage children to choose foods that make meaningful contributions to a healthful diet from food groups including vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk products, fish, extra-lean meat and poultry, eggs, nuts or seeds, and beans.”

The proposal calls for food marketers, including restaurants, to “strive” to meet specified initial/interim nutritional and marketing criteria by 2016, and final targets by 2021. The proposal identifies 10 food/beverage categories that account for the vast majority of spending for marketing to children and teens, and recommends that the industry focus on these. Those categories are breakfast cereals, snack foods, dairy products, baked goods, carbonated and non-carbonated beverages, prepared foods/meals, frozen and chilled desserts, and restaurant foods.

Specific nutritional guidelines for the amounts of “healthful” nutrients products in each of these groups (full proposal PDF download), as well as the recommended limits on “negative” nutrients, are laid out.

The proposal calls for companies, by 2016, to meet the following limits on “negative nutrients” per RACC (federally determined “reference amount customarily consumed” which is not necessarily the same as “serving size”): saturated fat at 1 gram or less and representing 15% or less of calories; zero trans fat; no more than 13 grams of added sugars; and no more than 210 milligrams of sodium.

To define what “marketing to children” encompasses, the proposal uses 20 categories of advertising, marketing and promotional activities identified by the FTC in its 2006 and follow-up studies on food marketing to children.

Interested parties now have 45 days to comment on the proposal (including during a forum on May 24 in Washington, D.C.) before the group submits its final report to Congress.

The IWG’s summary states that the proposal “seeks to advance current industry efforts” in regard to the nutritional value of foods marketed to children.” However, it stresses statistics including: one-third of American children are overweight or obese; cookies, cakes, pizza, and soda/energy/sports drinks are the top sources of calories in the diets of children 2 to 18; and chips and French fries comprise half of all the vegetables eaten by children.

“The food industry spent more than $1.6 billion in 2006 alone to market messages to kids promoting foods that often are high in calories and low in nutrition,” the report states. “Their campaigns use television, the Internet, social media. video games, movies, sports and music events, in-store displays and packaging and even schools.” It also states that recent surveys show childhood obesity as being parents’ #1 health concern about their children, and that parents consider “TV ads promoting junk food” to be a big part of the problem.

Nutrition advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest has long maintained that efforts of individual food makers and the 17 companies voluntarily participating in the Council of Better Business Bureaus’ Children’s Food and Beverage Initiative (launched in 2005) are not producing enough improvement. CSPI cites, for example, its research showing that ads for foods of “poor nutritional quality” on Nickelodeon decreased only from 88% to 79% of food ads between 2005 and 2009.

“A key weakness of the current self-regulatory approach…is that each company has its own strategically tailored standards,” and that many have “loopholes,” Margo G. Wootan, director of nutrition policy at CSPI, said in a statement following the proposal’s release “If companies are serious about addressing marketing to children, they’ll agree to follow the proposed national marketing standards.”

Industry Groups Respond

Timed to coincide with the proposal’s release, the Grocery Manufacturers Association and Association of National Advertisers released results of new research conducted for the associations by Georgetown Economic Services. This study shows that the average number of food/beverage ads viewed on children’s programming by children 2 to 11 fell by 50% between 2004 and 2010.

“In recent years, food and beverage companies have adopted strict nutrition standards that have fundamentally changed the advertising landscape,” stated GMA president/CEO Pamela G. Bailey. “Since 2005, there has been a significant decrease in overall food and beverage advertising on children’s programs, coupled with a dramatic increase in ads featuring healthier product choices and healthy lifestyle messages.”

This research shows that kids’ show ads for a number of product categories decreased by large percentages over the six-year period: cookies (ads down 99%), soft drinks (down 96%), candy (down 68%), and frozen/refrigerated pizza (down 95%). Ads for breads/ pastries/ waffles/pancakes, gum/mints and snack bars fell by nearly 100%, according to the study. Ads for fruit and vegetable juices have increased by 199%.

The release stresses that food and beverage makers have in recent years changed the recipes of more than 20,000 products (all products, not just those marketed primarily to children) to reduce calories, sodium, sugar and fat, and that the industry is now implementing its own front-of-package nutritional labeling system.

In a separate release, ANA EVP, government relations Dan Jaffe termed the agencies’ recommendations “sweeping and in our view overly restrictive proposals which become dramatically more restrictive after a five-year phase-in period.”

“Despite calling these proposals ‘voluntary,’ the government clearly is trying to place major pressure on the food, beverage and restaurant industries on what can and cannot be advertised,” Jaffe stressed.

The IWG’s focus on the 10 product categories is based on “limited and outdated” ad spending data from 2006, Jaffe pointed out, citing the data from the just-released Georgetown study for GMA and ANA. He also questioned the group’s logic in stating that it is considering “a more narrowly defined, yet still restrictive, set of guidelines geared toward adolescents covering various forms of new media.”

However, Jaffe added that ANA is “encouraged by [the IWG's] support for self-regulation.”

In addition to food makers’ nutritional and advertising efforts, he noted that The Ad Council is working with First Lady Michelle Obama on her “Let’s Move” initiative and with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on its “Small Step” program. Media companies have donated nearly a half-billion dollars in public service advertising time and space to these programs, he reported.

Source: MediaPost.com

Promise Yourself

Lately I have been searching deep inside myself, searching for answers to some very interesting questions. I need to remain true to myself and do what makes me feel whole as a person. That may change as situations in my life change.

There is a pull up bar in my hallway, I walk by it a dozen times a day. I just put one hand up there, it feels good, it feels right. I want to pull myself up, to feel the muscles in my back straining and lifting my entire body effortlessly up past the top, but I dare not. I don't lift anything.

I am trying to avoid complaining, everyone is very concerned and they ask how I am doing, you cannot see my injury, but it is there.  I try to be upbeat, "it's healing nicely" I say, but I am only guessing, I have no idea!

Being on "weight lifting restriction" has caused me to consider how I treat others. I realize that I can be very focused, very driven, very selfish and that is not a good thing if you have people who love you and depend on you.

I also have had time to reflect on how encouraging I am to many others, I do like to see people succeed, it does not intimidate me to have strong, beautiful, equally successful people around me, in fact, I like to hang around in a gang of "buff ones".

I have been making extra efforts to look forward, to be enthusiastic about the next two weeks, to stay upbeat and true to myself, to what I need to do to feel I am not wasting my time on this earth.

I am sharing this poem with you, no matter what you do in life, if you live by these promises, you will be happier and healthier.

Promise Yourself

Promise yourself to be strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet. 

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best and expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

Author: Christian D. Larson

Can't Keep me Down

I went to the gym Monday and walked!  I called the doctor on Friday and asked if it would be OK, or I would go nuts. The answer was "as long as you aren't taking pain killers, walk away"

I spent a few days eating and drinking, I am amazed at how my muscles soak up and hold onto the glycogen! I look good, although the belly is a bit soft, something a bikini gal would like I am sure, but me? I like to be be hard, lean and lithe with round full muscle bellies showing.

I told David that I looked bloated and he agreed and he asked if maybe I had internal bleeding (guess I look kinda big huh?) but I assured him I didn't, it must be swelling...

Over the weekend I thought about what friends have told me, and I realize they are all correct. Things happen for a reason, and someone reminded me of running.

So many people have offered encouragement and pushed me to continue, I am amazed at how much faith they have in my abilities.

Before I started weight training, I was a runner. I am a Marathoner. You see, once a marathoner, always a marathoner- did you know they say that? You can never take that accomplishment away from anyone. Running 26.2 miles, without ever stopping is an amazing feat, and I have done it. 4 hours, 1 minute, 7 seconds. My goal was 4 hours and at the age of 40, I think that was pretty darn good.

I stopped running due to injuries, doctors orders. Plus I couldn't walk without pain and that was a bit of a drag. I think I went through a bit of depression and then I started weight training, but it took quite some time before I fell in love with it.

Then the passion never waned. I love what it does to my body, to my mind, to my heart. I love the atmosphere of a gym, almost any gym, the darker and dirtier the better!

So I have many things to explore now, and they are all in the gym, I will be going in everyday as usual.

Competing? I am a competitor! Once a competitor, always a competitor.

The only difference between my current competition, and the NPC competitions that I usually participate in, is this time, I am the only competitor.

This song from Pink called 18 Wheeler is one of my favorites, the video depicts how I feel right now, beat up, angry, relentless and ready to take on anyone who dares get in my way.

You can't keep me down.

Email subscribers will need to navigate directly to the blog to view the video, please do and turn up your speakers, so you can understand exactly what I am feeling.

Perspective

 

So how tough is your training? How hard is the diet? Let's keep everything into perspective.

I realize that "perception is reality" and your reality and mine are most likely world's apart.

Maintaining a solid good schedule for your training can be a challenge, especially if you have a job or small children (sorry- non-working folks, particularly those with no kids get absolutely no sympathy from me).

It is really easy to get caught up in the mind game "how do you do it?!" "I am so tired after work, I couldn't possibly get to the gym!", "I just cannot get up that early, I need sleep."

I could probably list an entire book of excuses, there is one there for everyone. 

Excuses don't build a six pack, nor do they develop the glutes or biceps, hard work, dedication and drive do that.

You know, it is so easy to make up an excuse and fool yourself, but who are you hurting when you do that?  

It's like when an extremely overweight person in the gym tells me how hard they train, all the time. And how strict the are with their diet. I don't laugh in their face, I want to encourage them, to be all they can be; but, do I believe them? 

Absolutely not! Just look at them! Actions speak louder than words, and people can tell when you eat right or train hard, all you have to do is stand there and you look good.

Find what inspires you, what it takes to keep you going, no matter what it is, just do it!

Believe in yourself, there is nothing holding you back, except yourself.

Here is a great short video of a fellow who is doing 30 different sports in 30 days in 30 different cities! It inspires me to do something new. I LOVE it!

Do you think this guy has excuses? He may but he certainly cannot finish if he listens to them.

It gets me so excited to watch people like this, I want to do it!

Oh, by the way, when I need a ready to drink I also use EAS Myoplex (but the lite version for s smaller body).

Email subscribers will need to click on the Ready in 5 Weeks link to navagate to the blog to view this.

Sleep and Rest

Sleep, it is oh so very, very important! Sleep is when your body grows, when you produce growth hormone (which is in short supply the older you get), when your body regenerates after all of the stress of the day.

The growth you experience from weight training happens outside the gym, after you have eaten proper nutrients, and then sleep. Take away one or the other, or short change yourself and your efforts are wasted.

You can train like a champ, but if you do not allow your body enough sleep, it will not grow or improve, simple as that.

You cannot "catch up" on sleep. Sure, you can sleep in and rest longer on weekends if you want or feel you need to, but you cannot stay up late and then plan to sleep in to make up for that lost sleep, it doesn't work.

People who stay up later on weekends, and sleep in are not as successful in the gym as those who adhere to a "regular" schedule. The body is a finely tuned machine, that runs on a schedule, mess up the schedule and it rebels!

Often, you may find that you end up skipping your training too- you stayed up late, slept in, had things you had to get done, so the gym time suffered.

You should try to limit TV, computer, all electronic and light stimuli before bed. Give your brain time to relax and unwind.

Many people confuse lack of sleep with "over training". They are pushing themselves to the limit in the gym, eating right, working a full time job and are exhausted. They get sick a lot too, their immune system is shot and they blame it on "over training". 

Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but hardly any of us, in most cases, unless you are an Olympic level athlete are "over training". What is happening is "under sleeping". You have "sleep debt".

People who have a mid afternoon slump can usually blame that on sleep debt too, their body just didn't get enough.

You try to fit it all in, and then you still want to watch four hours of TV at night, or go out with friends after work, so you end up going to sleep later than you should. Cut out the TV and the partying go to sleep earlier instead and you will suddenly feel better, you will not feel "over trained" and you will probably have better results.

You will know you are getting enough sleep when you start to wake at approximately the same time every single day, regardless of when the alarm sounds.  So, if you usually get up at 5:00 am, and then on the days you aren't working, you start to automatically wake at that same time, you are getting enough sleep.

Here is a saying from Al Schoterman, a Strength Coach and Olympian regarding the importance of sleep and rest for the athlete.

The Phases of Rest

Never run when you can walk

Never walk when you can get a ride

Never stand when you can sit

Never sit when you can lie down

Never lie down when you can go to sleep

` Al Schoterman

Cutting Calories

Sometimes I cannot believe how some people manage to make it through life. I am referring to their lack of intelligence.

We all know smoking WILL kill us eventually right? Yet still thousands upon thousands of people smoke.

We all know that we need to eat right to maintain our health also, yet many people choose to ignore this and eat whatever they want. This one is a bit tougher, there are no warning labels on packaged foods, but I think there should be just like on cigarettes!

I understand that learning to eat properly does take time, but there are some very obvious choices that can be made that don't require the brain of a mental giant.

I love to read News Of The Weird by Chuck Shepherd. It's always a very small little tidbit of stupidity that either makes me laugh or shake my head in absolute wonder!

Here is one that made me wonder:

Tennessee, the second fattest state, according to a recent foundation report, continues to pay for obese Medicaid recipients to have bariatric surgery (at a cost of about $2,000.00), but to deny coverage for an overweight person to consult, even once, with a dietitian.

Weird huh? I can honestly tell you that the money I spent consulting with a nutritionist was the best money I have ever spent in my life, and I wish I had done it years and years ago!

I recommend consulting with one who specializes in the area of your needs, if you are obese, then seek a specialist who has had successes with obese patients, if you are an athlete, seek out one who works with athletes. 

Like a trainer, you need to carefully select your nutritionist or dietitian!

Monday Morning Motivation

 

Monday! You know how I love them! (This picture was taken Sunday morning, first day back in the gym in 9 days!)

Hopefully you find something that "pings" at your heart and soul, to make you look inward and perhaps make a little tiny change in attitude today.

Remember, you are worth it!


The attitude, and the mind, is where it all starts.
- John Smith, Olympic Champion


The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.
- William James

She didn't know it couldn't be done, so she went ahead and did it.
- Mary's Almanac

The roads we take are more important than the goals we announce. Decisions determine destiny.
- Frederick Speakman

Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. 
- Norman Vincent Peale

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent in doing nothing.
- George Bernard Shaw


I've always felt it was not up to anyone else to make me give my best.
- Akeem Olajuwon 



And now a little Monday Morning Music, here is Pulp performing Monday Morning. Some of the lyrics are below. Email readers will need to navigate directly to the blog to view the video.




There's nothing to do so you just stay in bed,
oh poor thing,
why live in the world when you can live in your head?

Mmm when you can go out late from Monday,
till Saturday turns into Sunday,
and now you're back here at Monday,
so we can do it all over again.
And you go aah ah ah
I want a refund,
I want a light,
I want a reason,
to make it through the night, alright.


Going out late from Monday,
chuck up in the street on Sunday,
you don't want to live till Monday,
and have to do it all again.
and you go aah ah ah
I want a refund,
I want a light,
I want a reason for all this night after night after night after night.
Oh I know that it's stupid but,
I just can't seem to spend a night at home,
cos my friends left town,
and I'm here all alone ow.

Proper Nutrition

My husband and son always laugh when I drink this right before bed, they say it looks like I am drinking melted butter.

It is actually amino acids.

I take a lot of amino acids and branched chain amino acids. They are the building blocks of muscle.

You will hear just about everyone say you need to eat a lot of protein to gain muscle, what you actually need is the amino acids that your body is able to pull out of the protein.

I eat the correct amount of protein, as prescribed by a nutritionist and I also drink a lot of amino acids.

Proper nutrition is a balanced diet, year round. You cannot go on a diet for a length of time, get ripped then go back to eating like the average Joe and expect to stay ripped.

Won't work, guaranteed.

You can relax your diet, but you can never give up the "clean" eating, not if you want to keep that gorgeous body.

Just like the human body adapts to training, requiring constant changes to keep from becoming stagnant and cease growing, the human body adapts to nutrition.

Eat the same old stuff day in and day out and soon you will suffer. You won't show gains, you may start having gastrointestinal issues, your body will rebel.

That is why it is imperative to eat seasonally. You need to include many different foods in your diet, one day you may have beans for your starch and one day brown rice (NEVER white). They have a different caloric value, and that is good, some days your calories are slightly higher than others. Keeps it guessing, just like in training.

Varying your foods is also good for your head- psychologically I mean.

I won't get into carb cycling, this is about a diet for life, not a diet for an event.

Include bright vegetables, greens, fresh fruit. If you choose what is in season (locally, not in Chile), then it will have the highest nutrient content, and you are sure to never get tired of the same foods as they will change with the seasons.

Interesting Health Facts

90 percent of back problems can be solved through physical therapy and lifestyle changes instead of with surgery.
~ American Association of Neurological Surgeons

You need to perform 420 minutes (that's 7 hours for those who may be math challenged) of moderate intensity exercise per week to maintain a healthy body weight without making any changes to your diet.
~ The Journal of the American Medical Association

Dieters had to sleep 8.5 hours a night in order to lose seven pounds (mostly fat) over a two week period. When they slept less, they lost the same amount of weight but mostly in the form of muscle. Te shed fat and keep muscle, get your ZZZ's!

~Annals of Internal Medicine

Being a couch potato may increase your likelihood of catching a cold. A new study from Appalachian State University in North Carolina found that exercise reduces the frequency and severity of colds more than any other lifestyle factor. Participants in the study who exercised five times a week took 43% fewer sick days. And when they did get sick, their symptoms were much milder than their more sedentary peers'. Experts believe that exercise triggers immune cells to temporarily circulate, fighting infection.

See a pattern? Anything you need to start doing? Feel good, get some exercise every single day! Jump rope, walk, play tennis, football, lacrosse (above) or my favorite: lift some heavy weights!

Stanford Cancer Center

I spent some time today at the Cancer Center at Stanford Hospital. It certainly is a beautiful facility. I mean, it is several stories high, lots of windows and light, they even had a pianist in the lobby and valet parking.

Unfortunately, everyone there is there for one reason, either they, or a loved one has cancer.

My sister and I went with my father to meet with the surgeon who will perform his surgery. We had questions, and he had answers, not necessarily exactly what we wanted to hear each time, but still, answers.

We have gone through this before, with my mother.  There are things you feel proud to be an "expert" at, but cancer is not one of those things.

I looked around the waiting room, scanning the faces of the people. There were old people, middle aged people and some young ones. Cancer does not discriminate, it likes everyone, the rich, the poor, the fit, the not so fit.

No one has control over whether they may be a victim of cancer or not, but we all have control over how we can ensure that we are able to respond well if we do get it. We all have control over our general health, our lives are actually in our own hands.

I started thinking about my health, how I treat my body, how I have grown to value this amazing piece of machinery, that does whatever I ask of it, and hardly complains. What would happen if I no longer had this body? If I were to become ill?  I don't think we think of things like this until we are faced with the possibility. Sometimes it has to smack us right across the cheek before we listen.

Studies have proven that those who exercise regularly don't get sick as often as "regular" folk. I have been told that I have more NK (Natural Killer) cells than the average person, in part because of the amount of exercise I do, and have been doing for many, many years. Because I have more NK cells, I don't get sick, really, ask anyone who knows me.

We should all exercise every single day. We are living beings, not robots and are meant too move and expend energy. No one should ever come home from work and plop down on the sofa, unless of course they work performing physical labor or got a good hour of exercise in before work!

Besides regular, strenuous exercise what else should you do? Don't smoke, even 'just occasionally". I am blown away at how many young people smoke. Can the world be any more in your face about how stupid smoking is? No! Yet I see young people lighting up, they think they look cool? They not only look un-cool, but stupid.

Eat right. You all know what that means. You may not know how to eat to drop all your body fat, like I do for a competition, but that is a whole different world, and frankly, I don't even think it's that healthy!  It certainly isn't a diet you can live with.

You should eat a balanced diet. What the heck IS a balanced diet anyway? It means that you don't go off on some idiotic fad diet that cuts whole food groups out! Potato chips and beer are not food groups by the way...

Eat fruit, nuts, vegetables, grains, lean meats, lean poultry, fish, low fat dairy. The obvious things.

Don't poison your body with drugs and alcohol. I know, an occasional glass of wine is fine, but I am talking about "pickling" yourself. 

You body is amazing, it will serve you well if you treat it right. If you are one of those who should make some changes, do it now before it's too late.

Consider yourself just slapped, across that right cheek. It may sting, but you will remember it for a long time.

Festival Of Sleep Day

I love reading and always seem to come across some interesting little tidbits related to health and fitness and I like to pass on the ones I think have some merit.

This is Thor, my son's cat, asleep on a down comforter...guess he got tired playing with the pink lacrosse ball!

I understand today (January 3) is Festival of Sleep Day !

All joking aside, sleep is vital to maintaining a healthy body weight, and to  build lean mass, in addition to proper functioning of every cell in your body.

I am miserable when I haven't had my sleep. I cannot think, I don't make sense, I am not productive at work and worst of all, I cannot lift heavy weights when I haven't had a good, long sleep! I need more than I get, but as it is, I go to bed by 9:00 pm usually, it would be really hard for me to fit in anything after work if I went to bed much earlier.

Scientist now know that sleep is essential to memory- your brain uses those hours to arrange memories so you can better recall key emotional moments. (To me, this is almost like running a de-frag on my computer!)

Other good reasons to put in the pillow time: People who skimp on sleep show elevated levels of inflammation (a risk factor for heart disease and stroke) and crave higher-calorie foods because of hormone imbalances.

"Good sleep equals good health" says Dr. Stuart Quan of Harvard Medical School's Division of Sleep Medicine.

So stop watching TV, have a hot cup of chamomile tea, some ZMA to help promote natural growth hormone and go to bed early!

New Year's Resolutions

This picture was taken in June, 2003, 7 1/2 years ago. This is my friend Baz, we had a party to celebrate David earning his Master's degree. He thought that my hair would look good on him, so we draped it over his head for the photo.



And here I am now!

My point is that I think I look amazingly close to what I looked like way back when....Actually, I think I am aging backward.

I have been devoted to a lifestyle of hard exercise, clean eating and health for quite some time now, and it didn't start with a New Year's Resolution.


Most resolutions are health related, lose weight, get in shape, stop eating candy, stop drinking alcohol, etc.


Over half the people who make a resolution will have abandoned it by February.

I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions, never have.

It is the type of person I am, I think if something is important to you, and you are serious, you take action now, not in a week, not in a in a few days, not in some specified date in the future.

There was a time I smoked, yes me. 16 years, two packs a day. I decided to quit one day so I did. June 27, 1991. Not January 1, but the day I decided I needed to make a change. I have never had a cigarette since.

I am opinionated, stubborn, tough and I get what I want, no matter how hard I have to work for it. My husband likes to say that one of my favorite sayings is:

"It's my way or the highway"

I think he is being a little hard on me, but he must know, he has lived with me for 31 years. (No, this is not a typo, it has been 31 years...)

I know that probably 99% of the people reading this have made a New Year's Resolution, and I am not trying to discourage you at all, I am trying to make you think.

I believe that I have learned a great deal about goals and goal setting. It is imperative to stick to your goals when competing; to succeed, you cannot deviate. Your lack of adherence will show in your physique, every time.

I think one of the most difficult resolutions will be totally giving up something, anything.  You may want to consider just partaking of this "thing" less, you may find that you are better able to stick to it. Don't set yourself up to fail.


If you are one of the "resolution makers", consider some things to help make you more successful.

From Mahalo.com:

Step 1: Set a Goal

• Whether or not you keep your resolution all depends on what your resolution is. You don't need to aim low, but the rules of time, space and physical reality should come into play. Don't expect to scale Everest by May if you haven't been off the couch in a decade.

1. Make One Resolution: Dr. Richard Wiseman of Hertfordshire University recommends that you make only one resolution. Your chances of success increase if you focus your attention on one issue at a time.
2. Choose a Goal That's Important to You: Without a strong, internal motivation, your resolution is meaningless. Choose a goal that you truly want for yourself not one dictated by family, friends or society.
3. Be Realistic: Don't set yourself up to fail by setting an unrealistic goal. You're not going to earn a black belt in a year if you haven't been physically active since the Nixon administration, but you can start attending martial arts classes on a regular basis.
4. Be Specific: Being specific about your goals is, in part, tied to being realistic. Break down a larger goal like "losing weight" into manageable, specific baby steps. Losing 1-2 pounds a week until you reach a goal weight set by a doctor is a healthier and more achievable goal than committing to losing 50 pounds without any kind of plan in place.
5. Avoid Previous Resolutions: Dr. Wiseman recommends not using resolutions you've made and failed to stick with in the past. If you want to fall back on an old resolution, come at it at a different angle. If you resolved and failed to "lose 50 pounds," commit to starting a regular fitness regimen or eating more healthfully instead.
6. Don't Wait Until the Last Minute: A study conducted by the University of Washington found that most resolutions lead to failure when the they were made at the last minute. Your resolution requires a sober-headed plan, not one fueled by the emotion of the New Year.
7. Don't Use Absolutes: Another finding of the study conducted by the University of Washington was that resolutions fail when they are framed as, "I will never do X again." Absolutes aren't helpful; they are recipes for failure and disappointment. It's better to make a commitment to a smoking cessation program with practical steps then it is to say, "I will never smoke again."

There are more steps to this process, visit the Mahalo.com website for the complete list.

Happy New Year, I wish you will power and happiness. See you in the gym!

After the Holiday

It's Monday and it feels good to get back to my routine. I am a creature of habit, I thrive on structure.

David and Cooper have two weeks off, one down, one to go. Last week I had half of Thursday and all of Friday off. This week I am off Thursday and Friday.

The holidays mess with my schedule so they mess with my head and my body. I stick to my training schedule when I can, meaning if I am at home, and the gym doesn't have special hours, I am on schedule. I could sleep in as late as I like on my days off, but I won't, I leave the alarm just as it always is (only I turn off David's side).

I know that sticking to a schedule makes me and others more successful, studies prove it. If you just decide to go to the gym 'whenever", that "whenever" may never come.  It makes it even that much easier to decide to stay up late and party, since you don't "have" to be at the gym at a certain time, and then it all snowballs.

Same with your food. Try to stick to your scheduled meals. Kim taught me to fill up on my scheduled meal, then if I really wanted something I shouldn't be eating, I am less likely to eat very much of it.

So this morning, I was at the gym at 5:00am when they opened, I hit the shoulders hard and threw in some extra cardio, I am jumping rope everyday this week, I am too jiggly around the middle to feel good. 10 minutes in the morning and 10 when I get home.

I ran up and down my 300 stairs just before lunch. Since I am at a University, usually there are lots of students hanging around the area I run, and a few always watch with dismay as I run up and down, over and over, huffing and puffing and sometimes singing to my music a little too loudly I think,  but it is winter break and no one is here, it's very very quiet.

I only had two observers this day. One apparently homeless man and one man in a wheelchair. I wondered what was going through their heads? Perhaps the homeless man was thinking that if he had enough to eat for a few days in a row, he may have energy and then he might be interested in running stairs with me. And the man in the wheelchair? He may have been wishing he was just able to walk and marveling at the thought of actually running up the stairs.

I felt very fortunate as I finished my stairs, fortunate that I have more than enough to eat, and I have my health. I will remember this as I choose my food and decide how to treat my body every moment of the day.

Champions

What is a champion?

What makes someone a champion?

Here are some definitions of the word champion:

1.a person who has defeated all opponents in a competition or series of competitions, so as to hold first place: the heavyweight boxing champion. 

2.a person who fights for or defends any person or cause: a champion of the oppressed. 

3.a fighter or warrior. 

It's number 3 that I focus in on because that proves that each of us is a champion . Although we may have different goals and dreams, we are all champions.

We all  live for something different yet no one has a more important reason than anyone else. We are all champions in our own endeavors.

I am a champion because I keep pushing myself harder and harder to achieve a level of physical health that is better every year.  My physician will tell you I am doing this quite well, in fact, he says I am "an interesting and unusual subject".

My son (above), is a champion because he plays lacrosse 24/7, is on three different teams at once and even traveled to Canada this summer to play the Canadians! (Yes that is blood on his chin).

There are some people who are finally able to walk without the aid of a cane or a walker who are champions.

An Olympic athlete winning a medal is a champion.

My husband is a champion for the award winning wines he makes.

A child winning a spelling bee is a champion.

My father, who just underwent his first chemotherapy infusion on Monday is a champion. He is fighting hard for something many of us will never be able to even imagine, and it is far more difficult than anything I have ever done.


You are a champion. Don't let others tell you any differently. Whatever you are fighting for, believe in yourself, believe in your ability, believe in your right to achieve success, remember that YOU ARE A CHAMPION and never give up.

Below is an inspirational video that brings tears to my eyes each time I hear the speech. I have posted  this same speech before, but it was to a group of high school football players, it was a much different setting.


If you are an email subscriber you will need to navigate directly to the blog to view the video.

10 Commandments of Getting Cut Part 3 of 3

Part III of The 10 Commandments of Getting Cut
Losing Fat, Not Just Weight

by Chris McClinch
  
Food Logs & Formulating a Cardio Plan

6. Thou shalt keep a food journal.

No matter how good your plan is, the only way to make sure you're following it exactly is to keep a record of everything that goes in your mouth. Is that a pain in the butt? Yes, at first. Is it essential? Absolutely. Why? Two reasons. One, you're trying to create a consistent caloric deficit, which is tough to do if you don't know exactly how many calories you're consuming in a given day. Two, most of the eating plans that control insulin and help you lose weight are very specific about the ratios of carbohydrates, protein, and fat that you're consuming. Writing down what you eat is the best way to make sure that your ratios are correct.

The best way to set up your food journal is whatever way makes it the most painless for you. You need to keep track of how many calories, grams of protein, grams of carbohydrates, and grams of fat you're taking in at what time of the day. That's the bare minimum. It's even better if you also track hunger levels, energy levels, and mood. This will help you fine-tune your diet to include more of the foods that fill you up and make you feel good.

I like keeping my journal in a physical notebook--I use a Mead composition book--but others use Excel spreadsheets or Web journals like the one available at www.fitday.com. There is no best way: whatever makes it most convenient for you is the proper way to go.

7. Thou shalt do smart cardio. Eating properly is only half the battle in losing body fat. The other half is physical activity. Most people understand that some type of cardiovascular activity is a good idea for fat loss, but unfortunately most do their cardio in a way that actually sabotages their chances of making progress.

What do you think of when I mention cardio? An hour-long jog? A long, steady session on the exercise bike? Sweatin' to the oldies? If it's any of those things, you're doing cardio, but you're not doing smart cardio. There are lots of things you can do to burn calories, but if you're reading this article, you know that you want the calories you burn to come from fat, not lean mass. Traditional long, slow distance cardio burns muscle and fat pretty indiscriminately. In fact, if you do enough, you may find that your body burns muscle preferentially to ease the demands of doing so much aerobic work. That's exactly the opposite of what you want.

So how do you do cardio without sacrificing precious muscle? The answer is interval work. Definitely get yourself cleared by a doctor before jumping into intervals, though, because the whole idea is to rapidly and repeatedly raise your heart rate, alternating the high heart rate work with brief recovery periods. The optimal way to do interval work is probably to do walkback sprints. Sprint all-out for 15 seconds, then turn around and walk back to where you started. It should take about 45 seconds to walk back. Once you're back where you started, sprint for 15 seconds again. Do seven sprints your first week, and add one sprint per week until you're up to 20 sprints per session.

If you're not up for sprints, you can approximate them on an exercycle or an elliptical machine. Simply go all-out for 15 seconds, then pedal or walk at a recovery pace for 45. The same build-up pattern applies.

Finally, if neither of these ideas appeals to you, you can try boxer-style cardio. Pull on a pair of bag gloves and pound the heavy bag for a minute, rest for a minute, jump rope for a minute, rest a minute, hit the heavy bag for a minute, etc. for the duration of your cardio session.

Cardio should be done 2-3 days per week, preferably on days when you don't lift. If you have to do cardio on lifting days, try to do cardio in the morning and lift in the evening. If you have to do them in the same session, lift first. Under no circumstances should you ever do cardio before lifting, as you will be dramatically weaker.

Weight Training for Fat Loss

8. Thou shalt train hard and heavy with the weights.

Time to explode another old training myth. For years, people have been saying that you need to use heavy weights and low reps to bulk up, and lighter weights and higher reps to get cut. This is just plain wrong. Getting cut has much more to do with how you eat than how you train. Ditto for bulking up. With that said, you want to train in such a way that your body will retain as much muscle mass as possible; just like you can't flex fat, you can't look ripped without muscle.

So what do I mean by hard and heavy? During this time, you want to be doing primarily compound exercises that involve a lot of muscle: squats, deadlifts, bench presses, bent-over rows, pull-ups, power cleans, snatches, military presses, dips. And you want to be training for strength. This is not the time for doing three sets of 12. Bump up the weight and go for five sets of five or even 10 sets of 3. Hold your rest in between sets to about a minute, and make the weight heavy enough that you're struggling to finish that final set.

9. Thou shalt not fall victim to the myth of spot reduction.

This is the big one that seems to get people who want to lose weight or see their abdominal muscles for the first time. Doing a billion crunches won't do a thing to burn the fat obscuring your abdominal muscles. The abductor/adductor machine (the "leg spreader") won't do a thing to reduce the size of your thighs. Step-ups will firm up the muscles of the butt and upper hamstrings, but they won't burn the fat there. Fat is burned by creating a caloric deficit and training the entire body with resistance exercise and smart cardio. That's the only effective way to deal with your "problem areas," whatever areas they may be.

10. Thou shalt keep a training journal.

A training journal is never as important as when you're trying to lose body fat. Your training journal is going to provide some of your most valuable feedback on how well your diet is working for you. You're not likely to get a lot stronger while dieting down unless you're relatively new to lifting weights, but if your training journal shows that your lifts are going down, it's a pretty good indication that you're restricting calories too severely and possibly burning muscle as well as fat.

Again, you can keep your training journal in a variety of formats. The most important information to record is the time of day, the exercises you do, the poundages you use for those exercises, the number of sets and reps you complete, and how it feels. This information will provide you with valuable feedback not just about your diet but about how your body responds to exercise. It's also the beginning of a continuous log that will show you how much progress you've made since you started working out and let you see at a glance what your most effective workout programs have been.

These commandments aren't glamorous, and they call for a good deal of hard work, but if you follow them religiously, you just might find that they'll lead you to the promised land of a lean, sexy physique.

Chris McClinch is an Arlington, VA-based bodybuilder and personal trainer. He won the middleweight title at the 2001 International Natural Bodybuilding Federation's collegiate national championships. As a trainer, he specializes in physique transformation and sport-specific strength training preparation, and is an active member of the IronOnline bulletin board.