Which type of body fat are you trying to get rid of?

For many people, the notion that weight loss = calories in minus calories out is almost cemented in their mind. As long as we are in a calorie deficit, weight loss will ensue, correct?

On paper, in text books, in clinical trials, in fitness magazines and in the doctors office, it is portrayed as that simple.


I have a very interesting theory though that I will expand upon, and hopefully be published in a bigger publication.

I've been doing some research on this theory and so far, it seems to pan out pretty well.

Here's the gist of the article: There are two types of fat-loss patients:

• There are those who simply over eat and make poor food choices
• There are those who are stressed in multiple ways and as a result fail to lose abdominal fat.

How do we determine who is who?

Here is a list of characteristics I see in people from the two groups
Generalized adiposity - 

1. Poor food quality and quantity selection when observing a food eating record
2. Larger skin folds in multiple regions of the body
3. Soft, squishy fat around multiple body regions
4. Body fat fairly evenly distributed among the body regions and limbs
5. No history of prolonged dieting
6. Minimal physical activity
7. Somewhat sedentary job
8. No attention to hunger/fullness cues when eating

Centralized adiposity - 

1. Very conscious of food choices and quality
2. Lower skin fold measurements in arms, calves, chest and thighs, high skin fold in abdominal region, mid axillary and subscapular
3. Unevenly distributed fat (primarily deposited in abdominal region)
4. Hard abdominal fat (they look overweight, but the belly is as hard as a drum)
5. History of repeated attempts at losing weight with some success
6. High demand, high pressure career, often a business owner
7. Poor recover (ie poor sleep, dependence on caffiene, chronically tired, calories too low, deficient in certain macronutrients, micronutrients)

Now hopefully you recognize some of the traits characterized here in these 2 categories. And hopefully you indirectly see solutions to these characteristics. 

The solution for the Generalized Adiposity group is fairly simple:

• pay attention to hunger cues,
• eat to 80% full
• and focus on whole foods such as fruits/veggies, lean protein and root veggies for starches

Add in 2-3 hours of exercise a week and they can expect to lose weight fairly easily.

The solution for the Centralized Adiposity group is a bit more complex. Because their's is a problem of stress and managing that stress. This study and this study demonstrated that high levels of the stress hormone cortisol is related to increased abdominal fat storage.

A big hang up for most people in this boat is the fact that they (GASP!) need to eat more and exercise a little less (assuming they are exercising). Trying to wrap your mind around that paradigm shift is a pretty tough and many people struggle with it.

An article by nutrition coach Georgie Fear has an entire section of her website devoted to "reverse dieting." In it, she outlines the steps that are needed to restore a metabolism that has been devastated by stress from chronic dieting, over training, poor recovery and poor sleep habits.

What changes does the Centralized Adiposity (Stressed) client need?

• Make sure you're not cutting calories too low
• Sleep 7-9 hours per night
• Exercise at a lower intensity for 3-4 hours/week
• Focus on hunger/fullness rather than counting calories
• Minimize stimulants such as caffeine and added sugar
• Perform meditative exercises that focus on breathing patterns and removing mental clutter

So take a look at the two types of fat loss clients. If you know you're overweight, you're going to fall into one of these two categories. And knowing which category you are in can save you a lot of time, headaches and frustration by knowing what to expect.

I'd love to help you no matter which category you fall into. Because we can make changes that will lead to a healthier, happier life!

Email aaron@pairmarotta.com and let's get this ball rolling!

*|FACEBOOK:LIKE|*

Anticipate some struggle...

A wise man once said, anything worth having is worth fighting for. Or maybe that was Chuck Norris...

We fight for love, freedom, and independence. The same goes for your independence from your old self. You see we really have to know that if we are going to make a change, that at the end, when the change is complete you will not be the same person you were.

And for some people, that's kind of a scary thought. Changing the way you look, the way you feel, the way your friends see you, the way you look in a bathing suit. Imagine being 15-25 lbs slimmer. You look back at pictures from last summer and wonder who that person is.

Even a positive change can be a bit scary because it's just different. We get comfortable in our skin and we get comfortable with our habits. Remember that a big change can spook our emotional side. And if it is too spooky, that emotional side will stay right where it is. In addition to that, sometimes on our change journey we hit a rough patch that we struggle to get past.

Remember in the last email I said that we need to anticipate some struggle. By knowing when things are going to get tough, we can anticipate and plan appropriately.

So whether it is a new workout, a new dietary habit to begin or perhaps even the awkwardness of being the only one at dinner taking the "healthy" option at a table full of friends, knowing when the rough patch is coming helps us plan accordingly. And if we can plan accordingly, our chances of success climb dramatically!

How can you work to overcome some of these obstacles? Look for the bright spots. Often times with our friends, we like to commiserate about the struggles we have with our workouts, with our eating. We like to complain TOGETHER about how hard it is to eat more vegetables.

But looking at the failures only tells us about what doesn't work. Start looking at success stories - the bright spots - and take what works and apply it to your own situation!

• Struggling to eat fruit or veggies with breakfast? Throw a small handful of raisins into your oatmeal.
• Veggies for lunch? Have some carrots and hummus, or celery and hummus as a side.
• Fruit for a snack? Chop an apple and toss it in with some plain yogurt, a pinch of cinnamon and some Splenda.

So think about where you want to go with your health and fitness. Look at what has typically been a huge obstacle for you. Begin to look for the bright spots and start to identify how YOU can implement bright spot strategies to overcome your struggles.

If you need help that's good! Get the herd working for you. What does that mean? Find out in next week's email!

I was WRONG!

Hey guys, 

 

This summer has been super busy and it got me thinking about how busy you guys must get. I realize time is at a premium for most of us. If we spend an average of 9 hours a day working, 1 hour a day commuting, 2 hours a day eating, 7 hours a day sleeping that leaves us...5 hours to do our own thing. This doesn't include the morning ritual of waking up and getting ready for work. That could be another hour!

 

I've spent blog upon blog telling people how important it is to record what they eat. The main idea behind this was for you to see how many calories you're eating. As well as But often this would become overwhelming. In the past our nutrition evaluations would have a printout with what percentage of your meal should be carbohydrates, protein and fat.

 

But we don't eat protein, carbohydrates and fat. We eat food. So I thought the evaluation needed to be redesigned. 

 

So here I am saying I was wrong. When I designed our nutrition evaluation, I placed too much emphasis on calories, macronutrient distribution and activity level. 

 

In reality, nobody needs a program that is exact. Why? Because nobody would follow it. If an eating plan is too strict, most people will be too busy for it.

 

So what should you look for instead? Look for guidelines. But here's the kicker.

 

If you're given rules to follow instead of a strict diet and meal plan, then you need to follow the rules!

 

And there are some pretty simple rules:

1. Eat 4-5 meals per day
2. Eat fruits and vegetables with every meal.
3. Eat a lean protein with every meal
4. Don't drink your calories.
5. Only eat grains (bread, pasta, oats, pancakes) during your first meal

And in reality, you don't even have to start all of those habits at once. Pick one that you can succeed with and then do it. When that becomes a habit, simply choose another habit and add to it.

But whatever you do, do something. Exercise is great for increasing strength, improving cardiovascular fitness, increasing flexibility and other performance measures. But it's not all it's cracked up to be when it comes to fat loss. If you want to lose fat. You MUST follow the 5 rules above.

The BEST diet for fat loss is....

The one that works for you.

See there is research backing up the fat loss benefits of many different diets. But here are some key points that have been recommended:

• Eat more protein
• Eat more greens/vegetables
• Eat more fruit
• Take more fish oil 
• Eat more frequently
• Drink more water
• Eat more natural foods
• Eat more beans and nuts

So you see, diets don't have to be about eat less, eat less, eat less. And in fact if you "eat less" in order to keep your calorie deficit going, eventually your metabolism AND fat loss will stall. So instead of focusing on eating less, follow the points above and EAT MORE. 

More protein, more oils, more water, more beans and nuts, more salad. It's pretty easy. Don't over think it.

By the way, do you see the one thing that you SHOULDN'T be eating more of?

Now the biggest question of all that most people have is, how much should I eat? Well that is something very specific to you. Every body is a little different and will have different caloric needs. Basically you can simply follow this link

http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/calories-burned.php

and type in your information. Now this isn't an exact number, but a pretty accurate estimate (if that isn't an oxymoron I don't know what is) of how many calories you use on a day to day. Then divide that number by 5 or 6 meals per day and this will give you the total calories you need per day to maintain your weight. 

If you really want some accuracy, you can use the weight of your lean body mass. To get this number multiply your body weight by (1-body fat %). Then plug that number in. For example. I am 203 pounds at 15% body fat. So this comes out to 203 x .85 = 172 lbs. Give it a shot and see what you get. 

Again if you're at all interested in really dialing in your nutrition, contact Diane Campbell, RD at diane@therealrd.com. She'd love to hear from you!

The 1 common thing to ALL successful fat loss plans!

How many times do we have to repeatedly fail at something before we figure out that another strategy is needed?

Nobody jumps to the top of Mt. Everest.

When people attempt to lose weight, they often set overly ambitious goals and fail miserably. How long does this have to happen before they realize that maybe overly ambitious goals don't work?

Think back in your life, when have you attempted to work out everyday for 2 months to get in shape for summer? How often have you had a really good day of eating and then be overcome by horror when you say, "I only have to do this EVERY day for the rest of my life!"

How intimidating is that!

Well over the time that I have been fitness specialist I have seen hundreds of people set goals that even the most disciplined of people could not follow! And instead of backing off some of their goals and proceeding with others, they simply give up on everything. 

This all or nothing mentality is not beneficial at all! The truth is that progress is most consistent when small changes are gradually introduced. The example we see most often is that of nutrition. 

On Thursday everyone attending the Hi-5 FitCamp is going to receive a hand-out titled "10 Steps to Change the Way You Look and Feel." These are basically the 10 habits that we want to develop to burn fat and maintain a lean, healthy body. However, when you receive this I don't want you to look at it and attach all 10 habits. 

Instead, pick 1 that you are most confident you can complete for 2 weeks. Unless you are 90% sure you can complete the task, do NOT start to build the habit. You do not have to go in order. Simply pick the one you feel is the easiest and then start working towards it. Then in 2 weeks, simply pick another. Continue until you have changed the way you eat, live, move and sleep.

Remember, an elephant can only be eaten 1 bite at a time, and a mile is only walked 1 step at a time.

Also, don't forget that this weekend, March 26th we will be hosting a nutrition workshop titled "Eating Healthy While Dining Out" presented by Diane Campbell, RD.

The workshop is from 9-11am and is open to everybody. So bring your friends, bring your family and learn how to develop healthy habits while dining out!

What SHOULD you eat prior to a workout??

Well we've just started a new Hi-5 FitCamp. To be honest, this morning kicked butt! It was awesome to see everybody pushing hard, including the newbies! 

For people who are just beginning or returning to an exercise program, its very logical to think that restricting calories will lead to a greater loss of fat. And to a certain extent, this is correct. However, there are certain times that you should NOT go without food. 

These two times are

1. In the morning
2. Before exercise

Let me explain why going without food in both of these situations is NOT a good idea. 

No breakfast will only make this belly bigger!

Skipping food first thing in the morning is not beneficial because in a nutshell, it causes your body to begin to breakdown muscle for fuel. Muscle has an energy cost at rest. In other words, muscle burns fat at rest, not 100% fat, but close to 70% of energy at rest comes from fat. So the more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. But if you wake up and proceed with your day without giving your body energy to fuel its movement, your basically killing your metabolism!

Now if you proceed with exercise without eating prior to it, the above will take place, only in an accelerated fashion. Not only that but hypoglycemia will cause your exercise quality to be poor, your concentration and focus to suffer and there is a good chance you'll begin to feel nauseated and dizzy. Who wants that? 

In addition, you again will put your body into what is known as a catabolic state where higher levels of cortisol are released into your bloodstream. Cortisol basically converts protein to carbohydrate for energy through a process called gluconeogenesis. When this begins to happen, again your metabolism will slow down.

And here's another horrible fact for you: high levels of cortisol are correlated with STORAGE OF FAT in your belly. That's right. Not happy with the size of your belly and want it to get BIGGER? Then by all means, skip breakfast, skip your preworkout meal and then continue to not eat!

So what should you eat for breakfast? And what should you eat for a pre-workout meal? 

Well breakfast should always include a lean protein. So eggs, milk, cottage cheese or yogurt are ALWAYS a good choice. Include a little bit of fat such as flax seed oil or some almonds with your protein and a small piece of fruit or a veggie with your eggs you're set! Quantities will vary depending on your body size and that is something you'll need to see a registered dietitian (RD) for. 

What should you have prior to exercise? Well you don't want something too heavy as then you'll feel like your running with a brick in your belly. But still something to provide energy. Below are the things you should look for as well as some examples:

A small glass is nearly the perfect workout fuel.

• Carbohydrate based (20-40g)
• a little protein to help prevent catabolism (8-12g)
• Try to keep it in liquid form
• Minimal fat

So what fits these descriptions?

• A small glass of OJ with a 1/2 serving of Protein Powder
• A small glass of low fat milk 20-30 minute before workout
• Apple juice with 1/2 container of yogurt
• Small low-fat yogurt, + 2 tablespoons of granola

All of these should be eaten about 20-30 minutes before a workout. If you have them too much closer, you make experience some digestion issues.

In summary, you must eat or drink SOMETHING prior to a workout to

• Build muscle
• Burn fat
• Keep effort high
• Fight fat in your belly!

My typical conversation at weddings...

Start with the meats and veggies...and stay there.

Whenever I am in a very social environment, I always seem to end up talking about nutrition. I guess it just follows me around. But as soon as I start talking about nutrition I get one of two responses.

A) Most people give me an uncomfortable laugh as if to acknowledge they don't eat the way they should (as if admitting the problem excuses it)

B) They are genuinely interested in nutrition and improving the eating habits of themselves and their family.

I have to imagine that if you're reading this, you would be in the latter group. So lets pretend we're sitting at the wedding of a common friend and we are at the same table. Most often our talk begins with me complaining about the abundance of sugary sweets or me being excited by the fact that they have peanuts at the table.

Usually we'll talk about what I do and how work is going. I'll talk about how exercise is only a small part of the fat loss equation. Then the question inevitably comes, "So what should I be eating to lose fat?"

The first thing to remember is that there are a lot of factors that work together to cause gain in body fat. And to try to manage all of these at the same time usually results in a high incidence of failure and frustration. So the best bet is to take 1 step at a time. This can be difficult because so many things are dependent on each other. Keep that in mind with the following statements.

The first rule of fat loss nutrition is to gradually reduce carbohydrate intake. And the easiest way to do this is to start replacing grains with greens. A slice of bread may have 70 calories, but 4 packed cups of spinach have only 60 calories. And this is the same with most vegetables. They are all much, much lower in carbohydrates.

In addition to that vegetables all have very low glycemic index scores. This means they don't have a very strong insulin response and keep your energy levels very stable. Energy is released slowly and steadily and prevents energy build up which leads to conversion of carbohydrates into fat.

Rule 2 is to eat often. Research has shown that when you eat smaller meals over the course of the day, you lose fat. Why? Well your only giving your body the energy it needs for the short term future. You see most of the time our bodies glycogen (sugar) stores are between half-way and topped off. So you cant go off and eat a massive bowl of pasta and then expect it to sit in your gut until the time comes to use it. Nope. You're body will store it as FAT.  But by eating small portions every 3-4 hours, your able to give your body just what it needs. In addition this keeps your metabolism running high because every time we eat, our body ramps up its metabolism. This is called the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). And it can be a big factor in fat burning.

The third BIG rule is to eat protein and eat it often. Protein further increases TEF and also maintains muscle mass and has a very, very low glycemic response! So if you choose the chicken breast over the pasta, you will help keep insulin levels low, keep metabolism high and help build muscle which increases muscle even furthur!!

So start with just one of these 3 Habits for Fat Loss and watch the weight start to drop!

Are CARBS out to get you?

Carbohydrates were the golden child in the 80's and 90's. Prior to that, the only people who cared about them were those exercise wacko's like Jack Lalanne. But over the past 10 years they have quickly gotten a bad rap as being a fat storing monster that only serves to add to back fat and a spare tire.

But what if our culture has now all of a sudden completely over-reacted to a few studies with headlines such as, "CARBS STORE FAT" and "CARBOHYDRATES ARE BEHIND YOUR GROWING BEHIND!"

After all, we are an overreacting type of society. Is it possible this has happened again? Probably.

The truth is carbohydrates are not out to get you. They simply provide energy for our body. That's it. It is our responsibility as to how we are going to use them.

Here we are going to discuss some of the better functions of carbohydrates and how you SHOULD use them.

Carbohydrates are only a source of energy. They fuel movement, living, breathing and rebuilding. Carbohydrates are basically the construction workers of our body. (To further the analogy, protein would be the cement/bricks/material the construction workers use).

But not all carbohydrates are the same. They are categorized as simple, semi-simple and complex carbohydrates. All carbohydrates have an insulin response. Because insulin is simply an energy transport hormone. It will put the carbohydrates to work wherever there is a need.

Extra carbs won't go home. They go to your hips instead.

Our muscles and liver store carbohydrates for use throughout the day. However, sometimes we eat more carbohydrates than we have room for. Think of its a construction job site. If there is work to be done, there you will obviously put more workers. But when the work slows down on a construction site, they usually tell some of the workers to head home. Your body can't do that with carbohydrates. If you eat too many carbohydrates, your body will simply start storing them as fat.

So like  a construction site, when you get too many workers and not enough work to be done, you get workers standing around. And usually they all huddle together to chit chat. Your body does this too. Its called adipose tissue, or in other words, body fat.

So we really have to be careful that we eat enough carbohydrates to fuel exercise and repair, but not so much that we store the extra energy as fat. 

What are some strategies to accomplish this? 

The first step is to educate yourself about food. Most people don't know how many calories are in a slice of bread much less those mashed potatoes they are eating for dinner. So start looking at nutritional labels on the foods you buy. Also you can keep track of what you eat on websites such as www.caloriecount.com or www.fitday.com. There are also smart phone apps that can be used as well.

Next you need to know how big your fuel tank is, so to speak. How big are your carbohydrate stores and how full are they at any given moment? Well most people can store upwards of 400g of carbs between their muscle and liver stores. However, a major factor in how much you can eat is dependent on your activity level. The more active you are, the more carbs you NEED to eat to fuel the activity and replenish energy stores. Use 200g/day as a baseline load and then you can add more if you have a more active lifestyle.

Now lets put that information to use. Lets assume that when we wake up in the morning, our carbohydrate stores are about 90% depleted from the 7-8 hour fast we call sleep. This puts us at 20g of stored energy. Now this doesn't mean you get to go eat 180g of carbohydrates (remember you need energy throughout the day, not just in the morning). Instead aim to keep carbohydrates to between 20-30g per meal (a large salad or a slice of bread's worth). If we eat 5 meals per day, this gives us 100-150 g of carbohydrate intake over the course of the day. Not bad.

Next we consider our exercise intensity and quantity. Most exercise such as our Hi-5 FitCamp will pretty much deplete energy stores by the end of the workout (300-600 calories burned). So we need to not only fuel the rebuilding of muscle, but also now the energy stores need to be replenished. This means that after workouts, we can have upwards of 50-80g of carbohydrates (a whole bagel or large bowl of oatmeal).

Be responsible for your food choices.

Granted this was a long post. But you need to understand that carbohydrates are necessary. But they must be kept under control. Less is not better, more is not best. Optimal is best. And this really depends on your physical activity levels and personal decisions. At some point you have to take responsibility for what you are putting in your mouth. 

To be safe, I recommend that people simply trade grain products (high in carbs) for greens/veggies and fruits (lower in carbs). This way you don't have to go counting calories. Instead can simply say no to the bread and ask for a second serving of veggies with that large steak!

A real challenge...

Most of us know how difficult it can be to carry on with an exercise program on our own. There are so many things vying for our time that it almost takes a magical "25th Hour" to fit in exercise.

It's easy to do when the Hi-5 FitCamp is in session because all YOU have to do is show up. I mean really, what could be easier? The real trick and challenge comes when you have to motivate yourself to keep things going. This is where a home program comes in. 

On a side note, one thing you NEED to do if you are exercising on your own and NOT following a pre-designed program is you need to get one. Some that I recommend are Core Performance, or Female Body Breakthrough. These are both terrific programs and you can simply make copies of the record sheets and take them with you to the gym. I have used Core Performance with great success, seeing an increase in strength and a decrease in body fat.

But now, onto the Recovery Week Challenge for all the Hi-5 FitCamp members! 

Perform the following exercises as a circuit and complete as many times as possible in 15 minutes. Try to do it without stopping!

Warm-Up: Squats x 8, Pushups x 6, Jumping jacks x 20, Lunges x 8 each

1. Plank + Pushup x 15
2. Smurf Jacks x 30
3. Bear Crawl (Forward/Backwards) x 15
4. Split Jumps x 20
5. Side plank hip lifts x 20 each side
6. Squat Jumps x 20
7. Cross body mountain climbers x 30
8. Rinse and Repeat for 15 minutes.

That should be a good circuit for you to do twice this week. Then be prepared for our next round of the Hi-5 FitCamp which starts on Monday, October 11th. 

We will be inside all 4 days this time around! So no more dark, cold mornings! 


As for nutrition, remember to minimize grains, eat protein with every meal, add more cashews, almonds and walnuts to your diet and eat 4-6 times per day. Snacks are good!

A new take on a "bad" salad.

Salads have always been the "go-to" meal for anybody and everybody on a fat-loss program. And quite possibly the most deceiving salad out there has to be the Taco Salad. But most often the Taco salad is a calorie bomb that crushes fat-loss goals like car rolling over a soda can.


But let's refer to everybody's new favorite cookbook, "Gourmet Nutrition" for their version of the "Taco Salad."


Step 1 - Preparing the chicken. 

• Because each meal needs a protein component, we are going to add chicken to our taco salad. 
• So defrost the chicken, season it with 2 pinches of salt, 1 pinch of peper and 1 pinch of paprika
• Saute the chicken until it is lightly browned all over and cooked completely through.

Step 2 - Making the mix

• Set the chicken aside to cool and then lightly respray the pan with olive oil and add 1/4 cup of thinly sliced onion to the pan and cook until they are slightly browned 
• add 1/2 a cup of diced tomato and 1/4 cup of frozen or canned corn
• Cook for an additional minute and then remove the heat and cool

 Step 3 - Making the Salad

• In a large bowl add the chicken (chop it first), the corn-onion-tomato mix
• Also add 3 cups of fresh spinach leaves, 1.3-cup of crushed whole wheat tortilla chips and 1/2-cup of grated cheddar cheese.

You can also add a "Mexi-Mix" dressing by combining 1 cup of salsa, 1 cup of plain non-fat yogurt and 1/4 cup of flax seed oil.


This makes 1 large or 2 small servings. 


A small serving has 263 calories, 10.5g of fat, 13 g of carbohydrates and 29.4 -g of protein. For a large serving, simply double these numbers.


This is a meal you can have anytime as it is low in carbohydrates and high in protein. There it is - a guilt free Taco Salad!! 

You can purchase "Gourmet Nutrition" by clicking on the link to the left or on any of the highlighted links.

My new favorite breakfast...

I just have to share with you guys the awesome recipe I found from "Gourmet Nutrition: The Cookbook for the Fit Food Lover." 

First off, let me say how easy it is to use this cook book. Not that using a cookbook is all that difficult. But they do things a little differently over there. You see each meal - whether it be a breakfast, snack, dinner entree, side dish or dessert comes with an "anytime meal" label or a "post-workout meal" label. This book is designed for the "fit food lover."

In other words, "this ain't yo mamma's Betty Crocker cookbook!"

And as I've been telling you guys, you'll see that the "any time meals" are low in grains and low in sugar, while being high in protein and high in unsaturated fats. This method preserves and fuels muscle building while keeping your carbohydrate stores from getting jam packed (which is the main cause of obesity in this country!) While the PW or post-workout meals are fairly high in carbohydrates, DO include grains and are still pretty high in protein (carbs after meals help to usher protein into cells and speed up digestion, you did say you wanted MORE muscle tone, right?)

Onto the recipe!!

This morning I made the "Peaches and Cream Omelet." THIS THING WAS AWESOME!

It took me about 20 minutes to make and was phenomenal!! Here's the basics of it:

• scramble 2 eggs, and 1/8 cup of egg white, add a 1/8 tspn of cinnamon and 1/4 tspn of sugar. Mix and pour into non-stick pan.
• Chop 1 peach.
• In a bowl combine 1/2 cup of cottage cheese, 1/4 cup of candied pecans and the peach.
• Once the eggs are almost looking firm, fill the inside of the omelet with 3/4 of the cottage cheese mixture 
• Fold the omelet over and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
• Serve with remainder of cheese/peach mixture on top.

It tasted like french toast batter with peaches. It was amazingly good!!

Tomorrow I am trying the Banana Split Oatmeal!

Like I have said in the past, if you're going to be successful at fat loss, you have to have a plan. This book is your weapon in the kitchen. Add it to your arsenal, because as the old saying goes, "Six-packs are made in the kitchen."

Back to the basics

Fat loss isn't sexy. It really isn't. I can boil it down to two basic concepts for you, and if you apply them you'll lose fat.

1. Make healthy food choices
2. When you workout, work as hard as you can.

Granted these two things are INCREDIBLY understated, but they remain the two parts to fat loss.

We have lots of toys that we use for Hi-5 FitCamp. We've got ropes, we've got cable machines, we've got medicine balls, we've got resistance bands and on top of that we've got plenty of dumbbells and olympic weights in our facility.


But what about when we get outside? Do we freak out because we don't have the stuff we "need"? No. We just use our body weight. 


It's fun to have all that equipment, but in reality I can kick your butt just as well with only a grass hill. To prove my point, here is a quick little 20 minute workout that you can do this weekend!


Work in super-sets, doing exercise 1A followed by 1B then rest for :60, repeat 3 times then move to 2A-2B, etc.

Mountain Climbers

1A. Cross body mountain climbers x 20
1B. Single Leg Hip Bridges x 15 each leg


2A. Jumping Jacks x 40
2B. Lunge up the hill (8 steps each leg)


3A. Push-up + 2 mountain climbers x 10
3B. Side to side Shuffle (shuffle left 3 times, then shuffle right 3 times) x 6


There you go. 

Now the nutrition is where most of us really struggle. Some of us are eating too much, others aren't eating enough. So how do we determine if we are eating enough? Well you have to know first how many calories your body needs.

So your first task is to go to www.caloriecount.com and get an estimate of how many calories you need. Now this estimate just goes off of height, weight and sex. But what also needs to be included is how much of your body weight is fat. So if you are aiming to lose weight, I recommend using a number for your weight that is 10-lbs under your current weight. This will put you in a calorie deficit and get things moving in the right direction.


The next thing is to make better food choices. How are we to do this? Educate yourself about what you are eating. it seems everybody has a smart phone these days. So download an application that will tell you how many calories are in that "healthy" buffalo chicken salad.


it's not rocket science. We aren't putting a man on the moon here. Here is an example for you: my dad is 52. Last year he lost 20 lbs in a month without exercise. I said, "dad, how did you do it?" He says, "I ate half of everything put in front of me." 

Make better choices, eat less. Pretty simple.

My Calories for the Day

Here is a fun little task for you this weekend:

Total up how many calories are in the following days food consumption and post a response to this blog. The first person who gets it right, or the person who gets the closest will get a gift from me on Tuesday. You have until Monday to post your response.

Breakfast

• 1 serving of frosted mini-wheats bite size
• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1 medium banana

Snack

• 1 banana
• 3 strawberries
• 1/2 cup of blueberries
• 1/2 cup 2% milk
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/4 cup grape juice

Lunch

• 3 cups of chicken chile verde soup
• 1 small salad with avocado
• 2 cups of iced tea

Snack

• 2 Trio (fruit and nut) bar
• 1 serving of EAS Protein Powder

Dinner

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 large chicken breast
• 1/2 cup broccoli
• 2 tbsp hummus

Use some method to calculate the number of calories in this days food and post either a response to this blog or post a reply on our Facebook page.

At any rate, the person who gets the closest or the first to get it right on will get a free gift from Pair & Marotta Peak Performance!

Fun = Tough = improvement

Every time I write a program, I am thinking of clever new ways to use my own body weight as resistance. Often times when I put together a program I am thinking in terms of basic movement patterns: push, pull, push overhead, pull down, squat, lunge and rotational resistance. Each exercise I choose is grounded in one of these basic movements.

So when I put together last month's Hi-5 FitCamp workout I included a new exercise I call "Partner Pulls." Think of when you see teammates help each other up off the ground when one player is sitting and the other is standing. Except with this exercise, both people are sitting. Basically you and a partner sit down fairly close together with your knees bent up and your feet flat on the ground touching toe to toe. You grab right hands, interlocking thumbs or wrists and both pull at the same time.

I originally thought this exercise was going to be too easy. But the exact OPPOSITE occurred!! Everyone in the group said it was the toughest exercise and they DREADED doing it!

So now my challenge is to somehow make this round TOUGHER.

But for now I will leave you with a Recovery Week Challenge.

Your goal is to perform the following circuit as many times as you can in 15 minutes.

Beginners - 

20 squats

10 wide pushups

20 lunges

10 single arm door jam pulls (sit on the ground with your feet at a door jam, place your hand about door knob height, and pull while simultaneously standing up)

20 smurf jacks

30 slow motion mountain climbers

Advanced - 

30 squats

15 wide pushups (feet elevated on couch or chair)

20 split jumps

15 Single arm door jam pulls

25 smurf jacks

40 slow motion mountain climbers

That should keep you busy for the next week. 

If you choose not to complete the circuit, then get outdoors and do something active. Go for bike ride, play some Frisbee, head to the batting cages, go swimming at McMurtrey Aquatics Center or go rock climbing at Action Sports. Whatever it is, just be ACTIVE. Set an example for friends, family and co-workers. It doesn't have to be for an hour. Even 20 minutes is beneficial!

I will see you on June 28th for a devastatingly fun Hi-5 FitCamp!

Burn Fat with these 4 stead fast rules...

Fat burning nutrition can be a tricky thing.The average person thinks, "If I want to lose fat, why am I still eating?" 

It's as if the idea that not eating will cause your body to lose fat, which isn't completely true. Yes, if you go long enough without eating, you'll certainly lose fat. But to go along with it will muscle and bone.

When trying to lose fat, the LAST thing you want to do is to stop eating. Instead here are 4 things you need to do to start burning fat at rest.

1. Know how much you are eating. Go to a website such as www.caloriecount.com and start tracking how much you are eating. If you don't know how much you are currently eating, you won't stand a chance in your battle against the bulge!
2. Eat breakfast. Breakfast IS the most important meal of the day for a variety of reasons. But here we will focus on its ability to give your metabolism a good jump start! Think about what sleep is: It's 6-9 hours of not eating. When you go long periods without eating, your metabolism slows down due to an increase in sympathetic hormones. Eating breakfast fires up your metabolism.
3. Eat lots of fruit. At this point I don't really care if your fruit is fresh, frozen or dried. Just make sure you get 5 servings of fruit a day. Some fruits that have been suggested to have "fat burning" potential are grapefruit, blueberries, apples, bananas, strawberries and cantaloupes.
4. Eat protein with each meal. Protein has a variety of factors that help to use more fat at rest. First off, it takes a long time to digest and absorb. Remember that every time you eat a food, your metabolism increases during the digestion and absorption of food. Protein has the highest metabolic boost during digestion. In addition protein helps to keep bones and muscles rebuilt. Therefore, protein from dairy, meat, beans, nuts, or fish should be included with each meal, even your snacks.
5. And speaking of Snacks, here is a bonus tip: Eat frequently. Take your calories and break them down into 5 meals. By eating fruits and protein with each meal you A)keep your metabolism up longer, B) keep your body using more fat to fuel the digesting process and C) you are able to keep your energy levels stabilized that reduce the harmful effects of going into a hungry period followed by a binging period.

So there are 4 tips plus a BONUS tip to get you started. But remember, it all starts with knowing how much you are eating. If you aren't willing to track what you are eating, then no recommendations are really going to have much of an effect.

Have a great week and be sure to try the Recovery Week Challenge!!

Supplements cannot fix THIS...

Perhaps it is TV commercials, magazine ads, and other forms of advertising that somehow get us thinking that we can take a pill and it will magically make everything else go away.

We are told that we need to take a multivitamin, or fish oil, or CLA pills, or weight loss pills, or metabolism boosters, or...whatever.

Here is the thing: If you haven't refined your eating habits, then taking those supplements will be like pouring a bottle of water into a molded, algae filled, waste filled lake.

And here's the real kicker...when you clean up the lake, you won't need the bottle of clean water, figuratively speaking. When your eating habits are dialed in and you are doing the things listed below, you won't need to take any supplements because your vitamin, mineral, fatty acid needs will be met.

So here are 5 meals to eat, from breakfast to dinner, that would constitute a quality day.

1. Breakfast - 2 slices of whole grain toast, tablespoon of peanut butter, medium banana, glass of grapefruit juice/water (50/50).
2. Snack - 1/2 cup blueberries, small container of vanilla bean yogurt, cup of tea
   
3. Lunch - Small cup of minestrone soup, 5" turkey sub, water
4. Snack - apple slices + 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
5. Dinner - 4 oz salmon, 2 cups of romaine/spinach salad, 1/2 cup black beans
   

Indeed the amounts will vary based on your caloric needs, but the day listed above has plenty of fat, protein and carbohydrates, along with a variety of vitamins, minerals and anything else you could think to supplement your diet with.

Again, when you are eating a complete diet there is minimal, if any, need for supplements. Supplements are meant to supplement the diet. They are not meant to replace part of it.

So record your diet, write down how much, and how often you are eating. This will give you a more clearer picture of what you are eating and what you might be missing.

Are you killing your kids?

Last night I got the privilege to watch a TV show featuring a famous British chef. His name is Jamie Oliver.

The show is called Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution and it was amazing. I was hooked!! The premise is that Jamie is trying to change the way that American's, more specifically American kids, eat. So he started in the town of Huntington, West Virginia.

Why there?

Huntington has the highest mortality rate, the highest rate of obesity and the highest childhood obesity rates. So last night I watched the first episode and it was amazing.

• It was AMAZING how RESISTANT people are to changing the way they eat.
  
• It was AMAZING that kids in the elementary school were eating pizza for breakfast, chicken nuggets for lunch and the chicken nuggets again for dinner!!
• It was AMAZING how the school cooks did not want to change the way they made things.
• It was AMAZING how the USDA food nutritional standards were met by day old frozen pizza, but not by brown rice!!!
• It was AMAZING how the family whose house he invaded were eating golden fried food every night for dinner.

So what I want you guys to do either tonight or tomorrow night is to watch this first episode of Jame Oliver's Food Revolution on your computer. (Click on the link to go to the video.)

Yes, that's right...I want you to WATCH TV!!!

And here is a short recovery circuit because I know your legs have got to be sore.

1. Single Leg forward reach (Hamstring stretch) x 10 @
2. Arms overhead squat x 15
3. Plank x 1:00
4. Single Leg Hip Bridge x 15 @
5. Push Up + Deep Lunge Stretch x 12
6. Snow Angels x 15 (Lie on your stomach and make a snow angel with your arms and legs off the ground)
7. Glute Stretch x 10 @ (Lie flat on your back, put your right ankle on your left knee, put each hand on its respective knee and pull both back towards your chest. Hold for :02, the switch)

Have a Hugely HEALTHY day!!

Do you know how much you need?

The first week of February's Hi-5 is now over. And the biggest question is still how do I successfully lose fat? And the answer is relatively short.

First off, the Hi-5 FitCamp is a fitness program that increases strength, lean muscle and raises resting metabolism to increase total caloric use over the course of a given time period.

So the exercise part is there. Every body in the class has gotten stronger, faster and although we don't measure other characteristics of health such as cholesterol, blood pressure and resting heart rate, I would be willing to bet that these all have improved as well.

However the place where probably 95% of fat loss programs fail is in the changing of eating habits.

Most people don't know how many calories their body requires, how many it is getting and how many it is using over the course of the day. Here are 3 steps you MUST take to get your diet tuned for fat-loss.

1. Know how many calories you need. If you don't know how many you need, how do you know that you need to restrict calories? Perhaps instead you actually need to eat more! Start a free account at www.caloriecount.com and then go to their metabolism meter. Plug in your variables and get an estimate of your total caloric needs. Even if it is off by 100 calories, at least you have a ball park figure to start from.
2. Know how many calories you are getting. Now that you have opened an account with calorie count, start tracking your food intake!! You'd be surprised at how much you are getting. START MEASURING YOUR FOOD! If you think you are eating 3 oz of meat and are really eating 8 oz that is going to be a problem. Accuracy is key!
3. Adjust calories as needed. Once you see how many calories you are getting, you will start learning how big a serving is; what 3 oz looks like and what a tablespoon of butter looks like. Most people have no idea what these amounts look like! The goal is to educate yourself.

Get these things in order and be consistent! If what you are doing isn't working, make a CHANGE! If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got.

Do your eating habits match your exercise habits?

Granted most of the group is doing well and changing their eating habits. As a result we are losing weight and getting MUCH stronger. The changes you made in your eating habits to lose weight 10 weeks ago at the beginning of December will not yield the same results now as they did then.

As a result, you're going to have to modify your caloric intake if you want to keep losing fat. Just keep in mind that whatever your goal weight, your caloric intake must be enough to maintain that weight.

So here are 2 things you need to remember when putting together a weekly menu (YOU are doing that, aren't you?):

1. Make sure you are not dooming yourself on the weekends! On the days you exercise, you will need a few more calories. Not much, but about a 5% increase from your total is good. Likewise on the days you don't exercise, you need to decrease your caloric intake by about 5-10%.
2. The time at which you eat is important. Eating late at night is not a good idea because you don't need that much energy later in the day. Instead, make breakfast and lunch your largest meals. These are the times you NEED energy to sustain work performance and mental clarity. At night when your body is about to be restored, you need quality foods, not quantity. A protein (chicken) vegetable (asparagus) a whole grain (basmati rice) and then fruit for desert (strawberry/blueberry mix).
   

Remember that you cannot out exercise a bad diet. This means too many calories as well as not enough.

If you don't know how many calories you need then head over to www.calorie-count.com and FIND OUT!! You won't know how many to eat to lose weight if you don't know how many you need to keep your weight!

Enjoy your day and get ready for another blasting tomorrow!!

12 minute challenge and 3 things to improve your eating habits!!

To all who made it through 4-weeks of Hi-5 FitCamp, congratulations. It certainly isn't easy and next week we are starting a new 4-week session. And I have some great programs lined up!

This week though is your time to recover both physically and psychologically. I've talked about it dozens of times in past blogs so I won't go into it too much. But your body needs a slight break. But not a complete "stop moving for a week" break. Rather some "active rest" is what is called for.

One thing we are going back to is rock climbing at Action Sports. We will meet Tuesday night from 6-8pm. If you've never been, it's a hoot! So give it a try, it's very safe and very well organized. You won't be disappointed!

On to the weeks nutrition and strength challenge!!

Circuit (aim for the fastest time possible) @=each side

1. Close grip pushups x 12/20
   
2. Single Leg Squat x 8/12 @
3. Alternating leg drops (lie on your back, feet up, drop one leg and bring it back up) x 20/40
4. Split Squats/Split jump x 20 each
5. Stickups (back against wall, slide arms up and down against wall) x 15/20
6. Smurf Jacks (jumping jacks but stay in a squat position) x 25/40
7. Cross body mountain climbers x 12/20 @
8. Jump Squats x 20/30 @

If you can crank this thing out in less than 12 minutes, then try to get 2 rounds done in 20 minutes. This is one of the tougher off-week challenges i've posted.

Nutrition - Refining eating habits are really not that difficult. Discipline and dedication are the two things required. With that said, here are 3 things you can do this week to really get things in order. None of them should come as a surprise, if you are already doing them, then keep doing them.

1. Have protein (meat/dairy/tree nuts) with each meal. Protein helps to conserve muscle as well as improve satiety, meaning you will eat less to feel full.
2. Have 1 homemade smoothie a day. Mix the following: 4 strawberries, half a banana, 1 vanilla yogurt, 1/2 cup of blueberries and then hit "liquify." Smoothies can be made with just about any combination of fruits. Banana's go with just about anything.
3. EAT BREAKFAST! I don't know how many people say they "just can't lose weight!" yet don't eat breakfast!! Eat something as simple as toast, peanut butter, and an apple. Throw in a glass of milk and you're off to tackle the day with a full gas tank!!

We will be starting a new round of Hi-5 FitCamp on Monday February 8th!! Bring your friends!