I’m Happy When I Eat
Post by Pamela | March 26th, 2012
Pamela with Vegan Bodybuilder Robert CheekeI learned a lot of things at SXSW this year:
- I need to step up my game to be part of the obesity epidemic solution.
- Women are more likely to be addicted to the Internet and one of the signs is checking Facebook on the toilet.
- I’m a much happier person when I eat.
Before SXSW I was trying to shed a little body fat by doing some calorie cycling. I would cut my calories for 3 days and then increase them 1 day to keep my body from thinking it was in starvation mode. I don’t go below my BMR when I do this, I only cut 300-500 calories out of my normal daily allotment of 1800 to 2000 per day. I’m always amazed at what a difference a mere 300 calories a day can make in how I feel.
On lower calorie days, when my blood sugar dips, I get very cranky. I grump around with very little patience, waiting for my next meal. I am not pleasant to be around. At least I am outside of client sessions; clients always lift me up so my disposition is pretty good during the training day. Unfortunately that means my poor husband gets the brunt of it.
At SXSW it was a different story. I was out of my element but I packed my snacks and ate small amounts as my body told me I needed it. As with any vacation, I didn’t count calories. I just ate the best foods I could find, did some focused and efficient workouts and moved as much as I could through out the day. I felt great!
The whole trip my blood sugar was relatively stable, I had plenty of energy (which I also chalk up to a lack of trying to hit every session and party) and I still fit perfectly in my jeans upon my return.
I do think you should keep track of your food on a regular basis. I still keep a food log and food accountability is one of the Keys to Real Fitness. I also believe you need to listen to your body and eat. I have clients who come in eating 1000-1200 calories a day at twice my body weight. They aren’t losing weight and, if they feel anything like I do when I reduce calories, they have to be just a little bit cranky. My first goal to get them to eat so they can feel good and have some energy again.
Food is nourishment and fuel. If we treat is a such, not as recreation or the enemy, our bodies will respond in kind. My body simply wasn't happy to not have it's normal supply of fuel. We're both much happier when I eat.
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Be a Rebel – Live Fit
Post by Pamela | March 19th, 2012
image by Thomas HawkAt the airport on my way to SXSW I had an epiphany. Despite being on my fitness journey for over 13 years it occurred to me (as I sipped tea and ate steel cut oats in the lounge despite the free cookies and wine) one of the biggest reasons why I’ve managed to defy the odds against keeping weight off.
I’m a rebel and I always have been.
I’ve never really been one to follow the herd. In fact, in my high school and college years I was more likely to do something if it made me stand out versus going along with the crowd.
- I hated New Kids on the Block in junior high.
- I wouldn’t go to the Rose Banquet (for the top 10 GPA holding seniors) in high school because it was assumed I would go not asked.
- I wore black lipstick in my senior picture. (No I won’t post it.)
- I’ve never seen the movie Titanic.
In fact, if something was going to make people uncomfortable the more likely I was to do it. I liked to push the envelope a bit, make people think and perhaps redefine their preconceived notions about the kind of girl who wears black lipstick.
Being fit in an unfit world takes that kind of moxie. The same girl who could say no to high school peer pressure has a better chance of resisting the societal pressures that lead to the unhealthy eating and sedentary lifestyle that is the norm in our world today.
I used to travel a lot for my job, usually with others on a project team. I always got teased and poked at about the way I ate. Whether it was the fact that I don’t eat meat (another choice that goes against the grain in the Midwest) or my food bag that I brought with me everyday, I was always explaining and defending my choices. If I hadn’t been so sure of my path, so sure of myself, it would have been very easy on these trips to just go with the flow and eat and drink as those around me did.
To be successful on this journey, I need you to be a rebel. Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo:
- Ask for modifications to meals when you eat out, you’re paying for the meal so make sure you get what you want.
- Demand healthier options in school and work cafeterias. They won’t do it until you let your voice be heard and vote on the choices you want with your dollars.
- Sit on a stability ball at your desk. Do the hula or bounce. Your co-workers may laugh in the beginning but in a couple weeks they will be joining you.
- Stand up instead of sitting down in meetings. Better yet, when you hold the meeting make it a walking meeting.
You have to lead the charge and shake things up. You may not change the status quo but you will change your life. Be a rebel, live fit.
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Is It Normal to Be Sore After A Workout?
Post by Pamela | March 1st, 2012
image by ericmcgregorThere is a theory that states adherence to an exercise program can be predicted by three things:
- Level of social support
- Self management skills
- Ability to tolerate discomfort
The first two can take some time to figure out. Initially people are supportive of your fitness journey. It’s only after a few weeks that you find out if you can truly count on your new workout partner to be at the gym at 6 a.m. or trust your cubicle mate not to bring you donuts for breakfast. Enthusiasm can mask a lack of self-regulation in the beginning. When the newness wears off the absence of self-management skills start to appear.
Ability to tolerate discomfort, however, is discovered pretty quickly.
After returning to or starting an exercise program, you will hear people say one of two things:
- Wow, I can feel that workout. I know I worked hard and it feels good.
- Wow, I can feel that workout. I can hardly walk. It hurts!! I am not doing that again.
The problem is DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) is a normal part of the fitness journey. It’s a normal response to a new strain put on the muscle, the small micro tears and the resulting inflammation. Feeling a little sore for a day or two after a new workout is normal.
But for someone to keep exercising it’s important to make sure it doesn’t hurt so much that it pushes that person to response 2 versus response 1. A workout should never hurt so bad that you really can’t get out of bed. You should feel good after the workout, whether that’s right after or two days later when you’re ready to go at it again.
To keep DOMS manageable, and increase your chances of sticking to a fitness program, keep these things in mind:
- If you’re a beginner, start at a beginner level. Don’t let enthusiasm or ego sign you up for the most insane or intense program you can find on day 1.
- Start with 1 set of exercises, mostly using your own bodyweight or light weights. Give your body a chance to get used to the new movements.
- Make sure stretching is a part of your workout. Everyone forgets to stretch even though it can be one of the most enjoyable parts of the workout. I recommend foam rolling and static stretching at the end of every workout.
- Get up and move the next day. Yes, you may be sore but movement encourages circulation, which actually make your muscles feel better. Don’t work the same muscles in the same way the next day, however. Do cardio the next day if you did a full body weight workout, for example.
If you still pushed too far, just follow these tips and learn from experience. Take it down just a notch or two for your next workout. The good news is consistency counts and with each workout the DOMS should minimize or disappear. At least until you change your workout out.
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Females Need a Female Personal Trainer
Post by Pamela | February 23rd, 2012
image by W Brian DuncanAbout 90 percent of my clients are female. I think of myself as an expert on women and weight loss for a few obvious reasons: I am female, I have traveled on my own fat loss journey and stayed true to it in the real world. I’ve walked at least a couple of miles in my client’s shoes. I also study things specific to women and fat loss: hormone balance, pregnancy and how to strength train to meet a woman’s unique goals and challenges.
I am of the opinion that most women are better off with a female trainer. I don’t mean to sound sexist and I am not implying that male personal trainers are necessarily any less educated.
Except when they choose not to be. That’s the problem. I’ve seen it too often. The male trainer carries his body building techniques over to his client’s sessions. Take Goldie, one of my most awesome success stories, as an example. She wanted to lose fat. She wanted to have energy to play with her granddaughter. Her previous trainer had her hitting each body part one time per week, doing a lot of isolation and machine exercises. He told her to stay on the elliptical until it said she had burned a certain number of calories (an inaccurate measure and one that left her on the elliptical for way more time than she should have been). While this maybe great for him, a competitive body builder, it wasn’t working at all for her.
The other thing is guys just don’t get some of the things we go through.
- He doesn’t get that you don’t want to weigh at “that time of the month”.
- He doesn’t understand when you burst into tears because your frustrated or angry when reviewing your food log or miss a goal.
- He doesn’t get the frustration of a trying to be superwoman, of putting everyone else first.
- It’s hard to feel comfortable doing fire hydrants in front of the opposite sex.
- He’s not going to have a good sports bra recommendation.
These aren’t things that necessarily make up a fitness program (with the exception of the fire hydrants) but they can be just as important. A good personal trainer/client relationship is based on comfort level and trust. For you to be successful, to let yourself be challenged out of your comfort zone, you need to have a good connection with your personal trainer. You need to feel safe and free to be open about your body. I believe that can be challenging for a female with a male personal trainer. It’s not their fault (unless it is), it’s just hard to get it if you’ve never lived it.
Am I wrong? Ladies, if you’ve worked with a male trainer tell me how it went?
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3 Moves For a Bikini Ready Body
Post by Pamela | February 16th, 2012
photo by Vince AlongiIt may be the coldest week of the winter so far, but today I’m thinking about bikinis.
It’s not hard to do; swimsuits were already out on my last trip to Target. If you’re planning a spring break trip bikini season is really only 4 or 5 weeks away.
Time to start working on that bikini body! I’ve got 3 exercises that need to be in your workout to make sure you rock that body on the beach.
- Single Leg Romanian Deadlifts: This is my favorite exercise for strong and lifted glutes. Start by standing tall and balanced on one leg. Your knee should be slightly bent. Hinge forward at the waist with the goal of touching the ground. Then rise up to the starting position and repeat. You can make this move more challenging by having a dumbbell or kettlebell in the hand reaching for the ground.
- Upright Row: For strong and shapely shoulders this exercise is easy and effective. Start by standing tall with abdominals pulled in and shoulders pulled back, holding dumbbells or a barbell at hip height in front of you with palms facing back. Pretend you are a puppet with strings attached to each elbow. Someone gently and slowly pulls your strings so that your elbows come up even with your shoulders. Lower to start and repeat.
- Mountain Climbers: While this exercise brings your heart rate up it also works your core and arms. An increased heart rate burns fat to show off a tight core and those shapely arms. Assume a push position, and then alternate tucking one knee towards the chest while keeping the opposite leg fully extended. Step back and forth for beginnings, add a hop if you’ve been working out for a while. Keep a steady pace with good form. This is great to do between sets of or at the end of circuit workout to finish strong.
A beach body isn’t just about exercise. 80% of your results are going to come from good nutrition. Follow these 3 tips to show off your new muscles:
- Watch your sodium intake. Keep it under 1500 mg for health and to reduce water retention.
- Choose fruits that are low on the Glycemic Index to help keep blood sugar levels stable and promote fat burn. Think apples, oranges and plums.
- Eat your healthy fats. When you give your body an adequate amount of good fat it’s less likely to store fat and more likely to burn it. Add flaxseed or nuts to your oatmeal or my non-vegetarian friends can top their salads with some tuna or salmon.
Get moving and get ready to hit the beach. Or if you’re like me, the hotel pool!
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