Real Life RESULTS

Finally convinced my client Markita to give me some before photos.  She was even blown away by her transformation!  Just to give you a little background, when I first met her she was very reluctant about trusting me.  I mean what do I know I just have a couple degrees, a couple certs, and years of experience..pshhh..  Ok enough kidding around.  She followed my advice for nutrition and this is the result of working with me on NUTRITION ALONE.  I repeat, we have not trained a session together. We are going to start very soon, I just had to get some pounds off her to get her to trust me :)

But we are getting there...

Hard work pays off.  Remember one simple YES could change your life forever..

Cardio or Weight training???

I have to address this as many people often ask me which type of exercise is best for them based on condition x, y, z, etc.

Excuses (as I so gently label them):
"I only have 30 minutes.."
"I only have a treadmill in my basement.."
"Lifting heavy weights is hard..."
"I don't really want to gain muscle.."
"I just want to lose weight.."
And my personal favorite:  "I don't want to get bulky."

Okaaaaaayyyyy.  Brace yourself.  If you only have time for one type of exercise choose WEIGHT LIFTING (resistance training).  It works 100% of the time every time.  Get it?  Now for the ladies, don't worry.  Resistance training encompasses everything from dumbbells and barbells to resistance bands and plyometric training.  Any situation in which the body is placed under a load, be it from gravity or a weighted object, you are participating in weight training.  And NO you will not get bulky, unless of course you are injecting something I don't know about.  If you are not taking anything synthetic and you get bulky I will be making you rich anyways because you are a freak of nature and you will be the next bodybuilding champion with endorsements from every meathead supplement company this side of the Atlantic ocean.  Just sayin.

This lady lifts weights!!!!

And so does she!!

I don't see much wrong with the way they look and I am sure you don't either.  But that isn't what most women do.  Instead when I go to the gym, this is mostly what I see:

And usually she is more out of shape than this lady!

This usually goes on for rows and rows... and I have to wonder what juice these people are drinking.  Next time you go in the gym, look in the free weight section of the gym.  Then look at the cardio section.  What do you notice about the people?  I guarantee you more tone, in shape people are LIFTING WEIGHTS.  "But I am not in good enough shape yet to lift weights.."  Well do you use the toilet?  Oh you do?!  Guess what: you squat.  Do you ever pick something up that is dead weight off the ground?  Guess what: you deadlift.  Do you ever lay on the ground and then have to get up?  Guess what: you do a version of a Turkish get-up.  Look at you all rocking advanced moves and stuff.

I am a little hard on cardio aren't I?  Ok yes it is good for your "cardiovascular health" to move around. And if you need a machine to make you move then go ahead and hop on the treadmill.  Like this guy...

I swear I didn't make this up.

Yes that's right.  A treadmill with wheels...not to be confused with...THE GROUND.  If someone actually made money off this invention there may be no hope for humanity.  To me, when I go in gyms and see people on cardio I see this:

Makes sense when you think about it.  We made boxes for us to go inside to move.  There's a whole world out there and we need to get back to using it!

Ok I'm off my soap box.  Moral is this: do some resistance training and get off your butt and move!  Do whatever is fun for you as long as you move, but if you only have room, time, energy, money for one, make it resistance training.  You will increase your EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) and burn more calories throughout the day as well as increasing strength, flexibility, and stamina.  You will increase blood flow to your muscles, increase insulin sensitivity, increase lean body mass, increase bone density, increase HDL, and increase your basal metabolic rate.  Your blood pressure, LDL, cholesterol, and body fat will all decrease.  Not to get too scientific on you but in summary, it will help you REACH YOUR FITNESS GOALS faster than any other mode of exercise.

In other news, tonight I made a fantastic Mexican frittata and because I am awesome I will share.  The prep and cook time takes about 15-30 minutes depending on if you use a food processor.  My ingredients included eggs, almond milk, lean ground beef, spinach, peppers, onions, mushrooms, bok choy, and cilantro.  I threw it all over some eggs and almond milk (to give it some consistency) and cooked on medium.  Great thing about this recipe is it is packed with lots of colorful veggies and low-carb so good for the evening.  Time to take this puppy for a walk...remember as always, one simple YES could change your life forever..

Ingredients prepped and ready to go..

Everything in the pan...

Ready to enjoy!

Obviously it was a hit...no I did not eat half by myself!

Grocery Shopping and Thoughts

Homemade Trail Mix = roasted unsalted
almonds, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds,
wasabi peas

Got some much needed grocery shopping done tonight!  Many times a grocery run happens on Wednesday and Sunday because it is always better to get that produce fresh!  On the list tonight included some ingredients for a homemade trail mix (recipe below), Greek yogurt, blueberries, ground turkey, lean ground beef, avocado, kale, bok choy, spinach, almond milk, eggs, peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, and EVOO.  Probably a few other things I left off too!  Believe it or not all that shopping included two stops in under an hour.  You gotta know where to go to get the best stuff!


The first few blogs I make I am going to give you a little more insight into my opinions.  I feel this is only fair to you to know how I am before you get too involved!  First, if I hear another person, public figure, famous trainer, news story, etc. about calorie counts I might implode.  If there is one thing you take from reading my blog, and this is evidenced above in my grocery list and you will see it in pictures, the best way to eat is SEED TO FEED.  If it grows from the ground or has a face it is fair game for grub as far as I am concerned.

Frozen yogurt blueberries = dip berries in plain
Greek yogurt (mix yogurt with cinnamon
 and Truvia)

To prove my point, what do you think would be more healthy in this situation:  a 6 oz. cut of sirloin beef (we can even say it's local grassfed!) or a veggie burger that comes from a box.  Now hold on.  If we count calories, a veggie burger is going to run about 200ish calories and that juicy sirloin more than likely doubles the calories and fat of the veggie burger.  So what should you eat?  Well, here is where I might be too controversial for your liking.  I say: EAT THE STEAK.  Why??  The steak is as you were intended to eat it...cut right from something with a face.  The veggie burger is made of veggies....and preservatives, fillers, "natural flavorings," and whatever else fell on the conveyor belt during production.  The fact is this: a calorie is not a calorie.  Your body does not tolerate preservatives and artificial flavorings produced in the lab the same way it breaks down the natural animal protein found in the steak.  Even though the steak trumps the veggie burger in the calorie department, I go with the steak 10 times out of 10.  Real always beats out fake in many areas in life.  Stick to natural foods and you will be well on your way to a healthier you.

As always remember, one simple YES could change your life forever...

One Food You Can't Afford Not to Eat

Alright this is a quick one but I have to put this out there. If you haven't done so already get your butt out of bed, off the couch, or out of the chair in front of the computer and MOVE. Ok now go to the nearest grocery store and buy some KALE. You have no excuse not to. Honestly I just bought some the other day and I got a whole bunch of it for like $3 and it was even organic. Even if you shop at Walmart they sell it there!

"but I don't know how to cook kale."

Before cooking...look at all that GREEN

First, don't start a sentence with a but, instead start with YES. So here is the deal. You can get fancy and try recipes or you can do this. Break the kale into pieces, toss with some olive oil and seasoning of your choice, put it on a pan and bake. I bake mine at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. Time will depend on how crispy you want the kale and how much you are cooking. With the right seasoning (I use BBQ a lot) this little snack can take care of a craving and it is a serving of vegetables! I included pictures of my kale before and after baking. Don't ask me about calories...more to come on that in the next post!

All ready to enjoy!!