Dani's (Official) Day 1 - Oh. My. God.

Since Dani's initial consultation with me last week, we have texted back and forth many times about her workouts & meals.  Each message from Dani was filled with enthusiasm and questions.  Lots and lots of questions.  I don't mind questions at all -- that's how I know when someone is committed and excited.  The questions were along the lines of, "How much cardio is too  much for me in a week?" or "What workout will I do today?" or "Should I do cardio after I finish the workout you gave me?" and so on and so forth.  You can see from the questions that Dani is thrilled about working out and wants to be sure to do enough, without overdoing it.

I recommended to Dani, as I do for all my clients, that she arrive at least 15 minutes before her scheduled time so that she will have an opportunity to warm up before we hit the weights.  So it came as a surprise to me that Dani was not inside Strada's doors at 6:45 am.  I was even more surprised when Dani was not inside Strada's doors at 7:00 (her appointment time).  She knew our location: she was there (but late) for her consultation.  Not knowing Dani on a more personal level, I began to wonder if she is one of those chronically late folks.  Note to potential clients: I don't do well with Late. I make it a point to be at the studio at least 30 minutes prior to each appointment, usually I arrive earlier than that.   Yes, even for the 5:00 am appointments (who should arrive at 4:45 am, by the way).

I also wondered if she chickened out.  One of her messages the previous day said she was nervous about measuring because she hadn't really started the new meal plan until the day before.  And she asked if she would be able to walk after the workout I put her through.  She wondered if we would "pinch the fat," referring to a body composition evaluation. 

I sent a text to Dani asking simply, "Ohhhh Dani.....?  Are you on your way?"  After a brief delay, her response was (and I quote): "On my way. Over slept. Oh. My. God." 

I let her know that due to the timing of her tardiness and my schedule for the day, we would need to find another time that worked for both of us.  Turns out that 5 pm later the same day would work.  Dani offered her sincere apologies, assured me of her commitment to this plan, and promised that she would SHOW me her commitment from that moment on.  I believe she will. 

4:45 PM Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Dani arrives, shoes off, to the studio.  She apologizes profusely, takes some time getting organized, puts on her heart rate monitor and her shoes and we go to measure. 

Weight: 181.4  (-1.8#)
Waist: 32.5" (-0.5")

It is all good news!  We did pinch the fat, and it is high.  That is all I have to say about that right now.  We have a baseline set and a week into the plan, Dani has seen small changes.  Smiles abound!  I get Dani warming up on the treadmill.  My goal with warm ups is not only to get the blood flowing so that muscles & joints can prepare for more movement, but also to get the heart rate up.  The body should start sweating, hence the term "warmed up."  Increasing her heart rate to a moderate level will allow her body to stay warm throughout the remaining workout, and will cause her to burn more calories. 

We perform a workout that is focused on conditioning (adapting to maintaining a higher heart rate over a longer period of time) using movements based on leg and shoulder muscles.  I like to use a lot of combination moves which make the cardiovascular system work just as hard as the muscles we are training.  Things like Dani's new favorite, the Squat Row and the Lunge + Shoulder Flyes (Dani is caught performing below) are very challenging to the entire body.  However, I prefer to use the term "effective."  As in, "Client, be ready, this next move is quite effective."  

In the next hour, Dani burned 625 calories!  She also found time to dance and sing to the music playing over the speakers, so Dani's focus going forward will be to do just that: FOCUS.  As we get into heavier weights, which I feel confident she will handle soon, she will need to focus on what she is doing to insure she avoids injury!  I am all about having fun, but when it is time to work, it is time to work. 

All in all, I am proud of Dani and her level of commitment and I fully trust I will not have to see another message that says, "Oh. My. God." again...unless she is talking about how she can't move her limbs because of delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).
   

If you want to compete...

If you want to be a competitor, you have to have a little bit of crazy in you.... Below is a snippet of Dani's text conversation with me regarding how her homework workout went today:





I am so proud....!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Eating For Weight Loss

I get a lot of questions about what to eat and when to eat it and which supplements to take and when and so on and so forth.  Let's face it: there is a ton of information out there about nutrition and reading article after article can lead to more questions than answers.  It seems that a lot of the nutrition information is contradictory.  I'll give you that.  But what you, the reader, needs to pay attention to is WHO the article is geared toward.

Nutrition for losing weight is different than nutrition for sports performance, different from nutrition for healthy-weight individuals looking to maintain their weight, and even different for those looking to put on muscle.  What I hope to do here is make nutrition for weight loss simple.  (Disclaimer: Please note that anything here is extremely simplified, applies to most "generally healthy" individuals, and does not replace a discussion with your own doctor or nutritionist.)

The crux of losing weight is to consume fewer calories than you expend, creating a deficit in your body's caloric balance.  If you have been the same weight for a number of years (or months), then your body has reached a caloric balance.  You are consuming enough calories to maintain your current physique: not too few (or else you would lose weight) and not too many (or else you would gain weight).

Rule of Thumb: Multiply your current weight by 10.  That is how many calories you should consume daily to MAINTAIN your current weight. 

If you want to LOSE weight, you will need to eat fewer calories.  That is our focus today. 

A pound of body weight is equal to 3,500 calories.  In order to lose 1#, you must create a deficit of 3,500 calories, over time.  Don't try to do that in one day, people!  Let's say you are a 150# woman, who hopes to one day be a 130# woman.  Your maintenance calories are 1500 (150x10).  You should drop your calories to a safe level to create a caloric deficit.  One should not drop his/her calories below about 1200 daily.  To do so would constitute "starvation mode."  Let's not lose weight that quickly!  If you weigh 120 pounds or less, then you probably don't need to lose weight.  (If you think you do, please contact your physician or a Registered Dietician.) 

So let's look:

1500 - maintenance calories

1200 - weight loss calorie target

  300 - caloric deficit (daily)

300 x 7 days/week = 2100 caloric deficit/week

Remember, one pound is 3500 calories, so the deficit above does not result in a one-pound weight loss.  This is why you are eating so cleanly, but don't feel like you are making any progress!  It is a slow process.  The diet change above would lead to just more than a half a pound each week (that is why exercise & nutrition go hand-in-hand for real results)!

So then WHAT do I eat for those measely 1200 calories (in this hypothetical example)?

Certainly you will need to plan ahead!  I will be honest, that is not a lot of food.  However, if you make your choices wisely, you can feel reasonably satisfied. 

Rules of Thumb:

• Foods that grow from the ground
• Foods that used to swim or fly
• Foods that used to have hooves

If your food fits easily into one of the above categories, then chances are the food is pretty good for you: assuming the chef did not add anything to it that does not fit into one of the above categories. 

Worried that your food will be bland?  Guess what, herbs and spices grow from the ground!  And they add amazing flavor to other foods! 

Of course, exceptions always abound.... olive oil can be argued to have come from the ground, same with peanut butter, to name a couple.  While for the healthy-weight individual these are healthy foods (used in moderation), these are not good foods for weight loss.  Why?  They add a lot of calories without adding much to the feeling of satiety, or, feeling "full."  

Weight Loss Tip:

Greens can fill your belly without adding a significant amount of calories to your diet. 

You can estimate that an ounce of greens (broccoli, green beans, fresh spinach, asparagus) is approximately 10 calories.  Eight ounces of steamed broccoli (even with a squirt of lemon juice) is a large volume of food for only 80 calories.    Pair it with four ounces of lean chicken breast (boneless, skinless, of course), and you have a filling meal for only 200 calories!

Weight Loss Tip:

Eat 5 - 6 small meals spaced 2 to 3 hours apart.

Eating small, healthy meals frequently not only helps you avoid feelings of hunger, it also helps maintain your blood sugar levels.  Keeping blood sugar levels stable will prevent spikes in insulin, which tells your body to store the excess.  The most practical application of this, for me, is that if I start getting hungry 2.5 hours after one meal, I can look at the clock and tell myself that I can make it 30 more minutes!  Stay disciplined!

Weight Loss Tip:

Always Eat Breakfast

Your body has just awakened from a long overnight fast ("break" "fast", hello, people!).  You need to get things moving again.  Overnight, you have depleted your easily-accessed storage to keep "the lights on," so to speak.  Your body & brain need more fuel to function during the morning and the rest of the day.  Some folks who want to lose weight prefer to exercise BEFORE their breakfast, and that is a good idea!  It causes your body to "dig deep" for the fuel that is in deep storage (fat cells) to get through the workout.  But be sure to eat a good recovery meal right after working out! (egg whites and oats are a good combo)

Some folks choosing to forego breakfast before workout may find it difficult to make it through an intense, calorie-burning session.  If you find that to be the case, then I recommend having a piece of fruit or a single slice of wheat toast prior to workout. 

Physique-Saving Tip:

Always have protein with your meals.

Protein is what our bodies use to rebuild tissue.  If you are exercising, you will need it for recovery, for building muscle and other lean body tissues.  If you lose weight without eating much protein, then you will find your new self to be pretty squishy, even though you might be smaller.  Ladies, this doesn't mean you will bulk up.  I hate to hear ladies say "I am afraid I will bulk up."  If you had any idea how difficult it is to "bulk up," you would not say such things.  For ladies, about 4 oz per meal is sufficient, probably 6 to 8 oz for men.  Nicely toned bodies require lean protein.  End of story. 

Healthy Life Tip

Log your foods.

I can't say this one enough.  Log your foods, log your foods, log your foods, log your foods.  You can use one of the many SmartPhone apps, online apps, or kick-it Old-School and write in a cool, cute & smart all-encompassing book like Fitbook (http://www.getfitbook.com/).  If you aren't logging, then you really don't know how many calories you are eating, now do you?

What tips did I leave out?  What do you disagree with & why?  Do you track the foods you eat?  Do you exercise & watch what you eat, or do only one or the other but not both?  I want to hear from you!

Meet Dani

Meet Dani:





Dani approached me during one of my own workouts at our local gym. She asked if I competed in bodybuilding shows and wanted to get some words of wisdom. We chatted a bit, and I learned how she has already lost 40 pounds on her own and her goal is to one day be up onstage in a sparkly bikini with hundreds, if not thousands, of people cheering, "Dani! Dani! Dani!"

Maybe I embellished a bit about the cheering, but if you could meet Dani in person, you'd know that I am not far off!

I told Dani that I am a personal trainer and can map out a plan, specific to her, that will culminate in shouts of joy. Thankfully, Dani chose to put her trust in my wisdom & experience!

Since Dani is a self-proclaimed "attention wh*re," I thought she is a perfect candidate for profiling on The ETLT!

Dani's Current Stats:
9/14/2011
Weight: 183.2
Waist: 33"
Hips: 43"
Thighs: 25.5"

I designed Dani's meal plan to provide six lower calorie days with one day of "maintenance" calories. This gives her something to look forward to after being On Task for 6 days. The foods are still healthy options, but she gets more.

Her plan also includes 6 days of exercise. Dani works out regularly already, so that isn't a stretch for her.

Dani's Targets:
• exercise 6 days, burning at least 550 calories at each session
• eat 1280 calories 6 days weekly
• eat 1765 calories 1 day weekly

The targets above will create a caloric deficit of 6,455 calories each week, which equates to 1.8 pounds she could expect to lose on a weekly basis.

Keep up with Dani's progress weekly as we follow her journey to reach the competition stage!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Strada Fitness, Flower Mound TX