Happy birthday baby jesus;)

Looking forward to 2011, knowing your body, your diet, mentally and physically, your strengths and your weaknesses is pretty empowering. I know i learned a lot, and although my numbers didn't drop an ounce....I feel more motivated to enter the new year with a more solid foundation than i ever have in the past. Even as a trainer, I'm human, and worse, I'm a woman....so i have all the same challenges, body issues, and confusion about health, fitness and, or course, vanity (although i think that went out the window with my rash epidemic;) ).

Balance was the strong focus for our challenge, as we discussed the other night at the happy hour.....this was not the type of camp where we were starving ourselves to win the grand prize.... a bikini modeling gig, this was practical. And, because it was practical not everyone lost as much weight as they may have lost in the past doing other programs. Unfortunately, with each year we make it that much more difficult to take off the pounds with dropping metabolisms and fluctuating hormones, yup, we're pretty much f'ed.

Yet, there are plenty of real people older than us who are pretty f'n hot and healthy so it's not impossible. By not gaining that typical lb. or 2 that most people gain during the holidays, as most of you did, you are well ahead of the game to start looking and feeling a little more confident into the new year.

Most of you are athletes with amazing discipline in the gym, so honing that same motivation in the kitchen or out with friends takes time and energy and maybe a little more money, but we know it works....you've seen the results.

Remember, it's all in the psychology....it's not about what you can't have. The more you focus on what you can't have, the more you'll feel depleted and deprived. Be mindful about all the good things you're putting into your body and gain more satisfaction in savory, delicious meals that contain alternative ingredients that are better for you and ultimately leave you more satiated.

You have the tools, now it is your turn to set yourself up for your own challenge. I will be happy to continue support with weigh ins and measurements after class or whenever. Questions and comments are always welcome, as you should well now know.

I'm going to do a two week detox in january if anyone is interested. All this feeling sorry for myself has gotten a little outta control;), so that's what i've decided i need.

All my best to you and your families for the holidays.

-kat

week 8: december 19 - christmas

the final lap! it's a short week with, for some, the greatest temptations to hurdle. thankfully for me, finding a vegan cookie, cake, pie, or brownie without soy is nearly impossible.....so i can politely decline with only a little heartbreak to mend. i know turning those treats down before i became so high maintenance took immense self control, that waivered on any special occasion, ie...birthdays, holidays, tuesdays.

so i'm here to help by giving you an excuse to say "no" when the christmas cookie plate makes its rounds in front of your nose. this week's challenge, is no added sugar.

i know many of you have remained mindful about "no added sugar" since week 1, so for you...this should be a piece of cake, agave sweetened of course.

for those of us that struggle in this category this can be a fun week, because, believe it or not, there are many delicious "no sugar added" recipes that may actually make the keebler elves cringe.

i for one have been making my way through the amazing pound of vegan no sugar added coconut almond chocolate that i got in the mail for christmas a month ago. today i bought a vegan chocolate coffee bar from the "chocolate box" that contained cane sugar and it wasn't nearly as good.

don't forget that "no sugar added" is not the same as "sugar free". "sugar free" usually means that it contains a ton of chemicals that sweeten like sugar, but are foreign to your body and therefore, don't break down very well.

try sweetening with or baking with:

no added sugar applesauce
agave nectar
maple syrup
honey
cacao
dates
etc.

hope everyone had a terrific weekend. i will see you all tuesday at ryleigh's between 5 and 7. email or text me if you'd like to weigh in before happy hour;)

proud of you guys....keep up the good work.

getting in tuned.

one of the things i hope that i have emphasized greatly during this challenge is getting more in tuned with your body. this week's no meat or little meat challenge isn't to make all of you vegetarians or crazy armpit hair growing vegans. it is just to get you thinking and feeling more in tuned with your body.

they say the effects of food on our moods, energy, and well being are far beyond what we might be able to imagine. and, there is a lot of theory out there regarding these effects.

a story to share.....my two friends were invited to a christmas party this week. the main course was prime rib, and although they don't eat meat often they do enjoy a good steak every once in a while. nothing to report after dinner, but later that night....one of my friends was up all night itching and tossing and turning, not feeling well. her wife woke up the next morning in a bad mood that she couldn't place. and, they may not have thought anything of it until the host of the party came in, my friend's client, complaining about not feeling well and being grouchy.

a weird coincidence? sure. a talking point, yes.

some theorists talk about the energy of the cow and the chemicals being secreted into its body while it is under duress in the slaughter house. they say that energy or those chemicals when ingested, may have an adverse effect on our well-being. but maybe only if you are able to recognize it. otherwise you might just write it off as something else.

again, im not trying to make vegetarians outta you so i should also say the same effects can come from foods containing too much sugar, salt, chemicals, pestisides.....and so on.

i know....it can be enough to make you crazy, which is totally not the point. it won't happen overnight, but your own longitudinal study might be intelligent as we spend a lot of time and energy and money on what we put into our bodies.

the moral of the story is to pay attention. play with different combinations of foods and supplements to find out how to optimize your energy.

there is also some interesting research supporting and offering skepticism around the eat right for your blood type diet.

from wikipedia....

Blood group O is believed by D'Adamo to be the hunter, the earliest human blood group. The diet recommends that this blood group eat a higher protein diet. D'Adamo bases this on the belief that O blood type was the first blood type, originating 30,000 years ago.

Blood group A is called the cultivator by D'Adamo, who believes it to be a more recently evolved blood type, dating back from the dawn of agriculture, 20,000 years ago. The diet recommends that individuals of blood group A eat a diet emphasizing vegetables and free of red meat, a more vegetarian food intake.

Blood group B is, according to D'Adamo, the nomad, associated with a strong immune system and a flexible digestive system. The blood type diet claims that people of blood type B are the only ones who can thrive on dairy products and estimates blood type B arrived 10,000 years ago.

Blood group AB, according to D'Adamo, the enigma, the most recently evolved type, arriving less than 1,000 years ago. In terms of dietary needs, his blood type diet treats this group as an intermediate between blood types A and B.


again....there is no full proof system, but it never hurts to try new things and to see what the effects are (for better or for worse).

also, we talked in class today about a couple of you that had recently gotten physicals. really, all that we are doing here may be seriously lacking without the information they can provide about vitamin defficiencies, cholesterol, etc. so if you haven't gotten one recently, please make an appointment to see what's up.

i hope you have been finding some tasty meatless options this week.

have fun in the snow;)

week 7: december 13 - december 19

well....with christmas creeping up on us, we are making our way into our final weeks of our challenge, which i know some of you are thrilled about;)

when i first came up with this idea, i had 8 solid things that i wanted to cut out each week....yet as the program has evolved, completing each task with you, i have changed my mind about my original schedule as i've been listening to your wants and needs and shifting our focus in accordance with you.

with all that we've learned about our bodies, nutrition, and our workouts....i think it is important to pull it all together this week. our major focus will be meat, but i would also like you to be mindful of sugar, salt, fiber, protein, carbs, and fat.

i'd like to challenge you to find other sources of protein to satisfy you and give you the opportunity to evaluate how you feel. if you are up for it, i challenge you to a meat free week. if that seems a little much for you....the other alternative would be to limit meat to one meal a day. meat being fish, chicken, beef, etc. eggs not included.

reasons why...there is considerable debate out there currently about the health of our meats and the side effects this "poor" source of protein has on our bodies. many researchers say that we are far too meat dependent and the diversity in our diets lacks considerably. also, meat, especially red meat is very difficult to break down....so portions of your plate will sit in your degestive track waiting its turn to be broken down. yum.

remember portion size for meat protein should fit in the palm of your hand, or 1/4 of your plate. portions for veggies and greens should take up half of your plate, and portions for carbs should be the other 1/4.

supplements to add in if you haven't.....

-fish oil....a natural fat burner
-a probiotic, like acodopholis.....a digestive aid
-calcium....a natural fat burner, best eaten in yogurt, cheese, & milk
-daily vitamin
-b complex

citrus fruits especially grapefruit, as well as pineapple, strawberries, and kiwi are also natural fat burners and great sources of fiber.

our fiber goal should be between 40-50 grams and no less than 20.

and with all that fiber don't forget to flush it down with plenty of water. 2 liters a day....is about what they say we should shoot for.

i know you might be getting bored with all this same stuff, but i went through at least 20 fitness articles this morning that all said the same thing. we have the right formula, no doubt, now you just have to manipulate the numbers to suit you comfortably to optimize energy and ultimately, make it sustainable.

weigh in's this week....5pm monday night at fhf, for those that don't already have a scheduled time. if that doesn't work let me know and we can arrange something else.

bonus workouts: unfortunately, i am out of town this weekend and will not be around for our bonus sessions. please feel free to meet up on your own if it's convenient or look for a group class to get your workouts in this week.

veggie recipes are appreciated.

questions, comments welcome too.

have at it;)

the weight is starting to fall...

i got yet another email/newsletter about nutrition saying the key to losing is by eating.  i really like this new fad.  remember though, it's all about portion control and the duration between meals.

also, this may sound silly....but they remind us to chew our food.  breaking it down before it gets to your gut is half the battle, which makes sense.  sadly, i have to remind myself of this often, because if i had a choice in picking a utensil....a shovel might be my first pick.

they say to really enjoy your meals while you are eating them, take your time, slow down, and let yourself digest.  stopping at 80% full is usually a good target because it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to catch up with your belly and tell you that you are fully satisfied.  so getting up for seconds too quickly may put you over the edge.

i have heard really good reports this week about numbers dropping.  for some it has been slow and steady, but dropping nonetheless....which still needs to be celebrated.  i have yet to see a few of you since thanksgiving, so i'm hoping you'll be coming out of your tryptophan comas and making your way into the gym to see my smiling face here soon.

i am not gonna be around on saturday, so bonus workout is this sunday at 10:30 @ fhf.  sergeant maria may be at the gym saturday though if you're looking for a good ass kickin';) tba...

speaking of maria, she uses loseit.com which has an app for her iphone to keep track of her food log and her daily % for proteins, fats, and carbs.  it is def worth checking out if that is something you are interested in learning more about.  it is a great tool to help you eyeball things more clearly.  it will show you a graph and plot your stuff on a spread sheet if you'll let it, which can't be any more eye opening.  maria says it's not perfect, like none are, but she has been having success with it and learning a lot.  so that would be a great alternative to food log, as it would offer more complete info....and, dun dun dun dun...it's free!

hope everyone is watching the sodium.  i expect you all to be 3 lbs lighter this week, just cuz no one will be retaining water;)

ps.....my new fun fiber filled treat.  chia seeds....two tablespoons in 2/3 cup water, in 10 minutes sprouts into this pudding looking thing.  throw in some fruit, some agave, or a little granola, some spurilina if you have it, dun dun dun dun, delicious protein / fiber fun for the whole family filled treat!

have at it!

week 6: december 6 - december 12

well it seems i can't get away from diet books and meal plans wherever i go. i was at a birthday party today where all the ladies were discussing the new book in the Eat Clean Diet series. within the time allowed, i browsed through it and as it turns out, we could have written the book. i pictured you guys reading it, rolling your eyes, as everything was being reiterated.

there were some valuable pieces in there, however, that we haven't mentioned during the course of this challenge. i liked how the author broke down in a pie chart the factors of a healthy lifestyle....10% genetics, 10% training, and 80% nutrition.

80% no matter how you spell it out is equal to a whole shit-ton!, in case you needed a conversion. they mentioned the importance of 6 meals a day, pairing complex carbs and protein with each meal and eating clean healthy whole foods, avoiding processed foods and sugars.

see what i mean, that we could have written the book.

they talked a little bit about salt, which is one thing i wanted to work on limiting for this week. lessoning your salt intake by 30% could shave as much as 3 lbs. of water weight, which may be the factor that is torturing some of you each week at weigh in.

so touching on the pie chart and genetics....yes, cellulite is genetic. can we change the genetics we've been given, or the body type that we've accepted in ourselves for longer than we can remember?....yes. will we ever have a long skinny legs and an hour glass figure if you weren't blessed that way from the start?....no. i will never have long skinny legs, i will never have long slender muscles, my chest will never be larger than a B cup (and that's on a good day), and i will never have feet that can fit into the shoes that are actually on sale. these things i have accepted, but making a scape - goat out of the rest of my genetics i don't do, and you shouldn't either.

they included another pie chart in their for macronutrients that we discussed last week...55% carbs, 27% protein, and 18% fat, but they also mentioned that their chart was the base minimum for protein. less than that, they mentioned, will induce deterioration in muscle mass. and, as we've mentioned before and they said it again, athletes can have as much as 2 times as much as their sedentary counterparts, but how much more exactly is still up for debate.

as far as that 10% training goes....they talked about the importance of weight training and its correlation with raising metabolic rates. they also mentioned interval cardio and you won't believe me when i tell you this, but i swear on my gma's grave....TWO A DAYS!!

What i liked about this book, other than i could have made a lot of money by writing it myself, was that they reiterated the importance of eating, and eating often. this woman ate oatmeal each morning packed with ground flaxseed, fruit, wheat germ, and bee pollen, and then she had three egg whites!! that even puts me to shame. she eats within the hour of waking up!!!! just like i told you, and eats all damn day long, 2 to 3 hours apart.

see people, i don't make this shit up. this woman was hot, and now she's rich. and she's even 40+, haha...so there, it can be done.

so this week, salt is our focus, also adding more super foods into your diet. ground flax seed can be sprinkled on salad, oatmeal, smoothies, whatever. yogurt, kefir, probiotics of any kind are great for digestion. high fiber foods, fruits and veggies, avocado weighing in at a whopping 13.5 grams of fiber per medium fruit. all of these will help move things through more readily and cleanse the system more quickly.....our bodies, ps, can store up to 25lbs. of waste in our intestines and colon....that part i definitely didn't know ....how's that for your next weigh in?

so rather than picking a number for salt, just be mindful of low sodium options, recipes, and eliminating salt from certain meals. processed meats are salt heavy, some cheeses are big salty blocks, and canned and boxed processed foods should be read very carefully if considered at all. if you normally add salt to your food, add only 2/3 of it and toss the rest over your shoulder.

as many of you have noticed with sweets, changing your taste buds is possible and if you're a salt person, that can change too.

fyi to my diet coke people, my aunt has found a "focus" tea by tazo that she has been trying as a replacement. buy some....if she can do it, you can. now i'm bugging her to eat her breakfast.

last thing...i swear. those of you interested in doing a food log, get on it. i will look at it and make sure you are on the right track.

questions and comments are welcome, complaints can be sent to santa with your wish list. maybe he'll listen;)

week 6 ....whooohoo!!! keep rockin'!

checkin' in.

for the most part, i have seen all of you since the holiday.  only a few brave souls offered to be measured, however, which is fine....but i'd like to make sure i'm seeing everyone for at least one workout a week.  if you are having trouble making it to the workouts let me know and we can arrange something.  most of you i'm seeing multiple times a week, which is great.  lets keep those comin'.

happy birthday to lori this week, and kerry last week...please say you had a huge piece of cake for all of us;)

so for this week, i hope you are finding some good protein sources to beef up your diet.  i have reports of people feeling less sore given the increase in proteins, i myself can actually attest to that....which is awsome, cuz i always swore i was getting enough protein, and clearly i wasn't.

an online viewer asked about greek yogurt and was wondering its benefits.  i forgot to mention how terrific this stuff is earlier in the week as far as being a great source of protein, and probiotics.  probiotics aid in digestion, btw, a good pal to have around on the regular.  as for protein, greek yogurt weighs in around 20 grams per serving.  i like the fage brand and i have been known just to buy plain and put a little granola in it, or my own fruit and honey or maple.  it is also awsome as a sour cream substitute where i've used it on potatoes or in dips as well.

this weekends bonus workouts....saturday @ 10 and sunday @ 1030.  we will most likely do a lift circuit on saturday and a cardio something on sunday.

let me know how things are going, especially if i'm not seeing you....eh hem.