FOOD FAT

There are four kinds of fat, and are listed from good to deadly: Monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, saturated, and trans. Mono and polyunsaturated fats are those that come from products of the earth. Nuts, avocados, etc. Saturated is from animals (bad) and trans is tampered with by humans (deadly). Even products that say 0 Trans Fats often still do (marketing is really messed up). Look in the ingredient list, and if you see the word hydrogenated or PARTIALLY hydrogenated, eat it as rarely as you can afford to.

So, although you need to include fat everytime you eat, try to choose healthy fats – most things that come from the ground.

Fat: Don't we all have a love/hate relationship with it? You need to include some fat everytime you eat (don't touch those Krispy Kremes yet, Chump - keep reading first). When your body gets everything that it needs (and it needs healthy fats), it doesn’t bug you for anything else. Your cravings go away. And, your body gets rid of what it DOESN’T need, which is excess fat. Healthy fat doesn’t = fat in the body, remember that. The same way that cholesterol in food doesn’t necessarily lead to bad cholesterol in the body… but saturated fat does.

Best Route for Fat Loss

In the honour of a new client who remarked: "People have been telling me that weights are more important than cardio for fat loss."

This is what I explained:
First of all, this industry is probably one in which so many people think they know the absolute answer. "It's diet!" "It's cardio!" Try to quiet the voices around you... understand that many people have strong opinions, but that it's not necessarily what's going to work for you (and this doesn't just apply to this very topic).

Secondly, understand that each component has its role and its place in a lean, healthy and fit body.
Cardio strengthens your heart. The best cardio programs train the heart's endurance (the ability to be at an increased, yet comfortable level for a sustainable period of time), and also its recovery (with the use of intervals, the ability to hit a higher level, and then bring the heart rate back down quickly and safely). The endurance ensures that your heart will perform well with everything that you do in life, including your strength training, long walks, raking, mowing, activities in BED (honestly, just trying to use what will apply to everybody!), and intervals fine-tune your ability to avoid being out of breath after climbing stairs, running to catch a bus, running after your kids (or dog who has bolted out the front door - AHEM)...
Strength training is necessary to increase muscle mass, thereby increasing the metabolic rate. It ensures that muscles are strong enough to protect the joints to avoid arthitis, injury, or any other physical discomforts or limitations. While strength training, your heart rate is also elevated. When you're strength training properly, you will also attain cardiovascular gains. Strength creates SHAPE and FIRMNESS, if we want to discuss aesthetic benefits... Finally, it increases strength. And never underestimate how amazing it feels to be strong!
Nutrition is a way of getting in everything that we need, which also enables the body to dismiss that which we dont (excess fat, toxicity).

Nutrition, strength training and cardio need to be respected in their separate categories, but they also are a web of assistants to one another. We need all of these things working together for OPTIMAL fat loss.
To sum up, cardio conditions the heart, burns calories and ensures that we get the most from our strength training. Strength training boosts the metabolic rate, makes our cardio stronger and builds lean muscle mass. Proper nutrition ensures that our cell function is top-notch, that we are well-fueled and lean, as the body sheds the fat it does not need, as it is receiving what it does.

The good news is you don't need to eat perfectly, you don't need to log hours and hours and hours on a treadmill, and you don't need hours of strength training. Learn to do it all properly, for life, and your body will be at its most efficient (and its most aesthetically appealing)!

KEEP IT SIMPLE, #1

There will be many "Keep It Simple" entries. North Americans have the tendency to search for the complicated... to believe they should be more stressed than they are, that they are always underachieving somehow...

WHEN IS THE BEST TIME OF DAY TO WORK OUT?

When your energy is the highest, or when you can fit it in. Yes there are many theories about what time of day is best - but the real answer is when it works best for you, enough to be consistent.
Your workout is a great thing you're doing for your body. If you get something in for a day, pat yourself on the back. Every little bit is better than nothing, and is contributing to a healthier you.

And that is all.

Don't Be Crooked

If you are just beginning to strength train or weight train, here are some pointers to remember:

When you train one muscle or muscle group, you need to also train its opposing group. For example, when you train chest, you MUST train back. It doesn't necessarily need to be on the same day, but it does need to be trained in balance with its opposition. Some people even need a few extra back sets to chest sets, to correct rounded shoulders (assuming the back exercises are performed correctly, and I will touch on this another day).

Start with the largest muscles or muscle groups first. If you are doing an upper body day, begin with back, then chest, making your way down to the delts, triceps and biceps. This allows all of these smaller muscles to become well warmed up, and used to assist the larger muscle group, so that you can really tackle them in isolation towards the end of your workout.

Always do a warm-up before your strength training. It doesn't have to be on a piece of cardio equipment. You can also do a couple of very light sets of the exercise you intend to undergo - the point is that you get blood pumping through the muscles you will be working, and use as many muscles as possible. Everybody has different needs in terms of the proper warm-up time, but 3-5 minutes is normally efficient, depending on the activity.

Don't hang around between sets. Honestly, if overall fitness is your goal, involve your heart rate. Keep it moving. Grab a drink between sets to stay hydrated and give your muscles a quick break, but don't lounge around. You are training your body to be more fit, to be stronger, to move better, right? So why would you sit around in the process? You want your heart and your muscles to be equally fit, so that one does not give out before the other in any given activity.

Fuel and re-fuel for your workout. I've found that most of my clients are comfortable eating a small meal (about 200-300 calories) about 45 minutes before their workout. A small bowl of cereal is excellent, or a yogurt and piece of fruit (plain yogurt is best). Basically you want to be a bit more on the carb side before your workout, and then re-fuel with a bit more protein afterwards. Remember to include all three macronutrients (carbs, protein and fat) each time you eat for optimal energy - but definitely get some good quality protein in within 30 minutes of finishing your workout. Strength training is the muscle breakdown part of the equation, and proper nutrition and sleep ensure the muscles repair themselves optimally. So, a hard boiled egg, a yogurt and some blueberries is sufficient, for example. (And I'll discuss supplements soon as well - they're not my cup of tea, but some are not necessarily all bad.)

Obviously program design is incredibly complex. If you're feeling a bit lost, hire a trainer. A trainer will take into consideration all of your anatomical imablances, work on your strong points, develop your weaker points, pick up the heart conditioning, structure everything so particularly to give you the very most bang for your buck. There is a lot to know, and don't underestimate how calculated a specific program can be! Everything is in place with good reason. And if you happen to doubt your trainer (honestly, sometimes it's good to question some of the ones out there), do your own reading. Invest some time in learning about anatomy and physiology, so that it makes sense to you.

And remember if you have questions... put me to work! Send 'em over. Happy lifting.

Choosy Moms Choose Jif?

I'm about to break some hearts. Let's talk Peanut Butter.
Peanut butter is healthy, right? A health food? Because peanuts come from the ground, and things that come from the ground are good for our bodies. Well... not necessarily. Peanuts themselves are a source of fiber (however not significant), protein (though much less protein than fat), and healthy fats - the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated levels being much higher than the saturated. (Saturated = bad, increases bad cholesterol, unsaturated = good, increases good cholesterol and sometimes lowers bad cholesterol - another blog entry in intself. See how this stuff is all tied together?? And I could go into how to eat your nuts, which nuts are better than others and why... Another day, another day.)

The big thing to worry about is the additives.
I have brought up the websites of the products I'm discussing to reveal the ingredients in these "peanut butters". Jif, Kraft and Skippy are the most popular brands. You know, the ones that conveniently don't have separated oils, sit on the shelf forever and ever, melt on your toast and taste so deliciously sweet and salty?
If you are choosing a peanut butter that has anything beyond "just peanuts" in the ingredients list, chances are really good that it isn't a compatible product with your body. I don't have these items in my home to read the list out to you. Jif has listed theirs:
Peanuts and sugar, molasses, fully hydrogenated vegetable oils (grapeseed and soybean), mono and diglycerides, salt. THIS IS NOT A HEALTH FOOD - it is a trans fat-filled, kill-you-slowly kind of food.
Skippy and Kraft are much the same. Skippy I believe has icing sugar in it? And Kraft too has a bunch of sugar. If anyone would like to look in their cupboard and leave the ingredients under COMMENTS I'm sure SOME of us will appreciate it.
(I don't think my blog is popular enough yet to worry about being sued by one of these big names.)

I know from having had this battle with clients that it is one of the more depressing revelations. Some of my clients who have been with me for over four years have yet to give up their beloved oh-so-melty peanut butter (Alden and Anne, I'm looking at you...), in favour of the real kind that our body recognizes and embraces.
But, my job is to inform! When you're eating that shelf stuff, you're consuming trans fats. (Anytime the label says "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" anything, it has trans fats. Even when the cover of the product says TRANS FAT FREE - newsflash, they lie to make money.)
You have to acquire your taste to change peanut butters. It takes time, just like changing any nutritional habits. Try to appreciate the taste of the real food, and realize that what you're missing and feeling sad about is your tongue's relationship with the additives, preservatives, trans fats, sugar and salt. Which pretty much slows us down, bums us out, strips us of our vitality. A superficial relationship.

*Hate peanut butter altogether? Try almond butter. It is one of my favourite things, and not just in food!

(Apologies for the all the parentheses!)

Break the Fast!

Okay - I understand we're not all hungry in the morning. But, you need to eat within an hour of waking in order to jump start your metabolism so that your body starts working efficiently and starts burning calories. If you're trying to get away with not eating just because you're not hungry, because you think food = weight gain or fat gain, you're just wrong and begging for the backfire (which, I promise you, will hit hard).

A lot of people try to get by with just some juice, coffee or a smoothie. I am a very firm believer in a STARCH to start the day, as those fantastic complex carbohydrates fuel your brain (important in the morning, yes?), give you instant energy, and when done right, will give you a boost lasting a good 3-4 hours.
Although a slice of whole grain toast with some almond butter (mmm) is sufficient, with a latte or very small glass of juice (though juice is really a rip-off from the actual fruit - another blog entry in itself), my favourite breakfast takes ten minutes and its benefits last ALL day long.

LARGE FLAKE OATMEAL WITH BLUEBERRIES (and half a banana if you have it for some potassium!)
Oatmeal and frozen blueberries are things you can have on you at all times. Yes, you have to cook it stove-top, but do we really want to always "zap" heat into our food anyway? It's kind of nice to cook old-school. It feels more real, and a better way to deal with real food.
So, toss 1/2 - 3/4 cup of oats into a small pot. I like to add some milk and some water, because it tastes so decadent with a little milk.... cook it at 5. Stir every few minutes.
1/2- 1 cup of blueberries when it's heated. Stir around. Mm - look at the steam from the clash of temperature.
WARNING: it turns purple. Fun for the kinds though, right? It's so pretty!
Trust me, it's so delicious. Whole foods, jam-packed with nutrition. It is cancer-fighting, energy-boosting, mood-boosting and fat-blasting. What's not to love?

(Can you tell I just finished a bowl?)

Try it - because even if you just start with this one meal, it will completely change the way you feel, and the way you decide to eat for the rest of the day. If you've invested in yourself with a great first meal, why spoil the feeling and the benefits with the second?
You're on your way to great health and a better life. Trust me.

Yoga Makes Me Love Everything...

It took me many years to get into yoga. I had decided strength training was my one major love, and that yoga was trendy, and that I didn't have the patience for it.
But, like in strength training, or running, or jumping on an elliptical... or dating or starting a new book, the benefits don't favour you or hug you at first, necessarily.
Tonight I went to a hot yoga class. Not only can you feel your muscles "hugging" you for warming and releasing them, but you can feel your cells renew, your body detoxify, the mental tensions of the day become meaningless...
This past year was by far the most difficult year of my life to date. I think this is what strikes us in our mid-twenties: stress, panic, frustration, worry, confusion, indecision - yoga makes us aware of how we carry these mental characteristics in our bodies. All of my panic, it seems, has gouged itself into my hips! (I must add, it is going to take many, many more hot yoga classes to get those suckers to calm down.)
Yoga is forgiving. Yoga allows your body and your heart and your mind to follow its course, whatever that may be. As my instructor tonight mentioned, "it is a challenge, but not a struggle". Yoga's physical challenge is important, because it mirrors the resistance and the new difficulties we face in life, which then are followed by release.
I love the physical challenge of the practice, but where I'm really seeing progress is that ability to follow the gut. To be pure and right and make better decisions. Another striking line by tonight's instructor: "Be aware of that which is in you and not serving you well... and let it go."
We all hang on to what does not serve us well, whether it be anxiety about money, toxic relationships, self-deprecating thoughts, fears... We need to be reminded to let these things go. And sometimes all it takes is some exhalations.

To sum up - yoga is pretty powerful in matching the physical with the mental. Mirroring the two, pushing through resistance, practicing the release. We all need it now and then, no matter what goes on inside us. We don't have the mind without the body and vice versa - there is no isolating each.
This practice of progression - constructively wrestling through the hold-ups, physical and otherwise - makes me love everything. And it sure makes me love ME a whole lot more.

Sorry for the cheesy entry this time, but how can you talk about these things without getting a little sappy? It is our BEING!

Yoga is a tremendous practice and a great release, and - well, yoga and my blog are great friends.

SNACKING as a SUPERPOWER

Snacks have the ability curb cravings, fill nutritional gaps, pump us with energy, increase our metabolisms, stabilize our blood sugar levels and put us in a great mood! They help fuel our workouts, re-fuel us afterwards, prepare us for a great sleep... All of these benefits help our bodies operate at their most efficient level, and to shed excess body fat and support lean muscle.

So, it's worth learning how to snack right!
(Bear in mind, different things work for different individuals - most of my posts will apply to the general public, however personal trainers' jobs are to cater to individual needs and schedules.)

Snack should be about 150-250 calories, and they are used to bridge your meals (most people should be eating every 2-3 hours). This keeps your insulin levels released steadily, and wards off hunger, cravings, and blood sugar highs and lows. Remember that when insulin levels are jumping all over the place, the body stores more fat (and energy levels really suffer).

Another important thing to remember about snacks is to make sure each is balanced. You want a snack that offers all three of the macronutrients: protein, carbs and fats. Vegetables and fruit are some of the best quality carbs, and snacks are a great way to add in more of these vitamin/nutrient rich foods to deliver vitality.

BALANCED SNACKS:
An apple (red delicious is best) and 12-15 raw almonds
A banana and 7 walnuts
1 cup of raw broccoli and 1 oz. of lowfat cheese
1 cup of carrots and 2 tbsp of hummus
Tuna roll-ups (3-4 tbsp of tuna salad rolled in romaine leaves)
Small bowl of cereal (an entry on the best cereals is in the future...) with nonfat or 1% milk
An orange and a hard boiled egg
Half a sandwich (lots of veg, whole grain bread)
A latte and a piece of biscotti (this would be one to fight a craving!)
2 ryvita crackers with almond butter

Some of these foods you can keep on you all the time (like apples and almonds) so that you're never stuck starving anywhere, resorting to poor and energy-zapping choices.

Your days are about to get a lot better....

Jogging / Running continued...

I almost forgot. Try not to let your arms swing back and forth in front of you. Again, you can lose energy laterally this way, when you want to keep it moving forward. Maybe I sound too picky and technical, but in athleticism every tiny detail contributes to either being held back or springing forward. Keep everything still, keep your breathing regulated and steady (for endurance), and keep the energy moving forward, led by the heart.
Have fun!

It's Jogging / Running Season!

What a beautiful morning to take clients outdoors today! That sky was a mighty fresh blue. Training outdoors is invigorating, liberating, lifts the spirit, and feels limitless.
I'd like to touch on what I tweak in my runners. Many of us will be running races this spring - 5K, 10K, half marathons and full marathons. If you're an avid runner, a beginner, or somebody who is still toying with the idea of attempting the sport, follow these tips.

SET YOUR SHOULDERS - I use this expression often. Protract your shoulder blades, so that your shoulders are held in place and the chest is lifted. When you are participating in cardiovascular exercise, your heart is in the lead, much like when you are strength training, the muscle you are working needs to be in the lead. Shoulders stay down and back, so that you don't lose any of your energy in disorder.

PIN YOUR ABS IN TIGHTLY - This doesn't mean suck in. Do not suck in! Try pinning your abs now: exhale, and feel your ribcage press down toward your hipbone. That is a nice, compact partial contraction in the abdominals. The more frequently you hold your abs this way, the better you are contributing to a strong core and protecting your lower back. Also, in the case of running, it once again holds your muscles in order so that you are not losing any energy. It's much easier to endure your sport and stave exhaustion when everything is anatomically intact.

LAND SOFTLY - This is perhaps the most important one. Why do runners suffer knee injuries? From letting that impact shoot up through the joints. The knees must be soft, the muscles must absorb each landing. The softer your feet touch down, the more active your muscles are in absorbing the load and taking it off the joints. You should feel your quads grab that impact, use it to further strengthen the muscles, and never let that hit your skeletal system.

STRENGTH TRAIN - Again, the stronger your muscles are, the better they protect your joints. Your heart needs to keep up with your muscles, and your muscles need to keep up with your heart. You don't want your heart's work to be cut short because your muscle strength can't keep up! (Keep reading my blog, I will later discuss important principles of proper strength training routines and programs.)

I WOULD LIKE TO BOLD THIS NEXT ONE:
KEEP IT BALANCED!!! - This means, cross-train. Take days off. I personally don't like to run two days in a row. That doesn't mean that it is wrong... But my body doesn't like it. You need to throw in different ways of training your heart that doesn't have the same muscles moving in the exact same direction. Our bodies get cranky when we're forcing them to do the same thing all the time. Jumping rope is one of my favourites - again, land softly - the hip flexors aren't repeatedly closing the way they are in running, but the heart still gets incredible exercise. The elliptical or stair climber is also an amazing alternative for your non-running days. It gives your body a break from the same kind of impact.

Oh man, there's really so much else to say. Another day, I will post a running program for beginners, but I need to touch on this: if running feels really difficult, and you're not enjoying it, PLEASE alter your time, intervals or pace to make it more enjoyable. Exercise, although it is meant to be physically challenging, it really should always feel like INPUT and not just OUTPUT. You are benefiting your body. It should make you feel good.
Some days, you may need to shorten your time, lower your pace, take more walk breaks. That's fine. Listen to your body. You can't work against it, you must work with it. Otherwise, believe me, it will work against you!

So finally - get outdoors and do what you can. Enjoy it. Steady your breathing to keep the body calm and stabilize the heart rate to get better and better every time.
Many more running entries to come in the future...
J

Manifesto of Manning

Hi friends,
I am a personal trainer and nutrition specialist. I'm starting a blog because I need an outlet. I've been reading and absorbing and wrestling with and loving and craving all of this stuff for over eight years now. And let's face it, everybody is looking for free tips and advice! As you scroll down, you'll see that I've shared why I am beginning this project. But, not all entries will be quite this personal. In this blog there will be info that applies to absolutely everyone of all ages, all athletic abilities, all levels of interest in that which interests me (trust me!).

GOING FORWARD, EXPECT TO FIND:
Discussions on current studies (caffeine or no caffeine?)
Recipes
Fast meal ideas
Discussions of nutritional value in certain foods
The best places to eat, and tips for eating out
Training tips (new exercises, in-home exercises, my favourite exercises for each muscles group, cardiovascular training and fine-tuning, outdoor training, etc.)
Advice for equipment and tools
De-bunking fitness myths (SO excited to start tackling this one - finally I can challenge the monsters in the industry!)
My favourite playlists
I'll be answering common questions that my clients pose all of the time
Postural Correction
CORE TRAINING!!!
Stretching
Yoga
Pilates
Sleep
Hydration
I could go on and on and on......

Really, there won't be much of a structure. I have just so much to say, it will be difficult for me write it all at once. I must categorize, divide and conquer.
Please feel free to send in any fitness/training/nutrition questions you may have. If for whatever reason I don't have the answer, I will find it.
And before you start reading or following the blog, do bear in mind that all the books and studies in the world are NOTHING without experience. I would not have the knowledge I do now without the help of my hundreds of clients over the years. Each and every client has been unique and presented me with new questions or challenges, particular anatomical structures or goals that have contributed to my skills and the content of my understanding of this field. An enormous thank you to everyone that has contributed to the most incredible and dominating part of me. Thank you, thank you. xo


WHAT BRINGS ME HERE?

I was the kind of child who daydreamed incessantly, developed stories and characters and sentences in my brain all day long, and then once I began to write, I could not stop. Really - I stirred up endless amounts of stories and never finished one. When I was forced to complete some of my writing (for school) it turned out terribly. I like the open-ended progression that a blog offers.

In late high school, after having spent years being void of nutritional consideration, and years being afraid of physical activity as I was awkward in organized sports and didn't know anything more, I stumbled upon a fitness magazine at my place of employment (a tea room / ice cream parlour). Needless to say, working at an ice cream parlour and not having the slightest inclination about proper eating, my body was craving some change. And as I read, I thoroughly understood fitness, better than I had ever grasped anything. I began to completely understand nutrition. I got used to tasting real food and not the imposter variety with its sugar, salt and additives. I got so excited about different creative strength-training exercises.
I don't know how to explain this bit... Resistance exercises, in their many categories, with their many details of form and particular movements introduced me to a world of colour. Nothing has ever hit me so hard. I never desired anything more than finding new execises, feeling the difference in my body, introducing them to others. Reading about different foods I'd never heard of, learning how to use them. And again, the more I learned, the more I was dying to teach and share.

So here we are. I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist at times, and shamefully I can avoid things that I love the most because I don't like to come up short. Writing falls into this category. Fitness conditioning, nutrition and my role as a personal trainer has been the most important thing in my life. Because I never wanted anything more than to do this full-time, it used to make me nervous. The age of nineteen/twenty is a daunting time to tackle something that you know will be a lifetime commitment. I must say, I've never wavered, and I never let it take a backseat. That being said, the things that make us nervous are often the things most worth doing.
It's been years since I've written liberally like I used to as a child. So I've been putting off this bit as well. But, fitness has a funny way of teaching you to push through the things that you find tough. It is resistance... and you learn that after you push yourself through some resistance, well it just makes LIFE better. Let's hope my accomplishments in fitness will filter into my writing, and over time make it easier and easier.

I promise every submission will not be this lengthy. Perhaps this grande nonfat latte beside me is taking over a bit... but the origin truly is excitement.
I'm having a hard time deciding what to submit tomorrow - either the different kinds of FATS, or training techniques for postural correction. Both in the near future, anyway.

Thanks for checking in!
J