This is why we have to measure our bodyfat percentage on a regular basis to figure out our fat and lean mass and not just our total weight. Measuring our weight alone is not suffice and does not tell the true story of where we are. Judging how your clothes fit is not good enough, either, because it hides the truth of what is under those tight jeans! :-)
Bodyfat testing along with measuring your total body weight is really important if you want to see how you are progressing. I have seen clients who weighed 125 lbs at 35% bodyfat.....that is obese and what we call "Skinnyfat!" Don't let yourself be fooled by just weighing yourself without measuring your bodyfat percentage to compute your fat mass compared to your non-fat mass (muscle, bone, water, etc...). This is the best way to see where you are and the only way to judge if you are lean enough to achieve a six pack or tight mid-section.
I suggest investing in an inexpense home scale that uses electrical impedence to measure your bodyfat percentage. They are very safe and good tools to track your progress. A basic scale that you can stand on, and give you your total weight in lbs and your bodyfat percentage. Some will compute the fat lbs and lean mass lbs for you but it is very simple if not.
150 lbs total x 30% bodyfat = 45lbs of fat
150lbs total - 45lbs of fat = 105lbs of non-fat mass (muscle, water, bone, etc.)
You want to reduce your bodyfat lbs while either maintaining or increasing your non-fat/lean mass lbs. Muscle is about 1/3 the size of fat in equal lbs, so you do the math! You can weigh the exact same as you do now and actually drop 4 to 5 dress sizes by reducing fat lbs and gaining muscle lbs.
Check Target, Amazon, and/or Bed Bath and Beyond for a good scale. They are only about $30 to $40, so don't delay. They sale out fast.
I suggest measuring yourself once per week, prefarably Friday morning, upon waking up and before you eat, shower, drink, etc. The early mornings are best for consistency because your hydration level is typically the same in the mornings which is key to using electrical impedence.
Much Success and please share your improvement results to inspire others! - CD
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January 2013
Just wanted to send you a quick reminder that we will start conducting monthly fitness testing every 3rd week of the month for all classes starting on Thursday, 1/17/13. We will test you on a wide range of exercises and each exercise test will last for 1 minute each.
This is not a competition to see who is the best or to compare your fitness level to others. This is our way of helping you to measure your progress, and to help you set performance goals. We have found that it's better to set goals to get stronger, faster, and to improve your endurance and agility, as opposed to setting goals to just lose weight.
Setting goals to lose some bodyfat is good, but that alone doesn't make you a better athlete. In most cases, many become worse athletes because they end up losing fat and muscle through improper eating. Even more troubling, is that most people aren't able to stay on the plan long enough to see any real results, so they drop their plan and fall off completely.
By setting goals to perform better and better, it will inspire you to eat, train, and rest/recover properly to enhance your energy and to make you stronger and faster. By focusing on your performance improvement, your body will automatically change for the better.
So, instead of just focusing on how we look, we will start focusing on how we perform from one month to the next. This is the mindset of an athlete and this is the new focus, and true mission and purpose of our program.
Below are the details of what you will need and a list of some of the exercises that we will test you on throughout the year depending on whether we are inside or outside:
1) Arrive to class 5 to 10 minutes early to warm-up properly with Movement Prep
2) Note pad and pen/pencil to keep a journal of stats (no weights needed this day)
3) Water and Gatorade/Powerade (you will need the carbs and electrolytes for enery to ensure that you are at your best throughout the testing)
4) Towel or mat is optional for floor exercises
5) Eat, hydrate, and sleep properly at least Mon through Fri to maintain a healthy and conditioned body. Morning members should always eat a little before class, everyday. I, usually, have some fruit/raw veggies, and almonds every morning before class. See my eating plan (tips, videos, and book) listed on the Lifestyle page of our site.
EXERCISES:
1) Pushup Jacks
2) Situps
3) Bearcrawl Sprints (forward and backward)
4) Line drill Sprints (running)
5) Burpees (squat, thrust, jump)
6) Knee Tuck Jump Squats
7) Pullups (warm weather - with or without a spotter)
8) 1 mile run (warm weather)
9) Knee Repeaters
10) Power Squats
11) Jump Squats
12) Handstand Pushups
13) Bench Dips
15) Donkey Kicks
16) Fast Feet/Switch Feet Drills
17) Plyometric Pushups
18) etc.......
Now, I am getting excited just thinking about this concept, and I am sure that you will really enjoy seeing yourself getting better and better from one month to the next. Hopefully, this will also help many of you to see that you have to start using heavier and more challenging weights in class. Stop thinking that you are going to get bulky, ladies, by using heavier weights. Weights don't make you bulky....eating too much does! :-)
These ladies work with weight that you can not believe and they look amazing! We want this for you and I know you can do it.
A new year, a new you, a new focus...Fit For Life!
CD
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Nutrition to Reduce Body Fat and Build Lean Muscle
Just wanted to send you all a few quick tips on my recommended eating plan to help you to reduce your bodyfat, build lean muscle, and enhance your energy. I wanted to, also, make some clarifications to the success stories on the website regarding my modified original eating plan that helped alot of our clients to drop 20 to 30 lbs of weight and bodyfat over a 3 month period by primarily focusing on fruit, veggies, and protein. My tips are listed below after this short message, and I also included some short video links by one of my mentors, Jeff Cavalier of AthleanX.
I, also, ask that you follow the recommendations from Jackie Warner's book, This Is Why You're Fat (funny title but one of the best books on the market). The tips, book, and videos will give you everything that you need to be successful and they lay the foundation that you will need to learn to sustain your progress for the longterm. It is very important that you read and follow the book's recommendations if you want to build lean muscle, reduce your bodyfat, and enhance your
energy.
Camille Sabbakhan
Dropped from 155lbs to 130lbs
No exercise or fitness program will replace a poor diet, and you can not out train a bad diet! You have to eat right to reduce your bodyfat...you have to eat right to build lean muscle and tone-up....and you have to eat right to look and feel your absolute best. There is no way around it....you have to learn how to eat properly and then prepare yourself to follow the advice.
Trust...you will enjoy the benefits when you hit the beach with extreme confidence in your size 4/6 figure and with your very tight mid-section! You deserve to enjoy that feeling, and we want that for each and every one of you. Time to step to the next level!
Ulrick Casseus
Dropped from 18% bodyfat at 185lbs to 8% bodyfat at 181lbs
He dropped 18.82lbs of Fat and Gained 14.42lbs of Lean Hard Muscle!!!!
I. QUICK TIPS:
1) Eat small balanced meals and snacks every 2.5 hrs to 4 hrs. Balance meals and snacks should include a lean protein, healthy carbs, and a little fat at every meal and snack. Most fat will come from your protein source. Never go more than 4 hrs without eating. If you start eating at 8am, then you have to start eating your next balanced meal or snack no later than 12n. Always prepare yourself by bringing your snacks with you when you leave your house. Preparation is more important than discipline and focus. No amount of discipline will keep you from eating wrong when you are really hungry! lol
2) Start eating no later than 1 hr from the time you awake in the morning. Before my 6am class, I usually eat 1 serving of raw fruit or veggies for carbs, and I eat almonds for protein and fat. Carrots, apples, bananas, and almonds are my favorite. If no class, then I usually start with oatmeal, sliced almonds (or boiled eggs), raisens, and sliced banana in my oatmeal for sweetness (I use Stevia sweetner, also). After the class, I will usually have the oatmeal and eggs scrambled with veggies. I love boiled eggs, also, which is what I will usually have with my oatmeal on my off days.
Stephanie Lowe
Dropped 20lbs from 154lbs to 134lbs
She just celebrated her 70th birthday!
3) Primarily, drink water only and stay away from the juices, sodas, sweet tea, flavored water, and sports drinks.. You only need water. Sports drinks are for athletes that train for more than one hour at a time during an endurance competition or session like a marathon. Coffee drinkers should have a maximum of one cup daily and should NOT use cane sugar, Splenda, or Equal. Try using Stevia sweetner and a little lowfat/non-fat cream. Stevia is not as tasty in tea, so I usually do not drink tea unless I need it for a cold at which point I will use some honey or very little sugar, if necessary.
4) Stay away from High Fructose Corn Syrup and cane sugar (brown or white) as much as humanly possible. Check nutrition content on your food labels and never eat anything that has more than 5 grams of sugar per serving. Sugar is the enemy and it is one of the main culprits of obesity! This is a very serious one to consider and you have to break your addiction to it. You will learn alot more about this in Jackie's book.
5) Eat no more than 1 or 2 servings of tropical fruit (ie: bananas, pinapple, grapes, etc...) because they have a very high glycemic index. I primarily focus on apples, oranges, 1 banana max, melons, berries, etc... I love grapes but I try to, only, use them to replace my desire for the occasional bad late night craving for ice cream...lol! I know....I love ice cream, but I do not allow myself to have it during the week. So, to replace that I will have a few grapes, some low-fat cheese, and maybe a little sliced turkey and Wheat Thin crackers. In the book, you will learn to focus on low-carb veggies at night with protein, of course, but a healthly carb
like grapes as a late night snack is a much better choice than ice cream and cookies. It is not perfect but it is a move in the right direction.
Devona Faulk
Lost 20 lbs and Dropped from a Size 10 to a Size 4
6) In one of my previous messages and in the success stories, I suggested that you could lose weight alot faster by focusing on raw fruits/veggies and steamed veggies for your carbs instead of whole grains like brown rice, oatmeal, sweet potatoes, etc... This is true but please realize that whole grains will still get you to your goal. You can still incorporate them into your diet and it is actually a good idea to eat them for the fiber, energy for endurance training, and insulin regulating benefits. Brown rice, sweet potatoes, and plain oatmeal are staples in my home. Just stay away from the pre-sweetened oatmeal pacs which are full of fattening toxic
sugar.
7) Stay away from white rice, white potatoes, white sugar (brown sugar as well for the most part), white pasta (most pasta for the most part), white bread (most bread including so called wheat bread). Ezekial wheat bread is good. You have to be extremely cautious of breads, which you will learn more about in the book.
8) Get plenty of sleep at night because this is the single most important tip I can give you. You have to get to bed early each night and no eating plan will do what good sleep will do for you. Turn off the TV, wash clothes on the weekend, log off of Facebook, and get yourself to bed for 7 hours of deeppppp sleep! :-) Sleep is the most important requirement for good health, lean muscle, bodyfat reduction, high energy, mental health, etc....it is your key to the "fountain of youth!"
Meredith Hurt
Dropped 58lbs
9) Enjoy a couple treat meals on the weekend and eat clean during the week. You have to enjoy yourself sometimes and this will keep you balanced. 5 to 6 days per week of clean eating and 1 to 2 days to have a maximum of 2 treat meals of anything you want. A treat meal includes drinks and dessert but be careful of too much alcohol consumption. It will ruin you! Note that I wrote, "cheat meals," and not cheat days! lol
So, there you go...there is alot more I could add to this but I am going to stop here for now. You will learn alot more in the book and videos and I will send out more tips over time. I will also send out a list of books and audio programs that will take you further into nutrition science and mental fitness. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, and we look forward to adding your success story and pics to the website, as well!
II. WHAT TO EAT TO BUILD LEAN MUSCLE (and reduce your bodyfat) - Click on links below:
Fit For Life!
Renee Stephens-Williams
Lost 140 lbs!
Dropped from 285lbs to 145lbs!
