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Editors Notes:
It is never too late to make a move towards a healthier
and happier you. Don’t beat yourselves up if your transition to that new
you hasn’t gone as smoothly as planned. So what things did not go as
planned! Why have you stopped or why have you not started? It is
literally as easy as saying that today is the day that you will put
yourself and your health as number 1. It can be something as simple as
going for a walk, cutting out the junk food, or getting a personal
trainer. No matter how small or big the step, just remember it is a step
towards the goals you set for your self. If the steps are constant and
consistent, they will take you as far as you want to go.
Look to see new and
exciting things this year from L.I.F.E Professional Trainers. We have
boot camp starting back in April. For those who did them last year,
expect a whole new program. This year there will be classes for both
beginner and advanced. We are also looking into doing classes for
children and seniors as well. We will be offering courses on women’s self
defense in the fall and men and women’s “learn how to fight” class, as
well as, Mobile fitness, workshops, health seminars, and much more.
Our down town
location is doing well and I feel blessed that the guys over at Boston
Ultimate Fitness gave me the opportunity to work in such a nice facility.
It is really a great, warm and friendly environment. You guys should
really come see it. First work out is my treat.
Remember it is
never too late to live fit and live well. Thank you to everybody that
supported me last year, those who still support me today, and those who
will be there in the future. We are in this together and together we will
achieve so much more.
Live Fit and Live Well,
Dwayne
See Tip of the Month Below
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QUESTION/TIP OF THE MONTH
So how do you lose weight and burn fat while building and maintaining
lean muscle? Of course
with diet and exercise,
but how you exercise and how you eat are key. Let’s start with the
way
you exercise. First of all let me apologize to all you cardio kings and
queens I see in
the gym, who get on the treadmill or arc trainer, sweat
for an hour, then go home. Fact is,
your metabolism, which can be defined
as the rate at which you burn fat, needs oxygen to
function. When you are
engaged in a high intensity cardio exercise, which would be any
activity
that exceeds 75% of your maxHR*, once you really get going and start
huffing and
puffing you are no longer getting the oxygen you need to
maximize fat loss. Your body still
needs a source of energy to function
so it then turns to muscle and organs for that energy.
On the other hand when you perform any
resistance exercise, like weight training, your
body still needs a energy
source to complete the task but is smart enough to know that it is
using
muscle to perform the task so your body then seeks an alternate energy
source, fat.
It should also be noted that cardio
burns calories while you are doing it and maybe for 15-20 minutes after.
Resistance training will have you burning calories for up to 3 days after
because your body is going through a process of building and repairing
muscle damaged from the workout. So to maximize fat loss, be sure to
include some resistance training into your program.
The next way to boost metabolism and
maximize fat loss is through diet. First of all let me say, eating too
little calories is just as unhealthy, and possibly unhealthier, then
eating too many calories. Your body needs a base number of calories
to function even without activity. This is called your Basal Metabolic
Rate or BMR. Basically it is how many calories you need to eat if you sat
on your butt all day and did not move one muscle, before your body starts
to feed off good muscle and organs to sustain itself. Sounds pretty bad
huh? This is when you enter the realm of unhealthy weight loss. Your
still burning calories but the calories are not coming from fat, its
coming from the lean muscle you worked so hard to build. Now if you are
losing lean muscle it doesn’t take a scientist to realize that you are
decreasing your muscle to fat ratio. So your body fat percentage will
increase as your lean muscle decreases. Here are a few basic rules to
follow when it comes to eating;
1. Eat 4-5 times each day every 2-3 hours. Your body prefers to use fat
for energy. When you go long periods without food it forces your body
into a survival mode. Basically your body is saying to itself, ’I don’t
know when my next meal is coming so whatever food I do get, I am going to
store as fat incase I need energy later’. When you are eating small meals
every 2-3 hours, your body knows it is getting enough energy from food
sources so it races to burn fat. *You should be eating your first meal
within one hour or waking up.
2. Eat appropriate portions. When digesting any meal, blood flow
increases in your digestive system to break down what you just ate. When
you eat larger portions it becomes much harder for your body to break the
food down. You will then feel sluggish and slow. Digesting larger meals
slows down metabolism. *Do not wait until you are hungry before you eat.
It takes about 20min for your brain to register the fact that you put food
into your stomach. So when you wait until you are hungry before you eat,
you will over eat. After eating your small portion, wait about 20 minutes
and if you are still hungry you can eat.
3. Combining carbohydrates and proteins. First I have to say that energy
for brain function and daily activity come from carbohydrates so I do not
advocate eliminating carbs from your diet. What I do recommend is a low
carb diet or tapering off from carbs at night. If carbs are a source of
energy and you eat them later in the day or at night and do not use that
energy, then it will be stored as fat. Stay away from simple sugars.
Simple sugars or simple carbs would be sweets, white rice, white bread,
pasta, etc. This type of carb absorbs rapidly into the blood stream and
the only thing that can take up nutrients rapidly is fat. So when you eat
sweets and the like, they go right to fat. Complex carbs, such as whole
wheat, absorb gradually into the blood stream, giving you a sustained
energy source throughout the day. So complex carbs are the preferred
source. Proteins which come from fish, meat, eggs, etc. are a key
nutrient for repairing muscle. The only way protein can get to the muscle
is with insulin. Insulin comes from eating carbs. This process of
repairing damaged muscle after a workout is called protein synthesis and
will have you burning calories all day. Even at rest.
4. Stay well hydrated. Drink 8, 8oz glasses of water each day. This
will help boost metabolism and helps with the digestive process. Try
drinking one glass in the morning before you eat. This will boost
metabolism and curve your appetite.
5. Stay away from saturated fats and Trans fats. These fats are hard to
digest and can slow down metabolism. Fats to avoid are fried foods and
whole fat dairy products.
I hope
these guidelines are easy for you to follow as well as helpful. If you
have a question and would like it to be featured in the next issue of
L.I.F.E Fitness NEWS, please email your question to
da@lifeprofessionaltrainers.com.
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