Category: Weight Loss Tips

San Jose Boot Camp: The 30-day Challenge

Aug 01, 2011

San Jose boot camp 30-day challengeIt is said that it takes 30 days to solidify a new habit or behavior change. As I write this post, it is Monday, August 1st. It’s the beginning of the week, and the beginning of a new month. August has 31 days, so it seems like a great month to put this “30 days” theory to the test.

I am challenging all the members of our Campbell and San Jose boot camps to make  a commitment to work on just one simple behavior change all month.  I decided to throw to challenge out to all readers of this blog as well.

What is one small thing that you could change in your current lifestyle this month that would lead to better fitness down the road?  The ideas are endless–but you instinctively know what you need to change :-).

 

Here are some ideas to get you thinking……

• If you’re currently sedentary, pledge to add moderate exercise to your schedule on a consistent basis two times per week this month.

• If you’re currently exercising and you’ve hit a plateau, challenge yourself to do a “different” style of exercise once each week or to consistently add in a 4th, 5th or 6th day of exercise.

• If you’re trying to lose weight and you drink alcohol or soda, decrease your intake of calorie filled drinks like blended coffee drinks, juices, or alcoholic beverages by 60% each week.

• If you’re trying to lose weight and you eat out a lot, challenge yourself to eat no more than 2 “commercial” meals each week this month.

• If you eat the same things day in and day out, challenge yourself to eat one new fruit and one new vegetable each week this month

• If you’re trying to lose weight , challenge yourself to decrease your portion sizes by 20% at dinner each night this month.

Increased veggie consumption is promoted at San Jose boot camps

Very often, when we’re trying to lose weight or get in better shape, we go hog wild and try to change everything in our lives all at once. We over-exercise, we under-eat and we deprive ourselves. For many of us, it’s a 180 degree turn from our normal routine. An approach like this, although it may provide some immediate results, is doomed to fail because it is so foreign to our normal way of doing things.  Eventually the “other shoe” drops and we revert to our normal routine.

Although results won’t come overnight, long term results are often realized by taking smaller steps toward better nutrition and fitness. I believe that long term results come from consistently applied change—not quick fix diets or overbearing workout routines that you couldn’t ever stay on for more than a few weeks.  The ideas I’ve listed above are ways to work on improving your lifestyle in smaller steps. Work on just that one thing all month. That’s it! Just one thing.

Then, come September, tackle one more thing.  If you practice this “30-day Challenge” with yourself each month, you could be living in a totally different body next year at this time!

 

Healthy, fit people practice a healthy lifestyle most of the time.

Healthy lifestyles aren’t always learned. But they can be adopted one step at a time.

Today is August 1st, 2011.  What ONE thing can you do consistently this month to be healthier, fitter, happier or more energetic than you are today??

Be an action taker and commit to change!  Please post here and share the 30-day challenge you will give yourself.

 

Committed to your success.

 

Becky

 

 

What’s the REAL Reason Most Weight Loss Diets Fail?

May 31, 2011
Coach Aaron Benes from Newport Beach, California Coach Aaron Benes

We all know someone who has dieted, lost weight and then proceeded to gain the weight back.  Perhaps you yourself have fallen victim to this.

For permanent fat loss, we need to change this cycle.

My good friend and professional fitness coach in Newport Beach, Aaron Benes, has given me permission to share an article here at my blog that he recently posted in his newsletter for his clients at Imagine If Fitness.

When it comes to coaching for better strength, fitness and fat loss, Aaron Benes is your go-to guy in Newport Beach.  I’m privileged to call him my friend and very grateful he allowed me to publish his article here.

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What’s the Real Reason Most Diets Fail?

Maybe it is the approach.

Have you ever considered how important your mindset and your thoughts are when setting out to achieve a goal?Use your brain! The right mindset is important for permanent weight loss

From what I’ve seen, most individuals start their diet/program from a very unhealthy position. Common thoughts behind beginning a program might be “I hate my thighs,” or “my butt is huge,” or “If I could just fit into a size 4, then I would stop hating what I see in the mirror.” In these instances the individual believes that there is something ‘wrong’ with themselves and if they could just change this one thing, then they would feel good about who they are.

Most people start a diet with this exact mindset. They think that they should deprive themselves and suffer through the program in order to create the change they so desperately seek. Once the program has reached its completion date, the individual typically feels a sense of accomplishment and of relief that it is over, along with a sense of entitlement. “Hey, I lost 20 lbs; I deserve a slice of chocolate cake. I deserve a few drinks.” Or whatever it may be. Since this individual has been depriving themselves the entire time, they feel that the treat is well earned. Unfortunately, once this splurge occurs – coming from a place of deprivation – then the old pattern re-emerges and the weight begins to rise, even more rapidly than it was reduced.

The pattern is simple – start out being disgusted or hating your body, begin the program from a state of deprivation, then essentially starve or punish yourself for a prescribed period of time and suffer while the weight falls off…then once the weight is off and you have reached your goal, you can relax and slip right back into your old patterns.

Here are some thoughts to consider:

Weight loss is easier if you love and care yourself• What about beginning any program because you love yourself enough to make a permanent change for your health and happiness?

• What about the fact that you are not depriving yourself, but only eating just as nature originally intended? Have you ever considered that human beings are not designed to eat foods that are genetically modified, hormone filled, chemically destroyed, highly processed, and loaded with artificial sugars?

• How about actually learning something from the program that got you to lose 20 lbs? Like all the health benefits associated with no longer being overweight: having more energy, more stamina, feeling better about you and your body, improving your sex life and sleeping deeper?

• How about educating yourself just a little, so you have an idea about where your food comes from? For example, if you haven’t seen it, I highly suggest watching the film, Food Inc.

•Last, but certainly not least, how about caring enough about your health to accept personal responsibility to do something about it? We can’t control the economy, the bad driver on the road or world affairs, but we most certainly can control what we put into our bodies, how we treat ourselves, and how we feel.

Until next time,

Coach Aaron

 

About Coach Aaron Benes :

Aaron began his career as a coach in 1994. He graduated with honors from California State University Fullerton with a B.S. in Kinesiology. He then became a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Aaron’s background is extensive in both traditional education and real world experience. He specializes in a complete approach and addresses each client on a physical, mental and emotional level. Because he posseses the rare combination of tools to work with the body and the brain, he is able to assist his clients on many levels and help them achieve goals which otherwise were not possible.

His overall goal as a coach is to provide all of his clients with a positive, powerful and lasting life changing experience.

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Okay it’s Becky again.  I asked Aaron if I could re-publish his newsletter article here because I agree with him wholeheartedly that the reason most diets fail is because of the approach.  The “diet and deprivation” approach is a temporary fix that will eventually backfire.  A lifestyle approach creates a more realistic situation that you can continue for the rest of your life.  If you can change your mindset, you can change your lifestyle.  If you can change  your lifestyle, you can stay lean forever.

To your weight loss success,

 

Becky

 

 

 

 

Tips for losing weight at San Jose boot camp

Mar 28, 2011

Healthy snack ideas for boot camp in San JoseYesterday I held one of our Nutrition Seminar/Grocery Store tour events.

I took members of our boot camps in San Jose through the Whole Foods Market on Blossom Hill Road.

We talked about how to read food labels, where the highest nutrition foods are in grocery stores, how to spot misleading claims on packaging and how to get the most value when we shop for food.

I always enjoy our Nutrition Seminar/Grocery Store tour because it gives me a chance to really connect with our boot campers and help them sift through nutrition myths, help them to be better consumers, and perhaps open their minds to trying new foods.

If you haven’t attended one of our tours before, I hope you’ll consider attending one in the future. Even if you think you eat well already, you might learn one new thing that helps you improve your overall nutrition.

Here is a random sampling of just a few of the things we talked about:

  • Most Americans eat between 12 and 14 grams of fiber a day. We need 25-35 grams. An easy way to begin to increase your fiber intake is to increase your intake of fresh produce.
  • Just because a package says “made with whole grain” doesn’t mean the food inside is high in fiber.
  • Stay mainly on the perimeter of your grocery store for the freshest, most nutritious food. However, there are certain foods you should venture into the interior aisles to purchase (you’ll have to go on one of my tours to find out what those foods are!)
  • Beef isn’t necessarily bad for you.  The quantity you eat, the frequency with which you eat it and the cut you choose matter. The leanest cuts of beef include round, tenderloin, sirloin, and flank.
  • If you eat yogurt, consider buying Greek yogurt. It’s higher in protein than regular yogurt.
  • Eggs are a great, inexpensive source of protein. Contrary to popular belief, eating whole eggs will not raise your cholesterol (eating a lot of trans fats and some saturated fats will, though!)
  • The golden rule of food shopping: Never, ever shop for food when you’re hungry! ☺

 

I’ll leave you with a quote that is on the final page of my 7-page handout that each participant gets:

“When you change what is on your plate, you will change how your body looks and performs”


If you want to get better results from your boot camp workouts in San Jose, are you willing to make a few changes on your plate?

If you attended our tour yesterday, let me know what change(s) you will make based on what you learned.  If you didn’t attend our tour, but are interested in attending a future one, please let me know what you’d like to learn on your tour.

Committed to your success,

 

Becky

 

P.S. Did you know that the Whole Foods store on Blossom Hill has a Healthy Nutrition specialist that is there to answer your nutrition questions? Her name is Georgia Brown, and she has a workspace toward the back of the store. If you’ve got nutrition questions or special dietary needs, make sure to look for her! Tell her I sent you 😉

 

 

Are You Eating as Healthy as You Think You Are?

Feb 17, 2011

In my line of work as a personal trainer and boot camp instructor in San Jose, one of the first things I do with new clients is offer to take a look at a 3-5 day food journal. It’s really the only way that I can help my customers make sensible changes that will lead to fat loss. I get a lot of resistance to the food journal with some folks. I hear phrases like this a lot: “I eat really well, Becky, so I can’t quite figure out why I’m not losing weight”.

Yes, some folks DO eat really well. Others—not so much (yet they think they’re doing great).

I was going to do a cool “eat this, not that for fat loss” video for you, but then I realized that a colleague of mine, the Abs Expert himself Scott Colby, did a great video a few months back that really illustrates how what you might think is a healthy diet really isn’t all that healthy.

Scott and I think a lot a like, so I’ll let Scott tell you ☺


The next time you go grocery shopping, think about some of the things Scott has presented here. Just because a packaged item says it’s healthy for you doesn’t mean it is.

Want to learn more about how to improve your diet from the Abs Expert himself?? You have an opportunity to spend some time vacationing, working out, and getting motivated by Scott Colby.

You can learn about his life-changing fitness adventure here:

www.FitnessAdventuresUSA.com

Here’s a video capturing some of the comments of past Fitness Adventure clients (and you’ll hear how much weight one women lost while ON VACATION!)


Once again–the next time you’re at the grocery store, keep some of Scott’s ideas in mind. Are you really making a good, healthy, natural choice?

Neither Scott nor I think you have to be perfect with regard to nutrition. We just want to help you get better.

Committed to your success,

Becky

Some Inspiration from “Ben” and lifeSport Boot Camp in San Jose

Sep 21, 2010

I got a newsletter from a fellow fitness pro today, and he always finds the coolest videos to share.  Today’s video was especially cool and very inspirational, and I wanted to share it with you.

As a San Jose personal trainer for over 25 years, I’ve worked with many people who are trying to lose excess body fat, tone their muscles and improve their health.  For some people, the changes that need to be made come easily.  For others, it can be harder to make sustained lifestyle changes in order to see dramatic results.

The video below shows you the dramatic results that are possible with determination, consistency and support.  It’s obvious that Ben, the young man in the video, had determination, but I also suspect his life changing results came with consistency (in nutrition as well as exercise ) and support.  It’s hard to make dramatic lifestyle changes alone—but the WILL to do it has to start with you.

Clearly, Ben has changed his life for the better.  As he says himself, he’s HAPPY now (as a mom, that part got me choked up a bit!).  Taking the emotion out of it and looking at this from a completely clinical perspective, he’s added years and quality to his life (he’s decreased his risk factors for stroke, heart disease and Type 2 diabetes).

If you’ve hit a road block in your fitness or weight loss program, watch this video.

It might just be the inspiration you need.

In our boot camps in San Jose, Campbell and Los Gatos, my instructors and I work hard to provide you with consistency and support.

If you can supply the will and determination, we’d make a great team :-).

Committed to your success,

Becky

P.S. If you need professional support to reach your fitness goals, we’d love to invite you enjoy a one week FREE trial at one of our fitness boot camps in San Jose, Campbell or Los Gatos.  Visit our boot camp webpage to request your free trial:  www.lifesportbootcamp.com

Healthy Snacks For The Car

Sep 15, 2010

Last weekend I led a group of customers from my boot camps in Campbell and San Jose on a tour of a local grocery store.  We talked about how to pick the healthiest options at the store, and how to decipher faulty and misleading advertising on food packaging.

One of the attendees, Massimo, who attends my fitness boot camp in the Cambrian area of San Jose, asked what to do when he finds himself in the car a lot during the day going from one meeting to the next.  The temptation to go grab some fast food can get the best of us.

The solution is to plan ahead and put some healthy food items in your car so that the fast food restaurants aren’t such a temptation.  If you can stay hydrated, dampen your hunger and keep your blood sugar steady, you’re less likely to fall victim to a greasy, salty fast food meal.

So, thank you, Massimo, for giving me a great idea for a blog post!

Here are some ideas for healthy “car” food (and most of them only take one hand to eat, so you can keep the other hand on the wheel!)

• A ziplock bag of nuts (pre-measured  so that you don’t overdo it!)

• A ziplock bag of dried fruit

•  A ziplock bag of  sliced apples

•  A peanut butter and jelly sandwich on whole wheat bread

• Several skewers of fresh fruit chunks (you can eat them off the skewer with one hand without getting your hands sticky!)

• Prograde Cravers (the healthiest snack bar on the planet!)

• String cheese

• Zip lock bag of little shredded wheat biscuits

On warm days when I’m going to be in the car a lot, I put my food in a small cooler with an ice pack in it, and make sure to pack a couple of water bottles as well.  Snacking can tide you over until you can get home for a real meal, but you can also get a “real meal” by combining several of the snacks I’ve listed above.

Not only will healthy car snacking help you maintain a healthier body, it will also help you keep a few extra dollars in your wallet.  Regular fast food meals (or sugar laden venti coffee drinks!) put a dent in your wallet and flab on your waistline.

With just a little pre-planning and packing, you can get through a day of numerous car trips without having to resort to hitting the drive through.

If you’re a frequent car snacker, leave a post and list your favorite healthy snacks!

Committed to your success,

Becky

Boot Camp in San Jose Shows You How to Get More Results in Less Time!

Aug 27, 2010

It seems everybody is crazy busy these days.  It’s no wonder that many people say the one reason they don’t exercise is because they don’t have time.

We’re helping people crush that  “I have no time” excuse at our fitness boot camps in San Jose, Los Gatos and Campbell.  We’re showing people how to maximize every minute in their workouts and get MORE results in LESS time than “traditional” workouts at the gym. Many people still hang on to the notion that you need to do hours of cardio workouts every week on top of hours of weight lifting at the gym in order lose weight and be fit. Nope.  Recent research proves otherwise.

Recent studies have found that “metabolic” training, or combining strength and cardiovascular exercises together in a circuit format, are very effective for fat loss.  Studies have also found that interval training (combining periods of high intensity exercise with segments of lower intensity exercise), is very effective for fat loss and muscle preservation.

The cool thing about these types of workouts is that they’re typically SHORTER workouts than the traditional gym workout during which a person does a cardio workout for 30-60 minutes followed by a strength training workout for another 30-45 minutes.  I’m “Crazy Busy” just like everyone else in Silicon Valley.  If I can work out and get the results I want in LESS time, I’m all for it!

What does a “metabolic” workout look like?  Well, the sky is the limit, but here are a couple of examples from some of our recent workouts:

At our boot camp in Downtown San Jose we created of circuit of jump  squats, push ups, hopping through an agility ladder, standing rows and alternating lunges.  We did the exercises at each station for 50 seconds, took a rest for 10 seconds, and the moved on to the next station.  We did this circuit for three rounds.This workout developed upper and lower body strength, lower body power and cardiovascular fitness–in a FRACTION of the time of a typical workout at the gym.

Next week at our evening boot camp in Los Gatos, we’ll put our campers through an obstacle course during which they’ll lunge, jump, push things, pull things, and step up on things while they move around the park we use.  It’s a full body workout that combines strength work, cardiovascular conditioning and includes functional movements (squatting, stepping, pulling, pushing) that we do as humans in every day life.  This type of a workout burns massive calories, boosts our metabolism for hours after the workout and helps us perform and move better on a daily basis.

Aside from the physical benefits that interval training affords us, creating the variety that we do in all our boot camps in the Bay Area keeps the FUN in fitness.

Now, if you like running on a treadmill for an hour, or doing a little “aerobic magazine reading” on the elliptical, well that’s fine.  But if you’re trying to boost your metabolism, shed some body fat, and maximize every moment of your workout, give metabolic training a try!

Want to experience a non-gym workout?  Try a lifeSport Fitness boot camp in San Jose, Los Gatos or Campbell today!

Not sure if boot camp is for you?  To request  a FREE one-week trial, please log on to: http://www.lifesportbootcamp.com

Committed to your fitness success,

Becky

Campbell Boot Camp: The Most Effective Fat Loss Exercises

May 17, 2010

What’s The Most Effective Exercise Method?

It depends!  I don’t say this to be sarcastic.  It really does depend on what your goal is.  Some people want to lose weight.  Others want to “tone up” and feel stronger.  Some people want big, defined muscles. While others want to run faster, or jump higher. Technically speaking,  these goals dictate different training programs.

At lifeSport Fitness, my experience over the years has taught me that the majority of people we work with want fat loss, although they may not say it this way.  They tell us they want to lose weight, lose inches and/or develop muscles that are firmer and less jiggly. We also hear a lot about wanting to decrease “belly fat”.   This all points to “fat loss”.  We try to avoid the term “weight loss”, as it doesn’t really tell the whole story.

In a well-designed fat loss program, inches will be lost, and muscle mass will be maintained or improved, thereby giving people the feeling that their muscles are firmer and more toned. In some, but not all cases, scale weight will be lost as well (this depends on whether an individual has a lot of excess body fat).

With fat loss/muscle strengthening in mind, then, what is the most effective exercise method to achieve these results?   Lucky for the participants in our boot camps in San Jose and Campbell, they’re doing the right stuff for fat loss in every camp workout.  I’ll outline below what studies have found with regard to effective programs so that you’ll have ideas on how to design your own workouts during the week.

Intensity matters. Higher intensity exercise has been shown to facilitate better fat loss results than lower intensity or moderate intensity exercise.  This is why we include high intensity activities such as Tabata intervals into some classes, and why we coach our boot campers to work hard on the cardio segments during our cardio/ strength circuit and partner drills.

Functional exercises are superior to isolation exercises.  Strength training exercises utilizing several joints and/or large muscle groups (think push ups, rows, squats, lunges, dead lifts, squat to press, and lunges with medicine balls) have been shown to elicit hormonal shifts that favor fat loss more than single joint exercises such as biceps curls or leg extensions. We still have campers using smaller muscle isolation exercises in our classes on occasion, but we mainly incorporate exercises that utilize multiple joints at once for maximum calorie burn and to help the body function better as a whole.

Interval training is superior to steady intensity training.   Studies show that high intensity interval training trumps lower level, steady intensity endurance training for fat loss.  Interval training creates a kind of turbulence in your body.  It takes more energy to perform, and requires more energy (calories) from your body after the fact.  In the hours after a good, high intensity interval training workout, your body tends to utilize stored fat for fuel.

High intensity circuit training creates a “best of both worlds” situation for strength gain and fat loss. A 2010 study indicated that strength training done in a high intensity circuit format created better strength gains than a low intensity circuit format, and better fat loss gains than traditional endurance training.  Two major health benefits in ONE workout!  Yes !  Performed properly, the cardio/strength circuit we use in our fitness boot camps gives you the benefits of interval training, with the strength benefits of circuit training.

High intensity workouts hit you in the belly.  A 2008 study found that high intensity exercise was more effective for reducing total abdominal fat in women than lower intensity exercise.

In our boot camp programs in San Jose and Campbell,  we formulate the workouts to be a mix of cardiovascular interval training (like Tabata intervals), circuit training (our cardio/strength circuit) and functional training (many of the strength exercises in our circuit).  We think it affords our customers the most effective mix of exercise training for fat loss and muscle gain/maintenance.

Want to experience one of the best workouts in the Bay Area?  You’re invited to a FREE one week trial at one of our boot camps!  Try an early morning workout in Downtown San Jose or Almaden, or an evening workout in Campbell or Los Gatos.  Our camps are co-ed and all fitness levels are welcome.  Log on to:  www.lifesportbootcamp.com to reserve a spot for a free trial!

What have you got to lose but some unwanted fat???

Committed to your success,

Becky

Holiday Calorie Control Tip #3

Dec 11, 2009

So far we’ve talked about creating a PLAN to control your calorie intake during the holidays. And part of that plan was really watching your alcohol intake because it can lead to bad eating decisions.

Now let’s talk more about enjoyment. Yes, you CAN enjoy your favorite foods. But enjoy them by savoring them, not devouring them.

Chew your food slowly.

That might not seem it, but that is a BIG TIME tip.

Enjoy your favorites by taking your time eating them. That may mean finding a quiet space to eat when at a loud party. But it will be worth the little bit of extra effort.

It’s going to take about 20 minutes for your stomach to signal your brain that you are full. So take your time. Enjoy every bite with zero guilt.

Again, this might seem too simple, but it’s not. It really can be this easy if you stay focused on your plan.

Also, remember that TONIGHT is the last day to save 15% on ALL of Prograde Nutrition’s awesome products. Their huge Holiday Sale ends at 11:59pm EST.

http://lifesportfitness.getprograde.com/specials.html

Yours in health,

Becky

PS – Again, Prograde Nutrition’s HUGE Holiday Savings ends TONIGHT. As a proud Prograde Partner I really cannot recommend their products enough. This is the first time I’ve seen them do a 15% discount off all their products like they are this week–not sure when they’ll do it again.

http://lifesportfitness.getprograde.com/specials.html


Holiday Calorie Control Tip #2

Dec 10, 2009

Yesterday we discussed how crucial it is for you to have a PLAN to control your calorie intake during the holidays. Today’s tip is even more simple and expands on the premise.

Plan on staying control of your alcohol intake.

Look, a drink or two isn’t going to be the end of the world. But when two turns to three in a night…… or two every night for three nights straight….well…..it’s gonna hit you in the waistline.

I’m not getting on my soap box here. I’m just telling you something you already know:

Too much alcohol not only adds up to too many calories, it leads to bad decisions. And in this case, we’re talking about bad eating decisions.

When alcohol enters the equation even the best laid plans crumble. The extra calories from the cocktails is one thing. But really it’s the extra calories you chew that start to add up.

One piece of cake turns to two…

A handful of chips turns into a a bag…

The dip sitting in front of you mysteriously vanishes…into your belly…

You get the picture. 😉

Over-indulging in alcohol leads to disintegration of your resolve and control.

That said………..

Have fun. Enjoy yourself. Just be conscious of what alcohol does to your decision making. Stay in control.

Yours in health,

Becky

PS – Remember, Prograde Nutrition’s HUGE Holiday Savings ends TOMORROW night. You definitely want to get over to http://lifesportfitness.getprograde.com/specials.html right NOW and place you order to save 15% on all their killer products. It’s my duty as a proud Prograde Partner to remind you ;-).  I’m going to stock up on EFA-Icon (fish oil) myself!