214-736-9365 info@electwellness.com
It’s a Terrible Resolution…

It’s a Terrible Resolution…

confused
If you are anything like millions of other Americans, either “lose weight” or “get in shape” was near the top of your New Year’s resolution list.
.
But, a common goal doesn’t mean common success. In fact, in this case, it means common failure. That’s right, 92% of people will fail to make their New Year’s resolution a reality.
.
The question becomes then, how do you become part of the 8% that succeed?
.
Start with this: recognize that “Lose Weight” is simply a terrible resolution.
Why would a health & fitness business owner say that? Well, what are you resolving to DO ?  Because you can’t just tell your body to “lose weight!”
.
Your body decides when it wants to lose weight, not you (that’s the bad news) … and it does it in response to your actions, not your desires. (that’s the good news – you can influence it!)
.
Out of all the posts, blogs, updates, and videos I post, if you remember one thing, remember this:
.
Body change follows behavior change.
.
It does not precede it, nor does it come beside it. It FOLLOWS it. Every time.
.
So why are we always trying to “re-position the carriage, instead of directing the horse?”
.
The horse, in this metaphor, is behavior change, and the carriage is the body. Furthermore, your mind is much like the carriage driver.  It’s resides on the top of the body and has the power to both choose and direct the horse that he or she selects. But the carriage (and subsequently the driver) doesn’t go anywhere that the horse doesn’t go first.
.
Here’s an example of 3 common and well-intentioned resolutions, that just so happen to be doomed for failure, if they are not tied to actionable resolutions:
.
Lose Weight
Improve Health
Get off Medications
.
Why are they “doomed?”  Because they are RESULTS of necessary actions, not the actions themselves.
.
Think about it. You are resolving to see the results of certain actions, without resolving to take any specific actions.  Crazy, when you think about it, isn’t it?
.
 
Body change should be the RESULT of your resolution(s), not the actual resolution itself.
.
With that in mind, here’s the 3 resolutions that will reward you with the 3 good intentions previously mentioned:
.
1) Exercise for 45 minutes a day, 4 days a week
2) Record & review what I eat & how I feel, daily
3) Assess myself routinely and chart my progress
.
Put a structure in place that causes the consistent application of these resolutions, and you’ll join the elite 8%
 
12 Tips of Christmas

12 Tips of Christmas

Healthy LivingTips

In light of a French chant that became a popular English carol, we’re giving you 12 health tips, loosely based on the song that celebrates the twelve traditional festive days of Christmas:

A Partridge in a Pear Tree The perfect snack is a lean protein source and a piece of fruit, like turkey jerky & a pear. Fruit is also a great dessert. Slice a pear (or an apple), sprinkle with some cinnamon and stevia, and microwave for a couple minutes. You could even top the fruit with some oats or low-fat granola.

2 Turtle Doves Doves are a sign of peace. While the holidays are supposed to be a joyous and enjoyable time of year, preparation and travel often add to our stress levels. This stress releases within our bodies the damaging hormone called cortisol. Sometimes family expectations over the holidays can increase stress. Remember the real reason for the season: a perfect gift for imperfect people. That proper perspective helps us forgive, which is the best weapon against stress, whether it’s forgiving others, or yourself.

3 French Hens Poultry is a great lean protein source and makes a good substitute for ham. Focus on the white meat, and avoid eating the skin. This will save you tons of calories from fat, especially the saturated kind.

4 Calling Birds Finish drinking before the “last call.” Drink alcohol in moderation, avoid high-calorie mixers like juice and soda, and sip on water between drinks to help you stay hydrated. Focus on the fellowship with friends and family more than the drink in your hand.

5 Golden Rings Golden rings remind me of commitment. Indecision and a wayward mind are unhealthy. The holidays are no time to let your commitments slide, especially commitments that keep you healthy. Disease doesn’t take a holiday break. In fact, it often gains its greatest advantage while people put healthy habits on pause, while eating poorly to boot. Keep your commitments and benefit from your fortitude.

6 Geese A-Laying Eggs are a great protein source because they have all nine essential amino acids, are easily digestible, and can be very low-calorie if you avoid the yolk. Keep eggs or natural egg whites around for a quick protein-packed breakfast, or include a hardboiled egg white at a snack or on a salad.

7 Swans A-Swimming Swimming is a full-body workout, has low impact on joints and can be a cardiovascular and resistance workout all in one! Try out water aerobics to include more resistance training, or swim consecutive laps for a great cardiovascular workout.

8 Maids A-Milking There are many different kinds of milks and milk products available. Organic skim milk, non-fat Greek yogurt, and low-fat cottage cheese are highly recommended protein sources. If dairy causes you to have stomach upset or congestion, try unsweetened almond milk for a lower-calorie, high-antioxidant calcium alternative.

9 Ladies Dancing Don’t make your celebrations solely about food. Get your friends and family together during the holiday to engage in some group exercise. Soccer, football, tennis, golf, even dancing are fun ways to get everyone together while burning some calories. You’ll be amazed at how much better you feel.

10 Lords A-Leaping Leap into the New Year with some new health and fitness goals. Set a new goal weight or eliminate a food item you know negatively impacts your health or desired results. Why not sign up now for a 5k, half marathon, or the full 26 miles? Nothing is more motivating than knowing that day is on the calendar!

11 Pipers Piping Obviously smoking is terrible for you. But what about smoked meats? As alluring as they can be, they are filled with cancer-causing nitrites and nitrates. If you simply can’t resist, eat just the meat and avoid the blackened skin. Also avoid cured and preserved meats that have “nitrite” or “nitrate” in the ingredient list. These compounds react with amino acids in the body to create a compound called a nitrosamine, a potent carcinogen that your body must deal with.

12 Drummers Drumming If you are getting headaches or even migraines that feel like 12 drummers drumming in your head, think about how your diet may be influencing and/or instigating your pain. Are you drinking enough water, taking a multivitamin, getting essential fats, avoiding preservatives like MSG, getting enough sleep, avoiding or at least timing your caffeine intake, and restricting alcohol consumption? If you answer no to any of these, you are opening the door to drummers in your head.

Next time you hear the song, see if you can recall these tips. Repetition is the key to learning. But more importantly, APPLICATION is the key to benefitting!

Most Vital day of Year for Exercise

Most Vital day of Year for Exercise

That’s right! If you don’t have some serious physical activity planned the day before Thanksgiving, get planning. Here’s why:

I’m sure you’ve heard by now that tomorrow, on Thanksgiving, the average American will consume 4500 calories and about 230 grams of fat. (the avergae caloric intake of a 450 lb man)

For those looking to at least maintain or even lose weight, the common strategy is to “work it off” after the fact. Well, you can get it done … but that will require 3x the effort than “working it off” BEFORE the fact.

Here is an important “fitness parable” that will explain what I mean. Picture it this way:

It’s your job to maintain the balance of liquid water in a bucket, not letting any convert to ice by spilling over onto the freezing ground. Of course you don’t want to completely run out of liquid water either – but that’s not a big concern considering you are getting it refilled 3-5x/day. Right now, your bucket is about 90% full because you are doing a good job of continually siphoning out water. Kudos.

Thanksgiving feast

Here’s the problem: your family has a plan to sabotage the balance of your bucket tomorrow. (what!?)  Yep, they are planning on dumping a whole 50% of your bucket’s TOTAL capacity into it … in one day!  That’s a problem, considering you are already 90% full.  How do you plan to cope with that impending mess?

You’ve got 2 options:

1. Siphon out about 50% of the water currently in your bucket, creating a demand for the water that’s coming tomorrow, thereby avoiding any mess.

or…

2. Go ahead and let the bucket overflow, and endure the conversion of the liquid water to dangerous ice. Then start chiseling away and melting the ice so you can pour it back into your bucket – all the while siphoning out enough to make room in the bucket for water that once was ice. Finally, do some serious siphoning to get back to balance.

It’s your call, but it would be a heck of a lot easier to exercise intensely today in order to drain your bucket [i.e. muscles and liver], creating room and demand for the extra water (calories/glucose) coming tomorrow … than to let those extra calories (liquid water) convert to stored body fat (ice) … which you’ll have to breakdown (chisel) to liquid water (calories) before you even can siphon them out (burn) them again.

I took the hard route to explain a simple point, but I wanted you to realize how much easier it is to use exercise as a preventive activity vs. a curative activity. Exercise BEFORE over-eating is a MUCH more efficient strategy to maintain weight than exercise AFTER overeating. A few reasons include the positives of elevated resting metabolism, exercise post-oxygen consumption, and the caloric demand of muscle fiber repair. Not to mention, avoiding the extreme negative of new fat cell creation.

So if it has to be one or the other (both is best), challenge yourself physically BEFORE the big meal. Let’s face it, it’s much more likely to happen before we clobber ourselves with food, anyway :)

Client Types: Results will be Relative

The Ownership Client:  This client understands that their improvements in health and fitness are ultimately up to them, and they accept that any decline in the same is their own fault. They look at their trainer and nutritionist as educated professionals who can provide information, motivation, structure, and accountability that they need to change. This client appreciates having the “mirror” held to them and seeing what behaviors they need to modify in order to modify their body. This client trains their upper body when their lower body is injured, and exercises when feeling under the weather in order to heal faster. This client schedules an extra session for the week to help relieve stress at work and get energized to better deal with it. When necessary, this client reschedules sessions with their trainer instead of just canceling. This client logs their diet on their smartphone when they can’t get to a desktop computer. They write their diet on a 3×5 when their phone doesn’t have internet. Ultimately, this client sees tremendous results, and usually quickly.
.
Results not excuses sign
The Excuse Client: This client has a great reason for everything they haven’t done. They have an excuse for every session they miss. Although only their ankle is injured, they use it as a chance to not train the rest of their body. Although exercise is good for congestion, they take it as an opportunity to skip again. Instead of negotiating an intensity change with their trainer on rough days, they throw out exercise altogether. They “can’t” train while they are out of town, even though sessions are offered via facetime, skype, or tango. If their regular time doesn’t work on a given day, they use it as an excuse to cancel altogether instead of pitching their trainer some other time options. Instead of logging their diet via their smart phone when they are away from their usual computer, they use it as an excuse to not log their food at all. Basically, in their array of excuses, this client ultimately excuses themselves from results. On top of that, they usually excuse themselves from responsibility in the end as well.
.
The Accountability Client:  This client yearns for someone to watch their every move. They enjoy sharing their problems and struggles, whether or not they ever act on fixing or overcoming them. They want someone with them every step of the way, although they often want to be the one leading the steps and deciding which way they go. Company on their journey is more important than their destination. This is the type of client that would take their trainer everywhere if they could swing the expense, instead of having to implement self-control or self-discipline. When this client gets off track, it’s because someone wasn’t hovering over them and protecting them from themselves. This client seeks out more and more “umbrellas,” instead of getting out of the rain. This client can see results, but better have an endless supply of time and money.
.
The Critical Client: This client is skeptical of every piece of advice that comes their way from the very professionals they hired to help them them. Instead of applying the advice they hear, they seek out sources to try to disprove it. They waste a lot of time and energy arguing with the person who is only trying to help them. They manufacture crazy dramas and storyboards that even include their trainer and nutritionist wanting them to stay out of shape, as if that would somehow profit a fitness business more than delivering amazing results. This person usually sees very slow change if any. However, they do learn a lot and will dodge a fair share of health-destroying bullets. Even then, they will often spend more time coaching friends and family instead of putting into practice their accumulated knowledge. This client has been categorizing their acquaintances since they started reading the post, while usually putting themselves into category 1.
.
The Blame Client: This client is out of shape because of the genes their parents and grandparents handed down. They have diabetes, cancer, or heart disease because it “runs in their family.” They don’t eat right because their spouse doesn’t eat right. They keep junk food in the house because of their kids. They don’t lose weight because their trainer doesn’t have them doing zumba on one leg, upside down, on the new vibration machine, while wearing the thermogenic ab belt. They don’t improve their diet because their nutritionist doesn’t give them enough healthy recipes. They don’t drink a protein shake because the manufacturers can’t make one that tastes good. They don’t record their diet because the software developer didn’t make it user friendly enough. They drink alcohol because of the clients they have to entertain. They can’t stay in shape because their boss makes them travel. They are only fat because of stress (and their parents, who also must have been stressed). This client client will blame their trainer and nutritionist if they don’t see progress. A tough “don’t buy the blame” and “nothing to lose anyway” approach is needed from coaches to be successful.
.
The Denial Client: This client believes that the assessment process must have been flawed. There is no way that they are that % body fat! They think that hitting their ideal body composition will leave them a “sickly” lightweight. They think that they have just as much muscle now that they had in their 20’s, even though trying to bench or squat what they did then would crush them. They believe that because they “haven’t weighed that since high school” that they shouldn’t be that weight today. They don’t like to look in mirrors too long. They often won’t share what the scale says, even though the world can see them every day. They either wear baggy clothes and think they look good, or are in such denial that they wear too-skimpy or too-tight stuff as some would say – about “30 pounds” too early. The good news is that these clients can see great results because they are proven visionaries, but only after facing and accepting the real facts of the current situation. Looking at their own all-sides photos in a swimming suit is beneficial. Studying photos of people at 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50% body fat and comparing to their own helps motivate as well.
How do You Get Energy to Start a Country? 2 Hours at a Time, Rain or Shine

How do You Get Energy to Start a Country? 2 Hours at a Time, Rain or Shine

Thomas Jefferson

So what was Thomas Jefferson’s “secret?” It was exercise. (how convenient for us, eh?) Furthermore, he was SERIOUS about it. Two-hours-a-day serious about it. Let this collection of his quotes on the matter educate and motivate you. Don’t cheat yourself by only reading a few short ones. Take 2 minutes and read them all. It’s interesting to read one’s perspective from so long ago, when horses instead of cars were used for transportation.

 

He warned against the gain of disease, and the loss of happiness – both results of avoiding exercise:

 

“Your love of repose will lead, in its progress, to a suspension of healthy exercise, a relaxation of mind, an indifference to everything around you, and finally to a debility of body, and hebetude of mind …”

 

He noticed that exercising people had better friendships:

“Exercise and application produce order in our affairs, health of body, chearfulness of mind, and these make us precious to our friends …”

 

He saw the decline in people’s health when replacing walking with “sitting” to get places:

“The Europeans value themselves on having subdued the horse to the uses of man. But I doubt whether we have not lost more than we have gained by the use of this animal. No one has occasioned so much the degeneracy of the human body. An Indian goes on foot nearly as far in a day, for a long journey, as an enfeebled white does on his horse, and he will tire the best horses. There is no habit you will value so much as that of walking far without fatigue.”

 

He purposely left time in the day for exercise:

“… leaving all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading; I will rather say more necessary, because health is worth more than learning.”

 

He understood the influence of the body on the mind, and the mind’s dependence on the body:

“I give more time to exercise of the body than of the mind, believing it wholesome to both.”

 

He didn’t buy the popular misconceptions of the day regarding illness, and accepted no excuse not to exercise:

“Not less than two hours a day should be devoted to exercise, and the weather should be little regarded. A person not sick will not be injured by getting wet. It is but taking a cold bath, which never gives a cold to any one. Brute animals are the most healthy, and they are exposed to all weather, and of men, those are healthiest who are the most exposed. The recipe of those two descriptions of beings is simple diet, exercise and the open air, be it’s state what it will; and we may venture to say that this recipe will give health and vigor to every other description.”

 

He recognized the benefits of resistance training, and the response of a muscle group to challenge:

“Encourage all your virtuous dispositions, and exercise them whenever an opportunity arises, being assured that they will gain strength by exercise as a limb of the body does, and that exercise will make them habitual…Give about two of them [hours] every day to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes the mind strong …”

 

He was serious about his exercise, and recognized the importance of recording progress in even the simplest activity:

“I step a French mile of 1000 toises = 6408 Eng.f. in 1053 double steps. This yields 3f. & 1/2I. English to the step and 1735 steps to the mile. I walk a French mile in 17 1/2 minutes. A French mile is = 1.21 or 1 1/4 Eng. miles. I walk then at a rate of 4 3/20 miles or 4.mi.264 yards an hour. Walking moderately in the summer I walked a Fr. mile of 1000 T = 6408 f. in 1254. steps and in 26′. That gives 2.55 f. to the step and 2066 1/2 steps to the Eng. mile 1735 the brisk walk of winter 331… “

 

He gave great advice to those concerned about starting exercise, when they hadn’t done much before:

“No one knows, till he tries, how easily a habit of walking is acquired. A person who never walked three miles will in the course of a month become able to walk 15. or 20. without fatigue. I have known some great walkers and had particular accounts of many more; and I never knew or heard of one who was not healthy and long lived. This species of exercise therefore is much to be advised. Should you be disposed to try it, as your health has been feeble, it will be necessary for you to begin with a little, and to increase it by degrees.”

 

He knew that you had nothing to gain by skipping exercise:

“If the body be feeble, the mind will not be strong. The sovereign invigorator of the body is exercise …”

 

He had to tell people over and over again, because they either didn’t get it, or didn’t do it:

“I repeat my advice to take a great deal of exercise, and on foot. Health is the first requisite after morality.”

50% Diet? 50% Exercise? Dallas Personal Trainer Examines the Contributions to Weight Loss

50% Diet? 50% Exercise? Dallas Personal Trainer Examines the Contributions to Weight Loss

You see all kinds of estimates on weight loss. It’s 50% diet, 50% exercise, or maybe it’s 25% diet, 75% exercise, and so on and so forth. Let’s examine the implications of those statements and come to a deeper understanding of what all affects our weight on a week to week basis. We are about to get technical, but stay with me through this detailed explanation and you at least won’t ever forget the point I’m making. Neither will you doubt it’s validity, and hopefully you’ll act on its truth.

Here’s the WEEKLY WEIGHT BALANCE EQUATION below (apart from the effects of water retention and the thermogenic effects of particular nutrients). Look at the formula below and think about it for a moment (I hope you haven’t forgotten algebraic terms).

weekly weight balance equation

Looking at the left side of the formula:

There are 4 calories in a gram of carbs, 4 in a gram of carbohydrate, 9 in a gram of fat, and 7 in a gram of alcohol. There are also 7 days in a week. Now look at the equation again and you should understand the 1st number of every term on the left side of the equation. The left side is your total “energy in.”

Considering the right side of the formula, now (energy out):

We all have an RMR, or resting metabolic rate, which is the number of calories your body would burn if you were seated in that chair all day long. This RMR is mostly due to your frame, muscle (just 1 of the reasons resistance training is important), and cardio conditioning, while only fractionally due to the amount of fat you are carrying.

Your Lifestyle Activity Factor is the % of calories above your RMR that you burn in your daily activities, outside of purposeful exercise. A construction worker’s LAF might be 80%, or RMR x 1.8, while a software engineer’s LAF might be 20%, or RMR x 1.2.

Your exercise intensity could be expressed by your average caloric burn per workout. For example, you estimate your burn with something like a heart rate monitor and total an average of 600 calories per 45 minute training session. Your exercise frequency, obviously, is the number of times in a week you do that exercise and burn those 600 calories.

Let’s bring this formula to life for a moment. Consider a typical 250 lb male eating 2500 calories a day. (if that sounds high, record your diet for a while and you might be surprised to see where you are at). If that person is eating the usual 15% protein, 35% fat, 45% carbs, 5% alcohol, and only 10g of fiber (like many of our clients when they start with us), here’s what their left side number equates to:

17,220 calories of “energy in”

Now if that same person has an RMR of 1700 and works in front of a computer all day long, while only exercising 2 days a week and burning 300 calories per session, their right side number equates to:

14,888 calories of “energy out”

That, my friends, yields:

2,332 calories to be stored WEEKLY

There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat, which means that this person would gain:

.67 pounds of fat gained per week, or 35 lbs in a year!

Let’s increase their exercise intensity to 500 per workout, and double their frequency to 4x / week. What do we get? An energy expenditure of 16,280, and a weekly extra 1392 calories to be stored:

.40 pounds of fat gained per week, or 21 lbs still gained in a year!

So what shall we do? Change our eating habits? Hek no! (an all too common answer – or, “I don’t eat that bad.”) Ok, let’s just workout 6 days a week, same new intensity. What do we get? An energy expenditure of 17,280, and a weekly BURN of 60 calories. Yeah! (read: sarcasm)

That’s a weekly weight loss of .01 lbs a week, or 1/2 a pound per year!! Excited yet?

I think you see my point. Why do you suppose so many are frustrated by the weight loss they see, or should I say don’t see, on exercise only programs?

The percentage of your weight loss that is due to eating right, and the % that is due to exercise, all depends on the depth of the changes you make in either arena. But I can tell you this, and you can SEE this now:

It is VERY DIFFICULT to change the scale on exercise alone!

So LET’S JUST SAY (read in Ron White’s voice) this person followed a more comprehensive approach and reduced their calories to 1800, making it easy by saying goodbye to alcohol most days of the week, tripling their daily fiber with quality carbs to stay full, and reducing their fat intake to 20% to make room for 35% protein. Let’s have them exercising just the minimum recommended MOST days of the week (that = 4). What does our math look like then?

11,760 energy calories in and 16,280 energy calories out, and

a weekly weight loss of 1.29 lbs per week, or 67 lbs lost in a year!

Now that’s something to get excited about :)