Where Are You?

It's a simple question, but let me be more specific.

Where are you...

• in your fitness,
• in your diet,
• in your personal commitment,
• in your self discipline
• in your LIFE?

Where ever you are, are you where you want to be?

Here's an interesting view of human nature.

There is one's "intention" and then there is one's "action". Everyone has good intentions. For example, nearly everyone I know has started a diet or a fitness
program at one time or another. That part is easy.

You might say to yourself, "I'm going to go to boot camp and finally get fit". That's the having good intentions part. But having good intentions won't get you in great shape. That part takes action.

ACTIONS are very different. Let's say you intend to take a Free Trial Boot Camp class, or come to a Saturday morning boot camp, or join us on a Sunday morning hike, but week after week, you never make it to an event.

So what happened?

On Saturday morning you couldn't get up, or just decided to sleep in. Perhaps you wanted to do something else altogether. Perhaps you live farther away than you realized. What ever your reasons, there is a "disconnect" between what you intended to do and what you actually ended up doing.

There are many of you who have attended boot camp and some of you have traveled from a great distance to do so. I am so very appreciative of your energy and drive and I wish you much success in all of your fitness endeavors. In short, you rock!

Many of our Saturday boot campers have been dedicated and solid athletes too. Always a pleasure to have you join us when ever you can. And many of our daily boot campers are long term dedicated members that are also my friends and "family" at this point.

For those of you who have been intending to come to boot camp, but have not yet taken action I have a small favor to ask of you. Write to me. Yes, please write to me and tell me any or all of the following.

1. Why you have never attended a boot camp.

2. What you expect or need from a fitness program.

3. What can I do to help you?

I have two main objectives. First is to get people into awesome physical shape. Second is to have them become raving fans about our program and tell the world!

But I can't do that unless you show up. So let me hear from you! To our newest members Jessica, Ricardo, Denise, Amy Arup, and Domenick, I want to hear from
you too!

I want to share with you something from my own life's experience. You see at one time I was a mess.

I was 35 pounds "over fat" with bad knees, a bad back, and a bad disposition. In short, I was miserable. You see, life had not turned out as I expected and I blamed

people and circumstances for everything. I was also a complainer. BTW, have you ever complained or blamed someone else for something? Right, silly question.

One day it dawned on me that no one was going to show up, take me by the hand and lead me to a solution. I eventually developed enough pain in my mind and body
that I absolutely had to change. I could no longer go on living this way. I was terrified when I realized that it was up to me and only me if I was going to change my life.

Common sense told me to get some exercise, so the first thing I did was join a gym and begin to work out. It was a slow and painful start, but within a few months
I began to feel better. Boy was it hard. My shoulders felt like they were 90 and my knees were on fire. I injured myself multiple times too. But the one thing that kept
me going was that in spite of the pain, I felt good inside. I had a renewed vitality. There was something chemical going on in my body and my brain and I wanted more of it.

Here it is 12 years later. I am a full time fitness professional with my own business and connecting with people. I'm far away from where I started and life gets better all the time.

You have a story too. Maybe you are where I was, or worse. Maybe you think no one cares. Some one does care and that someone is the most important person in your life. IT"S YOU SILLY! And BTW, the person who looks me in the eye and says, "NO Larry, I really don't care" is either lying to me, themselves, or both.

The next thing you need to do is make a decision, a decision to change once and for all. No more BS. It's time to stop making excuses and start getting BUSY getting

results. Making a decision is HUGE! Don't underestimate the power of it. It's also an "action" :-)

Once you make that decision, send me and email and tell me that you have once and for all decided to stop and get off the merry-go-round. I'll read your email and I'll personally write back to you. I really do care that much.

Then, plan on coming to a Free Trial Boot Camp or a Saturday morning boot camp. Plan on it being challenging. Plan on being sore and feeling uncomfortable at first.
But also, plan on transforming your health and your life.

Think you've got it tough?

Our new trainer Andrea was once 310 pounds. I kid you not. Now she is a force to be reckoned with. She is also training to be a body building competitor! How awesome is that? Talk about doing a 180!

Andrea's journey is one of triumph. She is a strong willed and determined woman who has faced her fears and found the courage and tenacity within herself to
change her life. Her story is nothing short of amazing.

I'm not trying to impress you, I'm trying to impress upon you that Andrea is just like you. I am just like you. If we can overcome our adversities, so can you. And now you will have the benefit of our experience to help you along the way.

A good place to begin.

- Believe in yourself.

- Believe you can do this. (because you can.)

- Believe that we have a system that works, (because we've proven it over
and over again)

- Begin and follow through.

If you want our help, we're here for you. As we move into 2010 our members will be comprised of individuals who want health, a dynamic life, and an awesome body.

So now where are you?

Press on!

How About a Nice Kick in the Pants?

Any one who knows me knows that I truly like helping people. I listen to many stories people share with me about their lives. It never ceases to amaze me the conviction that many have about their beliefs in regard to what they "can't do". Imagine if we could turn that thought process around. Wouldn't that be something? What if every time you spoke a limiting belief about yourself, a big boot came out of nowhere and gave you a swift kick in the "you know what". That might change things a bit, don't you think?

We're all different, and our challenges are not the same either. Truth be told, some people really do have some serious challenges. It could be life-threatening illness or a family member that is sick, or an aging parent. There are only so many hours in the day and some circumstances just demand our time and emotions. So just to be clear, I'm referring to those among us who "believe" they have challenges and feel stuck. But the truth is they have more options than they realize if they could just learn how to get out of their own way.

Here's a few examples.

I want to lose weight, but - -

(the don't list)
I don't like to work out.
I don't like to get up early.
I don't like to cook.
I don't like vegetables.
I don't like to lift weights.
I don't like the gym.
I don't have the time.
I don't like to sweat.

(time constraints)
I work too many hours.
I have children to take care of.
I'm a single parent.
I work nights.

(physical limitations)
I'm too tired.
I've got flat feet.
I have a bad back.
I have tennis elbow.
-insert any previous injury here. Some are legitimate and some are
just an excuse and are based in the fear of getting reinjured.


(it's not my fault)
My wife won't let me. (husband, boss, brother, sister, etc.)
I want to, but it just doesn't work for me.
I've tried that before. (and it just didn't work for me).
Lifting weights makes me too "bulky".
I can't give up my wine at night.
My spouse won't help or support me, so why bother?
I can't eat breakfast if I'm not hungry.
I can't drink water if I'm not thirsty.
I don't like the taste of water.
I don't like having to go to the bathroom so frequently.
I can't afford a trainer or a gym membership.
I have bad genetics.
I am big-boned.
I'm not a morning person.

Some of these reasons may seem funny to you. But to the person who has come to believe and live any one of these self-limiting beliefs, there's nothing funny about it. They are just stuck!

The truth is that sometimes we will tell ourselves whatever we need to believe so that we don't have to try.

I've been there. When I think about my life and looking back, I was very good at making excuses for my lack of time and lack of money, lack of opportunities and the list goes on and on. Talk about living in lack, I was the king of excuses!

My knees and lower back were in pain. In fact, I had a very common case of "donelaps disease". That's a condition you get from over eating where your stomach "done laps over your belt". (wink)

I felt lousy, my emotions went up and down like mercury in a thermometer and my mood often swung like a sledge hammer. I would grind my teeth in my sleep and I felt old before my time. The sad part was that I was only in my mid-thirties!

1) Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life

When I finally got it into my thick skull that I alone was responsible for my life AND I actually started to take responsibility, things began to change. And they began to change rapidly!

No more complaining, no more blaming, no more excuses! Try doing that for just one day!! It's very difficult to do. Our habits of finding fault with others, ie., bosses, the economy, the weather, our kids, circumstances, parents, our upbringing, past traumas, and on-and-on are so ingrained, it's truly an uphill battle to put on the brakes.

In order to accomplish this, you have to accept 100% responsibility for everything in your life. That means that everything that you have (both good and bad) in your life, you are responsible for, even if you don't understand why. The two ways to do this are:

- Stop complaining

- Stop blaming


2) Know What You Want

This is absolutely key, because if you want to make life altering changes, you have to be 100% committed to the end result. There can be no middle ground, no settling for second best. And to do this you must have a clear picture in your mind of what it is that you want.

3) Make a List of Reasons WHY You Need to Succeed

Do You Know Your 'Why'?

Maybe you want to start your own business, maybe you want to change your body composition, or be the best in any other form of endeavor. In your personal relationships maybe? Maybe you're like me? If you start something you want to do two things:

- Enjoy it
- Be hugely successful at it

If you don't know WHY you want to do something then you you will never stick it out to see it through. Your reasons WHY must be big and powerful. When is comes to losing fat and getting lean, it's these reasons why that will carry you above your temptations to eat and drink foods that work against you. The saying "old habits die hard" is absolutely true. But when you know why you want to lose 50lbs for example, you will not succumb to the habits that do not support your goals if your reasons why you need to succeed are powerful enough.

4) Make Your Why Crystal Clear

Your reasons should be crystal clear. Does they propel you forward?
Does your Why help overcome your fears and doubt's, your tendency to procrastinate maybe?

Dwell on your Dream! What is it that motivates you, brings joy to your heart, maybe tears to your eyes. Feel the emotion! Write down what it is and WHY! This is really important. It will clarify your thinking and crystallize your dream, making it real and it will motivate you to take the consistent action that is needed.

5) What Do You Value?

What is it that you value most? Would having a lean muscular body change the quality of your life? Are you willing to make sacrifices to have that dream body? It will take work. It will be hard. You will be sore. But it will be worth it. Oh yes, it will be so worth it.

You need to find what you value most, shift your priorities, and stop doing the things that sabotage your efforts. You need to once and for all focus and realize that whatever it is that you want in life, you are going to have to go and get it yourself. No one is going to show up and take you by the hand or do it for you. It's up to you and that's the way it's always been.

So if you are not happy with your weight, who's to blame?

If you are not happy with your bank account, who's fault is that?

If you are not happy with your personal relationships, who are you pointing a finger at?

It's YOU, it's always been you. So stop blaming anyone else, stop complaining and step up to the plate and take responsibility for everything in your life.

The solution to your challenges is within you. That's where it's been all along. So whatever it is you are serious about doing or changing in your life I hope you take this message to heart. Once you start this journey you'll change your life in powerful ways. One you'll look back on where you once were and you'll smile. Just don't forget to help someone else along the way.

Why Am I Not Losing Weight?

I'm often asked, "If I'm under eating and exercising, why am I not
losing weight (body fat)?" Here's a simplified explanation based on
the science.

First of all, under eating is just like being on a diet. It's
important to have a baseline of nutrition to meet metabolic needs.
So it's vital to know how many calories you need to consume
each day to maintain, build, or lose, depending on your goals. As
we are talking about improving body composition, (muscle-to-fat
ratio) this is especially significant.

If your body does not have adequate calories coming in from
glucose (carbs), then it converts amino acids (protein) found in
the lean muscle to a usable form of energy. By adding in exercise,
your body requires more calories and therefore will burn muscle
faster since there is an inadequate supply of glucose/glycogen.

When muscle is broken down and burned, the body loses its primary
calorie burning machinery, therefore slowing the metabolism. So
initially you may see weight loss, as you lose muscle. Then the
metabolism slows (due to lost muscle) and you stop losing weight.
The entire time, your body composition has actually increased the
percent of fat because you're losing more muscle than fat.

By increasing your calories from glucose to the appropriate level,
your body will use glucose and stored glycogen for energy, sparing
your muscle/lean mass. By then adding in appropriate exercise
(muscle-strengthening resistance training and cardio), your body
continues to burn glucose (carbs) and fat at an optimal rate, while
also building lean mass. The body's additional lean muscle mass
leads to more calorie burning machinery and therefore more fat
being burned. This may not show on the scale (especially
initially) but will be evident in inches lost and a decrease in
body fat percentage.

This is where Isagenix can make a big impact in the process of
helping the body to release fat weight. Isagenix as a system helps
reduce calories, which is also what typical diets do. But where
many diets fall short, Isagenix has a positive impact on LMM. In
fact, Isagenix is not only LMM sparing, it's muscle building!

I also recommend that you use the following calculation in
conjunction with body composition measures. This calculation helps
bridge the difference between scale weight and body fat:


1. Take your weight and multiply it by your percent body fat as a
decimal. For example: 160 pounds x .25 (if body fat is 25%) = 40
pounds of fat.

2. The rest of the weight is LMM (Lean Muscle Mass-muscle, bones,
etc).

So 160 pounds - 40 pounds = 120 pounds of LMM.

As you fuel your body properly, watch your lean muscle mass weight
increase and the body fat weight decrease.

What The New "Low-Carb" Study REALLY Says

When it comes to fat loss, Tom Venuto is truly an internationally known expert and foremost authority. Enjoy the article.
-LW


By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS

www.BurnTheFat.com

A news media feeding frenzy erupted recently when a new diet study broke in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). Almost all the reporters got it wrong, wrong WRONG! So did most of the gloating low carb forumites and bloggers. Come to think of it, almost everyone interpreted this study wrong. Some valuable insights came out of this study, but almost everyone missed them because they were too busy believing what the news said or defending their own cherished belief systems …

The new study, titled, “Weight Loss With a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet” was published in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in issue 359, number 3.

I quickly read the full text of the research paper the day it was published. Then, I shook my head in dismay as I scanned the news headlines. I found it amusing that the media turned this into a three ring circus, putting a misleading “low carb versus high carb,” “Atkins vindicated” or “Diet wars” spin on the story. But that’s mainstream journalism for you, right? Gotta sell those papers!

Just look at some of these headlines:

“Study Tips Scales in Atkins Diets Favor: Low Carb Regimen Better Than Low Fat Diet For Weight And Cholesterol, Major Study Shows. “

“Low-Carb and Low-Fat Diets Face Off “ “The Never-Ending Diet Wars” “Low Carb Beats Low Fat in Diet Duel.” “Atkins Diet is Safe and Far More Effective Than a Low-Fat One, Study Says” “Unrestricted Low-Carb Diet Wins Hands Down” Some of these headlines are hilarious! I wonder if any of these reporters actually read the whole study. Geez. Is it too much trouble to read 13 pages before you write a story that will be read by millions of already confused people suffering the pain and frustration of obesity?

Here’s a quick look at the study design.

The low fat restricted calorie diet was based on American Heart Association guidelines. Calorie intake was set at 1500 for women, 1800 a day for men with 30% of calories from fat, and only 10% from saturated fat. Participants were instructed to eat low fat grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes and to limit their consumption of additional fats, sweets and high fat snacks.

The Mediterranean diet group was placed on a moderate fat, restricted calorie program rich in vegetables and low in red meat, with poultry and fish replacing beef and lamb. Energy intake was restricted to 1500 calories per day for women and 1800 calories per day for men with a goal of no more than 35% of calorie from fat. Added fat came mostly from nuts and olive oil.

The low carb diet was a non-restricted calorie plan aimed at providing 20 grams of carbs per day for the 2 month induction phase with a gradual increase to 120 grams per day to maintain the weight loss. Intakes of total calories, protein and fat were not limited. However, the participants were counseled to choose vegetarian sources of protein (more on that bizarre-twist shortly).

The study subjects were mostly male (86%), overweight (BMI 31) and middle age (mean age 52)

Here were the study results:

There were some health improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure and other parameters in the Mediterranean and low carb group that bested the high carb group. That was the focus of many articles and discussions that appeared on the net this week. However, I’d like to focus on the weight loss aspect as I’m not a medical doctor and fat loss is the primary subject matter of this website. All three groups lost weight. The low carb group lost 5.5 kilos, the Mediterranean group lost 4.6 kilos and the low fat group lost 3.3 kilograms…. IN TWO YEARS! Whoopee!

My conclusion would be that the results were similar and that none of the diets worked very well over the long term!

Amanda Gardner of the US News and World Report Health Day was one of the few reporters who got it right:

“Diet plans produce similar results: Study finds Mediterranean and low-carb diets work just as well as low fat ones.”

Tara Parker-Pope of the New York Times also came close with her headline:

“Long term diet study suggests success is hard to come by: In a tightly controlled experiment, obese people lost an average of just 6 to 10 pounds over two years.”

Even this headline wasn’t 100% accurate. The study was HARDLY tightly controlled. Tightly controlled means metabolic ward studies where the researchers actually count and control the calorie intake.

The problem is, you can’t lock people in a hospital or research center ward for two years. So in this study, they used a food frequency questionnaire. Sure, like we believe what people report about their eating habits at restaurants and at home behind closed doors! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

“No! I swear Dr. Schwarzfuchs! I swear I didn’t eat those donuts over the weekend! I stayed on my Mediterranean diet. Honest!”

One of the most firmly established facts in dietetics research is that almost everyone underreports their food intake BADLY, sometimes by as much as 50%. I’m not saying everyone “lies,” they just forget or don’t know. In fact, this underreporting of calorie intake is such a huge problem that it makes obesity research very difficult to do and conclusions difficult to draw from free-living studies. Another blunder in the news reports is that this study didn’t really follow Atkins diet parameters OR even the traditional low fat diet for that matter, so it’s not an “Atkin’s versus Ornish” showdown at all. If you actually take the time to read the full text of the research paper it doesn’t say ANYTHING like, “Atkins is the best after all.” That’s the spin that some of the news media cooked up (and what the Atkins foundation was hoping for). It says, “The diet was based on the Atkins diet.” However, the sentence right before that says, “The participants were counseled to choose vegetarian sources of fat and protein.” Vegetarian Atkins? The chart on page 236 says the low carb diet provided 40% of calories from carbs at 6, 12 and 24 months. If I’m reading that data properly, then the only low carb period was a brief induction phase in the very beginning. Does that sound like Atkins? 40% carb sounds more like the Zone diet or my own Burn The Fat program to me.

The Atkins Foundation, which partially supported this study, told reporters, “We feel vindicated.” HA! They should have paid the reporters and told the researchers they felt ripped off and they wanted a refund for misuse of their research grant!

After carefully reading the full text of this study, there are many interesting findings we could talk about, from the differences in results between men and women to the improvements in health markers. Here’s what the study really says that stood out to me. It’s what I would have talked about if the newspapers or TV stations had called me:

1. “Mediterranean and low carb diets may be effective alternatives to low-fat diets.”

I can agree completely with that statement. All three diets created a calorie deficit. All three groups lost weight. Low carb lost a little more, which is the usual finding because low carb diets often control appetite and calorie intake automatically (you eat less even if you don’t count calories). Also, if body composition is not indicated, there’s an initial water weight loss that makes low carb diets look more effective in the very early stages.

2. “Personal preferences and metabolic considerations might inform individualized tailoring of dietary interventions.”

Absolutely! Nutrition should be individualized based on goals, health status, body type, activity level and numerous other factors. Different people have different phenotypes. Some people are more predisposed to thrive on a low carb approach. Others feel like crap on low carbs and do better with more carbs or a middle of the road approach. Those who dogmatically follow and defend one type of diet or the other are only handcuffing themselves by limiting their options. Iris Shai, a researcher in the study said, “We can’t rely on one diet fits all.” Hmm, far cry from “Atkins wins hands down,” wouldn’t you say?

3. “The rate of adherence to a study diet was 95.4% at 1 year and 84.6% at 2 years.”

THIS was the part of most interest to me. When I read this, immediately I could have cared less about the silly low carb versus high carb wars that the news reporters were jumping on. I wanted to know WHY the subjects were able to stick with it so well. Of course, that’s boring stuff to journalists… adherence? What does that word mean anyway? Yawn - not interesting enough for prime time, I guess. But it was interesting to me, and I hope YOU pay attention to what I found. The authors of the study wrote:

“This trial suggests a model that might be applied more broadly in the workplace. Using the employer as a health coach could be an effective way to improve health. The model of group intervention with the use of dietary group sessions, spousal support, food labels, and monthly weighing in the workplace within the framework of a health promotion campaign might yield weight reduction and long term health benefits.”

Hmmmmm, lets see: * Dietician coaching
* Group meetings
* Motivational phone calls
* Spousal support
* Workplace monitoring (corporate health program)
* Food labels - calorie monitoring
* Weigh-ins (required and monitored)

Wow, everything helpful to long term fat loss that sticks. Can you say, ACCOUNTABILITY? These factors help explain the better adherence.

By the way, the adherence rate for the low carb group was the lowest.

90.4% in low fat group
85.3% in the Mediterranean group
78% in the low carb group

Here’s the bottom line, the way I see it:

First, please, please, please learn how to find and read primary research and take the news media stories with a grain of salt. If you want to know who died, what burned down or what hurricane is coming, tune in to the news – they do a GREAT job at that. If you want to know how to lose weight or improve your health, look up the original research papers instead of taking second hand information at face value.

Second, those who prefer a low carb approach; more power to them. Most studies, this one included, show at the very least that low carb is an option and it’s not necessarily an unhealthy one if done intelligently. I also have no qualms with someone claiming that low carb diets are slightly more effective for weight loss, especially in the short term, free living situations. Is low carb superior for fat loss in the long haul? That’s STILL highly debatable. It’s probably superior for some people, but not for others.

Third, low carb people, listen up! Even if low carb is superior, that doesn’t mean calories don’t count. Deny this at your own peril. In fact, this study shows the reverse. The low carb group was in a larger negative energy balance than the high carb and Mediterranean group (according to the data published in this paper), which easily explains the greater weight loss. Posting the calories contained in foods in the cafeteria may have improved the results and helped with compliance in all groups.

When energy intake is matched calorie for calorie, the advantage of a low carb diet shrinks or disappears. For most people, low carb is a hunger management or calorie control weight loss advantage, not metabolic magic (sorry, no magic folks!)

Fourth, choose the nutrition program that’s most appropriate for your personal preferences, your current health condition, your genetics (or phenotype) and most important of all… the one you can stick with. Then tend your own garden instead of wasting time criticizing how the other guy is eating. Your results will speak for themselves in the end. Take your shirt off and show us.

If I were forced to choose only one approach (and thank god I’m not), I would recommend avoiding the extremes of very low carb or very low fat or very high fat or very high carbs. Balance makes the most sense to me, and the research suggests that this helps produce the highest compliance rate. That’s not rocket science either, it’s common sense. If you have a serious fat loss goal, as when I compete in bodybuilding, then a further reduction in carbs and increase in protein makes perfect sense to me as a peaking diet. If an extremely low or extremely high carb diet worked for you, great. But generalizing your experience to the entire rest of the world makes no sense. Arguing from extremes is the weakest form of argument. The reason I have THREE nutrition plans (three phases) in my own fat loss program is because programs with flexibility and room for individualization beat the others hands down in the long term. In fact, I wrote an entire chapter in my e-book about unique body types, how to determine yours and how to individualize your nutrition – it’s THAT important. If you have more choices, you have more power. The people who are shackled by dogma and narrow thinking are stuck. They also risk missing what’s really important. Things like:

Personalization
Adherence
Long-term Maintenance
Accountability
Social Support

and…

CALORIES!

Train hard and expect success,

Tom Venuto CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com

Bill Maher Speaks Out: "Ask Your Dr. If Getting Off of Your Ass is Right For You!"

I like Bill Maher and I know that not everyone does. Some people think Bill Maher is an in-your-face kind of guy. I like his political commentary and comedic style.

I also like his work because he makes me think about things. Do I always agree with him? No, but I like his sense of humor too. Here's a YouTube video of Bill Maher on an anti-pharma rant from a show that aired in October, 2007.

After viewing the video, I would not call this clip just “anti pharma”. I’d say that he satirizes the conventional mindset around health. Bill pokes fun at us as a nation. The "funny" thing is he's right. As a nation, we do take too many prescription drugs, and there are a lot of new ailments that either didn't exsist 50 years ago or weren't so widespread that anyone noticed.

What I like about Bill's rant is that he doesn't settle on just finding fault. By pointing out the Duke University study, he let's us know that each of us has to help ourselves in finding better health.

"Ask your doctor if getting off of your ass is right for you." Now that's funny.

Let me know what you think!

Enjoy!