This week I shared with you my own experience with losing 15lbs in 3 weeks and how I did it eating what some would consider a crazy high amount of calories.
I want to stress again that my goal is not to make you think that YOU need to, or should, lose that much weight that fast or that YOU can eat as many calories as I did and still lose weight.
But some of you have asked me why I can eat so much and still lose weight and the answer is; [Read more…]
If you are reading this and you are one of my clients then you know about a personal health struggle I dealt with last year into early this year. If you are not one of my clients, then let me sum it up for you in 2 sentences: I had the worst possible case of Valley Fever (a respiratory fungus infection) you can get, it spread throughout my body for over 18 months and caused all kinds of health problems. While I was going through all of this I was physically unable to work out AND due to some early misdiagnosis, I was under extreme mental distress because I thought I had been dealt a near death sentence.
I am happy to say, I was properly re-diagnosed, have been on medicine for 3 months now and am at about 90% of normal.
I’m telling you this because during all this, I’ll admit it…I put on some weight. I’m human. But now that I’m feeling pretty darn fantastic I have been on a mission to get back to my old self and my old body…. the body I had a couple of years ago before all this drama started. The body that actually fits the clothes that are in my closet (can you relate?). I am 100% determined and dedicated and I have lost 15lbs in the last 3 weeks. [Read more…]
I hope you had a great week last week. I was out of touch getting everything set and organized for the Skinny Jeans Transformation Challenge that started on Monday the 2nd. This group of 23 women are SUPER excited and I can’t wait to show you what they get 
done in the next 8 weeks.
In addition to their boot camp workouts, I give them quick but intense 20-30 minute workouts to do at home on their days away from camp. This is the one I’m giving them this week (in fact YOU are getting it before them). Print it out and give it a try.
If you are a real beginner (as in this is the first time you will be breaking a sweat in the last 3-6 months or more) only do each circuit 1 time. If you are intermediate, do each circuit 2 times, if you’ve been working out regularly and intensely for 6 months or more try it 3 times.
Print it up and do it 2-3 times this week.
Also, don’t forget to share this link on facebook so your friends can do it to!
Yesterday we talked about the importance of portion control cause at the end of the day it really is about calories in and calories out.
I wanna show you some of my favorite done-for-you portion control snacks cause I’m sure you’ll agree that some things are harder to “control” than others (mmmmmm……peanut butter).
With these things you can snack and stay right on track with your portions or indulge in some treats without guilt.
Have you been working out with good intensity, regularity and under the guidance of a fitness professional for 30 days or more and you have not lost any weight or felt your clothes get looser?
If you say no to any one of those, first go address and remedy that. (I know a good fitness professional with a great program if you need a name ;D ).
If you said yes to all 3, then you my friend probably have a bit of an issue with food portions; sticking to them, knowing them and/or measuring them. You see in the end after all is said and done about manipulating time frames, rotating carbs and counting protein grams, it’s still about calories in and calories out.
If you’re like me, counting calories is kinda crazy-making and unless you eat 100% of your meals at home, it’s not always realistic or easy to count every calorie accurately which makes me crazier.
An easier way is to watch your portions. It’s pretty easy, you can do it with any meal, made by anyone and it works!
Look, you can work out until you drain every last drop of sweat out of your body but if you’re calories are too high, you won’t make progress. Take the time to look over these tips and start on them at your next snack or meal.
The number one reason why people don’t exercise is that they don’t have time.
At least that’s what they tell themselves.
I know we are all busy. Between getting to and from work, balancing responsibilities and having time for yourself, there’s little left over for workouts.
It’s so easy to say “Things are just really crazy right now. As soon as I finish “(insert current time eater), I’ll get back to working out.” Well you and I both know that every season, every month and every week has its own set of time grabbers. Be it graduation time, kids getting out of school, summer vacation and activities, kids going back to school, final exams, project deadlines, holidays, really the list goes on and on and on and on.
Let me just put it plainly, it’s not gonna get any easier. Life is not gonna magically slow down and give you an extra 45 minutes a day just so you can work out.
You have to decide whether getting in shape, losing stubborn fat and looking and feeling your absolute best WHILE you go through life’s hectic pace is more important to you than holding on to your excuses for why you don’t have time to work out.
Last week I talked about the importance of creating a vivid, so-real-you-can-touch-it image of you in your goal body. I hope you took the time to create this new you. It is so very important and I’ll be referencing it often.
Now, take that vivid image of the new you, hold it tightly in mind and use these tips to get off your putudy and get to getting, honey.
We women want it all; firm arms, a flat stomach, lean thighs…but the one body part I get constant questions on is the butt.
Some women want it smaller, some tighter, others ask for a lift and a lot of women tell me they just need a booty, period!
Well, I’ve posted one of my all-time favorite booty workouts below. It’s a great combination of 
compound movements to work the major muscles in the legs (and burn TONS of calories) and isolation movements to sculpt that nice rear view.
Try my all-about-the-booty workout 3 times a week for the next 6 weeks and see what changes you can make in your bottom line.
And since nutrition is absolutely something that can’t be ignored in the quest for a tight, lifted bottom, I’ve even included a sample “perfect diet day” for you to get some meal and snack ideas. [Read more…]
In my quest to stay up on what’s new in the fitness world and sniff out any useful nutrition tips for my clients and the members of my weight Loss Boot Camp I read about 5 magazines and 1-2 books cover to cover every month.
I have to say, most of the time, what I read is simply a new spin on the basics: Eat clean and work your butt off :).
This morning however, I learned a little tip that all this time even I didn’t know!
Drinking cold water will make you [Read more…]
One of the exercises that we do almost daily in my weight loss boot camp is the good ‘ol fashioned jump rope.
But did you know that jumping rope has been scientifically proven to reduce cellulite?
It’s a fact that I just learned recently and it solidifies it as one of my all time favorite workouts for my clients.
The reason it can improve the look of those unsightly bumps is because of the rhythmic movement and it’s effect on the lymphatic system.
Have you seen those different very expensive cellulite treatments like velasmooth and endermologie? What they do is based very much on the rhythmic massage and what it does to your lymphatic system.
Check out this excerpt from Womentowomen.com:
"Cellulite begins when numerous fat cells collect in one area (generally the buttocks, thighs and upper arms in women), causing the skin to bulge. The dimpling effect occurs when the connective fibers in the skin pull down in areas where body fat is pushing up. Toxins and lymph fluid accumulate in the pockets of fat. Improving the circulation of lymph in areas prone to cellulite and reducing toxic burden are two successful ways to diminish cellulite from the inside out."
Don’t skim over the part about reducing the toxic burden, that’s your diet high in processed foods and sugar.
So it all goes back to diet and exercise but jumping rope is one more pole in the water. If you do 10 different things that all improve the appearance of cellulite by 2% then that’s a 20% improvement! I’d take that, wouldn’t you?
And as if cellulite reduction is not awesome enough, jumping rope is also one of my favorites because it’s a do ANYWHERE, inexpensive, calorie-Scorching workout. If you need some tips check out the this blog post on how to Burn Maximum Calories with your jump rope.
So grab a jump rope and jump your bumps away!
Ever wonder why losing weight is called the Battle of the bulge?
Because it’s just that…a battle.
And like in any good fight, you need strategies to help you proclaim a victory.
As a personal trainer for over 12 years, I have a LOT of strategies, but today I’m going to tell you my absolute #1 strategy. The one that if I had no other fat loss “weapons” I’d like to have in my back pocket.
Consistency.
I’m going to tell you a story today from when I did a lot of one-on-one training.
But first let me ask you, do you remember the story of the tortoise and the Hare? The excited little Hare ran his heart out from one place to another, but in the end, he lost to the slow methodical tortoise. You see while the Hare had flash, fire and enthusiasm, he wasn’t consistent. And although slow, that tortoise kept plodding along inch after inch until he met his goal; the finish line.
I can’t tell you how much this relates to us in the weight loss game.
I’ve had clients that would come and go, work out with me 5 days a week for a month then I wouldn’t see them again for 6 weeks. I knew they’d be back, and they alwasy came back, often right back at square one or worse just to do it all over again.
Then I had another client, her name was Candice, she NEVER missed a workout. She was faithful three days a week, did her cardio and kept a tight reign on her diet with only the occasional treat. When I would train her, she would alwasy comment on how hard core the other ladies in the gym were. She’d say “wow, if my knees weren’t so bad, I’d do that.” or “If I had more will power I could do that crazy diet too. I really wish I could.”
But here’s the thing, Candace was 57 and super ripped! I gotta tell you, Candace worked out really hard. She liked to be challenged and pushed to her max in each and every workout. What she didn’t know, was that every time I would train those other ladies, they would comment on how they wanted to have arms or a back like Candace! They’d ask how she was so fit when they only saw her in the gym 3 days a week? Every time I would tell them the same thing: Candace may not have a lot of flash, but she never misses a workout. Week after week she commits to her fitness plan. She never does a crash diet, but she knows when maybe she’s indulged a little too much and she immediately tightens up her diet. Her weight never fluctuated more than 2 or 3 pounds.
It was simple, Candace was a tortoise. And week in and week out, workout after workout, she was able to build upon what she had already accomplished and move on to bigger goals. Not start all over every 2 months. When we saw one training style wasn’t producing the desired results, she didn’t quit for weeks at a time in search of the new and next thing, she kept at it so we could tweak and refine our approach to get her what she wanted.
In 3 years of training her, I actually trained her for 3 years. In 3 years I often trained my other clients off and on equaling about 1 year maybe. Just by looking at them for 1 minute, you could see the difference.
Some of you may say “I never take that much time off.” But really don’t you? When you skip 2 workouts this week and then do 5 next week. When you have a “bad” month of working out in February so you go hard core in March. No matter how you do it, it’s still being inconsistent and a bit of a Hare.
If you really want to win this battle of the bulge once and for all, your main focus needs to be on doing what you need to do day-in and day out. Set a realistic workout schedule and stick to it. Don’t fall into the trap of “making up” missed workouts. That’s basically another form of procrastination and sure way to stay on the weight loss roller coaster.
If I had to choose my 2nd top strategy, it would be accountability. We all need to be held accountable to our goals. Having a trainer or a program can help you do just that. Booty Boot Camp