Ultimate Reset: Journey from a fellow coach

The Ultimate Reset is a new product that Beachbody just came out with.
Basically, it is a clense that uses food, minerals and vitamins to "reset" your body to its original and natural settings by ridding all the toxins that have built up over the years. I reallllllllly want to try it! Since I haven't yet, here is a fellow coaches journey.

Dear Boys and Girls,

I initially got on board with the Ultimate Reset 21-Day Cleanse because I saw a few of my coach friends get amazing results. They lost anywhere from 8 to 21 pounds in 21 days. Wow. For the past year, I have felt that I’ve been carrying about 5 extra pounds that I haven’t been able to get off without feeling deprived or being extreme. Despite hearing from past cleansers how they felt calm, centered, were sleeping better, had gotten rid of cellulite, among other benefits, I wanted to do it for weight loss.That, for me, was the sticking point.

Let me state clearly: many people lose weight during the Ultimate Reset Cleanse, but that is a secondary benefit. Some people don’t lose any at all. If you are simply dependent on the number on the scale, you might be disappointed. More importantly, you might very well miss out on the opportunity to notice what other changes are happening.

Miraculously, and I really do mean miraculously, I was able to take the focus away from my body and focus on the experience of the cleanse. Why? Headaches knocked me over the first few days, followed by body aches. Yup, the detoxification process was in full effect. To me, the pains and discomfort I was feeling were a sure sign that my body needed this cleanse. They were a clear indication to me that this cleanse and this experience as a whole were much more than just about weight loss.

As I entered week 2, my pains all disappeared. Easy-peasy, I thought. It’s gonna be smooth sailing. But without the pains and left only with the feeling of a dull hunger and no dramatic weight loss, I had moments when I asked myself, “Why the f** am I doing this?” I think as a culture we get so addicted to outcomes and results. I know I’m like that. I like to set goals and see measurable results. Well, when my tape measure wouldn’t budge, I invited myself to look inward. The desire of wanting my pants to fall off (ok, I exaggerate) didn’t prevent me from taking note of the changes and the experience within.

I could have thrown in the towel out of frustration that my pants weren’t much looser or that I wasn’t feeling super duper energetic as I’ve heard other participants say they felt. It was my willingness to be mindful and curious about the experience that has made it so worthwhile and that has kept me going.

I have discovered that I love food and cooking. I like cooking for myself and others and I like trying out new recipes. Food is no longer just a tool (gosh, how awful) to get me my ideal body. It’s a source of nourishment for my mind and spirit. Wow, it’s like I took that straight from some zen cookbook, but really, I mean it. My time in the kitchen and at the kitchen table have become a time of reflection and nurturing. Who ever thought that I could find my zone in the kitchen?

I don’t quite understand how the supplements I’ve been taking detox your body or the scientific reason as to why I feel so centered and calm. And you know what? I’ll leave that to the scientists and to the folks who love to analyze things to pieces. I know the behaviors and actions that have gotten me to this point: remaining open to new experiences and taking the time to fully be in the experience, whatever that experience may be. I understand that being present is a lifelong journey, a daily practice. I’m up for the challenge.

Your friend in health,
Barbie Decker, PhD

http://getfitwithbarbie.com/1598/the-ultimate-reset-choosing-your-journey/

Why the Scale Goes up when You Start a New Routine

One of my fitness idols is Chalene Johnson. I have being doing her programs for years starting with Turbo Jam back in 2004, Turbo Fire and Chalean Extreme (My ultimate fav and the one I always go back to).

For all my fitness newbies out there, this is a great article that she wrote on why you may actually see an increase in weight when you being a new program.

http://www.dailyspark.com/blog.asp?post=why_the_scale_goes_up_when_you_start_a_new_workout_plan
Probably the most common question I get when I release a new exercise program is, "Help! I'm gaining weight! Am I doing something wrong?" This is a common phenomenon with any new exercise program, such as Turbo Kick, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Hustle, or others! It's especially common (and temporary) with intense strength training programs like ChaLEAN Extreme or Tony Horton's P90X.

The motivation to start a new exercise program is almost always to lose weight. However, what most personal trainers know--and most at-home exercisers do not--is that a new exercise program often can cause an immediate (and temporary) increase on the scale. (Notice I didn't say weight gain! I'll explain.) This common increase in the scale is also the reason why perhaps millions of people start and then quickly quit their resolution to get fit.

The temporary weight gain explained:
When someone starts a new exercise program, they often experience muscle soreness. The more intense and "unfamiliar" the program, the more intense the muscle soreness. This soreness is most prevalent 24 to 48 hours after each workout. In the first few weeks of a new program, soreness is the body trying to "protect and defend" the effected or targeted tissue. Exercise physiologists refer to this as delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS.

This type of soreness is thought to be caused by tissue breakdown or microscopic tears in muscle tissue. When this happens, the body protects the tissue. The muscle becomes inflamed and slightly swollen due to fluid retention. This temporary retention of fluid can result in a 3- to 4-pound weight gain within a few weeks of a new program. Keep in mind that muscle soreness is not necessarily a reflection of how hard you worked. In fact, some people feel no signs of muscle soreness, yet will experience the muscle protection mechanisms of water retention and slight swelling.

Most people are motivated enough to put up with this temporary muscle soreness. Yet, many, especially those who really need immediate weight loss to keep them motivated, become discouraged and quit!

When I worked with a group of 70 test participants during the development stages of ChaLEAN Extreme, this happened. Who was the most upset and discouraged? You guessed it... the women! I'm happy to report absolutely for every single woman (and man) in our group, the weight increase was temporary and never lasted more than two weeks before they started to see a major drop in the scale. However, these people had the advantage of working with someone who was able to explain to them why this was happening and assure them the weight would come off if they stuck to the nutrition plan and stayed true to the program.

If you follow a multi-phase exercise plan, such as ChaLEAN Extreme, keep in mind that when you start each phase, your body will be "in shock" again. Don't be surprised or discouraged if you experience a temporary gain on the scale the first week of each phase.

My own personal example of this is running 10Ks. I don't do it very often, maybe once or twice a year. Even though I run on a regular basis, when you run a race, you push much harder. It's natural for me to be insanely sore the next day. It’s also very common for me to see the scale jump 4 pounds the next day from forcing fluids post race and the resulting DOMS. Even though I know the cause of it, it's still a bummer. We're all human and hard work should mean results. Hard work equals results, but our bodies are amazing machines and they know how to protect us from hurting ourselves. Soreness forces you to give those muscles a break. Ultimately you will lose the weight and you will change your metabolism in the process.

The key is understanding that this is a normal and temporary and stick with the program!

When to be concerned:
If you experience a significant weight gain (exceeding 5 pounds) that does not begin to decrease rapidly after the second week, guess what it is? I'll give you one hint... you put it in your mouth and chew it. You know it! Your food (or calorie-laden beverages). News flash, friends… exercise doesn't make you gain weight. Consuming more food than you burn makes you gain weight!
So if after two weeks you are not losing weight and have gained weight that's not coming off, it's time to take a close and honest look at your food intake. Start using SparkPeople's Nutrition Tracker regularly, and be honest.

Moral of the story:
Be patient young grass hopper. You'll be lean and mean in no time!

More Tips for Changing It Up

I am at that point in my routine where I am not seeing the results as quickly as I was before. This is where I used to get frustrated and kind of give up in a sense; and I know I am not the only one who has had this mind set.

Last December when I decided to become a Beachbody coach, I also decided to change my thought process on working out. It was no longer to just work out to work out. I had specific goals this time and also a partner in crime who asked for some advice on lifting weights since that was not part of her routine.

By helping her, having specific goals for myself, and changing my mind set, I can now say that I am probably in the best shape of my life at 29 than I ever was at 20.

So with that said, when you do hit a plateau, and we all do with our workouts, DO NOT GIVE UP. What you have to do is work that much harder. You need to change up the routine, add more weight, add more cardio, make a change in diet to reset your body.

Here are a few things you can do:

1. Balancing the Weight:
Getting ripped is not about suddenly transforming the look of your muscles by doing high repetition isolation work. That is so ineffective and won't overload your muscles like the exercises that train several muscle groups simultaneously. What do you think burns more fat: pedaling on a Mini-stepper or running in deep sand? The latter option, right. Same idea about choosing the right exercises. Do not spend sets on a peck deck machine when you can do dumbbell presses where you need to balance the weight. Balancing the weight recruits more muscle fibers than letting some dumb machine do half the work for you.

2. Eat to Control your Hunger:
Eat to control your hunger. You can make your oatmeal double sized but no extra calories by adding whole flaxseed or psyllium husk. *Do it like this: Cook the oatmeal according to the package. Then stir, add 3- 5 tablespoons of whole flaxseed or 1 tablespoon of psyllium husk. Stir. Cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. The fiber in the seeds bind with the oats/brans and you get a better serving.

3. Try Adding One more Set:
Want to burn more calories? Add one set more on each exercise. If you add six different exercises that will yield six more minutes tops. In one week that might be 30 minutes more training which burns more calories for you.

4. Make Eating Boring:
Make it boring to eat. Take your bowl or plate and sit where there is no TV, no magazine, nothing - look at the food, be present. You will find out that you will get full faster than if you eat while watching Seinfeld.

http://cutandjacked.com/Pauline-Nordins-Top-5-Tips-To-Get-Ripped

The Skinny on Fat

I have this discussion with so many people. You NEED fat in your diet to be healthy. But obviously you need the good kinds of fat. Here is a great article that breaks it down for you!

Stop treating it like the dirty F-word. Here's why you need fat to lose weight, improve your mood, and boost your immune system.

You've shied away from eating it and worked on the treadmill to burn it off. But fat, it turns out, can be your friend. "Your body needs it in order to function," says Barbara Roberts, MD, director of the Women's Cardiac Center at the Miriam Hospital in Providence and author of How to Keep from Breaking Your Heart. "Fats help you absorb vitamins A, D, and E, and they are vital for your nervous system." Not only that, women who ate a Mediterranean diet filled with healthy monounsaturated fat lowered their risk of heart disease by 29 percent, according to a new study in Circulation.
Of your total daily calories, 25 to 30 percent should come from fat. The keys: Pick good-for-you fats, and limit the bad kinds. Don't know a saturated from a poly? Here's the skinny on which fats to eat and which to avoid.

The Good: Unsaturated Fats

Monounsaturated Fats

What they do: These fats, known as MUFAs, raise good HDL cholesterol, lower bad LDL cholesterol, and protect against the buildup of plaque in your arteries. They also help prevent belly fat, according to research.
Where you'll find them: In olive oil and olives, canola oil, almonds, cashews, peanuts, peanut butter, sesame seeds, and avocados.
How much you need: Most of the fat you eat should be unsaturated, like MUFAs. "Just two to three tablespoons of olive oil a day can raise HDL levels and protect against heart disease," says Dr. Roberts.

Polyunsaturated Fats

What they do: In addition to lowering your LDL, these fats contain essential omega-3 fatty acids -- which boost brain function and may help strengthen your immune system and improve your mood -- and omega-6 fatty acids, which in small amounts can keep skin and eyes healthy.
Where you'll find them: Omega-3s are primarily in fish like salmon, mackerel, and herring, as well as canola oil, flaxseed, walnuts, and tofu. Omega-6s are in corn and safflower oil, corn-fed chicken and beef, and farmed fish.
How much you need: Most of the polys you eat should be omega-3s. Too much omega-6 can lead to inflammation, which is linked to heart disease. Trade vegetable oil for olive and canola oils, and eat grass-fed beef and wild-caught fish.

The Bad: Saturated Fats

What they do: They raise cholesterol levels and increase your risk of heart disease.
Where you'll find them: In meat and poultry, in dairy products like cream, butter, and whole and 2 percent milk, and in some plant foods like coconut and palm oil.
How much you need: Limit saturated fat to less than 10 percent of your total daily calories. One easy way to cut back: "Remove any hard fat you can see, such as the skin on chicken," says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association.

The Ugly: Trans Fats

What they do: Made from unsaturated fat that's been chemically altered to prolong the shelf life of packaged foods, trans fats raise bad LDL and lower good HDL, increasing inflammation throughout the body. "They 100 percent promote heart disease," says Dr. Gerbstadt.
Where you'll find them: In shortening, margarine, doughnuts, french fries, and processed foods such as crackers, cookies, chips, and cakes.
How much you need: Zero. But know this: The FDA allows food manufacturers to claim that a product contains "zero trans fats" if one serving of it has 0.5 grams of trans fats or less. "That means if you eat more than one serving, you could be getting a gram or more," warns Dr. Gerbstadt. Before buying foods, check the ingredient labels for "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" -- trans fats' sneaky pseudonym.