I Quit!

Do you really know the difference between these two words? I mean, really know the difference? Because I didn't until roughly 3 months ago. Let me start by telling you that I have a business coach who helps me focus and achieve the goals that I set for myself and my business. Some people think that they don't need or wouldn't benefit from a coach but I for one know whole heartedly that she has helped me immensely. Besides, doesn't every great athlete have a coach? So why shouldn't every business owner or every person who sets goals have a coach? It just makes sense to have someone help you clarify and really figure out how to achieve your goals. Anyway, enough of that and on to the big message here.


Commitment Versus Trying
My coach and I touched on the subject of commitment versus trying a while back and in January the perfect opportunity was presented to test out my own ability to commit versus just try. I mentioned to her that I had toyed with the idea of abstaining from alcohol for a period of time. Now I most certainly don't have a problem with the substance, but I began to feel that even the occasional drink was not allowing me to perform to the best of my ability. It just wasn't getting me any closer to my goals. I told my coach that I had been thinking about not drinking for a while and she immediately challenged me to commit to that statement. So being the kind of person to not back down from a challenge, I did and haven't indulged in well over 2 months.


However, my story here is to illustrate that in order to really achieve your goals, whether they are weight loss related or abstaining from alcohol, you need to commit to them 100%. Instead of using a word like try, or saying I'll give it a shot, say I will and leave it at that. Changing the way you word something, if even in your own head, can make a world of difference. So, when you come into the studio over the next few days, tell me what your commitments are and we will work on them together.

Is It Nice or A Necessity?

When it comes to dropping weight or reaching any goal, how necessary is it to have one person or a group of people who support your efforts? If you ask me or anyone who has achieved success in reaching his or her goals, I'm certain that you will be told that it's absolutely crucial to have support!

There are certainly times when I don't feel as upbeat or optimistic as I should and those are the times when my support system comes into play. A support system is comprised of the people who pick you up when you're not on the top of your game. So think of who your support system is and be sure and utilize them as they generally hold the key to reaching your next goal. When you voice your goals, you give them life and make them real.


My Top 5 Supporters
1) Parents
2) Business Partner
3) Clients
4) Siblings
5) Nash (My Dog) He's always happy to see me and greets me with a wagging tail.

Who are your top 5?

Healthy Or Sneaky?

When it comes to the grocery store and what you need to be putting in your cart, it can become quite confusing. There are a ton of food products out there that make you think they are healthy when, in fact, they aren't at all. One marketing device in particular comes to mind when I think of the sneaky packaging - 100 Calorie Packs - that makes us think unhealthy foods are healthy. Cookies and crackers are still junk food that are full of processed carbs that assault the body. But people think since it's only 100 calories, it must be healthy. Now if you've moved from inhaling a whole bag of Cheetos in one sitting to a 100 calorie pack, you're going in the right direction. Just be sure you're not fooled into thinking that the food inside these expertly marketed packages is healthy. My suggestion would be to make your own 100 calorie packs of healthy foods like nuts or fruits/veggies by apportioning them into ziploc bags at the beginning of the week so they travel easy.

Quick Grocery Tip:

Now when it comes to traversing the grocery store aisles, I know a lot of you have probably already heard this from me, but be sure and shop the perimeter. The perimeter holds all the healthiest foods and best selections you need to eat right. Between fresh produce, lean cuts of protein, and dairy, you cannot go wrong. The deeper you delve into the middle of the store, the more processed, unhealthy foods you encounter. Now there are certainly exceptions to that rule, but for the most part, sticking to the perimeter works.

Dedicated Or Obsessed?

The athletes that participate in the Olympics are absolutely incredible. They literally train for 6-8 hours a day. That is what it takes to be the best in the world. Now what do an Olympic athlete and someone looking to drop bodyfat or someone looking to get fit have in common? Dedication.

Plain and simple, you have to be dedicated to your goal. In fitness I see too many people who start out with guns blazing only to fizzle out after 2 weeks. Now if J.R. Celski, the speed skater I mentioned earlier, would have given up after his wreck 5 months ago, he never would have had the opportunity to stand on that Olympic platform. He may have been momentarily beaten, but it obviously didn't last long and his dedication paid off.


Whatever your fitness goals might be, realize that in the grand scheme of things 1 month or even 6 months is a pretty small period of time. So why do people expect to drop the 50 pounds they put on in the last 10 years in a much shorter period of time? Now I'm not saying it should take 10 years to drop 50 pounds, but everyone needs to realize that you've probably developed some pretty nasty habits in that time and it takes a while to change those habits.

So if your ultimate goal is 50 pounds, break that down into smaller, more manageable goals. Or simply set your goal to be one of staying with one exercise program for 6 months or one year and see where that takes you. I'm certain Celski didn't start rehab with the goal in mind to win the Bronze Medal. He probably just wanted to see if he could get himself healthy enough to compete again.

Believe In Yourself

I am most definitely a big fan of the power of positive thinking. Not only is it essential for reaching your goals, but it is just as important in helping to reach your weight loss/fitness goals. It is sad how many people limit themselves or allow themselves to fail before they ever start something.

I see it all the time with weight loss clients. They have a negative and self defeating mindset: "There is no way I'll ever lose weight" or "There is no way I'll be able to get back to my pre baby weight". I can tell you from firsthand experience that when you say those words, you have already failed. Somewhere between child and adulthood we lose the ability to be able to dream and start putting self imposed limits on ourselves. Those limits tend to stick with you for quite sometime and can severely hamper your ability to reach your goals.

The people who succeed, and I mean really succeed at weight loss or any goal, truly believe they will succeed. So whatever your current goal is, I want you to take 10 seconds right after you finish reading this and visualize, I mean actually see in your mind you reaching that goal.

Here's to setting and reaching your goals in 2010!

"I am convinced life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it." Charles R Swindoll

Roller Derby Performance Workout

This is a video I put together for my roller derby teammates. However, it is workout that anyone can perform with very little equipment. For each of the exercises involved perform around 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions. Also for anyone interested in the St Louis Gatekeepers check out www.stlgatekeepers.com We can always use extra bodies!

Losing Weight Is Easy!

I've admitted my addiction of watching incredibly bad fitness infomercials to a few of you. Seriously, every time a fitness infomercial comes on I watch for just a few minutes and sometimes get sucked into the whole thing. Why, you ask? Simply because they are that good at convincing people to buy those products(most of which are junk). The people selling these are masters of marketing and advertising and have no interest in what it takes to get healthy.

Most of these infomercials simply tell you what you want to hear - that it's easy to lose weight and get fit. Or that you can spend 4 minutes every other day doing the hottest new aerobics workout and look like the HIRED MODEL teaching the class. Now wouldn't you think, that if it was that simple and all you had to do was buy that product or DVD, then we'd have a nation of beautiful bodies instead of fighting an epidemic of obesity.

In order to get realistic, sustainable results you have to work out a minimum of 3 times a week (more is better). For best results, you need to combine some sort of resistance or weight training with cardio. Now that you've got that part down, don't let that be a license to eat freely. You have to complement what you are doing in the gym with a good, healthy diet full of lean protein sources, healthy fats, and minimal processed carbohydrates.

So the take home here is you have to work hard in the gym and eat healthy in order to lose weight or get fit. You've more than likely heard the adage that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. That is more true in fitness than anything else. So don't let the fly-by-night claims influence you.

The HCG Diet and What You Need to Know about it!

I've had too many questions as of late about the HCG diet to not address it. So I'll hit the high points of what HCG is, what the claims are and how it's supposed to work, its efficacy, associated risks, and some closing thoughts. Now as much as I'm not a fan of fad diets and things like this I'm certain people will still choose to try it and hopefully they can make a more informed decision.

HCG What Is It?

HCG is a hormone found in women during pregnancy. It is most prominent during the early stages of pregnancy when a women may not know she is pregnant. It was actually found by a physician in the 50's and much of the research I've found on it was done in the 70's.

What Is The Program? How Does It Work?

The program consists of weekly injections of the hormone accompanied by a 500 calorie diet for a period of approximately 12 weeks. You are expected to lose about a pound a day and are advised not to exercise since calories are so restricted.

The hormones function in the body during the early stages of pregnancy and allows the body to release fat for the baby in the event that the mother is unaware of pregnancy and not eating enough.

Does It Work?

From the research I've found supplementing a 500 calorie diet with the HCG injections is no more effective than a 500 calorie diet in and of itself. The only thing it seems to do is help reduce hunger pangs. So in short no it is not a miracle cure to lose weight.

Risks.

Their is an increased risk of pregnancy, blood clots, headaches, restlessness and depression.

Closing Thoughts.

When losing weight the most important thing is to change behaviors and the way you view food. The HCG diet like a lot of other diet programs doesn't address the real issues one needs to focus on in order to lose weight and maintain that weight loss. Another problem that I find with this particular program is when you go on a very low calorie diet like the one accompanying the HCG injections your body will at some point be burning muscle tissue for energy. This decrease in lean muscle tissue will ultimately limit your bodies ability to burn calories. It comes as no surprise that the best option is to adopt to a lifestyle of healthy eating and exercise. Remember eat to live not live to eat!

Recipe of The Week

Beef Hash

This is a quick, easy recipe. Great for a cold night!

Ingredients

* 1 pound ground beef
* 1/2 large red onion, chopped
* 1 pound potatoes, cut into small chunks
* 1 Can Low Sodium Beef Broth
* 1 Can Corn
* 4 Medium Carrots Chopped

Directions

1. Brown beef and onion in a large saucepan until meat is no longer pink. Add potatoes, carrots, corn, and broth.
2. Cover saucepan, lower heat and let simmer for 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender and water has reduced/evaporated.

Fuel Your Body Like a Rolls Royce

If I were Bill Gates rich I would probably purchase a Rolls Royce Phantom. If your not familiar with that car do a quick google search and check it out because to me it's about the most luxurious car you can purchase. And it should be considering a price tag of $380,000. Now when you own a luxury vehicle most people probably use a premium gasoline to fuel it right? So why not fuel your body with premium fuel as well?

Your body is very much like that expensive car in that when you don't give it premium fuel it doesn't run as well. The best premium foods you can feed your body are lean protein sources, healthy unprocessed grains, and healthy fats. By using these foods as fuel sources your body will run efficiently and be more likely to ward off disease and sickness. Not only does healthy food strengthen your immune system it will help you perform better in the gym. If you have 2 athletes with similar skills and abilities I guarantee you can make one athlete superior by feeding him a healthy diet so why not do that for yourself. A few tips on food and nutrition to help you along in your fitness journey!

1) Calories Do Matter- It's not the only part of the equation but you must be calorie conscious when trying to lose weight.

2) Stay On The Perimeter at the Grocery- The perimeter of any grocery store is where you should spend the majority of your money. Think about it all the fresh produce, meat, and dairy is kept on the perimeter. The unhealthy processed foods are in the aisles.

3) Don't Go To The Grocery Hungry- This is a gimme but everyone needs a reminder sometimes. Going to the grocery hungry usually results in bad food decisions.

4) Think High Volume, Low Calories- Vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower take up a lot of space for the amount of calories they provide. 1 cup of cooked broccoli is ~20 calories while another healthy choice is brown rice weighing in at ~200 for the same amount. Both great choices but a big difference in calories.

Merry Ugly Christmas Sweater Party!

This past weekend I attended our 4th Annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. My friends and I have thrown this party around Christmas the past few years and I am still amazed the sweaters some people come up with! Here is a pic of from the party.

Recipe of The Week

Guacamole


Now I know everyone has holiday parties to attend and if you have to bring an appetizer you can't go wrong with Guacamole. Avocado's are a great source of healthy fat and not too mention you've got Christmas colors when you add the tomatoes. You ask me it's perfect. Enjoy!


Ingredients

* 3 avocados - peeled, pitted, and mashed
* 1 lime, juiced
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup diced onion
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
* 2 roma (plum) tomatoes, diced
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium bowl, mash together the avocados, lime juice, and salt. Mix in onion, cilantro, tomatoes, and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor, or serve immediately.

5 Ways To Guarantee Holiday Weight Gain!

I love sarcasm and hopefully you do too. If not these surefire ways to gain weight over the holidays probably isn't for you. Enjoy.

1.Bill from accountings wife bakes those delicious cupcakes so be sure and devour one every time you pass the breakroom on the way to the restroom or watercooler. I'm sure they are fat and sugar free and will help keep your weight down during the holiday season. Realistically: Totally avoid the breakroom that way you won't see them. Out of sight out of mind.

2.Be sure to always opt for that extra glass of wine at each and every holiday party you attend. Not only is alcohol low in calories, but I'm sure it will give you that extra pep in your step to get to the gym early the next morning. Realistically: You'll have plenty of other opportunities to drown your holiday sorrows at the family dinner so maybe only limit yourself to one glass of wine.

3.Ask your boss if there is any extra work to do before the year ends. Since stress really doesn't affect you, especially when you have your in-laws in town, the extra work and stress won't sabotage your efforts to get to the gym or eat healthy. Realistically: Be careful what you commit to holidays always bring extra time restraints, so be sure to balance your schedule.

4.When your shopping for holiday snacks always choose the jumbo pack of holiday cookies. Your certain all your guests will eat them anyway leaving you to eat the healthy stuff in the house. Realistically: Don't buy the jumbo pack at all instead buy the smaller pack that way there aren't as many leftovers to tempt you later.

5.Starve yourself all day leading up to the big family feast that way you can pig out and other than feeling like a beached whale you'll feel a sense of accomplishment by not going over your caloric limit. Realistically: Don't plan on eating any differently than you do on any other day that way when the holiday meal comes you aren't in the mindset of “I already blew it with the 24 cookies at work may as well keep it going”

HIIT

HIGH INTENSITY INTERVAL TRAINING

I get asked all the time “What is the most effective fat burning cardio workout I can do?” And the answer is pretty simple HIIT or high intensity interval training. If you've never heard of it or never tried it I'll give you a brief overview as well as a sample program you can try on your own.

So what is HIIT exactly you ask. HIIT is bouts of high intensity exercise for a specified period of time followed by bouts of low-medium intensity exercise. I usually do a work to rest ratio of 1:2 so if 1 minute is my work period my rest period would be 2 minutes. For this particular example let's say I'm planning on doing 7 work periods. That means 7 minutes of high intensity exercise with approximately 12 minutes of low-medium intensity exercise between those work periods. Add on a few minutes of warm-up and cool down time and you have a wicked effective fat burning workout in under 30 minutes.

Now the times and number of work periods are the variable you can play with. There is no magic number to plug in, but I would recommend shooting for at least 15 minutes of total work. The mode of exercise can be changed as well. You can use the same basic system and change the mode(bike, treadmill, or elliptical) to avoid boredom. Also changing the times and number of work periods provides yet another variable that can help fight boredom. I know when I'm doing intervals my cardio workouts go by rather quickly.

Now this method of cardio is not suited for everyone, but if your looking for a change give it shot. Also if you are a beginner be sure and keep your times and work periods relatively short until you build up enough of a cardiovascular base to handle longer duration workouts.

Sample HIIT Workout

Mode: Treadmill

Working Period: 20 Seconds at 7.5 Treadmill Speed
Rest Period: 40 Seconds at 3.0 Treadmill Speed
Total Repetitions: 15

3 Minute Warm-Up
Minute 1 :20 Seconds at 7.5 :40 Seconds at 3.0
Minute 2 :20 Seconds at 7.5 :40 Seconds at 3.0
Minute 3 :20 Seconds at 7.5 :40 Seconds at 3.0
Minute 4 :20 Seconds at 7.5 :40 Seconds at 3.0
Minute 5 :20 Seconds at 7.5 :40 Seconds at 3.0
And so on for 15 minutes
3 Minute Cool Down

If you have any questions or want more information on HIIT shoot me an email at ian@essentialfitnessSTL.com

Recipe of The Week

It's that time of year and I can't help but put up another chilli recipe. This is most definitely Essential Fitness approved seeing as it has tons of veggies in it, but can certainly be spiced up with some meat or would be fine just the way it is.

Rainbow Veggie Chilli

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 zucchini, sliced
* 1 yellow squash, sliced
* 1 red bell pepper, diced
* 1 green bell pepper, diced
* 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, diced
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, with liquid
* 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
* 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
* 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
* 1 (15 ounce) can chili beans in spicy sauce, undrained
* 1 tablespoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in zucchini, yellow squash, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic, and onion. Cook 5 minutes, just until tender.

2. Mix tomatoes with liquid, tomato paste, black beans, corn, and chili beans in spicy sauce into the pot. Season with chili powder, oregano, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Recipe from allrecipes.com

PUMPKIN Workout For Charity!

Essential Fitness Presents…

HALLOWEEN BOOTCAMP 1.0

Featuring The Freaky Fat Loss Total Body PUMP-kin Workout!

Essential Fitness is happy to announce our first annual Halloween Charity Boot Camp. The workout will cost $15/attendee and all proceeds will go to the Missouri Humane Society. We’re looking to provide a killer workout before the holiday while supporting a good cause.

The event will be 2 hours consisting of a 60 minute group workout which ALL exercises will use your pumpkin! Followed by another 60 minutes of fun activites which include a raffle for tons of great prizes, protein shake samples, lots of great giveaways, and lots more.

We are proud to announce that we have also paired with 2 other St. Louis area based fitness boot camps. With our three boot camps partnering together, we will be able to raise more money for the Humane Society. Steve Long, owner of Complete Fitness Results, and Jared Woolover, owner of Edwardsville Better Body Boot Camps, has agreed to work with us in supporting a good cause. So if you know anyone in the Edwardsville Illinois area looking for a good workout, please send this info their way.

Here are some of the details you may need to know:

When: Saturday October 31st, 2009 at 11 AM.

Where: Christ Church Cathedral 1210 Locust Street St. Louis MO, 63103

What to Wear: Costumes are optional. You can be as simple or as elaborate as you want, but please remember you need to be able to move in it. Wear orange or black if you do not wear a costume.

What to Bring: Your own pumpkin! Females/smaller individuals should bring a medium sized pumpkin (about 10 lbs.) and men/larger individuals should bring a large one (about 20 lbs.). A water bottle is also a good idea.

If you would like to pay in cash, please send an email to ian@esssentialfitnessSTL.com and in the subject line put “Pumpkin Workout” and you will be contacted.

If you have any questions please send an email, or call 314.878.1348.

This will be a fun workout for a great cause! I look forward to seeing you there!

Recipe of The Week

Cajun Chicken Pasta

Yet another Essential Fitness approved recipe!

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
4 ounces linguine whole wheat pasta
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced into thin strips
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
4 fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 green onion, minced
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
1.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguini whole wheat pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
2.Meanwhile, place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl, and toss to coat.
3.In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in olive oil until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add green and red bell peppers, sliced mushrooms and green onions; cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat, and stir in evaporated milk. Season the sauce with basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper, and heat through.
4.In a large bowl, toss whole wheat linguini with sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Modified from allrecipes.com

Working Hard to Get Nowhere!

I can't put a value on the importance of a healthy diet. With my most dedicated of clients I have only 3 maybe 4 hours of contact with them a week that leaves them with somewhere in the neighborhood of 164 unsupervised hours to undo everything they worked towards.

While your workouts are the tool to shape and sculpt your body the true progress is made outside of the gym. If you've ever known a competitive bodybuilder you'll hear them say at some point that abs are made in the kitchen not the gym and that rings just as true for significant weight loss. Understanding your eating habits and your triggers for unhealthy eating are just as important as getting in consistent workouts.

For most people I meet with the exercise part comes easier than supportive eating. So a couple of quick tips to help you eat supportively.

1) Small changes equal big results-By focusing your effort on one small change each week over the course of a few weeks you can make a big impact on your healthy eating plan. For example drinking more water. And don't just say "I'll drink more water." Make it quantifiable like I will drink 64 ounces of water each day for the next week.

2) There is no place for fast food in a healthy eating plan.- Plain and simple if you want to lose weight don't event think about setting foot in one of these establishments. Most of us struggle with the willpower to say no in these places so why even test yourself.

3)Don't Catastrophize When You Cheat.- So many people get in the mindset of "Oh I ate like crap Friday night I might as well just scrap the whole weekend and start fresh on Monday" Why not just start fresh the next morning. One bad meal is not going to blow your whole weight loss effort just get back in the saddle and refocus.

Dedicated to Your Health,

Ian

Exercise of The Week

Recipe of The Week

This sounds delicious to me but I am also a lover of anything pumpkin!

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 pound ground turkey
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 2 cups pumpkin puree
* 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1 dash salt
* 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
* 1/2 cup sour cream



1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the onion, green bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, and garlic until tender. Stir in the turkey, and cook until evenly brown. Drain, and mix in tomatoes and pumpkin. Season with chili powder, pepper, and salt. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes. Serve topped with Cheddar cheese and sour cream.

This recipe is from www.allrecipes.com