So, I will be assessing another person next week that has been using HCG. From their description of experience, it sounds like their trainer unknowingly had them in starvation mode – not sure of the length of time there, but prior to that – sounds like they were fine, no starving. I’ve done 2 composition analysis on them, while on HCG about a week and a half apart and there was no loss of skeletal muscle mass – which TRULY surprised me!! I’m extremely curious to see the results of their metabolic assessment!!!!

Stay tuned!!

This is why I love the InBody 230!  About a year ago – I switched my method of analyzing my clients body composition.  I used to use calipers – which would give me their fat mass and lean body mass but we were missing the water component.  Our bodies total volume of water can fluctuate quite a bit depending on what time of the month it is, if we went out to eat the night before, are taking in a lot of caffeine or even working out on a regular basis.  I can’t tell you how many times I’d have a client come back from a weekend of fun – weighing a few pounds heavier and they automatically are sent into panic mode and assume they gained 3 lbs of fat.  If that were the case, they would have had to eaten an extra 10,500 calories over their maintenance!  There is just no way!  But no matter how I would try to console them – they would stress.  So – I bought this new machine.  And it’s been fantastic!  Now – I can SHOW them their increase of water!  But it’s more than that – what I love about assessing people’s composition on this machine is that as a Trainer, I’m able to view the results and know if my client needs to increase or decrease their calories.  I can see if the weight change is water, fat or muscle related.  Let’s face it – we aren’t always good about tracking our calories.  And from my experience – many times, clients have a tendency to overestimate the calories in the food they take in.  More often than not – if I have a client that is not tracking their calories, I’ll see a decrease in their lean muscle because they are adding things up in their heads as they go – but always overestimate (just to be on the safe side) sound familiar?

So – when you weigh yourself, the scale doesn’t tell the whole story, but it’s the only way you might have to measure your progress.  But how do you know it isn’t water or muscle?  If you lost the first 10 lbs rather quickly and then in order to make any more progress, you had to pull your calories back and pick up the exercise – only to inch your way to another 5 lbs off – then it’s very likely you had lost a bunch of water and now muscle.  It is SO engrained in us – that when the scale doesn’t go down, it must mean we are eating too much or not exercising enough, so our knee jerk reaction is to cut calories more and exercise more!  This is not always the case!!  I will say – it has been my experience, having assessed people’s metabolism for 4 years, that 8 out of 10 people are in starvation mode and DO NOT need to decrease their calories or exercise more.  They actually need to eat MORE.  And the beauty of all of this – is that the InBody tells me exactly what you are doing – eating too much, not eating enough – whatever the case.

I will take my clients data from the InBody and put it into personal charts and graphs so they can see very clearly by the line charting their progress, that the large spike in the fat mass happened not because they ate too many calories, but because they didn’t take in enough and they will know this because they will also see that their lean muscle tissue took a nosedive at the same time.  This is always reaffirming to them – as eating more calories to lose weight goes completely against all they were taught and is seems so very counter intuitive.

So – you might think, well yeah – that’s all fine and dandy if you can afford a personal trainer with an InBody 230!  Well – guess what, you are lucky that my primary motive in life – in everything I do, is about results.  Because of this – I will always try to find solutions to problems.  One solution I came up with was that you can purchase a 5 pk of InBody composition analysis sessions (no consults) for only 125.00.  You do not have to be a training client for this and you can use them however you’d like.  Basically it’ll only cost 25.00 a month if you came in to use it once a month!  So – that way, you can see what your body is doing.  You could also use it more often of course – once a week or twice a month?  The more data we collect – the better feedback I can give you.  If you are tracking your calories – I can add that information to your charts and graphs so you can see exactly what your body did, netting what you were all week-long.  Hmmm – makes sense to me!!  Have you ever had the experience where you had GREAT success one week or over a two-week period, but you didn’t pay attention to WHAT you did, so you try to repeat it but CAN’T??  I hate that – but if you are tracking all this, then you know exactly what to do, to experience that same success.  Or – on the flip side, if you have a week where your lean muscle took that nosedive and your fat mass skyrocketed – if you were tracking your calories, then you’ll know exactly what NOT to do again!  I actually just had that experience with a client recently.  No names of course – but it had been quite sometime since I had seen them.  They were not comfortable eating the amount that the New Leaf assessment indicated they needed to eat (because it was so high) so with my consent, they decided to net about 300 calories less than they should have.  When we did the InBody again, 2 1/2 weeks later, these were their results:

Total body water – down 1.7 lbs (not good)

Dry Lean Mass (proteins and minerals) – down .6 (not good)

Body Fat Mass – up 1.2 lbs (not good)

Lean body mass – down 2.3 lbs (not good)

Body fat percentage – up .8% (not good)

Total body weight – down 1.1 lbs…..  good??  I don’t know, after all I shared with you, you tell me!?

Hopefully, you have a better idea as to why I value tracking ones composition on the InBody on a regular basis.  It keeps us on track and away from that slippery slope of slowly gaining weight or losing lean muscle tissue.  It provides us with valuable information and allows us to maximize our efforts spent on working towards our goals and keeps us excited and motivated.

Now – email me for an appointment, let’s get your starting statistics and start tracking your results on the InBody regularly!

Email:  fitbydesignpts@mac.com

My dad is 6’1″, 232 lbs.  If I were to “guess” at what his RMR (resting metabolic rate) was, I would have guessed around 1600 – 1800 range.  When we did the gas exchange metabolic assessment on him – I was quite surprised to learn that this big man in front of me, had an RMR of 1198!!  That was quite low for a big man!   My RMR at the time was close to 1400!  So me, his daughter that was half his weight and 7 inches smaller, could eat him under the table any day!

This last June, my dad started asking me questions again about health and weight loss.   He wanted to know what to do and how to do it.   Before I drug him in for another metabolic assessment (especially if he didn’t really use the last one), I thought it would be good to start him off with an InBody composition analysis.  This report tells me his total body water, dry lean mass, body fat mass, weight, skeletal muscle mass, bmi and % of body fat.  It also gives me a basal metabolic rate based off his lean muscle tissue.  Being in this industry, I know that this won’t be the most accurate measurement of BMR, but with his old, New Leaf information and the InBody information, I figured we could accomplish something.

On June 19th, his first InBody report said his BMR was 1847.  His old New Leaf assessment says it’s 1198 – but my dad said he felt and believed that his metabolism had increased some.  So – we agreed that for the first couple weeks we would have him net his calories at 1,500, the middle of the two conflicting assessments.  For nearly 2 weeks, my dad was VERY diligent at exercising and watching his calories to be sure he was netting around that 1,500 calorie mark.  On June 29th – a week and a half later, we got him on the InBody again.  NO CHANGE.  He basically maintained.  He was SO disappointed!!  He felt like it was a waste of time – all that walking he had done!  I assured him it wasn’t – had he not done it, he would most likely had gained weight and fat.  So, out of curiosity, I went back to his New Leaf assessment to see what his TDC was (Total Daily Calories).  TDC is the amount of calories one needs to maintain what they have, to have no change.  Guess what!  Yep – it was 1550!!!  I just laughed, went to him and shared the information with him.  I said, “according to your last New Leaf assessment – your maintenance is 1550 and that was what you have been netting the last 10 days and that is exactly what you got.  Let’s move forward netting 1200, your RMR from the New Leaf assessment, and see what happens?”  He agreed to give it a shot.  Four weeks, many walks and a week’s vacation later, we measured him again on the InBody.  This time, success!!!  He went from 237.5 to 232!  He lost 1 lb in water, .5 in dry lean mass and the rest was ALL fat loss!!  Yahoo dad!!!

This morning – I met with a gal who had her first InBody analysis last June, she followed the information from the InBody and she was VERY successful, lost 4 lbs of fat in four weeks and maintained water and muscle.  In the meantime – knowing that the InBody BMR measurements aren’t always accurate (because it’s not the most accurate way to measure BMR) she decided to have a New Leaf assessment done also – so that she could be sure she was getting an accurate measurement.  For her – these two pieces of information came out very close!!

I guess the lesson I want everyone to take from this is that gas exchange is the most accurate way to have your metabolism or caloric needs, measured!  You can’t always count on the InBody BMR measurement to be accurate.  And you certainly can NOT judge a book by its cover.  You just never know – and that’s the bottom line.

I’m happy to report that my dad was thrilled and will continue to exercise.  The sweet gal that had her assessment done, now gets to net 1700 calories a day and STILL lose weight – instead of her usual dieting of 1000 or less, lose weight and gain it all back and then some.   I love my job!

It’s been quite sometime since I’ve posted anything.  This past month my life has been turned upside down and inside out and I feel like I’m just barely able to take a breath!  I wanted to share one of my most recent experiences, just to get it out I guess.  Recently, I was faced with the very sad reality that it was time to shut the studio doors.  This has been very difficult for many reasons.  For 6 years I’ve been  blessed to have my own fitness studio and have trained many friends over this time period.  I know I have been very fortunate to keep those doors open, despite all the life challenges of getting married, blending families and a bad economy, that I faced simultaneously.  The majority of the time, I was hanging in there by my fingernails – but hanging in there, nonetheless.   When you put so many years of love, hard work, dedication, time, sweat and tears to build something you are hoping will one day become the next greatest health and fitness center – you can’t help but be seriously attached and love what you have created with all your heart.  It truly becomes a part of you.

For several reasons, I came to the harsh reality and conclusion, that it was necessary for me to close my doors – what I did not expect, were the feelings that accompanied it.  I knew I’d be sad – I cried for a week!  I knew I’d feel some financial relief (for a time anyway) – but I did not realize and was not prepared for feeling like such a failure!!!  Talk about humbling!  Let me tell you – it REALLY got me to evaluate my level of “pride.”  It was tough.

Looking back – I know I’m not a failure, consciously I can say – “I’m not a failure” but man, closing those doors – I felt like one.  So – like I always do with everything else in life, I look at my situation and just continue to move forward with determination.  What I lack in business sense, I make up for in resilience, that is for sure!  Reviewing the last 6 years and what has taken place with my former husband, my teenage kids, my marriage, blending of the families and then finally the downturn of the economy – it’s amazing I’m as sane as I am, that I haven’t been committed to the funny farm!  And THAT, my friend, is SUCCESS!!!!

I will keep that in mind as I move forward with new direction.  I am now training in my clients homes as well as out of Studio Nine in Woodinville (great group of people down there).

How can I be so excited about weighing in one day? and then be like I am today? I hope people saw Carrie’s response from the last post! I love her pictures of the trail. I guess I’m having to go over my trail over and over, which is a good thing. Check out what she has to say. It’s very accurate and inspiring! I just read it again and it made me feel better. My goal for today is to keep the picture of the trail in my mind.

The good thing is that I’m committed to exercising. That is still happening. I’m grateful to have Carrie, so I don’t make excuses. I want to though. Mostly I just want to rest. So in writing this I’m deciding to get off my butt and go do something productive. Oh! I know what I’m going to do! I’m dumping some of the goodies that are around here!

Something else I struggling with is trying to get my kids on healthy eating. I know I need to be an example but I’m not doing well myself. I’m open to any suggestions. My son doesn’t like veggies etc. I need to have snacks around that he’ll like and eat. Me too!

okay I’m off. There wasn’t any real purpose for this blog except to keep doing it and not stop! I’m off to Log and to purge the kitchen of junk!

Now – I’m not claiming to know everything – all I have to offer is my experience in training over the years, but I can share with you what I have learned.

There are a couple of reasons, that I’m aware of, that play into the quick decline of direction.  Carol Tuttle shares four different energy types in her book, It’s Just My Nature. I know I’ve mentioned this book before – but it’s worth repeating because who we are by nature, does impact how we go about projects, setting goals and achieving goals, etc. The conversations that Becky and I have had, reveal that she is clearly a type 1. If you know her or have met her, you would probably agree that she has a natural brilliance to her. Her eyes smile when she smiles, she is bubbly, light, fresh, youthful, fun and unstructured. There is an upbeat energy to her that leaves no doubt in your mind that this is true, she is in fact a type 1. Keeping life light and fun is the primary motive for a type 1. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the word “fun” come out of her mouth – it is definitely a primary motive for her. Carol goes over the gifts and talents of a type 1 and cautions us about the importance of keeping balance – that the same natural tendencies that are your gifts and talents can also be a challenge in your life. When we allow our dominant movement to take over, it creates problems. I recognized this in Becky’s blog when she mentioned that she is a great “starter” but not so great at being a “finisher.” Because type 1′s natural gift is ideas and they come readily and easily, you can easily get stuck in the idea phase, bringing in more ideas than you can follow through with. Or – new ideas distract you easily, events, people, to do lists, creating the tendency to not always follow through. Knowing this information isn’t going to solve the problem – since it is just a part of the type 1 nature, but having an awareness of it, accepting it and working with it – rather than letting it get you down and frustrated is a better path.

Remember one of the gifts of a type 1 is that they are full of ideas! This will come in handy as we brainstorm ways to work with this nature. Another trait we know about type 1′s are that they need fun. So if type 1′s like to start things but don’t tend to finish, let’s come up with some fun activities that we can implement that creates that feeling of “starting something new, fresh, fun!” Maybe switching cardio activities each month, trying something new and exciting once in a while. One month – make it kick boxing (put a short 1 month goal out there to reach) The next month, make it swimming – again, set a little mini goal for yourself just for that month of swimming. Then – maybe try rollerblading? Again, making a goal that is realistic for you to reach by the end of the month. That way – you are satisfying the need and enjoyment of starting something new and fun. You are only doing it for a month so you can stay focused, it’s not too long-term – setting yourself up for disappointment because you couldn’t stay focused. Also, setting little mini goals and reaching them, changes the thought habits of not ever finishing to – “yes, I can and DO finish projects, goals, etc.” Which leads me into the second reason we lose that motivation…

Another reason why we fall off and lose that motivation is because of our subconscious beliefs. Again – our conscious and subconscious have different functions and we relate ourselves too often with our conscious mind. We think that just because we understand how something works, in our mind – that we will do it. Not so! What we will do is what we have done for the last umpteen years – which is a result of whatever self dialogue we have had with ourselves long enough for the subconscious to believe it and accept it as truth. Your subconscious will continually pull you off track, off the new path of good habits you are now trying to establish. It takes TIME to blaze a new trail. Imagine if you, alone, decided to take a walk in the forest where the ground is covered with bushes, trees, grass, wild plants, flowers and no one has ever been there before – you are going to create a new trail – but ONLY by walking. Imagine – walking that same path every day, how long do you think it’ll take to wear a clear path to the point that nothing will grow there on the ground where you keep walking? Yeah! Exactly! Here is a picture to help your imagination -

Now – you do have some control as to how quickly you can clear this new path. If you were to bring a few friends along every day – and all of you together, walked the same path, daily, to wear it in good and clear so it is easy to see. At some point, you won’t even need to watch so closely to where you are stepping because it’ll be clear enough that you won’t trip over twigs, roots or rocks. Cause here is the thing – unless you change those habits, the thought habits and beliefs at the subconscious level, it will be a LONG time till you can walk that path without watching where you step. The friends I mentioned above – and will list below, I know they aren’t “main stream” but I do have personal experience in them and can say that they INDEED WORK! The more friends you bring along on your daily hikes, the quicker you will clear that path so you don’t have to watch every step you take.

The Friends:

Vision board
positive affirmations
EFT (tapping or energy freedom technique)
RET (rapid eye technology)

NOW GO CUT A PATH!!!  And just recognize, when you trip on a tree root or rock and you stumble and fall – your path isn’t quite clear enough to really take your eyes off for any length of time.  Get up, brush yourself off, and get moving again – with your eyes fixed on the path.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXK288BeFZ0&feature=email