Getting Lean!

It's so funny how my fitness & health goals have changed over the years! I remember when I was 19, I wanted to be a super thin cardio queen. When I was in my late 20's, I was all about figure competitions and bulking up to gain dense muscle on my body, and having meals where I would focus on PROTEIN, PROTEIN, PROTEIN! Now, in my late 30's, my focus is BALANCE. I am a runner, a Vegan, I practice Yoga, and I still love weight training. My focus has shifted from all that muscle to now I want to look lean, long and fit.

When you are looking to lose weight, you MUsT focus on the foods you eat!. It's about WHAT you eat, WHEN you eat and HOW MUCH you eat. You should focus on calories as well. This is JUST A START to being lean. WHen I say lean, I mena defined arms, abs are showing, glutes are round and high & tight and you have no muffin top!  To stay in pretty good shape, just paying attention to portions will do you just fine...meaning you don't have to change how your eating, just eat a little less! This to me is what most people aim for...to look decent.

I am not that girl! I never strived for a decent body! I LOVE my abs, I love my legs and I LOVE being super lean! For me, it's not about portion control it's about putting the BEST QUALITY calories in my body for optimal health. Example: I could either have a bowl of cereal and some skim milk for breakfast or I can have a QUALITY piece of SProut bread wich is very dense, top it with raw organic almond butter and a sliced banana on top. The cereal will gove my fat cells energy, but what will my muscles gain? NOTHING! Yea, the Toast, almond butter and banana have more calories, but! The calories are going to fuel my muscles for my long runs and my intense workouts! Not to mention my energy levels for the day to train and work with my clients! The foods I eat will rev up my metabolism, whereas the processed foods will break my body down and make me feel sluggish. Getting my point yet?

SO many clients I work with have such a hard time trying to eat healthy. I also have clients who SAY they eat healthy, but can't lose weoght.  The foods I eat do contain lots of calories, because they are dense foods, but also contain lots of fiber. Ezekiel bread, Brown rice pasta, almonds, pistachios, and walnuts, olive oil,  fruit, lentils, beans are are all SUPER FOODS I have inmy diet &  they provide lots of calories in small servings.

When your focus is on losing body fat, you do tend to get super HUNGRY a lot during the day, and  if you choose food that give many calories on a small amount of food volume wise, you will not get full or feel satisfied.

Think of carbs as your gasoline or fuel.WHen you eat fruit, brown rice, pasta or yams, you are fueling your body with gasoline - instant energy. IF you intake too many carbs, your body won't tap into fat storage while doing your workouts. Carbs also release most of the fat-storing hormone insulin which tells your body to store energy instead of burning it.

If you eat lots of carbs, you need to slow down with the fats & protein in order for your caloric intake not to get too high, so  you still lose body fat. If you don't have enough good fats in your diet you will NEVER feel full, your hair skin and nails will suffer and become brittle, and forget about your hormones! WOOO! If you don't get enough protien your muscles will not repair or rebuild and you will work your ass off and NEVER See results.

Focusing only protein and fats and carb depleating will make you feel crappy and sluggish (think bodybuilders). Your training and cardio will suffer and you won't release enough seratonin in the body.People who don't like veggies drive me NUTS! How will they get their fiber?? How do they get rid of their toxins? No good poops! Lots of inflammation in the body is terrible! If you don't eat enough veggies, you get bloated and look pregnant! EWW!

Did you know that nuts especially pistachios are a GREAT source of energy? How about coconut oil! INCREDIBLE for energy levels! Be warmed though: those innocent tiny little nuts pack a FAT punch! LOADED with calories...Remember, a little goes a long way! If you don't use these goods fats for energy, your body will hold on to them tight and store them with the rest of your fat cells!

You will notice that people who eat "avergage American Diets" don't ever change their bodies or look super fit. They haven't taken the extra step to tweak things, to listen to their bodies, to focus on a goal and deisre to want something MORE! It's easy to look decent! BORING! I NEVER want to look decent!

Most people are lazy and not have the drive to make changes, even though they SAY THEY DO! Most people just feel better SAYING Things and NOT acting out. To be honest, for me, the diet is the easy part...it's the program design and running schedule that is my challenge...for MOST people it's the opposite. Remember: It's NOT easy, NONE of it...but working hard and focusing will make you value your body more and appreciate the hard work!

Did you know that Weight Watchers, Nutra Systema and  all those crazy diets depleate your body of all the fruits and veggies you need and end up filling your body with sodium, and chemicals!?!? Plus they depleate your bank account! I promis you that if you just eat more veggies everyday, you will soon see changes....Eat more fruits, you will see changes...EVERYDAY eat a new veggie or fruit!

Most people believe that in order to get lean, they must take drastic measures! I know people who are addicted to FASTING. I know Detox Queens, who month after month spend $100's of dollars on these cleanses. I still know people who won't touch carbs, Others who take water pills and or fat burners! I won't deny, in the past I have tried EVERYTHING!

If you have nutrition questions, email me! I would love to help you!

XO