Michelle LeSueur, DBe, CNC, CNS

Are Toxins keeping you from getting lean and/or making you fat?

The average American puts over 250 toxins on their body from the time their feet hit the floor, until they walk out the door.  Those of you that have read my book know how passionate I am about toxin awareness.

1/3 of U.S. adults along with over 300 million adults globally are obese.

Do you know people who have tried every diet and still suffer from being overweight?

What may be causing people to retain and/or gain weight – even while dieting?

Why do some diets work for some and not for others?

When we are exposed to a toxin it is stored in our fat cells.  If you are wondering if you have a high toxic load, look in the mirror and if you see a lot of cellulite, you definitely do.  Cellulite is a good indication of what your toxic load is.  If you are a person that does not have cellulite, that doesn’t mean that you don’t need to reduce your toxic load, it may mean that your body handles it better than others or it is in the lymph system and/or other systems.

We are exposed to 80,000 man made chemicals in our daily lives.  Our bodies are staggering under the enormous load of industrial toxin that has entered our food, water, and environment — and these toxins are also making us fat.  The average American ingests 10 pounds of synthetic food additives each year, which collect in the body’s fat cells.

Then you look at the fact that 35 states have rocket fuel contaminants in their groundwater. These particular petroleum based fuels block the absorption of iodine to the thyroid, therefore contributing to hypothyroidism.  I can’t tell you how many people that I have told to have their thyroid tested, find out they are suffering from low thyroid.  When your thyroid isn’t functioning, you have a very difficult time losing weight.

General weight gain is rising with the increase level of toxins in our environment.  The staggering load of toxins in our food, water and environment disrupt our hormone balance.  I have worked with hormones for the last 8 years and I find it scary that I have men coming to me in their 20’s and 30’s with low testosterone.

The more toxic your body becomes, the more difficulty you will have losing weight and keeping it off.  Studies have shown that toxins may paralyze parts of the brain having to do with appetite.  I have seen this first hand.  I have had so many patients that say they are not hungry and so they only eat one big meal that makes them fat. Then you have the person that will say they never feel full and they are always hungry. Our body’s natural weight control mechanisms are not functioning properly!

The currant reasons for Obesity, inactivity and overeating, alone, do not explain the current obesity epidemic.  An epidemic is something that happens fast, so this leads us to believe that it has to be environmental instead 
of genetic.

Many people do not have a clue how they are being exposed to these toxins.  Our environment is filled with chemicals. They permeate our home, our office, our food, our car, even the air we breathe and the water we drink. Toxic chemicals are also found in the products we use to care for our home and ourselves. We are exposed to hundreds—possibly thousands—more chemicals than our great grand parents were.

Currently, 100, 000 synthetic chemicals are known to exist in our environment. The endocrine system is affected by 51 of these synthetic chemicals. Some of them mimic estrogens, but many of them interfere with other parts of the system, such as the pituitary and the thyroid.  The endocrine system is an integrated system of glands located throughout the body.  When one fails the whole system goes down.

For example, the adrenal glands produce hormones that you can’t live without, including sex hormones and cortisol, which helps you respond to stress. These manmade compounds largely affect the adrenal glands, and when the adrenals fail, the thyroid soon follows. The adrenal glands are foundational and by keeping them in balance, you are more likely to have more balanced hormone levels.  In my clinical practice 75 percent of my patients who had adrenal problems had adrenal fatigue, and the other 25 percent were in failure. This is a huge problem. These victims of environment have no energy, can’t sleep at night, and feel generally unwell.  Many people don’t realize when you train hard you need adrenal support because these glands are really being taxed.  By using the proper adrenal support, you will find greater success in your training and the results will reflect that.

Throughout our lifetimes, toxins and carcinogens build up in our systems and can eventually cause the spontaneous ignition of cancerous growth cells. People are suffering from cancer at an all time high. According to the American Cancer Society, over the course of a lifetime, men now have a one in two chance of getting cancer and women a one in three chance. In 2008 alone 570,280 people are expected to die of cancer—almost 1500 people a day!  You can imagine what the numbers are today.

Here is a list based upon more than 100,000 tests, the Environmental Working Group reported the dozen fruits and vegetables that are most and least contaminated with pesticides.

This is just a sample of the list I have in my book to help you know where you could be exposing your self unknowingly to toxins.  I also list things that help you reduce your toxic load.  If you would like to read more about this you can purchase my book at

http://uniquehealthandwellness.com/books/willingtochange.htm

The Importance of Sweating

I remember a few years back going for a walk with my husband in the desert, on a day when the temperature was around 108 degrees.  My husband was pouring down sweat and I didn’t have a drop on me.   When he looked at me, my face was beet red, and when he saw I wasn’t sweating he was concerned.  And he should have been.  Sweating is important for many reasons.  One of the main reasons is to help regulate temperature and help cool us down when our bodies are hot.  There are approximately 2 million sweat glands in our body and as our body breaks down our food, as well as the many other functions that it does, our body is heating up to get things done. Believe it or not we even sweat on cold days.

The average person uses approximately 2,500 calories a day to fuel our bodies.  When this happens it creates oxidation that produces enough heat to bring 25 quarts of water to boiling.  Our bodies were meant to be at 98.6 and our bodies could in no way tolerate this kind of heat, so we are lucky to have been created with a built in cooling system.  When this happens, it slows down the calorie burning and opens blood vessels in our skin to release the heat.

Sweating is not only important for maintaining proper temperature but is also important for cleansing.  When we sweat our bodies release various toxins that hinder our bodies in many ways.   In fact, some toxins can only be eliminated from the body through the skin.

When you have a high toxic load your body will hang on to fat.  The more we reduce our toxic load the easier it is for our body to burn that unwanted fat that we have. I often will recommend people use a wet sauna to help release toxins.  There is so much new research that shows that the higher your toxic load is the more difficult that it is to release fat.  It is important to remember to make sure you are drinking ton’s of water when you do this and replace your minerals.

Now some people sweat more than others.  In my case I have a thyroid problem and that is one of the indications for me that I need to be tested to make sure my medication is high enough.  I never used deodorant up until 8 years ago when I was diagnosed with low thyroid, because I didn’t sweat much.  Once I got that balanced I began to sweat and when I find that my sweating is down, that is usually a sign I need to be tested again to make sure I am at maximum levels.  If you find that you don’t sweat, gain weight easily, are constipated, low BP and low body temp, you may want to have a full thyroid panel done to make sure you are where you are suppose to be.  They will only want to run TSH, but insist on the full!!!  Another reason some do not sweat is because of dehydration.  You need to drink half your body weight in water daily, if you train hard you need more!!

If you are a person that sweats fine, it is important to remember to make sure you are getting plenty of plant based mineral.  You may want to take a multi mineral formula, but make sure it is plant based!!!  The other kind comes from rocks and your body can’t use it!!

Grounded; The Importance Of It

I was talking to a client the other day about grounding himself.  On more than one occasion I had told him that this was an issue and he would never get where he wanted to go unless he could become more grounded.  In his mind, he thought I was telling him he had a big head and was full of himself.  Then I explained what this meant.  For this guy he had certain goals, but someone would come into his life and share an idea and it would take him off course.  He would become frustrated only to eventually return to his original course, but it wasn’t long before someone new came along and he was off on another bunny trail.  When I explained to him that when we are not grounded we are like a balloon being blown in whatever direction the wind happens to be blowing at that time.  He finally got it.  He follows my blog and asked if I could please write about it so here it is.

So how do you know when you are not grounded?

Here are some symptoms. These can include:

Difficulty finding solutions…

Feeling emotionally flighty or frazzled…

Being disorganized…

Feeling at loose ends or moody…

Loss of interest in what someone is saying…

Being overwhelmed by details…

Decreased concentration when your energy is scattered.

Feeling over worked

Unable to focus on a task or complete a task

If you find your self-thinking about things that happened last week or even last month then you are not living in the moment and may benefit from grounding.  We can become ungrounded because we are over-stimulated and our mind is scattered from multi-tasking and the general fast place of life, from your computer, TV, cell phone ect.

Being grounded has to do with our connection to the earth and to our own physical existence. When we are grounded our attention is focused on the here and now. Our minds are coordinated with our bodies. We are more balanced and don’t feel off.  If you can take the time each day, even if it is for 5 minutes and ground your self, you will find that you will be more focused and able to accomplish your goals.

Here are 2 meditations to try.  For some of you this may be a stretch, but I think you will be surprised what you find when you have finished.  If nothing else, you should find that you have slowed down and are a little more relaxed.

Here is a simple one:

In your yard, a park or forest where you have privacy, choose a tree that attracts you. It might be young and or old. Then inwardly ask it for permission to approach it. When you sense the OK, approach it.

Put your hands on the tree trunk. Begin speaking to the tree out loud, if possible, or mentally. Tell it the story about that you feel sad about, some unresolved situation. Trust yourself to do this.

Speak until your story is finished and you have no more to say. At some point or when you reach the end, just rest your forehead against the trunk. Most importantly, experiment with these instructions and see what happens.

You may feel the tree receive your story and lift your energy upward. Your mind may become still and silent. No thoughts. No sadness. You may enter meditation or deep relaxation standing with the tree.

Here is a longer one and one of my favorites.

To begin this meditation, you first need to be comfortable. Start this meditation by sitting in a comfortable chair with your feet flat on the floor. Breathe very deeply. As you inhale, see yourself breathing in fresh, new, life-giving oxygen.  Take a deep breath in and release and one last one. Imagine the white light and life-force entering your body and giving you life, sustaining your life…

As you exhale, see yourself breathing out any negative or old energy or feelings. Imagine this to be black smoke leaving your nostrils.   Breathe like this for a few minutes, all the while becoming very aware of your body. Imagine each part of your body.  Notice your breath. Imagine sending your breath down through your body, down your legs, and out through your feet, like roots growing into the Earth.

Through the moist warm topsoil with the worms and other critters, down through the bones of our ancestors, down through the bedrock, through watery underground rivers and lakes, down, down, down . . . spreading out wide as they go.  Like the roots of a tree, these tendrils keep seeking down into the heart of the Earth.   Notice that they intermingle loosely with the roots of all the others in your circle.   Eventually your roots begin to feel the warmth at the heart of the Earth, the fiery core of our Mother Earth. You are grounding through your meditation deep into the Earth.

Let your roots take up residence in a wide circle, touching this heat, letting it warm them. Let the tips of your roots open, opening the channel between you and the Earth.

Now send down, with your breath, anything you want to release, to let go of, to transform. Send it down into the fiery Cauldron of the Goddess.   Ask Mother Earth if you may ground to her and use her energy to protect yourself. Remember to thank her. She will transform it for you. It’s what She does. Give it to Her, and be free.

Let the Earth energy flow in through your rootlets, effortlessly. Let it move up, up . . . up through the reaches of your root system. Moving up through the underground waters, up through the bedrock, up past the bones of our ancestors, up through the rich topsoil, and right up into the soles of your feet.  This fiery energy keeps rising. You need do nothing but stand there and open to it.

The heat relaxes and energizes as it fills the muscles. It flows down the arms into the hands and right through to the fingertips. It flows up through the neck and fills your entire head with brilliant energy.  As you’re grounding, keep your meditation breathing. Feel the energy rising.

Now you may touch the ground, and with thanks for such abundance, offer any extra energy that you don’t need, back to the Earth. You can imagine the level lowering, like a bathtub emptying, to just the degree you need.  Keep only what you need to be fully charged and energized. Release any excess that would make you jittery or manic.

When you’re ready, come back to standing.

You can also find some on youtube.

Combining for Complete Protein

I was asked to write on how to do combining to get complete proteins.  Although I prefer animal protein because it is complete, there are many people that for different reasons prefer to avoid animal protein and do combining. You are probably thinking, what determines whether something is a complete protein?  Well it has to have an ample amount of the nine essential amino acids.

If you are deficient in just one of the nine essential amino acids you may suffer from serious health implications that can result in reduction of the body’s proteins. What does this mean?  Well the body will have to go after muscle and other protein structures, catabolizing them in order to obtain the one amino acid that is needed.  Unlike fat and carbohydrates, the human body does not store excess amino acids for later use, which is why amino acids must be in our food daily.

The 9 amino acids that are considered essential that we can’t produce, that need to come from a food source are isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Another amino acid – histidine is considered semi-essential because the body does not always require dietary sources of it.

The body makes nonessential amino acids from the essential amino acids or normal breakdown of proteins. The nonessential amino acids are arginine, alanine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamine, glutamic acid, glycine, proline, serine, and tyrosine.

Leucine, isoleucine, and valine are called branched-chain amino acid (BCAAs) because human beings cannot survive unless these amino acids are present in the diet. The combination of these three amino acids makes up approximately one-third of skeletal muscle in the human body.  I am a firm believer in BCAA’s and take them daily.

Protein is essential to the body.  It is what helps cuts heal, muscle grow and make other proteins.  Many people do not get enough.  If you don’t like to eat meat, drink protein drinks or are vegan/vegetarians, then combining is a great way to accomplish this.

Here is a list, which by choosing from two columns will create a complete protein.

Sources of Complementary Proteins

What is really great is if you take anything from any of these columns; add a little animal protein and that will give you a complete protein.

*Note: I am not a big fan of soy and I like black beans the best.

If you want to see how much protein is in certain foods, check out this link.  It has a pretty good list.

http://www.indoorclimbing.com/Protein_Foods.html

Interval Training and Fat Loss

If I told you could lose more body fat by doing less would you be interested?  I have been asked many time what is the fastest way to lose fat.  There are so many studies that have been done, showing that interval training is the best way to accomplish this over any other cardio.

What is great about Interval training is it works both the aerobic and the anaerobic system. When it comes to calorie burning during exercise, research shows that short, high-intensity aerobic sessions burn more calories than longer, lower-intensity aerobic workouts.  If this is so then why not go intense the whole time instead of going really hard and then resting?  To maintain high intensity at the level needed would be very difficult and people could find themselves with injuries.  Short burst of exercise, going as hard as you can and then having a short rest has been found to be the best.

Lets look at sprinting.  When you sprint or do any intense exercise, your muscle cannot get enough oxygen at the rate need by the muscle and it is at this time that anaerobic has to kick in to assist, providing energy to the muscle.  This is that burn that you feel and is called lactic acid.  Once this intense action has finished, your body needs to repay what it has borrowed.  There is an oxygen deficit and in order for the muscles to return to normal, that deficit needs to be repaid.  This is called Oxygen debt. When you feel that lactic acid burn you know you are in oxygen debt. The more oxygen debt that we create the more we boost our metabolism.  It is that huffing and puffing, gasping for air that is paying that oxygen debt. Like any debt the more you borrow the more that needs to be paid back.  One other benefit is that the more of a deficit created, the longer you will burn calories after you have finished your workout.

The name of the game is finding something that is intense enough that you switch over to an anaerobic state.   Resistance training and sprinting are two great ways to accomplish this.  The name of the game it to create such intensity that it can’t be sustained very long, which is what creates the lactic burn.  Then you rest for a very short time and do it again. The reason for the rest is to make sure that you increase both lactic acid and oxygen debt.  That is interval training.  Again this creates a great after burn affect, that will boost your metabolism and you will continue to burn calories for a few hours after you have finished.

Another thing that is great about this kind of training is it takes less time and you don’t burn any muscle, which lowers metabolic rate.  Any one can find 20 min a day or at least 3 days a week to do this.  I think people would be thrilled with the results they would see from doing this.

I love doing this for the first 20 min of my cardio.  When you first start working out you are burning sugar then you will either burn fat or muscle.  After the first 20 min has been completed then I drop into my fat burning zone and maintain that for an additional 40 min.  I have seen great results by doing this.

Here is a website that does interval with weights. http://www.intervaltrainingworks.com

Here is 2 interval works from mensworkout.com

Interval Variation I: Standard

The following is a typical interval workout. You alternate the same period of low intensity with the same period of higher intensity.

1. 3 – 5 minutes warm up (light jog, low intensity, gradually increasing at the end of the warm up period)

2. 1 minute moderate or high intensity followed by 1-minute low intensity (repeat 6 – 8 times)

3. 3 – 5 minutes cool down (light jog, low intensity, gradually decreasing by the end of the cooldown period)

Interval Variation II: Pyramid

This pyramid structure allows you to start with short bursts of speed, and then you’ll peak at the longest surge of energy in the middle of your workout before coming back down.

1. 3 – 5 minutes warm up

2. 30 seconds high intensity, 1-minute low intensity

3. 45 seconds high intensity, 1-minute low intensity

4. 60 seconds high intensity, 1-minute low intensity

5. 90 seconds high intensity, 1-minute low intensity

6. 60 seconds high intensity, 1-minute low intensity

7. 45 seconds high intensity, 1-minute low intensity

8. 30 seconds high intensity

9. 3 – 5 minutes cool down

Interval Variation III: Sports Conditioning

Sports are unpredictable. This interval simulates some of that unpredictability by having you doing different times and different intensities. You can mix and match the orders and repetitions as much as you want. Rest longer after the periods in which you use the most energy.

1. 3 – 5 minutes warm up

2. 2 minutes moderate or high intensity followed by 2 minutes low intensity (repeat once

3. 30 seconds high intensity followed by 30 seconds low intensity (repeat four times)

4. 60-yard sprints (or 10 seconds if not running) followed by 90 seconds rest (repeat 6 – 10 times)

5. 3 – 5 minutes cool down

If you are really serious about dropping body fat, interval training is the way to go.  There are many different options when it comes to this training, find the one that works best for you.

Antioxidant Overload

The body is all about balance.  Too much of anything is bad.  We hear all the time about how important antioxidants are but did you know that it is important for us to have oxidants also.  Oxidants play a role in our health; in fact they are required for good health.  If you are a person that exercises, then this information is even more important for you.

There were three studies done showing the benefits of some oxidants.  In one study they found that exercise increased an oxidant known as the reactive oxygen species (ROS), so believing it was an oxidant, science thought a person that exercised would need more antioxidants to combat this oxidant.  A study done at the Cardiorespiratory Exercise Laboratory at Kansas State University (Manhattan) showed that these oxidants act as vasodilators that increase delivery of oxygen to muscles.  By using antioxidants this process is disrupted.  The studies also showed that at high levels of antioxidants actually interfere with the natural regulatory systems that help muscles to function properly.

Another study that was done in Australia showed that oxidants help hold back type 2 diabetes in mice.  Certain oxidants help prevent insulin resistance by helping the body to respond better to insulin signals.  Two groups of mice were fed the same high fat diet and the one group that was given antioxidants developed diabetes much quicker.

Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute in Los Angeles, in a third study found that high use of antioxidants may increase the chance of cancer.  They have not identified the levels that would create this; more research needs to be done.

Oxidants do three important things for you health.

1. Help fight cancer.  They cause the self destruction of weakened cells and pre-cancerous tissue.

2. They are very important to heart health.  In order for blood cells to function properly they need oxidants.  These oxidants help the blood vessels to expand; this is why people are given nitroglycerin for angina.

3. They are important for sexual gratification.  The reason why erectile dysfunction drugs work, is when we are sexually aroused, oxidants expand certain blood vessels to allow for engorgement.

Balance is the key.  Because of all the toxins in our environment, most people tend to have more oxidants.  There are many juice companies out there saying that they have 30,000 orac units and there are people that are drinking a whole bottle in one day.  I believe we are seeing an imbalance in the other direction because people believe more is better.  Many people are not aware the body can only process 4,000 orac units a day on average.  If you are doing 3-4 times that you are putting stress on organs and systems and creating an imbalance system.

I am a person that believes in getting as much of the nutrients that you need from food.  By eating a whole food diet, rich in antioxidants, combined with enzymes and other co factors that are needed for the proper absorption of foods, you should need little to minimal supplementation.

So how do you tell if you are getting enough or you are low?  Well if you get sick and it takes you a while to get over things you may be low.  On the flip side, if you are working out and you are not seeing the results you think you should, and you know you are training hard, it could be because you are taking to many antioxidants and it is hindering your efforts.

Remember, balance in all things!!

Four Principles of Exercise

If you are looking to improve your health and quality of life, there is no way you can accomplish this without exercise.  This is essential for great health.  When I first started my career I had the opportunity to work with Larry Scott who was the first Mr. America, Olympia and Universe.  Even at 70, Larry still looks amazing.  The last time I spoke with him, he said to me that he is still learning, every time her goes to the gym.  In this same conversation we began to talk about the importance of muscle confusion.  He told me that he had actually had taken the time to study this and found that after 9 work outs, the body had it figured out and it was time to switch things up again.

Many of us, I have even been guilty of this, do the same work out over and over again.  I think we all have exercises that we like and those that we avoid.  If you are looking to really make growth in your muscles you have to have constant confusion or change.  With out this it will take you longer to reach your goals.

Your body is remarkable and efficient.  If you do the same exercises day in and day out you will be really good at that exercise, but you will not see the changes that many are looking for.  What ever exercise that you are doing, if it becomes easier it is time to make a change.

You will want to make sure that when you are planning out your workouts to incorporate these types of exercises:

1. Aerobic: Jogging, using an elliptical machine, and walking fast are all examples of aerobic exercise. As you get your heart pumping, the amount of oxygen in your blood improves, and endorphins, which act as natural painkillers, increase. Meanwhile, aerobic exercise activates your immune system, helps your heart pump blood more efficiently, and increases your stamina over time.

2. Interval (Anaerobic) Training: Research is showing that the BEST way to condition your heart and burn fat is NOT to jog or walk steadily for an hour. Instead, it’s to alternate short bursts of high-intensity exercise with gentle recovery periods. All you have to do is look at a sprinters body and see how fit they are.
This type of exercise, can dramatically improve your cardiovascular fitness and fat-burning capabilities.

Another benefit to this is you are done sooner.  Less is more in this case.  For example, intermittent sprinting produces high levels of chemical compounds called catecholamines, which allow more fat to be burned from under your skin within the exercising muscles. The resulting increase in fat oxidation increases weight loss. So, short bursts of activity done at a very high intensity can help you reach your optimal weight and level of fitness, in a shorter amount of time.  I love to do this for the first 20 min. of my cardio while the body is burning sugar.  Then I drop into my fat burning zone and you will be amazed where you end up.

3. Strength Training: As we age, and especially when you are over 40, we loose strength and muscle tone.  It is at this time in your life that strength training is important.  My husband has been working out the 30 years we have been together.  He has tried all kinds of training routines and we both have come to the conclusion that you can accomplish so much with just 2 sets.  You need to be able to take the muscles failure to get growth. The weight should be heavy enough that this can be done in fewer than 12 repetitions, yet light enough to do a minimum of four repetitions. It is also important NOT to exercise the same muscle groups every day. They need at least two days of rest to recover, repair and rebuild.   Larry taught me, and I have seen that it works the best is 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 2 days off.  You need to rotate your muscle groups with in this.  If you have an exercise that you like and need to create confusion, you can increase the amount of weight you are using.

4. Core Exercises: Your body has 29 core muscles located mostly in your back, abdomen and pelvis. This group of muscles provides the foundation for movement throughout your entire body, and strengthening them can help protect and support your back, make your spine and body less prone to injury and help you gain greater balance and stability.  Pilates and yoga are great for strengthening your core muscles. There are many DVD’s out that can help you with this that can be fun and enjoyable. Personal trainers are trained in this and can give you some guidance.

It is important for you to enjoy what ever you do. I always start with what I don’t like first, so that I make sure I get it done. It is all too easy, to say you will do tomorrow.  It is important to breath and really focus on the muscle you are trying to work. See the muscle, as you want it to be.  You would be surprised how much faster you would reach your goals if you would do this.  Larry also taught me that if I am doing weights to do that first.  The body releases the most amount of growth hormone right when you start working out.  This will maximize your muscle gains and if you were also doing some cardio, you would do this after your weights.

Flexibility is very important.  It is said; you are only as old as you are flexible.  Make sure you stretch before and after your work out. Women this is important after your work out to lengthen the muscle and give it that beautiful feminine look.

If you are confused and would like to get some work out routines, you will want to check out www.davidkimmerle.com.  David Kimmerle has great understanding in this area and would be a great resource.

Weight and Idleness

How many of you when you pull into a parking lot, look for the closest space?  How many of you when you go into a building, look for the elevator?  Most Americans are looking for the easy way to do everything.  From fast food, microwaved food, to lack of exercise.  I can’t believe how many people are looking for the magic pill for weight loss.  Well I am sorry to be the one to burst your bubble, but, IT DOESN’T EXIST! Sorry.  Even I, wish that it did, but in order to be healthy, look great and have a great quality of life, it takes effort.

A little test for you:
Would you rather spend the day sitting on the couch watching TV, or out on a hike and being active?
Would you rather choose take-out every night of the week, or a home cooked meal?
Would you rather have a root canal than exercise?

It is one thing to have a lazy day once in a while, but there are those that make a lifetime career out of it. To really find out if you are lazy, see how you answer these questions.

You are inactive naturally.
You would rather observe than be an active participant.
You are the master of excuses.
You find shortcuts in order to avoid the long haul.

If you are starting to feel bad about your self, don’t, because there are things that could be contributing to the problem.  Once you are aware of these things, it could totally turn things around.  It is easy to do things when you have great energy, but many people don’t and here are a few reasons why.

Caffeine Abuse
I can’t believe how many people rely on caffeine for energy. What they don’t realize is that it gives you that burst of energy, only hours later to give you that crash.  High amounts of caffeine create a spike in blood sugar and we all know when that comes plummeting down, we want to go to sleep, or reach for, you guessed it, more caffeine.  As far as weight goes, remember anytime you create an insulin response you have fat storage and a spike in blood sugar means spike in insulin.  Caffeine burns out the adrenal glands and causes major fatigue.  You have no energy and at this point you have to rebuild.  It is hard to work out when you have no energy.  Watch your caffeine intake.

Sleep Deprivation
Experts say you need 8-10 hrs of good sleep.  Seventy five percent of the people I have worked with complain of not sleeping well.  This is something I have personally struggled with.  There are many reasons for this.  Hormone imbalance, eating late and a drop in blood sugar are some of the reasons.  Sleep is vital to the body.  This is where the body rebuilds it’s self.  The body likes to regenerate between 10 pm to 2 am.  If you are a person staying up late you miss this window.  You will find that you will have the greatest health if you can get to bed at 10pm and get up by 7-8 am.  Also it is important to make sure you create a schedule.  The body gets use to this and will eventually want to go to bed at the same time.  Those people trying to lose weight will see the greatest results if they can get their 8-10 hrs sleep.  Also, if you are doing any kind of resistance training, sleep is vital for muscle growth.  People that do not get a good night sleep suffer the next day.  They are tired and less productive.  Get your sleep!!

Inactive
Many people have jobs that require them to sit or there is very little activity.  This makes you tired.  I know that when I feel really tired I will go for a walk and it gives me a pick me up.  By the time I am done I feel energized and am ready to get more done.  If you have a job where you don’t move around a lot, at lunchtime, eat your lunch and then try going for a 20 min walk. Even if you were to walk around your building, you would be surprised how energized that makes you feel.

Replacing Habits
Habits can’t be broken but they can be replaced.  It takes 21 days to create or replace a habit.  If you are a person that comes home from work, grabs bad food and plops down in front of the TV, you can change that.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how you would physically change just by doing something active instead of watching TV.  Go for a walk, play ball with your kids, go for a bike ride, anything, just move.  It is important to stay active and to enjoy life.  Go back and do the things you once enjoyed.  For some it might be hiking, others it could be going for a swim.  What ever it is that you love to do, JUST DO IT!!!  Don’t think about it because you can talk yourself out of it.  Just do it.  Have fun and enjoy life.  It is so very short.

The Extra Degree

As we move into summer, many of you are beginning to think about getting in shape.  The problem is it can be hard to find the motivation.  I hope that after watching this short movie it will inspire you to go the extra degree.  Just by doing that little bit of extra can make a huge difference in your end result.  I also hope you will check out the weight loss programs that I have to see if they will help you reach your goal.  Enjoy.

http://www.212movie.com/

Protein: Are you getting enough?

Protein is essential for the body.  You need it for every cell, organ and tissue, as well as for your hair, skin and nails.  Protein moves through the body in the form of hormones, enzymes and red blood cells.  I am amazed when I do nutritional counseling how little protein people consume, especially women.  When I look at a typical day in their daily diet it consists of carbs for breakfast, lunch and snacks, and maybe a little protein for dinner.

Here are just a few things that protein does in your body:  Anti bodies that consist of protein are essential in helping our bodies fight and resist diseases.  You use up protein in everyday living just to keep your body running smoothly.  Everyday we lose protein in the form of hair, skin and nails.  Protein is supplied to the body to help heal and repair injuries.  For growing children, protein is needed for growth of the entire body.  If you have an operation, protein is needed to help build your body back to fitness.

There are two types of protein, complete and incomplete.  Complete is found in animal sources; and incomplete you find in plants, nuts, beans and grain sources.  The problem with incomplete protein is you have to eat a lot of it and in the right combination.  What I have found clinically is that most women do not like to eat meat.  Many times when I work with women I have to find an alternative source, such as protein shakes.  Then the trick is finding the right one that they like the taste, has the numbers that I need, and isn’t using bad sugars.

I have come across a product called Whey Protein Crisps.  They are high in protein and low in carbs, I only like the natural because they don’t use any sweeteners.  This is something you can put in oatmeal, yogurt, or pretty much anything.  I even put it in cookies and you can’t taste them.  It is a great way to supplement protein.  You can find here, they have the best price:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/newyearsguide.htm?CJAID=10457602&CJPID=3897451

Then type in BPT Whey Protein Crisps

Supplement Facts

Serving Size 1Scoop(40g)

Calories  150

Total Fat  1.5

Total Carbohydrate 7g

Sugars 0

Protein  28g

Ingredients: Natural Microfiltration/ultrafiltration Whey Protein (Beta-Lactoglobulin And Alpha-Laltalbumin) Isolate And Concentrate, (Protein Subfractions And Peptides, Glycomacropeptides, Lactoferrin, And Insulin-Like Growth), Corn Starch

Tags: Protein, Weight Loss