FEAR

When people first commit to anything, most people will feel that one, dreary word, fear.  Fear is a powerful emotion, it can trip you up in the middle of a speech, it can clobber your attempts to climb a mountain, it can truly keep you from losing weight.

Are you like this guy?  Scared?



Fear is scary, but it is a genuine reality for most gym goers and most people in general who wish to do something about their problem.  I'm here to tell everyone this - fear is just an emotion.  Don't let it rob you of your self belief, because if you truly can't believe in something how are you ever going to do anything?

So to get off in the right track, if you are new to fitness figure out what  your desired goals are.  DON'T give yourself general guidelines, but really hammer out what you want to do with your body.  If you can pinpoint a need then your body will have a frame of reference in what it needs to do to meet that goal.  If you want to lose weight, be precise - I want to lose fifteen pounds in about four months.  That is a definitive goal.  Will I be scared - of course!  Anytime a goal is set, our mind will immediately refer to the times we've set previous goals and failed at them, don't let fear corrupt you.  Instead turn it on it's head and prove to yourself that if you truly wish to get something done you can. 

I've wanted to give workouts on my blog, but haven't known when to give them out, but this seems as good a time as any.  If you're scared of going to the gym than do something at home - speaking of which, this workout is designed specifically for that.  It will elevate your metabolism and have you drenching in sweat.  Give it a shot though and really try to blast through whatever is holding you back, because in all seriousness - life is too short.  Don't let it hold you back from where you want to go, not only in the fitness world but whatever else you set your mind to.

Metabolism Imploder:

Pushups - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sxv7lL34kS0
10 sets of 10 pushups
rest 30 seconds between sets (if regular are too hard drop to knees)

Rest 2 minutes between exercises

Reverse Lunge alternating - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1uSm-0qE9Q
10 sets of 10
rest 30 seconds between sets

Rest 2 minutes between exercises

Squat Thrust - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6VxBHBdrJA (just so everyone knows, this is NOT a burpee, anyway, do the first variation)
10 sets of 5
rest 15 seconds between sets

If you can do this three times a week for a month, your on a definitive route to overcoming your fears.  Now get to WORK!

Vacation Eating . . . .

Dun . . Dun . . Dun!  So, I went to Whidbey Island on Friday with my wife, daughter and dog and had a blast!  (Well, except for the fact that the pool was closed - come on people, it's summer time!)  We went walking on the beach for hours on end, lazed around while watching T.V. and . . . ate.  :)

Whidbey - a place of serene beauty.

Now, fortunately for us, we brought most of our food with us.  In the fridge we had left over rice, bread, hummus, some instant meals from Trader Joe's (these meals are actually made with quality ingredients, and as long as you eat the serving size you're in pretty good shape as far as how much they impact you're daily calories) etc. . .  You get the drift - so with foods from home it should have been a cake walk to eat healthy . . . wrong.

Honestly, if you're vactioning (and trust me, this will be the closest thing I'll come too in terms of vacationing) I believe you should - splurge.  That's right.  WHY!?  I can see some of you screaming at me with horror - yes I've been very good with my diet lately, in fact I've been dropping some pounds and body fat, but back to the subject - why would I want to jeporadize that?  It's more for the sanity of the people around you.  For my family, this was their time to relax too (or try to anyway, it's hard to relax when you have a daughter whose almost three screaming at you every half hour to go to the beach :) ).  It was their time to enjoy the pleasure of being still - to ponder, think and just relax.  I didn't feel that I was in a position to take that away from them.  Lets be honest, it's hard to drop weight.  I think it's even harder for the people around you - they have to put up with you as you go through your mood shifts or your complaints about food or how it's been so hard lately blah, blah blah . . . Trust me when I say they need a break from that too.

So I did just that, I splurged and just had some fun.  It was good to eat at DQ - yes, anyone ever had a dipped cone?  They're righteous and awesome at the same exact moment in time, I ate two of those on my trip!  I aslo had some donuts and . . . well you ge the drift.  So if you're on vacation I say enjoy it - unless you have a bodybuilding competition or some modeling gig coming up, take it easy for a while and regain some of that sanity. 

That being said though, make sure to get the exercise in.  You're body still needs the stimulus from that in order to maintain it's current physical abilties, but as far as the nutrition . . . eat a little and enjoy :)



That's right - I had me some butterscotched dipping goodness.  And I enjoyed every bite!  (So did my dog who I had to share a little with.)

Human Living Experiment - To TupperWar or Not?

In all honesty, what is the easiest way to portion control?  Reason being, it is one of the core tenets of losing weight.  It's to tupperware!  So what does it mean? 

When is the hardest time to stick to an eating plan?  It's when you're in the presence of other people.  We love food, it's hardwired into our DNA and we love food that much more when comapny is around.  The saying - "The food is only as good as the company", strikes a sure note in relaying that truth.  Think about it.  At Thanksgiving are you really going to watch what you're eating?  Are you going to watch what you're eating when, say, others aren't watching?  Of course not - especially when all the good smells, and the lovely sights further empower a person's need to gorge.  Okay, okay, bad example - everyone is expected to eat a little more during the holidays, but what about those family picnics, or mandatory lunch meetings that your boss expects you to go to?  Seriously, can anyone say no to good food then?  Some might, but most of us will falter - it's a part of our human nature.  But, that doesn't give us the excuse.

An office party in full swing.

So how do we battle this nemisis, this need to belong by eating - it indeed does have the upper hand: people expect us to eat, to enjoy, to use an expression - "live alittle".     

It isn't a tricky science, in fact it's quite simple.  The only REAL ingredient to this whole debacle is planning.

Plan your meals out a week in advance.  If you know what you're eating ahead of time you're less likely to look for food when you're hungry.  A way to do this:  First, figure out your calories.  Many people don't realize how much food their bodies need in terms of calories.  You can find out by utilizing the
Harris/Benedict formula: 

For ladies use:  655 + (9.6 X weight in kilos) + (1.8 X height in cm) - (4.7 X age in years)  

For men use:    66 + (13.7 X weight in kilos) + (5 X height in cm) - (6.8 X age in years)

This will give you your resting metabolic rate (RMR) - which means what you're body is burning when you're sleeping/eating/or using the facilities.  Basically when you aren't doing any physical activity.  After this you'll have to figure out how many calories your burning during exercise.  We'll discuss that later.  For now, use the RMR as your base calories.

From here figure out what foods to eat.  Again, we'll discuss this later since there are a whole host of options to consider (pre/during/post workout considerations, thermogenics of particular foods etc..).  Once a solid list is developed, build a meal plan for the meals throughout the day - breakfast/lunch/dinner and snacks.  Spend a day during the weekend to cook the food, build it and then store it in - you guessed it, Tupperware containers!

A temptation squasher.

So the next time you're at a social function that you know will provide some temptations, tag along you're tupperware container and if anyone asks you, what you're doing - just tell them the truth.

 "I'm just trying to watch my weight."

They'll walk away with new found respect.  They might find you a little odd, but when you hit your target weightloss goal, they'll understand why.  They might even ask for a few tips.  When they do, just give them some Tupperware containers :).

Good luck everyone!

Human Living Experiment - Habits can be tricky

Yesterday was a start to a new journey.  Well, sort of.  If you haven't read my post about the Human Living Experiment you can see it here:  http://ampedfitness.blogspot.com/2011/05/human-living-experiment.html.  In either case, no matter what the goal we're all going to find pitfalls.  And pitfalls, mind you, can be extremely taxing when it comes to focusing on weight loss.

But, they can also be the stubbling block turned stepping stone that promotes a stronger, more disciplined version of you.  I like to use the term, "trial by fire".  So how does one turn a pitfall into an opportunity - in this case, for weight loss?

It's through the utilization of simple tricks.  Everyone knows that we are creatures of habit (http://www.spring.org.uk/2009/09/how-long-to-form-a-habit.php).  The problem with a habit is that it becomes a subconcious reality for us - we don't think twice about eating that final piece of pizza.  It's yummy, so why not take it out? 

This is where the tricks come in.  For me, my pitfall comes at night.  I can be tracking my calories, eating what I need to fuel and nourish my body, but when 7PM rolls around I get HUNGRY.  Or do I?  Honestly, I don't.  It's my mind being so used to eating at night.  I can easily eat dinner and then an hour later go take out a slice of pizza, a little later - why not that slice of whole wheat bread with butter?  As you can see, it all adds up.  The trick?  Post a note on the cupboard, or better yet - go brush your teeth.  Do something that breaks the subconcious action of eating that extra bite.  After that, when you're mind is playing tricks on you, go look at a role model.  For some of us guys its Arnold in his prime, it can be anybody, but when you see their physique your mind will understand what it took to get to that moment, and if they can do it - why can't you?

Find your own tricks, make them work for you.  If a habit really only does take 20 days to make, but 60 days to break - it can be a long ride, but a more manageable one too. 

By the way, the reason for this post - yesterday was a hard day for me, especially at night.  Hopefully this will help some of you and will help me stay a little more committed :) .