Roadblocks, Curveballs, and Wrenches

This past month, I changed full time jobs.  I had been with my former employer for over nine years.  I knew the organization well, became an expert at my job and if I didn't know something, I knew where to find it.  I was definitely in my comfort zone.  But it was time for a change.

My world changed on June 1st.  I have new coworkers, new information, and new processes.  And it's challenging more than my brain. 

What I didn't expect from this change was how difficult it would be to keep up with my exercise routine.   I had my daily routine down.  And it got interrupted.

Life constantly challenges us.  We get the flu or we struggle with an injury.  We fall in love, and out of love.  We get married.  We have children.  We move.  We change jobs more than once.

But change - whether good or bad - gets to our core.  And from my experience, it creates an internal struggle until we once again find our rhythm.  How we handle this challenge is truly what matters. 

What are the keys to success?  I'm the first to admit I'm no expert on the subject, but I can share some tips I have learned from my own experience with roadblocks:

• Keep your routine as much as possible. This may be one of the most challenging things to do, but this creates some sense of normalcy in your new world.
• Don't give up on your healthy lifestyle. You need stress management now more than ever. Use exercise for that purpose alone.
• Be aware of stress eating and drinking. Food and/or alcohol are often used for comfort. If you are a stress eater or drinker, be aware of your behavior. Avoid buying foods that give you comfort, and turn to friends or family for support instead. Replace drinks at happy hour with a long walk.
• Talk with friends. Instead of opening the refrigerator, dial the phone.
• Consider trying a new form of exercise. If you've been doing boot camp for some time, maybe now is the time to try yoga on an "off" day.
• Get outdoors.   Whether you like to garden, hike, bike, swim or play sports, get outside your home.  The activity may help take your mind off what's bothering you, and this will keep you out of the kitchen too!

How do you manage change?  Share your thoughts!

Countdown to Summer: Fat Fighting Foods

Among my many subscriptions to health and fitness e-newsletters is a subscription to WebMD.  Last week's message included a link to a slide show that caught my attention.

The headline "Fat Fighting Foods" had me at the click of my mouse.  Despite a brain full of knowledge about what it takes to truly burn fat, it's amazing how a tempting headline can still catch my attention.

The slide show encourages high fiber, high protein, and high water food choices to keep you satisfied.  Despite what you may have heard about grapefruit and other foods on the list, none of them will magically burn away fat just by eating them; however, replacing a higher calorie food in your diet every day with one of their recommendations may just cut enough calories to lead to weight [fat] loss afterall!

Try these 6 tips using the "Fat Fighting Foods":

1.  Replace your regular 8 ounce fruit on the bottom style yogurt with a container of 6 ounce Greek yogurt.  My personal fave is Fage but there are many great brands on the market now.  Look for one with no more than 150 calories and 10-15 grams of protein per serving.

2.  Replace white rice or couscous with quinoa.  If you are looking for ideas on ways to cook with quinoa, visit my other blog, Weekly Wellness Digest (scroll down to the March 14th article).

3.  Replace your morning 12 ounce OJ with half of a grapefruit for more fiber and less calories. 

4.  Replace your afternoon sweet treat with sweet fruit instead.  Watermelon, berries, pears, grapes or apples make great fiber-filled choices.

5.  Replace your loaded baked potato with a baked mashed sweet potato.  If sweet potatoes are not naturally sweet enough for you, try mixing one baked sweet potato, a splash of vanilla extract, splash of skim milk, and 1 teaspoon of brown sugar or honey until smooth.  You get the flavor of sweet potato casserole without all the added calories.

6.  Replace your carb-heavy breakfast with eggs a few times per week.  Recent research has shown eating 30 grams of protein in the first hour post workout aids in muscle repair and may fuel fat burning.  My favorite way to get 30 grams of protein post workout?  An omelet made with 2 eggs, 1/4 cup shredded low-fat cheese, 1/4 cup skim milk, and diced onions, red bell pepper, and zucchini with a slice of high fiber bread topped with 1 Tbsp of natural peanut butter and 1/2 banana.  (This meal is about 500 calories.)

Countdown to Summer: Weight No More

Today kicks off a new session of boot camp.  Have you set any goals?  Lose five pounds?  Fit into your 'skinny jeans'?  Lose two inches off your waist for that upcoming reunion?

No matter what your goals are, eating well is just as important as moving more.  You can work your hardest at boot camp, but at the end of the day, if you've eaten more to compensate for the calories burned, you are not going to achieve the results you want.

Mathematically speaking, it takes a 3500 calorie deficit to lose one pound of body fat.  That means burning extra energy in the form of exercise and /or calorie restriction.  In theory, if you create a 500 calorie deficit each day, you should lose about one pound per week.  Sound simple enough?

Think about what you eat and drink on a daily basis.  Boot camp alone burns about 300-500 calories per session, depending on your age, height, weight and sex.  Now multiply that times five days per week.  You are burning about 1500-2500 calories per week.  With that change alone,  you could lose two pounds of fat over the course of three weeks.

To complicate matters, your body will be building muscle.  This is a very good change; however, because of this fact, you may not see the scale change much unless you truly put effort into eating less and eating healthier.

Where to begin?

• Start by using the food diary on our members only page every day to record every single bite of food and beverage that goes into your mouth.  Yes, alcohol and foods with friends count too.
• Do this every day of camp, including weekends.
• If you want to take it a step further, record the calories of everything you eat.
• After one week, review what you've eaten.  Look for excess calories (i.e. high sugar foods and alcohol).  Is there something you can change?
• If you have no idea where to start, consider a Nutrition Consult to put together an individualized plan based on your lifestyle and goals.

Portion Distortion: The Dietitian Faces Her Own Challenges

This week kicks off the month of May and the countdown to beach season.  How are those New Year's Resolutions coming along?  Are you even still in the game?

My resolution this year was to complete my second half marathon.  I accomplished that goal this past weekend in a personal best of 2:21.  For those of you out there who have finished an endurance event of any type (triathlon, marathon, half-marathon), perhaps you can relate to my experience.

For some reason, training for an endurance event gives me the free pass to eat whatever I like, and more of it than usual, especially the week before the race.  I tell myself I need to carb-load for the race and reward myself for my hard work over the past four mouths of training.  "I deserve this," I think to myself.  Ironically, I have counseled clients for years on finding other rewards for good behavior outside of food.  Perhaps I should take my own advice more often.

The day before my race, my team of girlfriends and I hit Starbucks followed by Cracker Barrel.  I often wonder each time I pass a Cracker Barrel if they placed the rocking chairs out front in an effort for patrons to "rock off" some calories they are about to consume inside.  Hmmm...

For the sake of full disclosure, I ate the following in the first two hours of our road trip. Yes, this meal was followed by four hours of sitting in a car.  Note the approximate (calories).

• 1 banana (100)
• tall skinny vanilla latte (100)
• 3 out of 4 slices of sourdough French toast (225)
• 2 scrambled eggs (160)
• 2 turkey sausage patties (150)
• 24 ounce glass of orange juice  (360)
• 1 Tbsp of butter (100)
• one individual syrup bottle  (200)



My Cracker Barrel Breakfast



Total calorie intake before noon:  1395. 

Total calorie burn during half marathon:  Approximately 1300-1400 calories.

Yes, I managed to eat every calorie I was about to burn 24 hours later in one sitting. 

If this scenario was presented by a client, I may have suggested:

• Drop the OJ.  Use half the syrup.  Order a side of fresh fruit to top the French toast. 
• Limit the French toast to two slices.  Leave off the butter (as it's probably already grilled in butter).

These changes alone would have saved about 600 calories, or about half the meal, and I still would have enjoyed most of the food!  Ahhh, the clarity of hindsight.

Well, since my goal is fitness and weight maintenance, doing this on this one occasion probably caused little harm.   But ... if you are trying to shed some pounds and wonder why all this hard work isn't giving you the results you want, perhaps portion distortion is the problem?

Consider the following tips if your serving sizes are off the charts:

1.  Eat on a smaller plate.  No seconds.

2.  Eat one-third to one-half of your normal portion.  AT... EACH... MEAL.

3.  Find out how many calories are in the foods you eat.  Ignorance is bliss until you miss out on reaching your goals.

Former Triathlete Gets Back into Shape

I met Jim this past January.  His wife was a boot camp regular last fall when I joined, but she was now staying at home with the kids each morning while he gave it a try.  The question in my mind every time I meet a new camper is, "Why now?"  For Jim, Groupon was not the answer.


Before Jim and his family moved to Atlanta, they lived in San Francisco where he was an avid triathlete finishing 10+ triathlons, including Alcatraz, along with various century bike rides.   He also finished 2 marathons - NYC in 2006 and Atlanta in 2007.  In 2008, he started working out less and working at his job more; however, this January, it was time for a change.


"I just became complacent and needed to change up my routine.  I was very skeptical of these sorts of things [boot camps] as I have always had the opportunity to train at a high level being a former Division 1 college athlete. I know all the workouts and what needs to be done.  I laughed it off thinking, 'I don't need a trainer to tell me what to do'. "  

Soon though, Jim realized that maybe he did need a little push. 

"As with everything, I owe this to my amazing wife, Joanie.  She kicked my butt to get back out there and I have really enjoyed it."

Jim and Joanie make eating well a part of every day life.  She makes "amazing" organic meals to support her husband's healthy habits.  

He tries to stick with the changes he has made including:

• Eating smaller portions
• Experimenting with the macrobiotic diet
• Limiting food after 7pm 
• Limiting alcohol
• Drinking a post-workout smoothie packed with kale, spinach, berries and coconut water. 

Watching their loved ones fight cancer and a having competitive sprit only motivates him more to choose to eat healthy and role out of bed for boot camp each day.

"At my office I keep a mantra that reads, "Every time you eat poorly, every time you sleep in, you make it that much easier for someone to beat you." 

Now, after three months of boot camp and eating well, Jim is seeing results.

"We ran a 10k in February and I noticed much easier breathing and stamina.   I have lost body fat and 28 pounds [in 3 months].  I am 6'5" and could carry the weight , but this makes me much leaner and happier.  I still play baseball in a men's league and feel much better with my core strength and speed." 

Aside from his competitive spirit, what motivates Jim to live a healthy lifestyle?

3 things:
1.  Staying healthy to support his wife.
2.  Being a role model for his children, Reed, Leah and CC. 
3.  His dad, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last June, and is beating the odds in his fight. 

"I keep a saying on my mirror that says, "One day I will wake up and not be able to do this. Today is not that day."   

A Vet in Training...

As we kick off a new month of boot camp, I thought it would be fitting to highlight some recent Step It Up success stories as an inspiration to our new campers!  First up is new "Vet" Tracie McMichen...

I first got to know Tracie when she, along with a group of our mutual friends, decided to finish the Country Music Half Marathon in Nashville one year ago this month.  I traveled with them as part of their cheering section and the group finished despite impending storms on the horizon.  Tracie joined Step It Up on March 14th of this year and will complete her 2nd Country Music Half Marathon on April 30!

What amazes me about this dedicated girl is that she commutes from Kennesaw to Smyrna for boot camp, allowing extra time to not only pick up her Starbucks Quad Expresso, but to pick up her Smyrna friends (myself included).   She says picking us up keeps her accountable, and I hope she realizes her car outside my house at 5:20am each day does the same.  I can't role over and hit the snooze button.  The caffeinated bus awaits me.



Tracie (center) with friends Chandra & Denise



I asked what motivates her to drive all the way from Kennesaw for boot camp (I was intrigued by this, as you couldn't pay me to commute to Kennesaw from Smyrna to workout!)  Luckily, she works nearby off Circle 75, and has the luxury of friends in Smyrna who let her shower for work at their place.  The real motivation, however, lies elsewhere: 

"I love the way I feel afterwards and the fitness I've gained in four short weeks."

Tracie's eating habits have changed over the past year thanks to Weight Watcher's, leading to a successful loss of ~30 lbs while she has focused on portion control and including more veggies in her diet. 

Her advice to new campers:  "Boot camp is not just about becoing physically stronger...but mentally stronger as well...it will amaze you how much you can do...with the right mental attitude!"

Thanks Tracie for sharing your experience with us!  Stay tuned for camper #2 this week... Jim Collins.

Boot Camp Hydration 101

If you are new to boot camp this session and are still in it, congrats!  You have survived the first three weeks!  Fortunately, the mornings and evenings have been cool enough so far that no one is concerned much about dehydration.  As summer approaches in Atlanta, that's all about to change...

As temperatures climb, your body dissipates heat through sweat.  Like it or not, it's an essential process that cools your skin, which cools your blood, which cools your core.

So how can you start to prep for warmer temps?

• Drink half your body weight in ounces of water or other calorie-free beverages each day.  For example, if you weight 200 lbs, aim for 100 oz of fluids daily. 
• In general, most people will lose between 1-4 lbs of water weight during one hour of exercise.  Body size, intensity, clothing, and environment (hot vs. cold temps) will all impact how much you lose.  To determine your sweat rate, weigh yourself before boot camp, then again afterwards.  If you aren't losing much weight, you are probably hydrating well.  If you do lose 1 lb or more, try the following:
• For every pound of weight lost, drink 80-100% of this during exercise to continually replace losses. So, if you lose 2 pounds of weight during boot camp (32 oz), you should drink 24-32 oz throughout camp to avoid the fluid losses from sweat.   (One pound = 16 oz.)
• If you need a larger volume that you are used to drinking, increase fluids slowly.  If you body isn't used to you drinking a large volume during exercise, it may reject it in a not-so-pleasant way.
• After exercise, most people can rehydrate through usual meals, snacks and fluids.  If you are a boot camp overachiever doing "two a days", or training for an endurance event, you may need a more aggressive plan!