My littlest friend Anthony. 6 months old.
This is me, The left side is January 26th, 2 months after I delivered my fourth child.The right side is me now, picture taken May 24th, 2 days before my baby is six months old. I do not know my weight and body fat in January (can't find it, probably don't want to know LOL) but I do know that April 11th I was 144.8lbs and 27.7% body fat and today I am 137 and 24.7% body fat. That means in about 6 weeks I've lost....3% body fat = 6.2 pounds of fat. Six pounds on the scale might not seem like a lot in 6 weeks for typical dieters, but 6 pounds of pure fat is. A lot of people have been asking me what I eat, what I take and what I do for workouts, so I will tell you at the end for those of you who will actually listen.
I'm posting this picture of myself just to prove that I know what the heck I'm talking about. Because there are a whole lot of people flapping their gums giving fitness/fat loss advice who work out almost every day and haven't made many changes to their bodies in let's say 10-20 years and I would really like it if they would stop thinking they know what they are talking about and spreading idiotic myths around like a terrible virus. And to the people who take advice from them...do you not have eye balls???
Disclaimer: This is very off the cuff, so bare with me. And if I offend you, please feel free to click the X on the top right of the screen and continue on with your high intensity daily workouts, inadequate nutrition and never changing body.
This is me, The left side is January 26th, 2 months after I delivered my fourth child.The right side is me now, picture taken May 24th, 2 days before my baby is six months old. I do not know my weight and body fat in January (can't find it, probably don't want to know LOL) but I do know that April 11th I was 144.8lbs and 27.7% body fat and today I am 137 and 24.7% body fat. That means in about 6 weeks I've lost....3% body fat = 6.2 pounds of fat. Six pounds on the scale might not seem like a lot in 6 weeks for typical dieters, but 6 pounds of pure fat is. A lot of people have been asking me what I eat, what I take and what I do for workouts, so I will tell you at the end for those of you who will actually listen.
I'm posting this picture of myself just to prove that I know what the heck I'm talking about. Because there are a whole lot of people flapping their gums giving fitness/fat loss advice who work out almost every day and haven't made many changes to their bodies in let's say 10-20 years and I would really like it if they would stop thinking they know what they are talking about and spreading idiotic myths around like a terrible virus. And to the people who take advice from them...do you not have eye balls???
Disclaimer: This is very off the cuff, so bare with me. And if I offend you, please feel free to click the X on the top right of the screen and continue on with your high intensity daily workouts, inadequate nutrition and never changing body.
I’m just sick of it. I'm sick of
people who think they have all the answers but their jeans might tell them to
shut up, because based on their results, or lack there off, there is a huge chance that they
might not know what the hell they are talking about.
Even about AdvoCare (and this is not about AdvoCare) but people who struggle with their weight will see with their own eyes that it works for me or for my clients, they will ask what we use and then ask odd defensive questions like, "Is AdvoCare all natural?" Shit is all natural! I don't see you eating that! Was that soda you drank or that sub you ate yesterday all natural? Stay fat then! I don't care! (but I really do).
I see chubby people giving fitness advice all the time. They are even training people!!!! They are getting paid to train people!!!!! And are hired because their clients find them “not intimidating”. Seriously, I’ve heard this stuff more than once!!!! What the hell is going on??? If they can't fix themselves, they don't know how to fix you. If I went to a dentist and he had crooked yellow teeth, I would not let him touch my teeth!!!!!!!!
Even about AdvoCare (and this is not about AdvoCare) but people who struggle with their weight will see with their own eyes that it works for me or for my clients, they will ask what we use and then ask odd defensive questions like, "Is AdvoCare all natural?" Shit is all natural! I don't see you eating that! Was that soda you drank or that sub you ate yesterday all natural? Stay fat then! I don't care! (but I really do).
I see chubby people giving fitness advice all the time. They are even training people!!!! They are getting paid to train people!!!!! And are hired because their clients find them “not intimidating”. Seriously, I’ve heard this stuff more than once!!!! What the hell is going on??? If they can't fix themselves, they don't know how to fix you. If I went to a dentist and he had crooked yellow teeth, I would not let him touch my teeth!!!!!!!!
I know I’m a
bitch, I’m sorry. I am just so sick of
this industry. Such a money making business appealing to people who want to be in shape SO bad. So many people work out 6-7 times a week because that's what is cool and they think they have to to lose weight. Then they burn out because their bodies literally hate them. So many fads and quick fixes that might work short term, but is impossible to maintain. That's why it is said that over 97% of people who lose weight gain it back. Everyone thinks they know everything, everyone works out every day and everyone just keeps getting fatter over time. People think because they “feel it” that it’s “working”. If I kicked someone in the head they would
definitely feel that but that doesn’t mean it’s working for them.
Let me first
make it clear who I’m speaking to. Because I’ve been in the fitness biz for 16
years now and I have come to find that not everyone wants help. I am convinced that
some people workout because it’s cool and they have nothing else to do.
Fitness is cool. Everyone wants to
be fit.
So you go to the gym everyday to see
your gym buddies, try the latest fad, get your workout gear and your fit bit, brag
about how much you sweated and how sore you are the next day, get excited
when you break your PR in holding a plank and then of course, drink your shake
and post about both on social media.
I get it’s a
social thing. My profession IS cool if I do say so myself, and
it sure beats going to a bar after work!!!!
But if some of us are brutally honest, our bodies aren’t changing much, if at all. But they still defend what they think they know to be true about fat loss/fitness. Look in the mirror!!! .
Although there are numerous benefits of general fitness (believe it or not!). To name a few:
I strongly believe that 99.9% of people who “workout” are doing so because they want to be less fat than they are! (Ha). We want fat loss and muscle definition. We want to look better naked. Am I wrong??? Tell me I’m wrong? But is working out and dieting really the answer?
Although there are numerous benefits of general fitness (believe it or not!). To name a few:
- Heart health
- Stress relief (i.e. so you don't punch people :))
- Increase bone density
- Increase circulation
- Increase mood, fight depression/disease
- Improve sleep (umm and sex life ;))
- Improve muscle tone
- Improve joint lubrication/stability
I strongly believe that 99.9% of people who “workout” are doing so because they want to be less fat than they are! (Ha). We want fat loss and muscle definition. We want to look better naked. Am I wrong??? Tell me I’m wrong? But is working out and dieting really the answer?
I challenge you to research when gyms/fitness centers and diet centers were on the rise. They rose right along with the
obesity rate in America. You think I’m
joking? Look it up. The more gyms and
diet centers have come about, the more obese we became/are becoming.
Yes I’m a “trainer”
(hate that word -- I prefer “transformation coach”) and I’m telling you to get
out of the gym. Not the first time I’ve been called weird…but it works. Do you know how often I workout??? 3-4 times a week for about 30 minutes. That's it. That's 2 hours a week. and look at my results. I'm sick of people choosing not to be healthy because they think they have to work out every day and they don't have time for it. I don't just have a certification in fitness, I also have two full certifications in nutrition and several mini certifications in psychology. To be successful with body transformation you have to be able to put it all together.
Working out
every day doesn’t give our bodies a chance to rest and that is not good for
health or fat loss. It's too much of a breakdown. So if you look "soft" and lack muscle tone, that's why. If you’re at the gym every day, it’s most likely for your
social life or bragging rights. And
although those popular "90 minute" high intensity metabolic
workouts help condition you, they are not at all necessary or even
directly productive for fat loss. They actually might be counter-productive, depending on a few variables (nutrition, duration, recovery/supplementation). So
if you don’t have time to workout every day and/or hate running, burpees or
mountain climbers, then you might be starting to like me right about now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You think I'm saying this to be mean but I'm not! Someone has to love and care about you enough to say this to you. If you have worked out on and off for years and when you look in the mirror, you still have a weight problem, there is a good chance that you might not be correct in what you belief to be true about weight loss. You would never get up to Maine from Boston if you were going South,doesn't matter how good of a driver you are. You are on the wrong road. I'm telling you to turn the car around and start putting that effort into the things that matter and you would kick ass at this game!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Things you may not know:
1: Results do not come in the gym. Hear me. Workouts are a breakdown, not a rebuild. When we are working out, our body is breaking down mostly glycogen and our muscle to get energy/perform. Results come with recovery. We recover when we are OUTSIDE the gym….with proper nourishment, supplementation and sleep/rest. And it's outside the gym, low to moderate intensity that our bodies burn mostly body fat (this is a good thing and why muscle/metabolism is so important!)
You think I'm saying this to be mean but I'm not! Someone has to love and care about you enough to say this to you. If you have worked out on and off for years and when you look in the mirror, you still have a weight problem, there is a good chance that you might not be correct in what you belief to be true about weight loss. You would never get up to Maine from Boston if you were going South,doesn't matter how good of a driver you are. You are on the wrong road. I'm telling you to turn the car around and start putting that effort into the things that matter and you would kick ass at this game!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Things you may not know:
1: Results do not come in the gym. Hear me. Workouts are a breakdown, not a rebuild. When we are working out, our body is breaking down mostly glycogen and our muscle to get energy/perform. Results come with recovery. We recover when we are OUTSIDE the gym….with proper nourishment, supplementation and sleep/rest. And it's outside the gym, low to moderate intensity that our bodies burn mostly body fat (this is a good thing and why muscle/metabolism is so important!)
2: There are 24 hours in the day, 7 days a week. That equals 168 hours in a week. Even if you worked out an hour a day….do the
math….we are still outside the gym 161
hours during the week. Let that sink
in.
3: Fitness is a HUGE money making industry. If people knew how easy it was to
be lean, a whole lot of people (trainers, Guru’s on TV) and businesses (gyms
and diet centers) would not be making a whole lot of money. Truth.
4. Cardio is NOT the best for fat loss. If you don't believe me, go to the gym and look at all the people peddling away in the cardio area. Again, I'm not trying to be mean, I'm trying to wake people up. Do NOT over cardio. I wouldn't do cardio at all for fat loss. I would do it for conditioning (sprints, intervals). 10-20 minutes a few times a week.
5. I AM a huge fan of activity; walking, playing with your kids,cleaning your house and doing yard work (not only because these things are good to do, but because it's not over intense and doesn't cause muscle loss like high intensity training does AND doesn't require any recovery for most people).
6. You can NOT out-train a bad diet. Just because you worked out for an hour or two does not mean you can over-eat later. And if you over-eat, you can't go to the gym and "burn it off". Those are two popular faulty believes I hear all the time from overweight people and two huge reasons why people don't get results.
7. Over working out + "dieting" = Losing control/binging. Think about that equation. If you are binging and craving that means you are not meeting your body's needs. Picture a two year old throwing a tantrum when they can't get the toy they want. That's what it's like; your body is not getting what it needs so it's throwing a fit. The more you workout, the more your need for nutrients goes up because you are increasing the demands on your body. Again, that is why nutrition, time out of the gym, sleep and recovery supplements are so important.
8. It's all about giving our bodies what it needs. Our bodies primary goal is survival. How do we survive? We adapt. You suck at math? You get a math tumor. You do pull ups, you get callouses. You lift, you get stronger. If you eat 1000 calories a day and or workout 1-2 hours a day, hear me, your body's only goal is to build defenses around what you are doing and survive. Your body's goal is NOT fat loss, it's survival.
9. You should feel good when you are losing fat. Maybe a little hungry at times, but not starving. I feel great. Health makes you feel great AND you lose fat naturally. Every time people gear up and attempt to lose weight again, they roll up their sleeves and are ready to feel like crap. You beat your body up at the gym and expect it to survive on low calories (low nutrients). That is not a sign of health, that is abuse.
4. Cardio is NOT the best for fat loss. If you don't believe me, go to the gym and look at all the people peddling away in the cardio area. Again, I'm not trying to be mean, I'm trying to wake people up. Do NOT over cardio. I wouldn't do cardio at all for fat loss. I would do it for conditioning (sprints, intervals). 10-20 minutes a few times a week.
5. I AM a huge fan of activity; walking, playing with your kids,cleaning your house and doing yard work (not only because these things are good to do, but because it's not over intense and doesn't cause muscle loss like high intensity training does AND doesn't require any recovery for most people).
6. You can NOT out-train a bad diet. Just because you worked out for an hour or two does not mean you can over-eat later. And if you over-eat, you can't go to the gym and "burn it off". Those are two popular faulty believes I hear all the time from overweight people and two huge reasons why people don't get results.
7. Over working out + "dieting" = Losing control/binging. Think about that equation. If you are binging and craving that means you are not meeting your body's needs. Picture a two year old throwing a tantrum when they can't get the toy they want. That's what it's like; your body is not getting what it needs so it's throwing a fit. The more you workout, the more your need for nutrients goes up because you are increasing the demands on your body. Again, that is why nutrition, time out of the gym, sleep and recovery supplements are so important.
8. It's all about giving our bodies what it needs. Our bodies primary goal is survival. How do we survive? We adapt. You suck at math? You get a math tumor. You do pull ups, you get callouses. You lift, you get stronger. If you eat 1000 calories a day and or workout 1-2 hours a day, hear me, your body's only goal is to build defenses around what you are doing and survive. Your body's goal is NOT fat loss, it's survival.
9. You should feel good when you are losing fat. Maybe a little hungry at times, but not starving. I feel great. Health makes you feel great AND you lose fat naturally. Every time people gear up and attempt to lose weight again, they roll up their sleeves and are ready to feel like crap. You beat your body up at the gym and expect it to survive on low calories (low nutrients). That is not a sign of health, that is abuse.
In my opinion, this is all great news!!!!!!!!!! I'm glad our bodies work like this. It's simple really. Pump good things into your body and it works with you. Abuse it and it resists you. Who the hell wants to workout every day? Especially boring cardio or high intensity metabolic crap that hurts your hips, knees, neck, back etc. Not me!!! I would rather be a fat ass and I'm serious. And certainly not both!
Anyway, I could go on and on :) Here are some fat loss tips: (FYI this blog thingy is REALLY hard to format so please excuse my horrible layout)
Anyway, I could go on and on :) Here are some fat loss tips: (FYI this blog thingy is REALLY hard to format so please excuse my horrible layout)
- · LIFT weights for fat loss and lean sexy muscle:
1. Beginners: 25-30 minutes, 3x/wk
(example: M, W, F)
2. Advanced: 40 minutes 4x/wk (example:
M, Tu,Th, Fri)
- · Main Goal - Fat loss:
1. Whole body each time (example: thrusters,
lunges, chest press, pulldowns…)
2. short rest periods 10-30 seconds
between each exercise
3. 8-15 reps
4. 2-4 sets each exercise
- · Main Goal - Muscle definition (if you’re already pretty lean):
1. Split body (example: Day 1: chest and
back. Day 2: legs. Day 3: shoulders and
arms…)
2. Rest period 45-120 seconds
3. 6-12 reps
4. 3-5 sets each exercise
* If you look
"soft", you are most likely doing too much cardio, not eating enough
protein (or calories) and not strength training enough.
* If you “gain weight just
by looking at food" (ooooh I just nailed you! Haha, you say that all the
time, don't you! lol), then you are definitely not eating enough protein or
strength training enough.
* Buy lean meat, fish and poultry when it's on sale and freeze it!
- · Have fresh or frozen veggies in the house
- · Find convenient snacks to take on the go (protein shakes/bars, almonds/walnuts, all natural peanut butter and rice cake, carrots and hummus, etc)
- · Eat breakfast
- · Eat every three hours after that
- · Eat protein every meal (20 grams for females and 30 grams for males)
- · Drink plenty of water (your weight divided by 2, in ounces)
- · Stay away from obvious unhealthy foods – alcohol, soda, fried foods, high fat, high sodium foods etc
- · Do NOT ignore post workout nourishment!!! Liquid gets to your muscles faster, that’s why protein shakes are common. Obviously I recommend AdvoCare Muscle Gain or Post Workout recovery (advocare.com/140142069)
- · If possible (kind of advanced), limit starches to 2 servings every 3 or 4 days for quicker fat loss results (sweet potatoes, brown rice, oats…)
- · Have 5 servings of veggies per 1 serving of fruit (because of the sugar)
- · Generally speaking, woman should have at least 100 grams of protein per day and men should have at least 150 grams per day.
- · Once a week (or once every two weeks if you’re advanced), allow yourself to have something different/off your meal plan. But don’t go crazy. Sit down while you eat it and enjoy.
Hopefully this blog gave you some hope and will help you refocus, or focus on what really counts for fat loss. I know I was a bitch, sorry. Lol. I just love what I do and have a heart for people. I also know that every single person has what it takes to feel good about themselves and be healthy. You should workout and eat healthy because you love yourself and your body, not
because you hate it. You are stuck in that shell forever, so take care of yourself!
Oh, I almost forgot, people want to know what I do in the gym, what I eat and what I take. Well I lift 3-4 times a week for only 30 minutes. Honestly, I wish I lifted 4 times a week for 40 minutes, but I have four young kids and basically 3 part time jobs so I do what I can for now. I do basic exercises: Bench press, push ups, pull ups or jump pull ups, bent over rows, lunges (and it's varieties), squats, kettlebell swings, battle ropes, Thrusters, ground ups, shoulder press, bicep curls....and definitely not in that order :) I eat every 3 hours, 1400-1800 calories a day roughly. I get about 150 grams of protein a day, 60-100 grams of carbohydrates (mostly veggies, salads and 1 fruit a day and occasional starch, usually sweet potatoes and oatmeal, on my refuel day), and 40-60 grams of healthy fat (olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, all natural peanut butter). From AdvoCare....Oh geez let's see. For general health, I take OmegaPlex, Core Plex and Calcium daily. For fat loss results I take Catalyst, Thermo plus, Muscle Gain protein powder, Lepti lean, Spark, sometimes Slim. Around workout time I like either Muscle Strength or muscle fuel (definitely not both at the same time LOL), sometimes biocharge and after I train I use either Post Workout Recovery or Muscle Gain protein.
Oh, I almost forgot, people want to know what I do in the gym, what I eat and what I take. Well I lift 3-4 times a week for only 30 minutes. Honestly, I wish I lifted 4 times a week for 40 minutes, but I have four young kids and basically 3 part time jobs so I do what I can for now. I do basic exercises: Bench press, push ups, pull ups or jump pull ups, bent over rows, lunges (and it's varieties), squats, kettlebell swings, battle ropes, Thrusters, ground ups, shoulder press, bicep curls....and definitely not in that order :) I eat every 3 hours, 1400-1800 calories a day roughly. I get about 150 grams of protein a day, 60-100 grams of carbohydrates (mostly veggies, salads and 1 fruit a day and occasional starch, usually sweet potatoes and oatmeal, on my refuel day), and 40-60 grams of healthy fat (olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, all natural peanut butter). From AdvoCare....Oh geez let's see. For general health, I take OmegaPlex, Core Plex and Calcium daily. For fat loss results I take Catalyst, Thermo plus, Muscle Gain protein powder, Lepti lean, Spark, sometimes Slim. Around workout time I like either Muscle Strength or muscle fuel (definitely not both at the same time LOL), sometimes biocharge and after I train I use either Post Workout Recovery or Muscle Gain protein.
And no, you don't have to "do AdvoCare". I choose it because it gives my body want it needs. Simple. So I got myself a discount and met some pretty cool friends. I get results for myself and my clients easier and faster. The way I see it, you could drive to Florida, or you could fly. But this isn't about AdvoCare. It's about results....
If anyone
wants more help with workouts or nutrition, please send an email to lacivitafitness@yahoo.com and
someone will respond within 24 hours J
