San Diego Boot Camp

Why do you plant seeds? You get out in your garden and mess around with dirt and bugs so you can plant seeds. You’ve done a lot of work but you do not see any beautiful flowers. Are you surprised? Probably not.

Why bother going all that work – planting, weeding, watering – when you don’t get to enjoy the beautiful flowers for several weeks from now.

Your body works the same way. You are probably not going to see many results after just one workout. It may even take several weeks depending on how your body responds to what you are doing. You are probably not going to drop a pant-size even though you ate really healthy today. These things take time.

Planting flowers may seem less stressful because you already know exactly what you want. You know what to expect and you trust that it will happen.

You can apply this to your body, too. To speed up your progress it is important to know exactly what you want. It’s important to set realistic expectations. Most importantly, you need to trust that things are happening.

Even though you can’t see a change on the surface, there is a lot going on. You are sowing the seeds of your new body. Every workout you do and every healthy meal you choose is moving you towards your desired goal. Soon you will be able to see the results of your work.

You're making really great choices about the food you eat. You’re plate if full of lean meats, vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats and fruit. You are eating 5 meals a day. You’ve eliminated processed and junk foods from your diet.

But you’re still not losing weight.

Relax, there’s nothing wrong with you.

You’ve done really well at cleaning up your diet. I’m sure your body is feeling better and you have more energy. Now, you need to pay closer attention to what you are eating. Are you keeping a food log? Are you paying attention to serving sizes and measuring correct portions?

I know it’s not always practical to measure everything you eat, but you can make good estimates. Use the following tips to estimate how much you are eating. Write what you eat in a food log. I bet you’ll find that your portions were larger than you needed them to be or thought they were. Now, that weight is coming off.

Use these common items to estimate standard serving sizes:

• poultry (3 oz.) = a deck of playing cards
• fish (3 oz.) = a checkbook
• hamburger (3 oz.) = a mayo jar lid
• beef (3 oz.) = a bar of soap
• fruit (medium) = a tennis ball
• cereal, fibrous vegetables (1 c.) = a baseball
• rice (1/2 c.) = an ice cream scoop
• potato = a computer mouse
• cooked pasta (1/2 c.) = a golf ball
• dinner roll = a yo-yo
• nuts (1 oz.) = a cupped palm
• cheese (1 oz.) = a ping-pong ball
• salad dressing (2 Tbsp.) = a shot glass
• peanut butter (1 tsp.) = one die
• butter (1 tsp.) = a Scrabble tile

Another useful way to estimate a correct portion for main meals is to divide your plate into quarters. Use half of the plate for of vegetables, a quarter of the plate for lean protein and a quarter for whole grains. Plate size is important. A base estimate is a plate with a 9 inch diameter. Adjust according to your size.

Before you get carried away with ‘what should I eat, where, when, how…’ master the following fundamentals to create nutritional habits that will lead to a healthier, more fit, trim body. Remember the 80/20 rule – 80% of your success with fat loss is based on these fundamentals.

1. Eating fewer calories than you burn. Keep a food log to track the food you eat.
2. Properly balancing your macronutrient ratios (protein/carbs/fat)
3. Finding balance in you meal frequency (3 meals w/snack; 5-6 small meals), properly timed
4. Eating lean proteins with every meal
5. Eating the right types of carbohydrates and avoiding refined sugars
6. Eating low fat and choosing the right types of fat
7. Drinking plenty of water
8. Eating natural, unrefined foods
9. Sleeping
10. Believing in yourself and in what you are doing

Good posture is more than just good manners. Most people aren’t breathing properly and their bodies show it. They tend to take shallow breaths into their chest rather than breathing deep into their diaphragm muscles. This adds to the tension in the neck and shoulders and can limit your thoracic spine and shoulder mobility.

The body is a kinetic chain, all parts linking together. As magnificent as this is, it also means when one part is in a state of dysfunction, it is going to bring others with it. Such is the case with posture. The loss of mobility in the thoracic spine and shoulders can lead to an increase in shoulder injuries.

Shallow breath can cause a host of problems as well. Your body perceives shallow breathing as a state of panic as if you are being chased by a lion. When your body believes it is in danger, it signals the stress response and goes into ‘survival mode’. That stress response signals cortisol, a fat storing hormone.

On top of that, in survival mode, your body wants to hold onto everything it has, including fat. Now, your body doesn’t want to give up any fat and is more likely to store whatever it takes in.  Living in this state on a daily basis can have harsh effects on your weight.

An easy exercise that helps restore proper movement in your thoracic spine and shoulders is crocodile breathing. Yoga has been practicing this for centuries. This simple technique is great for retraining your body to breathe naturally, reducing stress in the moment taking you out of your stress response, and allowing your shoulders to rest naturally.

Lie face down with your forehead on top of your hands for a neutral neck. Inhale deeply, feel your abdominals press into the floor and exhale completely.  Allow your shoulders to relax a little more with each exhale. Repeat for up to 5 minutes before your workout or anytime you are feeling very tight in the upper back/neck area.

Pregnant women and people with hernias should consult a doctor before trying this.