San Diego Boot Camp

You have made a great decision to focus on your health and fitness!

Depending on where you are starting from, this may be a really big change for you – and that’s okay. No matter where you are, we are all on similar journeys – better health, fitness and bodies. The following 3 steps will make your journey a bit easier.

1 – Accept. Appreciate. Allow.

Accept where you are now. Are you close to your goal? Can you even see your goal? Wherever you are, it’s okay. You didn’t get here overnight, but you are here, so why not accept it? Acceptance is the quickest way to create change.

Appreciate yourself for making changes to improve your health and body. Appreciate every change you experience. Focusing on your achievements, no matter how small they may seem at the time, is going to keep you on track. Allow the time you need to actually see the results you want.

In the meantime, enjoy the feeling that you can achieve now. You can feel good about the decisions you are making. You can feel good about coming to class and giving it your all. You can feel good about the healthy, whole foods that you are making delicious meals with. You can have all these feelings now. Focus on appreciating what you have and you will keep receiving more of what you want.

2 – Measure where you are now.

Get out a measuring tape and record your measurements. Use the scale, but don’t rely on the scale as your only source of feedback. This information can help you celebrate the results you are experiencing. In class, we will re-assess your progress every 4 weeks.

3. Track your daily nutrition.

Write down everything you eat for 3 days and add up the calories/nutrients. We mean everything – food, drinks, candy, little “sample” bites as you’re preparing meals for your kids – include it all. This is only an assessment of how you have been eating, no need to make big changes yet. This practice will help you determine what simple changes you can make that will have the most benefit for you.

It’s in your legs, your back, your neck, and everywhere that you never knew you could feel it. The culprit is soreness and the cause is exercise. There is really no way to completely avoid it but there are ways to minimize it. Muscle soreness is inevitable when you do a new exercise or one of more intensity than usual. Breathe easier knowing that the worst muscle tightness you experience will only be in the first 48 hours. Here are a few ways to help diminish soreness and tightness.

• Stretch: There is nothing better than a good solid stretch to relieve your muscle pain. You know where you are the sorest, really focus on stretching out those areas. That doesn’t mean that you can completely neglect the rest of your muscles but it will help to relieve the soreness quicker. Use the exercises done at boot camp to give you some inspiration when stretching outside of class. If you need more suggestions, feel free to ask your instructor… they are full of fun and effective stretches.
• H20: This is the magic stuff right here! Water will provide your body with necessary nutrients and help to flush out those nasty toxins. The buildup of lactic acid won’t stand a chance against this stuff.
• Keep moving: The more you move, the more your blood flow will increase, which releases nutrients, and the less you will be complaining about how your muscles feel. Even a light jog or walk on your day off from boot camp will help immensely.
• Post work-out protein intake: Immediately after a high intensity workout, try to chug down a protein shake. If possible when you arrive home, eat a protein rich, light meal to fill you up and provide your muscles with the protein needed to heal themselves. Try Prograde Natural Whey Protein.
• Warm up and cool down: It is so important to warm up prior to any fitness activity, this will help prepare your muscles for what is ahead instead of shocking them. Cooling down post workout is just as necessary. Try to make these two things a regular part of your routine.
• Epsom Salt: Bathing in Epsom salt can be a real treat for your sore muscles. Just add 1/2 cup of salts to your bath and relax. You deserve some rewarding downtime.
• Foam roll: using a foam roller helps to release knots and tightness in your muscles.

Something to keep in mind: Boot camp is always mixing things up and challenging new muscles. Because of this you will always feel a little bit of soreness, this is normal. However, your body will never be as sore as you were when you initially started, and that is a promise.

Buy a foam roller from Perform Better

My partners over at Prograde just put an awesome new article up on their site. It's all about the correlation between sleep and quick weight loss. I really think you're going to love this one. It's possible this may be a big problem for you or someone you know.

CLICK HERE for Better Sleep

Use this grocery list to help plan your meals and make grocery shopping a breeze.

Having a plan when you are in the grocery store will not only ensure that you pick up all the ingredients that you need, but also allow you to avoid spontaneous shopping on foods that you don't really need.

PROTEINS

Omega-3 eggs
Plain yogurt,
Low-fat Cottage Cheese,
Lean Chicken breast
White fish (halibut, cod, haddock, tilapia)
Salmon Lean red meat (93% lean, top round, sirloin)
Low-sodium deli turkey

VEGETABLES AND FRUITS 

Spinach and other leafy green vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower)
Tomatoes
Bell Peppers
Onions
Mushrooms
Mixed berries
Oranges
Apples
Pineapples
Bananas

OTHER CARBOHYDRATES

Sweet potatoes
Mixed beans
Quinoa
Whole oats
Brown rice

GOOD FATS

Mixed nuts, raw, unsalted
Avocados
Extra virgin olive oil
Coconut oil
Fish oil, EFAs
Flax seeds (ground)

DRINKS / OTHER

Water
Green tea or any teas

It's true, high intensity cardio intervals are the most efficient means to burn fat, but that doesn't mean they are the only way to burn fat.

We understand that sometimes you are going to feel too tired or too drained to do high intensity intervals. This is no reason stop moving altogether. Commit to doing at least 30 minutes of active movement daily.

Now if you haven't been doing anything, we don't recommend that you try to go out for an hour run this afternoon... You will hurt yourself and hate us and we don't want either of those, now do we? Start somewhere and build from there.

Often, we hear that people do not have enough time for exercise, but in 99% of the cases with hundreds of clients over 12 years of this, we have been able to find a way to fit it in. Schedule active time into your day. If it is already on your schedule, you know that you definitely have time for it.

The activity does not have to be done all at the same time. You can break it up into 5 or 10 minute segments, and remember that 10 minutes is better than 0 minutes. Not everything you do needs to make you sweat. Although that specific workout you spend up to an hour on a day is going to be a very important part of meeting your health and fitness goals, the other 23 hours of your day count for a lot.

Here are some great ideas to be more active.

You can live a fuller, healthier life without too much added effort.

1. Get up early - daily.

We know you don't want to, but do you want to reach your goal? Then do it anyway. You will get used to it. Once you get into the routine, it will get easier - and you will be so much happier during the day knowing you already did your workout in the morning!

2. Walk!

Explore your neighborhood. Find a hill. Find a buddy or a co-worker. Use your 15 minute work break to walk up and down the stairs or take a lap around the block.

3. Use your lunch break.

Take a walk or hit the gym. This will also encourage you to eat a healthy lunch and snacks. If you don't have access to a shower, head to the restroom and use antibacterial wipes, reapply deodorant and feel fresh for the rest of the day.

4. Do your workout directly after work.

Pack your shoes and clothes in the morning (with your homemade clean foods lunch) and make your workout a part of your routine.

5. Play tag or other outdoor games,

with your kids. See who can jump rope the longest without messing up, etc.

6. Walk in place or do jumping jacks,

squats or jump rope during your favorite TV show. You don't have to give up the things you love, just make it work for you. Pick up the pace (or take a break if needed) during the commercials, then get back to work during the show.

7. Do your household chores and yard work.

You know you need to clean your room anyway.

8. Stand up when you are on the phone.

Pace around or do a couple of squats.

9. Get up and dance.

Throw on your favorite music and bounce around your home. If you are really courageous, take a salsa lesson or come to Zumba class

10. Walk your dog.

Take your pal around a few blocks. You will both appreciate it.

11. Connect

with your fellow bootique fitness enthusiast on our facebook page to make plans as activity partners. You can see we listed a lot of different activities above. There is not a perfect exercise for everyone - the perfect exercise for you is whatever one you will do! Swimming, dancing, playing with your kids, hiking, biking, walking, and many more options are out there.

Let us know if you need help finding one that meets your needs.

You don't have to change your life as you know it today in order to get closer to your goals. Commit to yourself to make these 3 important changes that will bring you faster results and better health.

1. Choosing the right foods for your goal.

One of the simplest ways to clean up your diet is to simply divide your plate into thirds and choose whole, unprocessed foods. For each meal, you want to have 1/3 lean protein, 1/3 fibrous vegetables, and 1/3 complex carbohydrates. To get your healthy fats, just prepare your protein and/or vegetables in a small amount of olive oil. Don't worry too much about the details, there are too many. All you need to do is start somewhere and recognize the benefits of your healthier choices.

2. Pay attention to portion sizes.

Familiarize yourself with what a serving size is. You can start by 'eye-balling' (see the recommendations in your supportive nutrition guide) or even better, take out the measuring cups and spoons. This way, what you think you are eating is really what you are eating.

You may think your bowl of oatmeal is a 1/2 cup but if you use a measuring cup, you find that you actually just poured 2 cups. That means you were taking in 4x the calories you thought you were. It is all too common for us to underestimate what we eat, which can seriously affect your results. It will take a little longer when you measure everything out and write everything down, but it will really help put your eating in perspective. Doing so will make you more mindful before and while you eat.

3. Carry a water bottle with you everywhere.

You know you need to drink more water, but you never seem to think about it, right? We have the perfect solution for you. Carry a water bottle with you everywhere. Having it right in front of you will remind you to drink. You will develop a habit and then your body will ask for it. It just takes a little bit of practice to enjoy the benefits of this incredible source of minerals.

You are focusing on eating clean and taking really good care of yourself. Make sure you cover all your bases.

Sometimes, it is not always practical to eat all of your essential nutrients, especially if you are restricting calories to lose fat. High quality supplements can be your best insurance to make sure you are not missing an important component to your success. We stress the importance of quality here. The vitamin industry is not regulated and therefore we see shelves and shelves of vitamins that look like what we need. Unfortunately, many times they are not.

It's not only important what is in the vitamin, but how well your body can absorb it. This is why  we trust a few brands that we have researched and use ourselves.

Three essential nutrients that can be beneficial for you are a multi-vitamin, essential fatty acids (fish oil) and whey protein powder. Here are some tips on finding a high quality supplement.

Multi-vitamin

• vitamin/mineral formula containing about 100% of the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowances
• ensures an adequate intake of several micro-nutrients that are not always present in the diet in optimal amounts
• quality counts (ingredients and absorption)
• great quality and reasonable cost – Try Prograde women's or men's formulas

Fish oil / Essential Fatty Acids

• must be molecularly distilled
• choose a brand that is pharmaceutical grade to ensure high quality to avoid mercury toxins
• enteric coated helps prevent aftertaste
• check with your doctor for prescribed dosage, usually 3g is a good place to start
• promotes fat loss by supporting healthy blood sugars, supports heart health, supports optimal joint comfort, supports mood balance and provides relief of PMS symptoms, contains over 47 times the antioxidant power of fish oil and lutein –  Prograde EFA Icon

Whey Protein
• repair body after resistance workout
• quick and easy to digest
• healthy and convenient snack
• avoid harmful artificial sweeteners
• pharmaceutical quality whey protein – naturally sweetened with stevia

Another important supplement that you may need if you are calcium deficient
(women often are) is:

Calcium / Magnesium / Vitamin D

• essential to supplement if you are deficient in calcium
• calcium with magnesium is necessary for the development of strong bones, teeth, muscles, nervous system function and energy production
• vitamin D facilitates the transport of calcium through the bloodstream to the bones and assists in the retention of calcium
• quality is not usually an issue. We use Trader Joe’s.

Use these supplement to fill in the gaps in your nutrition plan to make sure you are getting all the essential nutrients you need for your health and to transform your body.

Last installment, this is part 3 of 3.

With this 3 part series on the Fundamentals of Fat Loss, you now have all the tools you need to eat supportively, make healthy decisions about food and enjoy your lean body. Continuously incorporate these new habits until they all become second nature to you. Once they do, eating well and being lean and healthy for life will be natural to you.

8. Sleep. Getting a good night sleep can aid your fat loss efforts in many ways. Not only is this optimal for hormonal balance and recovery, but you will feel the difference it makes on a day to day basis. When you get at least 7 hours of sleep, that is 7 hours you are not feeding your body extra calories. You can sleep through those late night cravings. Plus, a lot of those cravings are due to a lack of sleep, which creates a hormonal imbalance and robs you of the energy you deserve to get through your day and your workout. When you are feeling tired, you are going to crave a sugary 'quick fix' to pick you up. Unfortunately, this is only going to let you down in the long run.

9. Believe in yourself and in what you are accomplishing. Be positive. Don't approach this with a diet mentality. You are changing your eating habits for health, weight control and quality of life. Feeding your body nutritious food is truly a gift you can give yourself. Focus on what you want and then relax about it. It can happen. Follow this plan and it will happen for you.

10. “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” - Benjamin Franklin. Spend 2 hours every Sunday planning, shopping, and preparing meals for an entire week. This proactive approach will help you take control of your nutrition so you’re not wondering what to eat when you come home from work every night since it’ll already be planned. Here’s how to do it:

• First, plan out each meal and stock your cabinets at home and at work with everything you need to ensure you don't make a rash, impulsive decision when you're hungry. Write down everything you need to buy at the grocery store and eat before you shop. The grocery store can be a daunting place when you don't have a plan. The isles are filled with processed, high sugar, and high fat options that don't have a place in your nutritious eating plan. But if you go there with a specific grocery list, then you’ll be more likely to get exactly what you need (and nothing more). You wouldn't go on a road trip without directions, so don't go to the grocery store without a plan.
• Cook in bulk. Grill plenty of chicken, fish, and lean red meat on Sunday and place it in one-serving plastic containers that have separate compartments. Place some salad and vegetables in the other compartments, and you're set for lunch. When you come home, the most you'll have to do to whip up dinner is steam some vegetables.
  
• Cut your fruits and veggies into bite-size portions. You'll be more likely to eat them if they're prepared this way.
• Take your lunch with you. Yes, you can find healthy options at restaurants, but you won't find them in a vending machine. Having your lunch prepared and available will make choosing nutritionally valuable food much easier, especially if work gets in the way and you are not able to go out like you thought you would.
• Keep healthy snacks on hand. Always. Not only are healthy snacks an important part of your nutritional plan, but there will be times when you need a little extra boost. Days that you expend more energy than you were prepared for. Having healthy sources of nutrients by your side will help you to stay focused on your plan even when life tries to get in the way.
• Follow the 90/10 rule. Eating supportively should not leave you feeling deprived. The 90/10 Rule is the prefect method for eating those not-so-supportive foods without blowing your ability to achieve results. The general rule on cheating is this: make sure that no more than 10% of your meals are missed or cheat meals. So if you’re eating four meals a day, seven days a week (for a total of 28 meals per week), then no more than 3 of those meals should be misses or cheats. If you can achieve 90% adherence, and you can, you can get the results you want.

See Fundamentals of Fat Loss - Part I and Part II

This is part 2 of a 3 part series. These are the basic tips to healthy nutrition for life as well as safe and effective fat loss. Continue adding these new habits to your daily routine and enjoy the benefits of great health and a slim body.

5. Find balance in your meal frequency

(3 meals w/snacks; 5-6 small meals), properly timed.

Ideally, you want to eat a supportive meal every 3-4 hours. Eating frequently stabilizes your blood sugar levels, providing a steady flow of quality fuel to your muscles and brain. This helps to steady your mood and boost your energy. Besides making you feel better, this increased energy can help further fat loss because you will naturally want to be more active.

• Another benefit of a stable blood sugar levels is a suppressed appetite. By eating a supportive meal, frequently, you are reprogramming your appetite. You will begin to have fewer cravings and binge less often because you no longer experience the pain of hunger.
• When you constantly give your body food with small meals your body does not feel the need to store fat. On the contrary when eating large, infrequent meals your body feels the need to store some food as fat for it is unsure as to when it will be fed again.
• Nutrient timing is important because consuming food triggers digestion, and digestion requires calories. By eating more frequent, smaller meals, you continuously supply your body with nutrients while forcing it to digest and break down the foods. This, in turn can have the net effect of raising your metabolism.
• Supportive foods require more energy to be digested. This is called the “thermic effect” of food (calories used to digest food) and is part of the reason why, when you begin to eat supportively you are going to feel like you are eating what appears to be a tremendous amount of food. That’s because you’re taking out so many of those empty calorie foods and replacing them with high quality proteins and complex, nutrient rich carbohydrates.
• To truly grasp the metabolism concept – picture your metabolism as a fire. The food you eat will fuel this fire. The stronger your fire burns, the more calories and fat your body will burn. But if you don't replenish the fuel often enough, the fire will die down which means your body is burning less calories (energy). So, if you don't eat often enough, your metabolism slows down and you don't burn through calories very quickly. Worse yet, your body will begin storing almost everything that you do eat as fat! In essence, every time you starve yourself in your honest effort to "lose weight", you are actually slowing down your metabolism as well as making your body more efficient at storing fat.
• Missing a meal will not only leave you hungry, increasing the likelihood of making a poor food choice later on but it will also lower your metabolism over time. Sugar and fat cravings will also increase since your body needs immediate energy. When you frequently skip breakfast for example you put your body in a physiological condition where it’s more likely to store fat than burn it.
• Always eat breakfast! This is the most important meal of the day. Skipping breakfast will only send the message to your body that you're starving because you haven't had food in over 8+ hours. Plan your meals so that you eat within an hour of waking. Eating a supportive breakfast will give you a boost of energy and prevent you from craving high sugar/high fat foods later in the day.
• Reduce starchy carbs for dinner. As you move towards the end of your day the hormonal balances in your body will naturally begin to fluctuate. Many hormones related to metabolism will decrease as your body senses sleep coming on with the decrease in light. In particular “insulin sensitivity” lowers as your move into the evening hours making it much, much easier to store excess carbohydrates as fat after dinner.

Therefore, you should look to minimize eating “starch carbohydrates” (pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, etc) with dinner unless you have a very high metabolism or energy needs. You’re encouraged to minimize or eliminate starch carbohydrates. Look to consume carbohydrates mostly from vegetables sources at dinner. Make sure to get your unsaturated fat (ex. olive oil, flax seed, cold water fish, avocado, etc) along with the correct portion size of protein for your calorie requirements. Starchy carbohydrates are best for your body composition in the morning and after your workout.

6. Drink plenty of water.

Over 70% of your bodily functions take place in water. A lack of water causes all your systems to slow down including your metabolism. Consume at least 8-12 eight ounce glasses of water throughout the day. It is the most important nutrient in the human body and has many benefits involving fat loss. Proper hydration will increase the amount of oxygen in the bloodstream which in return will increase your body’s fat burning ability.
* Alleviate cravings: When a craving hits, down a glass of water and wait about 10 minutes. Chances are, you were just thirsty. Drinking plenty of water keeps you satisfied, energetic, young and on track!
* Choosing water instead of caloric drinks will save you many calories. Avoid caloric drinks (soda, alcohol, cream and sugar for coffee, fruit juice, vitamin water).

7. Supplement your efforts.

Nothing burns fat better than healthy muscles. The best way to maintain and even build lean muscle is to ensure all of your nutrient needs are being met. If you’re going to cut back your calories, you have to make sure that you are not depriving your body of vital nutrients. In fact, now that you’ll be exercising more (or more intensely), your nutrient requirements are going to increase so your body can recover from your workouts.

• You lead a busy lifestyle. There are some days when you just don’t have the time or opportunity to eat often enough or to choose the best foods. The holes left in your nutrition plan must be filled with nutrients in some manner. If not, your body will take them from your muscles – which will ultimately lead to a slower metabolism. The best solution to this is adding high quality supplements into your nutrition plan. We recommend that you start with a multivitamin and fish oil to ensure that you have the vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids (EFAs) that your body needs to maintain and even add lean muscle. Your body will be more prepared to fight illnesses and have the raw materials necessary to achieve a lean and fit physique.
• Refuel for Quick Results. Want results? Recovery is the key. While you will only be engaging in these intense resistance exercises for less than one hour, it is what you eat in the 60 minutes before and the 30-60 minutes after your workout that can determine how effective all your hard work will be at moving you towards your goals. Do you exercise on an empty stomach? Do you know what is your body using for fuel? When you exercise on an empty stomach, your body is using muscle protein for fuel because it doesn't have enough carbohydrates to burn. If you start your workout well-fueled, your body will burn a combination of the carbohydrates stored in your muscles and the fat stored in your fat cells. Eat within one hour of working out to keep your metabolism burning strong and to spare your muscle.

See Fundamentals of Fat Loss - Part I and Part III

There are so many aspects to nutrition, it can become really confusing - but we are not going to let that happen. Here are ten fundamental principles that need to be obeyed in order to lose weight. These tools will assist you in making healthy choices and help you reach your weight loss goals.

This is a 3 part series, with a total of 10 tips.  Start to incorporate these habits into your nutrition plan.

1. Energy: It is ultimately this simple, you must burn more calories than you take in every day. Exercising, different types of movement, and healthy dieting will be the crucial steps that you take towards making that scale budge. These things will help you in burning more calories throughout your day. However, eating too much of any food, even healthy ones, will result in extra unwanted weight gain. By lowering your caloric intake, you will have a little extra room to fit in a reward from time to time. These rewards can consist of just a little bit of junk food and are called “cheat meals.” Sometimes giving yourself a little wiggle room will encourage you to stay on track.

2. Eat natural, unrefined, and unprocessed foods: This is what will determine whether you lose weight or if you end up losing muscle too. It is important to include supportive foods such as protein, complex carbohydrates and fibrous carbohydrates. You can find these in a lot of one ingredient foods like apples, chicken, and spinach. Your goal should aim for high nutrient, low calorie foods. This is going to help you achieve your ideal body image.

3. Portion size: Be very aware of how much of each ingredient you measure into the meals that you cook. Knowing the calorie count in each food will make or break your diet, not knowing can really slow down your weight loss process. With each meal that you personally dish up, focus on portion control. There is more information on portion control later on in this article. If you are eating out, ask for a “doggy bag” when you get your meal and put at least half in the bag at the start of the meal. This will help you with your calorie intake and avoid overeating.

4. Lean Protein, Supportive Carbohydrates and Healthy Fats: Try to incorporate lean protein and carbs into each meal. Balancing your macro-nutrient ratios (protein/carbohydrates/fat) will help your diet to equal out and benefit your body the most. All three of these are necessary in everyone’s diet.

- Carbohydrates: This is going to be your first source of fuel, especially when it comes to exercising. If you work out on an empty tank, one without carbs, your body will steal from the only thing left over, your bodies supply of protein. Stealing the protein from your body will counteract just what you are trying to do, build up your muscles.
- Protein: These are the “building blocks” of your body, and next to water the most beneficial substance. Protein helps to build and repair tissue. It also provides you with energy and assists your immune system. A little protein can go a long way.
- Fats: Not only do fats provide you with antioxidants and nutrients to help with cellular repair of joints, skin, hair, and organs. They also slowly release energy to help supplement your body.

How to choose your protein, carbs and fat

• Plate Ratio: Use this to help you know exactly how much should be on your plate at meal time. Divide your plate into thirds. One of the thirds should be a carbohydrate source full of fiber, like broccoli or bell peppers. The second should be rich in starchy carbohydrates, a good source of this would be brown rice or potatoes. Lastly, there must be a protein source on your plate, try fish or a type of meat.
• Lean Protein: By eating a lean protein with each meal, you will stay fuller longer. This is because lean protein takes longer to digest. A few examples include: eggs, low-fat dairy, beef, chicken, and fish.
• Nutrient Dense Carbs: By eating these, you will be providing your body with more to eat on fewer calories. Because of the density, you will find yourself staying full longer. Veggies are the best choice of nutrient dense carbs, but fruits come in next so loading up on both of these is a great idea.
• High-fiber foods: These are all the healthy, colorful foods that stare you down in the grocery store. Try and sneak in at least five grams of these into each meal.
• Eliminate Sugars: Both simple and refined sugars will be sure to disrupt your metabolism… especially when you are trying to lose weight. Keep in mind that “processed foods” are extremely high in calories but have no nutritional value so they are best to avoid. The processed carbs in these can also change your blood sugar levels which will lead to hunger and fatigue. Ultimately these sugars and carbs will result in fat storage and slow metabolism… two very frightening things.
• Low Fat Foods: These are a guilt free guarantee! With the right types of low fat foods, you will start to see the scale budge.

Stick to a healthy and supportive diet and you will be feeling and looking better in no time. More to come, but start working these principles into your daily nutrition.

See Fundamentals of Fat Loss - Part II and Part III