I see it happen all the time…fitness results that are thrown away by eating the wrong foods. Don’t let this be you. You workout hard, so keep your results by avoiding the following 7 foods:

1) Don’t Eat White Pasta
White pasta will never be OK to eat when your goal is to look fit. Sorry, it’s filled with way too many simple carbs. These plentiful carbs have one singular goal: to become stored on your body as fat.

Eat This: Spaghetti Squash  (my favorite!!)
On those nights when you really crave a big bowl of noodles, try this instead. Poke a spaghetti squash all over then bake at 400 degrees F for 45-60 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool, scoop out the seeds and then scrape out the long, noodle-like strands of squash. Serve these healthy noodles with spaghetti sauce and meatballs.

2) Don’t Eat Store Bought Salad Dressing
The nutritional benefit of your salad is all but undone by the questionable ingredients in store bought salad dressing. From trans fats to preservatives, store bought salad dressing is a landfill of unnatural ingredients that are best avoided.

Eat This: Simple Homemade Dressing
Making you own salad dressing is so simple, it literally takes less than five minutes, and it tastes so much better freshly made. Here’s the equation to use when making your own dressing:

• 3 parts high quality oil – extra virgin olive oil, hemp seed oil, flax seed oil, or sesame seed oil.
• 1 part something acidic – vinegar, lemon, lime
• A dash of salt and fresh ground pepper
• Some fresh or dried herbs

3) Don’t Eat Packaged Granola Bars
Packaged bars have one thing going for them – the convenience factor. This convenience comes at a price, as each packaged bar contains more preservatives, carbs, calories and sugars than you should be eating.

Eat This: Raw Nuts
When you need a quick, energizing snack look no further than a handful of raw nuts. This is a great way to cut down on the sugar and other harmful additives in granola bars while still enjoying a convenient energy boost.

4) Don’t Drink Blended Coffee Drinks
Coffee chains have made it socially acceptable to sip on a large blended coffee drink topped with whipped cream, anytime and anyplace. Unfortunately your body is going to respond to all that sugar in the only way that it knows how…by storing it as fat. These blended drinks are extremely addictive, so it’s best to avoid them completely.

Drink This: Unsweetened Iced Tea
The whole idea behind blended coffee drinks is to quench your thirst, but there are more fitness-friendly ways to do so. Double brew 4 cups of your favorite tea – try Chai Rooibos – then chill it in the fridge for a few hours. Serve over ice and sweeten with a sprinkle of Stevia if needed. Guilt-free refreshment.

5) Don’t Eat Fast Food Breakfast Sandwiches
The drive thru may be calling you, especially when you’ve left for work in such a hurry that you forgot to eat breakfast, but don’t give in. Fast food breakfast sandwiches are filled with loads of preservatives, trans fats and questionable ingredients. Not to mention these little breakfast bombs contain more calories and fat than you need in the morning.

Eat This: Healthy Mini Muffins
The recipe below for Healthy Mini Muffins make the perfect on-the-go breakfast or snack to keep you out of the drive thru line. Make a batch on the weekend to stock the fridge and then grab as needed throughout your busy week.

6) Don’t Eat Sweetened Yogurt
Little cups of fruit-flavored yogurts are often marketed as the next best weight loss secret, but you know better. These ultra-sweet concoctions are filled with sugars, corn syrup and preservatives, which will derail your fitness results and send you on a sugar high.

Eat This: Plain Greek Yogurt with Fruit
Plain Greek yogurt has more protein and far less sugar than the cute little fruit-flavored yogurt cups. Dress it up by adding your own, chopped fresh fruit.

The quickest and most permanent way to lose weight and feel amazing is through a combination of healthy eating and consistent, challenging workouts.

I’m here to help you meet your fitness and weight loss goals.

Your Coach,

Patrick Jones

Longer phases cause burnout.  Shorter phases don’t seem to “stick.”

By the way, in case you didn’t know, an ABC training format simply means rotating between 3 workouts (A, B, & C) for a given training phase.  For example, in our live classes in our Metabolic Group Training Program we perform Workout A on Mondays/Tuesdays, Workout B on Wednesdays/Thursdays, and Workout C on Fridays.  We repeat these workouts each week for the training phase for 4 weeks then change the phase. Our “D”
workout is our Saturday obstacle course that is outdoors in the spring/summer/fall and indoors in the winter.  We have fun, and challenge each other to complete each obstacle
and exercise challenge.

For ABC training and our 4 week phases, for regular folks like you and me, it takes about a week or two to really get “dialed in” on the new exercises and interval formats.  There’s a motor learning curve.  During that period of time, we’re not able to get maximum muscle fiber recruitment, thus missing out on some of the exercise benefits. That is why training old school and just “changing” your workout every single day/week does NOT work for long term success in ANY program.

With a 4-week training cycle we can eliminate that disadvantage and truly get the most out of the program.  As we become more skilled at doing the exercises (through repetition) we can recruit more muscle fibers and do more work (reps per set and weight lifted).  In other words, we get BETTER RESULTS!

We also use levels and progressions in our training sessions for every single exercise. There was a time when we used “one level” of training and expected every person, beginner, advanced, elderly, injured, you name it! Train the exact same way, kinda like
a “boot camp.” That philosophy will only lead to injury by overusing the muscles and
burnout.  We have levels 1,2,3 for every exercise that we use for every movement pattern.
For example>
Station 1- Pushup Variation
LI Pushup on knees   LII Pushup on toes   LIII Pushup 1 leg

Now, we can have 3 totally different levels of individuals train in the same station, but with different variations, so they both get an amazing workout each set and rep. Of course, each week our coaches help progress you to various levels or you may begin to see it gets easier, which is a GREAT sign your getting stronger, and ready to move up to a more challenging level!

Every 9 weeks we take an active recovery week. Your still expected to workout even if your on vacation or traveling during non-recovery weeks to keep your program focused and on track. During recovery weeks, we focus on doing things like foam rolling, cleaning up nutrition or detoxing, and yoga to help remove stress build up, adhesions, and to give your body and mind a full 100% rest. If you don’t research shows, you WILL plateau.

You think I am kidding? First lets take a look at the biggest lie out there about fat free. According to the front of the product, “fat free butter spray” or PAM, has no fat in it, right?

WRONG!

The FDA allows companies to call a food “fat free” if its .5 grams or less per serving. So, what did PAM do with this product so they can say ‘fat free’ on the label? They increased the serving size to 702 servings and 1 serving is just 1/3 second of a spray, not even a fulL
spray!

Let’s do some math- If you use 10 sprays on your pan to cook something with PAM, that means you are actually taking in (1/3 sec spray =.4 grams of fat, 1 full spray= 1.2 grams of fat, .4 x3) That means you are actually getting 12 grams of fat for 10 sprays instead of ZERO.

Look at this food label, it even says the #1 ingredient, Canola Oil on it…

So how the heck is something FAT FREE if the #1 ingredient is….. FAT?!

Now, lets talk about how not ALL calories are created equal.

What you you eat determines what you burn. The simple fact is, not all calories are created equal. Every time you eat food, a reaction takes place called the “Thermic Effect of Food (TEF).” TEF is the cost of energy your body burns to break down and digest food to make it a usable energy source. Simply put, it’s the calories you burn during digestion.

Most people I talk to when I do nutrition consults are amazed that this a big factor in how
they can change their metabolism and kick it up a notch by increasing your TEF.

How do you do it? EAT MORE PROTEIN!

Researchers have determined that protein, carbohydrates and fat have different TEF ratios. Here’s how it breaks down:
Protein:  25% TEF Carbohydrates: 7% TEF Fat: 4 % TEF
For example, if you ate 100 calories of only protein, your body would use
 to 25 calories to digest and utilize that protein.

So there you have it – protein has a significantly higher TEF compared to carbohydrate or fat. You may eat the same number of calories for protein, carbohydrates and fat, but the result is less overall calories for the protein source.

The TEF of various foods is important for weight loss. Science tells us that eating a higher proportion of protein burns more calories and raises your metabolism (plus, it makes you feel fuller, so you eat less).

If there is anything you get from this post its these two things.

1. Stop eating fat free and read your labels carefully
2. Eat protein in every single meal if you want to burn fat faster (speed metabolism)

Hope you enjoyed this read!

Coach Patrick

The truth is, fruit has its role the body and has benefit, but there is just so much
confusion!

Not long ago I had a client who was eating 3-4 pieces of fruit a day and she had
a hard time losing weight for the last year and she wasn’t sure why. I told her right
away to remove all fruit from her diet and ANYTHING that could cause an insulin spike>

The result? She lost 5 lbs that week!

See, if it is important to understand that if you are consuming sugar, it doesn’t matter
what kind of sugar it is, your body still digests it the same way, your body will still
spike the blood sugar and STOP fat loss. Yes, STOP FAT LOSS!

Insulin is the storage hormone that stores body fat and doesn’t allow you to burn fat
as energy during the day. That just means,  when you burn calories, they will NOT
come from fat, they will just burn glycogen. (the sugar you just put in the body)

Then, any time you have fruit, especially if its alone, it will mess with your energy levels.

Ever feel like after 12pm or 3pm you just don’t have enough energy? You probably either:
1. Are not eating enough before 12pm to sustain energy levels
2. Consuming too much sugar and its making you “crash”  (SUGAR)

Fruit is completely natural, I get that and agree.  It comes from the Earth. It’s not like it’s a donut or bagel. But it terms of FAT LOSS, it is the enemy, and the #1 cause of why people are so fat in America.

Lets look at this, it will blow your mind!

1 apple = 120 calories
1 apple = 31 grams of sugar

12 oz coca cola can = 125 calories
12 oz coca cola can = 32 grams of sugar

I share this with you because you need to know what your
consuming. If you don’t you may be frustrated for a long time and
never reach your body fat goals. So stop eating fruit if your want to
lose fat and replace it with high fiber veggies, or you might as well
chug down cokes all day long.

What is the Solution if I want to lose fat?

First know, I am not against fruit at all. It has many benefits to it. I do
believe strongly you can get the same nutrients in fruit that you can with veggies,
just with no insulin spike to keep fat burning 24 hours a day.

THE RESHAPE 360 FRUIT AND FAT LOSS EATING RULES

Rule #1
Fruit has a lot of high fiber and antioxidents which are important.
Eat only the fruit with the highest amounts. i.e. blueberries, rasberries

Rules #2
Eat fruit ONLY with protein and make sure its eat least 10 grams. This will
help slow down the digestion and help stabilize your blood sugar.

Rule #3
Eat fruit in the first two meals of the day or until noon time, then stop having it
The rules may change once you are at your ideal body fat levels and weight, but for now
take this information and apply it today and you will see your body fat levels shift!

Your fat loss coach,

Patrick Jones

I  LOVE supersets and my favorite way to train so I don’t waist time and get best results. Supersets are going to change the way you train!

What are supersets?  Essentially, they are two exercises done back-to-back without resting in between.

The term “Superset” was created by the famous bodybuilding trainer Joe “The Master Blaster” Weider.

Supersets were one of Joe’s famous “Weider Principles” and all the big-time bodybuilders used them – Arnold Schwarzenegger being the most famous.

The idea is to work the opposite sides of each joint in a set. For example, you could pair chest and back in a superset, or quadriceps and hamstring.

But supersets don’t just give you an amazing body; they are also a great timesaver.  Because you eliminate the usual one to two minute recovery time between exercises, you virtually reduce your workout time by half.

However, just because you are reducing your workout time doesn’t mean you are sacrificing intensity.  Far from it.  Since you are increasing the density of your workout (working more in the same amount of time), you really amp up the load and demand that you place on your body.  The result is more pronounced change and high level muscle pump, (which is thought to be important in encouraging the growth of muscles).

And isn’t that the whole point?!  Muscles lead to the tightening and toning of your body, and supersets are perfect for this.

Since Arnold’s time, supersets have evolved into a multi-faceted program.  We will be using 3 varieties of that program:

• Pre-exhaustion Supersets
• Cardio & Strength Supersets
• Drop Sets
  

Pre-exhaustion supersets (Workout B)

In pre-exhaustion supersets, you will do 2 exercises for the same group of muscles.  To begin with, you will do an isolation exercise.  This exercise focuses on 1 specific muscle group (for example, chest flyes).  Next is the compound exercise.  As its name suggests, the compound exercise employs several groups of muscles (for instance, the push-up uses the chest, shoulders, triceps and core).

This is called “pre-exhaustion” for the simple reason that you are literally fatiguing the chest muscles in the isolation phase before using them in the compound phase.  Your chest muscles are assisted by the shoulders and triceps, and for this reason people sometimes struggle to get an efficient chest workout during the compound phase. But you eliminate this ‘weak link’ problem by simply fatiguing the chest during the flye moves and then allowing the chest to get help during the push-up.  Because you have fatigued the chest so much already, it can really reach exhaustion in the compound phase. Perfect.

Here is a sample whole-body routine and what we are doing in our metabolic group training.

Metabolic Circuit: 

20 sec isolation /30 seconds compound exercise and 7 exercises, rotate after every exercise to the next, 2 full rotations, with 30 seconds rest in between each exercise   (20 minutes)

Jump Squat Variation  S.S. Backpack Squat 1.5 Variation
Squat Jump Variation S.S. Backpack Squat Variation
Supermans S.S.  Pull ups variation
DB Press to Bridge Variation S.S. Band Deadlift Variation
High leg lifts    S.S.   Side Pillar Variation L
Knees laying tuck  S.S  Side Pillar Variation  R
Bear Crawl Sandbags S.S Run SB Variation
1 Arm Pushup MB Variation   S.S. Blast Off Pushup Variation

Cardio & Strength Supersets (Workout A)

These supersets don’t have two muscles working back to back. Instead, you will do 30 seconds of a strength exercise, followed by 20 seconds of a high intensity cardio exercise with any rest. Each week the progression increases with more cardio. The combination between both strength and cardio is a killer for boosting the metabolism!!

Here is a sample whole-body routine:

Workout A Strength & Cardio Supersets   30 sec strength/20 sec cardio x2 sets each station

Cardio

A) Leg triple jump (1 jump forward, 2 jump back)
B) Sprint in place
C) Burpees
D) Twisting Squat Jumps
E) Crab Kick outs
F) Jumping Jack Pushups

Strength

1) Sprinting as hard as possible  (20 yards) with cone
2) Lunge Variation (20 yards)
3) Band Pull Apart Variation
4) Frog Hops traveling Forward Variation
5) KB High Pull   (sit back with hips, load the heals, shins stay vertical , bell travels vertically into the body, for deltoids  traps, glutes, hams, thy’s (metabolic cost is high)

7) Towel Skiirs  squats (hold tight)
L1 Skier Squats
L2 Increase Speed

Drop sets

When you do drop sets, you take compound exercise for 30 seconds, then you immedietly go into a brand new exercise of similar type of movement for 20 seconds, then back to the 1st exercise for another 20 seconds.
What this does is creates an intense demand to the muscle to fatique it faster than ever. You will experience the “muscle pumps” especially when going back to the 1st exercise, the 3rd time

Here is a sample whole-body Drop set routine, doing 30 seconds of exercise 1, then with no rest, exercise 2, then back to 1 with no rest!

Skater, Burpee / SPRINT HARD in place  / Skater, Burpee
Skaters, Burpee Variation
Bicep Curls/Tricep Extension/Bicep Curls
Speed Bag Run/Run Backwards  bad /Speed Bag Run
1.5 Pushup Variation/Pushup Hold/1.5 Pushups Variation
RBT Mountain Climber/ Mountain Climbers/ RBT Mountain Climbers
Rope   Speed Chops/Figure 8/Speed Chop Variation

Superset Rules

When it comes to boosting muscle growth and metabolism and breaking out of your plateau, nothing beats supersets.  But a word of caution is in order:

• Lose the ego:  During the second move, you will find that you will have to significantly lighten the amount of weight that you typically use.  This fact is one of the advantages of doing supersets in the first place:  you get the advantage of the metabolic boost but without unduly stressing your joints.
• Greet the pain:  Just get ready for the burn.  When you exercise at levels this intense, you are going to be feeling it.  Get your mind right and just do it.
• Keep moving:  Don’t slow down.  It is very important that you progress through the movements with speed and efficiency.  As professional bodybuilder, Tony Pearson says,

“Resting longer than five seconds between such exercise can be disastrous because the [muscles] will recover very quickly if allowed to rest too long.  Physiologists tell us that a muscle group can recover about 40% of its energy after only 10-12 seconds, and 50% after about 15 seconds. So it should be obvious that you must rest minimally between these exercises.”

Let’s rock it during the month of May!!!

-Patrick

Here we go! This month’s phase at Reshape 360′s Metabolic Group Training is featuring the “classic” 30-15 and 45-15 endurance intervals with many twists!!

45-15 Endurance Intervals

Muscular Endurance is the ability to produce and maintain force for prolonged periods of time. Where power and strength training primarily targets your type-II fast-twitch muscle fibers, endurance training mainly gets after your type-I slow-twitch muscle fibers.

Why is endurance important?

According to the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), the ability to overcome gravity, ground reaction forces, and momentum on a continual basis is vital in the prevention of injury and allows proper kinetic chain alignment and performance. It promotes proper stabilization during training, as well as maintenance of better posture throughout the day.

While all that is good and extremely important for health, what I think you’ll find most exciting is how ridiculously effective Endurance Intervals are for torching calories and burning belly fat. The unique combination of longer work periods and brief, incomplete rest periods results in a ton of work being accomplished in a very short period of time – this is also known as maximum training density, a big primer for fat loss. Plus, your heart rate will be elevated in the anaerobic zone throughout the duration of the workout making this a true cardio-strength workout.

Many fitness experts refer to this type of training as “lactic acid training” due to the massive accumulation of lactic acid as a result of anaerobic metabolism and the breakdown of muscle glycogen (stored sugar in you skeletal muscle) during exercise. Research has shown that the presence of lactic acid can increase the production of both growth hormone and testosterone. These are two of the most anabolic (muscle-building) and lipolytic (fat-burning) hormones in the human body and we want to make sure our workouts leverage these two heavy hitters as much as possible for maximum results in minimal time.

This month we have decided to make our metabolic training program even more “fat burning” and hormonal madness by adding in POWER – Endurance rep based intervals.

What is that? Basically, we are adding in power based exercises using rep based training inside a sequence of time.

For example..

Workout A
In week 1 you will do  15 reps of each exercise below, then rest 15 seconds. Then repeat for a total of 5 rounds for each exercise. Each week increase the progression and do 20 reps the next week, then 25 the 3rd week and increase endurance to 30 the 4th week.

A)Split Squat Variation
B) Pushup Variation
C) Surfer Burpees Variation
D) Battle Rope Alternating Waves Variation
E) MB Slams

When performing endurance exercises  using 45-15 and 30-15 intervals, you’ll perform smooth, rhythmic repetitions with lighter loads and less advanced exercise variations and really focus on your muscles creating the movement rather than cheating with momentum. In other words, focus on cranking out as many QUALITY reps as possible to flood your muscles with blood and nutrients and to produce as much lactic acid as possible. If you’re doing it right, you should get what Arnold calls “THE PUMP!”

45-15 Endurance Intervals really BURN and will surely get your heart pounding and muscles pumped up in no time, so DO NOT make the mistake of thinking this is just an “easy day.” Done right, this workout will test your will and take your fitness to a new level!!

Plus, there’s just something special about high-intensity anaerobic (without oxygen) work periods of 30-60 seconds. They are glycolytic in nature meaning that they burn muscle glycogen, or the sugar stores in your muscles, at optimal rates. The more sugar you burn during your workouts the more body fat you will burn during recovery periods and in the hours and days between your workouts. Pretty cool right?

Below is an outline of our 45-15 Endurance Intervals Circuit this month:

Workout B- 45-15 Endurance Interval Circuit. Alternate between 45 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest for each of the 5 exercises in the following circuit.Perform up to 4 total cycles for a 20-minute workout.Each week look to challenge your self with a new variation of each exercise level through a 3 week period. During week 4, go through Exercise progressions back to back for the same movement and repeat 2x, then go to the next exercise.

Vertical Pushup
Vertical Jump Variation
Alligator Walk Variation
Leg Kick Through’s

This Reshape 360′S metabolic Group Training endurance interval training circuit is going to light you up shed some serious body fat! Get ready to burn, baby burn!!

Workout C- Strength Endurance 45-15  + Cardio Circuit

A) Split Squat Variation
B) Jumping Jack Rope Variation
C)  Ball Leg Curls
D) Pike + Pushup Variation
E) High Row RBT

Cardio Circuit (do as a group designated # of reps as indicated in the  weekly progressions)

DB Hops (jump over DB)
Squat+Punch with DB
Jump up knee
DB Plank Hold (plank to forward jump)

Weekly Progressions Cardio
Week 1  6 minute cardio circuit 10 reps each
Week 2  7 minute cardio circuit 15 reps each
Week 3  9 minute cardio circuit 15 reps each
Week 4  10 minute cardio circuit 20 reps each

Weekly Progressions Strength Week 4- Max out, all level 3

This next phase of our training program is going to be AWESOME!!

If you are not in our program yet, shoot me a text, 917.548.4669 and
I will personally help you lose 5-10 lbs in the next 21 days.

-Patrick

I am serious..watch this video before you do anything else..

I am actually serious.

Stop grabbing for those food items you know are unhealthy for you. I mean seriously, if you know they ARE unhealthy and you know its not going to help you reach your goals, give you more energy, or perform better at work, then why do you have it?

Here’s what you need to do if you want to eat healthier at the work place.

1. Stop telling stories to to your self and believing them. ‘I don’t have time’ That’s a straight lie. You have time to brush your teeth right?

How about watch the news at night or go on your computer? It takes 10 minutes to make 3 meals for the next day when done right

2. See #1 STOP being lazy and AHEAD Why is it your so successful in business and work but you cannot apply the same focus and energy into your own body To have any chance of being successful to reach our fitness goals? Truth Moment. If you don’t plan ahead, your going to give in to the fat woman next to you who has a basket of cookies she is sharing with everyone in the office, including you.

3. See #2. Don’t give in to the fat woman She is what I call in the fitness world

…. A BLOOD SUCKING VAMPIRE!

4. See #3 – Don’t hang around other vampires. Have you ever heard the expression, you are who you hang around most. So if the people that you eat with around the office with Are eating unhealthy food and going to places that are full of fried food, pizza or carby foods.. You pretty much will become that person!

Whats the Solution? Bring your food and STOP being lazy.

Hope you take action and be happy or just be Fat, and Happy!

Choose wisely.

Patrick Jones President, Reshape 360
www.Reshape360.com

Comment below!!!

I remember when I was a kid my dad always telling me, don’t drink those
diet sodas and I totally ignored him!

Despite advertisements stating “Made from Sugar, so it Tastes like Sugar,” which attempt to confuse consumers, Splenda is not natural and contains no elements of natural sugar.

You may also be surprised to learn that Splenda contains chlorine. Yes, the same chlorine that goes in swimming pools. And here’s the worst side effect:

Just like chlorine kills off micro-organisms in swimming pools, Splenda and sucralose kill off healthy bacteria that lives in your gut—healthy bacteria that is vitally important to virtually every aspect of your health.

Crazy right? I thought so too..

Recently, a study at the University of Duke confirmed this very finding. Not only is sucralose a heavily-processed, chemically-based artificial sweetener, but it’s also damaging to your gut health, which goes on to affect every other aspect of your health.

Here’s a direct quote from that study:

“Splenda suppresses beneficial bacteria and directly affects the expression of the transporter P-gp and cytochrome P-450 isozymes that are known to interfere with the bioavailability of nutrients. Furthermore, these effects occur at Splenda doses that contain sucralose levels that are approved by the FDA for use in the food supply.”

Did you know that over 80% of your immune system finds its home in your gut?  In fact, there are more than 100 TRILLION living bacteria in your gut that control many aspects of your health, and due to things like the ingestion of artificial sweeteners like Splenda, most folks have created a massive bacterial imbalance in their body.

But, it doesn’t just stop with the use of Splenda or other artificial sweeteners. Here are some other common items that are contributing to the bacterial imbalances that BILLIONS of folks are silently suffering from all around the world:

*Antacids
*Diet beverages and food items (remember, sucralose is added to MANY foods, beverages, and supplements as a sweetener beyond just those little yellow packets that you may use in your coffee)
*Ibuprofen
*Antibiotics
*Laxatives
*Alcohol consumption
*Processed, packaged foods
*Certain brands of mouth wash, chewing gum, dishwasher detergent, and toothpaste
*Non-organic fruits and vegetables
*Non-organic meats
*Non-organic dairy products
*Sugar

If you are in contact with any of these items, it could be contributing to a serious imbalance in your gut bacteria and an overall decline in your health.

My personal recommendation…..

STOP TAKING IT!!

Ok, so even worse, here are even more serious side effects in result from the gut imbalances being unaddressed:

*Severe irritable bowel syndrome and extreme daily discomfort
*Serious skin disorders like eczema and psoriasis
*A constant battle with ongoing fatigue and low energy levels
*A life full of chronic sickness and pain due to a declining immune system
*Cirrhosis and cancer of the liver
*Metabolic syndrome
*Diabetes

Is this enough information to have you STOP taking in  splenda and artifical flavors?

What about your whey protein powder.. 99% of them on the market have this junk
inside of it and you NEED to be carefull of the food label.

That is why I recommend Prograde Protein to have after your workout within 30 minutes
instead of other junk you find at local stores you can’t really trust.

I honestly have never seen anything on the
market worth getting that doesn’t match the same quality and taste. You’ll get ZERO
artificial crap and you can TASTE the difference!

Check it out at this link.
http://getfitprograde.com

Here are some of my faaaaaavorite recipes I use all the time with this powder. Try it!

Here’s a 15% discount code to use when you check out, thanks Prograde.   PROEX

CINNAMON COFFEE ICE CREAM

1 C. milk of choice (skim, almond, etc.)
1 scoop Prograde Coffee Flavored Lean
1/2 tsp. instant coffee
1 tsp. fresh ground Cinnamon

Blend well.  Place in ice cream maker until ready.

Makes 1 serving.

Nutritional Data*

Calories: 224
Fat:1.7 grams
Carbs: 27 grams
Protein: 26  grams

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

1 cup lowfat cottage cheese
2 scoops Prograde Vanilla
2 Tbsp Natural Peanut Butter
1/4 cup Almond Milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Blend ingredients together in a blender until a smooth consistency is reached.  Pour into a bowl and place in freezer until frozen to an ice cream consistency.

Makes approximately 3 servings.

Nutrition Data per serving:

Calories:  174
Protein: 20 gms
Carbs: 7 gms
Fat: 7 gms

To your health,

-Patrick

**Reshape 360 Clients be sure to see our new gold standard body fat screening at the end of this blog!

When you step on a scale, the number that you see is a sum total of everything in your body.  This includes bone, water, fat tissue, muscle tissue, tendons, ligaments, and organs.  Clearly, some of these things are critical for life and health, like your muscles and bones.

Building muscle is one of the most important things you can do for your health.  Muscle not only gives you energy and increases your metabolism, but it also promotes the removal of glucose from your blood.  This in turn lowers your risk of developing insulin resistance and diabetes.  You should also note, that a pound of muscle is significantly smaller than a pound of fat…

Increasing bone density is also a critical part of being healthy.  Healthy bones are denser than unhealthy bones.  They are stronger, less prone to fracture and produce healthy amounts of blood cells. They also weigh more than unhealthy bones.

But other components of your body composition can spell danger, such as excess fat tissue.

And it gets even more interesting.  Even the tissue that can present problems, such as fat, is not all equal.  Your body stores two main kinds of fat:  subcutaneous and visceral.

• Subcutaneous fat is the layer of fat directly below your skin.  It is that ‘inch you can pinch.’ The most common places for this fat are your abdomen, thighs, hips and buttocks.  Subcutaneous fat can be further divided into 2 categories (layers)
  • Superficial Adipose Tissue (SAT):  This thin layer of fat is not a threat to your health.  Rather, it is stored for quick energy should you need it.
  • Deep Adipose Tissue (DAT):  This deeper layer of fat is metabolically active, and is strongly related to insulin resistance.

• Visceral fat is stored deeper within your body.  It is the fat that accumulates in and around your organs.  Visceral fat is dangerous because it increases your risk of serious diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease insulin resistance and cancer.  Unlike SAT, which is largely inactive, visceral fat acts like a gland, secreting hormones and chemicals that destroy health.  By the way, DAT acts just like visceral fat, and it is a very good indicator of visceral fat levels!

But wait, there’s more!

Suppose you have been following a careful weight training program for a week.  You have lifted weights for three days, been careful to eat a balanced diet and have even done some cardio intervals.  You drank your water and got some great nights of sleep.  You can hardly wait to get on your scale after the week is over.  It’s going to be great this time; you just know it.

But to your crazy horror, you realize that you have not only NOT lost any weight, you have actually gained one pound!  Typical clients of mine totally freak out because of this!  The typical reaction is to panic, get discouraged and maybe even cut back to an unhealthy number of calories.

However, there is a simple explanation for the weight gain.  You don’t have to worry! Let me explain it to you like I would my clients I work with…

 As you have lifted weights over the last week, you have created micro tears in your muscles.  These micro tears are part of the building process—as the muscles heal, they get stronger.  But in the process of healing, they are slightly inflamed which means they are retaining water.  Once they are healed, the water gain will dissipate.  So you haven’t ‘gained weight’ at all!

This has happened to me before so don’t worry!!

The solution

By now you may be wondering what to do.  After all, if both outward appearance and the scale are unreliable indicators of body composition and therefore health, what is left?

Body Composition Analysis measures the proportion of the various components of a person’s body and generally divides them into 2 – 3 major categories:

1. Lean Mass
2. Fat Mass
3. Water

There are a number ways to measure body composition, each with its advantages and disadvantages.  The best standard” is considered to by hydrostatic (underwater) weighing.  For obvious reasons, this is very inconvenient, timely and generally expensive to have done.  On the flip side, you can buy a $25-$50 scale that gives you your estimated body composition using bio-electrical impedance.  Unfortunately, these scales are very inaccurate. I learned that after using them for years and seeing the giantic fluation with
clients at Reshape 360.

Most personal trainers, including my self, until now, use skinfold calipers to measure body composition.  Of all the methods, this one is probably the most ideal/accurate when done by a trained professional.  However, there is still a sizeable margin of error, especially with larger individuals.

Plus, all of these methods only tell us about the SAT subcutaneous fat, not DAT (which is also a good indicator of visceral fat).

What is left is a diagnostic tool that CAN discern between the different types of body composition.

At  Reshape 360, and our metabolic group training program, we now use the BodyMetrix System which uses ultrasound to accurately measure body fat (both SAT & DAT), track muscle gain and fat loss and best of all, it requires no pinching or letting all your air out underwater!

You finally have an accurate and reliable way to measure both your current and future health, because the BodyMetrix system quickly and painlessly gives you a picture of your body composition.  Stop being angry at your scale and wondering if the mirror is telling you a lie.  BodyMetrix tells the truth every single time!!!!!

By the way, Reshape 360 Metabolic Group Training members* receive a complimentary BodyMetrix Scan every 8-10 weeks around out recovery week period.   

Non-members can receive a detailed fitness assessment including the BodyMetrix for just $99.  Just call us at 203-285-6500.

If you are a client have not yet done this method of measurement, get ready for it soon!!!

-Patrick