The Biggest Loser (In More Ways Than One)

Who is The Biggest Loser?

The hit TV show ‘The Biggest Loser” teams up people and has them in a boot camp style program of exercise and diet to lose weight. Once again in this matrix of deceit we’re not told the truth; that participants exercise for 3 to 4 hours a day and eat ridiculuosly low calorie diets. Plus they also have them losing water weight, often by dehydration. This is very unhealthy. The show is a real sham, read for yourself of the crazy antics done to lose weight, and how many of the participants gained weight back after the show. But thats what most people want – the quick fix.

I do love the title, as you may come to realize, this is a year of paradigm shifts. Losers will be the winners (ever hear of the ‘Sermon on the Mount? lol), people will do more by doing less, and some open minded individuals may even gain everything by giving everything up. The ‘in’ thing will be the ‘nothing’. Or maybe I am just surfing the zeitgeist too much again!

Back to losing. As in the TV show, one of the biggest thing people want to lose is fat. Its an interesting thing to think about; all the images that fat symbolizes. Unhealthy, unattractive, lazy, sloth (one of the 7 deadly sins), emotionally challenged (everyone knows over-eating is often an emotional issue), the list goes on and on. Bouncing from one cause and effect to the next, we’re like ping pong balls in an endless game. Feeling empty, we overeat (or over-work, drink, etc), then we feel fat or sick, so most reach for the quick fix – like a diet drug, or even a diet. Then the diet drug has side effects, so we take something else to deal with that. But then we realize one of the effects of all this was more weight gain – so we are back to square one. Its the same circle with any issue if you look deep enough.

Did you ever walk into the gym or somewhere else and feel fat (or unattractive)? Or feel that someone would judge or look at you and see how fat you were? What I find so funny is that at that very moment, someone WAS doing just that. They are your worst enemy. And who might that be? Why, YOU of course! Talk about sleeping with the enemy. More on that later.

Here are some practical tips on losing weight for the new year:
1) Eat Less. Exercise More. Sounds easy. But few can actually do it. Diet is really the key for losing weight, not exercise. For most people that means whole foods, lower carb (NO SUGAR), and healthy fats and proteins. Eat some protein with every meal.
2) Don’t skip meals: people who skip meals often lower their metabolism
3) Go back to 3 meals a day: All that 6 meal a day stuff I think is not good for our health. The GI tract needs time to be empty for us to detox. The only exception is post workout – have a recovery shake to build muscle.
4) Try Intermittent Fasting: This works wonders for many people. Ask me more and I will tell you how to do this.
5) Eat Organic: Researchers report that dieters with the most organochlorines (pollutants from pesticides, which are stored in fat cells) experience a greater than normal dip in metabolism as they lose weight, perhaps because the toxins interfere with the energy-burning process. Other research hints that pesticides can trigger weight gain. Always choose organic when buying peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, imported grapes, and pears; non-organic versions tend to have the highest levels of pesticides.
6) Sleep and Stress: Get a handle on these – sleep 8 hrs and get stress levels under control. Critical for weight loss.
7) Lift weights: Intense exercise like weightlifting increases insulin sensitivity, and this will help with long term weight loss.
8.) Exercise in a fasted state can increase fat burning.
9) Stay well hydrated.
10) Stop beating yourself up: The same self that got you into this problem is now beating you up for being there. Stop trusting your thoughts!

That little ‘you’ is the biggest loser – so lose it! Discover the bigger ‘YOU’ that is your source, your true self, and the key to happiness!

Why I Stopped Working Out

Relaxed, Centered, Being

Tense, Forward, Thinking

I’ve taken the last two months off training at the gym. Not because I lost my motivation, but because I no longer wanted to act from motivation. Instead I wanted to act from inspiration. There is a big difference. As one of my clients admitted stress (and fear) is what gets him out of bed in the morning. He needs it to stay motivated.’. Motivation is a fear based action. Now, there is nothing wrong with this, I’m merely sharing my own personal insights. God knows many people may not relate to how I think about life, but that does not make them wrong.

Inspiration on the other hand is different. It comes from a mind free of fear and mental chatter. It desires nothing other than to simply express the passion inherent in the existence of being! Inspiration literally means ‘in spirit’ – to breathe in the Divine and act from this Presence, in the present.

I must confess, a large part of my motivation for the gym was to maintain a certain image I had of myself. I wanted to be seen a certain way; athletic, fit and looking like a ‘personal trainer’. Muscle was my friend, fat was my enemy. I was at war…with myself. One of my female clients on this topic noted ‘I’m in here for a similar reason: resale value. I feel the need to keep looking fit and trim so my husband is still attracted to me. Or, God forbid, if I am ever single again, which is always a possibility. I need to be seen a certain way…’

Long ago my kung-fu teacher taught me the essence of martial arts. “When you relax and let go, and have no fear, just being present, the art will flow from you naturally. Think of the Buddha, as opposed to Rodin’s ‘Thinking Man’ who symbolizes the Western mind – he is tense, leaning forward, and heavy in thought,” he said. The two images above depict this contrast.

Men are motivated to conquer the world, to think of clever ways to make a ‘killing’ on Wall Street. Inspired, they seek to be at one with the world, to exist in peaceful harmony. Someone once said ‘its easier for a rich man to go through the eye of a needle than to enter the kingdom of heaven’ referring to the different lives people of motivation live versus those who live from inspiration.

Now moving from inspiration, I go hiking most weekends. I chop and stack wood, or go out in the forest for my walking meditations. If I feel like it – I will do some pull-ups on a tree branch, or some push-ups on a rock. When you are in the flow of life, you will want to move, to exercise, to play! For me this natural inspiration happens easier in the natural world, not in the concrete jungle of the gym.

Now that winter is here, I’m returning back to the gym, but my workouts have changed. I am now making it a priority to do whatever feels good – I am experienced enough to know how to train myself intuitively and make my workouts productive but fun.

I know for me committing to inspiration over motivation has made all the difference in the world!

Functional Training: Who Needs The Gym?

I stopped working out in the gym for about two months now, for reasons I explain in another post. However, I’ve still been active, and as this video shows – using house chores to get a workout in. There is no excuse not to exercise – everyone has plenty of house chores to do and why not squeeze the most out of them (Kill 2 birds with one stone) and make them a mini-workout! Talk about upping your productivity!

And of course it is functional – after all, training in the gym is designed to make you more functional in real life. So picking up groceries is not a roll of the dice on when you throw your back out, but instead, a chance to practice your deadlift technique!

Other ways to get more out of your day:
– Use stairs instead of elevator
– get up from your desk (set an alarm) every hour and stretch, do a few sets of push-ups, a few sets of body squats. In 5 minutes you can do a good invigorating workout!
– Park far away so you have to walk to the store.
– Carry more objects rather than use equipment designed to make it easy.

In essence – do more work yourself! You will reap the rewards for NOT being lazy!

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Give Thanks on ThanksGiving!

Hugh Hefners Turkey

“Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.” Lao Tzu, Tao De Ching

Rejoice (give thanks) for the way things are – exactly as they are now! Its a great honor to be down here on earth living the great adventure called life! It’s a game our spirits play that we all take too seriously! How often are we on automatic pilot – going to eat with the family without truly reflecting on the significance of the day? Of every day? So on Thanksgiving, appreciate even the simplest of things – your breath, the sunrise, food, etc. We all have so much to be thankful for.

Hit The Gym Before You Pig on Turkey!

“Everything You Know is Wrong” is the name of an interesting book that shows the truth behind much of what we collectively think of as truth. I have to laugh at just how stone-age we humans still are. I mean, when I was a boy it was still illegal in several states for a black person to marry a white person, gay people could not openly ‘come out’, and I was taught in school that Colombus discovered America.

After spending the last 20 years unwrapping the brain-washing we all are programmed with in order to become members of our collective tribe, you either go insane or realize that ‘humanity IS insanity’!

 I, as you guessed, did both!

First off, relating to the gym – Everything you know is wrong: On Thanksgiving I observed hordes of people hitting the cardio machines in the gym. Huffing and puffing so that after they could earn the right to indulge and not have that little voice of guilt go off inside their head!

But they have it wrong! Research indicates the most calories burned come from lifting weights – not cardio! The key is here whats called “Afterburn”. Technically its called EPOC (Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption) and it refers to an increase in fat burning after intense exercise.

After you lift weights you will continue to burn extra calories for up to 24 hours. That extra hourly caloric expenditure is more than you would burn doing an hour of cardio. Thats the magic of weight training! The key with the weights is to make it hard on the muscles and on your cardiovascular system – so keep rest periods short and do what I do with all my clients – supersets!

Supersets are hitting two or more exercises in succession with little to no rest. For example – do a bench press set and immediately do a Squat-Row on the cable pulley machine.

So when you want to indulge, hit the weights hard!

This does not mean cardio is not valuable. Cardio works with weight training to facilitate your best fitness program results. But on the holidays – hit the weights.

Turkey Time:

Ghandi once said “drink your food, chew your water”, meaning in a
figurative sense to be conscious (wake up) to what you consume. The
deliberate focus on your actions will serve you well in this hedonistic
festival of potentially gluttonous consumption. In a literal sense
chewing food (mastication) until it is a liquid before you swallow is
the healthiest way to eat. This takes time and allows the satiety signal
(that youve eaten enough) to reach your brain before you are too full!

Mind Your Mind:

So much of overeating and weight gain is ’emotional’. In fact it all is – we’re all emotional eaters and/or drinkers. Health to me has such an emotional and spiritual component it is without a doubt
more important than any exercise program you’re on. With this in mind, I encourage you all to spend as much time on this as you do on the physical aspects of health. I found a great speaker who cuts the crap and gets right into the heart of things, his insights are searing! His name is Guy Finley, check him out here: http://guyfinley.com/

I usually listen to all the free audio programs on the site, but he has a lot of free material to read also. One of my clients commented that he was not a Christian (my client was a devout Catholic). To this I say if you can’t see the Truth (or God) in all, you can’t see the Truth (or God) AT ALL!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ad lib Abs: Anytime, Anywhere!

Here is a recent video I shot over the summer on how to create fun to do exercises anywhere, just with a little thought! You can take 5 minutes several times a day and do several sets of any exercise and end up your day having done 20-30 minutes of exercise in total! This keeps you on track for your goals! There is no excuse to not be successful – just not enough creative thinking!

Exercise Tips: Get the Balance Right First!

 With any exercise program, we want to progress from the simple and most basic (body) to more advanced programs. This evolution in program design then not only benefits the body to increasing degrees, but also integrates mind and even ‘not-mind’ aspects of your being. 

I will progress clients from doing an exercise to performing it on 1 leg for example. After they have mastered that, I might have them do the same exercise with their eyes closed. This strengthens the other aspects of balance that we use, propioception and our inner ear. Thus the neurological systems involved here also can improve, and we improve balance and functionality.

The most basic programs are designed to build strength and endurance, and as such simple, stable movements are done that do not require much in the way of the mind and our attention. This is because at this lower level, the movement itself can be enough of a challenge for the beginner.  Their brain has to wire up millions of new connections to get these new movement patterns locked and loaded.

Ironicaly, it becomes apparent that body follows mind and mind follows spirit, so the lessons on one level will often apply on other levels too. I often have my clients do exercises that involve balance, for example bent over dumbell raises on 1 leg.  Many jump in and quickly lose their balance in their determination to accomplish the goal. Sounds like most peoples lives when they rush to get things done without being truly centered.

However when they place balance first and then move once balance is established, they more often accomplish the goal with less error.  To establish balance we often need to pause first to center ourselves.

If we all committed to honoring balance in our life first, all our problems would shift.  We would not get angry nearly as often, and we’d more practice pausing (as in the exercise) to get balanced before acting on anything.

Primal Fitness

Yesterday I went out for a hike instead of the gym,  as I often do on weekends. I find the outdoors a much healthier place to exercise, the negative ions from the air, the sun, the elements, all serve to connect us to the deepest parts of our existence: as part of the vast complex web of life from which we came from and depart to after our demise.

Hiking can take on all levels of intensity – and can be made into an amazing workout.  Want functional fitness? Try scrambling up a steep cliff where you need to pull yourself up on the trees to make it up. Thats an all body workout you will not forget.

Hiking up through a river bed is another very technical, intense activity. You need to be fully present to choose each step; one wrong move can land you in the cold water, or worse, with a broken ankle.  The amount of brain activation for such activities is immense and I beleive that ADD people like myself need experiences like this to balance our brains.

NY and CT have so many awesome places to hike, our favorites are up along the Hudson River in NY, from Bear Mtn. to Breakneck Ridge.

My brother and I have had some interesting experiences hiking:
– Several years ago as we were hiking down Bear Mtn we heard calls for ‘Help!’ We scrambled across the rocks (it was treacherous) to find a man and his son. His son had fallen and hurt his leg, so he couldn’t walk. I ended up putting him on my back (he wasnt that big) and carrying him down the mountain. Talk about a workout!!
– Once my brother and 2 friends were hiking up the steep Breakneck Ridge and his friend (who was out of shape) suffered a massive heart attack. They tried to revive him and called for help, but to no avail.

Honey for Post-Workout Insulin Boost

Post workout its important to get insulin up as it acts to facilitate recovery and muscle growth. This is the only time of the day we want elevated insulin. To do this we use a protein carb drink – whey isolate combined with some type of high glycemic index (GI) sugar. My top choice is honey because it has so many other nutritional benefits that other sugar sources do not. Honey is a wholefood  and as such the best source versus refined sugar sources.  For example, honey has the sugar trehelose, which positively affects our brain and central nervous system. Honey also has potent anti-bacterial activity, trace minerals, and other nutrients.

 Here is one study supporting the use of honey: over time it appears to help shift weight gain away from fat and towards muscle (providing you are exercising hard enough)

The Effect of Honey Compared to Sucrose, Mixed Sugars, and a Sugar-Free Diet on Weight Gain in Young Rats
L.M. Chepulis11Author is with Honey Research Unit, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Waikato Univ., Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand. Direct inquiries to author Chepulis (E-mail: lynnec@waikato.ac.nz).1Author is with Honey Research Unit, Dept. of Biological Sciences, Waikato Univ., Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand. Direct inquiries to author Chepulis (E-mail: lynnec@waikato.ac.nz).
Abstract
ABSTRACT: To determine whether honey, sucrose, and mixed sugars as in honey have different effects on weight gain, 40 6-wk-old Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a powdered diet that was either sugar free or contained 8% sucrose, 8% mixed sugars as in honey, or 10% honey freely for 6 wk. Weight gain and food intake were assessed weekly, and at completion of the study blood samples were removed for measurement of blood sugar (HbA1c) and a fasting lipid profile. The animals were then minced and total percentage body fat and protein measured.Overall percentage weight gain was significantly lower in honey-fed rats than those fed sucrose or mixed sugars, despite a similar food intake. Weight gains were comparable for rats fed honey and a sugar free diet although food intake was significantly higher in honey-fed rats.

No Abs Abs?

Someone recently asked me what I do for abs (after she saw this pic of me). I said ‘nothing’ – and in fact I am currently on the fat side of my ‘normal’ range. I went on to tell her I use what I call the “No abs Abs” routine:

Exercise:

I do nothing specifically to work my abs. I feel abs can get plenty of stimulation from an intense workout – exercises like tricep pushdown, squats, Chop Wood, deadlifts, lunges, push-ups, etc all require work from the abs. Most exercises benefit from you tightening your abs as you conduct the movement, and of course so do your abs!

Diet:   Burning the fat off the abs is the most important thing to see good abs. Eat clean and do some cardio to keep the fat off, and you should begin to see lines where fat once was!

New Years Resolutions: Top 10

The New Years is typically when people once again try to be healthy and lose weight, join the gym etc.

So in that regard here are my Top 10 things I would try for myself and recommend to anyone for 2008:

10) Eat more organic raw foods – nuts, seeds, low Glycemic Index (GI) fruits & veggies
9) Eat more Organic Greens: See my YouTube video on Green Smoothies!
8) Take Dietary Supplements – generous quantities of the right ones will change
your life in many positive ways!
7) Sleep more – try to get to bed before 11 pm! Take naps if possible.
6) Visit a good holistic doctor and get the lab tests I recommend to determine
your current health status.  This is part of being more aware of the inside instead of focusing our attention always on the outside.
5) Exercise regularly (weights and cardio)- try to do more cardio in nature (the
woods etc).
4) Drink pure water on a regular basis with an alkaline pH (add lemon to it for
example) – do NOT reuse PETE water bottles!
3) Install the right shower filter to decrease risk on inhaling toxins in the
vapor of your shower water.
2) Take a Deep Breath (before you do anything)
1) “SEE”: see the connections that knowledge and insight can have on
understanding & improving your life.

I hope to devote time to each of these Top 10 in the coming weeks.