Some individuals think Chiropractry is quack work. I disagree with that opinion. The practice of aligning the spine is of paramount importance to the efficiency in which signals are transduced from our minds to our muscles. Our spine has 3 curves naturally, and any deviance from this optimal structure will interrupt the flow of information and cause other muscles to overcompensate because of this.

There was good reason your mom told you to sit up straight even if she didn’t understand the principles of spinal anatomy. A crooked spine backs up optimal functioning in our bodies. That signal from your medulla oblongotta to your lungs to take that breath is now ever so slightly slower, and all that slouching and crouching is definitely not enablong room for your organs to function – think about all that oxygen you’re not getting into your lungs on this one. So stop suffocating yourself and sit up straight!

Proper posture is standing as tall and as straight as gravity will let you, while you are keeping your core tight and not letting your belly stick out. That’s the easy part, now let’s talk about sitting properly.

A large portion of the population has issues with sitting up straight. We have gotten our bodies so familiar with what bad posture feels like that we have to actively think to put our bodies into proper posture, and when we are there, our muscles tire, because they are not used to it. We begin to suffer from forward head posture, as we are always leaning in looking at computers or tvs and causing excessive flexion through the cervical portion of the spine.

What we are looking for is the straight line! I am talking ears, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles all in a nice line. THINK ABOUT THIS LINE, BE THE LINE (you never thought you’d be told to be a line when you woke up this morning, but here we are…)

We are so accustomed to hunching over on computers and sitting for very long periods that I feel that we are devolving as a species! 1 million years from now, we will have hunch backs, small legs, and big brains (I guess it’s not all bad..)

A huge point to make about proper posture is the position of the scapula (shoulder blades). You always want them where they are supposed to be (retracted and depressed) and unfortunately they are not.

Always keep in mind how you are sitting, and get up, move around, and re-adjust from time to time. This is the perfect excuse to get out of some work at your desk…

Many people suffer from kyphosis or hunch back from tight chest muscles and weak back muscles. Often associated with this is tight hip flexors, weak hamstrings, and weak abs, and a tight lower back.

This is purely a byproduct of how we live our lives. Most of this can be attributed to all the sitting we do. They should start teaching school in a more dynamic environment where children are standing and able to move around and express their ideas on a giant white board that encompasses the room (it’s my blog, i’ll talk about what I want!) This way, we could help prevent bad habits from forming at an early age. (I was the biggest sloucher in school – I thought it was cool – i’m shaking my head disapprovingly).

Our ancestors, let’s say 10,000 years ago never suffered from this. They were strong from all the manual labor (i’m thinking farming), and riding horses with their abs braced and sitting up straight.

I’ll leave you with one more horrifying image…

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns or would like to experience a white rock bootcamp like no other, then feel free to leave a comment below.

Thanks
Josh Saunders
The Bootcamp Effect
Serving Langley, White Rock, and Surrey

You all know I am not a fan of long, slow, boring, cardio! However, I will admit that running is an easy way to get your 30 minutes of daily exercise in (and you don’t have to kill yourself either!) Infact it may even save your life!

You can go wherever your 2 feet take you – but make sure you’re running right! What may you ask could I possibly mean by this…..well, here’s how you’ll be running till you’re higher, stronger, faster, and safer!

Warm Up
Don’t be a fool and think you can avoid this! You may have in the past, but why not err on the safe side. Before setting the trails ablaze, why don’t you start off nice and slow by walking for a minute then getting into a nice light jog and repeating this for 5 mintues. Don’t forget you can always do a dynamic warmup like what we do at bootcamp. I’m talking straight leg raises, bodyweight squats, inchworms, and cross crawl, and when you’re done your run grab your H2O and walk it off – don’t just stop cold turkey. Moving around after exercise will prevent venous pooling in your legs and your other muscles will contribute in breaking down lactic acid in your predominant jogging muscles.

Run Relaxed
When you’re pushing as hard as you can, muscles all over your body are contracting in an effort to propel yourself across your personal finish line. But you got to relax, and let air get into those lungs. Focus on nice slow breathing. Breathe in through the nose and mouth – don’t limit yourself to breathing in through the nose as you wont get enough oxygen into your body. Avoid quick shallow breaths, and breathe from the abdomen. Most runners are mouth breathers, as this allows them to get more oxygen in the body, which brings me to my next point:

Relax your shoulders – shake them out if you need to, have your chest out with proper alignment of the body- this allows oxygen to move through the body efficiently, when you are all tense and nervous about running, your muscles are contracting and needing even more oxygen. If you ever watch marathoners or triathletes they always look so comfortable when running. So if you find breathing difficult at a certain pace, slow down and get comfortable and work up to it.
Doing short intervals like we do at bootcamp will improve your breathing and cardiovascular system for longer distance running (if that’s your sort of thing).

Staying loose while running will help prevent you from encountering nagging injuries that are more common when you’re tense. So check yourself out in the mirror and look at what your face looks like relaxed and remember to keep it that way!

Ya he's relaxed

Your Body Knows
Listen to it! Don’t push till collapse. Stop running, when your body tells you! Increase distance gradually. You’ll be able to increase your distance by about 50% every 40 weeks if you take it slow!

Your 10K Goal
Whether it be the Sun Run, The Times Colonist 10k, or The Boston Marathon, you have to train specifically for the race. If your running 8k for a 10k, you’re gonna gas on the last 2 clicks. If you plan on running shorter distances for longer races, you need to pick up your pace and train at a higher threshold. Try increasing your speed and gauging it by how many times your right foot touches the ground in 1 minute. 80 touches is a solid, challenging, and attainable goal.

When running, drive off that big toe, this will help prevent your heels from getting worn out from overtraining, and don’t forget to keep those arms moving in the direction you’re going- don’t have a sway – that’s wasted energy!

Injuries Happen
Bumps in the road happen whether you’re a seasoned vet or a newbie trying to lose 10lbs. So listen to your body if you are feeling the effects of a lingering or chronic pain in the knee and get it sorted out before it stops your running entirely.

In this article I’ll cover one of the most common knee pain injuries: Runner’s Knee

Attention: I am not a physician! The info in this article should not take the place of your qualified medical professional. If you are experiencing pain in your knees (either chronic or acute), visit your doctor before beginning a corrective exercise program.

Runner’s Knee
Can best be described by a pain directly surrounding or under the knee cap – not above the knee cap! Also known as patellofemoral pain syndrome, runner’s knee occurs when the patella (kneecap) tracks improperly and grinds against the femur (thighbone). The strength and flexibility of the muscles attached to the knee greatly influence the way the kneecap moves during flexion and extension (bending and straightening). When these muscles are imbalanced, patella tracking may occur. The muscles of interest are the quadriceps on the front of your thigh, the hamstrings on the back of your thigh, the IT band, which are fibers on the outside of your leg, and the calves. Runner’s knee is generally attributed with individuals having tight hamstrings, IT band, and calves with weaker quads. This combo causes a twisting of the knee joint during any activity that creates a load at the joint (ie. everytime you run) and this causes the rubbing that is the uncomfortable pain.

How Runner’s Knee Happens

• Overuse – rapid increase in training intensity (overdoing exercise as a beginner)
• Improper footwear – wearing flat shoes or running on hard surfaces
• Tight muscles in the posterior chain – hamstrings, calves
• Imbalances in the quadriceps – weak Vastus medialis (think front of your leg on the inside)
• Running downhill – ouch!
• Long periods of sitting with your knees bent – it happened to me as a student!

Treat Runner’s Knee

1. Rest - I know it is hard to accept, but you need to take a break. High impact exercises, such as running and jumping need to be reduced so that the inflammation in the kneecap can subside. You can maintain your endurance by doing low impact exercise such as swimming or elliptical – the only time I would condone using an elliptical (although you may even find these exercises bothersome).
2. Ice – After exercise –  ice, when you feel discomfort – ice. You can put a bare icepack on your skin for a short time (less than 10 minutes to avoid frost bite). Do 10 minutes on 10 minutes off for an hour if you can spare the time.
3. Non Steroidal Anti-Inflammatories- Meds such as Advil will also help with pain and swelling. Take as directed, but don’t use them for the sake of it. Let the body heal itself. Reiki is a great alternative that you can try, along with physiotherapy.
4. Fortify - As stated above, weak quadriceps are a contributing cause to runner’s knee. Typically an imbalance in the vastus medialis and vastus lateralis is the cause. Seated straight leg lifts are a nice, low impact exercise you can do. Try 10 sets of 10 second holds with your foot 6-10 inches off the ground.
5. Stretch – All the time! Our bodies are becoming so tight, and preventing us from doing even the most basic functions properly like bending over and breathing. If your watching tv-stretch, on the computer-stretch, always sit up straigh, stretch at work too. Tight calves? Stretch those! Tight hamstrings? Stretch those! Tight IT bands? Stretch those!
   

   IT band stretch - push right leg away from head with hand to increase stretch

6. Papa’s Got A Brand New Shoe - Sometimes it’s the smallest and most forgotten things like the shoes you wear that are the problem. Check the bottoms of your soles. Is there excessive wear on one side or the other? This could indicate over pronation or supination – a simple pair of orthotics could solve this problem. Check with your physiotherapist or health consultant about this.

Want to feel like you’re running on air? The Bootcamp Effect is coming to White Rock. Our new White Rock bootcamp will be opening October 1st, 2010, and will feature a spring loaded floor to help absorb the impact on your knees when your working out your hardest!

Josh Saunders, BSC, CSCS
The Bootcamp Effect
Serving Langley and White Rock

Women need to do resistance training! Here are 13 reasons why:

1. It burns more fat! When you lift weights or take part in a resistance training program, your metabolism will stay elevated and will continue to burn fat for you several hours after your workout. During regular cardio exercise, you may burn more calories in the hour or so that you are working out, but you will stop burning fat shortly after that workout.

2. It changes your body’s shape. You just don’t want to shrink your body size, you want to rid yourself of excess fat and get those lean sexy curves. Resistance training is your ticket to this, as it can slim you down, and create new curves.

3. It boosts your metabolism. The less muscle you have, the slower your metabolism will be. As women age, they lose muscle at increasing rates, especially after the age of 40. When you diet without doing resistance training, up to 25% of the weight loss may be muscle loss (and that is bad in the long term). Resistance training while dieting can help you preserve and even rebuild muscle fibers. The more lean mass you have, the higher your metabolism will be and the more calories you’ll burn all day long.

At bootcamp, I measure your basal metabolic rate and your metabolic age. The slower your metabolism, the older your metabolic age. In effect, the more calories, your body needs to maintain your body weight is one of the factors that determines your metabolic age!

Muscle is 25x more metabolically active than fat, which means it burns 25x more the amount of calories when you are at rest lying by the pool with your pool boy named Javier (inside joke).

4. It increases strength and confidence. Your functional fitness is improved, which makes it way easier to do everyday tasks. Not to mention, knowing and being strong is the best, and this fortifies your emotional strength by boosting self-esteem and confidence.

5. It builds strong bones. Weight bearing exercise helps build and maintain bone mass, and prevents osteoporosis.

6. It fights depression. Endorphins are released during and after your workouts and will leave you high on the work you achieved and leave depression in the dust.

7. It improves sports fitness. The stronger you are, the easier you move. Thus resistance training will equate to better sports performance whether that be a day on the links or a weekend on the slopes.

8. It reduces injuries and arthritis. Joint stability is key to reducing the chance of injury. Keeping joints strong and mobile is always beneficial, as it makes daily movements easier. But don’t step in any potholes!!!! (another inside joke).

9. It helps your heart by lowering blood pressure. Resistance training also benefits the heart by increasing your “good” (HDL) cholesterol and decreasing your “bad” (LDL) cholesterol.

10. It guards against type 2 diabetes. The more lean mass you have, the more efficient your body is at removing glucose from the blood.

11. You can’t build muscle from cardio, so skip those long, slow, boring cardio days.

12. Muscle is denser than fat, and remember 1lb of muscle does not weigh more than 1lb of fat (because they are both 1lb). But that 1lb of muscle will take up less space and give you that leaner sexier look.

Keep Rocking,
Josh Saunders
White Rock Bootcamp Solution

This video is so great that it needed to be posted on both my websites. Will Smith has an insane outlook on life, where insane equals ridiculously sick, and right on the mark. I don’t want to tell you what to do, but this should be your outlook in life. The lesson is simple, never quit, never, never, never, ever quit. Remember, you really can get and create anything you want in life by just believing in yourself!

Don’t be realistic, be unrealistic – unrealistic people shape the world. It is all in your hands, the universe will get out of your way. If you tell yourself you can’t, you are right. If people say they can’t at bootcamp, I will make sure they do not ever say it again. Embrace the idea that you can be change, that you can be the model for others to aspire to. Commit yourself to your cause, your goal, and you will bend the world to your will. Make a choice, don’t be effected, be the cause…and always remember, “The only thing to fear is fear itself.”

I leave you with this quote from the movie Pursuit of Happiness
“Don’t ever let somebody tell you, you cant do something…
You got a dream, you got to protect it…
People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you you can’t do it…
You want something go get it, period…”

Committed to your goals,
Josh Saunders
Langley Bootcamp Personal Trainer

Now that I got your attention…

As you know, I offer referral incentives (which just happens to be a great way for us to help each other out)!
After all, who wouldn’t want to have bootcamp/group personal training for free?

Now, you know that word of mouth is the ultimate marketing method! In a world full of scams and “get rich quick” schemes, people feel safer getting told about a service from someone who has experienced it first hand with success.

And I appreciate these referrals so much that I discount your next month of bootcamp by 50%. Plus if you refer 2 people to bootcamp in 1 month, your next month is free! What could be better than helping a friend lose 10lbs and saving some money?

Remember, the success of The Bootcamp Effect is dependent on the hard work and great atmosphere created by the members, so please try to refer only positive people looking to improve their health and fitness! (No energy vampires please).

Here are some tips to referring people to bootcamp:

• I have $50 gift cards that you can hand out. You may take as many of these as you want. I usually have a pile of them with me at every class. This gift card entitles a new member to try out The Bootcamp Effect risk free for 1 week before they decide to commit.
• Send out an email to your contact list explaining the bootcamp you have joined and that you would love to have some them join you! Tell them they get a free session to try it out (or a free week if you give them the gift card).
• Post on your facebook status. Mention you just got back from a great morning workout. Add a link in there to the website, so they know where to go.
• Join The Bootcamp Effect Facebook group by clicking here and invite people to join the group with the link at the top left corner of the page – This is huge!!!
• Forward The Bootcamp Effect Newsletter to all your friends or get them to sign up for it and get a free fat loss report here.
• Put a link to The Bootcamp Effect’s site on your website.
• Grab some fliers from me and post them at your work, apartment complex, or club. Challenge your friends to see if they can hang with you at bootcamp.
• Imagine yourself referring 10 people, and getting the next 5 months of bootcamp free!!!! Now make it happen!

Cheers,

Josh Saunders, BSC, CSCS

Langley Fitness Professional

Most women have aspirations of achieving that beautiful toned body that can be seen on many actresses and pictures in magazines.

But did you know, that most women will never achieve this goal because most will unfortunately stray from anything that builds muscle for fear of looking bulky!

You do not need to worry ever about gaining too much muscle because…

1. Muscle is sexy – Check out those quads on the left!!!
2. Women have 20x’s less Testosterone than men, which is the predominant muscle builder in the body.
3. You won’t eat enough. You need to be eating a lot of calories every day to put on any amount of size. It’s every skinny teenage boy’s dream to put on muscle mass and you won’t eat more than them, nor will you build more muscle than them. Which leads me to my last point…
4. The female body is not built to be like a mans (obvious statement of the day). Even if it was your goal to be the next female bodybuilding sensation, you would never achieve it without the assistance of hormone supplementation, such as steroids.

Building lean muscle is your key to MAINTAINING that trim and slim feminine body, and having you look the best you have EVER LOOKED! Muscle is highly metabolic and adding 1 pound of muscle burns around 50 calories more per day at rest. (Fat burns 9 calories per pound). When you put muscle on your body, and contain more lean tissue, you will burn extra calories (even when you sleep). What could be better than that?

You heard it here, resistance training (muscle building exercises) is MORE IMPORTANT THAN CARDIO!

You need to do what will give you the largest metabolic bang for you buck. Here’s your time guideline:

• If you have 30 minutes to exercise, do resistance training only (but don’t forget the warmup).
• If you have 45 minutes, throw in some short high intensity intervals, like running for 30 seconds, rest for 1 minute, repeat…
• If you have 60 minutes or more, now you can add cardio (10 minutes warmup of light cardio or dynamic exercises, 40 minutes of resistance training, 10-30 minutes of cardio, 5 minutes of stretching, and in that order).

Follow these guidelines, this is your bible to that sexy hollywood bod.

Any questions email me here.

Hi all,

Misconceptions have seemingly amassed mystical powers through years of crazy media marketing. Statements such as, “Lose 10lbs in 1 week”…”Lose 40lbs in 1 month”… and, “This vibrating, ab-twisting machine will melt away your fat and worries in seconds,” seem to leave individuals in a state of unrest when they are not able to match these results.

You see, these fitness fatloss myths are so ingrained in our heads that it is hard to shake this disbelief that they are not true. Remember, it is in my best interest to get you real results and keep you on track, so you can achieve those results.

So without further adieu and many conversations here are my 5 fitness fatloss mistakes…

1. I want to lose weight – The most common goal proclaimed by women involved in a fitness program. If you are overweight this is a great goal, but many individuals who are close to their natural, healthy weight should focus on another thing, and that is losing bodyfat. P.S. You can lose 10lbs of bodyfat and still weigh the same, but your body will look much fitter and healthier!!!!

Most people involved in a fitness program like a bootcamp, that involves high intensity cardio and resistance training, increases muscle while decreasing body fat, which will lead to a tighter, toned body. So if your clothes are fitting looser and you’re losing inches, you are on the right track!

During this time, bodyweight could increase or decrease. So, now you see why this “scale craze” is unfounded. You can improve your appearance, fitness levels, and elimitate unwanted fat in those trouble areas while relatively maintaining your bodyweight, so use the mirror as a guide to your progress and leave the scale alone.

2. I gained weight in the first month- I repeat, the numbers on the scale are not important in the short run! I hear way too many women concerned with a bodyweight fluctuation of 2 or 3 pounds or even not losing enough weight in the first month. There are many factors that account for this minor gain and none of these have anything to do with getting fatter. Water weight for instance is a culprit of these differences and has nothing to do with a permanent weight gain. Remember, it is the long run changes that matter.

3.  I’m doing the _____ diet – Way too many women get involved in diets. Let’s review what a diet implies…..deprivation aka starvation and an end-date. You know why there are so many diets? Because they don’t work! They are a short term answer to a long term problem, and involve giving up your favorite foods, enduring intense hunger and putting you in an unstable state of mind.

Adopt a healthy lifestyle and eat when you want and seriously cut the grapefruit, cabbage soup, atkins, southbeach, or whatever diet is the new trend. Those end dates of those diets are killing you as your 1 week of rewarding yourself after your diets with your favorite foods, turns into 1 month, which turns into 10. Small changes will equal the big change so avoid these crash diets, embrace portion control, and enjoy healthy foods.

P.s. These include diet pills – stay away – there is no magic bullet. You cannot plough a field by turning it over in your mind!

4.  I’ll have the salad – Greens are a great source of healthy nutrients, and salads are an excellent option, as long as there are no bacon bits, croutons, or massive amounts of dressing – this meal is loaded in calories and won’t make you full!!! Salads can offer variety as long as you keep them clean and keep the bacon and fatty dressing away. Adding a chicken breast or piece of fish to this will make a complete and healthy meal.

5.  I drink alcohol - When you consume alcohol, your body uses it for fuel first, and delays fat burning BIG TIME. Alcohol also contains almost twice as many calories as carbs and proteins. And what’s worse, these are “empty” calories, meaning that they provide no nutritional value.

When you down a few beers, your inhibitions are also squashed, making it more likely for you to cheat on your diet…Also, despite all those calories you are consuming, alcohol actually increases your appetite.

Every time you booze up, you also decrease your body’s total testosterone level. Testosterone is a powerful fat burner and muscle builder for men AND women. The less testosterone you have, the slower your muscles build while working out, and the slower your metabolism will be. And the slower your metabolism is, the harder it is to lose weight, no matter how disciplined you are in the gym.

Alcohol also wrecks havoc on your internal organs, including your stomach and liver, which are important to keep in good health if you want to see fat loss progress. If your stomach isn’t working at its peak, your foods will be digested less efficiently, which means more will be stored as fat. Your liver needs to be in prime condition because that’s the organ that turns fat into energy. If you must drink some brews with your friends, try to stick to light beer. The diet damaging effects of alcohol are still there, but it won’t be as bad because there are fewer calories.

Bottom line, if you DO drink, control the amounts and drink only on rare occasions. I’ve known so many women who workout almost everyday, watch what they eat, then go out drinking on the weekends and wonder where their bodyfat comes from….It’s the BOOZE!

So what should you do…

In order to lose fat at a fast rate, you need to create a large caloric deficit in a relatively short period of time.  Recall, a pound of fat is 3,500 calories.  Want to lose a pound of fat?  Then you’ll need to be 3,500 calories in the hole. That’s not just burning 3,500 cals, that’s having a deficit after all your food intake! Want to lose Five pounds of fat? Make that 17,500 calories.  There’s simply no getting around the physics of this matter. And unfortunately, drastic reductions in caloric intake will only cause your body to fight back against your dieting efforts, shutting down metabolism and holding on to body fat as a starvation protection response ,also known as the dreaded starvation mode.

Slow and steady = permanent fat loss…

Enter your predicament, you can’t lose fat fast enough without creating a massive caloric deficit, and you simply can’t create this deficit with a quick shift in your eating habits to starvation mode.

Sure, you may have known someone who has lost a lot of “weight” in a short amount of time or watched an episode of The Biggest Loser (see my next blog). But weight loss and fat loss are 2 critically different animals. Want to lose weight in a short period of time. You can, and here will be your results…

1. A lot of water loss – that’s bad
2. A lot of muscle loss – that’s bad
3. A bit of fat loss – it’s not all bad

And of course, a metabolism so haggered that the moment you decide to get off your “diet” and return to your normal eating habits, all your “weight loss” and then some is gone and fat will be back at even faster rate.

So Stay strong, Stay hungry, Stay motivated…

Your Bootcamp Instructor,

Josh

Sometimes I feel the need to really cheer you on at bootcamp. So I break out the cheer pom poms (that’s what they’re called right?)

And I do a little jig to have a laugh. Here’s a quick clip for your viewing pleasure during a warm-up the other day in class.

P.S. I’m not a cheerleader, never have, never will…and I am wearing an ankle cast during this….You have been warned!

WILL YOU BE THE ONE TO GET 5 MONTHS OF FREE BOOTCAMP?

WILL YOU BE THE ONE TO LOSE ALL THAT STUBBORN FAT FROM YOUR THIGHS, WAIST, AND STOMACH AND BECOME AN INSPIRATION TO OTHERS?

WILL YOU TALK ABOUT CHANGE OR BE CHANGE?

With the help of The Bootcamp Effect you can be well on your way to your newly transformed, amazing body with the added assistance of a internationally certified fitness professional. It is for all ages, all fitness levels. If you can attend bootcamp 3xs per week and change your nutritional habits then you should strongly consider joining this 5 month summer bootcamp. Just adding some of my secrets flat stomach tips to your arsenal could make you The Bootcamp Effect Biggest Winner!!!

This contest is for individuals who want a slim, trim, toned physique and want to be rewarded for achieving it! Whether you need to lose those last 10 pounds, or even if you have 100 pounds to lose, my 5 month transformation challenge is your answer! This contest is an intensive, hands-on program designed to mentor you through every step of your transformation both mentally and physically and is open to anyone who wants to get slim.

Here’s the details:

You have 2 sets of times to choose from:

Indoor bootcamp on Monday, Wednesday, Friday @ 9:30am (starts May 3rd) at Xtreme All Star Cheerleading, #5- 5684 Landmark Way, Surrey, BC

or

Outdoor bootcamp on Tuesday @ 6pm, Thursday @ 6pm, Saturday @ 10am (starts May 4th) at Simonds Elementary school, 20190 48th ave, Langley BC

Bootcamp starts May 3rd and runs till Sept 30th

Winner will be based on individual who loses the biggest % of their initial bodyweight.

This is not your typical bootcamp, this is not a military bootcamp, workouts are themed, and full of fun, so tell your friends and get fit together!

Interested in registering in this Langley bootcamp?

First session is a free trial session, so you have no excuses and everyone is a winner regardless of who loses the most weight!

You are eligible to be apart of this challenge for 5 months of bootcamp @ $99/month (billed monthly).

Please contact me should you have any additional questions.

I look forward to working with you this summer and getting you looking your sexiest!

Josh Saunders

Langley Personal Trainer

Ok, this has been bothering me lately….

It’s called the STARVATION RESPONSE and it’s the #1 reason why you are overweight and can’t lose weight even though you don’t eat and exercise.

See, you can bust your butt all you want at the gym or at bootcamp and you won’t lose any weight until you fix this, and start eating 5-6 small meals throughout the day.

So what is the starvation response?

It’s your body’s internal mechanism that keeps you alive when you don’t eat anything. It’s how people survive in the jungle or the desert without any food for days. It’s how our ancestors who lived in caves with clubs and chased masterdons survived because it was bloody hard to have a constant supply of ancient elephant meat available.

The starvation response actually slows down your rate of burning calories because it senses food is scarce and does this because if you keep burning calories at a normal rate you will not have any energy to do anything. This means you could be working out hard for an hour and burning very few calories.

This is your basic prehistoric survival mechanism that is still functioning in us today. Sure, we have no need for it now in today’s westernized world, where there seems to be a grocery store on every corner.

Slowing down your metabolism like this will never make you lose weight in the long term. You can never starve yourself to lose fat! You may lose weight initially, but at some point , when you start eating normal amounts of food, you will gain it all back.

So do yourself a favor, if this sounds like you….You have been gaining weight and have that stubborn fat in those trouble spots, then you are most likely suffering from the starvation response and need to reset your metabolism.

Here’s how

• eat small portions and eat frequently (2-3 hours in between meals)
• eat over 1200 calories a day
• NEVER SKIP BREAKFAST
• consume protein in every meal
• eat 4-6 meals per day

Now this may scare you, and you may even gain weight initially from the extra calorie consumption. DO NOT WORRY! This is because your metabolism is slow and is not used to the extra food. After a month of eating like this and doing exercises such as squats and pushups, your metabolism will be higher and prepare you for a lifetime of losing fat the proper way.

Get in the habit of making changes, you may be reading this article because you are unhappy with your appearance and need a change. Something is wrong if you are exercising 3-5x/week and trying to lose weight, and getting no results. So make this change!

The Starvation Response is a life-saving mechanism and it will destroy your efforts trying to lose fat because your body has no idea how to differentiate between “dieting” and “starving”. Once the response has been activated it becomes almost impossible to lose weight, so you should NEVER severely drop your calorie intake. By being a starvation response victim, you will lose muscle, which is the worst thing for your metabolism. And you have to keep that metabolism high!!!

This is why it is much easier to lose weight if you previously ate too much as opposed to too little.

Disclaimer: This rant was meant for those who eat 1 or 2 meals per day. If you are currently eating 4-6 meals per day then carry on with what you are doing. This is one of the biggest reasons why Moms struggle with fat loss. If you have any questions, you know where to reach me.

Dedicated to your success,

Josh Saunders

Langley Personal Trainer