Good news and Bad news from my partners over at Prograde. There isn’t much time, so read this right away.

From the Desk of Jayson Hunter, Prograde Nutrition:

Sure, this tip is simple, but it’s super powerful. And while it may not seem it at first, it really will save you gobs and gobs of time.

Something I’ve always shared with my coaching clients is to spend one to two hours per week prepping your food.

On Sundays and Wednesdays you can easily set some time aside to cut up veggies and put them in baggies so you have them all ready for meals and snacks.

And when possible, you can do this with your lean meats (proteins) as well.

It’s pretty obvious how that is going to help you keep from reaching for cookies or chips during the week. And it’s pretty obvious how it’s going to help you stick to a healthy meal plan all week long.

Now, what’s also obvious is how my Done-For-You 90 Day Meal Plan is going to make your life easier.

No more thinking. No more guesswork. No more wondering what to eat.

I literally lay it all out for you. And I’m giving it to you for FREE when you become a Prograde VIP today.

Yes, we are closing the doors TODAY to the brand new Prograde VIP membership because of the overwhelming response we’ve had. We want to be sure we can manage the program effectively and deliver an awesome experience to them.

Hey, not only will you be getting my Done-For-You 90 Day Meal Plans, but you’ll also receive 5% off ALL your Prograde purchases for an entire year and a whole lot more!

Reserve Your VIP Membership ==>

http://fitnesssavant.getprograde.com/vip-membership.html

If you’ve already joined, well, let me say thanks yet again. We’ve got some really cool stuff coming up for you so just stay tuned!

Yours in health,

Jayson Hunter, RD, CSCS

PS – Again, so we can laser focus on serving our VIPs we are CLOSING the doors on membership TONIGHT at 11:59pm EST, so reserve your spot RIGHT now and get all the bonuses and goodies that come with it.

http://fitnesssavant.getprograde.com/vip-membership.html
PPS – Here are some FAQs about the Prograde VIP Membership you want to know about:

Yes, it only costs $47 to be a member for an entire year.

There is absolutely NO obligation to buy anything else.

Yes, you get the DONE-FOR-YOU 90 Day Meal Plan FREE of charge with your membership.

No, your card will NOT be charged again in a year from now.

There are NO hidden monthly fees or anything silly like that.

Yes, the 5% VIP discount applies to both sales and Smart Ships.

In other words:

Every month while you are a Prograde VIP your Smart Ship order will be an additional 5% off!

And as an example, when we do a sale for a Prograde product at 15% off our VIPs will get 20% off!

Finally, YES, it makes a heck of a lot of sense to become a Prograde VIP member! But you only have until 11:59pm EST to do so.

http://fitnesssavant.getprograde.com/vip-membership.html

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I just received this update from my partners over at Prograde. Trust me, you want to read it.

I’ve got their permission to share it with you word for word.

From the Desk of Jayson Hunter:

Simply put, if you’re looking to flatten your belly you definitely want to be planning your meals.

Fail to plan, plan to fail. Sorry, but it’s true.

And yes, that means you want to plan what you’re going to eat a week in advance.

Ummm, yes again, that takes WORK.

But you don’t have to do the work. I’ve already done it for you.

Seriously, I really have.

I’ve got a 90 Day Meal Plan that outlines in simple language exactly what you need to eat and when.

And I’ve also got shopping lists and weekly planners for you as well.

I want to hand over to you everything you need to get faster results as easy as possible.

The best part is you get it absolutely FREE when you become a Prograde VIP member!

http://fitnesssavant.getprograde.com/vip-membership.html

Which reminds me, I’ve been getting some questions about our brand new membership program, so here are some FAQs for you on that:

Yes, it only costs $47 to be a member for an entire year.

There is absolutely NO obligation to buy anything else.

Yes, you get the DONE-FOR-YOU 90 Day Meal Plan FREE of charge with your membership.

No, your card will NOT be charged again in a year from now.

There are NO hidden monthly fees or anything silly like that.

Yes, the 5% VIP discount applies to both sales and Smart Ships.

In other words:

Every month while you are a Prograde VIP your Smart Ship order will be an additional 5% off!

And as an example, when we do a sale for a Prograde product at 15% off our VIPs will get 20% off!

Finally, YES, it makes a heck of a lot of sense to become a Prograde VIP member! But you only have until tomorrow night at 11:59pm EST to do so.

http://fitnesssavant.getprograde.com/vip-membership.html

Yours in health,

Jayson Hunter, RD, CSCS

PS – And YES, we will be closing the VIP Membership temporarily as of 11:59pm EST tomorrow night. We’ve had an extraordinary response to this program so we will be focusing our efforts on making it an incredible experience for our VIPs.

PPS – We’re not exactly sure when we will reopen the Prograde VIP Membership, so join TODAY and receive your DONE-FOR-YOU 90 Day Meal Plan as our gift to you!

http://fitnesssavant.getprograde.com/vip-membership.html

Today I had the best workout I’ve had in a long time! I’ve been feeling more rested lately, feeling that I have a little more room to breathe, and dragging myself to the gym. Today, though, I didn’t need to drag myself out. I was ready to go, I got there, put on my earphones and got to it. The music was great, it wasn’t too hot, and I practically had the gym to myself.

I had to think about what could have kicked in this great feeling and I finally decided it could only be one thing…I changed what time I go to the gym. That’s it! Just that one small thing seems to have worked a small miracle!

The other day I was asked by one of the gym regulars for any ideas I had that would help her drop belly fat. Knowing that she already eats well and excecises regularly, I gave her an idea I once used for myself that worked. I told her to cut out dairy (while upping her other calcium sources, of course!) I don’t recommend this for everyone, but for her we had to think of something to kick-start that fat loss.

So, if you’ve hit a wall somewhere, maybe by just changing something small, like what time you workout or eliminating one thing from your diet will get you moving in a forward direction again. If it doesn’t work, try something else. Just keep trying!

Wow! It’s been a while and I apologize, but I’ve got some exciting things going on! I wanted to check in with my friends to fill you in on my personal progress in shedding that bit of extra fat I had accumulated and make an announcement of sorts.

To recap, I began this journey on January 2nd. I have had many derailments to my efforts, but I never gave up.  My original goal was to lose 13 pounds of fat – yes, 13. Ouch

• My beginning weight: 1*8 (Sorry - still enough vanity in me to not tell the planet what I weigh! LOL!)
• Weight as of 5-6-10: 1*0
• Loss: 8 pounds!!!!!

Okay, breaking that down, it took me 4 months to get here, but I’ve lost most of that since the third week of April. Keep in mind in January I got sick, and stayed sick for a few weeks. Then, as soon as I was barely recovered from that I had to have mouth surgery which kept me out of the gym for a week or so.  I have had many doctor and dentist appointments these first few months for myself and my son. I also went to Louisiana  and Panama City Beach for Spring break for a week. Yet, through all that, I have not given up on my goal. For my efforts, I am almost there!!! I am noticing definition in my abs again, my clothes fit, and I’m feeling so much happier with myself. I have 4 weeks left to reach my goal, which brings me to my announcement….

I want this weight off before I launch my new boot camp!

As soon as I get the details finalized I will make a big announcement, so stay tuned for details.

Fat Vs. Muscle – We hear it all the time… “I’m working out less and my muscle is turning into fat!”

Memré's Bench Attempt

This is one of the biggest myths in weight training. Muscle and fat are completely different types of tissue and can’t magically be changed. Muscle shrinks (atrophy) when not stimulated, so your muscles may seem softer. Compounding the problem, most people don’t lower their calorie intake to match their now lower energy needs. The result is less muscle mass and extra calories being stored as fat which creates a shift in your body composition.

Exercise of the day: Ball Band French Curl – The Ball Band French Curl helps build and support your core muscles as you isolate and work your triceps with the use of both your exercise ball and fitness bands.
Click Here to see it in action!
Click here to Get Your GoFit Exercise Ball or GoFit ProGym to Build a New Body Today!

Fitness Gear: Gel Squeeze Ball

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Don’t get stuck in a cardio rut – Try something new! Besides being a great cardio workout, a rowing machine uses many different muscle groups including abs, back, chest, arms, hips, glutes and legs. Remember to start slow, strap in your feet, draw in your abdomen, and maintain good posture throughout the movement.

Exercise of the day: Ball Spine Stretch – The Ball Spine Stretch will work and stretch your entire back region with the help of your stability ball for support.
Click Here to see it in action!
Click here to Get Your GoFit Exercise Ball to Build a New Body Today!

Fitness Gear: Wrist Straps – Leather

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Efficient Training – If a piece of equipment is being used, ask if you can work in between sets. Don’t interrupt. Wait until the person has finished his/her set. Not only is this a great way to meet people, it also helps you save time in the gym.

Exercise of the day: Ball Upper Body Dive – The Ball Upper Body Dive with your exercise ball will help you tone and tighten your shoulder region using your own body weight.
Click Here to see it in action!
Click here to Get Your GoFit Exercise Ball to Build a New Body Today!

Fitness Gear: Diamond-Tac Weightlifting Wrist Wrap Gloves

And I hate them. I have never looked good in them because I am not built for them, never have been and never will be.  I hate fashion in general anyway. I wouldn’t know  Prada from Target, but I can’t ignore all the ads that are raving about skinny jeans. They rarely look good on your average women, yet we feel compelled to try to wear them anyway. This is what the fashion world does to us, it makes us believe we have to wear what’s “in” and ignore what looks and feels good.

So, last month I decided to get a couple of pairs of fat pants since I had reached maximum density in my normal jeans. Although I could still wear them, they were making me miserable! I decided that comfort wins over fashion any day of the week, and indulged in some fat pants. : ) I had an unexpected result I wanted to share with you. Once I wasn’t constantly worrying how I looked, or pulling the jackets and sweaters low, or sucking in my belly more than normal, I was able to relax and I actually started to feel good about myself. I felt free to do what I needed without the aggravation of being uncomfortable in my own clothes. I smile more, I’m more relaxed, and just happier in general.

When you reach your goals, and you want to reward yourself with some new clothes, please remember just because it’s “in” doesn’t mean it’s for you. Instead, reward yourself by getting fitted for what suits your body best. Not only will you look better, you will feel more comfortable and will be able to free your mind to carry on as it should.You’ll be able to let that new found confidence shine when you’re not worrying about whether your butt looks big or how much of a muffin top you’re sporting.

If you’re currently a work in progress, then don’t be afraid of getting clothes that fit. There’s noting written in stone that says you will forever be stuck in that size. Find clothes that accentuate your positives and minimize your problem areas. For me, skinny jeans do just the opposite – accentuate the problems, like I need any more help making my thighs look huge or my butt out-do J-Lo. No thanks! I learned a long time ago I have to wear relaxed or wide leg jeans and pants, and I even know they should sit just below my waist.

If you’re having trouble with the lower extremities, I have a perfect plan for you, the Bootylicious Package for only $349!!!  Do you want to turn that junk in the trunk into a rock hard monument to muscle? This 6 week program is designed with getting your legs and butt into shape so you rock those jeans and can sashay with confidence! You will receive nutritional advice in addition to your exercise plan designed to lift your rear, tone it, and keep you from having to ask, “Does this make my butt look big?”

• 6 weeks of  strength and cardio plans focusing on the lower body
• 2 hours with your personal trainer (at the start and the end of the program) to familiarize you with your workouts and evaluate your progress
• Unlimited email coaching
• 30 minutes a week video and/or phone counseling
• Your reward for this achievement is your favorite pair of jeans up to $75 to show off your new booty!

Something I frequently get asked is how to lose the belly fat, and most people hate to hear my answer. They tell me they’re doing150 crunches a day, doing the elliptical 20 minutes a day, yet just can’t get rid of the belly fat. Here’s my answer, the big whopping, secret solution:

You can do 1,000 crunches and sit-ups but they won’t do any good until you clean up your diet.

That’s right! Belly fat is best lost by cleaning up your diet. So, you may be doing tons of crunches, and you may already have great abdominal muscles but they won’t show until you lose the fat by eating properly. Anyone promising you anything other than that should be carefully scrutinized. There’s no magical pill or formula going to do it for you. If you want it, you have to do the work! Besides, doing it a healthier way develops better habits and increases your chances of keeping the fat off.

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Fitness Tip: Slow down as the sun goes down – What do I mean by this? Well just as important as it is to eat a great breakfast to start the day, it is also as equally important to reduce your food consumption as the day goes on. So plan to eat a good solid breakfast, a good lunch, and reduce your meal portions at dinner time. Remember as you get closer to bedtime your body starts to wind down and you will not have the same opportunity at night to burn those consumed meal calories as you did earlier in the day. So eat more early and back down as you reach sun down.

Exercise of the day: Ball Band Arm Row Intermediate – The Ball Band Arm Row Intermediate provides an advanced back exercise movement, while using an exercise ball for balance and helping develop your small stabilizer muscle groups.
Click Here to see it in action!
Click here to Get Your GoFit Exercise Ball or GoFit ProGym to Build a New Body Today!

Fitness Gear: Rubber Medicine Ball

Fitness Tip: The Right Carbs for Weight Loss – Eat complex carbohydrates instead of simple sugars for a leaner body. Your body is in constant need of carbohydrates to be converted into glucose and used as fuel. When your body has extra glucose it will be stored as fat for later use. Complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, legumes, and vegetables, take longer to break down into glucose, and will therefore be less likely to be stored as fat than simple carbohydrates such as table sugar, or fruit sugar.

Exercise of the day: Ball Torso Toner – The Ball Torso Toner is an effective core exercise with the use of a fitness ball for the best possible abdominal exercise.
Click Here to see it in action!
Click here to Get Your GoFit Exercise Ball to Build a New Body Today!

Fitness Gear: Pilates Mat

Part 2

Welcome to the second installment in my series on building a successful weight/fat loss program. Last time we talked about writing S.M.A.R.T. goals, and making your desires more concise and concrete. How did you do on your worksheet? Now that you have your goal set down on paper, it’s time to start planning for your success, and we will start with nutrition.

Do you notice I don’t use the word ‘diet’? That’s because a diet is usually a temporary solution that will not have lasting effects. There are so many diets out there to choose from such as South Beach, the Zone, Green Tea diets, but do they really teach you how to eat for life? There are also many good programs available such as Weight Watchers and Body For Life that teach the better way to eat good foods.

You need to choose a program that fits your lifestyle, whether it be one mentioned above, a nutritionist or through your personal trainer. Ask yourself these questions:

• Is the program flexible so that changes can be made when necessary?
• Will I be able to carry what I learn into my maintenance stage?
• Can I live with this program for months, maybe years?
• Will my body accept this type of nutrition program?
• Get opinions from others.
• Consult your physician.

 Creating a Program

You will first to need to assess your caloric needs and a good macronutrient distribution.

•  Start by journaling your food for 3 days, then average your calories, protein, carbohydrates and fat grams.

If you choose to make your own nutritional program, we’ll discuss what you need to do to create something you can live with. My first recommendation is to visit mypyramid.gov where you can print out and make your own healthy menus based on a caloric plan. This is simply the best and most nutritious way to plan for success while giving your body all the correct nutrients it needs.

For our example, we’ll follow a fictitious client, Mary. Mary is a 40-year-old woman, weighs 175, and is 5′ 6″.  She does not workout now. Using BMI (Body Mass Index), we see that she is at 28.3 putting her in the overweight category. She needs to get below 24.9.  Mary journals (honestly) for three days and gets the following averages on her macros:

• Calories: 2265
• Fat: 96 g (38%)
• Carbohydrates: 311 g (55%)
• Protein: 40 g (7%)

First, Mary has to cut the calories! I would suggest starting with a 20% reduction, putting her calories at 1812. Never, ever, go below 1200 calories! If you cut your calories too much, you will put your body into starvation mode, and it will hold on to your fat for dear life thinking you’re trying to starve yourself. From here, we will adjust her macros accordingly. Mary needs to increase her muscle-building protein to no less than 20%. Next, she needs to cut down on the carbs and fat in addition to making sure she is eating the correct forms of these such as whole grains and fish oils. Using a 50/30/20 ratio of carbs/protein/fat here are her numbers for 1812 calories per day:

• Carbohydrates: 227 g (50%)
• Protein: 136 g (30%)
• Fat: 40 g (20%)

I know those numbers look like a lot, but when you’ve been eating fast food junk, drinking sodas (even diet), and eating general 2300 calories of empty calories a day, your body will respond to smaller reductions fortified with better food. Besides, one can always adjust the macros and the calories depending on the situation.

What are the Correct Foods?

Carbohydrates:This group includes whole grains, brown rice, yams, veggies. Stay away from processed foods (white bread, rice), and try to eat as fresh as possible. Shopping hint: shop the edges of the grocery store and stay away from teh middle.

Protein: This is your lean meats including turkey, chicken, and fish. 

Fats: This is the essential fats you need that you can get from eating nuts, natural peanut butter, fish, fish oils, flax, and many other foods.

For complete lists, I refer you to the USDA, a great web site for learning more about nutrition.

Putting It Together

It’s time to plan your menus. To be successful, you should plan out each and every meal for 7 days. Yes, it takes time, but visualize the prize, see yourself in that dress or bikini. Each day you will plan your meals to equal your decided macros. You will also want to plan in your cheats, taking into account any planned dinners or outing you may have. Use a nutrition planner and exercise journal to track your food as you eat.

Now it’s time to make a grocery list. Do NOT try to wing it! Do NOT go when you’re hungry! Make a list and stick to it, no exceptions. When you get back home, it’s time to cook. I take an afternoon on the weekends to prepare food that I will eat during the week. Remember, I eat 5 times a day, and that’s a lot of chicken! You need to decide how you want to prepare your foods, whether you will just cook separate items, or put together the entire meals and freeze them. It’s a trial and error situation, so don’t get frustrated if the first week doesn’t work out as planned. Keep protein bars in your desk, car and purse for emergencies. Each morning I am able to throw together several meals in a few minutes just by reaching in my refrigerator and grabbing something. Crock pot cooking is great for this, too. If you prepare ahead of time, you will be less likely to fail.

In summary:

1. Decide to use one of the current diet programs available or not.
2. Prepare to create your plan by tracking your foods for 3 days.
3. Work out your nutrient macros.
4. Plan your menus.
5. Grocery shop with a list.
6. Prepare food ahead of time.

Please feel free to email me, memre@fitnesssavant.com,  with your questions, and of course if you find this a bit intimidating, there is always my on-line coaching available where do the hard work for you.

Part 1: Setting Goals

Part 2: Nutrition

Part 3: Exercise

Part 4: Plateau Busting

I was reading something today where a woman had been furiously working out and watching her calories only to get on the scale this morning to a 1.5 pound weight gain. She’s nursing, cut her calories in half (bad for nursing mothers), does cardio 5 – 6 days a week for 45 – 60 minutes, and does little weights. All this and she gained weight although her clothes fit better. Someone responded to her that she needs to stop looking at the scale and rely more on how she feels and how her clothes now fit. They explained that muscle weighs more than fat. Her response? That wouldn’t work for her because she needed to see positive results. <<<sound of crickets chirping>>> I could tell you all the things she did wrong, but I want to talk about how she is an example of someone making excuses.

Honestly, when I hear that response I get so angry, especially when I hear from a client. Why? Because this line of thinking comes from years of misinformation and seeing 12-year-old anorexic models walking the catwalk, that it just must be true. A trainer says to stop worrying about scale weight, and we balk at professional, trained advice from a person standing right in front of you who looks cut like piece of marble. Why? Because we want results like yesterday, don’t want to do the work it takes, and don’t care to lose weight the healthy way as long as the fat’s gone. I hear it all the time, “Well you can do it, that’s you. But I can’t.” Give me a break!! You absolutely CAN!

When I had my baby I weighed 230 pounds. I was fat when I got pregnant, and I was fatter when I had him. I was miserable the last two months of my pregnancy because of that weight. After his birth, I vowed to never be that way again, thus starting my weight loss/fitness journey.  That was 11 years ago, and I haven’t stopped once because I know if I do I am going to get fat again. Not only do I want to be and feel attractive, I mostly feel better when I’m fit. Just so you know, until you lose the weight, you’ll never truly know just how good it feels to pull a pair of pants off the size 10 rack, and buy them without even trying them on.

We can come up with so many excuses, and I have heard nearly all of them. A friend once told me, “Anything after the ‘but’ is just bulls**t.”

• “I need to exercise, but I don’t have time.”  Schedule your workouts. Make it an unbreakable appointment with yourself. Give the kids more duties and make hubby do something, too. They won’t die from the extra work, I promise.
• “I  know my clothes fit better, but I need to see loss on the scale.” No you don’t. In fact, throw the thing out. You pay me for my expertise and knowledge to help you get the body you want, so listen to me. I keep my weight between 155 – 160 pounds but I don’t look it.
• “I know I should eat {fill in the blank}, but I don’t like it.” So, being fat is more important than learning to eat healthier foods? Ok, well, understand that those hours of extra cardio aren’t going to do a thing to help.  You will just be spinning your wheels.  The more cardio you do only means you’re eating a heck of a lot more.

You get the picture. I’m not a big fan of personal trainers with a style like Jillian (it’s why I could never join the Army – all that yelling! LOL!), but sometimes we trainers need to get firm when you begin to get soft. I lost 81 pounds and have kept it off for 11 years. Do you think I might know a thing or two about what you are going through? Yes, I do!  So what exactly do we trainers consider positive results?

• Body Fat: The amount of fat to muscle ratio is the best indicator. The percentages for men and women differ, so consult your personal trainer to decide where you want to be and what’s best for you. I stay around 20%.
• BMI:This is also a great way for us to keep ourselves in check. This is done using a height and weight ratio. This is not a good indicator for athletes as most of their weight is muscle mass which weighs more. Mine is around 24.5 which is on the high end of the normal range, but I have a lot more muscle.
• Inches: This is my favorite method. It sounds (and is) so much better to say, “I’ve lost a total of 25 inches!” rather than just 10 pounds.
• Clothing: This one is obvious, and it is the one I personally use most often although I incorporate all other methods. A 10 pound loss will do me no good if I still can’t get into my favorite jeans. When I became serious about working out, I went from a size 14 at 164#, down to a size 10 at 155#. That’s 4  dress sizes but only 9 pounds lost.

Weight/fat loss is a journey and a new way of living. If you really want to do it right, and really want to keep it off then you must listen to the professionals and ditch the diets. The fitness community considers the word ‘diet’ to be a four letter word, so we will talk to you about your nutrition. Stop making excuses for yourself, and learn to reframe those “but’s”.  I can eat donuts for breakfast sometimes because I have spent years getting to the point where I can indulge a little. If you are trying to lose the pounds, you cannot afford that donut and there is no planet that exists where I would ever tell you it’s ok without making sacrifices for it. Ditch the scale, ditch the diet, and make a choice to become a healthier person for a lifetime. Get help from professionals if you need it, just don’t make any more excuses. Here’s to your new way of thinking:

• “I know I need to exercise, so I will schedule three one hour workouts this week.”
• “I know my clothes fit better, and I’m so damn proud of myself!”
• “I know I should eat broccoli, so I’ll look up new recipes that may make it taste better for me.”

See what I did there? Stop being so negative and hard on yourself. Whatever your reason to start a program, you have to learn new things whether you like them or not. You have to throw out old ways of thinking, and you have to stop dieting. The stupid scale doesn’t tell you anything useful, and Miss Stickperson who lives on water and lettuce certainly has no clue.