Eating the same amount or even less food and Still Gaining Weight? You may be Insulin Resistant.

The best analogy I can think of to explain how insulin resistance leads to excess fat storage, weight gain, muscle wasting and later into diabetes type 2, is a bad relationship. It’s like a relationship where one person continuously shows affection, because they want to become closer to the person they are dating. Their partner however is un emotive, and resists reciprocating their affection and as time goes by, it takes more and more displays of affection to get any response of affection at all; We would say the un emotive partner has become affection resistant. While affection is a necessity in creating emotional intimacy in a healthy relationship, like anything else, when key components are out of balance, the dynamic can quickly become very unhealthy for both people. Your body’s physiology is a lot like this type of relationship.  The more foods that you consume that spike your blood sugar levels, the more insulin your body has to produce to transport it to your cells to feed them. However, similar to this affection/relationship example, over time, the continuous increased amount of insulin produced, strips your cell’s insulin receptors, and your cells no longer respond to the previous amounts of insulin. Your body is forced to produce more and more insulin in order to function.  As a result, this leads to a large amount of weight gain, fat storage, even muscle wasting, and as your insulin levels surge up and down throughout the you feel fatigued. Moreover, as your body continues to produce higher levels of insulin in order in function, it can lead to diabetes type 2.

Currently, while those health,fitness and anti aging enthusiasts, are now learning about the importance of developing insulin sensitivity and avoiding insulin resistance, it has been my experience that most  don’t quite understand the importance of insulin being the key hormone involved in generating lean muscle mass and fat metabolism and preventing weight gain. Insulin is referred to as the ‘most anabolic hormone’ because it is directly responsible for transporting and feeding your muscle cells with nutrients like carbs and amino acids, which generate repair and growth. When you consume sugar, insulin is released from your pancreas and transports the glucose and amino acids in large quantities into your muscle and fat cells. If you have a healthy insulin sensitivity, an optimal amount of nutrients are sent and absorbed primarily in your muscle cells,  your muscles repair and grow and your body fat levels are managed well. However, if you are insulin resistant, the majority of these nutrients predominantly are sent and and stored in your fat cells.  Your muscle cells aren’t able to be replenished and repair and your body fat levels increase. This is why insulin resistance is toxic from a metabolic rate and body transformation viewpoint…if you’re insulin resistant, your muscle cells won’t respond to normal levels of insulin, and as your body produces increasing amounts of insulin, to get any response, this will lead to excess fat storage, weight gain, and due to glucose not getting to your cells, chronic fatigue. Your metabolic rate shuts down, and your entire body becomes less and less anabolic or capable of maintaining or growing muscle mass and predominantly becomes more of a fat storage metabolism. Your muscles cells become increasingly resistant to insulin, and like the affection resistant partner, it takes a ton to elicit a small response.

In this modern age of mega meals and 3D TV’s, our increasingly sedentary lifestyles have caused a recent insulin resistance epidemic. Nearly 1 in 3 adults in the US  are insulin resistant and since insulin sensitivity decreases as you age, 1 out of 2 adults who are over 45 and overweight are insulin resistant as well. Insulin Resistance will start slowly, the most consistent symptoms that emerge are fatigue, brain fogginess, intestinal bloating, and weight gain. As it continues to develop it has a snow ball effect, rapidly increasing through a feed back cycle,  because the more insulin your body has to produce in keep your blood sugar in check, the more your body adapts by becoming dependent on increasing amounts of insulin in order to function. Because your cells are ‘starving’ and not receiving the adequte amount of glucose and nutrients needed for energy, you will feel fatigued and your body signals you through hunger to eat more, which only feeds this viscous cycle. I educate my clients that from an anti aging perspective, developing insulin sensitivity  and maintaining optimal insulin levels is the most powerful aspect in developing an anti aging strategy. Insulin resistance and the increased insulin released in the blood stream is the single largest physical cause that accelerates aging. Think about it, your muscle, bone, skin, tissues aren’t able to obtain the nourishment they require as they develop insulin resistance, while your hormones increasingly get stressed and out of balance due to the increasing amounts of insulin produced in your body. Insulin resistance is the basis of all chronic aging diseases from diabetes type 2, obesity, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and it’s been recently linked to causing alzheimer’s disease. It’s no secret, the only way to reverse this condition is to change  your nutritional lifestyle to one that nourishes your body and promotes insulin sensitivity, take specific supplements, and incorporate a strength training and cardio fitness plan. I have found though, that most of my clients aren’t given the correct information or don’t really understand how to eat optimally to reverse insulin resistance. They usually have tried to restrict their calories on the advice of their physician to eat less, through a low cal diet,  or tried the low carb/ high fat diet approach. Unfortunately, while they may have lost some weight temporarily, they end up gaining back the weight, and then some. In the  case of the low carb/high fat diet, once they return to eating more carbs, their insulin resistance may increase to higher levels than before.

I had a client, Liz, who was insulin resistant, and adamant in her belief that her body was ‘fat loss resistant’ as well. She hired me because, while she had some success in losing some weight and decreasing her insulin levels by doing some things right, like strength training 3 to 4 times a week and doing 20 to 30 minutes of cardio daily,  she wasn’t getting anywhere near the results she desired and her insulin resistance wasn’t decreasing as much as it should have been. I had her create a list of her daily nutrition for a week, and found out the ‘glaring why’ she wasn’t really getting anywhere. First of all, she was eating a very small amount of food, consistently about 500 calories less than her maintenance amount, which she had told me she had been doing for a couple of months. After reviewing her week nutrition log, I found out why she wasn’t getting anywhere at all. The food she was consuming were awful for her health and bodyshaping goals; her ‘healthy diet’ mainly consisted of media promoted ‘low fat’, over processed, hyper sweetened, synthetic, supermarket foods marketed to consumers as ideal foods to support a  lean and healthy lifestyle. She made the mistake that most people make, focusing on calories, rather than on eating nourishing food that fills you up, and provide you with the macronutrients your body needs to look and feel it’s best. She revealed to me that she had been down this road many times, struggling with weight loss. In the past she had went on the popular low carb diet/high fat diet, and had lost some weight, however, as soon as she returned to what she considered a ‘healthy, more sensible diet’ of  media marketed low fat/healthy processed food, she would regain the weight plus 7 or 8 pounds, and her insulin levels would surge even higher.

What was my solution? I let her know that all the processed food had to go, put her on a whole foods diet and a list of whole foods she could select from rich with protein, good fat, and nourishing carbs. We didn’t monitor her calories as much, because she was eating about 700 more calories on a daily basis, however we did make sure she was getting a much higher amount of protein than what she was previously eating.  She was surprised how much more food she was eating than before, and having much higher energy levels, due to more consistent blood sugar levels, and not feeling fatigued periodically through out the day as her body’s cells became insulin sensitive. Months later, she continued to add lean muscle mass, while  consistently losing fat on a weekly basis, as her body and metabolic rate had transformed: no longer hampered with insulin resistance. I’m extremely proud of her, 13 months after we started working together, she went beyond her initial body transformation goals and went on to achieve her ultimate goal of competing in a figure athlete competition and placed very well. The main point here is when you feed the body wholesome, nourishing foods, you feel full and your appetite naturally regulates itself, so you don’t have to monitor your intake as much. Moreover, when you are selecting the right foods and amount, supporting muscle growth and reshaping your body, while shedding fat, comes easy . Here are Liz’s before and after photos when she started working with me to one year later.

 

The key is to modify or ‘trick’ your body’s insulin response to support lean muscle growth and not fat storage. This is done through timing and and the types of foods you eat. This is the reason to have a higher insulin based meal after you strength train, to feed and repair your hungry muscles, and avoid carb rich meals at night when insulin response tends to be store carbs and nutrients as fat. Without knowing your specifics,  such as your body dimensions, age, metabolic rate, body shaping goals, activity level, and lifestyle stress levels, which are all pivotal factors in accord with your unique genetics, here are the  basics in reversing insulin resistance and developing a ‘super charged’  insulin sensitive metabolic rate.

1. Eat a whole foods diet with higher amounts of lean protein.  The bulk of your diet should come from veggies, fruits, lean protein sources, such as salmon, cod, tuna, lean red meat, eggs, chicken breasts, and your grain sources should be oat meal/ oat bran, and only a small amount of mixed grain bread. Avoid the easy to prepare breakfast foods, such as bagels, waffles,  french toast, they are loaded with sugars and trans fatty acids, and the worst foods to eat from a insulin and metabolic standpoint.  Avoid processed foods, that are synthetic, and bleached; they are a sure fire way to and increase your cells insulin resistance and  transform your body into a fat storage mode  through the hidden additives, like the ‘high fructose corn syrup’ or being ‘partially hydrogenated’.  And of course, avoid fast or fried food. Within a couple of weeks your taste buds will have adapted, you won’t be craving junk, which is a byroduct of eating junk, you will feel much much fuller through out the day , and your energy levels will even be consistently higher, as your blood sugar levels are more consistent, and your body becomes more insulin sensitive. You won’t feel that afternoon fatigue that is common with insulin resistance.

2. Strength Train 3 to 4 times a week and do cardio.  By developing strength and building muscles, you transform your muscle cells from a stagnant insulin receptive state, into ravenous, insuin sensitive guzzling cells in a matter of a few weeks of activity. As your muscles continue to grow, you continue to reshape your metabolic rate, and insulin sensitivity into a ‘gas guzzling’ machine, which transforms your body into a much higher anabolic rate, verses the previous fat storage mode, where most of the carbs you were ingesting were being stored as fat. Doing cardio 3 to 4 times a week will also help lower insulin resistance to a lesser extent.  I educate my clients that strength or resistance training is one of the most powerful things they can do from an anti aging standpoint, because it boosts insulin sensitivity, boosts testosterone, increases human growth hormone, and that daily endorphin boost you feel after a hard workout, is a must to to put you in a good mood  and it’s the best natural anti-depressant. If you want maximum results to increase insulin sensitivity, you should split the cardio and weight training into 2 separate sessions.

3. Get 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night.  Missing sleep has a hidden effect other than feeling tired throughout the day. Over time it will throw your entire hormone balance into a state of imbalance and their are serious consequences. A recent study showed that men and women who averaged less than 6 hours a night for 5 years, had lower levels of testosterone, decreasing metabolic rates, were much more likely to gain and be over weight, and  were twice as likely to have a high levels of insulin resistance and develop diabetes than their counterparts who averaged 7 hours a night.  This huge health and metabolic differences are linked to just averaging one hour less of sleep a night. Since insulin resistance is the most powerful factor of in accelerating aging,  getting at least 7 hours of sleep is a must to an anti aging strategy as well.

The majority of my clients that I have worked with in my 20 plus years of experience, and currently work with are in their mid/late 30s to the boomer generation, and are dealing with hormonal changes or have hormonal issues such as, peri menopause, menopause,  andropause, hypothyroidism, insulin resistance, and diabetes type 2. Insulin resistance is the most common hormonal issue that I have worked with in both male and female clients in reversing.  If you have any questions, or are serious about long term weight loss, getting that sculpted body you have always desired, and energy levels that you know you deserve to feel more vital and active, please check out our Body Transformation Fitness and Nutrition coaching programs at our site.  To schedule a free health consultation meeting over the phone, set up an appointment,  so I can learn more about your specific body shaping goals and health needs and explain the best course of action to get you to your desired shape and health goals, or you can reach us at 212-317-1608 . I have a private gym in the upper east side of NYC where I train my clients and provide nutrition coaching. However, if you aren’t in the NYC area, I offer global online services via emailed reports and unlimited email responses to answer your  fitness and nutrition questions or make adjustments, and live bi weekly nutrition consultation meetings via video chat, or through the phone.

In 2009, at the age of 52, I became the oldest figure competitor to earn a professional card status in the history of the International Natural BodyBuilding Federation INBF.

Boost Your Weight Loss & Food Change Willpower: Implementation Intentions.

Eating is one of the most intimate of habits, and making the necessary nutritional changes to look and feel better, lose weight, and be fitter is a process that requires a precise plan, specific goals, commitment and the capacity to adapt and make changes. It is reported in most studies that 90 to 95% people who set weight loss goals end up failing. However, you can set yourself up for success, by having a qualified nutritionist, dietician, or support group in place to guide you through the transition of choosing the right foods and dropping the old dietary habits that need to be removed, and creating an optimal strategy that you implement daily in order to re create an effective nutritional lifestyle that leads to you to your goals. In order for you to succeed you have be able to make fundamental changes to your lifestyle. Your day to day lifestyle is just a routinized set of behaviors that have to be replaced with a new, empowering set of healthier behaviors that nourish your body, energy levels, and lead you to that leaner, fitter body. However, making a lifestyle change is not easy, and one can be overwhelmed, distracted, or uneducated on how to make the necessary changes. For a person with several responsibilities, stresses, and additional distractions, it is often hard to stay focused and motivated to actually make these changes. In order to make help my clients flourish by focusing on changing the daily set of behaviors , I have been using the Implementations Intentions Goal Strategy by NYU professor of psychology,  Dr. Paul Gollitzer, PHD with a great deal of success by focusing on the daily process of ‘daily behaviors’ rather than the final goal attainment itself. I use this approach with my clients and  will review how this approach is immensely powerful in assisting one who is committed in making a lifestyle change or achieving a desired goal.

The Short Comings of Traditional Goal Setting Intentions.

In a recent study  by Dr Sheeran in 2002 , he examined the goal setting intentions and taking action. He found that of the population who had set weight loss goals through making nutritional changes and incorporating exercise, only 53% actually translated that goal setting into action. There is a definite gap between setting a nutritional/weight loss goal and taking action and following through to change poor dietary habits. It’s been my experience with new clients that these are there are 3 most common difficulties in establishing a new, healthier nutritional/weight loss behavior:

Failing to Get Started due to Giving In or due to habitual second thoughts:

While one may set up a well intentioned goal and plan to choose to eat a more nutritious choice at lunch, for example of chicken and steamed vegetables over the cheeseburger and fries, they may not be able to initiate that change preferring the short term comfort over the long term health benefits, ‘giving in to feel good’. They also may have such negative expectations and feel uncertain about making this change in that moment, that they just continue to order the same unhealthy choice that they are used too. However, repeated failure to initiate change, significantly lowers the goal intention strength, or linked willpower that you got from setting that goal, and also makes it harder to get started by making the habituation even psychologically stronger.

Getting Derailed:

Even if the person is successful in initiating the correct behavior of making the right nutritional choices for all their meals it is still not certain that they will will attain that goal, because it has to be a sustained and persistent action to become an automatic habit that forms a new lifestyle behavior. Overcoming the brain linked behavioral patterns that are formed between eating junk or fattening food repeatedly and frequently in the same context have acquired automaticity, (behavioral responses that have become automatic, habitual). In the first couple of weeks this requires deliberate effort, motivation and commitment to undo the brain body linked habits that have formed over the years. After making it past the initial period of change, and eating foods that naturally support your body, and reward you with higher and more stable energy levels as well as looking better as the pounds come off, you renewed with motivation and encouraged to continue to look and feel better. Moreover, this behavior becomes nearly automatic and second nature as it becomes your new lifestyle.

Stress and Negative Mood:

I have had some clients who have initiated action and are successfully following through, however when a stressful situation occurs, they succumb to the negative, unwanted influence of that negative self state. If people have not established a new behavior to cope with stress, they often prioritize  ‘mood repair’ behavior over other goals, and are liable to engage in the short term solace detrimental behavior that leads to a greater negative state, (consuming high calorie junk).

How Implementation Intentions Boosts Weight Loss Goal Attainment Success:

Instead of the vague outcome based traditional goal setting: ‘I want to eat healthier and lose 30 pounds in 6 months,’ Implementation Intentions specifies the behavior  that one will perform in the service of goal attainment and the situational context in which one will enact it.  Implementation Intentions focuses on the actual process in advance by spelling out the ‘when’, ‘where’, and ‘how’ of what one will do.

(If/When situation X occurs then I will initiate behavior Y to achieve my Goal of Z! )

Here is a small mini nutrition goal example:

In order to achieve my goal of eating healthier and losing 30 pounds in 6 months long term weight loss:

In the morning after I shower, instead of bagels, I will eat my 3 egg whites and oatmeal.

At lunch in the cafeteria with my coworkers, I will eat the salmon or chicken and steamed vegetables.

Around 4 to 5 pm in the break room, I will have my blueberry fluff protein smoothie instead of those cookies.

In the evening when I return from work and after walking the dog,  I will cook my 8 ounce shell steak or veal chops for dinner.

Implementation Intentions in this case strengthens this overall goal intention of eating healthier and losing 30 pounds in 6 months by specifying the  ‘how, when, and where’ of you will achieve this goal.  The essential main key in forming the Implementation Intention goal is put the  cue for the behavior, in this case  returning from work and walking my dog, (which is routinized habit for me) so it serves as a distinct and routine stimulus to start and enact your desired action or behavior. The key here is to make it a scripted, non conscious process that doesn’t have to be thought about when it comes time to take action. I have my clients create a journal of their meal plans and visualize the cues for their new behavior to strengthen the mental goal link. The benefit of this is that when it comes time to execute the new behavior, there is no wasted energy having to think about the when and where or how I will execute this goal when it comes time to take action. In time this behavior will become automatic, habitual and one will not have to use mental energy reminding themselves to take action.  By using habitual external cues to trigger a new nutritional behavior, you are empowering your goal intentions strength and strategy by specifying the daily behaviors, cutting down on distraction, and wasted energy to have consciously decide on  what, where, when, and how you will eat better. While a decade of research has shown that Implementation Intentions has a large effect on health lifestyle goal achievement, it has to be stated that strong goal commitment is a necessary ingredient to succeed. However,  in my experience with my clients Implementation Intentions facilitates a successful weight loss by forming new nutritional behaviors through enhancing goal attainment in 3 powerful ways.

1. Problems With Initiating Action To Eat Healthier

With a large amount of my clients, getting started is the hardest step. Studies indicate and my experience supports this, that by visualizing the successful behavioral actions beforehand, Implementation Intentions significantly help people get started even when they are aversive to starting a task. I have used this approach to bolster the success rate with my clients, especially when they starting in an environment where they are beset with distracting ‘stimuli’ cafeteria junk foods, or routinely go out to eat at restaurants with co workers or new possible clients. The key is when forming your Implementation Intention goal, visualize that situation, identify the tempting, distracting stimuli in that situation, (the shrimp tempura or cheesecake), and mentally link a stimulus to take action of your goal behavior within that environment, (at the cafeteria with coworkers, eating the salmon or chicken). By making the cue for action an external automatic cue rather than having to remind yourself or think about taking action, you prevent yourself from being liable to those feelings and thoughts of uncertainty second thoughts based on initial negative expectations, making it easier to get started successfully, which in my experience is half the battle.

2. Staying on Track 

One limitation in traditional goal setting is that it doesn’t account for the ups and downs of motivation, or the challenging situations that may come into conflict with your goal striving. Implementation Intentions supplements and empowers your overall outcome based goal, by identifying what potential distracting stimuli or obstacles that you have habitually faced, and what new behavioral actions you will take in order to succeed. For example, I have had several clients who are forced to eat a majority of their daily lunches with co workers  and dinners with potential clients, and in this situation, I found that one solution to help some clients who succumb to temptation at sights or smells of certain foods, is to specify an internal cue as the stimulus to take the correct action. In this case, in this situation they should mentally visualize  is what it feels like to be in that social context of dining out, and then identify the triggering stimuli such as smells, sights, and thoughts beforehand that lead to wanting to order the tempting, fattening food. They should then form and write out their the Implementation Intention goal of when the  thought of ordering that prime rib or cheesecake emerges, to immediately ignore it, instead of elaborating on that thought which will just weaken their will power and lead them to ordering it eventually. By mentally preparing and seeing beforehand the tempting and linking a substitute behavior or action, you are able to boost your willpower, by being prepared beforehand, so in when that moment comes up, you don’t have to use energy or deplete your will power from having to motivate yourself to not order the fattening food. Most of my clients have had a large amount of success in using this strategy to stay on track and shield their goal setting from getting derailed by habitually getting tempted, and detrimentally setting them back on their weight loss journey.

3. Preventing Will Power Burnout

In order to lose weight successfully, you have to be committed and be able to self regulate when it comes to eating. However, this can be very difficult to make the transition due to eating certain foods has become automatic, and even your body and taste buds link comfort to your preference of certain foods. When you are stressed, tired, or worn out it can be very difficult to choose the nutritious, nourishing food choice, over the give in mood repair junk food, especially if you and your body have not formed the automatic habit of eating nourishing food. Another situation that can pose a dilemma is when you are in a social environment that requires your utmost attention, where you have to devote your energy to entertaining a client or business associate and this requires your utmost attention, while being flooded with the sights and smells of tempting fattening food, your willpower to to subsequently to order the healthier choice may be depleted due to the amount of energy required to entertain the other party.  In both of these situations, that test your energy levels and will power, forming an Implementation Intention Goal: ‘In situation X, I will perform behavior Y to accomplish my Goal of Z’, will strongly increase your chances of success, by linking the desired behavior to a stimulus that you select beforehand, and making the  desired behavior a non conscious process. The main strength of using this strategy is that you don’t have to deplete your  energy and will power on making a decision during these energy taxed situations, by making it a automatic like, non conscious behavior. I’ve had many clients who reported that it was  easier to choose a healthier food and avoid the more fattening choice, when they had already mentally visualized the social event beforehand and linked the stimulus, such as meeting their party at the table, with ordering their healthier planned selection, rather than having to mentally self regulate themselves, while trying to focus and be entertaining during a business dinner or an evening out.

Like any lifestyle behavior, changing your nutritional habits and lifestyle, especially in the beginning, requires a large amount of energy, focus, motivation, and commitment. Implementation Intentions strengthens your chance to succeed in your overall nutrition and weight loss goals, by specifying beforehand what and when you will do in a situation, so you don’t have to devote energy and willpower when it comes time to eat or exercise, by having to think about it. The more you have to think about, or deliberate the more doubt, and likelihood you will give in to comfort, succumb to the tempting choice, or procrastinate. Implementation Intentions bolsters your overall goal strength and helps build your willpower muscles by  by specifying in advance the when, where, and how you will achieve your desired behavior to achieve your goal. You don’t have to spend energy and or deplete your willpower because you have already mentally prepared yourself by knowing exactly what you are going to do in order to achieve your goal. The strength in using this strategy is it simulates an automatic behavior, and through successful repetition you you build a mind and body connection to making that nutritional habit or activity into a habit. If yo are finding it difficult to get started, or flagging in willpower in repeated situations,  using Implementations Intentions may very well be the deciding factor to push you through to following through and having success to eat better and succeed in your weight loss goals. If you would like to subscribe to my newsletter, or want to get into the best your best shape yet in the NYC area, or through our global online nutrition, fitness, and weight loss service, visit my site:   www.justaskmichele.com.

Living Strong: The Benefits of Bulking Up in The Golden Years.

According to Dr. Heber, director of the UCLA Center for Human Nutrition; on the average, a sedentary adult can lose 10 pounds of muscles per decade after the age of 45.  However  new research from Mark Peterson,  a researcher and exercise physiologist, in the Journal of  Sports & Medicine finds that beginning weight training after the age of 50 can completely reverse the process of age related muscle loss, and even continue to put on large amounts of muscle mass and get much stronger.  In Petersen’s 39 studies of over 1300 adults over the age of 50, he found that the average muscle gain was about 2.5 pounds in just 5 months of weight training 3 to 4 times a week.  He also found that after 12 weeks of initial training, the average strength gain was 30%,  physical dexterity and balance improved by 55% in coordination and balance tests, and in a self report, the senior adults reported to felt a decrease in aches and pain by 30%.  The old days where the popular mindset was that older adults should not lift weights because they are too frail, are long gone. In order to reverse the process of age related muscle wasting, as well as increasing well being, and neurological function as you grow older, strength training and a balanced diet are the prerequisites for living well.

Take the case of my client Marilyn, who is  77  years old, and has been weight training  4 times a week , one hour each day,  for 11 years now.  She is a sorority house mother that oversees and manages a sorority house of 70 undergraduate girls at Rutgers University. Marilyn is one of the most upbeat, energetic people I’ve yet to encounter. She is always warm, and you can feel her energy. She is one of the biggest inspirations as a person and client.  All of the girls in her sorority house marvel at her energy and strength at her age.  She began weight training after recovering from a broken hip as well as being diagnosed with osteoporosis,  because in her words, she was scared to death of losing her independence and being stuck in her home. She said it was a gradual process of learning, however, she said she picked up learning the basics of weight training pretty quickly because she loved it, because it made her stronger, and how it ‘brightened her day’ or lifted her mood.  Marilyn states that while it is an extra effort some days to get in the gym, she can’t imagine living any other way, as weight training eating a balanced protein rich diet were the strongest determinants in keeping her strong and happy.

A significant percentage of seniors live in a miserable,  painful state of continuous chronic pain, which drains their energy, and has them living in a sedentary state, dependent on others. However,  a senior adult can avoid improve the quality of their life and prevent the conditions associated with aging, such loss of muscle and bone mass, balance problems, memory loss, by increasing their fitness through strength training and a balanced protein rich diet. It will be your level of fitness that ultimately determines how well you age.  Specifically, by building muscle mass and connective tissue, in their core and back muscles senior adults can prevent further back injuries as well as diminish osteoarthritis pain, which means that one would have less pain, and more energy and strength for their daily lives. If you are a sedentary senior adult, who is serious about beginning weight training, my advice is to start slowly, because your body has not developed the strength yet to deal with the stress of external weighted resistance, like dumbbells, and after the age of 65, standing up from a chair is signficantly compromised. If you are just starting, it is best to not use weights at first, because your body will be enough external resistance for the first weeks you begin to strength train.

I recently finished creating my first senior strength training workout video for a national insurance agency which will initially be used by 50,000  senior adult clients to increase their lean muscle mass, improve their strength and balance, and significantly help prevent falls and accidents which is the second greatest reason most seniors end up being hospitalized.  The video was specifically designed to strengthen the core muscles of the body, which is primarily responsible for mobility and lower back and hip injury prevention.  Our initial research findings using a population of 47 male and female seniors between the ages of 57 years of to 83 years,  training 4 times a week for 12 weeks using our strength training program indicate an average lean muscle gain of 1.7 pounds, an overall strength gain of  33%, and an increase in balance and coordination of 57%.  Most of our senior clients in our 12 week study were impressed with the increased  levels of strength and lean mass gains developed after 12 weeks of training and pleased with the increased feelings in mood and well being.   The video will soon be available at Amazon, however if you have any inquiries about our training or nutrition services for adults or senior adults, or would like to purchase a video visit our website www.justaskmichele.com or contact us at michele@justaskmichele.com or through phone at 2123171608.

Women and Weights: Why Women Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Gaining Muscle.

Twenty three years ago, when I first began weight training,  my first personal trainer imbued upon  me the mindset that the best way to get that lean, hard desirable physique was to do lots of cardio and only  high repetition, ‘toning’ exercises.  I should have noticed 3 months later with little results, that something wasn’t right with that approach. I had lost some body fat, but was still soft in my arms, glutes, and shoulders, and wasn’t really moving closer to that sexier shape I was aiming for.  A couple of months later, I found a personal trainer, Nick, who trained female figure athletes. That first day of training with Nick, was so intense, he had me deadlifting and doing heavy dumbbell lunges. I was intimidated at first because, it was all new, and I had no idea what I was doing.  However, I loved the feeling I had after that first workout, I was exhilarated with a strong euphoric feeling that I didn’t get from doing prolonged amounts of cardio and previous workouts. I loved training and feeling my muscles get fuller and harder with that muscle pump while I was training hard.  It was thrilling to look in the mirror and watch my body transform before my eyes in the next couple of months.  My shoulders began to chisel along the deltoid, and my biceps grew fuller, and my body began to develop more definition that was nowhere to be found before. After a month of training with Nick, I was hooked.  I loved the strong, and empowered feeling I got while working out, and I knew that this was the ultimate approach that was going to help me achieve my physical dreams.  Twenty three years later as nutritionist and fitness coach, I find myself having to explain to the majority of my new female clients that in order sculpt their body and achieve that sculpted sexy body they want,  that high intensity weight training with heavier weights is the only way they can accomplish this goal. I have to replace their old beliefs that heavy weight training will lead to developing a bulky, muscle bound, masculine, He-Man, female bodybuilder physique. The truth is  most men find it difficult to gain muscle, and most aren’t naturally able to ‘get huge’.  Since women roughly have only 10%  the amount of testosterone, or ‘muscle building formula’, that a man has, they don’t have the hormonal profile  to support the amount of muscle a man is able to gain.  No matter if she weight trained twice a day, or which training method she used, or how much protein she consumed, a woman won’t come even close to developing a masculine physique, since her hormonal profile won’t allow for it.  Moreover, by failing to gain muscle with successful weight training, a woman misses out on  the following prodigious health benefits that come that accompany by transforming one’s body and metabolic rate by gaining muscle.

1. The more muscle you have, the more insulin receptor sites you have, meaning you increase your insulin sensitivity, or your carbohydrate metabolism. Increasing muscle leads to strong prevention from insulin resistance, diabetes, and metabolic resistance. Insulin resistance is rapidly growing in the current obesity epidemic, it also is  a primary factor  weight gain as one ages. When you consume too many carbohydrates repeatedly, your body develops insulin resistance. Your converts a much higher percentage of carbohydrates to fat, and you begin to put weight even though you are consuming the same amount of calories. This happens to most adults as enter their 40s and gets worse as they age.  By gaining muscle, you are able to prevent insulin resistance and metabolic decline, thus keeping your metabolic running at at an optimal level. This means that by gaining muscle, you increase your carbohydrate metabolism, which makes it easier for you to keep a much low body fat level .

2. Your resting metabolism is boosted significantly. For every pound of muscle you add, your body burns 50 more calories. If you put on 5 lbs of muscle in 12 weeks, you increase your ability for your body to burn 250 more calories at rest. Most of my clients, after 3 months of training are astounded how their appetites have grown, and how much more nourishing, whole foods they can eat, while still staying lean.

3. By adding muscle mass, you increase your strength, energy levels,  endurance potential, and immune response. According to a study by TUFTS University, increasing strength, muscle mass, and bone strength are the most significant factors related to increasing longevity. It’s also never too late to start: Sandy Palais, began weight training 10 years ago at the age of 63.  At 73, she’s stronger than ever, squatting 135 lbs and deadlifting 165.  She feels higher energy levels and more daily endurance than she did before she began training with weights.  At the age of 55, I feel as if I have similar energy levels to my late 30s due the benefits of a diet based on whole foods and building my body through resistance training with weights.

4. Adding muscle transforms your body composition. Several studies indicate that for every pound of muscle added, the body loses a pound of bodyfat. In my 20 years, working with clients, I have more than enough successful experience that supports these research findings. If a 150 pound woman with 20% bodyfat, or 30 pounds of bodyfat, were to gain 8 pounds of muscle in 20 weeks, she also loses 8 pounds of fat, transforming her body composition with a bodyfat percentage of 14%.  I have had many clients in the past and currently have  a few clients who express their surprise, because the amount of self improvement they see in the mirror doesn’t match what they expected to see on the weight scale. They have transformed their body, they think the scale should read 10 to 15  pounds lighter than what it does.  They have a smaller, firmer, more streamlined body with a new muscle definition, that they love, but it doesn’t match the expected weight loss  number that they thought they were going to see on the scale.  It’s then that they have that moment of realization that losing weight and creating a beautiful body are not one and the same. However, they don’t realize that since muscle tissue is more dense than fat tissue, it weighs more, even though it has replaced fat tissue, the scale won’t move nearly as much as their eyes have led them to believe. This is the main reason I teach them that they shouldn’t be caught up so much in the numbers on the weight scale, but focus more on the  body fat percentage as a measurement of progress.

It appears to me that there is currently a new cultural mindset that is emerging, where women are beginning to realize that weight training is not just for men and intense weight training with heavier amounts of weight is the most effective, fundamental strategy to accomplish to achieving that firm, feminine figure they desire. With a majority of my new female clients who are new to weight training, I find that there are 2 common,  primary reasons that  have prevented them in the past from making the change from the old ‘toning’ mindset, and learning how to weight train effectively. The first reason was sheer ignorance. They believed that lifting weights was a ‘masculine thing’.  They thought that if you train intensely with heavy weights, like a man, then you will end up being built like a man. Even after they began to realize this belief wasn’t true, the challenge of learning to resistance train with weights was intimidating because they had never done it in the past, and being in a gym with a ton of men was uncomfortable. Currently, most gym memberships are now split down the middle with men and women, and more women are filling the weight room. It  has been my experience in the gym, that men have a certain awe and respect for a woman who knows what she is doing and trains hard.  Second, like any activity that is beneficial, successful weight training is a process that has to be learned over time. The best thing to do is hire a personal trainer or ask an educated friend to show you the basics of  training with free weights and then machines. One wasn’t born knowing how to read, however, after learning to read as a child, you became empowered with a new skill that transformed your life with a world of new benefits. Weight training is no different.

The second most common incorrect belief that prevented women from learning to weight train effectively, was that they  primarily focused on cardio and aerobics, because they felt working out with weights was not intense enough and doesn’t burn enough calories.  While it’s true that cardio and calorie restriction are pillars in losing weight, slimming down is not the same thing as creating a beautiful body. The reason why weight training wasn’t intense enough for them, was because they weren’t educated how to train correctly, and were performing high rep, low resistance exercises, which do not stimulate muscle growth. Since muscle tissue is denser, and more compact than fat tissue, she will have a more sensual, tighter, shapely body.  Second, if the woman is weight training correctly, it will be more intense than cardio, and burn more calories constantly, during and after the activity. Cardio only burns calories while you are doing it, and a smaller amount for a few hours after you are doing it. By building muscle tissue, you transform you transform your body’s metabolic rate to burn more calories all day long. The bottom line is that weight training is a more effective exercise activity than cardio. You can stay on the elliptical for hours at a time daily, however you will never develop those shapely biceps, firm abs, and hard glutes. Weight training burns more calories constantly than cardio, and is a necessity to achieve that tight, shapely, seductive body that you desire.

Now that a woman is armed with the correct mindset of understanding why  weight training is the best way to achieve that desired, sensual, defined feminine figure, the question turns to how to weight train effectively. The objective is to build muscles by challenging them to point of fatigue, which stimulates growth. The majority of time in the gym should be dedicated to intense training with heavier weights.  When you arrive at the gym, you should warm up your muscles with 15 to 20 minutes of moderate cardiovascular activity, which prepares your muscles for the intense resistance activity that is next. If you are If you are combining longer amounts of cardio in your workout, than reserve it for after weight training. You will need all of your energy to get you that is required for the high intensity weight training work out.  You should minimize your of rest between sets, to 60 to 90 seconds, because going a longer amount of time, you lose that ‘pump’ found in your neuromuscular junction, which is needed to stimulate muscle growth.  Half or  more of your visits to the gym should be devoted to work out with weights, training 1 to 3 muscle groups with each session. Since muscles adapt to each workout,  you should switch programs with new exercises and sets  every 4 to 6 weeks, so the muscles do not adapt to the movements, and are continuously ‘shocked’ and stimulated to grow.However, the  most important thing is that you are training hard each session with each muscle group. You should feel like each muscle fiber in the muscle group you just exercised was strained. A key sign that you trained hard enough is DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness,  a slight soreness or burning sensation in the trained muscle group you trained that lasts 1 to 2 days after training.  This sensation means that you successfully challenged and strained your muscles enough to stimulate growth.

While cardio is a necessary component to fat loss and should accompany weight training, cardio alone, will not reshape your body. Only  high intensity, successful weight training will lead to the physical development of  sharp, chiseled shoulders, great posture with a  streamlined, defined back ,  firmer and fuller, shapely arms, rock hard glutes, and feminine, strong, muscular legs. Incorporating weight training into your life will transform it  into a happier and healthier state with greatly increased energy levels, prolonged daily endurance level, greater resistance to the toxic effects of cortisol and stress, greater bone density to protect you from osteoporosis, as well as significantly increasing your longevity. If you are ready to transform your body, visit my website, www.justaskmichele.com  to view  the different individual and small group nutrition and body transformation programs I offer. If you have questions about my services or rates, you can contact me at michele@justaskmichele.com or by reach me phone, 2123171608.

7 habits to a Successful Body Tranformation

1. It’s not a Goal, if it’s not Measurable. 

How can you get to your destination without a map? If you can’t objectively determine if you are making progress, it will just be an aimless wish. You want to lose weight? Weigh yourself.  Want to transform your body for the summer?  Take photos, it will be uncomfortable but it is that awareness that will fuel you to transform your nutrition and training lifestyle and get you that body and energy levels you desire.  Do you want to lower your body fat levels? Buy some calipers and measure your body fat.  By making your goal measurable, and taking action to determine your progress, you strengthen your chance of success by linking your subconscious with a sense of purpose and clarity to the end goal. Just like any habit, the more you do this, the more you strengthen your ‘success’ muscles.

2. Do it Daily. 

Long term changes do not happen overnight. Lasting change occurs, when you slowly replace old habits with new ones, DAILY.  This is why personal training, or a new exercise plan alone, rarely works, going to the gym 3 to 4 days a week is not enough. Build the habit of changing nutrition, training, and lifestyle. These 3 habits need to be integrated in order to get you looking and feeling your best.

3. All or Nothing Never Works: Be Realistic in your planning. 

To build a new habit, you have to be able to do it daily for 30 days. Starting a new 5 meal plan, while weight training 5 days a week, running 4 miles a day, is not going to last. If it does, you will miss one day and then two, and then then the ‘blueprint’ you drew up to build a ‘castle’ of new habits, falls apart and you just go back to doing what you were doing before…nothing. You lose confidence, lose ‘muscle strength’ in creating new habits, and then you feel guilty. Avoid all or nothing thinking and inevitable failure by starting with a a realistic plan with simple habits that you can build a ‘foundation’ on, for 30 days.

4. Change occurs One habit at a time. 

Several studies indicate that the success rate to establishing new long term habits have a 300% higher probability of being successful if you focus on establishing one habit in a 3 to 4 week time versus trying to establish two new habits.

5. Keeping things simple = Focus. 

Change is always uncomfortable in the beginning. People will try to alleviate the early discomfort of moving with unfamiliar rhythms into unknown territories to the familiar, with a need for certainty. This leads frenetic question and working themselves up to anxiety.

• What about that new theory/diet/training approach from that fitness expert, I’ve read about recently?
• What about that new supplement that puts on muscle and is a potent fat burner that is being advertised in all the fitness forums and magazines?
• What am I going to do when I start to get results and (unforseeable future event) happens and I won’t know what to do?

Three simple daily empowering questions should be:

• WHAT do I need to do to move closer to my goal today?
• HOW am I going to do this?
• How great am I going to feel when I accomplish my goal?

6. Social Support from the Like Minded.

We don’t see it on the surface, but the social circle we inhabit influences us on some level in how we behave, how we think, and what we value. Most critical lifestyle choices are directed by the social circle one inhabits, from social drinking, habitual nutrition/dietary choices, to working out. There is new research that correlates obesity to an epidemic spreading through social circle/group behaviors. Whenever you start transforming the way you look and feel by changing your nutritional and training habits, those in your social circle will inevitably resist this change and in some ways try to pull you back to your old self. This change is can be somewhat distressing to their own comfort zone: it’s a change that alters their daily rhythms, perceptions, and even challenges it. They don’t mean any malice, they can’t help themselves in trying to prevent ‘change’.

When it comes to fitness and fat loss, the same applies. Now this doesn’t mean you need to drop your friends and loved ones and replace them with a brand new social circle.  It just means that as you start to get in shape, you better find some other like-minded people in your life, or you’ll soon be putting the pounds back on faster than you lost them in the first place. I’ve seen it time and time again. Whether it’s a spouse or a group of friends that are uncomfortable with changes in the way you look and behave, it’s been my experience with a majority of my clients to to encounter social resistance to their improvements. That’s one of the reasons I started group programs. When you have friends with like-minded goals there’s a better chance of success. In fact, everyone in the group will try to do better then the other.

 

7. Get a Professional or Coach/Mentor to hold you Accountable. 

We all need someone to emotionally support us during tough times, to pick you up when you’re down. However, you also need someone to kick your ass into gear when you’re slacking.

However, as best selling author and Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck’s research indicates, the most successful coaches and mentors are able to lead their teams/clients to make successful changes by ‘lighting a fire within them’ and challenging them to move out of their comfort zones. They hold their athletes/clients accountable when they were not following through, and falling back onto old and ineffective habits. The best coaches guide athletes/client through the uncomfortable process of change and keep their focus on executing the daily behaviors that lead them to successfully achieving their goal. 

At Just Ask Michele, it is our job to steer you to a successful body and mind transformation by staying on top of you to move, especially when you have lost focus, or when you have had those moments of laziness that happen to all of us. 

If there is a legitimate problem, holding you back, we will find a legitimate solution. Otherwise, we’re going to hold you accountable and you will have to be honest with yourself.  It is crucial in any successful endeavor to have someone who can guide you and hold you accountable when moving through unfamiliar terrain of change. It is our job to challenge your excuses of complacency, to hold you accountable, and to guide you to establish new nutrition and training behaviors that will have you looking and feeling your best.  

For more quality information on getting into your best shape, nutritional help to feel and look your best, and my favorite healthy recipes that I use with my clients, subscribe to my newsletter, at http://www.justaskmichele.com/ .