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New Fitness Elements Success Story Fitness For Seniors!

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with Howard Wolfley

What can I say I love Howard Wolfley he is such s great guy. We have been working together for some time and he has conquered and overcome some great challenges with his life. Here is his story...

Starting Weight 238 - Now 166

Starting Waist - 44- Now 38

WoW Howard Your Awesome my Friend!

Love Ya,

Natalie

'Announcing Melanie Howe's Success Story this hot Mom Rock's'

'Announcing Melanie Howe's Success Story this hot Mom Rock's'

Just see what Melanie has to say about having an In-home Personal Trainer, Nutritionist, and Wellness Coach by side and on her team!

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" Why This Youthful Fit-Beauty Should Be An Amazing Role Model For You And Your Kids Or Teens!"

" Why This Youthful Fit-Beauty Should Be An Amazing Role Model For You And Your Kids Or Teens!"
Brittany's Success Story Revealed
Achieve The Results & Best Strategies To Maximize Your True Health & Fitness Goals! With Fitness Elements & Associates We Guarantee 2-3 Pounds Per Week & 1% Body-Fat Loss Per Week Guaranteed! Ask Brittany About Her Success So Far! Brittany Has Completed Her 48th Week and Down 24 Pounds And 14% Body- Fat Wow!! You Go Girl!

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"How This Amazing Nurse Practitioner Is Achieving Great Results With Her Health & Fitness Goals And Still Performing With All Of Her Other Life Goals!

"How This Amazing Nurse Practitioner Is Achieving Great Results With Her Health & Fitness Goals And Still Performing With All Of Her Other Life Goals!"

Melissa J's Success Story Revealed

I started with Natalie Pyles Fitness & Nutrition Expert, and Wellness Coach 2 months ago. I have lost a total of 14 pounds and 8% body-fat loss to date 12-22-08. I am very excited to see such change especially during the holiday season. I worked with another trainer & fitness company last year for one solid year and only initially lost 8 pounds. I know I finally found someone that will stay on top of me and hold me accountable. Natalie says we are a team and that is the truth we are. Thanks so much Natalie and Fitness Elements & Associates Your System is the real thing I reccomend you to anyone trying to find the Health, Fitness, and Weight-loss truth.
Melissa J.
Anthem AZ

Act Now & Recieve Your FREE Personal Training Session With All The New State Of The Art Exercises, Methods, and Techniques, & A In Depth Nutritional Analysis Value Of $279.00

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"How To Avoid Spinal Stress Fractures and Running - Part 1"

"How To Avoid Spinal Stress Fractures and Running - Part 1"

Linking Piriformis Syndrome with Low Back Injury

Approximately 80 percent of the population suffers from low back pain at some point in life. Some people are at higher risk for chronic and acute back injuries due to their lifestyles. Athletes are at greater risk of sustaining a lower back injury due to increased physical activity. Strenuous, repetitive and long-term activity, which is common in triathletes, puts a strain on the back that can cause injury to even the finest and most fit athletes. Though the entire spine is used when playing sports, it is estimated that five to 10 percent of all athletic injuries are related to the lumbar spine. Many cases of low back pain in athletes can be traced to a specific event or trauma, while others are brought about by repetitive minor injuries that result in microtraumas.

It is these microtraumas that are problematic for the triathlete. There are many injuries that are associated with running, but anatomical imbalances caused by genetics and/or the repetitive stress and impact forces associated with running can actually cause some of the running injuries that are common in triathletes.

Some triathletes experience low back pain due to running, and while this certainly may be due to muscular fatigue, more times than not it can be associated with a more chronic problem due to anatomical alterations of the spine. This can cause improper hip rotation, possible leg length discrepancy and muscular imbalances, which could lead to overstretching and/or overuse of specific gluteal muscles that are common to running injuries, specifically the piriformis muscle. One of the causes of piriformis syndrome (described later) is spinal stenosis, which happens to be a result of the conditions highlighted below. Thus, it appears that one of the most common running injuries, piriformis syndrome, could actually be linked to a lower back injury that surfaces as a result of genetic predisposition or chronic sport participation. This article will focus on two related lower back conditions, known as spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis, and how specific functional training can improve these conditions in order to lessen the impact or avoid contracting piriformis syndrome.

Spondylolysis

The most common X-ray identified cause of low back pain is a stress fracture in one of the vertebrae that make up the spinal column, known as spondylolysis. It usually affects the fifth lumbar vertebra in the lower back and is more prevalent in Caucasian males. Research has shown that more than 50 percent of these fractures are actually genetic abnormalities.

To date, there is no definitive cause of spondylolysis. Most physicians agree that the bone defect appears in children most likely due to a genetically weak pars interarticularis teamed with repeated stress to the spine from various physical activities during the major growth years. It is thought that spondylolysis appears in younger and older adults as the result of excessive stress to the spine.

Spondylolysis does not always produce noticeable symptoms. When it does, chronic low back pain is the most common symptom. The pain can stem from mechanical (structural) or compressive (pressure on nerves) pain. The following chart describes the prevalence of spondylolysis in different types of endurance sports.

Sport


# of Athletes Polled


Spondylolysis


% with Spondylolysis
Modern Pentathlon and Triathlon 54 11 20.37
Cycling 95 13 13.68
Water Polo and Swimming 307 34 11.07


Spondylolisthesis

If the stress fracture weakens the bone so much that it is unable to maintain its proper position, the vertebra can start to shift out of place, termed spondylolisthesis. This condition occurs when the weakness caused by the spondylolysis causes one vertebra to slip forward over the one below it, resulting in stenosis of the spinal canal. Most cases of spondylolysis in athletes do not lead to vertebral slippage. However, if slippage does occur, it may continue and would need immediate attention.

Many cases are non-symptomatic and do not cause any nerve problems. However, sometimes the slipped vertebra can press into the space belonging to the spinal canal. The neural pressure can lead to low back, buttock and leg pain as well as numbness in the foot. One way to detect spondylolisthesis is to look for physical signs and symptoms including the following:

* Short torso (body)
* Flat buttocks
* Rib cage appears low
* Iliac crests (hip bones) are high
* Altered gait because of tight hamstrings (a key concern in triathletes)
* Hips don't fully extend back
* Tight hamstrings
* Lower back pain or stiffness
* Localized tenderness of the spine just above the pelvis

There are five main causes of displacement and four levels of displacement. The latter is important to understand because it will dictate what type of treatment the athlete should pursue:

* Level 1: 25 percent slippage, which is not regarded as serious and where mild symptoms are not too troublesome. This is characterized when athletes do not like to stand or sit upright for long and are adverse to lifting objects.
* Level 2: 50 percent slippage, which causes a lot of pain and stiffness that is commonly associated with a herniated disc.
* Level 3: 75 percent slippage, which is visually identified by a deformity in the spine.
* Level 4: 100 percent complete displacement, which is very dangerous as this could cause paralysis through total obstruction of the spinal canal.

Prevalence

Spondylolysis develops most commonly in adolescents, typically in 10 to 15 year olds. The majority of adolescents with spondylolysis do not have symptoms or their symptoms are mild and often overlooked. There is a chance that the deformity with continued stress can lead to the slippage of spondylolisthesis and recurrent low back pain.

It is suspected that spondylolysis occurs in young athletes who are involved in sports that require repeated hyperextension of the lower back. Spondylolysis occurs most frequently in young athletes involved in throwing, gymnastics, rowing, boxing, diving, wrestling, weightlifting, modern pentathlon, triathlon and track and field.

Interestingly, females appear to be more prone to progressive displacement and may need surgical intervention more often than males. Degenerative spondylolisthesis occurs more commonly in females with a 5:1 female-to-male ratio. The incidence increases after age 40.

Older athletes can also develop spondylolisthesis because of degeneration in the disc and the facet joints, which can allow slippage even without a fracture. While it is not known exactly what causes this condition, it is theorized that it probably involves overloading the back part of the facet joints, which can eventually lead to stress fractures.

Risk Factors

There may be a hereditary aspect to spondylolysis as described previously. An individual may be born with thin vertebral bone and therefore be vulnerable to this condition. Significant periods of rapid growth may encourage slippage. In addition, athletes who participate in sports where the lower back is hyperextended at times or during contact sports also may be susceptible. The problem in triathletes lies not only in the terrain (hard versus soft) run on but also the technique of the athlete in the running position. Because some triathletes tend to not focus on maintaining neutral spine (described later), this could cause an excessive hyperextension in the lower back. This combined with the pounding of concrete or asphalt creates an inviting environment for spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis.

As described later, a sound stretching and strengthening program combined with proper running technique that is focused on achieving and maintaining neutral spine is crucial to the prevention of lower back injuries that may be masked by more common running injuries such as piriformis syndrome.

Symptoms

Generally, the athlete will have pain across the low back that may radiate down to the buttocks and may feel more like a muscle strain. The paraspinal muscles will be in spasm, giving a flat appearance to the normally curved lower back. This is mechanical pain. Mechanical pain is due to the actual injury, bony fracture and the related muscle spasms.

Compressive pain can be characterized as radiating. Any pain due to spinal nerve compression will present itself as pain that radiates down the leg. It may also present itself as numbness or heaviness in the leg.

Spondylolisthesis can cause spasms that stiffen the back and tighten the hamstring muscles, resulting in changes to posture and gait. This alteration of gait could significantly affect the triathlete’s ability to run efficiently and economically. In addition, tight hamstrings could be perceived as a separate injury of their own when, in fact, the true causal factor is related to the lower back.

Treatment Options

Initial treatment for spondylolysis is always conservative. The athlete should be encouraged to take a break from training until symptoms go away. Anti-inflammatory medications such as Ibuprofen may help reduce back pain. In most cases, training can be resumed gradually. Stretching and strengthening exercises for the back and abnormal muscles can help prevent future recurrences of pain.

Although mobilization can be done for all levels of displacement, manipulation is never recommended for this condition and must never be conducted. Any level of displacement up to level 4 can be successfully treated non-surgically. Depending on the athlete, anything from grade 2 may require surgical fusion to stabilize the joint. In all cases where non-surgical treatment is possible, the condition is treated symptomatically depending on the spinal areas affected, keeping in mind that the lower or supporting vertebra is always stiffer as a result of the displacement.

In conjunction with treatment, a specific set of exercises (described later) should be prescribed to strengthen the muscles of the trunk. The athlete should never raise his/her legs because this action causes the spine to become elongated. Swimming is beneficial, and running on a soft surface should be emphasized. Surgery may only be needed if slippage continues or if the back pain does not respond to conservative treatment.

Because of the high correlation between spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis with the ever popular triathlete injury, piriformis syndrome, it is important to understand this syndrome and how it relates to and may often be linked to lower back problems.

Piriformis Syndrome

Piriformis syndrome is characterized by pain and instability. The location of the pain is often imprecise, but it is often present in the hip, coccyx, buttock, groin or distal part of the leg. The function of the piriformis muscle is to externally rotate and abduct the thigh. Dysfunction of the piriformis muscle can cause signs and symptoms of pain in the sciatic nerve distribution, that is, in the gluteal area, posterior thigh, posterior leg and lateral aspect of the foot.

Although no general consensus about the etiology and pathophysiology of piriformis syndrome exists, many health professionals attribute this syndrome to a specific mechanism involving the sciatic nerve. Athletes with piriformis syndrome may have the following symptoms:

* Chronic pain in the buttocks
* Pain may radiate to the lower leg and worsen with walking or squatting
* Pain may imitate lower back pain
* Pain when getting up from bed
* Pain exacerbated by hip adduction and internal rotation
* Intolerance to sitting

Possible causes of piriformis syndrome include trauma to the buttocks or gluteal region, anatomical variations of the sciatic nerve and spinal stenosis (described earlier as a product of spondylolisthesis). While piriformis syndrome can arguably be contracted on its own from other causes, the spinal stenosis factor found in spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis can certainly be a causative factor in piriformis syndrome and should always be ruled out during examination.

Part 2 of this series will explore a functional approach to preventing spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis and other lower back injuries that could progress to more common running injuries.

References:

1. Stinson JT. Spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis in the athlete. Clin Sports Med 1993; 3: 517-28
2. Engelhardt M, Reuter I, Freiwald J, Bohme T, Halbsguth A. Spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis and sports. Orthopade 1997; 9: 755-59
3. Rossi F. Spondylolysis, Spondylolisthesis and Sports. J Sports Med Phys Fitness 1978; 4: 317-40
4. Hoshina H. Spondylolysis in athletes. Physician and Sportsmedicine 1980; 9: 75-9
5. Micheli LJ, Wood R. Back pain in young athletes. Significant differences from adults in causes and patterns. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1995; 149: 15-18
6. Takaaki I, Miyake R, Katoh S, Morita T, Murase M. Pathogenesis of sports-related spondylolisthesis in adolescents. Radiographic and Magnetic Resonance Imaging study. Am J Sports Med 1996; 1: 94-8
7. Libson E, Bloom RA, Dinari G. Symptomatic and asymptomatic spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis in young athletes. Int Orthop 1982; 6: 259-61
8. Congeni J, Mc Culloch J, Swanson K. Lumbar spondylolysis. A study of natural progression in athletes. Am J Sports Med 1997; 2:248-53
9. Goldstein JD, Berger PE, Windler GE, Jackson DW. Spine injuries in gymnasts and swimmers. An epidemiologic investigation. Am J Sports Med 1991; 5: 463-8
10. Bergmann TF, Hyde TE, Yochum TR. Active or Inactive Spondylolysis and/or Spondylolisthesis: What's the Real Cause of Back Pain? Journal of the Neuromusculoskeletal System. 2002:10:70-78.
11. Soler T, Calderon C. The prevalence of spondylolysis in the Spanish athlete. Am J Sports Med. 2000:28(1)57-62.
12. Rossi F, Dragoni S. The prevalence of spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis in symptomatic elite athletes: radiographic findings. Radiography. 2000:28(1):57-62.
13. The Bonati Institute. www.bonati.com
14. The Luklinski Back Pain Clinic. www.back-pain.co.uk
15. American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons. www.aaos.org
16. Gatorade Sports Science Institute. Low back pain in athletes, RT# 19 Volume 6 (1995), Number 1. www.gssiweb.com
17. Spondylosis. The Athletic Advisor. www.athleticadvisor.com
18. Piriformis Syndrome. www.emedicine.com
19. Sports Injury Bulletin. www.sportsinjurybulletin.com
20. Core Stability Training. Peak Performance Online. www.pponline.co.uk
21. Core Stability. Sports Coach. www.brianmac.demon.co.uk
22. A Patient’s Guild to Rehabilitation for the Lower Back. University of Maryland Medical Center. www.umm.edu.
23. Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma. www.nismat.org
24. Spondylosis profile and diagnosis. Spine Health. www.spine-health.com
25. University Sports Medicine Department of Orthopaedics State University of New York at Buffalo. www.ubsportsmed.buffalo.edu
26. Back Stretching. The Athletic Advisor. www.athleticadvisor.com
27. Back Strengthening. The Athletic Advisor. www.athleticadvisor.com
28. Bob Seeborhar

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, & Speaker


Call Me For Your FREE Consultation Today! 1-800-681-9894 or e-mail fitnesselementsassociates@yahoo.com

"How To Reduce Inflammatory Foods" - Part 2

"How To Reduce Inflammatory Foods" - Part 2


In Part 1 of this article series, I explained how eliminating foods that most commonly cause inflammation in the body will help your clients lose weight and tackle most health problems.

Now that you have asked your client to commit to the meal plan for 14 days, what do you do after this initial time period?

Most people who commit to the plan will see a five to 15 pound weight loss in the first 14 days. Approximately 80 percent of the time your client will ask to stay on the meal plan because they now feel so great and are seeing great results! They can stay on this plan until they have reached their goal weight and/or their health conditions have greatly improved.

For those clients who are ready to start bringing other foods back into their meal plans, the following foods can be added back in the order they are listed. Clients need to pay special attention to how they feel after bringing each food back into their meal plan. If previous symptoms come back or if weight loss plateaus, it may be too soon for the introduction of that particular food.

Brown Rice

Brown rice is one of the least inflammatory grains and is well tolerated by most people. It is best to stay away from “instant” rice as it has been heavily processed. There are now breads available that are made from brown rice and crackers and hot cereals as well. The following serving sizes can be added to your client’s Allowable Carbohydrates List:

* ½ cup cooked brown rice
* 1 slice brown rice bread
* 5 small brown rice crackers
* ½ cup cooked, hot rice cereal

For those clients who are still in a weight loss phase or are continuing to control symptoms of diabetes and/or heart disease, I keep their brown rice portion to one per day and choose fruits and vegetables as their carbohydrate choices for their other meals.

Sweet Potatoes and White Potatoes

Since potatoes are technically a vegetable, your clients may have already incorporated these into their meal plans. Depending on the client, I may or may not set a limit on their servings of potatoes. Because they are a bit higher on the glycemic index than other vegetables, I tend to limit them for diabetics and those who are seeking to lose a good amount of weight. The glycemic index gives us an idea of how a certain food will affect a person’s blood sugar: if the food is high on the glycemic index, it will cause a quick and large rise in blood sugar. For those seeking to continue to lose weight or control their blood sugar, potatoes should be kept to the following servings.

* 4 oz sweet potato or white potato (sweet potatoes being lower on the glycemic index)

Potatoes can be added to the Allowable Carbohydrates List and should be kept to one serving per day.

Raw Cheeses

At this point in your clients’ meal plans, they are still not consuming any dairy products. People who can tolerate dairy products do really well on raw cheese (some people because of ethnicity and/or digestive problems do not feel well consuming dairy).

Buying cheese that is “raw” means that it has not been pasteurized or changed in form in any way. This is the best way to consume dairy and the best way to consume cheese (for more information on raw cheese and milk, go to www.realmilk.com).

Cheese is not a strong enough protein to be added to the Allowable Proteins list and eaten as a protein choice without being accompanied by another protein (a meat, fish or eggs). Cheese should be kept to the following servings:

* 1 ounce raw cheese (2 servings per day, maximum)

Remember, the body always knows best, and if a client begins suffering from digestive discomfort, fatigue or a plateau in weight loss, he or she may not do well on cheese and/or dairy products.

Raw Dairy

If your clients have continued to show great progress after the inclusion of raw cheese, they will most likely tolerate raw milk and raw milk products well. Because our society has been led to believe that raw dairy is dangerous, it is best to educate yourself and your client on the benefits of raw dairy and the dangers of pasteurized, homogenized dairy. The truth is the pasteurization process does not provide heat temperatures high enough to kill the dangerous pathogens in the milk, but the heat is high enough to kill off the necessary enzymes in the milk necessary for its digestion. So in essence, pasteurization will kill off the good and leave the bad, just the opposite of what we have been taught.

The topic and benefits of raw dairy have consumed numerous books and web sites, and I encourage you to provide this information to your clients.

Dairy can be added alongside another protein choice (as with cheese) in the following servings:

* ½ cup raw organic milk or cream
* ½ cup raw organic cottage cheese

Start your clients on no more than one serving of raw milk, cream or cottage cheese per day. If their health continues to improve, increase the number of servings.

Millet, Quinoa and Spelt

Similar to brown rice, millet, quinoa and spelt are grains that do not tend to cause inflammation in most people. These grains are gluten and wheat free and are well tolerated by most. There are now many breads, crackers and hot cereals that are made from the above mentioned grains and can be great additions to your clients Allowable Carbohydrates list. For those clients who are still in a weight loss phase or still in the process of control diabetes, hypertension and/or symptoms of heart disease, too many servings of grains can stop their progress. Assess your clients’ progress and determine if the addition of more servings of grains is appropriate for them and their current state of health. If they are doing very well, they may be able to tolerate more grains in their meal plans in the following servings:

* ½ cup cooked millet, quinoa, or spelt
* 1 slice spelt bread
* ½ cup cooked millet, quinoa or spelt hot cereal

To start, only allow two servings of grains per day (remember this already includes brown rice).

Ezekial bread and Ezekial based products

Ezekial bread belongs to the family of “sprouted grains” bread and is better tolerated by most people than regular “whole wheat” bread. In Paul Chek’s book How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!, he explains that the process of sprouting grains changes a grain’s composition in numerous ways to make it more beneficial as a food. It increases the content of vitamins and breaks down certain mineral blockers that make the bread much more digestible. Sprouting also breaks down the complex sugars responsible for intestinal gas, and considering how many Americans are suffering from indigestion, irritable bowl syndrome and constipation, this is extremely important.

If your clients continue to feel well, they may be able to incorporate one to two slices of Ezekial bread into their daily meal plan.

The above mentioned serving sizes are not set in stone and, of course, will be individual from client to client. It is your goal and the goal of your clients to let their bodies dictate which foods make them feel well and which foods make them feel lethargic, bloated and do not allow for weight loss to continue. This will be a learning process for both you and your client for some time, but the results will be phenomenal. It is our goal to help our clients create a meal plan that is realistic for them to maintain for a lifetime, so that they may enjoy and maintain their weight loss and a new level of health for a lifetime!

References:

1. Chek, Paul. How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!, San Diego, CA: CHEK Institute, 2004
2. De Los Rios, Isabel. The Diet Solution: Start Eating and Start Living. Florham Park, NJ: New Body, 2008.
3. Fallon, Sally, with Mary G. Enig. Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, 2nd Edition. Washington, DC: New Trends, 2001.
4. Mercola, Joseph, with Alison Rose Levy. The No-Grain Diet: Conquer Carbohydrate Addiction and Stay Slim for the Rest of Your Life. New York, NY: Dutton, 2003.
5. Schmid, Ron ND. The Untold Story of Milk. Washington, DC: New Trends, 2003.
6. Isabel De Los Rios

Forwarded By Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker

Call me For Your FREE Personal Training, & Nutritional Analysis, And Wellness Coaching session Worth $ 279.00 a Holiday Gift Free to You 1-800-681-9894 or e-mail fitnesselementsassociates@yahoo.com or WWW.MyFitnessElements.com

"How To Reduce Inflammatory Foods" - Part 1

Inflammatory Foods - Part 1

It would be safe to say that 90 percent of the clients we see are looking to lose weight and improve health. They want to change the way they look and feel. Usually, when people hire a trainer and/or nutritionist, it is because they are not happy with their health and weight and want to know exactly how to get results.

In my 10 years of working with clients, I've found the only way for clients to achieve great results is if they are following a sound nutritional program in combination with their exercise programs. No matter how detailed and perfect the exercise program, if the correct nutritional principles are not in place, clients will not see the results they want. I have had clients only follow their nutrition program without exercise, which resulted in dramatic fat loss and improved health. I also have had clients who followed their exercise programs but neglected their nutrition, and they saw NO results. Of course, a combination of the two is the ideal scenario, but the above statement serves to prove how the nutrition component is so very crucial.

Our clients want their nutrition programs to be easy yet effective. It has been my experience that the most successful clients have been those who I told exactly what to do and why they were doing it. Yes, I do agree that we can not just hand our clients “cookie cutter” nutrition programs, but in reality, our clients need to see results, or they will lose interest and motivation. It is our job to make their nutrition programs easy to follow, effective, healthy and realistic and a learning experience, all at the same time.

So how do we put together such a nutrition program? The simple solution to most health and weight concerns is to reduce the inflammation in their bodies. In my work with clients, I have found that almost every single one is suffering from a health condition or not losing weight because of inflammation. I would argue that every person who is overweight, obese or suffering from a health condition can be helped if inflammation was decreased with the foods they eat.

So, as far as a nutrition program is concerned, it should be our goal to give our clients an easy to follow, healthy, realistic program that will decrease inflammation in the body to result in dramatic fat loss and increased health.

First, what is inflammation? Inflammation is your immune system’s response to infection or irritation in the body. We have all experienced the inflammation that occurs on our skin in response to a cut, infection or injury. This kind of inflammation is visible. Likewise, your internal body systems will respond to infectious and irritating foods with inflammation. This kind of inflammation is not as visible, but it makes itself apparent through diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and obesity.

The results of reducing inflammatory foods in our clients' nutrition plans proves nothing but extraordinary results. I have witnessed this over and over again with my own clients. But the difficulty becomes providing an easy to understand nutritional program that clients can follow.

The following approach will make it easy for your clients to learn exactly which foods they can eat and which foods to avoid. It is also important that you explain to them exactly why they are avoiding certain foods. Some clients are like children: if they understand the “why,” they are more apt to follow instructions.

If you do not feel qualified to give nutritional information to your clients, give them the lists below and ask them to take them to their doctor or qualified health professional. Most doctors would agree that the following foods have incredible benefits.

I have taken the following approach with clients with much success:

1. First, explain that their condition (diabetes, arthritis, chronic pain, obesity/difficulty losing weight) may be a result of inflammation in their body. To help illustrate this, say, "The same inflammation you experience on your skin as a result of an irritant occurs inside your body in response to irritating foods.”

2. In order to find exactly which foods may be irritating, they must eliminate all possible culprits for 14 days. Almost every client can agree to 14 days. And after they have seen dramatic results in just two weeks, they are now more inclined to stick with the program!

3. Instead of giving clients a long list of foods they can’t eat, give them a list of all the foods they can eat. (Better to start on a positive note!) For every meal they eat, they must choose one food from the A column and one from the B column.

* A. Proteins
o Whole Organic Eggs
o Free Range Chicken, Duck, Pheasant (white and dark meat)
o Free Range Turkey (white and dark meat)
o Grass Fed Beef, Buffalo, Lamb, Venison
o All Wild fish (no canned tuna)
o Raw almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, filberts, pecans, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds
o Raw Nut Butters from the above mentioned nuts

* B. Fruits and Vegetables
o All vegetables (except for Iceberg Lettuce and Corn)
o All fruits (except for dried or canned)

* Can be used at each meal:
o Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (preferably raw)
o Butter (no margarine or any other fake butter)
o Coconut Oil (Organic, Extra Virgin)

* Unlimited:
o All Spices
o Only Celtic Sea Salt (no other salt is permitted)
o Stevia (as a sweetener)
o Herbal Teas

4. It is helpful to provide clients the menu for a sample day, so they have a basic idea of how to put these foods together:

* Breakfast:
o 3 organic eggs, spinach and peppers, cooked in butter or coconut oil
o 1 banana
* Snack:
o 1 green apple
o 2 TBSP Raw Almond Butter
* Lunch:
o 5 oz Salmon
o Over large salad (Romaine Lettuce, Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Celery)
o 1 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Lemon Juice
o Strawberries or Blueberries
* Snack:
o 2 TBSP Raw Walnut Butter
o Baby Carrots
* Dinner:
o Chicken Legs
o Sautéed Broccoli cooked in butter
o Large green salad with Olive Oil and Lemon dressing

5. Depending on the client, you might want to give them some portion guidelines, but it's usually not necessary. Our clients are not overeating on vegetables and proteins. They are overeating on starches and sugary foods.

6. Give the golden rule of, “If it doesn’t make you feel good, don’t eat it!” It's that simple.

Now that your clients have seen they have a large variety of foods from which to choose, you provide the inflammatory foods lists (below) so they will know what they need to avoid.

Inflammatory Foods

1. Wheat, Gluten and Grains - This is where clients will say to me, “But I eat whole wheat bread instead of white.” Regardless, the human body was not designed to eat the breads we have in this country today. Just a quick glance at the health condition of our population and the amount of breads, cereals and grains we all consume, and it's quite obvious that it is a poor choice for most of us. Whereas five years ago, it may have been more difficult to explain to clients to stay away from wheat and grains (bread, pastas, cereal, crackers), most of them now know how harmful it is to their health.

2. Dairy - This is where clients will say to me, “But I drink skim milk instead of whole.” or “Where will I get my calcium from?” Regardless of the variety of milk they consume, dairy in this country is not in the form nature intended. Because of pasteurization, the high heat kills off all the necessary enzymes in the milk that we need to digest (thus the high prevalence of lactose intolerance and irritable bowl syndrome in this country). You can argue pasteurization is necessary to kill off bacteria, but in reality, the high heat temperatures of pasteurization are actually not high enough to kill off the pathogens most people are worried about. So this practice kills off the good and leaves the bad. You can also assure your clients that they will absorb more calcium from green leafy vegetables than any amount of milk they can consume. When I take clients off of dairy, the results are phenomenal. Once they have seen a significant amount of weight loss and improvement in health, I talk to them about incorporating raw dairy into their meal plan. If they are not open to it, then dairy is not an option.

3. Sugar and foods containing sugar - Sugar, by far, is one of the most abused drugs in this country (and yes, I did call it a drug). It causes everything from rotting teeth to diabetes to most cancers. Even if your clients are not candy or dessert eaters, make them aware of the sugar content in most of their foods. If they were to total up the amount of sugar from their daily juices, sodas, processed foods and dressings, it could add up to 20 teaspoons of sugar a day! Teach your clients that any word ending in "-ose" on a package usually means sugar (i.e., sucrose, maltose, glucose).

4. Artificial Sweeteners and Packaged Foods - If they can’t pronounce it, they are not allowed to eat it. So NO diet foods of any type (Jell-O, Diet Coke, frozen dinners, etc.).

At this point, you may be asking yourself, “How will I get my clients to agree to this?” You ask them, “Do you want to feel better? I know exactly how to help you feel better. You can either follow this nutrition plan and feel great, or you can stay where you are.” They hired you for your expertise and to help them get results, not to negotiate with them.

In Part 2 of this article series, I will list the most common questions I get from clients during this two week period and exactly how I transition them out of this preliminary phase.

References:

1. Chek, Paul. How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy. San Diego, CA: CHEK Institute, 2004.
2. De Los Rios, Isabel. The Diet Solution: Start Eating and Start Living. Florham Park, NJ: New Body, 2008.
3. Fallon, Sally, with Mary G. Enig. Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats, 2nd Edition. Washington, DC: New Trends, 2001.
4. Mercola, Joseph, with Alison Rose Levy. The No-Grain Diet: Conquer Carbohydrate Addiction and Stay Slim for the Rest of Your Life. New York, NY: Dutton, 2003.
5. Isabel De Los Rios

Forwarded, By Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker

Call Me For A FREE Personal Training Consultation, Nutritional Analysis, or Wellness Coaching Session 1-800-681-9894 or visit WWW.MyFitnessElements.com

"How To Use EFT for Weight Loss Effectively For Clients & Customers"

Almost every trainer can relate with the frustration of wanting their clients to lose weight. As you encourage and support your clients to the best of your ability, they can often infuriate you by saying they blew their nutrition over the last week and never made it to the gym.

When this happens, it is obvious that the problem does not lie in the exercise program or nutrition plan but in the mind of your client. The only solution for most personal trainers to this problem is to continue offering encouragement and hope the client makes that change.

Psychological Influences

Any change in life brings both positive and negative consequences. Even something such as winning $8 million on the lottery will bring some negatives (e.g., people befriending you for the money, publicity, etc). However, regardless of the negative aspects, not many people would turn down this if given the choice.

Losing weight is not as clear cut as choosing to win $8 million. For one, it is not luck but an effort that will allow a client to achieve his goal weight. The next major factor is that the benefits of not achieving your goal weight often far outweigh the benefits of achieving it.

Here are a few examples of the pros and cons of losing weight:

Positive Consequences


Negative Consequences

Feel good


People will judge you

Feel attractive


Unwanted attention

Regain confidence


Need to buy new clothes

More energy


It is the relative balance of the positive consequences versus the negatives consequences that determines how much “motivation” the client shows.

The Key to the Mind: Your Subconscious

The mind and how we think is very complicated, but it can be simplified to being comprised of the conscious and the subconscious. The conscious mind is the thoughts and things that come to your awareness. The subconscious mind is the activity of the brain you not aware of. It controls and processes all of the information you receive, and it runs the body.

For success in any endeavour, the subconscious mind must be in tune with your conscious desires. It is the role of the subconscious that will determine the outcome. If the conscious mind determined success, then any goal you said you wanted to achieve you would easily attain, provided you knew how. This is not the case.

The subconscious is where all your previous experiences and beliefs are held. These can be thought of as the writing on the wall of your mind. Whenever you try and act consciously, the subconscious first checks with the writing inside the mind to see that this is something you really want to do. For example, if you thought, “I am going to jump into that fire,” the subconscious would check with what it has written down in your mind about fire and influence your decision. This is obviously vital in this example, and the writing in your mind on this subject is fairly clear, “Fire burns, burns hurt... do not jump in.”

However, what happens when a more neutral thought occurs that has conflicting writing on the wall? For example, if you said, “I want to lose 10 pounds of fat,” the subconscious writing on the wall may read, “You need to do this, you'll feel great,” but at the same time, there may also be thoughts saying, “You cannot lose weight,” beliefs saying, “You will become unpopular among your friends at work” and memories saying, “Thin people are arrogant” and “You don’t deserve to be thin.” These would all conflict with the conscious, and ultimately, these thoughts, beliefs and memories would determine your behavior.

The Subconscious and Losing Weight

When someone is trying to lose weight, there are many factors influencing his goal. For the majority of people looking to lose weight, especially long term overweight people, you will find the subconscious has a number of reasons why it feels it is best for them to stay overweight.

These can be for all sorts of possible reasons, but they will mostly stem from events in the past. An example could be if the client has experienced a previous trauma with the opposite sex (e.g., divorce), they may protect themselves in the future by staying overweight. Sometimes people may be punishing themselves for something they did.

Another common factor is that people find an emotional comfort in foods, which causes them to gain weight. If this is the case, you will find they will struggle greatly when you take this food away, because you have taken away their emotional support. This equates to taking a smoker’s cigarette away.

Whatever the influence may be, and the list is almost endless, it is important for you to not guess at the cause but to help clients identify it for themselves, and then apply EFT and other strategies to resolve the problem.

Emotional Freedom Technique and Other Techniques

To develop the mind set, first identify possible blocks. From this point, the application of Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is the fastest way to removing these.

EFT is a branch of energy psychology, the fastest growing aspect of psychology today. It was discovered in 1980 when Dr. Roger Callaghan was treating his patient for an intense water phobia. She complained in the session of stomach pain, so he told her to tap under her eye as knew the energy meridian of the stomach ended there (from acupuncture theory). To his surprise, the lady’s fear of water disappeared.

From that point on, he began studying this phenomenon and went on to create a new branch of therapy called energy psychology. A student of Dr Callaghan, Gary Craig, a Stamford engineer, trained under him and then advanced the theory and made it accessible to all by creating EFT.

EFT is a system that involves tapping on certain acupuncture points with your fingers while tuning into specific negative thoughts. The system is based on the premise that “a disruption to the electrical patterns of the body is the cause of negative emotion,” so EFT works by realigning your electrical energy system associated with different thoughts by tapping on the point of the body used in acupuncture.

When your electrical pattern is disturbed, you could talk about an issue until you are blue in the face, and it will not resolve the problem. Similarly, this explains why sometimes illogical thoughts can prevent people from achieving their goals.

EFT can be used on any thoughts and memories from the past that still cause negative emotions when you think about it now. Using EFT, you can now remove the emotional charge on those thoughts. As well as using EFT for this, you can also apply it to present/future issues and emotional connections. When the mind is cleared of these blocks, your clients will be able to go on and lose weight.

The success of EFT is due in part to the startling results that can be achieved using the technique and also by the fact that the processes involve no pain or need to bring up any painful memories.

The Theory Behind EFT

The premise of the theory is summed up by its discovery statement: “The cause of all negative or unwanted emotion is a disruption to the body’s electrical energy system.” This is inherently different to the way traditional psychology would view emotions. They would see it as: distressing memory -> negative emotion.

EFT would say there is a vital intermediate step: distressing memory -> disrupted electrical energy system -> negative emotion.

To dissolve the negative emotion associated with the memory, you do not need to treat your memory but instead realign the energy in your body. In EFT, you are tapping on the meridian points on the body (see below). The meridian points are where an electrical pathway that runs through the body ends. Think of it like an electrical lead going from one part to the other. This can be easily imagined as if you bent your finger right now. To do this, an electrical signal is sent through your nerves from the brain to move your finger.





EFT and Losing Weight

To ensure the electrical system associated with the negative emotion/issue is being balanced, you will need to say certain statements before the tapping and during. To lose weight, your client must resolve the emotional blocks. Picture the problem of losing weight as a table top. The many blocks contributing to the problem can be thought of as the legs to this table. The tabletop may have many table legs underneath, which represent different emotional contributors. The idea of EFT is to collapse the emotional issues, or the table legs, to the point where there are not enough to support the table. In other words, if you collapse enough emotional issues under your problem, you will resolve it.

Some of the table legs are thicker than others and thus more important to resolving the issue. Sometimes there may be just two or three legs, and sometimes you may need to break down more than 20.

Many of the table legs to a problem are previous memories of events that happened to you. These show up in your behavior today by influencing your thought processes. These may be rational or irrational thoughts. Being scared of a tiny spider that couldn’t hurt you is a very real fear to many people, but it is also irrational. Your previous memories (table legs) can also be irrational and will affect you today.

An irrational thought is in your mind because there is a disturbed electricity field associated with it. Therefore, you must use EFT to resolve the issue as it will likely not respond very well to conscious rationale because the cause of the problem is in the electrical pattern within the body.

One of the great benefits of EFT is that it can be done on your own, and clients can often make great progress from just a few minutes a day.

Once the negative blocks are removed, you can include techniques that develop the positive aspects of success. This includes using visualization techniques, positive self talk/language and activating the Law of Attraction. Please note these techniques will be useless unless the negative blocks have been broken down first. Only when this is done will clients be able to successfully overcome them.

Using EFT with Clients

Trainers who are interested in ensuring their clients get results should look to visit the referenced articles and websites below. This will allow you to broaden your knowledge about the topics covered. It is highly recommended to download the free EFT manual by Gary Craig.

For immediate use with your clients, ask them the questions below. They are designed to get clients thinking about their current situation and their thought patterns. They are not intended to solve their problems or unearth specific table legs but simply to get them thinking. Please refer all of your clients to a suitably trained professional for any sort of treatment or therapy.

1. When did you gain your excess weight, and what was going on in your life at that time?
2. What is the downside of achieving your goal weight?
3. What s the upside of staying where you are?
4. Why are you struggling to achieve your goal? Why are you letting this stop you?

References:

1. Callaghan, Roger. PhD. Originator of Thought Field Therapy, http://www.thoughtfieldtherapy.com
2. Craig, Gary. Emotional Freedom Technique, DVD. www.emofree.com
3. Craig, Gary. Emotional Freedom Technique: The Palace of Possibilities, DVD.
4. Craig, Gary. Emotional Freedom Technique: Theory of Past Memories Influence Upon Current Day Goals, DVD. www.emofree.com
5. Ben Wilson

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutrition Expert, Author , Speaker

Call Me For Your FREE Weight- loss Consultation 1-800-681-9894 Or WWW.MyFitnessElements

"How To Use Corrective Exercise That Is Functional - Part 2"

This article is a continuation from Part 1....

Although working with clients in pain for the purpose of “treating” or “fixing” their pain is outside the scope of practice of the fitness professional, this does not mean that our clients do not have active symptoms. Many clients feel they have exhausted treatment options or have plateaued with their care. Managed care and capitation that has limited visits for physical therapy has created a new demographic seeking personal training. Add the aging baby boomer generation and the health history profile of many personal training clients is increasingly more complex. These individuals still want to be healthy, physically active, functional and productive. The appropriate training progressions can help them do that.

There is a critical point here I would like to emphasize. In my observations, many fitness professionals have adopted the "Far Right (FR)" philosophy, not recognizing the full complement of tools that a physical therapist or chiropractor - who also uses the FR philosophy - utilizes as part of their intervention. Aside from having a more in-depth education on joint mechanics, tissue tolerance, etc., physical therapists and chiropractors also apply joint mobilization, joint distraction, manual resistance and even orthotics to enhance what they will do with fully integrated, multiplanar exercises.

Following comprehensive assessments on their patients, these medical professionals will use these various other “tools” to prepare the patient’s body for fully integrated, multiplanar exercises. These tools are used to address dysfunctions at the local level to improve the global response. The fitness professional who applies exercise strategies from the FR philosophy without addressing the local segmental dysfunctions first provides the body an environment to perpetuate compensatory movement patterns.

The appropriate application of corrective exercise can produce benefits similar to many manual interventions. In fact, from a motor learning perspective, the benefits of corrective exercise can be even superior to manual intervention because the client can reproduce the benefits independently of the health professional. This allows for more frequent and proactive changes by the client that can not occur with manual interventions performed two or three times a week. This is assuming the fitness professional has the prerequisite knowledge of functional anatomy and application of specific corrective exercise.

A fitness professional who does not assess musculoskeletal function or who does not have a thorough understanding of the results of an assessment may incorrectly believe that getting an exercise done is the same as getting an exercise done right. Or that if an exercise does not produce immediate pain, it is not doing any harm. The reality is that cumulative mechanical stress from inappropriately applied functional exercises is the same as cumulative mechanical stress from any other activity.

Proprioceptive Flow Following Injury

The ligaments and joint capsules contain mechanoreceptors that provide feedback on joint position and acceleration. Certain mechanoreceptors also contain pain receptors. When a ligament or the joint capsule is injured, the amount and quality of proprioceptive information is reduced. During the healing process, scar tissue forms. The properties of scar tissue are not the same as the original ligament tissue. Therefore, proprioceptive information remains reduced, unless the injury was followed by a comprehensive rehabilitative process that challenged the local proprioceptive system.

Unless you are working with high level athletes, how many of your clients have gone through comprehensive proprioceptive training following an injury? Many people won’t even go to a doctor for a diagnosis following a sprain, never mind therapy.

Muscle spindles will adapt to injury as well. Edgerton et al. studied the muscle activation of spinal muscles during a variety of motor tasks in whiplash patients. Their research showed an under activity of agonists and over activity of synergist. They concluded that the nervous system can detect a reduced capacity to generate force from a specific muscle or muscle groups and compensate by recruiting more motor neurons. This compensation is achieved by recruiting more motor units from an uninjured area of the muscle or from other muscles capable of performing a similar task (synergist).

Babyar looked at a population that had experienced shoulder pain. As part of the patient’s compensation strategy, they elevated their scapula when the arm was raised. Patients were reevaluated after the shoulder pain was gone. Babyar observed that the scapular elevation continued even in the absence of pain.

Janda also describes muscles that have a low irritability threshold. These are posturally shortened and hypertonic muscles. These muscles will create a bias of the motor neuron pool and are prematurely active (or overactive) and exert inappropriate influence on selected movements.

Interestingly, joint range of motion (ROM) may return to pre-injury levels after the ligament or joint capsule heals. But ROM does not correlate directly with proprioceptive flow from the mechanoreceptors. Therefore, even if a previously injured joint has normal ROM, it may not be “feeding” the necessary proprioceptive information to the CNS during activity. Our internal feedback systems are based on the quality of the proprioceptive information we receive. Therefore, poor proprioceptive flow from the periphery will negatively affect the quality of the motor response based on that poor proprioceptive information.

For example, the client or athlete with a history of ankle sprains that were never rehabilitated properly will have poor proprioceptive flow from the damaged ligaments. The body will not sense the “stuck” talus that is inhibiting adequate dorsi flexion during midstance in gait. The body unconsciously figures out the best way to maintain equal stride lengths is by prematurely lifting the heel on the affected side during the stance phase. This creates biomechanical changes at the hip and lumbar spine.

Also associated with joint injuries are two muscular responses resulting from disruption of the joint integrity. Both are unconscious and neurologically based. One response is reflex spasming. This is a response to pain in which the muscles splint via co contraction around the joint to protect it by reducing movement and minimizing additional damage. Motion required at the protected joint must be transferred to joints proximal and distal to the protected joint.

An alternate response by the CNS is reflex inhibition. This is the complete opposite of spasms. As the result of the arthrogenic reflex, the muscles surrounding the joint become inhibited. This often follows distention of the joint due to effusion (swelling). Inhibition prevents the body from using that joint, thereby avoiding any potential additional harm. Biomechanical compensation is therefore necessary to compensate for the weak link.

An often overlooked example of this is the role a blocked sacroiliac (SI) joint has on the function of the ipsilateral gluteus maximus, internal oblique and multifidus. If the appropriate movement of the sacrum on the innominate does not occur, the activity of these three vital lumbo-pelvic stabilizers is delayed due to inhibition by the CNS. Force production is secondary to appropriate timing of muscle activation for joint stabilization. The role of the SI joint is critical in load transfer of forces from the ground to the upper body. Poor load transfer through the SI joint requires compensatory reactions at the knee, hip and lumbar spine, compromising optimal lumbo-pelvic stabilization.

Therefore, it is questionable if, for example, an anterior lunge with the trunk flexed forward can improve gluteus maximus function if the SI joint is blocked on the same side. According to Hungerford’s study, there is more likely to be an earlier onset and increase in activity of the biceps femoris, also a hip extensor. Clearing the SI joint with the appropriate corrective exercises prior to lunging will facilitate appropriate timing of gluteus maximus function in the lunge.

Stay tuned for the third and final part of this series... coming soon!

References:

1. Babyar SR: Excessive scapular motion in individuals recovering from painful and stiff shoulders: causes and treatment strategies, Physical Therapy 76:226, 1996
2. Brooks, VB The Neural Basis of Motor Control. New York: Oxford University Press 1986
3. Edgerton, VR., Wolf, SL., Levendowski, DJ., Roy, RR. (1996). Theoretical basis for patterning EMG amplitudes to assess muscle dysfunction. Medical Science in Sports and Exercise 28: 744-51.
4. Hungerford B, Gilleard W, Hodges P 2003 Evidence of altered lumbopelvic muscle recruitment in the presence of sacroiliac joint pain. Spine 28(14):1593
5. Jeansonne, J, (2004). Motor skill learning looks beyond outcomes. Biomechanics Magazine Online. Retrieved June 2004.
Keele, S.W. Summers, JJ (1976). The structure of motor programs. In G.E. Stelmach (Ed.), Motor control: Issues and Trends (pp. 109-142). New York: Academic Process.
6. Lee, Diane (2001). An Integrated Model of Joint Function and Its Clinical Application. 4th Interdisciplinary World Congress on Low Back and Pelvic Pain. Montreal, Canada, 137-151.
7. Laskowski ER, Newcomer-Aney K, Smith J, (2000). Proprioception. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America. May;11(2):323-40, vi.
8. Magill, RA, (2001). Motor learning: Concepts and applications. New York. McGraw-Hill, 2001
9. McGill, Stuart (2002). Low Back Disorders: Evidence-Based Prevention and Rehabilitation. Champaign, IL. Human Kinetics.
10. Myers, T. (2001). Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists. New York, NY: Churchill Livingston.
11. O’Sullivan PB, Twomey LT, Allison GT. (1997). Evaluation of specific stabilizing exercise in the treatment of chronic low back pain with radiologic diagnosis of spondylolysis or spondylolisthesis. Spine;22:2959-67
12. Anthony Carey

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker

Call Me For A FREE Fitness Consultation OR Functional Fitness Training Session

1-800-681-9894 or 480-419-6462 or go to

WWW.MYFitnessElements.com to request a Consultation

Recipe Of The Week/ Natalie Pyles/ 11/10/08

Turkey Breast Mushroom Stew

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 lb extra lean ground turkey breast
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large red pepper, chopped
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 3 tsp Italian seasoning, divided
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground 4-pepper blend
• 3 28-oz cans diced tomatoes, with liquid, no salt added
• 1 15-oz can Bush’s Best pinto beans, with liquid
• 3 strips cooked extra-lean turkey bacon, chopped
• 2 tsp hot pepper sauce
• 1 small zucchini, sliced
• 12 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the turkey until browned, stirring with a spoon to separate and brown evenly. Add the garlic, onion and red pepper. Cook for 3 minutes and add crushed red pepper, 2 tsp Italian seasoning and freshly ground 4-pepper blend. Cook for 8 minutes, then transfer to a large pot. Add the tomatoes with the liquid, the pinto beans with the liquid, the cooked turkey bacon and the hot sauce. Stir in the zucchini and mushrooms. Bring to a simmer and add 1 tsp Italian seasoning, then reduce to low heat. Cook for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Serve over brown rice.

NUTRITIONAL VALUE per serving:

Serves 8

Calories: 200
Protein: 11 g
Carbohydrates: 24 g
Fat: 6 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g

Enjoy!!

Your Friend In Health & Fitness ,

Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker

CAll Me For Your FREE Nutritional Consultation 1-800-681-9894 Act Now

And I Will Send You Your FREE Report On "How To Maximize Your Fat-Loss During The Holidays!"

" How To Use The Metabolic Typing Method For Your Nutritional Needs"

" How To Use The Metabolic Typing Method For Your Nutritional Needs"


Metabolic typing is the buzz across the industry at the moment. Read on to find out why the science is dominating the headlines and how it should be used if your clients are trying to lose weight or improve their health.

Metabolic typing is the science of personalized nutrition. It is a highly accurate system of determining the foods and nutrients your body needs. Metabolic typing answers the foundational questions of nutrition by telling you:

1. What to eat
2. How much to eat
3. What foods to specifically avoid
4. All other aspects of nutrition including supplements, food quality, etc.

Before I discuss how metabolic typing answers these fundamentals, I must first explain to you why this science is necessary. The health of a food is not so much related to the qualities of the food but instead to the qualities of the food and it's relationship to your body. You've probably had clients who do not lose much weight despite sticking to a fairly "healthy" diet. The reason behind this is that the "healthy" diet they are following (or trying to follow!) is in fact unhealthy for them specifically. To label a food as "healthy," it must have a balancing effect on one's body chemistry (metabolic type).

The reasons healthy foods differ between individuals stems from the way humans have evolved into such unique individuals. To understand this, first ask yourself how many people look exactly the same as you in appearance? The answer is most likely no one, and yet all of us have the same features (i.e., nose, eyes, mouth, etc). Inside we are the same. We all have the same structures, organs, tissues and enzymes, and yet the size, efficiency and concentration of these varies greatly between individuals, just as our external appearance. The variety seen within us has occurred from thousands of years of evolution. As humans moved across the globe, they adapted to the foods before them through natural selection. This caused humans to adapt differently among the many international tribal groups. This was confirmed by Dr. Weston A. Price, who charted the vast differences seen in native tribes. The starkest contrast was between the Eskimos who ate a diet almost totally of protein and fat from seal and fish to the South American tribes who ate an almost totally carbohydrate diet from fruit and berries. Think how many fruits grow in the artic circle? Humans had to adapt to living off the other foods available, or they would have died. Despite this total contradiction of diets observed by Dr. Price, neither group showed any signs of cancer, heart disease, dental problems or mental illness.

The evidence showed that humans adapted to their natural environment just like any other animal. The problem today is that we cannot chart our genetic heritage. Natural selection happens over many generations. It is almost impossible and unwise to look at your family tree to discover what foods to eat. The answer is metabolic typing, designed to discover your unique nutritional needs as you function and live today.

To briefly review the scientific basis of metabolic typing, the theory analyzes 10 systems within the body thought to control all the behavior of the millions of chemicals reactions that occur in your body. To be truly healthy, you first need to discover where your 10 systems lie at the moment. You then need to consume the foods and nutrients that seek to balance these while avoiding any nutrients that will disrupt the systems. Using metabolic typing, we can answer the fundamental questions outlined previously.

What Should I Eat?

It is the role of the main two systems that provide the exact answer to this question. In order to know what you need to eat, you must be classified along your autonomic nervous system and oxidation system. In simple terms, the autonomic nervous system regulates involuntary action, as of the intestines, heart and glands. The oxidation system refers to how the body processes food to produce energy.

It is possible to classify people along these systems by looking at traits associated with different ends of the two systems. For example, if you have a client who has strong hunger, they are showing one sign of a fast oxidation rate. Those who do not want to eat very often are showing a slow oxidation trait. When you analyze a further 150 of these traits associated within each system, it is possible to build a picture of your body’s behavior and classify you along these two systems.

Your classification along these systems is what is known as your metabolic type. Further analysis of the other eight systems gives a more detailed look at your metabolic type, allowing higher levels of health to be attained.

Once your metabolic type is known, it is vital you eat the foods to balance your systems. For example, if your oxidation system was too fast, we would eat foods to slow your system down. Or if the fight or flight (sympathetic) branch of your nervous system was too strong, we would support the other rest and recovery branch (parasympathetic) by eating the appropriate, stimulating foods.

Putting the science of metabolic typing aside, the main thing you need to know is there is no one diet or food that will balance everyone’s body chemistry. Therefore, in order to be healthy, you must know exactly where you are at the moment and which foods are needed to balance your systems. For example, certain vegetables commonly believed to be "good for us" can in fact unbalance certain metabolic types.

A final point to note is the difference between this and the traditional protein, carbohydrate and mixed metabolic typing protocol. This is an easy to use but less specific analysis. This more simplistic test often does not reveal the true metabolic type of many people and does not classify people along the two major systems. The reason it works is that the fast oxidizers and parasympathetics have similar needs as do sympathetic and slow oxidizers. However, there are many real and significant differences between the classifications. It is a question of how far you want to take your health. Do you want to use the general guide, or do you want to find out the specific foods that will make you and your clients truly healthy?

How Much Should I Eat?

When you are eating the right foods, you will go a long way towards achieving your goals. To complement this, you must also eat these foods in the right amounts. This is important because, to ensure metabolic typing is successful and allow the body to be healthy, the cells must be able to effectively utilize energy. This can occur only when the cells receive everything they need in the right amounts. This depends very much on the type of food you eat (as determined above) but also the relative ratios of protein, carbohydrates and fat consumed.

We do not all need to consume the same amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fat at each meal. Each metabolic type will have a ball park amount that should be explored based on what the body needs. This can vary greatly between individuals, even those of the same metabolic type. It also varies during different times of the day.

When the right amounts are consumed, the body effectively can produce energy within the cells. This gives off a series of positive body language signals (e.g., high energy, low food cravings, etc). When the wrong proportions are eaten, negative reactions occur such as sugar cravings, hunger pangs soon after eating, energy dips, etc. These are all signs that the meal was miscalculated and in need of further investigation. This is central to metabolic typing programs and ensures clients achieve long term results.

What Foods Should I Avoid?

Metabolic typing looks closely at the issues of what foods to avoid, as this can upset the balance in one or more of the body’s 10 systems. Primary to the theory is avoiding non metabolically correct foods. Remember, this includes certain vegetables and fruits.

Isolating intolerances to certain foods is vital to success. A food intolerance is the negative reactions of the body to a certain food source. It occurs because the body has difficulty in handling the food for a variety of reasons. Any food can become intolerant to your body, but it is usually the most commonly eaten foods that develop into intolerances, especially those with certain properties, making them more difficult to handle. Some very common food intolerances include pasteurized dairy, wheat (gluten) and oats. Any health attempt will be totally undermined if you are eating foods to which you are intolerant.

To lose weight, it is essential you allow your endocrine glands to be at their optimal health. This fundamental system looks at which one gland is more active in comparison to others. These glands (adrenal, thyroid, pituitary and ovaries) will influence the pattern in which you store your body fat. Look at your clients. Do they store most of their fat below the waist? On their stomachs? All over their bodies? These are clues about the internal body chemistry of the endocrine glands. It is believed over reliance on the specific foods that excite your dominant gland can play a major role in fat storage. To lose fat, we therefore restrict the specific foods that stimulate your dominant gland, allowing balance to be restored to this system.

Blood type influences are dependent on the blood type interactions with specific proteins called lectins. In certain individuals, this can cause food intolerances, immune responses and agglutination of the blood, leading to many negative health complaints. Therefore, the blood type recommendations refer to which foods to avoid within the nutrition plan.

Other Issues

Food quality and preparation technique are a foundation of any metabolic typing regime. Eating inferior food products can completely undermine the effect of that food on your metabolic type. In addition to this, metabolic typing looks at the issues of supplements and tailors a few specific supplements to increase metabolism, restore and maintain digestive function and make up for the short fall of current nutrition practices.

In summary, metabolic typing allows you to discover exactly what foods to eat, how much of them to eat and what foods to avoid. It covers all aspects of nutrition and supplements. It is rapidly growing because it is the most sophisticated and accurate system of finding out your individual needs. Its rise in popularity is because it gets amazing results with all types of clients.

References:

1. Abravanel. The Body Typing Diet. Bantam.
2. Chek, Paul. How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!
3. Fallon, Sally. Nourishing Traditions. ProMotion Publishing, 1995.
4. Power, Laura. Dietary Lectins: Food Intolerances and Blood Type.
5. Price, Weston A. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Price-Pottenger Foundation.
6. Wolcott, William and Fahey, Trish. The Metabolic Typing Diet. Doubleday.
7. Williams, Roger. Biochemical Individuality. Keats.
8. Watson, George. Nutrition and Your Mind. Bantam.
9. Ben Wilson

Forwarded By, Natalie Pyles

Fitness & Nutritional Expert, Author, Speaker