Yummy Enzymes!!!!!

OK so as you all probably know I am 6 months pregnant and this heat is unbearable. I also found out that I am not the only one suffering. When we eat dead (cooked) food day in and day out it raises our body temperature. This also kills our digestive enzymes. We are born with over 5000 enzymes and by the time we are 40 years old, most of us won't have over 1000 of them left. Digestion starts in our mouth as we chew our food. The enzymes that are added via saliva aids us in the assimilation of our food. So what can we do to survive this heat and slow down our aging process?

ENZYME THERAPY: Pick two hot days and shower your body with enzymes. Your skin will thank you, your digestion system will take a much needed brake and you may even drop a few pounds. Yes, it's easy enough that even a pregnant person can do it. All you need is a blender or a juicer, ice and some fruit. For two days make yourself some fruit slushes or juices. Who needs to eat when it's so hot out?
Here are some recipes you can try:

Drink the following as much as you want.

Breakfast:

Blend some fat free yogurt with some fruit and ice. Try to have more ice than fruit. Pineapples and kiwi, or apple and strawberries. (for better skin add two tsp flax seed oil to the mix)

Lunch:

Fresh juice of carrots, celery, and apples .
Blended lemons, any berries you like a banana with ice.

Dinner:

Blended pineapples (2 rings), 2 peaches and a hand full of strawberries.


You can try to juice any combination of fruits or veggies that you like. I have been on this for 3 days now and I am loving it. I feel cooler and better and surprisingly not very hungry at all. I had to 'cheat' and eat a few walnuts to make the baby happy. Try this on days that you are not supper active. Please let me know if you tried this and give others some input.

Getting back on the nutrition wagon.

I've been with Austin Adventure Boot Camp since October '06. I've lost weight and now I have officially plateaued. I'm about 25-30lb shy of my 'ideal' weight. I say 'ideal' because I've gotten incredibly comfortable in the size I am right now. Which is great! But when I think about the goal I set out to reach I wonder if my saying I'm comfortable here is just a way for me to avoid the stress of achieving my weight loss goal. Probably. So I must move forward.

But why the plateau!? Well, I have to say my attendance over the last few months has been less than stellar. But also I've stopped paying attention to what I am putting into my stomach.
Yup, that's me. Mindlessly eating.
And it has to stop.

But what do I eat? Ever since I found out that I was allergic to everything and revamped my eating I've been on a carb overload, not because of any reason except that I love carbs. Plus, now that I have lost the majority of the weight I don't even know how many calories I should be eating. I had done an online calculator and it said somewhere in the 1700-1800 calorie range. *shrug*
So I contacted Nanaz and set up an appointment for a RMR test.
During this test you lay still (without napping) and just breathe while you wear a little mask. This mask is connected to a tube and the tube is attached to a machine and based on your breathing and I'm sure some other science that includes a calculation of my height and weight and how active you are, it spits out (with some help from Nanez) the number of calories you need to survive and the number you need to maintain your current weight.

So how did the online calculator do? VERY POORLY. AT 1700 calories I was eating 300 calories less than my body needs to just run. Not moving. Just laying there. SO in essence I've plateaued because I'm not eating enough calories. My body thinks I've abandon it!!
So with this knowledge, the plan is more lean proteins! More leafy greens! And don't trust internet calculators!
Next week I am going in to have my Vo2 Max test to find my prime workout heart rate and I'm excited. I've been wearing my heart rate monitor during class but I've not been paying attention nor, do I know how to read into the percentage of fat burned. Knowledge is power!
I'm really looking forward to the new meal plan too. Nanaz is going to set me up with different choices so I can pick and choose what I want out of what I need.

All very scientific and very interesting. I am looking forward to getting off this plateau!
If you are like me and have no idea what to eat, contact Nanaz, She's got some specials just for Boot camper so let her know what you need!

Why are you not losing weight?

You are working out and eating right so why are you not dropping the weight? I always see overweight people running their hearts out on hike and bike trail. I used to wonder why that is. If they are working out so hard shouldn't they be way thinner. Did you know that you could pass your fat burning heart rate in the first five minutes of your workout? Or how do you know exactly how many calories your body burns every day? Sure you can use charts and come up with a guess, but I would not trust charts that were made in a research group over 30 years ago. We simply do not eat or live the way we did 30 years ago and I have seen the guesstimates be wrong by 800 calories a day.
So what's the answer? Come do a RMR test and a VO2 max test. These tests are specific to you and pretty much guarantee results. Find out more about these tests on my website: nanazahmadi.com. I am offering these tests at a discounted price to all of you. Once you know which heart rate your body burns the most body fat, you can simply wear a heart rate monitor and make sure that every minute of your workout counts. Dinner planning will become much simpler when you know how many calories you can eat with out gaining weight.

Good Luck,
Nanaz

N is for Nutrition!

And for Nanaz!

Nanaz Ahmadi graduated with a bachelor’s degree and is currently studying to become a master herbalist specializing in nutrition for cancer prevention. She is a mother and an athlete’s wife and we are confident that she has the tools to help you make better nutritional decisions. She will be working with us to expand the nutrition side of things here because as I am sure all of your coaches have mentioned, fitness is only one part of it, you must pay attention to your nutrition as food fuels the body!

Take a look at her website! She has some great offerings and a wealth of information for you! Let her know you found her through Austin Adventure as we’ve worked out some discounted services for campers!

Thank you Nanaz for that great tip and welcome to the Austin Adventure Boot Camp Team!

Break Over. Back To The Plan.

Okay. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you have not been getting up at 5:30am for the last week to work out.
That's fine. It is always nice to have a little break. But the holiday is done and it is time to get back on track (if you got off track) and get back to working out (if you stopped). I for one have been daunted by the 20 degree weather at 5:30 am the last two days so I've busted out my old school workout videos. They are good, but I have to say I'm a little disappointed with how easy they have gotten. Tomorrow, the plan is to bundle it up and head out for a good run/walk. You know, run one mile, walk one mile. Second mile I'll bring my weights and do 50 bicep curls, 50 tricep dips and 50 shoulder presses. But that's me. If you think you may want to put the weights down at some point during the walk (which I don't recommend because you'll have to go fetch them or buy more weights) then skip the weight work until after the 2nd mile.
I really hope that y'all are watching what's going into your mouths as well. I personally have decided to eat dessert first (so that the carbohydrates are eaten earlier in the day) so I have more time to burn it off! AND PLEASE make sure that you are drinking enough water. Just because you aren't up at 5 sweating it out with us, your body still needs that water!

Gooooooaaaal!

So I've figured it out. After much searching and pros and cons lists I have decided on my next fitness goal.
For those of you joining us late, I had accomplished all of my fitness goals. Mile under 9 minutes, run my first 5k, lost 60 pounds, yadda yadda I got kinda stuck. But no longer.
My new goal: To look and feel more like a rockstar. More specifically this rockstar.

I'm setting up a show with my hoot night band and the Hooting and hollering is going to be all Tina Turner. So I am going to have to de-flab my legs (lunge-a-palooza here I come) to get ready for the short and shredded look. So we are going for the Lean Mean Tina look and if we in fact get down to the smallest size of jeans I have in my closet then so be it.

To prepare for that I'm researching a kick off Master Cleanse doing some reading about it (I'll report back if I decide to do it or not). Following that up with a revised nutrition plan, admittedly I've gone astray, and back to adding my ever other afternoon extra cardio bonanza.

So, that's my goal. Did you guys figure out yours? Have you done the master cleanse and have tips for me?

Candy Rage : The Fight Against Chocolate Covered Whoosits.

It's that time. Well technically, it has been that time. Halloween candy has been in the grocery stores for the last two months. Starbucks and every other coffee place in town has rolled out their 'Pumpkin Spice' flavored beverages. But what do you do when you are supposed to watch your calories, sugar intake, blah blah blah, cut back on sweets?

Seems like everywhere you go is littered with snack size, chocolate covered whatnots. How do you keep your hands from finding their way into the candy bowls and stay on track?

Reasons to say no to sweets:
You will live longer.
You will feel better.
Cutting back on sweets will help you reach your weight loss goals faster.

Take a look at how much you can lose if you just cut out soda!

1 bottle of Cola (20oz, regular, not diet) has 239 calories.

Let's say you have just one bottle of cola a day, every day.

7 x 239 calories = 1673

Since there are 3500 calories in a pound, without doing anything else you could lose about a half a pound a week JUST by leaving out the soda.

Here's are some tips to get you through Halloween:

Halloween
This used to be the most difficult holiday for me. Tiny little candies everywhere!

In a full size Snickers Bar there are 280 calories-- approximately 6 Snickers miniatures. Keep in mind --just because they are small does not mean you can eat more of them!

1. If you do not have the willpower to leave the candy alone, do not buy it. Donate the candy money to charity.
   
2. If your house is in danger of being egged if you go candyless, buy the candy that you don't like so you won't be tempted.
3. Wait till the last possible moment to buy candy. This will leave you with as little time alone with the candy as possible.
4. Keep the candy bowl by the door, do not go near the door/bowl of candy unless your house is in fact being egged or trick-or-treaters come by.
5. Put the candy in an adult-proof box or "Boo for you" box. Take a small box and cut a hole in it that is small enough for a child's hand but not your own. Decorate the box with a Halloween-y theme. Pour the candy inside. If a trick-or-treater's hand doesn't fit, shake the box directly over their bag. "But wait", you ask, "Stephanie what will stop me from shaking the box to get the candy out?" Nothing really, but hopefully having to try to maneuver a 'fun size' candy snack out of the boo box will slow you down, maybe even to the point that you will realize how not worth it it is.
6. Put the candy bowl on the porch and let the Trick-or-Treaters have at it. Of course with this you lose the benefit of the "The doorbell is ringing I better get up" workout. Oh and greedy kids will take too much candy.

Remember your goals. Yes, you could eat the candy but does it lead you where you want to go? Is it a distraction? Is candy as important as reaching your goals? No. Be strong and enjoy the many other things the holiday has to offer.