Club Lifestyle Weight Loss

Food is not a product we purchase like buying a new printer for our computer. Through biological drives, habits and conditioning, addiction, allergies and the overwhelming obesogenic environment of modern-day America we make food purchases for reasons far beyond its naturally-intended purpose–FUEL FOR THE BODY. Because this will NEVER change on a mass scale regulation at the governmental level IS going to be necessary. If we tax junk food making the purchase of it more painful while subsidizing vegetable and fruit growth making them more readily available and cheaper this may be a start that might have an effect we can actually see and feel on a mass scale.

As members of LL University you are simply NOT members of the herd. The bottom line is LL University members are advanced in their nutritional knowledge and lifestyle skills. So while I know LL University members can acquire the knowledge and skill to beat the Beast (biological drives, poor habits and conditioning, addiction and allergies, and the obesogenic environment) you are not a good representation of the masses. On a mass scale what you all are learning here and committed to achieving does NOT represent what common America is ever going to learn or do. And the reality of concomitant junk-food tax+health-food subsidies is help for LL University members too. But the average Joe and Jane are not going to wake up one day and simply make good, healthy food choices given the current environment.

In health,

David Greenwalt - Founder
Leanness Lifestyle University
Certified Wellness Coach - ACSM

Unhealthy Foods Become Less Popular With Increasing Costs

ScienceDaily (Mar. 9, 2010) — Adults tend to eat less pizza and drink less soda as the price of these items increases, and their body weight and overall calorie intake also appear to decrease, according to a report in the March 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

“To compensate for food environments where healthful foods (i.e., fresh fruits and vegetables) tend to cost more, public health professionals and politicians have suggested that foods high in calories, saturated fat or added sugar be subject to added taxes and/or that healthier foods be subsidized,” the authors write as background information in the article. “Such manipulation of food prices has been a mainstay of global agricultural and food policy, used as a means to increase availability of animal foods and basic commodities, but it has not been readily used as a mechanism to promote public health and chronic disease prevention efforts.”

Read the entire article here …
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100308170959.htm

I wrote this originally back in 2006. Today, I did NOT attend a funeral. I am posting this here because I think it’s a good reminder for me or anyone else who feels remotely similar and needs the same reminder.

Death Is Not Last Goodbye

Today I attended a funeral of a family member on Tracy’s side. Please, don’t reply to wish me well — I promise we’re fine and that’s not the purpose of this post.

Being a sponge for human behavior and lifestyle management something struck me today that I just wanted to share with all of you.

This was an “open casket” funeral. This seems to give attenders some extra peace as they feel they get to say their last goodbyes to the deceased. At one time when I was a decade or so younger I may have felt the same because I didn’t know what I know now and do my best to live in real time with my family and teach all of you.

The last goodbye that counted wasn’t at the funeral — it was the last time you spoke to the person lying in the casket and they were alive. Your last “goodbye” might have just been a missed opportunity if you left or they left you and you never said a word — happens often — every day.

The most important things in life aren’t things at all — they are people. If you left one of the closest people in your life today did you say goodbye? Leaving what was MOST important (a person you love and who loves you) to go do something that is just “important” without a word, a touch or both? It’s a shame.

That all-important errand you had to do or place you JUST had to be took precedence over a person and you took for granted that you’d be back again — and they probably took for granted you’d be back too. If you didn’t say goodbye you missed the last real time you had to say goodbye if they never come back.

When my mother was killed in 1998 we couldn’t do an open casket. This bothered me little other than why we couldn’t. The last day I saw her alive I had said my goodbyes to her just as I always would. There wasn’t really anything I didn’t say to my mother. I have no regrets. She knew I loved her. I knew she loved me. And it wasn’t because we telepathically dialed each other up. We talked to each other — we communicated. We laughed. We cried. We said it all. No regrets. Truly none. All I miss are the years I don’t get. I don’t miss that I couldn’t say my “last goodbyes” because the casket wasn’t open. I had already said goodbye — I said it when it counted — when she was alive the last time I saw her.

This message isn’t to express the typical reactionary “Give those you love a big hug” blah blah blah as occurs when we all attend funerals. No, not at all. I didn’t learn a lesson today. I’m simply trying to convey to you that hearing what I heard just re-enforced what I teach, believe and do my best to do. And I’ll be the first to admit — I fail at doing it every chance I get. Let’s face it. I miss opportunities too. No, this isn’t the “Look what I remembered since a loved one died” message.

This message is simply this — be among the living and appreciate them. Say your goodbyes daily. Gain an understanding of the difference between Important and MOST Important. I can guarantee you this. MOST Important things are not your errands, chores, bill paying, work and general running around. The MOST Important things are those coming and going out of your home on a daily basis who do come and go, all too often, without a word spoken, and totally taken for granted. We can all improve this. No need to wait for an open casket to say your last goodbye. You can say it the next time you leave–it may very well be appropriate.

Base 10 Training is a name I have given to the following protocol of resistance training

The “Base 10″ part comes from the basis of this protocol being 10 sets of 10 reps per body part. It’s quite a bit of volume for the average Joe or Jane. It’s about one-half to one-third the training of a pro bodybuilder.

Once you are beyond your first 30 days of resistance training ANYONE can do it. Your experience, or lack of experience, will dictate the loads you can use. If you are a basic, 3 sets of 10 person I will caution you that you WILL very likely be quite sore for 1-3 days after your first pass for each body part.

Base 10 is most commonly going to be used when you want to train a body part once per seven days.

Also, the 10 X 10 base and all variances of it apply to the following body parts:

Chest
Back
Biceps
Triceps
Quads

and not commonly to the following body parts

Shoulders
Hamstrings
Calves
Abs
Traps

Typically the smaller body parts above will be trained between 1/3 and 1/2 the sets of the larger body parts but if you have a lagging body part above then Base 10 COULD be applied to any body part.

Base 10 training dictates that you pick 1-3 exercises for a body part and you perform, for example, a total of 10 sets of 10 repetitions. So if you are working Chest and you are doing one exercise you’d simply choose ONE WEIGHT for that exercise and perform 10 sets of 10 repetitions.

The rest period is between 30 and 90 seconds between sets. Varying the rest period will vary the load you can use.

If you choose 2 exercises for a body part (e.g., chest again) then you simply make sure that a total of 10 sets of 10 are complete by the time you finish the two exercises. Any combination of sets between the two exercises is fine. You don’t have to do 5 sets of each. The same goes for adding a third exercise. Just make sure that a total of 10 sets are complete between the exercises total. 10 total sets. Not 10 sets of each exercise.

Now this is where Base 10 gets interesting. Typically, training methodologies dictate that we can either train really heavy (high intensity) or we can train really long (volume) but not both with any real consistency. Base 10 is great because it maintains the integrity of this philosophy quite well. Here’s how.

With Base 10 you can add more variety by moving your reps down as your sets go up. It works like this

10 X 10
11 X 9 (using more weight for same exercise performed doing 10 X 10)
12 X 8 (using more weight for same exercise performed doing 11 X 9)
13 X 7 (using more weight for same exercise performed doing 12 X 8 )
14 X 6 (using more weight for same exercise performed doing 13 X 7)
15 X 5 (using more weight for same exercise performed doing 14 X 6)

I stop the progression at 15 X 5 because 5 reps is at the lower end of the hypertrophy-specific rep range. And the purpose of this type of training is to increase strength in the specific repetition range proven to increase the size of type II muscle fibers. But ladies listen — if you keep losing body fat you will continue to get smaller and smaller and smaller even though your muscle grows. Always remember fat is three times as large as muscle if we’re measuring pound for pound. Add a pound of muscle but lose a pound of fat? You’ll be smaller EVERY SINGLE TIME.

So back to chest for a moment to clarify. If you are training chest once a week using Base 10 training and your last Monday chest workout was 10 X 10 it is entirely okay for you to choose, for this Monday, a 12 X 8 protocol. That would be 12 sets of 8 repetitions. Again, 1-3 total chest exercises totaling 12 sets and every set is 8 reps. Because the reps are lower than the original 10 you SHOULD plan on using at least a little bit more weight. And the goal is to choose a weight for an exercise that you don’t need to increase or decrease to get all your sets at the repetitions you are shooting for.

CAUTION: To protect your joints, tendons and other connective tissues I don’t recommend that you jump more than two progressions if your repetitions are dropping in any given week. For example, if you last did chest at 12 X 8 I don’t recommend you jump to 15 X 5 the next week. That would be three progressions beyond 12 X 8 for intensity (load you can use). 14 X 6 is two progressions beyond 12 X 8. However, when your repetitions are going back up it is acceptable to jump to any place you want since lowering the load (forced as the reps go up) will be easier on connective tissue. So if you want to work a body part at 15 X 5 and next week you want to do 10 X 10 that is perfectly fine. It’s okay to move your reps UP on the scale anytime but stay with the two-progressions rule if your reps are decreasing.

The base of my training is Muscle Professor — straight up. Why? It works and it’ll work for you regardless of experience. But when I want to shake things up BASE 10 training is great and adds the variety I need mentally while keeping volume in a nice range for overall hypertrophy-specific goals. If you aren’t using the Muscle Professor as your base and you want to have muscle that people can see then start using the Muscle Professor.

The Muscle Professor is available to students of Leanness Lifestyle University. Click Here To Go There Now

In health,

David Greenwalt - Founder
Leanness Lifestyle

By as early as 7 years of age, being obese may raise a child’s risk of future heart disease and stroke, even in the absence of other cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

“This new study demonstrates that the unhealthy consequences of excess body fat start very early,” said Nelly Mauras, MD, of Nemours Children’s Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida and senior author of the study. “Our study shows that obesity alone is linked to certain abnormalities in the blood that can predispose individuals to developing cardiovascular disease early in adulthood.

These findings suggest that we need more aggressive interventions for weight control in obese children, even those who do not have the co-morbidities of the metabolic syndrome.”

To be eligible to participate in the study, the children and adolescents had to have normal fasting blood sugar levels, normal blood pressure and normal cholesterol and triglycerides. Lean controls also could not have a close relative with type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure or obesity. THE LATTER GROUP PROVED VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND.

All study participants underwent blood testing for known markers for predicting the development of cardiovascular disease. These included elevated levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, and abnormally high fibrinogen, a clotting factor, among others. Obese children had a 10 fold higher CRP and significantly higher fibrinogen concentrations, compared with age- and sex-matched lean children, the authors reported. These abnormalities occurred in obese children as young as age 7, long before the onset of puberty.

The number of overweight children in the U.S. has tripled in the last 30 years, and more than 17% of children between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight, according to the authors.

“Weight reduction (or weight maintenance in many growing children) remains the cornerstone of any intervention in childhood obesity,” they wrote.

(Sources: Science Daily and MedPage …The article will appear in the March 2010 issue of JCEM.)

David says: Parents! PAY THE HELL ATTENTION! Monkey see, monkey do! Not Monkey hear monkey do. Kids do what they see – what they see YOU doing – not what they hear you yapping they SHOULD do.

Should interventions involving childhood obesity be parent-centered or child-centered? I believe parent-centered is the best approach. There is research to support my beliefs. There is research that says a combination of parent- and child-focused is the right model.

Childhood obesity starts in the home and my philosophy has always been that until a child can drive WE the parents are entirely responsible for our child’s weight and food consumption.

Let me say it straight. This is MY opinion. It’s not a show of love to overfeed your child junk while creating an obese child. It’s abuse or, at a minimum, neglect.

It takes a lot of work as a parent to feed and nurture our kids in health. The world is rough to grow up in. The marketing and overall obesogenic drive for sugar, salt, fat and calorie-dense foods are understandably forces that require massive efforts to manage as a parent. Ya, I get it. I’m a parent too. And here’s what I have to say to all that. TOUGH CRAP! Do the right thing for yourself and also for your kids. Live a healthy lifestyle and give your kids more opportunities in every way by doing so.

It’s not too late to make it better for your kids. No matter what their age. You influence your kids. You stand a better shot perhaps when they are littlest but my 20 year old still pays attention to what Tracy and I do — not what we say HE should do. We influence our kids in some ways forever. Whether you are normal-weight, over-weight or obese if you eat like crap clean up your act NOW and give your kids a gift that is positively beyond measure.

In health,

David Greenwalt
Leanness Lifestyle - Founder

Catchy article title huh?

What the heck is a telomere? Telomeres are the protective caps at the end of chromosomes that reveal how biological stress ages a person. Keeping telomeres long is a goal we all need to have if we want to live longer.

A new study had this to say about the subject …

“Patients with the highest levels of omega-3 fish oils were found to display the slowest decrease in telomere length, whereas those with the lowest levels of omega-3 fish oils in the blood had the fastest rate of telomere shortening,” Farzaneh-Far said. “This suggests that these patients were aging faster than those with higher fish oil levels.”

They said omega-3s may protect against oxidative stress, or increase the activity of the telomerase enzyme, which would decrease telomere shortening by creating more accurate telomere copies.

Here’s a short video for as long as Medpage decides to make the video available.

You can read the entire article here
http://tinyurl.com/yjz8vmr

Source reference:
Farzaneh-Far R, et al “Association of marine omega-3 fatty acid levels with telomeric aging in patients with coronary heart disease” JAMA 2010; 303(3): 250-257.

==========

David says: Every week something positive seems to be coming out about the benefits of fish oil. I personally take three 1000mg caps of enteric-coated fish oil (so I don’t get fish burp) per day. Along with now keeping my telomeres long a lot of other research indicates that fish oil is nature’s aspirin - keeps the blood thinner and slippery for easy movement, and it also can reduce inflammation and overall joint pain. And with all the years I’ve beat my body up lifting? I can use the joint pain reduction. I also eat salmon 1-3X/week but even when I eat the salmon I still take my fish oil caps.

Leanness Lifestyle

You may read about this in a bodybuilding mag. I think it’s a classic example of how focusing on the inconsequential minutia makes for cool headlines and internet-blog flamefests but really does little for truly improving strength or leanness.

PURPOSE:: To determine if protein supplementation (PRO) prior to an acute bout of heavy resistance training (HRT) would influence post-exercise resting energy expenditure (REE) and the non-protein respiratory exchange ratio (RER).

METHODS:: Eight resistance-trained subjects (5M, 3W) participated in a double-blind, two trial crossover design, where REE and RER were measured (7:00am) on four consecutive days. On the second day of trial one, subjects consumed either PRO (18g whey protein, 2g carbohydrate, 1.5g fat) or CHO (1g whey protein, 19g carbohydrate, 1g fat) 20 minutes prior to a single bout of HRT (9 exercises, 4 sets, 70-75% 1RM).

RESULTS:: Compared with baseline, REE was elevated significantly in both CHO and PRO at 24 and 48 hours post-HRT. At 24 hours post-HRT, REE in response to PRO was significantly greater compared to CHO.

CONCLUSION:: Timing PRO prior to HRT may be a simple and effective strategy to increase energy expenditure by elevating REE the day after HRT. Increasing REE could facilitate reductions in body fat mass and improve body composition if nutritional intake is stable.

(Source: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009 Dec 4. Timing Protein Intake Increases Energy Expenditure 24 Hours Post-Resistance Training. Hackney KJ, Bruenger AJ, Lemmer JT.)

David says: I disagree completely. Timing your protein intake will do as close to nothing as nothing gets for fat loss. The “if nutritional intake is stable” part is a key. And that is highly unusual for most reading this.

Instead of worrying about protein timing be extra-conscious of why you are eating what you are eating when you are eating it.

Journal the:

:: A-ctivating event,
:: B-ehaviors/eliefs and the
:: C-onsequences both positive and negative,

when you eat off your nutritional plan. This strategy could have a significant impact on helping you understand what’s really going on. In the meantime keep your protein between 30 and 50% of total intake while cutting fat and/or while building muscle in an action phase.

Hey, Tracy and I got ourselves a blu-ray DVD player this year for Christmas. Got a Samsung on a doorbuster for $128 — cheap. I got the Samsung because it had the Netflix capabilities built in to it.

I’ve done Netflix before — they do a good job but I haven’t been with them in probably 3-4 years. Anyway, not all that long ago they started offering “instant download” to their mix of services but you need the right device to have it work right. That is you either need a new blu-ray player that actually lists Netflix as part of the player or you need a Sony PS3 etc (there are several devices it may work with). Check with www.netflix.com if you want to see what is compatible with it.

Anyway — just wanted to post that I like the service a lot. But fair warning on the blu-ray player you get. I didn’t see that the with my blu-ray player I also had to buy a LAN adapter that was not included with the player. The LAN adapter plugs into a USB port on the back of the unit so it can find your home wireless network (assuming you have wireless). That LAN adapter cost me another $75 to the door. It’s now a $200 blu-ray player. Watch for this and look for a built-in WIFI or ask the sales clerk to be sure. Some SONY players have it built in but most are running in the mid $200 range.

Once your blu-ray player knows you have WIFI in your home you will be walked through with the player remote and your TV how to set up your Netflix. Once you have a Netflix account you just load instant-download movies into your instant cue via your computer — then walk over to your television remote and watch them — it’s slick. It’s quick. For $8.99 per month? It’s a deal too since we won’t be renting movies near as much from our local movie store.

Be aware of this — Netflix has over 100,000 movies in their library. It’s nuts. BUT they only currently offer about 17,000 movies via instant-download. For the $8.99/month you can have one real, physical DVD at your door and when you return it you get another one right away. But with that $8.99 you get unlimited instant downloads.

Netflix does a good job overall. Easy to try it out. Easy to get out if you hate it.

For me the value of having their MASSIVE library and all the amazing documentaries alone makes it worth it even if I wasn’t probably saving money by not renting locally.

www.netflix.com

I’m not affiliated with them at all — this is not an affiliate link. It’s kinda new this instant download thingy on blu-ray etc. so wanted to share.

In health,

David

I got an email from Brian Tracy today and in it he talked about the value of accountability. Boy did he hit the nail on the head. I really like what he had to say and I’ve included it in this message below.

As a regular Leanness Lifestyle student and member there is accountability available. Setting up weekly leverages, asking friends to be your FRIENDS HELPING FRIENDS partners, posting on the members-only forum and stating goals publicly etc. It’s all a part of being a member and student at Leanness Lifestyle University.

As a Boot Camp student the accountability goes WAY up. Boot Camp students have money at risk and the disheartening reality of failing in a group setting.
Boot Camp

As an Elite client the accountability is there from the first day and for an entire year as we work closely together yet still not necessarily in person to ensure that you achieve your health- and fitness goals. There are financial leverages and then “other” accountability leverages depending on the client. Executive Wellness Coaching by David Greenwalt

Accountability is important. None of us is perfect. But we all do better with accountability.

In health,

David Greenwalt

ACCOUNTABILITY from Brian Tracy

Consider what would happen if I were to follow you with a camera crew 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the next 100 days while you went for your goals?

I bet 3 things would happen…

1) You would START doing the things you say you need to do.

2) You would STOP doing the things you know you shouldn’t be doing.

3) You would MAKE monumental performance gains and change your life.

This is ALL possible through the discipline of accountability. Accountability serves and protects your character, credibility and commitments. It ensures that what you want to accomplish gets accomplished.

Throughout every area of your life, it’s important to understand that ALL unfinished goals, projects and relationships are the result of broken promises, unfulfilled commitments, and lack of accountability.

A study was recently published in a respected journal called Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise regarding the ergogenic and antioxidant effects of spirulina. No journal is the end-all be-all but I was surprised to see such a positive outcome about spirulina published in that journal. In any given month I review 20-25 different journals and Med Sci Sports Exerc is always one of the 20.

Here’s a link to Wikipedia on what spirulina is.
Wikipedia Link

Here’s a link to Quackwatch. You can always count on Dr. Barrett to provide the stiff, broomhandle up the anus side of things. But I wouldn’t provide it if I didn’t think it was worth a read so here you go.
Quack Watch Article

Spirulina or Arthrospira is a blue-green alga that became famous after it was successfully used by NASA as a dietary supplement for astronauts on space missions. Multiple studies investigating the efficacy and the potential clinical applications of Spirulina in treating several diseases have been performed and a few randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews as well.

Click Here For a Complete Spirulina Research Review PDF

The Med Sci Sports Exerc research summary was as follows …

Spirulina is a popular nutritional supplement that is accompanied by claims for antioxidant and performance-enhancing effects.

RESULTS: Time to fatigue after the 2-h run was significantly longer after spirulina supplementation.

CONCLUSIONS: Spirulina supplementation induced a significant increase in exercise performance, fat oxidation, and GSH concentration and attenuated the exercise-induced increase in lipid peroxidation.

(Source: Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2010 Jan;42(1):142-51. Ergogenic and antioxidant effects of spirulina supplementation in humans. Kalafati M, Jamurtas AZ, Nikolaidis MG, Paschalis V, Theodorou AA, Sakellariou GK, Koutedakis Y, Kouretas D.)

David Says: Will spirulina help all my cardio kings and queens? Frankly? I doubt it — at least not enough for anyone to notice it. But this study, although very small (9 total people in it), probably can’t be discarded any more than any other study that indicates no results with spirulina. It all has to be taken into the context of “the totality of the evidence.”

Someone recently asked me on Facebook if the Taco Bell drive thru diet was for real.

Taco Bell has been offering Fresco-style alternates to their everyday menu choices for a few years now. Basically with Fresco style they skip the cheese and sour cream. When I go to Taco Bell that’s how I always get my food. What I will do is get, for example, a chicken gordita supreme fresco style and I’ll have them add extra chicken.

The first thing I thought of when I saw their commercial is “Will Christine become their Jared?” If you listen closely to their commercial you’ll hear about 3-4 serious disclaimers that it’s not a diet, results not typical etc. Taco Bell is smart. Tis the weight-loss season. They’d be foolish NOT to offer something that is “diet” friendly right now.

In the science of weight-loss world this is called social liberation. That is when consumers become more aware of the alternatives and healthy choices available to improve their nutrition and everyday energy expenditure. Is the Taco Bell Drive thru diet going to make a big difference for most? Nope. But it could become 10% of the energy deficit needed if someone wanted it to.

In health,

David Greenwalt
Leanness Lifestyle