At least that is what the calendar says, but in Boise we know that it can storm one minute and be warm the next, we can even have snow in June. I don’t know about you but when the snow is bad for skiing and it is rainy, cold and dark, I have a hard time feeling energized. This is the time I try to work out with my girlfriends and our goal is to have fun and make each other laugh. If motivation is at a low and even the new swim wear you have hanging in the bathroom isn’t motivating you, it’s time to sit down and revamp the workouts. Think about friends you know that you would like to have work out with you, get a girlfriend or two and do some group workouts, this will save on your pocketbook and help motivate you to get excited about exercise and get in shape for summer. With our group sessions we will set up a 12 week body transformation and on a weekly basis we will assess body fat, nutrition and find some different ways to have fun doing our extra cardio. Call me and let me help you reach your goals, motivate you to a permanent lifestyle change. Prices: Single session: $50.00 Double session: (with two people in a group) $40.00 Triple session: (with three people in a group) $30.00 Quad session: (with four people in a group) $25.00 These prices are good through August 2009

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In my experience the majority of women  in their journey to fitness, steer clear of the weights and head straight for the cardio machines. They spend hours killing themselves in hopes of a hard lean body only to lose precious lean tissue (muscle). They tell me that they feel they can burn more fat and lose more weight with cardio, their reasons are endless. Let me tell you some reasons why you should do resistance training.

Ø      Lose Fat. This is the biggie, each pound of muscle you put on can burn up to 50 extra calories a day and you can gain nearly two pounds of muscle in just two months by weight training a few times per week. Better still, you can lose 3.5 pounds of fat at the same time.

Ø      Increase Strength. Strength training makes everyday activities easier.

Ø      Healthy bones. Research shows that weight training can improve your bone mineral density by as much as 13 percent in just six months; this minimizes the risk of Osteoporosis.

Ø      Improve performance. Extra strength can improve your golf swing or tennis swing. And reduce risk of injury.

Ø      Keeps you healthy. Strength training strengthens your joints by strengthening your ligaments and tendons.

Ø       Strengthen your heart. Resistance training can keep your heart healthy by increasing your HDL (good) cholesterol and lowering both your LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood pressure.

Ø      Ward off type 2 Diabetes. Regular weight training can improve glucose utilization (the way your body processes sugar) in the body by 23 percent in just four months.

Ø      Age is Irrelevant. It doesn't matter how old you are; strength improvements are possible at any age.

Ø      Keeps you smiling. Working out with weights has been shown to improve a woman's self confidence and reduce the symptoms of clinical depression.

Ø      Don't worry about bulking up. Research shows that women do not typically gain bulk from strength training like men do because women produce 10-30 times less testosterone than men. You will however define and tone your muscles.

Some questions I am ask by men and women:

Q:  Can you lose fat cells? According to Eric Ravussin, Ph.D., chair of diabetes and metabolism at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, " Yes, but most simply shrink when you lose weight. "95% of a fat cell is fat, which is drawn out by other cells for energy," "Sometimes the cell dies, but empty ones usually stick around for future fuel storage." That's good news: Without those empty "tanks", other fat cells can fill up and secrete toxic proteins that can lead to disease.

Q. Are fatty foods more likely to make me fat? In theory, if you are burning more calories than you consume, you can eat a diet full of fat and not store an ounce of it, says Judith S. Stern, ScD., professor of nutrition and internal medicine at the University of California at Davis. In reality, fat packs a calorie wallop of 9 calories per gram. Versus 4 calories for Carbs and protein, so eating too much fat can make it harder to maintain your weight. And focus on unsaturated fats such as those found in Avocado and olive oil. Saturated fats (in meat and dairy) can raise cholesterol levels. "All excess calories will be converted to fat," Stern says.

Q.   What is cellulite? Cellulite is ordinary fat 1. trapped between connective tissue 2. Tent pole-like fibers that help support the body's other tissues and organs, says dermatologist Jerome Z. Litt, M.D. of Beachwood, Ohio. Women whose connective tissue is less elastic tend to develop cellulite when they gain weight as fat cells bulge against skin, causing bumps and ripples 3.

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Well, it's that time of year again ~ when we have to think of the holidays, gift purchasing and giving, parties, family gatherings and extra weight gain. Some of us just give in to the stress of the season and gain weight, and when the holidays are over, we start thinking about the weight we have to lose or the parts of our bodies that need toned before the warm weather hits. We look for new trends, new diets, and new activities that we hope will motivate us to get in shape. And, of course, we have also developed eating habits that make it hard to think of changing.

Even though I know where my calories should be, I have a hard time keeping them consistent. I made a very interesting observation while we were gone to Greece. We were gone for two and half weeks. Our diets were very consistent. We ate 3-5 times per day, consisting of a salad, one serving of meat, lots of olive oil (probably about ½ a cup a day), a lot of bottled water, and tons of feta cheese. I was very surprised (even though I shouldn't have been) that I did not gain any weight. In fact, I lost some. I know that when I get consistent calories for a consistent period of time my body looks good and feels good. I wish that I could convince women of this who come to us for a program. They come two maybe three times per week and think that is all they have to do to lose weight. (Weight that they have been putting on for the last 5-10 years. ) It takes more commitment than that. It takes getting enough sleep, eating the right foods and the right amounts, and enough exercise to pick up their metabolism.

I have a different philosophy at this time of year. I try to get into a doable routine that I know I can do through the holidays so that I don't feel the panic of the holidays and the weight gain to come. I also look at the challenge of having 5-6 good months to obtain my goals. We know that American Academy of Sports Medicine says we should do 30 minutes of exercise per day. Why? Because we need that just to maintain some sort of fitness to our system. That means getting your heart rate up to where talking or saying the ABC's is not comfortable. You can achieve it, but not comfortably. Then knowing where our calorie intake should be and getting into a routine of consistently giving our bodies the calories we need to maintain health. If our caloric intake resembles more of a roller coaster than a flat road, we can expect to have a very difficult time of losing body fat. I have been in the health and fitness field for 15 years, and I can tell you that most people that I assess have a roller coaster eating plan. Not eating during the week because they don't have time and then snacking and/or gorging on food at night. Weekends consist of over indulging and eating out, along with alcohol, and then feeling like crap on Monday morning and guilty about the weekend so they decide to starve themselves. Yet, because of over indulging, they are hungry. So the vicious cycle continues ~ over indulge in snacking, then if they are smart at all deciding that they need to get healthy, they eat good one day and this empowers them to over indulge again. Does this sound familiar?

As I have said before, we only get one body. When we are young and invincible, we don't worry about it, but about 40 we start seeing the destruction we have done. When we don't age gracefully, we either go to spending a fortune on cosmetic surgery to reverse the damage or give in and say what's the use. I know I am painting a pretty grim picture, but there is hope for those who want to get their butts in gear and start changing their habits to healthy ones. Specialists say it takes 30 days to develop a habit. I say if I can keep people exercising 8 weeks, I have made a change, and in 6 months, a confirmed change, and 1 year, a permanent change. Anything over a year is a lifestyle change. Of course, that is taking into consideration that they have no unforeseen life changes such as job loss, death in family, or divorce.

It really is very simple. Eat 3 meals per day consisting of a protein, fibrous carbohydrate, clean fat, two snacks packed with fiber, and nutrient dense carbohydrate, lots of pure filtered water, stay away from sugar, saturated fat, red meat, and processed food, get 30 minutes of exercise per day, two days of 20 minutes of strenuous exercise, at least 8 hours of sleep, learn to breath and stretch as part of your daily habits and smile. I guarantee that you will feel better in 2 weeks, sleep better in 4 weeks, and look better in 8-12 weeks. The problem is developing a habit of this kind of lifestyle. I tell clients: 5 days a week follow it to a Tee and then 1-2 days have what you crave in moderation. In my experience it takes people about 12 weeks to really get this down. When they do, well that's my reward. That is what keeps the passion in my profession. Have a great holiday season, and let me know if I can help in any of these areas. God Bless.

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Being that I turned 50 this year I have realized that there are things that don't look like they looked when I wore them at 40. I except the fact that my body is aging and, like I told my husband, as long as I am healthy and getting the exercise I need to keep my body strong and flexible I can except the fact that short shorts or halter tops are not appropriate on my body.

I know some of you are saying; "not me I can't except the fact that I am not 18% body fat anymore or that I am not a size 6 anymore". I say more power to you if you have the energy to continue beating up your body to stay as "30 looking as you can", but can I suggest to you right now it will be an uphill battle and from what I see by the time you are 50 or 60 you will look like you have had nothing but a battle squeezing into those size 6 when you are really a 10. The aging process is much tougher on these people and they look much older than they are.

What I have really found is that when I quit stressing about having that hard tight body, I started losing weight and feeling and looking better. We live in a society of stress and lack of activity, so we go to the gym and kill ourselves for 45 minutes or an hour and then go home and sit, eat and stress about tomorrow. Tomorrow has enough problems of its own than to sit and worry about tomorrow, next week or next year. We all have heard that stress causes weight gain and abdominal fat, and killing yourselves to make it go away only causes it to increase.

WE NEED TO LEARN TO RELAX!! You say "How?" by finding out what it is and after discovering what it is then we can let it go. This can be done through prayer. I have noticed an incredible increase of disease in our society; we have an epidemic of cancer. I believe a cause could be people holding in bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, too much stress and trying to live up to someone else's standards. Today we do need to exercise and learn to listen to our bodies and they will tell us what they need.

If you are doing the same thing over and over and getting the same results or not getting any results at all, let me suggest something to you; STOP, step back, and look at your life, how you live it, are you burning the candle at both ends? Lets get rid of the unhealthy things learn to say NO! And let me or your trainer sit down and discuss some new goals, some ways of slowing down, how to breathe and listen to your body. Where you are at in your life cycle, where your heart rate needs to be, what is deep breathing, relaxing and having an exercise program that will benefit your body, maybe slow down and give it a rest.

I feel better than I have felt in years and stronger and more in tune with my body and mind, I want each of you to feel the same. Let's teach our bodies this summer how to do it right so that when the season changes we aren't trying to jump back in and get ready for our winter activities but be prepared before it comes. I have been in this industry for 22 years and have gone through all the fads, diets and new ways of exercising. I tell you this to let you know I have been around the block a few times and want to keep you from making some of the same mistakes I have made in my journey to fitness and health. I would love to sit down and see where we can be more efficient at taking care of your fitness goals. Any questions you can email me at bodybasics1236@ msn.com or call me at 429-1236 and ask for Miki.

I realize that when I cannot connect with each of our clients at Body Basics Inc. that I need to be available to you in other ways.

Thank you; And have a productive summer,

Miki

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