HIIT&Dairy and...ACNE?

Many know, I've talked about it (reluctantly) before. I have had bad acne since college. Like, can't smile because it hurts, feel like a monster, needles in the face type.  I had a great doc in college and about 12 years ago they suggested it was my iodine sensitivity and refined sugars...wasn't going to work longterm for me.  I needed more answers and when I found out I had celiac it got better, not 100%, but better. I also found out that dairy can cause it...but what was worse, and true for me, dairy and celiac plus lifestyle together made for the perfect storm.  But guess how I've been able to eat some dairy here and there and be ok for a few months now. And I contribute my change to the HIIT workouts of my StressLess FatLoss workouts plus... some nutrition limits:

I'm always searching for things to help me keep my protein in my shaker cup and cheese on my plate!

I began my own workouts to the StressLess FatLoss program back in March, and over this last year I've been telling everyone who asks that I haven't had a breakout let alone an injection in my face since...March. It JUST dawned on me. My health turned around all at the same time....and I haven't looked back. Until now.

I love proof, mostly scientific proof, not just anecdotal proof form bloggers...so I did some research. And it all ended up with insulin and mTOR.  (Muscle building and acne linked by this protein activated gene?)

Dairy and acne:
Many of us have heard and read that dairy causes acne, and that's not wrong, but as I said, I want to keep the dairy in my day and if I can at least find a limit for my gut to be ok, then I can also find a way to not get acne either.

"Acne should be regarded as an mTor-driven disease of civilization, like obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer induced by the western diet." - Pubmed.gov, Department of Dermatology, University of Osnabruuk, Germany

Casein is a protein in dairy (the other is whey) and many believe casein is the root of most people's problems with dairy. But I'm like a 2 year old so I asked why? Well, casein has been found to potentially cause inflammation in some people.  But it also stimulates insulin and mTOR is activated by insulin.  mTOR also activagtes sebum, keratin and inflammation.  This becomes a problem with its OVERACTIVATED. --Guess what else is caused by over-activated mTOR, PCOS and diabetes (Dr. Lara Briden (www.larabriden.com/insight-into-acne-dairy-sugar/) .
SO, it turns out insulin response to dairy, combined with inflammation response to dairy may be what causes the acne...therefore, you may actually be able to find your own limit of dairy intake if you really want to test it.

"Giving up all dairy can work but not for all. And it is really the type of casein (casein A)" - Dr. Lara Briden

Which is probably why I've seen success when cutting and limiting (it varies) dairy, not all animal milk is created equal, I eat goat cheese like it's going out of style, it has a different type of casein protein than typical American cow's milk (namely, holstein cows).   I think two shakes a week and I've been ok both in the gut and on the skin. 2 shakes have not over-activated my insulin or inflammation response too much yet to cause problems. But I'm always testing it.

...So now how can we workout without over-activating mTOR?

Workouts and acne:
Sweat does not help acne...sufferers know this! But we still need to workout right? Solution: we can choose the RIGHT workout for acne sufferers.

You've read about the HIIT workouts of StressLess FatLoss and how they help balance your hormones; female, hunger and stress. But there's more to HIIT than that, it's about the specific hormones that are activated while doing HIIT, and afterwards.  Fitness pros like HIIT because it activates mTOR (can activate muscle cell growth), it's quick and it builds muscle and burns fat nearly simultaneously.  Long duration workouts increase cortisol, we don't want that if we're trying to lose fat (or cut acne). But elevated cortisol also inhibits mTOR...hense why HIIT is loved so much, because it'll activate the mTOR after the workout is over.

But when it comes to acne don't we want mTOR inhibited? Yes, but we still need it.  HIIT makes mTOR activate later when the workout is over and for a shorter amount of time, unlike long bouts of cardio.  So we do a HIIT workout which keeps cortisol lower and helps grow muscles...and doesn't cause long term exposure to mTOR so acne can be kept at bay.

My conclusion:
Everything you do affects your body and your acne... and what I found in my weeks of research are good evidence..but dairy is the factor that is DIFFERENT for EVERYONE (and one thing we love to eat..but don't NEED to *stay tuned for the why blog on that one).
Hiit is so much more effective for fitness and health but it can also be effective in controlling your acne based on the hormone response.  Dairy can be an inflammatory agent  and affect hormones (insulin) as well, so you'll need to decided what your own limit on protein powder is and go from there. Both HIIT and Dairy consumption will affect your body and it's really a personal decision as to how much of each  you can tolerate!

#IIFWhyI'mNotdoingIt... for now (IIFYM)

It's been almost a year since I stopped logging all food...ALL food (except carbs for a week or so to make sure I was at a decent level for myself).

I had to take a break! I logged for so many years, learning about it in college when learning how to calculate nutrition, and then doing it for muscle building and fat loss over many different phases. A few competitions of calculating and weighing and stressing and playing Tetris with my food (which I actually really found fun most of the time, yes, I'm weird)...I was done.

I logged for a few weeks post-competition because I had accountability to my coach and I didn't want to blow up (...see below!)  but over 3 weeks I began to relax, and my mind wasn't there anymore. I had a 4 year old and a 10 month old, I was traveling for a few weeks, I had 2 holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas no less!) and I just needed to take time off of weighing food and myself. I could feel my body going nuts, my hormones were going out of whack.. I had night sweats, my hair was falling out and my skin was so dry...among other things. I was still nursing but that didn't have anything to do with it because I was fine the rest of the time. It was my cortisol and thyroid, I thought, turned out it was low by blood test, but really I had adrenal fatigue.   I've written about that before... many people who live high stress, busy lives with kids and jobs and friends and family and... (you get the point!) can have it. It's fairly common, and fixable.

I took my doc's advice and paired it with the knowledge I had from my education in nutrition and fitness and got to work. BAM! #StressLessFatLoss was born and 1 year later, I still haven't logged food and I'm in a better place mentally and so much better physically.
** The final picture below is after a 12 week round and then round 2 which incorporates heavy lifting days again..woo hoo!)

Counting macros was so helpful when I was "bulking" and putting on muscle, and it was great for "cutting" rapidly...but for me, a busy mom, I needed to do something different and just be happy with who I am, where my body is and my health.

If you're a regular person, and not a bodybuilder/competitor, then you get this. It's about health first, then looks, or at least it should be. If you work on health first, the fat loss comes SO much EASIER.

1 year of  not weighing a morsel
The best part: not sucking in in the last picture,
sucking in the middle one (see: face)

Went from this to THAT ---> in 2 months

StressLess Fat Loss is a style of fitness and health that I've used with many clients, those with goals that it is similar to. Most of my clients still log food (IIFYM) because it's a WONDERFUL tool to help you learn what to eat, how much and a good balance. Because, let's be honest, many people don't really know WHAT they eat on a weekly basis. But when something that is supposed to be helpful, isn't...there's your sign.

Check out the StressLess FatLoss Program I have online, it's a revolving door so you can start when you can and follow the video workouts in order, using the calendar and the nutrition advice e-book and video and our FB group.  It's all about balancing time, energy and hormones. So Protein and Veggies are the main focus for most of the program with the theory that you will learn to eat the right foods that are NUTRIENT DENSE and you'll fill up. Then over time, cravings for sugary/starchy things will subside and you can go back to eating Protein and veggies while mixing in fun foods on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. But i'm honest here, it takes TIME. Look at how long it took me, and I'm in nutrition and fitness for life. 

YOU CAN DO IT. I'D LOVE TO HELP.

www.stresslessfatloss.com

Balanced for Fat loss. Is the life possible? 5 ways to start.

Living a balanced lifestyle is a great place to be, but what does that even mean?
(keep scrolling for my list)

We have all heard that stress is one of the worst things for our bodies in terms of fat gain, heart problems, gut health and overall wellness.  Health-conscious people talk about living life in balance to help get your body in order and I completely agree with that sentiment. So does it work? How do you do it?

My New Years goal this year, 2016, was to be more "balanced"...I'm checking in on that now that we're well over half way through the year. I think I've definitely done a BETTER job at it but I'm certainly not going to claim I'm fully well-balanced!  My kids, husband and business are not well balanced, is anyone's??  If yours is, please, pass on the secret....I beg of you. I do have to say, I'm so much closer now than I was last year at this very time.
        I've been able to balance fitness and life for better success in my goals. *score!*

I believe living a "balanced lifestyle" is VERY important but I actually believe it is more about mentally feeling balanced than physical balance (aka food and fitness).


Balanced means something different for everyone. A balanced lifestyle is different for every person so you truly need to find your own balance. But here's my list of how I'm trying to live a more balanced life for fat-loss and lifestyle.
* I'm not a psychologist so if you're looking for mental stability/balance, I think you'll have to check in with one
... but I can tell you how you can start the process physically....  :)

1) Wake up and drink water...it will refresh you, start your day off with something good in your body and keep you on track to staying hydrated.

2)  Don't spend hours working out. You don't need to.

• Workout should be on your calendar, just like an appointment, even a 15 minute one.

 3)  Get out of the gym!

• Walk, if you have time to facebook, snapchat or watch a 30 minute tv show, you have time to walk. You can even Facebook or snapchat while walking...just walk in the morning and/or at night for 20 minutes or more. It will help you think about your day, think about your next day and lower your cortisol...which will help you lower your midsection fat stores.

 Spend time with the family, spend time with yourself, that is part of living balanced. 

4) Eat well 90% of your meals for the day. Protein and Veggies should be at every meal...then stop thinking about your food.

5) Ultimately:   Don't think about the other things you need to do while doing the current thing you are doing.

•  It will cause stress for you to think about work when you can't be working. Don't think about kids' laundry while getting in a 20 minute workout.  Don't think about cooking dinner while eating lunch...  *This is a hard one but just try!

Balance comes from what YOU feel works for YOU. But you can't be balanced if you're stressing about being balanced. So de-stress yourself.

PS. keep an eye out in the next 2 months for the exact workout and nutrition plan I used from the start to get more balanced in my life...it works..it's working for others too! Their success is happening as we speak. #stresslessFatLoss

Is this real life? Your expectations and mine.

This is me. In real life. On a 14 day vacation. #notfilter I'm happy and loving life...and I don't care what you might think of my body or my lack of visible abs as a Fitness trainer. I don't care if other trainers want to see biceps,

or striations of muscle, or look down on me because I don't have those (and, sadly, many do). I want to live a healthy, balanced life eating pizza and salad or frozen yogurt with my girls....and that is what I do. That is what I tell my family, friends and clients to do.

Trainers are always talking about living healthy and balanced...but as they say this they're standing there shirtless with their abs on display as they tell you to "go live life in balance, eat in moderation and work hard" and YOU TOO CAN LOOK LIKE ME with a six-pack. Don't believe everything you read or see (though filters and good lighting). That trainer is lacking. They don't have the empathy needed to see your situation as different from theirs or that your physical wants may not be the same as theirs. They don't have the knowledge and understanding of the biological differences that each woman has to deal with at different stages in life or that genetics does play a role in physical appearance...or that some people just don't want to work that hard, and that's ok too!

Everyone is different...does this person have another career to balance? Friends that aren't as into fitness? Understand menopause or hormones?

- Kids? Have they every been though pregnancy and any or many of the complications both major and minor of pregnancy, birth and postpartum bodies or hormones?

- Do they have family members to take to lessons, practice or other mouths to feed?

- Is this trainer truthful with themselves in how they feel? Are they going to parties but feeling guilty or are they able to enjoy themselves?

- Do they get to go on last minute Thai food dates with their husbands just for fun without guilt?

I'm not talking about diminishing the ability of a trainer simply because they DO have abs, it's just important to see if they're really happy and truly balanced WHILE having abs (the holy grail! ).

ABs are not my life. Family, Fitness and Health are my life, feeling GREAT and feeling STRONG (both mentally and physically) are my goals.

I teach my clients about Flexible Dieting or tracking macros because it is a learning tool, it creates an understanding of nutrition and choices and how to actually make choices based on your own body and goals. It leads to more mindful living. And we can get pretty lean if we want or we can use it to learn to live a BALANCED life with lasagna at dinner or french toast at brunch and still lose body fat to be healthy. This is real life.

www.heartstrongfit.com/work-with-me

Fat GAIN, what foods to AVOID...the list.

....You seriously thought I'd fallen into THAT crowd? The "not-backed-by-science" one?

We get bombarded with lists day in and day out, it is one reason why I try and scroll in interwebs only a couple of times a day, I don't like seeing the ridiculous health headlines that I know are false or will only lead you down the wrong path.

The truth is, fat gain is about eating too much and not moving enough. Period. Done. 

They've done, and recently published Mayo Clinic study (referenced in this article here), that it's actually your daily movements that are the most effective lifestyle change you can make for fat loss. That, paired with nutrition, PROPER nutrition, will effectively lead you to your goals. This study determined that nutrition was, in fact, more important than exercise for most active people. 

If you're just starting out on your goals, start with nutrition, it will take a while to get the hang of it and create good habits, but once you start here, things will be easier and you'll feel better and more motivated. If you're trying to break through a plateau that you've been at for 4 weeks or 4 years, nutrition is definitely your next step... simply because there are times in life when you JUST CAN'T workout anymore minutes in the day so nutrition needs to be your next step.

SO, here's your list:

1. Avoid all foods that will trigger you to overeat that same food or others. I.e. sugary/fatty treats.
2.  Avoid foods that you KNOW you are allergic to or creates a negative response in your body/gut.
3. Avoid overeating ANY food...veggies, fruit included. You know, 3000 of broccoli is still 3000 calories.
4. Avoid overly sugary foods or drinks. Drinking calories is never a good idea!
5.  Avoid beating yourself up when you eat something tasty...just eat it, be happy and make a better choice next time.

Don't avoid any one thing if it makes you miserable to not eat it, and don't eat just one thing (greens? quinoa? anyone?) because some list out there said that it would help you lose fat. Eat what works for you and eat in a way that is sustainable for life. Doing that will make you happy and results will follow.

As a personal trainer, who loves food, I can tell you that the best results I have seen in ANY client has come from nutrition compliance...then the workouts changed their body.  Exercise is so important for health, as well as burning calories but you need to be eating to fuel your body first. Make it a lifestyle and the rest will fall into place once you start adding in your workouts

Micronutrients: Do I need them??

What is a "MICRO" and why should I eat them? 

This is the second part in my mini-series about IIFYM; aka Flexible Dieting; aka Counting Macros.  We learned that "macros" are protein, fat and carbohydrates and are the calorie containing components of all foods.  But most foods also have vitamins and minerals that we need to eat...the MICRONUTRIENTS. So if all food is made of protein, fat and/or carbs where do the vitamins, minerals and fiber come from that we see on the nutrition labels?  Well, the come from the same foods. These are considered "micronutrients" because they are only needed in small amounts...hence, "micros". These vitamins and minerals are important for growth, development and disease prevention.

They are necessary and you must ingest them, they are not made by your body. They are found more readily available in healthier, whole, nutrient dense foods (meat, veggies, fruit, oats) and not so much in processed, boxed, packaged foods. Though packaged food can be fortified with vitamins it is wiser to get more natural "clean foods" (for lack of a better term). Plus, the more whole and less processed the food is, the more you get to eat of it because they are typically less caloric!

When tracking macros for fat lass a person could easily hit their protein, fat and carbs by eating protein powder, cereal, donuts and pizza...this is actually possible. But this person's nutrition would be nearly void of all vitamins and minerals! Vitamin C, Calcium, Vitamin A, magnesium, iron...not enough of any of those in the foods this person is consuming, even though they are still hitting their macros. They will see fat-loss, yes, but they may hit a plateau sooner and they will certainly be hurting their overall health. Their immune system may take a hit. They may feel rundown. They will probably even have issues with bodily functions as well.  This is why BALANCE in food choices is important.

Now, you could get the same things from pill-form vitamins but you would need a lot of vitamins to get what you would need on a daily basis, plus, most people like eating food! I'm not against vitamins, I do take a good multi-vitamin myself, but only to fill in any holes I may have. I do not rely on my vitamin pill for my micro nutrients, so much so that if I don't take it I don't stress, I'll get it the next day.

So how do you track them if you decide to count macros (iifym) for fat-loss?  You find a good food tracking app and as you log you food you will see that, as long as they are entered off the label correctly, the vitamins are also being calculated. (Hint: when tracking veggies and fruit with no label I look up the USDA listing in myfitnesspal, it is usually spot on).
 

Remember, this way of eating and constructing your meals is not a new concept but one that is well proven by science.  It is a way to construct your daily intake of calories and nutrients that, as long as you stick to it, will give you the best results and body composition (muscle to fat ratio).  It is not "calorie counting" but rather "macro tracking."      

There are many great apps out there:

MyFitnessPal.com (free- but the paid version will let you track specific macros)

Macros by calorie count (android- free)

Macros+ (Iphone)

fatSecret.com

sparkpeople.com

 **If this sounds scary or confusing and leaves you wondering how to even begin, I can help you with that.  You won't weigh and track forever, it's a learning tool!

Macronutrients, IIFYM?? Fat loss

Is Flexible Dieting for YOU?

What is a "Macro" and why should I eat them?

 *scroll to the bottom for a cheat sheet!

A "macro" is a short term for Macro-nutrient.  Macro-nutrients are protein, fat and carbohydrates.  These three macro-nutrients make up the calorie content of all foods.  Any type of food will have a combo of protein, fat and/or carbs or it can be just one of these macros; oil, for example, is just fat. Peanut butter is fat, protein and carbs.  All three of these macros have a caloric value assigned to them and however many grams of each macro a food has determines the total calories in the food.  By reaching for macros during your day rather than just overall calories you will be eating for optimal fat-loss and body composition. All three are very important for overall health.  Note, ALL three, we do not cut out a nutrient (i.e. carbs- because vegetables and fruit are carbs, we need those!) for weight loss.

This way of eating and constructing your meals is not a new concept but one that is well proven by science.  It is a way to construct your daily intake of calories and nutrients that, as long as you stick to it, will give you the best results and body composition (muscle to fat ratio).  It is not "calorie counting" but rather "macro tracking."      

It is a way to eat the foods you like while still hitting the weight-loss or health goals you are shooting for.  As long as you get foods to fit into the numbers calculated for your specific body, activity and goals then you can eat it...if it fits into your calculated macros for the day, it's fine!  This is a wonderfully flexible way of eating that will make your life easier and make reaching your goals a sustainable lifestyle, because you get to eat what is enjoyable.  It is also important to reach for healthy foods but this lifestyle makes it so you get your treats every now and then and are less likely to "fall off the wagon" or binge.

How do I track them?

First you need to know what they are for you, this is done by getting them calculated for you at your current fitness state (I can do that for you!).  The best way to track is to measure what you eat, by cups, tablespoons or, ideally, grams on a kitchen food sale.  Make sure you get the right amount that you are eating then plug them into an app and start logging your food. You will eventually learn what are great choices that help you hit your daily goals.

There are many great apps out there:

MyFitnessPal.com (free- but the paid version will let you track specific macros)

Macros by calorie count (android- free)

Macros+ (Iphone)

fatSecret.com

sparkpeople.com

 **If this sounds scary or confusing and leaves you wondering how to even begin, I can help you with that.  Nutrition counseling is fast and easy and you'll get step by step help, by phone or email assistance along the way....my priority is simply to guide you to a healthier lifestyle.  You won't weigh and track forever, it's a learning tool!

So, macros are the building blocks of food, which is the building block of your body.  You eat them every single day without even thinking about it. You can choose which foods of each macro you want to eat and how to arrange them or which way of eating you prefer, I.e. vegetarian, vegan, paleo or simply "normal", it all contains macros!  If you eat them in the right proportions, right amounts of each for your fat-loss or body-reshaping journey then you will see much greater success.

Macro cheat sheet, what goes into what category?!

 

Fit mommy, fit baby!

Hi everyone! I hope Spring is going well and you're as happy as I am to be out of the cold and into the (already) sweltering heat! It makes me happy :)  Guess what?! I was a featured blogger on For Two Fitness! They sell some pretty cool workout clothes for pregnant moms but also provide great advice on staying healthy and working out. Check out my blog here!  Then stop in and check out the rest of their website.


On another note:
We just finished a "Spring into Summer" 6 week lifestyle challenge at the HeartStrong Fitness studio and the winners were announced!

All the final check ins done and the winner was announced in our private facebook group but I thought I'd let everyone know that Michelle Leaf was our grand prize winner of the Spring into Summer 6 week challenge! She has done amazing! Such a great inspiration!
*EVERYONE lost inches (and that's what we want...smaller and tighter!) 
*not everyone lost pounds but I always say it's not about the scale in the grand scheme of things  next time we'll change it up for the final results. But I am so proud of everyone who did this challenge and I hope you all keep up the workouts and healthy choices! Thank you!

This challenge gave me some grief a little bit. See, I always say that it's about the inches lost not what the scale says....but for this challenge sake, to make it fair, we had to do percent of total weight lost. This is an easier one that will be most fair across the board. I'm thinking I'll rearrange the way I do the next challenge because inches are certainly much more telling of body change than just the scale. I mean, I'm all about gaining muscle, and that's just what everyone did! yay!


Hope you have a happy and healthy weekend!