Diabetes, Needles, and Heart Attacks

First off, apologies for the lateness of this blog.  I write this currently with a dislocated Rib, put back in place, and I sit in pain.  But, I WILL OVERCOME!!  Anyways, as many of you have read on the first blog, my “why” has been stated and gives a deep reason for me to refer to if I even THINK of trying to quit.  But on the last blog I left off speaking about my life growing up and going back as far as 30 years.  If you understood this part of my life, maybe it will paint the bigger picture.  Read on fellow Fitness Warrior!

I WAS A FAT KID

I grew up in a household that saw heart attacks, Diabetes, Insulin shots every morning, decaying health, and a lifestyle not conducive to longevity.  It was this Island culture of laid back-ness, island lifestyle and diet, and family environment that created the mindset that my inevitable path was to inherit bad health due to the genes and the cards that I was dealt with.  Because of this, it has pushed me towards seeking a health profession degree in college so that I can make a difference.   But, time catches up on people.  I didn’t make an impact to those I love and because of that I lost both my father’s parents, my father had his first heart attack at age 49, an Angioplasty, and then finally a stroke that left the right side of his body paralyzed.  You would think that studying Physical Therapy in College, seeing the medical financial burden placed on my family, and the deaths and decaying health of family members would be enough to prompt me to get my act together.  After all, I was a fat kid growing up, and Cardiovascular Heart Disease runs in my family.

PISSED OFF, COMMITMENT, EXECUTION, and my BIG “WHY”!

So we are back to Orlando.  During the last presentor mentioned, I decided to walk out and call my wife.  I was mad!  I was pissed off.  I thought of my Baby, my Wife, my family, my business, clients, those that look to me for fitness education, thought of those famous words by Zach Even-Esh “LEAD FROM THE FRONT!!!”.

Talking to my wife, I said “Babe when I come home, we are taking a garbage bag through our refridgerator, cupboards, and making some serious drastic changes.  Now mind you we weren’t “that bad”.  But with my family history, mediocre is deadly.  I was sobbing on the phone as I told Amanda “I’ll be damned if Abrielle has to go through what I went through and see family members suffer.  That is NOT the world she needs to see or be exposed to!”  The thought of Abrielle not having a chance to know her grandfather (my Dad), watch the insulin shots, maybe even possibly experience her OWN Father go through a Heart Attack.  Nope, the time is NOW!  Your turn to get pissed off!

The Solution

An awesome strength coach said this “Everything Works, Nothing Works Forever”.  Keep that in mind because this (my protocol) worked for me and so don’t go berserk and start following a plan without some thought into it and then when your results don’t happen start looking for something or someone to blame.  Because you can always starve yourself, not eat, lose water weight, try another fad diet, blah blah blah.  Hey get some advice, guidance, or at least consult with me.   So let me get to the point.  Here’s my exact plan that I started Oct. 24th and by Nov. 19th I was down 25 lbs.

-  Mag Pulse Fast

THe link above leads directly to the site and some great info.  BUt let me sum it up directly from their site.

The MAG-10 Pulse Fast

“It’s really exciting… we’re seeing potent thermogenic effects combined with enhanced anabolic activity in muscle — all from a single strategy.

Fasting over a 36-hour period, while pulsing with doses of MAG-10, enhances insulin sensitivity in both muscle and fat cells. Due to the fasting state, the loaded MAG-10 formula hits the bloodstream super fast and sends what amounts to an anabolic shockwave right into the muscle. At the same time, fat cells are signaled to release their contents for fuel.

As the body responds to this pulse-fast strategy, muscle cells become increasingly sensitive to the anabolic formula of MAG-10, fat cells shrink, and the systemic urge to eat is reduced.

In essence, we’re reprogramming the body to function as an easy gainer — the physique begins to automatically morph into that muscular-lean look of a bodybuilder.”

So I pulsed two times a week with a three day separation time between the pulse.  I ONLY pulsed for 2 weeks straight then dropped to my last pulse on the third week.

Besides the Day of the Pulse itself I then went to a……….

-  THE VELOCITY DIET

Straight from the link above:

“Those who haven’t read much about the Velocity Diet often assume it’s just a “crazy starvation diet.” It’s a commonly held misconception. The truth is, the V-Diet:

• Provides five feedings per day. You’re eating a few hundred calories every three hours or so. That’s hardly “starving.”
• Provides more calories than most popular and widely accepted clinical diet plans, not to mention the canned-drink plans advertised on TV.
• Provides more than a gram of protein per pound of lean-body weight.
• Provides more healthy fats, especially omega-3s, than the average non-dieter consumes.
• Provides substantially more fiber per day than the average non-dieter consumes.”

This diet followed on the days I DIDN”T PULSE FAST.  So, I had this on the off days.  I exercised, modified some things, but for the most part followed the theory/template.

Lastly, I read the book from Robb Wolf called “The Paleo Solution” and that was my transition diet OFF the Pulse and Velocity.  I also bought Loren Cogdain’s books regarding Paleo Diet Nutrition.  Granted I ate like CRAP on the main holidays (i.e. Thanksgiving and Xmas, New Years, sometimes a day or after).  But, as you will read there is a huge carry over effect from these Pulses.

WHERE AM I NOW?

Today, from my Original weight of 206 I am 176 lbs.  I held off the supposed “weight gain” that occurs from losing weight fast.  Bah!  Some people scoffed when I told them I gained 10lbs in three days during Thanksgiving and lost ALL 10 lbs that I gained that following Monday!  One day later!!  So what’s in the FUTURE?

Well, I am looking at Intermittent Fasting, reading up some more on some other protocols, fine tuning the process, and then focusing on dropping into the 160s and stepping in the ring to fight.  I have also helped some others get started in the the program I have combined.  I did not create this mind you.  I read, researched and combined some great combos.  I modified a little here and there.  I got help from my business partner Rommel Acda.  As for those I have helped?  So far, one of my ladies has lost 10 pounds in less than 3 weeks (She DID NOT DO THE FAST, OR VELOCITY..Paleo Nutrition only yes!).  Another has gotten rid of that stubborn post-baby pooch and is fitting into clothes she hasn’t been in (PALEO only)!  One other JUST started the Mag pulse and velocity and lost 6lbs in ONE WEEK!  Two others are starting in February.  There’s about 3 others I can think of with awesome results.  SO far…hmm…that’s 100% success rate on all that has followed what I have helped laid out for them.  They are also attending Element 5 Fitness Bootcamps and getting their exercises done.

Here’s the deal guys….You can read this, run with it, succeed or fail.  Either way, the key to it all is having a very deep rooted base reason for wanting to do this.  BEcause when you are faced with temptations, and rough times as you go through this journey….you NEED to refer back to that reason.  I had my baby girl and my wife to look at EVERYDAY.  I imagined dying and not being around for them.  It hurt that bad.  If you cannot find that reason, don’t even bother.  The deeper the reason, the greater the results, the better execution, the stronger accountability.  Your lame ass shallow reason will produce lame ass results. Or not.

If you want help, feel free to email me…BUT leave a comment stating your reason FIRST or if it is too private then state that you already have one and then we can chat after you email me.  You must leave a comment!  After you do that, I will have known you read my blog, then email me at belton@element5fitness.com.

Everything works, but Nothing works forever…

Peace

Belton

I ran across this article the other day and thought it shared some great ideas on how to keep your fitness mind-set strong. I know most of us can relate to having a difficult day but when you’re working on something as important as your health then it is crucial to your results to have the right mind-set. -Kelly

By: L R Goodman

Keeping with a fitness program can be very hard, especially if you don’t start seeing the results you want right away. Many people quite within a month of beginning their fitness programs and have to psych themselves back into a fitness mindset before they will begin again.
If you are one of those people, know that there is hope that even you will be able to break free from the start/stop syndrome of your routine.

don’t give up!

Tip #1: Determine to Press Ahead

Admit it. You want to quit because you feel like you are wasting your time and you would rather be doing…. (fill in the blank). Whether it is eating a big bowl of ice cream, sitting in front of the TV all day, or just a fitness failure feeling, something besides dieting and workout sessions has caught your attention.
So STOP. Think about what you REALLY want. Fitness is not easy, but you chose to start down that path for a reason. Was it to lose weight? Was it to regain your health? Was it to build your core so that you could be stronger? What was it?
Once you have remembered your goal, write it down. Go… do it NOW. This hub will still be here when you get back. Write it as many times as you need to so that you remember that goal. Stick it on your fridge, write it on your mirror, put a post it on your TV and do whatever it takes to get yourself back into the fitness mindset.
Pushing through the difficult moments when you don’t see what you want right away will put your body into gear and you will be grateful when you do start seeing results. Determination is a strong quality, and don’t you want to prove to the world that you have it?

Tip #2: Get a Second Job

No, no, don’t start looking through the employment ads. Put that newspaper down and pay attention.
View your fitness program as your second job. Make sure you show up to your shift on time, do your required work and the benefits will follow.
Do you enjoy your job all the time? You may like is most of the time, but ALL the time? When you are not enjoying your job, you can’t just decide to avoid it until you feel like working again. You have to work and stick it out and eventually things will be smoother again.
The same goes for fitness. You are not going to enjoy working out all the time, but you need to press on and you may even end up loving your second job!

bored yet?

take a breath

Tip #5 Slow Down

If you are experiencing pain or find yourself exhausted, slow down your workout sessions instead of quitting all together. A common problem with fitness programs is that people jump into them fully instead of slowly getting into it. Doing this could wear you out quickly and cause you to give up.
As you workout, your body will get stronger and you will be able to increase your workout sessions to allow you to build more endurance and stamina. Taking things slow in the beginning may just help prevent injury.

It’s mid-week and your energy and enthusiasm to get a workout in is starting to fade. You’ve done well the past two days, but you might have gone too hard and your mind and body are simply telling you to back off a bit.

So what do you do?

Well, you just need that extra motivation and inspiring workout to get you excited again. And, have we got the perfect workout for you. Just follow the advice of our friend from “Beefy’s Gym”, especially when he explains, “That was the pre-warmup, to get you ready for the warm-up, to get you ready for the pre-workout, followed by the workout, which precedes the post-workout, then we’re going into a 60-minute warm-down…”

Ok, better yet, I’ll just let you watch the video and you can follow from there, enjoy

Valerie Bertinelli was on the Today Show this morning and talked about how she lost 40 pounds and looks and feels sexier than ever at age 48.  She’s the face of the new Jenny Craig campaigns, which took her goals to a whole new level of responsibility and accountability.  It allowed her to stay true and hold strong for her fitness goal in front of a national audience by not only losing the weight, but to prove to herself and to us that she can keep it off.

I can’t stress this enough when it comes to weight loss.  Social support and accountability is a huge component to get you to your goals.  It’s often overlooked or downplayed, because too many people are afraid of putting themselves out there.  Who cares what people are going to think.  They can’t make you feel inferior without your consent anyways so forget about the naysayer’s.  

Valerie didn’t care about what people would have thought, and by putting herself out there she was able to help many women believe in themselves to go for it too.  Especially in their late forties where most women think it’s nearly impossible.  It’s never, ever too late.

So how did Valerie do it?

Believe it or not, she lost majority of her weight without hiring a personal trainer and by doing five days of moderate walking, and sticking to the Jenny Craig nutrition plan.  The Jenny Craig system focuses on a fixed diet plan, and a reduced calorie diet using a 60/20/20 ratio (60% – carbs; 20% – fat; 20% – protein).  Most people would have a hard time losing weight with this plan, but it worked very well for Valerie.

As for her exercise, I would have incorporated at least two days of strength training, because it further stimulates your metabolism by building fat burning muscle.  However, I believe her routine worked well for her simply because she BELIEVED it would.

You see, most people overlook what’s going on in their heads and are usually somewhat skeptical of trying out a new fitness program.  Losing weight is not rocket science, but the problem is that most people have poor follow through, get frustrated, try a different routine (but still have doubts), get frustrated again, and then it becomes this vicious cycle over and over.

The result is being obsessive about exercise, but see absolutely no results.  If this is you, I encourage you to take a step back.  Choose a workout routine and nutrition plan that will complement your schedule.  Then implement it with a passion and believe that it will give you the results you desire.  

If you can do this I guarantee you’ll enjoy your journey.

Ok – Comment time.

Did you enjoy this post?  Have you tried Jenny Craig, and if so how was your experience?

Please share in the comments section below.

- Rommel

PS, Take a look at my simple home/office workout routine ==> Click Here.