by IcennaEmach | Apr 11, 2012 | Uncategorized
Everyone is asking me. “How’s that year long weight loss program going with such and such. Is he losing weight? How much?” Since I don’t offer specifics about particular clients, my comments appear vague leaving the impression they may not be doing so well! This is frustrating of course because I want people to know how the healthy living weight loss program is actually working.
What I can do is offer you a compiled tracking thus far of the 10 clients who are enrolled in the year long weight loss program.
Different Weight Loss Mindset
Before I go into the specifics, take note that the people enrolled began the program with a mindset different than the average dieter. My clients had no interest in being coached to lose 20 lbs in 20 days, or even 30 days! They already recognognized that drastic meausures do not work in the long run. (Sure they work for periods of time, but people gain weight back when they go back to their old habits –of which they almost always do!)
Lastly, my clients were savvy. They understood that health coaching was not about me telling them what to eat and how much. They realized the importance of using their own brain power in change. All in all, the people I was attracting were the doers and thinkers; the ones wary of single sided approaches to weight loss. I wanted those people who desired a life change that encompassed all facets of being a healthy individual, and not just those who wanted to lose weight!
I recruited the people who wanted more! More guidance on how to weight train effectively for increased metabolism and lean body structure – more guidance on increasing flexibility for better enjoyment of daily living tasks, more guidance on better food choices and information on nutrition- more guidance on the nuances of weight loss – I wanted those people who realized the importance of details such as how to have a good time at a party, enjoy eating, but be in control without feeling horrible the next day and punishing themselves by walking 10 miles. This is old thinking. I wanted fresh thinking clients; those whom I did not have to convince that my approach is the most comprehensive and effective means for lifelong weight loss and health benefits.
I am happy to say, I got what I was asking for! The information below is a compilation thus far of my client’s progress, but only in the weight department. There were other goals such as exercise hours per week which were often broken up into strength training, cardio and flexibility as well as daily living enjoyment goals and stress reduction goals etc., but these are not included for no other reason than it is too encompassing for a brief newsletter.
It’s important to have non weight reduction goals as losing weight is best done in the context of the each client’s current lifestyle. It’s important to note the goals of each individual in the first 3 month period as some clients wanted to lose more quickly and some a little more slowly. These goals, it should be noted were not my goals for them, but their goals for themselves. All clients were savvy enough to set realistic goals based on their current weight and motivation levels. What you cannot see are the weekly individualized nuanced goals that are so important in bringing healthy living into action. Without these weekly strategy and support sessions, it’s far too likely that the weight loss losers would be unsuccessful.
Client One
Three Month Goal – 20 lb loss.
Achieved – 21 lb loss in 3 months.
Client Two
Three month goal – 10 lb loss
Achieved – 12 lb loss in 3 months.
Client Three
Three month goal – 16 lb down
Achieved – 15 lbs in three months
Client Four
Three Month Goal – 6 lb loss
Achieved – 5 lb loss after 8 weeks. This client and following clients started later so they are still in process of achieving 3 month goals.
Client Five
Three Month Goal – 9 pound loss.
Achieved – 6 lb loss after 6 weeks.
Client Six
Three Month Goal – 10 lb loss
Achieved – 4 lbs after 5 weeks.
Client Seven
Three Month Goal – 18 lb. loss
Achieved – 9 lb loss after 6 weeks.
Client Eight
Three Month Goal – 10 lb loss
Achieved – 3 lb loss after 6 weeks.
Client Nine
Three Month Goal – 14 lb loss
Achieved – 8 lbs loss after 6 weeks.
Client Ten
Three Month Weight Goal – 15 lb loss.
Achieved – 9 lb loss after 8 weeks.
If you are thinking the above accomplishments are minimal – then I challenge you to reconsider. Most dieters are on schedule to accomplish reasonable weight loss goals in addition to other healthy living goals.
Too often we are looking for the Biggest Loser style weight losses. The sooner dieters get out of the Biggest Loser mentality especially in the area of exercise intensity then the more likely success becomes. Rarely does the biggest loser style weight loss system work for the average dieter. It’s too drastic and difficult to implement and maintain even for a short period of time.
Where does the insanity of year after year, month after month, week after week, and day after day of feeling badly about our eating behaviors and exercise habits cease? For many people it’s been an ongoing lifelong battle; never feeling completely happy about their way of life, and always making haphazard attempts at becoming more thin and fit. This cycle gets wearing on the mind, body, and soul.
What occurs with people being coached is that they are able to make sense of how to be smart about dieting, exercising, sleeping, health issues, stress reduction, goal planning, meal planning, eating out, high risk eating/drinking situations, and countless other situations. It’s all part of living a healthy life. The goal is to practice now so it becomes automatic. This doesn’t happen overnight, but it does happen. It happens gradually-with patience- with connections – with grace – with confidence – with knowledge- and with the right partnerships. When all is said and done these yearlong clients will get better with age!
Ask yourself, “Am I better today weight wise and health wise than I was last year at this same time?”
We may all be aging, but it doesn’t have to be faster than it should be.
A note to clients who are readers – No pressure! Ha ha. Hope you don’t mind the article!
by IcennaEmach | Mar 8, 2012 | Uncategorized
This is a video I like. The reason I like it is not so much because of the information regarding how changing one thing about us can alter many areas of our health, but because of the manner in which it is presented. Typically, health writers, health presenters and those in the health field in general, relentlessly tell us what to do and what not to do.
The 10 minute video is refreshing because the presenter’s approach is non judgmental in narrative. The researched facts are outlined and disseminated in a “class act manner” that allows the viewer to determine what he is ready to do or not do with the material being presented. I like this.
It’s no secret among weight loss/health coaches that people change most effectively and long lastingly when they are fully supported non judgmentally by knowledgeable professionals that offer them smart structure for change rather than random actions they must institute to weigh less or be more healthy. Rarely do diets work in the long run. Sadly, too often people believe they can jump right in, skip all the important lifestyle steps and be on their way to a healthy lean new body. Ironically they continue to repeat this process throughout life. It’s a vicious cycle that eventually breaks down the spirit of the person.
Watch this video. Put no pressure on yourself but to listen. After the video, if you find that you are thinking about any kind of lifestyle change at all, from exercising more, to eating less, to trying to feel more energized in life then give me a call.
This is what I have been doing for over 11 years now. Get out of your mind the traditional personal trainer. Yes I do this. But more to the point is that I take people from where they are at health wise and weight wise, to where they need to be to excel. As a side note, if you think health coaching is for the weak willed and that personal training is for the strong willed, then I challenge you to contact my long list of high achievers who are walking the walk with me. The list includes both men and women, and varies in ages from 42 to 66. They include physicians, CEO’s, retired educators, vice presidents, retired marketers, business managers, magazine editors, and various other professionals that have figured out that the real work for change is done one on one with me as their health coach.
This is not a promotional for me by any means. But it is a promotional for you. I’m promoting you to ask yourself if you are ready to change yet. And if you are, then call me. If not, that’s ok; one must be ready and committed. If you are ready and committed then I am available to pay attention to the details of what you want your life to look like, and to have you fully reach your potential! 904 501 6002.
Click here for the 10 minute video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo&feature=player_embedded#
If video does not link, simply copy the entire link to a compose e mail by pasting it. Double click and watch.
by IcennaEmach | Feb 5, 2012 | Uncategorized
The letter below is from an email I received recently from a client who trains with me at the Serenata Beach Club.
I think you will find it interesting.
Hi Kim,
Daughter Barbara from NM was visiting and left yesterday. She asked me to ask you this question.
Barbara goes to Jazzercise classes. Her young instructor makes statements like if you are going to eat a double cheeseburger best to do it at noontime so you can burn off the calories during Jazzercise. Barbara thinks it does not matter when you eat the excess calories. Is theJazzercise kid correct?
Hi Bob,
I’ll start with other research that may be of interest to you and Barbara.
The research I am familiar with in regards to exercising after a high fat meal is that, exercise aids significantly in returning your arteries back to normal. In other words, after a high fat meal those that exercise can reverse the ill affects of clogging up the arteries as in atherosclerosis. I’d hesitate to exercise vigorously after a high fat meal however as the body can be put in a stressful situation trying to do many things at once.
Example: using blood to digest the high fat food in the digestive organs while trying to get enough blood to the working muscles of the legs during an exercise program. We can get away with eating and exercising immediately when younger, but not a good idea when we are older. As a reference point, I am almost in the latter group! Ha ha! The research suggest 30 minutes of easy walking to be enough to return arteries to normal. I would not engage in more vigorous exercise such as jazzercise shortly after a high fat meal such as the burger mentioned.
More to Barbara’s point. It used to be thought that a calorie is a calorie and if there is a calorie deficit we will lose weight. Now it’s known that blood sugar stabilization is an added benefit to losing weight more efficiently and above and beyond calories. However, most people will lose weight when they have a calorie deficit totaling 3500 calories. They can also lose weight by expending 3500 calories in vigorous activity. I always suggest doing a combination unless someone is severely overweight. There are some people who have a metabolism that has been abused through various dieting techniques, and consequently it may take a while to get the body back in balance, and losing the necessary weight.
In fact I am seeing this more and more and it interests me greatly. Best plan of attack to lose weight is to spread out your calories throughout the day so that you may reap the advantage that a stabilized blood sugar gives you in weigh loss. Case in point. With all being equal with two people including activity, weight, height gender,calorie deficit and etc, the one who stabilizes the blood sugar through three meals and perhaps a snack or two will tend to lose more weight.
by IcennaEmach | Jan 25, 2012 | Uncategorized
A while back, I started a project called Movement is Life, which is still running and provides many of my clients with weekly progressive online cardiovascular exercises designed for healthy living and weight loss. As I look back into why it has taken off, I realize that movement is the impetus for creating a rational mindset that is open to sensible weight loss expectations. Because of that, I am ready to offer an extension of the Movement is Life program that may be helpful to you called Movement is Life-Changing the DNA of the Traditional Dieter.
This Isn’t a Lose Weight Quick Scheme
There are dieting marketers aplenty who will tell you that you can lose 21 lbs in three weeks with their time tested formulas. I’m sure some of those gimmicks work rather well, and I am not saying that some folks aren’t making that kind of success, but that’s not what I am selling. With Movement is Life-Changing the DNA of the Traditional Dieter, you and I are going to look over several things, from what affects a woman’s resting metabolic rate/what affects a man’s resting metabolic rate, to elements of a successful over age 50 weight loss plan, increasing your human growth hormone naturally, why baby boomers gain weight, weight gain and menopause, to why we overeat and how to begin the process of change. None of what I offer will fall into the camp of “lose weight quickly,” and so, if that’s the goal, you might look elsewhere.
We Will Talk About Motivation As Well as Actions
Wishful thinking is okay. Turning it into a vision is central. Wanting to lose weight via exercise and better eating habits is a must. If you are a person that wants to stop the process of aging prematurely because of poor exercising and eating habits, then this program is for you.
Don’t Quit Your Current Exercise or Eating Plan Just Yet
We’ll cover different topics every week, and along the way, you’ll find some things that resonate with you and others that won’t. Additionally, every single week for 10 weeks you will receive a cardiovascular plan designed specifically for you that is not a cookie cutter plan. Don’t jump into this whole hog and think that you will be changing everything all at once. Instead, let’s figure out what works well for you, how you intend to make some changes that are not drastic and keep you feeling motivated about being headed to a better way of life. Let’s see if we can find what makes you healthy, happy, and lose weight. I’m not selling desperate attempts at weight loss. BodySmartWay is selling sensibility.
If This Sounds Interesting
If you are interested in learning more, give me a call at 904 501 6002, or just sign up here on my blog at www.bodysmartinc.com and go to Movement is Life. The weekly online coaching plan, Changing the DNA of the Traditional Dieter, although not indicated on my blog here will be included free if you sign up with the Movement is Life plan by Februuary 29,2012
And if not, a new potentially useful post is coming out soon.
Our Wealth is in Our Health,
Kim Miller
BodySmartWay
by IcennaEmach | Jan 2, 2012 | Uncategorized
Integrated thoughts from the American Council on Exercise and myself.
NationalProjections
1. Obesity Awareness
Losing weight will continue to be the primary reason consumers seek personal training support as the public responds to the expanded messaging concerning the dangers of physical inactivity and obesity. The recently released Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index report that showed a modest improvement in the nation’s obesity rates for the first time in more than three years is a very encouraging sign. However, the fact remains that three out of five Americans are still overweight or obese requiring more work to be done.
2. Whole-life Training
Lifestyle coaching will become a bigger trend, with more personal trainers expanding their education and training to enable them to holistically improve their clients’ lifestyles. Additionally, fitness facilities will hire nutritionists and other allied healthcare professionals,such as physical therapists and psychologists, to serve the expanding needs o ftheir health-conscious members by offering wellness, nutrition and stress-management programs.
3. Behavior Modification
While great strides have been made in health education,too many still believe the best way to lose weight is by following a restrictive or current fad diet. The recently introduced ACE Integrated Fitness Training® (ACEIFT®) Model incorporates tools personal trainers can use to help identify appropriate strategies for working with each client to enhance goal setting, motivation, adherence and rapport. Educational campaigns and programs such as the ACE IFT Model, “PersonalTraining, Reinvented™”, and the ACE Lifestyle & Weight Management Coach certification will prepare fitness professionals to help clients better understand that there are no shortcuts to lasting results.
My Thoughts
1. Obesity Awareness
The primary reason clients retain the services of personal trainers and health coaches are often more layered than simply losing weight. Although most people begin training/coaching because they want to lose weight and look better, their motivation for continuing is reinforced when they see that exercise offers much more than just weight loss.
They realize exercise makes them feel better, gives them more energy, and makes them feel more alive. Often they site evidence of the power of weight training and cardiovascular training when after years of being in pain they recognize their knees feel better, their back feels better, and their muscular strength and endurance is enhanced resulting in more daily energy. Often their doctors tell them they no longer have osteopenia,high blood pressure, pre – diabetes and other lifestyle diseases.
One client who recently engaged my services asked if I could help him lose weight so he could pass a life insurance policy’s wellness test. He was only 48 years old, but 27 pounds overweight. With slightly high blood pressure, and increased total cholesterol of 227 he was rightful concerned .With only three months of progressive training, logging an average of 10 miles a week on the elliptical trainer, weight training 30 minutes twice a week, and making two dietary changes, he passed his insurance policy’s health test.
His 3 month BP was 110 systolic and 77 diastolic! Well within a healthy blood pressure range. His total cholesterol went from 227to 178 and his weight, which was the main reason he foresaw as hindering his ability to get life insurance went from 192 to 175 in the 3 months. Still training today, and motivated by the added benefits that exercise brings, he cites he will never go back to his previous lifestyle habits. I’d add, it is this type of awareness and intuitiveness that ultimately keeps weight off for a lifetime!
Losing weight is the most often stated reason for beginning an exercise plan, however my experience is that clients continue to train because of the multitude of benefits that exercise and being physically fit brings.
2. Whole Life Training
Lifestyle coaching will become a big trend. In my work at Serenata Beach Club in Ponte Vedra, there has been an increasing awareness of the necessity to change lifestyle habits. There is a positive trend in smarter thinking that says, “I am tired of all the dieting plans, and pseudo-health information snippets that simply don’t work!
These more savvy people understand the need to get rid of the gimmicks and start changing their habits. They are more than receptive, infact, they demand holistic coaching to help then break habits developed over a lifetime. These are the people who invariably do well as clients because they have made an attitude shift in thinking that it’s their own eating behaviors that need to be changed, rather than actual dieting plans.
Effective health coaches are not interested in coaching clients who are looking for a quick way to lose weight. It goes against the grain of the holistic approach.
With clients who have not arrived at this state of understanding, I usually suggest establishing an exercise routine. Exercise is often easier to adhere to than is modifying their diets. The thinking is that with exercise comes a clearer state of mind. Once an exercise routine is implemented and practiced, the wheels start turning in their own minds. Withina period of planned exercise progressions, I will often see a newfound initiative in clients to take further responsibility with other lifestyle changes, specifically eating behavior modifications. When this occurs, they become terrific coaching clients!
People who have been there, and done that, and are tired of playing the losing weight then gaining weight game are the self-motivated consumers. These consumers do well, lose weight, get leaner, get fit, look great, and enjoy their new lifestyle changes. No cookie cutter diet prescription can have you loving your new lifestyle and keep you from gaining the weight back like the holistic coach approach can.
The holistic coaching trend is exciting. As more trainers become certified coaches and practice their coaching profession, I am confident BMI’s will decline. We will become an increasingly more robust community, one that thrives on healthy living, developing habits that make a real difference in our own lives as well as in the lives of our loved ones who want to ensure weare around for a long time to come.
3. Behavior Modification
Ten years ago, the term behavior modification was rarely used to describe how one might approach losing weight and getting fit. We heard dieting advertisers use language such as, “it’s not your fault you can’tlose weight”, “take the mystery out of counting calories by using our prepackaged foods”, or “no need to exercise to lose weight.” Not anymore.Consumers got smart. Tired of feeling like pawns at the mercy of lose weight promoters, they now are realizing in great numbers that absolutely it is their responsibility to change their lives by changing their behaviors.
It may sound daunting to put the responsibility on one’s self,but the sooner this is realized the better and healthier our lives will be.This is not to suggest that we have no need for people to support us and coach us into a better lifestyle because that’s exactly what is needed. But the only one that can do the work in changing unhealthy behaviors is the individual himself. As a coach, I can help fill the gaps of information and provide a needed structure and outlet for people to plan and strategize what they need to be doing to change, but it’s clear that change only happens when the client himself is doing the necessary behavior modification work.
Health consumers are savvier than in years past. We are placing the responsibility of healthy living and weight loss on ourselves through thoughtful behavior modifications. This is a trend, I am happy to report, that is here to stay, and will continue to grow in this coming new year in our local communities!
My last coaching/training program sold out in 2 days.
If you didn’t get on board in time, I’ll be offering it again in June. I’ll take reservations for only 10 people, but payment confirmation will be necessary by March 1, 2012. Call 904 501 6002 to reserve for June 2012.
Wishing you a healthy and happy 2012!
