A Message To All Fathers

As you probably already know this Sunday, June 21st is Father’s Day, a time to celebrate the contributions and sacrifices made by our fathers.

I am very fortunate to have a healthy, and SUPERfit dad to celebrate this special day with (that's us below), however I have many friends and family member who are now as fortunate, as they have lost their fathers to heart attackes, strokes, and diseases of the like.





Look, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but someone has to say something already.

Our father’s are now in the worst shape of their lives, many suffering from a very dangerous and life threatening condition called Metabolic Syndrome X.



One of the main indicators of someone who has metabolic disorder is abdominal obesity, as clearly demonstrated in the picture above. The scary part is that many of our father’s look just like this man!

The main features of metabolic syndrome include insulin resistance, hypertension (high blood pressure), cholesterol abnormalities, and an increased risk for clotting. Patients are most often overweight or obese.

How is metabolic syndrome defined?

The definition of metabolic syndrome depends on who is doing the defining, but based on the guidelines from the 2001 National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel (ATP III), any three of the following traits in the same individual meet the criteria for the metabolic syndrome:

1. Abdominal obesity: a waist circumference over 102 cm (40 in) in men and over 88 cm (35 inches) in women.

2. Serum triglycerides 150 mg/dl or above.

3. HDL cholesterol 40mg/dl or lower in men and 50mg/dl or lower in women.

4. Blood pressure of 130/85 or more.

5. Fasting blood glucose of 110 mg/dl or above. (Some groups say 100mg/dl)

Although Metabolic Syndrome does affects= more women than men, there is certainly no shortage of men 40 years and older who have that “deadly beer gut” that literally makes them a ticking time bomb for a slew of serious medical conditions.




But there is good news amongst this frightening reality: The most common cause of metabolic disorder is of course a vicious combination of a lack of exercise and poor diet.

See below for the Top 4 Fitness Tips to help save our father’s lives:

1.) Lay off the Brewskis

It’s no wonder why our dads have more of a keg for a gut than a six-pack. See below for the best way I know of explaining how detrimental alcohol can be on your body composition:

How Alcohol Makes You Fat

-Alcohol first passes through the esophagus as it travels to your stomach.

-From there, 20% of the alcohol is absorbed immediately by your bloodstream.

-The remaining alcohol travels to your intestines and is absorbed from there.

-The alcohol in your bloodstream then travels directly to your liver. It is here that the body breaks the alcohol down, something that is absolutely essential since
alcohol is toxic to the body.

-Alcohol brakes down into acetate and acetaldehyde which IMMEDIATELY
signals to your body to stop burning fat. Even worse, another waste product of
alcohol, acetyl CoA, actually starts to make more body fat.


If you booze, you WON’T lose fat!

But, if you must drink:

a.) Choose wine or hard liquor and “light” beer
b.) Limit alcohol consumption to 1-2 days per week with a 1-2 drink per day max



2.) Do something besides bench presses and curls

Most men I know HATE cardio. Walk into any gym and you'll see all the guys grunting and growling in the free-weight section or on a machine. I guess this makes them feel more macho and 'man-like'

Now, don't get me wrong, I definitely KNOW the imporatnce of weight training when it comes to fat loss, but I also know that from time to time you have to get your butt off the bench and onto a bike or treadmill and crank up that cardio.

Since most guys HATE doing cardio, the most effectiive way to burn calories in a short amount of time is high intensity interval training. Here's an example:

Brisk walk-1 minute
Jog-1 minute
Sprint-1 minute

Repeat 8 times.

3.) Don’t eat like those clowns from NutriSystem

Here’s my take on how NutriSystem was created:

“I’ve got an idea for an incredible product and marketing campaign:

Let’s gather a group of genetically gifted former professional athletes that have put on some pounds since ending their playing days. We’ll have them all get their asses kicked by top personal trainers while following a restricted calorie diet so we lean them out real nicely.

But then we lie to the overweight male coach potato consumer and tell them that they got these results from eating the same food they are currently eating- you know, pizza, lasagna, sweets, etc. Except we’ll make the meals the size of a dime so they can still technically eat what they want and lose weight at the same time.

To make it even better, we’ll pre-package all of their meals for them to buy from us so these lazy bastards don’t have to do anything besides nuke it up and eat it!

We’ll make millions!”

Well, that’s exactly what has happened- thousands of sports-loving, ESPN-watching dads have been swindled to buy into this gimmick that you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight without exercise- because Dan Marino did it!

Look- if you honestly think you can keep eating the same foods that got you that gut in the first place, then I’m not sure how much more I can help you.

4.) Accept the fact that you probably need some professional fitness advice

I know most men don't like asking for directions, so I can imagine asking help from a fitness professional is even less desirable. One of my superstar clients lost 40 lbs of fat. He’s a busy business owner and grandfather and he spent many years doing everything wrong from both a training and nutrition perspective until he met me. I interviewed him one time and asked him what his best advice was for people that are in the same position today as he was before he transformed himself and this is what he said:

“What you don’t know will hurt you, but what you think you know will KILL you!”

Seek out a fitness expert like Gary did and get life-changing results in minimal time!



Dads- quit being so stubborn and macho. It doesn’t make you any less of a man to hire a personal trainer or join a boot camp because your wife and her lady friends do it. In reality, your wife (and women in general) are simply smarter than you because they effectively outsource their fitness needs to an expert whereby you try to re-invent the wheel on your own with little to no results.

If you want to lose your gut, follow the lead of the ladies ;)

If you need my help getting started give me a call or send me an email (I promise I won't tell your wife).

Happy Father’s Day!

Train Hard & Have Fun!

Shondelle Solomon-Miles aka Coack
shondelle@synergizeweightloss.com
954-924-4465

P.S. Next week, in honor of father's day I am offering all Dad's a free week of
training. Just give me a call or send me an email and we'll get you on the schedule. No further obligations required.

Fast Food BS...Don't Fall For It!

By now, I am sure you have heard all about this new Kentucky Grilled Chicken.

And while this may be a better option than the fried chicken version, it’s still nowhere near a supportive food choice

Congratulations! You are eating “grilled” chicken with a bunch of garbage on the side. Lord knows that mac and cheese and biscuits aren’t going help you look any better naked!

KFC says the grilled chicken has significantly fewer calories and fat, plus much less sodium, than its Original Recipe fried chicken that launched the brand more than a half-century ago.

After all, just as, if not more, damaging to our waistlines are the high calorie side dishes accompanying the chicken which are filled with refined starches and sugars and unnecessary amounts of saturated fat.

To me it’s like covering feces with a newspaper- it still stinks!

For too long now the fast food industry has made a killing on misinforming consumers about what is and isn’t healthy.

KFC claimed that it recently did switch cooking oils to eliminate all trans fats from their products- a noble effort indeed.

But upon further review, this does not look to be the case…

Here are the ingredients directly from their website:

KFC ® Grilled Chicken

Fresh Chicken Marinated with: Salt, Sodium Phosphate, and Monosodium Glutamate Seasoned with: Maltodextrin, Salt, Bleached Wheat lour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil, Monosodium Glutamate, Spices, Palm Oil, Natural Flavor, Garlic Powder, Soy Sauce (Soybean, Wheat, Salt), Chicken Fat, Chicken Broth, Autolyzed Yeast, Beef Powder, Rendered Beef Fat, Extractives of Turmeric, Dehydrated Carrot, Onion Powder, and mot more than 2% Each of Calcium Silicate and Silicon Dioxide Added as Anticaking Agents.
Contains Wheat and Soy

I don’t know about you, but this certainly doesn’t sound like a nutritional powerhouse.

First of all, “Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and Cottonseed Oil” is not good for you and is a form of trans fat.

Trans fats are synthetic fats that are perceived as toxins by your body. There is truly no room for them in a healthy diet.

Plus, a great rule of thumb is that the fewer ingredients in a food item the better it is for you, ideally less than 5 ingredients being a good marker. Well, if you count the ingredients in this “healthy” food, there are well over 20!

Fast food and convenience store marketing campaigns make it very hard for us trainers to do our jobs.

When a company says:

“Our _____ (name of product) is good for you because it’s low in fat or fat-free”

OR

“Our _____ (name of product) is good for you because it’s got no sugar”

OR

“Our _____ (name of product) is the perfect snack because it’s only 100 calories.”

In general, here are some great user-friendly guidelines to cut through all of the BS these money-hungry SOB’s are sending our way:

Beware of “Fat-Free or Low Fat” Foods:

These food choices are often high in sugar or contain added sugar to make up for taste lost which wreak havoc on your energy levels and prevent fat loss.

Look Out for “Sugar-Free” Products:



These food choices are typically made with artificial ingredients and sweeteners and/or are sometimes higher in fat to make up for taste lost and/or often contains sugar-alcohols that tear up your digestive system.

Stay Away From “100 Calorie” Items:

These low calorie bags contain ZERO nutritional value with little to no protein and are low in fiber and natural, healthy fats. Plus, these weight-gainers by another name do not fill you up between meals.

Probably the most infamous “healthy” marketing campaign is 100-CALORIE SNACK PACKS.

Which is better for you body: 100 calories of veggies or 100 calories of mini-oreo cookies?





By now, I am sure you have heard all about this new Kentucky Grilled Chicken.


GET IT?

I know personally I could easily eat at least 5 of these packs without getting stuffed- I guess that would be a 500-CALORIE SNACK PACK ;)

Unfortunately, we live in a calorie-conscious society, and marketers truly take advantage of the general public's ignorance.


But you don’t need to be a dope like the rest of them.

Educate yourself.

Educate your friends.

Educate your family.

Remember, consumers determine the direction companies will go. If we don't buy this crap and feed it to our families, they will stop making it ;)

Get Fit & Have Fun Doing it!

Shondelle Solomon-Miles aka Coach

PS- I just know you have got something to say about this hot button issue. Please make a comment to this blog post about what pisses you off the most about this KFC Grilled Chicken, or any other fast food marketing campaign for that matter!

P.S.S I still have two spaces available for the 60 Day beach Body Challenge. Visit www.SynergizeBeachBody.com if you want one of them!

Surprise Nutrition Raid

A few weeks ago I made a surprise visit at one of my nutrition bootcamp client's house and raided her kitchen to see what goodies were potentially sabotaging her progress.

To see what I discovered, check out the two part video series below. I promise you'll learn a few things, not to mention it's pretty entertaining!

Also don't forget the 60 Day Beach Body Challenge begins next week. I still have 4 spaces left. Visit www.SynergizeBeachBody.com for details. Okay, enjoy the videos.

Kitchen Raid-Part 1




Kitchen Raid-Part 2

Getting Through the Weekend Without Gaining Weight

You can work diligently all week following your menu and adhering to your exercise program only to have the “wheels come off” over the weekend and undermine all your efforts.

It can easily be done with an ounce of fudge here, a piece of pizza there, or maybe a to large a serving size or an appetizer at your favorite restaurant.
If eating splurges are a problem for you, it is essential that you stick to your long range planning.


The weekends typically encourage people to indulge in high-fat, high-calorie foods that are low in nutrients, and this is also the time we're most likely to make excuses for skipping exercise.




One of the most significant diet dangers revolves around sugar consumption. Problems arise from riding on a sugar roller coaster. When you binge on sugar, you tend crave more.

Along with sunlight deprivation, sugar binges cause a drop (after a rise) in serotonin, a chemical in the brain that regulates sleep and appetite. A lack of serotonin is often associated with depression. When you're deprived of serotonin, you won't feel calm and in control.

To help boost your serotonin levels naturally, eat small but frequent meals that include complex, starchy carbohydrates. You can also help control blood sugar levels and appetite by eating a balanced amount of protein, carbohydrate and fat at least four times a day. Having protein, carbohydrate and fat in every meal keeps energy levels constant and appetite under control.




You should keep up your regular exercise during the weekends and accept no excuses. When endorphins are high, you'll cope with stress better, and exercise will boost endorphins.

Here are some other weekend survival tips:

• Avoid eating no fat. Eating moderate amounts of fat at a meal can help you feel full sooner and keep you full longer, just don't overdue it.

• Don't skip meals. Skipping meals leads to hunger, low energy levels and improper food choices.

• Don't pass up favorite foods or deprive yourself completely. Moderate consumption is the key.

• Don't tempt yourself by keeping trigger foods or comfort foods around the house. If you have them, it increases the likelihood that you will overeat.

• Plan meals by keeping in mind the demands you'll have on your schedule that day.

• Don't go to a party starving. Before you leave home, eat something light or drink a meal replacement shake. Also drink a great deal of water the day of the party.

• Alcoholic beverages pack on the calories. If you're drinking alcohol, stick to light beer or a champagne spritzer.


• If you tend to overeat during family gatherings, plan and visualize what and how much you will eat before you go. Plan additional daily activities for that day or the following one. The additional activity can be anything from a longer shopping day to additional gym time.

In a nutshell, enjoy your weekend but make good choices and come Monday morning, you'll be so glad you did.

Have a great weekend,

Coach

P.S. On Monday i will be announcing the details of the 60 day Beach Body Challenge. There's still time to get on the early bird list at www.synergizebeachbody.com

My Memorial Day Workout

Wassup!

I Hope you had a relaxing and rejuvenating holiday weekend... I know I did!

I definitely had my share of 'indulgences', but I also managed to squeeze in a 'kicka*s workout this morning, as I wanted to enjoy my bar-b-que and beer guilt free.

I personally did this workout this morning, and besides leaving me in totally EXHAUSTED it took less than 20 minutes to complete; I'm all about efficiency!

Want to see what I did?

Check it out below.

Enjoy and train Hard,

Shondelle Solomon-Miles aka Coach

P.S. The Synergize 60 Day 'Beach Body' Challenge begins June 8th. I haven't finalized all the details. but if you might be interested visit www.SynergizeBeachBody.com and get on my EarlyBird list, so you'll be the FIRST to receive the details once they are released this week

The 'Busy Mom' Syndrome

I have had the pleasure of personally working with hundreds of busy moms over the course of my fitness career, not to mention that I am one myself, so I can relate to the 'busy mom' challenges.




WORKOUT? I don’t even have time to use the bathroom!

Mother’s are without a doubt the most selfless clients I have ever worked with, almost to a fault. Honestly, I wish they would just be a little more selfish sometimes and give their personal physical and mental health a bit more of a priority.

Many good mothers miss the boat when it comes to their fitness. In general, they tend to think that it’s okay to put all of their personal ambitions aside for the good of their friends and family. But in reality, moms are not as effective as they could be when deviating from a healthy lifestyle.

After all, a mom who doesn’t workout and doesn’t eat the right foods at the right times will not be functioning at 100%, even if she thinks that she is.




Multi-Task Much?

In retrospect, I have identified the 5 anchors that tend to hold most moms back from getting the better body they so desperately are seeking. Here they are, in no particular order:

Obstacle#1- Too Many Missed Meals- Especially Breakfast!

Many moms are simply on a roller coaster ride from dawn until dusk, dealing with the stresses of parenting and/or challenging careers. Mornings can be especially difficult since there is often the need to feverishly multi-task to get the kids and the husband fed and off to school and work. Not to mention the fact that many busy moms today have to deal with their own demanding, high-stress jobs.


Set that alarm 5 minutes earlier and make it a point NEVER to miss breakfast!

So missing breakfast becomes a reality, often leading to a host of other missed meals and snacks throughout the day. This leads to cataclysmal series of events that deprive your physique of lean, toned body mass while simultaneously priming your body to overeat junk food later in the day and store ugly, unwanted fat. Furthermore, this starvation protocol creates low levels of blood sugar which zaps your energy and leaves your feeling foggy, irritated, and lethargic all day long.

Look- there’s always room for break fast, you just need to make the time! Better yet, plan and prepare a breakfast high in lean protein and fiber in advance the night before to best ensure you stay the course.

One solution that’s worked really well for our clients is called PROGRADE LEAN. It’s a tasty meal replacement shake that contains a whopping 35 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber. What’s the best part about it? It leaves NO room for excuses! All you need to do is put 2 scoops in water, mix, and enjoy.

For more info, please click the link below:

www.synergize.getprograde.com

Obstacle#2- Failing To Make The Daily Workout Appointment This one is simple, yet oh so powerful. Think about it- moms never miss an appointment for their kids. Why? Well yes, it’s because they love them, but more importantly, it’s because they love their kids enough to religiously schedule their appointments!



Schedule your workouts and stick to them like they are a family obligation!

If you are a busy Mom who is serious about your fitness, then you absolutely need to take the same approach with your workouts.

In addition, you need to be sure that you schedule in your daily workouts when you are most likely to do them rather than when you prefer to do them. For example, I prefer to workout in the afternoon, but with my very busy work schedule it’s best for me to get my workout done first thing in the morning. This way the stresses of work never get in the way of my fitness.

In my experience, most Moms work best when doing their workouts either first thing in the morning while the kids are still sleeping, or right after they drop their kids off from school. It seems that too many unexpected obstacles come in the way of an afternoon or evening workout for the typical mother. But, regardless of when the best time may be, just schedule it in and stick to it like it’s a family commitment!

Obstacle#3- Too Much Mindless Noshing In The Kitchen During The Day

I can’t tell you how many times I have had a Mom who as “been following the nutrition plan” with limited success to later find out there were some extra eats and treats in the mix. It wasn’t that they were being dishonest about it- rather most people don’t really comprehend how much they actually put in their mouth every day.

Think about it- how many times do you see most people just mindlessly eat something during the day. All of us do it and trust me, it can add up and fast!


Many moms spend LOTS of time in the kitchen around tasty food all day- and they eat a lot more of it than they realize!




I know, I know- you have to sample the goods to know if it’s good. But, you need to understand that the occasional taste test can sabotage your fat loss goals.

Furthermore, moms get into trouble with the frequent snacking practices of their children and it’s tough to pass on food when it’s always in your face. A couple goldfish here, a couple goldfish there, and before you know it you just killed the whole dam bag!

My advice is to guard your mouth with lock and key. Ask yourself every time you bring something close to your lips the following question: “Will this help me burn fat and build muscle?”

If NO- put it down and go read a book ;)

Obstacle#4- Too Much Cardio While Pushing a Stroller

Interval training burns nine times more body fat than long, slow, boring cardio. Aerobic training burns calories but it simply doesn’t increase your metabolism like interval training does. And the true power of interval training comes from the intensity of each work period.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love to see moms moving, even if only a little bit. It’s great to get outside and move with your kids! However, we need to be honest about the fact that it’s not really feasible to train with intensity while pushing a stroller. Fast arm movement is the key to getting your wheels moving during sprints, so if you are pushing a stroller you’re losing out on some much needed speed to maximize your results.



Honestly, how much intensity can your cardio workouts have when you are pushing a stroller?

Furthermore, I don’t think it’s safe to perform sprints while pushing a stroller. I know that I certainly wouldn’t trust my clumsy-self doing intervals with a baby’s safety literally in my hands. So, get out and push a stroller, maybe even jog a little, but don’t think that you are getting anywhere close to the same kind of benefit that you can get hands-free and in open space with high-intensity intervals.

Obstacle#5- Too Many Glasses Of Wine In The Evening

Nobody wants to hear that a glass or two of wine at night is going to stop your fitness goals in its tracks. But the reality of the matter is that alcohol has the double-edged sword of both paralyzing the fat-burning process while simultaneously creating fat within the body. Plus alcohol tends to lower inhibitions leading to the consumption of other junk food. Not good!

A couple glasses of wine per day is a your one-way ticket to cellulite city… sorry!



So I say “zip it” to all of those folks who say: “consuming several glasses of wine a day is healthy because it has anti-oxidants and that keeps you from getting sick.” This is just a bunch of babble from lushes who are trying to convince themselves that it’s okay to drink regularly and be healthy- but it’s not!

Fruit and veggies have more anti-oxidants and tons of other health benefits, so we just need to cut the BS that wine is an integral part of a healthy diet.

Now, I want to be sensitive to those busy, hard-working moms who have a glass of wine at the end of the day to unwind and take some of the load off of their shoulders because I get that, and I do that from time to time. But I also know there are other healthier ways to de-stress that don’t have such a negative effect on your body composition. Such activities are stretching, foam rolling, taking a bath, reading a book, etc.

So please remember- if you booze, you WON’T lose!


Train Hard,

Coach

My Baby Girl is Walking!

What a perfect weekend for my baby girl to take her first steps...Mother's Day!

If you're a mother, then you can relate to the joy of this moment.

Anyhow, many of you have watched Senaya grow, either 'in person' or 'online', so I wanted to share my joy with you (Check out the video below).

I wish you the happiest, healthiest and most blessed Mother's day ever! Enjoy your day, you DESERVE IT!

Shondelle Solomon-Miles aka Coach

P.S. The next women's Fat-Blaster Camp begins Monday, May 11th and my gift to you is
one FREE week of camp. The only catch is I'm limiting this offer to the first 10 mom's who register. Simply send me an email with Mother's Day Camp in the subject line