Preganacy weight gain, hmmm what a touchy topic.  Husbands are afraid to say anything and will even comfort us when we are rummaging through the closet only to find that even the old faith sweat pants will not fit anymore.  Can you gain too much weight too soon in pregnancy? If so is there any turning back before the birth of your child?  These are the scenarios that run thru my head as I find myself 41lbs heavier and only 23 weeks (1 week shy of 6 months for those that are not mothers).  Most would say oh you can worry about that after the baby or the baby needs the fat that you put on.  Wrong answer.  Some would also argue that it is dangerous to attempt to lose weight during your pregnancy and I will say that this is true for a untrianed individual.  So I will give my disclaimer and say PLEASE DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.  When I was pregnant with my daughter in 2008 I gained 72lbs and was at 212lbs 5'5.  This pregnancy I started a little heavier than before at roughly 160lbs and still 5'5.  5 months into this pregnancy I have found myself at 201.4lbs, uncomfortable and almost not able to tie my own shoes.  Yeap me, the personal trainer, health educator and personal health advocate.  I have told some but not very many people have heard me, "I love to eat".  85% of the time I am a lean clean eating monster but the other 15% of the time I like to indulge.  Alot of people think that because we are trainers we don't like cookies or chips.  New flash, we like them just as much as anyone else.  Discipline and will power are the keys. Pregnancy gave me a excepted excuse to ignore those principles.  All of the things that I would avoid or limit my intake of have now become a daily routine for me and exercising and eating healthy have become foreign concepts to my body.  So what do I do now that I think I have gain too much weight too fast? I slow the process down. I have gained more weight than is typically required for a full term pregnancy so I am going to attempt to not gain anymore weight.  I will not be stupid, trust me.  My first priority is my health and my unborn child and that is a part of my reasoning for taking on this challenge.  I spoke with my nurse coach that I speak with monthly during my pregnancy and she seems to think that there is no problem with attempting to do so and even encouraged me to do it.  Next step will be getting the officially ok from the doctor in 2 days and I am going to start my journey.  This ought to be interesting.  More details to come. I intend to carefully document every step that I take.

So this just came to me today as I spoke with a lady that had about 100lbs to lose.  This woman delivered twins just 4 weeks ago and was already at her pre-pregnancy weight of 278.  Now mind you this lady is only 5'6".  So as I try to understand more about why this woman has not been able to get the weight off successfully in the past, she gives me the answer.  The woman states that it was because her husband was slim and liked to eat whatever he wanted to eat.  Hmm.  This is not the worst excuse that I have come across in my profession. I have heard everything from my dog has been sick and that is why I am 50lbs over weight but  to I just don't have enough time in the day and even this or that hurts.  Some may look at this and think, "well those are valid excuses".  I look at them and say "join the club".  In saying that it is not that I do not have empathy for people and things that go on in there life it is just that EVERYBODY has things going on in there life.  Instead of just saying "you know I really just am not ready or I just don't want to" people will come up with many excuses that they force themselves to believe so that others will have sympathy for them. When did just saying "I don't want to or I am not ready" become something unacceptable to say?  Actually not having the time or just being unable to do something that you really want to do is a "rare disorder". Not very many people can be diagnosed with this issue.  Yes this woman just delivered twins but she did not have the twins.  She was a surrogate for another family.  So her living situation has not changed since giving birth to the twins.  So once this woman is released to exercise again and able to do everything that she was doing before she will probably fall right back into the same cycle of not doing anything to get the weight off, complaining about it and saying that it is not her fault it is her husbands fault.

As promised here is the Karvonen Method for measuring Target HR...

1. Count your pulse for 30 secs and multiply it by 2 to get your 1 min resting hr.. (RHR)

2. Subtract your age from 220 = (Max HR)

3. Subtract the RHR from the Max HR

4. Multiply that number x the intensity in which you would like to work out (70%)

5. Add the RHR

= the heart rate you must maintain to get desired results. 

www.misfitsonline.org

Check out Misfits Radio every Tuesday at 10am and every Friday at 8pm Atlpoweradio.com

Ask A Trainer Live on www.misfitsonline.org 9pm every Thursday

If you would like to know how many calories a day you need to lose weight follow this link.

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Hey as promised here are the references to the sites that I provided in our recent MisFits Radio show 5/08/2012. I am a little late posting but it is here.  Check out:

www.sparkpeople.com- for calorie calculation, workout programs and recipes

www.myfitnesspal.com- Calorie calculation and tracking via smartphone

Remember whether you are pregnant, a new mom, old mom or even a dad, the proper balance of cardio, weights and nutrition are vital to you being successful in a fitness program. If you have questions please make sure you chat with me on Ask A Trainer Live on www.misfitsonline.org @ 9pm on Thursday nights.  Make sure you are listening to MisFits Radio Tuesdays at 10am and Friday nights @ 8pm on www.atlpoweradio.com

Ms Fitness

"Empowering Moms While Nurturing Bonds"

Im back.. Hey hey.. Been gone for awhile but I wanted to update everybody on my journey with the Metaboliq Lifestyle System. I absolutely Love this program and I endorse it 100%.  I started off following the program to the T and immediately seen great results. I gave away a few shakes and it took a while before I actually replenished my supply so I am just now on my second box. The program requires you to take a shake a day. This shake has the perfect balance of carbohydrates and protein to replace a meal. It is recommended that you take the shake for breakfast.  This shake has high levels of leucine in them.  Leucine is an amino acid that helps your body hold on to muscle and build more muscle.  The next component is a metabolism boost pill. This is made of decaffeinated green tea, b6 and b12 and some other herbs that increase your body temp by 1 degree and helps your body to burn more fat.  The third component is a sugar blocker. This pill taste like a dinner mint and helps to block the absorption of sugar for up to 2hrs.  The final components are a healthy mindset and eating 1-2 sensible meals a day.  The Metaboliq creates the optimal environment for your metabolism to burn baby burn. I am excited and love this product. I have started using some of the other products by the company and have experienced great things from them as well. I will keep you posted. Check out this link it will give you a little more information.  http://www.tryplanb.net/metaboliq.html .. To start the Metaboliq Lifestyle go to www.myqivana.com/one19fitness and shop till you drop..

I am back and I apologize for the long intermission between blogs. I did it! It’s the middle of March and I have wrapped up my 30 plus day commitment to a strict vegan diet. Many of you will be surprise to know that the first meal off my vegan diet did not include chicken. Matter-of-fact the first few days off the vegan diet I continued to eat the same way out of habit; but I eventually succumb to the Sunday bird, baked of course.  The vegan diet was a healthy experience for me, I had plenty of energy, and my skin looked and felt great. However, I did find it difficult to get a sufficient amount of quality protein. In the science world there is great debate on what source of protein is better animal protein vs. plant protein. The jury is still out for me on that debate. I am of the school of thought homeostasis (balance), quality and variety but at no means am I knocking a vegan diet for those who find the vegan diet works best for them. It not something I can do as routine, so back to my form of vegetarian (veganism) diet where I have decided to incorporate the vegan diet as a part of rotating my nutrition plan of no red meats lots of fish and yes less chicken/poultry once a month. So with that stated I am moving on to my next healthy journey adventure. 

Drum roll please, next up the Qivana Qore system. The Qore system is an all-natural system which includes a probiotic and Qore essentials, a proprietary blend of concentrated nutrients that have been shown across the globe to accelerate natural healing, strengthen the heart and help the body respond to stress. I chose the Qore system for several reasons, to help with energy, to help with my hip flexor/stress and endurance. One of my new year resolutions is to get back to running and to compete in several 5k races this year, which I dedicated to my late brother Phil who was an avid marathon runner.  I am happy to report I have been on the Qore system for one month and thus far I have been running hip flexor pain free. I ran my first 5k of the year without any hip flexor pain before or after the race. So one race down and several to go, I will keep you posted on my Qore system experience.  

Until next time, in good health,

Stacy Dyer 

Health Administration, MS

Personal Training, Health Educator

Day 13 since I took on this vegan diet journey and I am happy to report my craving for chicken has diminished and the Vegan diet has become fairly routine. However, I have discovered that I have to be very vigilant in my food selection because what I once thought to be animal free product foods have some animal byproducts in them. Therefore, I now know I have to become a top notch research scientist in order to stay true to a vegan diet. Let’s recap: What is defined as a vegan diet? In general veganism is a type of vegetarian diet that excludes meat, eggs dairy products and all other animal-derived ingredients. Sounds simple right? Not really, because many of the ingredients in our foods have animal byproducts like gelatin, dextrose, rennet, and lactic acid to name a few. Try this, the next time you go grocery shopping take a moment to look at the food labels and read the ingredients’ many of you, would be amazed at what you are consuming.  We all assume if you avoid eating meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, or dairy, we are therefore eating vegan. However, while those are obvious animal products, many animal byproducts are things we might not even realized or recognize come from animals.  So the next time you pick up a piece of candy, marshmallow, eat your favorite yogurt or bowl of frosted cereal, you just might be consuming animal byproduct like gelatin. Gelatin is protein from bones, cartilage, tendons, and skin of animals, much of the commercial gelatin is by-product of pig skin. So for all you professed no pork eating people, take a moment to digest that information. And for all those who think they are avoiding red meat, well the next time you eat a piece of cake, drink a soft drink or lick the cake frosting from the bowl; think again because many of these products use Glucose (dextrose) which is fruits or animal tissues and fluids. Theses finding has led me to question if I can eat vegan or what I now deem veganish (my new made up word). I will continue my experiment of eating vegan and to see if this is the healthy diet for me because we all know there is no one size fit all diet plans, but a healthy meal plan tailored for you. I will keep you informed people. The saga continues. Below you will find one of my favorite vegan recipes.

 Until next time in good health,

Stacy Dyer

Health Administration, MS

Personal Training, Health Educator 

Chickpea Burgers: 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained, 1/3 cup chopped carrots,1/3 cup herbed croutons,¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, ¼ cup chopped onion, 1 egg white, 1 tsp. minced garli,1 tsp. grated lemon peel,8 tsp. salt,½ tsp. black pepper, nonstick cooking spray, 4 whole grain gluten free buns, tomato slices, lettuce leave and salsa.

1.        Place chickpeas, carrots, croutons, parsley, onion, egg white, garlic, lemon peel, pepper and salt in food processor, process until blended. Shape mixture into 4 patties.

2.        Spray 12-inch nonstick skillet with cooking spray, heat over medium heat. Add patties; cook 4 to 5 minutes or until bottoms are browned. Spray tops of patties with cooking spray, turn and cook to 4-5 minutes or until browned.

3.        Serve patties on bun or between to tomato slices, lettuce and salsa.  

Ok.. I am back. Folks have been asking me about what I am doing now.  Initially after my 10 day detox i had no desire for "bad" foods.. Took a few days for that feeling to leave. Have had quite a few days of eating out in the past two weeks.. Oh well get up and dust myself off. I did start the Metaboliq Burn system by Qivana. First thing i noticed was the taste. No grainy taste like regular protein shakes. This thing taste like a vanilla milkshake from Arby's. No lie. The kit includes 30 shakes, 60 metabolism pills, and 60 sugar blockers.  So yes in spite of my dietary slip up i am taking the product as recommended. The product is meant to be a part of a 90day program that includes preparing your foods with a 1:1 protein/carbohydrate ratio and 30mins of exercise a day. They encourage you to take a shake in the morning and a shake for lunch which is supposed to increase your metabolism starting with breakfast.  So my thoughts are that I love the concept. Is it a quick fix? No. Although my diet has not been on point I have stayed around the same weight with a 1-2lb fluctuation either way depending on my diet the day before. i have noticed a increase in hunger the past two weeks. Could this be a sign of metabolism kicking in high gear? Maybe. They way they are suggesting that you eat is a little different for me. I usually try to eat every 3 hours and keep my calories pretty even with about 350 per meal. This program allows for more calories per meal, with 3 main meals a day and two snacks.  I typically do not have lower calories snacks i just eat the same amount. Different for me but doable. All in all I think the product and the concept are good. I definitely think the teaching material that the product provides is on point and will absolutely help with people that are having trouble controlling there diet.  How much I shed with this will remain to be seen, but keep in mind I am only 7lbs away from the weight that I was at 16 years old.  This has been a concern of mine after I noticed how much weight came off with the detox.  The closer i get to my goal weight the harder it will be to lose, but i guess this will be the true test of the product. Until next time.. Do work...

The Vegan Voice:

As a result of doing the 10 day raw fruit, vegetable, nuts and seed detox, and a fitness challenge from a good friend, I am going to attempt to eat vegan. Dietary vegans or strict vegetarians eliminate any animal or animal byproducts from their diet.

Ok, so I thought fresh off the 10 day Raw Fruit, Vegetable, Nuts and Seed Detox and riding high off losing 7.5 lbs.; I could do this, no problem. A personal side note: I have not eaten any red meat or pork for over 25 yrs.  However, my diet did consist of fish, poultry and limited dairy products. That being stated, I probably would have been a strict vegetarian sooner, if not for the love of, what we call the Sunday bird “Chicken”. I have a family bond with chicken; I could eat chicken every day. But since doing the 10 day detox diet and not having chicken for ten days has given me the confidence to try the vegan diet, I am now in day 5 of being a vegan. I have not craved chicken and I have managed to find great tasty satisfying vegan recipes that I will share with you each week along with my experience of eating vegan, and eating vegan on a budget.  Please follow me as I embark on the journey of NO MEAT.  

Please remember whenever starting a new exercise regimen or beginning a lifestyle change it is always important to consult with your doctor.

Stacy D. Dyer

Health Administration, MS