Before and After; Teri Bohr

I got on the scale one day and it topped 190. That was a little too close to 200 for me. I knew I had to do something. I went in to see the folks at better bodies on Campbell and Ft. Lowell and started working out with Will. At my heaviest I was 192 pounds and I am now at 155 pounds. I am a 35 years old and 5' 7" tall.


One of the first things I learned was that working out was not enough. I needed to get healthy and start eating right. Sticking primarily to protein (chicken, beef, seafood and eggs) and vegetables and cutting out sugar, breads and starchy vegetables was the general idea. I stuck to the program and lost 30 pounds in about 6 months.


I was very happy with the weight loss and over time I started loosening up on my diet. A year and a half later I found that I had gained 15 pounds back! I knew I had to get back on track with my diet. I was still working out and Justin (manager) was sending out e-mails to keep in touch with the clients at the Campbell location. In one of these e-mails he told us about a 6-week contest for weight loss and overall change. It was perfect timing and great motivation to get me going again. In six weeks I lost 20 pounds (175 lbs at the start, 155 lbs at end), 14 inches and about 4% body fat. I am now at my lowest weight yet of 155 pounds.


Overall I lost 35 pounds, about 10% body fat and over 31 inches (10" in my waist and 6" in my hips!) since I started with Better Bodies. I did it by eating right, working out for an hour twice a week with Will and doing cardio on my own (about 3 hours a week). I feel great and I'm in better shape than I have been since I was in college.


Thanks to Justin and Will at Better Bodies Campbell location for keeping me going!


Teri Bohr

"I lost 40 pounds"

BETTER BODIES TESTIMONIAL


I recently celebrated my 65Th birthday, and was pleased to recognize that I’m in better shape today than I have been for the past 30 years. My husband and I committed to a healthier lifestyle three years ago, and joined Better Bodies on Campbell Avenue when it first opened. Our trainer, Will Rogers, is knowledgeable, personable and strong, and works to get the best results for each of us. I have lost 40 pounds, and now have really firm legs, a strong core and good balance. Will keeps track of the exercises and weights, so we can just show up and work hard. He has also motivated me to get more cardio exercise and find ways to avoid my worst weight-management bugaboo – after dinner snacking. We are both really pleased with our own better bodies.

Karen Phillips

Calculating Fat Intake

What should our fat intake be?

20% or less of our calories should come from fat. This is not as hard as it sounds. For every 50 calories you are allowed 1gm of fat.

50 calories per serving, 1gm of fat.
100 calories per serving, 2gms of fat.
150 calories per serving, 3gms of fat and so on.

For better results and faster weight loss, never take in more than 3 gms of fat per serving. So even if there is 250 calories in a serving, you still do not want there to be more than 3gms of fat.

MATH: 1gm of fat has 9 calories
1gm of protein has 4 calories
1gm of carbohydrates has 4 calories
1gm of alcohol has 7 calories (almost as much as fat).

If you have any questions, email me at justinlist1@gmail.com

Pregnancy and Exercise

Always consult with your physician before beginning an exercise program. The basic rule of thumb is that if you are currently exercising as you become pregnant, you can resume exercise at the same level of intensity. It is not reccomended to add or increase exercise once you become pregnant.

Of course there are many things to take into consideration while developing a program during pregnancy. This is why working with a trained professional is such a great benifit. Knowing the do's and don'ts to be able to accomplish the following. In the following are some of the benefits for pregnant women who engage in properly designed prenatal exercise programs (adapted from ACSM 2000):

* Improved cardiovascular and muscular fitness
* Facilitated recovery from labor
* Faster return to prepregnancy weight, strength, and flexibility levels
* Reduced postpartum belly
* Reduced back pain during pregnancy
* More energy reserve
* Fewer obstetric interventions
* Shorter active phase of labor and less pain
* Less weight gain
* Enhanced maternal psychological well-being that may reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression often experienced during pregnancy
* Increased likelihood of adopting permanent healthy lifestyle habits.
* May also be beneficial in the primary prevention of gestational diabetes.

Some research has revealed reduced birth weight in babies whose mothers performed high-intensity exercise throughout their pregnancy. The lower birth weight was approximately 300 to 350 grams (10 to 12 ounces) and apparently resulted from a decreased amount of subcutaneousous fat in the newborn. There are no documented adverse fetal effects related to exercise-induced fetal heart rate changes.

There are more benifits like less back pain, leading to less need for drugs during delivery and shorter labor.

Exercise selection and safety are our first concern. As you can see we take our job and safety very serious and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.


Health for Life,

Justin List

Carrying My Son to Bed

This is one of the best testimonials I have received. I had my client come in one day after several months of training and told me that last nite she carried her son to bed for the first time in years. How cool is that? I am a parent myself so I can relate to bonding moments with our kids. She came in on another occation and told me that unexpectedly, her son jumped on her back. She told me that if it had not been for her working out, she knows she would have fallen and who knows what injuried would have been sustained.

This is living. This is what it is all about. Bettering our quality of life in many aspects.


Health for Life,

Justin List

Size 18 to a 2 In Eight Months

Starting at a size 18 and steadily working my way down to a small size 4-and sometimes size 2-is quite an accomplishment. And I thank my Personal Fitness Trainer, Justin List, for helping me reach this satisfying level of health and fitness. With my determination and cooperation and Justin's experience and knowledge, we made a good team that produced exceptional results for me. Not only did I drop close to forty pounds, but gained aesthetic muscle definition, shocked my wearied doctor with across-the-board normal blood panels, and regained my youthful energy and playfulness. And my strength continues to soar upward. I have hardly begun to explore my fitness limits.

A few weeks ago I expressed to Justin that I believed I could not have accomplished all this with anyone else. Justin is a remarkably gifted trainer, and I feel so very blessed to have had the privilege to work with him. Coming from a corporate executive background, simply put, I am not easily impressed. An unfortunate fact, but my expectations and instincts often make me a arduous to get along with and most fall short of my standards. Pretty smiles and nugatory flattery has never captured my attention in business; however, consistent quality performance, professionalism. and character earn my respect and admiration without question. I also appreciate that Justin is reliable and genuine with his clients. he cares and he pays attention, and this caring attentiveness and his unostentatious style I have noted quite often. Justin's affability and sincerity also make him so very special to work with and to learn from.

In closing, I'll just further inject that the world of fitness is a much better place with Justin in it. Should I ever find that I need a fitness tune-up in the months or years to come, Justin will remain the first person on my list to seek. I look forward to observing continued success and growth in his career as a dynamic personal fitness trainer.

B.A. Caldwell
September 21, 2006

Testimonials

I am starting a section on testimonials. To find these articles fastest, scroll to the end of the article and click on the label. This will give you all articles on the related subject such as "testimonials".

If you have a story or testimonial that you would like to share, email it to me at justinlist1@gmail.com and I will get it posted. List your trainer, Better Bodies location (Campbell, Oracle, or Tanque Verde), and time frame and fequency of workouts if possible.

There are so many clients that are getting such great results and benefits that I would like to share these with you. These are anywhere from lowering cholesterol to staying off of heart medication, to getting into those pants we thought would never fit again.

It is very positive and inspiring to hear someone reach a goal or have a better, more fulfilling life because of their time spent here at Better Bodies. We can be our own worst enemies when it comes to giving ourselves credit. If our goal is to lose 20lbs and we have lost 10 of those pounds, we may not give ourselves credit. So when we see someone posted that has lost 10lbs, I am wanting this to make us say, "hey, I lost 10 lbs."

If you are working out (exercising) regularly, you are getting healthier and you are doing a great job. Keep up the good work and don't give up.

Justin List-

New Years is Upon Us

Hello everyone,



I am starting my first New Years Promotion. I know it is early but why wait until we put on weight. This is a referral program good until January 15th 2008. Anyone that comes in and signs up for a package using your name, You, not them, will get $300 off of your next purchase of 24 or more sessions of regular price. Not valid with any other specials or discounts. If you like, you can give this savings to them at the time of their purchase instead of using it yourself. A $300 gift to someone that doesn't cost you a dime.

I also want to challenge you all to a personal contest. Goals are very important to have and what better than the end of 08. What a year we have all had to endure. I want you to reflect on the fitness goals you had for 08 and see where you are. If you have met them then great. Nice work and you deserve a big pat on the back. Good job!

If you haven't met your goals, get with your trainer and re-establish them. If your goal is weight loss, then I want you to think about how much weight you gained last holiday season. Now it sounds funny, but not gaining weight is the same as losing weight if normally you gain weight this time of year.

Did you know that at least half of the weight, if not all of the weight, we will make a resolution about losing is gained this time of year. So get off your butt, stop using the holiday season as an excuse, be a good example to family members and co-workers and let’s make some progress. Who is with me?



Justin

(1) Your Program

Here are some questions you should know about your program.

QUESTIONS:
1) What are the four components to a succesful program?
2) What should your heart rate be while doing cardio and for how long should you
be doing cardio?
3) How much protein should you be getting in a day?
4) What is a carb and why should we eat them?
5) What is a protein and why should we eat them?
6) How much sleep should I get and what are 3 benifits to getting enough sleep?

If you don't know the answers ask your trainer or email me. These are important questions to know.

ANSWERES:
1) Weights or resistance training, Food, cardio, and sleep.
2) This is a calculation maximum heart rate and then is according to goal. A
little different for everyone. With wearing a heart rate monitor I was sure you
knew this one.
3) Again a little different for everyone. I like to use about 1 to 1 1/2 grams per
lb of lean body mass. We need to know your lean body mass to figure this one.
4) Carbs are different forms of sugars. They can be complex or simple. We can get
these from grains, pasta, startches, rice, oats, wheat, etc. We try to stay away
from these. Candy, cake, soda, any refined sugar or any sweets are carbs that we
should not consume. Fruits and vegetables are also carbs. These are the good
carbs. We want these. Carbohydrates give us energy and are the catolyst for all
bodily functions. Protein is the building material and carbs are the workers.
5) Protein is for the repair of our body after a workout. A post workout meal is
important within an hour for the repair of our muscles. Protein is the building
blocks for muscles, conective tissues, organs, brain function, and enzymes for
food metabolism.
6) We should sleep in between 7 hours and 15 minutes and 9 hours and 15 minutes.
This ensures R.E.M.(rapid eye movement). One,our brain gets rest here,
Second,our body releases growth hormone into the body here ( gives us full
benefit from our workout. The workout stimulates production of growth hormone
and we then release it in R.E.M.) Third it helps our immune system and who can
afford to or wants to be sick. There are other reasons that proper sleep is
important, stress is another. Mental clarity, coordination,etc.

I feel that these are things that all clients should know and we need to talk about more often. If you have any other question don't hesitate to ask.

Edamame/Arugula Salad

Salad
3 cups arugula
1 cup unshelled edamame, cooked according to package
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 can mandarin oranges, drained and washed
Dressing
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon agave nectar1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Pinch black pepper


1. Cooked edamame according to the package. Drain and shock with cold water. Combine with other salad ingredients in a bowl. Wisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Toss with salad or serve separately


NUTRITION:
Your calories here will come from the Edamame's and the oranges.
Calories 360+can of mandarin oranges which the label will tell you.
Protein 30 grams
Carbohydrates 32 grams+the mandarin oranges which the label will tell you.
Fat 15 grams

We are at about 27% of calories from fat here. This is dependant on the can of mandarin oranges. They won't have fat but they will give us more total calories. this is also a salad and not a meal so we won't be eating all of it. Depending on the size, we will be eating about a third or fourth.

Holiday Recipes

If you have any healthy recipes for the holidays that you would like to share, please feel free to put them in the comments or email them to me. justinlist1@gmail.com. If you have the nutritional values, please add them. At least the protein, fat, and carbs. if possible.

Also, for more articles on a particular subject, look at the "Label" of a particular article and you will find other articles of the same subject. For example recipes

The Fattiest Foods in America on Yahoo! Health

The Fattiest Foods in America on Yahoo! Health

Fat calculator

What should our fat intake be?

20% or less of our calories should come from fat. This is not as hard as it sounds. For every 50 calories you are allowed 1gm of fat.

50 calories per serving, 1gm of fat.
100 calories per serving, 2gms of fat.
150 calories per serving, 3gms of fat and so on.

For better results and faster weight loss, never take in more than 3 gms of fat per serving. So even if there is 250 calories in a serving, you still do not want there to be more than 3gms of fat.

MATH: 1gm of fat has 9 calories
1gm of protein has 4 calories
1gm of carbohydrates has 4 calories
1gm of alcohol has 7 calories (almost as much as fat).

If you have any questions, email me at justinlist1@gmail.com

Let me know

If there are any subjects, articles you have read, or any confusion, let me know and I will put an article together. I want to put articles together that you are most interested in. This will help my blog better serve you. For example: What should my percent body fat be?

Thank you,

Justin

Protein Intake

HOW MUCH PROTEIN SHOULD I TAKE IN A DAY?
This is a very confusing question. I have been in the business of fitness and sports for over 21 years and every time I pick up an article it is a little different. What this confusion does is backs my argument that everyone is different and your program needs to be "goal specific". There is no set amount that works for every individual and with every meal plan. I would like to give you a good starting point here.

FIRST AND FOREMOST:
It is dire to follow a plan to the "T". You can't make adjustments without a consistant track record. We use parameters, and with parameters and guidance we can figure out what works best for you as an individual. How many times have you tried what a friend or celebrity is doing and you don't get the results. That is because it is designed for them specifically. Your body type is different, your workout intensity level and design are different, stress levels are different, and perhaps you have totally different goals. You can tell what someones goals are just by looking at their program, and he shortest distance between two points is a straight line. So if your goal and your program are in alignment, you will get there in the shortest time possible.

NOW FOR SOME NUMBERS:
I believe in feeding the lean body mass and not the total weight of the body. If we are trying to lose weight, why would we "feed the fat"? So it starts with an assessment to find out what our lean body mass is. If you are using weight resistance, as everyone should, I recommend 1 gm per lean body mass. If you are far less than this then I recommend starting at .75 and working your way up. (The body can't handle a huge increase of anything overnight). So if you weigh 165lbs and you have 30% body fat, your lean body mass is 115.5lbs. So you should be taking in ~ 115 grams of protein a day. Now this number can very from individual to individual and may change over time. If you are currently taking in 50 grams of protein a day, I would first increase to about 75 or 80grams for about a week or two and see how your body responds. If your body handles it well, I would then increase to the 115. If you workout very intense and/or with goals of gaining muscle, I would go as high as 1.5 to 2 grams of protein per lb. of lean body mass.

MORE ON PROTEIN:

HOW IMPORTANT IS PROTEIN?
Very. And it is the least thought about nutrient. Almost every client that comes to me has a deficiency in protein. If you are working out, or even living for that matter, without sufficient protein, it is like trying to build a house with no lumber. You have the workers(carbohydrates), you have the fat(blueprints), but no lumber. Think about what part of your body is made up of protein. Quoting from the nutrition almanac; "Next to water, protein is more plentiful that any other substance in the body....All the tissues, bones, and nerves are made up mostly of proteins. It is the major source of building material for muscles, blood , skin, hair, nails and internal organs, including the heart ant the brain....forms the protein base of teeth along with the material of ligaments and tendons, and is a strengthening part of arterial walls. Some hormones are proteins, notably the thyroid hormone and insulin, which control a variety of body functions such as growth, sexual development, and the rate of metabolism....Helps fight foreign substances such as viruses, bacteria, and other desease agents." Protein is so important that I use it to determine total caloric intake, carbohydrate and fat consumption. You will never get to your goals if you do not have adequate protein consumption.

SOURCES OF PROTEIN:
Meat, Fish, Poultry, Soybean products, Eggs, Whole grains, nuts and seeds. (Be careful of the fat intake on the nuts and seeds.)

I also recommend using a good protein supplement. It is difficult to get in enough protein in a busy schedule. Having a breakfast, a dinner and two shakes should meet our needs in most cases. We do carry protein here in store. If you have questions on how to find a good protein supplement I can help you with that.

Look for other articles under the "Nutrition" label

Meal Planning

Meal planning is very important. Idealy we should be eating 4-6 times a day. I always recomend having both protein and carbs in every meal. If your last meal is close to bedtime then I would go lighter on the carbs and stick with a lean protein source and vegetables. For carbs I always recomend fruits and vegetables. The more active we are, the more fuel for our body we need.

If you don't plan for success, you will fail. This is true in any aspect of life. Everything that you have learned in business, life, or school comes true with your training and your program. You get what you give, and your body and health are a direct reflection of the efforts you are putting in.

The series here is meal planning and I will write several articles on the subject. To get all of the articles, scroll down to the end of the article and click on labels for meal planning.

What I want to accomplish here is the knowlege and habit of healthy eating habits. These are the two most important aspects and if worked on can overcome emotional eating, bindging, compulsive eating, stress eating, blind eating, etc.

Any futher questions, write or call.


Health For Life,

Justin List
520-318-3488