Ask the Trainer -- Hydration and Weight Loss

How does drinking water help me lose water weight?

Water is essential to our bodies. It is necessary for our metabolic processes and survival. While people can survive for several months without food, we can only last a few days without water.

When the body becomes dehydrated, it kicks into survival mode. This is because water is necessary to remove waste and toxins from our systems. Water plays a role in digestion and metabolism, it lubricates our joints, and it maintains the moisture of our lungs so we can breathe. Chronic dehydration can eventually lead to excess body fat, poor muscle tone, digestive complications, muscle soreness, kidney stones, inflammation, and toxicity.

It might seem counter-intuitive to drink MORE water when your body is storing water, however when you think about everything that water is involved in you can start to understand how drinking enough of this essential nutrient will enable the optimal functioning of your body's systems.

By drinking enough water and thereby making your body feel "safe," your body won't feel the need to retain water. When you hydrate adequately, your body is also better able to digest and transport fats out of your system. So, by drinking enough water, not only will you lose water weight, but it will help you lose body fat as well (especially if you're following a clean diet and you engage in regular cardio and strength training).

How much water should you drink per day? The minimum recommended amount is 8-10cups, but if you're exercising you'll want to aim for more around a gallon (128 fl oz, or ~3.7L) per day.

~~~~

by Kristin Rooke

Head Trainer for Bootycamp Santa Barbara

If you want to read other articles by Kristin about fitness, nutrition, and a lean lifestyle

Check out shsnaturallyfit.blogspot.com

Protein "Ice Cream"

Although this is a simple recipe, it's also one that satisfies that "frozen treat" craving that strikes every once in a while. Sure, the weather might be getting a little colder now-- the fog is rolling into Santa Barbara, leaves are changing color in other parts of the country, and snow has definitely fallen in some states-- but even cold weather can't can keep a sweet tooth at bay!

Here's a recipe that might help you out:

Protein "Ice Cream"

1 (or 1.5) scoop protein powder

OR

1 scoop protein powder and 1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt

1c almond milk, water, or other liquid of choice

1/2 banana

1/4 c berries

optional extras: 1T raw cacao powder, dash of cinnamon, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, etc

Instructions

1. Put your ingredients into your blender and mix it all together

2. Pour your protein shake into a cup/container and freeze it for at least 3-4 hours

3. If you freeze your shake for longer than 3-4 hours,

you might need to let it thaw before eating it

OR

You can add a little extra liquid and re-blend it so it has more of a froyo texture

Additions to Consider:

A fancy glass to make your dessert appear expensive and gourmet

Cacao nibs for crunch and an extra "chocolately" effect

Some sliced berries to top your "ice cream"

Mint to garnish

~~~~

by Kristin Rooke

Head Trainer for Bootycamp SB

If you want to read more articles written by Kristin

Check out shsnaturallyfit.blogspot.com

Eat Your Food

Being intimately involved with the fitness world-- living it, exploring it, eating, sleeping, breathing, reading it-- I've been exposed to a lot of misunderstandings and confusion about exercise and nutrition. Far too many people seem to believe that in order to lose weight and change their bodies, they need to perform excruciating amounts of cardio and spend hours at the gym all while starving themselves on below-maintenance levels of calories (i.e. deprivation or starvation diets).

I've heard plenty of my gym-going friends applaud themselves for doing double, even triple, days of cardio, all while monitoring every calorie that enters their system so they can keep their intake at about 1200 (maybe a little more or a little less... and these were male friends of mine!! Just to put things into perspective, the average 6'0" 30yr old male who weighs 180lbs and exercises 3x per week needs about 2400 calories to maintain his weight, and about 2000 for weight loss. 1200 calories guys?!? Come. On.) This was all in pursuit of losing weight and changing their physique. They'd stick to it for a few days and then go on a major bender because their bodies and their minds were so deprived. They'd beat themselves up for "being bad," recommence their program, and thus began a vicious cycle.

Food is something that people learn to both LOVE with all their emotions and their hearts, and to hate and fear because it influences their bodies.

The truth is: under-eating and over-training works against your long-term physique goals. Whether you're interested in building muscle, losing body fat, or just "tightening" up, it is ESSENTIAL to nourish your body with enough food.

Food is NOT the enemy.

...muscle waste, that is. As in, deteriorating muscle mass because of lack of food!

You might think that over-training and under-eating would cause you to lose weight, but chances are you'll experience one of two scenarios-- weight GAIN and fat STORAGE. Skipping recovery days just exacerbates the problem even more. OR weight loss, muscle loss, AND fat storage.

Why?

Well, working out too much without adequate recovery just keeps breaking your body and muscles down. Your body never gets a chance to "catch up" and make necessary repairs to your system. The continual breakdown leads your body to become inflamed. And inflammation means puffiness... and puffiness means water retention.

Eating too little and denying your body of the proper nutrients and calories will ultimately lead to fat storage as well as strength and muscle loss (which decreases your metabolism! Muscle = increased calorie-burning ALL THE TIME). If your calorie intake drops too much, your body will go into starvation mode, saving the fat that you DO have in order to protect your body. Then, anytime you "cheat", your body stores all that energy too because it thinks you're starving.

So if you want to lose fat and get that toned, tight body. It's important that you're eating enough and that you're consuming that right TYPES of food. You want to fuel your muscle, your brain, and your body adequately so that your body feels SAFE. Because when your body feels safe and knows that there's an abundance of food around, it won't have to hold on to excess fat or weight.

If you're not sure how to go about this process, find a sports and exercise nutritionist or a well-educated personal trainer to guide you through the process. The top fitness models don't deprive or starve themselves. They eat TONS of food! So think like a fitness model and treat your body right. It's what you deserve!

Resources:

Livestrong Article -- Too Much Exercise, Not Enough Calories

I’m Not Perfect

So, I got called out by a client that I hadn’t been blogging. Love the accountability of facebook right? Well I asked for it! She points this out as she’s also asking how training was going, to which I respond, "not so good. Kinda hence why I haven’t been blogging", as I laugh. I’d been going through an incredible amount of stuff personally and professionally and truly couldn’t fathom how I was supposed to write and be motivating at a time when I was trying to simply get through my days. Her response was exactly what I needed to hear. She said, "If it’s not going well, tell us that." She said, "I don’t want to hear that you’re perfect." It was ok to tarnish the superwoman status my clients and friends seem to hold me to sometimes. I knew this, but I needed to hear it again. I am just like everyone else, and my clients and followers need to hear that. She tells me how she tries to ban herself from facebook at times, but has to check my page to see if I’ve written or what's going on. Well alright Candice..this one’s for you, "No I’m not superwoman and I’m not perfect." ;)

So, you guys know I’ve hired a trainer for nutrition and program help. Well let’s just say I haven’t been a stellar client the last 3 weeks. I’ve been so busy I can’t even see straight, my two main instructors are on vacation in Italy and Hawaii (a concept too foreign for me to grasp), and as I mentioned I was also going through a lot of difficult personal and professional transitions. The food honestly isn’t difficult. I eat fairly healthily and thrive on structure. (We’ll see in a few weeks when cravings kick in ;)) But with the blinding 14-16 hour days my timing has definitely been off and my workouts have suffered. It’s humbling. Yes I get the superwoman comments a lot, but even superwoman has her days. Sometimes I can’t do it all. The things that have been in upheaval have been getting better. Kristin and Cori both get back soon, so I’ll be able to get my balance back and get back to normal, which will be 12-13 hour days. For those of you who know me will know that’s probably the reality haha. But I said I was going to be raw and uncensored and Candice reminded me that I can’t run from telling you. I’m normal. I falter and pick myself back up. It is life. Hopefully it makes me more relatable to you and being humbled helps me understand even more how hard it is when I ask clients to stick to programs. You guys are hardworking career woman, volunteers, in relationships or married, have children, are caring friends, are workaholics like me, or are some wicked fantabulous combination of all of those. You all are MY superwomen. We all have things that knock us down that we’re in control of or not in control of. And it’s our job to get back on our feet and find the balance we need in taking care of ourselves concerning our health, fitness, and personal goals, and time for ourselves.


Candice and another client, Cherry had said they would help throw me topics from time to time if I got stagnant and Candice had already one she had been sitting on. “What have I learned the most through training”, she asks. I’ll save the scientific/physical answers for a later blog. But from the emotional/mental standpoint of an answer there are two responses that fit in quite nicely with this blog actually. Number one is balance and two is to not to be so hard on yourself when you mis-step. Now granted letting my balance go the last little bit here was a necessity due to instructors being gone and being busy, but most of you who know me know that I’m not good at this at all. I’m learning. Learning that the Bootycamp machine doesn’t run if Stacey Cooper is falling apart. Golden. I have to be good to my body mind and soul. Working non-stop doesn’t allow for my own healthy exercise and eating habits, a concept at the core of what I do, right? Competition or no competition. And knowing that my life isn’t all training for a competition. It’s a goal, but I have to balance my work, social, and family life obligations as well. Balance. The second is perfect for these last few weeks. We tend to be so hard on ourselves when we start strict programs. One false move and we snowball. Its over! We’ve screwed it up! There goes the goal! It's self-sabotage of sorts if you will. One of the biggest lessons as well has to be to not be self-depricating and beat ourselves up so badly when we miss a workout or go off a healthy food plan. The snooze alarm? Oh yeah. It was hit this week. Multiple times. Deviate from what my trainers nutrition plan? Definitely. And dare I tell you. Miss a phone appt with him? Gasp. Yup. I’m not perfect. Sshhhhh don’t tell. But I’m dusting myself off and getting back at it. And you all should, too when you get down on yourself. Life gets in the way sometimes, but don’t let it take your goals down permanently.

I had coffee with a very close friend whose also been a client at times a few hours before I wrote this. I finally shared some of the things I’ve been going through the last few months and she literally started to cry. I connected at that moment. Wow. Ok. This is real. I had been going through a lot and it was ok to admit that. It was a much needed moment of validation and to go, "ok, you’re doing the best you can and you’re probably doing a better job than you thought all things considered." For those of you who know me this is HUGE. Taking on a competition with an injury and at such a difficult time wasn’t the most sound decision I’ve ever made. I’m FULLY aware of that, but I want it, so I’m doing it. And you all are going to watch me. My friend looks at me and shakes her head, "you’re superwoman." I look at her and smile, "No, no I’m not. And that’s ok". ;) Plus, that chocolate bar I had instead of my protein shake for my 6th meal at the bowl concert was pretty darn good. My friend didn’t get the memo not to bring chocolate around a bikini girl. ;O

Hey they confiscated my shaker. Not my fault, right?

From the First Step to the Step Back on...

So, I tried blogging the first show and failed miserably! So I’m attempting this again!! I will start from the beginning, and fill you in on all that happened in between my first show to bring us where I am today!

First, I’ll explain what and who led me to do my first show. There once was this girl from Kentucky…literally! I had a client who was a travel nurse from Kentucky who moved to Santa Barbara for a short time who I had the pleasure of training while she was here. She was simply the cutest thing ever as you can see complete with the Kentucky draw! Before she moved back home we had lunch, I was going through a bad breakup, which she knew, and we just started chatting about goals and moving forward.. Before I knew it, somehow the fact that I wanted to do a bikini fitness competition flew out of my mouth! I had never said it out loud, it was just this tiny picture on my vision board, but never had told anyone. Turns out her family and best friend had been involved in the competitive fitness world for quite some time and immediately lit up saying “YOU HAVE TO DO IT!” I kept coming up with multiple excuses which she kept shooting down…they ranged from I wasn’t pretty enough, I was too short, I didn’t have the guts, I wasn’t the girl to show off her body, let alone in a bikini! This was beyond my comfort zone and couldn’t believe we were even discussing it..I knew I had always wanted it..but just told myself I could never..Never. Well, she just wasn’t having it, and shot down everything I had thrown out there! By the end of lunch she said she’d better hear from me that I had done one…I can’t quite explain what happened that day, but I knew as I hugged her goodbye I was doing one..And it would change my life forever…Sarah Westerfield thank you!!!! For you have started it all!

To move you all through what some of you already know…but some don’t; I trained for 3 months, and hard! Pushed beyond all I thought possible, and ended up winning first place in my height class! The competition exceeded all expectations and was simply an incredible experience. Now the part some of you don’t know...three weeks after my show I fell horribly ill. I was in and out of the hospital and/or doctors for 3 months. CAT scans, ultrasounds, scopes...all tests imaginable could not diagnose what was wrong with me! I couldn’t breathe well, was passing out, had odd stomach pains, could barely get out of bed…I tried to maintain working, but it a challenge! Finally my doctor tried a random heavy dosage of antibiotics thinking it may help (after months of not knowing..)And it did...14 days after “it” was gone! To this day we don’t really know what happened. THEN...I slowly recover and immediately start thinking about trying to work out again...and do I want to do another show? While I was sick I missed my chance at going to the nationals in Vegas, which was a hard pill to swallow. So I aim to do a show in December ’09!!! Two weeks into training I threw out my back...and there it ended!

So basically since then I have been battling back problems and pretty much tabled any show talk, I’d settle for getting back into a basic work out! Meanwhile my personal training of women who wanted to compete skyrocketed, I LOVED IT! But always of course there was this sadness not being able to do one again myself, my back pain varied from horrific to manageable day to day, but the pain in my heart was huge...when was I going to be healthy again? When was I going to be able to work out again? Was I ever going to get the chance to be on stage again?

And then there was this girl from Long Beach…, Juliana who moved here to train with me for a show! Another little blond ball of light fell into my hands, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with her! She had started a weight loss journey already and was continuing on with me to pursue her dream of becoming a competitor! Juliana was full of self doubt as many of us are at times and it pulled out my best coaching I had. I explained that this isn’t about winning or getting a six pack, but realizing a dream, setting a goal, and achieving it. She loved the competitive fitness world as much as I did, and knew the standards that had been set. But we fought to get her out of her own head, and some days when I was talking to her I realized I needed to take my own advice!! Well as some of you have seen from the Facebook pictures Juliana looked AMAZING...and when she took the stage, I cannot explain how proud I was! I was proud of all my girls, but I knew she was the one that would make me do another show. That stage isn’t just about flaunting your body; it’s about empowerment, achievement, dedication, hard work, and most of all believing in yourself! No one can tell me I couldn’t do a show again...no one but myself… it might be a little slower and I will have to be a little more patient..and get rid of what the ideal would be..but I could do it. I found that I had gone back to that place of telling myself “I can’t, I can’t!” Sarah told me I could do it through her words, Juliana had told me I could silently through inspiration when she stepped on stage that day. She fought through her own self doubt and even had had an injury herself…if I told her she could do this..I had to tell myself the same thing…

So one night I hit the SHARE button on a facebook post and I knew it would change everything, everyone would ask tomorrow, and I would have to answer “YES, I AM DOING A SHOW!” Now I won’t sugar coat my back injury, this will be an unbelievably hard commitment, and I can’t train my legs...I wonder what I have gotten myself into? But I hired the best of the best in the training world, have the support of my wonderful family, friends, and clients...and hopefully my two bikini angels, Sarah and Juliana will be watching over me the next three months! So Sarah look for a plane ticket coming your way and Juliana, I hope you can come as you are the first two faces I’d love to see when I step down from that stage because you’re both the reasons I took those first steps and this step back on…

THAI CHICKEN COCONUT SOUP

INGREDIENTS
4 oz cellophane noodles
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1-2 red Thai (or jalapeño) peppers, seeded and finely chopped (plus slices for garnish)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon grated lime zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon (or lime) juice
4 tablespoons Thai fish sauce, divided
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, sliced (3 cups)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 5 oz each), cut into 2 1/2-inch-long by 1/4-inch-wide strips
1 cup light coconut milk
2 cups baby spinach
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro (plus sprigs for garnish)

PREPARATION
Place noodles in a bowl; add enough warm water to cover and let sit until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain. Combine broth, pepper, garlic, ginger, lemon zest, lime zest, lemon juice and 3 tbsp fish sauce in a medium saucepan. Season with salt. Bring to a simmer, add noodles and cook 3 minutes more. Using tongs, transfer noodles to a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Add mushrooms to broth; season with salt, if desired; simmer 3 minutes more. Add chicken and coconut milk and simmer, stirring, until chicken is just cooked, about 3 minutes. Stir in spinach until it begins to wilt, about 1 minute. Add chopped cilantro and season with remaining 1 tbsp fish sauce. Using tongs, divide noodles among 4 bowls. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with sprigs of cilantro and slices of pepper.

The Skinny
317 calories per serving
5 g fat
38.g carbs
2.5 g fiber
40.30 g protein

Happy 2009!!

Hi everyone! Are you ready for a new year??
BootyCampSB's new 8 week session begins today! If you were not able to attend sign-ups yesterday please contact me... or go ahead and attend the classes this week and sign up with your trainer.
We are excited about the new session and starting this year off healthy and happy!!
email:
stacey@bootycampsb.com
or
heather@bootycampsb.com

Look forward to seeing you all!