Everyone loves a good success story. It makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside and you feel really connected and proud of that person. Such was the case when I interviewed my client Sherry Bartmanski. I received a great response from that article so I decided to interview another client of mine. This person has turned her life around and made positive changes in the face of adversity. Her determination, strength, and perseverance throughout this process is inspiring. I present to you Susan D’Angelo.
Sue - In the Beginning
The Interview
Me: You’ve been at this for a long time. What is it that motivated you to get started to make a change in the beginning?
SD: I was in a health crisis. I was actually told I was obese. I knew I had to do something and I saw the results that happened with Sherry. That’s what kicked the whole thing off.
Me: When you walked in, you told me that you’d hit a certain level where it was either “Do or Die” for you. What is it that sort of pushed you over the edge?
SD: (laughs) I hit 200lbs, and felt I had to lie to you about it so I told you I was 199.
Me: So if that was the starting point, then how much weight have you lost in total since?
SD: So far, 70 lbs.
In Progress
Me: That’s amazing! What would you say are the main discernable differences between how you felt then and how you feel now?
SD: I can move. I can breathe. I feel strong. I’m not worried about walking up a flight of stairs anymore. I actually enjoy running every once in awhile. (laughs) Just general overall health. I feel young inside and vibrant. Total change.
Me: If you were speaking to someone in the general public, and they said “Sue, I need to get your advice on getting in shape”, what key points could you give them?
SD: You have to have balance. There has to be a balance of what you put into your body and what you take from it. You have to make it strong. Don’t try to focus only on diet or only on exercise. There is a relationship between the two that needs to be considered. Make yourself a priority. You can’t put yourself on a back burner. That’s what I think I did to get into the worst shape of my life. I prioritized everything and everyone else first. I really think you have to make sure you become your own #1 priority. Then the nutrition is easy because you’re now sensing some value in yourself and you’re able to commit. You’re going to treat yourself better and exercise is key.
Me: How do you do that? How do you justify prioritizing yourself when you have children and a family and a work life?
SD: It’s difficult. But I’ve learned over time that when you don’t make yourself a priority, in the long, run you’re the one who pays for it. You’re the one who is going to fall apart. And then you’re not there for your kids. Physically and mentally you’re not there because you’re not vibrant and healthy. You may not be there because you might be dead. Work is always something that has to be a priority but if you’re not strong and healthy, you’re not going to function that well at work, or for that matter at play.
Me: If you were going to make specific nutrition recommendations to the population, based on your understanding, what would they be?
SD: Definitely an increase in vegetable consumption. People usually have very unbalanced diets, very high in wheat consumption, high in starch, potato and pasta consumption. So probably first and foremost would be throwing the vegetables into your diet.
Me: From an exercise standpoint, for a person with a sedentary lifestyle and job, what specific direction could you give someone that is doing pretty much nothing?
SD: Well other than just move, I think setting goals and making a commitment to yourself to exercise in a recreational way would probably be the easiest first step. Whether it be “On Sundays we’re going to, as a family, go on a hike” or “I’m going to go for a bike ride”, just setting an actual time for recreational activities is probably the easiest way to get someone jumpstarted into exercise.
Me: Do you think supplementation has a role for everyone and if so, what supplements would you recommend?
SD: Well I think that in today’s day and age with the lower quality of foods, we’re not getting the minerals that we used to get out of the foods or any of the nutrition that we used to a hundred years ago because we’ve depleted our soil so badly. So supplementation today, I think is paramount because we’re NOT getting the balance and the nutrition out of our food sources that we should. Plus, most of us in the general population are not eating right. I can’t explain specifics on particular supplements. I count on your expertise and research.
Me: You’ve come a long way and a lot of people make excuses for why they can’t put themselves first or why exercise is a limitation (i.e.: they can’t afford a trainer or a gym membership, the time commitment is too much, they have children, they have work lives…etc). How do you respond to that?
SD: I made a choice myself. I didn’t want to take money away from my family. I made a commitment to myself that I was still going to make me a priority and I was still going to come and see you, so I made changes. I went from part time to full time to supplement my income in order to afford this and not feel guilty about it. As far as time goes, my kids are older so I didn’t have the guilt of not making dinner or anything like that to deal with. It was just a matter of having two days a week that I wasn’t available to them for a very short span of time. I have a very supportive husband who likes to play taxi driver every now and then. But as far as prioritizing again, you just have to put yourself first because if you’re not going to be healthy and happy… nothing else will work out.
Me: Given what you know now about the results that can be obtained through exercise and proper nutrition, if your husband weren’t to play taxi, your kids were young, you were busy and you were the weight you were before, would you now have found time to make it happen?
SD: Knowing what I know now…definitely. I would somehow change my life; change my schedule so that I could accomplish this. In the beginning I really didn’t know. You were very confident in what changes were going to come. I didn’t know. I hadn’t been there. With that knowledge up front…I’d have found a way to make it work sooner.
I didn’t think I’d get to where I am now. I didn’t ever think at any time, before meeting you that I would be sitting here criticizing my body for certain muscles not being as defined or as big as I want them to be. I just never thought that I would get there. It has been a very pleasant surprise. The thing that surprised me the most? It’s that I have never not wanted to go and work out.
In One Leg!
Me: I know people always have reasons and we’ve addressed the main ones: money, time and physical ability but, you’ve recently been diagnosed with Lupus. (For people who don’t know, Lupus is painful and potentially life threatening disease) It must have taken a lot to come to terms with that. How has life changed for you since you’ve found out?
SD: I’m not a person who holds a lot of stress in. I vent all the time. I’m aware more quickly of how my stress is affecting me because my Lupus becomes very visible. (Pauses) Certain things that used to irritate me or stress me out I am finding easier to cope with by putting them on the backburner and saying “Well really, I don’t need to worry about that, I don’t need to stress about that”. I tend to shrug off a lot of things that would normally have bothered me before. I don’t take them on anymore. I’ve learned that some battles are better off not fought.
Me: When you hear people give reasons why they can’t find time to exercise when you’re facing this life change in front of you, does that make you feel differently? How do you respond to the people who have these “challenges” when you’re obviously facing something a little bit more serious?
SD: I think that anyone who tries to make an excuse for not doing something that they think they want to do or that they’re expressing that they want to do, really aren’t committed to having that goal attained. They’re like “yeah-it would be nice IF I could go to the gym, It would be nice IF I could lose weight” but truly in my opinion, it’s not a priority of theirs.
Me: So if it becomes a priority, it’s a priority even in the face of setbacks?
SD: Yes. Definitely.
Me: I think the reason I’m bringing this up to such a great extent is because I believe that people think that they have it bad until they get a reality check. Most people have the luxury of being able to hold on to a bar in the gym and have their hands not hurt. When your hands bother you, you have to put on a pair of gloves and hope to hell that they don’t get sore. I just want to bring that to the attention of people who think they have limitations but, when they put it into perspective, they really don’t.
SD: Well the thing that comes to mind with me in the gym, when I do hang on to something and my hands are bothering me, it’s an irritation that I’m more determined to get over. I think I can better arm my body to resist any kind of downswing in regards to the Lupus by getting stronger. So my hands might hurt on that day but through determination, I’ll just push through because I know my body is going to be stronger when I walk out of the gym than when I walked in. I think in the long run that it’ll help me deal with Lupus.
Me: Great mindset Sue! Let’s go somewhere else. With regards to managing your house so that you can eat the foods you need to eat without cheating, how do you handle that? How do you handle having cheats and stopping or how do you prevent yourself from not breaking down during the week?
SD: I rely on willpower because I have stuff in my house every day that could tempt me. My theory is that it doesn’t have to be in the house to be tempting. If I’m not going to be strong for myself, I can go around the corner. It takes 2 seconds. But for me it’s not that much of a challenge.
There have been occasions I have weakened but they’re few and far between because I think I’m worth not denial, but deferment, of the pleasure of having a chocolate bar or a bag of chips. That’s the big thing with the eating plan that you’ve had me on. It’s not that you can never have the foods you think you want; it’s just a postponement of that craving. I can live with deferring a craving so it really hasn’t affected me.
Me: Anything else you want to throw in?
SD: If you think the battle of health and vitality is lost, go find somebody who has done something positive. Talk to them and learn. Look for help. It’s not impossible. I’m walking proof. I’ve attained what I thought I’d totally lost. Don’t give up. You can make a change. That’s about it.
Me: Alright. Thank you Sue.
SD: You’re welcome Mark.
January 23rd, 2007
Step into any nutrition store and you’ll be literally amazed, and possibly confused, by the outrageous number of protein powders and ready-mixed shakes available. Perhaps it is this bewilderment that leads many people to ask the question “which protein is the best protein”. In fact, some people are so mystified that they make the conclusion that protein powders are “not for me” or that they’re for bodybuilders who “need to take that kind of stuff”.
Here I’ll try to break it all down for you so that maybe the next time you enter a nutrition store you’ll not be embarrassed and know exactly what you want.
What exactly is protein powder anyway?
The majority of protein powders are made from milk proteins. In milk there are two major protein sources called whey and casein. Casein constitutes about 80% of the protein in milk and whey represents almost all of the other 20%. These can be separated from milk, dried and sold separately. The lactose is also usually removed making them lactose free.
It is interesting to note that in human breast milk whey represents 60% of the proteins and casein only 40%. This makes many people (myself included) question whether we should really be drinking cow’s milk at all. The fact that we are the only species that regularly drinks the milk of another animal makes this notion worthy of consideration.
The Components - Whey
Whey (pronounced: way) is, by far, the most popular protein powder on the market today. Of the two proteins in milk it is the one that absorbs fastest and creates the most rapid spike in protein (amino acid) levels in the blood. These proteins can then be delivered to the necessary tissues very quickly. After a brief peak, the protein levels drop off almost as quickly as they rose.
Whey generally comes in 3 forms:
Concentrate:
- Least absorbable
- Some lactose may remain
Isolate:
- More absorbable
- All lactose is removed
Hydrolysate:
- Most rapidly absorbable
- Generally more expensive
The Components - Casein
Casein (pronounced: kay-seen), on the other hand, is a slower absorbing protein. It does not reach the same peak levels of protein in the blood as whey. However, due to its slow absorption it maintains a more steady protein concentration in the blood for several hours.
The “BEST” Proteins
Before we go on, it is important to state that anything I’m about to say about protein powders is a snapshot of our scientific understanding at this exact moment. Since our knowledge of the body is constantly evolving, things can change at a very rapid pace. For the time being I don’t foresee any major changes on the horizon, but you have to at least be aware of the possibility.
It is also important that you understand what proteins do and do not do. Given our earlier description you should have discovered by now that protein powders are nothing more than a convenient substitute for the protein you might get by eating whole foods such as meat, eggs, and other dairy. In a perfect world, I would almost always recommend whole food over shakes. However, given our fast paced lifestyles protein shakes are sometimes the only reliable way to get in proteins that we don’t have the time or inclination to eat.
That said, you should now understand that protein powders are not solely responsible for making you lose fat or gain muscle. They may be part of a program, but do not contain any miracle ingredients that will make reaching your goal any less difficult.
Meal Replacements
Good meal replacements (otherwise known as MRPs) usually contain a mixture of whey protein and casein. Whey provides a brief influx of protein into the blood while the casein ensures a longer lasting concentration. These shakes are best used for replacing snacks or meals where a whole food protein source is not available. They are also fantastic for use before going to bed to guarantee a steady availability of protein to the body in the hours while we’re sleeping.
Look on the label for casein or calcium caseinate to appear in the first few ingredients. You should also see whey protein listed as well.
Popular brands of meal replacement drinks such as Slim-Fast tend to have very high levels of carbohydrates (mostly coming from sugar) and low levels of cheap protein. Be cautious that you’re only getting what you want and avoid protein powders with anything more than 5-7 grams of carbohydrates per serving.
My recommendations at this time would be:
Biotest – Metabolic Drive
Labrada – ProV 60
Post-Workout Drinks
There is plenty of scientific evidence to show that ingesting a protein containing beverage after exercise increases muscle protein synthesis. In essence, you’ll gain or retain more muscle if you take in protein very shortly after exercise.
For those who’re saying “That’s not for me. I don’t want to be huge”, don’t panic. People who are huge don’t get that way by accident. You aren’t going to wake up tomorrow morning looking like Arnold. For now just trust that gaining muscle and losing fat will dramatically improve your body composition.
There is some debate as to whether or not everyone should have carbohydrates (read: sugars) in their post-workout protein drink. My assertion is that those who are already lean can probably get away with it because their carbohydrate tolerance is probably okay.
For them I would recommend a drink like Biotest’s Surge. It has plenty of fast absorbing whey protein hydrolysate and some additional carbohydrates to help spare muscle. At the post-workout period absorption is critical which makes the hydrolysate a good choice. Casein isn’t particularly needed in this circumstance.
For those among us who aren’t as lean as they’d like to be, I’d suggest using a whey protein isolate such as Ultimate Nutrition’s Isopreme. I would also be inclined to add some L-glutamine, but that would be another article entirely.
What About Soy?
My take on soy is that there are possibly some health benefits and it might be a viable option for vegetarians. However, it also produces estrogens that I believe might prevent fat loss and possibly cause other health problems. At this point I don’t think there is enough solid evidence to warrant its use.
Don’t be a Scrooge
With many proteins you get exactly what you pay for. If you see a ten pound bucket for the same price as a two pound container you can rest assured that they are not made of the same quality protein. Cheap proteins often taste terrible, don’t mix well, or give you gas and bloating. Spend the money and you’ll save yourself the grief.
Mixing
While you could mix your protein powder with milk, I’d suggest using water. Milk contains carbohydrates from lactose and additional calories that only counter the benefits of choosing a powder over milk in the first place.
Wrap Up
I hope this “snapshot” has provided you with the information to make the right choice with regards to the type of protein that is suited to your needs. Maybe next time you face the great stacks of protein you’ll be able to do so with much less confusion.
Good Luck!
January 17th, 2007
Before I go any further I want you to understand that the absolute most important part of building a lean and sexy midsection is nutrition. Whether you’re aiming to have a stunning set of abs or just to have a flatter stomach there is absolutely no other way. If you look long enough you’ll probably meet someone who’ll tell you otherwise, but they’re selling you a load of BS.
There are no exercises or diet pills that can overcome the effects of a crumby diet. If you want to achieve a leaner midsection you’ll need to examine what you’re putting in your mouth.
That said, there are some exercises that can help develop the musculature underneath the fat and provide the look you want once you manage to get your diet in order.
Most people jump into abdominal exercise with the ever-popular crunch. As appealing as it is to lie on your back and do several thousand repetitive head and shoulder lifts, I’m going to suggest doing something totally different. I’m going to suggest that before you run out and do something that requires movement, that you gain control of your abs in a static (i.e., movement free) position. The goal here is to strengthen the muscles that provide stability to the spine and to develop all the muscles of the midsection.
Isn’t This Just Core Training?
While some might call this “core training”, I prefer to refer to it as abdominal exercise since the term core training is most often used as a buzzword by untalented, stability ball hugging trainers to make sales based on media hype. The “core”, as it is called, is made up of so many muscles that they must be targeted in the very specific way and balancing single legged on a bosu ball with a blindfold just doesn’t cut it.
Performing A Plank
The staple exercise of static abdominal training is the plank. While there are several variations, the simplest are probably the most effective.
Lie on your stomach and prop yourself up on your elbows. The goal here is to hold yourself in an entirely straight position for as long as possible. Be careful that you don’t stick your butt up in the air or let your body sag. You should be as straight as a board. If your form starts to suffer the set is over.
The Side Plank
To perform a side plank (otherwise known as a side bridge) I’d suggest that you start with your knees bent at a 90 degree angle and lie on your side. Then prop yourself up on your elbow and hold your body as straight as possible for as long as possible. As with the normal plank, do not let your body sag towards the floor. Your free arm should rest on top of your other leg. If you feel pain in the shoulder that you’re leaning on it sometimes helps to take your free hand and to pull down gently on top of that shoulder during the set. After you’ve completed one side switch to the other and repeat.
Once you’re able to hold this variation of side plank for about a minute you can add difficulty by performing it with your legs straight. This makes it much harder to remain straight so extra attention is required.
The Plank Roll
After you’ve mastered both the front and straight legged side plank (i.e., you can do them each for a minute) you can attempt a plank roll. Choose a side and perform a 30 second side bridge. At the end of the 30 seconds keep the body entirely straight and roll to the center plank position without your body ever touching the floor. Hold this for another 30 seconds and roll to the opposite side keeping the body rigid. After the final 30 second side bridge your set is over. When performing this exercise the most common mistake is to let the butt stick up into the air when performing the roll. For absolute control of the abdominals you must remain absolutely straight. To advance simply increase the amount of time spent in each position to a maximum of 1.5 minutes each.
Graduation
At this point, and only at this point, are you truly ready to graduate to exercises where motion is involved. See part II of this article for the next phase.
Now all the remains is to get your eating habits under control and you’ll have an amazing set of abs.
January 10th, 2007
Probably the biggest barrier to most people’s success in fitness has absolutely nothing to do with what they know or don’t know about exercise. In fact, it probably has very little to do with nutrition either. I think most people know at least some of the things they need to do to make progress. They just don’t Make It Happen.
Consider the person who wants to be healthier, but continues to eat cheese burgers and other unwise food choices even though it will take them in the absolute opposite direction. What about the person who secretly desires to have a fantastic body? She won’t even mention it to her friends because she’s afraid to fail publicly, but sits on the couch watching TV instead of exercising to get what she so truly yearns for.
While this particular article is about fitness, the theme is about something much bigger. I would argue that this is the biggest factor affecting everything in your life. When you look at people who are successful in any arena, whether it be physical fitness, business, or even scientific discovery, you’ll notice one major difference from the rest of the population. They didn’t just sit around and wait for something to happen to them. They went out and MADE it happen. Moreover, some of them made it happen in several different areas of their life. Some made it happen despite great adversity. Most importantly, all of them made it happen when it would have been easier to make excuses or quit.
Arnold Schwarzenegger made it happen.
Ghandi made it happen.
Donald Trump made it happen. Several Times.
A Story About Jen
Now I can hear some of you saying things like “These people are all famous. Of course, they can make it happen.” The truth is that not one of these people would be famous without having made the great efforts and sacrifices to get there. However, If you’re still skeptical I’ll share a story about a “real person”. This is about a former client of mine that continues to make it happen in a situation where most people would just quit.
My client, let’s call her Jen, is a truck driver. She drives all over the United States and Canada and is usually on the road for several days at a time. She is also overweight. I don’t mean this to be offensive or to categorize, but you need to understand another limitation that she faces. Though she’s already lost over 100lbs she’s probably got another hundred or more to go. This makes things like exercise or just moving around difficult or at least more difficult that it would be for you or me.
She is limited most of the time to eating at truck stops. Sometimes she has the opportunity to pull off the road to get food at a grocery store, but on a day to day basis this is unrealistic when she’s on a tight deadline. To make matters worse, foods such as various types of produce and some meats are not permitted when crossing the border, making transport difficult. Jen also has no gym at her disposal. In fact, when she’s not driving she’s mostly confined to truck stops.
At this point Jen had two choices. She had to decide what was genuinely really important to her. Then she had to decide to make it happen. She opted for fitness (what really mattered) over convenience and she more than certainly decided to make it happen.
Making it Happen
Jen informed me once that when you eat at a truck stop you’re lucky if you can order a piece of chicken that isn’t fried. When it is, she scrapes off the breading in the hopes of finding a remotely healthy meal underneath. Of course, this isn’t optimal, but it is the best possible option. She also tells me that sometimes the only thing resembling a vegetable is a wilted salad. Nonetheless, she does what has to be done and opts for the salad over french fries.
Since there is typically no gym available and a female probably doesn’t want to get too far away from her vehicle in a truck stop, Jen did some math. She calculated that 32 times around her trailer is approximately one mile. Every morning Jen walks 32 boring laps around her trailer. Then she does it again at night.
To exercise her upper body she cranks up and down the “feet” that come down when a truck leaves its trailer. She does this 5 times per arm every day. I’ve done this. It is not fun. Then for her lower body she climbs up and down the steps on the side of the cab. For some this might seem easy, but remember that Jen probably has 100lbs on you. She’s also already walked a mile and has almost killed herself cranking the feet up and down.
Jen has lost 100lbs in a year because of one reason.
She could have pretended that she really didn’t care about her weight.
She could have made excuses.
But she didn’t.
Jen MADE IT HAPPEN.
Your Turn
Right now I urge you to examine the things you really want out of life. It could be fitness. It could be a better job. It could be anything. Now ask yourself if your actions are in line with what you want. If not you have two choices. You can sit there as a passenger in your own life or you can grab the wheel and drive.
January 3rd, 2007
