“Don’t try. Just do it.”

I can’t count all of the times Brian said/wrote/texted the above two sentences to me during the five months he was my CityFit trainer. Succinct as usual, he never accepted any of my excuses for missing my daily workout or for not watching my carbs. Excuses which, I finally realized, were mostly for my own benefit, not his.

Because the most important lesson Brian taught me as he coached me from 135 to 110 lbs is that, in order to get fit, “trying” isn’t enough. You either stick to your goals or you get lazy and you fail.

I couldn’t have reached my goal weight without Brian’s persistence and, above all, support. Not only did he help me achieve a balanced diet by commenting on my daily Food Journals and teaching me all the do’s and don’t’s of a good workout routine – but he also showed me that I’m capable of so much more than I had thought possible.

Finally at 110 lbs and feeling and looking better than ever, I am at complete peace with my body and with my mind. Thanks to Brian’s changing my entire perspective on fitness and nutrition, I know that I now have the knowledge and the confidence to be healthier, and happier, for the rest of my life.

Before joining the program with Brian, I found myself in a rut. I was eating junk food, had no energy, and was overweight. More important, I was unhappy with myself and wanted to make changes in my life. Brian helped me focus on what food I was consuming and stay accountable to my food journal and workout schedule.

With support, I was able to lose 37 pounds, a couple pants sizes, and gained self confidence I needed. I’ve learned a different way to live – a healthy lifestyle!!!It wasn’t always easy, but I learned how to be disciplined and achieve my goals. All the effort and time was so worth the end results!
-Michelle

That is if you think you are. If you’ve been blaming your belly fat on the fact that you’re growing older, now’s the time to stop believing that weight gain is an inevitable part of aging. Yes, as we get older our hormone balance shifts in ways that encourage weight gain. For example, testosterone levels decline in men, and women’s insulin-regulating hormones become less effective. These changes can decrease muscle mass and energy while increasing belly fat and insulin resistance. But there’s no reason we can’t stay healthy and keep our hormones balanced as we age. Ongoing research suggests that age-related muscle decline is largely under our control. The more we eat clean, live clean, and work out, the better our hormone balance will be, and the healthier our metabolisms will remain.

Many people just let exercise slide as they get older; then they turn around and blame their lagging metabolism on their age. I’ll be honest, some people don’t like to exercise. But the reality is, we have to do it. Your body needs exercise the way it needs oxygen and water. It’s crucial to maintain muscle mass as you age: A pound of muscle burns three times more calories than a pound of fat does, and muscles scoop up blood sugar and enhance your body’s insulin sensitivity.

As for optimizing your hormone balance, the best way to do it is naturally. Nature has provided us with the cure for a lagging metabolism; we just neglect it! We have amazing whole foods that not only help us balance our hormones but also fight cancer, diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s. So what do we do? We opt for the easy, temporarily satisfying quick fix and choose Fast Food. We have to reclaim these whole foods and fight back against the ravages of time, which are mostly due to our choices. Don’t wait until you’re blowing out 50 or 60 candles on your birthday cake. Fight for that healthier lifestyle.

So, what do you do?

One must burn more calories than one takes in to lose weight at any age. This can be done either with caloric restriction or with exercise. The metabolism slows down as we age, increasing weight with age is partly due to a drop-off in activity while dietary habits stay the same or get worse.

There is something else: between the ages of 18 to 65 the average sedentary person can lose (through atrophy) up to 50% of their lean mass. That means, if you’re 65, you may have half the muscle you did when you were 18. Did you like how you felt at 18? Did you think you looked pretty good and that you were in shape? Would you like to get back to the condition you were then?

There are three basic components (types) of exercise: resistance training, cardiovascular conditioning and flexibility. Every form of exercise you do can be pigeon holed into one of those three categories. Which do you need? Right, you need all three.

Resistance Training

As you gain strength, joints and muscles work more efficiently together to increase your functionality all round, including balance, stamina and injury prevention. Resistance training is heralding a revolution in the maintenance of functionality into older age. The muscle mass decline and the unsteadiness that goes with aging may not be as inevitable as once thought.

Losing weight by calorie restriction alone can produce a decline in bone mass and muscle mass? Resistance training is the ideal companion for any weight loss program because it helps maintain bone density and muscle mass while you’re dropping those pounds. And muscle is metabolically active.

Cardiovascular Conditioning

Cardiovascular, or Aerobic exercise, refers to exercise that involves or improves oxygen consumption by the body. Aerobic means “with oxygen”, and refers to the use of oxygen in the body’s metabolic or energy-generating process.

Cardiovascular exercise is performed at moderate levels of intensity for extended periods of time. To obtain the best results, the exercise session involves a warm up period, followed by at least 20 minutes of moderate to intense exercise involving large muscle groups, and a cooling down period at the end.

Here are some benefits:

1. Strengthening the muscles involved in respiration, to facilitate the flow of air in and out of the lungs.
2. Strengthening and enlarging the heart muscle, to improve its pumping efficiency and reduce the resting heart rate, known as aerobic conditioning.
3. Toning muscles throughout the body Improving circulation efficiency and reducing blood pressure.
4. Increasing the total number of red blood cells in the body, facilitating transport of oxygen.
5. Improved mental health, including reducing stress and lowering the incidence of depression.

Flexibility Training

Flexibility is a joint’s ability to move through a full range of motion. Flexibility training (stretching) is not about becoming a world class gymnast. It’s about balancing the muscle groups you use, or overuse, during exercise and other activities, or from bad posture.
The Benefits:

1. Improved Performance, Decreased Injury Risk
2. Reduced Muscle Soreness
3. Improved Posture
4. Reduced Risk of Low Back Pain (As someone who has broken his back, and has essentially no back pain, I can tout the benefits).
5. Increased Blood and Nutrients to Tissues
6. Improved Muscle Coordination
7. Enhanced Enjoyment of Physical Activities

The essential list for aging gracefully:

-Meeting protein requirements daily.
-Providing essential fatty acids to your diet.
-Keeping refined carbohydrates to a minimum.
-Food enzymes and supplemental micronutrients.
-25-40 grams of fiber daily. 8-10 8oz. glasses of water daily.
-Intake of daily essential vitamins and minerals needed for optimal health.
-Resistance exercise to maintain muscle.
-Cardiovascular exercise to maintain the cardio-respiratory system.
-Flexibility training to balance the body’s structure.
-Rest – Relaxation – Sunlight (in moderation).
-Good feeling about oneself (self image).
-Positive goals and constructive activities.
-Emotionally healthy beliefs.
-Mutually supportive relationships.
-A sense of humor.
-Positive regard for life in general – this may be the best recipe for reverse aging!

The bottom line is you can do more.