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Transformation and 5 Big Reasons Body Composition Matters

I quit dieting in 2010.

Have you realized that some things were just so temporary, ill-fated and too futile to continue doing?

For me, the thought going on a diet is rarer than the thought of me eating candy or drinking soda. You would really have to search and dig deep to find any reason for me to go on a diet. Maybe, you could pay me to go on a diet.

Lifestyle & Environment are keys to unlocking meaningful health.

No longer is it, “You are what you eat,” because now the phrase is, “You are what you absorb.”

Even more, components of our intake that we do not absorb either needs to be processed by the digestive system and detoxified otherwise undigested nutrients could become a serious harm. In truth, you’ll never get the results you want without supporting the gut and digestive process in some way.

Reasons to Care about Body Composition.

I wanted to provide some background motivation for people who are interested in transformation, especially as it relates to body composition, muscle hypertrophy, and the slimming of adipose cells.

1. Adipose tissue, otherwise known as body fat, can disrupt the hormonal system and cause inflammation.

Body fat is not simply a caloric storage unit. Body fat is much more complex than that. Body fat is part of the endocrine system and is contributes to inflammatory and metabolic diseases due to the inflammatory hormones it releases.

Excess adipose tissue = excess inflammation = onset of metabolic diseases = painful pathway to death.

2. Muscles are essential to quality of life.

Strong, balanced muscles are a blessing to all those who wish to enjoy quality movement and an upright posture. We don’t often appreciate our muscles until we get injured or lose function somehow. Becoming older does not mean you have to suffer from a bad back, hips, knees, or shoulders.

Muscles support the body and can take a lot of the stress off of your joints. Muscles can store carbohydrates in addition to the plethora of amino acids in muscles. Muscles can be broken down into essential nutrients to support brain function in times of need.

Furthermore, muscles can atrophy and muscles can hypertrophy in hours or days. Because our bodies can regenerate muscle cells so quickly, they are greatly affected by the nutrients we ingest on a daily basis.

3. More muscle = more bone mineral density.

Along with strenuous physical activity, bones are encouraged to store valuable minerals which not only makes the bone stronger, but also regulates crucial features of human metabolism.

For example, the minerals in bone regulate human pH so that if you consume something highly acidic like soda, your body will actually pull calcium from the bones in order to balance the acidity of the soda.

People who drink a lot of soda or consume a lot of sugar are more likely to get osteoporosis.

Other foods may be acidic and contains acids, but due to the minerals are actually more alkaline forming in the body. For example, lemon juice contains minerals that nourish the body, while soda contains ingredients that deplete the body.

4. You get to make choices in how you will eventually perish and what your end of days will look like.

We will all die, that’s a fact. Knowing that I will die one day gives me courage to love today. However, there is a big difference between dying from preventable diseases in your 60’s and 70’s vs living an active lifestyle into your 90’s.

People who are in their 20’s and 30’s are trending to experience diseases earlier and more frequently than the baby boomers did during their 40’s and 50’s. If you consume the standard, mainstream food products and eat food mostly for coping… well let’s just say be glad you are reading this now, because transformation is on the horizon.

By caring about your body composition, you will be able to stand tall and proud, and you will be able to set an example for your grandchildren and your great grandchildren.

5. Confidence and physical appeal.

In my experience, true confidence does not come from having a nice body. True confidence comes from accomplishments and overcoming challenges.

How can you turn your challenges into opportunities to help yourself and others?

Barriers are a gift. Barriers and obstacles are what you wash away or transform into something more meaningful and productive for you. We generally need some sort of suffering or misery in order to transcend quickly. All thoughts can be reframed and all questions can be asked in different ways.

Are you willing to transform yourself from deep within?

Transformation is about your relationship to nature, the planet, and the universe.

Do you dare to consume the freshest foods?

Are you able to stay hydrated instead of reaching for the depleting can of diet soda?

Can you fathom enjoying the temporary feeling of hunger?

Would you be willing to accept that you need to develop a new, greater awareness of yourself in order to move forward?

Everything is connected.

You, me, the air and the trees.

There is no nothing, there is always something.

All things happen for a reason.

BE THE REASON!

Thanks for reading and make sure to hit the follow button for new updates.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Body Composition disease prevention Fitness Nutrition, Immunity, and Digestion Orangetheory Seattle
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WARNING: Don’t Go Blind with THIS Eating Strategy

A heartbreaking headline crossed the screens recently.

“Teenager goes blind from years-long diet of french fries, potato chips and white bread!”

I am sorry!

fries

Science Says: Eating nothing but fries, potato chips, and white bread can make you go blind.

Apparently the doctors and people around him said that he looked healthy and no visual factors indicated that he was in serious condition.

You Can’t Judge a person’s health by their appearance alone!

Behavior is another important way to understand the potential health consequences occurring within a body. The behavior of selectively avoiding anything fresh or colorful in an eating habit could lead to dire consequences, such as blindness!

I have seen people in larger bodies do amazing things in a fitness setting and my experiences in fitness have led me to believe that you can be healthy and fit in so many different shapes and sizes.

That being said, you can also be unhealthy and unfit in so many ways too. Therefore, we should all strive to attain regular consumption of fresh greens and also veggies of the colorful variety because doing so can possibly lead to healthy normal function in all systems of the body.

Essential nutrients may be essential to living, while non-essential nutrients may be essential to well-being.

Personally, I love the feeling after I eat the Red Chard vegetable leaves, for example. Lately, I have been placing a layer of pico de gallo sauerkraut on top of the boiled red chard and the taste is quite palatable.

yummyredchard

To me, these are beautiful red chard leaves and I would probably boil them at home in my own comfort.

One reason I love red chard is because it provides many of the benefits of beets without the sugars. The red antioxidant can be strongly present in the veins of the chard leaves (if rainbow chard, you get more variety of antioxidant). The nutrients found within the green leaves also help to promote healthy blood sugar so that my body has the incentive to keep overall fat-mass on the healthy side.

Key Takeaway: Blindness is Caused by a Junk Food Diet.

Seriously, eat your damn vegetables. I have to tell myself this over and over. Trust me, I don’t want to eat vegetables every day.

Unfortunately for me, I have been in settings where I have seen the consequences of poor eating and I have witnessed a quality of life that I never wish for anybody.

Food literally interacts with our DNA and genetic expression. This processed environment that we often ingest is too over-stimulating for our bodies to handle, and may be strongly related to obesity, heart disease, cancer and more.

You may be able to change your life with nutritionally motivated eating

I will have more articles about how to use food for disease prevention coming up. Of course, I am still very interested in using nutrition for keeping body fat at healthy levels so there will be more content related to that as well.

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Five Things Trainers are thinking while coaching your group fitness workout.

Coaches are thinking a lot of things during a session.

Here are five to share with you today.

1. What is that smell?

Actually, this is not the case much of the time. Probably because I get used to it and don’t notice it much anymore. I know most people would prefer not to pass gas during a class but sometimes it’s accidental or they need release badly. Bless everybody, I’m sure we all have a story!

2. Safety is priority.

My priority is to execute the workout in a safe, highly effective and fun way. That means keeping an eye out for neutral spines and opportunity to improve the upper back mobility of an individual.

3. I am impressed by people’s efforts and also need to know who needs some love.

I try to think about how every person has had a different day so far coming into this workout. For some people, we’re working out at 5 AM. For other people, we’re at 5:30 PM. I want people to know that I am amazed by their efforts and I want to validate all of your accomplishments.

4. Put the group first, so that they can put their best selves first.

The nice thing about Orangetheory Fitness or group workouts is that even though you are in a group atmosphere, you can often work at your own pace and feel that you are truly getting our own workout. That’s why I am invested in how the group is working effectively towards success.

Scroll for another one.

 

5. Stay in the moment.

Even though it is tempting to think about what you are doing that Saturday night, it’s unfair to the other people if you’re not thinking about them. Staying focused on other people can truly be your gift or your passion because of the value that it provides.

If you like this, follow the blog!

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Top 10 Benefits of Having Low Body Fat

Here are some benefits of getting down to a lower body fat that might help you stay focused this year.

Benefits of Low Body Fat Percentage:

1. Exercises become less challenging and you become more capable.

When your body is functioning in a lean condition, every movement requires less power than before because now you have decreased excess body fat.

cuecf

Everything from running, jumping, to burpees and even squatting become less challenging to perform. As a result, you will be able to do more volume, run faster, jump higher, and you will need to add additional resistance to exercises like squats because you have already overcome your bodyweight.

2. Clothes fit better.

I am assuming that you are also working out, not simply dieting to lose body fat. Due to your exercise, you should have some lean muscle to fill out the contours of your clothing while having a V-shape torso for the men and hourglass figure for the women.

3. More confidence in your appearance.

Even though having low body fat does not mean you will magically have more confidence, there is a good chance that you will gain confidence from all of the challenges that you had to overcome and also from being able to standing up tall due to your superior posture and presentation.

These benefits can definitely help with your dating life/marriage and your professional life as you have interactions that are no longer dragged down by issues of confidence and self-esteem.

4. You will probably live longer.

Unfortunately, most people will get diseases at some point. For you, the low-body fat individual, these diseases may be delayed much further than the average person. So while some people may be getting major illnesses in their 50’s and 60’s, the person with lower body fat has a better chance of sticking it out until the 80’s and 90’s and beyond before succumbing to some inevitable fate.

Basically, people with lower body fat are likely to have an additional 20-30 years of quality of life than people who eat the Standard American Diet every day.

5. Society treats you better.

Not something that is ideal, but something that is common. People who have a fitter appearance are perceived to be more attractive and of higher social status. With low body fat, people are likely to make positive assumptions about you such as ability to have discipline, a healthy social/dating life, and better career options.

6. Increased athleticism. 

Being athletic is not reserved for people who play sports all of the time. You can become quite athletic through structured training regimens and also by decreasing your body fat at the same time.

With lower body fat, you will be able to move your body more efficiently and possibly have more impact for yourself or for your team.

7. You may have less inflammation in the body.

Body fat CAUSES inflammation. When a person has excessive body fat, it actually increases the release of inflammatory cytokines in the body and makes it even harder to burn fat.

The best way to manage inflammation is through healthy nutritional and lifestyle choices.

8. The older you get, the more rare and special you will be.

People in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, or beyond who have low body fat and healthy muscle tone are a rarity. Having low body fat into the middle and older ages is a sign of health, status, and overall discipline. If this is you, congratulations because you are seen as being more attractive and desirable for many social reasons.

9. You have more confidence in your body.

You can take your shirt off now. The beach? No problem. The pool? No problem. You might even start showing off subtlety or explicitly. Physical confidence can be fun, exciting, and alluring. And the best part is that you know that you earned it.

10. Your life is priceless.

If you are lean and fit, it is worth more than any sports car or any mansion or any material item. Having your health, physically and mentally, is something that should never be taken for granted. You could lose it today. So go out and do some good with your lean self.

You must NEVER fat-shame others.

My fit friends, fat shaming is unacceptable just as fit-shaming is. You never know a story of a person until they actually share it with you. I don’t think that having a lean body is the ultimate goal for everybody nor should it be. The pursuit of health is more important than having ripped abs — therefore we must support our fellow people no matter their shape, size, age, or any other criteria related to appearance.

For tips about what food to eat to get lean, continue reading this blog!

 

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Something Amazing Happened When I Learned Self-Forgiveness

Have you ever felt that you’re just not good enough? I spent too many years feeling that I wasn’t worthy and I let external factors degrade my self esteem. I had moments where I was brought down to my hands and knees agonizing over my own life choices and the circumstances that I found myself in.

The pain was unbearable and yet somehow I kept slipping back into old habits and bad behaviors.

I was trying to escape from my own potential because I couldn’t bridge the gap between who I thought I was and who I thought I wanted to be.

During the after effects of making mistakes or isolating myself from people who cared about me, I realized that what I was lacking was a higher purpose. Instant gratification from gaming, recreational drugs, and sugar WILL take a toll on you sooner than you realize. When it’s too late, then you will find yourself in rock bottom wishing that you had made better choices.

Rock Bottom is an opportunity take inventory of everything that you have going for you and find a way to rise up again.

I don’t need to be anybody but myself. Who I am is good enough.

I forgave myself for spending my youth playing video games, for smoking weed to escape, and for not asserting myself. I still have to forgive myself for making mistakes or impulsive decisions that detract from my goals in life and I think that’s totally okay because I’m not trying to be perfect. I’m just trying to use my life to have an impact on the world.

Only I can give meaning to my life and it starts by letting go of the things that have weighed me down.

My reality is what I make of it. I’m willing to be uncomfortable if it means that I’m moving forward and making a difference. I’m willing to put myself out there to be judged because I can’t think of anything worse than selfishly holding back on sharing whatever gifts I may have to give. 

Focus on what you can do now.

It’s true that now is all that we ever have. Focus on what you can do now instead of stressing about what you have done. Maybe you just need to understand yourself better so that you can keep yourself in a position of strength and self-control while still allowing yourself to be vulnerable to love.

Maybe you just need to realize your higher purpose…

Blog & Personality Power of the Mind
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4 Health Benefits of Guacamole

Have you made guacamole or do you remember the first time you made it?

Guacamole for Fitness Gains

I’m passionate about food in a big way. I was blessed to be able to stuff food into my stomach and I’ve learned that some ways of eating are better than others.

^ New video! Watch me make my famous Guacamole! Also if you’re on YouTube, hit that subscribe button 🙂

Benefits of Guacamole for Health and Fitness

In this article, we’ll talk about some of the benefits of the particular ingredients in guacamole that may be relevant for a person interested in fitness, fat loss, and health.

1. High Fiber

People who consume higher fiber on average are at less risk for many types of diseases, especially obesity.

The mechanisms of dietary fiber on health is speculated to be a result of changes in intestinal viscosity, nutrient absorption, rate of passage, production of short chain fatty acids and production of gut hormones

All of the above benefits are exactly the mechanisms that support a healthy metabolism and the potential for a person to be able to experience the lean lifestyle.

Individuals with high intakes of dietary fiber appear to be at significantly lower risk for developing coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and certain gastrointestinal diseases. Increasing fiber intake lowers blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels. Increased intake of soluble fiber improves glycemia and insulin sensitivity in non-diabetic and diabetic individuals. Fiber supplementation in obese individuals significantly enhances weight loss. Increased fiber intake benefits a number of gastrointestinal disorders including the following: gastroesophageal reflux disease, duodenal ulcer, diverticulitis, constipation, and hemorrhoids… The recommended dietary fiber intakes for children and adults are 14 g/1000 kcal.

Let’s recap: less risk of metabolic diseases that millions of people are currently dying from, and less chance of getting hurt by bacteria, toxins etc that inevitably enter the gut. Also, MORE likely to have a healthy weight.

2. Minerals

POTASSIUM (Blood Pressure Control)

MAGNESIUM (Vascular Tone & Insulin Sensitivity)

3. Vitamin Powerhouse

The avocados contain high levels of natural Vitamin C and Vitamin E  which are seldom found together in significant concentrations. This vitamin combination promotes circulatory antioxidant protection and slows the breakdown of healthy LDL cholesterol so that you can keep LDL balance in the body longer.

Vitamin K1 from avocados may promote bone health and support blood coagulation mechanisms.

B Vitamins to prevent chronic inflammation of the cardiovascular system. Okay even if you don’t follow along with this, just know that the b vitamin folate (or folic acid) is a methyl donor which promotes greater homocysteine in the body and that actually helps the whole system run more smoothly with less stress to the body.

THEREFORE, with high folate consumption, you can age more gracefully and you could have healthier babies if you’re at that stage in life. Also, you can be possibly be more athletic because the pumps are on point.

4. Phytonutrients / Plant antioxidants

Okay even though I could list a ton of carotenoids, phenolics, and phytosterols here, I’m just going to say that these plant antioxidants go into every part of the body starting with the gut.

Who loves antioxidants? You gut, your heart, your eyes, your genitals, and basically every organ of the body. When all major systems of the body are receiving antioxidants from diet, the body will have a better chance to ward off mutations and eliminate mutated cells before they can cause a way bigger problem.

IMG_021guacsmall (2)

Of course antioxidants are great for metabolism! If takes a healthy, normal function of the body in order to achieve metabolic success. Take that into consideration.

Enjoy the Fresh foods.

If you’re reading from Seattle or anywhere that is not a food desert, why wouldn’t you eat mostly fresh foods?

Seriously, try increasing fresh food intake and then see how you feel starting with your gut feeling and think about the ability of your body to recover from hard workouts/life stressors when you eat fresh foods.

Of course there are lots of non-fresh foods that can be healthy too, I’ll post on that in the future.

Make sure to follow the blog and subscribe to the It’s Dre Fitness YouTube channel. Thank you for reading and I appreciate you.

 

 

 

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Stair Climbing for Rapid Fat Loss?

How often do you take the stairs? Did you know that stair climbing is one of the safest, most effective ways to make fitness gains and burn fat fast?

Stair Climbing is one of the safest, most effective workouts available for urban dwellers.

If I ever move into a high rise building, I would probably stair climb almost every day because it’s that sustainable. When I stair climb with my clients in various buildings, I end up burning more fat from my own body than what I even expected. My cardiovascular system made some serious improvements when I started to incorporate stair climbing into my life and now I am a strong advocate for stair climbing.

Climb up the stairs, take the elevator down.

One of the reasons that stair climbing up a building is so sustainable is that it’s very unlikely that you’ll experience any soreness from the activity since there is little-to-no eccentric portion of movement. It’s different if you have to go outside and return down the stairs because the downhill part is often what gets your calves and knees a bit more sore (tear down of muscles and other tissue). Of course you’ll get a lot of benefits from stairs outside, but there is just something unique about being able to climb a tall building and take the elevator down. You’ll recover way faster and it won’t impede other activities or training goals. Lots of benefit without the soreness.

Throwback to my first Big Climb

Disease prevention.

Because stair climbing is SO good for the heart and because there are many WELL KNOWN benefits of moderate-high intensity exercise, there is a good chance that regular stair climbing can help with healthy aging and longevity. If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that I’m not just passionate about fitness, I also care deeply about disease prevention and healthy aging. I’ve met too many people and I’ve had too many people in my life who have suffered through illness, sickness, and disease and I don’t believe it’s their fault — I do believe that we can do something about it though!

Give your body a reason to keep going.

As I mentioned earlier, I have many other motivations to take care of myself aside from “looking the part” for my career as a fitness professional. First of, I’ve experienced moments in my life when my body has let me down and caused me great distress along with emotional pain. Secondly, I have worked with people who have experienced all different types of ailments that I realized there’s no point trying to prevent one disease; you need to make effort to prevent ALL disease. The funny thing is that when you live a lifestyle that is truly about disease prevention, you end up feeling better about yourself AND burning more potentially harmful fat off of your body.

My very first Big Climb team

It’s okay to run out of excuses.

I am constantly fighting my own desire for comfort in order to make forward progress. My own meaning of purpose in life and my value to other people manifests from the knowledge and experience that I have and also my relatability — I struggle too. When I look at my experiences, I’ve noticed that in times when I am experiencing the most pain and discomfort are the times that I have made the most growth. I truly believe in disease prevention and I truly believe in the cure. It’s not just about personality responsibility, folks. We’re all in this together.

If my mission has moved you, consider contributing to my Big Climb 2018 fight to cure Leukemia and Lymphoma.

Click to give your support.

Dre Fitness is back. My readership of the blog has grown even though I haven’t been as active lately tells me that people appreciate the content that I create. I can only imagine how many people I can reach if I just stay consistent with content creation while continuing to be as authentic and genuine as I can be. Stay tuned for more!

 

 

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