Real Life Fitness – Getting Fit With Brent

If you read my blog, you know I’m a Independent Team Beachbody Coach, a huge advocate of their workouts, and use the Shakeology product and recommend it for daily nutrition.  Before this year I had focused just on the Chocolate Shakeology product.  I loved the chocolate, its taste with how I blended it, and even could handle the Shakeology Cleanse.

Earlier this year, Beachbody came out with a new flavor:  Vegan Tropical Strawberry Shakeology.

Now, the first thing I thought was “Vegan….eewww.”  I’m way to much of an omnivore and do not mind how whey protein affects me.  I was concerned about taste to be quite honest.

So, after using it for a bit now, here’s my review:

1.  Taste – Naturally a better taste than chocolate.  It is very tasty, even with just water (something that chocolate lacks).

2.  Texture – The only knock I have on it.  Brown rice protein is a bit chalkier texture on its own.  It takes some experimentation to get rid of or minimize, but if texture does not bother you, you’ll love it.

3.  Intangibles – Disclaimer:  I love my chocolate shakes.  BUT I LOVE how I feel after Tropical Shakeology versus the chocolate.  I feel a bit heavier and a bit bloated after the chocolate.  I do not feel that way at all with tropical.  It is a very light feeling on the stomach.

Overall, if you are looking for something a tad bit better than chocolate, get tropical.

Brent Nutrition And Diet Shakeology

Beachbody’s Ultimate Reset has been released!  Here is a video describing the reset and what it will do for you.

I’ve been reading a lot about systemic responses, especially the role inflammation plays in heart disease.  Toxins, foods we eat, stress, all can play a part in inflammation.  When you are chronically fatigued, you start developing problems:  Higher cholesterol, blood pressure, and other cardiovascular issues.

In other words, fighting inflammation is extremely important to avoiding heart disease and related illnesses.

Taking it one step further, eliminating the need for processed foods, especially sugars, can drastically reduce inflammation as well as your chance of being a Type 2 Diabetic (and yes, you can become type 2 without being overweight).

I’m the first to admit when I saw the Ultimate Reset I was intrigued.  And then I was concerned as it moves you to a strict vegan diet for 2 weeks (with one week being nothing but fruits and veggies….but something I could definitely handle).  After all, I love my meat.  But the reason why this is a short term (21 day) cleanse is to not detract you from eating your normal healthy foods but rather have your body take in food that is nutrient rich with ease of digestion.  Fruits and veggies are great for this over a short term.

With my thoughts out of the way, here is some more info:

The reset is based around 6 supplements and eating clean.  VERY clean.  It is a fairly regimented program and will take some discipline and support (that’s why I am putting together an Ultimate Reset Challenge Group).  It also includes NO EXERCISE!  Hard to believe that Beachbody would put out something like that, but it is for a reason.  Exercise produces a mild inflammatory reaction in the body, albeit a positive one.  The goal of the reset is to minimize inflammation.  So giving up exercise for 21 days will not be the end of the world.

So who is the reset for?

1.   It is NOT for just those that are overweight….although you will probably lose weight on it.
2.  It is NOT just for people who need to eat better.  Athletes can use this too to improve their body and function.
3.  It is NOT just for people with inflammatory conditions, although they would greatly benefit from it.

In short, the Beachbody Ultimate Reset is for everyone.  I plan on using it once I can break free from physical therapy for 3 weeks (i.e. the no exercise portion).  The more I read about our food sources, and the more I heard about the Ultimate Reset, the more I knew this is something that I will (and need to) do.

The  6 supplements?

1.  Alkanalyze – To restore your body’s pH balance.
2.  Oxygenize – Liquid oxygen that helps eliminate toxins.
3.  Mineralize – Natural healthy salts to introduce trace minerals back to the digestive track.
4.  Revitalize – Natural Pre and Probiotics.
5.  Optimize – Systemic emzymes to help reduce inflammation.
6.  Detox – Restore optimal digestive health.

All  6 of these products are made with organic, natural ingredients (no chemicals here).  Combine these with Tropical Strawberry Shakeology (the only Shakeology product allowed during the reset) for optimal health, resetting your body, your metabolism, and your digestion to its ideal state.

For maintenance, they suggest continuing to take Alkanalyze and Optimize along with Tropical Shakeology.

Would you like to know more about the Ultimate Reset?  Post questions or comments below!

Brent Featured beachbody, cleanse, Shakeology, ultimate reset

Ok, I’m going to admit it:

In the last week, I’ve taken 2 cheats.  One was just desert (albeit a LOT of it), and the other was a full cheat meal.  I wasn’t thrilled that I did it, but I did.

Let me tell you why I cheated:  I was not prepared.  One night I should have just had fruit, but instead I had a variety of sweets.  And last night, I ate WAY in left field.  Both of these nights I was not prepared nutritionally or mentally to avoid caving.

Now….I can sit here and beat myself up over it, or I can just face the fact that I did it, no way to undo it, and get back to focus.  This is what I do.  If I take a single cheat (or a couple of cheats), the last thing I want to do is beat myself up over it.  Usually my body feels crappy enough to not have to worry about mental anguish.  In fact, after the dessert incident last weekend, I spent quite a bit of time on Easter Sunday feeling like the crap I ate.

Yes, if you are not prepared, most likely you will fall away from your diet.  It happens.  It is not what you want to have happen, but it happens.  Pick yourself up off the floor, get moving in the right direction, and realize that it’s not going to kill your results or make you feel bad forever.

In my case, both times, I went back to intense focus on my diet.  After last night’s “binge” I immediately went back to my paleo ways.  After all, I’m getting results, and the only way to derail that would be to return to eating junk all the time instead of just once (or twice).

So when you veer off your clean eating plan, what do you do to regain focus?  I’d love to hear!

Brent Nutrition And Diet cheat meals, fitness, nutrition and diet, paleo, primal

I’m 12 days into my Insanity + Shakeology + Paleo Diet challenge and I’ve got to share a bit of my results and tell you why this happened:

In my first 10 days, I dropped just under 10 pounds.  That’s right, an average of one pound a day.

Even better than the weight loss is the changing of my body.  Things are fitting a lot looser now than what they did just 2 weeks ago.  Needless to say, I’m thrilled.

But, while Insanity is my chosen path for exercise, it’s not really Insanity that I believe is making the difference, but rather the consistent focus I am putting on my nutrition.  I am not cheating.  I’m eating strict paleo, which also means no butter or cheese (two things that I would incorporate into my more Primal Blueprint style diet).

In my opinion, Insanity is just the catalyst for my nutrition.  I could be doing anything with a level of intensity, be it P90X, X2, Crossfit, whatever, and probably get the same results.  The reason why is this:  You can exercise all you want, but if you do not keep aware of what you put into your mouth, you may be defeating the purpose of exercise.

Just from my personal experience, and maybe you can relate:  When I exercise, especially lifting heavy weights, I get a lot hungrier over the day.  It’s easy to go into the panty and find junk and put it into your body just to satisfy the hunger.  But what did you just do?  Most likely, you took in empty calories.  You just put something into your body that will provide no real nutritional benefit.

Change that around to having things planned and knowing exactly what you’ll eat:  If you have a nutrient rich snack on hand, such as almonds, you know what you are eating.  You know the calories.  You know the nutritional detail.  You know whether that fits into your plan or not.

The great thing about the paleo/primal way of eating is knowing what you put into your body.  Instead of purchasing products that have a lot of additives, chemicals, preservatives, etc, you eat something that is usually a single ingredient or just a few.  But you know they are whole food sources, good for you, nutrient rich for the calories, and will keep you on track with your goals.

Now you could any reasonable whole food diet and produce results.  Maybe you cannot break free of starches, so you decide to do a lower fat, higher carb diet.  If you are focusing on good carb sources, you could get results.  Any diet that provides single ingredient, non-processed foods or foods that are good for you will produce results.

Now, I can already hear people saying:  “But Brent, Shakeology is NOT a single ingredient food!”

You’re right, and the strict paleo’s would denounce me as not eating true paleo for drinking it.  And that’s fine.  So be it.  I’m pseudo-paleo, and fine with that.

But this is (as I’ve mentioned before) a situation of not throwing the baby out with the bathwater.  Shakeology is a collection of whole food ingredients.  Similar to making a big salad with lots of little things, Shakeology is the same.  It is good for me, and that’s why I drink it.

But it fits into my overall diet.  It is my main carb source when mixed the way I like.

It’s part of my focused nutrition plan.

So let’s do this:  What are you currently eating?  Tell me:  Does it fit into your plan, or does it detract from it?  Use the comments section below to answer.

Brent insanity, Nutrition And Diet insanity, P90X, p90x2, paleo, primal, Shakeology

Let’s face it:  We all need to exercise.  My dad and I were talking the other day about a new “study” that came out that linked NOT exercising to an increase risk of cancer.  While I never really buy into these studies, it does bring up a great question:

What can I expect from eating clean and regular exercise?

Let’s take weight loss/fat loss out of the equation.  We all know these are the biggest reasons why people start a diet and begin to exercise.  I don’t want to discount weight/fat loss (everyone who reads this blog knows my story or can read more about it), but there are more benefits to it than just getting skinny.

I’m going to outline benefits I’ve noticed as well as others I’ve read about:

1.  More Energy

This one is the most obvious to me.  I work an office job.  I sit in front of a computer every day.  It is easy to want to eat junk, but when I did, I felt tired, lethargic, not as sharp, etc.  But when I’m really focused on nutrition and regular exercise (like my Insanity + Shakeology routine I’m on now), I feel steady energy all day.  I never feel like I’m crashing.  I can focus better.

Outside of work, I have more energy to play with my kids and do things with them.  I can exercise more than once a day a few extra times a week, burn some more calories, and not feel out of it.

2.  Better Sleep

True story:  During the fall, I get on a sugar kick.  Usually the sugar kick starts around 8:30-9pm at night and last until I go to bed.  When I do this, my stomach does not feel as good and I do not sleep as well.  During this past fall, due to the shoulder issue being a bit of a bummer, I quit exercising outside of physical therapy.  And I didn’t rest as well, had a hard time wanting to wake up each morning, etc.

Just a few days into what I’m doing now and I’m resting better than ever before.  I’m going to sleep faster, waking up refreshed, even if I only get 6-7 hours of sleep.  And getting better sleep leads back to my first point:  More energy!

3.  Improved Self-Confidence and Image

I’m proving to myself that I CAN do something with I eat clean and exercise daily.  I show myself that I can focus, be consistent, and accomplish goals.  Combining that with the fat loss (that yes, after one week, I can notice a bit of), makes me feel better about myself.

4.  Less Irritable

I’m a lot nicer person to be around after an Insanity workout.  Just ask my wife.

5.  Increased Libido

I’m neither going to confirm/deny this (I don’t “kiss and tell”), but I get emails from Men’s Health magazine and have read some various diet books that boast this.  And it make sense.  For a male, eating certain foods and exercising seems to give a boost in natural testosterone.  And it produces sweat, which they say is a pheromone.  And pheromones seems to turn women on.  Or something like that…

For women, there’s actually been ladies reporting climaxing while exercising!  If that isn’t libido increasing I do not know what is!  Along with that, though, having better self image (#3) and a less irritable husband (#4) seem to help this happen a lot…umm…..easier (that’s a good word for it).

Don’t believe me?  Google it.

6.  Stronger Bones

I’ll admit I don’t know the science behind this, but it has been reported that strength and resistance works actually helps with bone density.  My mom is living proof of this:  Combined with some calcium treatments, she has moved her bone density away from a dangerously low level by lifting weights.

7.  Better Health/Quality of Life

This is probably the most important, although many people simply overlook it.

Sure, do all of the above, but the best thing is what happens on the inside.  The better you eat, and the more you keep toxic foods and fat off and out of your body, the better your health is.  Eating foods that prevent chronic inflammation and producing mild exercise-induced inflammation is good for you.  People can move away from being diabetic by doing these things.  They can reduce their chances of stroke and heart attack.  They can reduce their cancer risks and other things simply by eating clean and working out.

So from these reasons, which ones do you want to have happen to you?  To your spouse?  Let’s discuss this in the comments section!

Brent Fitness Tips, Nutrition And Diet diet, exercise, health, insanity, libido, nutrition, Shakeology, sleep

I’m just three days into my Insanity + Paleo + Shakeology 8 week plan.  Man, I feel AMAZING!  Who knew that eating 100% clean and paleo, drinking my shake, and exercising would provide this much energy.

First, my routine:  I wake up, take some Beachbody Energy and Endurance, and wait 15-20 minutes, and then get my butt kicked by Insanity.

Then after I shower (and continue to sweat for a while), fix my breakfast (2-3 eggs scrambled in coconut oil, Shakeology with coconut milk and almond butter), put together my lunch, go to work, eat lunch, eat an afternoon snack, come home (or to PT then home), and then eat supper.

My proteins have been over 100g (tonight was close to 130g), my carbs have been around 100g, and fats have been around 100g.  All of these are within the ranges I’m aiming for.

Here’s what I’ve noticed:

1.  No crashes.  I have sustained energy throughout the day.

2.  Cravings are decreasing.

3.  I wake up energized.

Over the next few days, I’m expecting to have better sleep.  Some things take some time to adjust, especially coming off of a sinus infection.  I’m aiming for 7-8 hours a night and have been successful in hitting that.  I just feel incredible!

Who knew that eating well and exercising could do this?

Brent Fitness Tips, Nutrition And Diet energy, exercise, nutrition, paleo

Ever start something and then could not continue (for a reason you may or may not control), and feel bad and wish you could just start over?  I’m sure you have, and I know I have…many, many times!

And that’s exactly what I’m doing!

I wrote last week about starting Insanity while doing Primal eating.  Things were going great, I was digging being back into Insanity, and then IT hit:  Sinus infection!  Not just the runny nose type, the “my head is going to explode when I bend over” type.  I made it to the recovery day workout, got to the first point to when you bend to flat back and BOOM!….major throbbing pains.

Not pleasant.  I knew I was not feeling well that week and did not think anything of it until that day.  So, I immediately stopped.  I mean, half the workout involves my head being below my chest, and that simply would not work.

It actually worked out to my advantage.  I started off the week eating like complete glutton.  Processed foods, corn products, all things not paleo/primal.  And I was feeling it:  Sluggish, bloated, and blah!

Plus, a friend of mine is a Crossfit instructor and their box is starting an 8 week paleo challenge.  I thought, “Hey, great timimg…think I’ll follow along.”  So that is exactly what I’m doing.  Today was day 1 of Insanity + Paleo, but I did not retake the fit test.  Instead, I’ll pick up on day 2 tomorrow, get my sweat on, etc.  I already have lunch prepared for tomorrow (spaghetti squash + sauce, a salad, a sweet potato wedge) and a snack of almonds ready to go.

So if I can hit reset, so can you!  It is okay to just stop, realize that something is not right, or your not following your guidelines/diet well enough, and simply restart.  Sure, it may suck losing that amount of time/energy you’ve spent on whatever so far, but it is best to do things the right way to get results.

After, results ARE what we are seeking, correct?

Speaking of results, one thing I am aiming for is more sleep, so it is time to retire for the night!  I promise to post more, and hopefully will produce more videos soon.

Brent insanity, Primal/Paleo Eating insanity, paleo, primal, restarting insanity

So it’s been a while since I’ve been able to blog.  Lots of things going on with work, family, etc.  Busy time of year.  I’ve also been dealing a lot with my shoulders (not in a good way), so trying to figure out “what’s next” for me.

And I think I’m going to jump over to Insanity for 2 months.

Why Insanity?

With Insanity, I feel I can do most of the workouts even with bum shoulders.   There is not a single workout that is “upper body focused” even though many of them include push-ups.  But….I can work around those a bit.  I’ll still be getting a killer workout.

Plus I might lose a lot of weight, but I drop a lot of inches, which is what I’m attempting to do this round.

I plan on following the Primal Blueprint for diet, although I may focus back on leaner meats and more veggies and take my fat from healthier sources such as nuts, coconut oil, olive oil, etc.  I may need to cut back on the butter and dairy, but we’ll see how that works.  I’m enjoying cooking more and more with coconut oil.

In the meantime, still will continue with PT, although a visit to my orthopedic may be in the near future.  Some work with a massage therapist helped a bit as well, so may continue that path some as well.

Brent Uncategorized

I admit that I don’t watch much reality TV, especially NBC’s The Biggest Loser.  But I do have a bit more interest in it as Brett Hoebel, the trainer behind Beachbody’s RevAbs product, was announced as one of the mystery guest trainers in addition to Bob and Jillian.

Here is a bit of his bio from the Team Beachbody website

Brett is the founder of HoebeL™ Fitness, a leading-edge lifestyle and fitness company that focuses on inspiring mindful, healthy living through physical well-being, mental clarity, and self-empowerment. As an international fitness expert, Brett has helped shape up Victoria’s Secret Supermodels, high-profile actors, and other celebrities. He is one of the most sought-after lifestyle, strength, and nutrition coaches in New York City. Brett was also the co-host of Fit Family on Discovery Channel and has appeared on The View, Good Morning America, and Fox News. He is a recurring fitness expert on The WB Morning Show and has been featured in Vogue, Elle, Shape, and Self magazines. Some of his signature exercise programs have been twice awarded “Best of New York” by New York Magazine.

No doubt that he is a great trainer and a great addition to The Biggest Loser.

As far as RevAbs goes, I personally have not tried it, but it is on my list of routines I want to do this year.  I’m the first to admit that my stomach is one of the places I have the most problem with, and it is the one thing I want to work on more than anything.  A strong core helps with all areas of exercise and everyday life.

You can check out more of RevAbs here.  For less than $80 it looks like a great program to help further your fitness goal.

Brent Fitness VIdeos Brett Hoebel, RevAbs, The Biggest Loser

I have not written much recently, and with good reason:  I cannot seem to completely shake a sickness!

A week ago I woke up running a high fever (well, high for me) and went almost a full day without eating anything.  Once the fever was gone, I was fine, but eating for the next couple of days was limited.  As soon as I finally start getting my energy back, I hit a sinus/allergy issue that is zapping me again!

Ugg!

So today, a plyometrics session did not happen.

Which made me start to think:  Hey, this would be a great blog topic to revisit.  What do you do when you are sick?

Here are my thoughts and opinions.

First, no, you should not exercise.  Two things cure sickness naturally:  Rest and fluids.  If you are taxing your body through exercise, it spends its resources recovering from the workout and not treating whatever ails you.  It is okay if you miss a few days of exercise.  You’re not going to gain back massive weight, get completely out of shape, etc, if you do not press play, hit the gym, hit the road, or whatever it is you choose to do.  Take enough time to get over it completely.

Once you think you’re over it, assess your energy.  Usually, when I get sick, for a day or two after (or longer, depending on how long I was sick) you’ll still be sluggish.  There’s no shame in scaling back a workout at this point.  You’re body is still recovering.

If you have not eating much when you were sick, this is not a free pass to eat whatever to “gain energy back.”  At least, that is the excuse I often use.  Sometimes when I’m weak, I don’t care what I eat, as long as I eat.  But this can be counter productive to recovery.  And yes, I’m pointing all my fingers at myself right now!

Eat nutritious foods.  More fruits and veggies are good.  Shakeology is better.  Eat something that will give your body the nutrients, not just a lot of calories.  Yes, calories ARE important here, but eat foods that will give you the most bang for your buck.

I’m sure others have great tips too.  What do you do to recover from sickness?

Brent Fitness Tips, Nutrition And Diet exercise, illness, recovery, sickess