Omega-6 fatty acids are fairly easy to get in your diet as their found in leafy vegetables, seeds, nuts, grains, and vegetable oils. Unless you have a diet that is very low in fat, chances are you’re getting more than enough omega-6 fatty acids and really don’t need to supplement with it.

The same thing can be said for omega-9 fatty acids. This is a “non-essential” fatty acid which means your body can produce it on its own. Because of this you really don’t need to supplement with omega-9 fatty acids either.

Of the three fatty acids, Omega 3’s are the MOST important to supplement in your diet.

This is because they’re harder to get from the foods you eat. Many people have a deficiency with omega-3 fatty acids (and not even know it) especially if their diet is high in processed and refined foods.

Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids include:

- Flaxseed oil
- Fish oil
- Linseed oil
- Walnut oil
- Wheat germ oil
- Soybean oil
- Ground Flaxseed
- Wheat germ
- Salmon
- Walnuts

 Why are omega-3 fatty acid important?

- Help to reduce inflammation in your body

- Help to lower cholesterol and triglycerides

- Promotes a healthy cardiovascular system

- Improves insulin sensitivity by stimulating the secretion of letpin

Symptoms of Omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies

- fatigue and a lack of energy

- dry and itchy skin

- brittle hair and nails

- constipation

- depression

- frequent colds and a lowered immune system

- poor concentration

- joint pain

- lack of physical endurance

The absolute best source of omega-3 fatty acids, if I had to pick one, would be flaxseeds. One tablespoon of ground flaxseed will provide you with a full day’s requirement of omega-3’s.

Personally, I prefer flaxseed oil or fish oil and they’ll work just as well. It’s just easier for me to take fish oil capsules or drop a tablespoon of flaxseed oil into my morning yogurt.

My favorites are Barlean’s flaxseed oil and fish oil capsules, both found at Whole Foods.

Back to the story about one of my clients asking if they could substitute the Omega 3, 6, 9 blend supplement instead of a flaxseed or fish oil product. The supplement in question was a product called Udo’s Oil.

My answer was while it certainly wasn’t a “bad” supplement, you could get more bang for your buck with a good omega-3 supplement.

You really don’t need to supplement with omega-6 or omega-9 fatty acids for the reasons I just explained.

So there you have it. My recommendation is for everyone to take a good quality omega-3 product along with Juice Plus (another supplement I’ll detail in another post), use whey protein, eat primal, and call it a day.

That’s basically my diet and supplement strategy in a nutshell.

While you may have specific needs due to vitamin and mineral assimilation issues or health concerns, what I’ve just given you is a solid strategy for supplementation.

Hope that helps. Eat clean, train hard, and live strong!

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts personal training studios. You can receive a free no-obligations trial of his Charleston personal training programs to experience the Shaping Concepts difference for yourself.

While gyms and health clubs provide plenty of amenities, classes, and equipment they’re designed for people who don’t need much help in staying consistent with an exercise program.

I’ve long said that health clubs are really in the business of leasing you space and the ability to use their equipment.

This is a good value if you know what to do and don’t require structure and accountability. The problem is that reflects a small percentage of the population.

Most people join a health club because they want to lose weight, get in shape, improve their health, etc. They have a specific desired outcome or results they’d like to see from their exercise program.

Unfortunately, most people need the critical components of personalized instruction, structure, and accountability…

It’s no surprise that most people only go to their health club on average three times a month after just sixty days of joining!

A common mistake is deciding to join a health club over other alternatives predominately out of the cost factor. While cost is an important factor to consider, your return on investment is a better way to select the best program for you.

If you don’t see the results you desire by going it alone, rarely use the facility, and find yourself stuck in a long term contract, there’s really not much value in your health club membership purchase.

Up until just recently your options were limited on receiving the professional instruction, structure, and accountability needed to see results…

One-on-one and partner personal training programs are very effective and can produce a good return on your investment, but in all fairness the cost factor can be limiting factor for many individuals.

At Shaping Concepts we’ve provided personal training programs for over 1000 Charleston area residents since 2004.

While my programs are significantly less expensive than traditional hour long personal training sessions in a health club (approximately $30 session compared to $60 and up), I’ve had numerous clients inform me over the years that they’d only be able to use my services for a couple of months due to the cost.

While I’ve always completely understood the limitations of how long some people could receive personal fitness instruction due to the cost, what has bothered me for a long time is not having an affordable alternative to provide them.

Turning clients loose to go it alone in a health club or with a home workout routine has issues of its own. Some people are ready to go it alone and do just fine, while others still need the accountability and structure.

Without it, they struggle and often fall back into old habits while results slip away.

Small group personal training now available in Charleston…

Well I’m happy to report I now have an affordable alternative to offer you. Shaping Concepts has recently partnered with Charleston Group Fitness, a new studio located just a few doors down from us in the Queensborough Shopping Center.

This new facility focuses on group exercise and is the first of its kind in the Charleston area. We are now providing small group personal training, prenatal exercise programs, senior fitness programs, and an expanded boot camp offering to accompany our one-on-one and partner personal training programs.

In this post I’m going to specifically cover the pros and cons of small group training to help you make an informed decision on which program will be the best fit for you now.

The beauty is both small group personal training and one-on-one/partner personal training are extremely effective for seeing results and getting value from your investment.

Many people will find it beneficial to use both options at various times and alternate between the two as specific wants, needs, and primary objectives change. 

Pros of small group personal training

Cost: if one-one-one or partner personal training packages are just a little much for your budget right now, small group personal training provides an attractive alternative.

At approximately $15 a session, they’re about half the cost of a one-on-one personal training session.

Accountability and Adherence: just like with one-on-one and partner personal training you have the added benefit of accountability from your trainer. It’s easy to make excuses to yourself and not stay consistent with an exercise program on your own.

The added benefit of small group personal training is you also have accountability to others in your group. This is not to be taken lightly as it’s very effective in helping you stick with a fitness program.

Motivation and Camaraderie: there’s just something to be said about working out with a group of people just like you. When everyone is working hard doing their best and having fun, there’s an abundance of positive energy.

Bottom line is you’ll be more inspired and find yourself looking forward to the workouts instead of dreaded them.

Support: you get built in support when you’re part of a small group personal training program. Once again the benefit of this should not be taken lightly. Support is an integral component for success in seeing results with a fitness or weight loss program.

It’s great if you have support from your family and friends but with a small group personal training program you have support built in from the other participants.

Take a look at shows like The Biggest Loser and Celebrity Fit Club. Even when the competitors are in direct contention, they still band together and cheer each other on.

Cons of small group personal training

Personalized attention: with small group personal training you still receive hands-on instruction with your form and technique but there’s just no way you’re able to receive the same personalized attention like in a one-on-one session.

Everyone likes to be pushed and motivated a little different. When you’re with your own personal trainer, he/she can solely focus on you and how to push you for optimal results.

Individualized exercises: while small group personal training matches people according to fitness levels, the exercises can’t be personalized to your specific needs. This is something to take into consideration. 

Personalization with exercise prescription becomes very important with people who have muscle imbalances and specific needs.

Flexibility with appointments: because small group personal training sessions are scheduled at set times during the week you’ll have limited flexibility with attending workouts.

If you travel frequently or have a job that requires flexibility with appointment scheduling, you’ll be much better suited with a one-on-one training package.

Speed in seeing results: since you’re working out in a group your trainer is not able to personalize your rate of progression. While resistance training is provided in a small group program it’s not the same as if you were working one-on-one with a trainer.

There’s no question you can see faster results when your trainer has the ability to assign the appropriate intensity at each workout. It’s difficult using heavier workloads in a small group because of the lack of a spotter.

Bottom line is when you want to see the best results in the shortest amount of time (wedding coming up, etc) you’ll want to work with your own trainer.

Don’t get me wrong, you can get in shape with a small group personal training program but the speed in which you can transform your body won’t be the same in comparison to something like my Trim In 12 program for example.

So there you have it, the breakdown on the pros and cons of working out in a small group personal training program.

For many individuals this will be a great option to one-on-one or partner training programs, especially when cost is a significant factor. To learn more about Charleston Group Fitness click on this link to see additional information on services and rates.

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios.

A lot of so called experts will make the argument that a calorie is a calorie and all that matters for weight loss is you burn more calories than you take in. But there’s something the so called experts are not taking into consideration.

Ask most any experienced dieter and he/she will tell you that certain foods, like protein, seem to suppress their appetite while other foods like bread, crackers, potato chips and others seem to do the exact opposite.

Have you ever dug into a bag of potato chips and just weren’t able to put it down? Of course, we’ve all done it.

Isn’t it odd that you could polish off a whole bag of potato chips (1200 plus calories) and still be hungry when you’re done?

Try eating 1200 calories from almonds and see how far you get before you’re full. Do you really need willpower to keep from eating too many almonds? No, and the reason is because of hormonal responses in your body (primarily the release of leptin) that help signal fullness and satiety.

You see when you eat processed and refined foods, most which contain high fructose corn syrup and other negative partitioning agents; the natural hormonal responses that signal fullness are turned off.

You can easily over-consume calories but you never feel full and you’re left constantly hungry. You try and cut back enforcing your willpower but end up failing because you’re trying to fight the biology of your body.

Processed and refined carbohydrates along with sodas turn off the hormones that signal fullness and leave you fighting a losing battle with willpower!

Don’t be fooled either with “diet sodas” or low calorie foods with artificial sweeteners. Anything “unnatural” in your body will react the same way. The bottom line is you absolutely MUST eat natural foods if you want your body to produce the correct hormonal responses.

Another interesting phenomenon tied into all of this is “rebound hunger.” This occurs when you eat processed carbohydrates that sharply increase blood sugar levels. The sugar surge in your blood sets up an insulin spike from your pancreas to drive blood sugar down again.

Insulin interferes with the leptin hormone I was talking about earlier, that signals your brain that you’re full. This is why you can be starving only an hour or so after eating a stack of pancakes.        

Eating proteins along with high fiber fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds have the opposite effect on your body.

I recommend evaluating what you eat one meal at a time and making small step-by-step changes to overcome willpower issues.

Breakfast: make sure you include plenty of protein, either from whey protein powder or by consuming eggs, cottage cheese, and other high protein foods. Leave out the muffins, bread, sweetened cereal, and juice that will only leave you feeling hungry a short time after.

I recommend eating fruits or whole grains like oatmeal in combination with your protein so you have slow released energy during the morning without feeling hungry.

Some people will argue that they’re not hungry in the morning. Once again this is due to your metabolism and unnatural shifts in your hormonal balances.

Don’t force yourself to eat more than you’re comfortable with, but start by eating something light (or do a protein shake) and over the course of a few days you’ll start feeling hungry again in the morning.

Important hormones like ghrelin adjust to habitual meal patterns so it just takes a little while to reset your balances.

Lunch: don’t make the mistake of trying to cut calories by skipping lunch. Going more than five hours without food causes hunger hormones (like ghrelin) to rise and fullness hormones (like leptin) to drop.

This is a sure fire recipe for sending excess calories consumed at dinner straight to your fat cells. It’s hard to beat a salad with vegetables and some lean protein for lunch.

Skip the croutons, bacon, and creamy dressings and try an olive oil and vinegar dressing. A lot of people don’t know this but using vinegar alone will cut your appetite and slow the rise in blood sugar.

Dinner: lean proteins and vegetables are always your best bet for dinner. Avoid eating bread before dinner as it makes you loose your sense of fullness and you’ll end up eating more at the main course. Same thing holds true for alcohol.

You can eat whole grains and healthy starches at dinner but just do so in moderation and in relation to your energy requirements (ex. an athlete needs more energy from starches than someone trying to lose weight).  

Snacks: the real benefit of a mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack is they serve as mini appetite suppressants, preventing blood sugar from dropping to low.

Remember, high sugar, high starch, or high fat snacks (including those 100 calorie snack packs) start a vicious cycle of more cravings while protein shakes, fruit, nuts, and vegetables do the exact opposite.

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios. You can receive a free trial of his Charleston personal training programs and experience the Shaping Concepts difference with no-obligations.

Taking hormonal balances (or more accurately imbalances) out of the equation for a second, basically what works for weight loss is eating clean, natural foods and exercising enough to burn slightly more energy than you’re bringing in with your diet. No matter how much we break it down, the answer on what works has always been the same. 

What’s interesting though is I just read of a recent study conducted at Stanford University which makes an interesting case for your DNA revealing which type of diet you’d be more likely to lose weight on.

The researchers at Stanford randomly assigned 140 women to one of four different diets.

- Low carb Atkins Diet
- Ultra low fat Ornish Diet
- Low fat LEARN Diet
- Balanced Zone Diet

The women were then issued a cheek swab to test their DNA.

Over a one year period, the women on diets appropriate to their genetic make-up, as determined by the DNA test, lost 5.3 percent of body weight.

On the other hand, women on the mismatched diet lost only 2.3 percent of body weight.

Now this study makes no reference to exercise and it makes me question whether or not it was permitted (you’d think it would be naturally due to the health benefits) but how did that affect results and was it measured?

What I’m getting at is it’s just hard to draw a clear conclusion with most research like this. However, the concept is intriguing and worth evaluation in my opinion. There’s no doubt that everyone is different in their genetic make-up and it seems to me that the intelligent approach would be to work with that unique make-up rather than against it.

The DNA testing looks at gene variations that affect metabolism, absorption of fats in the intestine, insulin sensitivity, etc.

While I’m always going to be more of a proponent of a balanced “primal diet” over an extreme low carb or low fat diet, knowing your DNA could be valuable.

Following a primal diet with a slight adjustment to what your body responds best to (lower carb vrs lower fat) could be very helpful.

Could you probably discover this on your own through trial and error? Yes, I would say it’s certainly possible as most bodybuilders could pinpoint how certain foods affect their body after such strict dieting and attention to detail.

While this is not practical for most people, the DNA testing could take all the guesswork out pretty quickly.

I should mention this is by no means going to be the holy grail of weight loss. But never-the-less, I find it interesting because I certainly believe in the idea of bioindividuality.

I personally think you should avoid the extremes like ultra low-carb or ultra low fat diets regardless of what your unique make-up reveals. These diets don’t work well with regular, vigorous exercise which I feel is an essential part of health. The human body was designed to work and have strength.

In my opinion, any diet that compromises strength and vitality is not worth the trade off in any other benefits.

If you’d like more information on the DNA tests check out the company’s website by Googling “Inherent Health.”

While I’m not encouraging everyone to run out and buy this DNA testing, I will say that it’s one investment that certainly wouldn’t hurt you. The same can’t be said with the numerous prescription drugs, pills, and other potentially dangerous weight loss “solutions.”

I’ll be investigating the DNA testing in more detail and as always report back to you with my unbiased opinion. If you or anybody you know has the DNA testing done hit me back on this post and let me know what you think.

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios. You can receive a free trial of his Charleston personal training program and experience the Shaping Concepts difference with no-obligations.

 The latest “secret” I stumbled on this past week while buying groceries was that you could lose 20, 30, 40 or more pounds without dieting or exercise if you just took this little pill of an herb that was recently discovered in the Amazon jungle.

Give me a break! Of course there was also this real small print on the bottom that read “results not typical” and that you’ll see better results WITH dieting and exercise.

They contradicted their own headline and alleged “secret” just to get your attention! I guess they figure a percentage of people will order without taking a closer look, and I’m sure many do.

This is real sad. The reality is with the information age upon us this is just a normal part of our modern day culture, like it or not. It’s getting harder and harder to find the truth in the mainstream media and I think everyone knows it.

Of course the majority of stuff you read about rapid weight loss are NOT secrets but rather a bunch of B.S. Unfortunately, people get numb after a while to ANY information about what works for weight loss because of all the false promises.

The funny thing about secrets….

Let me ask you something. If there were secrets that could help you lose weight and I told you they were hidden somewhere in your back yard, would you work to find them? 

Of course you would.  So why won’t you spend your day tomorrow rummaging through the back yard like a little kid on an Easter egg hunt? Because you don’t believe you’d find anything. Assuming otherwise would just be silly.

But let’s just be careful that our healthy skepticism doesn’t limit us in finding that which we deserve. We’re skeptical of secrets, as we believe our sensibilities are on track when they steer us away from buying “the secrets of making millions in real estate” or “the secrets of retiring rich.” 

I started thinking about this subject and realized, YES there are tons of legitimate weight loss secrets which COULD be common knowledge if it wasn’t for the constant static of lies and misinformation crowding out the truth.

Something being a secret depends on who you ask…

Ask any female fitness, figure, or bodybuilding competitor and she’ll tell you how to deplete glycogen in the weeks before a show and how to reload with carbs just before the show. 

She tell you how she plans on manipulating carbs to fuel her muscle and feed off of fat stores at the same time…

She’ll tell you how important it is to eliminate refined carbohydrates and sugars while getting in plenty of omega 3 fats and lean proteins…

She knows not to trust the scale but instead relies on her body % percentage for more accurate feedback on progress…

She knows she needs to train intensely and get adequate sleep and recovery.  And at the highest levels she’s learned to manipulate not only her body fat, but water weight as well. 

Backstage at any bodybuilding, fitness, or figure competition, these aren’t secrets. 

Everyone in the rooms knows these strategies…

It’s not your fault if you’ve been left “guessing?”

Now imagine for a second you’re a fly on the wall at a local Weight Watchers meeting. I’m not bashing Weight Watchers, just follow me for a minute.

You’ll likely hear a woman describe her avoidance of bread at lunch so she could enjoy the brownie after dinner…

You’ll hear another woman describe her “walking program” as synonymous with her “exercise program” with zero concern for resistance training to actually build muscle…

You’ll see women putting their sole reliance on the scale and hear a mix of fleeting elation and utter frustration depending on what it read this week at the weigh-in…

The message that’s promoted in society is to simply “eat right and exercise.”

The sad reality is, most women believe they are doing just that!

They don’t understand the strategies that are common knowledge to bodybuilders and fitness competitors. So while these strategies need not be hidden, they are in fact secrets.

Now I’m not suggesting everyone should train like bodybuilders, quite the contrary. But what I am suggesting is that most people are sheltered from information that when applied on a more moderate level can help them see the results they desire.

The “secrets” need not be secrets . . . but because of limited access and imposed false beliefs, secrets they remain.

Here are the facts…

• Women won’t get big, bulky muscles just from lifting weights.
• Walking (although exercise) does not replace resistance training.
• Losing weight is NOT just a matter of exercising more and eating less.
• If you skip meals and you’re rarely hungry it means your metabolism has slowed down and you’re more likely to store fat than burn it.
• Eating 5-6 small meals a day is better for weight loss than 2-3 larger meals.
• Sugar is the enemy! You cannot lose weight effectively unless you remove it from your diet, period.

I could go on and on here. The strategies for what works all boil down to following proven methods that have been used time and time again by people who have successfully altered their body composition.

Taking these methods and combining with a personalized plan that incorporates your metabolism, body-makeup and unique needs is the key.

It all starts with having the right information then getting help with the consistency and structure that’s required for lifestyle changes.

It’s what the trainers provide everyday at Shaping Concepts personal training studios. It’s what I’m so passionate about teaching and sharing with others. If you’d like help with getting your weight loss program on track sign up today for my Lean Code Profile.

Regardless of where you do your exercise I just want to help see you be successful with a fitness and weight loss program. There need not be any ”secrets” on what really works.

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts personal training studios. You can receive a free trial of his Charleston personal training program with no obligation and experience the Shaping Concepts difference for yourself.

The problem with the increased consumption of processed and refined foods, fast food, etc, is that sodium intake has gone through the roof with it.

People commonly think of sodium intake coming from “salting” one’s food but in reality that only accounts for about 6% of the daily total. The main sources of sodium in the diet (77%) come from eating processed and refined foods.

How much sodium do you need?
Most health experts recommend a bare minimum of 500 mg of sodium a day and around 2,400 milligrams (mg) a day as a maximum for healthy adults. Keep in mind that the lower your sodium, the more beneficial effect on blood pressure.

While you’re not always going to be under 2,400 milligrams a day you want to look at doing so more frequently than not. Your body has the ability to flush out excess sodium short-term, but consistent doses of high sodium will be too much for your kidneys to handle.

The end result will be excess sodium in the blood which increases the blood volume making it harder for your heart to pump. This is why too much sodium causes high blood pressure.

I was in Publix over the weekend and found a brochure entitled “Launch Your Assault On Salt” at the deli counter. I always knew lunch meats were high in sodium but I learned something very interesting while glancing over this brochure.

Check out my video below to get the full story and my coaching tip for the week.

 [See post to watch Flash video]

Sodium levels for “lower sodium” deli meats

How easy it is to get an overdose of sodium in a hurry

Check out the following foods to see how sodium can get out of control in a blink. It’s not hard to get half or more of your total daily limit with just one meal.

• Lean Cuisine Meals: 680-1000 mg sodium!
• Chick Fil-A Grilled Chicken Sandwich: 940 mg sodium!
• Big Mac: 1040 mg sodium!
• 6” Subway Club: 1290 mg sodium!

And Check Out These Sodium Bombs….

• Subway 12” Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki: 2400 mg sodium!
• Macaroni Grill Fettucine Alfredo: 1120 mg sodium!

There couldn’t be that much sodium in a salad right?

• Macaroni Grill Parmesan Crusted Chicken Salad: 3230 mg sodium!

And for a ready made heart attack on a plate…

• Macaroni Grill Spaghetti & Meatballs: 5290 mg sodium!
• Chilli’s Awesome Blossom: 6360 mg sodium!

Bottom Line:
To much sodium in your diet will not only lead to high blood pressure but it taxes your entire digestive system and organs due to the electrolyte imbalances.

Think you’re going to lose weight with sodium overload, think again. It just won’t happen, I’ll be straight and to the point.

You need to have a balance of sodium and potassium in your diet for optimal health. This is where eating fruits and vegetables (potassium) helps to balance out the sodium from other foods.

If you’re not eating fruits and vegetables you can forget about controlling sodium. Follow a Primal Blueprint diet and you’ll have no problems balancing sodium and getting to a healthy weight.

Train hard, eat primal, live strong!

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Traning Studios. You can receive a FREE no-obligations trial of his Charleston personal training programs and experience the Shaping Concepts difference for yourself.

The contest included coaching tips, nutrition e-books, and exercise instruction from myself to help the participants lose weight. Proceeds from the contest totalling $920 is being donated to Louie’s Kids, a local non-profit organization that helps fight childhood obesity.

I commend Elisa and all the contestants who used this opportunity to start a life changing weight loss journey. I couldn’t be more proud of their accomplishments. Here are the top five finishers from the 2009 Charleston Biggest Loser contest.

1. Elisa Large (29 lbs, 21.07 lbs body fat)

2. Alexandra Bile Brahe (28 lbs, 20.34 lbs body fat)

3. Jeff Sobers (23 lbs, 16.46 lbs body fat)

4. Roberta Patrick (18 lbs, 10.06 lbs body fat)

5. Alan Eager (17 lbs, 15.34 lbs body fat)

In the contest we tested body fat % loss along with weight loss in order to determine the amount of body composition change from fat loss. The winner was determined from the biggest change in body composition from fat loss.

Elisa and I did a video recording this morning with my hand held Flip video camera so I could share some of her success secrets with my viewers.

I’ll apologize in advance for the “camera work,” I was holding the Flip with my hand and almost got Elisa out of the screen a few times. Oops!

None the less, it’s definitely worth checking out. There’s some great tips you can pick up from the video told first hand by someone who’s been successful with weight loss by applying my strategies.

The video is about 12 minutes long and filled with inspiration and encouragement for people who might be uncertain, frustrated, and hesitant to start. Elisa will be the first to tell you that YES you can succeed if you just BELIEVE!

I also wanted to include some copy in case you don’t have time to watch the full video. Listed below are the highlights of Elisa’s success story in her own words from a Q&A session.

Elisa tell everyone a little bit about yourself and where you’re from.

“I am 50 years old, originally from Columbia, SC, moved to Summerville 2 ½ years ago, retired from Federal Government after 26+ years. Married to my husband Thomas for 34 ½ years. We have 3 children and 4 grandchildren.”

What were some of the secrets to your success?

“Visualization, has by far been the best kept secret. I actually visualized winning The Charleston Biggest Loser Contest and Shane handing me one of those big checks like Publisher’s Clearinghouse gives their winners.

In one of Shane’s emails, he shared the importance of visualization in a successful weight loss program and suggested that I read The Gabriel Method, by Jon Gabriel. I took his advice and bought the book, downloaded the meditation and visualization CD then transferred it to my MP3 Player.

For the last couple months, have listened to it every night, and I no longer have to take any medication to sleep, I feel more energetic, have a positive outlook and look forward to getting to my goal weight.

Keeping a daily food diary of everything, good or bad that I ate. I began to eat more fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds and also ate foods that were known to boost your metabolism.

Keeping an exercise journal. My method of exercise was riding a recumbent bike. I would record the time, distance, and calories burned. I also challenged myself to ride a little longer, a little farther distance, or a little harder to beat my previous record. I also incorporated interval training into my daily exercise routine.

Setting small obtainable goals, and then moving the marker when the small goal was obtained. My overall goal for the contest was to lose 25 lbs; I exceeded that goal by 4 lbs.

Self talks and praise. When I was around someone that I had not seen in weeks and they didn’t notice that I had lost weight, I would go into the bathroom and look myself in the mirror and say “That’s okay that they didn’t notice; I’M PROUD OF YOU”, “KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK”; “I CAN DO THIS, AND I WILL DO THIS”; “I CAN WIN THE BIGGEST LOSER CHARLESTON CONTEST”

(Me and Elisa at Shaping Concepts)

What were some of the biggest obstacles you faced?

“Early in the contest, I sustained a knee injury that precluded me from riding my recumbent bike for about a week. Eating five mini packs of M&M peanuts while stuffing Halloween treat bags. I gained back 3 lbs as a result of my bad choice. Note: my reasoning behind eating the peanut M&Ms were that I couldn’t give out M&Ms with peanuts because there could be kids who were allergic to peanuts!

Not being able to resist my mother’s homemade potato pie at Thanksgiving. I won’t tell you how much I ate, but I’ll just say that I ate my share and then some.

Emotional/mindless eating. In December, my son was admitted to the hospital after he fell approximately 32 feet while rappelling down from a tree when a branch that his rope was attached to broke. Not knowing the extent of his injuries, spun me out of control for a few days and I was mindlessly eating anything in sight until I could get a grip on the situation.

What did you like best about the coaching tips and education?

“The 40+ emails I received from Shane were great, and I tried to incorporate the information that he provided into my meal selection and exercise routine. The emails seemed to come at the perfect time and were very encouraging.

Some of the best emails were: “Best and Worst Food Choices”; “Falling off the Wagon”; “Best Snack Choices for Weight Loss”; “The One Essential Nutrient for Weight Loss”; and “The Scale Won’t Tell You The Whole Story”; I felt like Shane was genuinely interested in my weight loss program, and his teaching and educational videos were so down to earth that anyone could understand.

Thank you Shane, I have learned a lot. This has been a wonderful experience and I am confident that I will one day be at my desired weight.”

Elisa ensures me she is going to continue to update me of her progress and come back once she’s reached her goal weight. I have no doubts she’ll reach her goals as she really does have the right mindset and the right plan.

(Elisa along with my partner Mandy McDonald and myself)

I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to enter Elisa’s life at the time I did and help make a positive impact. It’s knowing that I could help that leads me to get up every day and teach what I’m so passionate about. I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

If you’re ready to start a weight loss program that can produce life-changing results just like Elisa experienced know that I’m always here to help.

You can receive my FREE no-obligations trial of my Charleston personal training program today and experience the Shaping Concepts difference for yourself.

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios.

Health experts are often heard making suggestions like “take the stairs at work,” or “park farther away in the parking lot.” This doesn’t even begin to address the root of the problem and our country’s growing obesity epidemic is proof these strategies are failing.

There’s a much bigger problem going on here and we’re not getting anywhere telling people they can lose weight and improve their health by burning an extra 50 calories a day by taking the stairs or walking a few more steps to work. It’s simply not enough and this advice is misleading to say the least.

The question we should be asking is what’s behind our addiction to TV?

Unless there’s some straight talk on answering this question we won’t get anywhere. Our society has changed dramatically in the last fifty years and TV has simply been just one part of it.

I never would have thought we’d see TV’s on exercise equipment but walk into most any health club today and you’ll find them everywhere. Row after row of cardio equipment with flat screens built right in the console.

Now I can’t blame the manufacturers because they’re only giving customers what they want. This is simply good business on their part but why are we so obsessed with TV?

I think the answer lies in our desire to disconnect. TV is an escape from the stress of our everyday lives. Think about it. When you’re watching TV you don’t have to think, there’s no interaction with others…it’s nothing more than an escape from reality.

We have no problem listening to other people’s problems since we don’t have to think about our own. Look no further than the increased popularity of reality shows as testament to this fact.

Watching TV for many people has simply become an addiction.

And just like with any other addiction it has negative consequences on your health. Unless people see it as an addiction they’ll never make the necessary changes to improve their health.

I have to laugh when I see so called “experts” giving advice on how to do exercises while watching TV. This advice stinks! We should be teaching people how to have balance in their lives instead of working with the problem.

Everyone is afraid of being blunt these days. I guess it’s the era of political correctness and not wanting to offend or upset anyone. A lot of good this is doing for our society.

I’m not going to tell you that you can offset watching several hours of TV each day with counting your steps on a pedometer at work or doing some mundane exercises with soup cans in front of the tube.

Let’s be truthful, this just isn’t enough.

The only way to break the TV habit is with a strong desire to change.

We can teach people all day long about how to get active and have balance in their lives but it won’t happen until there’s a want or need.

Maybe it’s a scare from a bad report at the doctor’s office. Maybe you just hit the breaking point from not having energy, being overweight, and feeling lousy all the time.

Whatever the trigger is that initiates change, there simply needs to be a strong emotional connection for new habits to be formed.

So let me just be blunt and tell it like it is. The evidence has shown that if you watch more than four hours of TV a day you have an 80% increased risk of cardiovascular death. You’re shortening your life span plain and simple!

The reasons are simple. You’re more likely to be inactive and consume too many extra calories. This will obviously lead to a greater chance of you being overweight and developing health issues like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

The only solution to TV addiction is creating other habits and routines in your life that promote health, wellness, and balance.

It’s about facing reality and owning up to the fact that ONLY you are responsible for your health. I understand the addiction with TV is a problem that can create a vicious cycle of depression and disconnect. If you’re stuck in that rut right now the last thing you want to do is fight the battle on your own.

The best piece of advice I can give is to look for ways to get physical activity and balance in your life that includes support, accountability, and structure.

Don’t go join a gym and try to start working out on your own. The evidence shows that you’re likely to fail. Instead look to join a group that is doing the type of exercise or physical activity that you could enjoy and meets your fitness level.

It’s no secret that people who incorporate accountability and support into an exercise routine are far more likely to be consistent and ultimately see better results. That’s why retention rates and overall results are far greater in things like small group, partner, or one-on-one training routines.

Whatever you choose just look to have accountability and support so you can be more likely to stick with it.

It’s all about starting new habits and new routines that take the place of the old. Watching TV is something you can do on your own without any other human interaction. It’s a total disconnect and that’s where the problem lies. If you try to go exercise on your own chances are you won’t be successful with creating a habit.

Tips on how you can break the TV habit and start incorporating exercise and healthy habits in your life.

• Find a friend, co-worker, family member, or spouse to have as an exercise partner.
• Start a small group, partner, or one-on-one personal training program.
• Start a walking group at work where everyone can meet at lunch or after hours.
• Join a club that meets regularly for some type of recreational physical activity or sport.

Whatever route you choose just don’t try and go about creating new habits all alone. The health clubs have membership rosters filled with people who came a few times and then rarely come back. Interaction with others is the key.

See TV addiction for what it is….nothing more than a disconnect and escape from reality. Plan your day out in its entirety. Know when you’re going to exercise, take quiet time for yourself, etc. Likewise if and when you’re going to watch TV know how much time you’ll spend and when during the day you’ll do it.

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios. You can receive a FREE, no-obligations trial of his Charleston personal training programs and experience the Shaping Concepts difference for yourself.

Causes of Insulin Resistance

Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas that allows blood sugar to enter the body’s cells where it’s stored or used as fuel. It acts as a delivery agent shuttling blood sugar (glucose) along with protein (amino acids) into the cells. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on whether you’re feeding a muscle cell or a fat cell.

Anytime you consume more carbohydrate (sugar) than your body can use at that moment it will look to store the excess for future needs. Insulin’s job is to take the excess blood sugar and store it in the liver and muscle cells first. However, once both of the areas are filled it has no choice but to transport the excess sugar into fat cells.

People who consume a diet too high in carbohydrates will develop insulin resistance due to the repeat secretion of this hormone. Basically the cell receptors start to shut down and stop receiving insulin the way they should. The body responds by having your pancreas keep producing more insulin to try and do the job. This becomes a vicious cycle in which you’re literally stuck in a fat storing mode.

One thing you should know is that it’s basically impossible for you to burn fat in the presence of insulin. You see insulin has a sister hormone called glucagon which is responsible for among other things transporting energy to a muscle cell in times of low blood sugar. Both hormones can’t be working at the same time. Your pancreas will either secrete one or the other depending on the conditions but not both.

This is why if you have a meal high too high in carbohydrates and secrete insulin you stop the fat burning process dead in its tracks. For example, if you were to consume 50+ grams of carbohydrate before a workout you could forget about burning fat during your exercise session. This is exactly why I recommend having something light like a piece of fruit (<25 grams of carbs) prior to your workout.

Insulin Resistance And The Impact On Your Health

Insulin resistance or low insulin sensitivity over time increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes so it’s not to be taken lightly. You also have the increased health risks of storing too much belly fat which only adds to the problem.

The health risks of insulin resistance only increase as we age as the body tends to lose lean muscle with the corresponding loss in testosterone. That is of course you offset the loss with strength training.

Improving Insulin Sensitivity With Strength Training

There are numerous studies now out that show strength training can boost insulin sensitivity by 20 percent or more in only a matter of months. While aerobic exercise has long been prescribed for improving insulin sensitivity, and rightly so, it now looks like strength training is equally if not more important.

The average physician in this country who deals with insulin resistance and diabetes recognizes that aerobic exercise is helpful so they’ll prescribe it. But most aren’t as quick to prescribe strength training even though it works just as well and could actually be more beneficial.

Unfortunately strength training is still viewed as being exercise to mainly build lean muscle. While this is obviously a benefit, it’s not the only benefit.

One thing most doctors don’t talk about is the benefits of strength training on helping the cells respond better to insulin. Strength training increases the number of proteins called glucose transporters (mainly GLUT4) which move blood sugar into the muscle cells. The more GLUT4 you have, the better your cells respond to insulin.

Then of course as you add you lean muscle you have more available parking spots to store blood sugar instead of sending to fat cells. As you increase lean muscle you’ll also improve testosterone levels which help to keep the entire endocrine system in balance.

Best Strategy For Improving Insulin Sensitivity And Reducing Insulin Resistance

• Perform vigorous strength training 3 x week preferably in accordance with burst training methods.
• Perform staggered intensity cardio with alternating sessions of low-intensity aerobic training and higher intensity interval training 5 x week.
• Follow a primal blueprint diet that is naturally lower in carbohydrates to help reduce insulin secretion.

When it comes to weight loss here’s the bottom line for what you need to know. Insulin secretion is good thing when you’re feeding muscle cells with the necessary nutrients for rebuilding and recovery. However, if you’re secreting insulin and mainly shuttling energy into fat cells this will make weight loss extremely difficult.

Your objective should be to minimize insulin secretion during the day except for the times when you’re looking to enhance the rebuilding and recovery of your muscles. This would be in a “post- workout” situation where it’s actually beneficial to have an insulin release. Protein shakes with simple sugars and fast-assimilating protein like whey work well here to speed up the recovery process.

Use strength training, cardio, and a primal blueprint diet to feed muscle instead of fat and you’ll have no problem reversing insulin resistance. Trying to just use one of these components won’t work the same. For example if you just try to do aerobic exercise and leave strength training out you won’t see the same benefits. Remember, it’s the synergistic effect of all three combined that provide you with the real knockout punch.

Train hard, eat primal, live strong!

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios. You can receive a FREE no-obligations trial of his Charleston personal training programs and experience the Shaping Concepts difference for yourself.

Over the weekend I saw a commercial for Campbell’s Select Harvest Light Soups. The pitch was you should select their product over Lean Cuisines and other packaged meals because their soups only have 80 calories.

This would imply that the other products are too high in calories. Truth be told, both of these products wouldn’t be my top choices because they contain negative partitioning agents that help to send energy to fat cells instead of muscle cells.

Anything you eat from a can or a box will have to be processed and refined in some way. Remember, it’s not just about the calories but rather the nutrients you assimilate from the foods you eat. If the food isn’t in the natural state you’re likely to lose a good portion of the vitamins and minerals, not to mention alter the hormonal responses by your body.

Back to the calorie issue…

Campbell’s wants you to believe that you’re better off eating their soup for lunch since its only 80 calories. While the Select Harvest Light soup is a better option than other soups with less preservatives and sodium it’s not enough to make a meal.

At only 80 calories you’re going to be getting in less than half your energy needs. A key principal in weight loss is steady blood sugar levels which come from balanced meals eaten frequently through the day.

 A big issue I regularly see with weight loss clients I consult with is not getting in enough calories or “back ending” the majority of their calories at the end of the day. An example would be eating a light breakfast, or no breakfast at all, eating a small lunch (like a can of soup), then eating a full dinner at the end of the day.

This puts too many calories at the end of the day when your hormonal systems are set for fat storing instead of fat burning.

I wouldn’t recommend eating an 80 calorie meal because it goes against having steady blood sugar and balanced energy through the day. Let’s look at an example so I can show you what I mean.

Let’s say your energy needs for the day based off your metabolism is 1500 calories. In order to minimize insulin secretion and keep steady blood sugar levels you’ll want to eat 4-5 small meals throughout the day.

If we do some simple math and divide 1500 calories by 5 meals you’ll get an average of 300 calories per meal. Now this doesn’t have to be perfect as some meals will be larger than others. For example, your dinner might be 500 calories and one of your snacks may only be 200 calories. This is ok since it’s all within range and you’ll still have balance with your energy intake.

The problem arises when you only have a total of 500 calories between breakfast and lunch then eat an 800-1000 calorie dinner. This is quite common and easy to do especially when you’re eating out a lot.

You can see from this example that even with a low-calorie diet at 1500 calories you still want to have an average of at least 300 calories at most of your meals. I don’t recommend eating less than approximately 1200 calories for anyone since this is a recipe for slowing down your metabolism.

Everyone will be different with their energy needs which is why I recommend finding out what your specific calorie requirements are with a resting metabolic rate test. Never-the-less, even with a slow metabolism and lower-calorie requirements you’ll find the 300 calorie number to be an average of the minimum calories for any of your meals.

Back to the Lean-Cuisine type packaged meals. In reality, they would really be a better choice than an 80 calorie can of soup since most contain somewhere around 300-400 calories. Still I would make these packaged meals a secondary choice since they’re refined and processed. Take a look at the ingredients for the Lean Cuisine Fiesta Grilled Chicken.

Ingredients:

Cooked White Meat Chicken (White Meat Chicken, Water, Modified Tapioca Starch, Chicken Flavor (Dried Chicken Broth, Chicken Powder, Natural Flavor), Carrageenan, Whey Protein Concentrate, Soybean Oil, Corn Syrup Solids, Sodium Phosphate, Salt), Blanched Enriched Long Grain Rice (Rice, Ferric Phosphate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Folic Acid), Skim Milk, Tomatillos, Red Peppers, Yellow Peppers, Water, Black Beans, Onions, Corn, Pinto Beans With Water, Cheddar Cheese (Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto Color), Monterey Jack Cheese (Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes), Roasted Red Pepper Puree, Green Chiles And Citric Acid, Buttermilk Powder, Chile Peppers, Cilantro, Dehydrated Sour Cream (Sour Cream (Cultured Cream, Nonfat Milk)), Salt, Modified Cornstarch, Garlic Puree, Cultured Whey, Spices, Jalapeno Puree (Jalapeno Peppers, Salt, Acetic Acid And Calcium Chloride), Lime Juice Concentrate, Bleached Wheat Flour, Sugar, Potassium Chloride, Chicken Fat, Seasoning (Wheat Starch, Extracts Of Annatto And Turmeric Color, Natural Flavor

There’s a lot going on there with ingredients not found if you made this dish in your kitchen. You just can’t get around the weight loss benefits of eating whole, natural foods. I know that time is an issue for all of us but fast food doesn’t have to come from a drive-through.

A favorite recommendation of mine is to use a Crock Pot. If you don’t have one go pick one up today as part of your New Year’s resolutions. I use mine all the time and it’s a staple in my kitchen.

I’m by no means a gourmet cook and I’ve found it’s hard to mess up with a Crock Pot. You can make any number of dishes and just put it on low to cook all day. When you come home your meal will be ready.

Another great idea is to cook chicken breasts, etc in bulk then put in Tupperware containers to eat throughout the week. Preparation is the name of the game. You just don’t need to eat pre-packaged, refined foods if you do some preparation in advance and use Tupperware. The microwave is a wonderful thing to simply re-heat your meals and you’re good to go.

So there you have it. Your first nutrition tip to start off the New Year on the right track. Go to the grocery store and stock up on fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, nuts, seeds, and other “primal foods” that are the secret for optimal health and a trimmer waistline. You’ll be glad you left the pre-packaged meals on the shelf.

Shane Doll is a certified Charleston personal trainer, fat loss expert, speaker, and founder of Shaping Concepts Personal Training Studios. You can receive a FREE, no-obligations trial of his Charleston personal training programs and experience the Shaping Concepts difference for yourself.