My current fitness level and progress!

So I figured it was time to really talk up my fitness program of choice. It really is tough to just say the word "program" because it is really a combination of all things I have done in the past.

I first started on my fitness journey with Tony Horton's P90X dvd series. I was way out of shape and really in no condition to even consider tackling the program but I jumped in anyway. I put everything I had into it and always brought myself to pure muscle failure and exhaustion during the workouts. I wanted to make sure that it wouldn't be my fault that the program didn't work. I completed three rounds of that particular program and saw very impressive results.

I then joined up with my Spartan group, 300DC , and we completed a 7 week fitness program found on the GymJones website. Thats me in the center as King Leonidas in 2007 at DragonCon. This particular program was the exact set of exercises that the cast members from the movie, 300, completed over the same 7 week period to attain their fitness levels for the movie. That was real fun and I really learned to have an appreciation for cross-fit stylized workouts. Those types of workouts really had a way of getting you not only to look good, but really increased you fitness level and your stamina. I soon realized that I had found something that reallt struck a chord in me and soon started school. I am currently enrolled in a certification program to become a personal trainer and plan to have it finished by the summer.

Enter P90X+.

Tony Horton and Beachbody then added the plus workout as a followup to P90X. I picked it up when I realized I was getting a bit out of shape. I had been at 201 pounds and about 9% body fat after finishing up the GymJones workouts and had attempted to "bulk up" by increasing my food intake and lifting heavier weights.

It seemed to work but I suffered a lot of my tone and fitness from the regimen and wasn't happy with what was going on. At that point I purchased P90X+, looking for something new to do and hoping that Tony would come through again for me.

I am currently finishing up week 8 of 12 as I post this blog, day 60 of 90. I have dropped back down to 206 from 221 and I actually have musch more lean muscle thanks to the building phase I put myself in. So a good lesson to learn is to take those times to build and then come back to chilsle out the progress. A constant cycle of this should result in a larger and more impressive muscle mass as well as a lean and flexible fitness level.

I won with Beachbody!

So the word is out! I was lucky to be one of the 8 monthy winners in the Million Dollar Body Game sponsored through Team Beachbody! Each month Beachbody gives out $1000 dollars to eight folks who have submitted their fitness stories in the Team Beachbody Club.

There is a male and female winner in 4 different age groups. I won the 40-49 category for the men! As a matter of correction, somehow they stated I was 42 in the lead in video that is posted on the right, however at this time I am only 40 and will be turning 41 in July, I suppose I am almost in my 42nd year though..lol

It's easy to enter, all you need to do is join up with Team Beachbody! You can do that by visiting my homepage at

www.jsquaredfitness.com

and clicking on the "Join the Club".

I started out joining Beachbody at 260 pounds! I was about 35% body fat and generally a mess. With the help of P90X, a high level fitness program with Tony Horton, I was able to shed over 50 pounds and get down to my current body fat level of 10-11%! It was a lot of dedication and hard work and nothing comes easy. You need to work hard, deal with the sweat, pain and lifestyle change. Make the decision, committ to that choice and never jip yourself. When it's time to "Bring It", give all you have and then some, and the rewards can be endless!

Thank you, Tony Horton and Beachbody for changing my life!

Whats in a Calorie?

Have you ever sat back and asked yourself, "I hear about these things called calories but what are they? Where do they come from and should I be concerned which foods I eat to get the calories I need in a given day?"

There is a few things you should know about calories.

First of all you need calories to function. Calories are what the body burns during every function it has, either your heart beating, breathing and all that other good extra stuff known as anaerobic and aerobic exercise! We need a certain number of core calories just to survive and during times of elevated activity our body will consume more and in turn need to be replenished with more to make up the loss we suffered due to the extra activity.

When we talk nutrtion and what is involved in that, we see that there are both energy giving and non-energy giving substances. The ones that give the body energy come from calories derived from carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Vitamins, minerals and water make up needed nutrients that do not provide the body energy.

The body get its energy only from the carbohydrated, proteins and fats you consume. When talking strickly calories it matters not where they come from and all are measured the same.

Calorie Counts Per Gram

_____________________________

1 gram carbs=4 calories

1 gram protein=4calories

1 gram of fat=9 calories

1gram alcohol=7 calorie

So does this mean that you can simply toss down a bag of greasy chips? No! Even thought to your body, calories are calories, it will still anaylize and use the calories and the nutrients attached to those calories. There are also many different types of carbohydrates and fats. Even thought they exhibit the same amount of calories per gram they react in different ways in your body.

For example a candy bar and a bowl of oatmeal may have the same number of carbs and calories, but because the candy bar is mostly sucrose or white sugar, it will process faster and only provide energy to the body for short bursts. The oatmeal would deliver a steady stream of energy to the body for hours. Fats are also the same. Some fats are better than others. The fish found in a salmon steak for instance, Omega-3 fatty acids, is said to be good for the heart. A bag of chips is filled with non-essential saturated fats and very little vitamins and minerals will provide very little nutrition to your body.

It is still very important that we pay attention to not just simply counting calories but also checking to see where those calories are coming from. Always go for baked as apposed to fried, keep your food nutrient dense and avoid using foods with useless calories or limited nutritional value.

What's the "skinny" on fats?

This article was taken from the American Heart Associations website!

Knowing which fats raise LDL cholesterol and which ones don't is the first step in lowering your risk of heart disease. In addition to the LDL produced naturally by your body, saturated fat, trans-fatty acids and dietary cholesterol can also raise blood cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats appear to not raise LDL cholesterol; some studies suggest they might even help lower LDL cholesterol slightly when eaten as part of a low-saturated and trans-fat diet.

The American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee strongly advises these fat guidelines for healthy Americans over age 2:

Limit total fat intake to less than 25–35 percent of your total calories each day;
Limit saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of total daily calories;
Limit trans fat intake to less than 1 percent of total daily calories;
The remaining fat should come from sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as nuts, seeds, fish and vegetable oils.

Limit cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg per day, for most people. If you have coronary heart disease or your LDL cholesterol level is 100 mg/dL or greater, limit your cholesterol intake to less than 200 milligrams a day.

An Example:

For a sedentary female who is 31–50 years old needs about 2,000 calories each day. Therefore, she should consume less than 16 g saturated fat, less than 2 g trans fat and between 50 and 70 grams of total fat each day (with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, such as fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils).

Saturated fat

Saturated fat is the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol. Saturated fat is found mostly in foods from animals and some plants. Foods from animals include beef, beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poultry fat, butter, cream, milk, cheeses and other dairy products made from whole and 2 percent milk. All of these foods also contain dietary cholesterol. Foods from plants that contain saturated fat include coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (often called tropical oils), and cocoa butter.

Hydrogenated fat

During food processing, fats may undergo a chemical process called hydrogenation. This is common in margarine and shortening. These fats also raise blood cholesterol. The saturated fat content of margarines and spreads is printed on the package or Nutrition Facts label.

Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats

Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are the two unsaturated fats. They're found mainly in many fish, nuts, seeds and oils from plants. Some examples of foods that contain these fats include salmon, trout, herring, avocados, olives, walnuts and liquid vegetable oils such as soybean, corn, safflower, canola, olive and sunflower. (I like using Smart Balance. It has the lowest fat content!)
Both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats may help lower your blood cholesterol level when you use them in place of saturated and trans fats. But a moderate intake of all types of fat is best. Keep total fat intake between 25 and 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids such as fish, nuts and vegetable oils.

Trans-fatty Acids and Hydrogenated Fats

Unsaturated fatty acids can be in one of two shapes — "cis" and "trans." These terms refer to the physical positioning of hydrogen atoms around the carbon chain. The cis form is more common than the trans form. Trans-fatty acids (TFA) are found in small amounts in various animal products such as beef, pork, lamb and the butterfat in butter and milk.

TFA are also formed during the process of hydrogenation, making margarine, shortening, cooking oils and the foods made from them a major source of TFA in the American diet. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils provide about three-fourths of the TFA in the U.S. diet. The trans fat content of foods is printed on the package of the Nutrition Facts label. Keep trans fat intake to less than 1 percent of total calories. For example, if you need 2,000 calories a day, you should consume less than 2 grams of trans fat.

Trans-fatty acids are also formed during the process of hydrogenation. "Hydrogenate" means to add hydrogen. When unsaturated fatty acids are hydrogenated, some of the hydrogen atoms are added on opposite sides of the molecule to the already attached hydrogen. Cis double bonds convert to trans double bonds, and the fatty acids become saturated.

Question?

Is butter better than margarine?

Recent studies on the potential cholesterol-raising effects of TFA have raised public concern about the use of margarine and whether other options, including butter, might be a better choice. Some stick margarines contribute more TFA than unhydrogenated oils or other fats.
Because butter is rich in both saturated fat and cholesterol, it's potentially a highly atherogenic food (a food that causes the arteries to be blocked). Most margarine is made from vegetable fat and provides no dietary cholesterol. The more liquid the margarine, i.e., tub or liquid forms, the less hydrogenated it is and the less TFA it contains.

In Summary!

Based on current data, the American Heart Association recommends that consumers follow these tips:

Choose a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole-grain, high-fiber foods, and fat-free and low-fat dairy most often.

Keep total fat intake between 25 and 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils most often.

Use naturally occurring, unhydrogenated vegetable oils such as canola, safflower, sunflower or olive oil most often.

Look for processed foods made with unhydrogenated oil rather than partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oils or saturated fat.

Use soft margarine as a substitute for butter, and choose soft margarines (liquid or tub varieties) over harder stick forms. Look for ”0 g trans fat” on the Nutrition Facts label.

French fries, doughnuts, cookies, crackers, muffins, pies and cakes are examples of foods that are high in trans fat. Don't eat them.

Limit the saturated fat in your diet. If you don't eat a lot of saturated fat, you won't be consuming a lot of trans fat.

Limit commercially fried foods and baked goods made with shortening or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Not only are these foods very high in fat, but that fat is also likely to be very hydrogenated, meaning a lot of trans fat.

Limited fried fast food. Commercial shortening and deep-frying fats will continue to be made by hydrogenation and will contain saturated fat and trans fat.