30 day Weight Loss/ Fitness Challenge

As many of you know, there have been fitness & weight loss challenges in the past and they have all been VERY SUCCESSFUL in many ways However, I feel that, in some ways, because of the large number of participants in the challenges, people have been slipping through the cracks. It’s been a little TOO EASY for people to go back to their old ways and go unnoticed… and as a coach, THAT KILLS ME! I want to see you guys CHANGE not just physically, but I want to see your confidence levels rise, I want to see you start to believe in what is possible for yourself again… and I want to see you become STRONGER, inside & out! SO, I have decided to run a NEW kind of challenge.

This challenge group will only have 5 MEMBERS… They will ALL be doing the BEACHBODY PROGRAM OF THEIR CHOICE, STARTING ON THE SAME DAY.  THEY WILL ALL BE REPLACING ONE MEAL A DAY WITH SHAKEOLOGY (& yes, if you do not have Shakeology, that would mean you would have to be willing to invest in it… because if I am going to invest my time in working with you one on one… I need to know that you are willing to invest in your own health first!) Because each member will have a different starting weight and goals, we will also be using the Beachbody Club membership to customize a meal plan specific to YOUR goals to get you the BEST possible results! Even better… By being a CLUB member you will actually SAVE 10% on ALL of your Beachbody purchases!!! If you have not already, you will need to officially sign up to have me as your coach by going to MY site http://www.gregsiesz.com  and registering to join Team Beachbody and TOGETHER we will BEGIN OUR JOURNEY. Checking in EVERYDAY, without exception! I will be giving these 5 my cell phone number for anytime support and you BETTER BELIEVE I will be calling YOU if you don’t hear from you on the boards! This IS a commitment… ON MY PART and YOURS… Hence why I said that the people selected would NEED TO BE READY to SERIOUSLY change their lives! But I do believe it could be something that will not only make me a better coach for having gone through it… but will leave 5 people COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED at the end!!! If you would like to be considered and are willing to make ALL the commitments above, then… what are you waiting for?!?! Write me back, RIGHT NOW and tell me that you want in this group!!! Challenge packs are available on my site http://www.gregsiesz.com Next challenge group starts January 1st!

Fat Free French Fries

Fat Free French Fries

Here’s  a nice recipe I found in Fitness Magazine that lets you have french fries and still keep your eating plan intact. If you need help with your fitness or  nutrition, visit my website and sign up for a free membership  by clicking HERE

Step 1

Slice 2 medium sweet potatoes into 1/4-inch sticks. Put sticks in a large bowl and sprinkle with salt and let sit for 20 minutes. Then transfer to paper towel to absorb the moisture.

Step 2

Return sticks to the bowl, mist with nonstick cooking spray and season with 2 Tbsp of fresh thyme leaves, pepper, (paprika and cayenne if you like) to taste.

Step 3

Spread the sticks on a wire mesh rack fitted over a baking sheet (it works without the rack too) Bake at 450 degrees for 35-45 minutes until tender.

Yields 4 servings, 58 calories/ 0g Fat per serving,

It’s a little work, but it’s a lot easier on your waistline. Enjoy!

Rev Abs Review: The First 14 Days

I purchased the Rev Abs program after hearing a Beachbody training call with Brett Hoebel and the principles behind the program. First of all, this program is not just abs. It’s strength training, cardio, and ab work. He has a great technique called abcentrics for getting you to “fire your abs” every move of every workout. I figured if this program could help me develop defined abs then it would be really amazing. Having just finished Insanity I was unsure how much I would get out of this program but after only 14 days I am already getting nice results. Here’s how the first 14 days work.

Eat Right: I used the 14 day quick start meal guide almost to the letter. This consisted of 5 meals per day specifically including protein and lots of veggies. For this part of the program fruit is almost omitted completely as well as carbohydrates.  I thought this would be much more difficult than it was. The meals are small but satisfying and every time I was hungry it was usually time for me to eat my next meal anyway. The meal plan takes some planning, just like any other meal plan, but once you learn which meals travel well it gets easier to be on the go and stay true to the schedule.  Here is what a typical day looked like (there are many options these are simply the ones I chose to use)

Meal #1 Mexican Scramble (5 egg whites scrambled, top with 3-4 tbsp salsa and ½ avocado)

Meal #2/ Snack Blues Buster Shakeology (Frozen blackberries+ blueberries, 1tbsp Low fat Blueberry yogurt, 1 scoop Greenberry Shakeology, ¾ cup water, ice to taste in blender)

Meal #3 Southwest Turkey Burger (3oz ground turkey 2tbsp salsa, serve over mixed greens cucumber and onion)

Meal #4/ Snack  4oz. Turkey lunchmeat wrapped around cucumber spears, dip in 1 Tbsp light vinaigrette dressing.

Meal #5 Grilled sirloin (4 oz.)  served over Spinach salad with tomato and onion.

The workout regime is simple. There are two phases to the program lasting 45 day each. You workout six days a week, and no workout in Phase 1 is longer than 45 minutes. I am following the workout calendar and using the first 4 workouts of the program as prescribed. The four workouts are:

Total Strength: Strength training, including pushups, lunges, squats and boxing all help you get stronger and boost your metabolism.

Fire Up Your Abs: Brett’s six pack moves, plus intervals of explosive cardio.

Power Intervals: This session alternates cardio with lower body sculpting exercises to blast fat and burn calories. This is a fast paced workout that really feels like it’s over before you know it!

Mercy Abs: 15 minutes of serious abdominal work.  Brett works your abs from 6 different angles in this workout and it gets progressively more difficult each of the three rounds.

I will post another Rev Abs blog at the end of Phase 1.

How Many Calories Should You Be Eating?

I have found that proper nutrition really does go hand in hand with exercise. It’s been said that “Abs are made in the kitchen” and I completely agree with this statement. We all have a six pack, it’s just a matter of being able to see it or not (yet).  So I wanted to share a link that I use and what I have learned about calorie consumption over the last year.

Here is where you can calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and your Total Metabolic Rate (TMR).

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/

Your BMR is important because it’s the amount of calories your body MUST HAVE to function normally. Its how many calories your body would burn if you never moved the entire day. In other words, the calories burned by basic bodily functions like breathing. If you do not consume this basic amount calories, your body will go into a starvation mode. Our bodies have a built in mechanism to preserve themselves when a threat of starvation is perceived. The body will store anything you do eat (as fat) and not release stores of fat easily because your body believes its “starving” and it will save its greatest source of energy (fat) until absolutely necessary. I have made this mistake in my own life and it slowed my progress when I really believed it would enhance my weight loss. So it is crucial to eat enough calories to reach your BMR every single day.

Your Total Metabolic Rate is your BMR plus all of the physical activity you do during the day. This is the amount of calories that you actually burn during the day.  This number is very important to know when you are trying to lose weight. If you eat the amount of calories of your TMR you will maintain your current weight. If you eat less than your TMR, but more than your BMR you should be setting yourself up for weight loss. For example, if you were to create a 500 calorie deficit each day, (consume 500 calories less than your TMR)you could lose a pound in 1 week (1 pound= 3500 calories).

My P90X Results and Review

After completing the Power 90 program, I maintained my weight for the next 6 months or so, primarily through clean eating. I started getting lazy about my nutrition and it eventually started catching up with me again. After gaining 10 pounds back, I made up my mind that I was no longer going to yo-yo, and actually make a lifestyle change for good.  I was going to commit to exercise and nutrition for the rest of my life not just the duration of an exercise program.

I didn’t want to just exercise either. I was ready to be challenged and to push myself to a new level. It was at this point I decided to take on P90X and the accountability of becoming an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. I knew that if I was going to be a coach I would have to walk the walk. This combination was exactly what I needed to really transform my body.

I began using the P90X supplements (Results and Recovery Drink and Protein bars) everyday as well as Shakeology and they were a terrific addition to my nutrition and training. They eliminated my soreness, increased my energy, and gave me the proper nutrients my body needed to be successful with P90X. The P90X program was very comprehensive and the nutrition plans blew my mind! For the first time ever I found a meal plan that had me eating more food (but the correct foods) than I would normally. It was great to never have that starving feeling.

It took very little time for me to start to see real physical changes from the workouts. I loved the variety and uniqueness of the exercises. Just when the program started to become “routine” the next phase came, and it was like starting from scratch all over again. The workouts have no fancy choreography, just awesome variations on push-ups, pull-ups, and dumbbell exercises that are as fun as they are effective.

4 Big things I learned from P90X:

1. EAT!! I had weeks where I would be crushing my workouts but cutting too many calories and I would not be able to lose weight. Make sure you are reaching your Basel Metabolic Rate (BMR) at a minimum. The program addresses this but I tried to go above and beyond on the calorie cutting in hopes of accelerating my weight loss, but in the end I set myself back by not eating enough.
2. Use a great chin up bar. I purchased a cheap Iron Gym chin up bar and regretted it every day. The bar did the job but because of the way it is made your elbows will bang the door frame on every single pull-up. When I start the program again I will be purchasing the P90X chin up bar because it has a second rail that moves you out away from the door frame.
3. It IS possible to completely change your body! I expected good results when I started, but never ever anticipated getting into a pant size I last wore in junior high. My results were far beyond what I thought I could achieve and, in turn, made me begin to question what other limitations had I been putting on myself in other areas of my life because I thought “it just wasn’t possible”.
4. The Results and Recovery drink is amazing. I was totally skeptical about this product that claimed to reduce or eliminate post workout soreness. So I increased my weights and repetitions in an attempt to prove the product didn’t work, but the worst I ever felt was a little tired the next day. I was never actually sore, so I could really ‘bring it’ each and every workout and accelerate my results since I wasn’t fighting though soreness.

This program is advanced, but there are variations on every exercise so people of many fitness levels can do this program.  I made a video about my P90X transformation as a visual reminder to never put limits on myself.