3 Ways to Kick the Habit...of Skipping Workouts

Trying to get into an exercise habit, but finding you’re more in the habit of making excuses? You can break out of that pattern with these tips from fitness experts on staying motivated and sticking to your fitness routine. Our Fitness Together trainers and studio owners recommend these three strategies to help you stay inspired to work out regularly.

1. Keep your eye on the prize.
You must have a very strong “why” you are doing it. Always connect to that “why,” especially when things get tough or you get busy. If your goal is to get back into your favorite jeans, hang them on the outside of your closet where you’ll see them every morning when you wake up. For an extra nudge, pin up an old photo of yourself wearing them.

Or, if you’re working toward a health goal such as lowering your blood pressure or relieving chronic back pain, mark your improvements on a chart posted on the fridge. Or tape a photo on your bathroom mirror of someone who’s achieved a goal you’re striving toward. Think fit, healthy-looking people your age playing tennis, climbing a mountain, training for a triathlon, running a 5K, or skiing with their kids!

2. Schedule a consistent workout time.
Set a regular time that fits into your daily and weekly schedule, and prioritize it just like you would a meeting with your boss or a top client.

Think of it this way: Skipping out on your commitment to take good care of yourself means sooner or later you’ll start feeling depleted and run-down, with nothing left to give to those who count on you. Sticking to your fitness regimen not only helps keep you healthy, but also refills your well of physical and mental energy. So you’re more likely to be there and be “on” in your job, relationships, family and others who matter to you.

3. Use the power of a pro to keep you on track.
You’re much less likely to be a no-show for your workout when someone’s waiting for you at the gym, track, pool, court …. Agree on a time and place to work out with a trainer. When someone’s there, waiting, and holding you accountable to your exercise commitment, it’s a mighty motivator.

Scheduling sessions with a personal trainer creates an especially powerful incentive to work out: You’ll feel a natural desire to make your trainer proud, and to respect the time commitment he or she blocked out to work with you. That’s powerful inspiration when you’re mulling whether to pull the sheets back over your head or pull on those gym shoes!

At Fitness Together our approach to success is one client, one trainer, one goal.

Micheal Long Progress Report

It has been about 10 weeks since the contest concluded, and I thought I would share an update on my progress since then.

Sticking with Fitness Together in Delafield, I am now at 265 pounds, and have lost a total of 128 pounds, 27 more since the contest concluded. As Ben predicted, my weight loss has slowed down to about an average 2.5 to 3 pounds a week since the contest concluded. That part has been a little hard for me, because I have some weeks where I don’t lose any weight, and then the next I lose 4 or 5. It was really nice losing 5 or 6 lbs a week to get down that first 100 lbs, but now I fight for every pound now. With fall settling in and winter coming on the horizon, I have been working even more to resist my hibernation instincts of wanting to eat more and move less. Fortunately, with another eight inches to go, my goal of getting to a 36 inch waist is keeping me focused.

For a few weeks after the contest concluded, my exercise regimen was what FT calls a transition program. The transition program was lighter in intensity, and designed to keep me working out and active, but give my body some recovery from five months of intense exercise. Following that, I have just completed two months of heavy lifting so to speak, which I really enjoyed. At the conclusion of this program last week, I was able to do push-ups on the floor, a real accomplishment for me.

Now comes the hard part. As I get nearer my goal weight, it has become time for me learn some more responsibility and to start exercising on my own some. So, starting this week, I only work with Fitness Together three times a week instead of five, and do cardio on my own the other days. Although I am somewhat scared of being on my own more, I am enjoying the chance to work in some time in the pool. Right now, I am able to get about 23 laps in 30 minutes.

In thinking about my transformation, it is really fascinating that with each accomplishment comes a new challenge-the next step. Once I conquer a hurdle, there is a new higher one ahead. What has made this transformation process successful for me, is that Fitness Together has been there setting the pace and knowing just when it is time for me to take that next step.

Stay tuned to learn what challenges lay ahead for me next.

Michael

8 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight- #8

Drum roll please.....

The eighth and final reason you may not be losing weight, even if you're exercising and eating healthy.

Today we will look at how medications can stop you from losing weight. This can often be a frustrating topic for many. You decided you need to improve your health, so you start exercising, changing your eating habits and try to be disciplined. Only to see months go by with no results. In this series you’ve learned multiple factors and today we’ll cover one of the big ones we work on with our clients and their physician.

Let’s start by breaking down the types of medications that can contribute to weight gain and then we’ll look more specifically at a couple categories.

Prescription drugs used to treat mood disorders, seizures, migraines, diabetes and even high blood pressure can cause weight gain or prohibit weight loss. In addition, some steroids, hormone replacement therapy, and oral contraceptives can also cause unwanted pounds to creep up on you.

A common one for many of our female clients is the effects of medications on your estrogen levels. The most obvious case revolves around treating menopause where estrogen levels drop. If we utilize prescription drugs to raise levels of estrogen it can often cause greater fat storing. Estrogen is a key player in the fat storage business.

A good way to offset this is with the right balanced nutrition like we teach in our EAT! Nutrition program. Not just eating healthy, but making sure you are eating the right balance of the macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates and fats. Combine supportive nutrition with resistance training to build and maintain muscle and you have a lot better chance maintaining testosterone levels that also plummet when estrogen levels drop.

If you take control of the natural approach to controlling your body’s hormonal environment, then you can work with your physician as your partner in addressing menopause while working on fat loss. Remember from previous post in this series, we are always trying to create hormonal balance that creates an environment conducive to fat loss. If there is a secret to fast fat loss, this is it.

The second most common medication affecting fat loss is antidepressants. The exact relationship between antidepressants and weight gain isn't clear, but weight gain is a reported side effect of nearly all antidepressants.

It's not possible to predict who's most likely to gain weight from taking antidepressants. However, recent research has shown that people who gain weight within about the first week of starting antidepressant treatment are more likely to have significant weight gain from the medication over an extended period of time.

It's important to note that the physiological changes created by antidepressants may not be the main contributor to weight gain. There are many factors that can work together to contribute to weight gain during antidepressant therapy. Some people actually can lose weight as part of their depression. In other cases, an improved appetite associated with improved mood may result in increased weight. Overeating as a result of depression also can cause weight gain. In addition, some medical conditions that mimic depression, such as underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism), may cause weight gain.

It’s important to note there are many researchers who believe that an imbalance in serotonin levels may influence mood in a way that leads to depression.

Serotonin is just one of a host of neurotransmitters secreted by the brain that regulate mood, attention, and energy levels. Ongoing stress can deplete our serotonin reserves, leading to intense food cravings, particularly for the refined carbohydrates that when eaten mimic the sense of well-being created by serotonin. Persistent low serotonin levels lead to plummeting energy levels, bouts of depression, and compulsive eating - all leading to weight gain.

Not surprisingly, experts also say some of the same strategies for eating healthy and getting enough exercise that help us lose weight under normal circumstances, can also help us while using antidepressants.

The bottom line here is that not only can healthy eating and exercise help control your weight gain, they can also improve your depression, which in turn may help you to cut down on your medication - and ultimately make weight loss easier.

Medications that treat migraine headaches are also medications that affect neurotransmitters. Similarly changes to these neurotransmitters can cause energy, mood and appetite changes potentially resulting in weight gain.

The fourth category of medications affecting weight loss is High blood pressure medications. Beta-blockers can cause shortness of breath and fatigue, making it difficult for patients taking them to exercise. Calcium channel blockers taken for high blood pressure can cause you to retain water.

The exact cause of weight gain associated with some beta blockers isn't clearly understood. But it may be due to a lower metabolic rate and reduced physical activity. In addition, if you switch from a diuretic to a beta blocker, you may gain a few pounds of weight that the diuretic kept off.

The last category we’ll cover is corticosteroids. Corticosteroids most often use to reduce inflammations are known to stimulate appetite while reducing the body's ability to absorb glucose, which can promote fat deposits in the midsection.

If you are struggling to lose weight and feel like you are doing everything else right, then it may be time to discuss your medications with your physician.

What you need to know is that certain types of medications can cause weight gain. But in almost every case, the doctor will be able to switch you to another medication that has the same desirable effects but which will not cause weight gain and may even help you to shed a few pounds.

Not all drugs have the same side effects for all people. You have to work with your doctor to find the medication that's right for you.

Express your goals to your physician, so you can work together as a team to improve your overall health, not only by addressing your current medical needs, but by taking a proactive long term approach by losing weight and improving your fitness.

Thank you for allowing me to guide you through the health and fitness maze.

In good health,
Pete Piranio BS, CSCS
owner/Fitness Consultant
Fitness Together
Brookfield: 262.780.6350
Delafield: 262.646.5444
Wauwatosa: 414.453.9800
http://www.fitnesstogether.net/

P.S. If you need help putting together a complete program to achieve your fitness goals and want a support system to implement a customized plan, come see us for a complimentary introductory session and consultation. Learn more here.

Or If you would like more information prior to scheduling a consultation, We’ve put together a special DVD and package of information containing everything you need to make an informed decision about the Fitness Together services. We can mail this package out to you immediately. All you have to do is go here.


Sources:
Deshmukh, Rashmi and Kathleen Franco. "Managing Weight Gain as a Side Effect of Antidepressant Therapy." Cleveland Clinic Journal of Medicine 70:7 (2003): 614-23. 27 Feb. 2009 <http://www.ccjm.org/content/70/7/614.full.pdf+html>.

Fenton, Wayne S. and Mark R. Chavez. "Medication-Induced Weight Gain and Dyslipidemia in Patients With Schizophrenia." American Journal of Psychiatry 163 (2006): 1697-704. 27 Feb. 2009 <http://focus.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/reprint/6/2/246>.

"Prescription Drugs That Cause Weight Gain." Johns Hopkins Health Alert. Jun. 2008. Johns Hopkins Medicine. 27 Feb. 2009 <http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com/alerts/prescription_drugs/JohnsHopkinsPrescriptionsDrugsHealthAlert_656-1.html>.

What can I pack for healthy snacks and lunch for work?

Thanks to our Facebook Fan Stacy for submitting this question!

Well, I guess the first answer to this question would be...another question. A lot of this depends on what foods you actualy like, dislike, and would realistically buy and eat. Also, what are the goals? Fat Loss? Build Muscle? But, for a simple answer, the basics would include a good quality protein source and a fruit or vegetable at a minimum for snacks, and for meals and some snacks could also include a moderate to small amount of starch (complex carbohydrate). The amount or portion of each would vary depending on the persons' caloric needs. Some general healthy and simple snack options that I incorporate are:

Half Turkey sandwhich on whole wheat with an apple (or any moderate amount of fruit or vegetable).
1-2 pieces of low fat string cheese and a handful of grapes (or, again, any fruit or veggie).
Low Fat or Fat Free Cottage cheese and fruit or veggie
Low Fat or Fat free, low sugar Greek Yogurt with fruit or veggie. (Getting the plain and adding your own fruit is the best option)
Whole grain, low fat, low sodium crackers (Wasa is a good brand, as well as some Kashi varieties) with some hummus and chopped up chicken.
Apple/Celery or similar with some low fat, natural peanut butter.
Small amount of almonds, small or 1/2 yogurt or cottage cheese, and a fruit or veggie.

8 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight. Part 6

Alright, we are back in action after some vacation days, travel and the joy of catching up after time off. I hope you’ve been putting into practice the last 6 strategies I’ve shared in this series. You’ve gained valuable knowledge to get you moving, eating, and thinking different. All to get you feeling great!

In part 7 of our series we are going to learn how digestive imbalances can stop you from losing fat. So let’s dive right into the fun…

This topic is one of the most overlooked components of an effective fat loss plan. You don’t see it talked about a lot in the media, magazines or the majority of the guru’s weight loss books. If you do see it talked about it’s usually to the extreme and with impractical concepts that most people can’t implement.

First, I’m going to apologize if I get a little technical, but it’s important for you to know these factors or you can be working very hard, not get results and possibly continue being very frustrated with another failed attempt.

If you want to lose fat you need to have your physiological systems working properly. You learned in the prior posts of this series how a successful fat loss plan involves creating an ideal hormonal environment. You learned how this is done through exercise and nutrition combined. Now we’ll look at optimizing your digestive system, an important system in the body that allows the proper assimilation nutrients.

My goal is to help you see how this is all connected. It’s not starving yourself, eating foods you don’t like and exercise methods that only cause you to hate exercise. It’s an intelligent and balanced approach that takes your body’s physiology into consideration. Not gimmicks.

In working with hundreds of clients over the years, one of the more uncomfortable questions to ask a client whose progress is slow is: how regular are you? In other words, I’m trying to identify how healthy is their digestive system. I usually get a puzzled look because it’s not usually at the forefront of someone’s mind when it comes to reasons people don’t lose weight.

The fact is there is no way you can lose fat and use fat as fuel if you are not regular, if you’re only defecating every couple of days. It’s a clear sign of an unhealthy digestive system and in many cases an imbalance in their digestive system due to a buildup of metabolic waste and toxins.

This buildup of waste and toxins can come from improper diet. Typically diets high in sugar, processed foods and foods containing high levels of toxins. Other contributors can be nicotine, caffeine or exposure to poor environmental conditions. Today we’ll focus on how food can contribute to a healthy or unhealthy digestive system.

Let me quickly touch on an example of a poor digestive system symptom that many women will be able to identify with. A lot of times we are doing a great job with workouts and changing the overall shape of a female client’s body, but the client starts to express some frustrations with the dreaded “pouch” they can’t get rid of. It doesn’t appear to be a lot of excess body fat, but none the less they’re frustrated with not being able to flatten out their stomach a little more. I came across this time and time again over my career, which caused me to do some research and find out what’s going on. What I found is many people can commonly have yeast imbalances. I’ll keep the focus narrow on the most common situation.

Yeast called Candida Albican is normally in your system, but can grow out of control if there is a change in the physiological environment. For example, a suppressed immune system, sickness or improper nutrition can cause Candida to become infectious.

Nutritional causes for a disrupted digestive system can be too much sugar or processed foods, which increases Candida, which creates inflammation in digestive system. This inflammation can contribute to the “pouch” belly and more importantly disrupt the normal function of the digestive system.

An inflammation in digestive system will inhibit the proper assimilate of nutrients. It’s one thing to eat good foods, but it’s another to actually assimilate them. In order to get benefits of your training, exercise and changed eating habits you need to assimilate nutrients. If your body doesn’t assimilate good nutrients, your workouts will feel harder and your recovery from your workouts will be slower. All resulting in slower results!

It’s critical to get this. You can be eating healthy, but if your digestive system is overburdened by years of improper eating you are going to be seriously handicapped.

So what do we do? I would strongly recommend you start with a cleansing process. A simple step you can take to ensure a properly functioning digestive system. I’m not saying you need to go on some crazy colon cleansing diet with supplementation or some other unrealistic method. Keep it simple and keep it real. Otherwise you’ll never implement and therefore never get the benefit.

My suggestion is to give your digestive system a rest and reset for 4 weeks by not eating red meat, limiting sugars, alcohol and add lots of fiber, lots of veggies and water. Essentially we are talking about a natural cleanse. No craziness.

There you have it, the seventh reason you may not be losing weight regardless of how many hours you’re exercising or how many “points” you’ve eaten.

Thank you for allowing me to guide you through the health and fitness maze.


In Good Health,

Pete Piranio BS, CSCS
Owner/Fitness Consultant
Fitness Together
Brookfield 262-780-6350
Delafield 262-646-5444
Wauwatosa 414-453-9800
Woodbury, MN 651-436-8137
www.fitnesstogether.net



P.S. If you would like to learn more about our services you can schedule a complimentary introductory session and consultation or request our DVD and information guide at our website: http://www.fitnesstogether.net

P.P.S. If you want to see the results of putting all of the principles outlined in this series in action, make sure to check out our Fitness Together Transformation Challenge contestants and their results. See how one of our contestant’s has lost 83pounds in last four months (and we’re not done yet!):
http://michaellong-ftc.blogspot.com/

8 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight. Part 5

In part five of our series we will now touch on how the wrong cardio can stop you from losing fat.

I know this might get some people fired up, but that’s alright. After all, this is the Hype-free, Fad free zone, so you need to know the truth. Sometimes the truth that challenges traditional thinking gets push back, but my jobs to get you results.

If you want to lose fat, cardiovascular exercise is part of what we call the FT Essentials: resistance training, moderate aerobic exercise, supportive nutrition and accountability/support system. Think of it like a four legged chair. If one legs missing the chair falls over. Hopefully without you in it!

Cardiovascular exercise doesn’t mean you have to run or be on a treadmill. It means we have to elevate your respiration and heart rate. There are endless ways to do this. Your body doesn’t know the difference between chopping firewood and going for a run.

The key is many people have a misconception that more is better and that aerobic exercise is the key to losing fat. I’m here to tell you it’s not.

Oh boy, I can imagine the remarks going on in some people’s heads now! But stick with me, today may be the day you end your fat loss frustration and the painful, long and boring cardio forever. Part of the reason for this myth and misconception is what people see on the cardio equipment dashboard. You will often see a chart explaining the “Fat Burning Zone”. It gives you the impression that if you stay within a certain heart rate zone you will burn fat, but if you’re out of this zone you won’t.

Often it’s explained that you have to stay within an aerobic state to use more fat for energy. You will have some inexperienced trainers explain that you should maintain a conversational pace to stay within this zone. This means you should be able to hold a conversation while doing aerobic exercise.

I debunk this entire misrepresentation in another blog I wrote on March 12th called the Fat Burning Zone, so I won’t go into length about it here.

The reality is that you do use more fat for energy in this aerobic state described on the cardio machines, but I’m not concerned with how much fat you use for energy during a given amount of time. It doesn’t mean it’s the most effective to lose overall fat and get you to your long range goals. I’m also not concerned just about the amount of calories you burn during this time. Although the method I will suggest in a moment can equal the same amount of calories burned in a shorter period of time.

Most importantly, I’m interested in the hormonal responses I can create from exercise to send the right signals to the body to release fat for fuel. Here’s the kicker. I’m more interested in what happens to your body after you’re DONE with a cardio workout, then while you’re working out.

If you would do high-intensity cardio or what we often call interval training. It’s the most effective way to release and burn fat for fuel because it’s the post exercise responses created by this method. Interval training stimulates the central nervous system to release growth hormone. If you read my previous blog posts in the series I wrote about hormonal responses and the effects on fat release for energy you now know how important creating the right hormonal environment is to losing fat. Specifically, interval training will stimulate adrenalin and noradrenalin. It drives the good guys to go to the cells to open them up and use fat as fuel. If you want to not only burn fat during exercise, but throughout the day, you will want to do interval training. In addition, you will have raised your metabolic rate for a longer period after you’re done exercising. The good news is interval training is often done in half the time, so it’s a double win for the busy person.

If you're still skeptical, see the results our Fitness Together Transformation contestants are gettingand specifically listen to Michael Long explain how he was surprise how 25 minutes of cardio has helpedhim lose over 60 pounds: http://www.fitnesstogether.net/

I do want to say, I’m not bashing regular lower intensity cardiovascular exercise because you can’t do interval training every day. It has its place in your overall exercise plan. In fact, I don’t recommend doing interval training more than 3 times per week. Therefore, two other times per week you can do low intensity cardiovascular exercise, but you don’t need to do more than 30 minutes if you apply a balanced approach to your overall fitness and nutrition plan like we do with the FT Essentials. This balanced approach is not only physiologically more beneficial to achieving your goals, but psychologically more stimulating.

From an exercise prescription standpoint, know that high intensity cardio is always going to be better than lower intensity steady state cardio. Also know that you have to progressively build up to interval training. You don’t want to just jump into a program that is too intense for your ability level or you won’t enjoy yourself. When working with our clients we always use progress exercise prescription principles. It allows the client to work at their ability level and often exceed what they thought they ever could do because we progressively increase the challenge as their fitness level increases. Our comprehensive health and fitness assessments allow us to specifically target heart rates to the client ensuring a perfect cardiovascular prescription and intensity.

Please do not think because it’s often call high intensity interval training that you cannot do it unless you’re in great shape. High intensity is relative to the individual and why appropriate exercise prescriptions are important.

You can read a previous blog I wrote to get more details on what interval training is and additional recommendations. It was written on March 20th and call Chuch Saves The Day.
Thank you for allowing me to guide you through the health and fitness maze.
In good health,

Pete Piranio BS, CSCS
Owner/Fitness Consultant
Fitness Together
Brookfield: 262.780.6350
Delafield: 262.646.5444
Wauwatosa: 414.453.9800
Woodbury,MN: 651.436.8137
http://www.fitnesstogether.net/

P.S. If you would like to learn more about our services you can schedule a complimentary introductory session and consultation or request our DVD and information guide at our website: http://www.fitnesstogether.net/

8 Reasons You're Not Losing Weight. Part 4

Today we will be continuing our discussion on why you may be eating healthy
and exercising, but still not losing weight.

There is nothing worse than seeing the frustration on someone's face that
feels like they are doing everything right, but just can't shed the weight.
I've consulted with hundreds of clients and this always hits you right in the
heart.

The hardest part for us is knowing that we have a psychological battle on our
hands with a client in this situation. We also know that the clock starts
ticking to win this battle before they consider us another failed attempt.

The fact is everyone (except for rare instances) can achieve a healthy
weight if they are committed to it. You have to truly commit to making
changes in your life. Sometimes the changes you have to make don't always
fit into the exercise and nutrition category alone, as you have been learning
in this series. Today, we will discuss hormonal imbalances as one more example.

Before we dive into hormonal balances I want to discuss a very important
point that is a critical piece to the fitness and fat loss puzzle. It's
critical because without understanding this point, you may never get a chance
to put all the pieces to the puzzle together.

You have to accept that making health, fitness and weight loss changes may not
come easy. You have to accept that it's a process and the process may have
many ups and downs. The right methods and approach will make it easier, but
there is no silver bullet.

If you read one of our Fitness Together Transformation contestant's blog
entries on May 16th, you will see a perfect example of how easy it is to get
frustrated, lose focus and potentially derail yourself for good. I'm happy to
say Jason Fritz stayed mentally tough long enough to start seeing terrific
results. These results have fueled his fire ever since and now he's on a roll.
Unfortunately, some people give up before they experience success. Read Jason's
May 16th post here:
http://jasonfritz-ftc.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html

If you can understand it is a process and for many, this process is not
"quick and easy", you are much more likely to stick with it. You are much more
likely to put all the pieces together. You are much more likely to get the 8
Reasons in this series right.

If you have gained the knowledge to put together the right fitness and weight
loss plan, you must trust your plan and avoid the gimmick temptations. This
is what we asked our Fitness Together Transformation contestants to do and
they are getting terrific results (www.fitnesstogether.net). I'm sure contestant Michael Long was skeptical when he discovered he was only going to
do 20-25 minutes of cardio, but after losing 60 plus pounds lost later I'm sure
he's not.

We live in America and culturally we want everything fast, so let me reassure
you can still have ups and downs in the process and achieve quick results.
Jason Fritz had a few mental ups and downs, but he also lost 20 pounds in less
than three months. Heck, there are a lot of people that would be very happy!

Here is another example, a month and a half ago I had a phone conversation with
a client that was frustrated because she was not losing weight, but felt like
she was doing everything right. Understandably, she wanted to vent some
frustrations and I was going to be on the receiving end. She had stated that
our web site said we never fail and she obviously felt like we did. I responded
by stating we never do. We will never give up until we are successful with the
client. We weren't giving up on her either. The question was she going to give
up? Was she going to commit to making the necessary changes? Was she going
to accept responsibility or blame someone or something else?

We know our methods are scientifically based and proven to be successful and
we have hundreds case studies to prove it. In each and every one of our success
stories we were able to help the client not only learn what has to be done, but
commit and take responsibility for making the changes necessary. Sometimes
these changes were easy and results came quickly and other times it's tough
like the aforementioned example.

I am happy to report that this client did accept responsibility, made the
recommended changes and has since lost 30 pounds!

The moral of this story is there are reasons for your struggles. It's very
rare that someone is genetically "stuck" with being obese. Very rare! I don't
care what you read in a magazine or see on TV. You just have to be willing to
stick with it long enough to get all the pieces working together and to find
what's missing in your fat loss formula.

Let's look at hormonal imbalances as one possible problem in the fat loss equation:

I've been writing a lot about this in the other posts for good reason. Many
of the exercise and nutrition strategies and techniques I've previously
discussed are to create the right hormonal response to release fat for fuel.
You can have one hormonal imbalance and do a lot of work for nothing. Even one
imbalance can be the missing piece to the puzzle.

Over the years I discovered hormonal imbalances to be one of the biggest reasons
people were not losing fat, even if they truly were doing just about everything
else right. I've found that if people are hitting a plateau we just need to dig
a little deeper to find out why, rather than, make drastic changes.

I've seen people drastically cut calories or start excessively exercising when
they are stuck on this plateau, when really they needed to find the real culprit.

The best way to make sure your hormones are not the culprit is to see a medical
specialist. We typically recommend our clients see a physician for testing of
hormonal imbalances and metabolic diseases if every other possibility has been
exhausted. They can either discuss this with their physician or see a few of our
recommended physicians who specialize in this area.

The four key areas to ensure are normal are:
1. Thyroid levels
2. Insulin
3. Cortisol
4. Testosterone and Estrogen

In the previous post in this series we have discussed how Thyroid levels
significantly affect your metabolic rate and caloric expenditure. We also discussed
the importance of stabilizing insulin to optimize the release of fat as fuel.
Insulin resistance can have a dramatic impact on your ability to lose fat because
the body continues to secrete higher and higher levels if the cells are not
accepting insulin. This ultimately creates an environment that will increase
calories store as fat.

In earlier posts we discussed how cortisol levels can be increased with stress
and poor sleep because the body perceives the lack of sleep as stress. You can also
have high cortisol levels even if you get adequate sleep and handle stress properly.

Lastly, low levels of testosterone in men and low levels of estrogen in women will
increase a person's fat storing. Women can often experience weight gain when
entering menopause because of drops in estrogen.

Understanding that any imbalance in these hormones can make fat loss very difficult
even with the best exercise and nutrition plan can save you a lot of frustration.
We work with our clients to create an optimal hormonal environment with an exercise
and nutrition plan first, but if progress is at a standstill we often work with
medical professionals to find if this is the missing pieces. If you have the right
exercise and nutrition plan that will naturally create the right hormonal balance for
fat loss and have hit a plateau you may want to do the same.


Thank you for allowing me to guide you through the health and fitness maze.

In good health,


Pete Piranio BS, CSCS
Owner/Fitness Consultant
Fitness Together
www.fitnesstogether.net
Brookfield: 262.780.6350
Delafield: 262.646.5444
Wauwatosa: 414-453-9800
Woodbury,MN: 651-436-8137