sumi, Author at Shaila Fitness

Strength Training with Parkinson’s

May 3, 2013 by sumi Leave a Comment

Getting older doesn’t automatically preclude you from learning how to lift weights and resigning yourself to a loss of strength and functionality. Neither does having Parkinson’s.

The effects of age related muscle-wasting (sarcopenia) may be counteracted by resistance training (J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Feb;25(2):326-33.), and we’re not talking about the little pink dumbbells, either. Somewhere around 60% of a maximal effort weight and higher reps, and even using free weights (not JUST the machines).

Older trainees in the gym normally stick with familiar cardio machines, but if you’ve ever seen Al in action, you might want to clear some space. He’s been strength training with me for 2 years now, and in that time he’s seen some impressive gains in strength and coordination.

Working muscle coordination with battling rope.

He’s done all this despite being in his 70’s and having become involved with strength training with Parkinson’s disease.

Although Al’s determined personality makes our work outs fairly intense, trainees with Parkinson’s can use resistance training pretty much like everyone else. And just like anyone else, he got stronger with a basic program for resistance training.

My clients know how I harp on about maintaining a record (a training log) of your gym workouts. Al’s training logs showed the following improvements over the course of 7 months:

Hamstring Curl: Starting 60 lbs X 20 reps, Current 150 lbs X 15 reps

Leg Press: Starting 45 lbs X 20 reps, Current 135 lbs X 15 reps

Seated Cable Row: Starting 20 lbs X 20, Current: 60 lbs X 15 reps

Stability Ball Squat (a movement to be used with caution with Parkinson’s depending on the stage): Starting Bodyweight X 20 reps, Current: Bodyweight plus two 12 lb dumbbells in either hand X 20 reps

Glute Bridge: Starting Bodyweight X 20 reps, Current: Bodyweight plus Heavy Sandbag (45lbs) X 20 reps.

“I have been diagnosed as having Parkinson’s, scoliosis and rheumatoid arthritis which have caused loss of muscle strength. I believe a regime of regular exercise can significantly retard further muscle atrophy and help increase tone and strength. Sumi has been a great help to me in achieving my goals.” Al

I could go on and on with his improvements in a variety of exercises all across the board, but you get the basic idea. If a man diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1998, and now in his 70’s, is able to accomplish results like these (with a trainer like me, hey selfish plug here! ☺), ask yourself what’s stopping you?

Working the rear delts with resistance bands

Beating Emotional Eating and Coming to Peace with Food

April 23, 2013 by sumi Leave a Comment

Below is an interview I had with a local fellow fitness trainer and mom. When I first met her, the first thing I noticed was her enviable toned figure, radiant hair and skin, and a smile like sunshine. By the looks of it, you could never tell that Shannan ever struggled with emotional/compulsive eating. When she opened up to me first about what she struggled with (emotional eating), I knew it was something I wanted to share with my own clients and friends.

I LOVE chocolate! Eat what you love too, in moderation.

Remember, eating disorders aren’t always as black and white as having anorexia or bulimia. According to an article in the World of Psychology, currently 80 percent of women in the U.S. are dissatisfied with their appearance. And more than 10 million are suffering from eating disorders. And even while “normal” eaters experience occasional emotional eating episodes (e.g., Thanksgiving when we all stuff ourselves because it’s tradition, releiving stress with a bottle of champagne, or rewarding your hard work with a slice of pie), a normal eater thinks nothing more of the event. On the other hand, a truly emotional eater will feel a whole host of emotions tied to their eating experiences, and uses food to feed a feeling, rather than physical hunger.

In Shannan’s story, emotional eating led her to gain 30 lbs. However, through the steps she took to address her emotional eating, she was able to lose the 30 lbs and has kept it off for 3 years now. You can see her before and after pictures on her website, listed below.

Continue Reading …

Cleaned Up Curry: Getting LEAN with Indian Food

March 21, 2013 by sumi Leave a Comment

Indian food is famous for being super-rich (high in fat) and also high in flavor. While the latter is good, the addition of unnecessary added fat is NOT. In the attached file, I’m including 10 commonly used recipes but boosted the protein and slashed the sugar and fat. There are ways to “clean up” some of our classic recipes, so that they are healthier and friendlier to your waistline too! Cleaned Up Curry

Indian Food can be Clean!

Abuela Gets Hot

March 5, 2013 by sumi Leave a Comment

So before anyone scrolls any further down, I got to warn you this girl is hot, hot, HOT! She’s an online client of mine, a super dedicated trainee, and get this- she’s an abuela (Spanish for grandmother). I’m pretty sure there are 20 year olds that would like to look like her NOW. Although her before and after pictures speak a thousand words, I wanted to conduct an interview to get her perspective on the 8 week journey. Her answers are short (with English being her second language) but she gets the point across.

Q: What made you decide to hire an online coach? What’s makes it different from training on your own?

A: The huge knowledge of Sumi. By my own is like going to the gym blind and lost.

A. Diaz before

Q: You’re a native of Mexico. How were you able to incorporate some flavor in your meals?

A: Chiles,cilantro,avocado,limes,onions and some fruits.

Q: What was the first thing you changed about the way you ate to look the way you do now?

A: No more tortillas and fried antojitos.

Q: What did you change about your training?

A: Nothing

Q: How were you able to fit the workouts into your schedule?

A. My workouts are my priority.

Q: Do you have any tips for other moms? Grandmoms?

A: Take time for yourself, love yourself, because now is the time.

A. Diaz After

Running Strong

February 20, 2013 by sumi Leave a Comment

I’m always more than happy to report on the successes of my clients, 1) because it’s fun to brag, and 2) I really do love watching people reach their goals and learn to love lifting. Lori’s story is incredibly impressive; she’s a working professional and newlywed with two children in high school and a step-child in elementary school, and completed her first marathon. What I love most about reporting on busy moms who achieve big fitness goals, is that it makes you think…well if she can, I can too. I was lucky to be able to strength train her for her marathon, so she was able to run STRONG. 26.2 miles is no joke!

How did she do it?

All smiles and strong after 26.2 miles.

q: Congratulations on completing your first marathon! What made you pick such a big fitness challenge?

a: I have been running for years for exercise, stress relief, chat therapy and social time with my friends. All of my running friends had run a marathon except for me. I had always wanted to do it, but the time never seemed right. I finally told myself that I needed to quit making excuses, push myself, and make it happen. I was really blessed to have the support of my husband, my kids, family, and a dear friend who joined a marathon training group with me. I’m a bit of an introvert. So even joining a training group was a bit out of my comfort zone. Training for the marathon stretched me physically, socially, and emotionally. It required me to do a lot more “positive” talking to myself! Instead of worrying about the next mileage goal, I had to tell myself that I’d just run longer than I ever had and that I could do the same plus more on the next long training run.

q: As a working mom, how did you manage to get in all the training? Do you have any suggestions for others?

Re-Engineering Your Kitchen For Weight Loss

February 5, 2013 by sumi Leave a Comment

As we get older, get busy with families and work, go to one too many office parties, happy hours, and cupcake shops, we often don’t notice the slow creeping on of pounds. Or maybe we do. Or maybe you wake up one day and can’t get the jeans to fit or the shirt over your bellybutton. Short of buying an entire wardrobe, you’re faced with a dilemma.

Keep your kitchen full of healthy treats!

Understandably, the last thing most of us want to do is go on a diet or reduce calories. The very thought of doing so sends some of us into a tailspin, feasting “last supper” style, or running to the donut store before we begin a weight loss diet “tomorrow.” The good news is that you can make gradual, small changes and lose weight effortlessly by re-engineering your kitchen for weight loss. The same way you allowed small changes in your diet that added the pounds on gradually (the extra wine at happy hour, the chocolate kisses at the front desk, the cupcake at the birthday party, the desert you could have split, the caramel machiatto, etc), is the same way you can effortlessly lose weight by making small changes.

Client transformation: Habit Based Weight Loss

December 11, 2012 by sumi Leave a Comment

Changing habits is hard work, especially if you’re aiming for weight loss. The process can be slow; think months. Even years. Sometimes you slide, sometimes your weight fluctuates. Don’t expect dramatic weight loss, expect to be patient with the process, as it’s a learning process.

For those of you with insanely busy lives, I encourage you read through the interview answers of this client who is currently engaged in habit based weight loss. As a mother of two daughters, a wife, and busy working professional with a heavy travel schedule and plenty of indulgent work lunches and dinners, this client achieved forty pounds of weight loss. With this amount of weight loss, she enjoyed a better tennis game, a reduction in knee pain, and improved cholesterol levels.

Sumi: You’ve had what from the outside appears to be a very easy, steady loss on the weight loss journey (40 lbs and counting). Foodwise, what have you done differently?

Client: I think I already had a relatively healthy diet, at least when I ate at home, but instituting portion control and balance on the plate (i.e., a little bit of protein and starch and lots of veggies) made a big difference there. It has also helped me to have regular and routine meals. Breakfast is Greek yogurt with fruit – every morning. That keeps me from the temptation to swing by the donut shop “just this once” on the way to work. I don’t skip lunch and I don’t wait until I am ravenous to eat it. In addition, it is easier to exercise portion control at lunch when I know there is a snack (generally an apple and some almonds) to get me through to supper. I have also reduced my consumption of processed food and refined sugars and starches. No more Lean Cuisine, which is good because they never taste that good and they are not at all filling.

Best Diet Products

December 4, 2012 by sumi Leave a Comment

Today I want to take a quick look at what I think are some of the best reduced calorie products available at your grocery store. Have you tried any of these yet?

High Fiber, Low Calorie Tortillas

These high fiber tortillas can be used as roti, too!

Start reading labels at your grocery store. More brands are coming up with high fiber wraps and tortillas like the one made by Ole (Xtreme Wellness). The one in the photo here has only 90 calories, 9 grams of fiber per serving, and is large enough to hold enough chicken, cheese, and veggies to satisfy even large appetites like mine. Check the bread section at your store and see if you can beat or match the calorie and fiber profile. FlatOut is another brand that makes large wraps, and comes in a variety of flavors. I’ve seen them at several grocery stores with each serving about 90-100 calories.

Powdered Peanut Butter

PB2, Powdered Peanut Butter (45 cals for 2 TBSPs compared to 200 calories for 2 TBSPs of peanut butter). Made by Bell Plantations, this powdered peanut butter can be used in a lot of recipes and mixed with water to make a low-cal version of peanut butter, added to protein shakes, pudding, etc. My favorite way to use this product is to mix this with chocolate whey protein powder, and blend with ice and water. I also mix it in with chocolate pudding. The company website has a complete recipe book too: http://www.bellplantation.com/

Low Calorie Cashew Milk

For those of you that enjoy adding something to your whey protein shake, this unsweetened cashew “milk” adds a mere 25 calories per 1 cup serving. That’s a little bit less than light almond milk (which ranges from 35-60 calories/cup) and quite a bit less than skim milk (80 calories/cup). I’ve always been happy with plain water added to my whey protein, but the cashew milk adds creaminess if you like that. You can find the nutrition information here.

Walden Farms Brand

Makes no calorie, no sugar, no carb, gluten-free sauces, salad dressings, syrups, dips, jellies, and much much more. The raspberry salad vinaigrette dressing is my absolute favorite from their line. http://www.waldenfarms.com/

Magic Pop

If you haven’t tried this, it’s pretty neat. They sell them at our local grocery store (HEB in Austin) and they come in both salty/savory and sweet flavors. It’s like an oversized rice cake, but with only 15 calories. So for those of you that crave crunchy + sweet and/or crunchy/salty (if I had a dollar for every person in Austin that can’t live without chips and salsa…), this treat is worth a try. http://www.deliceglobal.com/

Fiber One Brand Pancake Mix

People pay big bucks for colon cleansing and detox products, and it’s no wonder. The typical American diet is largely devoid of fiber, and you might not be getting enough if you eat out frequently, dislike vegetables, or consume too many processed foods on a regular basis. Ideally, you have found a way to include several servings of fresh veggies and fruits in your daily diet. But if you need more or other sources of dietary fiber, the Fiber One brand has come up with a complete line of breakfast, snack, and desert products to help you meet your daily needs (at least 30 grams). The pancake mix is my favorite; it has 180 calories in a serving (compared to 250 calories per serving in some other brands), and has 5 grams of fiber. I usually mix it with 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder when making my high protein pancakes, which brings me to my next point…

Best Source of Portable Protein

Whey protein is an excellent source of high quality and convenient take-it-with-you protein. You should try to include a serving of lean protein at every meal, and this can be challenging if you’re vegetarian, can’t stand too much chicken, beef, and eggs on a daily basis, are always on the go, and so on. There are numerous options for whey protein. Visit the vitamin aisle at your grocery store or your local health food store. Try one of the single serving packets if you’re weary of buying a big tub. For retailed versions, I like the either Muscle Milk Light (100 cals/scoop), GNC’s Whey Protein Complete (100 cals/scoop), or Optimum Nutrition’s 100% Gold Standard Whey (120 cals/scoop).

Best Tasting Reduced Calorie Bread

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you might have noticed that several brands are coming out with sliced bread that come in at only 40 calories/slice. Brand such as Nature’s Own now carry a full line of breads (white, wheat, honey wheat, double-fiber, etc.) in their reduced-calorie/Light line that contain half the calories of conventional sliced bread. http://naturesownbread.com/products/ReducedCalorieBreads/

Again, start reading labels at the grocery store. Most people swear off of all bread and carbs when they are trying to shed some pounds, and that’s not required. For many of us, it’s about making simple changes and tradeoffs to choices we already make that can steer us towards our weight loss goals.

Best Tasting Healthy Sweet Treats (For Adults AND Kids)

Greek Yogurt: Many brands are now coming out with versions of seasonal flavors of Greek Yogurt (such as Caramel Apple Pie, Chocolate Cherry, Salted Caramel, Toasted Vanilla Coconut, etc). Used to be that you could only get peach, blueberry, strawberry, but I’m seeing a LOT more variety at the grocery store for this convenient high protein snack. Check out the nutrition information and the variety of flavors here. This particular brand checks in at a mere 80 calories. If you wanted, you could probably freeze it and top it off with some fresh fruit for a nice desert, too.

Muffins: Vitalicious http://www.vitalicious.com/store-vitamuffins.html has a delicious “Vitamuffin” and I love the Deep Chocolate flavor. Although the size is smaller than a coffee house portion, it’s probably appropriate for most appetites. 100 calories, 9 grams of fiber, and “enriched” with plenty of vitamins (as the name implies). You can find this in the frozen novelties section of your grocery store, or in the frozen prepared breakfast section.

Brownies: Glenny’s has a brand of ready made brownies that are 100 calories a piece, and with 7 grams of fiber (and not in the refrigerated section). http://www.glennys.com/products/brownies.html I’ve seen them at the grocery store and they can be ordered online as well. As with the Vitalicious brand, don’t expect to indulge in a huge coffee shop size portion. Nevertheless, the taste is pretty darn good when you’re in need of a small chocolate “fix.”

Gluten-Free Foods

Granted, this category isn’t necessarily “diet-friendly” in the calorie content sense (gluten free products are often higher in calories than a regular wheat product), but if you’ve got a gluten allergy or are trying to avoid it, you probably have no choice. The market of gluten-free products is growing much like the fat-free and low-carb market was, and it’s hard to know which products are actually tasty. Since you will be paying more for gluten-free, it helps to know what tastes good. Here are some picks from my gluten-intolerant clients:

Best Tasting Gluten Free Bread (sandwich or bagel): Udi’s
Instant oatmeal- Gluten Freeda
Pancake/muffin mix- Pamela’s products
Cake Mix- Betty Crocker
Frozen Entrees- Cedar Lane

I hope that my list of some of my favorite best diet products helps you out.

See you at the grocery store!

Exercising Your Willpower Muscle

November 25, 2012 by sumi 2 Comments

Giant clear jars of chocolate kisses lurk at every receptionist desk..

Cookie-grams are being brought to your offices by charming vendors…

And Valentine’s day chocolate beckons.

Sounds tasty, doesn’t it?

It seems that some people have an easier time than others being mindful about food choices, while others more readily succumb to temptation when faced with it. This is often attributed to “willpower” (or lack of it). It’s not like these people are super-disciplined humans with no sense of smell for homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Somehow, over the course of time they’ve managed to use “willpower”- the power to use discipline and self-awareness to make choices that steer them towards achieving their goal, no matter what the occasion.

Train your brain as hard as you train your biceps

The good news is you can exercise your “willpower muscle” much like you exercise your muscles when you lift weights. The more you “train” your brain to either resist a temptation or make a positive choice, the easier and more natural the process becomes.

If you stop and think about it, how many times have you been faced with a temptation and you hear two voices in your head battling it out? Or how many times have you “spent” your mental energy all day at work, resisting the urge to tell a complaining customer or boss to shove it, then come home and bury your sorrows in cheesecake or a bottle of wine (or both!)?

Perhaps you’ve exhausted your willpower muscle, and something has gone on in your head that either steers you to make the best choice for your diet/fitness goals or away from it.

So what are some simple exercises that you can do to build willpower, and cultivate the discipline to make sensible food choices?

Why a Moderate Approach Might be Best for You

September 24, 2012 by sumi 1 Comment

Just when you think it’s gone away, the season of the heavily marketed “quick fixes” is upon us with swimsuit season around the corner. It’s easy to spot on social media; unscrupulous supplements companies, psuedo-“coaches” and newly anointed “nutrition experts” sell whatever cleanse or detox or “quick start kit” to help you shed the extra lbs you may have packed on over the Holidays.

Believe me when I say I completely understand the emotional pull to get a “head start,” a push in the right direction, a “reset” or whatever it takes to get you started on your path to weight loss.

But is that path maintainable? Can you see yourself juice fasting for the rest of your life to maintain that loss, or sucking down overly priced shakes on a daily basis, now and forever? What about the endless BS supplements that MLMs want to sell to you? Will you take those forever, believing that there’s a special formulation in that shake or bottle that’s keeping you lean? If the answer is yes, then don’t bother reading on.

I also believe that rapid fat loss plans sometimes have a place in our lives. Take for instance, fitting into your wedding dress, tightening up for a photoshoot, or looking great at your 10-year High School reunion. Generally, that type of fat loss is temporary, or at least meant to be. In which case, go read Lyle McDonald’s Rapid Fat Loss program and see how it’s possible to use actual food (not shakes, pills, or gimmicks) to shed the fat, and fast.

The same is true with exercise programs. Gyms get an influx of new members in January and attendance tends to peter out by March (I get to see this first hand as a trainer at a commercial gym).

During the post-Holiday season, gyms and studios also entice you with low-priced offers to try more strenuous exercise programs like CrossFit, boot camp classes, hot yoga, kettlebell circuit classes, and so on. They figure you’re desperate to burn it off- and now.

Don’t get me wrong, while there’s nothing wrong with following advanced fitness programs, there’s also plenty right with simpler, cheaper, and less strenuous programs.

Not every workout requires pumped-up muscles and gut busting weights. Stick with a lifetime approach to fitness.

As much as I enjoy very challenging workouts, not every single workout needs to leave you dripping in sweat or totally trashed and in search of a masseuse. It’s perfectly fine to do low intensity work when you’re feeling a little under the weather. If your body wants to crank out some moderate steady state cardiovascular activity without dripping buckets of sweat, you’re still doing a whole lot better than if you had done absolutely nothing.

Along the same lines, not every workout in the weight room needs to translate into the requisite day-after (or two days-after) muscle soreness. Bodybuilders popularized workout splits that might have them in the gym 6 days a week, but beginner trainees can see results with as little as 2 to 3 times per week full body workouts.

As with your nutrition program, pick a training format that you can see yourself doing for a very, very long time.

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