Gravity Fx Fitness

“You can’t out-train a bad diet”. Without a doubt, it’s one of my all time favorite quotes. My clients hear it daily. I will not stop using it. It rings true and I need my clients to hear my voice in their head stating that phrase when they consider hitting up the fast food joint for lunch instead of packing a healthier option beforehand. Nutrition is an extremely popular and extremely important topic; and it is one of the main factors in helping clients achieve their goals. Want to lose 20 pounds? You better eat right. Want to be full of energy and not gas out during your next fight? You better eat right. Want to look good at the beach this summer and show off that 6-pack? You better eat right. In my short list of “must-haves” in order to achieve your goals; I rank proper nutrition as the #2 piece of the puzzle. Conditioning (strength/cardio/mobility) ranks #3 and having the proper mind-set (you have to want to change) is #1. Train the mind and the body will follow.

Now that the mind is right, let’s fuel that body properly so we can reach our true potential.

What type of “diet” are you currently on? There are so many fad diets out there these days that I can’t keep track anymore. Do you follow a Paleo diet? Are you an ovo-lacto-vegan? How many points are you allowed to consume today? I get asked about the best diets frequently and I have a hard time keeping them all straight. With all the options out there today, I typically refer out to a more qualified nutritional expert. I’m confident in giving educated, sound advice on the subject; however, when individuals want specific diet plans and exact calorie counts, I’m not even going to try to act like I know all the answers. Remember, one size does not fit all when talking about nutrition. Have a couple nutrition experts at your disposal and recommend them to your clients. Your clients will appreciate you more in the long run for having a solid referral network. Remember – when in doubt, refer out.

I wanted to give you a look at what I typically consume during an average week so you can see what works for me. My personal goals are simply to maintain my current weight, correct a few imbalances (structural not chemical), and stay as healthy as possible. I’m not saying this diet will help you achieve your specific goals, I’m just frequently asked about my nutritional habits and wanted to share my daily food log.

Overview
I recommend eating a clean, balanced diet that is full of nutrient-dense protein sources (the less legs the better), loads of various vegetables (eat a rainbow), fibrous whole grains (at certain time of the day), and healthy fats such as raw nuts and fish oils.

Animal Protein Sources
• Wild caught fish (primarily salmon, tuna, halibut, bass)
• Organic chicken breast
• Organic ground turkey meat
• Grass fed red meat
• Organic eggs
• Whey protein powder (not all powders are created equally!)

Complex Carbohydrate Sources
• Steel-cut oats
• Brown rice
• Sweet Potatoes
• Amaranth
• Buckwheat

Fat Sources
• Coconut oil
• Macadamia nut oil
• Avocado
• EVOO
• Cod liver oil
• Almond butter

Misc. Foods
• “Other” Carbs: Local, organic veggies – staples include: peppers, broccoli, asparagus, tomatoes, spinach, squash, zucchini
• Organic fruits – staples include: banana, blueberries
• Variety of herbs & spices – staples include: basil, cinnamon, tarragon
• Black beans
• Raw nuts – staples include: almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds
• Green tea extract
• Almond milk
• Probiotic greens

Let’s look at what is not recommended. If you want to reach your goals, then these foods are out.
• High salt foods – frozen dinners, pre-packed ready-made meals
• Highly processed foods – take out, fast food
• High sugary foods – candy and sodas
• No processed, white flour
• Alcohol – limited to 1-2 glasses of red wine, except for your “cheat day/meal”

Sample diet for 1 typical week day
Upon waking
16 oz of cold water

First feeding (breakfast)
½ tablespoon of Cod Liver Oil
Scrambled eggs (typically 3 whole & 3 just whites: 6 total) with multiple veggies (common: tomato, avocado, spinach, basil), 2 pieces organic, multi-grain toast with cinnamon and agave. Eggs are cooked in coconut oil. I have water w/lemon with most meals.

Mid-morning feeding
One of the following:
Larabar with a bag of raw mixed nuts or
2 tablespoons of almond butter on celery sticks

Pre-workout cocktail (about 20-30 minutes prior to exercise)
BCAA and caffeine (~140mg) – I’ve tried a number of brands…currently trying “Black Powder”

Post-workout cocktail (during my stretch)
Recovery drink…ideally a 3:1 carb to protein ratio…fruit, protein powder, & almond milk

Afternoon feeding (within 1 hour of workout)
1 grilled chicken breast w/herbs, sweet potato, and veggies (broccoli, red peppers, & yellow squash)

2nd afternoon feeding
Whatever I didn’t eat for my mid-morning snack…
Larabar with a bag of raw mixed nuts or
2 tablespoons of almond butter on celery sticks

Evening feeding
Baked Salmon w/lemon, large salad with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, (dressing: balsamic vinegar & EVOO)

Last feeding
½ tablespoon fish oil and, if anything else, a shake with ice, greens, protein powder, almond butter, and a little almond milk

My Diet – random notes

• Complex carb – I’m on the record as being “pro-carb”. I typically consume mine 2x per day; once in the morning and once right after my workout.
• I prefer to eat my calories and not drink them. Other than the post-workout cocktail, I try not to drink too many calories
• When talking protein – the less legs it has the better
• I try to eat protein at every single meal I have throughout the day
• I try to eat veggies with as many meals as possible
• I don’t eat a ton of fruit; bananas and blueberries are the only frequent ones
• Supplements – My common supplements include: protein powder, green tea extract, greens, and cod liver (fish) oils
• Water – Try to consume half your bodyweight in fluid ounces every day
• The less ingredients something has the better. Try to consume food with 3 or less ingredients listed. If you can’t pronounce it…it’s probably not good for you.
• Allow yourself 1 “cheat day” per week or a couple “cheat meals” throughout the week

Cheat Day or Cheat Meals
Personally, I don’t really have a complete “cheat day”. I do include a couple cheat meals throughout the week though. Wednesday night is usually a big pasta dinner and then one weekend day I’ll have a couple cocktails, eat some frozen yogurt, and go out to dinner one night and order whatever I want. Other than those 2-3 meals, I stick to a consistent and steady diet of organic animal protein, plenty of veggies and healthy fats, some complex carbs and beans, and lots of water.

Final Thoughts
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” – Einstein

Is it challenging to eat healthy? Not if you make it a priority in your life. In a typical week, I will visit Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco, and the Farmer’s Market on the weekend. It does require a commitment, and YOU need to be extremely important to you if you are going to make healthy eating a part of your lifestyle.

About Doug
Doug currently works at Fitness Quest 10 as a personal trainer, strength coach, and Operations Director for Todd Durkin Enterprises (TDE). He is also the strength coach for the Alliance Fight Team in Chula Vista, CA. A Massachusetts native, he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science with a minor in Business Management from Westfield State University. Since moving to San Diego he has completed some graduate work in Biomechanics at SDSU, obtained an ACE Personal Trainer certification, the NSCA-CSCS certification, a Spinning certification, TRX instructor training, EFI Gravity instructor training, FMS training, and received his CPR/AED instructor status. He has also appeared in 8 fitness videos, written numerous fitness articles, completed a MMA Conditioning Coach certification program and has competed in multiple grappling tournaments.

Prior to working at Fitness Quest 10, Doug worked for the American Council on Exercise as the Continuing Education Coordinator where he was responsible for managing over 400 continuing education providers.

For more information please visit www.todddurkin.com, www.fq10.com, and www.dbstrength.com.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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Do you want to lose weight and keep it off long-term? Than going on a diet and not exercising is a BAD idea.

Today at my studio is “cardio Monday,” with total body exercises designed to keep your HR up and elevate your metabolism.  I was talking to my client Deandra after the session and she wasn’t fully aware of the connection between muscle and metabolism.

When you go on a diet and lose 15 pounds without exercising, some of that lost weight will be fat, some will be water weight and some will be lean muscle tissue.

This is not a good idea because you will likely put that weight back on over the course of a year, BUT….. you won’t put back the lean muscle tissue.

notice how lean and muscle tissue goes together?

Say you do this yo-yo dieting for 10 years or more, as some people do, and you may have lost 10-15 pounds of lean muscle tissue.

This has two effects:

1 – the loss of muscle tissue means a slower metabolism.

2 – you lost muscle tissue and replaced it with fat, so now you have a less appealing shape than you used to.

Muscle is more dense than fat, taking up less space. So instead of losing weight you should be concentrating on losing fat – there is a difference!

Meaning, don’t worry so much about the scale and instead, try to lose inches and see if your clothes start to fit a little looser.  This is what most people should be worried about.  Having lean muscle tissue is healthy, while having too much fat is not.

Trying to keep weight off long term without exercise is a losing battle for most everyone.  So you should be exercising but also make sure to do some resistance training to keep your metabolism elevated after you are done exercising.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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A balanced fat loss program should have three components for success – leave out one of the 3 “legs” of the stool and you might not see progress.

1.   You need an effective exercise program.

2.  Proper eating habits are essential to losing weight.

3.  Change your mind set – without the proper social and emotional support you will have a difficult time reaching your goals.  This is the component that causes many people to give up after a month or two of going to the gym or starting a diet.  Its crucial for both losing weight and more importantly, keeping it off.

If you’re familiar with my articles you know that I don’t do things the traditional way and advocate total body resistance exercises and interval-type cardio.  Workouts that last 30-40 minutes are the “norm” in my studio and I like to get your heart rate up while challenging your muscles.

I’ve borrowed my approach from other trainers who help busy people get results in the shortest time possible.  Results Fitness in southern California has been voted one of the top 10 gyms in the country by Men’s Health.   They don’t have their clients do any steady state cardio and don’t have their clients exercise while sitting down.

Follow this link to see how they manage to get consistent results in minimal time.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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In losing 13 pounds and keeping it off for 3 months after stopping the diet, I have learned a couple important things -

there are two phases of eating to lose weight – eating less and getting used to it, and eating better.  Meaning, getting rid of the “junk” that you put in your mouth.

Amazingly, I’m actually used to eating less than I used to.  Naturally, this adds to weight loss when you add in a good exercise program.  But its not just about eating less, its about eating better!

This is a work in progress for me.  For the record, I don’t claim to be a fat loss expert, I just play one on the internet.  All joking aside, I read numerous articles and blogs by people who ARE experts on losing weight and improving your appearance and also attend my share of seminars.

Now that I’m used to eating less, the next step is about improving the quality of food that I eat.  Avoiding or at least minimizing sugar, avoiding processed foods and getting more fiber and good fats into my diet.

I did the Warp Speed Fat Loss program for a month and lost 13 pounds.  Not too shabby considering I didn’t follow the program perfectly.  More importantly, I’ve kept it off after 3 months.  I’m not following the low fat diet anymore, but I am doing my best to eat quality foods more often than I used to.

I’ve also altered the exercise program, as well and think that the slight changes have kept my body guessing.  I’m still doing most of the same exercises, just changing the sets and reps and rest periods – kind of a modified density training workout.

While I’m exercising with decent intensity and little rest, which is key to getting better results in less time, my overall time spent exercising isn’t that much.  I’m convinced you don’t need to spend 90 minutes or more to get results if the intensity is there.

Cleaning up my diet even further is the second phase and the key to getting your bodyfat levels even lower and “uncovering” your six pack abs.  Getting rid of the junk in your diet is also key to eliminating or reducing the environmental toxins that keep you fat and unhealthy.

Why not live to be 100 if your body and mind are both working the way you want them to?  Seems to be working for Jack LaLanne, who turns 95 this Fall!

My body currently looks just like it did at 27, even though I’m in my mid 40’s.  Not bad, but I think I just might be able to improve on that.  Change your mind to change your life.

You might find my previous article Confessions of a Sugar Addict interesting.

Get moving!

Brian Morgan

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I’m succeeding in my goal to lose fat by adopting healthier habits.  They say that it takes 21 days to make a habit and they’re right!

I’ve lost some belly fat and reduced my craving for carbs in the process.  In fact, I’ve gotten used to eating smaller portions without feeling that I’m being deprived.

Not that I’ve been perfect….I think that progress, not perfection is the key to getting results that last.  You can lose weight on any diet but can you keep it off long-term?

For most of the population, the answer is a resounding NO!!  Why?  Because the “diet” can’t be done for long and then you go back to your old habits, often re-gaining all the weight – and then some.

I haven’t been perfect on this program I’ve been following (Warp Speed Fat Loss), but I definitely made some sacrifices that required some mental toughness.

What made it easier is knowing that I only have to follow it for a month.  Then I can change things up a little, but in that month I have made some habits……or rather, broke some unhealthy habits that were keeping me heavier than necessary.

For me, reducing the amount of carbs I eat and sugar in particular.  I’ve been weak in that regard and eat too much sugar due to stress and partly because of convenience.

The exercise part is no problem.  I love it and consider it more training than anything else.  But I’m also a busy person, like you, and don’t have several hours to work out anytime I want….

which is another bonus to my current program.  I’ve had a couple of “treats” here and there, but overall have been very disciplined with my eating and that mental discipline will carry over to other aspects of my life.

I look and feel better, too.  Its amazing what eating healthier can do for that.  My mind is much more focused, also.

If you’re someone who’s had trouble sticking to a plan, then you are probably lacking in social support.  This is an often overlooked key to losing weight – having someone hold you accountable and support your actions.

If this is the case, go over to our free forum and I’ll try to help out as best as I can.  I’ll also offer some training suggestions.

Get moving!

Brian

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Eating chia seeds has helped a local resident lose weight, according to a recent article.

Besides being high in fiber, Omega-3 fatty acids, and antioxidants, they can also be a part a weight loss program.  The high fiber can make you feel fuller and it can help lower your blood sugar levels.

One local woman has lost 31 pounds since she started using the seeds in February.  She adds the seeds to about 4 ounces of tomato juice before a meal to help fill her up.

I’ve been using them off and on since January, mixing them in with my protein drink in the morning.  Besides making you feel full, they can help slow down the breakdown of carbohydrates, again, helping with blood sugar levels.

I have also been eating some raw almonds before some of my meals for the same type of benefit.  Most of us could use more fiber in our “diets” because of the tendency of many to consume highly processed foods, that are lacking in fiber content.

Besides the fiber, I think that the good fats also help with fat loss, in my opinion.  I’ve been also doing a weekly fast of about 24 hours to help get ready for Summer.  All of the above seem to be helping, as I’m starting to see more definition in my abs.

Not quite a six pack yet, but maybe in 4-6 weeks.  Definitely getting leaner, which is the big goal anyway.  Still don’t eat perfectly, but making baby steps.  The healthy fats seem to decrease sugar cravings.  Like everything else, a gradual increase is probably advised.

For more info you can read my previous article on chia seeds.

Don’t forget to add more movement into your daily activities.  Sweat is good!

Get moving!

Brian

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After a few days of eating poorly, I decided to do a 24 hour fast to help my body get rid of the “junk” I put into it.  I’ve done intermittant fasting a little in the past and it can be an effective way to lose weight.

One program I followed several years ago involved going without eating throughout the day and then eating a large meal at dinner time, where you ate as much as you want.

While this might sound kinda strange, there is actually some good points brought up.  For one, throughout history we haven’t always had refrigerators stocked with food that we could go to whenever we wanted to eat.

Which is probably why obesity was never as much of a problem as it is today.

….but it was normal to go through periods of feast and famine, where at times there was plenty to eat and other times where you might have to go without food.

Anyway, I’ve tried a different type of program a little here and there and decided to go back on it for today.  Basically, you go without eating for about 24 hours and then resume your normal routine.

For example, last night my last meal was eaten by 7pm and today I won’t eat until 7pm, give or take.  You drink plenty of water to help flush out the waste products that can sometimes build up in your body.  Besides the obvious part of consuming fewer calories each week, which should lead to some weight loss, your body is supposed to be doing some “house cleaning” during the fasting time.

You can do this either once or twice a week without changing your normal eating pattern very much.

As I’ve said before, I have no problem training intensely, but my eating habits have never been perfect.  I tend to take in too much sugar and processed foods.  I get stressed out at times too, and enjoy my comfort foods.

Going without eating for 24 hours is really more mental than anything else and since you’re asleep for part of that time, it really isn’t that long anyway.

This might not work for people with diabetes or other health issues, but otherwise healthy people should have no problems.  Like I said, its much more mental than anything and it can really identify those for whom food is an emotional crutch.

Its not for everyone, but I definitely notice a difference when I do it.  If you would like more info go over to Eat Stop Eat.

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Never heard of chia seeds before? They are high in antioxidants, fiber and Omega-3 fatty acids, making them a great supplement to your diet. In fact, they are the highest plant source of Omega-3 fats, which are important for your brain and heart health.

Essential fatty acids are also beneficial to your immune system and overall health. This plant was cultivated by the ancient Aztecs and considered a “power food.”

For those trying to lose weight in the New Year, their high fiber content can help by adding a feeling of fullness, possibly keeping you from overeating.

It slows down the digestion of carbohydrates which can help you avoid sugar spikes and the “roller coaster” energy levels that occur when you eat too many carbs.

I’d heard of them before and someone recently mentioned them to me, so I decided to give them a try. I mix them in with my protein drink and let them sit for a few minutes before drinking this mixture.

They have kind of a soft, gelatinous feel and don’t really taste like much of anything when consumed in this manner. They make you feel full and within a few hours you might be heading to the restroom, if you know what I mean.

If nothing else, this high fiber addition should add some healthy benefits, but you can’t overlook the high antioxidant content, either. One label I read stated that they contain more antioxidants than blueberries.

As I mentioned before, my New Year’s resolution is to eat better. I’ve got a pretty good handle on the exercise part, but this has always been a weakness of mine.

As I’ve added more fruits and vegetables into my diet, I’ve also added more fiber and healthy fat sources. Don’t be scared of consuming fat from a good source like chia seeds, fish, flaxseeds, olive oil, coconut oil, or avocadoes.

We need to take in fats, just try and concentrate on making them healthy choices, like those high in Omega-3’s.

Oh yeah, since I’ve cut out most of the processed sugar (high-fructose corn syrup) from my “diet” and made better choices, I’ve noticed I feel better and have better energy levels. Now if I can just get a little more sleep, everything will be great.

Get moving!

Brian

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