All posts by Mike Shannon

Smoothies are refreshing and delicious, especially during the heat of summer. However, smoothies can be made to be ultra-fattening, and could be slowing down or even reversing your fitness results.

What should you look out for?

Does It Have Fruit Juice?
If your smoothie relies on fruit juices to give it some added punch, it may not be as healthy as you think. Since fruit juice is often jam-packed with flavor-enhancing sugars, you’d be smart to keep fruit juice well away from your morning pick-me-up. Have a killer recipe that can’t do without fruit juice of some sort? No problem. Just be sure to pick all-natural homemade squeezed fruit juice or coconut water. The best way to make sure your fruit juice is nothing but fruit juice is to squeeze it yourself. Almond milk or plain water are two additional alternatives.

Do You Have to Add Sugar?
For the same reason you don’t want a smoothie with store-bought sugar-laden fruit juice, you want to sidestep any smoothie that requires you to toss extra teaspoons of sugar in. Any fruit you add to your smoothie should have plenty of sugar to give it the sweetness you desire. Anything else is excessive and will serve to slow you down and encourage fat storage.

Do You Toss in Yogurt?
Smoothies that include yogurt can come out on the healthy or unhealthy side of things. It all depends on what kind of yogurt you use. If your favorite type of yogurt is stuffed with added sugars and flavors, it’s not going to be a good way to power yourself up for the day. Check the label. The best kind of yogurt to use is homemade, organic, or the Greek varieties.

Is It Super-Sized?
No matter what healthy ingredients you add to your smoothie, it can still sabotage your weight and health goals if you can’t stop eating it. Before you serve yourself a 48-ounce smoothie, consider your weight goals and split your morning smoothie into appropriate portions. Drink down one portion in the morning and save the rest for a small afternoon snack, or freeze it and finish it off the next morning. Either way, avoiding an oversized smoothie will keep your smoothie from ruining your diet.

Do You Ever Color It Green?
While fruit smoothies are incredibly delicious, it’s a great idea to switch it up by making a veggie smoothie on occasion. You may even want to go green the majority of the time. The deep green color is sure to give you some vitamins and minerals that your body is likely missing, and skipping the fruit on occasion will remind your taste buds that good things don’t always have to be sweet. Spinach and kale are excellent and tasty choices.

Belly fat is the worst…and these days it’s harder than ever to get rid of. With social pressures and modern conveniences constantly in your face and in abundance in the grocery store, it’s no wonder that your waistline continues to expand.

While losing fat, and losing it quickly, can feel impossible, I’m here today to give you a 3-pronged approached to shrink your belly fat once and for all.

#1: Eat Well

It may seem obvious, but everything you put in your body has the potential to go to your belly. The top offender for growing your belly is sugar. This means if you want to slim down around your waistline, cutting sugar from your diet is going to help you fast track your way to your goal. Don’t think this means just avoiding chocolate cake at birthday parties. It means giving up the three tablespoons of sugar you add to your coffee, saying no to soda, and skipping sports drinks. Get your sugars from whole fruits with natural sweetness that also has nutrition.

While cutting sugar from your diet, you’ll need to fill your belly with satiating foods. One of the best options is lean protein. It helps you build muscle (extra muscle = extra belly fat-burning ability) and keeps you full for a longer amount of time. Of course, it also gives you extra energy that helps your workout endurance in the gym.

#2: Work Out Well

Speaking of workout endurance, if you’re going to really shed belly fat, you’re going to have to commit yourself to exercise. No more excuses, and if you are coming to the gym, no more halfway doing it. You’ve got to go all out. But before you laser focus on your core, you should know that, burning off belly fat by targeting all exercises directly at your abs won’t work.

Instead, you’ll need to put in a full-body exercise routine that gets your heart pumping. That means on top of a solid foundation of weights and other strength-training exercises, you’ll want to pile on plenty of high intensity cardio exercises.

#3: Track It All

Getting rid of belly fat is a daunting task, and even when it’s going well, it can feel remarkably slow. By keeping track of your progress and your daily intake and output of calories, you can better determine what’s working and what’s not, and have a better perspective on your actual progress.

Tracking isn’t just good for seeing where you’ve been. It’s also useful for setting goals. Run for 20 minutes yesterday? Go for another couple minutes today. Or better yet, if it took 20 minutes to run two miles yesterday, try running an extra tenth of a mile in the same amount of time today. Keep piling new on challenges for yourself, and that fat that has clung so tightly to your belly through the years will soon start dropping off your frame.

Even the best exercise routine in the world is fruitless if you throw away your results with sloppy eating. Remember to keep your meals lean by avoiding processed carbs, packaged foods or fried items. Fill up on lean proteins and fresh vegetables and reward yourself with organic, seasonal fruit (if it’s on your meal plan.) That, my friend, is lean living!

If you haven’t made an appointment for a nutrition consultation, now is the perfect time to get started. Just text me to set one up. With the fresh summer vegetables that are in season, you can make some delicious, nutritious meals that well help melt that belly fat away in no time flat! If you already a Full Spectrum Fitness client, thank you so very much for your continued support. If your friends have asked you ‘what have you been doing?’ please tell them to come in and check out our offerings, or go the website to learn more. Thank you.

Six Secrets to Success

We are now almost half way through 2015, and summer is upon us. Whether you’ve made it this far because of a New Year’s resolution, to get in shape for an upcoming vacation or event, or if it’s become a way of life – you are in a class by

yourself! Over the years, I’ve made note of the qualities and habits of my successful clients who’ve mastered the art of ‘stick-with-it-ness’. Today I’m going to share with you the 6 secrets of success for getting and staying in shape.

1. Remember Why You Started
In the middle of a workout, it can be hard to push through another set of lunges, squats, or deadlifts. Determined clients don’t let that difficulty stop them. They keep in mind why they started in the first place—to get and stay fit for a more productive, healthy long life. Working out is hard, but the payout, is priceless!  Always remember the reason you started in the first place, and you’ll find it easier to stay the course.

2. Think Positive Thoughts
Maintaining a positive mindset is the biggest part of the battle, especially when a few pounds creep back on, or an injury occurs. Successful body builders, and clients alike keep a positive attitude, even when it gets really tough. In fact, that’s when they really ramp up the positive self-talk. I can almost immediately tell when a client is getting discouraged which can yield negative outcomes such as a less enthusiastic attitude and not showing up at the gym or getting in cardio.  If negative thinking starts to get into your psyche, dig deep and remember a time when you felt like you could take on the world, or tackle whatever workout was in store at the gym. Remind yourself over and over that you can do it, and keep a positive attitude!

3. Power through the Valley

Like all of life, the desire to work out comes in waves. Yesterday, there was nothing you’d rather do. Today, working out is the last thing you would do if given a choice. So don’t give yourself a choice. Consistency over time is the key to success. Because as difficult as it may be today to exercise, once you work out, you’ll be glad you did and you’ll have more energy for the next thing ahead. No one ever regrets working out, but they definitely have remorse about skipping the chance to exercise.

4. Never Quit
Most people are resistant to change, and when one person in a group, family or office begins to do something different, sometimes people get uncomfortable. I’ve heard countless stories from clients whose significant other, co-worker or friend have actually tried to sabotage their progress, or somehow suggest that it would be better to go back to the way it was before they started on their path to fitness. Hard to believe, but it’s true. And, unfortunately, I’ve seen some of my clients give in to the pressure. But, those who stay strong, focused and true to themselves dig deep, power through it and succeed. Successful clients don’t listen to the naysayers, and keep focused on their goal.

5. Eat Well
My most successful clients know that proper nutrition and exercise go hand in hand. They make it a priority to have access to healthy food choices all the time. The goal for many when they begin to train with me it to lose weight. However, if you think you can increase your fitness while also cutting the calories you’re consuming, you’re mistaken. If your body doesn’t get enough good fuel, you won’t have the energy to power through a rigorous exercise session. Good eating habits also maintain your energy, positive mood and productivity throughout the day. So it’s important to fuel up properly before and after your workout to keep your body working on all cylinders.

6. Get Enough Sleep

No matter what time of day you work out, you’re going to fall flat if you don’t get proper rest. Not only does sleep give you energy to get through the day, but it also helps keep your body in rhythm so it reacts properly when pushed. Hit the hay at a decent hour each night and watch your urge to quit go away like a bad dream.

If you aren’t yet one of my clients, then take this opportunity to do something wonderful for yourself. Call or email today to get started on the most effective fitness program that you’ll ever find.

Remember…Winners never quit and quitters never win.