Well it obviously isn’t the holidays yet, we are just finishing up our summer, but it will come sooner than you think. What is your plan of action to beat the bulge over our upcoming holiday season. You may be asking yourself “Why should I be worrying about the holidays right now?”. Well the fact of the matter is that most people worry about the holiday weight gain after the holidays are already finished and they have gained 8 pounds. Sounds like twisted thinking to me, but it happens year in and year out. Why do you think that health club memberships go crazy on January 1? Because people don’t prepare.

The best case scenario is that you work out all year long and the holidays isn’t such a big deal for you because you have such a great metabolism that you burn off all of the food that you have consumed and you exercise regularly. How many of you are already doing this? If you aren’t, then here are 5 surefire ways to get your body ready for the onslaught of food that is to come.

1. Start Exercising Now!!! – Don’t wait until it is too late. If you do, then your metabolism won’t be high enough to burn the extra calories you will be eating. A great way to get started on an exercise program is to join my boot camp. I have proven methods for getting you in the best shape possible in the shortest amount of time. Go to www.BootCampNovato.com for more information and success stories. I even offer a 1 week free trial as well as a 100% satisfaction guarantee. Once again…Don’t wait until it is too late!

2. Start getting into better eating habits – It is important to get into good eating habits now, so that you don’t carry over your bad eating habits into the holidays. My two biggest recommendations are eat 5 -6 small meals per day and drink plenty of water. Both of these things keep your body in a fat burning atmosphere. When you eat several times per day, you aren’t very hungry at each meal time, so you eat less. With water, when you are well hydrated, you feel fuller and you eat less. EATING LESS + EXERCISE = FAT LOSS AND HIGHER METABOLISM!!!!

3.  Mentally prepare yourself for each party or family gathering you go to – How many times have you been caught up by thinking how much you get to pig out during a holiday meal?  ”Ooooh, I can’t wait to have mom’s pecan pie, oh and Aunt Jane’s famous spinach dip.”  We start thinking and getting excited about the plethora of foods that we are going to eat.  Set yourself up for success and commit yourself to have a little bit of everything and go for a walk when you are done.  It will help the food get through your system and make you feel better about doing well.

4.  Chow down on some veggies before you arrive – Vegetables are high in fiber and if you read my previous blog post you know that fiber makes you feel full amongst many other things.  That way when you get to the party you really aren’t hungry enough to chow down too much.

5.  Start eating healthier and cleaner right now – When you get used to eating healthy foods your body doesn’t crave the sweets and high fat foods that is served at parties.  Your body just doesn’t like eating poison when it is clean and free of all that stuff.  Once you take a couple of bites, your stomach is going to let you know how unhappy it is.

I hope this helps you prepare properly for what is to come. I hope to see you out at Novato Adventure Boot Camp!
In good health,
Carlos

Posted by Carlos Payte | in Boot Camps, Nutrition, Results | No Comments

In todays society we are becoming more and more stressed out.  Our bosses are driving us crazy with deadlines, our retirement accounts have been cut in half, our homes have lost value, the kids have to go here and there…..on and on.  With consistent stress in our lives we are making our bodies pay the price.

You see, when we are under stress our bodies trigger the fight or flight response.  One of the hormones that are released is cortisol. Too much cortisol in our system will cause our metabolism to shut down to a very minimal level.  In addition, food cravings are also increased when your stress it too high.  When you are stressed out do you go for a nice green salad or do you go for the nice cold pint of ice cream that you have in the freezer….I bet the latter.  It has also been found that too much stress will change the way you store body fat.  Many people will store it in their stomachs causing the dreaded “muffin top”.

So what can you do to decrease your stress levels?  The first is regular exercise.  Exercise releases the good hormones in our bodies that help release fat not gain it.  I lead fitness boot camps 5 days per week at three different times so stress management will be almost guaranteed.    The second would be to spend 10 minutes by yourself and just practice some deep breathing.  Inhale deeply through your nose and exhale gently through your mouth.  Finally you could watch this video:

I hope these ideas will help you get out of your stressed out lifestyle.  Be healthy and live life to its fullest.  It is the only one we will have!

In Good Health,

Carlos

Posted by Carlos Payte | in Fitness | No Comments

Just last week I launched Novato Adventure Boot Camp’s Elite Nutrition program as an included part of my fitness boot camps.  As I have been looking over everyone’s food logs, I have noticed that many people aren’t getting enough fiber in their diets.  The average amount of fiber that people are getting is about 10 – 15 grams/day.  The proper intake of fiber should be about 25 – 35 grams per day.

One of the biggest reasons that fiber is so good for fat loss is that fiber makes our bodies feel full faster than other foods.  When we feel full, we eat less, we lose weight.  Secondly, fiber slows digestion and absorption so that glucose (sugar) in food enters the bloodstream more slowly, which keeps blood sugar on a more even level.  When your blood sugar is even throughout the day, your body is apt to burn body fat versus store it because of blood sugar spikes.

Fruits, vegetables and whole grains are the best sources of fiber as well as great sources of food to eat during the day.  Not only will you be eating more nutritious food, but you will also eat fewer calories and put your body in a state where it wants to burn fat.  So how many fruits and vegetables do you need to get enough fiber in the day?  Well, I suggest to all of my boot campers to have at least three cups of vegetables and one cup of fruit each day as a start.  There are also several cereals out there that give you at least 8 grams of fiber per serving.  The next time you go grocery shopping, check out the fiber on the food labels of the things that you buy and try to find things that have at least 5 grams/serving.

So go out there and start eating your fruits, vegetables and whole grains!  Your body will appreciate it.

Have a healthy day!

Posted by Carlos Payte | in Nutrition | No Comments

This is completely amazing! You ALL can do whatever you want in life. You ALL can achieve your fitness goals. You ALL can lose weight if that is what you want. Keep these guys in mind when you are struggling with keeping your workout program on track. You ALL can do it!

Posted by Carlos Payte | in Motivational, Results, Video | No Comments

I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did. Keep this in mind with all of your fitness goals as well as life! Happy Monday

Posted by Carlos Payte | in Motivational, Results, Video | No Comments

Being fit and losing weight is not as simple as going on a diet and exercising. I know many of people that have done this without any success. Diets in a persons mind have an end date. “I am going to do this diet until I lose X pounds.” Then what happens when the diet is over? I will give you one guess…They go back to eating the way they used to and gain all of the weight back. What a bummer…right? The way to get in the best shape for your LIFE begins with these five steps:

1. Define exactly what you want to achieve with your body – Don’t just think about it, write it down and be specific. How many pounds do you want to lose, why you want to lose it, where you want to lose it, how you feel when you do lose it, etc. Be as detailed as possible.
2. Decide to change – Writing down your goals is one thing. Deciding to change is a whole different thing. You have to tell yourself that there is no other option but to change your habits and don’t go back on your old ones. Creating new habits are hard, but you have to keep your eye on the prize. You want a new body and there is no other option right? As you continually succeed on keeping your new lifestyle habits, it gets easier and easier everyday.
3. Don’t make excuses for failures – We all have a busy life, kids, work, stress etc. The plain fact is that these are NEVER going to go away. If you fall down by eating poorly or skipping that exercise session noticed that it happened and get your butt back on the program. This is your life and your health and should be your greatest investment. If you aren’t around anymore, none of your excuses will matter anymore…TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF FIRST then worry about everyone else later.
4. Take action DAILY – “What am I going to do this week to improve my health and fitness?” This question should be answered in writing EVERY week. It should include what you will be eating for the week as well as when you will exercise. Try to exercise at least 6 times each week. It could be as simple as going for a walk around your neighborhood, but just make sure you do something that keeps you moving each day outside of your regular daily activities. Keep it in front of you and do what it says. If you need help setting this up I will be adding more detailed descriptions of each of these mindsets in following blog posts to help you out with these.
5. Treat yourself once per week – Let’s face it, if we completely restrict ourselves from the things that we like, it will be really hard to succeed. Do well for the entire week and then treat yourself to something good. Whether that is having a beer or a glass of wine, a nice dinner out, whatever it is, just do it and get back on the program. This is going to be your reward for doing so well. Do not give yourself this reward if you haven’t stuck to the program….that’s cheating:).

Posted by Carlos Payte | in Fitness | No Comments