Tropical Chicken Salad

This salad is the perfect pre or post workout meal. It has plenty of protein and fiber, vitamins, minerals and lots of delicious flavor.

Servings: 8

Tropical Chicken Salad

Here’s what you need…

  •     1 head cabbage, chopped
  •     1 red bell pepper, chopped
  •     1 mango, chopped
  •     1/2 cup pineapple, chopped
  •     1 bunch cilantro, chopped
  •     1/3 cup green onions, chopped
  •     4 skinless chicken breast, baked and chopped
  •     1/4 cup low calorie mango dressing
  1.     Mix all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl. Toss with the dressing.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 200 calories, 3 fat, 144mg sodium, 14g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, and 30g protein.

Secret to Success

Recently I was at a 50th birthday party. It wasn’t my party, but it was for a long time friend, Elaine. We went to junior high together and I was pleased to see that ‘the old gang’ would be at the party. Turns out that we’re all turning the big 5-0 this year.

 

We used to get together a few times a year but it’s been about 3 years since we’ve seen each other. I was probably considered the ‘jock’ of the crowd I hung out with (the word ‘freak’ comes their mind I’m sure). My friends were active but nothing over the top crazy. I think I have beautiful friends, they were beautiful when we were young and they’ve aged gracefully.

 high school sailing 300x223 high school sailing

This gang and I used to go sailing with one of our high school teachers. We used to create quite a stir when we’d come into port. It’d be like the Volkswagon bug with clowns emerging, the bikini clad chicks just kept coming off the boat with no male sailors on the crew. Wow those were good times.

Back to the 50th birthday party…

We were standing around chit chatting when one of our very own gang members came in the front door. My friend Gaylene looked puzzled. I could see her going through the Rolodex of faces in her head trying to place the beautiful and fit woman before her. (I knew who it was as we’d be in contact in the past year). Gaylene just couldn’t place this woman.

As it turned out, the woman in question was my old friend and now client, Judy. She actually looks MORE fit at 50 than she did in high school. She’s leaner and has sexy curves. It’s not surprising that her husband of 30 years came in smiling behind her. Not many men can brag that their woman turns ‘Benjamin Button’ and just get younger over time.

I wanted to share Judy’s story with you since I think it’s pretty inspiring….

 Judy Hill – Fitter at 50

I have always been active (I play volleyball twice a week and I love to hike and cross-country ski) and tried to stay in shape, but it always seemed that I would be doing just ok. I never seemed to gain much – fitness or weight – but I never really felt good about how I looked. It was also very easy to allow things like work, errands, or other stuff get in the way of making my fitness a routine. I needed to exercise on my own. Motivation was always a struggle. Then I found Shawna, her program and her blog. I used her program and finally achieved the results I was looking for. I am so proud of my accomplishments and feel so good about how my body looks at 50 years old, that I can honestly say its better than when I was 28. My husband says I am sexier than ever.

Here are my results from the last year of my new fitness life…


Weight 141 lbs 129 lbs Loss – 12 lbs
Arm 10 ¾ in 11 in Gain – ¼ in
Chest 35 ¼ in 34 in Loss – 1 ¼ in =(
Waist 29 ½ in 27 in Loss 2 ½ in
abdomen 31 in 29 in Loss – 2 in
hips 38 in 26 in Loss – 2 in
thighs L 23 ¼ R 23 1/4 L 21 ½ R 22 Loss – L 1 ¾ R 1 ¼
Total inches = 10 ½

Shawna, I just want to thank you for all of your support, your motivation, your nutrition and exercise tips and programs and for being my “guru” whenever I had questions. It means the world to me to know you are there “in my back pocket” and I am very excited about my middle years and all it has to offer because of my new found lifestyle. It just goes to show that if a person really wants to do something, really puts the effort in, things will happen and success will be there. Making fitness a very important part of my day – when I don’t do it I feel tired and have no energy – is just mind over matter. Make up your mind to do it and it does matter! Its a “for me” time now and that’s how its going to be for the rest of my life.

Judy was using Challenge Fat Loss principles all this time. She was my ‘guinea pig’ of sorts. She’s proof that even though she’s at an age when most women are gaining weight, she’s losing and looking better than ever. She got an advance copy and is tearing through the workouts. Her feedback is invaluable so that I could improve the program. You can check out Challenge Fat Loss HERE.

Congrats to Judy for her fitness successes. She gets the biggest prize of all and that is to keep the rockin’ bod 😉

 

 

The Super Hero of Fat Burners

Joel Marion


This is Joel Marion and me. I’ve known Joel for a couple of years now. And you may know him too. He’s the author of several highly successful programs including ‘Cheat Your Way Thin’and ‘Extreme Fat Loss Diet’ to name a few.


Joel isn’t the super hero of this post, he just writes about the super hero of fat burners…Joel is a very smart dude. Aaand, he’s seriously one of the most generous people I know.

He invited me to his home in Florida to watch the Super Bowl game this year. I was one of about 100 guests. There was more food than you can imagine and you’d think I was a long lost sister by the way he treated me. He’s just got a big heart this guy.

And he’s a brainiac. I wanted to share this article he wrote because I think it’s key to fat loss success…

Take it away Joel…

Did you know that there’s ONE solitary hormone that pretty much controls EVERY other weight loss hormone in your body, and your ability to burn fat altogether? In fact, when you have this ONE hormone on your side, fat loss truthfully couldn’t get easier. When you don’t, however, losing even a single pound can become virtually impossible.

The hormone? Leptin. And here’s the unfortunate news: Just about everyone is unknowingly fighting a losing battle with leptin each and every time they attempt to lose weight.

With that said, it’s not very hard at all to see why so many people outright struggle to shed their unwanted body fat, month after month, year after year.

That’s why in the next few paragraphs I’m going to explain to you exactly why and how leptin is limiting YOUR fat loss, and how 6 odd herbs—many of which you probably never heard of before—can actually solve all the problems leptin poses as you attempt to drop those unwanted pounds.

First, in order to burn fat, your body depends on these two things:

1) high levels of leptin
2) highly-sensitive leptin “receptors”

Now for the bad news…

Anytime you go on a diet and reduce your calorie intake, leptin levels plummet and fat burning is dramatically reduced.

Why?

Because our bodies still think we’re cavemen is why. Leptin’s main function is to protect your body against starvation, and in the midst of decreased food intake (i.e. dieting), your body unfortunately views your stored body fat as a huge asset to survival.

After all, body fat provides a vast supply of stored energy and warmth, both highly-valued resources when food is in short supply.

You see, when you go on a diet, your body isn’t aware of your hopes for a slim, tight waistline or your desire to drop 20 lbs in time for your high school reunion or summer beach season. In fact, the only thing it does know is that your calorie intake is now below “normal”… and to your brain, that’s a big red flag.

The result: reduced leptin levels and dramatically decreased fat burning.

In fact, research has shown that leptin levels drop by as much as 50% after just 7 days of dieting… that puts you at only 50% of your fat-burning potential just one WEEK in to your fat loss plan, and it only gets worse with each passing day.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, with every pound you DO struggle to lose, leptin levels fall even further, making it even more difficult for you to continue to lose fat.

Why?

Because, as mentioned, in the face of calorie restriction, your body views stored body fat as an asset to survival. The more fat you lose, the more “danger” your body senses, and the harder it is to strip away that next pound.

Hello fat loss plateaus.

Now, I hate to continue to be the bearer of bad news, but the scenario I just explained is actually only HALF the problem.

The other unfortunate reality is that the vast majority of people are ALSO suffering from a condition known as “leptin resistance” due to years of high body fat levels and a diet full of processed foods.

Leptin resistance simply means that even at high levels, leptin is no longer able to properly signal fat burning to your body, dramatically decreasing it’s fat loss effects. That’s a pretty disheartening truth for the fat loss enthusiast, but as I alluded earlier, there IS something you can do about it.

Let me ask you this:

What if I told you there was a drop-dead simple way to keep leptin levels high as you lose weight, while also increasing your body’s sensitivity to the hormone?

Is that something you might be interested in?

You see, if you could do that, you could essentially keep your body in a fat-burning state all the time… high leptin levels = high levels of fat burning… 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Can you just imagine how much MORE fat you’d burn if your body was no longer limiting your rate of fat loss on a daily basis?

A LOT more.

And here’s the great news: there is indeed a drop-dead simple way to achieve exactly that, and even better, it only takes a measly 30 short seconds each day to implement.

As mentioned in the subject of this email, this “trick” involves the use of 6 odd flab-belly herbs that together have been shown to tackle leptin from both problematic angles: production and sensitivity.

Here they are:

#1. Irvingia Gabonensis, a powerful extract from the African mango that has been shown to support leptin sensitivity by inhibiting the production of C-reactive protein (CRP), a chemical in the body that has been linked with the development of leptin resistance, by up to 52%.

And check this out…

To further support this extracts dramatic effect on weight loss, in one double-blind study, 102 otherwise-healthy overweight volunteers received either 150 mg of Irvingia extract or a placebo, twice daily prior to meals, for a period of 10 weeks.

At the end of 10 weeks, the Irvingia group lost an average of 28 pounds (13.1% decrease in body weight), shed 6.7 inches from their waistline, and had reduced their total body fat by an average of 18.4%!

Furthermore, it was found that those who supplemented with Irvingia experienced a 26% decrease in total cholesterol, and blood sugar levels dropped from an unhealthy fasting blood level of 85.5 to a much healthier 66.3!

As expected, those receiving the placebo experienced no measurable difference in scale weight, girth measurements, body fat percentage, or health markers

#2. Oleanolic Acid. This compound extracted from olive tree leaves has a stimulatory effect on a specific gut peptide called Glucagon-like Peptide-1 (GLP-1). Research shows that an oral dose of this extract can increase GLP-1 by 48%, which has in turn been closely linked to increased leptin production.

#3. Modifilan®, a potent seaweed extract harvested from pristine Arctic waters off the coast of Iceland, has been shown to stimulate increased leptin production in fat cells by up to 18% through its ability to stimulate Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) in the adrenals. Stimulation of TSH in turn stimulates the production of leptin in fat cells.

#4. Panax Notoginseng, a well-known and commonly used traditional Chinese herb called “Shan Qi” by master herbalists was recently shown to also have unique metabolic properties, including naturally suppressing appetite and increasing leptin sensitivity.

#5 & 6. YerbaX™, a potent blend of a rare green tea extract and South American yerba mate extract which together have been shown to synergistically increase resting metabolic rate and mobilize fatty acids from fat cells to be burned, all while suppressing appetite and increasing energy and alertness.

Now, while you could try to locate all of the above ingredients individually, research the actual extracts of each that yield the positive leptin effects mentioned above, purchase them all separately and pay shipping on each, then sort through study after study to determine the scientific dose of those extracts, the good news is that we already did ALL of that for you at BioTrust Nutrition and put it in to one scientifically-backed, lab-tested, ultra-convenient product called LeptiBurn™.

Just take 2 capsules in the morning and 2 capsules in the afternoon and let SCIENCE do the rest.

You see, LeptiBurn™ is the ONLY scientifically-backed dietary supplement created specifically to solve your body’s BIGGEST fat-loss problem: your body’s production of, and sensitivity to, the ONE solitary hormone that literally controls everything related to fat loss.

Listen, the fact is this:

You can gain control of leptin today, or you can allow it to continue to control you.

You can find out more about how to get a supplement with all these ingredients here.

You can read another post about leptin here.

 

 

 

Pull Up Controversy

What’s your purpose for doing pull ups? Is it quantity or quality? Strength development? Physique enhancement? Maximum reps?

What type of pull ups do you think are best for strength development and physique enhancement?

I’m all about ‘controlled cheating’ when learning how to do pull ups.

I encourage ‘some’ cheating to get your chest UNDER the bar so that you can work on the eccentric contraction or lowering phase of the movement. The lowering phase is the strengthening phase of the movement.

The PURPOSE of controlled cheating is NOT to get MAX reps, but it’s a means to an end which is to get max reps on clean pull ups.

It can be argued that I don’t always use ‘clean’ reps in my max pull up sets. Agreed. I know I need to lose the minimal kip, I’m also a ‘work in progress’.

What’s YOUR opinion on the pull up controversy? What type of pull ups to YOU use and WHY? What’s an acceptable form of pull up cheating?

Yep, I just want to stir the pot a little and get you thinking.

If you want to know more about my ‘controlled cheating’ techniques head HERE.

 

 

49 Years and 364 Days Old

Tomorrow will be a big April Fool’s joke on me. I’ll wake up, look in the mirror and wonder how the heck 50 years has passed.

Me, 50 years old. Really?

challenge workouts

Shouldn’t I be grown up by now?

Shouldn’t I be able to cook yet?

When will I ever acquire that coveted culinary skill?

I’m starting to think that this will just be one of those elusive things since it appears I have no aptitude for it. I’m just like my Mom: never trust a skinny cook. (I was looking through photo albums and saw a high school report card of my mom’s, she had stellar marks, and a ‘D’ in home-ec ;)) In my Mom’s defense, she has plenty of other skills to make up for her cooking and I never need to worry about being overweight thanks to her…

In any case, I suppose I’ve managed to acquire other ‘skills’ in my half century on the planet. Not sure the human flag will serve me well in my old age, but I’ll be strong enough to haul a ton of grocery bags to anyone willing to cook for me.

human flag

Will do the human flag for food 😉

On the precipice of such a milestone, I figure it would be fitting to take stock of my life and, if you’ll indulge me, I’ll share a few lessons I’ve learned along the way.

Don’t expect anything profound, by setting the bar super low I’m less likely to disappoint.

Here goes…

Over time, I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned, one that has served me well, is that I need to be my own best friend.

I’ve struggled with confidence at different stages of my life, still from time to time, but I’m trying to offer the same kindness to myself that I would to a friend. I’m not perfect, I have plenty of room to improve in all areas, but it doesn’t serve me, or the people I love well to beat myself up.

I live by the rule that I’ll do my best, and if that’s not enough, well, I can’t do anymore.

I only need to look at how amazing the people are around me to know that I’m truly blessed with family and friends. I must be ‘okay’ to be run in my circles.

 

My cool kids

 

 

 

 

 

challenge workouts

Good times with fit pro friends

 

 

 

Cali Friend (Sylvia) and me, Miami 2013

 

 

 

Awesome boot camp staff

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boot campers Charity event

 

 

 

Challenge Fat Loss Crew

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The cool thing about friendships, whether it’s developed within family relationships, biz or otherwise, is that I find the more I give, the more I get back. I’m learning to give all I’ve got and I see that it comes back to me tenfold. I’m very fortunate with the people around me and I’m super thankful for everyone.

My latest lesson (in the last two years) is that I don’t ever want to ‘wait to be happy’. I have the choice to ‘be happy’ today in whatever circumstance I find myself. Of course I may not ‘feel’ happy all the time, that’s just impossible. But if I look at all the things I’m grateful for it goes a long way to helping me be appreciative.

Being grateful ups the happiness factor.

 

challenge workouts

Don’t be an ‘Eyore’

 

 

 

Gratitude is a daily practice, it doesn’t come easy in stressful or difficult times, but it’s the best way of coping. There’s always something to be thankful for, and by finding that thread, it usually leads to an entire fabric of other things to be thankful for.

Of course, as you may expect, setting personal and specific challenges is imperative for me. It prevents me from getting stuck in a rut, whether it’s in the gym, with my family, in my business, everywhere.

I usually only share the physical challenges I do on my blog with you.

Like the muscle up…

 

I’ve really wanted to be able to master the muscle up. While I’m not quite there, I’m getting closer. As with all things, it takes time and practice.

With age, I feel like I can do it all, I just need more recovery time. (My elbows remind me of this on occasion when too many pull ups or flags are on my plan.)

My nutrition and sleep are a lot more important now and go a long way to helping me feel great.

Being consistent with training and nutrition is key for maintaining strength and how my jeans fit. I only workout about 35 minutes daily, but it’s been 35 minutes for almost 50 years, it’s the consistency over time that really counts. Along with the consistency is the intensity, 35 minutes of hard work is much different than 60 minutes with 5 minute rests between sets.

There’s a lot more to write, but I think I’ll crack open my journal (omgosh, I have journals from when I was 10 years old now…). Writing helps me clear my head and I highly recommend journaling as a means to mental clarity and personal growth.

Here’s to another 50 years….Happy Birthday to me!

Ps. Stay tuned for an April Fool’s Day surprise…take a guess, how long to do 50 pull ups?