You now have all components for a toned and strong core!

Dear clients, friends and family,

Here is your final Day Six of your 6-Day Core Conditioning program. You now have all all critical components of a solid core conditioning program with movements and exercises in a variety of planes and angles. As a reminder, your core is not just your abdominal region. It includes all layers of the abdominal musculature (deep and superficial including the external/internal obliques, rectus abdominus and transverse abdominus), the muscles surrounding the spine on the posterior side of the body, the hips and glutes, and the pelvic area. This program will hit everything!

A strong core provides strength that radiates out to the rest of your body so you can move with more grace, power, efficiency and be less likely to get injured.

Day Six Exercises include:

• Full sit –up (ascending reps)
• Holding V-sit
• Holding V-sit with Rotation
• Extension up and forward fold

Note: Today's program is hard-core so take as many breaks as needed and be sure to modify any movements that don't feel great on your body.

Here's the video clip so you can follow along.



Here's a direct link if you can't see the video above...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJvGS6SYbz4

My suggestion is to complete Day One program on Monday, Day Two on Tuesday and so on. Then take one day rest and repeat the sequence the following week. All you need is about 5 minutes or so every day to really challenge your core from all angles. Follow the program for about 6 weeks and email me your results. A strong and toned core is the ultimate goal!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

Core Conditioning Combo #5 - Follow the whole program to a 6-pack!

Dear clients, friends and family,

Here is Day Five of your Core Conditioning program. By the end of this week, you will have all 6 days of your Core Conditioning program! Hopefully, you have mastered Days One-Four and are ready for some new exercises. Practice these and Day Six will come on Friday.

This 6-day program will address all critical core components and include movements and exercises in a variety of planes and angles. As a reminder, your core is not just your abdominal region. It includes all layers of the abdominal musculature (deep and superficial including the external/internal obliques, rectus abdominus and transverse abdominus), the muscles surrounding the spine on the posterior side of the body, the hips and glutes, and the pelvic area. This program will hit everything!

A strong core provides strength that radiates out to the rest of your body and you will move with more grace, power, efficiency and be less likely to get injured.

Day Five Exercises include:

• Bicycle Crunch
• Alternating Leg Lowers
• Straight Leg Extension Crunches
• Dead bug (Arm and Leg extensions)


Here's the video clip so you can follow along.



Here's a direct link if you can't see the video above...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkE4pbY6D_g

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

ps. Practice these moves as well as Day 1-4 over the next few days and stay tuned for Day 6 coming on Friday.

Important exercises if you sit at a computer or desk all day!

Dear clients, friends and family,

Here is Day Four of your Core Conditioning program. This circuit is especially important for those of you who work at a computer or desk all day. It will help to improve your posture, elongate your spine and work those weaker posterior muscle groups. Hopefully, you have mastered Day One, Two and Three and are ready for some new exercises. Practice these and Day Five will come on Monday.

By the end of next week you will have your complete Six Day Core Conditioning workout. This program will address all critical core components and include movements and exercises in a variety of planes and angles. As a reminder, your core is not just your abdominal region. It includes all layers of the abdominal musculature (deep and superficial including the external/internal obliques, rectus abdominus and transverse abdominus), the muscles surrounding the spine on the posterior side of the body, the hips and glutes, and the pelvic area.

Remember, when you have a strong core, that strength radiates out to the rest of your body and you will move with more grace, power, efficiency and be less likely to get injured.

Day Three Exercises include:

• Back extension breaststroke
• Reverse back extension Leg Lifts
• Plank on elbows for 15-30 seconds
• Child’s Pose for 15-30 seconds

Here's the video clip so you can follow along.



Here's a direct link if you can't see the video above...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D78oDg1uPAo

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

ps. Practice these moves as well as Day One, Two and Three over the next few days and stay tuned for Day 5 coming on Friday.

More Core Conditioning Exercises!

Dear clients, friends and family,

Here is Day Three of your Core Conditioning program. Hopefully, you have mastered Day One and Two and are ready for some new exercises. Practice these and Day Four will come on Friday.

This 6 day core conditioning program will address all critical core components and include movements and exercises in a variety of planes and angles. As a reminder, your core is not just your abdominal region. It includes all layers of the abdominal musculature (deep and superficial including the external/internal obliques, rectus abdominus and transverse abdominus), the muscles surrounding the spine on the posterior side of the body, the hips and glutes, and the pelvic area.

Remember, when you have a strong core, that strength radiates out to the rest of your body and you will move with more grace, power, efficiency and be less likely to get injured.

Day Three Exercises include:

• Side Leg Lifts
• 4 part Leg Lifts
• Double Leg Lifts
• Hold Top Leg, Lift bottom leg
• Side Plank – hold for 30-60 seconds

Here's the video clip so you can follow along.



Here's a direct link if you can't see the video above...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbOyb5mMQE4

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

ps. Practice these moves as well as Day One and Two over the next few days and stay tuned for Day 4 coming on Friday.

Core Conditioning Combo #1 - Follow the video & just give me 5 minutes!

Dear clients, friends and family,

I bet there's one thing we all have in common and that is the desire to look and feel our best. And in my experience, most people would love to have a flat, toned, rock hard abdominal region. But abdominal conditioning is about more than just vanity. When you have a strong core, that strength radiates out to the rest of your body and you will move with more grace, power, efficiency and be less likely to get injured.

It's important to note that your core is not just the abdominal region. It includes all layers of the abdominal musculature (deep and superficial including the external/internal obliques, rectus abdominus and transverse abdominus), the muscles surrounding the spine on the posterior side of the body, the hips and glutes, and the pelvic area. So a solid core conditioning program will address all of these areas and include movements and exercises in a variety of planes and angles.

I've designed a 6 day Core Conditioning program. You will complete one circuit each day for six days and each day will require about 5 minutes of your time. Then you rest on the 7th day! By following this program, you will hit all the important areas and movements each week.

So here's how I'm going to do this. I'll send you 2 circuits each week - one early in the week and then one late in the week. That will give you some time to practice all of the movements. So you'll get each of the 6 days over the next 3 weeks. Then once you have all 6 days, you'll start the 6 day program and follow it for 6 weeks. That will bring you right to the start of summer. Can you imagine how incredible your abs will look by then?! Just remember to follow a good nutrition and cardio program too for the best results!

Day One Exercises include:

• 90/90 Leg extensions
• 90/90 Crunches
• 90/90 Torso rotations
• 90/90 Reverse lift

Here's the video clip so you can follow along.



Here's a direct link if you can't see the video above...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VyjnSpgKPc


Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

ps. Practice these moves over the next few days and stay tuned for Day 2 coming on Friday.

Change your Program & Change your Body!

Dear clients, friends and family,

If you really want to change your body, you've got to change your program and mix it up. And now that summer is upon us, it's the best opportunity to spice up your program. Do something different. Enroll in a new activity. Sign up for an event like a Triathlon, 10km Fun run or Adventure Trek. Try a new class. Hire a trainer. Just commit to doing something different.

Since the warmer weather is upon us, it's a really good opportunity to also ensure you're getting outdoors for some of your workouts. Take up cycling. Try an Outdoor Bootcamp program. Go kayaking. Get yourself some Vitamin D and get outside of the four walls of a gym. The fresh air will do you some good.

For those of you who are local, our new Group class schedule starts May 1st. We're offering some really fun new classes including some Outdoor Bootcamp programs. Plus you can still drop in for our Learn to Run or Triathlon programs. Call us at 360.574.7292 or 503.287.0655 for more details.

Here's the link to our new schedules that begin May 1st. Best advice we can give you is to schedule your workouts into your dayplanner - always carve the time out for yourself first!


http://www.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/services/group_training.php

Here's a link to the list of upcoming summer adventures we're hosting. Tons of fun stuff going on and we'd love for you to join us!

http://www.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/events/events.php?event_type=upcoming

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

'Bring your Child to Work-out Day!" THIS Thursday!

Dear clients, friends and family,

Thursday is National 'Bring your Child to Work Day'. We hope you take a different spin on it and "Bring your Child to Work-out Day!"

If you workout with us in Portland or Vancouver, we're hosting a special parent and kids workout day. Take your child to a class with you or bring them to your personal training session. It will be a great bonding experience and an opportunity to teach them to love to move their body! If you don't workout with us, check with your gym to make arrangements.

Bottom line - These days kids hardly get any activity. Most schoolwork involves sedentary activity and with television and video games as after-school pastimes, the temptation to sink into couch potato-land becomes pretty overwhelming for our kids. Check out these startling stats:

• Children today are approximately 40% less active than they were 30 years ago
• 20% of children and teens are overweight enough to threaten their future health
• One report states that the number of overweight children ages 6-11 has increased by 50% in the last 15 years and by 40% in those ages 12-17. Lack of exercise is considered a major contributing factor
• 40% of children already have at least one risk factor for heart disease and reduced fitness due to an inactive lifestyle
• Children spend an average of 26 hours a week watching television and also spend 25-30 hours a week sitting behind a desk

Here’s some goals you should strive for. The American College of Sports Medicine guidelines for exercise and children are as follows:

• Children should be involved in daily physical activity like walking or cycling around the neighborhood, performing household chores or running errands
• Children should exercise three times a week for at least 20 minutes with activities that require moderate to vigorous levels of exertion, like brisk walking, stair-climbing, racquet sports, jogging, dance, swimming laps, skating, cross-country skiing or cycling.
• For most children, it’s fine to do 15-20 minutes of resistance or strength training sessions twice a week using higher repetitions (25 reps) and lower resistance as long as there’s proper instruction and supervision
• Children should stretch on alternative days for 60 seconds each stretch
• Vary the activities to work different parts of the body
• Involve children in deciding what to do

Kids who exercise can experience the following benefits:
• Daily physical activity builds a healthy heart and stimulates muscle and bone growth
• Healthy, fit kids have more energy, sleep better and often have better eating habits than their sedentary peers
• One six year study found that the academic performance of students who exercised regularly had significantly improved compared to students who did not participate in regular physical activity
• It appears that children benefit from better concentration, memory, creativity, problem-solving ability and overall mood for up to two hours following exercise
• One report states that exercise can boost a child’s self-confidence and self-image. It also reduces aggression and decreases anxiety and depression.

Let's start 'em young folks!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

Why are Americans the Fattest Country in the World?

The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
The Japanese drink very little red wine & suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
The Italians drink excessive red wine & suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.
The Germans drink a lot of beer & eat lots of sausages and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans.

Conclusion: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you…

Ha ha! In all seriousness Americans work the longest hours, are the most stressed out and take the fewest holidays in the world. So use this as a reminder that we need balance in our lives. It's all about the yin & yang. You can't go hard all the time because eventually you burn out.

Take a moment to just breathe. Breathe deeply. A deep cleansing breath bringing positive energy into your body. Oxygenate your entire system. That in and of itself brings forth great health benefits.

You know best what will help to relax you and counter any life stressors. Maybe it's a bath, reading, getting a massage, hanging with your friends, going to a movie, taking a holiday, meditating, taking a yoga class, praying...Whatever it is - just do it. Your health depends on it!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

Have you ever wanted to finish a Tri?

Dear clients, friends and family,

Have you ever wanted to finish a Triathlon?! Well, if there is a will, there is a way! I've had 100% success ratio with anyone ever wanting to finish a Tri - I can definitely get you to the finish line. Don't swim? No problem. You can side stroke, back float or doggie paddle to the swim finish. Don't run? No problem. You can walk the whole thing!

Our Group Training clinic starts this Saturday at our Vancouver Training studio at 9:00am. Call 360.574.7292 to register. The cost is $199 and includes the cost of the actual Triathlon ($70) so it's a great deal. The group support is fabulous. If you can't join us but want to follow along on your own, email me at sherri@nwpersonaltraining.com and I'll send you a copy of the training program that we will be following.

It's a fabulous way to get in shape for summer, take your fitness to a whole new level and get super toned and fit!

Happy Swimming, Biking & Running,

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

Learn to Run and then Jump out of a Plane??!!

Dear clients, friends and family,

Spring has arrived! As the days get longer and warmer, we typically want to spend more time outdoors. It's also a time of year when many people get inspired to start taking better care of themselves - especially with summer and swimsuit season just around the corner!

Many people will start a running program to help jump-start them into shape. However, most new running programs don't last very long because people wind up getting injured because they've done too much, too soon. So I wanted to pass along a good Learn to Run program that will ease your body into the impact forces associated with running.

Follow this program 3x/week on alternating days.

Week One: (Run 1 min. Walk 4 min) x 4 = 20 minute workout
Week Two: (Run 2 min. Walk 3 min) x 5 = 25 minute workout
Week Three: (Run 3 min. Walk 2 min) x 6 = 30 minute workout
Week Four: (Run 4 min. Walk 1 min) x 6 = 30 minute workout
Week Five: (Run 5 min. Walk 1 min) x 5 = 30 minute workout
Week Six: (Run 6 min. Walk 1 min) x 5 = 35 minute workout
Week Seven: (Run 7 min. Walk 1 min) x 5 = 40 minute workout
Week Eight: (Run 8 min. Walk 1 min) x 5 = 45 minute workout
Week Nine: (Run 9 min. Walk 1 min) x 5 = 50 minute workout
Week Ten: (Run 10 min. Walk 1 min) x 5 = 55 minute workout

This program will get you in great shape and prepare you to run a 3 mile run by summer!

Note: We are also starting a Learn to Run program at the end of this month at both our Vancouver and Portland locations. Nothing like a group to keep you accountable and get you to the finish line! Call 360.574.7292 or 503.287.0655 for more details or to register.

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

ps. Have you ever wanted to jump out of a plane? I'm tandem skydiving this Saturday March 27th in Molalla Oregon. The cost is $180 per person and I'm freaked out so the more people there to do it with me, the better! If you're interested, email me at sherri@nwpersonaltraining.com

Exercise isn't supposed to be painful!

Dear clients, friends and family,

An effective exercise program does not need to be painful. In fact, there is no study to date that has found extreme muscle soreness indicates a good workout and yet, so many people gauge the intensity of a workout by how stiff they are the next day.

Most of us have experienced muscle soreness. Remember the feeling after your first day of skiing, your first spring run or your first fitness class? This sensation is referred to as delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) because it takes about 1-3 days after the workout for the stiffness to kick in. The severity of DOMS is dependent on the novelty and intensity of the activity. So if you participate in a new sport and you go really hard, expect to be very stiff. Even if you are really fit, if you do something your body isn’t used to, you’ll probably pay for it unless you take it easy.

The message is, if you’re training appropriately, there’s no need to be extremely sore. It’s OK to think “Hey, my muscles feel like they had a great workout yesterday.” However, if you have a problem getting out of a chair, walking or even just moving, you’re training too hard - and not very sensibly. Calling in sick for work because you worked out too hard the previous day is not going to make your company very happy or get you the results you want!

While lifting weights you will experience muscular fatigue, a slight discomfort and a temporary “burning” sensation at the end of a set that goes away as soon as the set is finished. During cardiovascular exercise like running, cycling or fitness classes, your heart will be beating more quickly, you will be breathing heavier and you may feel fatigued at different points of your workout. These sensations are all normal.

However, during exercise, you should not feel sharp pain. This is not normal and you should stop the exercise immediately and consult a sports physician or physiotherapist. The key to exercising safely is being able to distinguish between muscular fatigue and pain.

To reduce the likelihood of extreme muscle soreness, always warm up, cool down and stretch. If you are participating in a brand new sport or activity, progress very slowly. Don’t go hard on your first day. Give your body a few workouts to adjust and then gradually pick up the intensity. For example, if it’s your first day of biking, choose a flat route, take lots of breaks and go for only a short ride.

Once you’ve established a consistent exercise routine, there are no extra health benefits from pushing yourself to be extremely sore. Pain is a warning signal that you have done too much, too soon.

If you do find yourself suffering from DOMS, back off on the intensity of your program and progress more slowly.

“No pain, no gain” is a myth. Pain is not necessary and may in fact be detrimental to improving your fitness and getting results.

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

When is the best time to do abdominal exercises?

Is it better to do abdominal exercises before or after a workout? A.M., Vancouver, WA

Actually, there are pros and cons to both. Performing abdominal exercises before a workout will help to warm-up and prepare the core/abdominal muscles for the actual workout which will involve these muscles in some manner. However, you must be careful not to overly fatigue these important muscles prior to exercise as they are the spine and pelvis support network. If totally fatigued for example, prior to a loaded back squat and/or deadlift, poor form and injury may result. So if you do your abdominal exercises before your workout, you would want to take it easy and train at a sub-maximal level for the rest of your workout.

If you wait to perform your abdominal exercises at the end of the workout, you can train them more aggressively because you won't have to worry about the over-fatigued state as we mentioned above.

You can even perform abdominal exercises during a workout in between exercise sets so long as the intensity does not exhaust the abdominal muscles and compromise the quality and/or safety of any of the other exercises in the workout. For example, sometimes a workout circuit I will follow will be a lower body exercise, upper body exercise and then a core exercise and repeat this template with different exercises each time through.

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

ps. Join us for March Muddy Madness on Sunday March 21st.


http://www.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/events/event_details.php?event_id=67

Is it best to do cardio before or after a weight lifting workout?

Dear clients, friends and family,

I get this question asked all the time...

Is it best to do cardio before or after a weight lifting workout?

It's actually best to mix up the sequence of your routine during your weekly
regime. For example, if you always do your cardio exercise first, next
workout do a brief warm-up, then do your muscle conditioning exercises and
then finish with your cardio. Then next workout, do your cardio first and
muscle conditioning last. It will be a completely different workout and a
new stimulus for your muscles and your heart.

Or intersperse cardio intervals within your muscle conditioning session for a killer workout. For example, you could do a Lower Body exercise, then an upper body exercise, then a core conditioning exercise and then a 3 minute cardio interval. Repeat again with different exercises.

With that said, if your primary goal is muscle conditioning and developing muscle tone/bulk, you may want to do your muscle conditioning first when you have the most energy and strength so you can really focus on this area. And vice versa if your focus is on cardio conditioning.

Hope that gives you some direction to your workouts!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

ps. Happy Valentine's Day - Remember to give Fitness not Fatness for V-Day. And if you do indulge this weekend, be sure to get your workouts in! It's all about balance!

Important Tips for Indoor Cardio Training

Dear clients, friends and family,

Since the weather in most of the country requires many of us to be exercising indoors at this time of year, I thought I'd provide some tips on Indoor Cardio training. I hope this gives you some good ideas.

• The American College of Sports Medicine recommends a frequency of 3-5 cardio workouts per week, a duration of 20-60 minutes and an intensity of 60-90% of your maximum heart rate each week to maximize cardiovascular fitness. Investing in a heart rate monitor will definitely keep you honest!

• If you are using indoor cardiovascular machines, try staying on the same machine for only about 10-15 minutes and jumping from machine to machine instead of staying on the same machine for extended periods of time. This will create better muscle balance. It's better for someone to spend 10 minutes on each of the stairmaster, rowing machine, bike, treadmill and elliptical rather than spend 50 minutes just on the stairmaster. If you are using the same machine or performing the same activity all the time, the muscles targeted with this exercise will continue to get fitter but the other neglected muscles will get weaker and muscle imbalances are sure to surface. By varying your machines you will develop a more overall toned physique and reduce your risk for repetitive stress-type injuries. And finally, mixing up your indoor machines will also help to prevent boredom. Most exercisers have no difficulty going for a 2 hour bike ride outside but after 10 minutes on a stationary bike you start to go stir-crazy!

• It doesn’t matter what machine you’re on, it’s imperative that you maintain proper posture. This includes contracting your abdominals to stabilize your spine and maintaining proper alignment by lifting up and out through your chest and keeping your shoulders back.

• Most indoor machines offer a variety of program options. Try to avoid getting into the habit of always punching in the same program and the same level each time you workout on a machine. Mix it up. One workout try the steady climb program and the next time, try the intervals. Then go for the hill or the random program. Each program will challenge your body in a different way.

Treadmill Tips:
• Make it a goal to not hold onto the rails while jogging or walking. Instead, use your muscles to balance and support your body.
• Keep your abdominals contracted, look forward and avoid swinging your arms side-to-side and crossing the mid-line of your body.
• Once a month, try a time-trial workout. Program in a distance like 5km (3miles) and record how long it takes you to complete. Next month, try it again and this time try to go a little faster. As you get fitter, you should be able to perform the same distance in a shorter period of time.

Eliptical Trainer Tips:
• If your Eliptical does not have poles, do not lean onto the rails. Instead, develop the balance and stability to use the machine without holding on. Pump your arms just like you were running.
• While exercising, make sure that you're knee caps always point forwards. Avoid allowing your knees to collapse inwards.
• While exercising, try to keep the weight of your body distributed evenly on all 4 corners of your feet. Avoid allowing your arches to collapse inwards - avoid pronating.
• Once a month, try this workout test. Program in a 10 minute manual workout. Record how far (in miles or kilometers or steps climbed) you get at the completion. Next month, try it again and this time try to go a little farther in the 10 minute time-frame. As you get fitter, you should be able to go further and further in 10 minutes.

Stairmaster Tips:
• Do not hold onto the rails while on the stairmaster. Most people hold on for dear life and take fast, choppy little steps. This technique is very ineffective at burning calories and maximizing fitness goals. Most of you will find that you’ll have to reduce the level you normally perform at once you let go of the rails, because your muscles will have to work so much harder to support your body weight. This increased intensity will get you results much more quickly and you’ll find you’ll also develop good balance and stability.
• The next important tip is to make sure that your steps are not too shallow. Think about the height of a step you would take while walking up the stairs and strive for this. Remember to work through the full range of motion. Tiny, fast steps are not effectively engaging the lower body muscles and instead, using a lot of momentum.
• Try not holding onto the rails for 40 seconds and then holding on for 20 seconds. Do this for 10 minutes.

Recumbent Bike Tips:
• The most common error with technique on a bike is seat adjustment. It’s important to position the seat so that you are positioned neither too far back or too close. When the leg is in a fully extended position, you should only have a slight bend in the knee. Make sure your knee is not maintaining a large bend throughout the entire cycle and vice versa, make sure that the seat isn't positioned so far away that you have to rotate your hips to spin.
• Because you're reclined back, it's easy to slouch while riding. Remember to keep upright posture throughout the entire workout. Keep your abdominals contracted inwards, your chest lifted and shoulders back.
• Program in a hill workout and try to keep your RPM’s (how many times your legs cycle in a minute) constant even while climbing the hilly parts of the program. This will be a leg-burner!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

The problem with nutrition...

Dear Clients, Friends & Family,

Do you ever feel like this - the more you know, the more you realize you don't know? I often feel like that about nutrition. There is so much information out there and so much conflicting good research that it's sometimes difficult to know exactly what to eat. This poem sums it up...

The Dieter's Lament

Cholesterol is poisonous,
So never, never eat it.
Sugar too, may murder you,
There is no way to beat it.
Fatty foods will do you in;
You just cannot avoid it.
Some foods once had vitamins,
But processing destroyed it.
So let your life be ordered by
Each documented fact,
And die of malnutrition,
But arteries intact!

At the end of the day, use your common sense. Consume a lot of fruits and veggies. Eat organic and non-processed as much as possible. And listen to your body and what it's telling you. If you're looking food, feeling great, have tons of energy and are free of disease and illness, you're probably doing the right things. Bottom line - don't stress out about what you're eating because that's not good for you either!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

My positive and negative report...

Dear Clients, Friends and Family,

When you have some time, sit down and watch this clip on the keys to living long and healthy. There are some great tips!

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_buettner_how_to_live_to_be_100.html

I also wanted to share some of the resources that many of you have sent to me throughout this Vegan challenge.

http://www.vegcooking.com/

http://www.doctoroz.com/challenge/go-vegan

http://www.oprah.com/food/Tal-Ronnens-Vegetarian-Recipes

http://www.vibrantvegan.com/

One of our clients also suggested a great book 'The Vegan Table' by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

My suggestion would be to create a folder in your inbox titled "Vegan Info" and store this info there for when you may need it.

My personal journey has been interesting.

Positives: Still feeling great despite the diet restrictions. My energy or ability to workout at the intensity I like hasn't been affected. Haven't been sick (knock on wood). And I have been introduced to foods that I really, really like and had it not been for this Vegan challenge, I probably would have never tried these items.

Negatives: Despite the diet restrictions, I've only lost 3 pounds. Just goes to show you, weight loss at the end of the day falls back to calories in vs calories out. And regardless of what you're eating, if you're not burning more than you're eating, you won't lose weight. I burn a lot but I also eat a lot. If I were doing a more strict vegan diet - ie a lot more fruits and veggies and less processed foods - it would be harder to consume a lot of calories and therefore, weight loss would happen more naturally. The difference for me is I have substituted high calorie cheese products with high calorie cheese substitute products - ie Tofu cheese, Soy Sour Cream etc...Fortunately, I only want to lose a few pounds so that's not my primary motivation for trying out this Vegan challenge.

At the very least, my hope is that I've been able to share some ideas that will help each of you strive for your personal best and live your life to the fullest!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

Here are lots of great recipes for you...

Dear clients, friends and family.

Still going strong on the Vegan Challenge...

I have received so many Vegan recipes from all of you and I was thinking that the most efficient way to share that information would be to post these recipes to our Website in our Client Zone. We post various articles on a number of different topics relating to exercise, health, fitness and nutrition. One of the sections is for recipes. You'll find all kinds of ideas for eating healthy in this section - whether you're trying the Vegan challenge or not. It's a great resource for you so be sure to check it out. Remember Knowledge + Action = RESULTS!

http://www.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/client_zone/articles_faqs.php

I haven't been sharing my daily nutrition lately because I was recognizing that my daily food intake doesn't vary much day to day. But that's just me - I wouldn't necessarily recommend that for everyone. I just keep things in the kitchen pretty simple and consistent. My daily logs weren't providing any additional information that could help you so I decided to cut back the daily reports so I don't overload you.

I did try something new, super easy and yummy today for lunch. So I took a Whole Wheat burrito shell and spread some SoyNut Butter on it and then cut up a banana over top and rolled it up. Loved it and I bet your kids would love it too!

Listen to this interesting workout experiment I tried. Wednesday nights I've been doing Hot Yoga. I weighed myself before the Yoga class and then again after the Yoga class. Guess how many pounds I lost in a 90 minute Yoga class - 3 lbs! Can you believe it?! That's a lot of weight. But it's all water weight and you'll put it right back on again but isn't that fascinating. I do like the heat - but I'm one who is often cold so the heat feels really good to my body. Hot Yoga is definitely not for everyone - people getting dizzy and almost passing out all around me - and that my friends is not healthy!

Stay healthy and happy,

Sherri McMillan

The world has turned upside down - the Vegan writes an Anti-Vegan report!

Hey everyone.

My Inbox is flooded with comments, ideas and tips from all of you. Thank you so much for your insight and I will be sure to share as appropriate! It's so cool that we're all just trying to help each live our best lives! There are so many emails though, I don't know if I'll be able to get it all in before the month is over - but I will try!

Now, you are not going to believe this...Ted, our in-house Vegan, has written an anti-vegan report. Here it is:

Vegan or not Vegan - the argument can go on and on and I am sure it will.

Many scholars and doctors believe one thing, many believe the other and will argue it to their graves.

Just to show how easy it is I will argue against myself.

Arguments against Veganism by Ted
1. Vitamin B12 is necessary and can not be found in plant foods.
2. Historically there has never been a Strict Vegan society.
3. Saturated fat has been given a bad name. Inuit and Native populations have been shown to live very healthy lives on diets rich in saturated fats.
4. There is a symbiotic relationship between man and domesticated farm animals. We feed them, they provide food for plants and become food themselves.
5. There are very healthy nutrients found in meat and dairy when the animals are treated correctly
6. Dr. Weston Prices studies which took place between 1920-1930 showed that populations drinking whole, raw milk and milk products were essentially healthier than their counterparts.
7. If people suffer from conditions such as anemia, a vegan diet lacks iron and may not be ideal.

I think the real attack should not be on Vegan or Not Vegan. It should be on the Standard American Diet AKA S.A.D

Can a Vegan diet be healthy? I believe so. Can a non-Vegan diet be healthy - I also believe so. If you are a Vegan eating processed food, I do not believe that is a better option than a non-vegan eating whole foods, and vice versa.

We all just need to pay attention to what goes into our bodies and how it is not only effecting our health but the health of our planet. Because ultimately they will cross paths.

Ted, well said! Thank you for taking the time to share!

Okay, team, here was my meal plan for the day:

Breakfast: Organic orange, WW bagel with Soy-nut butter and jam

Lunch: Organic, non-dairy Tomoto soup, Toby's Tofu Sandwich, Veggies and Hummus

Dinner: Big Salad - Romaine Lettuce, Peppers, Cucumbers, Tofu Shredded Cheese, Red Tortilla chips smashed up to give it some crunchiness. Megan, are you happy?! Megan is one of my clients who suggested that I needed to eat more greens and salads. When does the client get to tell the trainer how to eat?! ;)

Snack: Tofu ice cream sandwich

Exercise: 35 minute run, 3:34 1000 meter row (Kara, read it and weep!)

Seize the day, not the couch!

xoxo
Sherri McMillan

Read till you get to my rant...

Hey Team.

Tonight's Blog will get the Anti-Vegans going...notice I'm alternating back and forth between Pro and Anti-Vegan sentiments. Gotta keep it fair! :)

Pro-Vegan Input from Ted Schatz:

While I do respect the point of view of anti-Vegans, there are as many holes in their theories as Swiss cheese. HA - pun intended!

1. Junk food is Junk food -Vegan or not.
2. The small percentage of Vegans and Vegetarians could not possibly have a significant negative environmental impact. The majority of soy grown is not for human consumption at all. IT IS TO FEED LIVESTOCK.
3. Primal Diet. If you are eating a Primal Diet, you would not eat cooked food. Where do you draw the line in history that states this is a Primal diet and this is not? Along the same lines, depending on the line in history, Primal man did not drink milk of other animals and current anthropological studies show that Primal man did not consume large amounts of meat. Yes some, but out of necessity not health.
4. There are plenty of Naturopaths that argue a Vegan diet is healthy.
5. There are plenty of current studies showing that a Vegan diet is healthy when done correctly.
6. The studies most quoted by Anti-Vegans are the Weston Price foundation studies. The original study was done by a Dentist around 1911. There is so much more current research out there.
7. Yes small amounts of meat can be part of a healthy diet. But, there is not a single legit study showing a meat based diet is healthier than a plant based diet.
8. If you kill an animal humanely you still kill something and if it is not necessary, then why?

Thanks for the insight Ted! Remember everyone, all of this is to get us thinking and talking and researching...and most importantly considering what we put into our bodies.

Here's my Food Intake for the Day:

Breakfast: Organic Granola and Almond Cereal & Banana. Plus Bagel with Soynut Butter and Strawberry Jam.

Lunch: Organic Tortilla chips, Organic Black Beans, Tofu Shredded Cheese, Cut up Peppers

Snack: Soy Chocolate Pudding - my new favorite treat

Dinner: Veggies & Hummus, Sandwich (I tried that Toby's Tofu Spread which wasn't too bad and kinda reminded me of Egg Salad), Olives

Snack: Tofu Chocolate Fudgcile

It looks like I had a big sweet tooth today huh?!

Exercise: 55 minute run this morning with a girlfriend. Then tonight I drove across the city to take my 90 minute Hot Yoga class and I was 3 minutes late and they wouldn't let me in. Man, that gets me going! I'm so the opposite in my classes. Hey, if someone makes the effort to get there and they're late - I don't care how late - I want to welcome them and help them feel great about their effort and the fact that something is better than nothing! So instead of doing 87 minutes of Yoga, I got none. That just doesn't make any sense to me. So what if it's a little disruptive to the class if I'm late. Part of the practice of Yoga is your ability to stay focused no matter what distractions, obstacles, pressures, stressors etc come your way. If someone quickly slips into your Yoga class and it really bugs you, man, life is going to be really hard! Okay, I'm ranting...Breathe Sherri Breathe. Maybe this was a lesson for me to learn to just let it go and to go with the flow.

Gotta go to bed! Sleep is critical to health!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan

What does Ted eat?

Dear Clients, Friends and Family,

We thought it would be cool for you to see a Day-in-the-Life of a Vegan, one of our trainers Ted Schatz, who has been living this lifestyle a lot longer than me. I don't want you to think my Vegan diet is 'Ideal' - I'm definitely fumbling along as I try to figure this out and getting tons of great tips from all of you that I want to continue to share over this month. I think it will be very interesting for you to compare the differences in quantity of food intake for Ted compared to me.

So here is Ted's Food Intake for the day. Note, all fruits and veggies for Ted are usually organic.

Breakfast- 2 cups Natures Path Organic Optimum Performance cereal, 2tbs Macnarthas organic almond butter, 1/2 cup Good Karma organic original Rice milk, 2 cups of organic fair trade coffee 4tbs Good Karma Chocolate Rice milk in coffee

Snack- 2 small apples, 1 bannana and 2 clementine oranges

Lunch- Hummus Light Meal / Jeruselum Cafe (1 cup hummus, 3 peices of Pita Bread, Salsa, Red and Green Cabbage)

Snack 2- Small apple, Banana, Handfull Raw almonds

Dinner- Stir fried veggies (Red peppers, Green peppers, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Carrots) 2 cups cooked Organic Jasmine Rice

Dessert- 1/2 cup Luna and Larry's coconut milk Dark Chocolate ice cream

Exercise- 1 hour Indo-Row plus various lifting throughout the day

Okay, now here's my intake for the day:

Breakfast: 1 cup of Organic Granola and Almond Cereal, Rice Milk, Organic banana

Snack: Organic Pear

Lunch: Whole Wheat Burrito - Rice, Beans, Veggies

Snack: Organic Veggies, Organic Tortilla Chips & Hummus

Dinner: Brown Rice, Peppers, Organic Beans and Tofu Cream - This was super simple and actually quite yummy. I got home at 8:15pm and was pretty hungry but I had to get the kids ready for bed so I didn't have a ton of time. I had purchased those Minute Brown Rice Instant Cups and all I had to do was put it in the microwave for 1 minute..hey, it was only a minute and there's really not a ton of other stuff in it. Then I warmed up some beans and cut up some peppers. I mixed it together and started eating it but it was pretty boring and bland even for me. So I grabbed a tablespoon of Tofu Sour Cream and mixed it in and it made the world of difference and instantly became super yummy! Took about 2 minutes to prepare. Quick and easy is key for me!

Desert: Soy Chocolate Pudding. This is my new favorite treat. I like it better than normal Chocolate Pudding! Delicious treat!

Exercise: 30 minute run and 1 hour Muscle/Cardio

I love how there are so many options for Organic Fruits and Veggies now. I shop at Fred Meyers and it seems like just recently the variety of Organic options is so much greater. I want to thank all of you who have been eating and demanding organic from the mainstream grocery stores for a long time because you have paved the way and made it easier for the rest of us. Soon everything will be organic and local will be the norm!

Yours in health and fitness,

Sherri McMillan