Running a marathon and living life are one in the same...

Its true no matter how much you may want to deny it. Life, and getting things done in life really mirrors marathon running.

Look at it like this. Just as race day is starting, so too is your journey.  You and everyone else embarking on the same journey are gathered together in one place, excitedly making last minute preparations before you make your way to the staging area- the last place you will wait.

The gun goes off and you jockey to find a comfortable place and stride.  People on the sidewalks are cheering for you encouraging you as you begin the journey you have prepared for over that last few months.

One by one the miles pass.  Your smile and stride are as strong as they were when you began.  You rejoice in the beauty of the rising sun, the birds chirping, the smell of freshly cut grass.  Drinking in all that surrounds you.

Sure there are still people cheering, although fewer than at the start. 

The sun starts to rise and so does the temperature.  You douse yourself with water in an attempt to stay cool.  On your journey things start to get a bit more challenging, there are fewer people cheering for you and you begin to feel as if you are on your own on this journey.

Miles are still going by, but instead of seeing the beauty around you you are wishing and hoping for some cool breeze, someone to cheer for you, a friendly face to help you along….something, anything.

You are more than halfway there and your pace slows as it sometimes does.  You feel as if you are walking.  You do your best to assure yourself that no matter what you are still moving forward, toward your goal.  It doesn’t matter if no one is there to see it, it is still happening.

Slower, and slower the miles seem to pass.  At this point you are using the walk run method.. at times progress seems good, and then all of a sudden it comes to a sloooooow walk.  You are starting to get frustrated “how come I can’t just keep running?” you aren’t really sure why but you can’t.  You do your best to reassure yourself that any forward progress will eventually bring you to your goal- the finish line.

You put your head down and focus, one step then the next then the next…

Before you know it you see the crowd building- you must be nearing the finish line.  Louder and louder they cheer.  You ignore your pain and press on as fast as you can.  You cross the finish line and immediately fall into the arms of your awaiting friends.

Yep that’s how it works.  In the beginning of our journey we are excited, raring to go, met with all kids of support and fanfare even from people we hardly know. 

It seems as if you are just flying along well on your way and suddenly you find yourself with sweat in your eyes.  Having gone from noticing all that is beautiful around you to wishing you were anywhere but where you were yet you still must press on.  There is no stopping in the middle.  You started the journey and there is no escape from the path until you reach the end….the finish line…..your goal.

It gets quiet and at times it seems as if you are barely making progress.  Every once in a while you hear someone cheering for you, but it is pretty much just you.. pressing onward as you keep the finish line in your mind. 

No doubt as you get closer to completing your task the crowd starts to cheer louder- they can see how close you are.  They want you to finish too.

You cross the finish line celebrating with your closest friends. 

You spend a few minutes, hours or even days replaying the events that brought you to where you are.  “Would have’, ‘could have’, ‘should have’, and ‘did’ are all things that you rehash. 

Then before you know it you are planning your next adventure knowing that no matter what, this is how it will play out:

Excitement and fanfare in the beginning gives way to solitude; gutting it out and praying that one foot lands in front of the other over and over and over until the finish line is in sight.  Only then does the excitement and relief return.

Lose 30 pounds in 30 days

"Buy Now, Pay Later" should be the title of the new book and program being revealed at a local gym.

The book- and program- promise a 30 day 30 pound weight loss strategy.  Hmmm... sounds enticing, huh?

Well, of course it does who wouldn't want to lose 30 pounds in 30 days?? I mean, if you HAD 30 pounds that you 'need' to lose....

Why should you choose this program when all of the others like it have failed?

You see, that's the kicker.. you SHOULDN'T choose this program.  Nope.  Not at all.

It won't work just like all the rest haven't worked.

Yeah, I hear what you are saying, "but Michelle, I DID lose weight doing those others!"

Yep, you did.. and then you gained it back!

And that is exactly what will happen again THIS time.

Let me let you in on a secret..ok, it isn't actually a secret, it's called SCIENCE and lots of people like to ignore it.

You can't trick human physiology.  You can try all you want, but you just can't do it.  The sooner you learn  accept that fact the better off you will be.

Here's the deal: cutting your calories to a level that this book (and many others) suggest causes a really cool hormonal shift in your body.  It causes your body to think you are starving- not necessarily from a caloric perspective(although that can happen to), but from a nutrient perspective.

So what?

Well, this causes your body to actually increase your desire for food (hello cravings and mood swings) as well as causing it to burn fewer calories.  Ever wonder why you have so many food cavings on a low calorie (and nutrient poor) diet? Yep, this would be why.

Ya know what else it does?

It actually causes you to store body fat more readily! Yep, your body wants to survive and this is how it is going to make sure that it does.

Ever wonder why people that drop weight doing things like this put it all back on, and then some?? Yep this is why.  Science.  Physiology.  Can't trick it folks, you just can't.

Right about now you are thinking "yeah, but I'll exercise so I will burn more calories and this won't happen."

Ha ha.  Ok.

Did you know that the more you perform the same exercise- or do the same amount of work the fewer calories you expend?

True story.  Your body becomes efficient and subsequently requires less effort and less energy to perform the given task.

"No problem" you say "I'll just do more work."

Ha ha, sure.  How long can you keep that up?

Besides that - doing this in the midst of cutting your calories will actually cause your body to expend FEWER calories.  So you spend more time exercising and actually burn fewer calories.. and now your body REALLY thinks it is starving ...yep you guessed it- hormonal signals for you to increase food consumption while very efficiently shuttling all of those calories you take in straight to FAT.

Sweet!

So, sure go ahead and buy the book.  Heck, buy the program. I guarantee you will pay later.

You may lose weight in 30 days, but you will set yourself up for a lifetime of struggle.

If you've done programs like this before you probably are already struggling with the effects.

You know who you are.

There is a better way.

This is not it.

You're welcome.

The low down on surviving a relay

Unless you've been under a rock and missed all of my Facebook posts from the weekend you are well aware that I, along with 5 other women, ran the Ragnar Florida Keys Relay from Miami to Key West.  All 200 miles of it.

In case you've never done one, or heard anyone describe it, it goes something like this: Runner #1 starts at start line while the rest of us drive to the exchange point where we let runner #2 out and wait for runner #1 to hand off.  From there we drive to the next exchange where we drop off runner # 3 and wait for runner #2.  And so it goes until we drop runner #1 off again while we wait for runner #6 to finish her leg.

We run through this rotation 6 times until we finally reach our destination- Key West.

Do we sleep? I'm sure someone got a few minutes, but no, not really.

Do we shower? Ummm no.  Can you say "baby wipes and change your clothes???"

Sure the van might not smell like roses and we may be a bit sleep deprived, but we must keep moving forward.

When you embark on an adventure like this pretty much everyone will run their first leg well.  But the key to reaching the finish line in a timely manner is making sure that you can consistently run well.

How do you manage to do that???

The key is to know how to properly fuel for and recover from your run as quickly and efficiently as possible.

I probably shouldn't be sharing these "secrets" that give us the advantage, but I'm betting that even if people DO read this, they won't actually follow through.





Here it is.  Here is the secret to great performance especially repeat performance over a matter of hours.  In this case 6 runs in just over 24 hours, all of which were able to be run at about the same pace (read: no performance decrement) despite the searing sun and heat.

Oh and BTW, that is me on the far left of each of the pictures at the top of the page.  I look like an ultra runner, right? Ha, this supplement combination is also the secret to building and keeping MUSCLE!

Now you know :)

Want to know more? Let me know..

Check out Metabolic Precision

Searching for that mystery exercise?

I got in a great workout while I was out of town this past weekend.  I always enjoy checking out gyms in different areas as well.  The gym we went to was pretty well-equipped and had a really cool "feel" to it--well minus the guy that told me I probably shouldn't do deadlifts (no joke).

We knocked out our workout (which DID include deadlifts) and walked around to check out some of the other equipment.  You had the standard pin-select stuff, cardio, medicine balls, kettle bells and the like, and then we found them...

The mystery machines.  No, not the one from Scooby Do although I think that one does serve more of a purpose.  These machines left us with a mystery-- why the heck would anyone use that let alone build that?

They reminded me more of a ride that you would find at Disney. The entire machine moves with you as you perform the exercise.  The seated row made me feel like I was riding a horse, the shoulder press felt like you were trying to launch yourself into space, and the bicep curl felt like you were in a rocking chair.  What the????

Yeah, mystery machines for sure.

Why? Who knows.  Somehow, for some reason, the basic machine needed to be tweaked.

Why?? Well if it did something that the basic machine did not, it must somehow be better.  Why would you waste your time with the basic, old version when you could have the new and improved one?

Logical, right?

No, actually not at all.

Seems to me that all too often people are searching for that one different thing.  That esoteric ingredient, the magical exercise that will some how bring them miraculous results.

Well, I'm sorry to say (no, I'm actually happy to tell you) that it doesn't exist.

The basics are the basics for a reason.  You can't skip over those and head right to the most obscure thing and think it will be the ONE.

You can't do a 2 handed kettle bell snatch with your eyes closed standing on a Bosu while signing the national anthem before you learn how to do a squat. Well,  you can try but I promise it won't turn out well.

You can't eat McDonald's for breakfast, skip lunch, and eat KFC for dinner and take green coffee bean extract and expect anything to happen. Again, many people try and as we can see it doesn't turn out well.

The truth is simple, as it always seems to be.  You have to consistently nail the basics before you even think about doing anything else.

Basics in the gym and basics outside the gym. It doesn't get any more simple than that.

Learn the basics.  Nail the basics consistently.  Succeed.

Learn the basics

I can't eat healthy, I don't know how to cook!

"I can't eat healthy, I don't know how to cook!"

No, that isn't a joke I actually hear that all the time.

It makes me giggle for a few reasons:

1. You certainly don't look like you are starving so you are feeding yourself somehow.

2. There are plenty of unhealthy things that require cooking too.

3. If you can find a grocery store, and you can use Google, you can cook.

4. Even if you DO eat out you don't need to make poor food choices!

I don't consider what I do "cooking".  Heck I probably only use one or two pans and the crock pot.

Does this sound like "cooking" to you: 2 packages of ground chicken breast, 1 package grass-fed ground beef, 3 packages frozen veggies.

 I think that may be what you are trying to tell yourself..and the world, but what you REALLY mean is that you don't know WHAT TO EAT.

Once we get real honest about the situation, then we can do something about it.

Knowing what to eat is the key whether you are cooking at home or you are eating out.  Whether you are eating on a train, or eating in the rain, or in a box, or with a fox...

Luckily for you I can help with that.  Together with what you will learn from Metabolic Precision you will find yourself looking forward to getting in the kitchen and whipping up some great dishes!

Did I mention that with  Metabolic Precision comes an entire cookbible??? Yep, hundreds of recipes so you can make as simple or as fancy a dish as you'd like.

Why spend one more day confused about what to do? Why spend one more day unhappy with where you are? You are worth it.  Take the step now.

The ONE diet you MUST follow...

What good is a diet that you can't stick to? I mean, you are looking for this diet to answer your prayers of weight loss, right? And it certainly can't do that if you don't follow it.

So here's what you do.. follow this ONE diet.  It is the ONE you have been looking for.  It is the ONE that will deliver the results you are looking for.

How do I know this? Because I know you can stick with it.

Yeah I know you are wondering how is it that I can be so sure.  Just trust me on this...

Think about all of the diets that you have tried to follow in the past. Why didn't they deliver the results that you were hoping for?

Well, I'm sure there were a few reasons why- but one of the biggest was most likely the unsustainable changes that you attempted to make.

Sure anyone can do over the top things for a few days or maybe a few weeks...but can you sustain those over the top things for the rest of your life?

Ahhhhh...I doubt it.  If you could, you wouldn't be reading this post about the ONE diet that you MUST follow.

So how do I really know that this will work for you? Easy. Because I live it everyday.

Now before you get all defensive, I am NO different than you are.

I spent years competing in the physique world following nutrition and training plans that were only sustainable in the short term.  Sure, I looked good on stage, but that was about it.  The "off season" was a different story.

But that is how that is set up to work.. really, it is.

Following regimens like that cause hormonal changes and fluctuations that make it a priority for your body to replenish body fat stores as rapidly as possible.  Unfortunately our bodies go above and beyond in this 'recovery' and we end up fatter (literally) than we were before.

Ugh. Not cool.

Learning how to put food to work for you, how to get lean and stay there without delving into the unsustainable is what it is all about.  That is the ONE diet that you MUST follow.  It is the ONE thing that will work.

Now here is the secret.. it isn't a diet.

It is a way of life.  It has to be.

Temporary changes bring temporary results. Permanent changes yield permanent results.

Permanent changes have to be sustainable changes.. it isn't rocket science.

This is how I woke up at 40 looking better than I did at 20, or 30!

This is Metabolic Precision. It is a lifestyle.  A way to live.  A way to get more from life. A way to live energized rather than depleted.

Here is a link to some great FREE information to get you started.

Your opportunity to work with me one on one online with the Metabolic Precision program is coming very soon however opportunities will be very limited.  If you are serious about wanting to know the ONE way to guarantee fat loss you won't want to miss out on this.

Message me to place your name on the list for advanced announcement of this opportunity.

What is the best fat burner?

I remember it like it was yesterday.  The brown liquid in the bottle that promised to help burn fat tasted like a bitter lemon- tea.  Not too bad I thought..but nothing happened.

I didn't drink just one of them, I had a few of them. Maybe one every day.  I'm not sure what I was hoping for but all I got was a nice lemon- tea flavored treat.  No fat burning, well at least not that I could tell anyway.

Does that story sound familiar?

Maybe yours wasn't lemon-tea, maybe it was some kind of pill, or powder, or cream but you looked to it to help you burn fat and nothing happened.

This is usually where all of the fun commercials tell you that it wasn't your fault.  You didn't fail, it was the diet/product that failed you. Well, that may be a part of the situation, but there is something much bigger that you must know.

Are you ready?

You failed.

Yes, I just said that.  You failed.

You failed to realize that NO PRODUCT can do it all.

Yes, some can actually help you in your quest to "burn fat"..although not it the sense that you imagine (more on that later).

I think what needs to happen first is that you figure out what it is you mean when you say "burn fat".  What you are really envisioning happening is losing fat ...becoming leaner.. right?

 So what is the best "fat burner"... or should I say what is the best way to lose fat and become leaner?

YOU are the best fat burner.  And the best way for you to lose fat and become leaner is to STOP ADDING BODY FAT.

Yes, it is up to YOU.

Let's simplify this for a moment.  Think of your body fat as a pool of water (or fat- whatever image suits you best).  At the bottom of this pool is a small drain.  Ever so slowly some of this water (or fat) flows down the drain. This represents your exercise and everything else that you do that causes "fat burning".

Now imagine a large hose placed in the top of the pool with a constant heavy stream of water flowing from it into the pool.  This represents everything that you do that adds to your body fat stores.

It shouldn't be too hard to figure out that if the hose filling the pool is doing so at a rate greater than or equal to the rate that the drain is emptying the pool you will NOT be getting any less fat.  You may in fact be getting even fatter!

....even with the drain open at the bottom of the pool!!

So when you ask me what the best "fat burner" is and what you should take that will help you to lose fat I canNOT answer that with one word.  The answer is not a pill, or potion, or cream. (Sure, some may actually help and as I said we will get into that later).

The answer is YOU and the answer is to STOP adding to the fat.

How do you do that??

Well, I can't answer that in one word either.  I'll need two..
Metabolic Precision.

Metabolic Precision will teach you how to STOP adding to the fat.  THIS is the key.

No matter how you phrase the question to me, this is the answer.  Learning how to stop adding to the fat will get you where you want to go because it also helps to "burn fat".  Yep.  It does.

If you are looking for more information about how to do this, you'll want to check out Metabolic Precision.

Your opportunity to work with me one one one online with the Metabolic Precision program is coming very soon however opportunities will be very limited.  If you are serious about wanting to know the best way to "burn fat" you won't want to miss out on this.

Message me to place your name on the list for advanced announcement of this opportunity.