VP Health & Fitness: September 2007

Friday, September 7, 2007

New Website!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that I have a spankin' new website!!!!

Please visit me at http://vphealthandfitness.com as I will be doing all my updates there from now on.

Also, please update your blog roll’s & links to re-direct to the new site.

I tried to maintain the same look and layout so nothing will be much different except that it’s my OWN now!!!! YAY!

Hope to see everyone there!!!!!

To your health,

~ Vilma

Tuesday, September 4, 2007

UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess persistence does payoff. After a CRAZY almost no sleep weekend... I was contacted by wordpress support & my wordpress.com blog is back up and running. They didn't provide any specifics on why my blog was suspended, but i'm going to go back and remove all obvious affiliate links & pictures for now.

Now... another dilema... which blog should I keep up???? I've contacted most people that linked to my site and have told them of my new blogger site. I like blogger because there is html & I can put my affiliate links & pictures on it without worrying about it being shut down.

Well, for now I am keeping both. My wordpress.com BLOG is more updated with lot and lots and lots and lots of subjects, resources & daily/weekly journal updates. Please check there if you cannot find what you are looking for on this blog.

Thanks for visiting & for your support!

To your health!

~ Vilma

I’m a Food and Fitness Guru!

Well… almost. :D I still struggle with some areas of nutrition… but I take it day by day & so far it’s helped me lose over 40 inches & 30 lbs of fat! Here are my results:

Food & Fitness Guru
You know a lot about eating right and
exercising. Just make sure you’re also putting that knowledge into practice.
Here’s to a fit and healthy you!

========

So… What would you say? Take the Food & Health Survey.

This quiz will score you on your knowledge and habits, and show you how your answers compare to the average American.

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To your health!

~ Vilma

The TRUTH about fast weightloss

Cache version

I’m really disappointed today… people just DO NOT LEARN!!! A friend of mine announced yesterday that she is going to start doing the Kimkins Diet to get undo the damage done in her weekend weight gain. :?

The Kimkins diet is based on the theory of Ketosis. She has an induction period that puts your body into Ketosis. When in Ketosis you lose your appetite, thus the low calorie intake. It is somewhat like Dr. Stillman’s induction minus the cheese and she allows a little oil for cooking. Then Phase 2 is Kimkins which is with the 2 cups of salad and .5 of veggies but only those on the list, or 3 cups of salad greens. She does not allow net carb counting and no processed Low Carb foods. She recommends no exercise & does not promote drinking water either.

I understand that my friend wants a drastic change, but come on!!!!!!!!!!!! Less than 1000 calories a day (view the creator’s fitday eating plan) and less than 20 g of carbs.
I can’t believe the “advice” that this girl Kimmers is giving…

Ask Kimmer: http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=431338&pp=30

Uh… yeah… your gonna lose weight, but you should also kiss your lean muscle buh-bye if you’re going to be eating low calories. What happens after the “diet”? What happens when you reach your goal? Are you going to go back to your conventional way of eating?

Let me tell you the truth… as SOON as you start to eat more than 20 g of carbs a day, I guarantee you that your “weightloss” will stall and/or you will start gaining weight again. If you are eating very low calories, your muscles have also catabolized & you will not have as much muscle as before. Therefore your metabolism is slower & your body will start retaining every g of carb you consume.

Sad, Sad, Sad…

OK, I guess that’s enough.

End of rant.

Just had to let it out. Couldn’t do it on the boards, so that’s why I did it here. I also found this interesting article written by Tom Venuto about the consequences of fast weight-loss.

All truth here. Open your eyes & ears people… unless you want to be afraid of carbs and calories for the rest of your lives, don’t try a quick fix. It does not work in the long run!!!
Anyhow… Enjoy the article!

===============

Here is an excerpt:

…The faster you lose weight, the more muscle you will lose right along with the fat, and that can really mess up your metabolism. An even bigger problem with fast weight loss is that it just won’t last. The faster you lose, the more likely you are to gain it back. It’s the the “yo-yo diet
effect” - weight goes down, but always comes back up.

Don’t Be Fooled By Water Weight Losses
One thing you should also know is that it’s very common to lose 3 - 5 pounds in the first week on nearly any diet and exercise program and often even more on low carb diets (because low carb diets deplete glycogen and every gram of glycogen holds 3 grams of water). Just remember, its NOT all fat - WATER LOSS IS NOT FAT LOSS - AND WATER LOSS IS TEMPORARY!

The Truth About FAST Weight Loss - by Tom Venuto NSCA-CPT, CSCS

===============

To your health,

~ Vilma

P.S. Other articles that might be of interest:

Kimkins Diet Review

OK…. This review has been LONG overdue.

A couple a months ago the Kimkins Diet was all the craze when it was featured on the cover of Woman’s World with the title, “Better Than Gastric Bypass!”. I heard about it on the WAHM.com Fitness boards and was 100% against it from the start because it was very unbalanced & too low in calories!

You can read my rant HERE.

Here are other post’s that came up about the Kimkins Diet:
http://www.wahm.com/forum/forum_posts.aspTID=394682
http://www.wahm.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=400655

Now, months have passed & the Kimkins diet craze has passed and also raised a few eyebrows & questions about the validity of the person behind Kimkins & her “diet”.

Below are websites that I have compiled which talk about this controversy. Please check them out before making ANY decision on following this plan.

My own personal recommendation: DON'T try a quick fix. It does not work in the long run!!!

The Diet in question: http://www.kimkins.com/
Kimkins “rules”: http://www.lowcarbfriends.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=431457

Resources & References:
How to Spread the Truth About the Kimkins Diet Controversy
Kimkins Business Partnership Case Study
http://kimkinsexposed.wordpress.com/
http://www.kimkinscontroversy.com/
http://antikimkins.blogspot.com/
http://www.thesteaksarehigh.com/2007/07/kimkins-controv.html
http://kimkinsdangers.blogspot.com/
http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=307119

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Exercise & Weight Training

ExRx.net -Great source for weightlifting techniques and exercises organized by muscle groups; includes animated GIFs that shows proper performance technique of most exercises
SparkPeople.com Resources - Full of Fitness, Nutrition, Motivation, Health, Quizzes & Assesment Resources
Stumptuous.com Women’s Weight Training - Are you a woman? Do you want to lift weights? Check out Krista’s site!
Bodybuilding.com training articles - HUGE article database
Bodybuilding.com workout database
Tom Venuto - The honest fitness site (author of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle)
Burn the Fat Blog - Tom Venuto’s fitness blog
Deepsqautter.com - Strength List Archives
Kristin Reisinger- Website includes training and nutrition articles & recepies
Turbulence Training - Workout Logs & Newsletters from Craig Ballantyne, CSCS, M.Sc
Turbulence Training 4 week workout - the Original 4-Week TurbulenceTraining Bodyweight Workout.
T-Nation - a place where chemists, scientists, nutritional theorists, and exercise physiologists come together to share their discoveries with the world. Many articles!!!
Muscle with attitude - T-Nation’s sister site (geared towards women)

Weightloss Support Groups

WAHM.com - my favorite women (and a couple of men). This is where I get my daily support!
Lean & Strong
JP Fitness Forums
Precision Nutrition Forums - becoming one of my favorite forum to visit. Alot awesome information on every nutrition-related topic under the sun. If you’ve got a question about nutrition, they’ve answered it - and you can defenitely find it on this site. Alot of people with the same goals as I have — fat loss the right way!
Pink Dumbbells - Serious and Sound Fitness & Nutrition for Women

Tracking Tools & Calculators

Sparkpeople.com- the ONLY premium and personalized weight loss and healthy living program available on-line for free. Food log, weight, and exercise tracker plus a lot more!
FitDay - Free food log and exercise tracker
Fitprofile - Non-program specific fitness profile site
600 exercises at bodybulding.com - how many calories are you burning?
Fitness Jumpsite - Activity Calorie calculator (type in your weight & activity minutes.)
Fitness Tools and Calculators at Natural Physiques
Hussman’s BMR calculator
Basal Energy Expenditure: Harris-Benedict Equation - Allows you to estimate your Basal Energy Expeniture. Also contains links to other medical calculators.
Fitness Buddy Body fat test at biofitness.com - claims that their method is 3.5% (+ or -) as accurate as a hydrostatic water tank test ($50 to $100) and .7% (+ or -) as accurate as a multi-site skin caliper test ($15 to $25).
Active.com - pretty accurate body fat circumference body fat calculator. About 2-3% + or -
Rusty Iron Body Fat Calculators Enter your three or seven site caliper measurements here and have the site calculate your body fat for you!
MyBodyComp A circumference-based body fat calculator (no caliper needed, but measuring tape would be handy)
Health Status Calculators - many handy calculators including body fat estimator, body mass index, calories burned, daily energy expenditure, frame size, ideal weight… and more!
am-i-fat.com - another body fat% calculator
Body Fat Estimator at sixpacknow.com - This Body Fat Calculator will give an approximation of your current body fat levels. For visible six pack abdominals a body fat percentage of 15% or lower for women and 10% or lower for men is required.
Caloriesperhour - How many more diets do you want to go on? Many many tools you need for FREE!
Better Ideal Weight - set a REALISTIC “Ideal Weight” for your body.

USDA Interactive tools - Many many links to check your health risks, design your diet, calculators & counters, and to test your knowledge. Links include:

How Can You Lower Your CholesterolDHHS. NIH. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Features heart healthy and therapeutic lifestyle changes for treatment and preventing heart disease. Provides meal plans, grocery shopping, reading food labels, and dining out.
Personal Fitness Planner - Dairy Council of California.Helps adolescents determine physical activity levels.
MyPyramid Tracker - USDA. Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.An online dietary assessment that provides information on diet quality, related nutrition messages, and links to nutrient information. Also assesses physical activity. Note: Replaces the Interactive Healthy Eating Index
Interactive Menu Planner - DHHS. NIH. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.Helps user plan meals to meet specific calorie requirements.
Eat Smart. Play Hard. for Kids - USDA. Food and Nutrition Service.Web page which connects kids to healthy eating and physical activity interactive learning and skill-building experiences within a virtual community setting. Includes songs, experiments, activity sheets, comics, clipart, worksheets, games, posters, e-cards, recipes, and more.
Estimating Your 10-Year Risk of Having a Heart Attack - DHHS. NIH. National Cholesterol Education Program.Risk assessment tool to predict an onset of a heart attack.
and many, many, many, many more!!!

** More in the Downloads - Spreadsheets/Worksheets section

Monday, September 3, 2007

Fitness & Nutrition Articles

Fitness Articles

Prepare A Beach Ready Body With Diet, Mentality & Exercise
How should women train?- common misconceptions regarding female weight training
The Couch-to-5K running plan - beginner’s running schedule has helped new runners get off the couch and onto the roads, running 3 miles in just two months.
The Great Abs mistake - 1,000 Sit-Ups And Crunches A Day and Still No Abs!?
All about HIIT training - the best, quickest way to get in shape, and lose fat.

Nutrition Articles

Five foods that can kill & you should avoid
The zig-zag diet for fast fat loss
You are what you drink
The truth about FAST weightloss
The #1 Food to Toss - Doctors now worry your sodium intake could be endangering your health — even if you don’t use the salt shaker. Here’s how to cut down on surprising sources of sodium

Online Programs

Sparkpeople.com- the ONLY premium and personalized weight loss and healthy living program available on-line for free. (compare to eDiets). You can also review more about their program by clicking HERE.
eDiets.com - Many plans to choose from, a decent general exercise plan, recipes, and support groups
Burn the Fat Inner Circle - premier BFFM fat loss support community CLICK HERE for a FREE preview of Burn the Fat Inner Circle.
Beachbody - Makers of the P90X Extreme Fitness and Turbo Jam DVD workout programs–active support board, WOWY (Work Out With You) virtual gym where you can sign up to workout simultaneously with other people around the world at a scheduled time, and more information about their products
Million Dollar Body - part of Beachbody - you can win up to $1000 every day just for working out.
HOOAH 4 Health - US Army health promotion & wellness website
America on the Move - A national initiative dedicated to helping individuals and communities across the nation make positive changes to improve health and quality of life.
Precision Nutrition - For more great training and nutrition wisdom, check out Dr Berardi’s complete system, Precision Nutrition. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want — guaranteed. And what’s more, your online access allows you to talk exercise and nutrition 24/7 with thousands of fellow members and the Precision Nutrition coaches.

Motivation

Start Strong Mondays archives - Sound, practical wisdom for living at Full Strength… Start Strong in less than 5 minutes!

Bodybuilding

Bodybuilding.com- The largest and most complete bodybuilding site on-line.
Bodybuilding.com training articles - HUGE article database
Bodybuilding.com workout database
T-Nation - a place where chemists, scientists, nutritional theorists, and exercise physiologists come together to share their discoveries with the world. Many articles!!!
Muscle with attitude - T-Nation’s sister site (geared towards women)
Stumptuous.com Women’s Weight Training - Are you a woman? Do you want to lift weights? Check out Krista’s site!

Downloads

Spreadsheets/Worksheets

BFFM Data Sheet & Calorie Calculator (courtesy of Maggie Wang & her blog: Caustic Musings) - Maggie generously shared her spreasheet & gave downloaders the freedom of making their own adjustments to the spreadsheet. Thanks Maggie!!
Here is my version: Spreadsheet for calculating BMR & TDEE (using the Katch-McArdle method), daily calorie targets, macro-nutrient calories/grams ratios, BMI, daily calorie burn, fat lost/muscle gained, & a body fat calculator (male/female). Used with the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle program - however, it can also can be used for any program.
Nutrition Planner, Food List & Meal planning sheets- Keep track of your daily nutrient ratios. Used with the Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle program - however, it can also can be used for any program.
Adi’s Fitness Log - A very comprehensive fitness spreadsheet that uses Excel macros
Calculate your BMR - for women
Weekly calorie burn chart - Keep track of your exercise activities & Total Calories burned.

Downloads - Articles

Downloads - Free e-Books

Gourmet Nutrition Desserts - This is a 44 page dessert cookbook complete with delicious “Precision Nutrition Approved” dessert recipes, beautiful photography, and hints on how to eat the foods you love without gaining the fat you hate.
Precision Nutrition Strategies - This ebook is an extension of the Precision Nutrition program. With 43 pages and 7 chapters (plus appendices), it’s obviously nowhere near as comprehensive as the full Precision Nutrition Program. However, it provides a nice and simple overview of some critical PN strategies including: the rules of good nutrition, protein intake, balancing dietary acids, altering your eating schedule to make it more PN friendly, preparing foods, eating on the road, revving your metabolism, and more.
Turbulence Training 4 week workout - the Original 4-Week TurbulenceTraining Bodyweight Workout.

Books

16 Weeks to Weight Training Success: a basic approach - Author Doug Briggs Ph.D., CSCS, and the strength & Conditioning Coordinator for the US ARMY at Ft. Bliss, Texas & director of the CIVILIAN FITNESS PROGRAM that i’m participating in!!!
Strength Training Anatomy - An illustrated guide to muscles at work. VERY detailed. Many exercises.
Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle - I’m currently reading this book & a program that I want to implement into my workout/nutrition routine
YOU on a diet- very informative book that talks about how your body works at all levels. I lost 10 lbs. & two inches of my belly in 3 weeks by applying some of their tips.
Eating for life - Delicious & nutritious balance recepies. Includes Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack & Dessert
Precision Nutrition - For great training and nutrition wisdom, check out Dr Berardi’s complete system, Precision Nutrition. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want — guaranteed.
Gourmet Nutrition Book - isn’t just a cookbook, it’s a full-blown optimal eating manual. In it, we’re gonna feed both your mind and your body with recipes, cooking tips and nutrition strategies to help you get into the best shape of your life.
Gourmet Nutrition Desserts - This is a FREE 44 page dessert cookbook complete with delicious “Precision Nutrition Approved” dessert recipes, beautiful photography, and hints on how to eat the foods you love without gaining the fat you hate.
Turbulence Training 4 week workout - the Original 4-Week Turbulence Training Bodyweight Workout
Cheat to Lose - Cheat BIG with the Foods You Love, Lose Fat Faster Than Ever Before, and Enjoy Keeping It Off!

Pictures

My journey in pictures
(COMING SOON!!!)

Most recent comparison: March 31, 2007 vs August 11, 2007
=========================
Day 15 vs. Day 60 - Full Body Pictures - Last updated on: May 25 2007 09:45 AM
Rock You Slide Show - coming soon!

Face Shots - Last updated on: May 17 2007 11:23 PM
Rock You Slide Show - coming soon!

My Weight Chart:

Civilian Fitness Program

3/26/2007

So, I was accepted into the Civilian Fitness Program & i’m extatic!!! I can’t wait to start!
Setting goals has always been very easy to do for me; maintaining them is what I struggle with every day. There are many changes that I would like to make - in my fitness, nutrition, and life.
I am exited to say that today marks day 1 of my 6 month Civilian Fitness Program given by my employer. I’m very exited and committed to finish this program and maintain it for life. Here is the letter of acceptance:
================================================

12 March 2007

Welcome to the Civilian Fitness Program! The first step in
determining your level of fitness and insuring a lifetime of health and
happiness starts here. Life is not about the amount of time that we live, but
rather about the quality of that time.

You will receive a complete fitness assessment and evaluation of your
current fitness level. This assessment will include a profile of your
cardio-respiratory, absolute and dynamic strength, flexibility, and body
composition. After all data is collected, our Physical Fitness Specialists will
set-up a time with you to present you with your completed packet and offer
guidelines on how to improve your level of fitness over the next six
months.

We look forward to seeing you on Monday, 19 March 2007, at 7:45 a.m.
We will meet in the lobby of Stout Gym. This will be a very fun and
informative morning and we will all share a few laughs and get you on-track to
meet your goals. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to
contact me at xxx-xxxx.
Sincerely,
Doug Briggs, Ph.D., CSCS
Director of Strength & Conditioning-US ARMY/MWR

==============================================
I believe i’ve been giving a second chance…

Here are some broad goals that I would like to accomplish in this program (March - September 2007):

Lose 50 pounds of FAT
Be under 30% body fat
Fit into my size 8/10 jeans again
Be able to run/jog/walk a mile in under 11 minutes
Be able to do more than 20 regular push-ups in 1 minute
Improve my cardiovascular endurance
Improve my strength levels (Bench Press, Squat, Leg Press)
My ULTIMATE goal is to get down to 18% body fat & maintain a healthy weight range of 145-155 lbs.
Please visit my GOALS page for more details.

That’s it for now.

~ Vilma

Goals

“Action without planning, is the BIGGEST cause of failure.”

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GOALS & AFFIRMATIONS

1. Ultimate Goals & Affirmations (To be maintained for LIFE!!!)

I am extremly happy & thankful because…

- I am maintaining my body fat between 15-18% (except when pregnant).
- I am eating 5-6 healthy meals a day at 3 hour intervals with proper ratios of lean proteins, carbs, & healthy fats.
- I keep on learning enough about MY body, diet & exercise that I am EASILY staying/maintaining within my optimum weight of 155 lbs. (+/- 3 pounds).
- I have finally gone back to school and finished my 2 semesters & graduated from college with a degree in Exercise Science & Kinesiology
- I am a certified nutritionist and personal trainer (CSCS, NSCA, ACSM, ISSA)

2. 12 month goal(s) & Affirmations (To be reached on or before June 11, 2008)

I am extremly happy & thankful because…

- I have reached my ultimate goal of 15% body fat at 155 lbs.
- I am still have 130 + lbs of muscle.
- I can confidently wear a size 6 two piece bathing suit that will show off my toned & muscular abs, legs & arms.
- I look hot and will be turning heads at my 10 year class reunion!

3. Three month goal (90 days) (To be reached on or before )

I am extremly happy & thankful because…

- I am at or below 25% body fat
- I am at or below 175 lbs
- I am fitting into a comfortable 8-10 size jeans

4. 1 month goal (To be reached on or before September 19, 2007)

I am extremly happy & thankful because…

- I have lost 5-10 lbs of fat (be below 180 lbs.)
- I am at or below 32% body fat
- I have gained 1 lb of muscle
- I am fitting into a comfortable 12/10 size jeans
- I am doing cardio atleast 5 times a week for 40 + minutes

5. Weekly goals (body compostion & weigh-ins)

- Cardio 5 + times a week burning at least 500 per/hour - per/workout
- Consitant in 4 day body split (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri/Sat)
- Lean protein in EVERY meal 5-6 times a day
- Plan out High Calorie Days to the “T”

OTHER GOALS

Become a Certified Personal Trainer - (6/4/07) I just took a little practice Diagnostic Assesment for the ACSM - Certified Personal Trainer and I got a 61%, 11 of 18 questions right. A bit dissapointed since my background is Kinesiology (have 1 year left to get my bachelors) however, the ones that I got right were the ones that I already knew about. The 7 that I got wrong, I have never heard about them…

Careers in Fitness - where do I get certified?

Disclaimer

Please remember this when you’re reading through my blog:

Although I’m in my senior year of getting my Kinesiology/Health Science Degree,

I am NOT
a doctor
a dietitian/nutritionist
a medical professional
a exercise trainer *yet

This is a Blog

The material on this website has my opinions, thoughts, and links to other sources of information. I contribute & post my findings through trial and error on my journey to lifelong health & fitness and what I have learned in my studies & research so far. It is provided for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advise. The information contained in this website should not be used to diagnose or treat any illness, metabolic disorder, disease or health problem. Always consult your physician or health care provider before beginning any nutrition or exercise program. Use of the program(s) i’m following, advice, and information contained in this website is at the sole choice and risk of the reader.

Thank you for your understanding.

~ Vilma

Nutrition and Free Recipes

Precision Nutrition - For great training and nutrition wisdom, check out Dr Berardi’s complete system, Precision Nutrition. Containing system manuals, gourmet cookbook, digital audio/video library, online membership, and more, Precision Nutrition will teach you everything you need to know to get the body you want — guaranteed. And what’s more, your online access allows you to talk exercise and nutrition 24/7 with thousands of fellow members and the Precision Nutrition coaches.
Sparkrecipes- Free recipes from Sparkpeople.com
Sparkpeople Nutrition Resources - FREE information & articles. Lot’s of GOOD stuff here!!!! Thumbs WAY up!
Heatlhy Dining Finder - Great concept! A FREE useful resource for those who are on the road a lot or for people like me who like to eat out a lot!!!
Recipe Board at PinkDumbbells.com
The Cottage Cheese Page at Stumptuous.com
101 Ways To Eat Cottage Cheese at Shayananna.org
Health Castle - Nutrition Advice by registered Dietitians
Glycemic Index - The Official Website of the Glycemic Index and GI Database
Food Fit - FoodFit Tools, A delicious database of 2,500 healthy, customizable recipes with in-depth nutritional analysis and a Fitness section to help you get motivated, keep up on fitness trends and get information to help you create your own workouts.
Chef Michele’s Adventures - Grocery saving tips, recipes and other helpful advice for eating well on a budget.
The Cooks Thesaurus - a cooking encyclopedia that vovers thousands of ingredients and kitchen tools. Entries include pictures, descriptions, synonyms, pronunciations, and suggested substitutions.
Kristin Reisinger- Website free recepies plus training and nutrition articles
Recipe Of The Week - at bodybuilding.com - A New Exciting Recipe To Tempt Your Tastebuds!
The Sneaky Chef: - Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals. FREE healthy recepies
Bodybuilding recepies -- Here you will find some of the best recipes for bodybuilders on the net.
Better Health USA - your resource for symptom relief of food allergy and food sensitivity. Many informative links & resources!
Gourmet Nutrition Desserts - This is a FREE 44 page dessert cookbook complete with delicious “Precision Nutrition Approved” dessert recipes, beautiful photography, and hints on how to eat the foods you love without gaining the fat you hate.
Low Sodium Recipes - No Registration Forms, no usernames, no passwords are required for Megaheart.com. The entire site is free. It’s your health that counts.

Resources Page

Here you will find info and links to many of my favorite nutrition, fitness, weight training & bodybuilding websites that I’ve come to find through out the years as well as other recommended websites.

Enjoy!

~ Vilma

P.S. I will also be adding downloads of Excel spread sheets, various articles, & other things that have helped me to stay motivated & keep track of my progress. ( I will try to update this page as often as possible)

CATEGORIES

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FREE Downloads
Online Programs
Support Groups
Tracking Tools & Calculators
Fitness & Nutrition Articles
Books
Exercise & Weight Training
Nutrition and Free Recipes
Motivation

My Story

Posted on my wordpress.com blog
About
Mar 26th, 2007 by Vilma Perez
=======

Vilma here… Welcome to my FITNESS blog!

So much has happened since December 2005! I lost about 30 lbs., got married (May 2006), went back to school, and gained back 40 lbs +. This seems to be the story of my life ever since I graduated from high school about 9 years ago. I was never an overweight kid before then. I was actively involved in sports (volleyball, basketball, softball, track) & I ate pretty well. I gained the famous “freshman 15″ right out of high school & it was an up and down battle since then. I think that I could write a book on how many times I’ve lost and gained weight and all the different “diets” I’ve tried… believe me, I’ve tried them all! And most of them worked - temporarily….

I remember back around the year 2002 I lost about 50 pounds (my lowest weight was 127) & I mainained a 140-145 weight for about 1 year. How did I lose all that weight? The first 30 I lost just based on nutrition & a lot of tennis. I also took Xenadrine pills that had Ephedra in them and left me shaky & without a good night’s sleep. I started lifting weights when I had about 20 more lbs to lose. I continued eating healthy & like I mentioned was able to maintain my weight for about 1 year. But I because I did not make a LIFESTYLE change, all the weight I lost just kept on coming back with a little bit more and more and more… and a day after Christmas (12/26/2006) was my lowest point ever. I tipped the scales at 200 pounds. Never in my life have I weighed over 200 lbs before. I honestly cried when I saw that number on the scale.

How could I have let my self go like this?

How are we (hubby & I) going to have baby #1 when I have a BMI of 31.9 which puts me in the “obese” category?!

Yes… obese!

Not just overweight but OBESE!

“I seriously need help”, I thought. I’m tired of living this way. It’s not fair for me, for my husband, and my future family.

Were would I start? What would I do? Losing 50 lbs. was daunting. I continued eating myself away and managed to gain another 12 pounds. My highest weight ever was 212 lbs. when I went to get a doctors physical so I would be able to participate in my Employer Fitness Program. UHHH!!! Now it’s 62 lbs. that I have to lose!!!

That day was a turning point for me. I chose to take my weight head on and lose my gut once and for all! I had some time to kill before the doc. would be able to see me, so I passed by Sam’s Club & saw the book YOU on a diet. I had seen Dr. Oz & Dr. Roizen on Oprah & had read some of their articles on Realage.com & on Discovery Health.com. I started reading bits and pieces from the book & it made sense to me. Now, this is not just another “diet” book. No, no, no. This is a manual that explains, in laymen terms, how our bodies react to the foods that we eat, it explains about food metabolism & nutrition, how and why our bodies store calories, and how our bodies burns fat. It has a lot of material including quizzes, ‘factoids’ and ‘myth busters’ along with recommended eating & exercise guidelines that you can also find online.

Anyhow… to make the long story short, I bought the book, started applying some of the guidelines given, and finished reading it in about 1 week. Oh yeah… I also was able to lose 10 pounds and 2 inches off my belly before my civilian fitness program began!!

In these coming months (April - December 2007) I would like to lose those 50 + lbs that I’ve gained since the wedding and then ultimately get down to 155 lbs. & 15% body fat. I want to live a healthy life, make healthy food choices, continue exercising and maintain this lifestyle forever. I’m sooo exited. I’m determined to keep this fitness blog up, updating everyday… to keep me accountable, to help me keep track of my progress, to share my ups & downs in my journey to lasting health & fitness, and to be an inspiration to others like me that are looking to become healthy & fit.

Thank you for reading!

Please check back often to see how I’m doing…

God Bless You.

~ Vilma
3-26-2007

What I eat

You can view my SparkPeople.com Public Food & Exercise Log HERE.

I learned how to eat right about 6 years ago even though I haven’t always followed what I know is true. My typical diet is pretty balanced most of the time & i’ve followed Tom Venuto’s BFFM principles for a couple of years now.

But for now (July 16 2007 - November 5, 2007), I’m going back to basics because I still find myself struggling with basic nutritional habits. My current diet is based on the principles outlined in the Precision Nutrition (PN) program, developed by Dr. John Berardi. I find it to be a sound approach to nutrition that is pretty similar to what i’ve been doing already. According to Dr. Berardi & his Precision Nutrition program, there are various habits that anyone who wants to change their body composition (lose weight/fat, get lean, be healthy) should master FIRST before individualization (ex.counting macro nutrient ratios, # of calories.. meaning the little details). Once you have these down and ingrained in you, then and only then is someone ready to move on to individualizing a plan.

Below, I will brefiley describe how my diet looks like and some of the habits i’m trying to master.

My Staple WHOLE foods:
Omega-3 Whole Eggs
Egg Whites
1% & 2% Cottage Cheese
Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
Canned White Chunked Tuna
Canned Chicken 97% Chicken Breast
93% & 97% Lean Ground Turkey Breast
96% Extra Lean Ground Beef
Part Skim Low Fat Mozzerella Cheese
Park Skim Low Fat Quesadilla (Pepper Jack ) Cheese
Baby Spinach
Mixed Spring Greens
Balsamic Vinagrette dressing
100% Natural Peanut ButterGreen Tea

CLICK HERE to view the supplements I use.

Mastering these habits are my goals …
Eat every 2-3 hours - Non-negotiable
Eat complete , lean protein with each feeding opportunity
Eat vegetables with each feeding opportunity
If fat loss is your goal, eat veggies and fruits with any meal; “other carbs” only after exercise
Eat healthy fats daily
Don’t drink beverages with more than 0 calories
Eat whole foods instead of supplements whenever possible
Plan ahead and prepare feedings in advance
Eat as wide a variety of good foods as possible
Plan to break the rules 10% of the time

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This is an “other” list of foods/products that I have adopted into my daily diet. I have also provided a link(s) were you can find more nutritional information about them. Some of them are out of the question while doing the PN body transformation challenge (unless they are 10% meals), but are still healthy substitutes.

Calorieking.com is another great website to find nutritional information about the foods that you are eating.

Organic High Fiber cereal
Turkey products
Kashi GOLean Crunchy Bars
light soy milk
Turkey Products II
Pop Secret 94% fat free popcorn
Eggs
Lean Cuisine
Dannon Lite & Fit Yogurts
GO Lean High Fiber/Protein cereal
Frozen Chicken Breasts
Almonds
Go Lean Crunch cereal
Mission Multigrain tortillas
Dried Cranberries (Craisins)
Go Lean Blueberry waffles
Whole grain English Muffins
Dried Goji Berries
Breakfast
Alaskan Salmon
60 & 65% Dark Chocolate
Breakfast
Edemame (Soy beans)
Sweet Freedom® Krunch Lites
Breakfast
Organic Green Beans
Sugar Free Posicles

1st post & New Blog

Well... what can I say? It's been a hectic & very stressful Labor Day weekend. My wordpress.com blog has been suspended because I apparently violated their Terms of Agreement (if I did, It was an honest mistake), so here I am on Blogger, picking up the pieces of my 6 month journey so far. I also received an email from someone that suggested that I might of gotten my wordpress.com blog removed because I posted a Women's World Picture (something about copyright infringement) up with my Kimkins Diet Review.

You can CLICK HERE to view the cache version of my post.

Possibly... I don't know. She said that many people's blogs are being reported by Kimkins followers and then deleted and that i'm not the 1st one. Who know's???

For those that do not know, I have been keeping meticulous records, journals, stats & measurements of my weight loss journey that started back in February 2007. Thanks to wordpress.com, that is all but gone now. I am trying to pick up whatever I can find on Google cache and will be updating daily with whatever I can salvage. For now, I just wanted to let ya'll know that I'm still going strong (after and emotional pig out I had yesterday & today) and am going to continue STRONG until I reach my goal and transition on to maintenance for life thereafter...

Please check back often as I hope to have this blog up and running full time in about 1 week or so with the following pages (categories) that I had on my wordpress.com blog:

About
Contact Me
Disclaimer
Goals
Training Routines
Civilian Fitness
What I Eat
Pictures
Resources
Archives
Bodybuilding
Books
Downloads
Exercise & Weight Training
Fitness & Nutrition Articles
Motivation
Nutrition and Free Recipes
Online Programs
Support Groups
Tracking Tools & Calculators

And, will also be working a personal website as well (more info to come very SOON!!!!!)

To your health!

~ Vilma

** UPDATE**

I guess persistence does payoff. After a CRAZY weekend... I was contacted by wordpress support & my wordpress.com blog is back up and running. They didn't provide any specifics on why my blog was suspended, but i'm going to go back and remove all obvious affiliate links & pictures for now.

Now... another dilema... which blog should I keep up???? I've contacted most people that linked to my site and have told them of my new blogger site.I really like the blogger one because there is html & I can put my affiliate links & pictures on it without worrying about it being shut down.

Maybe keep both????

Ideas?

Well, for now I am keeping both. My wordpress.com BLOG is more updated with lost of subjects, resources & daily/weekly journal updates. Please check there if you cannot find what you are looking for on this blog.

Thanks for visiting & for your support!

VP Health & Fitness

Friday, September 7, 2007

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