The Reveal Week - Fitness

Hi everyone, it's personal trainer Andrew signing in.

It's less than a week until the reveal party (April 21st at 6pm at the Carmichael Salon in San Francisco - yes!), and I'm meeting with Pam, Eva and Marilyn for a pre-reveal check-in.  So far, I've met with Pam and Eva, and Marilyn is scheduled for Tuesday.  (I'm looking forward to it, Marilyn!)

Pam and I met this past week.  She has good flexibility and knows that her cardio isn't her strong point, so we focused on giving her a challenge: we went for a hill walk on a beautiful San Francisco day.  It helped that we went with her dog Brody.

During a particular uphill climb, Pam and I were talking about how learning more about fitness and how personal it can be isn't only about cardio, strength training and flexibility, or the core, or weight, or bodyfat.  It's about empowerment.  Particular to Pam's situation, she's had to handle a lot of personal stressors that most people don't have to handle.  And although she hasn't been perfect with her diet or exercise routine because she's spending a lot of time and energy on dealing with those stressors, she's happy that she now has more tools to do what she needs to do when she has the time.  And she's happy with being able to handle her current stressors with grace.  I'm looking forward to the near future when Pam can really apply everything we've worked on together - she's bright and capable, and I think she'll enjoy the results like she did when we first started and she had the time.

Eva and I met this morning, and she has lost over fifteen pounds in the last three months, sometimes with no time to dedicate to exercise because she now has a job.  She walks and moves when she can, because she feels better.  Her success is largely due to her diligence with her portions and her balanced diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables.
Today she came in saying, "I've lost weight, and now I want to start to focus on ab exercises to flatten my midsection."  That's a common thought: more stomach exercises will flatten the stomach.  And yes, they can, but there are a few important thoughts that I've shared with Eva about flattening the core:

Proper calorie intake 80% of flattening your core
Reduce the amount of bloating foods in your diet (alcohol, excess salt, processed foods) to reduce the size of your stomach
You flatten your core by using it moderately, not by doing a lot of core exercises
Your core functions best when you move your upper and lower body movement - so move your whole body for a fitter, more functional core

That means:
When eating at home or dining out, have sauces and dressings on the side.  There's a good chance you're consuming too much salt when eating out and that you're bloated.  
Drink water instead of alcohol. Even though you might be having the right amount of calories to lose weight, you will still have superficial bloat if you're drinking more than two alcoholic drinks a night.
Move your whole body in addition to performing a few exercises that focus on your core.
Eat clean, eat fresh.  It feels good!