Anthony Robbins

"Everyone LOVED your sessions. Thank you (Uche & Kary) for your involvement. Only one complaint...people wished they had more time to spend with the two of you."

~J. Golfman, organizer, The Many Facets of our Lives', An Event for Women

We will post a few of the questions (and our answers) that we receive from people online. From time to time we will select several that we feel will help shed some light on the puzzling world of fitness. 

In view of the complex, individual, and specific nature of health and fitness problems, this website is not intended to be a substitute for a professional medical advice. This FAQ section is for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of a physician before beginning any diet or exercise program. 

QUESTION: 

I'm a fairly active woman. I've done cardio and a bit of weight training, once or twice a week, for about 10 years. I'm fairly happy with my body image, but I have a real problem with cellulite. I've heard some say that you can't do anything about it, but I've recently read some information on mesotherapy (injections into the problem area). Do you have any thoughts on this type of treatment or on treating cellulite in general?

ANSWER:

We went to Dr. Andrew Weil’s website for some help with this question as we are not medical doctors and are not familiar with mesotherapy. He explained that this procedure is cosmetic and can cost up to $500 per treatment, with many treatments required. He is not aware of any scientific proof that it works as advertised and he is concerned that there is no standardization of what substances are injected. He cautions that you should find out exactly what medications are going to be injected and what side effects they may cause. He goes so far as to compare mesotherapy and liposuction: liposuction has been scientifically studied and its benefits and risks are well documented. Liposuction can only be performed by licensed physicians, unlike mesotherapy.

It is amazing how many people turn to the surgical route. We are in a quick fix economy and we completely understand how people feel a need to have instant results. Remember though, many of those quick results can be reversed if one still hasn’t learnt to change old eating habits and remains inactive. And the slow slide to putting back on the pounds begins the next day with the first meal where too much of the wrong foods are eaten.

Our experience is that the best way to combat cellulite is with muscle building activities/ aerobics/flexibility training, drinking sufficient water and consistent healthy eating.  Weight training could possibly be increased to 2 – 3 times per week (make sure the intensity is challenging, but safe for you) and start a nutrition and exercise journal in order to facilitate your goals. Kary has seen many women lose the appearance of cellulite by decreasing their body fat % as they increase their muscle. Of course, this takes will power and commitment and is easier to achieve with a clear-cut specific goal… Maybe you could train for a 5 or 10 km walk / run event.

The key is that most of these very athletic women achieved super lean muscular physiques, but only maintained it for short periods for special fitness competitions and/ or their photo shoots.

Psychologically – you must focus on what you like about your body and wear clothes that accentuate these areas. The same person you are admiring is probably admiring you for a related reason.

Most of us have distorted views of how we look. Mark Victor Hansen, reported at one of his conferences that he overheard Demi More saying that she felt she was a 7 out of 10. And this is after her allegedly spending $100,000 on surgery.

QUESTION:

I thoroughly enjoyed your recent seminar. I went home and started drinking a lot more water. My question to you is about belly fat. I have read that no matter what, at a certain age, women are stuck with belly fat.  I am an active perimenopausal woman who has developed this belly fat.  Will my efforts to get rid of it be for nothing? Also I would like to know of foods, supplements that can lessen hot flashes and all that goes with this age. 

ANSWER:

We would be very interested in your activity / exercise level and your daily nutrition and water intake! It is our experience that any woman who is in good health can have a flat stomach with consistently eating with sound nutrition and an active lifestyle. We have seen women from 35 – 75 years of age competing in women’s physique and bodybuilding contests with amazingly low levels of body fat.

Body fat does not magically appear – and it will not magically disappear. Start an exercise and nutrition journal for the next two weeks. Analyze your journal and aim to include:

• at least 2 sessions of challenging resistance activities per week (yoga, pilates, stability ball training, resistance bands or weights, etc.)

• at least 20 minutes of energizing cardiovascular activity per day or at least 4 – 30 minute sessions per week that are higher intensity than walking.

• at least 6- 8 cups of water per day

• more veggies, fruit essential fats and protein

• less white sugar, starch, processed foods and high gylcemic carbs

Also:

1. Stress hormones like cortisol promote the depositing of belly fat. If one has real or perceived stress throughout the day or on a regular basis, getting rid of it with traditional diet and exercise may not be enough. Yoga, deep breathing, walks in nature and meditation can all help with stress.

2. Have a registered dietician or holistic nutritionist calculate your total calories from your journal and make recommendations for an appropriate daily amount.

3. Make sure you start the day with a healthy breakfast and stop eating about 2 hours before bedtime.

4. There are a number of psychologists discussing the way we think about our bodies and the way we hold on to strong beliefs that no longer serve us. If you watch the movie, The Secret (we have watched it several times) it goes into this area deeply and gives a great overview that can help the viewer with any number of challenges. Visit www.thesecret.tv for more information. Some of the philosophers featured in the movie were on Oprah recently and made quite an impact on the audience.

• As for your “hot flash” question – the natural remedies that you may want to research are: The herb Black Cohosh (Cimicifuga Racemosa)

• Soy Foods – Japanese women don’t suffer from hot flashes the way western women do, but this may be from other diet and lifestyle elements – the research is not conclusive at this time

Consider a consultation with a Naturopathic Doctor who will have many recommendations to help! The best place to go before starting any new supplement or eating program is to start with your health care provider.

QUESTION: 

I attended your seminar last week and found it very informative and interesting.  I am a very healthy eater, but do not like any kind of seafood.  Do the omega-3's added to eggs and margarine have the same effect as the naturally occurring omega's in fish?  What do the omega-3's actually do?

QUESTION: 

I really enjoyed your recent presentation. I have a question regarding fish oils. Is this just a new fad or is there solid research to take these as a regular supplements? Can they be found in other things than fish?

ANSWER:

Because most people do not eat enough fish, nuts, green leafy vegetables or wild game, most Canadians are lacking in omega 3's and monosaturated fats. Omega 3’s cannot be produced by the body independently – that is why they are called essential. Essential fats nourish the brain and nervous system. According to Essential fat guru, Dr. Udo Erasmus, the essential fats have numerous benefits:

• Helps fight coronary heart disease

• Anti-inflammatory effects

• Lowers LDL

• Used in treatment with autism and ADD

• Mood enhancer

• Brain and neuronal growth and repair

• They are an important part of the cell membrane: humans have more than 10,000 trillion cells!

• Omega 3's are important for skin, hair health also.

• improve energy

• increase calmness

• alleviate stress

• enhance concentration

• impove mental processing

• accelerate learning.
  

Outside of fish, Omega 3’s can also be found in flax and algae oil.

We supplement with Udo's Oil (go see Dr Udos Erasmus website by searching for Fats That Heal online and you will see the plethora of info on the entire subject). We also use certified organic Flax Seed (in the granular form to spread on salads or cereals or in yogurt). We also take Omega Joy and Omega Glow (contain essential fats for optimal skin health, energy, etc) from Genuine Health along with their amazing Greens+ drinks. Visit www.genuinehealth.com for more information.

With your individual needs and or health issues, etc., it is always best to consult an MD or naturopathic doctor before starting any new supplement program or a change in diet.

If you go to www.mercola.com and/or do a search on Dr Weil's website you will see loads of supporting evidence for the addition of omega 3 rich foods to modern man's diet.

We love eating salmon (sockeye or wild or Pacific is best); a variety of almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews. We keep at least two pounds of nuts within reach in our kitchen 24/7. But remember we are at the Stephen Covey stage 4: unconscious competence in the area. For the average person. one would need to look into the amounts, etc for their body type, activity level, and goals, etc.

Eating eggs where the chickens were fed flax seed is better we feel than just eating regular eggs. For that matter margarine also - but Kary and I don’t rely on fortified foods as we have read numerous reports that cheap synthetic forms of nutrients are added after the processing has beaten nature's natural nutrients out of the food.

Hope this helps. We love learning and take ongoing LIVE courses, seminars and workshop on nutrition and long distance learning courses regularly. We are a work in progress. To really enjoy your health and fitness journey, you need to be a lifelong student yourself. There is nothing more empowering than to feel you are learning about one of the most amazing gifts we have been given – the human body.

QUESTION: 

What can a busy professional do for a snack at work in the middle of a busy morning schedule?

ANSWER: 

I bring any number of things with me to work at the office:

• Apples

• Bananas

• Oranges

• grapefruits

• grapes

• mixed unsalted, raw nuts (almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds)

• Certified organic yogurt that is full of healthy bacteria called acidophilus and bifidus (the most of the other kinds of yogurt do not do to much for the body as most of them are loaded with sugar or  sweetened with -cheap fruit or aspartame. Their enzymes aren't as active as with certified organic yogurts)

• Sprouted wheat pitas with tuna or salmon placed inside with a chopped up tomato, lettuce

• if one wants to get adventurous, place boiling water over some instant organic oatmeal in a bowl and place a tbsp of peanut butter in it and / or frozen organic or regular blue berries (these can be brought to work frozen.

• We use Stevia for sweeteners vs. sugar or Splenda or aspartame

• Green tea throughout the day is a great drink. There are over 750 scientific references to green tea being anti-aging and excellent for your immune system
  

THE KEY IN MAINTAINING A SOUND NUTRITIONAL MEAL PLAN IS EATING THINGS YOU ENJOY. FORCE FEEDING FOODS THAT YOU DO NOT LIKE WILL LEAD TO FALLING OFF THE WAGON SOON AFTER YOU CLIMBED ON. THERE ARE 100’S OF VEGETABLES AND FRUITS THAT YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM. VARIETY IS THE KEY. AT THE VERY BEST TRY TO NOT FALL INTO THE CATEGORY OF PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO EAT THE SAME 12 FOODS EACH WEEK. (90% OF PEOPLE SURVEYED IN ONE RESEARCH STUDY, ADMITTED TO EATING THE SAME 12 FOOD ITEMS 80% OF THE TIME).

Hope this helps, there are so many choices once someone has made their mind up to eat healthy (80/20 remember?). Investing in a portable cooler will help you transport your food to work and keep it fresh.

QUESTION:

I have a few questions that I will like to ask to see if I am on the right "track" like they say.  I am training since 2000.  I did lose a weight at that time of 75 lbs.  I am maintaining my weight, but I can say it moves around 10 lbs.  I do 3 time a week of weight training - 30 mins.  And cardio I do 30 mins. in morning and 30 mins. at night.  It seems that my body doesn't response to any change that I do.  I will like to loose those 10 lbs. My guideline for food it's really good.  I am eating 1600 calories per day.  Every thing is counted as much as I can…

ANSWER:

Hello there, thank you for your email. We love sharing our passion and enthusiasm for active living. We are thrilled it showed in our recent presentation.

Weight training three times a week and cardio twice per day is commendable. You said you consume 1600 cal per day but were not losing any weight.

1600 calories may or may not be the right amount of calories depending on your height, weight, activity level, job demands, and sex, etc.

If your job is very sedentary and you are 5'8" and 140, 1600 is probably too little. If you are 5'2" and lead an active life with four kids, and volunteer work it might be too little also. If you are 5'3" female sitting at a desk all day, single, living at home without the need to do any chores around the house and no volunteer work and you go to bed at 8pm each night, 1600 might be exactly what you need.

We are not sure if you are male or female from your question.  With a low calorie intake of 1600 cal / day we are assuming you are a woman. We are wondering how you determined that this is an appropriate amount for you. You may not be eating enough nutrients with such a low intake and such a high level of activity. This can cause the body to slow down metabolically as it tries to maintain an appropriate amount of nutrients. Many women are surprised when they begin to lose the last 10 pounds with an increase in calories! An absolute paradox!!

We would highly recommend that you begin an exercise and nutrition journal that can be analyzed by a professional (registered dietician, or holistic nutritionist). They can make sure that you are eating the right amounts of nutrients for your lifestyle.

Most people underestimate how much food they eat in a week and they overestimate how much exercise they do.

Key for health is the quality of those calories:

• A salad is important to include each day

• 5-10 servings of fruit and veggies must be included (see
  Canada's Food Guide). We gave you a portion size page in your handout - for exact portion sizes

• Eat smaller meals to spread it out. Having a 300 cal breakfast and then not eating until late is never a good idea. Eating 1300 at night between
  7-10pm is worse than spreading it out over 4 meals

• drink 6-8 cups of water  (again depending on your size and activity levels)

• drinking green tea (has a fat burning component to it; along with a load of other health benefits)

• lean sources of meat are important

• having any food intolerances and allergies that you might be still eating because you just don’t know you are intolerant of them. Fat stores toxins; If you are eating loads of processed foods and intolerant of any ingredients in the  junk food, fat will still linger as it is needed to keep the toxins away from your circulation (a blanket statement but simplified for this email). Certified Holistic Health Practioner Paul Chek in San Diego makes this point in his lecture series to 1,000’s of certified trainers at all the national personal training conventions world-wide.

• toxic thoughts can also keep fat around your mid-section. Research has shown that worry, negative thoughts, stress all can cause cortisol to spike throughout the day – and each time blood sugar rises and fat storage is encouraged. Read Louis Hay’s ground-breaking book, “You Can Heal Your Life.”

Hope this helps. The voyage to health and wellness can be a fun one, if you maintain a light heart and learn with an open mind.