I thought I would do a something a little different this week. Here are my top ten things which sabotage fat loss. Do these sabotage you?

1. Not drinking enough water – This is a biggie! Your body needs water to work at an optimal level. It also needs water to flush out toxins and aid in digestion. Muscle is made primarily of water. Get the connection?

2. Making weight loss harder than it is – Weight loss is a simple formula but we complicate it. This is partly because the diet industry wants to keep us confused to sell more products! Calories in – more calories burned = weight loss. Don’t over think it!

3. Mindset – You get what you think about!!! If you say I can’t lose weight, guess what happens? Your mind tells your body you can’t lose weight and the weight stays on. Change your mindset to “weight loss is easy for me” and watch what happens.

4. Not eating vegetables – I did a post on this a while back. You can see it Here. If you’re an adult you should be eating vegetables and the ones smothered and covered in butter don’t count.

5. Eating too much – As a rule of thumb, you should leave the table a little hungry. Don’t eat until you’re full. It’s a big myth we’re told to eat until we’re full. It comes back to bite you in the a** later on.

6. Alcohol – If you workout all week, why go to the bar and ruin it on the weekend? Hold a two drink minimum to keep your fat loss efforts intact.

7. Sugar – Heroin, Cocaine, and “Meth” have nothing on Sugar. Most of us are addicted and don’t even realize it.  It’s in everything and will keep you from losing weight. Did you know you can go through sugar withdrawal? Yup…it’s just that addictive. Cut down on sugar and watch fat loss soar!!!

8. Boring workout program -  You might be a dummy if…you’re doing the same workout program from 1992. It’s time to change! You should change your workout every 8 weeks. If you get bored like I do, change it every 6 weeks.

9. Eating out with friends too much -  All of us tend to get a little “loosey goosey” when we’re out with friends…one tortilla chip turns into 2 then a whole basket is consumed before you know it. Once this happens we ditch all efforts and go for broke with a burger, fries, and a Coke. Limit the “socials” to one day a week preferably on your cheat day.

10. Eating “big” immediately after cardio -  You just hopped off the treadmill and decide to eat a big lunch.  Guess what you did? You just replaced the calories you burned and in most cases you added more. Go figure? Wait a least an hour after cardio to give your body a chance to burn fat then eat sensibly. Control your portion sizes and drink plenty of water.

If you have any more things which you’ve found to sabotage your fat loss, shoot me a comment, and I’ll add them and give you credit!!!! See you on the lean side!

Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist

In 2005, The Fantastic Four was released at the box office and I felt like a kid again even though I was thirty something years old. The Fantastic Four just happened to be one of my favorite superhero groups back in the day. I especially liked “Thing” and “Mr. Fantastic”. Thing had the muscle to get things done and Mr. Fantastic was the “brain.” The qualities and powers they had always appealed to me. I never really paid much attention to the other two superheroes but something brought Sue Storm back to my mind. I happened to be going to work and listening to the “Rickey Smiley Morning Show” when a comedian made a joke about black woman not going to the gym because they don’t want to get their hair messed up. It was hilarious, but it made me think on a deeper level.

What do Sue Storm and Black Women have in common?

If you recall, Sue Storm had the power to become invisible. So how does that relate to black women? I am not sure whether you’ve noticed, but black women are increasingly absent in gyms or the fitness profession as a whole. I would go so far as to say they have made themselves invisible. Well, may be not invisible but for the numbers that make up the population they can be represented by the digits of my hands and feet so that isn’t a great number. Why is this happening? I am not sure what is contributing to this but I have some ideas.

Economics 101

In college, I took an economics course not because I wanted to, but because it was required for my business degree. I learned a few things but the majority of the stuff was boring and I always thought to myself, “When am I ever gonna use this stuff?” Well, my economics professor would be happy to know I learned a little something and I am going to use it right now. Here’s my question. Do black women have less discretionary income than other ethnic groups? On a large scale, I realize there are much more single black women with kids so these women might not be able to afford the gym, right?  They may not even have the time. The majority of “sistas” just don’t live on Wisteria Lane like Eva Longoria’s character on Desperate Housewives with a rich spouse. Is that the cause? Hmm… maybe, maybe its something else?

I Look Good

Do black women care more about looking good vs. feeling good? Every now and then I venture in to get a pedicure. Yes, ladies, I am a man who gets a pedicure! I am secure with my masculinity. (smile) I notice tons of “sistas” getting pedicures, manicures and even eyebrows waxed. I also hit the barber shop and see ya’ll getting your hair done, but what I don’t see is you in the gym or attending local bootcamps to trim and tone your figure. So, the question is, do black women only care about looking good and not feeling good by keeping their weight down and being healthy? I might be a bit critical but these are questions I hope to get answered or is it like the comedian said,” Ya’ll just don’t want to get your hair messed up?”

Know the Ledge

Do you remember the old Rakim song when at the end he says,”know the ledge?” He is really saying knowledge. I am wondering if the invisibility of African American women in health clubs has to do with this. Do they know what to eat, how to use the weight machines, and what they should do to trim and tone their figures? There is so much which goes into health and fitness it can be overwhelming not to mention deceiving. All the diet companies prey on women and the misconceptions out there to sell their products. I am wondering if ya’’ll fell prey to all the scams out there. Its “gotta” be something! Help me out.

The forgiving Brotha

Are brothas more forgiving when it comes to weight? I really don’t like my women the way Hollywood portrays them. You know the ones I am talking about, right? The ones where they look like they are one missed meal away from death’s door. I will take a woman with meat on her bones any day over Hollywood’s vision of beauty. I suspect there are more men out there like me but when does that cross the line? I have some friends who say a woman is “thick.” When is it thick and when is it fat? It seems like there is a fine line between the two. Are there some men out there who lead these women into believing they are thick when, they might be overweight? I realize we all have our own personal tastes but when it is an issue of health over sexual image? In addition, if the same brothas who strengthen the thick image would get into the gym and support these women by working out with them, they would accomplish their fitness goals.

Be visible

How do black women become visible? You tell me. When does health take priority over nails, hair, and clothes? Sacrifices have to be made such as saving the money for a gym membership or bootcamp. You can take your kids to the gym with you as some gyms are now offering kids care for its members. You have to want to change before it will happen.

My concern

I am very concerned about African American women and african americans as a whole. We are succumbing to diabetes, hypertension, and other diseases as a result of poor nutrition and misinformation. Your comments are welcomed on this one.

Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist

I am not trying to diagnose or treat any illness this is for information purposes only.

Oh sh***! It must be something serious today, huh? Sit back, relax, and enjoy the post.

When I was in college, my friends and I would attend the local college night at a bar and stay out until 3 or 4 in the morning. I would go home and get a couple hours of sleep and then get up at 7:30 am to attend a 8:00 class. I can remember taking a quick shower and throwing on some old sweats and a baseball cap. I would then run to the “cafeteria” and “inhale” my breakfast in 5 minutes and jet off to class. I can’t believe I stayed awake in class after getting so little sleep. That was then, this is now. As I get older, I’m finding my body needs sleep and it will do anything to get it!

Slim steps on the scene

Do you remember when energy drinks came on the scene? I do because I ended up working for a distributor of one of the well known energy drinks. It came in a small slim can and I thought it was the coolest thing ever! I remember my boss telling me these things would eventually outsell soft drinks and he was right! I see these things everywhere now and the cans have gotten bigger. I guess people need more of a “dose” to boost their energy. It’s crazy what you can do with a marketing plan and a “marketable” can. Does that rhyme? In all seriousness, these drinks have given us a promise of energy and we have fallen for it hook, line, and sinker!

Ban on energy drinks

I recently saw an article where a high school football coach told his kids to quit using energy drinks. His players were complaining of “cotton mouth” and fatigue after drinking them. I have experienced this first hand when I was working for the energy drink company. I have also experienced the constant fatigue as my body became dependent on the energy from a can. I had a limitless supply of these drinks as I carried them with me in my delivery van and I would chug one after the other in an attempt to get over feeling tired. I was creating my own addiction as I felt tired all the time. I thought I wasn’t getting enough sleep. After a while, I made sure I got enough sleep but the “tiredness” wouldn’t go away. In attempt to find an answer, I ventured into a health store and told the store owner I was feeling tired all the time and he recommended some vitamins. Guess what? Those didn’t work! It wasn’t until about 3 years ago I found out what was really wrong and how to repair it. In an attempt to salvage my energy before I made my discovery, I gave up energy drinks.

Adrenals are located just above the kidneys

Endocrine system

I had a science professor in college who was booooorrrriiinnnnnggggg. He was so monotone and soon as he started talking the whole class would drift off to sleep. In tribute of him, I’ll try to make this a little more interesting. What is the endocrine system and what does it do? The endocrine system is system of glands which secrete hormones in the blood stream to regulate your body. They include the following glands: pineal, pituitary, adrenal, thyroid, ovary, testis. I won’t discuss all of them because our main concern here is the adrenal. The adrenal gland is responsible for releasing hormones which directly correlate to your energy levels. If you are tired all the time, you might be suffering from adrenal fatigue. This was the case with me. How did I get there?

Burnt Adrenals

Your adrenal glands react to every kind of stress be it emotional, physical, or psychological. Its very easy to get to a point where they become “tapped out.” You then become increasingly tired or like I was tired all the time. In order  to combat my fatigue, I reached for an energy drink. Some of you might reach for the same or even coffee or a combination of both. This only makes it worse as caffeine will continue to “stress” your adrenals and burn them out. You are only compounding the problem and will continue to feel more tired. You’ll probably keep reaching for the energy drink or the coffee and the cycle will continue.

The cure

As they say in church,”can I get a witness.” I can tell you, you can get your energy back. I got mine back through  a biomeridian assessment. This is another post in itself which I’ll do later. I was placed on a natural substance which helped replenish my adrenals and therefore my energy. I never felt better. I wanted to continue this feeling so I have switched to “decaf” coffee and long gone are those sleek slim cans from my refrigerator. If you are feeling tired all the time you might be suffering from adrenal fatigue… look into it. See you on the lean side… Darren

Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist

Why do you have to force kids to eat vegetables? I’ll be the first to admit there are some strange kids out there who just love vegetables. I was one of them! I don’t think my mother ever put anything in front of me I didn’t like except liver. I don’t think there were many kids out there like me. I know this from experience. I had friends who absolutely hated vegetables and would do anything to avoid them. I have personally witnessed countless “fits” when one of my vegetable hating friends was forced to eat these morsels. Why do vegetables have a such a bad reputation?

Kid Before… Adult Now

“I don’t like vegetables!” I hear this every now and then from adults, yes adults. These people are no longer kids. I can only look at them with a squinted eye and say,“huh?” These are the very same people who have the nerve to tell me they want to lose weight and have been struggling to do it. I’m not sure if they know every one of those “commercial” diets contain some sort of “veggie” to be included with a meal. How could they not make the correlation of vegetables and weight loss? Its crazy how we can “miss the forest for the trees,” isn’t it? In my own experience, I have grown out of disliking certain foods as I became an adult. I don’t know if it was just me or I was under the “influence” of others. What do I mean by this? As a kid, I would pretend I didn’t like certain kinds of foods because my friends didn’t like them and I wanted to be a part of the “in crowd.” I  guess I told myself this so many times, I started believing it until I matured.

The Big Fail

If you are not eating vegetables, you’re pretty much screwing yourself. I can give you the same ol’ regurgitated mumbo jumbo about the nutrients veggies provide, but chances are you heard it all before, right? I don’t think this has convinced you in the past so it won’t do anything now. I can tell what will convince you…hunger! Everyone pays attention to their grumbling stomach when they are hungry. I can’t tell you how many people I hear complain about hunger when they start their fitness training programs or diet. Vegetables are fiber dense and leave you feeling full longer. You need to feel full or eventually you’ll cheat and fail on your program. You can eat an unlimited amount of these tidbits and they have no overall effect on your calories. It takes as many calories to burn vegetables as in the vegetable themselves so they are the perfect fat burning food!

I’m Tired!

Do you know someone who is tired all the time? Some of us may have a medical reason for being tired, but it might just be a nutritional deficiency. Veggies provide complex carbohydrates which are slow to burn in the body and provide energy all day long. They don’t spike the blood sugar and you want this benefit if you’re going to lose weight. So, if you’re tired of being tired, try some vegetables. There are many other benefits to eating vegetables and this could be a very long post so I want to cut it short but I’ll leave you with one recommendation. If you’re having a problem eating your veggies, try a sweet potato. Everyone loves something sweet! You can work your way into the hard stuff later. 

Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist

Do you remember your parents “shipping you” over to your grandparents house as a kid? It was usually because they were tired of you and needed a break or they had some adult activity which didn’t include you. I can recall going to my grandmother’s house just like it was yesterday. I loved spending time with her because I could get away with the stuff my mother would never let me do. I can remember saying to myself,”yeah boi” when my mom told me I was going to grandma’s house. She would cook what I wanted and allowed me to have anything I asked for, what more could a kid want? In addition to all the amenities I enjoyed at Granny’s, she also gave me vitamins! She got me hooked on those Flintstone Chewable vitamins! Do You know the ones which were in the shape of Fred and Barney? I honestly thought those things were candy and I would beg for more than one! Granny was the first person to give me something that was good for me and tasted good. It was nothing like the liver she made me eat.

Your vitamin and you

Do you take a vitamin? It would be safe to say I don’t see many adults “popping” vitamins anymore. Why? As we get older vitamins get lost in the shuffle, and we don’t think we need them anymore. There is a misconception of a “growing” body only needing vitamins and not a mature one. This is a bad mistake. Many people walk around nutritionally deficient every day as a result of their eating habits. Their are some who eat very well but through the “business” of food it becomes deficient of necessary vitamins. If you want to know what I mean, take a look at my post on FOOD INC. So what is all the fuss about if you are lacking the vitamins you need? It’s a thing called disease! When your body is not getting the nutrients it needs, you open yourself up to all kinds of illness.

Vitamin Scam

I talked about those “good ol” Flintstone vitamins, remember? I loved those things because they tasted like candy. At the time, I had no idea if the vitamin was working for me or not, because I was a kid. I can now tell you the vitamin wasn’t working for me. I can also say many of the vitamins I took as an adult weren’t working for me, until I discovered one thing. Your body cannot use a synthetic vitamin which is made in a lab. Most of the vitamins out there are synthetic and only end up in your urine and feces never to be used by your body. Your body must extract its nutrients from whole food! Isn’t the body a wonderful thing? At this point, you might want to consider getting rid of those vitamins you bought from your local retail store. You know the ones I am talking about!!!!

Correcto Ta Mundo

So what kind of vitamin should you use? A whole food supplement. The key word here is “food”. Your body can assimilate the nutrients in real food but not synthetic ones. A whole food supplement extracts the vitamins from real food  and puts it into pill form, so the body can readily use it. If you are using anything else, its a waste of money. On a different note, there are some great companies who make what I call “solo” vitamins such as vitamin a, b, c, etc. You just have to look for them and chances are they won’t be found at your local “Wally Mart”. Got an opinion, feedback? Leave me a comment by clicking above.

Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist

If you had a choice between a million dollars and being healthy which would you chose?

Last week, I received a call from a friend and got some bad news. He called me to tell me another friend of ours was getting a piece of his foot amputated from complications due to diabetes.  At first, I was in shock, but I am slowly realizing I am approaching the age where health complications can arise. Its easy to get fooled by the invincibility of youth but turning the big “four o” can firmly plant your feet back on the ground. I personally think 40 is the “make it or break it” age and you can either add years to your life or drastically reduce it.

A Family Affair

Family can play a large part in your health. For instance, my friend who recently got part of his foot amputated parents had diabetes. His father died from gangrene which is the one of the complications of the disease. If you knew both your parents suffered from a life threatening condition, what’s your excuse for not taking better care of yourself? Family medical history is one of the greatest predictors of health issues which could arise as someone gets older. I have seen many people ignore their family medical history only to have it kick them in their pants.

Change what you do

If you know your family medical history, you can immediately change some of the things  you do. For instance, my family has a history of hypertension, so I stay away from foods high in salt content and I reduce my stress by exercising.Yup… exercising does reduce stress. I also know my mother had a heart problem and I have a heart murmur, so I make sure I do my “cardio”. It helps to keep my heart in shape. Did you know the heart is a muscle?

For the Health of it

Is exercising just for the “look” of it? You’re probably wondering what I mean by that, right? There are some real health benefits to exercise and not just to have a firm “booty” or a six pack. For example, I had the pleasure of hearing some good news from a client of mine the other day. She recently had a doctor’s visit and found out her cholesterol count was lowered and she avoided having to take medication for her heart. I was thrilled about it and so was she!!!

Problems Problems

Health problems can be avoided. If you know your family history, take advantage of it. You can use it to change your eating habits and start exercising. No one has to suffer from disease unless you’re just a “glutton” for punishment. If you know your risks firsthand, you can significantly reduce your odds for potential problems. Have you avoided any health problems yourself as a result of family history? Are you changing your exercise and eating habits because of this? Any comments?

I thought I might have a little fun today. I scanned the internet for the worst foods I could find and came up with three. Have you heard of any of these?

Luther Burger– Named after the famous R&B singer Luther Vandross. Here’s what’s on it:  beef, cheese, bacon, krispy kreme doughnuts for buns. I first heard about this one on  a show called the Boondocks. I couldn’t believe it was real

Hamdog – Hotdog wrapped in a beef patty and deep fried with chili and a fried egg on top. This is a heart attack waiting to happen!

Frito Pie – consisting of Fritos ( yeah the chips), beef, beans, onion, cheese, lettuce, and tomato. My stomach gets queasy just thinking about this one.

If you are trying to lose weight please avoid these dishes at all costs!!!! ( smile)

Luther Burger

Hamdog

FritoPie

Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about eating! You might be thinking it has something to do with being hungry and stuffing my face but it really doesn’t, let me clear the air. If we are conditioned with eating habits from any early age, is it really our fault we overeat? I’ll dig a little deeper into this in my post, but keep this question in your mind’s eye.

My sister and friend taught me eating (but I didn’t get it)

When I was younger, we had a terrible time getting my sister to eat. My mother and I tried everything to get her to eat and she would sit right there in front of the plate and stare at us like “ya’ll expect me to eat all this food?” This went on for a long time when she was about 3 or 4 years old. When we finally gave up on getting her to eat, she started eating. A strange thing happened once she started, my mom would force her to finish the whole plate. I wonder if my little sister somehow instinctively knew to stop eating. Was my mother pushing her beyond her eating threshold to force her to finish that plate? I have heard many parents in restaurants shout at their kids something like this,“finish your food”! I look over at the kid’s food and there is a mammoth sized portion an elephant would have a problem eating! I have observed kids and it seems kids have it right because they know when to eat and when to stop eating. Most adults don’t, but maybe a few do.

I have a friend who I have known for years and to this day, I have never seen this guy finish a plate of food. I use to think this was odd, but I am beginning to think Chris is a pure unadulterated genius! In a world, where adults “scarf” down food at alarming rates my buddy always “chicken pecks” through his food and never finishes it and guess what? He has never had a problem with his weight and the guy is damn fit at 40. I know he never gave any thought to it but he has pretty much cracked the code to maintaining a healthy weight. Could it be all so simple?

Does it have to be a struggle?

Are you struggling with your weight right now? Is it because you were forced to clean your plate and then “conditioned” to eat large portions? Here’s another question for you. Do you eat to satisfy your hunger or do you eat to get full? The majority of us eat to get full and it shows in our waistlines. I’ll tell you why I think this is true. I read a book called “Food Rules” and it stated the best part of your food is the first bite! I tested this theory myself and sure enough it held true. I didn’t really taste my food after the first bite so it made it that much easier to stop the “stuffing” after eating a very small amount . So why can’t everyone do what I did? In actuality, everyone can do what I did, but it begins in the mind. In most cases, it is your mind controlling the body. If we all listened to our bodies, it wouldn’t be such a struggle.

Undoing what’s done

How do you undo what’s done? When I speak to people, I suggest some ways to control eating but the suggestions always fall on deaf ears. People are creatures of habit, but aren’t your present habits the reason for your demise? I know breaking bad habits are easier said then done, but most people never commit out of fear of missing out on something. You’re not missing out on anything and you’ll take your health back in the process! If you really want to change your eating habits just do what kids do: stop eating when you feel the hunger subside then go out and play! It is just that simple!

Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist

I was going to write a post today explaining why grains are forbidden on the Paleo diet. I ended up finding a video which explains it way better that I might have…Enjoy!

Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist

As promised, here is part two of the “Go Paleo” post. I am going to discuss why certain things are forbidden on the diet but before I do that, I wanted to say something. I am in no way trying to say what you are presently doing is bad with your diet, but I do want you to know options exist. There was a time when I thought the bad feeling I got after eating some foods was just something I had to deal with because my body needed it. I am finding this is no longer true as I have done my own research. I found the rules for eating were being “pushed” by people and corporations who would benefit from a monetary standpoint and cared nothing about my health. Do your own research and be your own judge and stop letting outside influences dictate your health and well being. Now … for the post

Forbidden fruit… I mean dairy

So why is dairy forbidden in the Paleo diet? There are many reason why but the most obvious is dairy producing animals weren’t domesticated centuries ago so people didn’t drink or eat dairy. I’ll give you several other reasons why dairy is not allowed on Paleo and why it might be best to avoid it but before I do, take a look at the picture on this post. It is the picture of an African woman from the Maasai tribe. Did you know they drink cow’s blood? Ok…now for the reasons to avoid dairy:

1. Human Beings are the only species who continue to consume milk after infancy and it isn’t even our milk! It comes from another animal.

2. The natural occurring hormones in cow’s milk are already stronger than humans yet cows are given steroids and other hormones to make them bigger and produce more milk. If you ever wondered why 9 year old boys are walking around with full beards and 9 year old girls are having menstrual cycles this might be why.

3. When dairy is consumed it becomes acidic. Scientists have confirmed an acidic body is a haven for diseases and one of the well known ones is cancer. Your body should remain alkaline to combat such diseases.

4. Cows are often fed inappropriate food. Cows eat grass but because everyone wants things faster nowadays they are fed soy, corn, and antibiotics. These things can make the cow sick and a sick cow means sick milk.

5. Did you know the countries with the highest incidences of osteoporosis consume the most dairy? Oh, but wait a minute don’t they want you to believe you get calcium from milk? You can get the same calcium from leafy green vegetables minus the hormones.

6. When dairy is pasteurized, it kills the vitamins and protein in the milk, not to mention the enzymes needed for digestion. This is why lactose intolerance occurs and why experts recommend consuming raw milk but the government has outlawed it. Are you getting the connection?

7. Dairy products form mucous in the body. It has been linked to respiratory ailments

8. Dairy has been linked to arthritis. In a study, a scientist was able to produce arthritis in animals by switching their water to milk.

I want to thank Michelle Cook for an article she wrote called “11 reasons to stop eating dairy” which I used as a resource for this post. You can see the article HERE.

Darren McDuffie
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
Certified Nutrition and Weight Management Specialist
Certified Exercise Foundations Specialist
Certified Fitness Testing Specialist