Sheri’s Rants #18 – Guest Ranter Graham goes off…

Repair Vs. Maintenance

Graham, ASE certified technician and lifelong Gear Head

Mechanics don’t think about maintenance because their entire job is based on replacing parts.  Day after day all they see is broken car after broken car and that’s where their brain is at.  Fix the broken car.  They don’t have time to think about what parts are working now, because they don’t see that.  Their job is to focus on what is broken.  So they don’t replace fluids and do those maintenance things, because it’s not what they are trained to observe.  When those parts fail, it’s job security and not intentionally – it’s just their training.

Whereas a lube tech goes in and tests fluids and components – they are trained to search for imminent failure.  So a mechanic standing next to a lube tech both have very different ideas of where money needs to be spent.  A mechanic can tell you ‘everything is fine’ and a lube tech will tell you about all the services and schedules to PREVENT the necessity of a mechanic.

What we see in the general public of car owners is a split line or confusion between maintenance and repair.  Some folks think that continued operation indicates proper functioning. In other words, as long as the car is running, all it needs is gas.  Then your brake fluid, power steering fluid and other necessary points of maintenance are overlooked.  So what you see in the long term is people spending four to five hundred dollars on the mechanic, never realizing that a fifty dollar flush spaced every 30,000 miles would prevent that.

Then there are the folks who drive what appear to be beat down, decrepit vehicles driving two to three hundred THOUSAND miles on nothing but basic maintenance and the inevitable replacement of non-serviceable parts.  The mechanic does not become familiar with these folks – it’s an alternator or a fan belt that can be handled by lube techs.  Timing belts, water pumps go to the mechanics but are also necessary maintenance that prevent catastrophic failure, out of fairness to the mechanics.

Lately with this economic fear going on, we see those familiar with the mechanics unable to buy a brand new vehicle like they are  used to doing when their car ‘fails’.  Those who normally would replace a vehicle now find themselves with considerable repair bills due to lack of maintenance.  What we try to impress on these people is the importance and the DIFFERENCE of maintenance vs. repair. For mere moments at the end of an oil change we can attend to these issues and prevent the need for you to leave your vehicle for sometimes days at a time at considerable expense.

I’m finding this is the nature of fitness vs. physician.  A fitness coach will help you maintain your body to prevent the necessity of a physician – who is trained to see failure much as the mechanics with your car.  It’s less expensive in the long run to just maintain your body and keep the fluids and fuel topped off with high quality substances that promote health and longevity.

And please, please keep in mind that all vehicles – bicycles, motorcycles, riding lawnmowers, four wheelers, even skateboards

Graham expounds car maintenance

require maintenance.  So if you’ve got it in your head that you’ve never ‘had’ to do flushes or fan belts or air filters it’s not because it’s not required.  It’s because you simply haven’t done them. It is not a statement of quality or longevity, but of oversight.  Read the owners manual.

Yea, your body doesn’t come with one of those – and you’re running off of faith based hopefully on a strong constitution.  Good luck with that!  Consider a schedule of maintenance with a qualified coach.

Graham McGlasson lives in Newcastle, Colorado and is a certified ASE technician and mechanic.  He owns 6 motorized vehicles, including a 1975 (built-to-the-hilt with a 383 stroker) El Camino.  He is Sheri Lynn’s son.

Power of Six Workout 1: BACK AND BUTT

When weight lifting, the first 2-3 sets are really just about blood distribution.  When you’re a beginner (in your first couple years of lifting) then this is good – you’ll build muscle at this level, you’ll regenerate tissue, and you’ll recover fast enough to keep you enjoying what you’re doing.  Increased blood circulation is really at the ‘heart’ of all things healthy when it comes to the body.  In this stage, it’s good to do a lot of different types of exercises because you are, really, waking things up and teaching your body to move as a cohesive unit.  This works great for fat loss as well – you’re giving your body a strong message that you need every single little muscle you’ve dredged up from the depths of wherever you have been with yourself.  You strengthen your core and restore some balance and generally wake things up.

Now, when you’re more experienced and you understand what a premium health item that muscle IS, as well as the value of muscle when it comes to lookin’ GOOD – then you want to move on from there.  There are many ways to do that.  This is one of my favorites, and as far as I know, I made it up.  I could be wrong.  It appeared in my head, and when Samantha and Jamie incredulously asked me what the hell we were doing one morning, I said ‘The Power of Six’, and we sat down and had a chat about what all that’s about.

The Science:  because the first couple-few sets are just about getting blood to the muscle, it’s the sets that come AFTER that that will really challenge your body and promote growth.  How I do this is to pick four excercies – 2 primary sets for the body part I’m working, and I super-set with 2 easier sets for another body part (the ‘rest’ stage of the workout).  It looks like this one:

POWER OF SIX:  BACK AND BUTT (the BACK muscles are the primary work, here)

Set 1: (do six times with short 60 sec rests between supersets if needed)

WIDE GRIPS CHIN-UPS (to failure, every set)

SHORT LUNGES (have medium dumbells in each hand, look at the pics of Samantha doing this move) 15 each leg

Set 2: (do six times with short 60 sec rests between supersets and yes, you’ll need it now)

KNEELING ONE ARM BENT ROWS 15 reps each set and don’t think you’ll do your usual weights!

ONE LEGGED SQUATS oh mama.  remember, keep it fairly ‘easy’ and you could do one-legged leg presses instead if you want to whine out of this one.  In any case, just do 10 on each leg.

I’ll set you up with some more of these workouts later.  Stay tuned.  Let me know how you like it!  He he he he

DEMOS OF SAMANTHA DOING SHORT LUNGES:

start position. note perfect posture. shift weight to right leg.

left toe is even with right heel for the lunge. note perfect spinal alignment! all weight is on right leg.

coming up, notice weight still on right leg, and perfect alignment.

A Bunch of Names for ‘Sugar’

Here is a list to get you started in identifying sugars:

1. Brown sugar
2. Corn syrup
3. Demerara Sugar
4. Dextrose
5. Free Flowing Brown Sugars
6. Fructose
7. Galactose
8. Glucose
9. High Fructose Corn Syrup
10. Honey
11. Invert Sugar
12. Lactose
13. Malt
14. Maltodextrin
15. Maltose
16. Maple syrup
17. Molasses
18. Muscovado or Barbados Sugar
19. Panocha
20. Powdered or confectioner’s sugar
21. Rice Syrup
22. Sucrose
23. Sugar (granulated)
24. Treacle
25. Turbinado sugar
26. Florida crystals
27. Hydrolysed starch
28. Fruit juice concentrate
29. Polydextrose
30. Evaporated cane juice
31. Beet sugar
32. Grape sugar
33. Mono, di and/or poly-saccarides
34. Caramel
35. Raw sugar

Also, remember that just because a sugar is ‘Organic’ does NOT mean it’s good for you! Organic sugar is going to take your insulin on just as big of a ride as non-organic – and the same with the chemical aftermath.

Sheri’s Rants #17 – from the road

This morning I woke up in a tiny town on the Columbia River in Oregon. I knew it was going to be an amazing day. I just knew it. I french-pressed some coffee, ate a pile of Badmoon Pancakes from the cooler,  sat down and wrote for a while, and got on the road.
For this trip I’m taking the scenic byway rather than the Interstate. Always makes for more interesting travel, don’t you think?
On a lone road, amid widely scattered farmhouses, I passed a elderly man walking with a scruffy backpack, a 2 gallon thermos water jug, and carrying a large white sign that towered over his head. The handwritten sign read “LOVE LIFE” in red letters. I pulled over and ran to catch up with him, curious as all hell;  a warning, admonition, or helpful suggestion?
I asked him about it. He paused, weary looking, and gruffily said “Read it.  Heed it.”
And he turned around and kept walking.

Okay. Got it.

The scenery changed from farms to huge sprawling ranches. Outside a little town named Shaniko, in the middle of ‘nowhere’, stood a large tree literally covered in hundreds of shoes hung by the strings. It was amazing – there has got to be a local story to that…

I needed to work out. I punched a gym in Bend  into my navigation system (how did I ever travel without it?)  Two and a half hours away. I drove.
I started wishing I had a smoothie to power my workout – I usually train much earlier in the day and was feeling like I needed some energy. And some coffee. I kept thinking about that smoothie and wondering where to find one.
The navi system guided me in an odd direction away from the main road. I was doubtful – sometimes the navi does weird stuff and I do have to pay attention to it. The navi  took me right into a construction zone – and just as I was starting to wonder ‘what the heck’, I looked up and there was a health food store and deli right there. I took a quick right straight into the parking lot, walked in, and ordered the smoothie I’d been thinking about. Wow was that good. The women running the store were fun to listen to.
The navi kicked back in and guided me right back to the main road. Sweet! I giggled about how serendipitous my day was going…when the cell rang (I hadn’t had service all morning) and I got word that a business deal I was working on went through. Wee hoo!  Mt Hood came into view looking spectacular.
When I arrived at the Body Shop fitness center in Bend, I was surprised I hadn’t run across some coffee yet – and then I walked in and there it was. Coffee and weights. Perfect! I had a great workout amid the free weights and the aging Nautilus machines.  It was a quiet time of day for a gym – around 1-2 pm – and I enjoyed having all the space.  It felt great to move.
After that awesome workout I stopped at a small Albertson’s and picked up a bag of greens, some blueberries for the morning and a jug of water. Got back to driving.  Ate some chicken and an apple from the cooler.
The ranches turned into evergreens and then mountains.  I was feeling so good and cruising right along to the Outlaw Country station on Sirius XM.  I love the uninterrupted thinking that a long drive alone affords me – it serves my inner muse.
I had some really good ideas. I precariously made notes.
Passing into California, Mt Shasta came into view.  Unbelievable!  I’ve not spent time with Mt Shasta since I was a kid.
Had enough driving for the day and pulled into the little town of Weed for the night, finding a cozy little ‘mom & pop’ hotel.  Ate the bag of greens with a can of tuna and Braggs salad dressing. I have a good computer connection thanks to my portable modem, the sky is amazing, the air is perfect and life is good.

I DO love life. Hope you’re lovin’ yours!

Choose to be Successful NOW! – Samantha Gilman

“Every day, in every moment, you get to exercise choices that will determine whether or not you will become a great person, living a great life.  Greatness is not something predetermined, predestined or carved into your fate by forces beyond your control.  Greatness is always in the moment of the decision.” A quote by Jeff Olson the author of “The Slight Edge”.

All we have is this present moment, we can not live in the past and we can not live in our futures.  Yet many tend to base their current choices on their past or the future…….”nothing has worked for me before why would I try something new?”,  “I can’t start now because it is almost summer and I am to busy, I’ll start in the fall.”, or “I don’t like what the scale said today so I am going to have a glass of wine.”  We can choose to live in this present moment (which is all we really have) and use our our personal POWER to make choices that are either going to serve us towards greatness or veer us off track from our goals that we are trying to accomplish.  Life is full of choices each and every day.  This is a gift because each day you can CHOOSE to bring more greatness into your life.  Or through your daily choices you can choose to bring in more negativity and degeneration.  Wow, did you realize the power that you have access to each and EVERY day?   The only person it is up to is you……plain and simple.  YOU are the one responsible!!

You can use your personal power to embody a lean, healthy, fit, and gorgeous person by making choices that will support you in attaining this goal.  There is also the flip side of that and you can make choices that diminish your own personal power and will sabotage your success in reaching your goals.  We all know what those choices look like…..right?………the excuses, justifications, procrastination, cheating, self-sabotage, in- congruencies, etc.  These choices actually take us in the opposite direction from our goals and lead us towards degeneration and perceived failure.  This goes for any area of our lives, not just with our health.

So be real and truthful with yourself and ask what are your really choosing in your daily present moments?  Do your choices serve you and promote your greatness?  or do they do the opposite?  This can be easier said than done to manage because of all of the noise and stories we carry around in our heads.  It takes discipline and diligence in developing awareness to tell the noise “thank you very much” and see it for what it is…….just noise!!  This level of awareness allows you to utilize your present moment to make choices to create greatness that are not based on the noise and stories in your head.   The power resides within you and what YOU choose every day…….those seemingly small daily choices make HUGE differences.  So I invite you to ask yourself the next time one of those self-sabotaging noisy thoughts enter your head, “Which choice would truly serve me in accomplishing my goal?”  Stop listening to the noise of excuses, stories, and old tapes running between your ears once and for all!  Make NOW THE GOOD TIME to take the steps necessary to achieve your health, success,  happiness, and greatness!!  After all the now is all that you have!!

Eat This! Fun Summer Recipes

This small collection of recipes represents that summer need for fun foods on the grill and easy entertaining.  You’ll impress anyone (including yourself) with these dishes!  We even include here an incredible summer cocktail – our version, of course, does not contain alcohol…

Turkey Wraps with Apricot Mayonnaise
(perfect picnic food!)
Ingredients:
for Apricot Mayonnaise:
3/4 cup Vegannaise
1/8 cup no sugar Apricot Jam
1 tsp curry powder, sodium free
Sandwich:
8 large Romaine lettuce leaves
1/2 lb sliced turkey
1 bunch watercress
2 Italian plum tomatoes
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 TBS dried currants or raisins

Directions:
Whisk ingredients for Apricot mayonnaise and let chill up to 2 days. Using Romaine leaves (1-2 per serving), stuff or top with turkey, watercress, tomatoes, avocado, walnuts, and currants. Top with the Apricot Mayo.

Serves 4.

Fresh Guacamole
Ingredients:
2 ripe avocados
1 plum tomato
1 jalapeno chile (seeded and finely chopped)
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/3 cup chopped sweet onion
Place jalapeno, cilantro and onion in a large mortar, and grind away with the pestle. It’s okay if the onions remain a bit chunky. (you can also chop by hand or run briefly through a food processor)

Cut the avocados in half. Twist in opposite directions to separate. Slip a spoon in, scoop the fruit out, and place it on a cutting board. Chop into chunks.

Cut tomato in half crosswise. Gently squeeze to get seeds out. Now add avocado and chopped tomato to onion mixture in the mortar. Mash. Spoon until mostly blended (some of the avocado chunks should remain intact.) Serve with sliced veggies, endive leaves, or ?

Serve immediately. Makes 12 tablespoon-sized servings.

Hawaiian Hula Punch (try this instead of cocktails!)
Ingredients:
2 medium bananas, cut into chunks
1 ripe mango, cut into chunks
1 ripe papaya, cut into chunks
4 cups unsweetened pineapple juice
4 cups seltzer

Instructions:
In a blender add bananas, mango, papaya, and pineapple juice. Puree until smooth, and pour into glasses.

Serves 8

Indonesian Satay (do this on the grill)

Ingredients:
3 TBS fresh lime juice
3 TBS sesame oil
4 tsp Braggs Amino Acids, divided
2 tsp crushed garlic, divided
1/4 tsp cayenne, divided
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about a lb – cut into 3/4 inch strips
1/3 cup chunky peanut butter (or almond)
1/3 cup hot water
1 TBS cider vinegar
1 cup coconut milk

In a glass dish, combine lime, oil, 2 tsp Braggs, 1 tsp garlic and 1/8 tsp cayenne. Add the chicken and marinate for up to 24 hours.
In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, hot water, vinegar, the remaining cayenne, garlic, and Braggs and the coconut milk. Stir until well blended and set aside.
Pre heat grill to medium, thread chicken onto skewers and grill, discarding marinade – 3 to 4 minutes on each side.
Serve with Peanut Sauce.
Serves 4. This is wonderful with sliced cucumbers and fresh fruit (to cool your palate).

Veggie Ribbons with Pesto (like pasta without the wheat!)

Ingredients:
3 large carrots, peeled
2 medium zucchinis
2 medium yellow squash
1/4 cup Damon’s Pesto from Genesis Recipes

Directions:
Using vegetable peeler, cut ribbon like slices from the vegetables, using as much of the vegetable as possible (draw the peeler in lengthwise motion for long strips).
To a medium saucepan, add 1/2 inch water and heat to boiling. Add carrots, cover and cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes. Add the zucchini and yellow squash and continue cooking from 1-2 minutes. Drain well and toss with 1/4 cup pesto, garnish with basil leaf and serve immediately. Goes well with any type of grilled meat.

Serves 4 to 6.

(Yes, yes, all of these recipes are in the Genesis Recipe collection!)

Sheri’s Rants #16: When would NOW be a good time?

When Would ‘NOW’ Be a Good Time to Start?

IT HAS RECENTLY BEEN BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS THAT  IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO ADHERE TO A FAT LOSS REGIMEN IN THE SUMMER  MONTHS AND LOSE WEIGHT.

I agree. The sun, the parties, the beach, the camping, the family gatherings, weddings, boating, hiking, biking… all those social
occasions that somehow demand poor eating habits and a general lack of disciplined exercise. Oh, I get it. And the alcohol! How can one do ANY of those things without wine? A cold beer? A beckoning ice cold salt rimmed margarita?  Fresh fruit and rum? CAKE!! CHIPS!! BBQ!!! And, I know – there’s literally NOTHING ELSE TO EAT but ‘fun food’ at EVERY gathering or event!!! It’s a veritable mine field of temptation!!
THERE’S NO WAY TO ADHERE AND MAKE THIS STUFF WORK!!!

ALL SUMMER LONG!!!

It’s much harder than winter. I mean, winter only has snow, cold, HALLOWEEN, THANKSGIVING, CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS PARTIES, NEW YEAR’S (try eating clean at all THOSE events, my friends)… and then come the resolutions and the SKIING, WINTER VACATIONS, FAMILY VISITS, depression, complaints about driving anywhere, a general lack of fresh produce in the stores, tons of clothing to cover up in, whining demanding and bored kids, the trips to warmer climates, crowded gyms, and decisions to fix it all come April… except…then comes spring with cheap trips to Mexico, and the kids have Spring Break…then it’s Mother’s Day and the slide into the 4th of July again…

Get a grip, folks. It ain’t gonna get no easier. GET YOUR GRIN ON AND HAVE SOME FUN WITH THIS.

(By the way, watermelon is absolutely NOT forbidden…that is some fuuuunnn food, there…)

OH OH OH!! Have you picked any berries yet? And the cherries are coming!!  Have you checked out the greens at the Farmer’s Markets?  – WOW, that’s some yummy stuff…
I think summer is the BEST time for eating healthy and well – there is so much available, it makes livin’ lean EASY.

Bottom Line?  You’ll know when ‘NOW’ is a good time to begin because you will want change in your body NO MATTER WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON.

Donna B – “I love the way I feel!”

Donna on vacation

My path to Genesis started last summer after a social occasion at a local lake. The first thing that crossed my mind before going was ‘what am I going to wear?’ It’ was so hot and I wanted to wear shorts and a tank top but I just couldn’t do it. My weight was at an all time high, none of my shorts fit me (again), and even if I could squeeze into them, I’m not comfortable baring my legs.

My health was holding me back and I was tired ALL of the time. I missed social occasions because I was either too tired to attend or too worried about what others would think about my weight. Worst than all of this, though, was the fact that I was living in a constant state of ‘mind fog’, which affected nearly every aspect of my life. When I wasn’t working or sleeping you could usually find me lying on the sofa with the remote control and a box of crackers . . . not good.

I attributed the way I felt to aging. I noticed a big change after the age of 45. I couldn’t lose weight the usual way (i.e., calorie restriction), I suffered anxiety and depression, and I had very little energy for anything other than work and the basics of keeping a home. I had the ‘Big 3′ — significantly overweight, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I was 53 and felt lousy most of the time.

Then one day my friend Lisa mentioned that she wanted to lose weight and knew I had wanted to do the same thing and asked if I wanted to buddy up and try something together. I told her if I could find something different than what I had done before that I would try, but I didn’t even want to lose weight if I was just destined to gain it back anyway. Typical of many women my age, I’ve lost the same 15-25 pounds 7 times since I was 13; 1968, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1984, 1989, and 1996, each time gaining back just a little more than my previous high. By 2008 I was 45 pounds heavier than I want to be.

We found Genesis through a referral from my hair stylist, Peter. He had mentioned to me a year or so ago about a plan his wife Jayla was in that was ‘really different’ and provided ‘amazing results’. Peter gave me the website and I started reading. Then Lisa started reading. If wasn’t long before we both knew we wanted to find a coach and get going.

I know I’m on the right path now. This lifestyle is so different than anything I’ve done before and the changes I have made have literally changed my life. I have NEVER been able to stick with anything before for more than two or three months. I’ve been doing Genesis since August 2008. Diet AND exercise? No way! I was always too tired to even THINK about exercise if I couldn’t eat. Now I have Genesis and I can eat a very wide variety of WONDERFUL foods. I have more than enough energy to exercise and I feel more powerful and alive every single day.

I think for me it was learning to eat the right way that has really made a difference. It is about WHAT you eat and not just the calories. The right ratio of macronutrients fuels this engine in a way I didn’t think possible. After just a week or so eating good food and drinking lots of water I started to get so much energy I honestly just couldn’t believe it. I had some challenges in the beginning trying to figure out my daily menus, shopping more, cooking more and making time for all of these things, but for the most part, I felt so darned good I thought the extra effort was worth it right from the start. Not to mention the fact that I had the energy to do everything again.

My metabolism was pretty much gone when I started and I had to get to a place where my body ‘trusted’ me that I would stay well nourished, well hydrated, and thinking straight before it was ready to start burning extra fat for fuel. I was in fueling for 4 months, got up to 2,500 calories a day and lost 2 pounds during that phase. I’ve been in rotation since mid December and I’ve lost a total of 15 pounds, about a third of the way to my goal. I had a week’s vacation last winter that caused me to backslide a bit but once I got home I got right back on track — no problem!

For me Genesis is about thinking CLEARLY for the first time in years. I am on the right path and I feel fantastic most of the time. I honor my body’s need for clean fuel and lots of water. I honor the Genesis community. The wisdom I have gained from the many posts in the forum and the people I have met have helped me to make it through some tough spots. Lisa is a constant source of inspiration, and Sheri (my coach) will not let me settle for anything less than sublime health. I am stronger than I’ve probably ever been in my life. Nutrition, exercise, and the right frame of mind — powerful mojo!

I love this way of life because I love the way I feel. My cholesterol dropped 90 points after 3 months of fueling, my blood pressure is nearly normal, I don’t engage in negativity, and I smile … A LOT! Am I ready to stroll around in a bikini yet? No. But I’m strong and healthy and excited to continue living this way forever. Life is just full of possibilities now!