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I’m Having My Cake & Eating It Too

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OMG, check out the "glow" on my face created by the 41 candles! Someone call 911!
OMG, check out the "glow" on my face created by the 41 candles! Someone call 911!

[This is Post 4 about my mid-life training program. For backstory, see Post 1,
Post 2 and Post 3.]

Today, I’m going to have my cake and eat it too. It’s my birthday. I deserve it.

This seems reasonable, don’t you think? The thing is I’m a little hard on myself. I’m not a recovering alcoholic but I imagine that every single day of sobriety is a huge achievement for a recovering alcoholic. I mean no disrespect for alcoholics, just the opposite, but on my training program, which involves a significant nutrition component, I view my good eating habits similar to sobriety. (Again, I know the stakes aren’t on the same level.) I’m hard on myself when I screw up. I’m so hard on myself that most of the time, eating the cake is not worth it.

So my trainer, Steve Bechtel, from Elemental Training Center, is helping me “budget it” into my training. The cost to me for indulging in a huge piece of cake today, as well as a glass or two of Merlot? An extra 6 miles this week.

Snarfing birthday cake, a rare and special indulgence for me. : >
Snarfing birthday cake, a rare and special indulgence for me. : >

Now, onto what this post is really about. Here I’ll share some of the changes I’ve made to my diet that have no doubt helped me lose 14 pounds and 7% body fat in 3 months. Yes, I’ve worked my butt off with the workouts, but I’ve also made some basic changes to what I eat.

The most significant change I’ve made to my diet is that most days I limit my total caloric intake to 10% of my body weight. I’ve cut out all bad carbs, and even some of the excess good carbs I used to enjoy, and added more protein to my diet. The latter makes me feel fuller so has the added benefit of keeping me from overeating or giving in to cravings for not-so-good snacks.

Specific changes I’ve made include the following:

Breakfast: Instead of my usual 2 pieces of peanut butter and jelly toast, I now have either 2 boiled eggs OR 1 boiled egg and ½ cup of Grape Nuts cereal w/1 pack of Equal and Skim Milk for breakfast.
Lunch: I typically have a big salad, sometimes two bowls’ worth, of mixed greens, with craisins, sunflower nuts and grated parmesan cheese + Ranch dressing or Italian dressing. (Regular, not non-fat variety). Sometimes I’ll add some lunch meat or a piece of cheese to this. Or, I’ll have a Hebrew National hotdog. With no bun. I know this doesn’t have a lot of nutritional value but I love Hebrew hotdogs and it’s bbq season and it’s a protein source.
Dinner: Lean meat on the grill (sometimes 1-1/2 servings). Usually lean pork, hamburgers, chicken breast or steak, with 1-2 vegetables, usually asparagus, broccoli, corn or a combo of two of these. I cut out the bread or potato or rice altogether. I think the latter has helped a lot.
Snacks: 14 almonds (seasoned or raw), usually in the morning or/and in the afternoon, 1-2 pieces of jerky, usually in the morning and/or again in the afternoon, plus an apple or pear at some point in the day. Another favorite is fresh pineapple chunks mixed with some cottage cheese.
Dessert: Watermelon, cherries or, my favorite healthy dessert: a pear eaten with some aged cheddar.
Bedtime Snack, if I have a craving for one: microwave popcorn (PopSecret, Homestyle,1 serving size=4 cups of popped corn, which is plenty.) I also like the “Pure Protein” bars, which are 180 calories each, and have equal parts protein and carbohydrates. It’s an indulgence that makes me think I’m eating a candy bar and therefore works as a “treat,” although I realize it’s not as valuable as something more naturally rich in protein and carbohydrates.
Drinks: I gave up soda pop, cold turkey, back in 1992 so that makes it easy. I drink coffee, tea and lots of water. I treat myself to a small glass of Merlot once in a while, as well.
Other things to note: I also gave up French fries, ice cream and chips. I didn’t eat a lot of these things before, but giving them up collectively is without a doubt helping the cause. : >

<em>Paying</em> for my cake. I hiked from Bruce's Camp to Blue Ridge Lookout. 12 miles, 2,800 feet. Was a spectacular day. The cake was worth it.
Paying for my cake. I hiked from Bruce's Camp to Blue Ridge Lookout. 12 miles, 2,800 feet. What a spectacular hike. (The cake was worth it!)

The tip from Steve that I’ll share today is that we can help achieve our fitness goals by being decisive. When we make a decision, we commit to something. We’ve resolved to take a particular course, and in doing so, all other choices are no longer on the table.

I travel a fair amount, and when I’m traveling, I find it is harder to eat healthy than it is to get my workouts in.

The food/snack purchase decision I make at our first stop at the convenience store will set the tone for the rest of the day. Energy bar or almonds? Yep. Snickers or Doritos? Nope. Once I make the decision it’s easy. It’s making that decision that’s hard for me. It can be torturous. I want the Snickers so bad sometimes…or the chips…

Same goes for when I’m working from home and I find myself hungry and wandering into the kitchen. I’ve recently moved our loaf of bread, cookies and other snacks I can’t deprive our young sons of, to drawers, and replaced their countertop positions with almonds, raisins, jerky and fruit. This action alone has made it easier for me to make the right nutrition decisions that bring me closer to my goal.

I’m far from an expert. I have a long way to go, but the above are changes I’ve made that have significantly helped me lose weight and fat, and feel better, while not feeling deprived during the last three months.

And since it’s my 41st birthday, it’s a good time to reflect on how far I’ve come since 1 year ago. When I turned 40, I was regretful when I reflected on my fitness and health level. My fitness level was at its worst, and lowest 12 months ago. (During the surprise 40th birthday party my friends and family threw for me, I silently resolved that during my 40th year I was going to make a change and get back into better health and fitness.) It wasn’t until 9 months after that (3 months ago) that I finally took action and hired Steve as my personal trainer and joined Elemental Training Center. I’m so glad I did. I can’t recommend enough hiring a personal trainer. If you’ve been in a rut for awhile, there’s no better way to make a bold change for the better than to hire a trainer who will drive you hard and keep you accountable. (Email Steve for information, or email me if you’d like to hear more about my experience.)

I also realize that this fitness journey I’ve embarked upon is changing. During the last three months, the workouts have been hard, as I was an unfit person…but the results and benefits were significant and probably came easier. From here on out, it will likely be the reverse. I’m in much better shape now, so I suspect melting the fat off might be a little harder. Either way, I’m staying the course. I’ll keep working hard at it.

… Starting tomorrow. Right now I have a birthday to celebrate.

(And by the way, the 12-mile hike I did to cover the “6 extra miles” Steve prescribed to offset my birthday indulgences was more of a reward than a cost. The views along the Switchbacks/Loop Road are phenomenal. The lakes are full and blue, the country is green, the peaks still have snow on them, and there are lots of wildflowers. Add to that I only saw 4 cars in 12 miles. The latter was probably a product of my starting early in the morning.)
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Bears, wolves, elk and more in Yellowstone.

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Yellowstone National Park is my favorite place in the world. It is home to 60% of the world’s active geysers, more small and large animals than anywhere in the Lower 48 states, striking, big country views, and seemingly infinite outdoor recreation opportunities. It’s a large, unspoiled, natural wonder, and it’s in my backyard.

In Yellowstone, my favorite place in the world.
In Yellowstone, my favorite place in the world.

I have been to Yellowstone more than 200 times. As owner/publisher of Yellowstone Journal and YellowstonePark.com until last September (for the 15 years), I have found myself in Yellowstone often. I have enjoyed many days in the office that were out of this world, including days in the field with Yellowstone Wolf Project leader Doug Smith, (now retired) orinthologist Terry McEneaney, bear biologist Kerry Gunther, Yellowstone historian Lee Whittlesey, the late Rick Hutchinson, who was an amazing Yellowstone geology and geyser expert, and countless others. All of these were fascinating and educational experiences for me. While each was an interview for a story, each felt more like a privilege and an honor.

The 308-foot-high Lower Falls tumbles into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
The 308-foot-high Lower Falls tumbles into the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

As a matter of fact, that’s how I feel every time I’m in Yellowstone. Lucky. Privileged. Blessed. I am still inspired with awe when I visit the world’s first national park. Even after 200+ visits to the Park, the sight of the Lower Falls, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Yellowstone Lake, Hayden Valley and Lamar Valley take my breath away.

Recently, my family embarked on a 1-day private tour with the Yellowstone Association Institute. The nonprofit Yellowstone Association educates Yellowstone National Park visitors by offering trip planners, books, videos, and guided classes through Yellowstone Park by our field institute. Learn more about their available courses and in-the-field opportunities.

Our goal with the tour? To see wolves and bears. That’s what everybody wants, right? And yet we were allowing only one day to achieve this, on June 18, which is was considered the tail end of peak season for spotting wolves and bears.

So, yeah, it was a tall order. And yeah, truth be told, if we didn’t see wolves and bears, we know Yellowstone well enough to know that any day in Yellowstone is better than a day anywhere else, and we’d have a heck of day, no matter if wolves or bears would present themselves or not.

We met our guide, Brad Bulin, at 6 am sharp at the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel fireplace. We loaded into a minivan and off we went.

(NOTE: If you want to sleep in, fine, go for it. But the best wildlife viewing opportunities for visitors occurs in very early morning hours. If you’re willing to get up and start exploring Yellowstone at 6 a.m., you’ll be rewarded for it! You can sleep anytime…)

It was a rainy, cold, dreary morning. Perfect lighting and great weather for wildlife viewing, said Brad. As he said this, we stopped to view three large bull elk right next to the road. According to Bulin, bull elk’s antlers grow up to an inch a day during this time of year. The elk were so close we could see their fuzzy soft velvet on their growing racks.

As we viewed the elk, Bulin, a wildlife biologist in his sixth year of guiding interpretive tours for the Yellowstone Association Institute, provided some tips on how best to spot wildlife.

With these insights, we headed into the Northern Range and toward Lamar Valley, often (and aptly) called the “American Serengeti.”

Hayden, Wolfie and I looking for wild animals.
Hayden, Wolfie and I looking for wild animals.

Well we weren’t 30 minutes into our tour and we were at a pullout looking through Brad’s scope at three bighorn rams in a high meadow and a large grizzly bear lumbering along below them at the base of the hill. We took turns watching the big bruin through Brad’s three scopes for a half hour. It was amazing! (After that, I thought to myself, Well that makes my day. If we don’t see anything but bison and elk from here on out, I’m happy.)

Grizzly bear. This isn't the one we saw, we didn't have a camera lens long enough. But this looks just like one we watched.
Grizzly bear. This isn't the one we saw, we didn't have a camera lens long enough. But this looks just like one we watched.

A little further down the road, we spotted a pronghorn, the fastest land animal in North America. Pronghorn, often mistakenly referred to as “antelope,” can run 65-70 miles per hour.

We viewed bison in several areas on both sides of the road, and right next to the road. The bison is one of my personal favorites given its history and resilience. Yellowstone’s bison are a remnant of a population that once numbered in the millions and inhabited much of what is now the U. S. In 1902, only a couple dozen of the animals remained, and they were in Yellowstone Park. An effort to restore and remain intact the population lead to the bison success story that still lives in Yellowstone. From that remaining tiny number of bison, today’s population grew. Today, there are 3,000-4,500 bison inhabiting Yellowstone National Park. The 2,000-pound animal is a sight to behold, particularly if you know its history and how far its come.

A one-ton bison takes a rest.
A one-ton bison takes a rest.

A little further yet, within the first 1.5 hours of our scenic tour through Yellowstone Park’s Northern Range, we spotted a black bear on our right, very close to the road. With the Lamar River running high behind it, the black bear laid on its tummy in the lush green grass, that was filled with small yellow wildflowers, and munched and munched. Compared to the enormous grizzly bear we had watched moments earlier, this black bear seemed young and small, and as our boys put it, adorable.
A black bear we watched.
A black bear we watched.

Wow, the day was shaping up to be a magnificent one! How could it realistically get any better, I said, and all of us agreed the day had already been a pretty darned special one.

It got more spectacular. Soon, there were two people looking through a scope at a pullout and looking at something high in the dark brown cliffs that were dotted with snow. They shared, enthusiastically, that they had spotted a mountain goat. Mountain goats are creamy white in color and inhabit very steep, high cliffs – terrain that most animals cannot dream of accessing. Seeing a mountain goat, despite the fact it’s not native to Yellowstone Park, would certainly be a treat. Brad set up his scopes and just like that, we were now looking at a mountain goat situated on a narrow cliff ledge high above us.

mountaingoatMan, what a morning! Could it get any better? None of us thought it possibly could.
Still, Brad suggested we keep going “and search for a wolf.” (Wolves, honestly, were the animal we most wanted to see. Our oldest son, who is 9, is named Wolf. None of our three boys had ever seen a wolf in the wild and it was no secret they hoped to see one on today’s expedition.)

Well, if it’s wolves we wanted to see, it was wolves we’d get to see. We had pulled over to scan a hillside with our binoculars and scopes in hopes of catching a glimpse of some moving wild animal, when a passersby indicated to us that they had seen a wolf cross the road a little ways back down the road.

One thing that is ever present in Yellowstone’s Northern Range is this feeling of “community” and sharing that goes on amongst wildlife viewing enthusiasts. Wildlife watchers – “wolf watchers” in particular – are like a cult-like following of Yellowstone’s largest canid. Many of them visit year after year for weeks at a time with only one goal: to view wolves and observe their actions. They are generous with information on where they’ve seen what and when.

On the tip, we got back in the van and went a little ways to a pullout. Brad set up the scopes and sure enough, he spotted wolf 569, a gray wolf that is the alpha female of the Druid Peak Pack. Soon we had three scopes up as we watched the wolf run along the river in front of us.
Gray wolf. NOT the one we saw, but similar to it. : >

To view wolves in the wild in Yellowstone is an amazing experience, and a unique and special event. Currently there are approximately 124 wolves, not including pups recently born, inhabiting Yellowstone National Park. After extermination in the 1920s and 1930s, the gray wolf was reintroduced to Yellowstone in the mid 1990s. Today the population in the park and flourishing and it’s believed that Yellowstone is now the #1 place in North America to view wolves in the wild from the roadside.
“Notice her bulging tummy,” said Brad. “She’s taking food back to her pups.” Right now the wolves are still at their den sites, where their new pups of the year have been holed up. During this stage of their lives, the alpha wolves, and other sub-adults have to often travel a great distance to hunt and get food. Then, they return to the den site where the adult wolves regurgitate the food to feed their young.

There we were, watching nature unfold right in our view. Wolf and Hayden each manned a scope and marveled at the sight of their first “real wolf”. They were practically frolicking they were so excited. Jerry and I were just as excited. As I was watching the the gray wolf trot along the river bank, I suddenly noted something black appear in the viewfinder right near the gray wolf. It was a black wolf. Two wolves! We watched for at least 30 minutes as the two wolves trotted, walked and made their way along the river bank. At one point the black wolf stopped and looked toward us and I could see the golden/yellow eyes. It was quite an experience, let me tell you.

After they got out of view, we loaded back into the van and continued to a pullout that was full of vehicles. After finding the last available parking spot, we unloaded and set up our scopes again. Some were watching an area they called the “corridor” … where wolf pups could occasionally be seen passing through pine trees. I caught a fleeting glimpse of two pups running through! Then, we turned our scopes back the way we had just come and again, for 30 minutes or so, watched the black wolf walk, run and take laying-down breaks.

It was amazing.

So, during the first few hours of our day, we had seen the following in the wild: bison, elk, pronghorn, grizzly bear, bighorn sheep, black bear, mountain goat, and wolves. We also saw a golden eagle, a hawk, a pronghorn with her newborn twins (which is a rare sight).

Toward the end, the rain let up just long enough for us to get out and explore some bones and diggings in a hillside.

Family photo in Lamar Valley.
Family photo in Lamar Valley.

Here’s a clip from the interpretation and insights our boys enjoyed receiving from Brad about a pile of bones they discovered during one of our stops:

To cap a stellar day, we took a short hike to see the Petrified Tree, a 50-million-year-old standing tree. The tree had been covered in volcanic ash during Yellowstone’s historic volcano eruptions and was later exposed, still standing. It’s quite a sight to see considering its age and current form.

Our boys in front of Petrified Tree, a 50-million-year-old monument in Yellowstone.
Our boys in front of Petrified Tree, a 50-million-year-old monument in Yellowstone.

As usual, Yellowstone Park delivered. In far more ways than could have been expected.

The boys are still talking about all the things they learned. One thing this post doesn’t cover, because as it is, it’s lengthy, is all the tidbits of interesting information our instructor taught us. Things like how and what wolves hunt for food, how the coyote has adapted years of challenges, how fast a bison can run, how a coyote catches prey, how cow elk watch their young and remain in herds to prevent depredation from predators, how pronghorns keep their young hidden, scentless and concealed in an effort to avoid predation, and so much more.

I highly recommend the Yellowstone Association’s Institute courses or tours. There is no better way for visitors to get an up close and personal look at the various aspects of the world’s first national park.

Our experience was enriched as a result of our great day with Brad, and the interpretation, knowledge and expertise he provided that ultimately enabled us to see, and experience, so many awesome wildlife wonders. Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Yellowstone’s hotels and activities concessionaire, also offers Lodging & Learning Packages, which combine a variety of wonderful accommodations in the Park with Yellowstone Association Institute-led courses and tours.

Sure, it’s probably possible for a visitor to see all we did when we did without having a private tour, but it’s highly unlikely. And, you’ll miss out all the interpretation that definitely provided a lot of backstory to the animals and country we visited on our trip.

Start planningyour own vacation of a lifetime to Yellowstone Park, the world’s oldest national park, and my a favorite place in the world.

My fitness journey, switchback #2

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Hi there. This is post #2 of my reporting on, and sharing of my personal training program. I will be posting every week or two about my progress and learnings.

Hi. My name is Shelli. I'm 40 years old and I want to be in the best shape of my life.
Hi. My name is Shelli. I'm 40 years old and I want to be in the best shape of my life.

In case you missed it, here is Post 1, “A Mid-Life Training Program.”, which provides backstory.

So, if you’ve been following along, or know me, I’ve recently been on a pursuit. After being athletic and in great shape most of my life, I fell into a rut during the last 3-4 years.

Consider these blog posts to serve as milestones along my journey to better fitness, more energy, and fat loss. Better yet, let’s call them “switchbacks” since this is a big hill I’ve decided to climb.

This journey of mine is an important one. Until 2.5 months ago, every night I would lie in bed with a nagging regret that I had let another day pass without getting control of my fitness. Although I had never been happier in many respects, the fact I had let my fitness slide weighed heavy on me, in more ways than one. I was becoming lazy and soft. Worst of all was the fact I knew I was missing out on lots of things, fun things, as a result of my increasingly sloth-like nature.

It took me three years to take that first step into Elemental Gym and hire Steve Bechtel to be my personal trainer. Three years of hearing and seeing friends and acquaintances around town who were glowing and boasting about great results they were getting as a result of employing personal trainers (Steve Bechtel, Ellen Bechtel, and Jagoe Reid) at Elemental Gym.

Today, just 2.5 months later, I’m happy to report, I’ve lost 14 pounds and 7% bodyfat. Yeehaw! I still have a ways to go. This is a big mountain I’ve decided to climb, and I’m only beginning up the hill. But already the rewards are worth the effort. The aforementioned are measurable results that, ahem, I like. I like ’em a lot.

But so much more important than these stats is the fact that I have significantly more energy, I am happier, I can more easily bounce to the floor to have my endearing ‘dogpile’ with our three boys. These have all been wonderful signs of progress for me. Certainly, by all indications so far, it appears I’m headed in the right direction on my journey.

Beginning with this column, and in subsequent posts that will cover my pursuit of improved fitness, I’m going to put myself out there. In this age of social media and “sharing” and transparency, I’m going to disclose my beginning weight, current weight, body fat percentage, and who knows, possibly other measurements and stats. This is scary for me. But I do it in hopes of inspiring others to take the step I took, which has been such a positive change for me.

I'm putting myself out there. Here are my "stats."
I'm putting myself out there. Here are my "stats."

It’s not an easy step. It takes courage. I knew once I committed, I could not turn back. My health and future are too important. I tend to me my worst critic. I can be hard on myself. I would have to do my part or risk letting myself down.

I would need to get a return on my investment. On my emotional investment, physical investment, time investment and yes, my financial investment. As a result, hiring a personal trainer is a big step to take.

Sharon, one of my friends who is glowing from her own training with Jagoe, asked me the other day what my goal with the training is, and specifically, “When will you know that you’ve arrived?”

Wow – this is a good question. A little unsure myself of the answer to her question, I said something to the effect of: “Gosh, I’m just wanting to get into the best shape of my life.”

So, my goal is to reach a high level of overall fitness. That’s pretty general, though, so I’ve modified it to the following: I want for a realm of possibilities to be within my reach at any time. I want to be able to do a 50K trail run, a 25-mile day hike, an expedition to the top of the Grand Teton, or any other peak in our region, a 100-mile bike ride, at any time. I want to be able to do any of these things, or all of these things, without a bunch of new training required, and all with a good recovery.

post2checklist_picnik

I also want more energy. I want as much energy as our three sons have. I want it, and believe I can have it, gosh darn’t. It’s important to me that I be able to snowboard with our sons, and do the crazy things that as boys, our sons will surely be doing in the coming years.

I want to have confidence when I’m standing in front of a tourism conference making a presentation. I want to feel comfortable walking down the street or having to wear a dress to a wedding, and I want to bounce back from any injuries or illnesses that may present themselves in my future.

Geez, I want a lot of things, don’t I? Re-reading all of those “I wants” makes me feel a wee-bit selfish. But justified, I think, because they’re all for the betterment of my health and well-being. (BTW, I’m happy to share some of my tips for working out and getting in shape during times that least impact my family time; working out at 4:45 am three days a week, when the kiddos are enjoying their R.E.M. sleep, is one of them.)

One of the great benefits of working with a personal trainer, besides the accountability and prescribed workouts provided, is the knowledge I gain during my workout sessions. Steve explains the science behind the exercises and the strategy that’s behind the “madness.” For me, this knowledge gained helps me slug it out when it gets particularly difficult.

Steve has also provided guidance when it comes to nutrition and what I should and should not be eating. Absolutely, without question, adjusting my diet has helped me get the results mentioned earlier in this post. (Read: I’m not eating french fries, chips, cookies or pasta, and I’ve sacrificed some bread as well. But I manage to get some chocolate in.) I’m happy to share with you what I eat on a typical day. I’m hardly deprived. Email me if you’re interested.

In short, I’ve broken up with bad carbs. For comic relief:

For good measure, at the end of each of these posts, I’ll share with you one of the many nuggets of wisdom Steve shares with me.

There are three words that often come up when determining how to achieve weight loss and fitness improvement: Fast, Effective and Cheap. Steve feels strongly that at any one time, we can’t have all three, only two. An example of fast and cheap might be following the Atkins diet. It’s fast and it’s cheap, but in the long-term it likely won’t be effective. An example of effective and cheap might be committing to a walking or running program and some diet changes over the course of a year. This could be very effective, and could be quite cheap, but will take a while to achieve. The results likely will not come fast. Finally, fast and effective would describe what dedicated people get from working with a personal trainer. The work is hard, but when combined with good nutrition, can be delivered quite fast. (My own results in the last 2.5 months are proof of this)

One other I’ll mention, which is one I’m sure Steve’s other trainees hear, is “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always got.” So, if you’re where I was almost 3 months ago, going to bed with regret that you haven’t taken steps to improve your health and fitness, then you can either roll over and have more of the same, or you can wake up and do something about it. I’m telling you, firsthand, the hard work is far easier than experiencing the nagging feelings of regret!

I want to mention that, true, I deserve credit for doing the work, and it is crazy hard work. And I get the credit for making positive changes to my diet. I get the credit for committing to make a change and for showing up. But my personal trainer prescribes the regimen, holds me accountable, drives me hard, and provides knowledge, all of which supports the bold action I was needing to take. How much is this worth? Very, very much. The pay off has far outweighed the costs.

So, to answer Sharon’s question, when will I know that I’ve arrived? I think I’ll know I’ve arrived as long as I never arrive. As long as I keep going on this journey. I’m staying the course.

(BTW, I am extremely grateful to my husband, Jerry, for being such a huge support and loving cheerleader for me, my family for their support, and Steve and his team at Elemental Gym. All have been a big reason for my success.)

Please feel free to email me with any questions about my personal experience and for more about my situation, goals, information about the typical training sessions, etc. This isn’t an ad. I feel strongly about the program I’m on, Elemental Gym, and the great results I’m experiencing and happy to share and encourage anyone. Or, check out Elemental Gym yourself, or email Steve, Ellen, or Jagoe, to get started with a personal trainer.

Marketers: A little care goes a long way

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I’m convinced that the solution to most marketers’, and businesses’, problems lies in hiring people who care.

I love the company, Life is Good. Not only because of their great story, fantastic products and their name, but also because of their slogan, which is something to the effect of: “Do what you love. Love what you do.”

That says it all. “Passion-centric” is the buzzword we are hearing that describes people who are brought together by a common passion.

If we have passionate people on our teams, who truly care about what we’re promoting and offering, then they serve as the best ambassadors we could hope for. They reflect the best aspects of our business.

One great example I have of this involves a hotel in Salt Lake City.

About a year ago, our middle son, Hayden, had to get a lump removed from his neck. It was his third such surgery and every time the lump came back it consumed us with worry. What if it’s cancer? How we hated to see our 6-year-old go through another surgery.

Hayden, a year after his successful third surgery. (If you look closely you can see he has an incision across the front of his neck)
Hayden, a year after his successful third surgery. (If you look closely you can see he has an incision across the front of his neck)

The Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City is phenomenal, and at 5 hours from where we live in Lander, WY, it was the best option.

We booked a stay at the Shilo Inn, in downtown Salt Lake. Upon booking the reservation, the attendant on the phone asked me what brought us to Salt Lake. I told her the brief story about our 6-year-old having surgery scheduled to remove a lump from his neck at the nearby Children’s Hospital.

We booked a room and a week later, arrived.

During check-in, the attendant remembered us and said she was praying for us and wishing us a great stay. She’d be thinking of our son, and of us, she said, as we checked in.

When we got to our room, there was a gift basket, complete with a card for Hayden, and beach balls for all three of our sons for the swimming pool.

To say that touched us during what would be a truly worrisome stay is an understatement. It moved us… and had the effect to make our sons happy and to take Hayden’s mind off the surgery.

Following the surgery, we returned to our room. Rachel Bremer, the marketing/sales person, sought us out and asked us how Hayden’s surgery came out.

The concern was genuine. Way more than I would have expected from a simple hotel reservation and hotel stay.

And I’ll tell you what, the Shilo Inn could have a train track right outside it and we’d always stay there when we visit Salt Lake City.

The care and concern showed for us during our stay spoke volumes and will never be forgotten. They won us over. Their people won us over.

(BTW, Hayden’s operation that time was a success; the lump was not cancerous. So far so good – it has not returned.)

A Mid-Life Training Program

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So, you can see by this blog that I love the outdoors and adventure.

This post is about my current pursuit of energy, fitness and fat loss.

A little background information first…

I was an athlete in high school and I attended the University of Montana on a basketball scholarship. I was raised in the mountains of Lander, WY, where I live today with my family. From 1986-1992, I was in Missoula, Montana. Both were great places to help satisfy my craving for the outdoors and activities like hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, snowshoeing and running.

Our family at Delicate Arch, Spring Break 2008.
Our family at Delicate Arch, Spring Break 2008.

When I married Jerry in August of 1992, I married a distance runner who has the Ironman as a top item on his life list. (He’s also a Physical Education teacher.) So it’s perhaps no surprise that after I got married, I became a little more interested in running.

Don’t get me wrong, except for in high school when I ran the 400m, I’ve never been more than a jogger. Usually I would jog to maintain some level of fitness over the years. At the time of our wedding, Jerry had ran some road marathons, including Pittsburg, Chicago, Columbus and Couer ‘d Alene. Over time, I became inspired to try trail running and some slower, long-distance events.

In 1999, we ran a 50-k trail run, the Big Horn, in the Big Horn Range of Wyoming. My goal was simply to finish. I did that, and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and experience – and ultimately the feeling of accomplishment. It was a good enough feeling that I knew there’d be more events like it in our future.

In the years following, we had our first and second sons, in 2000 and 2002. I ran a couple other trail marathons, as well as attempted the Tahoe 50-mile in 2003, when our youngest at that time was barely more than a year old. I didn’t train hard enough, with two kids under three years old and operating a business. But the lure of seeing a trail and part of the country I hadn’t seen before made up for any lackluster training. Unfortunately, due to heat-related ailments, I completed only about 41.5 miles. Still, it was the furthest I had ever traveled on foot in 9.5 hours so I didn’t view the DNF as a total loss.

Soonafter, we traveled to Hawaii to do the the Run to the Sun, a 37-mile, from-0′-to-10,000′ event up Haleakala Volcano in Maui. That was in 2004. I opted out at the marathon mark, which was enough of a grunt, while Jerry persevered to the end, (exactly 22 months after his lumbar fusion I might add!)

After the Hawaii event, I decided it was time to take a little time off from training for long events.

Problem is, the “little time off” turned into a “long time off” and the rut of my non-fitness became deeper and deeper. And the deeper it got the more yucky I felt. I had to get out of it. The reality was that for the first time in my life, I was not very active. And this lasted for the last four years.

Sure, we snowboarded hard here and there, and even did some 20-mile day hikes, but they were few and far between. (I’ve discovered that our bodies and muscles have a memory and that if at one time, especially if it was for a long time, you were very active, then you can still do crazy, long day hikes, running events, etc. It’s just that they’re not as pleasant as they could be, and recovery certainly is harder and longer.)

Snowboarding at Grand Targhee, Winter 2009.
Snowboarding at Grand Targhee, Winter 2009.

So during the last four years I got kind of lazy. And oh, we had another son in 2007. I was getting soft, and honestly, kinda fat. Although it was one of the happiest times of my life, I became concerned that I would not be the fit mother I had always envisioned being. I want to be able to keep up with our three young boys. Frankly, I want as much energy as they have.

Dogpile with my boys!
Dogpile with my boys!

When I turned 40 last June, it was a good time for me to confront the way I was feeling – like a heavy sloth. I vowed to myself that my 40th year would be one of change with respect to getting myself in shape.

At the same time, more and more people that I know in our town of Lander, WY, are looking great, glowing and looking like they are getting younger instead of older – like they are truly reversing aging.

These many acquaintances, ranging in age from 35 to 65, have something in common. They have been going to Elemental Gym, and working with Steve Bechtel, his wife, Ellen, or Jagoe Reid on personal training programs.

I was really impressed that this many people were going to Steve’s gym, and most of all that so many of them were looking and feeling so good. Steve has been a friend for 13 years. He’s an exercise physiologist, certified personal trainer, hard worker, well-known climber and author. I was glad to hear of his success.

But I wasn’t sold.

I had done some personal training and I lifted weights for many years in my life, and I just couldn’t grasp that a weight training program, even if intense, would help me trim down and increase my fitness as significantly as I wanted. Also, as an aside, I am a fast-twitched fiber person, which basically means I’m built for speed, and can sprint and jump and build muscle pretty easily. (I bench pressed 185 pounds when I was 20) Being constructed of fast-twitch fibers, I was also skeptical that such a weight-lifting-related program would just beef me up and make me thicker, exactly the opposite of what I wanted.

So… I wasn’t an easy sell. And yet, the proof was in the pudding. All these acquaintances I know and trust couldn’t be lying about the benefits they were experiencing. They looked great and had renewed energy.

So, it was with all of this in mind, that I met with Steve Bechtel at Elemental Gym on March 23.

Steve, at his stomping grounds, Elemental Gym.
Steve, at his stomping grounds, Elemental Gym.

After some pretty cerebral discussions about exercise physiology and his philosophy when it comes to strength and metabolic training and training for fat loss, etc., I was compelled. It seemed like logical and smart and scientific proof that a training regimen designed by him could do the trick for me. I was sold.

I signed up and asked for a program that would kick my butt. I didn’t want a half-ass program. I had committed and was on board. Give me the toughest you got I was thinking. I wasn’t scared. I was far more scared of continuing the way I was than anything Steve could throw at me.

I was ready to change my life. There was – and is – no turning back. It’s that important to me. If you’re looking for a walk in the park, Elemental Gym is the wrong place. But if you’re looking for a new lease on life (sorry to steal Slimfast’s slogan), it could be the right place. It has taken a lot of courage for me to do this. It’s not easy. It’s been humbling. I’m held accountable, I sweat, and he has me working my adiposity (fat) off.

Doing lifts on my Grand Canyon vacation, April 2009.
Doing lifts on my Grand Canyon vacation, April 2009.

But I’ll tell you something: when my heart is pumping like it never has before, and I can’t lift my feet off the ground, or raise my arms in the air, and I’m breathing too hard to get a word out, I feel very alive, and that’s got to be a good thing, right?

I’m on a custom program with Steve. Basically he lines out a 5-week program for me in advance. Four days a week I’m on my own, working out at the gym or outdoors, according to the workouts he’s prescribed on my calendar. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I’m working out with him in the gym for approximately 45 minutes.

What’s fascinating to me is the philosophy that is employed. Steve says just 16 minutes of very hard exercise a day goes a long way to building strength and amping up your metabolism, which more easily leads to fat loss. You don’t have to endure 45 minutes on a treadmill several times a week to enjoy significant fat loss.

He explains that if you hit it hard and engage in high intensity exercise with little rest in between on a regular basis, your resting metabolic rate will increase and remain at an elevated level for longer. What this means is greater fat loss. Your furnace, if you will, will always be burning and burning hotter. Steve refers to this process/outcome as EPOC (excess postexercise oxygen consumption). This is basically oxygen debt – your body’s need to consume oxygen at a higher rate as a result of intense exercise, all of which burns more calories in the process, which leads to fat/weight loss.

This seems profound to me. Maybe the mountain air has gone to my head or my head’s been in the scree – but the aforementioned is news to me. I’ve always been into fitness and lifted weights for years. I always believed, if you really want to lose weight you need to run or get on the treadmill, several times a week for several minutes. I asked Steve if the aforementioned shorter duration but higher intensity philosophy is a new one, or why had I never heard of it or known about it. He said actually it’s been known for a long time but perhaps people didn’t know how to put it to practice.

He cited a study that was done back in 1994 (that’s right, 15 years ago) authored by A. Tremblay. Basically it was a small study that evaluated and compared the impact of two different modes of training on body fatness and skeletal muscle metabolism in young adults. There were two groups; one group of men and women were subjected to a 20-week “endurance-training” (ET) program and the other group of men and women were subjected to a 15-week, “high intensity intermittent training” (HIIT) program. Despite the fact the energy cost of the high intensity program was significantly lower than the ET program, members of the HIIT experienced a rate of fat loss that was nine times greater than the ET group.

There are many more similar studies.

Most of the workout days involve at least some high intensity, but the workouts with Steve on Tuesday and Thursday are the killers. This is when I get my money’s worth, and feel a little humored that I would sign up and pay for such butt-kicking. The joke between me and my husband is I say “I’m going to talk to a guy about a sandbag.” (Disclaimer: I say these sessions are killers, but I keep going back for more, and feel good about the way I’m feeling. It doesn’t hurt that Steve is a personable, knowledgeable and encouraging “coach.”)

Steve likes to say to me, and his other clients I’m sure, “If you do what you’ve always done you’ll get what you always got.” This makes sense. If a person reads the same story over and over again or skis the same blue runs over and over again, they’ll get really good at that particular story or ski run. To improve, Steve says we need to go beyond what we already know and are good at, and beyond what we’re accustomed to doing.

For that reason, Steve is always mixing up my programs, and no Tuesday or Thursday session is ever the same.

He is also fond of saying “Everything works. Nothing Works forever.” In other words, only by changing up the routine will our bodies be tested, and as a result, take us further.

Basically I skip into the gym, and 45 minutes later, I crawl out. The sessions are intense, emphasizing mostly strength and resistance exercises with very little rest in between. Most of the work is done not on machines but with free weights, barbells, body weight, kettleballs, medicine balls, big rubber balls, and let me not forget to mention – sandbags. Every exercise works a great many muscles and my body’s core is at the core of all the workouts.

Nutrition is also a focus. As Steve explains it, protein digestion is 30% inefficient. In layman’s terms, when you eat 1,000 calories of protein, it’s a net consumption of only 700 calories. Protein is harder (read: slower) to digest than carbs, thus requiring more energy/calories to do so, and therefore making us feel full longer.

The general nutrition plan I’m following under Steve’s training is to consume 10% x my bodyweight in calories, and to consume approx. 50% good carbs and 50% protein, with some good fat sprinkled in, such as egg yolks in the eggs I eat, nuts, etc.

An additional important benefit is that because I’m following a high intensity training program, I’m elevating my resting metabolic rate, which means I’m burning more calories while sleeping or sitting back in a recliner.

Let me add, the above doesn’t feel like a diet. I’m eating eggs (with yolks in them!), lean meats, great tasty salads and lots of fruits and vegies. I’m not starving and I’m not deprived.

I want to emphasize, although mine is a particularly intense program, not all training programs at Elemental Gym are as intense. The programs are tailored to the individual’s goals in life. The commonality, though, is one must experience some discomfort and want to become more fit.

Sandbag 1. Shelli 0. (That's not a smile; it's a grimace)
Sandbag 1. Shelli 0. (That's not a smile; it's a grimace)

That first day when I had my consult at the gym, before signing onto my training program, Steve said his (and Elemental Gym’s) goal is to get athletes, and anyone wanting to get fit, to work beyond their comfort zone.

Um, about that…Good job. I think it’s safe to say you’re achieving your goal…

Elemental Gym is located in Lander, WY, but Steve trains athletes all over the country.
 Email Steve or call the gym, at 307-332-0480.

SEE POST #2.