Who is Monti Tao?

As a classically trained scientist in biology and a natural analytical thinker, I never put much stock in intangible concepts like Religion and ‘God.’ If I could not prove something using verifiable methods, I likely wasn’t going to trust the information that was fed to me. Even still, I dabbled in Christian faith during my youth independent of familial beliefs, as they were nonexistent. By my college years those views had pretty much flown the coup. The reasons being that science made more sense to me and I simply couldn’t buy into the fear-mongering dogmas regarding hell and the rapture. As life went on, however, I realized that living without a belief in something outside of this Earth was scarier than the concept of potentially having a pineapple shoved up my ass for all of eternity if I was naughty. This became particularly evident when I found myself in situations where I had no control, like on airplanes. Flying became such a terrifying ordeal that I dreaded it and even had to sedate myself. One day it dawned on me that what I truly feared was death because I believed in nothing beyond this life, and thus my own unique spiritual quest began.

Despite my scientific mind I was a rather odd child who was spiritual in nature. I had a high degree of self-awareness and empathic abilities that enabled me to experience the emotions of others. At the time I had no clue that's what I could do, I just knew I was different. My ‘gut feelings’ actually felt like physical pulls, especially with regards to directions, I would frequently befriend people I already knew but but had never actually met, experienced frequent and startling bouts of déjà vu and vivid dreams, and I always knew what song was about to be on the radio; a rather useless psychic ability I might add. It was no wonder those years without any beliefs were unsettling to me in light of these characteristics. I was keenly aware that my human brain was different from something else deep inside me that I had no language to describe, and when I tried I was treated as a child with a hyperactive imagination, or just plain crazy. As a result I endured almost constant anxiety throughout my life. Constant worry over things I couldn’t control yet were important to me and my loved ones, to our very survival; worry that was borne of a complete lack of trust that the Universe would sort itself out and take care of life as it's always done. 

I won’t go into the details here, indeed that’s what the articles that will populate this blog are all about, but during the first major spiritual shift of my life at the commonly pivotal age of 27 I had an epiphany that led to my own understanding of ‘God.’ Significant in that it sated both aspects of my personality whose inner conflict caused the majority of my stress, the scientist and the deeper intuitive knowing, which I’ll now begin to refer to as my Ego and my Soul, respectively. Again, I’m not going to get into those terms now, but trust that many future mental meanderings will touch on those subjects in eccentric and thought-provoking ways. So, enough suspense! What was this miraculous experience?! Simply seeing something on a commercial one morning during my routine cardio workout. No, it wasn’t an infomercial for a shake-weight, an amazingly powerful vacuum or even a super versatile ladder; it was the infamous equation:

I hope I’ve sufficiently prepared readers for a bit of a far out trip. It’s time for a wee lesson in particle physics and an adventure down a spiritual rabbit hole!

The Physics

E = Energy

m = mass

c = speed of light = approximately 3.0 x 10^8 m/s (in a vacuum)

Leaving the spiritual stuff behind for a moment, I’ll explain this equation on a purely physical basis. In simple terms it states that energy is the result of mass times the speed of light squared, or to the second power depending on the preference of our high school math teacher. The implications of this equation are far more interesting, and get to the meat of this introduction to my spiritual meanderings. 

Breaking down the components of the equation we see mass, which can literally be anything, and the speed of light. The speed of light is a constant, so we can basically ignore it since it’s not going to change. It’s contribution to energy while formidable at about 9.0 x 10^16 m^2/s^2, aka really fucking fast, remains the same so it’s not the critical component of the equation. Mass, consequently, does change and therefore dictates the amount of energy within whatever it is we’re investigating. For example, a car has more mass than a mouse, so it follows that a car will have more energy than a mouse because only mass contributes to the mathematical significance of the equation since c remains the same for both the car as well as the mouse, aka hot rod and mighty mouse! 

Almost there, I promise. If it’s all about mass, what constitutes mass? When we drill down to the most basic units of mass we interestingly find that they too are constant. There are a finite number of particles and subatomic particles that make up everything in our Universe. Whether we’re talking about a car, a mouse or a hydrogen atom; we’re all comprised of protons, neutrons and electrons, which themselves are assembled from still smaller particles known quarks and leptons according to the standard model of physics. Given the continual advancements in particle physics it gets even crazier and new masses are still being discovered, but my point remains valid: we are all made up of the same fundamental elements and their molecules.

Time to back out and bring it home. Given that both the speed of light and the mass components are constants, it logically follows that we are all the same Energy; BOOM. The only difference between me, an Australian aboriginal, a tree, a tin roof, a puff of wind or the laptop I’m using to write this article is the number and composition of particles, thus mass. While our varying masses insinuate that we contain different amounts of energy, the Energy we embody nonetheless originates from the same source. 

Before reading the next part please sit with that, read it a couple more times, wrap the brain around it and ask what it might mean. What feelings begin to stir?

What the Shit Does it All Mean?!

This collective Energy from every particle in this universe encapsulated in every imaginable form on Earth, emitted from every single thing that has a mass greater than zero including gases and substances far far smaller than can be conceived by our human minds, is ‘God.’ Critically, and I really cannot stress this enough, the terminology is completely irrelevant. This Energy is indescribable, has no gender, no agenda, nor any other human quality we feel inclined to assign it to make ourselves feel comfortable. To name it and describe it is to completely miss the point of what it is, but I’ll give a go anyway for dramatic effect. It’s the lift under the wings of an airplane, it’s the love found in tears of joy as well as tears of pain, it’s the amazing job that turns up when we’re broke and destitute, it’s the life force that embodies an ova when it meets a sperm, it’s the rush of the first time we ride a bike and realise no one is holding us up, it’s the magnificence of a snow capped mountain in the distance, it’s the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach right before you find out a loved one has been in an accident as well as the butterflies anticipating a first kiss. It’s the light and the shadow, there is nothing it is not nor is there anything it cannot create. Though it has no agenda, learning to trust that everything is as exactly as it should under its guidance is beyond the abilities of most humans, most see only good luck and bad luck. We call it many things: God, the Atman, Spirit, the Universe, Christ Consciousness, Higher Power, etc. For genuinely personal reasons, I affectionately refer to it as Monti Tao.

For now all I’ll say is that our Souls are but a piece of it, and our egos function to remind us that we are still individual entities. The reason I started this blog is that the day I made the conscious decision to stop controlling and start trusting this Energy force, truly miraculous things began to happen. I mean 'holy fucking shit that's creepy' miraculous, which is coincidently how I came upon the descriptor of Monti. Since then I’ve incorporated an even more important component to my faith: everything I do, I do with a profound intent to serve this Energy in a positive way. Every work on this blog represents my feeble attempt to explain what the hell I’m on about, and to keep it fun and interesting by using both obvious and bizarre analogies, all based up my own experiences in life as well as things that come to me from that Energy (come on, don’t act like we didn’t know this was going to get weird!). My ultimate hope is to cultivate small yet significant shifts in the mass consciousness, positive waves that reverberate throughout the Universe, so that we can experience more peace of mind and start to understand the world we live in on a more spiritual level, connected to our roots and not so horribly amassed in chaos, fear and general negativity.

Until the next one, let's take good care of ourselves. 💖

What it Looks Like

Fuck. It’s happening again; please not again. Son of a bitch. What does it mean? Am I still broken? Haven’t I worked hard to change? To heal the damage? How the fuck did this happen? I promised myself a while ago that I’d never fight again; it wasn’t worth it. Now, I stand in the bathroom, reflect; I need to breath, to think.

A day centered around me, perfectly planned to fuel me for the next day’s event; the type of support I’ve often given but have never received. I knew it was too good to be true. But it had been such an amazing day, I even challenged old conditions and pushed beyond old uncomfortable boundaries for the very first time. I had been winning, so why was I now losing the plot? A surprise guest? No, that didn’t bother me. I knew him to be a social bloke and was genuinely pleased to see him happy. A kink in a day designed for me? Not precisely, but getting warmer. The unexpected food smack in the middle of my articulately planned meal schedule? Bingo. We had a winner.

I was mad, but I lied and said I wasn’t. Yet another old habit of supressing anger, afraid it would inspire feelings which would ultimately lead him to reject me. Wasn’t I worth a day? Hadn’t the plan been his idea? Just yesterday I suggested some changes and that seemed to upset him, so why could he now change them without consideration of my feelings? Shouldn’t I stand up for myself? I have done the work dammit, I fully comprehend the repercussions of continuing those old thought patterns and not taking care of my own needs; resulting in continuous vicious cycles. I won’t do that to myself, not anymore. Not for him, not for anyone.

Tense words past between us as I attempted to convey the millions of conflicting thoughts swirling around in my brain. I did a shit job of it; there was too much to process, everything was happening too fast. The brakes were failing. He joined his friend and left me alone. I’m always left alone. Old trigger, old response. I’ll leave, that’s what I do; flee, fuck off, run. “Stay” I heard a tiny voice inside me say. I ignored it, packed up some stuff and went to the car, but where were my keys? “Stay.” I become confused, disoriented; another old sensation. I recognized the signs, the stress had depleted my blood sugar. I couldn’t think, my emotions were spiralling out of control; the irony of trying to escape from the very thing I needed; both physically and emotionally.

“Stay.” Where the fuck were my keys? I went inside to find them; I must have looked insane. He asked me what I was doing. I don’t remember what I said, just walked away. I felt his hurt, his anger. “Stay.” For him the plan hadn’t changed, it had only been improved. He didn’t understand the broken connection in my brain that I’d only just begun to repair. A repair currently being tested; like a new fuse being pushed to its maximum amps, smoking, threatening to blow under the weight of the situation. Could it handle it? Would it hold?

Back at the car I realized the keys had been there the whole time; under normal circumstances that would have made me laugh. “Stay.” I broke down into tears. All the thoughts flooded me at once, the dam burst. I heard myself say “I don’t want to be alone anymore,” understood it sounded dependent and desperate, but it was actually a cry to the Universe for help. I’d been on my own for 87.9% of my life. For the first time I had hope that I could balance my need for freedom with my authentic desire for a healthy, mutually beneficial, relationship; a partnership. For the first time I thought I was ready, but here I was again. Broken. “Stay.” Louder now. I asked, “Are you sure?” In the past the voice always told me to run but I’d fight to stay, eventually to my own detriment. It’s never actually told me to stay; can I trust it? “Stay.” But he’s mad at me, he thinks I’m crazy, he won’t want me anymore; he’ll see me as broken, just like the others. A toy that was fun for a while, but not worth keeping.

“Stay.” Where will I find the courage to challenge those old patterns? The false conditions that previously led me to self-destruct in similar situations? “You are worth it; Trust yourself. Everything will work out; Trust me. Just Stay.” Inspired by an energy my brain couldn’t comprehend, I wiped the tears from my face. I didn’t look at him as I walked up the drive for the third time. I went inside, put some things away and took three deep breaths. “You’re almost there.” I went outside to join them; still too embarrassed to look at him. Without a word he got up to get me a chair, placed it beside him and seamlessly integrated me into their conversation. I sat, ate something, had a chat; recovered. The rest of the night went precisely to plan, right down to the minute.

Exercise: Push Through or Pull Out?

I find there are two predominant personality types, those who push themselves to nearly inhumane limits and those who give up at the slightest pang of resistance or pain. This is particularly true at the gym, so I thought I'd share my thoughts as a health and fitness professional regarding when to stop and when to push through while exercising.

The first critical assessment that needs to be addressed is whether the resistance to working out is coming from the Mind or the Body. If it's the Mind: PUSH THROUGH! If it's the Body, well, we'll talk about that in a bit. Overcoming mental barriers may take a considerable amount of practice, particularly for those who are not used to exercise and have not yet made it part of their normal routine. The Mind dislikes change above all things. Think of any new habit that you've started or, still more difficult, trying to quit a habit. For most people the Mind becomes addicted to routine and even though we all know exercise is beneficial for both the Body as well as the Mind, making it a habit is extremely difficult and takes a phenomenal amount of will power, especially considering the starting up process can be a bit uncomfortable for the Body as well.

Nine years ago when I started my journey I would cringe, hell sometimes even cry, at the thought of getting out of bed, putting my puppy in his kennel so I wouldn't accidentally stomp on him, and popping in my Hip Hop Abs workout DVD. Somedays it would be my Mind begging me not to start up the same old 40 minute workout, which involved listening to a ridiculously flamboyant yet ripped instructor, Shawn T, and doing the hilariously ludicrous dance moves; other days it would be my extremely sore and fatigued Body. The irony that I was a 120kg white girl attempting to execute hip hop dance choreography to drop fat and tone my horribly out of shape body was not at all lost on me. I would often laugh out loud at myself, knowing I must look completely absurd. Yet somehow I pushed through. That tiny voice inside my brain that screamed "Please, for the love of God, your Body and your health, get your lazy ass out of bed and MOVE!" had miraculously won out. Some people aren't able to hear that voice however, and that's why personal trainers are extremely valuable. I am gladly that voice for others!

Over time as I stuck with it and started to see results that voice became even stronger. In the coming months I'd even look forward to my routine. Once I was under 80kg and confident enough to enter a gym I expanded my routine and started running, which again set my Mind to coming up with all sorts of excuses to stop and give up. This was when I came up with my 10 Minute Cardio Rule: No matter how much I wanted to stop, regardless of all the mental resistance or muscle soreness, I made myself stay on the piece of equipment, be it a treadmill, bike, cross trainer or row machine, for a minimum of 10 minutes. After 10 minutes if I still wasn't feeling it, I could stop. Nine times out of ten, however, after 10 minutes my Mind would quiet down and my achy muscles would loosen, glad for the extra blood flow, and I'd realise that doing the next 20 minutes wouldn't be so bad, especially if I was listening to a good playlist, reading an interesting book or watching a movie to help pass the time.

Getting to this level takes time, practice and determination (and a bit of crazy)! But once you're there, boy do you love that Runner's High!

Now onto the Bodily aspect of this dilemma. As stated above, if it's run of the mill muscle soreness push through. People who think soreness is an acceptable excuse to cut out a workout, well, I hate to tell you but it's not. If muscles are sore get some blood flowing through them and move! Afterwards give them a nice long stretch and drink plenty of water to help ease the soreness. People new to fitness should expect some soreness, and so should people training towards a specific goal. For example, when I trained for my half marathon there were days I could barely walk let alone run, yet somehow I'd take to the road and bang out my 10 mile training run. How, one might ask? I knew if I didn't run I'd never reach my goal of finishing the race, and I really wanted to finish that race! Still better, when I pushed through and proved to myself I could run despite the soreness I felt like a champion. It gave me confidence that no matter how my Body might feel on race day I could accomplish my goal.

Like the Mind, the Body resists change. Evolutionarily it functions to maintain homeostasis, so changing it and reaching fitness goals takes effort and will definitely include some serious soreness and even some mild-ish pain. So here's my advice: Suck it up Buttercup! I have a lot of clients and they all put up little fights in various, and often humorous, ways. One likes to complain that they're getting really hot, to which I reply "Really?! Could that be because you're lifting heavy weights?!"Another repeatedly tells me that they can't do the movement or handle the weight while they are LITERALLY doing it, so I make sure they feel supported and encourage them to keep going. My favourite is when clients look at the weight I'm about to ask them to lift and tell me they can't do it without even trying! And guess what, no one has ever been completely unable to do what I ask of them. They always end up surprised by their own strength and feeling better about themselves; one of the many reasons I love my job.

So, when do you stop? If you FEEL a sharp or shooting snap, crackle or pop of pain in a joint (Ankle, Knee, Hip, Elbow, Shoulder, Wrist or Neck), or FEEL a muscle, tendon or ligament tear, STOP IMMEDIATELY. Also STOP if you feel sharp pains in the chest, significantly high heart rate, or feel lightheaded and/or dizzy. Assess the situation by lifting low weights and stretching the area, and get professional help if injured or the Body doesn't recover within 5-10 minutes of rest.

The joints will often make popping sounds as air works its way out and/or cartilage moves around, but it should not hurt. Be conscious of persistent pain that becomes constant over time and repetition. Any persistent pain is a cue to stop pushing through it and address the underlying issue. Chronic pain often leads to issues that could become extremely limiting and difficult to heal if not addressed by adequate stretching and mobility exercises. For example, my left knee is currently out of commission due to the way that I walk as well as some inherent muscle imbalances. Does this mean I don't train? Absolutely Not! It means I try exercises and stop if my knee starts to seriously talk to me (or scream as the case may be), which basically limits me to biking, swimming and rowing. One day during spin class, which usually doesn't bother my knee, I felt a stab of pain while spinning in a standing position so I opted to remain seated for the rest of the class and go at an extremely easy pace. By comparison, when my wrist begins to hurt in class I take note of my position, make adjustments that ease the pain and keep going. Though I haven't stopped training because of my knee, I have altered how and how long I train in order to work through my injury. I now focus less on cardio and more on stretching and strengthening the muscles around my knee which will adjust the misalignments and help it recover.

It's also worth mentioning that excessive training leads to burnout which is a real physiological issue that causes the adrenal glands to malfunction (follow the hyperlinks for some more information as I'm not an expert). Additionally, excessive fatigue may restrict exercise and should be addressed if persistent. Lastly, as far as illnesses such as the common cold are concerned, it's ok to workout at a lighter intensity so long as the infection doesn't effect your ability to breath properly.  Evidence even suggests that exercise can be beneficial.

The take home message is to be aware of the Mind and Body during exercise. The default should be to push through unless there is physical evidence that a workout would be detrimental to your emotional state or might cause damage to the Body. 

Dear Amanda

Hey Sis,

I can't believe it's been 10 years since we last spoke on your 25th birthday. I'll always remember that conversation and your hilarious comment about Grandpa being so racist that he'd shout at the TV when a black person won on The Price is Right. Writing this letter is something I've thought about for a long time, but just couldn't get the balls to write it. No one in our family has ever dealt with emotional pain well, always opting for some drug, alcohol or food to avoid our feelings and ease our broken minds. The day Mom called to tell me you were dead was the worst day of my life, everything in me went cold and numb. I'm not sure how I made it through the following days, I just remember being weirded out by Mom and Dad standing next to each other at your funeral, Sarah and I knew you'd have felt the same.  Oddly I don't feel much different or older since we last talked but holy shit have things changed! You'd absolutely shit yourself if you could see me now; I'd also like to think you'd be really proud of me.

The 22 year old graduate student you left behind, morbidly obese with a sedentary life and shitty eating habits, drunk more often than not, and a mean streak like a viper; she's totally changed. It took place so gradually I'm not even sure how the hell it happened. Things got worse before they got better. When you first left I kind of lost my shit and took to getting utterly wasted and being reckless, laughing madly as I drove around Denver knowing full well that I was compromising everything I had, my license, my degree, my freedom and even my life; I didn't care and it scared me.

I want to sincerely thank you, Amanda. Your death caused a couple of shifts that I'll be forever grateful for; mostly that it brought me closer to Sarah and made me take stock of my own life. It reminded me that no one knows how much time they've got left and if there's something we want to do we'd better damn-well get on with it. At some point all the times I felt disgusted with myself and my body became too much so I decided to lose weight but went on a bit of a different diet than you did, though everyone believed I'd just become addicted to crack too, hahaha. The first time Mom saw me after I'd lost about half the weight she couldn't hug me because I looked so much like you. Everyone at the bar back home kept mistaking me for you as well, which gave me mixed feelings of shame and pride. Still more years of seemingly endless trial and error in the pursuit of happiness led me through countless changes; I left my PhD program, spent some time with a guy I thought I'd marry (I'll spare you those details!), moved to Kansas of all places, burned through many jobs low and high from McDonald's to Pharmaceutical Management, and finally found myself in New Zealand where I finally figured out how I could find peace and happiness within myself, or at least as much as I'm likely to obtain. You'll never believe it but I'm a health and fitness coach, personal trainer and Pilates instructor! I can almost hear you saying, "what the fuck is pilates?!"

The ASS Sisters: Amanda, Summer and Sarah

Sometimes I miss you so bad it stops me in my tracks, a distinct pain I feel in my chest. I'll look at a phone and want to call you, hear your voice. I unexpectedly found a couple of letters you had written me from jail a few years ago; I read them from time to time, laugh at your horrible spelling and smile at your descriptions of jailhouse antics. Mostly I wonder what you would say, so many things things have drastically changed in this crazy world since you left, no doubt it would involve copious amounts of swearing. I'm sorry for the times your addictions made me distance myself from you. As I get older and become more aware of my own mental demons, I can't imagine how badly you suffered and feel comforted by the fact that wherever you or, you're better off there then you were here. I keep my share of you and your many body piercings in a pretty blue bag that hangs on my wall; I bet you never thought you'd live in New Zealand! Luckily the people at customs didn't notice I had illegal ashes in my pack. You'd be happy to know you slightly resemble cocaine now, and Sarah and I used to joke that you'd snort yourself if you were here.

I think what scares me the most now is that all I have are memories which no doubt have been distorted over time, but since you were a pathological liar I doubt you'd have an issue with that, haha. What's real are my memories of the odd combination of cold metal and soft lips when you'd kiss my cheek as well as your voice; how it sounded when you said "You are my heart, I love you Summie" so many times that night you were drunk and high, and I had brought my ultimate frisbee team up from Rochester for a game in Canada. I was so fucking embarrassed then, but I'm thankful now that it was burned into my brain.

I'm not sure when we'll meet again or what our bodies will look like, but I look forward to the day I'll recognise your Soul and smile, probably as you slap me for some reason or another.

Love You Sis,
Summie

To Eat or Not To Eat (Before Training); That is the Question......

Many of my clients have asked me whether or not to eat before training, while others have decided not to for reasons usually pertaining to a lack of time. The latter group also experience the repercussions of having no fuel for their session; so I wanted to take some time to write down my thoughts and knowledge for all to peruse and use as they see fit.

Like all things in Health and Fitness there is no right or wrong answer here. What you eat and when you eat it will depend on what your Body needs and, most importantly, your specific Fitness goals. It's critical to listen to your Body; play around with your pre- and post- exercise foods and their quantities until you feel strong and adequately fuelled throughout your workout.

General

The most critical thing to do before training is ensure that the metabolism is up and going so that your body can get the most out of the workout. This means that if you train in the morning you should eat at least a light breakfast before going to the gym or heading out for a run. For those who train after work or in the evening, if it's been more than four (4) hours since your last meal, anything from a light snack to a full meal may be necessary depending on what you'd like to accomplish during the session.

Weight Loss - Cardio

For people trying to loss significant weight, cardio training should be the primary method of dropping kilos/pounds fast. If you have a lot of fat reserves and weight to loss it's less important that you eat before exercise unless you plan to do over an hour of training. Some fast-burning sugars, such as those found in fruit, is sufficient to kickstart the metabolism and power through the workout (e.g. a Banana/Apple).  Plan to eat a nice balanced meal of lean protein, veggies and smart complex carbohydrates anywhere from thirty (30) minutes to one (1) hour after training to refuel and recover. Endurance cardio, such as running or biking more than an hour will require more substantial nutrition as discussed below.

Fitness Magazine's Guide on Before and After Workout Food

Muscle Gain/Bulking - Lifting

If a client is going to crash on me they do it about ten (10) minutes into a lifting session. When I ask if they ate before the session the answer is always 'No.' Let me be clear, if your goal is to bulk you need to eat a phenomenal amount of food; before and after workouts, and pretty much every other time you're breathing. The issue here is hypoglycaemia, or low blood sugar.  The muscles require a lot of sugar to lift weight and without the proper pre-workout fuel the muscles very quickly take all the available sugar out of the blood and then it's night-night time. Some people, like myself, get hypoglycaemia very easily and need to be particularly careful. In this case a full balanced meal is required about one (1) hour before the session. Additionally, it is a good idea to have fast recovery food with you such as almonds, fruit and/or high protein drinks in case you experience a drop during the workout.  Staying away from caffeine prior to exercise is also a good idea since it causes blood sugar levels to become unstable.

The function of each food group is critical in establishing a stable blood sugar level, which will keep you powered-up and strong throughout your workout:

• Complex Carbohydrates (Oatmeal, Whole Grain Bread, Kumara, Potato): These are big chains of simple sugars which take a long time to break down so you'll have a constant supply of sugar for your muscles over a long period of time as the food is broken down during digestion.
• Fruit/Veggies (Banana, Apple, Broccoli, Cauliflower): High in simple sugars as well as fibre, these foods will also ensure that a steady stream of sugar seeps into the bloodstream. Particularly the fibre delays the breakdown during digestion.
• Fat (Peanut Butter, Almonds/Nuts, Pumpkin Seeds, Avocado, Eggs): Having some type of fat is critical for a lifting session because they are the most effective in stabilising blood sugar. Again, this works because fat, like fibre and long chains of carbs, take a long time for the body to breakdown. Fat, however, has the added benefit of being the most high-energy compound out of the three (3) main nutritional components (protein, carb, fat). Just be aware that high-energy also means high calories, so a little fat goes a long way!
• Lean Protein (Chicken, Fish, Tofu, Greek Yogurt, Eggs): Protein metabolism also takes time, but the Body mostly needs it to repair the muscles you shred while lifting. I know that sounds a bit painful, but getting stronger and building muscle literally requires tearing it by repetitious lifting then allowing it to heal through stretching, adequate rest, and most importantly, EATING PROPERLY.

The main point is to eat a type of sugar (Carb/Fruit) and then seal in the bloodstream levels with fibre, fat and/or protein.

Hope you found this helpful, and feel free to sing out if you'd like help figuring out what may be right for your Body and your workouts.

What Squirrel Fitness Can Offer You!

Why I Want to Be a Fitness Coach

I'm Summer, an American born New Zealand Resident trained as a Scientist but who would much rather help and motivate people. For those who know me and are familiar with my story, it would come as no surprise that becoming a personal trainer is my dream job. Nutrition, fitness, mental health and comprehensive well-being have been my passion and hobby since I undertook a serious weight loss program just prior to my 23rd birthday (almost 9 years ago, yikes!). For now I'll omit the emotional aspects of this transition and state the numbers. After a lifetime of obesity and frequent half-hearted attempts to lose weight through intermittent exercise, Slim Fast and Dexatrim diets; I walked into LA Weight Loss on July 23, 2007 and weighed in at 239 lbs (108 kg). In October of 2008, after 14 months of relentless self control and discipline, I reached my goal weight of 130 lbs (59 kg). For the last 4 years I've stayed around 123 lbs (56 kg). I started in size 22 pants, XXL shirts and size 10 shoes, and ended in size 4 pants, XS-S shirts and 9.5 shoes [American sizes]; turns out there's not much fat on your feet, though doing Yoga and getting rid of the weight on my spine enabled me to grow an inch!

There were a lot of reasons why I wanted to lose weight, but it basically boiled down to the fact that I was no longer happy with my Body. I felt uncomfortable, I felt that I was missing out on opportunities in life due to my obesity, and most of all, I didn't want to fit the stereotype of another fat American with Type 2 diabetes (for a full description listen to my Podcast called "Fat Chronicles: Part 1). Once I was shown what to eat and how to moderate portions dieting was simple, the weight melted off and I physically couldn't eat all the food in my prescribed diet plan. I knew, however, that without an exercise component to my diet losing the weight would take a lot longer and I'd be prone to frustrating plateaus. Too heavy for some gym equipment and mortified at the thought of working out amongst a bunch of skinny chicks and hardbodies, I started the Hip Hop Abs exercise program in the comfort of my apartment. As lame as it seemed, and felt while hopping around my living room like a spastic white whale, it actually worked! One excruciatingly painful morning after another I hauled my sorry ass out of bed, put my puppy in his kennel so I couldn't trample him, and began my daily romp. There were mornings I would rather bang my face against a wall than do that stupid workout; the thought of getting out of bed and starting the DVD literally made me feel ill, but I pushed through and after about a month I found that I'd be halfway through my workout without even realising it. It had become habit, and a habit I still have to this very day: Get up, eat a light balanced meal, exercise. 

Sticking tight to my routine, the next 10 months were steady periods of weight loss mixed with plateaus when I'd loose inches off various areas instead of pounds. The issues started when I plateaued hard at 145 lbs (66 kg); I was so close to my goal that I became obsessed with losing the final 15 lbs. Soon it became common practice to workout 2-3 hours a day while eating 800-1200 calories a day. I stopped menstruating, I cut all fat out of my diet and my hair began to fall out, my eyes lost their glow and became hallow dark circles. My body was in starvation mode and my brain did not have the nutrition it needed to think clearly and logically; I had no idea that my behaviour had become dangerous, all I knew was to diet until I reached my goal. Everything I ate was carefully weighed and measured so I knew its caloric impact; I even restricted chewing sugar free gum because each piece contained 5 calories. Unfortunately by that time LA Weight Loss as a company had gone under, I had no support structure and no one to tell me that my obsession was quickly transitioning into an eating disorder. I lost almost all of my friends, some because I refused to go out for drinks or meals, terrified I'd consume calories I hadn't planned into that days allotment. Others I'd lost because they couldn't stand to watch me continue to self destruct. Ironically I had set out to lose weight and become healthy, yet I ended up skinny and as unfit as ever.

It's been nearly 8 years since those dark days, and it got worse before it got better. Here's what I learned after all this time: Health is not a state of the Body, it is a state of the Mind. Whether overweight, ideal or underweight health is attainable through proper nutrition, exercise, social support, acceptance of our imperfections and, most importantly, laughter!
I've learned this critical lesson the hard way which is why I want to be a personal trainer. I desperately want to coach those ready to make a commitment to comprehensive health as well as investing in their quality of life through fitness and nutrition. MY GOAL IS TO SAFELY GUIDE MY CLIENTS THROUGH THEIR OWN JOURNEY TO HEALTH, EMPOWERING THEM WITH KNOWLEDGE, PROVIDING RELENTLESS SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT, AND HAVING A LOT OF FUN ALONG THE WAY! 

Squirrel Fitness includes a plethora of services that will be customised to each clients needs and implemented to meet their goals; food plans and exercise regimens will be tailored to client's lifestyles, work and family obligations and take into consideration what they enjoy doing and how they prefer to incorporate fitness into their everyday lives'. From personal training sessions to educational shopping trips, walking/running groups, social events to reinforce a support network, and everything in-between, I will work tirelessly to provide my clients with the resources they need to achieve their individual goals. 

Here's what I need from my clients: Give me a call, schedule a consult and show up with a positive attitude and willingness to try; leave the rest to me! 

MAKE A GOAL AND HAVE A GO!