Seriously, you’re NOT worth it. I’m talking directly to you. If you were, you’d already be taking massive action in taking care of yourself. You’d stop eating shitty foods that leave you feeling bloated and tired. You’d get off your butt and exercise today, instead of tomorrow (because as we know, tomorrow never comes). You’d stop spending money on things that don’t matter (the new cottage, boat, car, video game, etc) and start spending money on what gives your life permanent value (your health in the form of proper nutrition, exercise and well being). Oh, this doesn’t apply to you? Then full apologies. But ask yourself this: how much do you really value yourself?

                You see, I used to think when I started personal training that when people objected to the cost of training it was because they were unsure. They were unsure that the price of training was worth what they’d get in return. Would they see results? Would it work for them? Could they get it for less elsewhere? There was a million possible reasons in their mind why NOT to get training. I used to think that.

                I used to think that when price was the issue for someone, it wasn’t what the cost of the product was that deterred them; it was the value they placed in it. In other words, they don’t believe that the product is worth the amount being charged to them. If they saw the value, they’d definitely buy it. Now, I don’t think so. You see, I think the real objection isn’t the value they see in the training, but the value that they see in themselves. They actually don’t think they are worth that amount! Shocking but true.

                A perfect example is an experience a colleague had training a client. This individual had wanted to transform their body for a long long time. In fact, they confessed to a friend in tears how much pain they felt at being overweight. They couldn’t bear it any longer! The friend, seeing their friend’s  agony, recommended a top personal trainer (someone known for proven results).

                This individual was well within the means of affording training; penthouse apartment, new Porsche, $50,000 in apartment renovations and $15,000 on a walker… for her dog. However when it came time to get committed to their body, see results from a trainer with a proven track record, they balked at the price. This trainer charged the average price of training, a cost that for her to see results would be a fraction of her dog walker! But she refused. She refused because she didn’t find herself worth it. She said she knew she’d lose the weight, but it wasn’t the right investment for her.  You might think she went out the next day and tried to find another trainer for less, or maybe buy one of those fad work out DVDs. Nope. One year later, she is now more overweight than ever. She is going to get in shape “one of these days”. 

                Another more real example of our lack of self worth is with doctors. How many of us will complain and shake their fists at the Gods, spend three hours on the phone and raise trouble when their phone bill is wrong? Most of us (I confess I did exactly this). We’ll do a lot of research on what is the best service plan and company to sign a phone contract, but when it comes time to find a good doctor, the  very person responsible for our health? Five minutes, max. We go with whoever is available! This individual might be responsible for the future of our well being! They can make crucial decisions that will extend or shorten our life permanently, but once again, we don’t invest the time in it.

                What is it that leads us to believe we’re not worth it? Why would we spend a lot of money on useless things but hesitate to spend anything on ourselves? I think a big problem is that our perception of what is truly important today has become completely off. We seek immediate material base gratification (DQ Blizzards, anyone?) and give up in exchange real, permanent life changing improvements. Instead of looking at the long term benefits of a healthy lifestyle (such as reduced risk of injuries, increased strength, improved flexibility, more energy, vitality, contentment-and looking better naked!), we do what can immediately make us “happy”. Instead of seeking outward satisfaction, we should turn inward and improve ourselves.

 Now, I have to get off my high horse myself; I’m just as guilty as everyone else. I’m much more likely to spend my money on a new gadget rather than on a food intolerance test! At the same time, from personally helping to improve lives, I can see the long term benefits that my clients have seen from training, and it serves as a constant reminder to me that it is in fact worth it.     

How Much are you Worth?

I’m no stranger to the art of transforming bodies; it is something I help participate in every day. I’ve witnessed and helped deliver some radical transformations. But truth be told I’ve struggled myself with making that same transformation. True, I was in decent shape before, but not to the level I expected of myself. There has been many aborted attempts, some more successful than others but most usually ending in complete failure. I failed for the most typical reasons: not dedicated enough, improper planning, frustration, etc.

In fact here is an Old Timeline of a Twelve Week Cut
Week 1-2: Feeling excited about making the transformation, initial weight is down and energy in the gym is good. Bring out the tank-tops!
Week 3-4: Progress starting to slow down, so I immediately cut calories and do triple cardio (ok I lied, more like ten times the cardio)
Weeks 5-6: Desperate by lack of progress, cut calories further (eating less than a supermodel) and working out like a bodybuilder on a double dose of juice.
Weeks 6-8: Burn out and failure, the combination of too much work, too little recovery and a ravenous appetite lead to a downward spiral
Weeks 9-12: Don’t happen as I wimped out and quit, defeated and crying like a pre-teen girl at a Jonas brothers concert.

As you can see I needed help to make this transformation. My key secret that helped me succeed was to seek professional help. WHAT? BLASPHEMY! A trainer admitting he used another trainer? Why? Why can’t I design I own program? Well I have designed my own programs and followed them but what I was missing was my failure to think objectively about my body. Either I’d cut my calories weigh to low (disaster), increase my training frequency too high and under recover (even bigger disaster), or do a combination of both (near life-death experience). I’m serious, I saw visions of the after-life during one particularly brutal cut (and it wasn’t pretty like in the movies- Richard Simmons was on the other side and he was PISSED!).

Who was this wise sage that I consulted? Why a fellow Canadian of course, Christian Thibaudeau. I’ve been reading his articles and books for several years and finally decided to take my body to the next level. Using his “Get Jacked” Program, I embarked on a twelve week transformation, eager for it to be the best and last one. Not surprisingly not only did I lose the weight I wanted: I even gained muscle!

This is my twelve week transformation

In the wake of this success I’ve learnt a lot about myself and about transformations in general. Below I hope to share a couple key points that I learnt so I can save YOU time. The quick answer is the holy trinity of a successful transformation revolves around 1. Your metabolism 2. Your body’s ability to use fat (its carb tolerance, hormonal profile, exercise choice, etc) and 3. Your ability to recover from work outs. Here is what I’d do differently.

Don’t cut calories too soon
Focus on expending more calories first before you hack away at what you are eating. Its a lot easier to deny yourself food then it is to do the gruelling workouts necessary to make an impressive transformation. Cutting calories too soon can not only mess up y our metabolism but affect your performance in the gym (not to mention possibly damaging your hormonal profile). Sluggish work outs won’t preserve muscle mass and not ingesting enough quality food can make you drowsy and tired.

Don’t do too much cardio.
I think its a plague in our society where we feel the need to over exert ourselves. Call it a type A personality, or whatever you want, but the fact remains that most people will spend TOO MUCH time doing TOO MUCH cardio of the wrong type. Each of us only has so much time to work out and cardio should be at the bottom of your to do list. Here’s why: too much cardio can eat away at your muscles, down regulate the amount of calories you burn in a day, increased cortisol levels (a stress hormone), and make you addicted to watching Oprah. Seriously, its that bad. A proper balance between weight training and energy systems work is the key toward a proper transformation. If your time is limited here is what you should do:

Minimum Three Strength Work outs a week (to maintain or build lean mass and burn calories)
Three Circuit Based Weight Work outs a week (to elevate metabolism and preserve muscle)
High Intensity Interval Training
Low Intensity Cardio

Focus on the biggest issues
Often times we get bogged down by the minor details instead of focusing on the key issues, the things that are most important to us seeing results. Instead of asking am I getting enough exercise? We ask “whats better, eating my last meal one hour before bed or two hours before bed”. Don’t cloud your mind by details, focus instead on the big keys to success: proper eating habits, proper exercise choice and plenty of rest. You can’t out train a crappy diet and you can’t train properly with out adequate rest.

Take time off!
Seriously this is an order. If you are constantly pursuing your fat loss goal it’ll only wear you down both physically and mentally. Eating below maintenance for prolonged periods of times can slow down your metabolism and leave you feeling sluggish and miserable. Fat loss shouldn’t become a grind. If you have been cutting for longer than twelve weeks straight, take a break. I’m not talking a couple days, I’m talking a solid one to two weeks off. This will not only reset your metabolism but it’ll also refuel your desire to achieve your goals. Believe me, we all want results yesterday but a temporary pause to reset and refuel your body is necessary for long-term success.

You never want to reach the point where you are endlessly trying and just not seeing an results, its frustrating and defeating!
 
Don’t beat up on yourself
Had a cheat meal? Or a cheat day? Don’t sweat it, it happens to the best of us. The telling point is what you do AFTER you fall off the band wagon, do you jump back on or fall apart? Strength is going through your struggles and deciding not to surrender, that is true strength.

Have a plan, follow it, believe it
If you don’t map out your road to success then there won’t be any success. Planning out what you need to do is just as important as doing it. When you are six weeks into a transformation a lot of doubt starts to creep in, that is when knowing you are on a specific plan is so important, it helps ground you and gives you a vision. A key to success is to have a blueprint. How can you know where you are if going if you have no direction?

This also applies to eating, do you pack your meals? Have you planned out your week, or do you find yourself stopping into your local McDonalds and ordering combo #1? Lets use a familiar line: if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. And while you are at it, make your food tasty for a change! As someone who loves to eat good food, I’ve discovered that healthy food need not taste like cardboard. Hence the introduction of my Chef Buff series (click here to watch the latest episode).

Seek professional help
Often times we think we know it all. Its hard to try and ask for help especially from people we don’t know. This is even more true for myself being a trainer. The cost however to both your time and more importantly your body, is just not worth skimping out on yourself. I tell all my clients to look at training as an investment on their bodies and more important themselves. When you put it that way, nothing can be more important than how you think and feel.

My two year transformation, wow

There is plenty more advice but I think those are the key points to succeed, now go forth and conquer that flubber!

Got Any Advice? Share it below please!

Some people call me stinky, some call me cheesy, my inspiration: combine both for a deadly combination of flavour: le quiche! This is a healthy version with cottage cheese representing the cheese and egg whites taking the place of eggs. This is a quick easy recipe that is transportable and lasts several days. Say goodbye egg mcmuffin and hello to Chef Buff’s quiche supreme! Warning: you might become addicted.

Ingredients
Half spanish onion
Five medium mushrooms
Two Cups of broccoli
7.5 Ounce of 1% Cottage Cheese
225 ml of Egg whites
3 Eggs
Top with Cheddar
Salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne pepper and garlic

Have any modifications? Let the infamous one star chef know below!

Today we visit the Mediterranean to go to my Greek brethren for culinary inspiration. The theme today is volumetrics; using high volume low calorie food to leave us feeling satiated. The result? A jumbo greek salad. Simple, elegant, and most of all tasty- this salad will leave you saying all kinds of weird jargon in Greek. TIKANIS!

Ingredients
150 gram Chicken Breast
1 Teaspoon Olive Oil
30 gram crumbled Goat’s Feta
Ionized sea salt
¼ Spanish Onion
¼ Red Bell pepper
Crap Load of Spinach
Black Pepper

Approximate calories: 380 (This is a Chef Buff sized portion, adjust accordingly). Watch the onion breathe don’t blame me if you make a couple of these a day- it makes a great lunch OR breakfast!

What variations do you guys use? Comment below!

Gyms are an interesting place to work. Some people you see every day, others once in a blue moon. Sometimes people reach their goals; unfortunately most usually don’t. In those same gym goers I see the same tired look in people’s eyes as they train. It is a look of weak hope and quiet desperation. They are searching for purpose, for meaning. Vainly they seek inside the gym answers to their problems. Their physical failures might stem from poor exercise choices, redundant routines, and lack of direction, but these problems indicate a much larger issue. The real culprits, poor planning, inconsistency, lack of motivation and a host of others, are usually indicative of the way the person leads their life. Do people come to lose fat, to gain muscle? Or do they come to feel better about themselves, to become more comfortable with who they are, who they want to be? The physical goal might be to lose ten pounds of fat, but the real goal is often to eliminate the psychological baggage of not feeling good about one’s self.

                Inside the gym you see people for who they really are; what really drives them. You can pick up a lot on a person’s personality just by the way they train. Are your visits to the gym inconsistent, lacking both focus and direction? If yes, then how are you performing in other areas of your life? Is there a direction; a five year plan? Or does your gym time represent the way you lead your life? Based on my experience with hundreds of clients, I think one correlates to the other. 

                I believe the way a person trains is a good indicator of who they are. Why is it that the most successful people I know also train the hardest, most consistent and see the most results? Could their drive for physical perfection stem from their internal drive for every other aspect of their lives? Even the phrases a person uses in the gym reveal what they view the gym as. The difference between saying that you “train” and you “sort of work-out” imply two different mindsets. Notice also how I use the phrase training instead of “working out”. Working out to me implies a lack of direction and meaning. With training there is purpose; an end goal. We are not only training our bodies in the gym but more importantly our minds.

                The real reason people come into a gym is to transform themselves. Training is the vehicle for change; it is the way we build ourselves. It is how we get in touch with ourselves, with who we are as people. I’ve heard it said before, how can we ever know ourselves if we’ve never put ourselves to the test? Much like the process of muscle building (the destruction of the old structure and the rebuilding of a new more powerful unit), training is about personal transformation. We abandon our old personality and forge a new identity. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes we create our new identity from the old. Training is something positive we do; it is a temple of change.

                I know from personal experience that the greatest benefits I’ve derived from gym have been the habits I’ve developed. Through training, I’ve learnt the benefits of hard work, goal setting and proper planning. I’ve become a more determined, focused, and happier individual as a result of my time at the gym. I look at it now as an investment in myself as a person. I’m reinforcing certain habits and working on eliminating others. This pursuit of perfection helps to clarify all the other areas of my life and enhances the quality of it. So the next time you are in the gym, ask yourself, what does it mean to you?

Please share your thoughts below

I defy sound science to produce a creation so yummy it must be from another world. Ever wanted to eat muffins but avoid the muffin top? Now with the mysteries of protein powder, Chef Buff, and a lot of attitude comes the buffin! Easy to make, transportable and tasty like no tomorrow, you’ll never want to make regular muffins again! Say goodbye to Timmy’s and hello to a flat stomach:

In the show, for twelve buffins, I used:
Dry Ingredients
1 Cup Ground Flax Seed
1 Cup Protein powder
Splenda (add sweetner to desired level of sweetness, can use Stevia etc)
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
Dash salt
Teaspoon Cinnamon

Wet
2 Egg Whites
1 Egg
1.5 Cups Balkan Yogurt
Hint of Vanilla Extract

For Berrilicious Muffins:
1 Cup Mixed Berries
The Zest of 1 whole lemon
1 Lemon Juice

For Walnut Pumpkin Buffins:
¼ Cup Pumpkin
Handful of Walnuts

Directions: Mix wet and dry, pour into muffin tins (should produce twelve buffins), put oven at 350 degrees, cook for twenty minutes or until desired fluffiness! For extra tastiness, pair with coconut oil or all natural peanut butter! Each buffin is roughly 100 cals and has ¼ of your daily fiber and ple

Total Batch:
1150 CALS
50 FAT
77 CARBS
143 PROTEIN

Try these bad boys out and let me know how much ya love them below!

Almost everyone is walking around with different discomforts or nagging ailments. From training an incredibly diverse roster of clients I can safely say that everyone has some sort of problem with their body that is unaddressed (yes that includes you reading this). I personally, with proper warm-ups, stretching and lots of epsom salt bathes, have experienced a back sprain, a wonky left shoulder, and right knee pain. Everyone is at risk (insert dramatic music)! Most of the time we try to ignore these pains, hoping that they will go away. However whether they be in the knees, back, shoulders, hips, or wherever, these problems are usually an indication of a much bigger issue. If we do try to address these problems its in a haphazard way, we go to a doctor seek a quick fix and continuing performing the same things that only make the problems worse.

Its time to take action, below is a three part interview with Dr. Tzakas, Clinic Director at Kinetica Health Group (located on the Danforth, just west of Chester station). I managed to sit down with this most gracious wise sage and pick his brain apart on the most pressing topics! In it we cover what chiropractic care is, art, soft-tissue work, common misconceptions and basically everything included in staying healthy fit and active!  

 
PART 2

PART 3

This is only the beginning, guys I want you to either comment below, e-mail me (omar_isuf@hotmail.com) or Dr. Tzakas personally with questions that you want answered (drpeter@kineticahealth.com) for next time!

For more information on Kinetica and how to stay healthy and fit go click here!

As promised flap jacks are up for grabs! In today’s wicked episode, Chef Buff (master of all things bufficlious) masters the art of the Johnny cake, say goodbye to Aunt Jemima (take your diabetes with you!) and say hello to the healthy pancake!

In the show, for batter for two I used:
1/2 cup quinoa flour
½ cup egg whites
½ cup cottage cheese
1 table spoon baking powder
dash of salt
hint of vanilla extract
cinnamon
one banana
half cup strawberries
tons of love

Try these bad boys out and let me know how much ya love them below!

I present history in the making, the first ever Chef Buff episode:

Now confession, I’m not a five star chef (heck I barely know how to turn on the stove!) but thats the point of this; you don’t need to possess extensive knowledge of cooking to make tasty food. With that being said, BOBBY FLAY, you are NEXT! Let me know what ideas you guys have for healthy recipes below!

Its time to go shopping and what better place to go than to a quality Market like St. Lawrence, saint of quality food.

The finished product of my day’s endeavour looks pretty scrumptious if I do say so myself:

I Like Me My Food