Elite Miami Bootcampers, Dave & Dan, flexing their muscles all over Italy.

Looks like these two could hold up the Leaning Tower. Or maybe not.

Great Pics guys. Glad you had an amazing time!

Sharon’s Before

Sharon’s After

Sharon lost 14 lbs of fat, gained 3 lbs of muscle & lost 8% bodyfat.

Great job Sharon! You look like a million bucks.

You can also watch her story here

Looks like Gene is havng a relaxing good time, but where’s the wine?

Great pic Gene!!! Keep on livin’ it up.

First, let’s talk about exercise. Elite Miami Bootcamp knows that exercise is a must to increase your metabolism. There are no magic pills or potions. There are two components to exercise that are crucial to boosting and then maintaining your metabolism. These two components include strength training and high-intensity cardiovascular exercise. Strength training is essential to build muscle. The more muscle tissue you have, the more active your metabolism is. Muscle is metabolically active, so it requires calories even at rest. In fact, adding just one pound of muscle can burn an extra 30-40 calories per day. Just think if you add 10 pounds of muscle, you could be burning an extra 300-400 calories a day a rest. You are also burning calories during your strength training session as well as up to 4 hours after your workout. All of this extra calorie burning for only 30-45 minutes of weight training 3-5 times a week, is well worth it. In addition to boosting metabolism, strength training will make weight control easier as we get older, decrease body fat, and increase lean muscle tissue. Metabolism begins to slow slightly after age 25 for men and women. It declines around 4 percent per year if you are active compared to 10 percent if you are sedentary. In women, there can be a notable drop in metabolism due to a decrease in estrogen around 40-50. Following the recommended 3-5 cardio sessions per week and 3 strength training sessions, will help slow this effect tremendously.

The second component of exercise that Elite Miami Bootcamp feels is essential to boosting metabolism is high-intensity cardio. Like strength training, cardiovascular exercise, preferably high-intense cardio, not only burns calories during exercise as well as allowing your body to burn calories for several hours after exercising. The combination of high-intensity cardio intervals and a strength training routine gives your body an even bigger post-work-out metabolic boost. Interval cardio training is very effective for maximizing metabolism, so make sure to alternate the intensity of your cardio program. This prevents your body from adapting to the same exercise routine and keeps your muscles tuned to taking on different workloads. Of course, the hour you spend in the gym is not the only time you should be moving. Make a constant effort to stay active throughout the day by walking whenever possible, doing yard work, playing with children, etc.

Although exercise is crucial, attention must be paid to diet and nutrition. That does not mean to “go on a diet”. The word “diet” often implies cutting back on calories. This can actually backfire on people in two ways. First people cut back too much and that sets them up to binge the next day, which can damage your metabolism. The second problem with cutting back calories is that your body reacts to this decrease in calories by slowing its metabolism in order to conserve energy stores. The key to a diet that will increase your metabolism is to determine how many calories you should be consuming and then pay attention to the type of calories consumed. Despite what many nutritionists think, all calories are not created equal. The calorie-is-a-calories theory only takes in to account the total energy in food, and does not account for the energy that is required to process it. For example, up to 30 percent of calories from protein are burned through the digestive process, compared to just 8 percent of carbohydrates, and 2 percent of fats. This is known as the thermic effect of food. The key is to eat complex carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. It takes more energy for the body to digest and process calories and nutrients from healthy foods than sugary and refined foods. By eating a low-fat healthy diet, you are asking the body to work harder and burn more calories to turn food into energy, the process of metabolism. Avoid processed and refined foods, as they are the culprit to our obesity epidemic. Just remember that processed food has already been processed and that does not leave any work for your body and metabolism, and so they are just stored as fat almost immediately unless they are burned off.

It is not only important to eat the right type of foods, but also at the right time. To start the day, it is essential that you eat breakfast. This gets your engine started for the day and without breakfast, your metabolism will be in slow motion all day. Throughout the day, it is essential you eat small meals every 3-4 hours. Eating three large meals a day is terrible for your metabolism because you have three peaks in your blood sugar/insulin response and the rest of the time you are in a valley that is not good for your insulin response. The key is to make sure each meal is well balanced and contains the right amount of protein, carbohydrates, and a small amount of fat. It is also essential to drink at least 8-10 glasses of water everyday, possibly more if you work out intensely and/or drink caffeinated beverages. Elite Miami Bootcamp’s final recommendation that is crucial for maximizing your metabolism is to get enough sleep. Only you know how much sleep your body requires, but not getting enough sleep will drain you and in turn slow your metabolism.

As you can see, the ways to increase metabolism is through diet and exercise. Just like an engine, the better we take care of our metabolic engine through proper diet and exercise, the better our metabolism will run; keeping us healthy and looking good.

1. Accept Responsibility- Learn to take charge of your own behavior. Remember that you are the only person that can achieve the results you want. Realize that there is no magic pill and it will take effort on your part.

2. Develop an Action Plan- Identify your problems as develop specific solutions to solve the problems. If a solution is not working, reevaluate and develop another solution until you find one that works for you.

3. Practice Forgiving Yourself- Think positive and don’t let negative thoughts enter your mind. Don’t ever think that a bad breakfast or lunch, etc has blown the whole day. Always remember that the next meal is a new meal and it does not have to be until tomorrow to be a new day. Remember, mistakes will happen and learn to refocus on the long-term goal.

4. Find Accountability- The best way to succeed is to hold yourself accountable to another person. Enlist the help of a friend, family member, personal trainer, or nutrition consultant that you can rely on to help you when you are weak. Support from others will help keep you on track.

5. Learn How to Cope with Stress- In today’s society, everyone has stress, and the healthiest people are those that know how to deal with their stress. Exercise is an excellent way to get your frustrations out. Going on a walk or lifting weights can work wonders on your mental state.

6. Keep a Food and Activity Journal- “That which you wish to improve must be measured”. It is so important to establish the habit of tracking everything you eat as well as all the physical activity you do. You will find that when you are able to see your progress, you will be less likely to fall off the wagon.

7. Enjoy Every Bite- Pay attention to everything you eat and enjoy the moment. It should take you at least 20 minutes to eat a meal. Slow down and savor every bite. Also, establish ways to prevent mindless eating such as staying away from the TV or a magazine while eating.

8. Avoid Tempting Situations- At least until you are comfortable with your healthy lifestyle, it may be best to try to avoid situations that could sabotage your goals. Whether it is all you can eat buffets, certain restaurants, parties, etc, avoid the situation until you can learn to control your eating behaviors at these establishments.

9. Wait it Out- If and when a temptation arises, first ask yourself if you are actually hungry. Chances are you are not even hungry, and more than likely you are thirsty for some good ole’ water. If it is a craving, establish ways that you can talk yourself out of it. Try to distract yourself by taking a walk (with or without a dog), calling a friend, or doing some housework or other work. If the craving is still there, consider a piece of fruit or a healthier version of whatever you are craving.

10. Perform Regular Assessments- Every 6-8 weeks, review your goals and what you have achieved. It is important to have a baseline at the beginning to track your achievements. Remember, healthy weight-loss takes time. Plan to lose 1-2 pounds per week. Set realistic goals that you can achieve within 6-8 weeks so you do not get discouraged. Then reset your goals with each assessment.

Follow these 10 tips from Elite Miami Bootcamp and you will be on your way to losing weight once and for all. Just remember to learn from your past mistakes and try to avoid making the same ones in the future. Achieving weight loss goals requires time and effort, but the payoff is well worth it. Even small weight losses will reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, as well as many other diseases. Always remember to eat a balanced diet with lots of vegetables, fruits, protein, complex carbohydrates, as well as a small amount of fat. Stay motivated and fight the battle against obesity in America.

When you eat out, there are some simple things we can do to eat healthy and prevent overeating.

First thing is to order water right away since our bodies can confuse thirst with hunger.

Your choices are very important if you want to eat healthy when eating out. Choose whole grains, brown or wild rice, fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, skinless poultry and fish, and simply prepared entrees. You want your food prepared in a simple manner. For example, dry broiled, dry grilled, baked or broiled on a rack, steamed, poached or boiled.

Sometimes you can have your food prepared just the way you want it or order something that is not on the menu, for example, baked fish, steamed vegetables, skim milk, broth or vegetable-based soups, a plate of fresh fruit with a scoop of cottage cheese, a grilled steak (no butter) and plain baked potato and a dinner salad with dressing to the side.

Before you order the main dish, order a salad or soup. Finish eating your soup or salad before you eat your main dish. This can keep you from eating too much. When eating a salad, you should have it without salad dressing or use lemon or vinegar instead. If you must have dressing, order it on the side. You can dip your fork in it first then into your salad. This way you get the taste of the dressing without all the calories.

Portion control is very important nowadays. Restaurants serve much bigger portions than in the past. Many years ago, plates used to be 8 to 9 inches in diameter and now they are 12 inches in diameter on average. Make it a habit of asking for a to go box so you can take some of your food with you so it can keep you from eating too much. You can also split a plate of food with another person. Make sure you give the server a bigger tip and let them know this too.

Elite Miami Bootcamp understands that there are times when you are weak. So if you have to eat dessert, split it or eat some of it, take it with you, and eat it another day or give it to someone else who doesn’t need to lose weight!

Don’t worry about asking restaurants exactly what you want. Most restaurant owners are glad to do this and if they don’t maybe you should eat somewhere else! Remember you are the customer!

Alcohol is another thing that you want to take in moderation. Remember alcohol is extra calories and dehydrates you. For every alcoholic beverage, drink 1 glass of water.

Make sure you look at the nutrition information of your food if it’s available. Sometimes what they say is healthy really isn’t. Go for a variety of colors on your plate. You want a variety of fruits and vegetables, grains, meats, legumes, etc….

When traveling by plane, you can sometimes order your meal ahead of time and have it specially prepared for you. Most airlines won’t even charge you extra for this.

Elite Miami Bootcamp knows that eating healthy doesn’t have to be complicated. Eat smaller portions, drink water, extras on the side, etc… The information here will help you in making better decisions on eating healthy when you have to eat out.

Then, she continues her adventure by ziplining on a 4,745 long zip line.

Way to go Beth!

And of course, a trip wouldn’t be complete without Dave posing

with his favorite Combine 360 T-Shirt.

in the freezeing cold. Burr!!!!  

Great pictures, Karen! You must be glad to be back in Miami.

Auf wiedersehen Switzerland!!