Food is Fuel: Diana Pitts

A Weight Loss Journey Guide

So, here it is, August already. What have I been up to all summer?  I have been gearing up for the IFPA Pro Galaxy Elite on August 17th in Troy, Alabama. I selected this show in hopes to qualify for the Yorton again this year. Along with an intense training program with Debbie Portell's Integrity Training Systems & competition diet plan with Roger Schemp out of Powerhouse Gym in St. Louis, I have been working part time as a registered nurse at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis and part time as a personal trainer at Complete Fitness in Lake St Louis, Mo.  I've had the privilege of representing one of my sponsors, www.themusclesource.com, at a couple of shows in the midwest this year. It truly has been an honor to hand out trophies to so many well deserving athletes.

At times as a single parent, I have found it to be challenging to find time to meal prep, train, take care of my boys and keep the house clean. I'd have to say it's a delicate balance. I'm always finding creative ways to multitask and prioritize.  I certainly am excited to step on stage again. I also have a few photo shoots lined up this fall. 

Competing and fitness modeling at age 39, mother of two, just goes to show anything can be done if you put your mind to it. For so many, the mind limits the body. Don't let fear get in the way of your dreams. 

Diana Pitts, RN BSN
IFPA figure professional athlete
ACSM certified personal trainer

"Force fear and frustration out of your mind.....favor fortitude."

What Are the Effects of Too Little Serotonin?

Our show's topic today will be concerning Serotonin, refer to this link if you missed something!

"What are the Effects of too little Serotonin?"


http://www.livestrong.com/article/292417-what-are-the-effects-of-too-little-serotonin/?fb_action_ids=598952256803013&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%22598952256803013%22%3A10150256755325617%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22598952256803013%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Low serotonin levels symptoms

On our show today, we will be talking about "Low Serotonin Levels Symptoms", refer back to this link if you miss something!

http://www.livestrong.com/article/245341-low-serotonin-levels-symptoms/?fb_action_ids=598787806819458&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%22598787806819458%22%3A445992968378%7D&action_type_map=%7B%22598787806819458%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%5B%5D

Your Gut Bacteria Affects Your Brain Function, Study Confirms - an article by Dr. Mercola

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/20/gut-brain-connection.aspx

This article will be referenced Sunday, June 30, 2013 on "Healthy Living with Integrity Fitness" heard on FM News Talk 97.1

How Turning the Food Pyramid on Its Head Can Help You “Slim Down Without Trying”

This is a fantastic read and I will be referring to it on my show today!

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/06/22/food-pyramid-guide.aspx

Adrienne Hood

A Weight Loss Journey Guide This Week...

So let’s fast forward to the beginning of Fall. I’d worked hard ALL Summer during my husband’s deployment and it was finally coming to a close. He was coming HOME!! I’d gone from my heaviest weight, 180 pounds in a size 16, before working with Debbie to almost 120 pounds in a size 4. I couldn’t believe it!! It’s hard to describe that feeling of FINALLY conquering something that’d weighed on me, no pun intended, almost my entire life.  Anyone who is or has been overweight, you know what I’m talking about. The burning desire to lose the weight that’s coupled with a crippling inability to accomplish it. It’s a maddening circle of failure. It crushes your hopes until that fire in you dies down to almost nothing until you get fed up and repeat the cycle. Well, no more! I did it. I finally did it! I was free and happy and healthy! It made me think of all those times I’d watched a weight loss show or commercial on TV and tried to imagine that elated feeling those success stories must be feeling. How much I wanted to grab onto that, to have that for myself.  Well, it was mine.

Over the Summer, I think the biggest realization I had to make was that excuses are just that, excuses. I always had an excuse for why I ate this or that like being stressed or bored, or that I was simply a victim of my circumstances like the influences that were around me. So the family wants to go to the Chinese buffet? Well, I shouldn’t but they want me to. Who am I to say no? Forget the fact that I could at least make some healthy choices at the buffet. That’s not what everyone else was doing. This was an extremely hard habit to break. Our family loved to gather around food as I know lots of families do.  You don’t have to eat what everyone else does. You DON’T.  Stop it!

People gather around food to socialize and talk. While food is the excuse, the focus is not for people to monitor what you eat during those gatherings so make HEALTHY choices, not excuses. No one will notice. However, you will when you get on that scale. When you look in the mirror. When you feel that huge wave of guilt rushing over you because you failed AGAIN. Why is it so hard? Because you let other people’s priorities become your own. You can undo this! It’s a difficult mental roadblock that is engrained in a lot of us but you can break through. How do you do that? By having someone in your corner.

Debbie was that person. Because of my healthy lifestyle, that circle of people in my corner has grown over the years but it all started with just ONE person. Debbie Portell. Find your person. Find a trainer. You will NOT regret it. Stop that maddening cycle of failure once and for all. You don’t have to do it all by yourself. You don’t have to try to be strong all the time, all by yourself because, let’s face it, you can’t. You’ve proven that to yourself time and time again. You simply don’t yet possess the tools to empower yourself so, please, let someone help you! This is not some ridiculous, quick-fix diet pill commercial on TV. None of that works. None of it. All those lies just help feed the cycle that I know you want to finally break out of. This is how you change your life. You get someone in your corner. Someone with knowledge, experience, and the fire to drive you to succeed. YOU can be that success story! It’s not some faraway dream that only exists on TV! Plus, I’d be willing to guess that almost all those success stories had trainers. So join the club! I would’ve never made it without Debbie and that’s the truth!

I don’t know if I can really put into words that feeling of not only seeing my husband after being gone for months of deployment but with the added joy of knowing that he is FINALLY seeing me like I should’ve always been. He’d never seen me like this. Ever. It makes me want to cry. Not just because of all the time I wasted being unhappy with myself, but also because I was so proud and happy to finally be where I always wanted to be. In my husband’s arms, I was finally the way I’ve always seen myself but never been able to realize on my own.  

So, like I said in an earlier blog, some people need that big life changing moment to realize that it’s time to make a change. My husband’s deployment was mine. Don’t wait and wait and wait around for yours. Stop wasting your life! Make that change NOW!

Rich Wood 16

Food is Fuel: Rich Wood

A Journey Through Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Diabetes and Lifestyle Change

I think the statement “I need to lose weight” is filled with negativity. It already has the word “lose” in it. Same as “I’m going on a diet.” You have said these words a million times. Try saying “I’m going to get healthy.” There is no way to think negatively about this. No one could say anything negative back to you if you say this. When you say “diet,” your friends will start coming up with reasons why you shouldn’t, but why would anyone be against you getting healthy.

Every day is precious, so start living your life in a way to be proud and healthy. Getting on the path takes incredible strength and commitment. These are powerful words. Can you think of any reason not to put time and effort into your own health? Who else is going to take care of that for you? The people I train are proud of themselves for what they are achieving. They let me know through positive words and actions. They thank me – but they are the ones putting in the hard work. I am humbled and grateful to be a part of it. I am thankful for them. One little lifestyle change can be the tip of the iceberg that will change everything. When you start working out and eating healthy, you will be no longer want bad food or alcohol. This statement is based on specific people I have watched completely change their relationship with food and alcohol. They no longer want to change how great they are feeling ALL the time, for short term unhealthy pleasure. Weight loss is part of it, but the way you feel everyday is the key. 

I write this blog to remind you that it is never too late. It’s not hard to start. There is nothing to fear. It’s time to stop talking about getting healthy and start doing it. Have you looked to see how inexpensive it is to join a gym? I’m so lucky that I get to work in an environment where people’s lives are changed everyday for the better. Come and change yours. The gyms I work in offer a free assessment. What excuse can you have about something free? There are no gimmicks in the training and nutrition program. It only takes your commitment and determination. The next time you are walking around looking for an unhealthy snack, or you can’t find the TV remote, think if there is a better way you could be spending your time. Next time you walk a flight of stairs and at the top you ask yourself “am I really this short of breath?” remember reading this. 

Start believing in yourself and start changing your life right now. Making excuses can no longer be a factor. You can no longer be weak minded and be controlled by food or laziness. My life is changed and enriched everyday by the people brave enough to take the first step. It’s going to be ok!!

Clean Eating Cookies

Rich Wood 15

Food is Fuel 
A Journey Through Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Diabetes and Lifestyle Change 

We live in an age where you don’t have to leave your home to buy a book or newspaper or music. Everything is online. It’s so easy to stay in your house and have everything come to you. A gym is a place you have to go to – where your own hard work produces results. A 100lb weight is always 100lbs. It sits there waiting for you to move it.

The company I work for is called Integrity Training Systems which is the brain child of Debbie Portell. We go through very detailed training to make sure you learn the proper, safe way to exercise. Reaching your goals is the objective. We really want you to succeed. Every trainer is different, as is every client. Our system is set up to get you to the right person. I say all this to give you some idea that we are not just about getting you to come in and workout while you count the minutes until it’s over. That’s why it’s important that we train you about your posture, your breathing; things that make the quality of your life better. My approach comes from my training in the martial arts.  

The mind and body connection is real. Once you learn the proper and safe way to perform a move or exercise physically, then you can learn the mental side of exercise. This will get you in touch with real change. I have a fire that burns inside of me to challenge myself. I’m not a super athlete. I’m hard working and curious, and determined to take my mind and body to deep waters and find out what I’m made of. This is what I want to bring to the people I train; to help them believe that they are capable of so much more by having a strong mind and body. I believe being able to relax and breathe while doing something strenuous in the gym will transfer to relaxing and handling stressful situations outside of the gym. I want my clients to focus on getting better, not how many reps we are doing. Learning to focus and push your self is an amazing thing. My love of exercising is to find out what I’m made of, and to prove that I am able to perform under physical and mental pressure. I love watching people do things that they couldn’t have accomplished a month earlier before their training started. They can’t believe what they are capable of. We all need help in life with things, and the gym is not a place to fear. It is amazing to watch someone who is shy or fearful of the burn that starts in their body, learn to relax and embrace it and know they are prepared to handle it, and then learn to love it.  

You and your life are worth being the best possible. Don’t be afraid. We have an answer to the question of what you want your health level to be. I train people who want to lose weight, who are fighters, who are trainers, who want to improve at a certain sport – and every one of them have certain anxieties that they have learned to control. Once you do this, a new world opens up to you, and once you realize you are in control of your health, real change begins. You are worth it. Don’t let stale patterns in your life control you. Take charge of your life and health. Spending everyday in the gym and being there when someone changes their life by accomplishing things they never would have allowed themselves to believe they could do is remarkable. Do something to relieve the stress you are feeling about the weight you are carrying around. You will feel it both mentally and spiritually, even more so than physically. Dedicate one hour a day to make the other 23 better. The weights don’t gossip, back stab or disappoint. The weights bring out the best in you. As long as you’re breathing it is never too late. Once you experience how we do it, you will never want to stop and I will never let you lose sight that these are your accomplishments.

Your mind and body are so powerful. Why would you not want to find out how powerful? I write these things because I know how people no longer want to make excuses and sometimes something can click on a certain day and certain moment that makes today the start of something that is like no other. Your body will respond immediately. Get your mind wrapped around the idea that nothing can stop you from achieving!!! Do you really think it’s too difficult, or is it the first step into something you think about everyday? Stop, take a deep breath and you are already on the path to starting everything that you just read. You are already on your way; the first step is that easy…

Rich Wood 14

Food is Fuel

A Journey Through Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Diabetes and Lifestyle Change

Change: to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone.

Champion: a fighter or warrior

What makes you not believe in yourself? You know in your heart you are capable of so much more. Your body lets you know everyday if how you treat it and what you are doing to it works. Finding the right nutrition program and training program is not hard. It is a phone call or email away. Getting yourself to do it is the hard part. 

I told myself I am going to change, and I did. I don’t want to be weak minded. I want to be in charge of my mind and body. Food does not control me. When I am in the gym, the weights do not control me, I control the weights. How in any way would making your health a priority be a bad thing? If you read this and think that you would like to change, then start right now…you are worth it. I want to know exactly what I am made of. Putting honest, hard work in at the gym shows me that everyday. You can’t hide your weakness in the gym.  

Your true inner champion will come out by the work you put in.

People will invest in a stock and hope and pray for it to be successful years down the line. Put the same faith in yourself and in your health and success will come immediately. What would be a better long term investment than you? The easiest thing to do would be to let life pass you by. Make today different. I work with people that thought the things they are doing today would have been impossible only a month ago. 

The hardest muscle to train is your brain. Excuses have stopped you before, but don’t let it stop your health and happiness. You have something inside of you that needs to be explored. Challenge yourself to something new. If you wake everyday saying I have to lose weight, or I need to get into shape – or I need to make a difference in someone else’s life…make it your own. Don’t let the fear of failure keep you from anything. The journey is worth it – you won’t fail if you try. Regret is a million times worse than failure. 

There are no negatives to being healthy. Your only obstacle is food?? Do you really want to be that weak? (but Rich…the unhealthy things taste so good…) my answer is, are those worth the anxiety and guilt, and the way you physically feel? We both know the answer. Your body is telling you right now!!! You owe it to yourself to get on the path of happiness and health. These things will not land on your shoulder like a bird; you have to make it happen. Stop thinking in old patterns – challenge yourself. 

Try a new way. My life is full of people trying their best to be healthy. They don’t want the guilt and stress of being unhealthy in their head anymore. I promise you, the solution to whatever problem you are facing is solvable. Take the first step and try. There is no failure in that. I see accomplishments and success everyday. I’m so grateful and humbled by this. Start realizing how special you are, and how wonderful life is. Challenge yourself. Find out what you are made of. Be happy, healthy, and proud. Once you change your mind, your body will follow.

Adrienne Hood 3

A Weight Loss Journey Guide This Week...

It was time for my first workout! YAHOOOO!!!! I was so excited but…I was also VERY nervous. We hit the floor and Debbie put me through the wringer. The workout was difficult but I loved every second, even if I couldn't show it between the sets that were taking my breath away. Debbie kept me on task and made sure my form was perfect. To this day, I take great pride in demonstrating good form in my workouts because of Debbie. It’s so crucial in not only working the muscles the exercise is targeting but to avoid injury. I wouldn't know any of this if I’d tried to do it on my own. I also know I wouldn't have gotten a great workout on my own. Even today, I see Debbie on a regular basis because almost 7 years later, she’s the one that gets me to eek out that tiny extra bit of effort at the gym. Debbie, being the fantastic trainer she is, also kept me on task. When I was struggling, I’d do my best to drag out whatever rest time I was given. Debbie knew better. She ALWAYS knows better. THIS is why you need a trainer.

Sure, you can do this stuff on your own but you may never reach your full potential until you have a professional pushing you, keeping you on track, and keeping you accountable.

With Debbie’s help, I made a commitment to get to the gym at least 3 times a week for a strength workout followed by some cardio. By the end of David’s deployment, the stepmill and I were besties. I also became such a regular that people started to recognize me and give friendly smiles and gestures. I can’t explain how great that felt. I felt like I was being accepted into the world of health and fitness that I’d been longing to be a part of ever since I’d become overweight as a child. It’s exhilarating. It’s even freeing because now you know you’re in control. Not the scale, not the food, not the bad influences that take your eye of the prize. Strangling enough, you begin to even feel accountable to those regulars who also frequent the gym at your regular times. There’s a silent bond with those you exchange smiles with because you know they’re there for the same reason, to be better, to be healthier. Even if you’re at different places on your journey, it’s still the same journey and the same desire that brings everyone to the gym. You can become a part of that!

As for my food, one week in, I was finally starting to get the hang of it. I realized the food was going to take time for it to become second-nature. I was working hard on resetting my brain’s idea of what a meal should look like. Do your best! Even when Debbie adjusts my food now, I tell myself to give it a week or two to settle in. Change isn't easy but you’ll get there. I went through craving after craving not because my body was actually hungry or even needed it, but because it’s what I’d been eating for years. My whole life up to then had been about satisfying craving after craving, whatever they were. Cravings are what made up my meals if you could even call them that. The food was in control. Food should NEVER rule what you do with your LIFE. It’s just food. Eat to live, not to eat.

With my new exercise and food plan in place, my commitment started to pay off quickly and the number on my arch nemesis, the scale, was going down! I was stunned at what listening to your trainer could get you! I felt like I was finally on the right path on my weight loss journey. I was feeling empowered to continue…

Janet Yost

Sept 2012

 In September I made a life altering decision.  Let me give you a little background first.  I was diagnosed with MS in 1994.  As a woman of great faith I thought that this would just be a minor hiccup in life that would soon go away.   I was wrong.  The one thing that I forgot is the Bible teaches us “faith without works is dead”.  While that makes sense in the spiritual sense, I did not understand it is also true in the physical world.

My health began to deteriorate, and I began to retreat in food as an escape.  The more difficult it was to do simple tasks, the more I found solace in my poor food choices and sedentary lifestyle.  So much, in fact, that I found myself almost 15 years later as a middle aged woman in her 50’s at almost 250 lbs, and having needed a cane to walk for almost 7 years.  Something snapped in me in 2009.  Perhaps it was the daughter of a friend being diagnosed.  Perhaps it was being told that after 15 years you can expect your health to go downhill when you have MS.  Perhaps it was I was sick and tired of depression and fear ruling my life.  Whatever the reason, I joined a gym for the first time in my life and started working out HARD with a trainer.  Within 3 months I no longer need my cane, and was off almost all medication.  I steadily began to improve dramatically.

Oct 22, 2012

Oct 8, 2012

Nov 2012

My diet was “clean” and I thought it was good.  But around August of this year I began to think “good enough is not good enough”.  Having gone from a size 20/22 to a 12 was good, but I began to think I needed to  get serious again. So I made the life altering decision I mentioned above. A friend and I were discussing my thoughts, and he said I should go to the best in St. Louis – and the best in St. Louis for women training was Debbie Portell.  So I hired Debbie to help me with my nutrition and as a trainer.  The first thing I found out is about 80% of what I was eating, I should NOT be eating.  My diet was clean, I was used to cooking most of my food, but I was still eating gluten, meats, vegetables and fruits that I should not have been.  So in order to achieve optimum health I followed Debbie’s instructions.  Oh, and I totally cut alcohol out of my routine.  As a woman who loved her wine, my friends could not believe this would happen.  Heck, I could not believe this would happen.  But it is December and I have not had any alcohol since September.  Perhaps I will in the future, but never to the extent I used to.  And perhaps not at all.  Because I decided that I am in this race for the long haul.  That means something different to everyone.  Perhaps it is fitting into that dress or pair of pants.  Or being able to look into the mirror and smile.  All of those are important, but I have been working to stay out of a wheelchair.  That gives you a lot of incentive and motivation.So just a few months later I find myself about 2 sizes smaller (no idea of the pounds, I threw away my scales a long time ago).  But more importantly, I FEEL fantastic.  I feel HEALTHY. 

 The food changes I have made will stay with me for life. 

If you know of anyone with health challenges, I urge you to send them to Debbie.  She will encourage them, kick their butts if needed, and be a forever friend.  I am so glad that I decided that “good enough is not good enough”.  -Thank you Debbie, for helping me change my life.

Rich Wood 13

Food is Fuel
A Journey Through Weight Gain, Weight Loss, Diabetes and Lifestyle Change

The unhealthy food you are eating does not care if you have a heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol count or a stroke. YOU have to care!!! You are in control of what goes in your body. When you wake up every morning and tell yourself “I have to do something about my weight,” and then go make the same food choices that you did the day before – you can’t blame the food. Every time I ate something
unhealthy I knew it was bad for me – my body would let me know. Your body is letting you know.

If you have been overweight for a long time and you look at all the money and effort you have put into looking and feeling this way, why wouldn't you put the same effort into feeling great? Please write me and tell me the downside to going through life feeling your best. Honestly you can no longer be this weak about food. Time to change!!! Prove something to yourself, whatever problem you face in your life, being unhealthy through those obstacles does not change the problem. You need to start believing in yourself. You are still on this earth to be a happy, healthy, productive person. You are able to get up and walk around. Think about how many people in wheelchairs would trade one day to be able to walk on a treadmill, much less go for a run. Whenever I am feeling tired, sore or wasting time, I think about all the people who would love to be able to go to the gym and improve themselves. You are totally capable of making the necessary changes. How can you complain about how you look and feel, when you are able to do something about it but choose not too?

I come in contact every day with people who are determined to change themselves. They are doing it. There is a reason the gyms are open 24 hours a day!!! You can watch your favorite tv show later. Skip baking the cake and cookies and do what is best for you in the long run, not short term pleasure. How about long term health? Some people will ignore this because it’s too real, but write down what you eat and how you spend some of your time. Put it on paper. Be honest with yourself. No one else has to see it. The answers on what you need to change will be right in front of you. Make the most of everyday you have on this earth, you owe it to yourself and your family and loved ones you have lost. See what it feels like to run at the optimum level. Think and live like a champion, you can do it. I’m living proof. Make the New Year everything you want it to be. It’s time to do work. If you put the time and energy into your health it will pay off – I promise!!! I’m going to train. You need motivation? Do you think you are the only person who is busy?

Are you ready to begin?