Sarah’s Blog

What is that? What am I talking about? Painting maybe? Nah …

Frankly, that was my initial reaction too. I was part of an 8-hour interview marathon that Jon Benson did a few months back, and out of the blue he asked me what I thought of skin brushing. Sorry, I’d never even heard of it until he asked me that, so I obviously had no opinion at all.

Once the call was over, I started looking for some information though, being inquisitive; and I found a site or two explaining that you needed a brush with natural bristles, that you should brush in counter-clock-wise circular movements with the dry brush, starting at the ankles and up to the shoulders, that the exception was the stomach area where you use clock-wise movements. Of course, you follow this brushing by a shower; because the dead skin-cells are loosened by the brushing and you look pretty white and flaky as a result.

My problem was that I couldn’t locate a brush with natural bristles! I had never thought this would be a problem, figuring a pharmacy or a beauty-store would surely carry a few each, right? Wrong. The only thing I found with natural bristles was – get this – a nail-brush! Nice, but a tad small to use on the entire body, I got nothing out of that at all.

As I mentioned this on a forum two weeks ago, another member said to look at “The Body Shop” because they have natural bristles brushes. Internet search for store locations found me one 20 minutes away (by car) which wasn’t too bad but I had to wait for a weekend to have a car available to go there. The Body Shop had long-handled back-scrubber brushes with natural bristles – cactus fibre actually – but that long handle would be in the way, so I kept looking and found a round brush called … “Round Body Brush” (duh J).

The instructions on the label that was hanging from this brush said, among other things: “A daily once-over will help get your circulation pumping, your skin glowing and your toxins looking for the nearest exit.” because, toxins are also eliminated through the skin, not just the lungs, kidneys and liver (etc). The skin is our largest organ after all, and many people totally neglect it – other than maybe the face, neck and hands, and some sunscreen all over in summer.

One reason this practice was even mentioned in the interview, was in connection with how much and how fast the skin tightens when you drop larger amounts of bodyfat. This is a concern for many fat or obese people who successfully change their lifestyles and burn and discard excess fat. “Will/ when will my skin look tight again?” is a question I get regularly. It’s a question that has been on my mind a few times as well to be honest with you (and I am, right!?)

I mentioned this to a couple of fitness ladies, who both said that no, skin brushing won’t magically tighten the skin; but yes it can help. Help, because it gets the circulation and toxin elimination going! Here is what Leigh Peele told me:

As you lose fat it is the worse time for your skin. Fat cells are stored right underneath. They are always there, they will always be there.

However they were filled and now, they are not.

What is left is a void. Over time this void "closes" if you will but not before it gets saggy or filled with water. You can store 5 pound of water easy in your fat cells and never see a change in scale or the way you look. There is where, to some degree, the hinky shit can come in.

For example, brushing. Brushing stimulates cell regrowth on the extra cellular part of the skin and is helpful for drawing water out and can be taken in through osmosis. Will it cause you to lose fat or rid yourself of "cellulite" no. Will it help your skin feel a little tight, yeah a little bit.

Time and lifting are skins best friend after fat loss. However, little things like that can help.

Leigh Peele

Avidity Fitness

You have seen what I said about Leigh’s program here on my blog, right? If you missed it, go to http://www.atozfitness.com/sarahsblog/fat-loss-trouble-shoot-reviewed/

OK, so here I am with this brand new, round brush with natural bristles and a wood base. Pretty, in a simple, natural-looking way. Monday, I used it first thing in the morning. It’s a little rough on the skin, but flaked off more dead skin cells than I thought I had J. From there I jumped in the shower using a shower-gel from Yves Rocher with monoi-oil which both smells nice and does a lot of good for the skin – it’s an oil from Polynesia, and we all envy the “vahinés” their glowing skin and beautiful hair, so I use and abuse of this oil whenever I can.  As I dried off, I was surprised to note how silky smooth my skin felt, more so than after a shower with no skin brushing preceding it. A really nice feeling.

Of course, two days of skin brushing won’t tell me how much this helps or not as far as tightening the skin after fat-burning, but even if it doesn’t do it directly, it probably will help in the overall “snapping” of the skin back to a size that fits the lean(er) body, and it’s certainly good for helping the skin clear away toxins. Is it my imagination, or does my stomach seem a tad … if not tighter, shall I say less “un-tight”? Believing is seeing, which will also help the process of course.

Back-brushing? Well, it’s a lot easier if you have someone do that part of your anatomy, but if you’re alone just twist and stretch to get as much of your back covered as you can.

I, for one, am convinced after just 2 days, that this is something that’s very much worth the few extra minutes added to my morning routine, and I urge you all to at least give it a go for a week. I’m sure you’ll stick with it after that J The price of my brush, in Canadian $, was around 15,- with the taxes.

Sarah, CPT

www.trainwithsarah.com

(PS, my prices for on-line training will go up shortly, you can still get my help at the old price if you act fast!

Ladies, have you ever wanted to start a program like Tom Venuto’s Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle, but thought it was mostly for men? Or looked at Jeff Anderson’s Optimum Anabolics and felt that he wasn’t even talking to you? Yet you want a better than just average or good program, a great one that you feel before you start will get you where you want to go.

Guess what … I’ve found it! And you men out there, this is as great a program for you as it is for the women! In fact, to be honest, there is no reason for men and women to train differently at all. Sill, here’s this fabulous program, this very well-put-together package of e-books, reports and work sheets you can all need and use!

Let me explain.

Leigh Peele isn’t just someone I’ve learned to admire and respect, she’s also been interviewed by Tom Venuto and her video on the importance of weighing as opposed to just measuring (spoons, cups) is on his blog and members’ forum. This led me to contacting Leigh, and she was happy to send me a copy of her program to review.

True, I did expect a “more of the same” type thing. I mean, how much new can anyone put into fitness books? Hasn’t it all been said, repeated and rehashed already? Well, apparently not quite all.

For one thing, she has a couple of quizzes I took – because I wanted to see if I was right in my own self assessments, and also because I love taking quizzes J. Haven’t you all wondered exactly how accurate your own estimate of your activity level really is? Well, Leigh has a quiz/questionnaire which tells you for sure where you should place your activity level. I was spot on, but probably wouldn’t have changed it when I start working a day-job, figuring one desk was equivalent to another (home or office) and neglecting all the walking I’ll be doing at the office between stations! That’ll take me from 1.45 to 1.55 on the activity level calculations. Calorie-wise, that means a little more food per day, and not being any hungrier than I am working from home.

You can also do a quiz to know the extent of metabolic damage you may have done to your body through past yo-yo dieting. I would probably have had a different result had I taken that quiz 4 years ago, but today I was told to go straight to an advanced level for both the nutrition and training. In other words, no more guesswork, no under-estimating or over-estimating what you do or need. This is a first in any fitness program I’ve ever seen!

Leigh also has an entire report on just water. Now, all programs mention water, how important it is to drink enough etc; but not one has a whole mini-book on the subject. Again, impressive.  There are two separate e-books on fat loss, depending on how fast you want to drop those fatty excess pounds from your body. A.S.A.P. right? Don’t we all, but read both manuals, there are differences that might or might not suit your lifestyle, and the closer you get something to fit with your life, the higher your success-rate.

Would you believe a maintenance manual? Another first! So far, books have left you at the end of the journey with a question on your lips: now what? How do I keep the weight off and not revert to old fatty levels? Well, here’s a lady who’s thought of just that; and she gives you a separate manual with the answers. That’s right, it’s not a last chapter in one of the main e-books of the program, it’s a separate, easy to locate, manual in its’ own right!

Of course, there’s a pdf with meal plans. Did you really expect anything less from this thorough woman? You can even get a free recipe book which isn’t quite finished yet, by clicking on … get free copy … on her site. Even I, who have read more cook books than many will ever own, found ideas and recipes I actually not only want to try, but will!

I said two main e-books. That’s correct, one is a Metabolic Repair Manual, which you may need if you’ve damaged your metabolism by yo-yoing or being anorexic/bulimic on the recovery path. The other main book is The Main Book – The Fat Loss Troubleshoot e-book. I read it. I mean, read it, every single word; just like I did with the first fitness e-books I bought. Admittedly, when you’ve read a few, you tend to read “vertically” certain chapters, your eye easily catching things that either new or look weird. This book … sure, there’s a lot I already knew, and some chapters I could have sped across, but it was compelling me to read it all, and I’m glad I did.

The troubleshoot checklist will help you identify the reasons why you have reached a plateau, why you’re not losing that fat, or whatever other issue you are battling. There are two training logs, one for aerobic exercises, one for lifting.  And audios and other downloads … there’s too much to even list!

A completely complete program from start to finish and beyond. Did I mention that I love it?

I will not, however, be giving you personal impressions on this for a while, as I have promised another great trainer to follow his program for 12 weeks starting February 7^th (yes, I know it’s a Saturday), and after that I’ll do a more “relaxed” program for 12 weeks, but at the end of that, towards the beginning of fall 2009, don’t be surprised if I hit Leigh’s program and follow that for 12 weeks!  Yes, this is one of those programs we receive that I really want to do, to experience firsthand. It is that good.

You can get your copy of all this here ….

http://www.atozfitness.com/recommends/fatlosstroubleshoot.html

I’m absolutely certain it will transform your life and set you on your path to a healthy lifestyle forever. 2009 may just be your year to shine, thanks to Leigh Peele’s program!

Sarah, CPT
www.trainwithsarah.com
Co-Publisher with Lewis Wolk - AtoZfitness Total Body Makeover