PUSH Fitness Podcast: Weight Loss Techniques

Podcast: Dr. Alex Jimenez, chiropractor in El Paso, TX, and Daniel (Danny) Alvarado, owner of the PUSH Fitness Center, continue to discuss the importance of weight loss and how people and athletes can continue the effort to stay healthy. Metabolic syndrome is characterized by 5 risk factors, including excess waist fat, high blood pressure, high blood glucor or sugar, high triglycerides, and low HDL or good cholesterol levels. Diet and lifestyle modifications, such as participating and engaging in exercise and physical activity, can ultimately help improve the 5 risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome and a variety of health issues, including diabetes, stroke, and heart disease. Dr. Alex Jimenez and Daniel (Danny) Alvarado discuss how motivation is one of the most fundamental elements in the continued effort to stay healthy. Following a diet and lifestyle modifications that are unique to each individual can also help promote overall well-being. – Podcast Insight

[00:00:09] As we go into this process, we start dealing with your ADHD. And we start working with the process of actually dealing with your learning processes. Today, we’re going to be talking about what you indicated, you want to discuss continued weight loss. This weight loss that we’re talking about is we’re bringing together the component that we did last week, which was we discussed deciding why you want to lose weight, deciding how to start, and deciding how to keep your goals, as you remember. But today, what we’re going to do, you and I, we’re going to talk about specifically how to maintain the continued weight loss. Now, I know you got some really good ideas as we do this here at PUSH. What we do is you evaluate each person as you talked about, but you discuss specifically what it is that you work with each individual and how they kind of adapt their diets and their plan. But usually, people hit like a wall. But tell me a little bit about what you wanted to discuss in terms of the continuous process of weight loss. Because I know that that was something very important to you.

[00:01:21] Well, I think.

[00:01:23] I think also it’s like with everything else, the moment you stop seeing progress, you tend to get a little discouraged, you know. An extreme example right now with everything going on in the stock market. People want to sell because you get scared. They want to dump everything because they don’t see any progress, you know? And so when people don’t see progress, they get scared. So a lot of times they react in fear. And it’s not so much because they can’t or they’re not willing to or they don’t want to because usually there are the effects of fear that overcome their very self-motivating thoughts of what can be. You see, they kind of lose track of what they can be as opposed to what they can’t be. And people forget to understand that every single millionaire or billionaire, the person that has lost 100, 200 pounds, they had to go overcome that mental block of understanding where they weren’t or where they wanted to be. And if they knew, they would pursue that without ever stopping or digressing, they could get there.

[00:02:37] Don’t ever give it up. This is what I’m getting there. Don’t ever give up. Keep on pushing. Right. Right. Exactly. So let me ask you, someone who is going through a diet about where’s the sticking point where most people you’ve seen or the types of individuals that you see sticking points, where do you see the sticking point and how do you guide them through the sticking point?

[00:02:54] Usually the most common sticking point is the initial eight to 12-pound water weight loss, which is kind of elusive because if you could have any carb, you’re going to lose weight because it’s like removing a sponge that doesn’t absorb water. So all those carbs are kind of like sponges, so to speak. So every time you eat one and you drink water it retains that water. So it soaks it up. Right. So where does the water go? It just stays inside because it’s a sponge until you what? Wring it out. Then you get rid of that water. So initially when you clean up. You cut some carbs, stuff like that, the Atkins, that works great. But a lot of times, they don’t give you, I guess, direction or help you understand. All right after this twelve-pound weight loss of water weight because that’s all it is, then you’ve got to make sure that you got to stick with it because, in the next week or two, you might not see any weight loss at all. And that’s where people have to stick through, regardless of the pain, regardless of what they don’t see on the scale, but of how they perceive themselves. It’s one of those things like sometimes that’s the hill. You can always see what’s over the hill, but if you can get to the top of the hill. What is there the majority of the time? Beauty. Endless, endless beauty of whatever it is. Lakes, forests, trees, whatever. But you have to get to the top to actually see the bigger picture of what can be.

[00:04:16] You and I, we discuss science a lot and we discuss the physiology level as to what’s actually current with each one of your clients. One of the things that we deal with and we work with is insulin, as you know. Insulin is the beast who determines where the sodium is retained or not. Once you don’t have insulin because of the carbohydrates, no insulin, no sodium retention, no sodium retention, the initial weight loss from the water. So the process comes into the wall as the physiology changes and now starts turning into the body fat. As that occurs we got three or four days or maybe a week later when you’re hit at that moment, there’s a psychology to that process that once you hit that wall, how do you help them get past that? And what do we do in terms of breaking that sticking point when they hit that wall, when their physiology kind of, you know, stops and says, we’re gonna get it on now, let’s get it on with physiology.

[00:05:14] Why I help them maybe you realized from a psychological standpoint. So I give them pretty much the same start of the work out from day one when we first started. And then they’ll be like, well, why do I keep doing the same thing? Because you keep making the same mistakes or going back to the same things. You’re gonna go back to the same starting point every single time. Until you figure out how to overcome that. So if you want to save fifty dollars or $200 at the end of the month. Right. But every week you’re saving 50, but you’re spending 40 or fifty-one of that. You’re not going to save anything at the end of the month. What are you gonna have to do at the end of the month? Start all over again. Right. Start all over again. Start all over again. People get mad because of the lack of progress, but they never realize it’s a lack of inconsistency. And they don’t understand that if we stick through something just for a little longer, a little while. Hey, I might get to the other side. But a lot of times people don’t want to put in that work that allows you to become so successful because it takes some patience and it takes consistent things on a daily basis. Little things done on a daily basis over time to give you those brief results that everybody’s looking for.

[00:06:36] Got it. And I’ve noticed one thing that I’ve been very, it’s always cool to see every time I walk into this facility, it’s a beautiful facility. I notice that you change it up each and every day. It’s like I think it’s the, you call it WOD. Do you do a different WOD for people in terms of their weight loss program?

[00:06:55] Yes, I do. Were very, you know, versatile in that aspect to ensure that not everybody is doing the same thing. Obviously, you have males looking to get stronger and females looking to lose weight, you’re not gonna be on the same work out because it just doesn’t make sense. Different goals. I mean, sorry, different results or different goals require different types of workouts, different types of weights, different types of cardiovascular routines, you know, things like that that allowed you to reach that particular goal. You got…

[00:07:24] Sometimes athletes that are, they have to, I mean, even military veterans, who have these new protocols they have to pass. And now the military is getting all crazy with their protocols and they’re learning and they’re readjusting their protocols. In terms of your, let’s say, more athletic individual, how do you get them to penetrate the weight loss dynamics when they’re already used to and then maybe, let’s say, 5 percent of what they want to lose, bodyweight, versus someone who wants to lose, let’s say, 15 to 20 percent additional weight loss. How do you approach those different approaches?

[00:08:00] As far as workouts, well, obviously the workouts are something that may not be as long and may require less, less time in the gym with different types of dietary restrictions. As far as the psychological aspect, there are different ways of approaching one person and approaching the other. Some people respond more to extreme, you know, yelling motivation, high-intensity things like that whereas other people don’t like that. So you might have to motivate them from a different aspect as far as encouraging words, positive, long-lasting words during that hour to ensure they stay with you and they don’t reject you. It’s all about the psychology of how you approach each individual, whereas me yelling to you that’ll work, whereas me, if I had one other person that might scare them off and intimidate, intimidate them. And if you can kind of, if you can really focus and harness that on how to focus on each individual’s personality and the way they’re motivated, then their success, their chance for success rate increases substantially. In that respect…

[00:09:09] How do you determine the difference between someone who’s mentally strong?

[00:09:12] How do you find that top endpoint? How do you find when they hit that point in order to not surpass it and to kind of push it to the next level? What do you do and what’s your, let’s say short term, let’s say over the next couple of weeks versus the next couple of days or the long term plan for the individual. How do you look at that?

[00:09:34] You develop a baseline for them first. If they haven’t worked out in a year, you can’t have them go zero to 100 on day one. So maybe you have them go zero to 10, week one, then to 20, week two, and so on. Whereas on the fourth week now you can really push them to ensure that one, they’re not going to hate you for it, but they’re gonna feel accomplished and you’re gonna let them know. Look, everything they let up, everything you’ve done for the last couple of weeks has led up to this. Look, what we just did, allowing them to see wow, I’ve never thought that I could do that. And you have the athlete similarly. That you understand how and what drives them? The yelling is positive encouragement, things like that. But everything’s with a baseline. It’s a lot of trial and error. And it’s one of those things that you learn how to tell an individual’s physique the moment they walk in, how they walk in, their persona. And then from there, you’re better able to calculate how you can address them, approach and what’s going to be the most effective option for them. In terms of quantifying their weight loss…

[00:10:43] How often do you measure and re-measure and what kind of methods do you do or have you used in the past that assist you to quantify the changes in their body composition?

[00:10:56] Generally, we just do weight and pounds and measurement of the waist. The waist. What do you look for there? Usually, waist to hip ratio to ensure their waist is not bigger than their hips, so they’re not prone to diabetes, heart conditions, things like that to ensure that they stay healthy. Because even though you can look like you’re losing weight, you might be unhealthy internally. Blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides, all that plays into effect. So if you find those, we use those ways to ensure they’re progressively, continuously decreasing in weight and reaching their goals, which I do on a weekly basis to ensure that we keep them accountable because we can come and sometimes, you know, people forget what they’re on or they’re trying to accomplish because, you know, everybody likes to have fun. And the whole point is to enjoy and have fun and enjoy life without being so constrained. But finding that balance, that perfect balance for you.

[00:11:59] You know, you mentioned some pointers. It’s on what you’re talking about, you’re measuring pretty much for metabolic syndrome. Weight, right? Waist circumference, you know, high blood pressure, blood glucose, triglycerides, and HDL, so to speak. As we look at those particular markers and someone ultimately that has, let’s say, metabolic syndrome, they just don’t feel right as they approach the fitness centers. Let’s just say we deal with someone coming in today and they’re just feeling bad. How do we walk them through the process and then how do we maintain them through the process of all the changes? Because man it’s the first time you worked out, man, your body goes through a lot of changes from swelling to losing water to sleeping issues. How do you help them through that process? Because it’s huge. It’s a big change in their bodies. Communication.

[00:12:48] You’re not gonna be able to have them read a whole book on health and sciences in one day. So it’s all just communication, continuous communication on a daily basis, how they’re feeling, why they’re feeling, how they’re sleeping, how they’re eating, you know, things like that. There is no particular right answer just for that question because it’s so broad. But the most important thing is an effective person who’s willing to communicate with you as far as all your physiological concerns.

[00:13:17] You know, being close to the coach is very important. You’ve always been one that communicates very well with your clients. I see you texting nonstop. You don’t stop. You’re always in reach. What kind of questions do you get when people are kind of having it, you know, rough?

[00:13:34] You know. I mean, pretty much, I don’t feel working out, I’m gonna take the week off or…

[00:13:43] I didn’t sleep good or I feel bloated or, you know, things like that, just anything that allows them. I mean, just normal human conditions that keep us from progressing forward. It’s from the everyday. I’m too tired. I had a long day at work. I’m stressed, my mind is stressed. But if they just come in, they’ll feel that much better. As long as they make that decision because they the more excuses they make for themselves, it just gets easier, easier and easier. And, you know, just with every aspect of life, the more excuses you give yourself, the easier it is to put things off.

[00:14:22] What are the characteristics of the people that succeeded in the programs that you do over the years? How long is it before they get like, they go from a state of like being unfit to fit? How long do you notice when their machinery kind of their mental machinery, their physiologic machinery has engaged? Like, you know, they’re going to show up now. But it was a rough ride in the beginning. Like at what point? I know the simple answer would be, let’s assume, it happens differently for everybody. But when are you noticing, like, you know, if you just stick to it this long, you’re going to take off on your own.

[00:15:01] Usually six weeks. Six weeks. Okay.

[00:15:03] Six weeks is usually a breaking point where people either fall off or continue forward.

[00:15:09] That’s exactly.

[00:15:10] Yeah, that’s…so, I continue going over that hump. A lot of that time that’s all they need actually like a little push over the six weeks.

[00:15:18] You know, I think everybody’s seen this over the years. They see the beginning of the gym and then every year everyone comes up with that, you know, desire for the beginning of the year. The wishes, the changes, the goals, the year goals. Everyone shows up at the gym and within, like you said, around a month to six weeks, they’re gone. But how do we get someone through that? How do we get through? What kind of, I think ideas and tidbits, can we give someone in terms of those moments in time in order to push beyond what everybody else would or most people would kind of give up on or many would? Testimonials as far as people have succeeded in the past and ways to attain their goals.

[00:15:55] People give you excuses. So make sure you have a list of ways on how to accommodate for that. So if they can’t because of their schedule at work. Okay, well, you can come at this time or try to do this and that. So give them solutions to every problem. The more solutions they can give you, the easier it will be for them to continue moving forward.

[00:16:17] Family, family involvement. What do you do in terms of that? Do you get spouses involved or do you get their…?

[00:16:26] I generally leave that up to the individual, but with anything different you do or new you do, you do have to have a supportive circle in and around you and you’re gonna find sometimes resistance. So being the change in the resistance to be better for yourself is the best thing I can tell you to focus on because there’s always going to be somebody or something around you trying to tell you, well, why are you getting fit or why are you doing this? Why are you doing that? You know, and if you know what you want, why you want it, and how you’re going to get there, then all around you, you shouldn’t let the environment change you. You should change the environment that’s around you.

[00:17:07] You know, I noticed that the results really motivate people once they see the changes. How long is it before you kind of do a reassessment and to kind of say, you know, look, this is, you know, you’re down 3, 5, 10 inches. How long do you wait?

[00:17:21] Usually we do it on a weekly basis or weekly, usually a weekly basis. And then we take that together. We do before and after pictures every four weeks.

[00:17:30] Daniel, when it comes to diet as it is hugely important to this process. It’s not just fitness, it’s the majority of what you are choosing when we get home.

[00:17:38] What kind of diet protocols or programs, is it a ketogenic diet? Is it intermittent fasting? Is it the Mediterranean?

[00:17:45] What kind of styles do you like putting an individual through? And what are your decisions between, let’s say, those three metabolic or a ketogenic, intermittent, and let’s say a Mediterranean diet? How do you focus on choosing?

[00:18:01] Honestly, I think it’s all crap. I think it’s all geared toward marketing gimmicks. But if you like keto, we’ll adjust you to keto. No carbs or if you’re vegan, then we will adjust it. So it’s all a matter of your…whatever you follow, as long as you’re losing weight, and you’re healthy, it doesn’t really matter, it works for your lifestyle. If you’re on a carb cycle then you do a carb cycle.

[00:18:29] You like high fat, low fat. Then we do high fat, low fat. But as long as you can be healthy and you’re getting blood work and it’s working for you, there is no, I don’t like it when people say like, oh, you have to go vegan. You don’t have to go vegan and you have to do this. No, you don’t have to do that. Do what’s best for your lifestyle. Period.

[00:18:45] You know, it’s huge because each one of these diets has an application and certain people under certain environments.

[00:18:52] You can’t. If you’re a physical guy and you work in the machinery, you know, try doing a ketogenic diet. It won’t work. It just falls apart. So if your lifestyle is one where, you know, you can’t be on a regimen of eating, then intermittent fasting sometimes becomes a little bit complex. So I appreciate that because that’s the truth.

[00:19:12] It really is the truth in terms of determining what’s best for the individual. Well, what other things do you do in terms of it here at this facility in your approach to continuous, how to keep them going?

[00:19:26] You know. Generally, I mean, we kind of constantly keep up to base on a weekly schedule as far as…

[00:19:38] What people are doing, how they’re doing, and how they’re progressing with us.

[00:19:43] We make sure that they keep a journal, a daily journal or a weekly journey to ensure that they’re meeting certain goals. So again, weekly goals where there’s one pound, two pounds, three pounds, whether it’s giving up coke, whether it’s giving up fast food, whether it’s giving up bread, whatever it is, small goals that keep them shooting forward. It’s like how do you keep, you know, kids or people at work motivated? You keep them going as far as give them small incentives or rewards for every goal they meet. And that has probably been the most effective.

[00:20:17] Well, I’ll tell you why. I think there’s going to be a whole lot of people happy to hear this kind of stuff. But every day we’re gonna be. Not every day, but at least once or twice a week, we’ll be putting in these nuggets of information. Weight loss is a very important subject matter for a lot of people. Is there anything you want to leave people in terms of thinking that or they’re on the edge of trying to weight loss? How to, you know, trigger them or what they could expect to see when they come here?

[00:20:44] Just that everything new that you start in life, is going to be a challenge. But the longer you stick with something, the more rewarding it will be. Just don’t give up before you see the results that you’re looking for.

[00:20:57] You know, a lot of the presidents, even Roosevelt had that famous speech. When things got crazy and the world looked like it was changing. Even the story behind today, we’re being inundated with a lot of health care issues. Viruses, one of the topics at hand. You know, we just don’t want to give up. We don’t want to give up. We want to be vigilant in every aspect of that. So I think preparation is the whole process. And to have someone on your side like these cats. It’s incredible when I watch. I mean, I particularly on my side, I see how much everybody appreciates this. And this is a family that is tight and definitely appreciate it. And I know that a lot of people out there are going to be excited to hear other points. What are we going to talk about next time in the future? What do you want to talk about? What do you think people want to talk about?

[00:21:45] A good question, and that’s a very good question. And by the way, we have gone live. And I don’t think Danny knew about it, but we went live today and he’s probably going to punch me as he gets off the phone right now. I knew. Oh, yeah, yeah.

[00:22:00] I hope everybody can see like honesty. Yeah. I don’t see. You have your good days. You have your bad days. You have your off days, you have your on days. And as far as no one should ever tell you how to feel, what to feel, or anything like that. As long as you’re positive and you have a good idea of the people around you. When you’re down, people should encourage you and vise versa. It’s a you go I go type of go. You give, I give, and we help each other. You know, if you’re looking for anyone, everyone to always pull you along, well, it’s all you’re gonna do. Other people are always gonna pull you along. And the moment people stop pulling you. Guess what? You’re gonna be left behind. So the whole goal is to try to herd someone. If you feel down, herd someone else, take them to a gym. Maybe they might be the positive value that you need to help you keep going forward, but find ways to keep moving forward and find ways to keep progressing and be accountable to each other.

[00:22:52] Well, thank you. We’ll leave it there and we’ll probably be here for next week. And God bless. And Danny, thank you so much for your insights and your thoughts, man, because it’s huge for us. OK, brother. Thank you.

Neurotransmitter Assessment Form (NTAF)

The Neurotransmitter Assessment Form (NTAF) shown above can be filled out and presented to Dr. Alex Jimenez. The next symptoms that are listed on this form are not intended to be utilized as a diagnosis of any type of condition, disease, or syndrome, as well as any other type of health issue and complication.