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I wanted to share an email that was sent to me by Alane, one of our Challenge participants. She offers a great recipe for Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos that sounds delicious…

Hey Alex,

Chuck’s talk last night was completely informative and helped me understand why even though I was taking in the correct amount of calories I gained .25 in body fat instead of losing it and it had to do with what was being eaten even though the calories were correct. So tonight I was even more determined and then I created a new meal!

We made grilled Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos tonight that were amazing!

Use 2 tsps whole foods fish taco seasoning on each Mahi Mahi steak

Bake the 5 oz raw fillet (the Costco pre-packed bags of frozen Mahi Mahi) in foil at 450 degrees for 20 mins – (it cooks to about 3.5 – 4oz)

Chop up lettuce (1.5 – 3 cups)

Chop up onion

1 to 1.5 oz of cheese according to protein needed

2 servings of avocado (adjust accordingly based on cheese needed)

1 serving (5 med) olives sliced

1 tortilla

½ red bell pepper chopped

Salsa to top!

Now you have a Mahi Taco and Mahi salad!
Thanks for the great tip Alane!!!

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I can’t believe we only have 10 more days to go in the October’s R.I.P.P.E.D. Challenge! It seems like it was just yesterday that we started the program. As of last night, half of the group has completed their third round of measurements with Chuck and as expected, everyone continues to increase lean body mass while at the same time lose inches and body fat. Great job Challengers!!!

Other exciting news… on Monday we finally lauched Season 2 of R.I.P.P.E.D. Sports at Renaissance ClubSport. This new format takes R.I.P.P.E.D. to a whole different level while sticking to the concept of Shocking the Body. We purposely designed this format to add a little more resistance and power training (just like you guys asked) to strengthen, lean and tone your bodies. It was awesome watching everyone workout to the new moves and music. The energy in the studio was incredible. I can’t wait to do it again this Saturday…

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How you all doin’? I just want to throw a shout out to all you people out there who have been following us through our journal and R.I.P.P.E.D. classes these past few months.  I am super duper happy that you have become a part of the R.I.P.P.E.D. family. It makes me want to sing and dance.

If it wasn’t for Alex, I would just be nothing but a dried up piece of fruit. Check out this beautiful goddess body.  Alex’s Intervals gave me these sexy beautiful legs.  You guys ROCK!!!!

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So yesterday I was able to get a sneak peak at the numbers from Round 2 of measurements with Chuck and let me tell you, they are just as solid as last week’s. Without going into detail, here is what I am seeing from just about everyone.Lean Body Mass is going up (building more muscle) and Body Fat % is continuing to go down. Bottom line, everyone continues to get stronger while losing body fat.

Some of the feedback that I am getting from trainers, instructors, associates and members here at the Club that aren’t doing the Challenge, is that they are noticing you guys look like you are losing weight and leaning out. Trust me, it’s that obvious.

So first off, CONGRATULATIONS to everyone! You continue to bring it every class, and we love your discipline with the meal plans. Just continue to stick to the program and I guarantee you’ll see results. I can’t wait to see Friday’s measurements.

On another note, there are a couple of things I want to address that I’ve been hearing, especially after 2 weeks of following the program (Just so you know, we asked the same questions about ourselves during our Pre-R.I.P.P.E.D. Challenge in September). The first one being “Why isn’t the scale moving very much in the direction I would like it?” Well here is why, when Terry and I designed the R.I.P.P.E.D. format we specifically wanted to put together a fitness and nutrition program that continuously shocked the body while at the same time increase strength, endurance and shed the extra weight. “Shocking the Body” is the latest buzz word(s) in the fitness industry. Studies show that if you don’t change your fitness and nutrition routine on a regular basis your results will eventually plateau. Well guess what?.our program is working and you guys are proving it. Muscle weighs more than fat! If you are building muscle and losing fat the scale isn’t going to move that much, especially after 2 weeks. Eventually your bodies will get to a point where it can only build so much muscle and then you will see another drop in weight. Be patient!!! As long as you are maintaining or building muscle and shedding the extra layer of fat you are right on track.

Here is another really important point you guys need to know your bodies are extremely sensitive machines. If you skip a meal (or two), maybe not get in all of your calories in a meal, or even eat something that’s not on the program, it will throw your system off. Your body will think that it needs to store fat to make up for the deficiency and it will even slow your metabolism down. It could take a couple of days for your body get back on track again. This ultimately could effect your measurements and skew your numbers. Typically measurements should be taken every couple of weeks, but because you guys are going through a 31 day Challenge, we wanted to monitor your results more closely and do weekly check-ins to make sure your nutrition was dialed in. Just imagine what your numbers would look like every 2 weeks.

We are so proud of you guys!!!! Keep up the great work.

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Erin, one of the “Crush’s” elite athletes had a major concern that as hard as she works out, she’s not physically exhausted and not sweating much anymore.  Could it be a plateau that she’s hit? That dreaded word that you do not want to hear, let alone experience. We have all experienced a plateau at some time, yes, even Alex and I!  When you hit a plateau, Akuna matada! Below are 4 Plateau Busting Basics:
R.I.P.P.E.D. Remix
We created R.I.P.P.E.D.- The One Stop Body Shock so your body experiences the most well rounded workout on the planet because we realized that if you do not vary your workout routine your body will eventually run on cruise control, and you will experience a plateau. Simply by changing the order of the sections makes a BIG DIFFERENCE and when Season 2 hits, your body will once again get shocked and will take a long time to adapt. When you want a different intensity level, yell out “REMIX” and we’ll give it to you!

CHECK “D” for DIET

During your Nutrition education with Chuck he has preached time and time again that you must get the fuel in your body because as your fitness level increases, your “fat furnace” (aka metabolism) will increase along with your calorie requirements. You may need to eat more than you have in the past for your body to continue to increase its fitness level. If you find you are often hungry, this is a clear sign you need to eat more to sustain your exercise program.

REST

On your days off, take DAYS OFF!  We know you can’t get enough of the beautiful Renaissance Club Sport and that you just want to be a part of “The Scene”, but you MUST rest.  Do laundry, take your kids to park, walk the dog, give your husband/wife a massage while he’s watching Sportcenter highlights. When you don’t take the designated rest days and decide to workout, you will go backwards.

CATCHING Z’s

Sleep is essential and you need it. Your muscles must repair and recover from the intense training you’ve been doing, from the grind at the office, and from chasing kids around. The right amount of sleep will ensure that your body is recharged and has the energy for another challenging R.I.P.P.E.D. workout.

If you are still experiencing a plateau, sometimes your body has to catch up to its new fitness level or weight and is in a holding pattern to see if your new routine is going to persist. Once it realizes that you’re not a quitter, it will proceed to take break you out of Plateau Prison and continue on its journey down Results Road!

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Where do you know where you can help a fun and determined group of people lose over 104 inches, lose 56% and 57 lbs. of body fat, while gaining 45 lbs. of lean muscle mass in a mere week?

The answer is Resistance, Intervals, Power, Plyometrics, Endurance, and Diet, also known as “R.I.P.P.E.D.- The One Stop Body Shock”!  A place where one can receive Realistic, Effective, Safe, and Utra-Lasting, Total Self-improvement, aka RESULTS!

The Orange, Blue, and Gold teams have brought a burning desire, strong work ethic, and willingness to learn to the table that has truly yielded an improvement in every area of health and fitness.  It’s just overwhelming to imagine how amazing each of your stories will read by the 31st of this month.  We are so delighted and honored to serve you!  Well done.

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I had to pass this on. Below is an excerpt of an email from Gabrielle (R.I.P.P.E.D. Challenge Participant on the Blue Team) that she sent to some of the girls in the Challenge. She gave me the ok to pass it on to all of you. Gabrielle makes a great recommendation on what to do with left-overs. (Gerry is her husband.)

“Gerry is wondering if I can come up with the perfect RIPPED meal.  I like the idea of an entire entree that includes all the nutrients, yet is satisfying and delicious.  (Sometimes when I piece things together, it’s the correct fuel, but not so enjoyable.  Of course that’s fine for snacks and on-the-go, but when it comes to lunch and dinner, I like to enjoy my food.)

So tonight I made a frittata for dinner!  While it can involve multiple steps, it’s a great way to use up left-over cooked veggies and pasta.  I was already making some multigrain spaghetti for the family, so I used that along with some freshly steamed spinach … and added some stir-fried mushrooms, pasillas and garlic, as well as some low fat feta and of course the egg whites.  I thought it was great.  (I didn’t make one for Gerry because he went to Costco and got a big box of Famous Amos cookies — ha!  But I gave him a bite and he liked it.)  Let me know what you guys think of it.”

How good does this look (click on the image for a bigger picture):

If anyone else has cooking and meal preparation recommendations please share them….

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From Chuck Rudolph, MEd, RD:

It is an honor to be working with you over the following weeks to educate you on nutrition and healthy eating habits. Please note that I am your PERSONAL DIETITIAN for the length of your program. You can contact me at anytime if you have any questions at all.

DIET EXPLANATION: Each meal provides a number of servings from various categories (Fruit, Carbohydrate (starches), Meat/Protein, Vegetable, Milk and Fat – Optimal Food List provided). When I calculate your caloric totals, my formula provides me with total calories for Daily lifestyle needs based on the Activity Factor (AF) I choose. Activity Factor ranges from 1.0 (bed rest) to 2.0 (training for marathon). After workout day training/intensity and non workout day activity is discussed, I then can apply an activity factor to calculate your daily caloric needs. What I do then is get the grams of protein I want based on how you are training, and then I select 25-35% fat and the rest I make up in carbohydrates.

The way the plan works is there are 2 master meal plan pages, 1 for Workout Days and 1 for OFF days. It is very critical that body see different caloric intakes per day. Different calories will keep the body guessing vs adapting. ALSO, every 14-15 day is a CHEAT MEAL. This means you eat your normal day UNTIL THE LAST MEAL then you go out and have fun. After this, the next 3 days at the gym you owe me an additional 15-20 minutes of cardio, just for those 3 days. Each meal allows for certain number of servings from respective food categories (see document High Performance Nutrient Selection). If meal 1 says 4 servings from carbohydrate (starch) category, and we look at the High Performance food list under carbohydrates (starches) and find that 1/4 cup oatmeal dry = 1 carb serving and ¾ tbsp honey = 1 carbohydrates serving then we can have ½ cup oatmeal and 1.5 tbsp honey or 3 tbsp honey or 1 cup oatmeal. HOWEVER you choose to distribute the carbohydrates for your preference. You will also see on the Example Meal Plan pages that there are 3 options per food category (followed across) ALREADY measured out for you. You just have to physically measure and eat. The goal of the Example meal page is to select 1 food of each color. This allows for up to 18 different meal combinations for every meal of the day. The MAIN GOAL is to EDUCATE portions control. The first 1-2 weeks CAN BE DIFFICULT as you need to learn various portions and learn to “eyeball” them. As for the other servings from other categories, they follow exactly the same plan. Please note all meats are measure AFTER COOKED.

Making it Simple: You will also see on each master plan page that each meal provides a total calorie per meal. This can be utilized for eating out options or just for simplicity. Note, it may not be the most optimal or healthiest, but its better to eat within your calories for the meal rather than NOT KNOWING and eating too much or WORSE CASE not eating and slowing down your metabolism. Please see the Making it Simple food list that can help you working in ANY foods into this plan.

I design your plan for Lean Body Mass increase not just weight (scale) loss. If we have more lean body mass we will burn fat more efficiently and have longer lasting energy. My main goal is to BALANCE insulin levels through calories per meal, meal frequency as well as nutrient selections per meal. If we can balance insulin level we get stable energy all day long, reduce risks of heart disease and reduce the probability of STORING BODY FAT.

Breakfast is the most important meal. It provides food energy as well as wakes up the bodies hormones. You may know that if you do not eat breakfast, you are likely able to go all the way to 1-2 PM and then you feel hungry. Problem is at that time your blood glucose is so low you crave sugary carbohydrates and the viscous cycle begins. My diet plans balance this insulin response and provide the proper calories to NOT ONLY LOSE body fat but build Lean Body Mass as well. The more Lean Body Mass the more apt your body is to BURN BODY FAT on daily basis.

No diet is easy but you will NEVER hear me say “you can’t have this or that”. I may recommend eating a certain food at a different time where the servings allow it, but my goal is to EDUCATE YOU on SERVING SIZES. This way you NEVER have to count every calorie. I count the calories for you. Your toughest goal is the first 1-2 weeks where you should measure out foods based on the serving recommended. What this does is provides you with a idea of what 1/3 cup cooked rice looks like or 3 oz lean chicken looks like. This way, you are able to eat out with friends and family yet still stick to your Lifestyle meal plan (if you so choose too) and not only get but MAINTAIN the body and health of your dreams.

The plan I made for you is one I would refer to as MOST OPTIMAL. My expectations are high for all of my clients. I provide all the needed communication so there should be NO EXCUSES. This is a LIFESTYLE modification; this is not just for 4 weeks. I expect you to learn about nutrition and take this information with you. This experience and education should be gratifying and completed with GREAT RESULTS.

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Congratulations again to the following candidates who have been selected to participate in the October R.I.P.P.E.D. Challenge:

Blue Team

1.      Alane S.

2.      Carina M.

3.      Charla W.

4.      Gabrielle T.

5.      James J.

6.      Kelly S.

7.      Meg S.

8.      Michelle M.

9.      Monique B.

Orange Team

1.      Darcy L.

2.      Debbie S.

3.      Denise W.

4.      Erin W.

5.      Haley V.

6.      Landon S.

7.      Lauren S.

8.      Mickelle P.

9.      Tina G.

Gold Team

1.      Amber O.

2.      Alma C.

3.      Angel Y.

4.      Anna D.

5.      Erik W.

6.      Heather L.

7.      Jodi H.

8.      Nancy T.

9.      Paulina G.

This week everyone is meeting with Chuck Rudolph, MEd, RD, (our nutritionist) for their first round of measurements and pinches, and to get their meal plans. 

We can’t wait to officially start the Challenge on October 1^st. There has already been some trash talking going on between the teams. It’s obvious that we’ve got some pretty competitive folks in the group. As part of the motivation to keep everyone focused on their goals, there will be team and individual awards given at the end of the Challenge to those that show biggest results. Nothing like adding fuel to the fire!

Not only do we want this to be an experience that only the participants can partake in, but we want you, the non-participants, to follow the group throughout the entire Challenge. Therefore, we are encouraging everyone to use the R.I.P.P.P.E.D. USA Journal as the source for information sharing. All participants will be encouraged to post questions, updates, advice/tips, etc. during the entire month of October.

Stay tuned…..this is going to be good!!!