Who doesn’t feel amazing and energized after a complete uninterrupted night of sound sleep?  Sleep and rest have its obvious extrinsic benefits, but it’s a lack of result oriented awareness to hormonal and chemical messages that sleep provides.

If anyone were to ask me what is the single most important thing they should right now to lose fat immediately, short of changing what’s on the end of their fork, I would emphatically respond with focus on your SLEEP!  This will literally get them in the direction of change overnight.  Even one poor night of sleep you will wake up insulin resistant, which means you’re better at storing fat- You’re more leptin resistant, making you hungrier- your cortisol goes up, making you store belly fat- your serotonin level go down- urging you to crave sugar.  Bottom line is when you don’t get a good night sleep you don’t feel energized, you don’t want to workout, your immune system is lowered, and you’re craving the need for sugar and caffeine.

There have been several studies shown that with the appropriate amount of 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night, it has proven to reduce fat loss.  Not to mention the powerful and now popular benefits seekers out there in anti-aging and slowing down the aging process, sleep ranks right up there with the top contributors. So it’s no wonder why I’m an advocate of rest, recovery, and sleep as a catalyst being implemented to all fat loss strategies.

It’s not the knowing… it’s the DOING that counts!

Coach Steve @ Fitastic

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Athlete of the Month: Mother’s Day Edition

Jan Wilson

In honor of Mother’s Day we are switching up our Athlete of the Month to Transformation of the Month. We are keeping this one close to the Fitastic family. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to this month’s Transformation, my mother, Jan Wilson. Who better to be our first transformation success story than the mother of the Wild Will Transformation herself?  Coach Steve and I made the trip back to my home town of Menomonee Falls, WI to sit down and hear my Mother’s amazing story. Get ready to be inspired and to all the Moms out there, grab your tissues, you are going to need them.

Jan before Oct 2012

Jan Wilson’s story began back in 1982 when she wanted to lose weight for her wedding day. She achieved her goal and looked amazing on her wedding day.  However, the universe, it seemed, was determined to put back all the weight she had lost. First, her father was diagnosed with cancer in 1983. In between being a new wife, a full time employee of Miller Brewing Co and care taker to her father, there was no time to focus on eating the right foods to maintain her weight.  When her father passed in 1983 she found out she was pregnant with the future Wild Will, and as often happens with pregnancy, more weight was gained. Then, before she could even get the baby weight off from her first pregnancy, my sister was conceived then born in 1986. Again, more weight was gained.  From 1986 to 2012 Jan began her time in yo-yo dieting purgatory.  During those years she would lose weight, gain weight, lose some more weight and then put it back on.  She tried every diet from Atkins to Jenny Craig (much to my chagrin) all the while starting to accept that she was just going to be a big lady.  She knew nobody could have everything they wanted – something is always sacrificed.  She was married, she had great children, her sacrifice was her body: she was supposed to be big. Every excuse was made to take her mind off her weight. In fact, I can remember how we never had a scale in the house. According to my father it was because “a scale would do more airtime in our house

Jan 2014 Does that black shirt look familiar?

then most airlines.” Jan never really accepted how she looked; she just accepted that it was the way it was.

That is until October of 2012. During a doctor visit her A1C came back at 7.5 and with that my Mom was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes.  That is when my Mom had to come face to face with the reality and the mirror. In her own words “everything changed because health is not an excuse. I always said I would only change if it came to my health.” Well the universe heard her and this time it was on Jan Wilson’s side. Jan began the next step of her journey right away. She went to “diabetic school” as she calls it and had 4 classes with an amazing dietician who set her up on a meal plan that she turned into a lifestyle.  Jan Wilson gave up every indulgence she has ever had, knowing that for the rest of her life she can only have “40-60 carbohydrates” per meal. It was all about carbs, insulin and blood pressure going forward.

Jan openly admits that she did not do this on her own. She did it with what she calls the “3 Fs – Faith, Family, Friends.”  By friend she meant “real friends” the kind that you can call at midnight and they will come right over to help you, no questions asked, expecting nothing in return. In fact, her friends (a small group of PTA Moms I know as “The Momfia”), banded together to support their friend’s struggle. When they went away for a weekend each Mom brought meals that Mom could have based on her new meal plan or they picked restaurants in the area that would support her new lifestyle.  I am forever grateful to these amazing women. (more…)