My name is Carolyn Moos, USA Basketball, B.A. Stanford, FIBA/WNBA Pro Athlete, M.A. USC and ACE Personal trainer, yoga instructor and nutrition consultant. I am writing today on various topics linked to your fitness, wellness and long-term health. I am going to begin with the top mistakes individuals may make that prevent them from leading a healthy lifestyle and or attaining their fitness goals. I work with clients live or via Skype, e-mail and phone for nutrition menu planning, yoga and overall healthy lifestyle management.

1. Mistake #1: Skipping breakfast and/or allowing too many hours between meals. FITT4Life Rule: eat every three hours and jump-start your day with a healthy well-balanced breakfast. Go to www.fitt4life.org or www.carolynmoos.com to download your power food list.
2. Mistake #2: not cutting out alcohol completely or lowering intake. Alcohol is empty calories, it dehydrates the body and is not conducive to attaining lean muscle mass. Alcohol is stored much like fat in the body. Alcohol is a powerful diuretic that can cause severe dehydration and staggering electrolyte imbalances. Alcohol can dramatically decrease serum testosterone levels. Decreases in testosterone are associated with decreases in aggression, lean muscle mass, muscle recovery and overall athletic performance. Alcohol will also impair reaction time and mental acuity for up to several days after consumption. Fatty liver, fibrosis, cirrhosis (irreversible liver damage) and gout are common side effects of higher consumption of alcohol. Long-term alcohol use may lead to weakened heart muscle, impotency, altered brain and nerve functions, elevated triglycerides, fat deposits in the liver, abnormalities in blood-clotting, pancreatitis, liver failure, vitamin deficiencies, and skin abnormalities. Alcohol has a detrimental effect on both the quality of sleep and on daytime attention. Alcohol thins the blood so you need to pump faster to maintain the same oxygen level in the blood stream. Lower blood flow is not preferable for many reasons. There are health foods that naturally increase blood flow- this is beneficial. For more information download the Power Food list at www.fitt4life.org and www.carolynmoos.com.
3. Mistake #3: Weighing yourself versus measuring body composition (muscle to fat ratios) as basis of progression in your fitness level. The more lean muscle you have the more fit you will become as you loose body fat. Note that muscle weighs more than fat for same square footage. So you can be fit and tight/compact yet in fact weigh the same as when you started a fitness program but loose a size in your clothing. Note: Women will always have a higher percentage in a healthy range while still being fit to keep them healthy as a woman. As a personal trainer I always use body composition as the baseline for comparison as they progress towards their fitness goals.
4. Mistake #4: lack of sleep and lack of consistent sleep patterns. This affects your cortisol to endorphin ratios, which affects muscle to fat ratios. When you have too much cortisol (stress hormone) as a result of sleep deprivation your body goes into survival mode- you are not functioning as well mentally or physically and your body will store extra calories as fat as it perceives you are in a type of threat. Get your consistent sleep! This is when muscles repair as well.
5. Mistake #5: not making time for consistent workouts. Even if you are very busy there are ways! Don’t watch TV, cut out on the things that cut into your healthy living- you can multitask get a simple cardio machine for your home or apartment for times when you are really busy. Cook on the weekends, freeze all meals and pack them with you this saves times, money and provides you more time for your workouts! The bonus is you know you will be getting all the healthy foods you need. To schedule a virtual or live grocery store tour or a kitchen makeover with Carolyn Moos e-mail [email protected]. She will design your menu plan, show you how to shop and store all your new healthy foods and enjoy a consistent pattern of leading a healthier life.
6. Mistake #6: Making lifestyle changes for the wrong reasons. The reasons you make changes should be based out of self-motivation. Make SMART goals that you create (no one else) and that you feel good about attaining. Carolyn can talk to you more about this process such that is relevant to your personal needs as well as micro and macro level goals.

Ideally you should workout in the morning to jump start your basal metabolic rate after a healthy breakfast and then consume mini meals every 3 hours to stabilize your blood glucose and for optimal insulin function. Also get ample sleep to allow your body to recover. For sample menu plan and overview go to:

“I work with teams and individual pro athletes as well as general public via Skype or live to help with lifestyle choices (nutrition menu planning, strategic cross-training and more!). www.fitt4life.org on nutrition log analysis, yoga and cross-training to lower risk of injury, improve body composition (muscle-fat ratios) and improve overall mental and physical performance.”

-Carolyn Moos

[email protected]

6’5” USA BBALL BA Stanford FIBA WNBA MA USC ACE Personal trainer, yoga instructor, nutrition consultant