Are We Fit 'n Right?

Running, Weight Loss and a new Fitness Workout

It is almost a year since I started road racing. Running has helped me lose weight and achieve a fitter and faster body. From the weighing scale readings and from my recent finish times though, I still have a lot of work to do to achieve my goals.

On weight loss, I am now at 144-149 pounds from 165. I have lost 20 pounds since I started running. Although I cannot seem to get below 144 any more even after more than 3 hours and 27 or more kilometers of Sunday long runs. The last 4 or 5 pounds are the hardest pounds to get rid off.

On my race performances, I have done well relative to when I started racing. Partly because I have worked my way to lose 20 pounds of excessive fats and partly because of the training methods and runs I have been routinely and relentlessly doing. The more I lose weight towards my optimal weight and the more I learn about scientific and better running methods, the better I perform.

And when I was invited to attend Del Monte's Dare to be Fit 'n Right fitness talk, I immediately jumped at the opportunity. One, Conditioning Coach Jim Saret of our National Basketball Team will introduce his F.I.T workout free of charge. The workout is suppose to burn 400 calories in just 4 minutes! Two, I might just have a clue on how I would lose those last 5 pounds off my belly.

The F.I.T Workout

Burn an extra 3500 calories a week and you will lose 1-pound of fat. This has been my target for the past few weeks to reach my target weight. To achieve this, I had to log 45 kilometers of running a week based on Runner's World Calorie Calculator. And I did lose 20 pounds from all those weeks and kilometers of running.

Conditioning Coach Jim Saret claims he knows of a workout that would be able to burn 400 calories in just 4 minutes. Wow. Imagine that! By just allotting 4 minutes a day, we already are close to burning that 1 pound of fat a week. Isn't that great? How?

The Dare to be Fit ‘N Right launch will be a bloggers event that features the revolutionary F.I.T workout by sports scientist and Master Coach Jim Saret. Coach Saret obtained his MS Sports Science degree from Brigham Young University in the US. He is a core training expert and a sports and fitness writer and lecturer. Currently, he is the Sports Program Head of the Ateneo de Manila University and the Strength and Conditioning Coach of the PBA, POC, and the PSC.

The F.I.T Workout or the Fast Interval Training is a four-minute workout that makes you burn at least 400 calories and continues to burn even when you’re done with the workout! Plus, you don’t have to be a gym buff to enjoy the workout. It doesn’t require much space and equipment. It’s scientific, very visual, designed for non-athletes, with measurable results and it’s easy!

The 4 minute workout consists of simple exercises like push-ups, planks, crunches, lunges, squats and jumping jacks. All of which uses our natural body weight and can be performed anywhere. The technique is just to do those exercises in 4 minutes. Have as little recovery periods in between exercises. After 4 minutes, your body would be burning 400 calories. Just 4 minutes.

At the workout demonstration, a relatively big guy around 180-200 pounds performed the exercises in 4 minutes. After which, the guy burned 96 calories based on his watch which could measure his heartbeat rate and calories burned. Yes, only 96 calories and not the advertised 400.

For a while, it seemed like a failed demonstration. And unsurprisingly on my part as I know that in 4 minutes, I could hardly run for a kilometer which would only burn around 75 calories. You really could not burn much on just 4 minutes, right?

Wrong! After about an hour more, while the guy sits on a stool doing absolutely nothing, he was still sweating continuously and now burned a total of 311 calories. Amazing.

Coach Saret attributes that to the post workout effect of the Fast Interval Training workout. Even after the 4-minute workout, our body will continuously burn calories. When his discussions on the FIT workout ended, the guy already burned 469 calories.

Speed Up Your Metabolism with Fit 'n Right

If you partner your F.I.T workout with your Fit ‘n Right fruit juice drink, you’ll see faster results for Del Monte Fit ‘N Right contains the breakthrough L-Carnitine that helps burn fat and B Vitamis 1, 6, 12 that help speed up metabolism.

L-Carnitine is a natural substance that is occurring in the body but can be supplemented for optimal health. It transports the fatty acids into the mitochondria, the “cell’s powerhouse” where they are burned into energy needed for a healthy heart, important body functions and physical activities. Supplementary L-Carnitine contributes to optimal fat oxidation, and along with a proper diet and regular exercise, promotes healthy body weight.

A clinical study done by the University of the Philippines through Dra. Leonora Panlasigui and company has proven the effectiveness of Fit ‘n Right. In that study, it was found that one can lose as such as 16.7% body fat in just 6 weeks with regular consumption of Fit ‘n Right, diet and exercise. There are studies that indicate that 1000mg per day is ideal in helping you lose weight along with proper diet and regular exercise. Each Fit ‘n Right bottle contains 300mg and the recommended daily intake is at least 3 bottles, at least 2 hours before exercise or physical activity to maximize the fat-burning benefit.

B Vitamins 1, 6 and 12 are known as energy boosters and they help reduce fatigue and increase endurance by facilitating conversion of carbohydrates, protein and fat into energy.  With L-Carnitine, B Vitamins can optimize metabolization of carbohydrates, protein and fat into energy.

Need I add more? I also had to get these results for Fit 'n Right Fruit Snacks as conducted by Gold's Gym. Mojo Jojo and Slick Rick faced off for an eight-week weight loss challenge. The Weight-Loss Face-Off consisted of workout exercises, diet and three servings of Del Monte Fit 'n Right Fruit Snacks daily for eight weeks.

FACE-OFF, Slick Rick vs Mojo Jojo

SLICK RICK

I have to say that I’m a happy- go-lucky guy, but of course there are times that I have insecurities about my weight and appearance. I envy the people that can lose weight really quick and I’m not part of that lucky group. With the Weight-Loss Face-Off Challenge, I don’t skip a day that I don’t have at least 2 or 3 servings of Fit ’n Right Fruit Snacks.  It’s my guiltless way to have something sweet. I don’t want to be the fat guy anymore. I want to be confident and not worry about my weight. With 20 pounds lost for just 8 weeks because of Fit ‘n Right Fruit Snacks and regular exercise, I would keep the weight off even after the challenge has finished. I’d like to show off to the public that if I can do it, they can do it as well. I’m a new person now, thanks to Fit ‘n Right Fruit Snacks for giving me back my confidence!

MOJO JOJO

When I was a teenager, I used to be quite athletic. However, when college came along, I found that my physical activities took a back seat to studying and hitting the books. Then when I started working, I really let myself go, no more exercise and I was not concern about what I ate. And with my metabolism no longer that of a teenager, shedding the extra weight became more difficult. When they weighed me at the beginning of the challenge, I was really shocked that I had ballooned to 183 pounds! It was a realization for me to really change my lifestyle… more so than the reason of “just looking good”—it was time to think about my health. Healthy snacking played a big part in my weight loss. Instead of chowing down fatty foods, I really got into the habit of eating Fit ‘n Right Fruit Snacks whenever I felt that snacking urge. Whenever listeners would call into our radio show and make comments about how much weight I was losing and that I looked better, it reaffirmed that all my hard work was paying off.

Dare To Be Fit 'n Right Fun Run

Details of the Fit 'n Right Fun Run

The fun run will be held at SM Mall of Asia on November 22. Great! That will be my first race at MOA grounds. P300, 000 will be at stake for the runners including a chance to win a Lenovo laptop to be raffled off!

Organized by CEMG and supported by the Manila Bulletin, Solar Sports and Lenovo, the 3K/5K/10K Men and Women Open Run will benefit the victims of typhoon Ondoy and Pepeng through the SM Foundation. So we will not only be joining the fun run for our fitness and health. We would also be able to extend our helping hands to our Kababayans affected by the typhoons.

Registration fee is P300 inclusive of singlet, race bib and Del Monte products. Participants can register at the following:

1. CEMG Office – Unit 3A Vernida I Bldg., Amorsolo St., Legaspi Village, Makati City (look for Marianne Tapales (892.5842/09155498282)
2. Dare to be Fit ‘n Right booths in Bonifacio High Street, Taguig plus SM Hypermart in Mall of Asia, Sucat, Pasig, and North EDSA
3. Fitness First branches on November 16.

Online Registration is also available at www.runningmate.ph/del_monte. See who's running in this Fun Run on the Race List.


A Personal Challenge

Will Fit 'n Right help me achieve my weight and running goals? Will it fit to my training schedule? Will it just be the right ingredient for me to finally reach that elusive optimal running weight? There's only one way to find out. Your friendly cyberspace lab rat is once again more than willing to put it to the test.

1. For 6 weeks, I will drink 3 bottles of Fit 'n Right each day.
   
2. I will continue with my regular running workouts.
3. I will incorporate Coach Jim Saret's FIT workout on my Core Training Days and Cross Training schedules.
   

At the 4th week of this challenge, on November 22, I will attempt to beat my previous 10K record of 51:19 minutes at the Dare To Be Fit 'n Right Fun Run. I hope to see you there guys. And finally at Week 6 on December 6, 2009, I will give an update on how this F.I.T workout and the L-carnitine in Fit 'n Right helped me to achieve my optimal running weight of 140 pounds.

Or better yet, you could try the F.I.T workout yourself supplemented by Fit 'n Right. After all, it doesn't hurt to try, right?