Travelling the country speaking to people about regaining control of their lives through controlling the only thing we have control over is what has become my mission. I realized through my experience that I can create anything I want in my life by taking the little steps that in turn make the big difference. The best way I am able to judge my progress and stay in the moment is by staying on top of my diet and exercise, which allows me the energy to stay active and feel GREAT about myself. I may not be able to control many things in life but myself I can control.

Travelling adds lots of unexpected turns in the road that I don’t always plan for and the key is to have a plan. Some of the ways that I stay prepared for the unexpected is make sure that I always have my go to items in my carry on baggage. You never know when weather is going to come in play and change the course of your day. I travel with a jump rope, workout clothes, my laptop, lots of snacks, and my Protein 2Go packs. The jump rope allows me to have an opportunity to do cardio wherever I might be as well as jumping jacks, step ups, mountain climbers, and burp-pees. I love having my laptop so that I can pull up a workout no matter where I am through many online services like exercisetv.com.

If my travel plans go as expected then that is a bonus and I always stay in hotels with a gym. Most hotels these days have gyms so check them out ahead of time, to inspect what you expect…not all hotel gyms are created equally . Make sure you pack enough 2Go packs so that you are able to get your protein needs met before and after workouts.

My snacks allow me to have the fuel I need regardless of my options. When I leave home I always have popcorn, chicken breast, hard boiled eggs (which I always warn the person sitting on the airplane next to me about), fruit, almonds, and my 2Go Packs. As soon as I pass through security I go immediately and buy bottled water for the flight.  

Ali "On The Road"; GNC Show, June 2010

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I put 110% in my workout, nutrition and recovery and I am satisfied at the end my workout!!

In the years of training I have seen more people fail to reach their goals because of the fact they aren’t willing to make life adjustments to better their life and live a healthly balanced life.  You don’t have to be the biggest, leanest body in the gym but when you look in the mirror ask yourself…are you happy with your results? If not, STEP IT UP.

So lets make it happen:

1. Do cardio in the morning to burn off any extra carbs you ate
2. Consume more meals a day (add acouple of BLITZ SHAKES bewteen meals and before bed)
3. Change your workout style confuse your body
4. Drink lots of water
5. Get 6hrs to 8hrs of sleep
6. BE HAPPY!!!
7. DONT GIVE UP IT DOESNT HAPPEN OVER NIGHT!!!

- Rick Hagen

Posted in DESIGNER WHEY Healthy Minute | COMMENT ON THIS BLOG

It’s funny because believe it or not most people are more accommodating then you think.  Pretty much everywhere you go you can get what you want as long as you ask nicely!  Most hotels offer small refrigerators and allow access to a microwave.  Find out from the front desk where the closest grocery store is, often they even have a shuttle service or it is within walking distance.  Go grab what it is you feel like eating and just make sure you also grab Ziplock steamer bags, they allow you to cook healthy fresh foods in a microwave.  You can make any vegetable, chicken or fish with these.  Also grab a small container of fat-free milk and lots of fruit. 

When you get back to the hotel see if you are able to get the kitchen or bar to mix up your protein shakes for you, this is an easy way for them to make you a regular customer.  If they do not have a blender just make sure that you packed your blender bottle and you are all set.  Blender bottles can be found at almost any health food or vitamin store, just ask the person behind the counter and they will point you in the right direction.  If you take the time for these few extra steps there really are no excuses no matter how often you travel to eat healthy.

Posted in Ali Vincent | COMMENT ON THIS BLOG

In the beginning, life on the Ranch wasn’t easy, but being away from all my loved ones, food, problems, work and everyday stress was actually good. For the first time I found myself working hard, for me. Looking back, there were moments I wanted to leave the Ranch, even though deep down inside I didn’t want to leave and tried to stay on the Ranch as long as I could.

Then came the return home. It was completely different from being on the Ranch. I went through a great period of adjustment. This is where the Biggest Loser Protein products came into play. I used them at the Ranch but once I came home I implemented the Biggest Loser Protein products to my routine and continued writing in my journal. I knew I had to work harder at home so I used the protein shakes with fruit or milk before and after workouts. I drank my protein all day to replenish my muscles. Because I was working out 6 to 8 hours a day, I needed to stay strong. My desire was to reach my goal weight which I did. And I surpassed it!!  Now I am on my way to bodybuilding and sculpting. The Biggest Loser products will help me succeed, improve and show that we can turn a body around.

Now that the weight is off, toning and tightening my muscles is my next challenge. Thank you for all your attention and products. I couldn’t have achieved 22% BMI (the lowest of Season 9!!) without them. I now have beautiful toned legs and arms. It was definitely worth the hard work and sweat. Although I didn’t win the monetary prize, being the healthiest contestant at 22% BMI after surgery is the biggest and best prize of all.

Getting my life back internally, externally, physically, and emotionally is the biggest reward anyone can ask for. I am so grateful to The Biggest Loser, my trainer Desmond Thompson, my family and friends. Again, thank you. 

- MIGGY

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Driving through the back roads of southeast Michigan, I get a warm feeling from Sheila, the Australian voice on my GPS device. The goal is to get to work on time and Sheila is providing the guidance.

If you would have told me ten years ago that a little screen on your dash board would have the technology to guide you any where, I would have said you were crazy. But also if you told me ten years ago that I would be in better shape at 44 than I was at 34, I also would have suggested the padded room in the funny farm.

But thanks to goals and guidance I weigh ten pounds less, can lift more weight, and can run much farther. No matter how modest the goal, I have always gotten better results if I was shooting for a target weight, distance, or number of pounds lifted. Without that goal, it’s easy to stop at an arbitrary point.

Same can be said of the guidance of a trainer.  A certified trainer has the kind of ideas and encouragement that makes them well worth the time and money. I would be the first to stop after eight reps. But having the trainer standing there I found myself going for ten, and sometimes beyond.

I also fell into the “routine” trap. Only training certain muscle groups with certain exercises. That put me into a rut and not only was I wasting time but a trip to the gym was becoming very boring. The first trainer I ever worked with showed me a variety of movements that kept the workouts fresh and fun.

So today I’m going to set a modest goal, five pounds off by the fourth of July. And first thing Monday I will consult with my trainer for the guidance, and with the help of Designer Whey, make sure I get the right amount of protein.

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Biggest Loser Season 9 contestant, Patti Anderson recently contacted us to say the following:  I am excited to tell you how important Biggest Loser Protein Powder was in helping me throughout my journey as a Season 9 contestant. 

I had no idea how much I would love and appreciate this product prior to my time at the Biggest Loser Ranch and immediately this protein powder became a daily addition to my diet. 

I was eliminated week two, but was equipped with the knowledge necessary to succeed at home.  Along with that knowledge, I have continued to incorporate Biggest Loser Protein Powder into my daily nutrition plan which helps to give me the fuel necessary for my workouts.  I will be forever grateful, thank you! 

Here’s a picture of me at the after-party the night of the finale.  It was such a fantastic night and you can definitely see that your protein powder helped me tremendously to get very close to my goal weight … and the journey continues!

Patti Anderson

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A few months back one of my employees at Elite Fitness made a derogatory comment about a certain part of my anatomy. And quite frankly, he was the last person who should be talking about where a “mature” male gains weight.

So I said “put your money where your mouth, or excess weight is!” And the bet was on. We both set weight and bench press goals, but had to decide what the wager was going to be and didn’t want to make it anything monetary or material. Embarrassment was much better.

We decided that whoever lost the bet would put on an inflatable muscleman suit and stand out in front of the gym for one hour in rush hour traffic. And then, it was game on.

After six weeks of regular workouts, and high protein low fat diets, we both made our weight goals. Designer Whey products before and after all workouts clearly made the major difference for me.  I lost fifteen pounds and felt really great.

Now it was time to hit the bench press. Although I had a career best bench, I only made eighty percent of my goal, and my competition made eighty three percent of his goal.  So, I lose. Next week I’ll be out front waving to cars in the suit.

Why, you may ask, is this good.  Well, to start, I have been able to move two notches smaller on my belt. I’m trying on clothes that actually fit, and I can run farther and faster than I have been able to in years.

As we head into Memorial Day Weekend, I am ready to go for a few days of Turkey Burgers, Lobster Bisque, and a little French wine.  And there will be just a little less guilt about the whole thing.  If you start one of these holiday weekends ahead of the game, you can have a little more “guilt free” fun on vacation.

Just remember, have your fun this Memorial Day weekend. Don’t go too far. And be ready to get back at it Tuesday. And it can be a vacation from reality that won’t put you too far behind on your personal fight against the fat! Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Posted in John Roberts | COMMENT ON THIS BLOG

Some time has passed since I finished my diet with remarkable success. What has happened since then? Well my weight loss has certainly slowed, and I’m sure a lot of that is due to the fact that I now eat fast food when I please (which still isn’t very often, but more often then never), and drink soda, and for a short while there I was drinking alcohol again, which is fine, except that alcohol contains a lot of empty calories that I really don’t need in my diet. However, an interesting thing happened during my diet. I learned that it’s possible to have fun without alcohol. So, because of that realization, and the fact that alcohol is a primary suspect in making me fat, I am no longer going to drink. It’s time once and for all to focus much, much more on my health, and that is one of the best ways to do it. But it’s not the only thing I need to do.

So basically, although I’m still wanting to lose weight, I haven’t been putting in the work to do so. I’ve been hoping that it would just magically happen because it was looking so easy before when I was on my diet. Nothing comes easy, and nothing is given to you. If you want to lose weight, you have to make it a serious priority, something that I had forgotten. Re-evaluate how important losing those pounds is to you, and if you still want to lose weight then push it up the hierarchy and make sure you dedicate some time as often as possible. Things like an hour-long walk can really help out, though not nearly as much as a half-hour long run. The harder you work, the bigger the benefits will be, and the more weight you’ll lose. But if you won’t put in the work, then you won’t receive the results.

Posted in Nathanael Mulder | COMMENT ON THIS BLOG

Fitness boot camps have become one of the hottest ways to get in shape, FAST.  Fitness boot camps are group exercise classes that mix calisthenic and body weight exercises with interval and strength training. A typical fitness boot camp is designed to push participants harder than they’d push themselves. For this reason, it’s reminiscent of a military boot camp, hence the name.

Not for the faint of heart, a typical class might consist of sprints, lots of push ups and interval training with little rest between exercises. Boot camp classes have become so popular because they are relatively inexpensive and participants report seeing great results in a shorter time than traditional gym classes. Intrigued? We thought so….intimidated??? Of course you are!  Here’s what you can expect from a typical boot camp class:

There’s usually a small group, somewhere around 6-10 people. Class is held in an open public outdoor space such as a park. Boot camp starts with a 10-minute warm up. Then there’s the workout…The 30-40 minute workout will typically include:

• Push ups
• Plyometrics
• Internal training
• Squats 
• Lunges
• Squat thrusts
• Speed training with sprints
• Core strength
• Obstacle courses
• Cool down and stretching

If you’ve already tried a Boot Camp workout, we want to hear from you! Let us know what you think of this workout and whether or not you recommend it to your fellow Designer Whey fans. Post your comments on the Designer Whey Facebook Fan Page.

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Before I go into some of the responses that I received and the playlist that they have submitted, I would like to try and offer up a debate regarding the playlist (of any sort) and the work out. Is it beneficial to listen to a playlist or does it serve as more of a distraction? Is it fueling your fire or draining your efficiency? Does the playlist keep you focused or does it create yet another distraction for you? I only ask these questions because I myself constantly face these crossroad like conundrums.   And for the most part it really comes down to inconsequential factors for me, such as time I want to physically spend at the gym, the mood I am in, the muscle/muscles I am trying to target on that given day, the type of day I have had, the means by which I am getting to the gym and the amount of people at the gym, just to name a few.

                Most days I will take my iPod to the gym with me, but it is about a 50/50 crap shoot to whether or not I will actually put in the head phones and use it and it really has to do with running down the list above. If I get to the gym on a day where I am doing chest or back, I will most likely use a playlist, for three main reasons. One, those are usually Mondays and Tuesdays so I typically just need that extra “umf” to power me through my workouts – and believe me the playlists that I made for both days are more than enough to get the blood going. Two, I know that I will easily eat up an hour at the gym for either of these days, so I budget my work day and week out so that I take an hour lunch on both days and stay that extra ½ hour  (assuming I work an eight hour day which doesn’t really ever happen –usually 9-11hrs). So with that being said I have the luxury of listening to music while I work out because I can get caught up in a song and space out for a couple minutes here and there and it’s no big deal, because I have already allotted that time for my workout. But on bicep and tricep days I can usually crank out a 35 minute full workout and typically don’t listen to music if I am trying to get my workout in during lunch, because often times music distracts me because I love it and find myself more attuned to the songs I am listening to than to my workouts themselves. Three, my mood is always a factor. If I am in one of those, I can’t live without the new music I just got, then it doesn’t matter about anything else, I will definitely listen to my playlist. But if I have spent most of the day listening to music while I crunch numbers at my desk all day, I will take a break from it while I am at the gym and just enjoy the cluttered silence of my thoughts while I find some solace within my workout. And typically on Mondays and Tuesdays I have days of reporting that require my utmost attention, so I usually won’t be listening to music while I process them so I will plug in the phones at the gym and drown out the world for an hour while I work out. Another factor that comes into play is the mode in which I travel to the gym. Usually it is by car, but about once a week I will run to the gym and anytime I run I have to listen to music because it distracts me from all the elements that want to work against me when I run.  Then when I arrive at the gym I typically just leave them in and go about my work out.

                As you can see I have created this complicated mental equation for using or not listening or listening to music while I work out. I was just really curious if most people preferred to listen to music while exercising or preferred to just go without. I ask this question not only based on my own antics but also on those of others I see at the gym. I see about 20 of the same people at the gym every time I go at lunch, of those people I see about three who always have headphones in about four that never have headphones in and the rest have them some days and some days they don’t.   So as usual this peaked my curiosity. I am sitting here talking about how music distracts me but as I am writing this I can see that I am often distracted by the practice of others – sheesh I got to get it together here.  Like I have said my mind is constantly going it is what space mountain would like if you turned the lights on. Anyways please, if you have any opinions on this one let me know, because I am genuinely curious.

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