Along the FitPath

Hot news straight from the hills of Rancho La Puerta

Kirk here. I've been hiking in the Chaparral country of Baja California which is the area surrounding Ranch La Puerta, the next base camp of MT. In all my guiding and hiking experiences, I find this area uniquely spectacular. My senses have been stimulated ... seeing eon eroded boulder sculptures, touching and feeling the yucca and eucalyptus plants, listening to the beckoning birdsong while I hike and enjoying the feel of a cool breeze. This is nice. 

On the look out for undulating trails and good elevation gains suited for the MT program (one of the reasons I was here), I'm happy to report that there is plenty of opportunity to get one's heart rate in that sweet spot! Ahh...just what we want, great hiking, great fat burning, and a place to completely destress.

And I can't say enough about the facilities, simply first rate! And the food, I'm looking forward to how Jeff (our dietician/guide) and the kitchen here at Rancho La Puerta recreate our delicious spa cuisine. They have their own organic farm and support the local farms which one of the beauties of this particular spa...local and organic food. 

Mountain Trek...Baja/Mexico style...hope to see you there in February! 

Kirk out. 

(Kirk - MT's program director/guide) 

The Perfect Holiday Dip

Looking for a quick, easy, and most importantly, delicious dip to serve up at a holiday party? It's a simple hummus recipe yet it is by far the best tasting I've ever had. Of course, it comes through family, my sister's recipe (don't tell her I'm sharing it with you) and the trick is, follow the recipe. Any slight change in measurement (be accurate) ever so subtly changes the taste. And one most important piece of information: process it for a long time (at least 4-5 minutes) to create a smooth texture. For me, I don't think hummus should be thick and chunky. 

Zsa Zsa's Hummus

1/4 cup tahini (sesame paste, can find it in regular supermarkets) 

1/3 lemon juice (squeeze real lemons, not what comes out of a bottle)

1/2 cup water

1 clove garlic - minced 

1/2 tsp sea salt

I 19 oz can of chickpeas (washed) 

In a food processor, add the water, tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Blend for about a minute or so. While the processor is still on, begin to add the chickpeas. Once completely added, blend for a least 5 minutes or until the now created hummus is a smooth paste. Remove from food processor into a bowl. 

Let stand in refrigerator to chill. It tastes the best the next day. Serve with a variety of vegetables for dipping. I usually serve the hummus in the center of a plate and then drizzle flax oil around the perimeter of the hummus other people use olive oil. My niece likes it with tomatoes on top with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Others add chopped parsley on top. 

Enjoy! 

jp

Mountain Trek in Baja California, Mexico

A tropical Trek this time in Baja California. With Costa Rica on a hiatus we decided to set our sights a little closer to home, still tropical, and still our boot camp program. We've created base camp amongst the splendor and beauty of Rancho La Puerta nestled in on 3000 acres of property. Kirk at this moment is trail blazing getting the most varied and challenging hikes for our guests. 

From what I have heard you can expect great sunny weather, access to a variety of fitness studios (including a swimming pool) and the food is supplied by their own organic garden. It is shaping up to be a fantastic Mountain Trek venue! 

Hope to see you there!  

The Holidays...Mountain Trek Style

Tis’ the season to celebrate! The holidays are a time to gather with family, friends, and food. It’s also a time of well-intended advice on how to not to blow your diet during the season. If you’re a Mountain Trekker, you understand there is no “diet” to blow. The holidays are our time to enjoy…guilt free. Look for opportunities to infuse the season with Mountain Trek sense, rather than focusing on what “not to do” (don’t eat this, don’t drink that etc). Focus on your positives, like the things you now do daily to keep you feeling vital!  

Be on the look out to:   

1. Eat lots. Meaning remember to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner – 2/3 in the first nine hours of the day.  This gets you more variety of foods that are rich in nutrients, like lots of veggies and fruit. Remember, skipping meals leads to blood sugar lows, creating the desire for fast releasing sugar foods (you know the ones). It also leads to more efficient fat storage.  By balancing our blood sugars we are less likely to over eat at celebrations as we are simply not hungry.

 

2. Get outside.  Bundle up and enjoy the beauty that winter brings. Take a walk, go for evening stroll to enjoy the Xmas decorations in your neighborhood, or wake up your body with the brisk chill of a winter’s morning instead of a cup coffee. And one of the benefits to going outside is coming back in to enjoy some hot tea!

 

3. Feed your sweet tooth! When you have your sweets, have them with your meal (not as snacks) to minimize their impacts. Release all guilt around the dessert table, enjoy responsibly. If you enjoy sweets choose fruits, dark chocolate, and anything homemade is a preferred choice over package or store bought goodies. Don’t be afraid to ask what’s in them. See JP’s yummy cookies recipe below.

 

4. Have some food before drinking. Alcohol can dissolve all resolve.

 

5.  Find time to de-stress, unwind, and take care of yourself. Be mindful of your emotional state.  If you are feeling stressed out look at suggestion number 2…move your body! Nothing beats getting outside! Or put on some great music or rent a few good comedies, laughter truly is the best medicine to lift up our spirits!

 

Ho ho ho ….

 

New ideas for Mountain Trek

The beauty about running a Mountain Trek satellite program in North Carolina is we are able to make changes to the program. For example, this year we decided to have one dinner seating at 5:15 followed by the evening fitness program at 6:05. This change allowed everyone to attend the evening fitness class except two guests who were receiving massages. It was great to have everyone at dinner recounting the day's hiking adventures as well as motivating each other for the upcoming class. From the numbers regarding weight loss recorded, male and female guests lost almost a pound more per week than our average. Perhaps, these changes impacted those numbers.  

Massages started later to accommodate the one dinner seating and lessen the number of guests who would have to exercise after a massage.We also wanted to encourage a good night's sleep thus our last massage was scheduled at 9 pm.  For our guests At MT, 9 pm is late, at least that is what we discovered. Our hard working guests commented that as much as they enjoyed having a massage just before bed, well, 9 pm was a bit of a push. 

Also incorporated was a small walkabout just after lunch before the new guests settled in for an afternoon's lecture on nutrition. And because we had less traveling time to get to the awesome trails in the Pisgah National Forest, our guests had some down time before dinner to relax before the afternoon lectures. 

All in all, it was great learning experience for Mountain Trek. A big thanks for our guests who came to the North Carolina as your feedback to the changes were greatly appreciated. 

jp 

Thanksgiving Traveling

I sit here 33,000 feet in the air surrounded by my fellow travelers making their way to loved ones and a home cooked Thanksgiving dinner (I love WIFI while flying). It is the  busiest travel day in the US and thus so far Jeff and I have found it effortless. With the North Carolina program behind us we are both able to relax and enjoy our travel day. Being experienced travelers or maybe it's being familiar with the airline offerings of MM's, Pringles and other snacks, we avoided blood sugar disaster by bringing our own food. The day's travel menu consists of almonds/pecans as well apples, bananas, and figs. Oh yes, we do have some chocolate chunks with our nut mix. Although not completely ideal, it is ideal travel food for us for the day as it is easy for us to eat and we enjoy it. I personally find if I'm not prepared ahead of time with food, flying can be a challenging experience for me especially with no time in between changing flights to find an opportunity to sit down and eat "real" food. Cranky can be a word to describe me if my sugar levels suffer which makes flying really not all that great. I become miserable and a miserable traveling companion. Just ask Jeff, he has traveled with me enough to make sure we are well prepared for our flights. 

While traveling, I have become more sensitive to the struggles of our guests who travel a great deal for work. Airport food while it has improved somewhat (as in salads and fruit being available), but with limited time between flights, it can be easy to grab those carbs that are easy and quick to eat but leaving you hankering for something else. Or a Diet Coke (which by the way is the most ordered drink on airline flights...Jeff asked the flight attendant). Prevention is the key. Know what works for you and keep it simple. 

And remember to drink plenty of water. 

Enjoy the holiday season! 

jp 

North Carolina is AWESOME!!

It feels great returning to Asheville to hike these amazing trails with old friends and new guests.  It's night three of the program and everyone is settling into the groove of the Carolina program.   Whilst the competition is hot around the pool table at night, the laughs flow through the sweat on the trails with us guides and then in the gym with the crew from Underdog Fitness.  Tomorrow we're off to the Appalachian Trail and then later this week to hike in the Great Smokey National Park!  Ahhhh what a "job".........

Cya on the next trail!
Jeff

BC season ends with North Carolina to open

What a season it has been! With guests traveling as far as Dublin and as close as Kelowna BC, it has been a most enjoyable year for us at Mountain Trek. Hard work and effort resulted in good weight loss but more importantly, motivation for continuing the program at home. 

Our last week in BC ends off with 11 guests taking part in the program followed by our North Carolina satellite opening November 7th. We still have some spaces open for North Carolina, and with holidays just around the corner, it's a great time to lose weight rather than gain weight. Start a new trend! 

And a big thanks to all that came to Mountain Trek this season. It was awesome to have spent time with all of you on the trails. to see the determination you each brought to the program, the support you lent to each other (especially on detox Tuesday), for the staff here at Mountain Trek, it's you (the guests) that are the program and make it happen. Thanks again. 

jp 

Journal Your Way to Success

At Mountain Trek, the focus is not on what we do too much of but what we do to little of. Creating patterns that are procreative can take some time and focus. Keeping track of your goals and progress through journal writing helps you make healthy behaviours a habit. Noted in a 2008 study in the International Journal of Obesity, recording your goals helps you keep in mind what you are trying to achieve, and it boosts your ability to make it happen. Think of it as your Bucket List for Health. Write down a list of patterns you are trying to establish and create boxes for everyday of the week. Check off your successes each day. One of our guests used an Excel spread sheet to support his fitness and weight loss goals which made it simple for him to use through out his day. 

One Of Our Biggest Losers

I want to share an email from a guest who came to MT for three weeks this spring. She wrote to us early this August to share with us her post Mountain Trek experiences. 

"Transitioning to home life was more difficult than I had imagined. I felt somewhat overwhelmed by the reintroduction of stressors and choices in my life. That said, I was very prepared for it all by the excellent discussions and classes that we had. I kept hearing Cathy and Jeff's voices in my head reminding me to keep it simple. Focus on one change a week and making myself a priority. I have continued to keep salt off the table and out of the kitchen. I have refrained from any sugar and white flour products. Diet coke has been a small struggle but Rome wasn't built in a day. I have made the gym and walking an absolute priority in my life. I have kept my weight loss at 1-1.5 lobs a week so I've lost another 15 lbs back home. My total loss from the day I signed up for Mountain Trek is 55 pounds. 

We flew back to New Hampshire for 2 weeks and I was able to hike with everyone and even got back up on water-skis. I never thought I would wear a bathing suit again. When were flying home I commented to my daughter that I wanted to fly Delta from now on because the seats were so much larger and my daughter pointed out that the seats were actually the same size and that it was me who had gotten smaller. 

I realized as I reached around myself in the airplane seat, that I am smaller. I think that has been one of the more difficult adjustments - seeing myself as the outside world sees me. I have spent so much of my life as one person and another person is slowly emerging. It isn't about the weight but what was buried beneath the weight - physically and emotionally. Mountain Trek gave me the strength and the tools to look underneath at what the real issues were. I cannot ever thank you enough for the three weeks I got to spend with you. It wasn't just life changing - it was life saving. 

-Julie-