Healthy Foods to You

There are many secrets to losing weight.

The diet industry would have you believe that the secret is a pill. Take this green tea extract pill and lose weight. No? Try Alli and lose weight. No? Ok, try this antioxidant stuffed pill! On and on it goes! There are new pills coming out all the time!! I have bad news for you pill poppers- pills do not equal long term weight loss. Xenedrine may work for body builders for a short time, but at tremendous risk to their hearts. People die from taking that stuff. The lose might lose weight, but the also lose their life. Not a good trade off.

The fitness industry would have you believe that the secret to weight loss is having the latest and greatest workout DVD! Richard Simmons, Jane Fonda, Buns of Steel, Jillian Michaels, P90X, Insanity….yet, none of these will equal long term weight loss either. Why? Because you can’t exercise your way to weight loss long term if you do not address the nutrition/emotional side of weight loss. Fitness is important, but you can’t workout a lot and eat the same and expect different results. It doesn’t work that way.

The food industry would have you believe that you need more whole grains. That way, you get enough fiber to keep you regular. Or, if you are Celiac (like most people are finding they are or that they are sensitive to grains), you should eat more fruits and veggies (except, how many people eat more fruit thinking they are doing their body a favor….). This still wont work because if you are trying to live by what someone else tells you for your body, you will not lose weight long term. You have to do the hard work of figuring out for yourself what works for YOU.

So, by now you’re probably thinking, ok Kim, give it up. What are the 3 secrets??

1) You have to know what you want. If you don’t know what you want specifically, then you cannot create goals or have anything to measure success or keep you motivated. You may want to lose weight, but be more specific. Why do you want to lose weight? How much? Why that specific amount? What will you be able to do that you can’t do now? How will you feel if you lose weight? What will change? You have to figure out what you want and why you want it before you can expect to make lasting change.

2) You have to be ready and wanting to change. You can want to lose weight, but if you’re not ready to lose weight, it will be an uphill battle that you will more than likely quit. The clients that I see having success are tired of being where they are at and are ready for change. They know what they want and they want to work hard to get there.

3) You need help. Whether this comes from a nutrition consultant, a health coach, a personal trainer, a support group- you need help. You cannot expect to do it on your own. You must have a support system and someone who knows what they are doing and understands your body to help guide you through the process. It can be messy when you start to break old habits and make changes. It can be overwhelming when you think about grocery shopping differently and planning meals can seem like your worst nightmare. Having help makes the transition time easier and can help make those changes stick.

Employing these three secrets can help create long lasting weight loss for life. If you are tired of trying and failing, reach out to someone. Don’t waste another dollar on DVDs or pills. I am so lucky to spend my days helping people walk through this journey and I know what it takes to make weight loss happen. So, if you find yourself or someone you know in this place, let me know. My contact info is on the top of this page.

It’s time. Are you ready?

It’s 3am and I am wide awake. Why, you ask. Well, it’s because I totally had a mess up moment. I have been doing Balanced Bites 21 Day Sugar Detox for the last week to
get back on track” and balance my mood a bit. I find that when I eat a lot of sugar (in the form of fruit), I tend to get moody. Up until tonight, I was doing great!

Today we interviewed our first potential roommate. She is great, but I am not super stoked on having roommates while my hubby looks for a job. Just being honest. Anywho, I also had a meeting with one of my favorite clients (ok, all of them are my faves!!) who is struggling with letting go of “mess up moments”. You know, the moments where you ate too much, ate the wrong thing, had a binge, broke a fast….we have all been there.

Well, tonight was my night. After having some wine (first mistake), I decided it would be a good idea to consume multigrain chips, popcorn and graham crackers. Holy gluten explosion!!! After sleeping for a couple of hours, I woke up with a racing pulse, crazy thirst and a painful tummy ache. As I sit here reflecting on my poor choices I was tempted to do the following:

1) Beat myself up for drinking wine and ruining my sugar detox.

2) Blame my binge on all the crazy changes happening right now.

3) Feel guilty for over indulging.

4) Feel like a failure and bad role model.

But, I am not going to do any of those things. Instead, I am going to drink more water and move forward. So I made a bad choice. This does not define me and does not have power over me. I can choose to make better choices in the morning. I can learn from this experience (and the week it will take to recover physically) and try my best not to repeat it.

I share this with you because a lot of my clients and friends struggle with this same battle. I hope that you can give yourself grace and move forward knowing that your struggles do not define you and that you are not powerless in the face of bad choices.

Do you struggle with this issue at all? How do you recover from a binge??

Needless to say by the time Kim came on the scene, I was a physical mess. 

·         I had put on weight due to prolonged, high stress and low thyroid levels.

·         I had lost a LOT of muscle tone due to 18 months of recovery fatigue.

·         The strain of my fight with cancer had knotted up my back in crazy, painful ways.

·         My shoulders were hunched forward and pulled up significantly due to trauma and protecting my surgery site.

Last March I knew I needed a trainer to get back in shape.  Badly.  But I was worried.  I did not need a Jillian Michaels to yell at me, scream at me and push me to tears. I needed someone to gently move me from sick and out of shape to health, fat loss and strength. 

Enter Kim.

She was truly skilled.  Amazing.  Now I know that Kim has a “kick butt”, driven side to her.   She can push her clients like crazy.  She certainly challenged me. But Kim is also gifted enough to know that I needed to go slow.  Gently and carefully.   She slowly got my eating patterns corrected. (This was where I cried the most!  AND where I am now most committed to long-term lifestyle change!) But she was patient and reasonable.  Slowly, with Kim’s help, my upper back, shoulders and neck became WAY more functional and flexible. I have gained so much muscle strength, flexibility and range of motion. My body feels less like a 75 year old woman and more like the body I had in my 30s.

I have been with Kim 5 months.  In 2 weeks, I go to Southern Oregon for my 30^th high school class reunion.  To a picnic, I am wearing a pair of cute white shorts that I haven’t been able to fit into for 3 summers.  I am going with a vastly improved posture.  I am going with a lot less tummy fat…smaller hips, thighs and arms.   I am going with muscle tone in my arms and legs.  I am habitually eating healthier than I ever have.  I am carrying myself with grace, strength and easy movement.

Thank you, Kim for helping me do what I could have NEVER done on my own… and could NEVER have done in this short of time.  

I am so excited to have one of my clients and more importantly, friends, share her journey with you. I have been so privileged to watch and be a part of her transformation not only physically, but emotionally as well. Lynn is a hard working mom who holds nothing back when it comes to exercise or compassion. She embodies strength and I really admire her dedication to eating well and being well. Way to go Lynn!

“Today is one of the best birthdays I have had, despite the necessary evil of getting older. What a great birthday gift I have given myself, which I have been working on since my last birthday: Looking better (and younger), feeling great, being in a better mood, accomplishing something important for my life and inspiring others. It’s been a life-changing year.

Lynn rockin the stair run @ Mt. Tabor

I have been training with Kim Ludeman for most of the past year. There have been many moments of disbelief – “You want me to do what?” For instance the wall walk. I honestly did not believe I could stand on my hands and inch my feet up that blank wall. But Kim did. I was weary as my whole body shook and sweat poured down my face. One foot, then the other. I did it – 15 times that day.

A few months before I could only do one pushup, one sit-up and could run only a block before I felt like passing out. I was overweight and frustrated with my unsuccessful efforts to drop the weight on my own. I needed help.

After what my body had been through, it was not an easy thing to get back on track. To save you the long story, there was quite a list of things that came on within a very short period of time. Take my unhealthy eating and exercise habits and pile on two difficult pregnancies, three miscarriages, adrenal fatigue, anxiety disorder, depression, anti-depressant medications, hypothyroidism, moving out of state… The pounds didn’t just creep on, they tackled me. The scale jumped up 35 pounds in one year.

After getting settled in our new home in Washington State, I found a nurse practitioner who was compassionate and knowledgeable. She gradually got me on meds that would not cause weight gain.

A few more stops and starts later, I was ready to get serious about getting in shape. Having the support and accountability of working with a trainer made a huge difference. Kim started me on basic strength training. I logged my eating, which she analyzed weekly, making modifications to promote weight loss.

I will never forget one morning getting out of bed and feeling stronger. Just walking across the floor felt different. It was awesome to realize that my efforts were making changes. The weight was coming off and I was feeling great.

It was important to let myself start where I was at. Taking baby steps added up to huge changes down the road. As I move forward from here, pushing my body just a little harder today means being stronger tomorrow.

The Key Family

I am committed to staying fit and healthy for the rest of my life. Since April of 2011 I have lost 30 pounds and four sizes. Getting fit is a gift to myself, my family and friends. I have more energy physically and mentally. I am easier to get along with!  Now I need to tame my clothes-shopping urge, which is much stronger since I lost my fear of dressing room mirrors.

I am grateful to Kim and everyone who has supported my efforts to get fit. I never want to look back.”

Isn’t Lynn amazing?!?! I love it!

If you have a story to tell, I would love to hear it!! Email me your story with pics (if you dare!!) to kimludeman@yahoo.com!

I am so excited to partner with Portland Half Off Deals to offer 50% off Healthy Foods To You 4 week program!! Visit PDX50 to check out this awesome deal (for new clients only).

I am also super excited to be featured in Delicious Living Magazine spreading the word about protein and workout recovery! You can check out the link here to read the article.

I hope you have a great and healthy week!

Yours in Health,

Trainer Kim

I am so excited to be able to share my story. I think God gives us a story to tell because you never know how it might impact other people. I am super fortunate to be able to share my story in Paleo Magazine’s June/July issue!!

It’s so awesome to be able to help motivate people to seek out healthy living! I know if I can do it, anyone can!!

I also got some great feedback from another client of mine!! I loooove feedback (more positive than negative, of course!)

She says:

“Thank you, Kim, for starting the process last year of me facing my fears.  I remember the struggles I had with the exercise to help me do the chin ups.  I remember my ridiculous reason for my fear.  I remember you encouraging me to move forward and to try.  One step at a time.  That started the process of me facing my fears – mostly my fear of falling from something and breaking my body in some weird way that I would then have to tell people.  Again, a ridiculous fear but still something I had.  Someone called me brave today. I so don’t feel it.  I feel fear at times, but today, I now say “I’m afraid to do this, but let’s do it.”  I no longer let my fear rule me, but I admit it and move forward, trusting whoever is asking me to do it.  You started that for me, Kim.  Thank you SO MUCH!”

This client is amazing!! I am so super blessed to be able to work with such incredible people. You inspire me!!!

I love sharing in people’s success!!! That is what fuels what I do! I love to help people find what foods and exercises make their bodies feel great!! Here is a recent note I was written:

I’ve been meaning to tell you that after you came and spoke at our all hall meeting and even at our coffee date before hand, you really enlightened and inspired me to look at my health differently. I’ve grown up doing sports and fitness and never eating junk food or drinking cokes, but I still had misconceptions about what was healthy or not. And I also realized that I struggle with emotional eating and giving in to sugary foods and drinks. It was good to hear that eating should be providing fuel for the body, to be conscious of food labels, and if I’m to over indulge, over indulge with vegetables. You also said that its a great feeling to come out of the holiday season and to have lost weight rather than to have gained weight like many others. I’m proud to say that I’ve lost inches coming out of December and I continue to steadily change my eating habits, though it takes a lot of work.
I just wanted to let you know that you’ve been an inspiration to me and that you really opened my eyes to actual healthy living.
Thanks again!

Caitlin