Being a Healthier Mom

Guest blog by Nemanja Sutanovac

After a friend’s suggestion, Violeta scheduled a meeting with me to review her condition and goals.

At that time, at the age of 52, and after many attempts, in vitro fertilization, and the stress that accompanies it all, Violeta had a second baby and came with only one goal: to be a healthier mom.

She tried several times to lead a healthier life and, first of all, to reduce the % of body fat, but the diets and training prescribed to her were inadequate. Not infrequently, that training was so unadapted that she got inflammation of tendons and joints. It was a real challenge to write a program that would be more suitable for her height of 168 cm and 113 kg, which she was at that point. Diets produced little or no results. In this regard, she sought the best training and nutrition to give long-lasting results.

After the first meeting, we agreed on all the details and our plan of action, and we reached a common goal: BEING A HEALTHIER MOM.

We measured the % of fat, tested the flexibility of the upper and lower body, did two stress tests, and performed a neurotransmitter profile test.

Based on the measurement of the thickness of skin folds at 14 points, we came to the following data: 36% body fat, poor ratio of omega3 and omega 6 fats, poor insulin sensitivity, obesity, as well as deficiency of specific vitamins and minerals, together with a poor blood count.

By examining the flexibility, we came to the conclusion of poorly stretched joints and insufficient flexibility of the external rotators, which is why the training had to be adjusted. The neurotransmitter personality test gave us data on the number of sets, repetitions, the time of changing the program, the exercises, and the variation in food.

The OH (Overhead) Squat and Klatt tests showed that the weak muscles were erector spinae, QL, Gluteus, VMO, and Hamstrings. They also confirmed the lack of flexibility in the ankles and upper back.

By collecting all the data, we concluded that the best diet was a high-fat, low-carb diet with as much variety of food as possible, which we rotated by days and meals. As far as training is concerned, we started with the body-balancing phase. We also concluded that supplementation was necessary:

• Multivitamin and multimineral
• Omega 3
• Vitamin D
• Magnesium

The Process:

The insulin sensitivity was still insufficient after the first month and 8 Kg less, but we introduced a reefed meal once every seven days. It included healthy carbohydrates for two reasons: it was a mini reward for a good week and sticking to the nutrition plan, and on the other hand, we told the thyroid gland that she was not starving. In this way, we avoided the YO-YO effect that regularly happens to people who starve themselves to lose weight.

Violetta liked the training system because it was totally painless and with constant progress. The quick results gave her great motivation to continue.

By introducing supplements, we solved specific deficits in the body and improved the metabolic balance, so the weight loss was constant over the months.

The beginning was challenging; suffice it to say that the fatigue was felt even before arriving at the gym; the fatigue started on the way to the gym. We trained three times a week, using whole-body workouts, but focused on blood flow through the whole body, which ensured easier training tolerance in the beginning and better fat loss. After the initial phase of structural balance, the second phase was also a whole-body phase of accumulation. We started doing upper and lower body splits from the third phase and later included 4x weekly training.

The results after six months were going from 113kg to 75kg and from 36% to 22% fat. In addition to all that, a much better blood count, a completely changed figure, drastically increased energy, much more activity during the day, and most importantly, much easier to play with the baby.

Satisfied with the initial results, she brought me her son Mattia for testing and to start his training process. Matija is a football goalkeeper. He is 14 years old, 176 cm tall, and at that time, he weighed 95.8 kg with 30.4% body fat. His goal was to perform better in training and be included in Montenegro's national team. Looking at the results of testing and measurements, we concluded that we must drastically reduce the % of fat and strengthen the lower part of the body, but also balance the entire body.

Unlike Violeta, who was on a high-fat, low-carb diet, with Mattia, I judged that it might be too strict for him, and in agreement with him, he started counting calories with less frequent reefed meals.

As for training, it took a lot of work. It was necessary to coordinate school, training with the football club, with the academy for goalkeepers, and occasional individual training with the coach for goalkeepers. We made a plan, but the drop-off index played a significant role to the point when we should stop the training and reduce the number of sets or the intensity so that the recovery would be good.

Supplementation with multivitamins/minerals and magnesium, as well as a sufficient intake of Himalayan salt, about 5-6g a day with proper hydration, led to the fact that he avoided cramps due to excessive effort and 2-3 hours a day of training (one with the club, one with the academy, one in the gym).

Matija went from 95.8kg to 79.4kg and lowered his %fat from 30.4% to 22%. The result of all this is a tremendous increase in strength on the deadlift and squat, drastically greater mobility, explosiveness, power, and speed. I can safely say that we have attracted the attention of the national team's coach. This is another example of how important work off the field is. That is work on weaknesses and reduce the fat percentage to progress in any sport.

Following the example of his wife Violeta and his son Matija, Violeta’s husband changed the diet for the whole family. Just by doing that, he lost 6 Kg without training!