Biosig 1 NYC, day 4

Second last day, boo hoo! I can't believe how fast the week has gone. Today we went over lots and lots of different Biosig profiles. It's amazing to see how people from different continents and cities have similar patterns.

All Aussies so far have had high hamstring readings. Charles mentioned that the amounts of pesticides in their food is so high that it's causing estrogenization even on males. Also, when they eat that stuff, they pee, the water is circulated and unfortunately estrogens are not cleaned out of the water. So most people also drink their estrogens, as well as shower in them. It's the same in the UK - similar patterns.

Most personal trainers on the course have very high insulin and umbilical sites. That's due to high insulin and cortisol load, which are two hormones that go up and down back to back. When you have high insulin, it's gonna lead to high cortisol. When you have high cortisol, it's gonna create more insulin resistance, lead to lower testosterone levels and basically break a havoc in all of your hormonal systems AND your gut. Some of the best ways to get all this is: eat irregularly, eat lots of carbs - especially sugar and grains, drink protein shakes for meal replacement and snacks (very high insulin load), sleep less than 8 hours and drink coffee throughout the day (keeps cortisol up - good if you're gonna train, other times not so good). Often the guys who have a profile like this also have an estrogen/testosterone imbalance. Having high insulin will castrate you. Having high cortisol will steal the raw materials for testosterone. So finding the balance is the key - and it can be done by using Biosignature to find out the priorities you need to work on. It's SUCH an intelligent system. The magic is in whether you know how to use it or not. All practitioners are not the same.

It's been - again - one of the best weeks of my life. I LOVE learning. It's better than... well, most things in life (hard to define whether I'd choose learning over chocolate though, if I had to pick one... having both is my heaven ;)). During this week I've typed 22 pages of notes on my Mac and will go over them again and again when I go home. My memory is pretty good - I can still remember stuff from the first course, from word to word what Charles said or what I've written on my notebook. BUT I learn the best when I write everything I hear. And I've also realized that when I don't study, I get depressed. It's in my heart to gain more information, turn it into knowledge and learn how to use it in practise or educate others. I just love it.

Here's a short passage of my notes:

• all fat burning enzymes are carnitine based (vegetarians have problems burning fat)
• if you don’t add GLA after 6 months of omega3, will be harder to burn fat
• GLA is 50% of the total of EPA+DHA amount
• liquid fish oil goes rancid in 2 weeks when opened
• omega3 6:1 - six EPA molecules, one DHA molecule
• ADD or ADHD, use Über DHA
• there’s no such thing as essential carbohydrate
• visceral fat is a sign of insulin problem
• most people don’t train hard enough to burn fat efficiently
• any nutritionist who makes their clients weigh food is a closet nazi ;)
• fitness bunnies shut off their thyroid => with a slow thyroid you will gain fat very quickly
• focus on changing 1-2 behaviors per week!
• give information only at the level of the client
• insulin is the only hormone YOU have 100% control over
• I HONOR MY TIME AND MY WORTH.
• I WANT TO HELP OUT PEOPLE TO HELP OUT THEMSELVES.
• I AM MY OWN SCHEDULE.
• you’re known by the clients that you turn down more than the clients that you take in
• things that need to act on the brain on emergency action: take on an empty stomach (stack for cutting down alcohol: tyrosine and DLPA, also Yang R-ALA for adrenal fatigue) => if you need to have the supp to cross blood-brain barrier fast and act immediately / if you take them in the middle, will raise energy throughout the day
• probiotics always in the end of the meal - will populate the GI tract more efficiently
• Alpha-GPC is an energizing supp that makes you sleep better - growth hormone will increase
• Alpha-GPC and Yang R-ALA won’t need HCl to be absorbed (can take on empty stomach even when HCl is low)
• mag levels:
• if they have crazy dreams, medium def
• build up energy, very high def (take it in the morning 2g, when they start falling asleep, move it forward during the day)
• have mag after training to lower catecholamines
• compare supps to food
• ”HCL is water” => it’s a given
• ”meat is fish oil” => have to have it
• ”vegetables is magnesium / multi” => can survive without
• ”carbs if you deserve them” => the last three depend on your priorities and whether you’re taking the previous

On both of the Biosig courses I've done, Charles has mentioned that every practitioner should buy themselves a book called Strengths Finder 2.0. I did that last year while I was in NYC and it helped me understand myself better. With the book you can find out the strengths of your personality. By knowing your strengths, you can delegate your weaknesses.

I found my strengths to be:

1. Input - People who are especially talented in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.

2. Learner- People who are especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.

3. Strategic - People who are especially talented in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.

4. Empathy - People who are especially talented in the Empathy theme can sense the feelings of other people by imagining themselves in others’ lives or others’ situations.

5. Connectedness - People who are especially talented in the Connectedness theme have faith in the links between all things. They believe there are few coincidences and that almost every event has a reason.

Every single one of these is so me. Anyone who knows me well can say they're true. Examples: Input and Learner - I love to read and learn even when I know I can't use the knowledge in practise. Strategic - I haven't done Biosig the way Charles teaches the business model - because I can't see most of my clients weekly - but have still been successful as I created my own model of doing the thing by giving them written reports. And so on. I'm not saying the book is to be taken as a bible of anything, it's just a fun tool for self growth. At the same time I know I suck at many things, like being organized, finishing projects, doing things on time and not the last minute and so on. My next goal is to get other people do those things when I finally get home from this trip. I'm so glad I have my husband and the girls helping me out so I can finally prioritize the right things.

Thinking about the comment of an annoyed blog reader, I can only ask - what should I do then? Quit, just because someone doesn't like what I'm doing?

I'm a firm believer in encouragement over criticism. What good can you really do by attaching to all the things YOU see being wrong? When we find ourselves feeling negative feelings, every single one of us should try to understand that it's NOT the other person. It's me. It's you. It's what I or you perceive the other person to be or do and... guess what - it's the mirror image of myself or YOU.

So I annoy you because I want to share? The truth is, you annoy yourself. Maybe it's because you DON'T want to share but in your heart you know it would feel better to do that.

Let's put it other way: I have a wonderful friend who's taking this course with me here in New York City. Her name is Tytti. She is a super lady - three kids, runs her own business, does reflexology and sells clothes... and she got her body composition from 31% bodyfat to 14,5% in six months by using Biosignature and Precision Nutrition system. She's become strong as hell and has a killer body after many years of disappointment and excuses. Now she's entering to a new career through Biosignature and will be working with me when we go back home. So, I love her to death as she has become a good friend through her process of lifestyle change and being my client. BUT - many times the past weeks I've realized something in her has annoyed me (and we've talked about this). I've felt envious over her success. I've thought she's too obsessed with her protein intake or doing every set when training. Is that something that's really in her? No - it's in me. I'm envious because she's done something I haven't been ready for. I haven't gone the distance like that in a very long time, when it comes to taking care of myself.

I'm not writing about this because the comment here hurt me. I'm a very sensitive person but I can put things in perspective. I'm writing because the person who wrote that got me thinking - and I got to use those words as my own mirror. I could have just erased the comment but I thought it's better for me to begin teaching myself to have a skin like a rhinoceros ;) Let them shoot the torpedoes... I was thinking about this today and realized one thing: even if I got many people bashing what I do, would I quit? No, because I love learning. I'd still get on the courses and continue getting educated.

Below is a photo from last year's course in Rhode Island - Mark Houston, me and Charles Poliquin at Poliquin Strength Institute. Today I had was lucky to be able to do a short interview for my book with Mark Houston. After that he invited me to have lunch with himself, Charles and Charles' staff. I can only say I'm SO grateful to get to spend time with such brilliant minds. Mark has a heart of gold. No wonder his patients love him (btw - he sees 60-80 patients a day, how's that for a busy life... whoa, I have no excuses anymore). In the afternoon he slipped a note on my hand saying:

"Kaisa, for your book:

You are what you eat. You are what you drink. You become what you were. A wise healer uses that which works.

Mark Houston"