Hypermobility, Fat-Loss, & Anti-Sedentary Tactics

Hello and happy Tuesday!
I don't really have a specific topic for this post, but I do know that I have stuff I want to share. Being a new Personal Trainer, I am hungry for knowledge. I've joined groups, read numerous articles and blogs, and read through LONG strings of conversations held by other PTs and pseudo-PTs. Literally every day I am reading away and trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible about nutrition, exercise, and the PT business.
Here are some cool bits that have really resonated with me:
1.) "Why You Must Not Stretch Hypermobile People." (The PTDC)
I read this article and literally said out loud, "FINALLY! Some answers!!" I, ladies and gents, am hypermobile. I have more than my fair share of collagen in my ligaments and am double-jointed in every movable joint in my body. Being able to imitate a flamingo stance with my legs and bend my thumbs back to touch my wrists were pretty cool parlor tricks when I was a kid. Alas, I grew up. [sigh] One anecdote from this article that was a huge help to me was knowing that hypermobile people often get light-headed when they stand up. This happens to me All. The. Time. I'll level with you and confess that I've really worried about my health as a result of this super annoying light-headedness.
The cool points of this article are that this population of people should not be stretched overmuch. I would go so far as to amend that they should not be stretched before workouts. Due to super-elastic joints, hypermobile people have inherent difficulties in stabilizing joints and stretching can lead to further de-stabilization (and possible injury). Instead of traditional stretching, opt for foam rolling instead. That was my big take-away: foam rolling before working out.
Are some of you wondering what foam rolling is? What it does? Foam rolling is the common name for self-myofascial release (SMR). To throw some more nerd-talk in there, SMR refers to a process of autogenic inhibition to improve tissue extensibility. If you're thinking WTF are you talking about KRegan?... THAT'S O-K! This basically means that when you apply targeted pressure (via foam roll) to your "tight" tissues (muscles) the neural pathways between your muscles and brain start talking. Pressure upon your muscles (via foam roll) creates a sense of tension within the muscle and your brain basically forces your tight muscle to relax (or release). The end result of SMR is the same as stretching; a relaxed muscle.
2.) Sedentary Behavior Could Be the Main Culprit In Rising U.S. Obesity (Personal Training Today)
I read this article on the heels of another blog post about how to lose weight. The previous article emphasized the necessity of simply MOVING more. The truth is that your body burns more calories when you are moving around during the day. The more you move, the more you burn (calories-wise anyway). And this doesn't even count your workouts (Those are in addition-to). This is you walking around your office, through the buildings, up/down the aisles of the grocer, hauling laundry up/down stairs, chasing after your kids, etc. Get my point? It's just the calories your body burns while you do your thing during the day.
Weight loss is a numbers game. We've got to have more calories going out than calories coming in. This article shows a link between sedentary lifestyles and obesity. Some of you might be saying, "Yeah duh." But this article (and the one I read previously) have reminded me of the importance to getting up off the couch more. For this reason, I wear my fitbit All. The. Time. I like the reminder to get up and move around. I recommend pedometer-devices to everyone. I prefer Fitbit because of their cool App for my cellphone and the technology their device provides.
3.) 10 Mistakes Women Make With Diets (T Nation)
 Yes yes yes, YES! I've seen so many of these articles over the years. Unfortunately it seems that the information just does not sink in. People, (Men AND women) you need to be eating nutrient dense whole foods. No processed crap. No white bread, white flour, white rice, etc. These foods are white because they've been processed to the point of having no color.
Another important takeaway from this article is that if you want to lose weight, you need to lift weights. Cardio alone will NOT get you to your weight loss goal. "Cardio" is short for cardiovascular training. This trains your vascular system and heart, and it is obviously important, however it will not result in a significant reduction in body fat. Want to drop body fat? Want those abs? You need to lift weights and build some sleek & sexy lean muscle. Lean muscle burns calories just to maintain itself within your body (This "maintenance" concept is called metabolism). That means you will increase your metabolism as you build muscle mass. Higher metabolism = eating more food. This also means that you will have a lot more wiggle room when it comes to eating. You won't be forever teetering over the precipice of gaining all the fat back just because you had a fun weekend.
Let's recap: Lifting weights -> Increased lean muscle -> Increased metabolism -> decreased body fat -> You hanging out in your bathing suit, drinking some wine and eating a few cupcakes without being worried that you'll reverse all the progress you've made.
Sooooo... if you want to drop some weight (i.e.. body fat) please get off the cardio-only bandwagon. Go and pick up some weights. Up. Down. Up. Down. And so on...

Go get after them goals!
-KRegan

If you are interested in foam rolling, here are some excellent resources to check out:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/foam-roller-exercises-moves_n_4044197.html

http://www.performbetter.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/PBOnePieceView?
storeId=10151&pagename=91