Thursday, December 26, 2013

Reasonable Resolutions: Setting Yourself Up for Success in 2014

Now that the last gift boxes have been put away and the holiday decorations are starting to come down, the countdown to the New Year and a new set of resolutions is well under way.
Before you get sucked into the stress of setting New Year’s resolutions and deciding what type of bandwagon you want to jump on to lead a healthier and fit lifestyle, it’s important first and foremost to establish some solid groundwork to ensure you’re setting reasonable resolutions for yourself that can be realistically achieved.

“Seven out of ten resolutions don’t work because come January 1 people think they can just turn on a light switch,” shares Frank Rosalie, personal trainer and owner at Fitness Together Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. “Right now, your light switch is off and it can be months -- and most of the time years -- that you’ve spent ingraining bad habits into your life like not exercising, eating unhealthy or being stressed out. As a human being, you can’t just change your emotions and habits from being off to on overnight.”

To switch up the odds that may be stacked against you in succeeding with your resolutions this year, make sure to include the following criteria into your planning so that you can successfully transform your 2014 goals, ambitions and resolutions into a new lifestyle for the long term.

Take Small Steps to Accomplish Big Results

Contrary to some New Year tactics, resolutions shouldn’t be an all-or-nothing approach. The foundation to building successful resolutions that last for the long term relies on making incremental realistic changes to your lifestyle on an ongoing basis. For instance, instead of saying that you’re going to start working out and restricting all unhealthy food items all at once, Rosalie suggests that a more successful approach is to pick one goal to focus on for the first couple of weeks and then add the second goal only after you get a good handle on managing the first one.

It's also important to accept that you're going to hit bumps along the way to accomplishing your resolutions. Rosalie advises that the best way to stay on course is to not worry about the past -– it’s already gone. Or stress out about the future –- it’s not here yet. Only think about today and focus on what steps you can take now to get closer to achieving your goals.

“Within six to seven weeks, up to 70 percent of people who make resolutions drop off,” warns Rosalie. “People are putting too much on their plate. It stresses them out and when they hit an obstacle like not working out for a few days or having a bad day eating healthy, they just give up. You have to give yourself enough time to work it out and figure out how to break your bad habits. If you do it in small increments, it’s less stressful and more manageable. In time, small steps will equal big steps.”

Give Yourself the Green Light to Enjoy Life

Resolutions can have negative connotations associated with them and they can automatically put you into a negative mindset when the first of the year arrives if they aren’t approached appropriately. Turn the negativity associated with making resolutions -– taking away the food you enjoy, doing exercises you don’t like -– into a more positive experience by adapting your resolutions to fit what you enjoy and what makes you happy.

For example, if want to start exercising next week pick out something that you like to do first. Whether you enjoy bicycling, swimming, walking, doing aerobics classes or playing sports, focus first on becoming consistent with one of your favorite activities. Eventually, after you’ve gotten into a more active routine, you can then branch out to try different workouts or activities when you’re ready for a new challenge or adventure.

The same concept holds true with changing up your diet as well. Rather than starting to eat healthy "cold turkey" and forcing yourself to eat foods that don’t taste good to you, gradually wean yourself off your guilty indulgences -– whether it’s sodas, sweets or salty treats -– until you eventually substitute all of your cravings with healthier alternatives that agree with your nutrition goals and your taste buds.

“Be aware of how you eat and make healthier choices throughout the day,” advises Rosalie. “But don’t get stressed out if you fall off the wagon. Once you start exercising and cleaning out your body, the cravings you had eventually will go away.”

Surround Yourself with a Strong Support System

When you set out to make changes to who you are and the life you live, you have to surround yourself with a strong support group who will accept the changes you want to make for yourself and encourage you to do whatever it takes to successfully meet your goals.
Your personal support can be anyone -– a family member, friend, mentor or even a personal trainer. You just need to have someone who supports what you’re doing and is available for you to turn to when you need advice or guidance.

“If you hang out with the wrong group of people, those resolutions will go right down the drain,” says Rosalie.

Celebrate Your Successful Results

Although living a healthy and fit lifestyle takes continuous effort and dedication, it should take only about four weeks or so of doing all of your workouts and eating right before you start realizing the results of sticking to your resolutions. The results, though, won’t necessarily be ones that you can see on the outside, but rather ones that make you feel better inside about the accomplishments you have achieved and the person you are becoming.

“I always tell my clients that you’re going to start feeling better on the inside before you starting seeing differences on the outside,” Rosalie advises. “You will become proud of yourself and begin to feel confident in your abilities. You also will start to believe that what you’re doing is really worth it.”

Whether it’s internal or external results that you accomplish first from your resolutions, it’s important to celebrate all of your successes to keep you on course and motivated to continually strive to achieve your ultimate goals for the year. The key to successfully accomplishing any type of resolution is to keep your expectations realistic and to set up a path to achieving your goals that fits with your specific personality and interests.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

TRAINER TUESDAYS

Trainer Tuesdays

Welcome back to the weekly edition on Trainer Tuesdays. Make sure to check in at our blog every Tuesday evening to learn the expertise of our great staff. Aside from being fantastic exercise coaches, they are also extremely knowledgeable in many aspects of health and fitness; so, it's time that you get to know them a little better! Each week, we will post a frequently asked, or sometimes just a fun fitness related question followed by the answers of each of the trainers at Fitness Together Brecksville.

What’s the Most Memorable Holiday Gift You’ve Ever Received?

Adam May:

Honestly there are a couple of them that stand out, but the one I'm thinking of came from a client at Fitness Together. I had worked with the guy one other time, and the second time he came in to work with me was the Saturday before Christmas. Before we started he handed me a Christmas card with 100 dollars in it. I thought to myself A) That is amazing for someone to be generous enough to give a 100 dollar gift to someone they have met once before in their life B) This guy must make a lot of money C) I hope one day I can achieve that level of success where I am able to do things like that D) I am really lucky to know the people I do working at Fitness Together. I'll never forget that. Every time the alarm goes off at 6 am on Saturday morning after working all week I never once question whether it is worth it because of the people I get to work with, and the enjoyment I get out of helping them attain their goals. I also feel like the grind of working the extra hours and putting in the extra effort will one day help me achieve the level of success this client has achieved, and will help me do things that client is able to do.

Justin Traft:

The most memorable gift I ever received would have to be when I received my diamondback bike for Christmas. Most of my friends had one and I had wanted one for my birthday but never received it. I had mentioned it to my parents a couple of times, but they never really said too much more about it. Well, Christmas rolled around and I was hoping for one. I went to sleep excited on Christmas eve and woke up that morning to see gifts, but no bike. It was a huge let down, so I didn't really care about the other gifts. My brother and sister started to open their gifts. Then my dad was like “I think you should go look in the garage”. I was like “Dad why would I want to look there?” My mom and dad got a nice laugh out of that. Sure enough, I go out the garage and there it sat--- My brand new black diamondback. The joy was overwhelming. My dad even pulled the car out of the garage so I could ride it in there since it was snowing and cold outside. That was one of the best and most memorable gifts.

Adam Teplitz:

My most memorable holiday gift would have to be a menorah I received from my grandmother. It wasn't just any menorah, it was in the shape of a piano. My grandmother attended Juliard and went on to teach piano lessons. Music was her life. The menorah definitely has a more sentimental feeling to it. I still use it to light the candles every year.

Sean Sullivan:

When I think of memorable holiday gifts, I think about the time I spent with the ones I love. Of course I have had material blessings over the years, and my parents worked hard to spoil us kids, but I can’t even remember what I received or when exactly I received it. Perhaps back then material things meant something to me, but in retrospect they don’t anymore; so, there isn’t any thing that jumps out in my mind. I remember the conversations at dinner and the joyous expressions on everyone’s faces while being together. My grandpa was an amazing and charming man, and I was just old enough to truly appreciate him before he passed. I remember his last Christmas dinner with us when he said Grace and added “may we all be together again next year.” Fast forward 13 years and my sisters are now both married to the boyfriends that they had over that day. We were all together the next year, including Grandpa-in spirit. So often times, when I shop for gifts, I try to think of ways to spend time together---whether it’s a pair of tickets to a sporting event or a giftcard to a cinema. Last night my grandma, my parents, my sister and I went downtown to see the play Wicked together, which was a holiday treat from my sister. It may sound cliché, but my favorite holiday gift truly is time.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Maintaining Your Fit Lifestyle While Traveling Over the Holidays

The holiday season can throw off working out regularly, eating healthy and leading a stress-free lifestyle. When you mix in traveling during the holidays, you can fall even more quickly into an emotional and physical slump if you let things like unfamiliar surroundings, airport food and time constraints take over your game.

“When you go on vacation, you tend to throw everything out the window,” says Black Beckcom, personal trainer and owner at Fitness Together Mission Hills. “You start eating bad, not working out and you take major steps backward by the time you get home. You have to have the will and the want or you will just be left with a bunch of excuses.”

Instead of striking out during your holiday travels, stay focused on your game plan for a healthy and fit lifestyle by sticking with some simple but effective home-field strategies while you’re on the road.

Consider Your Holiday Trip a New Fitness Adventure

Whether you’re going to your hometown for the holidays or taking a trip to a new destination, one of the most important things to making sure you stay active during your travels is to maintain a fitness-minded approach throughout your journey. Take what you do in your everyday life and bring it with you on your trip.

From packing workout clothes and accessories that are appropriate for the climate to transporting healthy nutrition for your trip, taking control of your destiny allows you to control what you put in your body so you don’t have a vending machine or hunger putting you in a position to make a bad choice. By preparing yourself with healthy fitness and food essentials, you'll have a better chance to stay on course during the holiday travel season.

“Enjoy a destination workout because these kinds of workouts are a blast,” advises Beckcom. “I used to love traveling to try new gyms, work out with new people and try new things. You just have to plan ahead, think through it and travel with a fitness mindset.”

When you decide on a hotel or a place to stay, the first thing you should ask about is the type of fitness equipment or instructors that are available on site, how far away the closest gym is and if there are nature trails nearby for long walks or jogs. Also, putting together an in-room circuit workout can be an easy way to maintain your fitness lifestyle. Simply using a towel for resistance, lifting books for strength training or walking/running up and down the stairs can provide an effective mix of cardio and muscular exercise that is good for your mind and body.

Turn Holiday Stress into Fitness Fuel

With the focus during this time of year on serving others, attending end-of-year events, and making lists and checking them twice, it's easy to get overwhelmed and sideline your fitness routine for the rest of the season. If you’re traveling back to your parents’ place or where you grew up, you may even be stressed about falling back into unhealthy routines or roles that you lived as a child.

Instead of becoming a victim to the vicious cycle of over-commitments, unhealthy outside influences and holiday stress benching you from participating in a healthy and fit lifestyle, use your emotions to motivate you to actively vent and work through your tension.

“We’re all stressed out, so it comes down to what you’re going to do about it,” says Beckcom. “You have to take everything that you’ve been dealing with, focused on and troubled over and put it all into your workout. It’s a great emotional uplift and it’s great for you physically, too, because you go out and burn off that anxious stressful feeling.”

Elevate Yourself to the Top of Santa’s Wish List

One of the biggest trends during this time of year is that people overload their calendars with too many things to do and they don’t value the importance of elevating themselves to the top of their priority list. Instead of focusing on taking care of yourself, you wear yourself too thin and let your nutrition and fitness go out the window. Missing workouts and eating poorly can lead to getting sick, gaining weight and feeling defeated by the time the New Year rolls around. And, the reality of it is that the older you get, the longer it takes to recover from unhealthy choices and behavior.

Instead of abandoning your healthy lifestyle during the holiday travel season, Beckcom suggests keeping some type of activity level going, even if it’s just exercising for 10 minutes each day. He also recommends that you take pride and ownership in the person you’ve become so that it’s easy to adopt a healthy mindset when you travel that focuses on carving out time for yourself to exercise, make healthy food choices, and be mindful about keeping everything in perspective and moderation.

“There are so many things you can do so you don’t end up crowding yourself out,” says Beckcom. “If you want to stay the course while traveling this holiday season, you have to sample the fares, pack your equipment with you and bring things that are healthy alternatives to eat.”

By making the choice to live a healthy and fit lifestyle regardless of where you are, you'll be one step closer to hitting a holiday home run. Implementing these game-winning strategies will help you be able to enjoy your holiday vacation while still staying on plan throughout all of your life’s adventures.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

TRAINER TUESDAYS

Trainer Tuesdays

How Do I Know If I’m Working Out Enough?

Justin Traft:

Well when it comes to working enough, this answer will be different for everyone. Why is that you ask? Everyone has different goals in mind that they want to achieve. You'll get your best results with either 3 or 4 total weight training workouts per week. Also making sure to add cardio in as well. Now, if you have a goal of doing something extreme or training for something extreme like a marathon --or maybe you want to do a warrior dash or tough mudder-- then obviously you want to be training as much as 5 days a week but giving your body days of rest to recover and build muscle. It’s really a matter of how much time are you committing to your workouts or are you using work and life as an excuse not to. It’s important that you listen to your body as well. When it comes to working out, understand that you will be sore as a part of working out. Just because you’re sore two days later after a workout doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get in the gym and workout. It means your working hard like you should to meet your goals. If there is discomfort in joints or muscles not usually felt then you should lay off for a bit. As far as goals go, if you keep coming up short on your goals you need to reassess what you are doing. This would be a sign that you need to put more work in either with your diet, weight training or cardio. Keep in mind working out and being healthy is a lifestyle you just don't decide to workout whenever you want and expect to get result if you’re not doing your part to make sure you put your best foot forward. Always keep track of your results as well. This way you can look back to see what you’ve improved on or may need to improve on to achieve those results you want.

Adam May:

This is a very commonly asked question. The ACSM recommendation to lower your risk for heart disease is 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise. "Moderate exercise" meaning anything that elevates your heart rate above resting levels. Another common recommendation is 10,000 steps a day. Last summer I did an internship at Parma Hospital working with patients who were recovering from heart disease. One question we always asked them when they began the program was what type of exercise they were doing. Most of them said things like walking, gardening, and playing with the kids or grand kids. Not one person ever said dead lifts, squats, pull ups, power cleans or sprints like we do at Fitness Together. What did I conclude from that? Push yourself. Its more about how hard you work out than how long. The guy that busts his ass for 45 minutes at FT will always be better off than the guy who walks his dog for an hour and then does some gardening. Also, the simple answer to this question is you know you are working out enough when you get results. If you are not getting results do something different. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

Adam Teplitz:

Exercise benefits directly relate to the intensity, frequency and the amount of time exercising.
When it comes to aerobic exercise such as jogging, walking, or swimming, you can judge your intensity by how fast your heart beats. Your maximum heart rate can be calculated by subtracting your age from 220. During aerobic exercise, raising your heart rate to a level that's between 55 to 69 percent of your maximum heart rate is considered moderate intensity. Anything higher than this is considered hard exercise.
Interval training is a type of aerobic exercise where you vary the intensity between hard and moderate. This burns more calories during and after the workout. This offers more benefits, but you have to be in the proper shape.
When it comes to strength training, if you can lift a weight comfortably for at least 12 to 15 reps, that's a good sign you can gradually increase the weight. It's important to hit at least every muscle group once a week. If you're really looking to add mass, you can isolate back and biceps, chest and triceps, and shoulders and legs. It's important to keep the reps between 6 and 12.
It's always vital to set goals. You want to progress with your lifts. You want to see incremental increases in the weight and or reps you're lifting with good form. It's all about progressive overload. Your goal should be to gradually increase the weight.
You'll know you're working out hard enough when you start reaching and surpassing your goals. These could be anything from increasing your bench by 20 pounds or losing 10 pounds.

Jenn Noggle:

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, the general recommendations for quantity and quality of exercise include:

· At least 150 minutes of moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise per week

o Gradual progression of exercise time, frequency and intensity

· Flexibility exercises at least 3 days/week to improve and maintain range of motion

o Holding each stretch for 10-30 seconds

· Training each major muscle group through resistance/strength training 2-3 days/week

o 2-4 sets of each exercise

o 8-20 reps depending on muscular strength and endurance goals

Exercise intensity can be determined through monitoring heart rate or using the Rate of Perceived Exertion scale. Your FT trainer can help you determine your target heart rate training zone, or using the RPE scale of 1-10, a rating of 5-7 indicates moderate intensity.

Also, be sure to stay current on your Fitness Together re-assessments every 6 weeks to determine the progress that you are making and pin point the areas that may need more attention.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Replacing Vitamin C Supplements with Whole Foods

Replacing Vitamin C Supplements With Whole Foods

By Dr. Janet Brill of Nutrition Together

If you take vitamins, you are not alone. Americans have a love affair with supplements, to the tune of 11.5 billion dollars a year. In fact, more than half of all Americans are popping vitamins and supplements.

Supplements can be problematic when they are viewed as a way to make up for a poor diet. It’s a Band-Aid approach to think that popping a pill will equal the health-promoting effect of taking care of your health the old-fashioned way -- eating a nutritious diet and exercising. There is simply no substitute for a healthy lifestyle.

Eating food with nutrients packaged the way Mother Nature intended -- altogether and intact -- has proven health and longevity benefits whereas popping isolated nutrients have questionable health benefits and in some cases can even increase risk of disease.

Here are four examples of how to replace your Vitamin C supplement with foods that supply the same nutrient plus much, much more:

Hot Chili Peppers: A ½ cup of chopped green chili peppers contains close to 200 mg of Vitamin C plus a nice dose of potassium, Vitamin K, beta-carotene and two powerful plant antioxidants essential for eye health, lutein and zeaxanthin. What’s more, hot chili peppers contain capsaicin, the anti-cancer compound known to raise metabolic rate.
Kale: Kale is a true superfood and leads the pack of dark leafy greens when it comes to nutrients. Two cups of chopped kale will provide you with 200 mg of Vitamin C plus a whole host of additional nutrients: calcium, iron, vitamin B-6, potassium, magnesium and fiber just to name a few!
Bell Peppers: The sweet bell pepper packs a high Vitamin C punch. The amount of Vitamin C depends on color, with one yellow pepper providing a whopping 345 mg. Red peppers contain 200 mg and a single green contains just about 100 mg. With the Vitamin C comes a nice amount of the powerful antioxidant beta-carotene as well as the B vitamins. And all this for a mere 50 calories!
Papaya: Who knew? Papaya has twice the Vitamin C of the world’s most famous Vitamin C fruit: the orange! One small papaya has close to 100 mg of Vitamin C. Compare that to an orange with just about 50 mg. Plus you get much more nutritional bang for your bite with the papaya as it is also a nice source of Vitamin A, folate and fiber.

Food provides nutrients the way Mother Nature intended them to be delivered -- packaged together with other nutrients that all work together. The motto “you are only as good as the company you keep” can be applied to the concept of getting your vitamins from whole food rather than popping the isolated nutrients in supplement form. Multivitamins can be an insurance policy if you don't get enough of specific vitamins, but it can never replace a healthy diet and exercise plan.

Add these four Vitamin C mega-foods into your diet, toss the Vitamin C supplements and you’ll surely be on the road to better health!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

TRAINER TUESDAYS

Trainer Tuesdays

What are some good exercises that will help me to get ready for ski season?

Justin Traft:

Here are some good exercises that will help you get ready for ski season. We all know endurance is a big

part in skiing so here's one for that: Try two legged target hops. Tape a four-square pattern on the floor. Stand in the back right square, and hop with both feet to the front right square. Immediately hop sideways to the front left square then to the back left square. Continue that pattern for 30 seconds. Rest for one minute. Next, hop from the back right square to the front left square, then to the back left square, the front right square and the back right square. Do four sets, alternating pattern. Another great one is the crossing lunge. You stand in a half-squat position feet shoulder width apart, knees behind your toes, weight on your heels, torso lifted and hands in front of you for balance. Cross your right leg behind and beyond your left, and drop as low as you can, keeping your pelvis and shoulders straight ahead and your weight back. Reps will very 10-12 each leg. One of my favorite exercises for building hip flexor muscles stronger, but also useful for skiing because of the hip movement/posture is the resistance tubing shuffle (weighted with dumbells or medicine ball or non weighted). Start by picking a resistance tube that is good for your current strength level. Tape off a distance to start and finish. With a lead leg, step out and squat down, (making sure that your knees stay behind your toes) shuffle and then stand back up straight. Continue this movement. You can change the tempo to make it faster or slower depending on your fitness level. Three passes back and fourth is usually a good starting point.

Adam Teplitz:

Skiing primarily uses lower body muscles, the quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, inner and outer thighs. It is important to strengthen these muscles before you head off on your trip. Here are a few exercises to focus on:
1) Romanian deadlifts. These are performed by having a slight bend in the knee and hinging forward at the hips. You always want to have the weight in front of your body. Dumbbells or a barbel can be used. You want to focus on pushing your hips forward and then returning to a standing position. This exercise will strengthen your hamstrings. Strong hamstrings help to prevent ACL injuries. Try 3 sets of 10 to 12.

2) Squat jumps.
Start with your feet shoulder width apart. Squat down so your thighs are parallel to the floor, then explode up and jump high in the air. Make sure to land softly, on the balls of your feet, before your heels touch. This exercise will help develop explosiveness in the quads and glutes, which in turn, will help you to ski fast and push hard out of turns. Try 3 sets of 12.

3) medicine ball pump squat
Hug a heavy medicine ball into your chest and lower down into a squat position. You want to stay low, while doing short pump squats ( pulsing up and down about an inch or so ). This will strengthen the quads, lower back and glutes. Try 3 sets at 1 minute each.

Jenn Noggle:

Skiing is a great total body workout! Some of the most important muscle groups to focus on when preparing to hit the slopes this season include the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and core. Your legs/lower body muscles are constantly working to hold you in the proper position, while stabilizing your continually changing movement patterns. For this reason, among others (such as keeping your knees protected and strong), some of the exercises I would recommend include squats, lunges and deadlifts. For an additional challenge as you progress, you can try your squats while balancing on a bosu ball, add an upper body movement to your lunges, or try your deadlifts using 1-leg at a time.
All of the core muscles throughout your torso are also extremely important for skiing, and play a huge role in holding your body in position with proper alignment, control, balance and stabilization. Some of my favorite core exercises include woodchops, torso rotations, planks and back extensions. Your trainer will make sure you are performing all exercises with proper form to get the maximum benefit and avoid injury. Your trainer can also provide you with more advanced progressions of the basic exercises as you improve. Consistently incorporate these exercises into your routine and you will be ready to hit the slopes!

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Putting a Stop to Middle-Age Spread

The period between the ages of 30 and 40 can be an exciting time of change, opportunity, prosperity and positive personal growth. But, at the same time, life can get complicated and busy as you start having a family and getting more involved in your career. Before you know it, the growth that becomes the most present in your life is the spare tire that wraps around your mid-section.

Most commonly known as the middle-age spread, this unwelcome feature to your physique is a compilation of the choices you make throughout your life in regard to the food you eat, your daily activity levels and the quality of sleep you log each night. All three of these critical factors to living a healthy lifestyle are tightly intertwined so when even one is lacking, it creates a snowball effect that can leave you feeling tired and out of energy, as well as in an unhealthy situation with additional weight in your mid-section.

To successfully fight the battle of the bulge, you have to arm yourself with an active lifestyle that extends past the gym, make good whole food choices, and reserve enough time in your busy schedule for a restful night’s sleep.

Stand Up for a Healthy Belly

When you’re a child all you want to be is an adult. Then when you’re finally an adult all you do is reminisce about the good old days of your childhood. To tackle your mid-section spread, it can be beneficial to pull from the past and revert back to your childhood days of running, playing and moving throughout your day.

“The fountain of youth is strength training and sprinting,” says Bruce Kelly, personal trainer and owner at Fitness Together Media. “But, as we get older, we stop sprinting for some reason because that’s not what adults do. Sprinting is a fantastic exercise that is excellent for your health and your hormones, while strength training can give you the most out of your workout.”

Kelly suggests that you perform most strength training exercises standing up whenever possible. Even if you aren’t directly working the core, you still have to stabilize the trunk and mid-section muscles when you are in an upright position.

It also is important to keep moving during your everyday life outside of your designated gym time. If all you do is go to the gym an hour per day and the rest of the time you’re sitting in the car, at work or on the couch, you’re not going to be happy with your results.

In addition to consistently working out regularly, daily non-exercise physical activity such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, parking your car in the spot furthest away from the door and taking regular recess breaks from your desk to walk or stretch, will help combat your middle-age spread and sedentary adult-life tendencies.

Eat Good Food

While fad diets that target the abs and mid-section may seem like the best choice when you’re trying to reduce your spare tire, feeding your belly without fueling your bulge actually can be a lot simpler than following a strict eating plan.

Kelly believes that the best foods nutritionally for your belly and total body are ones “that have a mother or come from the earth.” When choosing foods that are good for busting your bulge, he suggests the following guidelines:

Ninety percent of what you eat should be "good food" – it comes naturally from the earth (fruits, vegetables, etc.) or it has a mother (meats, eggs, fish, etc.)..
Everything that comes in a package or a container shouldn’t be a part of your diet.
Stay away from foods without expiration dates or with a long shelf life.
Shop around the perimeter of the store where most fresh, preservative-free foods exist.
Everything that comes from the middle of the store should be eaten sparingly.
Shop more frequently, buy more locally and shop seasonally, when possible.

"The first exercise is to push away from the table,” advises Kelly. “If you aren’t including good foods in the majority of what you eat, then you can do core work until the cows come home and still not see any results to your mid-section.”

Collect Your Z’s

Just like you have to make deposits into your bank account regularly to be financially vibrant, it is just as important to deposit regular hours of sleep each night into your body’s wellness account to maintain the balance of your energy, hormones and internal clock.

When you sleep poorly, you typically don’t eat well and then you don’t have enough energy to work out or move more throughout your day. Skimping on your sleep can start a negative chain reaction that leads to enlarged mid-sections, increased mental and physical stress, and unhealthy lifestyle choices.

“Getting enough sleep, eating the right foods and exercising all feed the mind, body and hormone system in a positive way,” says Kelly. “But, lack of these things does the opposite.”

Whether you consciously or unconsciously make the choice to disregard eating well, sleeping well and exercising regularly, the bottom line is that all areas in your life -– your career, family, mental and physical health -– will feel the repercussions when you put these essential ingredients to living a healthy lifestyle on the back burner.

“It all comes down to the personal choices you make every day and over long periods of time that add up to this middle-age spread,” says Kelly.

If you don’t put in the time to take care of yourself properly and don’t make your health a priority, then it will ultimately be impossible to stop the middle-age spread from expanding your waistline and negatively impacting your overall health. Take a stand against the belly bulge as you close out the year by making good food choices, exercising and sleep a priority in your life.

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

TRAINER TUESDAYS

Trainer Tuesdays

What is a Good Breakdown of Carbohydrates, Fats and Proteins For My Diet?

Adam May:

The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is 45-65 percent of your calories should be carbohydrates. If you are active than your intake should be closer to 65. Less active people should be closer to the 45 percent. Remember fiber is a carbohydrate and women need at least 22 grams per day, men need at least 28 grams per day. 10-35 percent of your calories should be from protein according to RDA. More active people, especially those that lift weights, should be around 35, less active people should be less than that. Protein contains nitrogen which can be harmful to your kidneys if you exceed 35 percent. 20-35 percent of your calories should be from fat according to RDA. Less active people can be closer to 35 percent, but less active people can not afford to take in as many calories. Also remember there are saturated and unsaturated fats. Unsaturated fats like oils are more healthy than saturated fat which comes from an animal. Many animal fats contain cholesterol which you want to limit to less than 300 mg a day. You might also see trans fats on a food label which the RDA is less than 1 percent of your calories per day. The RDA is the gold standard for nutritional guidelines because it is backed by a large amount of research conducted by well educated professionals in the field of nutrition.

Justin Traft:

What's a good breakdown of calories in your daily diet of protein, carbohydrates and fats you ask? Here are suggestions: When its comes to protein 20-25% of your daily calories should come from protein. For a 2,000-calorie diet, this would be about 400-500 calories from protein (100-125 g) per day. Make sure to choose lean protein such as chicken, fish, beans, lentils, nuts, or non-fat milk. Keep in mind that some people may need a little less or a little more depending on what they're goal is of a fit lifestyle. Now when it comes to carbs- You have to be very careful to get the good carbs, not bad refined ones like white bread, cookies or crackers/chips. Shoot for 45-60% of your daily calories to come from carbohydrates. An example for a 2,000-calorie diet would be between 900-1200 calories (225 - 300g) per day. Don't forget carbs are important! Your body needs them for energy throughout the day. Most importantly the "Brain" needs them to function properly. Try to ingest high fiber content because this will keep you feeling fuller longer. Beans and legumes are also a good source of carbohydrates. Just make sure you stay within the recommended allowance. Lastly, but most importantly fat intake--- Ideally 15-20% of your daily calories. You still need fat for your body’s normal functions, just in small amounts. Choose "healthy" fats (unsaturated fats) Monounsaturated fat/Polyunsaturated fat. This is a type of fat found mostly in plant-based foods and oils. That can help keep your cholesterol within normal limits. These can be found in olive oil, canola oil, sunflower oil and nuts are another great example. Try to stay away from junk foods reason being that this kinds of foods have more saturated fats in them. The only thing they help are heart disease and high cholesterol.

Adam Teplitz:

Fats, proteins and carbohydrates are all macronutrients that your body needs to sustain everyday biological processes.
45 to 65 percent of your daily caloric intake should come from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates break down into glucose, which is the primary energy source for your system. If you're on a 1800 calorie diet, you need between 200 and 300 grams of carbohydrates.
Fat is a structural component of your cells and also helps absorb certain vitamins. 20 to 35 percent of your daily caloric intake should come from fat. However, you should avoid saturated and trans fat. The fat should be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.
Protein plays an important role in building lean muscle. 10 to 35 percent of your daily caloric intake should come from protein. It's recommended that you take in .8 to 2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Working Through a Weight Loss Plateau

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As you celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday and share your gratitude for the fitness gains you've made throughout the year and the opportunities you still have to establish a healthier lifestyle, it can be hard to keep your thoughts on a positive note if you find yourself stuck in a weight loss plateau.

When you stop progressing toward your weight loss goals and reach a plateau, you have one of two ways to approach this detour. You can consider a plateau to be a major roadblock to meeting your desired health and fitness goals or you can accept it as the next stage in your weight loss journey. Either way, it’s not time to throw in the towel. It’s time to get to work mixing up your routine so you can get back on course toward achieving your desired results.

Accept the Inevitable

Weight loss plateaus will inevitably happen at some point in your fitness journey. But they don’t signal the end of the road. These bumps in your route are just indicators that you may need to change up the direction on how you’re approaching your nutrition and fitness regimen. When you weigh more, your metabolism is higher because it takes more energy and you burn more calories just by moving during your daily activities. When you start to weigh less, your metabolism naturally decreases and you can hit a plateau if you maintain the same calorie intake and exercise program as you did when you started losing weight.

“Just about everyone on a weight loss program will reach a plateau,” explains Billy Pratt, personal trainer and studio owner at Fitness Together Avon. “The main reason for this is because people keep the same habits, but their body is changing. If you don’t adjust your fitness and nutrition habits as you lose weight then your energy balance starts to even out and you stop seeing results.”

Bring in the Re-Adjustments

The key to working through a weight loss plateau is to acknowledge that the slowdown is to be expected, but to not become discouraged, give up or lose sight of your overall weight loss goals. Instead, create a plan to re-adjust your fitness and nutrition strategies to overcome any plateaus that may be on the horizon.

“If you want to create change, you have to make change happen,” advises Pratt. “If change stops, you need to adjust what you’re doing. Nine times out of 10, when you reach a plateau you’re going to need to increase your activity and decrease your calories to get it started again. You don’t want to divorce the two.”

If you don’t know which way to turn to get the change you desire, it’s OK to ask for help. Sitting down with a fitness and nutrition professional to evaluate where you’re at, what you’re doing and where you want to go may be just what you need to get started again toward accomplishing your ultimate goals.

“I always tell my clients that weight loss is the easy part,” explains Pratt. “Weight maintenance is the hard part because people can get complacent.”

Celebrate the Reason for the Season

As we embark on the season of celebration and rejoicing, it is important to realize that plateaus may not necessarily be a negative thing. In actuality, plateaus can be a sign of real progress. Your body is getting stronger and you’re getting closer to your body’s full potential. Reaching a plateau also can mean that you’ve accomplished your first round of adopting a healthy and fit lifestyle. Now, your body is just telling you to prepare for round two by rolling out adapted exercises and eating habits to better suit the new you.

“Plateaus can be your body’s way of congratulating you,” Pratt says. “They shouldn’t get you down. You should really celebrate it because it means you’ve made progress.”

Plateaus ultimately give you the opportunity to take pause, appreciate where you’ve come from and prepare for your final destination. When you’re ready to work through a plateau, it’s important to re-evaluate your mental game, re-adjust your exercise routine and revamp your nutrition habits. You will be happier with your results if you focus on taking this type of holistic approach.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

TRAINER TUESDAYS

Trainer Tuesdays

In What Situation Would You Recommend Supplements?

Justin Traft:

There are situations that I would consider recommending supplements. Let me be clear that I am a very firm believer that you should always try to get your basic nutrition through your food, but there are cases where supplements can help you out. I’ll give you a couple of examples: One, if you are lacking protein in your diet (not enough fish, ground turkey or chicken) I would recommend maybe using a protein source. Not just any protein source--do your homework! To this day, I would only recommend a couple companies: Advocare being one them. They take all of their product and have each one tested by a third party, no banned substance board. This means they’re safe to use unlike many of their competitors who aren't. Two, I would recommend supplements only after a client has done everything possible to meet their goals (nutrition wise and workout wise) to help them close the gap, or to give them the extra boost to meet that goal. Remember, supplements aren't for everyone and you should always check it out with your regular doctor before taking or starting any supplements regimen.

Adam May:

First of all supplements are expensive. Did you know there is almost the same amount of protein in two glasses of milk as there is in a protein shake? Mostly, I think supplements are overrated; and, if you eat the right way you don't need them. There are 2,500 calories in one pound of muscle, and you need 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of your body weight each day in order to add muscle. If you are trying to gain muscle mass and you are not getting the results you want, simple whey protein can help you add the calories and protein needed to gain muscle. But you can save money from buying protein powder by eating more food with protein. Energy drinks can be useful for a workout, but the only thing proven to enhance your energy is caffeine. Some energy drinks have things in them that are not safe, and some of them have less caffeine than a cup of coffee. You might as well save your money and just drink coffee about a half hour before your workout instead of wasting your money on a Red Bull. Creatine can be helpful in breaking a plateau for weight lifting. It used to be thought that creatine was unsafe but current research has not found any harmful side effects of its use. Taking creatine will give you a boost in performance for about a month, and then its effects will wear off. There is a reason why athletes no longer take it, because it is expensive and has only limited, short-term benefits. Anything else, don't even waste your time and money on! If you see something you are not sure about, go to pubmed.com and see what the research says about it. Probably nothing good.

Adam Teplitz:

Supplements aren't for everyone, but older adults and others may actually benefit from specific supplements. For some people, supplements can be a useful way to get nutrients that they might otherwise be lacking.
Supplements aren't intended to be a food substitute due to the fact that they can't replicate all of the nutrients and benefits of whole foods such as fruits and vegetables.
The dietary guidelines recommend supplements in the following situations:
-Women whom are pregnant should be taking iron and folic acid supplements.
-Adults over 50 should be taking b12 multivitamin supplements.
Dietary supplements may also be appropriate if you consume less than 1600 calories a day, are a vegan or if you have a medical condition that affects how your body absorbs nutrients.

Jenn Noggle:

I firmly believe that the majority of your nutrients should always come from an overall healthy diet; one that is rich in whole grains, protein, fruits and vegetables. However, a daily multi-vitamin can make sure to cover some of the areas in which you may occasionally lack. A supplement should always be just that, a SUPPLEMENT to your already healthy, well-rounded diet. If you are eating a balanced diet regularly, then I believe that a simple daily multi-vitamin can fully ensure that you are getting all of the essential vitamins and minerals that are typically recommended for the day.