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Healthy Eating: Tips and Tricks for a Nutrition Transition

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 15:15:00 -0600

Healthy Eating: Tips and Tricks for a Nutrition Transition

Spring is in the air bringing changes to weather, wardrobes and waistlines. With the holidays and cold weather months behind you and plans for spring break trips, pool time lounging and outdoor activities in the near future, this is the perfect time to focus on healthy eating.

In light of National Nutrition Month, now is the time to shake off the winter doldrums and make the transition to healthier eating habits. Here are five nutrition tips and tricks to help you “spring” into action and transform your eating habits, one step at a time.

Nutrition Tip 1: Don’t Do It Alone

The most important step to successfully transitioning to healthier eating is to establish a strong network of support in preparation for your journey. Breaking old habits and making healthier lifestyle changes is a difficult task, so don’t be afraid to ask for help. By enlisting support from family, friends and a health and fitness professional, you will get started on the right path to continued nutrition success. A nutrition specialist can help you evaluate your goals and set a plan in motion, one that is smart – specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely – to your particular lifestyle.

Nutrition Tip 2: You Bite It, You Write It

The simple act of writing down and keeping track of all food or beverages that enter your mouth will increase awareness of the amount and variety of foods you eat each day. Keeping an Accountability Food Journal is the best tool available to help increase your consciousness regarding the foods you eat. A journal also enables you to analyze the circumstances that contribute to making less healthy food choices. Journaling should be as specific as possible and include the date, time, amount of food, situation and hunger level. Your journal will not only help you keep track of your daily food consumption, but also serve as an insightful follow up tool to share with your nutrition professional. The information in your journal will enable your nutritionist to identify which foods are working for you, as well as which foods and circumstances are barriers that may be getting in the way of attaining your healthy eating goals.

Nutrition Tip 3: Take Baby Steps

Few people are successful with major lifestyle changes when they dive in head first. The best strategy to achieve major goals in life is to break the goal down into small doable steps. For instance, if your goal is to improve your eating habits and you have a problem eating too much high fat, high calorie fast food (and you truly enjoy the food), then it would probably not be realistic to cut it out completely. Instead, you would work with your nutrition consultant to come up with a better plan, one that is doable for you such as cutting back on fast food consumption or even choosing healthier fare at fast food restaurants. Rome was not built in one day and neither should your transition to healthier eating.

Nutrition Tip 4: Focus on the Positive

Some people equate healthy eating with deprivation and eliminating favorite foods from your diet. To keep your nutrition transition from stalling before you take the first step, give yourself the gift of positive thinking and keep your momentum toward healthy eating moving strong. Instead of putting the sole focus on eliminating foods from your day, switch your mindset to a more positive approach…what healthy foods can you add into your day? For example, if you want to cut back on your red meat consumption, perhaps commit to eating a vegetarian dinner on Mondays (Meatless Mondays); or reserve one day a week dedicated to trying different kinds of fish from around the world (Fish Fridays). Have fun with it and make your journey to healthy eating an adventure.

Tip 5: Break it Down

A marathon (26.2 miles) is run one step at a time. Many people fail in making the transition to a healthier lifestyle when they take the all or nothing approach. The key to successfully making this transition is to work with your support team to embrace the opportunities, work through the challenges and learn from your mistakes during each step of the journey. By breaking your nutrition transition plan down into one step, one meal and one day at a time, you will cross that finish line healthier and happier.

Fitness Together

Do some spring cleaning by starting now to make a healthy nutrition transition. Start off on the right foot for your healthy eating journey by contacting your local Fitness Together nutrition professional today. With Fitness Together’s Nutrition Together program, you will receive all the help and support you need including a detailed roadmap to eating healthy, eating light and eating often—in tandem with your exercise routine. Let Fitness Together support you as you take the right steps to “spring” into action!

THE BENEFITS OF DAILY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 18:23:00 -0600

● Reduces the risk of heart disease by improving blood circulation throughout the body

● Keeps weight under control

● Improves blood cholesterol levels

● Prevents and manages high blood pressure

● Prevents bone loss

● Boosts energy level

● Helps manage stress

● Releases tension

● Improves the ability to fall asleep quickly and sleep well

● Improves self-image

● Counters anxiety and depression and increases enthusiasm and optimism

● Increases muscle strength, increasing the ability to do other physical activities

● Provides a way to share an activity with family and friends

● Establishes good heart-healthy habits in children and counters the conditions (obesity, high blood pressure, poor cholesterol levels, poor lifestyle habits, etc.) that lead to heart attack and stroke later in life

● In older people, helps delay or prevent chronic illnesses and diseases associated with aging and maintains quality of life and independence longer

Reprinted with Permission

www .americanheart .org | American Heart Association, Inc.

Go Outside Your Comfort Zone

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:30:00 -0600

Go Outside Your Comfort Zone

Convinced you “can’t” run a marathon, or sprint at level 10 on that treadmill? … Are you sure about that?

Even if you have a physical challenge or condition that limits you in some way, most of us also create false boundaries for ourselves — “no-can-do’s” that are only in our heads. And more and more studies are showing that the thing you think you can’t do just might be the one thing you MUST do to light a fire under your workout results.

Breaking through these false limits can also lead you to be more consistent about your workout regimen.

“Intensity is by far the most important factor affecting increases in, and maintenance of, cardio fitness,” notes Jeffrey M. Janot, PhD, technical editor of the IDEA Fitness Journal. “Although we do not know the exact level of intensity that provides optimal health and fitness benefits, we know the optimal range and that it is directly related to exercise program adherence. You may not enjoy an exercise program if you get sore or injured because the intensity is too high. On the other hand, you can grow bored with a program if intensity is below the optimal range and you aren’t improving.”

Why push your limits in your workout regimen?

The body is wired to adapt to routine. Once your body gets used to a routine of walking 2 miles a day, for example, you’ll likely see less or slower weight loss than when you first began that routine. Extensive research has shown that to keep seeing results from an exercise routine, it’s essential to continually include intervals of higher stress and demand on the muscles and cardiovascular system.

Many people work out only hard enough to maintain their existing weight and physique. Going outside your comfort zone includes adding some intense workout challenges to build muscle and get stronger, faster, leaner. That doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon or work out 6 hours a day to lose weight or reach your goals. The point is to keep adding new challenges and different ways of pushing past your limits for speed, distance, weight you can heft, etc.

Why don't more people go "outside the lines" with their workouts?

Challenging yourself is uncomfortable by nature. It’s normal to feel a sense of fear or angst when you think about pushing beyond the places where you usually stop, ease up, or take a break. Common fears include whether you can handle an intense “burn” in your muscles and not get injured; or feeling embarrassed about getting out of breath, or even sweating more than you’re used to.

Can a personal trainer help you break through that fear — without yelling at you?

Yes! A great personal trainer should confidently instill in you the belief that you can do this.

“We know they can, even though you might not know it yet,” says Russ Yeager, owner of Fitness Together in Atlanta. “The empowerment our clients gain once they actually do it is awesome. We recently helped a client who at first could barely get through a workout and was very self-conscious. She’s now lost 50 pounds and did a 3.5 mile hike with a straight-up climb at the end!”

You or your personal trainer can determine your optimal cardio exercise intensity range via a number of methods including percent of maximum heart rate, the “talk test,” or rating of perceived exertion (RPE). Whether you’re training for a triathlon, hitting a weight loss plateau or ready to give up on ever having toned upper arms, one-on-one training can help you go where your mind has never let you go before.

Healthy Heart, Healthy You

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:52:00 -0600

Healthy Heart, Healthy You

Heart candies, heart shaped valentines and chocolate hearts are everywhere this time of year, but the heart that should be getting your undivided attention everyday is the one in your chest that works 24/7 to power your body and fuel your internal system. As the powerhouse of your body, the heart needs to run in tip-top shape for overall health and fitness. To celebrate National Heart Month this February, give your heart and body the gift of longevity and health by starting a heart healthy fitness regimen that focuses on metabolic cardiovascular exercises and combines muscle pumping strength workouts with healthy nutrition choices.

Feel the Love with High Intensity, Heart Healthy Cardio

A strong heart drives a healthy body and metabolic cardiovascular training is the key to not only living a heart healthy lifestyle, but also to feel better, look better and perform better throughout your life. Although nutrition and strength training are important elements to physical fitness, you can’t rely solely on one or the other to achieve overall health and fitness well-being. A recent study from Duke University found that when compared with strength training alone, cardio exercise is the most efficient and effective way to lose the belly fat located deep within the abdominal cavity, which is the kind of fat that is the most damaging to your health and heart. Specifically, aerobic training burned 67 percent more calories in the study when compared to strength/resistance training.1

The first step to a healthy you is establishing a strong cardiovascular foundation to jumpstart your body’s metabolism, increase stamina and energize your body’s cells by pumping oxygen rich blood throughout your body. This leads to not only burning away excess fat, but lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, and reducing the risk of heart attack and cardiovascular disease. Studies show that high intensity metabolic training in particular is a leading force to reducing heart attack risk and improving physical fitness. In fact, a recent study from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) found that three hours per week of vigorous exercise can cut a man’s risk of heart attack by 22 percent.2 High intensity cardio exercises can range from wind sprints to moving jump squats and plyometrics.

Make Time for Heart Pumping Workouts

While cardio training is king to heart healthy fitness, strength training is an integral counterpart to attaining optimal health and fitness. Strength/resistance exercise allows for developing and maintaining muscular fitness, strength and lean body mass gains, as well as strengthening of connective tissues, increased bone mass and metabolic rate.

Heart healthy exercises that fuel your body with lasting benefits long after you’ve left the gym don’t have to eat up your entire day. As little as 15 minutes a day of metabolic cardio training, combined with 15 minutes of strength intervals, may be all you need. According to industry studies, 15 minutes of total body resistance training can elevate your resting energy and boost metabolism by 6 percent for up to 72 hours,3 and those who added intervals into their fitness routines for two weeks burned 36 percent more fat than those who stuck with traditional exercise routines.4 A 45-minute interval circuit workout that combines a handful of high impact cardio exercises, such as box squat jumps, mountain climbers and burpees, with total body strength exercises, such as weighted lunges with bicep curls and wall sits with shoulder presses, can quickly and effectively build your heart and body’s strength and endurance.

Active Lifestyle, Active Heart

According to the American Heart Association (AHA), seven out of ten Americans don’t get enough physical activity on a daily basis. In today’s fast-paced, over scheduled world, carving out time for physical activity can be a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be if you focus on adding cardio elements into your workouts, as well as your everyday activities. The AHA recommend that healthy adults under the age of 65 engage in moderately intense cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week or vigorously intense cardio 20 minutes a day, three times a week; paired with strength training exercises.5

Working out regularly with a professional trainer one-on-one or in a small group setting is a critical component to keeping your heart healthy and strong, but complementing your regularly scheduled total body workouts with cardio activities throughout your day also helps to promote a healthy and active lifestyle. The following simple tips will help you get a move on and add heart healthy activities into your daily lifestyle.

● Instead of wasting time searching for the closest parking spot, pull into the furthest spot away from the door and enjoy the extra walk to the building.

● Use the stairs at work and for appointments instead of the elevator.

● Walk or bike your kids to school and use two wheels (or feet) instead of your car when running neighborhood errands.

● Take a 10-minute activity break at work to stretch or take a quick walk.

● Walk to visit co-workers instead of sending an e-mail message.

● Instead of sedentary nights out to the movie theater, take your spouse or friends out for a night of dancing.

Heart Healthy Nutrition

You will look better, feel better and perform better mentally and physically if you fuel your body with foods that are nutrient rich and support a strong cardiovascular system. Foods that enhance cardiovascular health can include Mediterranean type foods such as lean proteins, olive oils, dark leafy greens for a strong heart and blood vessels, whole grains and fiber such as oatmeal and brown rice. Researchers also have found evidence that the high levels of antioxidants found in spices with bold flavors such as cinnamon, rosemary, oregano, black pepper and garlic powder can reduce fat levels in your blood linked to heart problems by 30 percent.6

A healthy body and a healthy you start with a healthy heart. Adopting healthy lifestyle habits such as cardio exercises, strength conditioning and healthy eating will not only strengthen your body’s heart and lower your risk of disease, but it also will help you live your life looking, feeling and performing better. Certified personal trainers at Fitness Together are available today to help you get started on living a heart healthy lifestyle. Contact your local Fitness Together studio to begin one-on-one personal training or group PACK training focused on a healthy heart and a healthy you.

XXX

Sources:

1 Duke University Medical Center, The Effects of Aerobic versus Resistance Training on Visceral and Liver Fat Stores, Liver Enzymes and HOMA from STRRIDE AT/RT: A Randomized Trial”, AJP, Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2011.

2American College of Sports Medicine, “Vigorous Physical Activity, Mediating Biomarkers, and Risk of Myocardial Infarction,” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, October 2011.

3European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2011.

4 Journal of Applied Physiology, “Two weeks of high-intensity aerobic interval training increases the capacity for fat oxidation during exercise in women,” April 2007.

5American Heart Association, www.heart.org.

6 Pennsylvania State University, “A High Antioxidant Spice Blend Attenuates Postprandial Insulin and Triglyceride Responses and Increases Some Plasma Measures of Antioxidant Activity in Healthy, Overweight Menhttp://jn.nutrition.org/content/early/2011/06/22/jn.111.138966.abstract?cited-by=yes&legid=nutrition;jn.111.138966v1 - fn-1#fn-1,” The Journal of Nutrition, 2011.