Nutrition

3 More Dietery Do’s for Active People

1. Do: Spinach. It won’t make your forearm muscles bulge out like Popeye, but it will definitely super charge your body with antioxidants, calcium, potassium, magnesium, folic acid, and vitamins C, E and K. Spinach is low in calories, high in fiber, and makes for a delicious, refreshing salad!

2. Do: Oats. Not only has this cereal grain been found to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by lowering cholesterol, but oats also contain a rare antioxidant that helps to prevent free radicals from damaging good (HDL) cholesterol, keeping your heart healthy! To top that off, they’re rich in complex carbs, making oats (from oatmeal, certain breads, granola and energy bars) a perfect food-fuel to start your day!

3. Do: Almonds. New research presented at last year’s annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine confirms that almonds are a smart and tasty addition to any active person’s diet. For four weeks, a group of elite cyclists ate 60 almonds a day prior to meals. When compared to a separate group of cyclists who ate an equal number of calories from cookies, the almond group increased their antioxidant capacity by 43% and improved their time trial distance by 5%!

So, why not try changing up your diet and feel the difference for yourself?

My Suggestion: Start tomorrow with slivered almonds mixed with oats, blueberries and yogurt. And come lunch time, remember: fast food will only slow you down. No one is immune from the harmful effects of saturated fat, salt and soda-not even active people.  But at the same time, not one wants to sacrifice taste … and luckily, no one has to! Try topping off a spinach and romaine salad with grilled chicken, strawberries, roasted almonds and a poppy seed dressing…

3 Dietery Do’s & Dont’s for Active People

1. Do: Sweet Potatoes. Believe it or not, sweet potatoes have been ranked one of the most nutritionally balanced vegetables in the world. The complex carbs and B vitamins make them a perfect food for anyone active.

Don’t Buy Into the Latest Diet Craze. No effective workout could ever be fueled with a low carb, high protein diet. When the body is fed an unbalanced diet, everything from organ function to clarity of mind can undergo stress. Forget about hype. Think health.

2. Do: Cottage Cheese. For many, cottage cheese is an acquired taste, but it remains one of the best sources of casein (a slow-digesting protein) in the world.

Don’t Forget to Eat After Exercising. You may be home from the gym and relaxing, but your body is struggling to make muscle repairs. It needs a small, post-workout meal of protein and carbs within two hours, like cottage cheese with fruits, berries and nuts.

3. Do: Apples. Nutrient dense, packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber and water, apples are a perfect snack to eat everyday. They may not keep the doctor away if you catch the flu, but they can certainly help keep the pounds off.

Don’t Skip Out On Breakfast. Skipping breakfast will only make the mind less sharp and leave the body craving nutrients. Try to make time for a light, balanced breakfast. And if you never seem to have the time, remember: You can always throw an apple in your bag!

New Years Fitness Resolutions

Happy New Year!

New Years is that rare time of year when just about everyone pauses to reflect and set goals. The changing of the calendar instills us with a sense of opportunity, self-empowerment, a clean slate … What better time to overcome any setbacks of last year?

A year ago, a friend of mine casually asked me what he could do to improve his health. I suggested he make a list of 5 things that he felt were holding him back from living the healthy life he desired. Whether it be smoking, junk food or stress, be conscious of your own list of self-imposed limitations and make time for change … make time for fitness!

Making time for fitness releases stress, clears the mind and sets you on a path to health-as my friend proved to himself one day at a time throughout 2009.

There is no form of security, no sense of stability, no source of confidence in the world, that could ever compare to a healthy body and mind.

So start the new year off on the right foot. Take advantage of this opportunity to make positive changes in 2010!

What are your new years resolutions?

Give Your Body What it Wants: Competition Nutrition

Clients ask me all the time how they should prepare for a tournament. I always stress the importance of understanding competition nutrition. You can be in top shape and still lose because you got a cramp due a poorly timed meal. In tournament play more than ever your body needs certain nutrients to compete and … even more importantly … out-compete. Tennis is a sport of “a thousand little sprints,” as Bjorn Borg once said, and following the right diet will insure you have the fuel it takes to sprint those thousand sprints … and then some.

3-4 hours before competition your pre-match meal should be high in carbs, moderate in protein and low in fat, such as … a grilled chicken sandwich, a sports drink, an apple and some saltine crackers.

1-2 hours before competition your pre-game snack should settle any hunger and keep you fueled up and hydrated, such as … a banana, an energy bar, a sports drink and water.

Always remember, Stay Hydrated. Drink 17-20 oz. of fluid within 2 hours of heavy competition. Drinking sports drinks (with electrolytes and high in carbs) before and during long matches has been shown to enhance the accuracy and boost the power of both groundstrokes and serves.

Post-Competition Nutrition means replenish and recovery. Tennis dehydrates you, eats up energy (carbs), and drains your body of electrolytes (like salt).

Within 30 minutes of a match you should already be giving your body what it wants. Start drinking a sports drink before even leaving the court. 2 hours later eat a high-carb meal with a lean source of protein and a natural sodium source in order to speed-up muscle recover, such as … 2-3 cups of pasta with marinara sauce (light in meat and fat).

Out-competing for the win is all about knowing what you can and can’t control. You might not be able to prevent your opponent from getting lucky, but you can always control how well you condition, how well you prepare mentally, and how well you take care of your body. Sometimes all it takes is a few dietary suggestions from a personal trainer and nutritionist to help you realize just how fast, powerful and strong you already are!

Smart Choices When Dining Out

Many people struggle with making smart choices when dining out. Are you one of them? People often overeat, order the wrong things, or eat too quickly. Typically the food at restaurants is higher in fat, calories, and the portions are double the size. Average people who dine out typically have no problem finishing their meal. This is often the case and how are we going to deal with it?

Listed below are some helpful suggestions:

• order 1/2 your food to go (that way you don’t eat all whats on your plate)
• after each bite put your fork and knife down until you have swallowed
• skip the appetizers and desserts
• when ordering a salad ask for the dressing on the side
• share an entree
• try to resist the bread at the table

Try and follow these guidelines to avoid any unnecessary extra calories when dining out!

Who Can Hold The ‘Plank’ The Longest?

Build a strong core. Tighten those abs. Eliminate lower back pain. Improve your posture. Discover the power to hit the ball harder. How? The Plank.

The Plank exercise is a proven method to strengthen your mid-section, trunk, hips and core-your true source of power. As one client praised: “I’ve never been able to swing a raquet like that before!” Once you see how easy it is and the incredible results, you’ll be strengthening your core whenever you have the chance. Another client actually brought the exercise to work. “My whole department is now doing the Plank in our office!”

On Tuesday, September 15th, I will be conducting a class utilizing the Plank. For a portion of this week’s class it will include a CONTEST: Who can hold the Plank the longest?

WINNER of the contest gets a FREE half hour with me of training or to discuss their diet!

Where: Mountaingate Country Club
When: September 15th at 8am
Cost: $20

Sign up NOW to register for this fun contest. Don’t wait . . .

Fitness Is A Lifestyle Decision!

Being fit is a personal decision long before it is a physical reality. Time and time again I’m asked the question, “What’s the trick to getting fit? How do I start?” You start with a commitment to your goal. We all make commitments in our lives, all sorts of commitments for our finances and relationships. Our day to day decisions reflect our level of commitment to any given goal, and too often our decisions about personal health and fitness fall short. You may decide to grab fast-food on your lunch break because it saves you time. You may decide to skip the gym before work because you got to sleep too late the night before; because you were out too late; because you made the decision to stay out.

One of the greatest challenges in getting fit is overcoming habits of instant gratification. Television commercials and billboards fill our minds with false expectations about what it means to be fit. Whether you want to drop ten pounds, tighten your abs, strengthen your biceps, or improve cardio to name only a few, a fitness goal cannot be accomplished in an hour, or a day, or a month. It takes a change in lifestyle and a complete shift in priorities. While there are certain immediate bonuses to working out, getting fit and staying fit is primarily about prevention (from illness, obesity, back pain, and so on). If you’re used to making decisions based on instant gratification, getting fit and staying fit will be a struggle no matter your intentions. We see this when weight loss and gain fluctuate dramatically.

Sometimes the most important decision is admitting to yourself that you need someone else to help keep you on track, something more than a commercial or billboard that feeds on your longing for a quick fix. When it comes to being fit, there is no quick fix. Sometimes you need to be inspired. If you still struggle following through with your intentions, taking the step to pursue a personal trainer invested in your mental and physical well-being, who can serve as an example towards which to aspire, and who understands the hardships of breaking unhealthy habits, may be the most important decision you will ever make!

Sleep More, Do More!

The struggle is ongoing. You wake up early for work and feel exhausted by mid-afternoon. You try caffeine to get you through the day, but find yourself crashing at night. Getting enough sleep amidst the everyday hustle and bustle, while finding time to workout, relax with your loved ones, and/or relax by yourself, seems increasingly more difficult. Too often the number of hours you sleep is the first sacrifice made in order to cram all of your other priorities into a single day. This leads to the accumulation of sleep debt, disruption of your Circadian rhythms, limited muscle repair, stress and aging. The truth of the matter is that getting enough sleep is an essential part of any training program because it can enable your body and mind to accomplish more. Here are a few tips to consider:

-Keep a regular sleep-wake schedule (7-8 hours for adults, 9 or more hours for teens and young adults), going to sleep and waking up around the same time

-Increase the quality of your sleep by avoiding late night snacking, giving your body enough time to digest food so that it can do its job and repair itself during sleep

-Replace your afternoon coffee break with a 20-minute nap

Your ability to think, problem solve, and manage time are all linked to whether or not you get enough sleep. Therefore, if you can find a way to sleep more, you can do more, saving you time, slowing the aging process, and improving motor functions. And since the quality of your sleep is directly linked to your diet, the timing of your meals and caffeine consumption, everyone grapples with their own individual challenges. A certified nutritionist and athletic trainer can help to transform your productivity by offering advice and mapping a plan of action specific to your daily habits, assumptions, and priorities.

How To Plan Your Diet Around Your Workout

There are several common misconceptions about what to eat before and after a workout, leaving many assumptions in need of clarification. A certified nutritionist and fitness trainer is uniquely qualified to offer advice tailored to each individual’s tastes and busy schedules. However, there are some basic guidelines everyone should consider when deciding exactly what to eat, when to eat, and what to avoid.

Most importantly, no matter what you eat and when, you need plenty of water. This cannot be understated. Water with fresh lemon is even better, as lemon has been found to relieve heartburn, bloating, and gas.

Aside from hydration, exercising on an empty stomach means low blood sugar, a light-headed sensation, and a weaker body. Doing this defeats the very purpose of working out: our health, both physical and mental. Whatever your fitness goal, your body needs constant nourishment. At the same time, exercising too soon after a large meal can make you nauseous, sluggish, and decrease blood flow, making your muscles cramp up. The body needs energy to digest food, and there’s only so much energy to go around. Listening to your body is key. A high protein, fried, or fatty meal requires a good four hours to digest. A high fiber meal, such as beans or low-fat yogurt and granola, should be given a few hours to digest as well.

The body prefers carbohydrates for fuel-ideally complex carbs-so the best before-workout foods are fruits, vegetables, and multi-grain pastas and breads. Energy bars can do the trick, just make sure to check the label and avoid carbohydrates from high fructose corn syrup. The same goes for sports drinks and fruit juice.

If you workout in the morning, try to get up early enough to eat something light and easy to digest at least half an hour before. If you workout at night, try to eat a lighter dinner and make lunch your heavier meal. After workout, the most important food is water, as fluids need to be replenished right away. Your body will also be craving protein for muscle rebuilding, unsaturated fats, and complex carbohydrates for glycogen restoration. It is recommended not to eat more than one gram of protein for every four grams of carbohydrates, as this will slow down rehydration.

You want to get the most out of the time you spend training, so it is essential you get in the habit of timing your meals, thinking your diet through, listening to your body, and drinking plenty of water. A personal trainer can help make the difference.

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