 |
| Client Transformation |
 |
|
Kristen Vincent
FT-Westborough
"One year ago when I joined Fitness Together, you wouldn't have looked at me and said, 'Wow, she really needs to lose weight!', but I wasn't feeling good about my overall health. I was still holding on to about 10 extra pounds from my pregnancy and the birth of my daughter 3 and half years ago, and I knew I wasn't making healthy choices when it came to eating. One year at FT has helped me feel stronger and healthier than I ever have before! Working with a personal trainer means each workout is designed just for me. I don't have to think about whether I'm doing an exercise right or not, and I don't have to wait for any machines or equipment. And each workout is different, so it keeps me interested and challenged...I'm so glad I made the commitment to join Fitness Together. The FT staff has taught me so much about fitness, nutrition, and living a healthy lifestyle. With their help and positive encouragement, I finally feel like I'm doing all the right things for my health."
Training Frequency: 3x per week
Cardio Program: 360FT program
Last Fit Assessment: 4/3/2009
Nutrition Program: Individualized nutrition program with Tracy Harrison of Purpose, LLC
Results: Strength and endurance has increased significantly - she can now do 30 sit-ups, 32 push-ups, and leg press 300lbs 25 times!
Other: Kristen is officially our most GREEN client; as a result of her nudging, we purchased a water cooler system for the studio and gave every client a Camelbak water bottle!
We hope that Kristen's story and results motivate you to work a little harder this month and potentially be our next Client of the Month!
|
|
Quote of the Month:
"Fitness - If it came in a bottle, everybody would have a great body."
~ Cher | |
| Studio News this Month |
 |
|
Fitness Together - Westborough will be hosting a special event on Tuesday, June 16, 6:30-8pm featuring Personal Chef Martha Ulfelder of Simply Delicious. Martha will lead a fun and informative session with tips on meal planning, grocery shopping, and preparing quick, easy, wholesome meals for just yourself or your whole family. She will even demonstrate some of her preparation techniques and let us sample some of her delicious menu items! Please RSVP to Karen at our Westborough studio if you are interested in attending. This should be a full event. |
| 5 Ways to Deal with Addictive Behavior |
 |
1. Acknowledge and Confront the Addiction - Addictions come in all varieties--from drug and alcohol dependency to addiction to shopping and online games. But none of them can be dealt with properly until the addict recognizes the condition and resolves to change. If you think you may be exhibiting addictive behavior, confront it for what it is and take stock of how it may be affecting other parts of your life. Once you have committed to change, you can seek out appropriate methods that deal with your particular addiction.
2. Seek Out Treatment - Addiction is rarely a matter of simple willpower, even if it entails something like shopping or pornography instead of drugs or alcohol. It reflects a psychological compulsion that may have deep and abiding behavioral roots. In cases of substance addiction, it can literally rewrite the brain, creating physical need as well as psychological compulsion. Look for treatment options that involve professional aid, not just the support of family or friends. With substance abuse, it will likely involve a detox center followed by time in a rehab clinic. For addictions such as shopping or online gaming, you should speak to a professional therapist, preferably one with experience in dealing with your particular kind of addiction. You may also wish to join a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous, which involves meeting with fellow addicts in a controlled and affirming environment. Specific types of treatment vary and may entail a combination of different approaches.
3. Seek Out Alternate Activities - If you're trying to deal with an addiction, it helps to have something healthier with which to fill that time. Boredom and a lack of structure can easily lead you back to your addiction. Instead, find new things to do. Start exercising, take classes or learn to paint. Keep a journal or write in a blog about your experiences. Avoid people who will enable your addiction or try to persuade you to pick up your habit again. If possible, try to pinpoint specific times and places when you are tempted to indulge in your habit. If you can identify them, you can also stay away from them, or learn to be engaged in a different activity when they come around.
4. Examine Medication Options - Medication doesn't work for every addiction, but in some cases, it can help reduce cravings. With drugs and alcohol, medication can produce a physical reaction to help you break the addiction. Disulfiram, for example, makes you physically ill whenever you take a drink, while methadone is a well-known treatment for opiate addiction. Medication for more psychological addictions like shopping or pornography can address the underlying cause of the behavior, such as depression. In any case, you should only take medication prescribed by a medical professional who is familiar with your case.
5. Be Prepared for Rough Patches - Addiction recovery is a slow process. In many case, it will last the rest of your life. There will always be temptations and times when you don't feel you can resist your habit. Know that those periods will be there and take steps to prepare for them. Maintain a strong support network and understand that you may be confronted with your addiction at unexpected times. In many cases, it pays to engage in methods of mindfulness--an awareness of your body's sensations that yoga and certain forms of meditation may teach--or to look to your particular faith for support. Whatever method works for you, be familiar with it and ready to use it if a rough patch appears.
Source: Rob Vaux at livestrong.com |
| Facts on Hunger |
|
|
|
1. Think You're Really Hungry?
When the glycogen level in your liver drops below a specific value, based on your size and weight, it triggers the sensation of hunger. This is a signal that your body needs additional energy or food. It often occurs three to four hours after you last ate. True hunger pangs felt in the stomach don't occur until 12 to 14 hours after the last meal. What most people misinterpret as stomach rumbling is actually stomach gases and juices moving around in your stomach. It's unrelated to actual hunger.
2. Hunger is Necessary
The sensation of hunger occurs to trigger a response. Humans are animals, and all animals must eat. The urge to eat becomes stronger the longer you are without food, until it becomes an overpowering sensation. This is a great survival instinct. If humans could ignore the sensation of hunger, they would not be motivated to go out and search for food to keep the body alive. You will never be able to overcome the feeling of hunger based on willpower alone. It's impossible due to the body's design. Instead, focus on managing your hunger as part of your success plan.
3. Sticking to the Diet
The main challenge for people on a calorie-reduced diet is to manage hunger. The easiest way to avoid breaking your diet is to avoid getting hungry. Pay attention to your body and keep a diary for a week of what you eat and drink and when you are feeling hungry. For the first six weeks of a new diet, eat four to five much smaller meals instead of three large meals. Eat something every four hours, a piece of fruit, veggie sticks or one of your small meals. The body cannot tell the difference, and you will not feel hungry if you keep the energy at a steady level.
4. When to See the Doctor
Persistent hunger, even after eating, can be a sign of serious health issues and you should consult your doctor. Possible issues include overactive thyroid, digestive problems and liver issues. The same is true for a complete absence of hunger. We often lose our appetite when we are fighting a cold or the flu, but a recurring loss of appetite is a serious matter and you should not ignore it.
5. You Can't Get No Satisfaction
Hunger for a specific food is usually a sign of a craving, and not true hunger. This is especially true if the desire is for a sweet or fatty food. If your hunger cannot be satisfied with a balanced meal, fruit or nuts, you are not really hungry. Emotion-driven hunger feels just like hunger, but is more specific. Keep a hunger log to see how you handle daily pressures and stresses in your life. Once you have identified your triggers for emotionally eating, replace the old habit with a new one--like calling a friend to talk, instead of snacking.
Source: Carol Francois
http://www.livestrong.com/article/3080-facts-hunger/
| |
|
|
Lifestyle Fitness
The Fitness Together Newsletter
A Message from the President
Over the years, we've had great success helping teenagers who compete in sports: Swimming, baseball, track, lacrosse, golf, crew, basketball, and skiing - to name a few. As summer approaches and school is ending, several of our clients have asked us whether we have a fitness program designed for their student athletes.
In response, we launched a new program called the "Athlete's Advantage", offering student athletes individualized training programs that bring them to peak performance and to assist them in preventing sports injuries. The program is available and designed for children, high school athletes and college athletes training for competitive sports seasons. The personalized programs analyze each individual's fitness levels and needs along with the specific strength, agility and stamina that is required in different sports.
Fitness Together is proud to support local sports programs as part of a healthy lifestyle. In support of this, our four studios have pledged to donate $100 to the athletes' school or team organization for every student athlete that signs onto our program. Now, student athletes can earn money for their school booster club or athletic team while benefiting from an individualized training and nutrition program designed to give them the advantage of competing in top physical shape.
In Good Health,
Steve Lichtman |
The New Rules of Hydration
Although we think we are so much more, the fact of the matter is that we are 55- to 65-percent water. I was surprised and, frankly, a bit disappointed to learn this. In the unique recipe that is me, I thought my ingredients were more exotic. I could have sworn I was closer to a bouillabaisse than a chicken consommé. But nonetheless, if our primary component is H20, then what is the formula for insuring health and well being with a steady supply of it? The answer is not that simple, which is why an estimated 33 percent of the active adult population is living in an under-hydrated state.
Let's address a few fallacies first. The biggest is that this is something we don't need to concern ourselves with. We drink when we're thirsty, and that's it. But hunger is the flip side of thirst and look at how that mechanism has gone haywire. If hunger were a trustworthy signal, then obesity wouldn't be the biggest health challenge in America. Likewise, thirst. By time you're feeling a little parched, you're already dehydrated. It's rudimentary technology at best.
The second myth is that, in lieu of this vaguely calibrated thirst gauge, we should drink eight 8-ounce glasses of fluid daily just to be safe. This is the so-called "8x8 rule," and it's been around so long and repeated so many times that it's become doctrine, even though there is no scientific basis for it. That's right, no scientific basis. It's a guess.
So if the goal of this month's One Small Change experiment is to drink the recommended amount of fluid daily, how do we figure that? Douglas Kalman, Ph.D., R.D., a professor of sport nutrition at Florida International University in Miami and executive VP of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, recommends this easy 3-step process:
1. Eat, poop and get naked.
Don't you wish all self-improvement plans would start this way? Sorry, I stray. After you've gotten out of bed, eaten breakfast and voided, strip down and weigh yourself. This will be your baseline. Since our bodies are roughly half water, divide your weight by 2 to arrive at an approximation of your daily fluid needs. So in my case, I weigh 174 pounds, divided by 2, which equals 87. This is the amount of fluid in ounces I need to drink every day to counterbalance what I naturally lose via breath, perspiration, urination and bowel movements. As you can see, it's significantly more than the 64 ounces derived from the 8x8 rule.
2. Exercise, then weigh in again.
If we were not athletes, then we could stop here. But since we sweat much more than the average person, we need to build that fluid loss into the equation and replenish accordingly. So after your normal workout, shower, towel off and step onto that same scale naked. Subtract what you see from what you were. For every pound lost, you need to drink one pint (16 ounces) of additional fluid. Using myself as an example, after one 60-minute session of full-court basketball, I lost 3 pounds. Thus, to get back on an even keel, I must drink 135 ounces that day (my 87-ounce baseline + my 48-ounce sweat deficit).
3. Run a periodic systems check.
To stay properly hydrated, drink regularly throughout the day. And notice that I've been using the word "fluid" and not just "water," which means you can count coffee, tea, juice, soup, soda...really any liquid except alcohol. Because of its diuretic effect, those two beers or that glass of pinot you put away with dinner don't count towards your fluid goal. To periodically check how you're doing, look at your urine. It should be clear or a very faint yellow.
Source: Joe Kita at coreperformance.com |
|
Chicken Veggie Wrap
Cook Time: 5 mins
Serves: 1
Calories: 570
Protein: 36g
Total Fat: 25g Saturated Fat: 2g
Carbohydrates: 41g
Dietary Fiber: 16g
INGREDIENTS:
3 oz rotisserie chicken
1 cup fresh vegetables
1 tbsp honey mustard dressing
1 high-fiber tortilla
1/4 cup walnuts
1 cup fresh fruit
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Shred 3 ounces of chicken from a store-bought rotisserie chicken
- Place shredded chicken in a high-fiber tortilla
- Add fresh vegetables and honey mustard dressing
- Serve with a side of fresh fruit topped with walnuts
~Source: coreperformance.com
|
 Is the Economy Taking a Toll on Your Health?
While Wall Street continues to crash, so do our diets. A new American Heart Association survey of 1,000 people concludes that Americans are cutting back on healthy activities such as eating fresh foods and exercising. Check out these sad statistics for more.
- 57 percent said the economy has affected their ability to take care of their health.
- 32 percent have made a change in the last six months to save money, such as delaying preventive care appointments, not taking medications or skipping the dentist.
- 25 percent of those with gym memberships have cancelled in the previous six months.
- 42 percent plan to make changes in the next six months that may impact their health, such as buying fewer fruits and vegetables.
"We've made dramatic gains in recent years in our fight against heart disease and stroke, but trends like these threaten to reverse these gains," said Dr. Timothy Gardner, M.D., president of the American Heart Association "We need to remind people that even in hard times their health is important. Physical activity, in particular, is an easy, inexpensive way for people to prevent heart disease and manage their stress-another byproduct of a tough economy."
Source: David Schipper http://www.coreperformance.com/daily/news/Is-the-economy-taking-a-toll-on-your-health.html |
|
Five Steps to Smart Shopping
By Martha Ulfelder
The typical American wastes 27% of food available for consumption, according to a recent report by the EPA. That's a staggering amount, but fortunately, there are many easy ways you can reduce that percentage and make your food dollar go further, while eating a healthy diet.
-
Plan weekly menus. Sit down before grocery shopping and plan out your dinners for the week, using the sale flyers for inspiration. Be realistic: you might want to cook a fantastic meal each night, but in reality, you might have time to do that twice. Having a plan will make it less likely you'll overbuy perishable foods, only to throw them away as they go bad. It will also help you avoid the after work "what's for dinner" panic, a prime time to overspend at the grocery store or take-out food place.
-
Cook once, eat twice. A roasted turkey breast can be a traditional dinner one night and turkey salad the next, with a minimum of fuss or extra ingredients. Visit a website such as www.allrecipes.com or www.myrecipes.com and plug in the ingredients you want to use for quick inspiration.
-
Pantry raid. Organize your pantry so you can tell at a glance if you have rice, pasta, beans or any other staples you might need during the week, instead of buying yet another box or can and coming home to find you already had some. You'll probably find the fixings for a quick dinner in there, too (rice and beans, anyone?).
-
Recycle leftovers for lunch. Package dinner leftovers for lunch the next day. Brown-bagging it not only helps you use up your leftovers, it's healthier and less expensive than buying fast food or cafeteria food, especially if your dinner was full of whole grains, lean protein and fresh fruits and vegetables. You'll also save money by not buying separate grocery store items for lunch, such as expensive deli meats, packaged salads and those unsatisfying frozen meals.
-
Think like a chef. A good chef doesn't let anything go to waste. For instance:
Leftover salad can be stored in a GladWare container for lunch the next day, along with those few slices of steak or chicken from the same meal.
Extra grilled foods can be used again in a wrap, with pasta, or on top of a Caesar Salad.
Cooked pasta or rice can be mixed with tuna and light mayo or tossed with some grilled vegetables, canned chick peas and a light vinaigrette for lunch.
Do you have one slice of meatloaf, a few string beans and half a sweet potato left from dinner? Pop them in a freezer container, label it, freeze and take it for lunch next week.
Martha Ulfelder is the owner of Simply Delicious Personal Chef Service in Southborough, MA, www.simplydeliciouschef.com
Sources:
Environmental Protection Agency report: www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/organics/food/fd-basic.htm
One Country's Table Scraps, Another Country's Meal, by Andrew Martin, New York Times, May 18, 2008
www.nytimes.com/2008/05/18/weekinreview/18martin.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin
|
| $50
OFF |
Simply Delicious is offering our clients $50 off the price of any personal chef service or private cooking lesson.
|
| Offer Expires: June 30, 2009. |
|
The Basics of Periodization Training
 Following a periodization schedule, where your calendar year is divided into periods characterized by different forms of training, is an excellent way to help maintain optimum stress/rest balance and achieve true peak performance during the competitive season. Here is a simple annual periodization schedule:
Base Building Period -- Base training kicks off the annual training cycle. Here, you pursue workouts that are low in intensity and provide a general fitness benefit. For example, an endurance athlete will engage in aerobically paced workouts that prelude the more intense race-pace work in the peak season. Athletes who specialize in a particular sport will engage in numerous forms of cross training, including the strength and circuit training that provide an excellent strength and muscular endurance foundation for every sport.
Peak Performance/Competitive Period -- After a successful base building period, you can transition into workouts that are more intense, focused directly on your competitive goals. Total workout time and frequency drop on account of the more severe physical effort during the peak performance period. More rest days and easy workouts fill the balance of the schedule between the occasional hard efforts. This period should last a maximum of six weeks before you introduce a rest period.
Rest Period -- An extended rest period should be observed every year, such as the winter months where training (and thinking about training) are dramatically reduced for a month or two.
Inside of these macro (annual) periodization cycles, you will engage in micro cycles. For example, you might engage in base building for a couple months in the early season, transition into a competitive period lasting several weeks, then take a couple weeks of rest. Following the rest, you will again focus on base training for a few weeks before heading off for a few more races. On a weekly basis, you should have a two to three days where you engage in no exercise or very little, a balance to the cycle of regular challenging workouts you engage in.
If you have specialized athletic goals such as a particular competitive sport, your periodization cycle will be similar in philosophy, but with different specifics than athletes with differing goals. The familiar template of the endurance athlete will feature aerobically paced workouts like long, slow distance runs during the base period, following by anaerobic sessions such as intervals and tempo runs during the peak performance/competitive period.
| |
|
|
|
