Great players have the ability to make average players better. The same can be said for one’s body and fitness goals. The high hopes of achieving a championship season in any sport can come crashing down when a star player is lost for an extended period of time.

When it comes to our bodies, our “teammates” are exercise, diet, and sleep. Their relationship to our body’s optimal performance are so intertwined and interconnected. It is important to know how each one affects the other.

How Can Sleep Help Diet and Exercise Habits? Adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep per night. The boundless benefits of sleep influence how well we do so many things daily. Sleep helps people make sharper decisions, be more focused, more organized, and more productive.

If you get a good night’s sleep, you’ll wake up rested and refreshed. However, doing so just once in a while is not going to give you the full benefit. Develop a consistent sleep pattern, including a regular bedtime. Turn off all electronics at least an hour before bed. Pick up a book to help clear your head of the day’s stresses.

For instance, if you get more sleep, you’ll have more energy for things like exercise. When the body is rested, it wants to be more active and wants to take more action. We’re not talking about running a marathon, but you may be more apt to take the stairs up a few floors instead of the elevator, encourage a walk with a colleague, or spend a little extra time in the gym trying some new exercises.

Plus, better sleep can help you make better decisions at mealtime. There is no meal more important than breakfast. After a night of not eating, your body craves a nutritious breakfast. If you’ve had a good night’s sleep, the decision to have a nutritious breakfast is made easier because you are not exhausted and reaching for what is most convenient.

Eggs are a great source of protein. Throw some vegetables in them and have a nice omelet with a piece of whole-wheat toast. Your body will say thank you!

How Can Exercise Help Sleep and Diet? Exercise is often the scariest part for many and often the greatest laggard of the three “mates.” For some reason, people don’t want to do it. People have to sleep and have to eat, yet most people don’t do them as well as needed. Exercise could help.

If you are tired at work and don’t want to fall asleep at your desk, take a five minute walk. That’s simple exercise, and it wakes you up. The American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity per day. If you’re not there yet, slowly work up to this as your goal.

Exercise helps get your heart rate up; it gets the blood flowing. It increases the oxygen circulating throughout the body. Transition that idea to exercising consistently several times a week.

Exercise is about strengthening the body so that it can safely react to the ever-increasing stimuli around us. During exercise, we break down muscle fibers. At night, those fibers must be repaired and grow. Your body will let you know it’s time to go to sleep, to recover. Be sure to listen to your body so that you can come back and have another effective workout the next day.

After an intense workout, your body craves a good source of protein. Knowing this, you are less likely to choose a fat-laden, greasy cheese steak but opt for a leaner source of protein. There is a level of dietary awareness that comes with achieving fitness goals, enabling you to make the right decisions for your body. Plus, burning more calories daily will help you maintain a healthy weight.

How Can Diet Improve Sleep and Exercise Habits? Food is fuel for the body. Follow the same concept as selecting fuel for your car. The higher the quality of the gas you put in, the better your car’s fuel efficiency should be.

Fill your stomach with nutrient-dense foods. These foods are high in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that our bodies need, and they are generally lower in calories.

Nutrient-dense foods include fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats and fish. Try to limit the amount of calorie-dense foods. These include fatty meats, fried foods, sugary snacks, and desserts. They provide less of what your body needs at the expense of higher calories.

Adults should average between 1,500–2,500 calories per day, with less-active people on the low end and more-active people on the high end. Of course, there are some populations that require amounts outside this range.

When it comes to exercise, eating well will put more pep in your step. If you want to have more energy for exercise, eat more of the nutrient-dense foods. Grab a piece of fruit for a snack instead of a candy bar. You’ll help sustain your energy for a longer period of time to get through a workout.

The candy bar may give you a short boost from the sugar rush, but not the sustained energy release provided by something like an apple. Avoid eating a meal that will sit in your stomach like a lead weight, making you more anxious for a nap than a workout.

As for sleep, if you’ve eaten well and expended your energy throughout the day, you’ll sleep better. You’ll have more energy throughout the day to go for an extra walk outside or have a more-effective workout at the gym.

When you sleep, your body is recovering from the activity of the day. Lots of things go on at night while you sleep. There is no “off” switch on the body.

It’s important to give your body those nutrients throughout the day, so when you go to sleep, those nutrient supplies are being used to help rebuild and repair muscle fibers and other tissues to get you ready for another day. A good night’s sleep will get you ready for whatever tomorrow will bring.

Don’t eat just before bed. When your body has the extra task of trying to digest that last meal, it can make for a very restless night of sleep and lead to weight gain.

 

Finally, there are the intangibles that come from good overall teamwork. If your trio of teammates is exercise, diet, and sleep, they have to have good chemistry to operate as a cohesive unit. Eating well, sleeping well, and exercising regularly will produce other benefits, such as managing stress, eliminating toxins from the body, preventing disease (having lower risk factors), and preventing injury.

There are so many other benefits, but the message is clear. Sleeping well helps you eat better and improves your activity level. Good eating habits can improve your sleep and exercise regimens. Exercise is beneficial for sleep and good eating habits.

For help achieving your healthy goals, you may want to seek the advice of a personal trainer, nutritionist, or health coach.

Go out and play like a champion today!

 

Share

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Great players have the ability to make average players better.  The same can be said for one’s own body and fitness goals. The high hopes of achieving a championship season in any sport can come crashing down when a star player is lost for an extended period of time.   When it comes to our bodies, our teammates are exercise, diet, and sleep. Their relationship to our body’s optimal performance are so intertwined and interconnected. It is important to know how each one affects the other.

 

How can sleep help my diet and exercise habits?

 

Adults need between 7-9 hours per night.  The boundless benefits of sleep influence how well we do so many things daily. Sleep helps people make sharper decisions, be more focused, more organized, and more productive.  If you get a good night’s sleep you’ll wake up rested and refreshed.  However, doing so just once in a while is not going to give you the full benefit.  Develop a consistent sleep pattern including a regular bedtime.  Turn off all electronics at least an hour before bed.  Pick up a book to help clear your head of the day’s stresses.

 

For instance, if you get more sleep you’ll have more energy for things like…exercise! When the body is rested, it wants to be more active and wants to take more action.  We’re not talking about running a marathon, but you may be more apt to taking the stairs instead of the elevator up a few floors, encourage a walk with a colleague, or spend a little extra time in the gym trying some new exercises.

 

Plus, better sleep can help you make better decisions at mealtime.  There is no meal more important than breakfast.  After a night of not eating, your body is craving a nutritious breakfast.  If you’ve had a good night’s sleep, the decision to have a nutritious breakfast is made easier because you are not exhausted and reaching for what is most convenient.  Eggs are a great source of protein.  Throw some vegetables in them and have a nice omelet with a piece of whole-wheat toast.  Your body will say “thank you!”

 

How Can Exercise Help My Sleep And Diet?

 

Exercise is often the scariest part for many and often the furthest laggard of the three mates.  For some reason, people don’t want to do it.  People have to sleep and have to eat.  Yet, most people don’t do them as well as needed.  Exercise, could help.  If you are tired at work, but don’t want to fall asleep at your desk, take a five minute walk.  That’s simple exercise.  It wakes you up. The American Heart Association recommends 30 minutes of cardiovascular activity per day. If you’re not there yet, slowly work up to this as your goal.

 

Exercise helps get your heart rate up, gets the blood flowing, it increases the oxygen circulating throughout the body.  Transition that idea to exercising consistently several times a week.  Exercise is about strengthening the body so that it can safely react to the ever-increasing stimuli around us.  During exercise, we break down muscle fibers.  At night, those fibers must be repaired and grow. Your body will let you know it’s time to go to sleep, to recover.  Be sure to listen to your body so that you can come back and have another effective workout the next day.

 

After an intense workout, your body is craving a good source of protein.  Knowing this, you are less likely to choose a fat laden, greasy cheese steak and opt for a leaner source of protein.  There is a level of dietary awareness that comes with achieving fitness goals, allowing us to make the right decision for our body.  Plus, burning more calories daily will help you maintain a healthy weight.

 

 

How can my Diet Improve My Sleep and Exercise Habits?

 

Food is fuel for the body.  Follow the same process as filling up the tank in your car.  The higher the quality of the gas you put in, should improve your car’s fuel efficiency.  Fill your stomach with nutrient-dense foods. These foods are high in vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that our bodies need and generally lower in calories.  These will include fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean meats and fish.  Try to limit the amount of calorie dense foods.  These will include the fatty meats, fried foods, sugary snacks, and desserts.  They provide less of what your body needs at the expense of higher calories.

 

Adults should average between 1500-2500 calories per day.  Less active people on the low end, more active people on the higher end.  Of course, there are some populations that require amounts outside this range.

 

When it comes to exercise, as seen above, eating well will put more pep in your step.  If you want to have more energy for exercise, eat more of the nutrient dense foods.  Grab a piece of fruit for a snack instead of a candy bar.  You’ll help sustain your energy for a longer period of time to get through a workout.  The candy bar may give you a short boost from the sugar rush, but not the longer sustained energy release provided by something like an apple.   Avoid eating a meal that will sit in your stomach like a lead weight, making you more anxious for a nap than a workout.

 

As for sleep, if you’ve eaten well and expended your energy throughout the day, you’ll sleep better.  You’ll have more energy throughout the day to go for an extra walk outside or have a more effective workout at the gym.  When you sleep, your body is recovering from the activity of the day.  Lots of things go on at night while you sleep.   There is no “off” switch on the body.  It’s important to give your body those nutrients throughout the day, so when you go to sleep, those nutrient supplies are being used to help rebuild and repair muscle fibers and other tissues to get you ready for another day.  A good night’s sleep will get you ready for whatever tomorrow will bring.   Finally, don’t eat just before bed.  It can make for a very restless night of sleep, and lead to weight gain, when your body has the extra task of trying to digest that last meal.

 

Finally, the intangibles that come from good overall teamwork. If your trio of teammates is exercise, diet, and sleep they have to have good chemistry to operate as a cohesive unit.  Eating, well, sleeping well, and exercising regularly will produce other benefits such as managing stress, keeping toxins out of the body, prevent disease (lower risk factors), and injury prevention.  There are so many others, but the message is clear.  Sleeping well helps you eat better and improves your activity level.  Good eating habits can improve your sleep and exercise regimens.  Exercise is beneficial for sleep and exercise.  For help achieving your healthy goals, you may want to seek the advice of a personal trainer, nutritionist, or health coach.

 

 

Go out and play like a champion today!

 

Share

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

After completing several marathons and already running regularly for the past 15 years, it’s become apparent what can help make you a better runner and keep you running injury-free longer.  You’ve got to be aware of a common mistake that many runners make when training for their first marathon. We’re not talking about the front of the pack runners here either.  They understand what’s necessary.  They have coaches teaching them and critiquing them.  Most middle of the pack and back of the pack runners often do not consider strength training to boost their times, and instead focus on the cardiovascular training schedule leading up to race day. While running consistently is obviously necessary, building muscle is essential to making sure that you run your best time, most efficiently, and pain free to complete your marathon.

Why strength training? You’ve got to emphasize the power of your entire body. Your muscles can boost you over hills and make quick steps around unforeseen potholes. And let’s not forget the 59th Street Bridge. Without full body muscular endurance, you will never reach the speeds you want for marathon running.  The hills, bridges, and pot holes can bring you to the “wall” sooner than you’ve expected.  The endurance portion of training, will not fulfill all of what a runner needs to complete a marathon. Too many runners are focused only on mileage and speed, rarely are they focused on strength exercises to improve muscular endurance.

One strategic reason is the principle of runner’s efficiency.  The stronger your leg muscles are, the less each muscle fiber will have to work to move at a certain pace.  If you can increase the amount of fast twitch and slow twitch muscle fibers, the work of running a marathon is further spread over those fibers.  Allowing you to run with less effort for a long period of time.  Possibly, making for an even faster pace and maybe a PR.

The New York City marathon is not the flat and fast out and back course that marathoners dream of on race day. The terrain is rough including hills, bridges, sharp turns, and through generally tough city road conditions like uneven pavement and potholes. In order for your body to get faster over and around these obstacles, your core and legs need strength training to increase ability to survive and work through these conditions. A personal trainer NYC can help you understand your muscular needs for the terrain along the NYC marathon during training, as well as boost your speed through strength training.

In addition, personal trainers NYC will help you prevent injuries through strength training. Prevention of knee injuries and hamstring problems, which are the two most common problems that runners face, which are mostly caused by lack of proper training and muscular development around the entire body. Strength training at least 3 times per week is recommended.  This additional training can shave minutes off of your final marathon time and keep you training injury free throughout. In time you may see that your marathon times are dramatically reduced through more efficient running and increased strength.  You’ll be are stronger and faster than before!

Share

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Congratulations! You did it! You are now a certified personal trainer, joining the ranks of one of the fastest growing professions in the United States.  Over the next decade, the number of personal trainers is expected to grow 30 percent.  Now it’s time to get your career started, but there is so much to do to establish yourself as a New York City fitness expert.  From business cards to hourly rates, there are many decisions to make.  One of the biggest to make is where to start your fitness professional career journey.

 

Fitness facility staff

Becoming employed at a local gym is one the simplest entry points for the beginner.  Everything from the business cards to the uniform is presented to you.  The clients are handed to you in most cases and the facility will have predetermined training rates for your service of which you will get a percentage of the session rate when you train a client.  It’s up to you to learn the facility’s equipment and procedures to start working with clients.

 

Working with a personal training referral service

In this situation, you are a bit like a subcontractor.  You have a little more autonomy, as well as a little more responsibility and risk.  You’ll be asked to submit your resume of qualifications, experiences, and a biography that helps to determine what type of clients can be referred your way.  You are responsible for having a place to train if the location is not supplied by the client.  Again, in most cases, the service will collect payment and pay you a percentage of the sessions trained.  Your “take home” in this scenario is typically more per session than as a gym staff member.

 

The independent personal trainer

Going it alone presents the greatest risk and reward.  You keep 100% of your earnings and make all of your own decisions.  However, now you are also responsible for all of your expenses.  It’s up to you to decide what to charge clients, where to train clients, and how to market to clients.  Those are just a few of the many decisions you’ll need to make.  With a well thought out and well executed plan, the sky’s the limit.

 

Many trainers will use a combination approach when attempting to establish themselves as an independent trainer.  Some of them may be employed by a gym, while training a few “outside” clients on the elsewhere. Otherwise, they may offer their services to another established personal training group to help supplement their income while they establish their own book of clients.  It’s best to check with these parties to confirm their policy on training your of private clients.

 

Breaking into the professional New York City fitness crowd takes time and patience.  If you don’t keep that in mind, you may work yourself right out of the fitness NYC industry.

 

Share

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

With all of the fitness equipment and exercise programs being created and marketed to the healthy lifestyle crowd it is easy to get caught up.  People like to stay ahead of the curve and be in front of the next big thing to sweep across the nation.  However, when it comes to exercise, sometimes the oldest programs and exercises can stand the test of time and can still be effective.  Plus, they require very little or no equipment.

One of the most complete upper body exercises can be performed in any room of your home.  Drop and give yourself twenty. Or 30, or 40.  The good old fashioned push up.  Without naming the specific muscles, you can work your chest, shoulders, back, arms, and abs all at once.  Keep your feet together, hands shoulder width apart.  Be sure to lift your butt up in the air and tighten those abdominals.  You’ll be working your upper body as well as your core.

Of course, there are many variations to this all in one exercise.  You may decide to do some pushups with hands closer together or wider than shoulder width, thus working different parts of the chest.  No matter what position you place your hands, keep your abs tight and butt slightly elevated.  It’s not unusual to see a personal trainer NYC have a client on the ground doing pushups in between other exercises.

If you are outside in the park, you can use a park bench to elevate your feet while performing your pushups.   You can also flip yourself around and put your hands on the bench.  The point is using these different positions can simulate and take the place of flat, incline, and decline bench press or dumb bell press.

Those who are in the early staging of their fitness programs or are prone to lower back problems, have options too.  By resting on the knees instead of the toes, you can reduce the body weight being pressed, as well as the pressure on the lower back.  Of course, if back pain is your problem, you will want to add some core strengthening exercises such as crunches or maybe some Pilates movements.  Ask your personal trainer NYC for some appropriate exercises given your situation.

Share

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

6 Tips for a healthy start in 2011

by glenn on January 18, 2011

  1. Start the day right.  Eat a good breakfast like your Mom told you to do.  Seriously.  Many reports show that people who eat a good breakfast of lean protein and  a complex carbohydrate starve off nighttime sugar cravings.  Also, you wouldn’t run your car with no fuel in it, would you? Same principal here.  Real oatmeal and a soft boiled organic egg (or just the whites) is pretty filling. I like to mush a banana in my oatmeal.
  2. Avoid drinking your calories.  I know, sounds like common sense but apparently it isn’t.  Starting your day with a Dunkin Donuts Carmel Latte or Starbucks double sugar white chocolate frappaccino is sending your blood sugar into a rollercoaster for the rest  of the day. It’s  no wonder most people crash at 2pm.  And soda is no better.  If you’re a coffee drinker, then have a real coffee, not a milkshake.  One package of REAL brown sugar and whatever milk you drink in it- if any.  Which brings me to #3
  3. No soda.  No diet soda.  Why Danielle? It has no calories?  Yes, but did you know that fake sugar is  4 to 5 times sweeter than real sugar and with the absence of  calories your body is getting mixed signals from your brain.   It was expecting calories since that stuff is so sweet, and since there were none- it  makes your craves sugar even more! There’s no feeling of satiety.  Notice around you how the people look who only drink diet soda? Hmmmm, I’m not saying it but I know you can see what I’m getting at.   I had a client with a three Pepsi  One a day habit.  I made him stop drinking that crap.  He lost 7lbs in two weeks.  I, myself, lost 5lbs when I stopped drinking diet soda many years ago. It’s no coincidence people! Wanna be healthy in the New Year? Cut out all the fake, processed artificial sugar and stick to water.  If that’s boring, cut up some lemon or pieces of orange, apple, lime, whatever fruit you fancy  and have that in your water for real natural flavor.
  4. Explore something different in terms of exercise.  Always do the same thing, try something new!  Every wanted to take that Trapeze class?   Hot Yoga? DO IT!  Start the New Year fearless!  Even if it you don’t think it will be a weekly addition to your workouts, you will feel a real sense of accomplishment from the new experience.  Plus, probably some new muscles you didn’t know existed!
  5. High Intensity Interval Training.  This is a great and time efficient way to boost your metabolism in a short burst of time.   An example would be 20 seconds of  non-stop body weight squats , 10 seconds rest, repeat for 8 cycles.  Than do another exercise for the same pattern.  This particular pattern is called Tabata training.  They even have a Tabata App for the iphone!  If Tabata is too intense, try another time pattern.  Like 30 second of full  out sprints  to 1 or 2 minutes of  rest.  See how hard you can push yourself but remember safety first.  You can always build up and change the time patterns once  you get in better shape.
  6. If you don’t have someone like myself coming over to motivate you,  than you need to find that  motivation from within.  It’s not easy at first.  Why not recruit a good friend. It’s a free way to have the support and healthy competition with other people.  They won’t be able to make sure your form is impeccable like I would, but it’s still a social way to stay motivated.  Support is out there for every budget, you just need to do your research.

I hope this helps! Please do not get discouraged. Take it one day at a time and keep your eye on that prize.

  In good health,Danielle Montezinos, CPT, RYT

Share

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

Fresh off my appearance on TalkingAlternative .com radio with Joshua Margolis, I was driving in the car when ‘Right Here, Right Now’ by Van Halen came on the radio.  I thought, how perfect. After what I had been talking about just moments ago on the show, here was the perfect song to underscore the talking points.

People looking to achieve their fitness goals need to start today. ‘Don’t want to wait until tomorrow, why put it off another day.’ If you put it off today, tomorrow becomes a bigger mountain to climb.  Stop making excuses and take that first into the gym.  Stop being scared.  There is nothing to be afraid of in the gym.  What you actually fear is doing something new.  Why do that?  The reality is, that you aren’t  happy with the way things currently are, so you need to shake things up.  Don’t be one of the 88% of New Year’s resolutionists that fail, be one of the select 12% that survive.

For a NYC personal trainer, ‘Right Here, Right Now’, means stop waiting for current clients to refer you new business.  Get out there and make it happen.  Make it happen for yourself.  Prospective clients won’t know you’re out there if they can’t find you when they are looking.  You may be passionate about fitness, but you also have be able to sell people othe idea that you are the personal trainer that cahelp them achieve their fitness goals.  Don’t be one of the 80% of businesses that fail within the first two years operation.  Be one of the select 20% that survive.

The truth is both parties need each other.  It is important to find a connection point.  Realize that, that connection point may be in the gym, on the web, or by getting involved in the local community. Those statistics are so skewed in the negative for those trying to achieve success. If clients could find the right trainer, you’d have a much higher of a successful fulfillment rate for New Year’s resolutions than 12%.  If NYC personal trainers position themselves to be found by potential clients, than the business failure rate would decline.  This is a win-win scenario for both parties.  Right here, right now.

Share

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

The familiar crowd of New Year’s resolutionists hit the gym this week.  So much optimism and renewed energy on the gym floor.  It’s exciting for many.  The saddest part is that most people will be gone by mid-February leaving the regular crowd to its familiar surroundings.  I, for one, wish the crowds would stay.

Many of the die hards at the gym selfishly loathe the newbies who descend upon their hallowed fitness grounds like ants on a picnic blanket.  But imagine, for a moment, where there are more people are waiting for a treadmill than are waiting to see a cardiologist.  Imagine more people “working in” and sharing machines and less people stuffed into an overbooked physician’s waiting room for an appointment that was supposed to start 45 minutes ago that they waited 6 weeks to get. (Think of the incredible 45 minute workout you could have done instead of a torturous waiting room episode surrounded by sick people.)

I wish those who start the New Year with high hopes for their health could come in with a tried and true plan for success.  Many of these new members would benefit from the help of a personal trainer.  Whether it be an ongoing weekly appointment, or a short term limited run of seesions, a personal trainer can help put you on the path to reaching your fitness goals.

For those who are self motivated and well versed in exercise terminology and have a clear understanding of what it takes, they may find success executing a workout plan from a magazine or book.

Unfortunately, i’ve seen too many go this route who either weren’t self motivated enough to stick with it or weren’t focused enough to create their own plan.  If you decide to read about, learn, and execute a plan, it’s best to have a good base of knowledge to build.  Picking up a book about exercise and trying to understand everything, for most people is like trying to learn web design from a book. It’s overwhelming.

Wouldn’t it be great if we saw an uptick in the percent of people who exercise?  It seems that for all the resolutions that are made, memberships that are sold, and exercise books and dvd’s that are purchased, that number is virtually unchanged.

Healthcare is only becoming more expensive.  The government can’t lower healthcare costs.  The laws of supply and demand are being dictated by an overall otherwise, unhealthy society.  Everyone has to realize that true healthcare reform starts with an individual reforming their own health.

Share

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

It happens every time a new member joins a gym or starts a new exercise routine.  Once the initial soreness subsides, they feel some quick gains and feel much stronger almost immediately.  Is it because their muscles have exponentially because they came in contact with a dumbell?  Of course not.  As your body learns a new movement, it makes notes on the movement pattern, giving meaning to the adage, “practice makes perfect.”

When you first begin an exercise routine, with a NYC personal trainer or on your own, you are teaching your body new exercises or movement patterns.  Like learning any new movement, are slower and possibly may feel a little clunky or clumsy.  Much of learning the new movement is about balance and coordination.  For instance, when standing on one leg doing knee bends. Your brain is communicating with your with your body.  On your first attempts, your brain is sending out signals to many different parts of your body.  In many cases, many of those signals are sent errantly, making the movements less efficient.  You may feel wobbly, like you are about to lose your balance.  As your body repeats the movements, it begins to know which muscles are involved and which are not.  Thus, eliminating communication with uninvolved areas and redirecting energy towards more involved areas.  This is a process that is repeated over and over until, the movement is completely refined.  The movement can now be done with very little thought beforehand.  The training adaptation is complete.

Given the body’s penchant for learning, it is important that proper form be learned from the beginning.  It takes 300-500 repetitions to learn a movement pattern and 3000-5000 to break a bad movement pattern and relearn the correct way.

Returning to an exercise routine after a long layoff is another time where this can be a factor.  If you’ve performed the exercises properly in the past, it is a good bet you’ll return to form pretty quickly.  However, you may still want to have someone such as a personal trainer NYC manage your first few workouts to be sure.

It’s motivating to feel the positive impact of those first few weeks at the gym.  Acknowledge that they are not just a show of muscular gains, but also of due to improved communication of your brain and muscles to improve your balance and coordination.  This improvement, when learned correctly, will be invaluable to all of your future workouts.

Share

{ Comments on this entry are closed }

       Certified Health Coach

       Certified Natural Foods Chef

It’s a myth that healthy food is expensive.  Here is a list of 11 super nutritious foods that will nourish your body and won’t break you bank account.  Enjoy!!

1. Dried lentils: A bag of lentils costs less than two dollars, is an excellent source of fiber and vegetable protein and can be used to stretch out stews, vegetables, etc. Also great as a soup or side dish.

2. Brown rice: Excellent source of fiber, whole grain, and loaded with nutrition. Also can be used to make up for using less meat, in side dishes, soups, etc.

3. Canned salmon: Excellent source of omega 3 essential fatty acids, protein, and calcium. Easily stored in the pantry and used as a dip, in casseroles, or as patties.

4. Oats: Excellent source of soluble fiber.

5. Eggs: Great source of protein, can be eaten at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Very portable when hard-boiled.

6. Whole-grain pasta: One box of pasta can have seven to eight servings. Can be used in soups, salads, side dishes and main dishes.

7. Dried beans: Can be bought cheapest in bulk. Excellent source of protein, high in fiber, and filling. Try lentil, kidney, red, black, garbanzo, pinto, etc.

8. Apples and oranges: Buy in a bag to get cheapest price, will stay good in the refrigerator for long periods of time.

9. Frozen vegetables: Can be fresher than non-frozen produce. Easily incorporated into other dishes, quickly cooked, and excellent source of nutrition.

10. Seeds: Many seeds can be purchased inexpensively, check the bulk food aisle. Flaxseeds are high in fiber and omega 3’s, sesame seeds are loaded with calcium, pumpkin seeds are high in protein and nutritional benefits.

11. Nuts: Purchase in the shell to get the cheapest price, or check the bulk aisle. Excellent source of protein, high in nutrition. There are many varieties: peanut, walnut, pecan, almond, cashew, pistachio, brazil, hazelnut.

To schedule your free Break-through Nutrition and Wellness :30 minute phone health consultation or sign up for my Superfoods 101 Nutrition and Cooking class, call Lisa at 212-243-4803.

Share

{ Comments on this entry are closed }