CoachMeFit Blog

Brandy Golden- ACSM Health Fitness Specialist

CoachMeFit, East Grand Rapids

  What would happen to a 2010 bentley if it were never driven until 2020. Would the paint look better in 2020 than 2010 after sitting through  a decade of snow, rain, and sunshine. Would the engine run smoother after being stagnant for ten years? The obvious answer is no. Like a car, our bodies function better when we use them and take care of them. Was the last time you ran a mile in high school? Do you ever tell your kids, ” when I was younger, my figure was nice like yours?” Well unfortunately, like the bentley, after a decade of being sedentary, your “engine” or internal organs work less efficiently and your “exterior” figure may take a hit as well. Like a car, our bodies are made to drive us safely through life. However, if we do not tend to our bodies properly, they will not function properly. We must use it, or we will lose it!

  Obviously exercise will improve one’s physical appearance. It sheds pounds, shapes buns and defines abs. However, the most important part of a nice body is healthy organs. Like a car, a body can look good on the outside, but run like “Old Bessy” if the unseen parts are out of shape. Therefore you must first take care of your heart and other organs that are responsible for every breath that you take. Regular physical activity and a consistent exercise regime strengthens the cardiovascular system, decreases the stress on the liver, and much more. Please don’t wait until tomorrow to begin caring for your body’s engine, get moving today!

By: Amber Tebeau

Dining out at a restaurant is a significant part of the American lifestyle.  Many Americans eat away from home several days a week.  Eating out, if done improperly, can put a person well over their calorie allotment for a day, which will eventually lead to weight gain.  Restaurant food can be full of hidden calories and the portion size can be two to three times what is recommended.  This week, one of my clients commented to me that she was going out to lunch and thought she was making healthy choices. She said that recently the restaurant posted the calorie counts on the menu.  It was not until the calories were posted on the menu that she realized her lunch was around 900 calories! 

When eating at a restaurant it is imperative to be educated on exactly what you are ordering and eating.  When I go out to eat there are several steps that I take to ensure I am eating a healthy meal. 

First, be proactive.  Always try to look up the restaurants website before you go to eat there.  Many websites have nutrition information for all of the items on their menu.  Seeing the nutrition information can be shocking, and many menus have meals with calorie counts of well over 1000.  You will be less likely to eat a meal if you know that it has more than half of the calories that you should consume in an entire day.  On a typical menu there are several healthy choices to choose from and it is helpful to go to the restaurant knowing what you can and cannot eat.  Some websites have a feature where you can build your meal.  You are able to add or remove items to see how it affects the calorie count and nutrition.  I have also found several sites that display healthy alternatives that are available, on their website menus; however these healthy options are not listed on the menu at the restaurant. 

Second, remember to order condiments on the side.  Ask to have the cheese, nuts, dressings and sauces on the side.  This enables you to control if you use the condiment or how much you use.  Dressing, nuts and cheeses can add significant calories to a salad and suddenly the salad can have as many calories as a greasy burger.  A Red Robin Crispy Chicken Tender Salad has 1400 calories, whereas a Red Robin Gourmet Cheeseburger and steak fries have 1284 calories.   Neither option is healthy, but many people are surprised to find that a salad can contain so many calories.

Third try to avoid any item that is cream based.  Cream based soups, sauces and dressings are packed full of calories.  It is better to choose a soup that has a vegetable or broth base, a sauce that has a tomato base and a dressing with an oil base.   Also be sure to avoid anything with mayonnaise, which is high in calories and fat.   Mayonnaise comes standard on many sandwiches and i some salad dressings may have a mayonnaise base.

Going out to eat can be an enjoyable and healthy event, as long as you are informed about your meal choices.  If you follow the three steps listed above you will be able to ensure that you are making a healthy choice and you are keeping your calories are under control.  Bon Appetite!

   Brandy Golden, ACSM Health Fitness Specialist

    CoachMeFit, East Grand Rapids

   Karma -what goes around comes  around- you reap what you sew; no matter what you call it we all know the priniple of “you get what you give” is a fundamental law of nature. We often embrace the idea of Karma coming around to grace others. For instance, the a woman betrayed by a loved one awaits for karma’s revenge. Likewise, the child who is teased by the class bully longs for the day the bully  recieves a taste of his his own medicine. But despite popular belief, Karma is not always negative. This simple law of nature can also work for one’s good. There are countless examplesof people who reap the benefits of hard work. For instance, Michael Jordan, the best basketball player of all time, spent countless hours practicing while his peers were partying. Or how about Bill Gates, the unpopular “nerd” as a child, is now reaping the benefits of his diligence and hard work. If these men can use Karma to their advantage then so can we.

Here are some ways to make Karma work for you.

1. If you want more energy- expend more energy. A regular exercise routine will increase the amount of energy you have during the day.So contrary to the belief that cutting out an hour of your day for exercise, is a waste of time,it will actually help you make use of your time more efficiently.

2. If you want to lose pounds, you must  “lose” (reduce)  your calories.  It’s simple math. Losing pounds requires losing calories. It is silly to expect extreme weight loss without having a caloric deficit.

3. If you want to gain strength, you must use your strength. Resistance training is a great way to do this!

4. To increase your metabolism, you must increase your metaboizer (lean body mass).

Although these are examples of karma enhancing physical health, please know that karma applies to every area of your life. So from this day forward, Embrace Karma!

Brandy  Golden

Like so many people out there, I have done my fair share of diets preaching to get me to my “best body yet”. Yet none of them ever did. Why? At the core, they were all fundamentally the same. I was either depriving myself of delicious and often perfectly healthy food  and/or counting calories. Seeing that I am good at neither and actually despise both of those things, I gave up dieting for good and opted for literature that outlined healthy eating habits instead.

If ever I’ve had a brilliant idea in my life, it was that one! My research eventually led me to a book I adore called “French Women Don’t Get Fat” by Mireille Giuliano. Initially, I was engaged by the bold title. “I want to be a chick, skinny, French girl too!” I thought to myself. But, the book struck a deeper chord with me. It wasn’t just another diet book; it was the author’s memoir on her relationship with food, which made it both an easy read and a stimulating one. Through her memoir, Giuliano teaches you to be conscious of the food you put in your body in a way that both satisfies your senses and keeps your heart healthy (no food deprivation or calorie counting!). 

An abundance of great tips on portion control and delicious recipes can be found throughout the book, but it also brings to light the ingenuity of keeping a food journal: the perfect solution for non calorie-counting, food conscious people. If you’re not familiar with a food journal, it’s just a small notebook that is used to track everything you eat throughout the day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks…etc). The book instructs you to use a food journal for three consecutive weeks in order to find patterns in your eating habits i.e. you drink soda every day at lunch or you drink a beer every night with dinner. Unlike many diets that instruct you to cut out all forms of carbohydrates and sugars from your daily meals (so hard!!!), the food journal is used to eliminate bad habits one week at a time (after the initial three week observation period) i.e. the first week you might stop drinking soda everyday at lunch, the second week you add on and stop drinking a beer with every dinner and so on and so forth. The results take time, but they are long term. Teaching yourself to cut out bad eating habits and incorporate healthy, nutritious foods into your diet avoids the stresses of yo-yo dieting and allows you to easily maintain not only a stable weight, but a stable lifestyle. 

According to Giuliano, the goal of the food journal is to get you to be food conscious without having to use a journal. And, that’s awesome, if that’s also your personal goal. However, I think food journaling is actually a tool that can be used continually (Oprah.com says Carry Underwood’s been using a food journal to keep her health in check forever!). So, grab a pen and paper or your Iphone and start journaling!

Written By: Delfina Bonilla-Cassel (Ann Arbor CMF Intern)

By:  Amber Tebeau, NASM CPT, Manager and Trainer CoachMeFit West Bloomfield

Brian S. has been a client of CoachMeFit since the summer of 2008.  Brian began working out at the CoachMeFit studio in Birmingham, then after 6 months he transferred to the West Bloomfield studio because it was closer to where he works.   When Brian first came to CoachMeFit he weighed over 300 pounds, had many health problems and he reported being very tired no matter how much he slept. Brian’s blood pressure was as high as 170/105, for which he was taking medication, he was also taking cholesterol medication, kidney medication and he was injecting his body with insulin for his Type II Diabetes.   

Brian had tried to lose weight many times on his own without success.  He tried several diets and he would lose some weight, however he would always gain it back.  Brian stated that he came to the point where the insulin he was injecting was not helping to bring down his sugar and he knew he had to make a big life change in order to regain his health.  At his heaviest Brian weighed 313 pounds and he set the goal of losing 70 lbs.    Due to his failed attempts at dieting, Brian knew that he needed a lifestyle change not another diet.  Brian decided that he wanted to weigh 240 pounds and he started eating the amount of calories that a 240 pound man should eat to maintain his weight.  He also made sure he was eating the proper ratio of carbohydrates, protein and fat.   Brian then started working out with a trainer at CoachMeFit three days per week and doing cardio exercise five to six days per week.  Brian immediately started to see a decrease in his weight and an increase in his energy.

Brian’s journey began almost two years ago and his weight is now holding steady around 240 pounds and the only medication that he takes is a pill for his diabetes.  His blood pressure is 117/72 and all of his blood tests are normal.  Brian states that currently his goal is to maintain his weight, and to stay healthy.  Brian’s story is a testament to hard work and dedication.  Brian has worked hard to become healthy and regain control of his body.  Brian is a great example to anyone who desires to turn their life around, lose weight, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

By: Amber Tebeau NASM CPT, Manager CoachMeFit West Bloomfield

There are many myths when it comes to exercise. Take this short quiz to assess your level of exercise knowledge. Review the following statements and determine if they are true or false.

1. When you are doing a workout, it is most effective to be in the “Fat Burning Zone”.

True False

2. Cardio exercise on a machine is most effective for weight loss.

True False

3. Doing abdominal exercises is the best way to get rid of belly fat.

True False

4. It is just as effective to do six, 10 minute bouts of exercise, as it is to do one solid hour of exercise.

True False

5. Doing circuit weight training is as effective or more effective than doing cardio exercise on a machine, for heart health and weight loss.

True False

6. Exercise is hard work and is not supposed to be fun.

True False

7. The secret to successful weight loss is simply to burn more calories than you consume.

True False

1. False: The “Fat Burning Zone” is a myth, it does not exist. In a workout calories are burned not fat. It is important, when thinking in terms of weight loss, to understand the Law of Thermodynamics. The Law of Thermodynamics says that if more energy is expended than is consumed, weight will be lost. Thus, a weight loss will occur if more calories are burned than consumed.

2. False: Cardio exercise IS effective for weight loss, however ALL exercise is effective for weight loss.

3. False: Doing abdominal exercise is good and it will tighten and strengthen your core muscles. However, this does not remove fat from your midsection. The best way to get rid of fat around your middle is a total body fat loss. It is a myth that you can spot treat your body for fat loss.

4. True

5. True

6. False: The best type of exercise for an individual to do is the type of exercise that they WILL do. All exercise is effective to burn calories, so the exercise that is enjoyed is the best because it is the exercise that is most likely to be accomplished.

7. True

By: Amber Tebeau, Manager of CoachMeFit West Bloomfield.

Nearly every week I have a client tell me that they did not have time to do their at home workouts.  We all lead busy lives, however, being healthy and fit needs to remain a daily priority.  Remember that breaking up a 60 minute workout into smaller increments throughout the day is statistically as effective as doing a straight hour of exercise.  Amidst a busy day there are several things you can do to fit fitness into your everyday tasks and responsibilities.

• When you go to the store, park in the farthest parking spot and walk or jog to the door at a brisk pace.
• When walking your dog, do not walk at a slow pace and allow your dog to sniff every pole.  Walk briskly, getting your heart rate up, to give you and your dog a better workout.
• While brushing your teeth, do squats.  Doing squats while brushing your teeth in the morning and in the evening will help create toned thighs and glutes.  You can do around 50 squats in one teeth brushing session.
• When watching TV, exercise during the commercials.  You can do sit-ups, push-ups, squats, run in place, etc.  This is a great way to fit exercise into your relaxing evening at home.
• Walk or ride your bike to your destination instead of driving.  As Americans, we have become far too dependant on our cars, and we would all benefit greatly from keeping our cars parked and walking to where we need to go.
• Instead of going out to lunch or coffee with your friends, do an activity together.  Spending time exercising with a friend will increase exercise enjoyment, and also strengthen friendships.  Great activities to do with friends would be walking, running, or playing a sport.
• Instead of sending your kids outside to play, go with your kids outside to play.  Playing with your kids is a great way to get exercise, but also lets your kids know that spending time with them is important.
• While at work many people sit behind a desk for 8 or more hours.  During a long day at work it is beneficial to get up out of your desk and to stretch or do exercises.  Aim for 5 minutes per hour.  Walk to the farthest bathroom or copy room, take the stairs whenever available, stretch in your seat, do squats or pushups at your desk.  It is also a great stress reliever to take a walk during your lunch break instead of eating at a restaurant or sitting in the break room for an hour.

There are dozens of ways to fit exercise into your day.   Experiment with the ideas listed above or think of your own methods and find what works best for you.

Are you bored doing the same lifting routine of 12-15 repititions per exercise?  Mix it up!  There are numerous ways of doing this and you may just be surprised at the results.

There are so many ways to train with weights you should never get bored in the gym. Trying out something new won’t only help keep your workouts interesting but it’s actually crucial if you want to continue seeing and feeling gains whether you’re toning or building muscle. Here are a few techniques to try:

Super setting: (A superset is when two exercises are performed in a row without stopping) Super sets are very popular and an effective way to squeeze a lot into a short period of time. Try super setting at the end or in the middle of your workout but avoid it for your first set as you may want to pump out as much weight as possible for your first exercise. You can super set the same muscle or group or super set opposing muscle groups.

Tri setting: Tri sets are a useful way to overload the muscle in a similar way to super setting but instead of rotating between two exercises you incorporate three in a row. I recommend this if you’re extremely tight on time constraints or if you really want to tear up your muscles. Try this technique first on small muscle groups like biceps and triceps.

Drop sets: Drop sets shouldn’t be done everyday for every exercise but they’re great for the last set of your workout just to shock your body into producing new results every now and again. How it works is you hit a heavy set on any chosen exercise then immediately strip off some of the weight and pump out some more reps. Then, if you are really feeling it, you drop the weight again and bust out some more reps to failure.

For example: Side Lateral Delt Raises.  Try starting out with 8-10 reps with 15-pound dumbbells and when you can no longer lift them, drop down to 10-pound dumbbells and repeat until failure. Finally, if you can, pick up the 5-pound dumbbells and go until you can no longer lift them to shoulder level. This creates a wonderful burn in the muscles and fantastic results.

Pyramiding: This is probably the most popular weight training method of all. After a short warm up, begin with a weight that will allow you to pump out 12-15 reps and then proceed to the next set and increase the weight so that you fail at about 8-10 reps then on the last set pick a weight that will allow you to do about 6 reps. This overloads the muscle gradually and works very well. This technique is perfect for beginners because it’s easy yet effective.  However, if you’ve been lifting for years it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t incorporate pyramid training in your routine. It works wonders for everyone, just be sure you’re lifting to your maximum potential.

Reverse Pyramid Training: This is exactly the opposite of pyramid training. Instead of starting with the lightest weight and doing 12-15 repetitions for the first set, you’ll reverse the order and begin your first set with the heaviest weight you can handle for roughly 6 reps. This style is best for those looking to build muscle and increase strength. For each set you will decrease the weight (pyramid down in weight, hence, the name “reverse” pyramid) and increase the reps. This technique is extremely energy efficient and will help you increase muscle mass if that’s your goal.

HIIT: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a style that incorporates alternating low to moderate intensity intervals with high intensity intervals. HIIT is often used by runners or with exercises such as squats. HIIT is considered to be much more effective than normal cardio because the intensity is so high and you are able to increase both your aerobic and anaerobic endurance while burning more fat. Research has proven it to be up to 50 percent more effective when it comes to fat burning. It has also been shown to speed up your metabolism, which helps you burn more calories throughout the day.

German Volume Training (GVT): The goal of the GVT method is to complete ten sets of ten reps with the same weight for each exercise. One way to gauge the proper weight is to begin with a weight you could lift for 20 reps to failure if you had to. For most people, that would be 60 percent of their 1 Rep Max (RM) load.

For example, if you can squat 120 pounds for 1 rep, you would use 72 pounds for this exercise. The result? The body adapts to the unusual stress by hypertrophying the muscles involved. This is a wonderful way to add muscle fast but is not to be used year round. Cycle it in and out of your regular program every couple of months.

A few other techniques with a Google search are: giant sets, pre-exhaustion, Isotension, partial reps, negative resistance training, staggered sets, Weider’s Perfect 10, fast and slow reps and partner assisted stressed reps.

Article written by, Alicia Rewega- Oxygen Magazine

If you’ve never tried one of these routines, you should!  I would love to hear feedback! 

-Kelly Kalbfleisch

Ann Arbor CMF, Manager

Brandy Golden, ACSM Health Fitness Specialist

So you have worked hard all week and stuck to your diet flawlessly. Its Firday morning and you’ve stepped on the scale in your bathroom and you are two pounds down. Yes! Tonight you are going to go out and you will be able to slip on  your favorite jeans that you’ve been waiting to wear again. You go out with the best intentions of sticking to your diet for the most part, but of course you will allow yourself a few drinks and some pizza. You deserve it right?

  Wrong! The mentality of a night of splurging to reward yourself for a week of discipline is flawed. Yes, its good to treat yourself occasionaly, perhaps one treat a week. But, when you splurge for an entire night on pizza and beer for example, one week of hard work is easily lost. One pound consist of 3500 calories and 3500 calories can be consumed easily at a pizza buffet. So, instead of splurging for an entire night, allow yourself one treat a week. Whether it be a drink, a dessert, or a slice of pizza, enjoy it. But, for the rest of weekend, practice the same discipline that caused you to lose weight during the week.

I sometimes struggle, like a lot of people, with making the right choices in the grocery store.  There are a lot of different foods out there and sometimes they all look the same!  I found this article to be very informative.  I hope you find yourself choosing more of the better and best options as you progress in reaching your healthy living goals.

One of the best things about supermarkets can also be the most confusing: all the choices! When walking from aisle to aisle, it can be overwhelming to look at all the products in each section. Just think of all the choices when you’re looking at the entire wall of cereal or a large cooler packed with tiny yogurt cups! Trying to find the best item-especially when you’re trying to eat healthier or watch your intake of calories, fat or sodium-is not always a walk in the park.

Within each section of the grocery store, you’ll find plenty of healthful foods that can help you reach your goals. But sometimes you have to make a food choice based on budget constraints, availability or taste preferences that isn’t ideal. Not to worry. This “Good, Better, Best” guide will help you make the best possible choices on your next trip to the store. If you’re new to eating healthy, start at the bottom and work your way up to the top of the lists over time. Even if all you can afford is in the “good” category, you’re still doing pretty well. If you prefer the taste and texture of the “better” item to the “best” choice, that’s OK, too. Or maybe you’re facing a hotel breakfast buffet or trying to find something healthy to eat at a party and all you’ll find is the “good” choice. No matter what your situation, you’ll still be able to make the best possible choices by using this simple guide.

MILK

YOGURT

BREAD

CEREAL

PASTA

DELI MEAT

With all the options in the grocery store, it’s easy to find items to feel good about buying. But remember: Healthy eating isn’t about perfection. All foods do have some merits and even if you can’t eat ideally all the time, that’s OK. By striving to make the best choices from what is available to you, you’ll make a real difference in your health!

This article has been reviewed and approved by SparkPeople resident expert Becky Hand, Licensed and Registered Dietitian.

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