Marlton Personal Trainer August 2010 Success Story

“I’ve lost 41 lbs, 13% bodyfat, and 30 inches—6 inches off my waist”.   Joan Kerrigan, 48,  artist and homemaker is our August 2010 Client of the month from Marlton.  Every 3 weeks, she comes in for another torture session.  I’ll teach Joan all of her new evil exercises for the month and then she does the workout at her home 4-5 times per week.  Who says you have to see us every 3-4x/week to see great results.  Several clients just visit us anywhere from 1-2x/month to update their programs at home/gym and evaluate their results—Joan is the perfect example.  

   “I just thought I was going to grow old fat, until I started at Fit-4-Life in January.  Their support, accountability, and the online food journal have been instrumental in obtaining my goals”.  Joan has started taking kickboxing classes at her local gym and she even finished a half marathon in July (even with 100 degree temps). 

   Joan’s secret to her success isn’t really a secret at all.  Joan does her exercise homework each week.   She watches and tracks her diet.  If you actually listen to our proven strategies you get results—Guaranteed.  Joan is a sincere pleasure to work with because she really listens and has made her health a priority.  Now her husband Evans is another story!!

Mean & Clean Burrito – Marlton Personal Trainer Tells All

Here’s a healthy burrito recipe to sink your teeth into. Whole grains, lean protein and crunchy veggies make this a recipe that you’ll come back to time and again. Serve with a side of your favorite salsa.
Servings: 1

Here’s what you need…

• 1 sprouted grain, flourless tortilla
• 1 Tablespoon hummus
• 1/3 cup cooked brown rice
• 1/4 cup cooked black beans
• 1/2 cup cooked chicken, chopped (or baked tofu)
• 2 Tablespoons fresh corn kernels
• 2 Tablespoons chopped cucumber
• 1/4 cup shredded arugula
• 3 cherry tomatoes, chopped

1. Warm the tortilla in a dry skillet. Spread the hummus evenly over the tortilla.
2. Top the tortilla with rice, beans, chicken and veggies.
3. Fold the two sides of the tortilla in over the filling, then flip up the bottom edge and roll tightly.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 380 calories, 7.8g fat, 45g carbohydrate, 7g fiber, and 31g protein.

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Tria Cook July 2010 Marlton Personal Trainer Success Story

Tria Cook, 55, Somerdale, NJ—Executive Assistant.

“I got a gym membership but the trainers were a bunch of salesman and I never learned how to use all the equipment.  It was a complete waste of money.

Tria was a superstar at NFI’s  corporate Walk Fit Club workouts which she transitioned into our Bootcamps.  Now she is totally kicking butt and taking names.  She lost 9lbs and 2% bodyfat during the Walk Fit Club and has dropped 6 more lbs since starting bootcamp.

Tria has totally turned her life around, she was a self proclaimed couch potato and just recently ran her first 5k race.   “I wanted to let you know that after boot camp this morning I came home and did 4 miles to train for my 5k next Sunday!  I am not a runner, have never been a runner, have no desire to be a runner….but I ran the 4 miles in the pouring rain and it was awesome!! Four months ago I would never have dreamed that I could’ve accomplished anything that I’m doing on a daily basis now.  Thank you so much for your encouragement and the motivation

See the secrets to her success by watching her video

Marlton Personal Trainer

Easy Chilled Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a cold tomato-based soup that originated in Spain. What better time to enjoy a chilled bowl of gazpacho than on a hot summer day? Use fresh ingredients for the best possible taste.
Servings: 6

Here’s what you need:

• 3 cups tomato juice
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 2 large tomatoes, quartered
• 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 small onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 sweet green bell pepper, seeded and quartered
• Dash of hot sauce
• Fresh ground salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tomatoes & 2 cucumbers chopped for garnish

1. Place all of the ingredients, except tomato and cucumber garnish, in a high speed blender. Turn on high speed for 40 seconds.
2. Chill the soup for 30-60 minutes.
3. Place chopped cucumber and tomato in each serving dish and fill with soup. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 85 calories, 2.5g fat, 15g carbohydrate, 2.5g fiber, and 3g protein.

Spread the word. Use the “refer a friend” link below to forward this newsletter to your friends, family, and coworkers. Marlton Personal Trainer

When Is the Best Time To Workout, Marlton Personal Trainer Breaks It Down

Last week a new client asked me a great question “When is the best time to workout?”  He had read somewhere it’s best to workout first thing in the morning before you’ve eaten anything to burn the most amount of fat.  I thought you’d appreciate the answer.

It is true that when you workout in the morning you burn more fat, but it’s a little more complicated than that.  Early morning workouts do indeed use primarily fat as a fuel source, but it’s the fat in your blood stream not your adipose tissue (love handles).   Your blood has plenty of fat floating around (eg. Cholesterol) at any given time.  This floating blood fat doesn’t necessarily change into the jiggly bits around your belly or hips.  Fat in your blood can be utilized as energy, transformed into essential hormones, and many other necessary body functions.  What dictates if your body transforms the fat in your blood into fat in your butt or love handles is calories in versus calories out.  If you burn more calories than you take in you’ll lose weight and you’ll use the fat in your blood for energy.   If you take in more calories than you burn off than the extra blood fat will get stored in your adipose tissue (evil jiggly bits).  It’s also true if you have extra carbs or protein in your blood it also gets stored as fat in all of your favorite trouble areas.  Of course your metabolism and genetics play a role too, but that’s another conversation.

Personally I hate early morning workouts because I have absolutely no energy.  I fatigue much more quickly and I just don’t have the same endurance.  And that’s the major downside of exercising on a empty stomach.  You have no energy (blood sugar/glucose) in your system and the fat in your bloodstream isn’t very efficient at supplying energy right away.  You also run the possibility of getting hypoglycemia.  That’s a technical way of saying low blood sugar which can lead to lightheadedness, nausea, vomiting, excessive sweating.  You’ll turn white as a ghost and feel like complete crap.  The lower energy can result in less total calories being burned because you’ll have less energy to workout intensely enough. 

One thing I do like about early morning workouts, is that once it’s done I’m free for the rest of the day.  A lot of things can sidetrack your workout when you exercise later in the day.  So from a lifestyle standpoint it’s better to workout in the AM to guarantee you get in your workouts before you get wiped at work, the kids need to go to practice, etc.  And a lot of our clients feel completely energized for the rest of the day with a workout first thing in the morning.

Mentally I’m most awake as soon as I wake up (which is why I’m emailing you at an ungodly hour in the morning), but physically I get the best strength workout a little later in the morning between 9-11AM a few hours after my breakfast.   Then I’ll walk/run through the city (Yep I live in Philly) later in the evening for my cardio (who said you have to exercise all at once).  But I’m a freak because I own a gym and I can sneak in a workout whenever I want.   The most important thing isn’t when you workout it’s simply that you get in your workout.  So stop overthinking it and just make sure to get in your workout.

Exercising later in the day when you’ve had something to eat burns primarily blood sugar/glucose or more commonly carbs.   You’ll have more energy so you can workout more intensely and burn more calories in less time.  So from a time efficiency standpoint it’s better to workout later in the day and some of you aren’t crazy like me and waking up at 4AM.  I’m a big fan of hitting it hard and get back to work as quickly as possible so later workouts fit best for my lifestyle.

What matters most isn’t whether you use fat or blood sugars as a fuel source, but how many calories you burn in total and how many calories you take in.  So it doesn’t matter if you run for 40 minutes and burn 400 calories in the morning or in the afternoon it’s total calories burned and how many you take in that matters

So use the whole burn more fat with early morning workouts with a grain of salt.  Just get in your workout when it fits your busy life.

Cure Neck And Shoulder Pain In 10 Minutes or Less, Marlton Personal Trainer Reveals

 Corrective Neck & Shoulder Strength Exercises

Corrective Neck & Shoulder Stretching Exercises

Corrective Neck & Shoulder Self Massage Exercises

Grillin & Chillin, Marlton Personal Trainer Tells All

Well it’s that time of year again to dust off your outdoor BBQ and get ready for some grillin’ and chillin’.  Here are some great summer grillin’ recipes and tips that won’t throw your diet down the toilet when you hit the BBQ.  Yeah I even threw in a dessert and great summer cocktail – you gotta have some fun (everything in moderation!!)   I was feeling a little festive so I also added a vegetarian dish. 

• Keep your outdoor grill clean and well-maintained.
• Wash the grate each time you use your grill or use grill liners.
• Keep raw meats in the refrigerator or in a cooler until cooking time.
• Keep raw meats separated from cooked foods and fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Cook meats to the proper temperature – use a meat thermometer to be sure.
• Don’t overcook your meats and remove any charred black portions.
• Trim excess fat before cooking to reduce the risk of flare-ups that burn the meat.
• Choose leaner cuts of beef, fish, poultry or game meats instead of hot dogs, high fat hamburgers and sausages.
• Marinate meats before grilling to reduce the formation of hetrocyclic amines, and to add flavor.
• Add sauces at the end of the cooking time to prevent burning.
• Grill your vegetables such as potatoes, zucchini, peppers and egg-plant.

 

Mini Portobello Sliders

Each succulent mini burger also features tender grilled zucchini, squash, and eggplant. Serve with a green salad.

Yields: 12 burgers Total Time: 45 min Prep Time: 10 min Cook Time: 35 min

Ingredients

• 12 medium portobello mushrooms
• 2 small Italian eggplants
• 2 yellow squash
• 2 zucchini
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) sea salt
• 12 mini brioche buns or dinner rolls
• 1 1/2 teaspoon(s) sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) sesame seeds
• 9 ounce(s) Swiss cheese , thinly sliced

Preparation
1. Heat grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.
2. Trim the stems from the mushrooms. Slice the eggplant, squash, and zucchini into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Brush vegetables with canola oil, sprinkle with salt, and grill until softened and grill marks have formed — about 10 minutes each side. (Brush with oil as needed to prevent sticking.)
3. Transfer to a baking pan. Heat broiler to low. Split the buns, brush the tops with the sesame oil, and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Layer the squash, zucchini, eggplant, and mushroom on the bottom bun halves. Top each with cheese and broil until cheese melts, about 1 minute. Top with remaining seeded bun tops and serve hot.

Nutrition
(per serving) Calories 280, Total Fat 14g, Saturated Fat 0, Cholesterol 35mg, Sodium 440mg, Total Carbohydrate 28g, Dietary Fiber 5g, Protein 12g

  

Grilled Filet Mignon with Vegetable Kebabs

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/grilled_filet_mignon_with_vegetable_kebabs.html

From EatingWell: June/July 2005, The EatingWell Healthy in a Hurry Cookbook (2006)
You might be tempted to save beef filet for special occasions, but this low-fat cut is actually perfect weekday fare: it cooks up fast, stays juicy and carries other flavors perfectly. The kebabs are a wonderful mix of lemon, herbs and fresh vegetables.

4 servings | Active Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 16 cherry tomatoes
• 10 ounces white mushrooms, stemmed
• 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1-inch pieces
• 1 small red onion, cut into wedges
• 1 pound filet mignon steak, 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick, cut into 4 pieces

Preparation
1. Preheat grill to high.
2. Combine lemon zest, lemon juice, oil, oregano, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade in a small bowl. Add tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini and onion to the remaining marinade; toss well to coat. Thread the vegetables onto eight 10-inch skewers. Drizzle the vegetables and steak with the reserved marinade.
3. Grill the steak 4 to 6 minutes per side for medium. Grill the vegetable kebabs, turning frequently, until tender and lightly charred, 8 to 12 minutes total. Remove the vegetables from the skewers and serve with the steak.

Nutrition
Per serving : 291 Calories; 17 g Fat; 4 g Sat; 9 g Mono; 70 mg Cholesterol; 10 g Carbohydrates; 27 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 363 mg Sodium; 529 mg Potassium
1/2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 2 vegetable, 4 lean meat

Tips & Notes
• Make Ahead Tip: Equipment: Eight 10-inch skewers (see Tip)
• Tip: When using wooden skewers, wrap the exposed parts with foil to keep them from burning. (Contrary to conventional wisdom, soaking skewers in water doesn’t protect them.)

 

Grilled Smoky Eggplant Salad

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/grilled_smoky_eggplant_salad.html

From EatingWell: July/August 2007

The mellow grilled eggplant melds perfectly with the smoked paprika and tart sherry vinegar that define the flavor of the dressing in this decidedly Spanish salad. Curls of mild Manchego complete the Spanish theme. If you can’t find smoked paprika, substitute Hungarian paprika—the grilled eggplant brings some smoke to the salad on its own.

6 servings | Active Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
• 2 small eggplants, (about 1 pound total)
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 small plum tomato, diced
• 1 small clove garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika, (see Note)
• 3 cups mixed baby salad greens
• 2 ounces Manchego cheese, cut into thin curls with a vegetable peeler (see Note)

Preparation
1. Preheat grill to medium.
2. Cut stripes in each eggplant’s peel by running a vegetable peeler down the length of it and repeating at about 1-inch intervals. Slice the eggplants into rounds 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick. Lay them on a baking sheet and sprinkle lightly with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let stand for about 5 minutes.
3. Blot the eggplant slices with paper towels and lightly coat both sides with olive oil cooking spray. Grill the eggplant, flipping halfway through, until soft and browned on both sides, 9 to 11 minutes total.
4. Puree oil, vinegar, tomato, garlic, paprika and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender until well combined.
5. Toss salad greens with half the vinaigrette in a medium bowl. Arrange the eggplant slices on 6 salad plates. Drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette. Place the salad greens over and between the eggplant slices, then scatter the cheese curls on top of each salad. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition
Per serving : 141 Calories; 12 g Fat; 3 g Sat; 7 g Mono; 7 mg Cholesterol; 6 g Carbohydrates; 3 g Protein; 3 g Fiber; 280 mg Sodium; 287 mg Potassium
1/2 Carbohydrate Serving

Tips & Notes
• Make Ahead Tip: Prepare eggplant and vinaigrette (Steps 1-4), cover and refrigerate separately for up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature before serving.
• Note: To experience the full flavor of this salad, it’s worth seeking out the two signature Spanish ingredients: mild- flavored, smooth sheep-milk Manchego cheese and smoked paprika. If you can’t find them, substitute Parmigiano-Reggiano and Hungarian paprika.

Grilled Peach Sundaes

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/grilled_peach_sundaes.html

From EatingWell: EatingWell Serves Two

Fruit on the grill? Most definitely! Try grilling other stonefruit or pineapple too!

2 servings | Active Time: 10 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
• 2 peaches, halved and pitted
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 2 scoops nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt or fruit sorbet
• 1 tablespoon toasted unsweetened coconut

Preparation
1. Preheat grill to high. Brush peach halves with oil. Grill until tender. Place 2 peach halves in each bowl and top with a scoop of frozen yogurt (or sorbet) and coconut.

Nutrition
Per serving : 154 Calories; 4 g Fat; 2 g Sat; 2 g Mono; 0 mg Cholesterol; 28 g Carbohydrates; 4 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 41 mg Sodium; 319 mg Potassium
2 Carbohydrate Serving
Exchanges: 1/2 fruit, 1 other carbohydrate, 1/2 fat

Mojito Makeover

In general, the Mojito is already a better choice when it comes to calories, but the talented folks at the trendy Chapel Hill restaurant Jujube show us how to serve up this Cuban drink with one smart substitution — Splenda syrup instead of simple syrup. Make your own by dissolving 2 packets of Splenda into an ounce of water or purchase Da Vinci’s Sugar Free Sweetener Syrup (available on amazon.com), and keep the bottle on hand for iced teas, coffees, and more.
2 ounces light rum
1 ounce Splenda syrup, Da Vinci’s Sugar Free Sweetener Syrup
1 ounce lime juice
7 mint leaves
Splash of club soda

In a shaker, muddle mint leaves and a lime wedge. Add ice and other ingredients and shake. Pour into tall glass and top with soda.

Calories: 140