Kristen's" Fitness Is A Lifestyle" Daily Tips

For the remainder of the PT program, I would like to suggest that you all follow the ATTAIN DIET. This diet includes the following: UNLIMITED Lean Protein Non starchy Vegetables Low sugar fruits such as berries, grapefruit, apples LIMITED Dairy as a condiment only (a bowl of berries with a scoop of GREEK yogurt) Starch Carbs (limit potatoes, Quinoa, Brown rice, Hummus, Beans, Sweet Potatoes etc) Fats & Fatty Meats Alcohol (increases acetate & production of Acetyl Co-A) Only 1 "cheat" or "pig out" meal / week What Works Best For YOU? Can you start your day with a higher protein meal rather than a higher carbohydrate meal? Did you notice a difference in both cravings & satiety by starting your day with a higher protein meal? Or, did you lack energy and find yourself with increased hunger signals &/or cravings? Is a week long enough for you to try a different eating pattern and are you open to giving a new eating pattern a try ...

Get signed up soon!! 10-Week SPRING MELTDOWN is taking shape with a unique program design that will only take a maximum of 16 minutes to drive your body to metabolic failure, mitochondrial respiration, & glycolysis which initiates lactate production. Remember, lactate is good for contracting muscles causing an increase in the release of those "fat burning"hormones and an elevated EPOC!!!!! I'm excited to share with all of you my 4x4 training method and the always fun up-to-date FUSION music mix, and nutritional science for optimal substrate recovery. BEGINS: FEBRUARY 23RD, SATURDAYS FROM 6-7AM Tuesday night KETTLEBELL CLUB 5:30-6:30pm Learn the correct techniques using KB's. Improve glute strength/ muscle tone Learn to initiate movement from center of gravity & hip Decrease spinal loading w/ safe modifications Stronger trunk& abs that "pop" Decrease Excessive Thoracic Kyphosis Increased metabolic functions & O2 Uptake Star...

SGPT: This week you will choose from the following and add to your diet: There are so many options - let's follow the plan, clean out the system, and focus on attaining a healthy internal environment. Then, everything else will fall into place. You will feel better, look better (skin, hair,nails,), have more sustained energy, and improve immunity. Nuts: (in moderation) Almonds Brazil Hazel Cashews Peanuts Sunflower Seeds Peanut butter Grain Legumes Soy nuts Black Beans Chickpeas Fava Beans Edamame Lentils Green Beans Carob Sugar Snap Peas Butter Beans Tofu Soybeans Soymilk Miso Spirulina (salt water plant,algae) Skim Milk Eggs Black Beans Navy Beans Red Beans White Beans Endive Kale Spinach Romaine Lettuce BOk Choy Escarole GREEK -style yogurt All types yogurt Cottage Cheese Feta Cheese Rooted Vegetables Baked Potato (flesh & Skin() Canned Sweet Potatoes Cooked Butternut Canned Pumpkin Sweet Potato Canned Peas Broccoli Ca...

           This week’s challenge is to eat a plant based diet for 3 consecutive days .   If you were in Fusion’s first session of SGPT, this should be simple, but please use the following as a reminder of what types of foods to eat so you consume enough fiber, protein and complex carbs for energy. Although you will not be consuming meat during these 3 days, you can still eat eggs, dairy, legumes and beans (which are all high in protein).   By adding tons of vegetables to your diet, you will be able to make complete protein and amino acids. Please feel free to refer back to my previous blogs where we have posted information and recipes….   Below are a few options to consider this week for your plant-based diet. Veggie Pizza 1/2 cup roasted red peppers 1 red onion 1 yellow squash 1 small eggplant 4oz pre-sliced baby portabella mushrooms 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 tsp dried italian seasoning ...

Breakfast: Choose 1 cup Oatmeal 1 Scoop Vanilla-flavored Protein Powder 1 Cup Skim Milk Or, 1 Cup Egg Whites = 117 Kcals & 22grams Protein Top w/ low-fat Cheese = 8 g protein Salt 7 Pepper Or, 2 Turkey Slices 2 Slices Swiss Cheese Roll up, cut each into halves 1 Cup Skim Milk Lunch: 4 Tomato Slices (thick cuts) 1 Avocado slice on each tomato top each with a scoop of cottage cheese pepper & salt for taste 6 Whole Wheat Crackers Or, 1 Pack tuna in water 1/2 cup Black-eyed Peas 1/4 cup Feta cheese Mix above together & place in Whole Wheat, low-carb tortilla wrap Dinner: Choose Seafood for its low-calorie and high protein & high in omega 3 fatty acids benefits Tilapia Whitefish Pollock Oyster Clams Flounder Crab Mackerel Add 1/2 cup Cous Cous, Brown Rice, 1/2 Sweet Potato, or Quinoa

Cottage Cheese Breakfast Ingredients: 1 cup 1% milk fat Cottage Cheese 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 packet splenda (or other artificial sweetener) 1/4 cup Almonds (chopped) Directions Combine cottage cheese, cinnamon, and splenda and mix well. Then sprinkle chopped almonds on top. Makes 1 1 cup serving Number of Servings: 1 Nutritional Info Servings Per Recipe: 1 Amount Per Serving Calories: 249.8 Total Fat: 8.6 g Cholesterol: 9.0 mg Sodium: 919.4 mg Total Carbs: 14.9 g Dietary Fiber: 5.1 g Protein: 30.8 g

WEEKLY GOAL: Eat breakfast everyday & start your day with higher protein grams than carbohydrates 1/2 Orowheat Brand English Muffin = 70 Kcals & 2.5g Protein 1 Morning Star Original Sausage Patty = 80 Kcals & 10g Protein 1 1oz slice Swiss Cheese = 90 Kcals & 7g Protein 1/4 cup chopped spinach 1 slice Tomato 1 cup Skim Milk = 90 Kcals & 8g Protein Toast English Muffin Place Sausage Patty on top of muffin slice tomato spinach melt cheese top of all

Small Group Personal Training, your goal sample meal is at the very end of the information I am providing which will give you the "why" behind this week's nutrition challenge. Nutrition Challenge Week #2 : Increased Protein. Eat breakfast. Consuming HIGH protein/low carb/ moderate fat. AND, consume the recommended grams of protein within 30-45 minutes post workout to aid in both repair & protein synthesis....that window is vital for anyone wanting to gain strength and muscular hypertrophy. To begin, if you look back at some of the statistics, as a society we have been told to decrease red meat, dairy, eggs, and that we get enough protein in our diets. To increase carbohydrates and that 65% of our daily caloric intake should be made up of CHO. And, we have been told that FAT is he root of all evil. So if you look at the studies from 1970-2000, changes in the US diet have decreased red meat by 25%, dairy by 30%, eggs by 40% and have increased in grains/snack foods (...

Trunk & Torso Muscular Endurance From Bootcamp Monday: 4-5 sets Mat work ISO crunch 50x Single Leg Extension 50x Superman's 30x Double Leg Extension 10x Flutter Kicks 20x Seated Knee Tucks 20x Trunk & Torso Muscular Endurance Wednesday Bootcamp 2-3 sets Stability Ball & Core Ball needed Stability Ball ISO crunch 100 x Hold Plank 50 counts Core ball overhead, Single Leg Extensions 40 x Seated (feet up) Recline Rotations w/ core ball 30x

Working out first thing in the morning in my opinion, takes a lot of self discipline and commitment. I couldn't imagine any other way of starting my day than with a good run, class, and some stretching. But, sometime it is hard to find time to eat between getting ready and getting to work. Then, you a few hours later you find yourself starving and reaching for everything "bad" in sight or even worse, driving through a for a breakfast sandwich. My advice as always, you have to plan. Just like the discipline you have to get up to make it to your 5am or 5:30am class, you have to plan out what you will consume afterwards. Starting with a healthy breakfast provides energy and jump starts your metabolic rate and after a workout, the depleted glycogen stores and breakdown of muscle fibers need food for repair and to be stored for future workouts. High fiber, low sugar cereals, oatmeal, rolled oats, steel cut oats, granola, etc are great ideas to get both fiber and energy. ...

INTRODUCING MY NEWEST PROGRAM DESIGN...4X4 TRAINING! I'm excited to share with all of you this new training method that asks for only 16 minutes of YOUR all-out-effort pushing you into metabolic failure and welcoming lactate into the muscles . It is this type of training that utilizes the fast-twitch motor units and raises the fuel demand for energy. Because the fast-twitch muscle fibers have fewer mitochondrial and less protein uptake, you will get a greater accumulation of lactate causing that "burn" in the muscles - so basically it will feel like you are sprinting for 16 minutes. Now, I'm not going to ask you"can you handle it," see I want you to come into this 10 week program knowing up front that it will be challenging it will be tough and it will push you to and then over and above your limits - and that feeling of getting more fit, stronger, and then seeing results, is motivation. Come in with a "can-do" attitude and you can do anything...

Nutrition Goal Week #1 : Starting your day with a healthy grain that is both higher in carbohydrates & fiber. The fiber con tenet should be 4 grams or more per serving on the label and contain both soluble & insoluble fiber. If you are an AM exerciser, this should be a great after workout meal to refuel. Or, if you workout towards the late afternoon, this will provide sustained energy (CHO) throughout the day and allow stored glucose to be stored in the form of glycogen in both muscle & the liver for your late workout. The test: how does this effect YOU by starting the day with a meal like this one? Check in with yourself to see are you hungry 2.5 - 3 hours later to the point that your feeling groggy and/or lethargic,  and are cravings setting in? Or, do you feel good? Do you feel alert, experiencing no cravings, no "rumbling" in your stomach, and feeling like you can wait another hour or so for a smaller snack? The high fiber content should allow you to f...

Now that cooler temps are here, there's nothing like warming yourself up with a bowl of hot oatmeal. Full of whole grain fiber, this breakfast will keep you satisfied all morning. Buying plain oats is healthier than buying packets that are already sweetened, and less expensive too, but that doesn't mean you have to go without flavor. Add these delicious morsels to your half-cup serving of oatmeal. One small banana (diced), two tablespoons vanilla yogurt, and one tablespoon walnuts. Half a diced pear, one tablespoon pumpkin seeds, and one tablespoon of GoLean Crunch cereal or granola. Half a diced apple, two chopped dates, 10 chopped almonds, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. For other tasty ideas, consider the following: One tablespoon peanut butter, two tablespoons raisins, and one teaspoon maple syrup. One tablespoon almond butter, half a cup unsweetened applesauce, one teaspoon honey. Half a cup fresh or frozen blueberries, one tablespoon dried cherries, and one tablesp...

Ingredients: 1 cup bulgur 2 cups boiling water 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice salt to taste ground black pepper to taste 1 cup chopped green onions 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained 1 cup chopped fresh parsley 1 cup grated carrots Directions: 1. In a heatproof bowl, pour boiling water over bulgur. Let stand 1 hour at room temperature. 2. In a small bowl, beat together oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Pour over bulgur; and mix with a fork. 3. Place bulgur in the bottom of a nice glass serving bowl. Layer vegetables and garbanzo beans in this order on top of the bulgur: green onions, garbanzo beans, parsley, and carrots on top. Cover, and refrigerate. Toss salad just before serving.

Small Group Personal Training clients, to clarify: Resting Metabolic Rate or RMR is the amount of energy required to maintain homeostatic functions and regulate the organ system.Your RMR accounts for 60-75% of Total Daily Energy Expenditure or TDEE . And, your TDEE defines how many calories are burned or used in a 24 hour period. To lose body weight, you will need t o increase caloric expenditure and decrease storage or Kcals. But, to be sure you lose body fat while maintaining lean tissue, you need activity especially resistance training, strength training, or somatic training...some form that allows you to break down skeletal tissue & rebuild it through a process called protein synthesis. Besides your RMR burning off calories (60-75%), you also burn calories 2 other ways. One mentioned above, the thermic effect of physical activity TEPA such as your workouts & exercise programs plus all movement throughout the day other than at rest - (15-30% of calories used) and...