Archive for the ‘Nutrition’ Category

http://www.vimeo.com/9501369

Incase you didn’t watch the video (I highly recommend you do because…well, just because) here’s a quick snapshot of what I’m so dang excited about.

I’m excited about the inaugural launch of “Superhero School”…

…”Superhero School” is the latest program to pop out of my mushy thing I call a brain and it was born for a couple reasons.

1.  I wanted to be able to reach out to more people, but in a different way.

There are so many people in this city who don’t like to workout in front of others, don’t know what to do, are confused as h-e-double-hockey-sticks, or who can’t afford a personal trainer or boot camp and I understand that.

Plus there’s so much more to be taught than just exercise and workout information, but I’m limited in the amount of time I can teach it in a training session, in a boot camp or here on my blog.

2.  I have been receiving A LOT more questions over the past year about diet, exercise, workouts and health in general that I saw a need and a want for this type of program.

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So what the heck is “Superhero School?”

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It’s a 6-week diet, fitness and healthy lifestyle program done from a classroom setting.

I didn’t call it a weight loss program because it’s so much more than just a weight loss program.  However, if you need to lose weight, you will lose weight with Superhero School…it’s just not THE primary goal – it’s about living a healthy, vibrant and happy lifestyle.

It’s going to be a classroom setting which means that a small group of people (10-15) will meet with me at my training studio once a week for 6 weeks for around an hour (sometimes more, sometimes a little less).

In those 6 weekly classes, we will cover a range of topics that include diet, exercise, general health, supplements (good and bad), myths, lies and misconceptions and everything in between.

These classes will be interactive, which is why I am capping the number of enrollees at 10-15 – I want interaction. I want questions, I want conversation.  If the number is too large, no one will talk and it’ll be ungodly boring.

Then, at the end of each class you will receive a 2-part assignment.

You’ll receive a nutrition assignment and a workout assignment for the week.

The nutrition assignment will change every week and will include 1-3 items I want you to put all your emphasis on.

For example, I may give you an assignment of “Eating 5 fruits per day, cutting out liquid calories and not eating after 7pm.”

I want you to put all your energy into those 3 things for one week.

Then, the next week you’ll get a new assignment.

Make sense?

The workouts will also change every week and they will rock your socks.

They will be completely unique (I design all my own workout programs…unlike some other folks) and they will all be filmed and uploaded to a private website that will be password protected and can only be accessed by Superhero School attendees.

The videos will not be short – they will be filmed “follow-along” style so you can see the flow of the workout, tempo of the exercises and answer any questions you may have about the workout itself.  I’ll also give you tips and pointers so it’s just like having me in the room teaching you.

The workouts will not require gym memberships or expensive home gyms.

They will all be done from the comfort of home with limited equipment.

All I’ll require are dumbbells, resistance tubing and a stability ball – all of which are very inexpensive.

Oh yeah, on the first day of Superhero School, you’ll receive a binder preloaded with reports on exercise, diet and foods.  You’ll also receive a bunch of eBooks with sample meal plans, healthy desserts, smoothie recipes and additional workouts.

Your assignments will also be 3-hole punched so that at the end of the 6 weeks you’ll have a binder FULL of information that you can always rely on.

To say that I’m excited about this is an understatement.  I’m so unbelievably stoked about it and I hope it shows!

And I want you to be a part of my inaugural class in Superhero School!

To sign up all you have to do is either call me at 304-7858 or shoot me an email at trainer@elswellness.com and put “Superhero School” in the subject line.

The first class is set to start Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 5:15pm (or 5:30pm).

Will you join me?

“Ed, when should I eat?  Before or after boot camp?”

“Ed, I don’t eat breakfast…is that okay?”

“Ed, I just roll out of bed in the morning and come to workout.  Should I eat something before boot camp?”

This is just a sampling of the questions I receive about eating in regards to boot camp or working out in general.

Just like everything in the fitness world, there seems to be a never-ending supply of goobers out there who will confuse the heck out of you when it comes to meal timing.

I take a pretty simplistic view when it comes to meal timing and eating and exercising.

Check the video out to see the easiest and correct way to eat when you’re working out – no matter if your goal is to lose weight, maintain your current weight, or even gain some weight.

http://www.vimeo.com/6564478

What do you think?  Does that make sense?

Leave a comment below to let me know.

Talk to you soon!

Ed

Here’s a little video I made for you that covers a really quick diet tip that many of my clients, friends, family members fall victim to.

To be totally honest even I do it at times because it’s a very easy trap to fall into, but it can literally make or break your success especially if you already have trouble with your diet.

This is actually a video I made for my other blog, The Fit Dad Says, but it still applies to my boot campers – as do most of my messages over there.

Give it a watch and put into practice what you learn…

http://www.vimeo.com/5784220

Have an awesome day!

Ed

P.S. – You ever have one of those days where you can’t really string thoughts together because you’re so stinkin’ tired?  That’s me today.  So if I return an email and it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, that’s why.  Now I need to go home and take a nap!

If you’ve gone through raising a child, you know how difficult it is to get your kids to eat healthy snacks – it’s about as difficult as me getting you to eat healthy snacks.

They want the “sweet treats” as Maren calls them.  Or they want the Scoobie Snacks, or other cracker-esque snacks found at the grocery store (which is a good reason to keep the kids at home come shopping time, that way you don’t have to hear “I need that!”).

We try to keep Maren’s snacks as healthy as possible, and usually find that if we eat the same thing she does, she’s much more likely to eat healthy snacks – and to be quite honest, kids have fewer hang-ups about eating fruits than we think.  We come pre-programmed to enjoy real foods and we screw that up as we age.

Anyway, here’s a quick list of some of my favorite weight loss snack foods both for home and “on the go”.  They’re easy, nutritious and will help you lose fat and keep it off.

At home:

1.  Broccoli and hummus – This is actually a snack I was just eating with Maren at her tea party table.  Broccoli is one of the BEST foods you can eat, whether it’s a snack or an side-dish for lunch or dinner.  It’s loaded with fiber, “good” carbohydrates and vitamins and minerals.  You absolutely have to add broccoli to your daily diet if you want to lose weight and be healthy.

The hummus is loaded with healthy fats, protein and fiber, not to mention being loaded with vitamins and minerals.  It is a very powerful food and makes a great vegetable dip so the next time you’re thinking of adding ranch dressing to your veggie tray give hummus a try.

2.  Apple slices and natural peanut butter – The key to this one is the Natural Peanut Butter.  The kind of peanut butter you’re probably used to is

loaded with sugar and has the healthy fats removed.  Natural peanut butter is a rich source of protein, healthy fats and vitamins and minerals – but be careful because it still packs a calorie punch…don’t go crazy with the dipping.

3.  Homemade granola (or a good store bought kind) and strawberries – I have told you countless times that I’m not a chef, so I won’t give you a granola recipe (Google is great for that), but Andrea has made it in the past and it’s quite tasty.

As a side note, if you’re looking for a healthy alternative to store-bought breakfast cereals, try a homemade granola recipe and mix it with some fruit slices and yogurt – it tastes awesome and is a great way to start your day.

If you find yourself constantly on the go and need to have a snack that’s a little more convenient, here are a few great snacks to have while at the office or in the car:

1.  Almonds and a Pear – Pears are pretty similar to apples in their vitamin content and they’re loaded with fiber – just like my favorite fruit (apple) and you should know by now the pedestal I put almonds on for a killer on-the-go snack (I eat them daily).

2.  Organic string cheese and carrots – Just like the natural peanut butter, the key here is organic cheese, or at the very least skim (no fat).

You probably know that carrots are loaded with Vitamin A, but they’ve also got lots of other vitamins plus they’re low in calories and have a decent amount of fiber.

3.  Low-fat, no sugar added Yogurt (although not so great in the car) and red grapes – Yogurt is a great on-the-go snack because it’s easy to transport, high in protein, low in sugar (if you get the no sugar added variety) and adding the red grapes gets you lots of vitamins and cancer-fighting phytonutrients (plus you can get rid of your excuse to have that daily bottle of vino…)

4.  Cashews and Green tea – Most people overlook the good ol’ cashew when it comes to adding healthy nuts to their snack list, but they’re a great nut.  I love cashews.  They’re high in healthy fats, protein and magnesium (which is important for bone health).  They don’t have as much fiber as almonds, but they’ve still got some, which is better than most snack foods.

If you’re afraid of eating cashews, or other nuts, because of their calorie punch (190 calories per ¼ cup), you should know that a recent study published in the journal Obesity showed that people who ate nuts at least twice a week were much less likely to gain weight than those who almost never ate nuts.

There you go.  There’s a great list of healthy, fat fighting snacks that are easy to make (if they take any preparation at all) and easy to take with you.

As usual, if you have any questions, comments or want to add your own healthy snack leave it in the comments below.

Have a great day!

Ed

If there’s one thing that really ticks me off it’s diet scams, supplement scams, or any other health/fitness scam.  They prey on your desires for weight loss or a quick and easy fix and laugh their way to the bank.

The internet and TV infomercials are flooded with the things and they rake in billions every year.

I’ve been hearing more and more about a diet scam (HCG Diet) being sold by doctors that I thought went away long ago because it’s been shown – by the FTC no less – to be a scam and consumers have been warned about it for years.

In case you’ve never heard of it, here’s the rundown on the HCG diet.

Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin (HCG) is a hormone that’s only found in the urine of pregnant women.  Read that again – a hormone found in the URINE of pregnant women.

Around 50 years ago a British doctor came up with the idea that HCG injections would allow dieters to get by on a 500-calorie a day diet.

Yes, you read that right…500 calories a day.

He claimed that the HCG would rid your body of unwanted fat, suppress your appetite and move the fat around your body, thus getting it away from your hips, stomach and thighs.

Let’s look at this from a monetary standpoint from the doctor’s point of view.  If someone wants to go on this diet, they have to see a physician because it’s injected and the government doesn’t allow Biff The Muscleman down at GNC to give injections (thank God).

Not only that, but they have to come in regularly – monthly or weekly – to get their injections and, more often than not, there are meetings, either private or group, for the social support of going on this ridiculous diet.

Cha-ching!!! Very smart from a business standpoint, especially given that there are no insurance papers to fill out, not having to worry if Medicare or Medicaid will reimburse, etc. because it’s all a cash business.

The only problem is that this diet has no basis in reality.  I take that back…losing weight on a 500-calorie a day diet is very real.

If you only consume 500 calories a day it is impossible for you NOT to lose weight – you’ll lose so much weight that you’ll look skeletal, lose muscle mass, be tired all the time, mess up your hormones, mess up your menstrual cycle (or stop it completely), get a little dumber (the brain runs off carbohydrates and needs a lot of ‘em to function) and just be a pain in the a$$ to everyone around you.

Back in 1976 (yes, 1976), the FTC ordered a bunch of medical clinics to stop claiming their HCG programs were safe and/or effective.

They could still sell it and inject folks, but they had to give their patients the following statement:

“These weight reduction treatments include the injection of HCG, a drug which has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration as safe and effective in the treatment of obesity or weight control.  There is no substantial evidence that HCG increases weight loss beyond that resulting from caloric restriction, that it causes a more attractive or “normal” distribution of fat, or that it decreases the hunger and discomfort associated with calorie restrictive diets.”

To boil that down to “normal people speak”, that said these docs are giving you a compound that has no basis in reality and is not proven to do a damn thing for you in the arena of weight loss and will not help you lose weight in any form other than via the whacked out super-restrictive 500 calorie diet they put you on.

Luckily the use of HCG-based diets is not widespread here in Lincoln, but there are a couple docs advertising it.

So to sum up…

HCG-based diets are ridiculous.  They’re not based in reality and the only reason anyone loses weight with one is that they stick you on a 500-calorie a day diet – but ANYONE who consumes that amount of calories WILL lose weight.  It’s impossible not to.

It’s silly and it’s dangerous and these doctors should be ashamed of themselves for preying on people’s emotions and desires like this.  They are stealing money and could be doing some major harm to their patients – all in the name of weight loss.

It sickens me actually.

I feel dirty just having had to do research on that stupid diet.  I need to go eat an apple and film some videos – and lucky for me I’m not on that diet otherwise I couldn’t eat anymore than my normal 6 pieces of fruit a day (that’s roughly 500 calories).

I hope you have a great day…and remember this article anytime you hear your friends say they’re going to give this whacked out diet a try.

Talk to you soon!

Ed