 In today’s fast paced world we consume over 30% of our daily calories away from home. These less-than-wholesome calories are accumulating around our waists and draining our bank accounts. So why do we eat out and shun the kitchen? Simple: convenience. We don’t have the time to toil away over a hot stove. However, evidence is mounting that we are paying big for the so-called convenience of outside food. Obesity related diseases are on the rise, as are the number of folks who are just plain unhappy with how their bodies look and feel. Cooking at home seems to be the first step in our road to healthier bodies. Here are the top 5 reasons that you should starting cooking and eating at home… Reason #1: It’s Good For You Hyperprocessed foods are harmful to our health, and that’s exactly where you’ve been getting the bulk of your calories. Even restaurant food that contains fresh produce, chances are high that the produce is not organic, or local or non-GMO. Most of us are eating less than half of the recommended amount of fiber, fruit and vegetables, which eating at home could quickly change. Simple meals made at home with fresh produce and organic meats or eggs are nutritionally superior to over-flavored, over-processed restaurant food. Not to mention the high calorie beverages and starters that so often accompany a restaurant meal. When you eat at home you take in more nutrient-dense calories that are higher in fiber. Reason #2: It’s Far Easier Than You Think Eating out so often has conditioned our concept of a meal to be one with complicated flavors and accompaniments. This misconception has made us fear the kitchen. But I urge you to reconsider. Meals made at home need not mirror those ordered in restaurants. On the contrary, simple is better when it comes to home cooking. Plan your entire meal around a couple of pieces of fresh produce and a wholesome, lean protein. No need for complicated sauces or sides – these are where the harmful calories hide anyway. Reason #3: It Costs Less Fresh, simple ingredients do not cost much. Especially when compared to the cost of prepared meals. Shopping the perimeter of the store is always a good plan. Here you’ll find the fresh produce, meats, dairy and seafood. Venture into the aisles for oils and spices to compliment the fresh ingredients. Reason #4: It Is Preventative Medicine In the US the annual health care expenses related to obesity is $150 billion, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Worldwide this number is over $1 trillion annually. These numbers are staggering, and sobering when you think of all the individual lives that are being negatively impacted by obesity. Rather than waiting for you and your family members to experience the health risks related to obesity, start your own mission to cook simple meals at home and redirect your future. Remember the words of Benjamin Franklin, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Reason #5: It Reduces Body Fat Eating at home is also one of the best ways to reduce your body fat. Meals eaten at home contain an average of 200 calories less than meals eaten out. Let me tell you, a reduction in 200+ calories per meal will quickly translate to pounds lost! Start today, and don’t be afraid to start small. Pick one meal that you’ll make at home either today or tomorrow, and write down your simple menu and grocery list. You could start with the Savory Greek Waffle recipe below. And let’s not forget the place that a challenging, consistent exercise program has in your quest for good health and a fit physique. My programs are specially designed to blast fat and to build muscle in all the right places. Call or email me today to get started on a fat loss program that really works.
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 Who says that your protein+veggies dinner should be boring and tasteless? Forget that! Here’s a protein-packed dinner recipe that has amazing flavor!
Salmon is full of healthy omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins, so this is a dinner that you can feel great about eating. Increase the nutrition content of the meal even more by serving it with a salad of vibrant greens and some avocado. What You Need Serves 2 1 fillet of fresh Salmon 1 cup Lite Soy Sauce or coconut aminos 2 tablespoons fresh minced ginger 2 tablespoons honey Instructions Combine the Soy Sauce, Ginger and honey nectar. Place the Salmon in a pan and cover with the marinade for 1 hour in the fridge. Prepare your grill. If desired, soak a cedar plank to barbecue the Salmon on. Grill over medium heat until cooked through and flaky. Serve immediately and enjoy! Nutrition One serving equals 300 calories, 12g fat, 8g carbohydrate, .5g fiber, and 40g protein. I hope that you get a chance to give this recipe a try this week. Remember that I’m only a call or email away to assist you in all things fitness. And if you are not yet one of my prized clients then call or email me now to set up your first workout – I’d love to help you achieve your best body ever! 
It sure would be great if any time spent in the gym delivered results, but the truth is that all workouts were not created equally. There are techniques for getting the most out of each exercise and by utilizing these techniques you’ll achieve quicker and more noticeable results. Check out the following 5 Smart Workout Tips to avoid danger and to get fit fast: Smart Workout Tip 1: Use Challenging Resistance In order to get the most from each rep it’s important to challenge your muscles, and not to simply go through the motions. If you are able to complete 15 repetitions easily, then the weight is too light. On the flip side, if you aren’t able to perform an exercise through its full range of motion, and find yourself cheating on form, then the weight is too heavy. The correct weights will feel challenging by your last few repetitions but won’t force you to sacrifice form. Smart Workout Tip 2: Change Up Your Routine You may have noticed that most people do the same exercises each time they visit the gym. Maybe you’ve been doing the same exercise routine as long as you can remember—if it isn’t broken then don’t fix it, right? The truth is that exercise routines have expiration dates, and that is the date that they begin to lose their effectiveness. As a rule of thumb never use the same routine for more than 4 weeks. Smart Workout Tip 3: Always Warm Up Most people consider warm up time to be wasted time—they’d rather jump right into the heart of the routine. What they don’t realize is that a good warm up will allow you to perform at a higher intensity, which means greater results. The point of a warm up is to increase your muscle temperature. This increases blood flow, muscle contraction and reduces muscle resistance. Your warm up should last 5-10 minutes. Smart Workout Tip 4: Use Proper Form Gyms are filled with people performing exercises with bad form. The two biggest reasons are that you aren’t concentrating on the exercise, or you’re trying to lift weight that is too heavy. Lifting with improper form almost always results in injury. Take the time to achieve proper form, by doing so you’ll avoid injury and will reap the full benefit from each exercise. Smart Workout Tip 5: Never Workout Alone People who exercise alone are less challenged, less accountable and typically see fewer results. It makes sense, doesn’t it? Why rush to the gym if no one is there waiting for you? Why push yourself if no one is watching? Exercising alone is a recipe for disaster. The best way to avoid injury and to see results is to work with me. I am passionate about seeing my clients achieve results by working out smart and without wasting time, energy and effort on mistakes. Don’t know where to start when it comes to exercise? Let me help you!  It’s important to start your day off right, and to do so you’ll need to steer clear of traditional breakfasts.
Most popular breakfast foods are filled with grains and sugar. Think about it, there’s cereal, donuts, pastries, pancakes, waffles, and the list goes on. These breakfast foods are a fast-track to weight gain. Instead of a breakfast that’s high in sugar, I’d like to see you fill up on protein and veggies in the morning. Yes, protein and veggies are wonderful for breakfast! Eating like this will help you achieve your fitness goals quicker and will give you loads of natural energy to carry you through your day. This breakfast skillet has chorizo, eggs and arugula – but feel free to also experiment with other combinations of protein and veggies in your breakfast skillet. Enjoy! What You Need Serves 4 2 links chorizo, casing removed ½ yellow onion, chopped 15-oz can diced tomatoes 12 cherry tomatoes, halved 4 large eggs 1 cup arugula sea salt black pepper Instructions 1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. 2. Place the chorizo links in a medium, oven-proof, skillet over low heat. Cook until all sides of the chorizo are browned. Periodically deglaze the pan with water. Allow the chorizo to cool, remove it from the skillet, and then slice each link into 10 pieces. 3. Sauté the onion in the leftover chorizo fat until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the can of tomatoes to the skillet. Arrange the halved cherry tomatoes and slices of chorizo around the edge of the skillet. Use a spoon to create four 2-inch wells in the tomato and egg mixture. Crack each egg into a ramekin and gently pour one egg into each well. 4. Place the skillet in the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the eggs are set. Top with fresh arugula and season with sea salt and black pepper. Enjoy! Nutrition One serving equals 289 calories, 20g fat, 8g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, and 17g protein. I hope that you get a chance to give this recipe a try this week. Remember that I’m only a call or email away to assist you in all things fitness. And if you are not yet one of my prized clients then call or email me now to set up your first workout – I’d love to help you achieve your best body ever!  Sometimes I feel like a broken record.
You’re constantly hearing from me how important exercise is to your health and how so many of your health problems will improve or even disappear as the result of a consistent exercise program. Why do I continue to give you the same lecture? Because I’ve seen exercise change lives. I’ve even seen exercise save lives. Here are the Top 4 Health Improvement Factors that come as a result of challenging, consistent exercise: 1. Your energy levels boost and you feel great. I have noticed that most people don’t realize how bad they feel. They get used to feeling bad. Then when they start exercising they feel so much better. Your energy levels soar and you feel excited about life again. 2. Your muscles and joints feel better than ever. You’ll notice a reduction in aches and pains once you’ve been sticking with an exercise program for a few weeks. That chronic muscle and joint pain that you’ve lived with for years may begin to fade. For some, joint replacement surgery is postponed. For others, arthritis pain is reduced. 3. Your risk of heart attack or stroke is reduced. I like to remind my clients of this one, since it’s not something they can physically feel, but it’s the one that saves lives! Exercise has the power to remove two of the major risk factors that lead to heart disease: 1) physical inactivity and 2) obesity. Exercise also increases your good cholesterol (HDL) and lowers your blood pressure. 4. Your blood sugar levels are better controlled. Clients of mine with type 2 diabetes see substantial benefits from exercise. Exercise improves the body’s use of insulin, and the related weight loss improves insulin sensitivity. For many, exercise becomes the natural, permanent antidote to their type 2 diabetes. There are SO MANY benefits to exercise, why would anyone avoid doing it?! Typically it comes down to excuses.
It’s time you start enjoying all the benefits of exercise. Let’s do this!  Quinoa in pancakes? Yes, why not!
Adding cooked quinoa to this gluten-free batter creates a pancake that’s both thin and hearty at the same time. It’s a fun departure from traditional pancakes that boosts both the flavor and the nutritional content of each bite. These pancakes are more fitness friendly than traditional pancakes made from a batter mix. Quinoa is a complete protein and a great source of complex carbohydrates. Be sure to use pure maple syrup sparingly as a topping, as to not add too much sugar. These pancakes would also be delicious used in a savory dish, like rolled up with a ground meat filling. Enjoy! What You Need Serves 15 1 cup cooked quinoa 1 cup blanched almond flour ¼ cup arrowroot starch 1½ teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon sea salt 2 eggs, slightly beaten 1 (13.66 oz) can coconut milk, canned and full-fat 1 tablespoon coconut sugar 1 tablespoon vanilla extract Instructions 1. Preheat your pancake griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat. 2. In a medium bowl, combine the quinoa, almond flour, arrowroot starch, baking powder and sea salt. 3. In another medium bowl combine the eggs, coconut milk, coconut sugar and vanilla. Mix until fully combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix until fully incorporated. Let the batter sit for 10–15 minutes, if you can muster the patience, to help your pancakes bind together. 4. Use a paper towel to carefully rub coconut oil on your preheated griddle or skillet. Reduce the heat to medium. Use a 1⁄4 cup to scoop the batter onto the griddle in nice big circles. When bubbles form, flip the pancakes to cook on the other side. Serve with fresh fruit, toasted pecans and a drizzle of pure maple syrup. Enjoy! Nutrition One serving equals 158 calories, 10g fat, 78mg sodium, 13g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, and 5g protein. I hope that you get a chance to give this recipe a try this week. Remember that I’m only a call or email away to assist you in all things fitness. And if you are not yet one of my prized clients then call or email me now to set up your first workout – I’d love to help you achieve your best body ever!  An authentic surge of motivation will change your life immediately.
The best part of my day is seeing clients just like you achieve amazing results. Whether you drop a few sizes, lose the baby weight, get off your blood pressure meds, or shrink your waist, the excitement is always contagious. It’s hard to describe that euphoria that settles in once you’ve achieved your fitness goal. It’s one of those things that you have to experience to understand. Every single one of my clients who have achieved massive results have ONE THING IN COMMON… They are all highly motivated. I am in a unique position. I know how to get you (or anyone else who walks through my door) into great shape. I can coach you through a 50-pound weight loss. I can guide you to a healthier body. I can even train you into a toned athlete. But there is one catch. You’ll need to be motivated. Just saying, or even just thinking, that you want to get into great shape isn’t enough. You need motivation—and that’s just half of the equation. The other part (and the most important) is ACTION. Nothing happens until you take action. You can want it, think about it, mull it over, ponder it, plan it, and then re-plan it. But nothing happens until you take action. While I may not know your story—it’s probably safe to assume that you want to drop fat and tone up. You want to look better, to have more energy, to experience fewer aches and pains, and to enjoy sweet satisfaction as you achieve your goals once and for all. I know that all of my successful clients were once in your shoes. They wanted to change their bodies. They felt urgency. And then they did what most fail to do. They took action and contacted me. But there is more to it than that. They then committed to a program, put in the exercise, stuck to their diet and met their goals. There’s nothing more gratifying than getting back into those jeans that now sit in the back of your closet. People who take massive action get massive rewards. And those that simply talk about losing weight will continue to put weight on, pound after pound. I hate to put it that way, but it’s the truth. So what do you want?
The rewards are great IF you do. Your first step is to call or email me now to get started! Let’s do this. |
David CorderOwner and Lead Personal Trainer at Perfect Fit Wellness Center. Archives
July 2020
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