Elite Physique

We have a friend who entered a 5k race last weekend, completed it, but did not win. Her post on Facebook said, “Will I ever win?” And she went on to congratulate the race winners. Like we said we know this person and we’re here to tell you she is already a winner in every sense of the word. Now did she win the race, no, but that’s not the point we’re trying to make here. She constantly gives of herself to help others in the community, she challenges herself to stay healthy, and she inspires others. This puts her on the podium of life’s winners every day! It’s not always where you finish in the race, but who you helped along the way. Remember last week we talked about your life being a marathon and not a sprint (Look below if you missed it). In today’s fast paced society so much emphases is put on where you finish we sometimes forget to help others along the way. When we reach the end of our marathon what do you think we will be remembered for? The things that we collected along the way or by the positive changes we’ve made in someone else’s life?

Ok, so how can you inspire others to be their best? First, lead by example. Become the leader that’s inside you by making positive changes in your life, and get your health in order. You’ve already started just by taking a few minutes to read this email. Second, find people around you that inspire others; watch and learn from them (our friend for example). Third, and maybe the most important, take action. This one can be tough because you don’t know where to begin. JUST START somewhere and you’ll be amazed; before you know it you’ll be making a difference and standing on that podium next to our friend.

Yours in health,
Colleen & John

We all are looking for THE secret to weight loss and good health.   We see fit models on T.V. telling us about a new diet or revolutionary piece of equipment that is going to melt the fat away, or even worse the dreaded diet pill.   So we buy it, in hopes that with little or no effort we will look just like the model.  But in reality we use the product a few times and the fat doesn’t just melt away like they told you.  Frustration sets in; you stop, and end up with a garage full of equipment you don’t use any more.  What most of miss as we are running around looking for those magic solutions to our problems, is that the secret to our success lies within ourselves; not on T.V. or in a magazine.  That’s right the answer has been there the whole time.   We’ve been too busy looking for other people to come up with the solution we forgot to look in the mirror.   You know the saying, “If you want to hide something put it in plain sight.”   Drum Roll….the secret to your success lies in the decisions you make every day.   Those little ones that you think don’t matter.  Guess what they ALL matter!  That coke you grab instead of water, the piece of cake at the office party, the fast food you pick up because it’s easier than cooking, or skipping a workout.  Now these decisions by themselves may not seem like a big deal.   Will they harm your health the next day, probably not.  But one day in the future all these tiny decisions you made will catch up leaving you unhealthy and unhappy.  You will look in the mirror and wonder what happened.  There was not one big decision that led to where you are now.  If it was that easy, of course you would have made the right BIG decision, this is your health and who would intentionally make a bad decision when it comes to your health?  Fortunately all is not lost, there is still time to work on making the right choices and this is where education and some consistent good decision making will come in.  Now we are not going to sit here and say it will always be easy.  Life just isn’t that way.  But we are talking about your health; this is the most precious commodity you have.  No matter how much money or fancy “things” you have, if your health goes you may not be around to enjoy them.  Your life is not a sprint it is a marathon, but it’s a great marathon.  We want to help you enjoy the journey.  If we can help please let us know.
Yours in health,
Colleen & John

First, let’s start with a product’s serving size.  This is what the manufacturer’s nutritional information is based on, and how they can make their claims.  What you don’t see on the front is how many servings are in the package, two, three, or even more.  You’ll find this information at the top of the nutritional label found on the back in much smaller letters (bring the glasses).  A good example of the importance of serving size is Non-stick spray (not mentioning any names, but rhymes with ham).  A typical 6oz can contains approximately 529 servings.  That’s not a misprint: 529.  When your serving size is a 1/3 of second, those servings add up fast.  Is it even humanly possible to spray for only a 1/3 of a second?  Most of us just keep spraying until the bottom of pan is covered.   You might ask, “If it’s fat free why should I care?” We’re glad you asked because this brings us to fact number two:  Is the product label telling you the whole truth? With the example of the spray, if you read the list of ingredients it says “Canola Oil.”  We all know oil has fat, but they get to say its “Fat Free” because of the serving size.  If the manufacturer can show the product has less than a half a gram of an ingredient per serving they can claim that their product is that ingredient free.  This is when it pays off to read the list of ingredients in the product, because you think you are getting one thing yet you get another.  Another great example of this is Partially Hydrogenated Oil (aka trans fat).  The front of the label reads “No TRANS FATS!!”  So how can Partially Hydrogenated Oil be in the ingredient list?  Beware of this trick, especially in fat free snacks.  The third fact we want to discuss is converting grams into teaspoons.  The food companies know here in America we don’t use the Metric System much; they count on this.  Most of us look at a label and see grams and don’t really understand how much that is.  The truth is, approximately every four grams equals one teaspoon.  This is really important when it comes to sugar because the average American consumes 130 pounds of refined sugar a year. Now let us take a quick glance at the label of a soda.  The average soda at a convenient store is about 16 ounces, which contains 54 grams of sugar.  We take that 54grams of sugar and divide by 4 (grams to teaspoons) and that gives us 13.5 teaspoons of sugar.  For a good visual of this take a measuring cup, a teaspoon and a bag of sugar.  Then pick just a few items out of your fridge or pantry and use the conversion 4 grams to 1 teaspoon and put that amount of sugar in the cup.  Trust us this will be a real eye opener.  If you would like more information, and to see great visual examples of what we just discussed, check out our short, “Demystifying Fancy Labels.”  Just click on the video and you’ll get a detailed guided tour.  You are now armed and ready to hit the grocery store aisles….no more tricking you!!

Yours in health,

Colleen & John

As most of you know we live along the Emerald Coast of Florida, and I’m sure you all know what is going on with the BP oil spill. This got us thinking about how easy it is to take for granted something precious in our lives.  One day it’s gone and you are left wondering what happened and why you didn’t take more advantage of it.  When we first moved here we went to the beach often, even if it was just to watch the sun set.  Then time passed, we got busy, and life started to take over.  We thought, “The beach will always be there, we’ll go next week.”  Unfortunately, next week turned into next month, and so on, and then one day we realized we couldn’t remember the last time we were there.

Well if you think about it, your health is very similar.  We start out young, running around playing, not even thinking about being overweight or unhealthy.  You could eat whatever you wanted and never had to worry about your waist line.  Then one day comes and you don’t play as much. Who knows why; maybe you got your first car, so who needs a bike?  Or worse, a new video game came out so you just sit on the couch and play.  You didn’t worry about your health, it had always been there, and why would that change (just like those sandy white beaches)?  And so it begins, your health gets taken for granted… days turn into months which turn into years.  Then before you know it life gets in the way and there is definitely no time for exercise (or going to the beach).

Then suddenly it’s gone (whether it’s the beauty of the beach or your health).  Helpless and lost feelings set in, and you don’t know which way to turn.  So you try multiple attempts to get it back, but nothing seems to work (sound familiar BP?)  Then at some point it’s just easier to give up on your health and look for “that magic pill.”   Just as BP is learning about not cutting corners; your health is the same way.  It’s going to take hard work and dedication to get your health back and anyone who tells you differently isn’t telling you the whole truth.  You are worth the effort just like our beaches and the environment.  No one can do this for you, but you can ask for help, and this is where we come in.  We want you to know we are here to offer a helping hand, or create a road map for you to find your health again.  Because once you get a second chance you tend to hold onto things a little tighter to your heart.  We’re very glad to say we have been to the beach 3 times this week already, and we are shooting for more because unlike you, we may not get that second chance.

Yours in Health

Colleen and John

Strength training, strength training, strength training…

You hear about it all the time these days.

You hear how it’s great for your Metabolism.

You hear it’s imperative for that beach body you’re looking for this summer.

Well, what’s the real science behind it?

Does it really help?

The easy answer is right here from my partners at Prograde:

Strength Training

By Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic, PhD, RD, CSCS

Q) I’ve heard that strength training increases my metabolism. How does it do that and will that help me lose weight?

A) Strength training, which involves using weights, bands, kettlebells or other forms of resistance that challenge your body to work harder than it does in everyday life, definitely does increase your metabolic rate. However, so does endurance exercise (such as running). The difference is how long and how much these activities boost your metabolism that really has an impact on your overall ability to lose body fat and/or decrease your weight.

Just so we’re all on the same page, let’s talk about the components of our metabolism:

First we have our resting metabolic rate, or RMR. This is the energy needed (quantified in calories) to keep our bodies alive – our heart beating, our lungs breathing, etc. Your RMR makes up about 60 to 80 percent of our total metabolic rate. The variation in RMR is due to individual differences among people, the foods we consume, and the activity we engage in which can directly change RMR.

Second we have the Thermic Effect of Activity, or TEA. The more active you are, the more your total metabolic rate will be increased. TEA includes all activity from mowing your lawn (with a push mower, that is), to playing basketball, to walking across the room. It’s not just structured activity, but also the activities that we engage in every day to live our lives.

To see the rest of this great article please click here: Prograde

Keep the great emails coming!

Yours in health,

Colleen and John Riddle

www.ElitePhysiquePT.com

john@elitephysiquept.com

colleen@elitephysiquept.com