Do you drink soda? I don’t know how many times a day I hear from personal training clients that they don’t like the taste of diet soda. Somehow they think this justifies drinking 300-400 calories worth of sugary soda. IT DOESN”T. If you want a soda, limit yourself to ONE DIET SODA per day. You need to drink water, not soda. And sugar soda is completely off limits — it is bad for your teeth, your waistline and your health.

Do you like coffee drinks from Starbucks? ME TOO. But I have a Grande NONFAT latte and I limit it to a couple of times a month. I don’t have anything with full fat milk or added sugar or sugary flavors. Some of the chocolate chip/caramel drinks have over 800 calories — like 1/2 day worth of calories.

Do you like to eat out? Really watch your portions — obviously – but also what you eat. Appetizers in restaurants can MURDER a diet. A blooming onion has over 2000 calories and potato skins can have over 2000 calories — avoid anything that even resembles fried cheese.

Do you eat off your kids plate? WHY?? Those couple of mouthfuls of mac and cheese can be the difference between you losing anything that week or not.

Do you hit the candy bowl at work? Work treats like candy and birthday cake. AVOID. And with any cake situation, use the two bite limit. That allows you to taste and be done.

Check back soon for part 5 on weight loss from Douglasville Personal Trainer, Dave Hansey and the Personal Training Blog!

Do you REALLY want to have to start all over again?

Most people only need about 5-6 hours a week to workout. And if during the holidays you drop this down a bit, that is a lot better than blowing it off completely

BUT before you give yourself a license to do less, consider this….. Strength training of 30 mins – an hour 2 -3 times a week is at most 3 hours a week. And cardio of 45 minutes, 4 times a week is 3 hours a week. Total at the very most is 6 hours a week and there are 168 hours in a week.

THAT’S RIGHT — you only need to 6 out of 168. So hmmmmmm, is your workout really the thing in your life that you do not have time for? If you work full time, you are putting about 40-80 hours a week into your job most likely depending on your commute and profession. If you sleep 8 hours every night, you are spending 56 hours asleep.

Since most people do not work 80 hour work weeks, then I think you can see where I am going here. Spending an hour every night watching TV and winding down is a nice way to relax. Spending 3-4 hours a night in front of the TV and blowing off your workout because you are “too busy” is fooling yourself.

Do an honest analysis of how you use your time and your priorities. I think most people will find after they do this that their workout fits in easily.

Now I want to talk about another big one — RESTAURANT FOOD

While everyone loves going out to eat, you really have to be careful if you eat out on a regular basis. Restaurants have enormous portions, use large amounts of fat and sugar and are generally lacking on being a balanced meal.

Not to pick on any restaurant in particular because a lot of them are bad – but many burgers are over 1000 calories — Douglasville examples of these fat attack burgers include Burger King, Ruby Tuesdays and Five Guys to name a few. Many pasta portions from restaurants are not only 1 serving of grain — but most of the time, at least 5 and sometimes as many as 8-10 — yes, more than a day’s worth.

Even vegetables at restaurants are soaked and cooked in butter to make them attractive and tasty and salads are full of fat and extras like cheese.

So what do you do? First, determine if you are eating out as a treat, a necessity or because you are not interested in cooking. If it is a treat, then watch your portions and enjoy. If it is a necessity (like you are on a business trip etc) then make very wise choices, ask for dressings on the side, order small portions if they are available, ask for green salad instead of fries, avoid fried anything and opt for more fresh and whole foods like fruit, vegetables, chicken and fish.

Now for the category that is tough — the “I don’t wanna cook” gang. You really should look at reducing your meals in restaurants. It will make a major impact on your diet. Anyone can learn to cook if you can read so not knowing how is sorry – a lame excuse for not doing it. There are lots of recipes on my sister site, Douglasville Weight Loss, where you can get started.

If you are truly at a loss for cooking, then I suggest trying a meal service such as Dinner Afare or Dream Dinners to get your calories and portions under control. Home cooking helps you control the ingredients and content. So it is always the first choice and will make the biggest impact on your weight loss so really give it a try.

Check back in a few days for the next part in this series from the personal training blog – Portion Control

First you need to really look at your food and exercise habits. Exercise and strength training will really help but your food is a MAJOR key to losing weight.

And the biggest food issue is really not WHAT foods usually, it is HOW MUCH.

A serving of grain is really a slice of bread — but not a giant slice of bread, not a thick slice of bread, not a muffin and not a bagel. A bagel can be 5-6 servings depending on where you buy your bagels. So see where I am going here?

Portion control is extremely important. And getting a handle on exactly what you are eating is another.

I always suggest people keep a diary — at least for the first week to get an honest look at your food. Are you putting in a giant full fat latte every morning — hello!! The more stuff you add to your coffee, the more it becomes a rare treat as opposed to a daily thing. A tall non-fat latte, even a grande, has under 200 calories. But you need to keep in mind those are 200 calories that you need to take from the rest of your day. Many of the chocolate chip or caramel or mocha drinks have as many as 800 calories in them. That is a half day’s calories for many people.

So, first step — WRITE IT DOWN — do an honest analysis of your diet by writing down everything (food, drinks, gum, candy, snacks– EVERYTHING) that you put in your mouth.

Start there — I will add more details here on the Personal Training Blog about step 2 later this week.

There are a lot of group fitness class options here in Douglasville and I know it can be very tempting to try some of the more advanced ones like full contact kickboxing. But……. make sure your body is ready for that. Many people get into commitments and get an injury and then never come back because they feel they have failed. Better to start small and stick with it than to start and stop.

I personally always suggest the spinning type classes. Most of us rode a bike as kids so we are familiar with the movement and you can go fast, slow, hard, soft and make it very personal for you. It is a good cardio workout and you can progress at your own pace.

If you like something that is more of a class atmosphere, then start with one that does not have contact or weights. Classes with full contact and weights are not strength training, they are still aerobic conditioning so you will still need to strength train so start with something that gets you motivated and moving.

If you are a SENIOR CITIZEN or have a family member who is — I always suggest Silver Sneakers. It is FREE on many insurance programs and is available at many gyms around the country. Here in Georgia, if you have Blue Cross, Humana or AARP as an insurance company or supplemental insurance, there is a good chance you can get Silver Sneakers for free. So if that interests you — CHECK!! All gyms who participate throughout the country offer the same classes and programs.

Hope that gives you a bit more details on getting started with starting a fitness program!!

Time to be HONEST here — REALLY HONEST!!

What is the issue? Are you exhausted? Seriously unless you are a new mom or doing multiple jobs or a full time job/full time school combo kind of thing — this is an excuse — not a REAL reason.

Sit back and ask yourself a few questions:
– How much time do you spend in the evening watching TV? More than one??? Then you had time to work out.
- How many hours of sleep do you get? More than 8? Then you have time to work out.
- Do you have social activities that are more of a chore than an enjoyment? Maybe consider scaling back or dropping those to work out.

Really — the reality of working out is about you. If you are traveling for work, I can see not making it to THIS gym — but how about the gym at the hotel?

If you are shuffling kids to soccer or dance class, ok. But what about walking during the soccer practice. I mean it is a practice. You need to cheer your kids on for games but sometimes it is good to let them learn to practice with their coaches.

I really want to make Personal Training Blog a place that not only helps people understand the benefits of personal training but also as a motivational place to help you make the changes you need in your life to get fit.

So here goes — the first question I had from a client was why was her teenage child not in a lot of pain and discomfort from her personal training. Was I not training her hard enough?

Well there is very dangerous misconception that working out should hurt. Which is not only wrong but dangerous. Yes, sometimes there is some muscle soreness but this should never be something that interferes with your daily life. And if it ever is, then you need to tell your trainer immediately because something is not right.

Ok, and the second was from someone wanting to get sports specific training for a 9 year old.

While I applaud their initiative at getting their child in the best shape possible to play a sport, anyone under 12 is most likely not going to get enough from personal training. Instead of focusing directly on training for this age group, focus on fun. Making something really fun — like going out and running passes with Dad might be a better prep for a first timer. Once he decides that he is really in love with football (or whatever sport it is) then you can determine a training program, and personal training, for him.

If you have any questions about personal training or the personal trainer blog — send me an e-mail by clicking the link at the top of the blog. Have a great week!
Now

Some states have been pushing for personal trainers to be certified….. that proposal sadly failed in Georgia. But as a response to that, IHRSA, which is the industry organization decided to look at how to determine the REALITY of when someone is a qualified personal trainer.

And board certification was born. There are only 6 certifications that are board certified. And ALL OF THESE ARE GOVERNED BY THE NCCA, which is the 3rd party chosen to monitor these certifications. So the board certification is NCCA and the actual certifications that qualify for board certification are NASM, ACE, NCSF, NFPT, NSCA and the Cooper Institute. It is YOUR MONEY — why not double check to make sure your trainer holds their certification from one of these and know that you are getting not only the best trainers but also trainers that have had to be held accountable to an industry standard and 3rd party testing.

ASK your trainer to show you their certifications if you are not sure. And compare it to the list — and gee ASK them why they do not feel the need to do the work to get one of these. No, they are not easy but like in any industry, there are TOOLS that you need.

If you would like to read the entire article from IHRSA and how Board Certified Personal Training came to be — then CLICK HERE!!

And YES, I am board certified and feel free to come by, I have my certificates out for you to look at and review ANY TIME YOU WANT

When you are under 40, the top cause of death is accidental. Once you pass the threshold of 40, the top causes shift to heart disease, cancer, stroke and lung disease. Is 40 a magic number where you should change your lifestyle? NO! All of these causes have at least some factors that can reduce your risk (or prevent the issue all together).

There is no magic bullet here. I know you would like to hear that there is something simple that you can do. And, to be honest, there is something VERY SIMPLE that you can do to reduce your risk of DYING from these diseases.

They are things that your doctor has told you for years. Eat better. Exercise more. Control your stress. Live a healthy, active lifestyle.

If you continue to live with poor dietary habits, you increase your risk. If you continue to smoke or drink when your doctor has advised against it, you increase your risk. If you continue to eat more processed food than vegetables and fresh food, you increase your risk. If you don’t know your cholesterol level and haven’t visited your doctor in years, you increase your risk.

Does it make sense?

And YOU are the one who has to make that commitment. A personal trainer is a great aid. Personal training can show you a healthy, safe way to achieve your results in the shortest time possible. However, a personal trainer cannot be with you all day to encourage you to make the right food choices, to encourage you to drink water instead of coke, to encourage you to prioritize your workout and quit putting it off — see where I am going.

Personal training is a guide and is a great thing and a very needed thing for many people. But YOU are the one who makes the real difference. So if you cannot afford personal training or cannot afford as many sessions a week as you would like, do not use that as an excuse to not get fit. Make the most of the personal training sessions you do have and commit to finally getting fit.