Personal Training Blog with Douglasville Personal Trainer David Hansey

Strength Imbalance? Find Out!

Do you train one leg harder than the other, is one leg stronger than the other? Here is one quick way to tell. Hop forward on one leg 5 times, landing on both feet on the final hop. Do it on both legs and measure. More than a 10% difference in distance means a strength imbalance.

If this does not make sense, you can contact me for an personal training assessment at Douglasville Golds Gym on Chapel Hill for a personal training session and we can work on getting you more in balance.

Major strength imbalances can lead to injuries.

Beware the coffee drink!!

Having a morning coffee or even a morning coffee drink is fine. Just remember the idea is coffee, like a Starbuck cafe au lait wiht non-fat milk (60 calories) not to have a dessert. So if it has a name like chocolate, white chocolate, caramel. chocolate chip, those are not breakfast words. Those are dessert words. A grande caramel moch with whipped cream has over 500 calories! And since when did whipped cream become a breakfast food!!! Try keeping it realistic and watch the pounds fade away!

Cost is NOT an excuse!!!
Many people complain about the high cost of produce BUT a USDA study found that out of the 57 different servings of fruit or vegetables, more than HALF cost less than 25 cents per serving. And the MOST expensive item was only found to be 91 cents per serving.

Guessing calories will make you FAT
A study at the University of Arkansas found that people underestimate restaurant meal calorie counts by as much as 600 calories. WHEW!.

Eating just 7-19 grams of fiber a day can reduce high blood pressure. The recommended daily level is 25-30 grams daily so get those veggies, fruit and whole grains!!

There are so many reasons to buy local and buy food that is in season. It is easy on your wallet and it is very good for your health. There are a ton of environmental reasons too but here are a couple of the health ones:

- nutrients are higher since the farm to market time is reduced

- your calories per meal are normally reduced naturally as you eat more fruit and veggies and less meat and processed foods.

- in season fruits tend to have more water retained as they have less time to dehydrate (that is why that local watermelon or cantaloupe tastes so good)

There are lots of economical reasons too if you are trying to slash your grocery bill so it is the perfect time for a garden or to visit your local farm.

I hear many people say they “need” this or that food for this or that reason (stress, hormonal reasons, “sugar low”, “energy”) when the reality is that you don’t. If you are diabetic, you need to watch and measure your blood sugar and eat to adapt to a safe level.

If you are not, there is no sugar or energy food for you. Caffeine and sugar are quick fixes to bigger issues with your diet and lifestyle. Are you dehydrated? This will make you not only feel tired but will make you want to eat more. And sugar will not fix it, you will still be dehydrated after your chocolate “fix”.

Many people were conditioned as children to soothe themselves with food. Bad day? Mom gave you a cookie to feel better. Depressed? She made your favorite meal. Homesick? She sent you cookies at college. And on and on it goes.

Now don’t blame Mom but also learn that food does not fix your emotions. Chocolate does not make you less stressed. Fixing your stressor does. So work on fixing that and you will see the weight come off.

Love reusable bags for the environment? We all should use them more and help to reduce trash and energy use….. BUT —- YOU NEED TO CLEAN THEM!!!

You don’t plop meat on your dishes and not wash them — do you??

Same goes for your bags. Any bag, especially those used to haul fresh produce and meat needs to be washed in hot water. And it is also not a bad idea to have one that is a separate color that is for meat only.

We all have a vision of that frail older woman with osteoporosis but she is a stereotype. Many women and men have osteoporosis. Many do not look frail or hunched. And 1 in 8 men develop osteoporosis. And more men than women DIE FROM IT

Turns out we cannot estimate our calories correctly. A study at the University of Arkansas found that people underestimated restaurant meals by as much as 600 calories. YA so like 1/2 day for some people. Another reason to use your diary!!