Make Your Discipline Count!

For those of you who do not need one on one personal training, or small group training, and have the consistent habit of exercise built into your weekly schedule, consider the following:  

Often those who are disciplined to exercise simply repeat the same exercises over and over, week in and week out, often going on for years.  This is certainly better than being sedentary. However, the pitfalls of this approach are fourfold:  first - it leads to monotony as the routine lacks variety and becomes boring; second - repeating the same workouts over and over may lead to overuse injuries; third - if you do need to lose weight or improve other areas of fitness, doing the same exercises the same way for long periods of time causes the body to adapt, therefore, becoming nearly impossible to create change; fourth - many people work on their strengths only and are unaware of their weaknesses, thus, they are not making their discipline truly count.  

Solutions:

1.  Try a personal trainer for a short period of time - 4, 6, 8 or 12 weeks.  Approach personal training as if you are taking a class to learn and increase your knowledge of a subject.  In the same way you have worked for degrees or certifications in your vocational life to better equip yourself to be effective, a short stint with a trainer can help you learn how to make the discipline you have truly count.

2.  Have a personal trainer do a functional movement assessment.  The trainer can build a program to follow and teach you any of the exercises you need to learn.  Then you can go out on your own and truly make your discipline count! 

3.  Maybe you know how to build a truly well rounded program for yourself.  You may even know how to change it up appropriately but maybe you could use some help on how to properly perform certain exercises or how to use certain equipment safely and effectively. Taking even a one hour class from a trainer on exercise technique or how to use certain equipment / machines properly can help you have a safe and more effective training program.  

Make your discipline count in 2018 more than ever! 

New Year's Resolution Tips

The New Year is here! At this time of year most people become a little more reflective. We tend to evaluate different areas of our life we would like to improve. And for many folks a big area of evaluation concerns one’s health. I am sure many of you reading this article had sincere plans to make 2017 the year you finally took the steps to improve your health. Although many people sincerely felt this way, the odds are probably that only a few actually did achieve their goals. Why is this?

As I have trained people over the last 24 years I am convinced that all of you really do want to change your exercise habits. However, there are real life reasons why it does not happen, and our busy lives are number one. Most folks are working so hard on their relationships, careers and parenting that by the time you have taken care of everyone else there is no time left to take care of yourself.

So, how can you make 2018 different and dedicate this year to your health??? Here are three suggestions that I know work because I have personally seen many people apply these three tips and many have lost 20 - 100 pounds, blood pressure has improved, cholesterol levels have dropped, bodies are more functional, and people are eating more healthfully.

1. Set Exercise Appointments with yourself.

Whether you are a busy professional, busy mother or both your day is filled with appointments with other people. You certainly would not be disrespectful and miss a scheduled appointment. Set exercise appointments with yourself and give yourself the respect you give others. Don’t miss your appointment! When life happens and you miss a scheduled appointment you must reschedule your missed appointment. There are 168 hours in a week. You can do this!!!

2. Set Specific, Realistic, Measurable Goals. Begin with what works for you.

This is an example of a specific, realistic and measurable goal for January – exercise 3 times per week for 15 minutes. Set it in your calendar with date, exact time of day, and your exercise plan. Three times per week is 12 exercise sessions of 15 minutes for the first month. If you miss simply reschedule your exercise appointment and make sure by January 31 you have exercised 12 different days for 15 minutes. Maintaining your exercise volume each month is a major key. At the end of the month reflect and re-evaluate making changes to your goals. It could be 13 exercise sessions of 20 minutes each. The key is simply to get started and set a goal that is specific, realistic and measurable, and realistically attainable for you and build on it.

3. ACCOUNTABILITY!!!

Accountability is essential to keeping your exercise appointment with yourself. But for most accountability to self is not enough… it’s too easy to rationalize something else is more important. Different people are successful with different forms of accountability. For some simply investing in a gym membership is enough, for others having a friend or a group you are committed to exercise with, and for others a higher degree of accountability is needed, for example, a personal trainer. We all spend a great deal of money on health insurance, which is not health insurance at all. Taking care of one’s health through proper nutrition and exercise is true health insurance. The simple key here is get the accountability you need. If a friend works great! If a group works
great! If you know you need the highest level of accountability I suggest investing for 12 weeks in personal training and then re-evaluating. Look at it as if you are taking a class to invest in your health. We have all invested in education to better our lives; so, it just makes sense to do the same for our health. The secret is accountability to a coach, mentor, and guide someone who is committed to your commitment and impervious to your excuses.

We are all well aware of the health crisis in America related to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and a host of other preventable diseases. Make a commitment to the three tips above and you are on your way to receiving the benefits of exercise and healthy eating habits. When you are physically fit you will feel better, sleep better, overcome stress, work better, communicate better, play better and live better! Make 2018 the year you really DO something about making a lifestyle change that will improve your quality of life for years to come!!!

Do You Need to Lose 30 Pounds? Learn from Someone Who Has Done It!

Learn from this Forte client – she preferred not to share her name but gratefully she is sharing her story and the wisdom she has gleaned on her journey. It took three years to lose the 30 pounds. She had her fair share of setbacks, highs and lows, peak and valleys but she has achieved her goal!

1. Reduce Your Sugar Intake

“I eliminated foods that have added sugar. When I began to diligently read food ingredients, I realized how many foods out there have added sugar. The easiest way to avoid added sugars is to eat whole foods like fruit, veggies, and lean proteins while also cooking meals for yourself vs. eating out. For me, if I have a sugar craving, I grab a piece of fresh fruit or add fruit to my smoothie (see below) to help eliminate the craving.”

2. Shake it up in the morning.

“I have developed the habit of drinking a shake for breakfast every morning. It’s quick and convenient and leaves out any guesswork on whether my breakfast will be healthy and full of nutrients.”

The Shake Recipe:

• 1 cup Siggi’s plain yogurt
• 1 cup Elmhurst Almond Milk
• ½ Frozen Banana
• ½ to 1 cup Frozen Raspberries
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed (omega 3s!!!)
• 1 handful of spinach ( I promise you can’t taste it)

3. Fall in love with water.

“I love sweet tea!!! That is one of my vices, but I have chosen to eliminate it from my daily diet. Removing the extra empty calories of sweet tea has made a huge difference. I bought a nice water bottle and keep it with me all day and make sure to fill it up when I finish. That makes me get up more at work and walk to fill it up, and to take more potty breaks!”

4. You have to track it.

“It might be tedious, but I have found tracking my food intake to be really beneficial. There are many apps and methods but the one that has worked for me is MyFitnessPal. It syncs with Fitbit and other trackers which makes it quick and convenient.”

5. Something is better than nothing.

“In the past, I would come home from work many days and be too tired to workout. When I finally stopped letting that excuse keep me from doing something, even if it is very small, I started making more progress. Once I do get started I feel energized and motivated to do more than what I had planned. Sometimes it is simply a day off from my scheduled training but I go for a walk around the neighborhood. To my surprise once I get moving I tend to come home and do some cardio on my stationary bike, planks, lunges, push-ups or some other body weight exercises I have learned at Forte.”

“For years I struggled in depression, embarrassment and bad health. I finally built up the courage to get real help. Forte was the answer for me. The trainers are all so kind, caring and professional. They walked me through this journey giving me just enough encouragement and firm accountability. If I can do it anyone can!”

Muscle Mass Is A Better Predictor of Longevity Than...

A 2014 article in Scientific American reports a ten-year study of 3,600 senior adults found that muscle mass is a better predictor of longevity than BMI (Body Mass Index).  This suggests that a focus on weight loss may not be as beneficial as a focus on building muscle mass. 

The word mass is often confusing and misunderstood.  People quickly begin thinking of body builders with huge muscles.  This is not the idea.  It is simply about building a strong and functional body that can move through full ranges of human movement. 

Building more muscle mass is a major factor in developing a healthy BMI.  The more muscle mass one maintains, the faster one’s metabolism responds.  According to Keith Baar, PhD, professor at the University of California-Davis, a faster metabolism resulting from higher levels of muscle mass will in turn lower ones’ risk for obesity.  A lower risk for obesity means a lower risk for diabetes and heart related diseases.   

Being stronger means you will be able to lay down and get up off the floor; go up and down steps; get in and out of a car; get on and off the toilet. Simply stated, you will live a more independent life.  The direct result is you will feel better, have a better quality of life, and enjoy the activities that make you feel alive for years to come. 

Start lifting those weights!  It is truly never too late.  Include squats, deadlifts, lunges, presses, pulls and planks.  If these exercises are unfamiliar to you do some research on the internet, take a class, or consider trying a personal trainer at least to help you get started.  A certified personal trainer may be a good investment.  A personal trainer can make sure you learn how to lift safely and effectively.  A personal trainer is able to modify a program specific to your needs and limitations.  Using a trainer in the same way one takes a class to self-educate may equip you well enough to begin training on one’s own. 

At any rate, get started!  

Savory Vegan Oatmeal Breakfast & Almond Butter Smoothie

Savory Vegan Oatmeal 

• Cook the oatmeal and sprinkle lightly with salt
• Rinse a can of black beans 
• Saute two mushrooms in olive oil, sea salt, chili flakes
• Finely chop red onion 
• Handful of arugula
• Slice of lemon
• Avocado

When oatmeal is done place in bowl.  Sprinkle lightly with curry.  Plate all the ingredients.  Lightly season with sea salt.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  

Almond Butter Smoothie

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 banana
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 tbsp almond butter 
• 4 ice cubes
• Blend! 
• Taste and sweeten with with blue agave 

Enjoy! 

I Always Wanted Lunchables...

By Kate Kaufman

Somehow it worked. Growing up with a personal trainer, football coach, and passionate Italian father has resulted in a full indoctrination of his oldest child into his ways of eating and living. There isn't a single breakfast I can remember from the time I was school-aged when my eggs didn't at least have a heaping amount of kale, tomatoes, pepper, and onions. I was the kid who showed up at the lunch table with Italian style tuna fish (red onion, Italian flat leaf parsley, olive oil, salt, pepper) and whole wheat matzah crackers, a red cabbage salad (with olive oil and vinegar, not ranch, of course), and NO fun pudding dessert. Lunchables, Little Debbies, Gushers, and Coke were not a thing in my household.

I know, you're probably feeling so sorry for my childhood and how scarring it must have been. I thought this as well until I was set out on my own and shot into the independent world of college, where I got to grocery shop and could buy as many packets of Oreos my little 5-year old damaged heart could desire. However, this desire to buy what was always kept from me quickly resulted in a revolt from my Julian Kaufman trained body, and I soon found that these desires were not sustainable. 

What is now the result of this indoctrination? The Vegan Daughter. I am two months in my vegan adventure, and I haven't cracked yet! If you know my family at all, you know how hard cheese is to give up since cheese is one of our main food sources, given the king of cheeses comes from our beloved motherland: Parmigiano Reggiano. But I'm doing it, and I want to invite you all to join me in this adventure in helping our planet, helping your body, and helping our communities who are so affected by our food choices. 

All of my recipes will be super quick and super cheap, because the Ramen diet in college is a real struggle and temptation, and I need something to substitute this desire. All are welcome to join in: mommas and dads, businesswomen and men, students of all ages. Here's my first recipe I made for me and my three roommates! Feel free to add or substitute whatever veggies you have with you!

Buon Appetito! 

Spring Rolls with Almond Butter Dipping Sauce

For the Rice Paper Rolls:

• 6 sheets of Vietnamese rice paper
• 1 avocado
• 1 cucumber
• 3 small carrots
• 1 mango
• 3 green onions, cut into rings
• 1 cup purple cabbage
• About 6 radishes
• 1 cup fresh mint

For the Almond Butter Dipping Sauce:

• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 3-4 tablespoons warm water
• 1/2 teaspoons sriracha sauce (optional)

1. Cut the avocado, the carrots, the mango, the mint, the radishes, the green onion, and the purple cabbage into thin stripes.

2. When you're done cutting the veggies, fill a shallow bowl with water and dip the rice papers in water so they get moderately wet on both sides. Don't let them soak too long, so they don't get too soft.

3. When you soaked the rice papers, fill them with the veggies and wrap them like a burrito. I think it's best to center the filling and then roll it up and fold in the two side flaps.

4. Then make the peanut dipping sauce: In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter with the soy sauce, the garlic, the warm water, and the sriracha sauce.

5. Serve the rice paper rolls with the peanut dipping sauce.

Pescatarian Bowl

Delicious and healthy bowl!  Build a base with whole wheat couscous.  It is super fast to prepare the couscous.  To make 4 servings simply bring 1.5 cups water to boil and mix in couscous.  Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes and it is done!  Boil a handful of shrimp per person and then cool in an ice water bath. Meanwhile shave / chop red cabbage, clip off cilantro leaves, chop an onion, core an avocado, slice some cherry tomatoes, and rinse a can of beans.  

Place everything on top of the couscous, drizzle with olive oil, sea salt, chili flake and a squeeze of lemon! 

Mhmm Good ... Enjoy! 

City Celebration & Ciclovia

SAVE THE DATE! 

Join us for the first annual City Celebration & Ciclovia Sunday afternoon, October 8th. A rolling street party that will take cyclists & pedestrians from downtown to east Chattanooga, the City Celebration will partially close roads to vehicular traffic along a 6-mile route that will connect a series of neighborhood block parties along the way - with live music, interactive games, arts, and more! Rather than driving past your neighbors, take this opportunity to connect with them in a fun, unique & energizing way as we celebrate the wonderful diversity of our community! The event is free for everyone! Check out the website for more info and a map of the route:  http://chattanooga-celebrates.com

I Feel Good

1/2 Cucumber

1 Juice of Lemon

1 Green Pepper

2 Celery Stalks

3 Radishes

1 Beet

Stick it in the blender

Drink

Feel Good 

What A Hunter-Gatherer Diet Does To The Body In Just Three Days

By Tim Spector

Mounting evidence suggests that the richer and more diverse the community of microbes in your gut the lower your risk of disease. Diet is key to maintaining diversity and was strikingly demonstrated when an undergrad student went on a McDonald's diet for ten days and after just four days experienced a significant drop in the number of beneficial microbes.

Similar results have been demonstrated in a number of larger human and animal studies.

Your gut microbiome is a vast community of trillions of bacteria that has a major influence on your metabolism, immune system and mood. These bacteria and fungi inhabit every nook and cranny of your gastrointestinal tract, with most of this 1kg to 2kg "microbe organ" sited in your colon (the main bit of your large intestine).

We tend to see the biggest diet-related shifts in microbes in people who are unhealthy with a low-diversity unstable microbiome. What we didn't know is whether a healthy stable gut microbiome could be improved in just a few days. The chance to test this in an unusual way came when my colleague Jeff Leach invited me on a field trip to Tanzania, where he has been living and working among the Hadza, one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer groups in all of Africa.

My microbiome is pretty healthy nowadays and, among the first hundred samples we tested as part of the MapMyGut project, I had the best gut diversity -- our best overall measure of gut health, reflecting the number and richness of different species. High diversity is associated with a low risk of obesity and many diseases. The Hadza have a diversity that is one of the richest on the planet.

The research plan was devised by Jeff who suggested I should have an intensive three days of eating like a hunter gatherer during my stay at his research camp. I would measure my gut microbes before heading to Tanzania, during my stay with the Hadza, and after my return to the UK. I was also not allowed to wash or use alcohol swabs and I was expected to hunt and forage with the Hadza as much as possible -- including coming in contact with the odd Hadza baby and baboon poo lying about.

To help us record the trip I was accompanied by Dan Saladino, the intrepid presenter and producer of BBC Radio 4's The Food Programme, who was preparing a Hadza microbe special.

After a long tiring flight to Mount Kilimanjaro Airport in Tanzania, we stayed overnight in Arusha, a city in the north of the country. Before setting off the next morning, I produced my baseline poo sample.

After an eight-hour journey in a Land Rover over bumpy tracks, we arrived. Jeff beckoned us to the top of a huge rock to witness the most amazing sunset over Lake Eyasi. Here, within a stones throw of the famous fossil site of Olduvai Gorge and with the stunning plains of the Serengeti in the distance, Jeff explained that we were never going to be closer to home as a member of the genus Homo, than where we were standing at that moment.

The million-year-old diet

The Hadza seek out the same animals and plants that humans have hunted and gathered for millions of years. Importantly, the human-microbe tango that played out here for aeons probably shaped aspects of our immune system and made us who we are today. The significance of being in Hadza-land was not lost on me.

Unlike the Hadza, who sleep around the fire or in grass huts, I was given a tent and told to zip it up tight as there were scorpions and snakes about. I had to be careful where I stepped if I needed a nocturnal pee. After an interesting but restless night's sleep, a large pile of baobab pods had been collected for my breakfast.

The baobab fruit is the staple of the Hadza diet, packed with vitamins, fat in the seeds, and, of course, significant amounts of fibre. We were surrounded by baobab trees stretching in the distance as far as I could see. Baobab fruit have a hard coconut-like shell that cracks easily to reveal a chalky flesh around a large, fat-rich seed. The high levels of vitamin C provided an unexpected citrus tang.

The Hadza mixed the chalky bits with water and whisked it vigorously for two to three minutes with a stick until it was a thick, milky porridge that was filtered -- somewhat -- into a mug for my breakfast. It was surprisingly pleasant and refreshing. As I wasn't sure what else I would be eating on my first day, I drank two mugs and suddenly felt very full.

My next snacks were the wild berries on many of the trees surrounding the camp -- the commonest were small Kongorobi berries. These refreshing and slightly sweet berries have 20 times the fibre and polyphenols compared with cultivated berries -- powerful fuel for my gut microbiome. I had a late lunch of a few high-fibre tubers dug up with a sharp stick by the female foragers and tossed on the fire. These were more effort to eat - like tough, earthy celery. I didn't go for seconds or feel hungry, probably because of my high-fibre breakfast. No one seemed concerned about dinner.

A few hours later we were asked to join a hunting party to track down porcupine -- a rare delicacy. Even Jeff hadn't tasted this creature in his four years of field work.

Two 20kg nocturnal porcupines had been tracked to their tunnel system in a termite mound. After several hours of digging and tunnelling -- carefully avoiding the razor-sharp spines -- two porcupines were eventually speared and thrown to the surface. A fire was lit. The spines, skin and valuable organs were expertly dissected and the heart, lung and liver cooked and eaten straight away.

The rest of the fatty carcass was taken back to camp for communal eating. It tasted much like suckling pig. We had a similar menu the next two days, with the main dishes including hyrax -- a strange furry guinea-pig-like hoofed animal, weighing about 4kg -- a relative of the elephant, of all creatures.

Harvested high from a baobab tree, our dessert was the best golden orange honey I could ever imagine -- with the bonus of honeycomb full of fat and protein from the larvae. The combination of fat and sugars made our dessert the most energy-dense food found anywhere in nature and may have competed with fire in terms of its evolutionary importance.

In Hadza-land nothing is wasted or killed unnecessarily, but they eat an amazing variety of plant and animal species (around 600, most of which are birds) compared with us in the West. My other lasting impression was how little time they spent getting food. It appeared as though it took just a few hours a day -- as simple as going round a large supermarket. Any direction you walked there was food -- above, on and below ground.

Massive increase in microbiome diversity

Twenty-four hours later Dan and I were back in London, him with his precious audio tapes and me with my cherished poo samples. After producing a few more, I sent them to the lab for testing.

The results showed clear differences between my starting sample and after three days of my forager diet. The good news was my gut microbal diversity increased a stunning 20%, including some totally novel African microbes, such as those of the phylum Synergistetes.

The bad news was, after a few days, my gut microbes had virtually returned to where they were before the trip. But we had learnt something important. However good your diet and gut health, it is not nearly as good as our ancestors'. Everyone should make the effort to improve their gut health by re-wilding their diet and lifestyle. Being more adventurous in your normal cuisine plus reconnecting with nature and its associated microbial life, may be what we all need.

Jeff Leach, visiting research fellow at King's College London, contributed to this article.

Copyright 2017 The Conversation. Some rights reserved.

Article Cited from CNN