Why Your Last Diet Didn't Work!

 

Weight loss programs are not created equal!

 

 

Losing bodyweight is, essentially, a fairly simple thing to do.  Just cutting calories and moving more will usually reduce weight as the body uses fat, and often muscle tissue, for fuel.

 

What makes for a top weight loss program, however, is more than simple and temporary weight loss.  It should spike metabolic change, reduce fat stores without muscle tissue loss, and provide nourishment for the body to reduce inflammation and make blood sugar levels more ideal.  By feeding the body with what it truly needs, energy is higher, exercise capacities are greater, and long-term health is improved rather than reduced (as is the case with many commercial weight loss plans).  Safety and long-term efficiency should be as paramount as the quick reward!

 

"PPT's meal planning goes beyond the norm," explains Patrick Liddle, Perfect Personal Trainer and PPT nutritionist.  "Our meal plans are personalized based on each client's unique needs and lifestyle. That's what makes them so helpful and lasting."

 

But what's wrong with most diet plans?  "The problem with the everyday commercialized diet is that it doesn't prepare the body to keep the bodyfat off once it's gone, " explains Client Services Director, nutritionist and health coach Val Fiott.  "Without steps to improve metabolism and preserve muscle tissue, the excess weight is likely going to return.  The right exercise program combined with the right meal planning strategy won't let that happen."

 

"There is usually a lot of focus on making healthy food selections," continues Liddle.  "That's great for lifespan but eating healthy won't always bring the weight down - you have to choose the right amounts of what you're having."

 

So how do PPT's meal plans differ from the major commercial groups?

 

"Our fat loss services are very ambitious," explains Fiott.  "We're not just aiming for low-carb options and quick fat loss, but we're setting up the body to operate more optimally.  We're normalizing blood sugars, feeding the muscles, reducing inflammatory responses and even showing our clients how to have quick, convenient meals while in the middle of a busy day.  Most even report feeling 'full' after one of these low-calorie meals.  Best of all, meal planning is provided complimentary to our regular exercise clients!"

 

For more information on Perfect Personal Training's weight loss programs, exercise or meal planning services, or to purchase a gift certificate for the holidays, call (877)698-3648 or visit us at http://perfectpersonaltraining.com. 

 

Enter code HOLIDAY this week when you purchase your 40-session Commitment Package of home personal training and save $301 off of our regular rate.  Private, Training for Two or Group Fitness Programs are available!

 

Enter code PERFECT to save 15% on your new gift certificate for a new client!

 

 

In 2015 and always,

We look forward to your new successes!

 

PPT Client Sees Amazing Wellness Successes

 

Rikki Schwartz

Although Rikki Schwartz of Waterford, Michigan has created a very successful career as a chemical engineer, her health was not always as prosperous. “I was exhausted all the time; I rarely had any surplus energy, and thereby resisted most varieties of social activities,” Rikki explains. “I couldn’t climb a flight of stairs without being winded.” Rikki was growing increasingly exasperated with her inability to keep up with friends and family—even attending a simple art fair was exhausting.
With her upcoming 46th birthday, Rikki knew that she had to make lifestyle changes. “I realized that the distance to 50 was shorter than the distance from 40,” she says. “I concurrently realized that I likely would not make it past 60 if I didn’t do something as soon as possible, or if I did make it past 60, my quality of life would be dismal.” Admitting her diminished well-being was just the first step. The exercise component, which she knew had to be a part of her journey to better health, was a different obstacle entirely. Rikki not only associated exercise with discontentment, but also with fear. The thought of working out was daunting. As Rikki explains: “Exercise had always meant two things to me: pain and humiliation.” Much of her insecurity stemmed from grade school, where she had struggled to keep up with her peers. Avoiding fitness altogether just seemed easier, though it led to a multitude of issues for Rikki as she approached middle age.

Although she knew that she had to overcome her trepidation, the thought of joining a health club wasn’t even remotely appealing. Beyond the challenge of finding motivation to leave her home to exercise, Rikki just couldn’t face the deep-rooted public humiliation that she associated with gyms. Contacting Perfect Personal Training, whose wellness professionals would come right to her home for each session, seemed like a much better fit, especially with her busy career. She loved the thought of a “gym” knocking on her door and asking her for less than an hour of her time, which for Rikki was far more motivating than packing a duffle bag full of spandex and leaving her house.

Working with Perfect Personal Trainers Val Fiott and Jordan Gruppen in the comfort of her own home, Rikki never imagined that she would trade shame for a decreased body fat percentage and new-found confidence.  But, that wasn’t before Val helped Rikki to realize something even more important: she was asthmatic. “I did not even suspect the condition until Val Fiott encouraged me to seek medical attention about three months after I began working out with him, once he believed that I was experiencing what he believed to be asthmatic symptoms during my workouts,” Rikki says. The discovery explained some unanswered questions for her, including why she had avoided most physical activities for much of her life. “That may have been addressed medically when I was younger, had I known that asthma was, in fact, largely responsible for my lack of aerobic capacity,” she says.

Asthmatic or not, Rikki wasn’t about to let anything inhibit her at this point in her life. Her continued work with Perfect Personal Training produced incredible results. Rikki hadn't realized, until her initial work with Val Fiott, how truly at risk her health was. Although she had always considered herself to be of “average” weight, she learned, through Perfect Personal Training’s in-home consultation and fitness assessment, that her body fat percentage was nearly 45 percent. “I was thereby morbidly obese,” she explains. “That was obviously disturbing.” But these numbers didn’t perturb her for too long.  Rikki still holds on to an email she received from a coworker after she began working with PPT.  In the email, her coworker remarked how fabulous Rikki looked. “I do not know what you are doing but it looks good on you,” the uplifting email read. Rikki was very happy: “It was the first time I had ever felt empowered to take credit for a physical transformation of any kind because it was the first time I’d ever put any real effort into it,” she exclaims. “As such, it wasn’t just a matter of being proud of my appearance, but moreover proud of the effort that I had invested into it.”

Since beginning with Perfect Personal Training, the now 50-year-old Rikki Schwartz has decreased her body fat percentage by nearly 10 percent, has tremendously improved daily nutrition habits, and feels much more energetic and confident. “Considering I was, prior to PPT, a dyed-in-the-wool carb addict, and ate very, VERY little lean protein, the nutritional transformation has been miraculous,” she emphasizes. “Val’s encouragement of my food journaling, along with educating me regarding my recommended limits, really helped to set me on the right nutritional path.” Her dialogue with food has completely changed, particularly her former infatuation with fast food, which Rikki said she used as a “quick high” in her old life. “Now, I think of food as a tool: ‘How will this improve my life, today and in the days to come?’ [There’s] no comparison.”

Aside from her dramatically-improved physical appearance and overall health, Rikki is clearly in love with the way she now feels. “I am prouder of my appearance, my ability to keep up with my peers, and in general, my ability to honestly say that working out is a routine, prioritized, conscious, and dedicated focus of my life,” she says. “Nobody who knew me before 2008 would ever have believed that those words could/would come out of my mouth.” Rikki attributes her success to Perfect Personal Training’s accessibility and commitment to her success.  Rikki stresses that had she even considered a gym, the added commute would double her daily exercise commitment, making a steadfast fitness routine nearly impossible for her.  Convenience, attention, and encouragement were just a few of the adjectives she used to describe the reason for her nearly five-year investment with Perfect Personal Training. “My experience with PPT has been one of structure, security and safety,” she says. “I have stuck with PPT because they deliver exactly what they promise – personalized workouts that are paced for success, in the privacy of my own home.”

 

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Perfect Personal Training, LLC
(877)698-3648
http://perfectpersonaltraining.com

Defeat Your Brain Fog

Forgetting an appointment... Misplacing your keys... Losing focus at work. Does this all sound just a bit too familiar? Memory loss and diminished concentration aren’t just normal symptoms of aging; even people in their 20s and 30s are not strangers to“brain fog”. But before you consider buying stock in Post-it Notes and Starbucks, there is a less sticky answer to boosting your brain power: Nutrition.

Many of us, jokingly, use the phrase “senior moment.” We’ve almost come to accept that getting older means “losing” our minds. While the aging process can be taxing on the mind's ability to function optimally, taking the right precautions through a progressive, well-planned lifestyle can protect our brains far more than you might think. Years of research reveal that most Americans are not consuming enough brain-boosting nutrients. We need essential vitamins, fatty acids, and minerals to fight the formation of free radicals, which are caused by environmental factors like stress and processed foods. Free radicals aren’t always bad – in fact, our bodies actually produce them to aid our immune systems and assist in hormone production. But free radicals can form in excess, wreaking havoc on cells and tissues that our bodies need to function properly. This process is called oxidative stress. In our brains, oxidative stress can lead to disease. “The most significant cause of degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, are mitochondrial [the energy source of each cell] decay,” says Perfect Personal Nutritional Consultant Sheryl Krohner. Making the right nutritional choices can help prevent destructive oxidative stress. “The good news is, foods that many of us have already incorporated into our eating plans to promote general health and disease prevention can help decelerate this decline,” explains Perfect Personal Exercise Physiologist Christine Waclawski.“Improved memory recall and brain motor function, as well as prevention or delay of Alzheimer’s and related dementias can be enhanced with smart food choices.”

Top Brain-Boosting Nutrients

Many health sources will recommend eating more blueberries, fish, and walnuts for better memory and focus, but they never seem to explain why. Actually, quite a wide variety of brain foods can be incorporated into your diet. We’ve examined the top brain-boosting nutritional components below, along with a list of foods packed with cerebral benefits.

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WATER

Water: Are You Drinking Enough?

Seems almost too simple, right? Yet considering that about 80 percent of your brain consists of water, it’s imperative to stay hydrated—dehydration can produce stress hormones that cause long-term damage to brain cells.

VITAMIN B12

New research reveals a correlation between low Vitamin B12 levels and memory loss, in addition to brain shrinkage. Not all Vitamin B12 forms, however, are created equal; you’ll most likely see Cyanocobalamin listed in parenthesis near the B12 listing in supplements, but Methylcobalamin is the most effective form.

The Best Way to Consume Vitamin B12: Meat, Eggs, Dairy, and Seafood.

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS

Fresh basil: a surprising source of Omega 3s!

In a nutshell, fatty acids are the building blocks of fat and oil—two nutrients that society has been conditioned to avoid. Fatty acids like Omega-3, however, are essential in brain function. So much, in fact, that a deficiency can affect your ability to learn and recall information. A balanced diet that includes Omega-3 EFAs helps your body produce and rebuild cells, including vital brain cells necessary for memory and concentration.

Foods rich in Omega-3s: Fish (look for fish like Salmon, Sardines, Halibut, and Mackerel), Nuts (especially Walnuts, Almonds, and Hazelnuts), Flaxseeds, Soybeans, Fresh Basil, and Spinach.

ANTIOXIDANTS:

According to Perfect Personal Nutritional Consultant Sheryl Krohner, antioxidants play a critical role in protecting brain cells by fighting free radicals.

- Vitamin E -

Avocados are a wonderful source of Vitamin E.

Antioxidant Vitamin E fights and protects against oxidative stress that can lead to Alzeihmer’s disease and stroke. According to a recent study, reported in Neurobiology of Aging, 85 percent of Alzeihmer’s patients were Vitamin E deficient. But before you run out and buy supplements, consider incorporating more Vitamin E-rich foods into your diet.

Vitamin E Dense Foods: Nuts, Eggs, Avocados, Cold-Pressed vegetable oils (like Olive and Canola), Sunflower Seeds, Legumes, Sweet Potatoes, Brown Rice, and Oatmeal.

- Vitamin C -

You may have heard Vitamin C associated with “antioxidant” perhaps more than any other nutrient. That’s because Vitamin C is one of the most dynamic antioxidants; it acts as a sort of Superman, ridding organs, including the brain, of damaging free radicals. And Vitamin C helps other antioxidants – like Vitamin E – retain their potency.

Foods Packed With Vitamin C: Blueberries, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Oranges (and other Citrus Fruits), Pineapple, Red Bell Peppers, and Strawberries.

- Zinc -

Consider including more fresh garlic in your meals.

One of Zinc’s main functions is to prevent fat oxidation in brain cells (which leads to brain cell damage) and aid Vitamin E. Most people turn to this mineral during a cold or flu bout, but it’s an essential antioxidant for brain function. Be careful though: consuming large amounts can ironically increase your risk for free radical damage.

Zinc-Powered Foods:Dark chocolate, Pumpkin and Squash Seeds (roasted), Garlic, Oysters, Lamb, Crab, Lean Roast Beef, Wheat Germ, and Chickpeas.

Other Antioxidants that will help protect your brain against plaque and free radicals: Vitamin A and Carotenoids (think foods like Carrots, Tomatoes, Eggs, and Leafy Greens), Green Tea, Garlic, Turmeric, and Ginkgo Biloba.

Don't forget your Leafy Greens!

Incorporating a wide variety of nutrient-dense foods is one of the most effective measures against brain fog, memory loss, and shrinkage. And according to Waclawski, don’t forget to fit in those workouts! “Regular exercise and physical activity also plays a vital role in slowing down brain declines – it will help oxygenate your brain. That along with the adoption of a “heart-smart” eating plan will help avoid‘brain-drain’!”

Top Five Ways To Keep YOUR Independence

Happy birthday, America!

It is during this time of year that we are reminded of the importance of being a free and independent American.

And, it is during this time of year that we'd like to remind you of how to keep your independence!
We're not talking about political independence, but of maintaining your physical independence.  As you know, Perfect Personal Training is passionate about keeping you free and clear of emergency rooms, overnight hospital stays, and debilitating diseases of the heart, brain, and joints.

So, we've put together our list of five key lifestyle changes that will go a long way in preventing disease and injury.  Please print this list and put it somewhere where it can serve as a daily reminder!

#5.  Keep a Food Journal:  While this may sound like a time-consuming task, just doing this for two or three days each month can give you a great idea of your intake.  It's not just total calories that you should be counting, but your approximate daily carbohydrate intake, your approximate daily protein intake, your water intake, and other important factors.  Of course, a Perfect Personal Trainer can assess your factors and make the appropriate recommendations.

#4.  Know Your Body Composition:  Knowing your weight is not enough!  Only your body composition score can truly assess how "fat" you are, and just how much change is needed, if any, to keep your risk for cardiovascular disease low.  This will also tell us how high (or low) your metabolism is.

#3.  Get Your Cardio In:  Five days per week are recommended for strong cardiovascular health, at a duration of 20-60 minutes per session, and at a "moderate to high" intensity.  This goes for everyone who is in generally good health and who is cleared for exercise by a physician.  This is not just for fat burning, but to keep your circulatory and cardiorespiratory systems functioning ideally.

#2.  Take Care of Your Muscles:  Let's face it - without healthy muscles, we're all in trouble as we age.  Stretch all major muscles safely every day, and perform appropriate strength training for every major muscle at least once or twice per week.  Statistically, even this low amount of strength training, when done properly, will improve metabolism and joint health, while maintaining your level of mobility year and after year.

And, the #1 thing that you should be doing to keep your independence.....

#1.  Load up on anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatories!  Yes, more than anything, you need anti-oxidants to fight off free radicals.  Free radicals are worse than ever now, with environmental issues and other factors contributing regularly to our poorer health.  Fight them off by getting high amounts of anti-oxidants through fruits and vegetables, green teas, herbs, and vitamins.  And, by adhering to a diet that is high in anti-inflammatory foods, you will reduce your risk even further.  These are easy and very important components to keeping your body healthy, while minimizing risk for cancer and chronic disease.
Stay independent, America!  Your decisions have the ability to make or break your health, happiness, and long-term physical independence.  Make the right ones, and you'll make your "future self" a healthy one.

GREAT DEAL!
** Buy One, Get One Free deals on herbs, vitamins, and supplements **

A Frenzy of Fitness Products

Happy holidays, readers!

Reaching your New Year fitness goals means a combination of nutrition, lifestyle modification, and exercise aimed at improving muscular and cardiorespiratory abilities. And, while the wide variety of available fitness products can all be helpful tools, it is important to remember that they are just that -- helpful tools, and nothing more. Achieving fitness and wellness is not about the products that you select, but about your strategy and its careful execution.

Advertisements for the Bowflex home gyms all claim to bring incredible results to their users. But, the Bowflex itself does not have the ability to do that. It is your ability to successfully target all of your muscles with appropriate intensity and duration, combined with your caloric intake and cardiorespiratory training, that will or won't lead to successful change. Don't be fooled -- nothing about the Bowflex will make your work out any more beneficial than training with free weights, bands, tubing, or other forms of resistive training. In fact, given the Bowflex's inability to properly accompany many body types, users of this product may be far better off relying on other (and cheaper) methods of getting fit.

The stability ball, and many Ab Rollers, Ab Crunchers, and similar devices that are aimed at targeting the "belly area" are even more guilty of misrepresenting their value. While these devices can be used to effectively develop more core musculature and balance, training the midsection's muscles has nothing to do with burning body fat.

This is also a good time to reference the dumbbell collections that are aimed at womens' fitness. Usually sold as a case of dumbbells of varying resistances under ten pounds each, these sets are sometimes promoted as being all that is needed for a body sculpting, muscular work out. In truth, these dumbbells won't take most women very far in their pursuits. After the first few weeks or so of regular use, it is rare that these dumbbells will be heavy enough to progressively train the major muscles of a woman's body.

Keep the following information in mind when planning your exercise sessions: First, be sure that you are selecting complimentary modalities. Then, concern yourself with the frequency, intensity, and duration of everything you do. When these factors are properly addressed, it won't matter what devices you select, but how well you stick to your progressive regimen.

Questions? Feel free to call (877)698-DO-IT (3648) or leave us a comment below!