Nielsen Fitness - Personal Training Toronto

Written by: Micheline click to read profile

After training and talking to thousands of people about health and fitness over the years, I have come to find that the largest obstacle for most people is their “all or nothing” attitude. I’m willing to wager that most of you reading this have a pretty good idea of what I’m talking about. It’s that little voice inside your head that starts up when you’ve “cheated” on your diet; that evil little voice that convinces you that you’ve “blown it” for the day so you may as well eat what ever you want. Gobbling down those 3 cookies have gone and ruined everything for you! Oh well, you’ll start over again tomorrow; because tomorrow will be different; you’ll be “better” right? Sound familiar? It’s likely too familiar for most of us.
When this sort of thing happens to my clients (and it does happen to most of them at some point or another in their quest for optimal health), I try to convince them to use what I call, their “logical brain”. I encourage them to take a step back and think about what has really happened by doing some quick number crunching. For example, if they had 3 chocolate chip cookies at approximately 100 calories each or maybe we should be more realistic and say they had 6 cookies at 100 calories each for a total of 600 calories. Knowing that each pound of body fat requires 3500 excess calories to be stored, 600cals works out to be approx 1/6th of a pound or 2.5 ounces. Now think about it, in the big picture, in your individual plan to achieve optimal fitness, is that 2.5 ounces really that big of a deal? Is it going to determine whether or not you ultimately achieve your goals? I highly doubt it; it’s just a little bump in a constantly changing road.
However, if 6 cookies becomes a box of cookies and a large pizza followed by a pint of ice cream and/or the “better” tomorrow never comes, the numbers start to look a lot different and you will definitely find your goals being sabotaged.
There is no end point when it comes to achieving a healthy lifestyle; it’s a process that requires constant balancing. We are not perfect and thus the “all or nothing” attitude will never get us to where we want to be; forgive yourself for the small stuff and keep moving forward!

If you’ve ever made an effort to drop a few pounds, you will likely agree that nothing is worse than trying very hard to lose weight and nothing seems to be working.

If you’re following a safe and effective exercise program and eating the right things, but you find yourself facing this problem, it might boil down to the fact that your meals – even if you’re eating healthy foods - are simply too big.
Many people suffer from this “portion distortion” dilemma. It’s a fact - the portions we eat in our homes and in restaurants are significantly larger than they were 20 years ago.

A fast food hamburger 1954 and today

To make matters worse, many people fall victim to the myth that because a food is healthy, they can eat lots of it. But unfortunately, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing – eating too much, even when the foods are healthy, will always lead to a surplus of calories and result in extra fat in your body.

Here are some tips to keep your portions under control: First, I suggest substituting your regular dinner plate for a smaller side or salad plate. Studies show that people eat significantly less off a smaller plate.

Secondly, your plate should be divided into 3 primary sections. 50% of your plate should be designated for vegetables, and 25% should be set for whole grains and other healthy starches. The remaining 25% of your plate should include proteins from meat and/or meat alternatives.

Another tip is to eat 4-6 small meals a day rather than 3 large ones. Your meals should be 2-3 hours apart, and I recommend you use the 50/25/25 plate trick and prepare your meals ahead of time before you get hungry. This is a sure fire way to keep control of what foods you eat and how much. I also suggest you stop eating 3 hours before bed since most of the food that you eat within that time will be stored as fat.

A final piece of advice: avoid unhealthy snacks as a reward for eating healthy meals. Sugary and or fried foods will only lead you to crave more sugary and fried foods. They will also leave you lethargic and without the energy that you’ll need to stay alert and motivated to eat well and exercise.

If you have any questions or comments about this Blog entry or are interested in learning more about Nielsen Fitness and our nutritional and personal training services, please feel free to e.mail or contact us for a no obligation fitness and lifestyle consultation.

A common excuse that I hear from a lot of people is that they do not have enough time to exercise. As a personal trainer my goal is to change this perspective. Although I do advocate dedicated exercise sessions, I also do my best to encourage people to think in a new way about how, where and when to fit in exercise.

It is absolutely possible to work out while doing something else. One of my favourite multitasking exercises is the wall-sit.

The wall-sit is a static contraction exercise because the challenge lies in holding the contraction for a period of time. It’s an excellent way to target the glutes and thighs while strengthening the knee joint at the same time. A word of warning though – do not attempt this exercise if you have high blood pressure, and as always, I recommend that if you are starting an exercise program for the first time, you should consult your physician first.

Begin by selecting a wall that is strong enough to support your weight. Ensure that you are on a non-slip surface. With you feet hip-width apart and at least two feet from the wall, lean against the wall with your upper and lower-back. Slowly bring your hips down and bend your knees until you can feel a mild effort in your thigh muscles. Pause, keep you abdominals tight, remember to breathe and slowly continue to bring your body down until you feel enough challenge or until your thighs are parallel with the floor. Aim to hold this position for at least 20 seconds. Stand up and gently shake out your legs. If performed daily and with a realistic plan it’s possible for most people to hold a wall sit for 5 minutes or more.

For maximal postural benefit, make sure you keep your lower-back against the wall and your shoulder blades pressed back and down. If you have any questions about this exercise or are interested in learning more efficient ways to keep fit, we invite you to contact us to set up a no-obligation free personal training session. Stay tuned for more fun exercise suggestions in the future!

Written by Lars:Click to read profile

When it comes to using sweeteners, there is a variety of options. I believe that using artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, splenda, sucralose, etc are too good to be true. These sweeteners are chemically manufactured and amazingly enough contain no calories. There is a lot of studies and research showing the links between artificial sweeteners and certain cancers. I have heard and read that these sweeteners when broken down in your body turn into formaldehyde - which is an embalming fluid. I have also read that one of the ingredients of Splenda is in fact Chlorine. Why would you want to ingest such things? For more information check out www.truthaboutsplenda.com

Next time you need a little sweetener for your coffee or tea, use some real sugar or even try some honey. You are far better off with the few extra calories then you are adding chemicals to your body. These chemicals are tough to break down and have many possible side effects. Not only are these artificial sweeteners complete garbage, they are very addictive and can even slow down your metabolism.

Be cautious when you buy anything that says “low calories”, “diet”, or “sugar free” - they likely contain these artificial sweeteners. These also come under various aliases as well, so be careful.

Here are a few things that I would suggest for adding a sweet flavour to your favourite drinks and meals.

- Honey

- 100% real maple syrup

- Raw organic evaporated cane sugar

- Stevia

- Ground up dates

Be informed and eat healthy.

Written by: Micheline click to read profile

I spend many hours every week in the gym – training clients and working out myself – which helps me stay abreast of the concerns of today’s exercisers. Interestingly enough, many concerns – and myths – seem to be the same today as there were 10 years ago.

Where is all the study data going? Are people not reading it? Or are they reading it and not believing it?

One myth that I feel very strongly about dispelling is the belief that an over weight or obese person should only be doing cardio in order to achieve fat loss. Typically, the rationale behind this belief is that cardio produces faster results and therefore is the best use of exercise time.

I disagree. It’s true that regular cardiovascular exercise will help you to burn body fat, and when paired with a sound nutritional program, can result in significant change in body composition. But, it’s important to realize that the metabolic boost from cardiovascular exercise is only temporary!

On the other hand, the metabolic boost resulting resistance training is permanent and its affects will last as long as the muscle mass is maintained. Let me explain: Muscle tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue, which means it uses more calories all day, every day, even at rest. The more muscle you have, the more calories you’re burning at all times. Ultimately over the long run, this can lead to greater – and sustained – fat loss.

The catch – fat loss as a result of resistance training takes longer to realize. But it’s worth the time investment, and in the long run, will make fat loss, and the maintenance of fat loss, much easier.

So I recommend a combination of regular cardiovascular exercise and appropriate and safe resistance training as the best way for ANYBODY lose fat safely and permanently.

Posted by: Poul

What is with our obsession with the scale?

I have never completely understood peoples’ obsession with the scale and their weight, when it is inches and body fat that really matter. Unless considered obese and at a health risk, I encourage people not to worry about what the scale says. I have trained dozens of people who have dropped dress and pant sizes without losing significant amounts of bodyweight. You’ve heard it before and it’s true — muscle weighs a lot more than fat.

And muscles burn a lot more calories than fat does, even if you are inactive. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, if you just sat in a chair all day an extra 12lbs of well distributed muscle can metabolize an additional 720 calories/week. That means by gaining that muscle and eating the same, you can burn an extra pound of fat in about a month! On the other hand, if you’re highly active and careful about what you eat, you can burn a lot more!!

Bottom line: Don’t be fearful of gaining muscle — or weight — when exercising. It can be a good thing!