Food For Thought – Observations from Inside the Grocery Store

I received this note this morning from a client. One of your team members. Just the fact that it was written tells me this person gets it, and cares enough about the other members of the team to write it. It is blunt and on face value may seem even a little unkind. But look deep inside and tell me it isn’t true.

I share it because it hit home. When I was overweight and unhealthy it was almost exclusively because of this path:

grocery store shelves to grocery cart to car to house to cupboards to table to my stomach.

The results weren’t pretty. I was killing myself. Obese, high blood pressure, pre-diabetic. Nobody’s fault but mine.

You are in so much more control of your health than you understand. It starts with the choice you make every day, 3-4 times a day.

You can fuel the tank with junk or with high test -the choice really is yours.

It takes more time and effort to plan and prepare meals – I’ll give you that. I would dispute that it costs more money. Have you looked at the price of a box of cereal lately? Add in the cost of the medications you are currently taking or will be taking in the future.

How’s the math looking now?

So a big thank-you to our mystery writer.

There is much wisdom in these words.

Coach Dean

***

I have spent more years than I would like to admit working in a grocery store, but I have observed a lot of people, and food for that matter. The grocery chain that I work for brings in hundreds of thousands of dollars each week from people of all shapes, sizes and socioeconomic status. Hundreds of people throughout the day come through the lines of the checkout area. There are the regulars, first time shoppers, once in a while shoppers and the passing through, so we decided to stop here, shoppers.

With that said, I will begin by saying that there was not a formal study of anything I am about to say, no control group, no variables and certainly no scientist behind it, just some interesting observations from inside the grocery store.

A cashier’s job is monotonous, going through the every day motions of “Hi, how are you? Cash or credit and have a nice day.”

To prevent the mind from going crazy from the beep of the register for hours on end, cashiers begin to focus on the customers and their purchases. I am not saying that you are being “judged” by the staff at the grocery store, they are completely desensitized to any items that you can put on the belt, trust me, and they certainly don’t say things like “oh my god, did you see what SHE bought?”

However, most of the cashiers and baggers that have been in the industry for a while can predict what items you will be buying, just by looking at you. The converse also applies, a cart filled with groceries can easily be matched with its owner.

Looking at someone’s shape, size, behavior and how their kids are acting (if they have any) really tell you a lot about what you are going to find in their shopping cart. The next time you go to the grocery store, look at people and what’s in their carts, and you will see what I mean.

Now, I am happy to say that I only work weekends at the grocery store now-a-days. Still, I see many people that go to Get Fit NH and it makes me laugh, as they make the connection that we train at the same place. At least once a weekend, I bump into someone and they look at their groceries then at me and say “Oh it’s so and so’s birthday so we are having this stuff” or “ I don’t eat like this all the time” or “It’s not for me, I am shopping for so and so.” I couldn’t imagine what they would say if they ever bumped into you, Dean, at the grocery store.

Now I am not saying that I am in any way, shape or form a nutrition guru. In fact, I consider myself to be pretty nutrition impaired. But the
combination of matching people to the groceries they buy and bumping into other Get Fit NH bootcampers at the grocery store has led me to the following conclusions:

You really are what you eat.

and,

If you are embarrassed to have it in your grocery cart, take it out.

Chances are, it isn’t good for you.

 

Keeping It Simple in the Get Fit NH Kitchen

I love being in the kitchen. If I could I would make everything from scratch. My kids love to help me but I just don’t have time to do as much as I would like. So I’ve cut down the prep time by buying some items that need little to no work.

Since veggies are a big part of PPW (Protein, Produce and Water) that is where I started because that is also where lots of peeling, slicing, dicing, cutting, cleaning etc…. Came in.

Here’s my helpful food prep cheats list to buy at the grocery store.

Frozen Veggies

Frozen chopped onion

Frozen chopped onion and pepper combination

Frozen stir fry veggies. (Don’t buy the ones with the sauce already added to them)

Frozen veggies

Frozen blends of veggies (the California blend is very yummy with a little olive oil sprinkled on top, salt and pepper then roasted in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes)

Fresh Veggies

Cherry tomatoes (no need to cut these up to throw on a salad, plus they make a great grab and go snack)

Baby carrots

Pre cut celery

Spinach (I’ve made Spinach Honey Moon Salad many times. (LETT- UCE Alone) But it can be thrown in with eggs for a delicious omelet, added to stir fries, rolled around a slice of chicken or turkey, or sauté with shrimp and garlic)

Precut mushrooms

Coleslaw mixes can be bought. (Use these in stir fries not loaded with mayo.)

Canned or in a jar:

Tomato sauce

Petite tomatoes

Plum tomatoes

Tomato tomatoes 🙂

There are so many tomato products that are canned or in a jar for use in soups, sauces, stir fries, added to your favorite protein dish.

While there are days when I spend a long time fixing just the perfect dinner but more often than not I’m making things happen, double time. I don’t have to miss out on good food I just have to make that good food as quickly as I can. Keeping things simple have helped cut down my time in the kitchen. If you have time, spend it on cooking and let your kids help. Otherwise, let them help while you keep on smiling.

Go simple this week. Very simple.

Coach Nancy

S3 – There is nothing you can’t do!

Hey gang just wanted to remind you that the sign up sheets for S3 are ready and waiting for you – don’t delay!

We are understandably getting a lot of “What exactly is it?, When does it start?” etc.

I get that.

But I want you to understand that I would never ask you to do something that was not achievable. You trust us every day with your training, I am asking you to trust us now.

That being said I will offer you a brief timeline and outline as best I can.

The contest will be 8 weeks long, and is currently slated to start Monday April 23rd and end Friday June 15th.

Update – we will be starting and ending one week later because of April vacation

On April 17th registration will open on ActiveNH.com, the website we are partnering with for the contest. You will be provided with instructions and an access code. This will be the hub of the contest where tasks will be recorded, live scoring will be updated, etc.  This site will make it way easier in the past to stay in the loop and keep up to date.

As we do with all our coaching S3 will focus on behavior, not just outcomes. Our work with Dr. Berardi at Precision Nutrition has been instrumental in this coaching philosophy, and it is very powerful and empowering.

What’s the difference between a behavior and outcome?

Here are a couple past articles you can read that help explain:

Your Goals Aren’t

Is There A Gap In Your Training?

To put it simply behavior is something you can control, while an outcome is something that is not always in your control.

A behavior goal says “I will attend bootcamp 4 days a week”. To a large extent you have control over if this happens or not.

An outcome goal says “I will lose 10 pounds this month”. You may or may not, and whether you do or not isn’t always in your control.

But the more positive behaviors you adopt, the more likely it is you will reach your desired outcome.

So we focus on behavior.

That’s not to say the outcome doesn’t factor in, because it does and should. But your focus should be on what you can do, what may or may not happen.

Get It?

So yes, there will be a fat loss component as part of the scoring. You will need to step on the scale and track results.

But the vast majority of your points will be earned by doing.

Here’s the actual task for the first two weeks of the contest.

S3 Habit 1: Eat a meal within one hour of waking or within 1 hour after training This is a PPW meal, not a protein shake or recovery drink. Choose on or the other.

That’s it. That’s how you earn task points for the first two weeks.

Can you do that?

Then you know where the sign up sheet is!

Make It Happen!

Willoughby Farm CSA

As you probably know we are a huge fans of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and have written on the topic quite a few times, so when Get Fit NH Superstar Ruth Finch told me about the  Willoughby Farm CSA I was excited to pass it on.

There is nothing fresher, tastier, and yes even more friendly to the environment than having local produce grown by local farmers. For those of us who don’t have the time or talent to grow our own veggies, getting involved in a CSA is like gold!

Ruth told me this morning they have shares left, but don’t delay, I am sure they will not last long.

Steve and Ruth are sponsoring the pickup at their home in Concord, which is really close to Get Fit NH Concord, and since the pickup time is between 3:30pm and 6:00pm I would say that’s perfect for those who train later in the day!

You can get more information and get contact info for Willoughby Farm here: Willoughby Farm CSA Brochure 2012

To learn more about community supported agriculture and find more CSA near you visit LocalHarvest.org

Thanks Ruth!

Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown – Team Transformation

I know the anticipation has been building, as we have had people asking for weeks when this years “S3” contest was going to start!

Well gang, hold on to your hats because we are just about ready to get going. This year it is going to be easier than ever to keep track of your points and see who is on top, because we are going high tech with our own customized website!

We are excited to be partnering with ActiveNH.com to run the website, and Tim has assured me that you don’t need to be a “techie”, it’s just point and click. The really cool things is that results will be constantly updated and you will be able to see how your team is doing in the competition as well as how you are contributing to the effort. Good stuff!

We are putting the finishing touches on the site, so as soon as it’s ready (2 weeks or less) we will get cooking!

Here is where I am going to serious for a minute.

We are investing a lot of time and money into this years transformation. We are upping the game and we only want you to participate if you are fully committed to the process and are willing to do what it takes. Now don’t get me wrong, we want 100% client participation, because we have seen how life changing these events can be, but we aren’t going to force you to do it.

This years theme is “Team Transformation”.  There is nothing like having a team behind you to encourage, motivate, and yes, kick you in the butt when you need it!

Each training time will have their own team, as we have done in years past. On Monday morning there will be a sign up sheet  – put the name down on the appropriate sheet and you are in!

Now at this point you are probably saying to yourself “What am I getting myself into?”. Let me assure you there is no part of this contest that you will be unable to do.

Once we firm up the details with the web developer we will reveal contest specifics, but for now lets just talk about the really good stuff…

The Prizes!

Let me put it this way, you are going to want to do everything you can to help your team win, because besides the team prize the top 3 finishers are going to walk away with some amazing swag!

Individual Winners

3rd Place

• Custom “Get Fit NH” Jacket ($50 value)
• 3 Months entry into F.L.A.G./Gold Access on TheOther165.com ($81 value)

2nd Place

• Custom “Get Fit NH” Jacket ($50 value)
• 6 Months entry into F.L.A.G./Gold Access on TheOther165.com ($162 value)
• Gift Certificate for 30 Minute Massage ($50 value)

1st Place

• Custom “Get Fit NH” Jacket ($50 value)
• 12 Months entry into F.L.A.G./Gold Access on TheOther165.com ($324 value)
• Gift Certificate for 60 Minute Massage ($70 value)
• A brand spanking new iPad 3 ($629 value)

How cool is that? 🙂

Team Transformation Winners

The top scoring team will get:

• Their own custom designed Get Fit NH “T” for everyone else to be insanely jealous of
• A gourmet dinner prepared and hosted by Coach Dean and Nancy for each team member and their family
• Year long bragging rights!

There will also be other “surprise” prizes along the way – so stay sharp!

We are looking for this years contest to be our most closely contested, hard fought and fun ever. Look for those sign up sheets on Monday and get in on all the action.

Make It Happen!

 

Hester is Training for the Sport of Life

Hester posted this to our FLAG group this morning, and it so good I thought I’d share with everyone.

“Dean’s post this morning prompted me to think about why I do these things called boot camp and FLAG.

What made me commit to myself?

Why do I set a 4:15 alarm, and why do I write down everything I eat and why do I share stuff like this in a group forum?

There are all the obvious reasons but what finally pushed me to make the change?

I think it happened when my first grandchild, now two, was a couple of months old. I had the opportunity to take care of him over a long weekend. After three days of constant carrying, lifting, going up and down stairs, and up and down with floor activities I couldn’t deny I was out of shape and if I wanted to enjoy this little boy and future grandchildren I had to shed some weight and get stronger.

With grandson #2 due at the end of May I’m looking forward to a summer of granny-stuff and not worrying about the physical aspects and keeping up. Who knows, maybe these boys and their cousins will tell stories some day about their crazy grandmother who taught them how to do upper body sprints and dynamic planks. (But made their mother do the burpees.)” – Hester C.

Love it Hester, keep up the great work!

 

Late-for-Dinner-Winner

Jayne created this recipe on the fly. Here is what she wrote when she sent in the recipe. Tell me this scenario isn’t true of many of us? While planning our menu before will help us avoid this scene, there are times when all the great plans fail. Jayne had ‘one of those days’.

 “Work has been crazy and I was very late making dinner yesterday, so I ended up just quickly chopping and sautéing a bunch of things I had in the fridge.  I do this a lot – but as it turns out last night IT TASTED GREAT and was really simple.  So…thought I would share for all my Get Fit NH family who also start cooking dinner right when everyone is starving.  Start to finish, this took me about 20 minutes.  Enjoy!”

Late-for-Dinner-Winner

• 1 medium sized eggplant (unpeeled)
• 2 small green summer squash (unpeeled)
• 2 9-oz packages of Perdue Short Cuts Carved Chicken Breast, Grilled
• 15 oz can of Cannelloni beans (drained and rinsed)
• Salt/pepper to taste
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Start by chopping the eggplant (skin on) and summer squash into similarly sized pieces (1 inch cubes).  Sauté in olive oil on medium heat.  After a few minutes, add about 1/4 cup of water and cover to get them to break down and soften up.  Continue cooking until soft, about 5-6 minutes. Add pre-cooked sliced chicken breast, cannelloni beans and cook until heated through.

Jayne is a member of  our FLAG accountability group. After sharing this recipe, others have used this recipe as a base idea and added their own twists. Helen used broccoli and chicken sausage to make this recipe her own. While Hester had broccoli and leftover chicken for her dinner. The point of all this is, dinner can be made quickly with what you have on hand and it can taste good!

 

It’s Not About The Workout

I have never been a huge fan of the term “workout”.

When someone tells me they are going to workout it brings back memories of when I used to belong to a local gym and the kind of activities that go on there.

I don’t mean to sound harsh, but for the most part it was a lot of  people who didn’t know what 99% of the equipment was for, and if they did they probably weren’t properly instructed how to use it.

Which is why when you walk into most commercial gyms all the cardio equipment is being used.

At least on the treadmill I can work up a sweat, the thinking goes.

But I can sit in a sauna and sweat, so unless there is a purpose to the activity what’s the point?

Which is why I much prefer the term “training”.

Do we have workouts at Get Fit NH?

We do.

We do a “Burn the Pies off the Thighs” workout after Thanksgiving, and there is our annual “Wicked Winter Workout”, just to name a couple.

These are exceptions however, not the rule.

The difference is that these “workouts” are not part of the overall training plan that we have in place at Get Fit NH.

If you are like me when you walk (or used to walk) into the gym you did what you liked to do, what you were good at, and maybe just the things you knew how to do.

I mean training legs is hard, I think I’d rather just work on my abs today.

And pretty soon your back is hurting.

And I want sculpted shoulders, so I’ll do lots of overhead pressing, but doing pullups isn’t on my radar, and the next thing you know you can’t lift your arm to your side without pain.

Stretch, foam roll, mobility work? Never heard of it (or at least I’ll pretend I haven’t)

Which brings me back to my point.

Training for life is more than throwing a mish-mash of stuff together that makes you sweat and calling it good.

It’s more than just finding a place that will beat the snot out of you every day – anybody can do that, and unfortunately too many do.

Too many training programs are short sighted.

They are focused on the here and now, not on the long term outcomes.

I mean your body can handle just about anything, no matter how stupid, for a little while.

But eventually stupid hurts.

And just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.

I saw an article the other day about a particular workout that shall remain unnamed.

The author was talking about now that he was older he couldn’t do what he used to do anymore in his workouts. That now he had to think about recovery and training loads.

This man was the ripe old age of 35.

He is partly right, he does need to think about recovery and training loads, but then again he always did need to think about those things.

I would submit to you that if he had taken better care of himself when he was 25 and “bulletproof” he wouldn’t be in such poor shape now dealing with injuries.

Now you may think I am just ranting, and maybe I am, a little.

But I am pretty fed up with watching unsuspecting people glom onto the latest and greatest fad and not thinking about the long term effects.

35? Seriously?

I got 10 years on him already and I plan to keep training until they put me in a box.

I enjoy a challenge as well as the next guy (5050 burpees anyone?)

Adventure races, I’m there.

The occasional 5k? Reluctantly yes. 🙂

But when it comes down to it, I am training for the Sport of Life.

My son Drew doesn’t care if I can snatch 200lbs 10x in 2 minutes.

But he cares if I can run around and play ball with him.

My daughters KJ and Amy don’t care if daddy can box jump 36″

But they care that I can get down on the floor and play with them.

And for me, that’s what it’s all about.

And it’s why I am so anal about doing the research and work necessary to write effective and safe training programs for our clients.

When we find a better way, we implement it.

But we aren’t aiming to be trendy, we are aiming for results in a fun, safe and efficient environment.

And that, as they say, is that.

Train Hard.

Train Smart.

Train for Life.

 

Wouldja, Couldja Please Vote For Us Again?

Hey guys I know I am asking a lot, but it’s time for another round of voting, this time the 2012 Concord Cappies.

Last year we moved up another notch and were voted #2 Fitness Center in Concord, and I am confident we can go all the way to #1 this year, but we need your help!

Voting is open, so please head on over and vote for ALL your favorites now.

Thank-you!

Vote Here Now

 

“Running 101, From Beginner To Advanced” with Dr. Brett Coapland

As you know if you have been around me for very long I have a real love/hate relationship with running (actually it’s more hate/hate, but oh well).

I actually used to be a pretty decent runner, but running in combat boots back in the day helped screw up my hip to the point I have been advised by more than one medical professional to not run at all anymore.

And the fact of the matter is that invariably if a new client, especially women, complains of achy knees they either are currently doing some running or have been running, and one of the reasons they come to see us is to try to help them get them to stop hurting so much.

Now frankly I am not going to sit here and advocate running for everybody, because for some people it’s just not appropriate. Running puts a tremendous load on joints, particularly those with higher bodyweights and/or poor running mechanics.

But I also understand that spring is here and with that comes 5k’s, adventure races, triathlons, and some of you are even training for marathons!

And that is why I am pleased to announce that Dr. Brett Coapland will holding a running clinic at Get Fit NH next month.

If you are going to do it, let’s do it right!

Dr. Coapland’s Bio:

• Owner of Performance Health Spine & Sports Therapy in Concord, NH
• Chiropractor specializing in sports injury
• Certified CSCS, ART
• Special interest in running mechanics and running injuries
• Ultramarathoner and 2x Ironman Finisher

Seminar Outline:

Part 1: Lecture

• Running Mechanics
• Running Shoes/Orthotics
• Training Principles/Adaptation
• Nutrition, Hydration, and Recovery
• Common Injuries and How to Avoid Them

Part 2: Hands (Feet?) On

• Running Mechanics
• Corrective Exercise for Injury Prevention
• Optional Easy Group Run

If you want to be a better runner (and you know you do), you do not want to miss this opportunity to learn from one of the best around. You would be hard pressed to find this level of instruction anywhere, and the clinic tuition is almost insanely low, so register now.

Running 101 – From Beginner to Advanced
Place: Get Fit NH Bootcamp Concord
Date: Saturday April 21, 2012
Time: 8:00am to 12:00pm
Cost: $40.00

Thank-You for your interest – Registration Is Full!