S3 2013 Habit 2: Eat Lean, Protein Dense Foods with Each Meal

Week 2’s habit is focused on getting your body what it needs to manufacture enzymes, hormones, and antibodies, replace worn out cells and build new cells. Without it the machine can’t operate at full capacity.

Protein.

The team over at Precision Nutrition has done a great job telling us what protein is and why it is so important to eat. You can’t live without it, really! Read “All About Protein” Here.

There are so many more choices out there than just chicken and fish.

Have you checked out the PPW3 shopping list on our sister site ThePPWKitchen.com yet?

There are Forty-Two different protein sources on that list alone – 42!

How Much Protein?

A good rule of thumb is this: Look at the palm of your hand. If you are a woman, your portion per meal should be about the size of your hand. This will be between 20 and 30 grams. Men, double that portion per meal, or 40-60 grams. The fact is that most of the time you are not going to want to get the food scale out every time you sit down to eat (although that is  great idea for a week or two until you get good at eyeballing portions), and the palm method is easy and portable! 🙂

Here are just a few examples of lean protein sources. The amounts listed will provide approximately 20-30 grams of quality protein, which is what we would consider a women’s portion.  Guys, do a little multiplying and double it.

High quality protein.
3-4 oz of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish
1 cup of cooked seafood
4-5 egg whites
2-3 large eggs
6 oz. cottage cheese
6 oz. of plain greek yogurt (1 container)
2 oz of part skim cheese
1 scoop of protein powder
1 cup cooked lentils or beans
3-4 oz of tempeh or tofu
1 small veggie burger

Now it can be noted that some of these foods, particularly the dairy, have some carbohydrates as well, which is why we talk about protein dense foods.

Let me give you an example.

We all love peanut butter, but is peanut butter a good source of protein?

Let’s look at peanut butter from a well known store – Trader Joe’s. I actually love Trader Joe’s peanut butter.

Peanuts and Salt. That’s it.

And if I look at the nutrition label (you do, right?) you will see that 2 Tablespoons, or 1 serving, has 8 grams of protein. Not TOO bad you might be thinking.

But the % of protein in Peanut Butter is actually quite low, in this case around 17% of total calories. (Hint – it’s mostly fat)

Make sense?

Here are other “protein sources” that you’ll want to avoid:

Bacon
Lunch Meats
Sausages
Pepperoni
Protein in “fast food” restaurant meals (chinese take out, etc.)

These are low quality proteins, most of which are high in fat, sodium, and sugar, contain nitrates and a lot of other nasty preservatives.

So how do you score your daily point starting in Week 2 (Monday April 22)?

By doing S3 Habit 1 and 2
S3 Habit 1: Eat 4-5 meals each day
S3 Habit 2: Eat lean protein with all those meals

Here’s a handy dandy chart to help you get pointed in the right direction:

Quality Protein Fibrous Carbs Compliments

The possibilities are endless, so get out of the drive through, put on that Chef’s hat and Make It Happen!

Renegade Playground Challenge at NHMS

I know this is super early to be jumping on, but the crew at the Renegade Playground Challenge and New Hampshire Motor Speedway hooked us up with a great entry fee for the 2013 race – Only $40 + admin fee for a total of $43.75.

That is a wicked good deal for this kind of race, so get on board ASAP! We took a crew up there a couple years ago, and in talking with Ana over at NHMS this one is going to be better than ever!

Coach Meagan setup the team, and we are trying to get as many of y’all as we can to join the 9:00am wave with us.

Head on over to http://www.renegadeplayground.com/ to check out what the fun is all about, and then Click Here to register.

Our team name is GET FIT NH, and the promo code is GETFITNH – super innovative, huh?! 🙂

Renegade Playground Challenge
Saturday October 12, 2013
Team: GETFITNH

Let’s Have Some Fun!!!

S3 2013 – Let’s Get In The Habit

We are gearing up for Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown 2013 and we are wicked excited about seeing all the great things you are going to do.

If you have been training at Get Fit NH or a reader of our “stuff”, you know that we are all about building nutrition habits that will enable us to achieve and maintain a lean, high performance body – for a lifetime.

We base a large part of our work on Dr. John Berardi and his team over at Precision Nutrition. There are two (at least) reasons we do that. The first is that these are the same exact principles that allowed me (Coach Dean) to lose over 80 pounds and keep it off for many years. The second is because of my success and the success I saw in others using the system that I sought what is recognized within the industry as the best (and I might add hardest to earn) Nutrition Coaching credential for fitness professionals. I believe it is the best, and the PN team is always on the cutting edge of nutritional science and getting better.

So let’s get started!

Habit 1 is very straightforward.

Eat 4-5 meals per day.

At this point it doesn’t matter what, when, how or why.

Every time you eat, mark an “X” on your success checklist. If at the end of the day you have eaten at least 4 times, give yourself a point.

Pretty simple, eh?

You see we know how busy life is, and we know that it can be a real struggle to eat consistently. Skipping meals on a consistent rate is not cool for many reasons. You don’t get enough nutrients, your blood sugar can go wild, your metabolic rate is thought to slow down – all sorts of things that make achieving and maintaining a lean and healthy body nigh near impossible.

Look I have absolutely no objections if you want to start implementing some or all of the other habits too.

But don’t complicate things.

• Breakfast
• Lunch
• Dinner
• Recovery Drink

That’s four feeding opportunities – check!

Just eat.

Here’s an example

Adam R’s Success Story

Got this great message from Adam after he, wife Deb, Coach Meagan and superstars Jen and Becky completed the Run For The Troops this past Sunday.

Keep up the great work Adam, and Thank-You for choosing to train with us!

“This is the best one yet…nothing meaningful is ever gained without sacrifice and hard work! We ran two (2) 5 K races over the weekend and the second race felt better than the first over a more challenging course. A few years ago I would only have dreamed about ever doing this again in my life. Thanks to you and Get Fit NH you have greatly helped me on the road to greater physical awareness and health. Changing lives one life at a time is what you do best and you are truly making this world a better place for all in Concord. Every training day is a new challenge and the finisher is now our reward! What powerful words “Make It Happen!” have become in so many lives!” – Adam Rosenthal

40 Days of Fitness. Did You Complete The Challenge?

If so I want to congratulate you on a job well done; that is a lot of X-Body Mountain Climbers and Get Ups!

A special thank-you to the (in) famous Richard Patterson of 4:15 fame, who is the official “Challenge-Meister” of Get Fit NH, for not only keeping us on our toes with some great challenge suggestions, but this time around he very generously contributed to the prize kitty.

In talking with Richard about a challenge award this time around, we thought it would be a good idea to come up with something different. Here’s what we decided:

If you completed the challenge you are entitled to your choice of post-recovery nutrition available in our coolers for the next training week (4 days). So for the next 4 days you come into train, pick up a Myoplex or your favorite flavor of Dale’s Raw Protein Bar to have on your way out the door. Please only take 1 days worth at a time so everyone gets a fair shot at trying something new. If we run out of something, please just pick something else – we will do our best to make you happy!

Great work everybody – Keep on Making It Happen!

Epsom Challenge Winners

Concord Challenge Winners

Bodyfat Rules

Actually you can take the title of this post two ways:

1) Bodyfat Rules: The specific guidelines necessary to lose body fat.

2) Bodyfat RULES – as in, radical dude – losing body fat is the way to go!

It’s really the second I want to focus on in this particular article, because I want you to SEE what a dramatic difference losing body fat makes, and why we don’t just focus on what the scale tells us. (Hint – the scale is a liar)

Plus we will be going over specific strategies for losing bodyfat at our S3 Kickoff Meetings.

“Losing weight” is almost never the primary goal, unless maybe you are cutting for a wrestling match. If not, we need to focus on keeping all that calorie burning lean muscle tissue and getting rid of the excess fat.

As my friend Chris Mohr said “If it ain’t muscle, it’s just baggage.”

You can (and should) read all about that in an article I wrote awhile back called Lean, Toned or Muscle? to get the lowdown on how we keep the muscle and lose the fat. (We called it the “Madeline” plan – you’ll have to check out the article to find out why) 🙂

Helen from the 8:30 shot me an article with some pics that I think are very helpful because it shows us what different levels of bodyfat look like on the human body. You can be 130 pounds and have 18% bodyfat, and you can be 130 pounds and have 30% bodyfat, and you will look (and feel) very different.

Check out the article and accompanying pics here: Body Fat Percentage Pictures

Coach Perry has done an outstanding job of putting it all together, so I don’t need to reinvent the wheel here.

The cool thing about getting your bodyfat assessed regularly is that it gives us an “inside” view of what is really going on inside of you.

Am I losing fat or gaining fat?

Am I losing muscle or gaining muscle?

This is critical because it lets us make an outcome based decision. If what you are doing works we stick with it, if it is not, we come up with a plan to adjust.

We offer bodyfat testing to our clients as part of your training package, so if you haven’t taken advantage, you can setup an appointment here, and we will also be doing them as part of S3.

So check out that article above and set a target for where you want to be.

24%

20%

16%

Less?

It’s ultimately up to you, but you have to MAKE It Happen.

 S3 is a great way to get started, so get on a team today!

Please Vote for Get Fit NH in the Concord Cappies

I know it seems like the voting for the “Best of …” Awards just stopped, but there is one more favor I am going to ask.

The last couple of years we have been honored to place in the Concord Cappies, published by the Concord Monitor, in fact we were voted 2nd place the last 2 years as “Best Fitness Center or Health Club”, behind the juggernaut that is PF.

One of these years little ole’ Get Fit NH is gonna reach that top spot, but we need your help. This voting is a little less daunting than the last, as there is no requirement for number of categories you need to vote for. There are a lot of great local businesses worthy of your vote, and we would be honored if you would vote for us once again as well.

Please vote for “Get Fit NH” here

Thank-you!

Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown ’13 – Prepare To Win!

The anticipation has been building and the time is almost here.

Are you ready for S3 2013? Well it’s time to get ready, because it’s coming, and it’s gonna be good!

We have had a TON of questions surrounding the details of this years transformation contest, and we have been working hard to get the pieces in place. As we do every year, we are changing things up a bit to keep you on your toes, have a ton of fun, and get some great results.

So here’s what you need to know now as we get closer.

S3 will be 7 weeks long, introducing and focusing (or re-focusing for many of you) on 1 habit per week.

We will be competing in teams of 3-5, with the goal being every team having 4 members. We have already had some great feedback on this, and we are looking forward to seeing y’all come together as a team, support each other and keep each other accountable. You can put together your own team, and we will also be helping get you on a team if you need our assistance getting one together. Be thinking about that team name!

Each team will have a team captain who is responsible for collecting success checklists, tracking weekly success checklists and submitting points on a weekly basis. Should only take 5-10 minutes a week.

Each team member will have their beginning and ending body composition percentage taken and recorded. It’s a simple 1-point ultrasound on your bicep that takes about 2 minutes – cheesy easy! There are two primary reasons that we are doing body comps in this years contest. First, we want you to see what focusing on good nutrition habits on a consistent basis will do for you. Secondly, and perhaps more important is that if you are consistently keeping good nutrition habits and we are not seeing any body composition changes in the right direction, we need to find out why. That may require medical intervention and testing, and I am sure you want to know that too, right?

Each subsequent week another habit will be introduced, and you will then be responsible for that habit and all previous habits. If that sounds like last year, that is because the principles of good nutrition have not changed in the last year, and because we know that building good habits is the key to successfully losing body fat and keeping it off, S3 2013 once is again is based on building good habits.

Once again we will be providing you the tools, resources and education you need to be successful. It is up to you to put it into action, and that’s where we know your team will pick you up and keep you moving in the right direction.

Resource Toolbox

http://ThePPWKitchen.com is where you will find tasty recipes that will keep your taste buds happy and keep you on the right track.

The S3 2013 Private Facebook group is where you can ask your questions, talk a little trash, and post your favorite PPW meal pics. You can also download our shopping list and copies of the success checklist and Captain’s scoresheet. Click here for an invite.

We will also be holding two kickoff meetings where you can get your questions answered and your initial body comp taken care of.

So What’s Next?

On April 1st there will be signup sheets in the gyms. You can start putting together your team now and start filling out the roster on that date. No worries if you don’t have a team, we’ll make that happen!

We are really looking forward to seeing you guys crank the awesome results! As always if you have any questions please ask them in the comment box below. No doubt someone else has the same question, so help ’em out!

Dates to remember:

S3 2013 Signup Starts
Monday April 1, 2013

S3 2013 Kickoff Meeting Concord
Tuesday April 9th, 7:00pm
Q&A, Body Composition Clinic

S3 2013 Kickoff Meeting Epsom
Wednesday April 10, 6:00pm
Q&A, Body Composition Clinic

S3 2013 Signup Deadline
Friday April 12, 2013
All initial body comps due

S3 2013 Begins
Monday April 15, 2013

S3 2013 Finale
Friday May 31, 2013
All final body comps and points due

Get Fit NH Thanks You – Best Gym 4 Years In A Row!

Nancy and I cannot thank-you enough for your support of this project we call Get Fit NH. Any awards we ever win are only because of the great clients and great team we are blessed with.  Our coaches, Erin, Meagan and CJ, as well as our office admin Esther are so important to making this thing go and helping us constantly get better.

Individual awards are the same way. We are honored as the “faces” of Get Fit NH to earn accolades, but as far as I am concerned every coach on our team is deserving.

So thank-you for once again for getting the word out and taking your time to vote!

It’s really cool that we were just honored as “Best of The Best” gym by readers of the Hippo Press, which makes 4 years in a row we have earned “Best of” in that category.

Coach Nancy took top honors as “Best of the Best” Fitness Instructor for the 3rd straight year (I know, I’ve been hearing for years I am second best), and Coach Dean was selected “Best of Concord” for the 3rd time in 4 years.

Thank-you for being such a big part of our lives, we are truly blessed.

Keep Making It Happen!

Coach Dean

Spring Seminar Series starts Next Tuesday

Dr. Laura Jones will be at Get Fit NH Concord next Tuesday, March 26th at 7:00pm for the first part of our Spring Seminar Series.

Here’s a synopsis of Part 1:

Thyroid Health

The thyroid is one of the major conductors of the endocrine system orchestra. This precious gland plays a key role in metabolism, weight, body composition, energy, and mood.

Several factors can influence the thyroid including genetics, diet, sleep, and stress. Often a thorough thyroid panel along with some handy detective work is necessary to unlock the secrets to one’s thyroid health and as a result sub-optimal thyroid health can go undetected for years.

Come learn more about the thyroid, the precious role it plays in our health, some of the signs and symptoms indicating that it may need some attention as well as some common naturopathic recommendations to support healthy thyroid function.

Invite your friends and family!