For the final installment of the Smart Supplementation Series, I am going to share with you the bulletproof vest of nutritional supplements: a multivitamin.

A multivitamin can prove to be extremely beneficial by filling the holes in your dietary nutrition. Check out the 4 reasons why YOU could benefit from a multivitamin:

1. If your intake is below maintenance needs. For those of us who have a fat loss goal in mind, it is often necessary to consume less than what your body was previously used to in food volume. This can lead to lost vitamins or minerals with simply not enough food to fulfill the Recommended Dietary Allowance of certain nutrients.
2. If you are suffering from allergies or intolerances. Inability to eat certain foods due to allergies and/or intolerances is the unfortunate reality of many individuals. In order to make up for lost nutrients, a multivitamin can provide what you may be missing.
3. If you limit food choices. I 100% respect vegetarians and vegans. Research supports plant-based diets to promote long term health, free of chronic disease. However, when entire food groups are cut out, a multitude of required nutrients go along with them.
4. If you are a picky eater. While I promote choosing nutritious foods a majority of the time, food is meant to be enjoyed, not despised. For individuals who have tried to incorporate fruits and vegetables with limited success, a multivitamin is your safety net to fill in the holes.
   

As a dietitian, I will ALWAYS promote a food first approach. An eating plan consisting of balance and a variety of fruits, vegetables, lean protein sources, and healthy fats will provide the most important nutrients you need. However, there are certain instances where food alone is simply not enough.

A fantastic way to determine if you are deficient in certain nutrients is to track your intake for a couple of days. Using a calorie counter (like MyFitnessPal) that breaks down each day into macro and micronutrients can show what nutrients you are getting enough of and where you could use extra support. Think of tracking your intake as a short experiment. You won’t need to track calories forever. But tracking can be an extremely useful tool in this case.

Make an appointment with your physician to have blood work done and see if deficiencies are present. From there you can determine the multivitamin most appropriate for you. An example of a good whole vitamin we typically recommend at Get Fit NH is Beverly International’s Fit Tabs. For now, keep eating a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, and healthy fats to secure your bulletproof vest!

Eating for Health Every Day,
Coach Kristen

Guilty? You’re not alone. This is probably one of the most common issues I hear when chatting with people. How can you stop the madness? You know it is contributing to the way you feel, you don’t actually enjoy it, because when you are done you are left feeling guilty and kicking yourself for giving in again. That darn voice in your head is powerful, huh? It’s time to show that voice in your head who is boss. Until you do, you are going to be stuck.

Here are 3 ways to help yourself meet the goal of kicking this habit!

1. Don’t buy it. This is hard, right? There are other people in the house who eat this way, right? Okay, let me squash that mindset real quick (I live in a household of a junk food junkie and I will share my tricks in a second) but first, PARENTS…if you shouldn’t be eating it, your kids shouldn’t be either. Deprive your kids? No. But your kids need to build good habits and happy taste buds. Our kids are as overweight as ever. Set them up to have a good relationship with food. There are plenty of quick and easy whole foods that they can and should be eating. That was my long winded way of saying don’t say "it is in the house because the kids eat it". Here is my trick for the adult kids who are not willing to comply with this mentality. Many of you know my husband is complete opposite of me. If you saw what he put in his mouth, you’d wonder how the heck I am a coach. Some of it doesn’t phase me (like his endless supply of Ramen Noodles and Celeste Personal Pizza- yuck!). But other things to tempt me. Like chocolate granola bars and Cape Cod chips…so guess what? My husband is a big boy and we have been together 8 years- he doesn’t want to change, but I do. So I ask him to keep it hidden from me. In his car, in a drawer…ask them to lock it if you still don’t trust yourself! If you see it and you want it, you are going to eat it in a weak moment…so do something about it!
2. Find a buddy. Believe me when I say, you are NOT alone. I guarantee there are a bunch of people you are surrounded by at training or work and so on who want to change this habit, but don’t know where to start. Encourage someone else to join you. Hold each other accountable. Send text messages when you are feeling vulnerable or give a call if you need to be talked down. Send food pictures. Share strategies. It’s hard to kick this alone- so don’t do it alone!
3. Drink water. You don’t like this answer? Then you will be up all night hitting the bathroom, right? Water will keep you full, satisfied and hydrated!

"Bugs in my belly!?" Yikes. You may think I am losing my mind. But rest assured, these tiny little creatures I am referring to are known as probiotics, the bacteria and yeasts that live in your gut. While it might not be appealing to think about, these “good guys” are supposed to be there. They naturally populate our intestine and protect us from harmful bacteria and substances that lead to inflammation and infection. Not so bad after all. But what else do probiotics do?

• Boost Immune Health: Approximately 70% of our immune system exists within our digestive tract. As we are in the midst of flu season, keep your immune system strong through a healthy gut.
• Manage Intestinal Distress: Used in treating irritable bowel syndrome symptoms, such as constipation, diarrhea, cramping, bloating, and gas.
• Potential Influencers of Chronic Disease: Innovative research studies are being completed on how our gut microbiome affects the development of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, and mood disorders. So far, results have been promising in the potential role probiotics can play. Stay tuned as evidence-based recommendations develop.
• Using Probiotics while taking an antibiotic treatment will help maintain the beneficial bacteria
  

So how do I increase the probiotics in my digestive system?

Eat:

• Probiotic-rich food sources: Foods that contain the active live cultures (i.e. lactobacillus) such as yogurt and kefir are an excellent source.
• For the dairy intolerant, look for fermented foods and beverages such as kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, and kombucha.
• Prebiotics: Prebiotics are non-digestible food components (hello fiber!) that promote the growth of probiotics (prebiotics are food for probiotics). Top sources include garlic, artichokes, bananas, onions, and asparagus.
  

Supplement:

If you are dairy intolerant or if the vinegary taste of fermented vegetables doesn’t satisfy your palate, probiotic supplementation will ensure your gut is primed with these good guys. Look for a probiotic supplement with at least 1 billion colony forming units per capsule. Top supplements require refrigeration to maintain effectiveness.

• Check out the Clinical Guide to Probiotic Supplements for evidence-based recommendations based on specific symptoms.

Aim for 1-2 servings of probiotic rich foods and 2-3 servings of prebiotic rich foods each day. If supplementation is the best option for you to fulfill your probiotic needs, make sure to check in with your healthcare professional to find what is best for you. Here’s to a healthy, happy gut!

Eating for Health Every Day,
Coach Kristen

This time its shining on Kevin Jones!

Kevin Jones has been tearing it up as a part of my Athlete Academy for a couple months now. Kevin has come a long way. I remember when he first started, seeing him have trouble pulling 85 lbs off the floor deadlifting to now watching him lift 135 lbs off the floor, which is well and away more than his bodyweight, which is awesome! Here is some additional information from Kevin himself...

Why did you choose Athlete Academy?

It was a recommendation from family members.

What changes did you notice in the first few weeks?

Kevin is front and center in his goalie gear.

A little soreness from using different muscles.

What outside of Get Fit NH has become easier since starting?

My leg strength in goal has been better.

What are your goals?

Prep school, D1 college hockey, and the NHL.

What have you accomplished so far?

Too soon to tell, but having a good season on a great team.

What is your favorite part of Athlete Academy?

The coaches and the other athletes I train with. Overall there is a good system and attention to detail.

How has Athlete Academy affected your performance?

Better in goal, and a little quicker from side to side staying on the puck.

As with many of my athletes, Kevin is a person of few words. However, I can tell you from my standpoint that I am incredibly impressed with how far he has come and how hard he works on a class-by-class basis. Great job, Kevin, and keep up the good work!

-Coach Adam

I was listening to a song by the band “Disturbed” on YouTube last week. After that song was finished, a new song I had never heard before automatically loaded and started playing. The name of the song is “The Light”. The main chorus of the song is “sometimes darkness can show you the light”. The entire song is about when bad things happen, sometimes it is a path to something better. As far as the band goes, the message was something that I was not expecting but something that I certainly agree with.

We all have had/will have hard, dark times. It is difficult to ever think of those things as positive, and I am not suggesting you do. However, I think we can all agree that no matter how down and out we felt, how awful, how hurt, how beaten down we felt at the time… looking back, it made us stronger, more able individuals. It’s an unfortunate part of life that there will be dark times, there will be times when you feel that you are buried so deep that you will never dig yourself out. And then you do. It may take a long time, it may take as much effort as you can possibly muster, but when you get there, you are stronger than you were before.

Here’s the thing about feeling as though you have hit rock bottom, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It allows us to look back and reflect on the decisions you made that brought you to that point, and analyze the ways to make sure it will never happen again. For this to work, you have to allow yourself to think of it that way. Often at our lowest point the last thing we want to do is think positively. However, at that point you have an opportunity - to look at your situation and say, “this is how I got here, these are the decisions I made, how do I get out of this situation?” or “what can I do to make sure I am never in that situation again?".

Dark moments can have powerful, profound effects on us as humans; they often cause us to re-evaluate our own lives in ways that can change us for the better. While dark moments are awful to go through, they are negative, they are stressful, they hurt… just remember, as cliché as it might be, without darkness there can never be light.

-Coach Adam

Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, has been a hot topic in the nutrition world. Notorious for its role in bone health, recent research has and is continuing to explore countless additional roles vitamin D plays in health. As winter rapidly approaches and daylight hours decrease, our need for vitamin D is increasing. Nonetheless, today I am sharing why vitamin D is so important to include in our nutritional defense.

What exactly is Vitamin D and why is it important?

• One of the four fat-soluble vitamins, along with A, E, and K
• Needed for absorption of calcium and phosphorus - hello strong bones!
• Plays an important role in muscle and cardiac function - increased training performance
• Associated with mental functioning and mood disorders through hormone regulation
• Linked to decreased inflammation and increased immunity
• Potentially reduces risk of cardiovascular disease, rheumatoid & osteoarthritis, diabetes, and some cancers

I eat a balanced diet, so why am I deficient?

Vitamin D comes from 3 different sources:

1. Food - salmon, sardines, mackerel, tuna, shiitake mushrooms, egg yolk
2. Sunshine
3. Supplements (including multivitamins)
   

It has been found that vitamin D has a high prevalence of deficiency worldwide. Specifically, vitamin D was identified as an “under consumed nutrient” in the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This means it is often difficult for us to rely on vitamin D from food sources alone. Another option for vitamin D is through synthesis of UV rays from the sun, especially UVB rays. However, those of us living above a latitude of 35 degrees (yay New Hampshire!) are unable to make vitamin D in the winter months.

Now this is where supplementation can fill some holes.

Defining deficiency and optimal intake has been proven to be difficult over the years. Vitamin D status is determined using a blood test measuring for 25-hydroxy vitamin D. According to the Vitamin D Council, deficiency is defined at <30 ng/ml, sufficiency at 40-80 ng/ml, and recommends 5000 IU per day of vitamin D3. However, the Institute of Medicine has some different defining markers: <20 ng/ml for deficiency, 20-50 ng/ml for sufficiency, and 600 IU per day of supplementation.

My recommendations would be to first evaluate your risk: How many vitamin D rich food sources are you currently eating? Are you taking any supplements that include vitamin D? How is your sun exposure (except it's winter so I can answer that for all of you!)?

Next, set up an appointment with your physician to get some blood work done to see if you're deficient. Truly knowing your current vitamin D status is much better than guessing or assuming. Dependent on what your status is, it can be determined with the help of your healthcare professional what level of supplementation is best for YOU.

Remember, vitamin D goes beyond just bone health. Based on your vitamin D status, interventions such as dietary, supplementation, and lifestyle can be made!

BONUS: remember the SFH Omega-3 Natural Fish Oil I mentioned last week that we carry in our Get Fit NH coolers? Along with the omega-3 fatty acids, this fish oil includes 1000 IUs of vitamin D3!

Eating for Health Every Day,
Coach Kristen

This is week #2 of special requests!

Certifications are a great thing to add to our tool box. We are required to continue our education in order to keep our certifications. It is crucial to do so in a field that is constantly changing and no scenario is the same. The different certifications teach us how to coach different situations, different age groups and in different ways. The training certifications are important and the nutrition piece is just as important. I will go down the list for each coach and list their education/certification background.

Dean

Dean Carlson is a Level 2 Certified Precision Nutrition Master Coach, a Certified Functional Aging Specialist through The Functional Aging Institute, and a Level 2 Youth Conditioning Specialist with the International Youth Conditioning Association. He also holds instructor certifications with TRX, Kettlebell Athletics, and Training for Warriors.

Dean is the master program designer which is why you are constantly learning new exercises and finding new ways to challenge your body. The Precision Nutrition certification is the top level nutrition certification in the industry. The course was one year long and covered everything from biochemistry to coaching specific scenarios to the why’s to case studies. Him and Nancy both completed this certification.

Nancy

Nancy Carlson is a Certified Professional Fitness Trainer with the National Exercise and Sports Trainer Association, a Level 1 Youth Conditioning Specialist with the International Youth Conditioning Association, and is a Level 2 Certified Precision Nutrition Master coach.

Meagan

Meagan Sbat holds an Associates in Exercise Science, and is a Certified Fitness Trainer, Specialist in Fitness Nutrition, Youth Fitness 1, Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach and Specialist in Senior Fitness with the International Sport Sciences Association. She is currently working on Precision Nutrition Level 1.

Adam

Adam Gray holds a Bachelors Degree in Exercise Science from Plymouth State University and is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

Cari

Cari O'Shea holds a Bachelors Degree in Exercise Science from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, and is a Certified Personal Trainer through the American College of Sports Medicine.

Kristen

Kristen Chulada is a Registered Dietitian and licensed in the state of New Hampshire. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor’s of Science in Nutrition and completed her Dietetic Internship through the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is also a Certified Personal Trainer with the American College of Sports Medicine.

I hope this helps clear up your coaches background. We each have a very different personal story which led us to coaching. I encourage you to read our bios if you have not done so already!
-Coach Meagan

Anna LeBrun has been a part of our Athlete Academy for a little over a month now, but has been a member of Get Fit for much longer. Below are some of her short but sweet explanations of why she chose Get Fit and what she has accomplished.

"I wanted to start athlete academy this year because I wanted to improve my athleticism and I also really enjoyed it when I've been part of it in the past.

I play softball and field hockey. In softball I'm a catcher and middle infielder, and in field hockey I'm a defender and a midfielder.

Since starting at Athlete Academy, I have noticed that I am more mindful about how to keep myself healthy and try to prevent injuries. I've also noticed that I've gotten stronger in the time I've been there.

My favorite part of Athlete Academy is setting small goals and the feeling when I reach those goals. I like watching my progress and seeing my improvement. I love how the coach and the others are motivating and supportive."

I remember when I first started working here how awesome it was having Anna in class, someone who always works extremely hard, loves a challenge, is extremely positive and is always accepting of new ways she can get better. She has brought that same positive attitude, friendliness, and competitive drive to Athlete Academy and I am extremely impressed with how much she has accomplished and how hard she works every single time she comes in. Great Job, Anna, and keep it up!

-Coach Adam

Hey Get Fit Family!

Today I am back to share another supplemental secret weapon to add to the nutritional battle gear we all need to keep us healthy!

Omega-3 fatty acids, commonly known as fish oil, supplements have been boasted for their benefits in many aspects of heath for some time now. Multiple researchers have tested the powerful polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA, one of the beneficial types of fats) and there are countless research articles to back up the popular claims.

Here are the top 5 benefits of omega-3 fatty acids:

1. Anti-inflammatory properties
2. Increase in brain health
3. Decreased risk of cardiovascular disease
4. Increase in mood
5. Enhanced immune system

A quick educational moment on omega-3 fatty acids! These types of fats are one of the essential fats, meaning that our body doesn’t produce them and we must get them from an outside source (i.e. foods/supplements). There are three types of omega-3 fatty acids.

• DHA: Fluid and flexible, these PUFAs are part of the brain cell’s membrane and are found in cold-water fish, like salmon, mackerel, sardines, and tuna.
• EPA: Also found in fatty fish, EPA has been determined to play a role in reducing inflammatory processes in the brain.
• ALA: Plant source of omega-3 fatty acids, like flaxseed and walnuts, which is converted to EPA and DHA in the body. This conversion is not as efficient as directly taking in EPA or DHA, therefore additional consumption of these ALA-rich foods are needed.

While fatty fish and some plant sources provide lots of omega-3 fatty acids, it is often difficult to consume enough of these foods to achieve a benefit. The 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend we eat fish at least twice each week. This can be difficult for some people to do, especially those who do not enjoy the taste of seafood.

While I still challenge you to aim for weekly fish consumption and enjoy your omega-3’s through whole food sources, supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids guarantees you are getting the beneficial EPA and DHA each day to optimize your health. At Get Fit NH, Dean and Nancy have already searched out the best fish oil supplement they could find: SHF Omega-3 Natural Fish Oil. Find it in our coolers during your next training time and be sure to check their website for more information.

Remember to check in with your healthcare professional before starting any new supplement! Of special importance, if you are currently on a blood thinner (i.e. Coumadin or Warfarin), please contact your physician before starting a fish oil supplement. Omega-3 fatty acids can also act like a blood thinner, potentially leading to increased bruising and/or bleeding times.

Eating for Health Every Day,
Coach Kristen

A while back, my buddy Betsy asked me to shed some light on some specific topics. So the next few blogs you see by me are all by request 🙂 I hope these help and feel free to reach out to any of your coaches for additional information.

Why the Functional Movement Screen?

You may wonder why we are the only gym in Concord that requires a specific movement assessment before ever stepping foot onto our training floor. I will answer this as brief and direct as possible. The reason why we screen is because it is the ONLY way we can train YOU as an individual. If we didn’t screen you, we’d be taking a HUGE gamble. Each of you come from a different background of previous injury and current aches and pains. If we don’t assess then we guess and THAT is a recipe for disaster. You want personal training in a group setting? You’ve got it. This screen shows us how you move and based on how you move we can determine which exercises are safe for you right now and which exercises have the potential to hurt you. You may not even realize it and the screen and specific exercises may not hurt you while you are doing them, but we have to keep in mind this is a long term game. Our mission is to get you to where you are trying to go safely. If you are hurt, then there is a possibility you won’t be able to train at all. We have to weigh the risk vs. reward and be smart about how we train you.

What do the bands mean?

I will keep this brief and direct as well. Each band is associated with a different screen we took you through. 7 screens, 7 different colored bands. In a group setting any coach can look at your wrist and say that exercise is safe and that exercise is not safe. Remember, our focus is to keep you training hard, but not hurting you along the way. Wear your bands! They are to keep you safe. Don’t try and be sneaky, because you are not going to be happy when you are hurt!

What are personalized warm ups?

Each screen has an associated personalized warm up (you may have heard it referred to as corrective exercise). The purpose of the personalized warm up is to help improve that movement pattern. We do a lot of the exercises during our group warm ups, but the expectation for optimal results is to do those exercises at home as well. You can never do enough mobility and flexibility work. That’s why it is important that you get to training on time and avoid leaving early! We have videos and handouts for each personalized exercise so if you forget yours or lose it, then ask a coach and we will get that to you! If we didn’t think it was important then we wouldn’t talk about it!

How do I get out of bands?

There are several ways to do this! The first way is to do your personalized exercises, get to training on time and stay through the hour, take warm up and cool down seriously, be engaged, don’t try to sneak in exercises that are not appropriate. I will add to that last one…if you try and do an exercise that isn’t appropriate for you then you are not only taking a huge risk of getting hurt, but it does no good to load a partial range of motion (ie: squats, split squats). We need to get that full range of motion before adding load.

Should shedding bands be a goal?

Yes, absolutely. We HIGHLY recommend rescreening every 3 months (there are sign ups out each week for this). The functional movement screen is a measuring point and we want to see you shed those bands just as much as you want to ditch them!

Make it happen,
Coach Meagan