Can't believe we are talking about the end of summer already- so sad, yet so exciting! We have so many cool things scheduled from now through the end of the year. We look forward to sharing them with you.

We MOVED our September recovery week to space out the weeks more evenly. It was scheduled for the week of September 5th and it has MOVED to the week of September 26th. 

We will be open for ONE class on Labor Day which is Monday, September 5 2022. We will dedicate this training to Best Buddies NH. At this point, many of you know that I have a super soft spot for Best Buddies NH and I love to support their mission of INCLUSION .You are welcome to bring kids, friends or family to this training. We just ask that with your attendance you consider making a small donation to Best Buddies. Our last charity training we raised over $1000 which was COMPLETELY unexpected and SUPER cool.

This year my buddy Ian and I are running for Champion of the Year. This is a HUGE fundraiser for Best Buddies. I have partnered with him in hopes that we can work together to raise as much money as possible between now and November. With that being said, we will likely do one more event between this event and November. We hope to see you there! If you are unable to attend, but wish you donate you can use our unique link or contribute to our cash jar at the gym!

Raise your hand if you have been living your best life this summer???

• Too much freedom from your regular routine
• Too many BBQs with all of the goodies
• Too much alcohol
• Lack of focus on meal prep and follow through
• Less focus on your training and movement

 Heyyyy, whatever the case may be, I can promise you that you are in good company! 

That's why we are rolling out Sugar-Free Me on Monday, September 12. Think of it as a 3 week cleanse, except take away any of those funky drinks and pills and just substitute those with whole foods. Let's make a commitment to take away all of the junky stuff for 3 whole weeks, just to bring us back to baseline. It is not expected that you never have treats, but if you are like me and overindulged this summer then join me in this mental reset!

We will include 

• A list of foods to fuel with
• A list of foods to avoid
• Code words for SUGAR to look out for on labels
• A private Facebook group with daily motivation and check-ins
• 21 super simple and sugar-free recipes

The cost of this is only $21. A dollar a day to quite literally put your money where your mouth is

Macronutrients, typically referred to as macros, are carbohydrates, protein and fat. Macros are called macronutrients because we need them in large amounts, compared to micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), which we need in smaller amounts. The Food and Nutrition Board and National Academy of Sciences created the acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges (AMDR), which is the recommended amount of each macronutrient providing enough of the essential nutrients and reducing risk of chronic disease. The recommended ranges are: Carbs 45%-65%, protein 10%-35% and fat 20%-35% of total daily calories. These ranges are given to be able to be specific for each individual. Depending on sex, training type, goals and eating lifestyle, each macronutrient percentage of total daily calories will vary. 

Regardless of macros/total daily calories, it is important to have balanced meals. Using a guide like the Healthy Eating Plate is a good way to see how a balanced meal will look.

Triple Fudge Air Fryer Protein Cookies 

(1 serving)

¼ c oat flour

2 tbs chocolate protein powder

1 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tbs PB2

¼ + 1/8 tsp baking powder

2 tbs 0% Greek yogurt

2 tbs unsweetened almond milk

¾ oz chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients, except for chocolate chips. Continue to add 1 tsp of milk at a time if batter is too dry.

2. Line a small pale with parchment paper. Transfer batter onto plate and form into a cookie shape. 

3. Top cookie batter with chocolate chips.

4. Gently slide parchment paper and cookie into air fryer.

 Calories: 274

Protein: 18.5

Carbs: 34.5

Fat: 13

Coach Ashley

So many of us have a negative mindset toward food. You might not even think you feel negatively toward food until you stop to think about it. Which I encourage you to do. Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you have a “cheat day”?

• Do you sometimes feel guilty after you eat something?

• Do you have foods that are off-limits?

• Do you overeat without realizing it?

• Do you use food as a reward?

If you answered yes to any of the above then you might not have as great a relationship with food as you think. You might not think that there is anything wrong with having a cheat day but the issue lies in the mindset. Because when you think about it, cheating on anything isn’t exactly positive. And feeling guilty about eating something doesn’t project a positive relationship with food either. But our relationship with food doesn’t have to be that way.

Food can be enjoyable, fun and fuel, but not a problem solver. And certainly, it’s not meant to comfort or soothe emotions. But unfortunately, that is how so many of us use food and we become trapped in that negative food mindset. Part of changing how we think about food is changing how we think about ourselves.

Tips to help create a healthy mindset:

1. Learn your triggersChanging how we think about food means identifying what triggers us to eat emotionally or to unnecessarily overeat. It can take some time to identify exactly what our triggers are but it’s very important to do so. By identifying our triggers we can learn to deal with the trigger without involving food. But by ignoring triggers we turn to our emotions and fall back into the same habit. I recommend keeping a food journal to track your emotional eating habits. In your journal track the following:

• What conversations are you having before a food binge?

• What people typically surround a food binge or emotional eating?

• What emotions am I feeling?

• Where am I when feel triggered to eat emotionally or binge?

2. Focus on food as fuelCreating a positive mindset toward food means remembering the role food is supposed to play in our lives. And that is to fuel our bodies. It’s easy to forget that foods primary purpose isn’t to simply taste good and fill our stomachs, it is used to give us the energy to go about our lives.

Practice shifting your mindset while grocery shopping. When choosing each item, decide whether or not the item is something that will nourish and fuel your body or whether it simply tastes good. Then decide if the item really belongs in your cart or not. Regular practice of this exercise will not only change how you look at food, but it will change what and how you eat too. 

-Coach Ashley

Ever hear someone say, “I hate this exercise.” Why do they use the word hate? Hate is used in place of hard frequently. When something is hard, it is challenging and many people don’t like the feeling of going beyond their comfort zone and being challenged. 

When you tell yourself you hate a particular exercise, it immediately impacts your mindset negatively. It makes you dread the movement; makes you want to find the easiest way to complete it or maybe even avoid it entirely. Where will that get you? 

Instead of approaching an exercise that you find challenging, replace the word hate with hard. Doing this will give you a growth mindset, one that understands the exercise not going to be easy, but at the same time knows that you are strong enough to complete it. This is how you grow! 

Get outside of your comfort zone and find the courage to try those hard exercises. Once you realize your abilities, your confidence will boost and you will want to continue to challenge yourself with the HARD exercises. 

-Coach Ashley  

We are SUPER excited to bring back charity training! We have not felt comfortable doing these for the last few years due to obvious reasons, but with a new space and overhead doors that open for fresh air flow, we feel REALLY good about bringing this back.

Many of you know that I have a soft spot for Best Buddies NH. I participated in the champion of the year event in 2020 and my Best Buddy and I managed to come in 3rd place raising nearly $12,000!

This year I am teaming up with another Best Buddy, Ian! We are committed to raising as much money as we can through community driven events between now and November!

This event only costs $10 to attend! We encourage you to bring friends and family from the community to help us make the biggest impact we can. 100% of proceeds will go toward our campaign .

We will be accepting cash or checks made out to Best Buddies NH with a memo of Meagan and Ian Champion of the Year Campaign

You can also donate using our unique link here

Let us know on our Facebook event if you plan to come and share, share, share!

We are excited to roll out our annual Sizzling Summer Slimdown Body and Mind Transformation contest.

We have been running this challenge for 12 years and every year we try and make it a little better than the year before! This year we are adding a new element with a huge emphasis on MINDSET. 

Why? Because most of us know what we should be eating, but it's our mind that sets us back over and over again. So we are going to put some work in there through structured journaling!

Here's what you're going to get:

• 5 weeks of nutrition coaching through email and private Facebook group
• One Get Fit NH mindset journal 
• A very detailed and completely personalized nutrition plan for you and your specific goals based on your specific body
• This plan will include exact portion sizes for YOU and a detailed list of foods to eat and foods to avoid 
• One 10 minute onboarding call with Coach Meagan, Coach Adam or Coach Ashley to determine your specific intake
• One video weekly  (live on social media and recorded sent through email)
• A choice to play as a group of 3 or as an individual 

Here's how you win

• 31 out of 35 pages DONE in your journal. We will use a system called TrueCoach to email you daily asking if you journaled the day before. You (and your group) must check off 31 out of 35 days to be eligible to win and we will want to see (not read, just see) that the pages are filled out if you are deemed a winner. We will be handing out cash prizes so it is important that we confirm.
  • We want the biggest take away of this challenge to be a mindset shift therefore journaling will weigh heaviest to win
• Greatest percent of bodyweight lost
  • For example: Sally weighs in at 160 pounds and weighs out at 150 pounds losing 6.25% of bodyweight
  • John weighs in at 200 pounds and weighs out at 190 pounds losing 5% of bodyweight
  • Sally wins for losing more
  • This helps us keep it fair for those who may not have as much weight to lose
  • Let's say Sally and John were partners...6.25 + 5= 11.25/2 people = 5.6% as a group
  • We will be working in groups of 3 or as individuals, this was just to show how we will configure winning numbers 
• Tie breakers
  • We will use social media posts to break any ties! The more you post the more likely you are to WIN the tie.

Here's what you win

• 1st place 
  • 31/35 days done in journal from the whole group. So that means if ONE person in your group doesn't come through then your whole group is out.
  • Greatest percent bodyweight lost as a group or as an individual
  • Wins 7% of total contest revenue. Conservative estimation around $300 (split amongst the group if a group wins)
• ​2nd place
  • 31/35 days done in journal from the whole group
  • 2nd greatest percent bodyweight lost as a group or as an individual
  • Wins 5% of total contest revenue. Conservative estimation around $215 (split amongst the group if a group wins)
• The comeback win *NEW THIS YEAR*
  • After the challenge is when results CONTINUE, but only if we keep up on the habits we build during the challenge. So for the first time ever we are going to offer another weigh in the week of 7/18 and 7/22 which is 5 weeks AFTER the challenge ends. Anyone who maintains their loss or loses MORE will be eligible to win a cash prize. 
  • The other kicker? In order to win that client must have a FULL journal (every page filled out) No exceptions.
  • The person (not group) with the greatest maintained percent of bodyweight lost and a full journal will an estimated $215. 
• Dates
  • Start Date: Monday, May 9, 2022
  • End Date: Friday, June 10, 2022
  • Initial weigh in due by: Friday, May 6, 2022
  • Final weigh in due by: Tuesday, June 14, 2022
  • Kickoff ZOOM meeting: Wednesday, May 4, 2022 at 6 pm 
  • In person celebration and winner reveal party: Wednesday, June 15th at 6pm

Sign up here for $67

 Fixed or Growth?

Someone with a fixed mindset believes that their qualities and abilities are fixed traits, set in stone; that you either “have it” or you don’t. They perceive even the smallest stumble as proof of their limited intelligence or capability. When it comes to working toward goals, they give up easily because they believe they can’t improve.

Alternatively, with a growth mindset, you perceive a failure as a temporary setback and a learning opportunity to figure out what you can do differently next time to achieve a different outcome. You see setbacks as a chance to build on your abilities and knowledge base. You believe that effort influences success, so you spend more time practicing or learning, which in turn leads to greater achievement

Your mindset influences your behavior more than you might imagine and can determine whether or not you pursue and accomplish your goals. 

If you have a growth mindset around fitness then you believe you can get fitter, stronger, and even more athletic, no matter where you’re starting from. “Let's say you believe you’re good at running, so you actively work to improve at it and get better. Conversely, let's say you don’t believe you’re good at upper body strength work, so you avoid working on it, and as a result, don’t make any upper body strength gains. A growth of mindset directly affects our capacity for physical growth."

“The first step to a growth mindset:

Tell yourself a different story.”

Creating a Growth Mindset

When we run up against a wall or a difficult situation, how we interpret and react to them depends on our beliefs about ourselves. Our actions are a manifestation of those beliefs.  The first step in cultivating a growth mindset: The moment those self-defeating thoughts arise; picture a big red stop sign. And then shift the narrative. 

Instead of telling yourself                      

• I’m not good at this

• I can’t do this

• It’s beyond me

Say

• I can do it; I am improving

• It’s only possible if I try

• It’s OK to fail because I’ll learn from my mistakes

Redefine “Failure”

Yes, failure is painful. It burns in our mind and makes us doubt ourselves. But rather than allowing it to define you (or your perceived limitations) and make you shy away from new challenges, reframe it as a springboard for growth. What you believe is what you achieve. How you choose to interpret your experiences can determine what you will, or won’t, accomplish. 

Consistency is KEY

With anything else, consistency is always key to success. It’s a consistency of your effort and focus over time. A growth mindset means there’s a belief in change.

A growth mindset creates a powerful passion for learning. “Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could spend that time getting better?”

It’s never too late (and you’re never too old) to learn. When we stretch ourselves and push out of our comfort zone, our brain forms new connections. With practice, these connections get stronger and what seemed daunting at first can soon become easy.

We are excited to roll out a new offering. One of the cool things about having a team of diverse coaches at Get Fit NH is that they each have "their thing."

Coach Jared's "thing" is obstacle course racing. He enjoys competing and pushing his limits in different ways.

He has created a Get Fit NH team for the Spartan Race that is coming to NH Motor Speedway on Sunday, August 14th. If you wish to join the team then head to the link below and join the Get Fit and Race team. We will be "racing" at 9:30 am for the 5K sprint. YOU CAN GO AT YOUR PACE!

Sign up for Spartan team HERE

If you want to do this race (or one like it) then you can also join Coach Jared's new OCR class. He will be offering it on Wednesdays starting April 20th. You will be able to select the times that would work for your schedule (between 6:30am and 8 am)

You can also choose to do the 16-week course (that leads you right up to the race) or the 8-week course if you have some travel days where you think you may miss a few classes.

He will teach things like rope climbing, heavy carries, monkey bar techniques, and a lot of outdoor fun.

Reserve your spot here

During winter, we tend to gravitate towards warm, comfort foods. It’s also more tempting
to get food delivered directly to the cozy confines of our couch, no cooking required.
Pair these heavier-than-usual meals with the fact most people  work out less during
winter , and we can find ourselves feeling less than our best come spring. Hey, it happens.
The key is not to let a few months of indulgent eating turn into a few more.
What steps can we take to reverse this?
1. START NOW
There’s no time like the present to make a positive change. So, rather than waiting for an
arbitrary start date, like the first day of spring or the “next Monday” or a month before
that beach vacation…Begin making those changes now. The sooner you start, the sooner
you’ll notice progress and make the change into a habit.
2. PLAN YOUR MEALS IN ADVANCE
When you’re hungry at 7 p.m. and don’t have a dinner plan, even the best intentions tend
to fall through. Avoid hunger-induced decisions by planning your meals ahead of time. Buy
groceries and meal prep so you have healthy options each night. Healthy decisions come
easier with a full fridge and a game plan.
3. TAKE IT ONE MEAL AT A TIME
Between work, family, a social life and other obligations, sometimes something has to give.
Unfortunately, it’s often our health. If prioritizing your diet feels intimidating, try starting
with one meal per day. You could make overnight oats the night before to ensure you have
a healthy breakfast when you wake up or start bringing your lunch to work instead of
going out. If dinner is the meal you want to focus on, create a weekly menu of what you’ll
eat each night. Once you get one of your daily meals under control, you can begin to
address the others. But, you might notice even this relatively small step is enough to make
a big impact. Smalls steps in the right direction are better than no steps at all!
4. ADD, DON’T JUST SUBTRACT
Denying your favorite foods is a recipe for failure, as you’re likely to crave those foods and
then sabotage your hard work by overdoing it. Instead, think about adding healthy foods
to your plate. For example, if you really want pizza, eat a pizza. But skip the garlic bread
and maybe pair it with a large salad instead. This ensures you get plenty of fresh, healthy
produce. By filling your stomach with greens first, you may eat less of the high-calorie
pizza.

Myfitnesspal.com

5. LOG YOUR MEALS
Tracking or journaling what you eat is a great way to understand how many calories
you’re consuming each day and to see if you should make tweaks to your diet. Logging
your food holds you accountable and helps you reach short- and long-term goals.
Journaling/logging food doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be tracked in an app or written
down. It can also be photos of meals/snacks. Photos you can look back on to see how
much of your plate has protein, carbs, fats. Is it colorful? So many things can be observed
from a simple photo.
6. USE THE BUDDY SYSTEM
Everything is easier with the support of a friend or partner, so find someone else who
wants to make a similar change, and do it together. There’s not one right way to enlist this
approach. If your spouse is along for the ride, trade-off grocery shopping and cooking. If
it’s a colleague, bring healthy lunches to the office and eat together. If it’s a long-distance
friend, check-in periodically with encouraging text messages and recipe inspiration.
Whatever you choose, just remember you don’t have to undertake this effort alone.