To Buy or Not To Buy – That is the Question

There are a lot of good reasons to choose locally grown, organic produce when possible. Those fruits and vegetables that have traveled the globe to get here usually are picked early and ripened through a chemical process. Others have to be treated so they do not spoil before reaching your grocer’s shelves. The perfectly round peaches, straight as an arrow carrots, or no blemishes on apples have to be heavily treated to avoid the pests or disease that like to eat them right before being picked.

Organic food is admittedly more expensive. If you want to maximize the good you do to your body while minimizing the cost, you could choose to purchase organic produce for the fruits and vegetables which tend to have the most pesticides in the United States. It is estimated that if a consumer avoids eating non-organically grown produce in the top 12 (“Dirty Dozen”) on this list, pesticide exposure can be reduced by up to 80%. This list was compiled by the Environmental Working Group.  Bear in mind that there are many fruits and vegetables that are not on this list — these were chosen because they are most commonly eaten.

EWG analyzed pesticide residue testing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration to come up with the rankings for these popular produce items. All foods are listed from worst to best.   (lower number =more pesticides)

1. Apples
2. Strawberries
3. Grapes
4. Celery
5. Peaches
6. Spinach
7. Sweet Bell Peppers
8. Nectarines – imported
9. Cucumbers
10. Cherry tomatoes
11. Snap Peas – imported
12. Potatoes
13. Hot Peppers
14. Blueberries – domestic
15. Lettuce
16. Kale/ Collard Greens
17. Plums
18. Cherries
19. Nectarines – domestic
20. Pears
21. Tangerines
22. Carrots
23. Blueberries – imported
24. Green Beans
25. Winter Squash
26. Summer Squash
27. Raspberries
28. Broccoli
29. Snap Peas – Domestic
30. Green onions
31. Oranges
32. Bananas
33. Tomatoes
34. Watermelon
35. Honeydew Melons
36. Mushrooms
37. Sweet Potatoes
38. Cauliflower
39. Cantaloupe
40. Grapefruit
41. Eggplant
42. Kiwi
43. Papayas
44. Mangoes
45. Asparagus
46. Onions
47. Sweet Peas – frozen
48. Cabbage
49. Pineapples
50. Sweet Corn
51. Avocados

If cost is a concern as you start your change to healthy eating and living. Use this list. If you purchase any items from the top of the list, pick these from the organic section of your store. Better yet support your local Farmer’s markets and buy fresh right from the source. You can talk to the farmer who grew your fruits and veggies for all the information about their products. Many of these farmers will gladly help you buy the best for your family’s needs.

To your best health,

Coach Nancy

Better Body Workshop: Optimal Shoulder Health

I am excited to announce our next Better Body Workshop – Optimal Shoulder Health, to be held Wednesday June 18th from 5:30pm-7:00pm at Get Fit NH Concord.

You will benefit greatly from this workshop if you:

• Sit at a desk all day
• Your posture could use some improvements
• You have had a shoulder injury in the past
• You ever wake up in the middle of the night with shoulder pain
• When you trained in the past Monday always “Chest Day” and you never seemed to get around to “Back Day”
• Want to maintain healthy shoulders

The shoulders are very complex and we will be exploring what allows them to function optimally.  You will  learn how posture, mobility, stability, muscle imbalances and strength  all affect shoulder health.

Do you know if:

• Your scapula in the right position at rest or do you have muscular imbalances?
• Your scapula move correctly when you reach your arm over head or are you using the
  wrong muscles to compensate?
• What a “Scapula” is? 🙂

As we know the body is intricately designed and one part affects another. You may have neck or elbow pain that is originating from your shoulder complex. You will also learn how the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine affects the way your shoulders function.

I look forward to having you join us as we look deeper into the shoulder and strive for Optimal Shoulder Health.

This Workshop Is Open To The Public, So Please Spread the Word!

Coach Erin

Better Body Workshop: Optimal Shoulder Health
Date: Wednesday June 18th, 2014
Time: 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Place: Get Fit NH Concord
Workshop Fee: $25.00

Training for a Cause in Support of the Leung Family

On June 14^th at 9 AM we will be hosting our monthly fundraiser. This time we are excited to be raising funds for The Boston Children’s Hospital’s Mighty Metabolites and Kai Leung.

Kai is the beautiful daughter of Howie and Colleen Leung who are both teachers in the community.  You may recognize Colleen as she was apart of the “Suck it up Buttercups” team that won our S3 challenge last year. Her beautiful family is pictured.  A few days after Kai was born she was diagnosed with Glutaric Acidemia, Type 1. This is a rare metabolic disorder in which their bodies cannot break down protein from the food they eat.  Howie and Colleen work closely with specialists at Boston Children’s Hospital to make sure Kai receives the care necessary to thrive, including special dietary requirements.

The Metabolic Clinic at Children’s Hospital closely follows their young patient’s with conditions like Kai’s.  Treatments and close management from multiple specialists can be very costly.  100% of the money raised at our Training for a Cause event on June 14th will go directly toward helping these children.  Our goal is not only to raise money, but to also raise awareness.

We hope to see you all on June 14th at 9 AM to get a bonus training in and support beautiful families like the one above 🙂

Please remember this is a community event. We would love to see you bring your family and friends and show them how the Get Fit NH family trains together for a GREAT cause!

See you all there,

Coach Erin

Training For A Cause
Date: June 14th, 2014
Time: 9:00am
Place: Get Fit NH Concord
Donation: $10

Cheat Your Way Through Meal Preparation

Get Fit NH Concord will host this new workshop on quick ways to make meal time easier. Cooking each of your meals every day doesn’t mean you have to spend 8 hours in the kitchen. It also doesn’t mean the food you prepare has to taste like it came from a can.

Designed especially for our Six Week Sprint to Summer nutrition challenge, “Cheat Your Way Through Meal Preparation” will give you tips and tools used to create delicious meals efficiently. Getting involved at this workshop you’ll  find helpful ways to lesson the time to put delicious meals on the table for you and your family. Coach Nancy also promises to give out some fantastic recipes to try your new found cooking techniques.

Invite a friend to join you on May 28th from 5:30 – 7 at Get Fit NH Concord.

Cheat Your Way Through Meal Prep
Date: Wednesday May 28, 2014
Time: 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Place: Get Fit NH Concord

Don’t forget about “Summer Salads and Sides” June 4th, from 6-7:30 at Get Fit NH Epsom

Memorial Day Family Day Training

Hey all, just wanted to remind you that next Monday we are having an all group training at Get Fit NH Concord starting at 8:00am sharp. This will be our one and only training for that day, so don’t miss it. We always have an incredible time when we get the whole Get Fit NH family together in one place!

Ever wonder about the history of Memorial Day? I can only be amazed at the courage and love that is and was displayed by those who continually put themselves in harms way and often pay the ultimate price so that we can live. As a veteran I would urge you (and your kids) to read some of the history of what was first called “Decoration Day” and how it has become what we now know as Memorial Day.

http://www.usmemorialday.org/

Memorial Day Training
Date: Monday May 26, 2014
Time: 8:00am to 9:30am
Place: Get Fit NH Concord

The Circle of Life

We recently had a motivation tip of the day that read,

“When good nutrition, exercise, and sleep are your friends, you can defeat your worst enemies.”

Let that sink for a moment. Think about some of your personal physical and mental enemies.

For example:

• No energy
• Headaches/Migraines
• Poor sleeping patterns
• Overweight/Obese
• Low self esteem
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Stress

Those are only a handful of challenges many of us face and I have great news for you…

It doesn’t have to be that way!

Leading a healthy and fit lifestyle are life’s natural healing (both physical and mental!) I’m so proud of you all for getting in here 2-4 times per week and busting your tail. You have that piece down, but you can’t stop there.

Your nutrition has to support your training. I have said it before and will say it again, you cannot and will not out train poor nutrition. It is not possible. If you want to feel good, lose fat, and gain muscle you need to have discipline.

Here are some great ways to make a plan and stick with it:

• Create a weekly meal plan
• Grocery shop right after training. It will help you stay encouraged to stick to the list!

(After all who wants to buy Cheetos after they just got their butt kicked?)

• Keep a food journal. Make sure it matches the plan!
• Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. Avoiding the junk aisles will help you stay on track. Out of sight out of mind. (Personally, I hear Coach Dean’s voice in my head while I grocery shop saying, “If you don’t buy it, you won’t eat it.” A little weird- but it works!)

Sleep. You have to fight for your 8 hours. A great night of sleep and a poor night of sleep both have a tremendous impact on how your day is going to turn out. If you sleep great you can train hard and when you train hard you sleep great!

Here’s the catch…

If your nutrition isn’t supportive, you can’t train as hard. If you aren’t training as hard you probably aren’t sleeping great. If you aren’t sleeping great you’re probably pretty crabby.

Do you see how this is like the circle of life?

Make it Happen,

Coach Meagan

You All Rocked the Rock N’ Race

As I look at the Get Fit team picture that was taken last night at the Rock n’ Race, I can’t help but smile and appreciate everyone’s own story about what made them want to race, what it took to get to that race, and what it took to finish that race. We represented quite well and we did what we do best: Made it Happen!

To those who participated – whether you got your own personal record, participated in your first 5K, joined a family member or two for their first race, or casually walked the course, I am so proud of you. That race may have been a little more emotional for some, and I want to acknowledge that. To participate in a 5K (no matter your level!) can be scary, daunting, and can definitely strengthen you both physically and mentally…not to mention, make you think you were crazy to sign up for such a thing as the heart is pounding out of the chest, the legs are burning, snot is flying (yours and everyone else’s!), and the drips of sweat are burning your eyes! I assure you, it was a good decision, but of course I have a biased opinion. 😉

To stand (sweaty) shoulder to shoulder, with the smell of seafood chowder and pulled pork stinging the nostrils, you all proved that you can indeed battle the negative thoughts in your head and make the choice to be better. Even if you didn’t do as well as you hoped, you still made yourself better. The thousands of steps that you took during that race has resulted in, I hope, a big step forward in your journey towards a healthy lifestyle.

Choosing to move, choosing to be better, choosing to add life to your years…a 5K race, a completion of a full week of Get Fit training, a successful nutrition week, a goal reached. This is what better feels like.

It was an honor to race beside all of you last night! 🙂
Coach Sarah

Giving is Truly a Gift to Yourself

Many opportunities arise where near people are willing to give of themselves in order to help others. Get Fit NH each month hosts a fundraiser to support our collective family as they have needs. But so many more people are out there who have great causes to support and loved ones who are hurting. I want to make you aware of another activity with have a great cause behind them.

While I do not know this family, I understand their pain. Our son Derek died at eleven months old so when I hear of another family whose child died in infancy my heart aches. I will do all I can to relieve another family’s pain in this situation. If you have the availability and the time, will you help them too?

To Celebrate CJ’s life the The Boston Burrito 5k will be held in Manchester, NH on Friday June 6. It would have been CJ’s 1st birthday.

Cj passed away at just 8 months old, after 50 long days in the ICU. He eventually succumbed to the mysterious illness and doctors say his case is the first of its kind. CJ is the young son of local Manchester chiropractors Dr April and John Kosinski, and the sister to a 4 year old little girl Kayla. We are trying to help their family with their loss as well as the medical bills associated with this journey and tragedy.

You can see all about his event here and  you can register for the Boston Burrito here.

The Boston Burrito 5k for CJ is meant to honor CJ by keeping his loving memories alive and to celebrate how precious life is. For now, the money raised is for the Cameron John Kosinski Donation Fund and will help the Kosinski family with their astronomical medical bills associated with their beloved son’s hospitalization and end of life care. In the future, the Kosinski family hopes to help other families in need, in similar situations with losing a child.

Thank you for your support.

Menu Planning and Prep

There’s no doubt that prepping and planning your meals is not only crucial to achieving your best body, but also extremely challenging! Today’s hectic lifestyles make “grab and go” a lot more likely than “sit and relax”.

Who’s got the time to prepare?

In this seminar Coach Nancy (who is a mom of six, homeschools her kids and is a full-time fitness professional) will guide you every step of the way.

Nancy says “Achieving your best body AND eating great food can coexist. The key lies in your ability to PRE-PLAN and PREPARE. You must reorganize the way you eat. At “Menu Planning and Prep” you’ll learn how to easily pull mealtime together for your family. You’ll walk away with a week’s worth of dinner meal plans plus the ability to expand that to a whole month. Your ‘Six Week Sprint to Summer’ will be kicked into high gear after this workshop.

Where can you find this workshop? Who can attend? Get Fit NH Epsom will host this event on May 21 from 6-7:30pm. Please ask those people who support you during your Six Week Sprint to Summer to come along too.

Menu Planning & Prep
Date: Wednesday May 21, 2014
Time: 6:00pm to 7:30pm
Place: Get Fit NH Epsom

Plan on attending these other “Six Week Sprint to Summer” nutritional workshops

“Cheat Your Way Through Meal Preparation” Wednesday, May 28 at Get Fit NH Concord from 5:30-7

“Summer Salads and Sides” Wednesday, June 4th from 6-7:30 at Get Fit NH Epsom

Coach Meagan’s S3 Tips

Hi all, Coach Meagan here.

As I sit here planning my meals for the Six Week Sprint into Summer (S3) I thought I would share some of my strategies for the upcoming challenge. Many of you know how I am not a huge fan of cooking, but as you can imagine I have big goals that I am working toward- so I’m going to suck it up!

Here are the steps I take to make my nutrition go as planned:

1) Plan my meals for the following week Wednesday morning. From that create my grocery list.

2) Grocery shopping on Sunday- stick to the perimeter of the store to avoid temptation (with the exception of frozen veggies!) and stick to the list!

3) Sunday is my prep day. Remember how I said I don’t like cooking? Half the battle (for me) is prepping. If you don’t have it prepped and planned ahead of time there is a pretty good chance you will forget something or just skip it (like adding those extra veggies, because you didn’t want to cut them up!) “Prep day” entails primarily:

– Cutting up veggies and bagging them for each meal they’re going with.

– Prep meat- whether that means cutting it up or just taking it out of the package, adding the veggies, and sticking it in a freezer bag labeled “Monday Dinner”

You can add these tips to fit your schedule too. By taking the time do this you’re saving precious time during the week and there is no extra thinking involved.

Make sure you take into account days where you might be working late or getting home late. When you plan head you can mark those days down for dinner in the crockpot. That way when you get home your house smells amazing and you are eating your nutritious, planned, and compliant meal.

Here is a quick lunch idea…

On your prep day as you are cutting all of those veggies throw a handful of each into a pot. Cook a couple of pieces of chicken and scramble up some eggs and throw that in the pot with the veggies. Add water and a small amount of chicken broth (check the ingredients on those chicken broths!) and you just made yourself soup for the week for lunch. 🙂

I hope these tips were helpful to you- let’s Make It Happen!
-Coach Meagan