Healthy Eating Is Expensive…

Well at least that’s what I hear.

There are many different ways to look at it, but the bottom line is eating healthy does not have to be expensive, however it does take a change in mindset and the willingness to plan and prepare.

Compare buying a box of Cheerios to a bag of whole oats. Cereal is expensive! Buy that bag of oats and put the difference into a bag of frozen berries.

There is a difference between filling your belly (a box of mac and cheese anybody?) and fueling your body for health and performance.

Here’s a couple recipes that my family enjoys and are really easy to make. In fact Dean and I eat the “Saturday Night Special” almost every Saturday night – It’s that good!

Saturday Night Special

• 1 pound medium shrimp (I use frozen)
• salt to taste
• 3-4 garlic cloves or 1 Tablespoon garlic
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 2 cup spinach

Heat a pan to medium heat. Add the olive oil and sauté the garlic until you see the edges begin to brown. As soon as the garlic starts to brown, add the shrimp, tomatoes, and spinach to the pan. Spread the shrimp out evenly to cook. Cook until shrimp turns pink and the spinach is very wilted.

Makes 2 servings, and each serving contains 1 serving of protein and 2 servings of vegetables.

Let’s add up the cost…

$5 for the shrimp, remember I used the frozen

$.25 garlic, probably even less.

$1.50 for the cherry tomatoes. The package cost $2.98 but I didn’t use it all.

$ .75 I’m just guessing here. The package was huge and I only used 2 cups. After this meal I’ll still have the tomatoes and spinach to make a salad at another time. I had the olive oil and lemon juice on hand as part of my normal kitchen stocking items.

The Grand Total?

$7.00  – That’s It!

Total cost for this meal for two.  And the best part is it  takes under 10 minutes to make!

Compare to a sub sandwich picked up at a convenient location

1 Large meatball sub  $5

1 small bag of chips $1.19

That is $6.19 without tax for just one person. (PS – potato chips are not a veggie)

***

Mexican Scramble

• 2 eggs
• ¼ green pepper
• ¼ of onion
• ¼ cup of black beans
• 2 Tablespoon of salsa

Heat up a pan to medium. Saute the onions and green peppers. Remove from the pan. Scramble the eggs, add the black beans, onions and green peppers, and the salsa to the pan. Continue to cook until it is all hot. You can make this into an omelet too.

This recipe contains 1 serving of protein and 1 serving of vegetables.

And the cost?

$.30 for both eggs

$.05 for the green pepper ( a whole green pepper cost only $.19)

$.15 for the onion

$.17 for the black beans (I could have gotten these cheaper if I had cooked them myself)

$.10 for the salsa

Would you believe 77 cents?

Compare to a meal at a local fast food place for breakfast

• 1 Coffee
• 2 Donuts

Combo Meal price $3.59  No protein, no veggies!

Got more money saving ideas? Let’s here them!

Habit 3: Eat At Least 5 Servings of Veggies per Day

Can you believe that next Monday, April 28th, we are halfway through S3?

Time Flies!

With that halfway mark comes the introduction of the 3rd habit.

Habit 3: Eat At Least 5 Servings of Veggies per Day

Vegetables (and fruit) are loaded with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. There is no substitute for the power of vegetables as part of your nutrition plan.

Your mom is not the only one who knew the scoop on how great vegetables are for you. Here’s what Dr. John Berardi over at Precision Nutrition has to say:

“Eating higher levels of veggies and fruits are associated with a lower incidence of:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Colon, prostate, cervical, lung, ovarian, pancreatic, thyroid, and breast cancer
• High blood cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Type 2 diabetes
• Obesity
• Stroke
• Osteoporosis
• and a lot more that aren’t on this list…”

Here’s a pretty cool graphic (also from PN) that illustrates another great thing about vegetables – they fill you up, literally!

Getting in 5 servings a day is much simpler than you might think, so no worries – ok?

When it comes right down to it 10 servings per day is where we want you to be, but you gotta start somewhere, right?

Think about it.

If you have a salad for lunch with 4 cups of spinach and 15 cherry tomatoes, you’ve got your five.

That’s not that hard, now is it?

Here’s a handy list, with amounts, to get you started:

5 broccoli florets
10 baby carrots
1 tomato
4 slices of onion
1 cup of leafy greens (spring mix)
15 cherry tomatoes
0.5 bell pepper
1 cup of spinach in a Super Shake
1 banana
6 strawberries
2 plums
15 grapes
1 apple
1 peach

Important notes:

Eat 3-5 servings of vegetables for each serving of fruit. Veggies First.

There are no potatoes or corn on this list. That is not an accident.

Other vegetables to try: cauliflower, cabbage, bok choy
Check out this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_vegetables

So how do you score your point starting in Week 5 (Monday May 28th)?

By doing S3 Habits 1, 2 & 3

• S3 Habit 1: Eat within 1 hour of waking or consume post-training nutrition
• S3 Habit 2: Eat lean protein with at least 3 meals per day
• S3 Habit 3: Eat at least 5 servings of veggies per day

Make It Happen!

When Bad News Turns into Good

Claudia, one of our superstars in Epsom, had an incident last week but it didn’t slow her down one bit. She inspires those at 9AM and I’m sure she will inspire you too.

S3 Nutrition Knowledge 101 Seminar

Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown Team Transformation is in full swing, and the competition is close! Keep building those habits and logging those points – your team needs you!

Next week we are going to be hosting the “S3 Nutrition Knowledge Seminar” in order to help you get even more out of all the work you have been putting in.

You won’t want to miss it, as we will be rolling out more details about Habits 3 & 4, and answering the following questions:

1. What’s wrong with eating cereal for breakfast?
2. Isn’t that a lot of protein to be eating? Isn’t that hard on my kidneys?
3. What’s your deal-io with whole grains anyway?
4. Why do you hate milk so much?
5. What do you eat – tree bark?
6. Don’t you know eating healthy is expensive?

All actual questions we have received.

We will spend some time going over the “why’s” and “how’s” of the S3 habits, and taking some time at the end to answer some questions.

S3 Nutrition Knowledge 101 Seminars

Seminar 1: Get Fit NH Concord. Tuesday May 22nd. 7:00pm to 8:00pm

Seminar 2: Get Fit NH Epsom. Wednesday May 23rd. 6:00pm to 7:00pm

Keep Making It Happen,

Coach Dean

Rock N’ Race: Team “Get Fit NH & Beat Cancer” Update

The Rock N’ Race is almost here. Next Thursday May 17th is the big day to lace up the sneakers and get rockin’.

You all have done a fantastic job this year. As of this writing we have 74 team members and have raised $3,405, led by Christina Gaudet-Pelletier, who has raised $690, Sharon Klardie, with $400 raised, and Jenn Harper, with $195.

Incredible job Ladies!

Because you have formed such a large team, we have been asked to pick up our team shirts and distribute them to you. We will be picking them up on Tuesday afternoon, and they will be ready for distribution at the gyms no later than Thursday morning first training time.

There is also a slightly modified training schedule because the race is on a Thursday, and some of the coaching staff is participating in the race.

The Thursday 6:00pm Epsom only is moving to Wednesday night at 6:00pm. This will allow Coach Nancy to get into Concord and lead the charge on Thursday evening.

All other training times, including Concord 5:30pm will be held as scheduled.

As far as the night of the race, as is our custom we will meet at the Clock Tower at Eagle Square at approximately 5:30pm. Nancy will bring any unclaimed Epsom shirts in at that time, Concord please make sure you go down to the gym to pick yours up.

If you have any questions drop us a line or give us a call.

Great job leading the pack Get Fit NH – you never disappoint!

Keep making it Happen!

Habit 2: Eat Lean Protein at Each Meal

Alright guys, so for the past two weeks you have been making sure you get nutrition in your body within an hour of waking and/or getting in your recovery nutrition.

Keep it up!

To score your point for weeks 3 and 4 you must continue S3 Habit 1 AND complete S3 Habit 2 – All In!

Why is protein so important?

Because without an adequate supply of Amino Acids in our bloodstream, the product of protein digestion, our bodies don’t function well.

Our bodies use proteins to produce enzymes, hormones and antibodies. Protein is the “building blocks” of our cells and without it we can not replace worn out cells or repair muscle tissue from training.

Take some time to get the complete lowdown on protein, the “why’s” and even “how much’s” by reading “All About Protein” on the Precision Nutrition Site. You’ll be glad you did!

So that brings us to S3 Habit 2: Eat Lean Protein with Each Meal

For our purposes that mean you will need to eat lean protein from the following sources a minimum of 3 times per day. This is not an all inclusive list, but it is a great start.

High quality protein.
3-4 oz of cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish
1 cup of cooked seafood
4 egg whites
2 large eggs
1/Ž2 cup of cottage cheese
1/Ž2 cup of plain yogurt
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

Conversely you want to avoid low quality protein. Most of these are very high in fat, contain tons of sodium, nitrates and other nasty stuff.

These Don’t Count
Bacon
Lunch Meats
Sausages
Pepperoni
Protein in “fast food” restaurant meals (chinese take out, etc.)

So how do you score your point starting in Week 3 (Monday May 14th)?

By doing S3 Habit 1 and 2

S3 Habit 1: Eat within 1 hour of waking or consume post-training nutrition

S3 Habit 2: Eat lean protein with at least 3 meals per day

***

To help plan some high quality meals quickly and easily, follow this handy dandy chart.

Quality Protein Fibrous Carbs Compliments

and Happy Anniversary, from Coach Dean

Tuesday May 8th marks the 4 year anniversary of Get Fit NH Bootcamp. We wanted to take this occasion to thank you for choosing to train with us, whether you have been here for a week or since we opened the doors. We do not take it for granted, and it our goal that we prove that to you every day.

From our very humble beginnings in establishing a true “home base” in our hometown of Epsom in the very house I grew up in to our expansion into the Capital City, we are grateful for the past four years.

Anytime a date with some significance occurs it causes me to reflect, take pause, and think.

It would be great to sit at the keyboard and write that the past 4 years have been nothing but sunshine and rainbows. Smooth sailing the whole way.

Life just isn’t that way, and neither is starting and growing a business. Challenges must be faced and overcome. There are good days and better days. There are surprises and disappointments and failures. Sometimes you fall on your face, and say and do things that shouldn’t be said and done. And you ask forgiveness and you pick yourself up and you keep going. Sort of a microcosm of life in general I suppose.

But none of the challenges compare to the joy of getting to do what you love. Of seeing your clients get a little better every day. Of watching someone get their first “real” pushup or chinup. Of having someone tell you they haven’t fit into “that dress” for years, or they just got off their blood pressure and cholesterol meds. Of watching a group of people come together every day and encourage each other, laugh with each other, and yes, sometimes even cry with each other. A family in the best sense of the word.

When a client walks through our doors we always try to treat them like we would want to be treated. With kindness and respect. Everybody has bad days, and while we don’t always have the answers we have two ears and we can at least listen. Our goal is to make Get Fit NH the best part of your day – every day.

So thank-you to our clients for making us part of their lives. Thank-you to the coaches who have and continue to make Get Fit NH what it is. Erin and CJ are not only great coaches but great people, and we are grateful to have them on staff. Thanks to God for the privilege of living in a country where small seeds of ideas can still grow into big things.

I was also thinking about the state of the “fitness industry” over the past few years since Get Fit NH started, and more to the point the way our training has evolved and improved.

The one thing that is constant is that we are always changing – when we have the evidence, both scientific and empirical, that we should.

Some of our clients have been with us since we held our first training session, under the halogen lights attached to the basketball hoop at 5:00am.

They can tell you that first training session was quite a bit different than what we do now. Was the training “bad” back then? Not at all, but it’s better now.

Why?

We spend a lot of time studying ways to make our training more effective and our clients better. We don’t just jump on the latest fad and ride it until the next thing comes along. When you see a new tool in training you can be confident that it has been studied, tested and proven before we put it in your hands. Is it effective, is it safe, is it versatile, is it fun? Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should (sledgehammers indoors never really made sense to me 🙂 TRX, Kettlebells, Bands and Sandbags are in our facilities because they meet the criteria, not because they are cool.

The same goes for programming. If you have been with us for very long you know my first tenet of training is this:

If you are injured, you can’t train.

Now that doesn’t always mean you can’t train at all, but what it sometimes does mean is that you can’t train as hard, effectively and efficiently as you could otherwise.

That’s why we are always evaluating movement patterns and exercise selection and asking: Is there something inherent to the exercise movement that in this environment is likely to cause injury, either now or in the future? That could be on the macro level (is it appropriate for anyone in this training environment) or the micro level (is it appropriate for this client to be performing). Can you keep every injury from happening? Probably not, but you don’t have to purposely program certain movements when others can be just as effective.

You probably wouldn’t be surprised to know that a lot of people, clients or otherwise, ask me about a lot of different “stuff” that is out in the marketplace. P90X, insanity, zumba, crossfit, to name a few.

I do my level best never to ascribe poor motives or anything else to proponents of any exercise program. It’s no lie that all of these have enjoyed success in the marketplace and will likely to continue to do so, at least for awhile.

But it always boils down to this for me.

If the evidence showed there was a better way of doing things, we would do it that way. I am sure in the future we will continue to grow as we follow the evidence of our own and others credible research and results.

And no, I don’t know everything there is to know. Which is why I and all our staff spends time and money, studying, looking at the research, traveling to conferences, talking to other coaches, and learning.

Too often marketing gets in the way of reality. More is not always better. Faster and harder is not always more effective. Our lives move in cycles, in patterns, and in rhythm. Our bodies can take a lot of punishment, for awhile. I want to train into my sixties, seventies and beyond.

It really isn’t always a matter of what I can do, but what I should do. My “should do’s” for my clients is doing my best to keep them training for the long haul, not just the here and now.

So again thank-you. For putting your trust in us for these many years. For putting in the hard work to get better. For choosing every day to be extraordinary, to go out of your comfort zone, to make your health and fitness a priority.

Here’s to many more years…

of Making It Happen!

Coach Dean

Happy Birthday To You from Coach Nancy

“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to Get Fit NH, Happy birthday to you.”

Catchy little tune, huh?

I love birthdays. They are fun no matter if it is my special day or someone else’s. It is an occasion, an occasion to celebrate.

So celebrate on May 8th with Get Fit NH because you are part of the family. “Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday …. ”

Since our first day of opening using real grass and dirt as the gym floor and the sky above  (with some added lighting) to light the way we marched into our first Get Fit NH Bootcamp session. It was great.

We’ve grown since then. Get Fit NH has grown from 12 people in one training time to 10 training times a day with a much larger family. We’ve added more tools for you to use. We’ve added tools into our personal equipment bag (that bag is our brain).  Many of you have asked if we sit up at night thinking up this ‘stuff’, NO but we do study this ‘stuff’ to train you better. While Get Fit NH has grown our goal is the same: To train you with the best equipment, in the best way, so you can be your best.  It’s still great.

A highlight for me is to watch the process. To see you go from point A and moving toward point B in your health. I love seeing you push past what you thought you could do and go farther than you expected. If you catch me smiling during training, Look around. See the sweat? See the hard work? See the determination on faces? See the accomplishments of those training with you? I see it too. You can’t help but smile.

I look forward to the next four years. To seeing many of you reach far past your goals and dreams.

We are thankful you are here to celebrate with us.

“Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you (insert your name here), Happy Birthday to you!”

Thank you for choosing to train with us,

Nancy

Donna finds a way to ‘Make It Happen’

Did you ever think, “Next week will be easier”? Or how about, ” When the kids are all grown up I’ll finally be able to……”?

Summer is the Perfect Time for Salads

Deb from Concord loves to experiment with new recipes. She received this one from a friend out West. With summer creeping up on us (yes, at some point it will look like summer) salads will be perfect on a hot day. This Asian Slaw recipe combines the tang of rice wine vinegar with the sweetness of mangoes, the slight zing of scallions, and the crunchiness of cabbage.

Asian Slaw

• 2 cups shredded cabbage
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1 mango, not fully ripe
• 3 medium scallions, chopped
• 3 Tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• 1 Tablespoon low sodium soy sauce (or tamari for gluten free)
• 1 Tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon black and white sesame seeds

Dice the mango and then combine it with the cabbage, carrots, scallions. Toss together in a large bowl.

Prepare the dressing by whisking together the rice vinegar, soy sauce, and lime juice; slowly whisk in the oil.

Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture and toss to coat. Let it sit at least 15-20 minutes to let the dressing soak in.

Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds

I made this and my family loved it too. I grilled up some chicken and used this one as a side dish. It was even better the next day.

Enjoy great food that is great for you,

Coach Nancy