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Remember the original idea of smoothies was to catch the juicing concept of blended fruit, juice and protein?

No sure when we started to deviate and sugar it all up but some smoothies have almost 1000 calories. Ya — for some people that is almost a DAY’s calories in a drink. So get the nutrition details on everything you put in your body. For example, a Peanut Butter Smoothie from Smoothie King can have over 1000 calories and my Visalus Peanut Butter Smoothie has under 200 – so it really is about CHECKING THE NUTRITION DATA!!

Tags: healthy eating, Nutrition, Visalus by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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In case you don’t have enough reasons to put down the refined carbs, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating fewer refined carbs also helped to clear complexions of acne.

Tags: healthy eating, Nutrition by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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Many people live life in a state of perpetual dehydration. There are external forces that cause it, sure. Like forced air heating, hot weather, sweating from a workout.

But I don’t usually find that people are dehydrated because they worked out too hard — sure sometimes — but not usually. And really I am not talking about that odd day where you feel a bit tired or dehydrated from your workout (or this time of year from your cold medicine)

I am talking about that fog that surrounds you regularly if you fail to hydrate. Those small headaches you might get, that rundown feeling, that need for a sugar boost or caffeine boost in the middle of the afternoon.

On the medical questionnaire for my personal training clients here in Douglasville, I ask about alcohol and caffeine consumption as well as medication and all the other host of medical questions. Some people drink WAY TOO MUCH CAFFEINE. Now, I love a couple of cups of coffee in the morning too but I am talking about chronic overconsumption. Reaching for a Red Bull or a Coke or even a coffee when you really should be downing some water not only does not hydrate you, it does the opposite.

As does alcohol. Both alcohol and caffeine have been found in studies to have beneficial uses in our life. But seriously, you know the studies were not assuming you drank 3 cups of coffee in the morning and then a few cokes and then a few beers. There are MANY people that go not only the entire day BUT DAYS without drinking pure water.

This week, take a couple of days and write down what you drink. EVERYTHING you drink. Juices, smoothies, juice drinks — these can all be packing on a lot of calories that are “hidden”. Beer, wine and coke can also be a lot of hidden calories and are dehydrating. So spend 2 days writing everything down. Get honest and see if you really drink 8 glasses of water or if it is more like 2. Want to get really honest? Record your food too and see the connection between lack of water consumption and overeating.

I hope this helps you to realize the importance of water on the basic functions of your body (one of those being metabolism)

Tags: Douglasville, healthy eating, Personal Training by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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Well I know it is not easy to begin a new routine. And I know it can seem overwhelming — change your food routine, when you eat, what you eat and then add cardio and strength training.

I got a great cartoon from one of my new favorite clients yesterday and it was a doctor talking to a patient and he said “Which is better for you, one hour of fitness a day or 24 hours of death” OH MY — it was delivered in a funny format but the message is true. You can certainly afford an hour of exercise every day over dying way before your time. Or living in pain and not having the quality of life that you could have.

The same client also told me that while she is doing her strength, cardio and eating plan, she is struggling with certain aspects (such as sticking to the eating plan on the weekends). I loved the honesty. Changing your life is hard work and I always worry when people tell me everything is great (or everything is awful) but then I get no details on what they are doing. I understand that it is hard to sneak in a workout. Sometimes I go several days without turning on the TV and I often find myself sneaking in a quick workout over my lunch break or breaking up my cardio and strength training so I can get one of them in before work (which is usually around 4 in the morning) So I understand!!

There are some ways you can make it easier — some of these are going to sound like advice that your Mom told you years ago — but it is still good advice.

- Pack you lunch for work the night before. Ensure you have healthy snacks and a healthy lunch. Brown bagging it to work may seem boring but it is a good way to guarantee that you eat healthy.

- Prepare for the week on the weekend — chop vegetables and put them in the fridge, wash fruit and put it in a nice bowl by the door, section a grapefruit to have in the morning, do your grocery shopping, make a “big batch” meal such as turkey or vegetarian chili or homemade soup or roast a chicken — this will help keep lunches from getting boring and will help you get healthy dinners prepared quickly when you get home. There truly is nothing better than coming home from a long workday to dinner already being prepared so try to get as close as you can to that.

So what I am saying here is that getting fit, living healthy — these are not things that turn on like a switch. So just work the plan. Some day will be better than others. Some days you will not get to your group fitness class, some days you will not feel like strength training.(but you still should) Some days you will not get the ideal amount of cardio, some days your eating will not be perfect — but by continuing to work your plan every day, you will get healthier and stronger. And eventually (there will still be no perfect days) you will get to a point where you are enjoying a whole new healthier way of living.

Tags: Douglasville, Fitness, fitness classes, healthy eating, Strength Training, Weight Loss by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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Staying in shape and losing weight are not mere things that you do from time to time. In order to achieve fitness and permanent weight loss, these pursuits should be lifestyle changes. So I realize that the time crunch and the feeding frenzy of the holidays can place extra pressure on you to keep it up.

Don’t drop your fitness routine and your healthy eating habits because of the holidays. Fitness and good healthy living is not something that you turn on and off.

Try modifying your routine in order to fit it into your time constraints. And hey, you could always try working out a bit harder. Maybe add some intervals to cut back on your time or in order to burn up some more calories.

As far as your eating goes, it can be obvious what to eat sometimes and sometimes not. Finger food such as celery, crudites, endive, chicken satays — those are all usually low in fat and good choices. But other party foods can be a diet nightmare. Pecan pie will set you back DAYS of working out. A small piece of pumpkin pie is forgivable at less than 300 calories. Get where I am going here?? Preplan your eating when you go to a party and respect your body enough to put good food into it.

I wish you the happiest, healthiest Christmas!!!!

Dave

Tags: Fitness, healthy eating, Sports Fitness by David Hansey, Personal Trainer
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