Anonymous 1

I want to pass along a success story from one of my clients. Since this client does not know she is being commended; I will keep this an anonymous letter.

I have been looking over the past couple of months to spotlight someone’s hard work. While I have plenty of clients that have realized great gains in their efforts, this client has provided an exceptional example! I have been seeing this client for less than a year now, for twice a week, with no exceptions. This client has managed to lose over 20 pounds (maybe more at this point), drop over 4% in total body fat, and lose over 8 centimeters in my client’s waist/hip line! In addition, my client has begun taking an exhaustive cardio aerobics class, and has begun jogging. Over the weekend, my client ran in her first (of many) 5K races in support of breast cancer research. Not only did my client finish the race without stopping, but my client did so in less than 30 minutes, thereby easily finishing in the top 10!!!

Anyone who knows who I am talking about can vouch for my client’s everyday positive changes in activity level over the last year!

I am passing this success story along not only to give my client the praise so richly deserved for all this hard work, but to let everyone else know that it can be done. Everyone can affect these changes in their lives. It takes a lot of work, and might not provide the instant visual results one might hope for, but it can happen to you!

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• Tip of the Month

  June 2010

  Abdominal Workouts: Frequency, Intensity, and Duration

  Over the past 15 years, there has been countless advice on how to “properly” train your abdominals, or core.  There isn’t a fitness magazine out there that doesn’t publish a different abdominal workout each and every issue.  Opinions and research may change over time, but there are a few things you should look at before you alter your workout with each Fitness Magazine you read!
  First of all, it is important to know what your overall fitness and health goal is before designing a strength program for any body part, especially the mid-section.  For overall fitness, it is smartest to treat your abdominal muscles as you would any other muscle group.  The tried and true guidelines for most exercise programs is to work specific muscles to fatigue within a 30-60 second set time limit (intensity and duration,) while giving the worked muscle group at least 24-48 hours of rest (frequency) before working it again.  The amount of sets you do in a given workout (frequency again) can vary from as little as 4 sets to up to 12 for the average workout.  The science behind these theories is sound.  While exercising, pushing your body significantly past the 60 second mark without fatigue generally incorporates aerobic energy, thereby not stressing the muscles most efficiently.  And rest is necessary so that your body can properly rebuild the muscle fibers that you have broken down.  Additionally, you want to be at 100% energy levels for your next workout!

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• Recipe of the Month

  June 2010

  Ham and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

  This healthy update of a traditionally rich ham-and-cheese breakfast strata is made lighter primarily by losing a few egg yolks and using nonfat milk. Gruyère cheese has a delicious, nutty aroma and flavor, which means that with the relatively small amount in this recipe you still get a big impact. To finish the makeover use nutritious, fiber-rich, whole-grain bread instead of white. The results: plenty of flavor, half the calories and one-third the fat of the original.

  4 large eggs
  4 large egg whites
  1 cup nonfat milk
  2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
  1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  5 cups chopped spinach, wilted (see Tip)
  4 cups whole-grain bread, crusts removed if desired, cut into 1-inch cubes (about 1/2 pound, 4-6 slices)
  1 cup diced ham steak, (5 ounces)
  1/2 cup chopped jarred roasted red peppers
  3/4 cup shredded Gruyère, or Swiss cheese
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