Here’s How To Eat Less Sugar

If you want to quickly pack on a few pounds then eat lots of refined sugar. Oh, wait, why would you want to do that? Let’s eat less sugar, instead, and watch the pounds effortlessly slide off…

We’ve been eating more and more sugar over the past 200 years, which has led to rising obesity numbers. Back in 1822 the average person ate only 6.3 lbs of sugar per year, compared to 130 lbs of sugar in 2012. That’s more than 20 times as much sugar in our modern diet! No wonder we are bigger than ever…

One of the reasons that your diet is filled with so much sugar is that some form of refined sugar is included in virtually every single processed food. This is yet another reason that it’s important to cut those processed and packaged convenience foods out of your diet.

Cutting sugar from your diet is easier said than done. Once it is a part of your daily diet, cravings strike, causing you to eat it even more frequently. But there is hope.

Here are 7 Ways To Eat Less of that Sugar that you’re eating that’s killing your results and keeping you from attaining your ideal body:

Eat More Protein

A diet rich in protein keeps you full, satisfied and less likely to crave sweets. A great way to make sure that you are getting enough is to plan each meal and snack around a protein. Plan breakfast around eggs, lunch and dinner around baked chicken breast, and make snacks hardboiled eggs or baked meatballs.

Avoid Artificial Sweeteners

One of the biggest fitness myths out there is the idea that calorie-free, artificially sweetened beverages don’t impact your fat loss results. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but the truth is that the diet soda you’re sipping is making it harder for you to reach your goal weight. While the diet soda itself doesn’t contain calories, it has been proven to cause cravings for sugary foods. Put down the diet soda and instead pick up a refreshing bottle of spring water.

Steer Clear Of Saboteurs

The sad truth is that people in your life will try to sabotage your low sugar diet. You’ll run into that pushy person at the office who insists that you eat a donut, the well-meaning family member who dishes you up a bowl of ice cream, and the friend who comes over with a plate of her home-baked cookies. The best avoidance strategy is to sincerely thank the sugar-pusher for their gift, tell them you wish you could eat it, and then blame us – your fitness mentors – as the bad guys who says that you need to cut back on sugar.

Try Dark Chocolate

For those moments when your sweet tooth is relentlessly badgering you for something sweet, ditch the super-sugary candies and stick with a small square of very dark chocolate. Chocolate that is 70% or higher in cocoa content should be the only candy that you keep on hand. The benefit of the cocoa, in addition to the lowered sugar content, makes dark chocolate an occasionally justifiable treat.

Stick With Fruit

What’s sweet, colorful and comes in hundreds of flavors? Organic, seasonal, fresh fruit, of course! As you remove refined sugar from your life, feel free to add in some natural sugar by way of fresh, local fruit. It’s amazing how satisfyingly sweet fruit is – it’s truly nature’s candy.

Change Your Palate

As you begin to limit your intake of refined sugars, you’ll find that your tolerance for sugar decreases. This means that something that didn’t taste sweet before – say a green apple – now has uncanny depths of sweetness. What’s happening is that your sweet receptors are becoming more finely tuned, now that you’re not overwhelming your palate with sickly-sweet refined sugar.

Workout Like You Mean It

A regular, challenging exercise routine will not only get you into amazing shape, it also reduces your cravings for sugar. The endorphin rush brought on by vigorous exercise is an even more powerful feel-good-feeling than the pleasure gotten by indulging in sugary foods.

Make challenging, consistent exercise a part of your life by signing up for our personal training programs or group fitness classes. We’d love to get you to your goals using our results-driven method.

Simply call or email us today to set up your first workout.

Why Is Sugar So Bad?

Not only does it promote rapid fat storage, here are sugar’s other dirty little secrets:

•              Sugar Weakens Your Immune System

•              Sugar Causes Insulin Resistance

•              Sugar is As Addictive As Hard Drugs

•              Sugar Speeds Up the Aging Process

•              Sugar Raises Your Risk of Disease

•              Sugar Is Empty Calories

Easy Spinach Salad

Here’s a high protein salad that is bursting with flavor and nutrients. Try the simple homemade salad dressing – it’s much healthier than store bought dressings, doesn’t contain refined sugar, and still lends lots of flavor. Servings: 4

Here’s what you need…

•              6 cups organic baby spinach

•              4 hard boiled eggs, chopped

•              1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

•              1 teaspoon olive oil

•              Juice from one lime

•              dash of pepper

1              Combine the spinach, eggs, and tomatoes in a large bowl.

2              In a small bowl whisk the olive oil, lime juice and pepper.

3              Pour the dressing over the salad, mix and serve.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals:  170 calories, 10g fat, 337mg sodium, 5g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, and 13g protein

Call today for a consultation and assessment!

Email: Pumpstrainingandpilates@gmail.com

Phone: 219-548-3480

Web: Pumpsfitnessinc.com

Why You’re Gaining Weight (and how to stop it)

From the Desk of John Hall Studios

Tired of gaining weight? Of course you are – none of us enjoy it when the number on our scale begins to climb. So why are you gaining that extra weight now?

That is a valid and frustrating question. And the answer is often found in recent changes in your life.

According to Edward Abramson, Ph.D. the author of Emotional Eating, “Any change in your life circumstances can produce changes in eating and exercise, which leads to weight gain.”

Let’s dive into the major changes in your life that have caused that annoying weight gain…

Life’s Fat Traps: We all gain weight for different reasons. You often hear about one-size-fits-all weight loss solutions that take little or no consideration of how the extra weight piled up in the first place. To experience true weight loss it is important to understand why you gained it in the first place.

Think back to the time in your life when your weight was just right. Were you in your teens? Your twenties? Or maybe your thirties? Picture yourself as you were at your ideal weight. Now when did things change? Was it a gradual addition of pounds that accumulated over a span of multiple years? Or did you gain it all at once?

Check out the following weight gain triggers and determine which one is responsible for your plight.

College: The college years are some of the easiest for gaining weight. In fact, a recent study by Cornell University found that on average, college freshman gain about 0.5 pounds a week - almost 11 times more than the average weight gain among 17-and 18-year olds and almost 20 times more than the average weight gain among American adults.

Marriage: There’s nothing like holy matrimony to encourage a barrage of calories to overtake your diet. Late night comfort snacks are always more enjoyable when you have someone to share them with—and who better than the person who pledged to stick by your side through sickness and health?

Pregnancy: Talk about a great time to gain weight! And we’re not just talking about women here—most men admit that they gained ‘sympathy’ pounds right along with their wife. Hormonal changes along with strong encouragement from everyone you know to indulge in anything their heart desires leave most pregnant women with a feeling of entitlement when it comes to food.

Career: Though you may not realize it, your career choice plays a major hand in your weight. Those who go from an active lifestyle to spending 8 hours a day behind a desk and another 2 hours commuting almost universally gain weight. Conversely, people who spend their 8 hours in constant motion find weight loss a natural byproduct of the job.

New Habits: Close your eyes and go back to the fat trap that triggered your weight gain. What changed in your lifestyle? To help sort things out, I’ve broken things down into two specific behavioral categories.

Eating Habits: Did your eating pattern change at this time in your life? If your weight gain occurred in college then maybe you went from eating 3 square meals to an all-you-can-eat buffet style cafeteria. Or if marriage was your weight gain trigger, then maybe you went from eating small meals to fattening comfort food. Pregnancy brings on the perfect environment for a change in eating habits. You go from eating normally, to eating ‘for two’, to munching on your baby’s snacks right along with him! Your job can also dictate your eating schedule. Long hours and early meetings may cause you to grab a donut or chips from the vending machine.

Activity Level: The second category that leads to weight gain is your activity level. Simply put, what kind of exercise were you doing before your life changing event and how does it compare to your current exercise regime? Chances are good that you were doing more exercise before your weight gain began—which means that you are doing less exercise today! Go ahead, think back to the exercises or physical activities that you used to do and compare them to your schedule today.

Your Transformation: You’ve figured out which fat trap in your life led to weight gain, and then narrowed down the exact behaviors that changed as a result, so this naturally leads us to a solution.

It’s time to make a change.

Call or email today to get started on a fitness program that will make you immune to all of life’s fat traps.

Once you start working with us, those numbers on your scale will quickly change direction. Let’s do this!

Best Ab Exercises

Just because those crunches won’t reduce your body fat, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strengthen your abdominal muscles. Regular ab exercises are an essential part of your strength and conditioning – necessary in order to get that fit physique you want.

Plank: Lie face down on mat resting on the forearms, palms flat on the floor. Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows. Keep your back flat, in a straight line from head to heels. Tilt your pelvis and contract your abdominals to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air or sagging in the middle. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds, lower and repeat for 3-5 reps.

Knee Tucks: Start on your back, bend your knees into your chest, point your toes together, and open knees out to the sides, keeping toes touching. Extend both arms overhead on either side of your ears, palms facing up. Lift your hips off the floor and bring your knees up towards your armpits. Slowly lower your hips back down to start position. Repeat for 12-15 reps.

One-Arm Full Sit Ups: Start lying on your back with your right knee bent, foot flat on the floor, and left leg extended straight out on the floor. Extend your right arm to the ceiling and reach your left arm towards your left foot. Sit all the way up, rolling through your back, keeping your right foot on the floor, and your right arm up over your shoulder and your left arm reaching in front of you all the way up. Slowly roll back down to the floor. That’s one rep. Repeat 15 times on one side, 15 times on the other. For an extra challenge hold a dumbbell in your extended arm.

Clean Burrito

Here’s a healthy burrito recipe to sink your teeth into. Whole grains, lean protein and crunchy veggies make this a recipe that you’ll come back to time and again. Serve with a side of your favorite salsa. Servings: 1

Here’s what you need…

•              1 sprouted grain, flourless tortilla

•              1 Tablespoon hummus

•              1/3 cup cooked brown rice

•              ¼ cup cooked black beans

•              ½ cup cooked chicken, chopped

•              2 Tablespoons fresh corn kernels

•              2 Tablespoons chopped cucumber

•              ¼ cup shredded arugula

•              3 cherry tomatoes, chopped

1              Warm the tortilla in a dry skillet. Spread the hummus evenly over the tortilla.

2              Top the tortilla with rice, beans, chicken and veggies.

3              Fold the two sides of the tortilla in over the filling, then flip up the bottom edge and roll tightly.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 380 calories, 7.8g fat, 45g carbohydrate, 7g fiber, and 31g protein.

Call today for a consultation and assessment!

Email: Pumpstrainingandpilates@gmail.com

Phone: 219-548-3480

Web: Pumpsfitnessinc.com

Is Your Smoothie Sabotaging Your Results?

Smoothies are refreshing and delicious. But, unfortunately, most smoothies are made to be ultra fattening, and could be slowing down or even reversing your fitness results.

If the thought of having a smoothie derail your health train is upsetting, read on to find out whether your smoothie is working against instead of for you.

Does It Have Fruit Juice?

If your smoothie relies on fruit juices to give it some added punch, your smoothie may not be as healthy as you think. Since fruit juice is often jam-packed with flavor-enhancing sugars, you’d be smart to keep fruit juice well away from your morning pick-me-up. Have a killer recipe that can’t do without fruit juice of some sort? No problem. Just be sure to pick all-natural homemade squeezed fruit juice or coconut water. The best way to make sure your fruit juice is nothing but fruit juice is to squeeze it yourself, so start squeezing!

Do You Have to Add Sugar?

For the same reason you don’t want a smoothie with store-bought sugar-laden fruit juice, you want to sidestep any smoothie that requires you to toss extra teaspoons of sugar in. The fruit you add to your smoothie should have plenty of sugar to give it the sweetness you desire. Anything else is excessive and will serve to slow you down and encourage fat storage.

Do You Toss in Yogurt?

Smoothies that include yogurt can come out on the healthy or unhealthy side of things. It all depends on what kind of yogurt you use. If your favorite type of yogurt is stuffed with added sugars and flavors, it’s not going to be a good way to power yourself up for the day. On the other hand, if you’re careful to only use homemade, organic, or Greek yogurt, your smoothie can be a superbly healthy start to your day.

Is It Super Sized?

No matter what healthy ingredients you shove into your smoothie, it can still sabotage your weight and health goals if you can’t stop eating it. Before you serve yourself a 48-ounce smoothie, consider your weight goals and split your morning smoothie into appropriate portions. Drink down one portion in the morning and save the rest for a small afternoon snack or finish it off the next morning. Either way, avoiding an oversized smoothie will keep your smoothie from ruining your diet.

Do You Ever Color It Green?

While fruit smoothies are incredibly delicious, it’s a great idea to switch it up by making a veggie smoothie on occasion. You may even want to go green the majority of the time. The deep green color is sure to give you some vitamins and minerals that your body is likely missing, and skipping the fruit on occasion will remind your taste buds that good things don’t always have to be sweet.

Does It Contain Ice Cream?

Okay, this may sound like a joke, but if your smoothie contains three scoops of ice cream, a squirt of chocolate syrup, and a cup or two of milk, you’re not drinking a smoothie. It’s a milk shake. And it will not get your day or diet off on the right foot.

Before you laugh too loudly, you should know that some people think that anything cold and creamy that comes out of blender is a smoothie. So if you’re lounging at a friend’s house and he or she offers you a delicious homemade smoothie, ask what’s in it before accepting!

When it comes to fat loss, eating clean is half of the battle. The other half is all about effective, challenging and consistent exercise.

Begin right now by calling or emailing us to get started on an exercise program that will turn you into a fat burning machine!

Perfectly You

No, you are not perfect. None of us are! But you are perfectly YOU—unique with your own qualities and traits. Learn to embrace and love your own unique style rather than obsessing over the things that aren’t perfect.

Tasty Tuna Lettuce Wraps

Wrapping your dinner in lettuce is an awesome way to burn fat! Trade in your tortillas, buns and sliced bread for a few heads of Romaine lettuce. These tuna wraps are an ultra-healthy meal that is high in protein and low in fat.

Servings: 2

Here’s what you need:

•              1 can albacore chunk tuna, packed in water

•              2 Tablespoons finely chopped white onion

•              ½ red bell pepper, finely chopped

•              ½ yellow bell pepper, finely chopped

•              ½ apple, finely chopped

•              2 Tablespoons nonfat mayonnaise

•              1 Tablespoon nonfat ranch salad dressing

•              1 teaspoon dried dill

•              4 large lettuce leaves, washed

•              Pepper to taste

1              Combine the tuna, onion, bell pepper, and apple in a medium bowl. In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise, ranch dressing and dill.

2              Add the mayonnaise mixture to the tuna and mix until well combined.

3              Arrange the lettuce leaves on two plates, and fill with tuna. Garnish with a dash of pepper.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals 124 calories, 1.5g fat, 13g carbohydrate, 2.7g fiber, and 14g protein.

Call today for a consultation and assessment!

Email: Pumpstrainingandpilates@gmail.com

Phone: 219-548-3480

Web: Pumpsfitnessinc.com

Biggest Fitness Secret Revealed

We hope you’re sitting down for this one because we’re going to pull back the curtain and share with you something huge. In fact, we believe that this is the biggest secret to attaining that perfectly fit body that you’ve been after for so many years.

If you’re like most fitness enthusiasts then your perfect body has eluded you for quite some time. It’s not that you aren’t trying to workout and eat right, it’s just that you haven’t been able to find that one thing to take you all the way to success.

Now, my friends, you’re about to find out what that one thing is, and your fitness results will never be lacking again. It’s quite simple, and yet stands as the truest and most important fitness advice you’ll ever receive…

The big secret is that…Your daily habits create your body.

What do we mean by daily habits? The things that you consistently do on a daily basis determine your body’s shape, strength and stamina.

That’s it. Nothing else matters as much as those daily habits.

The problem is that most of us have bursts of fitness motivation, when we eat clean and workout hard for a short time…but then the motivation wears off and we go back to our daily habits. That familiar routine that gives us comfort and security.

Your only focus, when it comes to shaping up your body, should be to make and keep a handful of healthy, daily habits. When these healthy habits become your comfortable routine, then you’ve hit fitness gold.

This is great news for two reasons:

1              First, when you do something habitually it no longer requires a lot of brain power or motivation to get it done. It pretty much happens automatically. So once you’ve settled into your daily habits you’ll easily maintain them.

2              Second, once your daily habits have been around long enough to transform your body, you get to give up the struggle of trying to lose weight. That quest, which has taken up so much of your time and mental energy, will be put to rest, leaving you time to go out and enjoy your life. Go crazy! Once you’ve achieved that body of your dreams the ride is just begun. Now the fun really begins.

And so today take a few moments to determine which healthy, daily habits you will begin to include in your daily life, and continue to prompt yourself to do these until it becomes automatic and comfortable. While each and every one of you have unique situations and abilities, here is a general list of ideas of healthy daily habits to get you started…

•              Daily resistance training workout – same time each day.

•              Daily cardio bonus workout (walk, jog, bike etc) – same time each day.

•              Daily protein shake to replace breakfast or lunch.

•              Daily water drinking – bring your water bottle with you.

•              Daily green drink.

•              Daily salad at one meal.

•              Daily bonus push-ups at home.

Go on, get working on your own personal list of daily fitness habits. Make these realistic actions that you could fit into your daily life, and watch as your body effortlessly transforms over the next several weeks.

Quick note for you overachievers: resist the urge to commit to difficult or extreme daily habits. You aren’t having one of your fitness bursts right now, that fizzle out shortly – these habits are meant for the long run. So instead of saying that you’ll run 6 miles each day, only commit to 2 miles. Do those 2 miles ever day for a few months and you’ll see the value and truly life-changing powers of a daily habit.

Call or email us now and we’ll help you with your personalized list of daily habits. Of course one of those habits will be to workout with us each day! Talk about a life changing habit :)

Every Little Bit Counts

Do you have diabetes or high blood pressure?

Did you know that by dropping as little as 5 to 10 percent of your body weight these problems can be greatly alleviated?

Just think how great you will feel after losing excess weight and improving your health!

Low Carb Spaghetti and Meatballs

So you ditched that package of high-carb noodles from your pantry, now learn to love nature’s healthy noodles: spaghetti squash. If you haven’t yet tried spaghetti squash then you’re in for a real treat. A pile of tender spaghetti squash strands piled high with protein and veggie meatballs makes the perfect fitness meal.

Servings: 12

Here’s what you need…

•              2 pounds lean, organic, grass-fed ground beef

•              1 pound lean, sweet turkey sausage

•              4 celery stalks, diced

•              1 yellow onion, diced

•              3 carrots, diced

•              3 omega-3, eggs

•              1/2 cup almond meal

•              2 Tablespoons dried oregano

•              1 teaspoon garlic powder

•              dash of salt and pepper

•              Optional: handful of olives

Sauce

•              14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

•              1 can tomato paste

•              splash of white wine

•              2 cups fresh basil, chopped

•              6 garlic cloves, chopped

•              dash of salt and pepper

Noodles

    1 spaghetti squash

1              Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Wash spaghetti squash and poke all over with a knife. Place directly on the middle oven rack and bake for 1 hour. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Once cooled, slice in half and remove the seeds. Scoop the spaghetti squash strands out with a large spoon, set aside in a bowl.

2              Throw all of the meatball ingredients into a large bowl and mix with your hands. Form into large, golf ball sized meatballs.

3              Combine all of the sauce ingredients into a medium bowl and mix well.

4              Cook with Crockpot: Place the meatballs in your slow cooker. Cover with the sauce and cook on low for 6-8 hours. OR Cook with stovetop: Place meatballs in a large pot. Cover with sauce and cook, covered, over low heat for 2-3 hours.

5              Place a scoop of spaghetti squash noodles on each plate, top with meatballs and some sauce and then throw on a few olives.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals:  266 calories, 12g fat, 426mg sodium, 14g carbohydrate, 4g fiber, and 26g protein

Call today for a consultation and assessment!

Email: Pumpstrainingandpilates@gmail.com

Phone: 219-548-3480

Web: Pumpsfitnessinc.com