Here’s what you need:

• 1 sweet, ripe peach (or apple or pear)
• coconut cooking spray
• 1 teaspoon agave nectar
• pinch of sea salt
• pinch of freshly ground cinnamon

1. Wash, peel and pit the peach. Chop into bite-sized pieces.
2. Pre-heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Spray lightly with coconut cooking spray.
3. Saute the peach pieces for about a minute, then add the agave nectar, salt and cinnamon. Continue to saute for another few minutes until it turns a deep golden color.
4. Serve and enjoy immediately!

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 53 calories, .2g fat, 100mg sodium, 13g carbohydrate, 1.8g fiber, and 1g protein.

Here’s what you need:

•2 cups mixed greens
•1/4 cup grilled peaches
•1 Tablespoon blue cheese crumbles
•1 Tablespoon dried cranberries
•1 Tablespoon light salad dressing
•7 oz grilled salmon
1.Toss the greens, peaches, blue cheese, and cranberries in a bowl with salad dressing. Top with grilled salmon.
Nutritional Analysis:? One serving equals: 365.3 calories, 14.5g fat, 404mg sodium, 15g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, and 39.7g protein.

You get too busy, too stressed and quite simply too tired.

Here’s a list of 13 of the top reasons to exercise. Pull out this list and read it when you’re having one of those days.

1. To Prevent Disease
Exercise has been proven to reduce the risk of just about every single health problem known to man, from stroke to heart disease to cancer and osteoporosis. Exercise is also a great defense against type 2 diabetes, which is one of the most widely growing diseases of our time.

2. To Look Great
Exercise firms your body, improves posture and even makes your skin glow. Looking your best is a wonderful result of regular exercise.

3. To Lose Weight and Keep It Off
Exercise burns fat and prevents future fat storage. If you want to have a thinner, healthier body, exercise is the answer.

4. To Have More Energy
Anyone who exercises regularly will tell you that they are more energetic, less easily irritated and are more peaceful.

5. To Sleep Better
Exercise boosts energy levels, but also wears you out. It makes you feel more vibrant during the day and sleep better at night.

6. To Age Slower
Exercise is one of the most effective ways to fight aging. When you age your body loses muscle and bone, while the loss of both are drastically reduced with regular exercise. Exercise also helps reduce inflammation.

7. To Relieve Back Pain
In most cases, the best thing that you can do for back pain is to move and strengthen those muscles. Consult your physician or physical therapist for guidance.

8. To Ease Depression
Exercise has been proven to reduce depression – sometimes even as effectively as medication. Just chalk this up as yet another amazing benefit to exercise.

9. To Reduce Aches and Pains
By strengthening muscles around your damaged joints you’re able to use exercise to reduce joint pain and overall aches. Always consult your physician before starting an exercise program, especially if you have chronic joint pain.

10. To Stay Mentally Sharp
Exercise has been shown to improve memory and other cognitive functions, and seems to have a protective effect against dementia. A Harvard University researcher called exercise “Miracle-Gro for the brain.”

11. To Enjoy Your Lifestyle
Whatever it is that you love in life – your kids, travel, sports, fashion – it is all more enjoyable when experienced in a fit and healthy body. Exercise so that you are able to enjoy all the great things in life.

12. To Reduce Sick Days
People who exercise regularly are 50% less likely to call in sick to work. A regular exercise program reduces colds and upper respiratory infections.

13. To Boost Confidence
Being fit, feeling healthy and having energy are all building blocks to having great confidence. There is no better confidence booster than sticking with a regular exercise program.

Regular exercise gives you so many amazing benefits, as you’ve seen from the above list. Call or email me today to get started on the exercise program that will change your life forever.

Lap Band Advantages

• Simple and relatively safe procedure, low rate of major complication and mortality rate
• Reversible and Adjustable
• No removing or altering any part of the stomach or intestines
• Short hospital stay, Quick recovery period
• Low malnutrition risk
• Slow and steady weight loss
• Settles at final weight 3-4 years after surgery
• Over 5 years similar results as Gastric Bypass

Lap Band Disadvantages

• Slower weight loss than Gastric Bypass
• Possibility of band slippage, band erosion, or port problems
• Requires more patient effort for weight loss
• Potential stomach obstruction
• Band needs adjustments by doctor
• Cannot drink fluids with meals
• 800 calorie diet for 2-3 years then 1200 calories/day

Gastric By-Pass Advantages

• Rapid weight loss in first 6 months
• Greatly controls amount of food that can be eaten
• Dumping Syndrome controls intake of sweets
• Limits amount of calories absorbed by the body

Gastric By-Pass Disadvantages

• Complex operation, high mortality rate 1 in 200 die.
• Surgical risks including infection, leaks, and blood clots, ulcers, bowel obstruction, reflux
• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
• Dumping Syndrome—vomiting, nausea,
• 800 calorie diet for 1-2 years then 1200 cal/day
• Cannot drink fluids with meals

I’m a proponent of safe, gradual weight loss and a 1 in 200 chance of dying with Gastric Bypass isn’t for me.  Lap Band is a much safer, adjustable solution.  Now if you are thinking about weight loss surgery I highly recommend that you attend the FREE Seminar by Dr. Adam Goldstein, I went a little while ago and it was extremely informative (Dr. Goldstein is a great presenter).   If interested in attending Dr. Goldstein’s private lecture, please call Eva, Dr. Goldstein’s Bariatric Coordinator, at 856-596-7440 extension 213, or email her at ebusch@surgicalspecialistsnj.org. 

Dr. Goldstein

Dr. Goldstein is also the areas leading Lap Band Specialist.  Dr. Adam S. Goldstein, DO, FACS, is the Director of Bariatric Surgery for Virtua Health and the Director of Advanced Laparoscopic Surgery for The Virtua Voorhees Hospital, in Voorhees, New Jersey. He is a Board Certified General, Bariatric, and Cosmetic Surgeon, fellowship trained in advanced laparoscopic surgery, licensed to practice medicine in both New Jersey and Illinois, and certified to use the DaVinci Robotic System to perform minimally invasive surgery. He is a member of the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), American Society of Bariatric Surgeons (ASBS), International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity (IFSO), Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (SLS), Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), National Society of Cosmetic Physicians (NSCP), and Medical Society of New Jersey (MSNJ). He is also an Executive Committee Member of the Camden County Medical Society (CCMS), a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons (ACS), and the founder of ScuLpt Cosmetic Surgery 

You can get a ton of really great info from Dr. Goldstein’s website www.drgoldstein.com .

Cherry Hill Personal Training Studio located just minutes from Haddonfield, NJ.

Recently I had a client ask if I thought liposuction was a good idea, and my answer surprised them.   I think liposuction is a good idea, but only as the last piece of the puzzle.  I live in the real world and sometimes you just can’t lose it all on your own.  If you have lost a serious amount of weight you are going to have extra skin and there’s no exercise I can give you that will get rid of that.  Sometimes you are just genetically predisposed to store fat in certain areas and since you can’t spot reduce I can make you do 1 million crunches and that won’t help you lose fat from your love handles.  

I believe liposuction is a very beneficial solution as long as you have done your homework.  You have to make exercise a part of your life and yes that includes strength training 2-3x/week and doing regular physical activity 4-6 days/week.  You also need to fine tune your diet.  You need to eat breakfast with protein every morning within 30 minutes of waking up then eat 4-6 small meals throughout your day every 3-4 hours to help stabilize your blood sugar levels and insulin levels.  I wouldn’t even consider liposuction until after you’ve been exercising and eating right for 1-2 years.  

If you haven’t changed your lifestyle and you get lipo, it’s going to come back.  Even though you are sucking out your fat cells during lipo and you cannot regrow new ones, you will actually make your remaining fat cells get bigger, so areas that were never fat before might get bigger.   God’s cruel little joke.  And if you are thinking that lipo is the spark that will help you get more active and eat healthy guess what you’re lying to yourself.  Why would you wait.  If you get liposuction and then start exercising and eating better, you will lose more weight and inches so you’ll have saggy skin and then you’ll need another plastic surgery procedure.    Believe me the last thing you are going to want to do after your lipo is starting to workout because you’ll be too sore.  Lose the weight and inches now before the surgery so the lipo is less extensive and you can even do the skin tightening at the same time.  . 

 So unless you’ve taken the steps to create a healthier lifestyle, you are just wasting your time, and money with lipo.    Be smart and be safe and make sure you know the risks and only work with a board certified plastic surgeon.

I highly recommend Dr. Evan Sorokin of Delaware Valley Plastic Surgery (just in front of our studio on Rt 70).  Trainer Dan who has lost over 140 lbs has scheduled his procedure with Dr. Sorokin for the upcoming New Year.  Dr. Evan Sorokin is a Board Certified plastic surgeon with a wide range of experience in plastic and reconstructive surgery. He specializes in breast augmentation, liposuction, and abdominoplasty (tummy tuck).  Dr. Sorokin and his staff are committed to three core values: achieving the highest medical and safety standards, thoroughly educating patients, and developing a lasting patient relationship built on trust Dr. Sorokin is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS). Plastic surgeons certified by the ABPS have graduated from an accredited medical school and have completed at least five years of additional training as resident surgeons in programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Medical Education. 

 Call Dr. Sorokin at (856)872-4158 and get a 20% discount on facial or microdermabrasion procedures. For medspa type procedures they also offer Botox and Restylane, Juvederm, and Fillers. They also offer facials, skincare, microdermabrasion, dermaplaning, etc….. Visit his website at http://www.delawarevalleyplasticsurgery.com/

 Our private personal training studio is located just minutes from Haddonfield, NJ

1. Workout together:

Relay Races: Set cones/markers 25 yards apart.  Sprint down and back then do 20 sit ups (alternate holding each others feet—partner counts for you).  Run backwards down and back then do 20 push-ups (or until failure, help each other pulling up by the waist).  Side run down and back then do 20 prisoner squats (hands behind head) hold 5 seconds at bottom (Your partner counts for you).  Super skip (high knee skip) down and back then do 30 second plank on your elbows and knees (partner counts it out for you).  Repeat 1-2x times.  Feel free to get creative and throw in cardio bursts i.e. jump rope, hula hoop, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, ski slalom (jump over a stick back and forth, elevate the stick to spice it up).

Karate classes are another great workout for both of you: Most dojos offer child parent classes.  If you don’t laugh at your kids they won’t laugh at you (maybe).  Great way to improve balance, stabilization, self esteem, discipline (sensei’s won’t allow disrespect), flexibility, and strength.

2. Both of you get a trainer:  If you have a good chunk of weight to lose or you need a little more challenge, get a trainer.  Why shouldn’t both of you get an age appropriate workout.  Drop off your kids at My Gym (activities include: gymnastics, games, relays, tumbling, swings, rides, and LOTS of FUN!) located 1/2 mile down the road just off Rt 70 in Barclay Farms Shopping Center (for ages 0-13- tell them we sent you for a free class) then head over to us for a one-on-one personal training workout or bootcamp (we even offer 30 minute express workouts to get you in, get a great workout, and back to life).  See My Gyms schedule of classes by visiting www.my-gym.com/cherryhill .

3. Video Games:  Who says you can’t get in a great workout playing a video game.  Be prepared to work up a major sweat with these intense video games.  Wii Fits’—2 Man Run (race each other at the same time), Boxing (Have a family fight night), Obstacle Course, and Dance Dance Revolution Hottest Party 3 (not included in Wii-Fit program but totally worth the extra cost-be prepared get your groove on). 

New Sony Playstation Move—Gladiator Duel (awesome) and Beach Volleyball are a blast.

4. Set Up A Fitness Challenge: See who can get in the most steps in a day by wearing a pedometer.  At the end of the day, tally up the number of steps kids and adults took. The person who took the most steps that day gets a special treat or gets out of doing a chore which the loser has to do. Make it a daily event.

Don’t forget that kids need an hour of exercise each day. Make it easier for them by joining in – and you’ll enjoy some of the benefits too.  

Kevin Kiene after losing 135 lbs.

 “I lost 135 lbs.”  41 year old Kevin Kiene is our September 2010 Haddonfield Personal Trainer Success Story.   

  If Kevin looks familiar it’s because he was our April success story (Click here to see previous post).  He’s down another 30 lbs since April.  

  I’d love to take all the credit for Kevin’s 135 lb weight loss, but he lost 70 lbs before he started with us.  At Fit-4-Life he lost another 62 lbs, 12% Bodyfat, and over 30 inches (8 inches off his waist) and that is a huge accomplishment.  I just had to make Kevin our September Success story in recognition of his 135 lb weight loss.  He’s within 20-30 lbs of his goal weight. 

  We still torture Kevin 3x/week.  He lives in Northeast Philly which is a testament to his dedication and persistence travelling all the way to Cherry Hill.  I can’t lie we still have some issues getting his diet on track (old habits are hard to break) and he gets a little supplement happy but the constant nutritional counseling helps keep him on track.  See the secrets to his success by watching his video below.

If so, you are in good company. Even the most seasoned athletes experience times when their results plateau.

When you continue to put in the same effort day after day with little or no results it is safe to say that you’ve hit your own fitness plateau.

Your body adapts quickly to any repetitive routine. The definition of ‘insanity’ is to do the same thing over and over while expecting different results. This holds true for your workouts. When your results stop then it’s time to do something new.

I have good news – the following 4 tactics are guaranteed to crank your workouts up to the next level and to deliver the fast results you want.

Tactic #1: Focus on Negatives

Each time that you do a weight lifting repetition you are utilizing three types of strength. These are:

1. Positive strength: the motion of lifting the weight.
2. Static strength: holding weight in a contracted position.
3. Negative strength: the motion of lowering the weight.

Most people completely miss the benefit of the negative in each repetition by allowing the weight to drop quickly with little control. It is understood that the negative portion of a repetition is just as important as the positive portion, and possibly more important.

Focus on the negative portion of each repetition by lowering the weight very slowly. Concentrate on the negative contraction, and make each repetition count.

If you are advanced, then use a training partner to assist you in moving heavier-than-normal weight into a contracted position, then lower it very slowly.

Another way to utilize negative repetitions on a machine is to lift the weight using two limbs but then lower it with just one. For example, use both legs to lift the weight on a leg extension machine, but then lower it back down slowly using only one leg.

Tactic #2: Do a Drop Set

Drop sets have long been used to fight off exercise plateaus. This technique is great for adding muscle strength, endurance and for increasing the cardiovascular benefit of your workout – resulting in more fat burn.

Here, in a nutshell, is how to do a drop set: When you perform an exercise to exhaustion, don’t stop there. Drop the weight by 80% and do another set.

You could take it a step further by dropping the weight twice, making it a double drop. Or drop the weight three times for a descending drop set.

Use this technique only once or twice per workout, on the final set of the exercise.

Tactic #3: Modify the Exercise

There are certain exercises that are considered ‘staples’ in the gym.

The squat. The lunge. The chest press. The shoulder press. The bicep curl. You get the idea…

While you shouldn’t throw these exercises out the window, find creative ways to modify the familiar motion in order to challenge your muscles. Try these exercise modifications:

• Squat on a Bosu ball or balance board.
• Place a weighted bar across your shoulders and do walking lunges.
• Use an exercise ball for chest presses instead of the bench.
• Do a full squat between each repetition of shoulder presses.
• Do a shoulder press between each repetition of bicep curls.

Tactic #4: Use Active Rest to turn each workout into High Intensity Interval Training

Every minute of your workout is an opportunity to increase intensity and to burn more fat. Don’t waste precious minutes with long rest periods between exercises.

While it is important to catch your breath if you feel winded, most of the time you would benefit more from an active rest than a passive one. Perform one of the following activities for 30 seconds between exercises and turn your regular workout into High Intensity Interval Training.

• High Knees with Alternating Punches: Alternately bring each knee high to your chest in a quick jumping movement while alternating forward punches at shoulder level.
• Burpees: Start in a sanding position and bend at the waist. Once your hands hit the floor, push your entire body back, extending your legs until they’re straight and you’re in the push-up position. Go down for a push-up, and when you push yourself up, jump slightly to bring your feet back near your hands. Finally, jump in the air with your arms fully extended over your head.
• Side-to-Side Jumps on Bench: Stand on one side of an exercise bench. Place the foot closest up onto the bench, jump up and switch feet, then land on the opposite side of the bench.
• Mountain Climbers: Place your hands wider than shoulder-width apart on the ground in a push-up position. Bring one knee to your chest and then back to the starting position, alternate each leg quickly.
• Side-to-Side Ab Twists: With feet close together, jump and twist your legs left to right – holding your abs tight. Keep a bend in your knees and swing your upper arms with each twist.
• Jump Lunges with Pop Squat: Start in a lunge position, lunge down then quickly jump up, switching your leg position in midair, land in an opposite leg lunge. Once you’ve done both legs, jump straight into a squat.
• Medicine Ball Squat Jumps: With feet wider than shoulder-width apart hold a medicine ball at chest level. Squat down until your knees are at a 90 degree angle. Explosively jump up, raising the medicine ball straight over your head.

If you’d like a sure-fire way to break through your fitness plateau and to melt away unwanted fat, then contact me for a fitness consultation – Haddonfield Personal Trainer

David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding sure think so. But then they did write the book on it: Drink This Not That. They’ve even gone so far as to claim that you could lose up to 32 pounds in a year just by changing what you drink.

What most people don’t know is that it’s a lot easier to drink extra calories than to eat it. So you really need to pay attention to what you’re sipping on.

Here is a sampling of what their book has to offer. The following are 5 of the worst things to drink, followed by 5 slimming alternatives.

Breakfast
While a cup of hot coffee or a glass of lowfat milk are both great ways to start your day, beware of the smoothie trap. More often than not smoothies are closer to milkshakes than protein shakes.

Worst beverage: Smoothie King Peanut Power Plus Grape (40oz)

• 1,498 calories / 44g fat / 214g sugar

Drink This Instead: Smoothie King High Protein Banana (20oz)

• 322 calories / 9g fat / 23g sugar

Lunch
A study done at Virginia Polytechnic Institute showed that people who drink 17oz of water before sitting down for a meal ended up eating 9 percent fewer calories. Those calories can really add up over time.

Worst beverage:

SoBe Green Tea (20oz)

• 240 calories / 0g fat / 61g sugar

Drink This Instead: Honest Tea Organic Honey Green Tea (16oz)

• 74 calories / 0g fat / 18g sugar

Afternoon
When the afternoon rolls around most of us are ready for a pick-me-up. Too often these caffeinated drinks are loaded with waist-expanding calories.

Worst beverage: Starbucks Venti Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream

• 660 calories / 22g fat / 95g sugar

Drink This Instead: Starbucks Venti Caramel Cappuccino

• 170 calories / 6g fat / 18g sugar

Postworkout
There’s no good reason to follow up a great workout with a sugar-filled beverage, even if it makes claims for quick recovery and muscle growth. After exercise your body is in need of protein, carbohydrates and potassium, so choose a beverage filled with these three.

Worst beverage: Naked Protein Juice Smoothie (15.2oz)

• 418 calories / 4g fat / 53g sugar

Drink This Instead: Horizon Organic Chocolate Reduced Fat Milk (8oz)

• 180 calories / 5g fat / 27g sugar

Alcoholic beverages
There are known benefits to drinking alcohol in moderation (one or two drinks per day) such as raised HDL (good) cholesterol, boost in bloodflow, and improved sugar metabolism. A recent study in the journal BMC Public Health reported that people who have a daily drink were 54 percent less likely to be obese. However, it’s called a beer belly for good reason, since many alcoholic beverages are loaded with calories.

Worst beverage: Red Lobster Traditional Lobsterita

• 890 calories / 183g carbohydrates

Drink This Instead: Red Lobster Classic Martini with Gin

• 140 calories / 0g carbohydrates

Recent studies are reporting that most of us drink 21 percent of our daily calories. That adds up to an average of 460 calories each day. It’s easy to see how these calories quickly add up into unwanted pounds.

Pay extra attention to what you drink throughout each day. Make it a habit to pass on the calorie-packed drinks and to focus on drinking lots of water.

Remember that small changes to your lifestyle over time will make the difference.

I’m always available to help – call or reply to this email to set up your free consultation.