Success during the holidays with your eating.

Christmas is an absolute nightmare when it comes to eating healthy. The temptation of alcohol is never far away, mince pies are constantly shoved in your face and chocolate seems to be everywhere you go. However, with a little planning you can make sure these festive treats do not get the better of you. Here are 4 Christmas diet tips:

1) CHOOSE LOW CALORIE ALCOHOLIC DRINKS:
Alcohol is always flowing during the festive period. Unfortunately, extra alcohol means extra calories and if you are not careful these additional alcohol calories can have an adverse effect on your waistline. The good news is that you can control the amount of calories in your drinks by following this simplest of Christmas diet tips – choose low calorie drinks. Light beer, champagne, dry white wine and straight spirits are all good choices and generally contain less than 100 calories per glass.

2) EAT A LIGHT BREAKFAST:
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that is certainly true when it comes to Christmas. During the festive period you are probably going to be eating out a lot more frequently than normal. Breakfast is probably going to be the only meal of the day where you have full control over what you are eating. So if you know there are going to be sweets at the office or that you will be having a 3 course meal later that evening start the day right with a light breakfast. Fruit, eggs or even a protein shake are all great nutritious, low calorie choices.

3) INCORPORATE HEALTHY SNACKS INTO YOUR DAY:
Over Christmas healthy snacks tend to go out of the window and get replaced with cakes, chocolates and mince pies. However, if you make it part of your Christmas diet plan to keep your fruit bowl full and your cupboards stocked with healthy snacks you can cut down the amount of calories you consume through festive snacks. You do not have to eat these healthy snacks all the time but even eating them occasionally can make a really big difference. For example, if you eat an orange (62 calories) instead of a mince pie (185 calories) you can save a massive 123 calories.

4) MAKE SURE YOU ARE GETTING YOUR NUTRIENTS:
Getting enough nutrients over the festive period can be tricky. Cakes, chocolates and mince pies just don’t cut it when it comes to vitamin and mineral content. Additionally, all the extra alcohol you are consuming reduces the amount of nutrients your body can actually absorb. The good news is that consuming enough nutrients is not hard if you make it part of your Christmas diet plan. Simply make a conscious effort to eat 5 fruits, nuts or vegetables each day and you will be well on your way.

SUMMARY:
Healthy eating is hard at the best of times and the festive period makes it even more difficult. However, if you follow these Christmas diet tips you can minimise the effect it has on your healthy eating plans and end the year with your waistline intact.

Mirror Mirror on the wall….

We are all more obsessed with our appearance than we like to admit. But this is not an indication of ‘vanity’. Vanity means conceit, excessive pride in one’s appearance. Concern about appearance is quite normal and understandable. Attractive people have distinct advantages in our society.

It is not surprising that physical attractiveness is of overwhelming importance to us.

Does it neccesarliy mean that looking good will make you feel good? Factors that influence us could be related to:

• sex
• age
• adolencents
• adults
• ethnic group
• sexual orientation
• media
• mood
• childhood experiences
• eating disorders
• fitness obsessions
• sport
• acceptance of socialcultural acceptance

My best advise when looking into the mirror would be to see WHO you really are, not WHAT you really are. If you are un-happy with the way you ‘look’, then you may need to look deeper within to know exactly you are un-happy about. Happiness comes from within – shine today!

Coach Marc

M-Fitt Lifestyle Training

Owning IT.

Hey Team M-Fitt,

Ok so you feel as if your life is going nowhere and that nothing is going right in your life? Yes yes, I’m talking to you. Well in fact it recently happened to me that I had begun to sabotage my life with negativity and pessimistic thoughts.

Some of the side affects of this “feeling” I was experiencing were:

• lethargy,
• lack of drive,
• lack of enthusiasm for work and even daily life
• boredom,
• increased need to sleep and be alone, not doing much,
• not caring much for being on a good healthy eating plan,
• the “so, what’s next question”,
• and just generally feeling that you are just existing.

This is known as the COMFORT ZONE. medical professionals would refer this to being mildly depressed.  Are you experiencing the same symptoms? If you are and you are AWARE that you are, then this means that you are ready for change. But how does one bring about change? Nevermind feeling ‘bla’ now you have to bring about change – how is this possible?

Well one of the easiest things to do is make a CHANGE to one of the things that you are doing repetitively. For me, what made the biggest change in my life was to improve my eating. Get back on plan. Purge the refrigerator, get rid of all the sugars and ‘fillers’ laying around in your kitchen. I did a good ‘ol clean out and made a commitment to myself that I would be on plan, and STICK to it. It’s been a challenge for the last 3 days, but I now feel the surge of energy and power returning to my life through nutrition. My mind is clearer, my thoughts are more optimistic and my drive has returned. My workouts have improved and my classes have become more creative.

Would this all be coming from basic nutrition? Well to a certain extent yes, but the real answer is YOU made a DECISON to make a change. It’s the decision that created a pathway for ‘wheels’ to start turning again. Basically what I’m saying here is the following. If you make a decision anywhere in your life it will bring about change.

Are you ready for change in your life? Make a decision today and improve your life as you are the only one who can do it.

Get Motivated. M-Fitt.

Coach Marc

The Powerful benefits of Juice Fasting

I was recently at a dinner party and noticed that one of my friends had lost some weight and was radiant…this led me to him letting me know about the juice fast that he had been doing for the last 5 days….

So this led me to do a juice fast for 2 days and experience what he was experiencing…

Juice fasting is one of the most power natural treatment for any health condition. It’s also a great way to lose weight. The reason it is so effective is because fasting prevents the intake of any food or beverage that has a negative effect on health. These include all animal products, refined sugar and white flour products. Avoiding solid food allows the body to have more energy for detoxification and cleansing.

Juice fasting removes waste products and toxins stored in tissues, cleanses the colon, and revitalizes the nervous system and organs.

Firstly: Purchase a high quality Juicer

The best kind of juicer to buy is one that chews up the plant pulp to extract all the juice. One type of juicer that works well is a centrifugal juicer which are available with pulp ejectors. They are very popular and reasonably priced. Be sure to get one with a steel cutting blade and a sleeve that isn’t made of aluminum because it can react with the acids in fruit. It is best to drink the juice as soon as it is prepared. However, you can make as much juice as you need for more than a day and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to 24 hours.

Secondly: How Long Should a Juice Fast Last?

To receive the full benefits of a juice fast, it is recommended you continue the fast until you have been free of detoxification symptoms for two days. In the case of disease, it is necessary to remain on the fast until there is evidence of good recovery. This can take from several days to several weeks. If the fast continues beyond seven days experienced guidance will be required. I only did 2 full days here.

In the case of severe illness, practitioners may provide a juice fasting program or 3 days a week juicing and the rest of the week eating selected fruits and vegetables. After the fast is concluded meat is not allowed by many practitioners during the recovery period. Some practitioners allow patients to have a couple of ounces of SOFT protein from white fish or egg per week. Concerns about protein deficiency are unwarranted because the bodies protein reserves will supply the needed protein for the duration of the fast.

Thirdly: How much juice should be consumed during a fast?

There is no limit to how much juice you can drink. You will find that on busier days with increased physical activity you will need more juice. It is common to consume more juice near the beginning of a fast and after a few days find the need for juice decreases. I had 8oz every 2 hours, however, this may vary from person to person. Avoid drinking any bottled juices because they lack the needed nutrients and have been found to increase hunger. It is best to avoid large amounts of the more acidic juices in the morning. The best juices for drinking in large quantities are vegetable and melon juices.

Juice fasting is one of the most powerful forms of natural cleansing and healing for the body. It is also ideal for disease prevention and life longevity when done periodically. Following the guidance of a natural healthcare practitioner is important for individuals with serious conditions requiring extended juice fasts. The long-term health benefits of juice fasting are much more desirable than temporary relief with unpleasant side effects offered by conventional medicine.

The verdict:

The most challenging thing that I experienced about the juice fast was the lack of eating; or the OBSESSION that I had over eating a meal/s. As a society we are driven towards the next meal, coffee break, protein shake etc. Just to have a glass of juice and carry on with your day was really strange for me. But once I got over that, my energy levels peaked, my sleeping patterns improved and I tightened up A LOT! I lost 4lbs in 2 days.

My goal was NOT to lose weight here – only to experience the fast. I would HIGHLY recommend a juice fast. Not only are there health benefits, but it gives your digestive system a ‘time out’, you cleanse not only your body but for me, it seemed to be a spiritual / holistic experience as well.

GO FOR IT!

Coach Marc

Get Well. M-Fitt.

www.mymfitt.com

The Top Body weight exercises.

Definitely the best all round body weight exercise is the push up. It recruits major core activation, shoulder strength and upper body strength.
For me thou, I’m a legs man, I really enjoy a leg matrix pattern. Squats into basic reverse lunges into plyometric jumps. These exercises recruit large muscle groups and therefore incinerate body fat.

Get Fitt, M-Fitt.

Cardio that will change your life and your body.

Gone are the days where you need to be doing long sessions of cardio to burn fat. You want to hit your cardio is as many ways as possible, fast and hard. For example do short sets of fast burst activity followed by a endurance interval of between 5 and 10 minutes. Try add as much bodyweight training as possible to your cardio sessions. It’s all about heart rate manipulation. Three times a week of hardcore cardio, that is “interesting and keeps the body confused” will reap you amazing benefits!!

Get Fitt, M-Fitt.

The Fight Cover Article

The benefits of Group Personal Training

The Benefits of Group Training

Get results at www.MyMfitt.com

Many experiences are nicer when they are shared with someone else. Meals, movies, laughs, exercise, shopping, sightseeing, and travel are just some of the experiences that are enhanced when shared between two or more people. Even unpleasant work chores or dreaded dental appointments are less unpleasant when faced as a group of at least two as opposed to one lone soul.

Sharing experiences in a group many times broadens the scope of your own perceptions of experiences because you witness others reactions, and hear their accounting of incidents, which mixes with your own to form broader perceptions. There are countless other benefits to sharing experiences within a group as opposed to experiencing them on your own.

Exercising as a group, say through the instruction of a personal trainer, has many health and additional benefits for each individual in the group, and for the group as a whole. When you engage in group personal training you have a built in support system that bestows you with a wealth of encouragement and motivation for continuing with your fitness routines. This can be especially helpful for those funky days when you just do not feel like exercising. You can return the favor by being a motivator to the others in your personal training group when they
need a friendly nudge to continue with exercise programs. You can get into some friendly competing with the other members of your personal training group for even further reasons to continue with your fitness routine.

Moreover, group personal training lets you measure your progress against the progress being made by the other members of your personal training group. Measuring your progress
against the progress of someone else could tell you if you are on target with everyone else or lagging behind for some reason. Your personal trainer will be looking at the group’s progress, among other factors, to help in evaluating your individual progress. You should feel comfortable approaching your personal trainer though if you feel that you are not making as much progress as the rest of your personal training group, and perhaps just some individual tailoring to your group routines will be all that is required.

Group personal training could very well save you money as well. Many personal trainers will offer a discount to personal training groups because they can instruct several people on how to exercise properly at the same time, increasing the availability of that personal trainer for other individual or group personal training clients. If you do get a discount because you have chosen to gift yourself with the benefits of group personal training, do not run to the ice cream parlor after your fitness routine concludes and spoil the health benefits gained
through exercising.

The benefit to group personal training encompasses benefits to both your emotional and physical health. Group personal training fosters greater self esteem. On your own, you
may balk and immediately assume you can not do an exercise suggested by a personal trainer. But upon seeing the others in your personal training group performing the suggested exercise, you will realize that it is not as impossible as you first imagined. Realizing that if they can do it, you can too, will make you feel better about yourself and your abilities. And regular exercise
increases your physical health, for a healthier, happier you.

Visit www.mymfitt.com which is offering group personal training in west Hollywood and invite your friends, family and/or co-workers to join you in sharing the benefits of group personal training. You and your friends will be healthier and happier because of group personal training.

Come get coached to success!

Coach Marc

Get OFF your BUTT and M-Fitt MOVE.

We all know physical fitness is important to our health. It allows us to burn fat, become stronger, increase our endurance and look good naked. The human body is designed to thrive under physical stress and functions better when we exert ourselves.

 

The physical and aesthetic benefits of weightlifting and cardio training are obvious. However, the psychological and cognitive effects of exercise are often over looked…

 

Too much America – Over-Medicated America

 

American society today is vastly over medicated. We have pills for anxiety, depression, fat loss, tiredness, erectile dysfunction. There are pills to calm you down, to speed you up, to make you focus. The list is endless.

 

The pharmaceutical  industry is a profitable one. It’s obvious if you watch TV; there is a plethora of prescription drug commercials that list every symptom any person could reasonably have and offers a quick fix in a pill. And this marketing method works. They make money hand over fist.

 

Some of these drugs are valuable; they can save or improve life. However, many of these symptoms stem from poor lifestyle choices.

 

Pharmaceutical companies do not want you to know that a nutritional diet, proper exercise and adequate rest can cure or prevent a vast majority of ailments.

 

Reducing Anxiety and Depression

 

It’s no secret that running and weight lifting can help you beat stress and feel better. You may have already heard of a runner’s high or a weight lifter’s pump.

 

Stress has been linked to many physical and mental ailments, including: immune system deficiencies, balding, sexual performance anxiety and many more. The bottom line is that if you do not reduce or combat stress, it will hurt the quality of your life.

 

Without writing a research report… exercising has been proven to combat stress in three ways:

 

1. Rhythmic Therapy – Just about any type of exercise requires a repeated pattern of movement or cadence to be performed, especially cardio workouts. It is theorized that the rhythmic muscle movement calms your brain and quiets cognitive activity associated with anxiety. I’m sure you get to feel this everytime that you get onto your favorite cardio machine.
2. Thermogenic Effect – This phenomenon is triggered by the hypothalamus (in the brain). It detects the bodies elevated temperature caused by exercise, and triggers a reaction to reduce certain types of muscle neuron communication. In layman’s terms it allows you to “loosen up.” Turn up the HEAT baby!
3. Beta-Endorphin Release - Your body naturally releases beta-endorphins when under physical stress. These chemicals cause feelings of well being and happiness. This is the runner’s high people talk about after a good run. Due to the half life of this hormone, it sticks around a bit after your exercise. You may arrive at the gym all crazy and leave feeling like you can take on the world.

 

Those are brief descriptions of how the body’s reaction to exercise can lower stress levels. Physical activity has also been thought to help prevent and treat depression.

 

Sedentary Blues

 

Depression can be a very serious mental illness and is generally treated by a physician. It has been found that in almost all instances that physical activity and exercise has provided some benefit to the depressed individual.

 

Exercise is a good precursor to medical or pharmaceutical treatment because it is cost effective, noninvasive and has no negative side effects. It has been found that proper physical exercise appears to be as effective as medication for individuals experiencing clinical depression.(See: Effects of exercise training on older patients with major depression.1999.)

 

Depression is correlated with lowered levels of serotonin and norepinephrine. Exercise and resistance training has an anti-depressive effect by increasing these neurotransmitters. There are many other benefits of exercise that can help fight depression including: social interaction, increased confidence, and feelings of independence.

 

Improving Cognitive Performance

 

The cognitive benefits of exercise are mainly seen in aging adults. At about age 30, exercising can play a vital role in maintaining brain function. It has been found that reaction time, brain blood flow, dopamine levels, and frontal lobe performance begin to deteriorate with age.

 

Guess what? Physical activity and exercise promotes recovery of these cognitive deterioration and maintains current brain health!

 

Personally, I am very fond of my mental capacity and problem solving skills. The fact that physical activity will help me maintain my brain through old age is enough of an argument to keep me pumping iron til the day I die.

 

Get Off Your Butt and Move!

 

Work outs do not have to be complex or painful. You do not have to work yourself to complete exhaustion to see these benefits. The premise of effective training is consistent progression over time. Better yourself each day and you will see great results over the course of your life!

Have an awesome M-Fitt Training day ahead!

Coach Marc

The Benefits of M-Fitt Exercise

The Difference between Physical Activity and Exercise
Both regular exercise and increased physical activity add years to your life and life to your years. Health benefits are obtained from increasing the amount of any physical activity you do. The more you do, the greater the benefits. Physical activity is any movement that uses energy. Exercise is physical activity that is structured and is done at a certain intensity for a certain length of time. We engage in physical activity for health benefits if we wish to avoid disease and delay death. We engage in physical activity for fitness benefits in order to improve some components of physical fitness (cardiorespiratory endurance, muscle strength, muscle endurance, flexibility, and body composition).

Fitness should be a fun, energy releasing, relaxing component of your life. Poeple who exercise frequently are just plain and simple, happier and healthier!!

Long-Term Benefits

• Decreases Risk of Heart Disease: Inactive people are two times more likely to develop coronary artery disease (CAD) then active people.
• Decreases Blood Pressure: High blood pressure increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease. Inactive people are two times more likely to develop high blood pressure than active people.
• Decreases Body Fat: Regular physical activity helps maintain optimal body weight and composition.
• Decreases Cholesterol Level: A high blood cholesterol level increases the risk of heart disease. Regular exercise raises the level of “good” cholesterol and lowers the level of the “bad” cholesterol.
• Decreases Risk of Diabetes: Physical activity lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes and increases glucose uptake for those who already have diabetes. Fit women have diabetes 66% less often than unfit women.
• Decreases Risk of Cancer: Physical activity lowers the risk of colon and breast cancer.
• Decreases Risk of Osteoporosis: Regular exercise delays bone loss and promotes bone formation.
• Decreases Arthritis Symptoms: Regular exercise helps keep joints flexible and helps build muscle to support the joint.
• Decreases Number of Sick Days: Exercisers feel sick almost 30% less often than non-exercisers.
• Decreases Chance of Premature Death: Fit people live longer than unfit people.

Short-Term Benefits
While many people start a physical activity program because of long-term benefits, it’s the short-term benefits that keep them motivated to continue the habit.

• Relaxes and Revitalizes: Physical activity reduces mental and muscular tension, and at the same time, it increases concentration and energy level.
• A Break From Daily Routine and Worries: Physical activity is like a mini-vacation—you’re allowed to have fun.
• Helps You Feel Good About Yourself: Physical activity increases your self-esteem and self-confidence.

Now with all these benefits, how can you STILL not be MOVING? If you need a JUMP Start in moving your body, shoot me an email and let’s get started!

In M-Fitt Fitness, Caoch Marc