Simply have the new member mention or write in the current member’s name on the contract when they sign up!
Offer valid through November 30th.
Come see our facilities, meet our managers, and attend a FREE class: BollyX Demo class from 2:00-2:45pm or Small Group Training Demo Class from 3:00-3:45pm.
We will also be raffling off a FREE yearlong membership with $5 minimum donation of a raffle ticket, (raffle will benefit The Jimmy Fund).
Come explore everything we have to offer:
Check out ‘The Intimate Relationship Between Fitness and Sleep’, written by Ashley Mateo, published on Everyday Health. It is full of reasons why sleep is so important when it comes to fitness and working out. Here are a few of the main takeaways from the article, but if you’re not too tired, it’s definitely worth reading it in its entirety!:
Need more convincing? See these other related articles:
1. Why Sleep Is the No. 1 Most Important Thing for a Better Body
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Bootcamp runs Oct. 15th – Dec. 15th and includes:
Want in? Get in touch:
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Adapted from Victoria Myers of Nourishing Mind Nutrition
Maybe even a magical weight loss pill they are going to try. I bet you are even still thinking that you’ll do one more diet, just one last time, and then once you lose the weight you can go back to normal eating.
After years of using the same techniques of cutting calories and following diets (unfortunately the techniques we were taught in school to use), I consistently saw that it never, ever worked. Weight loss and “success” would occur at first. For probably the first month, maybe even a few months. Eventually though, it would stop working and there would be no more “willpower” and the weight would come back.
The reality after dieting is that most people gain the weight back and an alarming 40% regain more weight than their initial starting weight. Going on a diet is likely going to increase your chances of gaining weight, not losing it.
Today I want to show the SCIENCE behind why diets don’t work. Let’s start first with the largest misconception with diets, that you stop dieting because you lack willpower.
It is a man made, ego-driven, media-promoted idea that when you stop dieting it was because you are lazy and lack willpower or that you are not strong enough to keep eating your carrot sticks and bland chicken breasts. You do not lack willpower if the ice cream is calling your name at midnight after you have only eaten a diet shake for breakfast, salad for lunch and chicken breast for dinner.
Why doesn’t willpower exist? Because your body has a biological and psychological response to dieting. Studies show that after you diet your body changes in the following ways:
1. Your metabolism slows, taking longer to burn off calories.
Your body is wicked smart. It needs a certain amount of calories just to maintain your organ functions, breathing and bodily functions. Because your body is wicked smart, your metabolism will slow down and your body will learn to live off of fewer calories per day because it wants to STAY ALIVE. Your body doesn’t hate you, it loves you. It is doing what it must to keep all the organs and bodily functions working. Unfortunately, the first bodily functions that stop working properly with calorie restriction is your reproductive system and digestive system. Both are VITAL in a healthy body.
The Biggest Loser study is a new research study that shows how the body and metabolism changes after calorie restriction and dieting. The clients followed a very strict calorie restricted diet and exercise routine and even years after participating in the show, their metabolism was slower than what it should be.
2. Your hormones will change. You will likely still feel hunger after eating.
Studies have shown a hormonal backlash occurs in defense to calorie restriction. Your “hunger hormone” grelin is increased after following a diet. While leptin, the hormone associated with hunger suppression and increasing metabolism, was suppressed. Another 20 hormones associated with hunger levels were also altered after following a diet compared to pre-dieting levels (read more in this study).
3. Food becomes more tempting.
Food preoccupies your mind, becomes more tempting and you cannot stop thinking about it. Your dopamine response to food alters and eating becomes more rewarding. From a biological standpoint, this is how your body fights to stay alive. Your body has a natural response (through the mechanisms described above) to keep working. This is how thousands of years ago we survived states of starvation. In today’s world, we have chronic starvation because we are constantly restricting or calculating how many calories we are supposed to eat (rather than have our bodies tell us how much we need).
From a psychological response, diets don’t work because restriction and deprivation never work. How many times have you told yourself that you are not allowed to eat the cookie? And once you “gave in” you ate at least double the amount you had planned on eating? Restriction leads to deprivation which leads to overeating which leads to guilt and then the restriction begins again. You have to stop placing foods off limits and stop restricting in order to stop overeating.
Your genetics play a large role in your size and weight. You have a set point (of about 15-20 lb range) that your weight will stay, no matter your conscious feeling of what you feel you should weigh. Instead of fighting our set points, let’s celebrate them.
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Icelandic lamb or fish stew was offered everywhere for lunch, but I preferred the vegetable option with unlimited homemade bread. The breads, pastries and coffee, all clearly labeled when vegan friendly, kept me full and energized. However, one of the most delicious traditional Icelandic offering was skyr.
They eat it for breakfast, grab one for a quick snack, or use it as the base of decadent desserts with local berries. The Vikings brought skyr to Iceland more than 1,100 years ago. This fermented dairy product was once popular throughout Scandinavia, but in Iceland, it has become one of the nation’s most treasured foods and cultural icons. The writers of the Icelandic sagas mentioned skyr in their myths, and an ancient jar with residue from a batch thought to be more than 1,000 years old is displayed in the country’s National Museum.
Initially, however, the skyr itself wasn’t the goal of the fermentation of the milk—it was the whey the Vikings were after. This acidic liquid was used to preserve meat, but the creamy, filling skyr soon became star of the process. Though first made with raw sheep’s milk, much of the skyr found on shelves today is made with cow’s milk. Since the original recipe involved separating the fat out of the milk for butter before making skyr, most producers today use skim or low-fat milk to make skyr naturally low in fat.
The fruit flavors are the most popular today, but some people still prefer plain. Traditional skyr is definitely more sour than the fruit-flavored ones, but it’s lower in sugar and an excellent source of protein. Like Greek yogurt skyr is thick, but it’s actually considered a fresh, acid-set cheese, like quark or fromage blanc. One of the differentiating factors between the two foods is bacteria. The label “yogurt” applies to products made with either Streptococcus thermophilus or Lactobacillus delbrueckii subspecies bulgaricus, whereas skyr is made with a wider variety than just these two bacteria. The other difference is the straining step. Yogurt is good to go after fermentation is complete, but to finish a batch of skyr requires straining it through a cloth or using a centrifuge to separate out the whey and concentrate the protein. This straining is what makes for such a thick result. The resulting skyr is virtually fat-free, low-calorie and high in protein.
From cameos in the sagas to the present-day invasion of Whole Foods’ dairy cases, despite some of the exotic foods visitors associate with Iceland (putrefied shark, anyone? smoked puffin?), the most Icelandic cuisine of them all is a humble dish of skyr.
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Liz Marino RD, LDN, CSSD, and author of the blog No More Cheat Days
On the flip side, have you ever been finishing up a salad at a family picnic when a relative holding a plate of pasta salad, chips and a cookie comes to sit down and makes a comment like, “Don’t look at my plate! I promise I ate a salad for lunch.” or “You’re soooo healthy. I wish I could eat like you.”
Dialogue like this is a relatively common occurrence and I would argue that it’s because we care about image. And while caring about how we present ourselves in this world is absolutely fine, often times it seems like there are assumptions about our character and personality tied to our food choices and physical image.
There’s a pretty well-known study of 3 to 5 year old children playing a board game that gives us some heartbreaking insight. The children in the study were asked to select a figure (think Chutes and Ladders cartoon child) to represent themselves in the game. There was a significant preference towards selection of thin pieces, and a significant aversion to fat ones. The large cartoons characters were described by the children as mean, sloppy, stupid, no friends, ugly and loud. The thin ones were describes as nice, smart, neat, quiet, friends and cute. When researchers asked the children who selected thin pieces to switch, there was an unwillingness to take the fat piece. The stated reasons why were things like, “I don’t want to be her. She is fat and ugly.” Yikes. These innocent children not only made, but internalized these stereotypes.
You might have an idea where are these little kids getting these messages….ever see an ad for a “guilt-free dessert?” On one side of the page, there’s a shame-ridden woman “sneaking” a bite of cake, and on the other side of the page, the same woman, this time appearing happy and carefree while enjoying the low-calorie cake-like dessert. Advertising clearly perpetuates the association of consuming certain foods/staying away from others with certain character traits (be it confidence, success, discipline and happiness or weakness, failure and gluttony.) And so we find ourselves saying things like “I ate a salad earlier” because, just like the little girls, we don’t want to be perceived as being lazy or sloppy. The problem with associating food and character is that it implies that your character is contingent on what you eat…and it’s not.
For example, if we view the Paleo diet as “good,” we believe that following it is a good thing to do and therefore, when we follow it we are good. It’s easy to incorporate this belief into our identity “I’m Paleo” and “I’m good because I’m Paleo”…although it’s simply not the truth.
You are not better because you don’t eat chocolate, and you are not bad if you enjoy chocolate. You are a good person. Period. So let’s stop tying our morality to our food choices. Avoid comments like “I’m so bad for eating this, ” or “I’ve been really good today.” Choose foods you like, that make you feel physically good, and that are satisfying in portions that honor your hunger and respect your fullness.
There are more substantial things than diets, weight and image to talk about. Let’s engage in conversation about ideas, goals, challenges, things that you want to learn more about, and interests you have to share! It’s much more exciting and you’ll actually build stronger, more meaningful relationships in the process.
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For picky eaters, try a a classic chicken soup! You can make it ahead and store it in the freezer in batches to thaw the night before.
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For the vegetarian, a tomato & mozzarella pasta is both sophisticated and simple to make so all ages can enjoy.
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For the vegan, a vegetable sushi bento box will wow the whole table! No one will even notice the lack of meat or dairy.
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For the athlete, a hearty chicken salad on fresh baguette will offer plenty of carbs and protein for an active body!
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For the gluten free student, it can be tough to be the only one without a classic sandwich. But with this homemade sandwich bread, PBJ is back on!
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With a nut allergy, it can be difficult to watch everyone enjoy cookies that “may contain peanuts.” These whoopie pies go great with any lunch, but without any risk!
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For the lactose-intolerant, there’s no need for cheese when you’ve got hummus! Pack it with veggies, pita and olives for a real mediterranean experience.
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For the grad student, you never need to miss out on Taco Tuesday again. When one hand is writing your thesis, one can enjoy this Taco Soup!
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