How Are You Sleeping?

Have you noticed a change in your sleep patterns since you started boot camp? Hopefully it is getting easier to get to bed early to make sure you get the rest you need! If you are not getting enough sleep at night, you may be hurting your chance of achieving performance and/or weight loss goals.

Many studies have been conducted related to sleep and exercise performance. Needless to say, it has been found that if you are not getting an adequate amount of sleep every night, your exercise performance will suffer. Also, with the lack of sleep, your body’s need for rest and recovery will increase and your risk of injury may be higher.

The weight loss (or lack thereof) connection has been proven as well. An article that just came out in the January 2009 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition took a look at sleep and snacking. It was a small study that let the same group sleep for 5.5 hours or 8.5 hours per night, each for two weeks.

When the group was sleeping for 5.5 hours per night, they ate approximately 220 more calories from snacks, particularly during the hours of 7pm to 7am. And a greater percentage of their calories came from carbohydrates when they slept 5.5 hours per night. Looks like getting adequate sleep may help you stick to your eating plan and keep from turning to snacks for an energy boost.

And if that’s not enough to convince you that adequate sleep is important, studies have also shown that sleep deprivation strongly impairs human functioning overall. And depriving your body of sleep causes hormonal changes that mimic the effects of aging. Surely you don’t want to feel/look older!

We know you’re working hard to achieve your goals, so make sure you get enough sleep so you aren’t sabotaging your efforts.

Have you noticed a difference in your performance at boot camp when you don’t get a full nights rest? Have you changed any of your daily routines to allow for more sleep?

Boot Camp is Back!

Ahh, January. New beginnings, recommitting to exercise and eating right – perfect time for boot camp, and it is almost time!!! Make sure you eat right this weekend, drink plenty of water, and start getting to bed early. This weekend will be kind of a “warm-up,” and it is a great time to start making good food choices to nourish your body and to start on your homework to get ready for the exercise you’ll begin soon. Monday for some and Tuesday starts the real deal for others.

So clean out your refrigerator and go shopping for good food choices. It is much easier to stick to a nutrition plan if you surround yourself with good food choices. That is probably pretty appealing to some of you right now if you’ve been indulging a lot over the holidays! Not sure what you should be eating? Ask an instructor or post your questions to the blog. We have experts in the nutrition field who can help.

During the month there are some important things to remember.

1) It is January and it can be very cold at 6am. Please check the weather the night before camp and make sure you are dressed appropriately.

2) We know that new shoes can be expensive. But getting new shoes can help prevent injury. You really should have a pair that is less than 1 year old, even if you haven't worn them very much! We don’t want you to throw away your money so take care of your shoes! so clean them!

3) It has been proven that people who write down what they eat on a daily basis lose more weight then those that do not. So use those log books. We are here to help you make good choices, but you have to take the first step of logging every thing that you eat.

4) Please take care of yourself this month. If you pull a muscle, do not stretch it (if you stretch, you are just adding more micro tears). Relax and get ice on it ASAP. And remember, RICE, Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. That’s right…it says REST! Sometimes you may need to take a day or two to allow your injury to heal. But this doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t exercise at all. If you twist your ankle and can’t run or jump, head to bootcamp. The Rialto instructors will help you modify workouts or come up with exercises you can do that will allow you to get a great workout without further aggravation to your injury.

5) If you bring water bottles, gloves, towels, or anything to bootcamp, they should leave with you! Also be mindful of your surroundings.

Have Fun this Month!!

This is So Sad, but True

As fitness professionals, we can tell you from experience that most people just do not give their health a second thought until it's gone.

It's very sad, but very true.

Now we know you've heard this before. And we know that this message typically falls on deaf ears. But today we want you to do some soul searching.

First off, we hope this message finds you in good health. If it does, we want you to give us 60 seconds of reflection. Sit back in your chair and give thanks for your well-being. Give serious consideration to what your life would be like without it. Imagine the effect on your family if you lost it.

Next, we want you to think about the old saying "you are what you eat."

Truer words were never spoken, you know. So now give us another 60 seconds and think about what you've eaten over the last few days. Make a little list on a piece of paper or on your computer.

So if you are what you eat, what is YOUR body made of right now?

You and I both know there's nothing better than filling up on nature's finest whole foods.

If you are what you eat doesn't it make sense to build your body with nature's finest?

By now we're guessing we have your full attention.

Good.

Because we want you to know that while we would NEVER promise you a miracle pill, we are going to tell you that you can get the nutrients of 25 whole vegetables, greens and fruits in caplet form.

Prograde Nutrition's VGF 25+ is the culmination of 25 vegetable, green and fruit concentrates.

Yes, they take those 25 whole foods and pack them into a heck of a caplet.

They even have specific formulas for men and women.

It's an incredibly convenient way to build your body with better materials, so to speak.

And remember, Prograde's formula uses whole foods. It is NOT a synthetic vitamin created in some lab somewhere.

Now the really cool thing about Prograde Nutrition is they were created by fitness pros for fitness pros. They created a company just so we had nutritional products we could recommend to you. Products we know you will get great benefits.

In fact, their products are so in demand they are now shipping to the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand! Plus, they will soon be able to ship to just about anywhere in the world.

Yes, ALL their products are that good and they are that much in demand.

So to celebrate their new shipping destinations, and just to ring in the New Year, they are having a 10.9% off everything sale.

Yes, that's 10.9 as in January of 2009 ;-)

Here are some other details we want to make sure you know about:

• Again, you receive 10.9% off all Prograde products.



• It will run from Thursday, January 8th until Thursday, January 15th at 11:59pm EST.



• Yes, that 10.9% off will be applicable to SmartShip orders. But it only applies to that first purchase. Not ongoing.



• The coupon code you enter at checkout is: 012009



• The website is http://rialtowellness.getprograde.com/



• If you want to check out the VGF25+ we've been telling you about go here: http://rialtowellness.getprograde.com/vgf

Here's to your health!

Do some soul searching today. Do you really want to be one of those people that thinks about their health AFTER they've lost it?

If your nutritional plan needs a boost be sure to check out Prograde's 10.9% off sale at http://rialtowellness.getprograde.com/

The Truth About Diet Soda

It’s true that diet soda may be a better option then drinking regular soda, but is it your best option? Probably not.

Researchers have found that drinking an excessive amount of diet drinks may not help with weight loss. Consuming a sugary beverage, even if it is artificially sweetened, may lead to cravings for other sweets. It may not mean you eat chocolate, but you may choose a sweeter cereal, bread or dessert.

Also, if you are constantly drinking diet beverages, you probably are not drinking enough water. Diet soda is completely nutrition-free and as important as it is to remember to not drink your calories, it is also important to remember to drink water. If you need a caffeine fix, try drinking tea.

So if you are a big diet soda drinker, try to remember to switch out that soda for water most of the time and save the diet drink for a treat. And just for fun, check out the 20 Unhealthiest Drinks in America and the 13 Worst “Healthy” Foods in the Supermarket.

Who else is on "The Wino Diet?"

I couldn't resist posting this one...

Knocking back a glass of wine each day has long been linked to good health. That is, of course, as long as it's one glass and not the entire bottle.

Wine protects against diseases of the heart and the brain, including coronary artery disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Wine drinkers even have lower rates of certain cancers compared to folks who don't partake. In general, those who drink wine live longer than those who drink beer or other kinds of booze.

Yet scientists have wondered: is wine really such a powerful elixir? Red wine contains antioxidants that have powerful health-protecting properties, but the relationship may not be simple cause and effect. Perhaps wine drinkers also take better care of themselves—they may also eat more healthfully and exercise more regularly than beer drinkers or teetotalers. In other words, perhaps wine is a marker for a certain lifestyle?

A study suggests the benefits of wine are at least in part due to the smart dietary choices of wine connoisseurs. Danish researchers analyzed 3.5 million supermarket receipts and found that wine drinkers (people who bought wine as their only form of alcohol) tended to buy more fruits, vegetables, low-fat meats and cheeses than do other shoppers.

Beer drinkers, on the other hand, filled their carts with ready-to-eat dishes, cold cuts, sausages, sugary items and soft drinks, the researchers report online in the British Medical Journal.

These divergent shopping lists suggest that lifestyle choices may be more important than the type of alcohol a person drinks when it comes to determining mortality risk.

Other demographic patterns emerged among the Danish wine drinkers that could also influence their lower mortality rates. They tend to be more highly educated, wealthier and in better physical shape than beer drinkers. Similar results have been found in a Californian population, suggesting this isn't just a quirk of the Danish study.

It seems that no matter where they live, wine drinkers tend to subscribe to the so-called Mediterranean diet—chock full of fresh produce and healthy, unsaturated fats like those in olive oil and fish, with a minimum of artery-clogging fat from meats and processed foods.

Another wrinkle: scientists note that wine usually accompanies a meal, which means that the alcohol may be better tolerated by the body. In contrast, beer or other spirits tend to be enjoyed on a fairly empty stomach—say, while watching the game on TV or sidled up to a bar.

One positive note for non-winos: A daily tipple of alcohol—any alcohol—thins the blood and prevents blood clots. So go ahead, uncork that bottle. Just put down that wurst.

Here's to your BEST life EVER!

Allowing Shades of Grey

It's that time of year again. The holidays are over and we've rung in the New Year. Most of us are thinking about resolutions, one of which is probably the desire to eat better and re-commit yourself to that nutrition plan. This article from Psychology Today addresses the mental component of healthy nutritional plans...

People who regain weight after dieting are not failures. But if they see themselves as failures, they may be more likely to regain lost weight.

Regainers tend to have an "all-or-nothing" style of thinking, according to research by psychologists at the University of Western Australia. They see themselves as either a success or a failure, with no options in between. People who keep weight off seem to allow for more shades of gray.

Most people stop losing weight after about 20 weeks of dieting. If an all-or-nothing thinker hasn't reached her goal weight by then, she may see herself as a failure and give up on her new eating habits, surmise Susan M. Byrne and colleagues.

Here are some unhealthy thoughts that may sabatoge your goal:

• "I must be thin." This creates desperation, which undermines a healthy long-range approach to sensible eating. Also, perfectionism pervades this thinking.


• "I must eat until sated." Early humans lived in an environment in which food resources were scarce. While our ancestors had to hunt down squirrels and eat them, we can supersize a Whopper meal and skip the workout.


• "I need immediate results." The demand for immediate improvement undermines commitment to a long-term goal. We think, why bother eating healthfully, when the reward is far off? But dieting requires present-moment frustration and self-denial with little immediate reward.


• "I need comfort." People eat to avoid feelings of loneliness, depression and anxiety. Fatty and sugary food provides immediate comfort and distraction from other issues. Resolving some of these problems may help you overcome poor eating habits


• "It's intolerable to stick to a diet." This thinking renders you helpless. People who are easily frustrated want easy solutions. We're seduced by fad diets because they appeal to that immediacy. Yet people who rely on fads suffer high failure rates. When you diet with the short term in mind, you don't learn strategies that require patience and persistence.

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!

2009 is going to be a GREAT year!

You know how we know?

We're going to be by your side, and we're going to help you get healthy, no matter what.

Each year we seem to get more serious about our fitness and rehabilitation career...

but work seems like so much more fun than it used to.

In part, we believe we have you to thank.

We're ready to set some records in 2009 - are you with us?

Here's another workout Exercise:

Body Weight Circuit B
Squats (Hands behind the head) x 15
Push Up x 15
Diagonal Lunge x 10 (each leg)
Side Plank (Hold 30 seconds)
In and Out Step x 20

Repeat 4-6 times or until you have reached 20 minutes to complete this circuit.

Remember to STRETCH after each workout!

Have a great day (and please remember to bring some great energy to the blog today and let everyone know how stoked you are to get fit in 2009)!