23 October 2010 0 Comments

Why Crash Dieting Does More Harm Than Good

When trying for weight loss in West Chester, sometimes the thing that prompts us to try and lose weight is an upcoming event, such as wanting to get into a bathing suit for summer or looking good for a wedding or reunion. The temptation is high to follow a diet that promises rapid weight loss in West Chester in a short amount of time, but often these crash diets do more harm than good and can even result in long lasting consequences. In this article, we’ll discuss why crash dieting is bad for you, the long term consequences of a cycle of long term crash dieting, and what you can do for effective weight loss in West Chester!

crash diets

What is a Crash Diet and Why is it Bad?

Crash diets are famous for promising unbelievable results with minimum effort in a short period of time, but what do they entail exactly? Most crash diets have a poor diet and questionable supplements in common. They usually involve drastically cutting back on the number of calories you consume during the day, and sometimes have complementary supplements which are nothing but diuretics. While practitioners may notice rapid weight loss at the beginning of such a diet, often the weight lost is nothing but water weight and, if continued, will result in muscle loss as well.

When you follow an extremely low calorie diet, the first thing that happens is that your body uses up its stores of carbohydrate, also known as glycogen, as well as the water that is stored with it, in the liver and muscles. This is what prompts the weight loss in the beginning. Once these carbohydrates are used up, the body starts using proteins in the muscles for energy, which can leave you feeling tired and irritable.

Soon, the metabolism slows down, putting your body into a kind of starvation mode, because it doesn’t know when it will start receiving healthy nutrients again. Then, when you go back to your previous eating habits, you’re likely to not only put back on the weight you’ve lost, but add more pounds as well, because the metabolism is still too slow to keep up with the new intake of food.

Worst Case Scenarios

Those that put themselves of a constant cycle of crash dieting and eating poorly are doing a lot of damage to their bodies which could result in potentially life threatening illnesses. Due to their restrictive natures, crash diets could prevent you from eating healthy foods with nutrients that your body needs to function properly, such as iron, B12, potassium or sodium. These could lead to deficiencies that can cause other problems, like nerve and muscle functions and heart attacks. They also cause a great deal of problems for organs like the liver and kidneys, because without the proper nutrients, the organs can’t function properly. Finally, not getting enough calcium in the diet can lead to the development of osteoporosis, which makes bones brittle and more prone to fractures.

Eat a Balanced Diet for Better Results

If you’re trying for weight loss in West Chester, resist the temptation to follow a crash diet and look for healthier alternatives instead. Gradually change your eating habits and your proportion sizes so your metabolism won’t drop too quickly, and pair your new eating habits with a fitness routine, and you’ll be losing weight in no time. Think of your new good habits as a lifestyle change instead of a temporary diet.

You may not lose weight as quickly as a crash diet can promise, but you’ll be doing it in a much safer way and the weight is more likely to stay off. For safe and effective weight loss in West Chester consider hiring a personal trainer. Personal trainers ensure that you will achieve your long term goals by changing up your routines and keeping you motivated!

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual training needed to successfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

2 October 2010 0 Comments

Five Tips for Making NEPA Fitness a Priority

Committing to a West Chester fitness program is really hard. It’s tough to stay motivated when you are the only one saying you have to do it. It’s hard to see the fruit of your labors when some of them are only measurable with a doctor’s complex testing and instrumentation. It’s exceedingly easy to be consumed by the pressing responsibilities of life and it’s really easy to tell yourself that one more day won’t make a difference.

To make West Chester Fitness a priority in your life, you need to give yourself as many reasons and as many helpful tools as you can. Here you’ll find five great tips for making fitness a priority in life, rather than an afterthought.

5 Tips To Make Health And West Chester Fitness A Life Priority

Clarify your undeniable need for fitness, enlist some help, and pencil—no pen—fitness in to make sure that you live well and live long.

  • Write it down—what gets done in the course of your day? The things you’ve made time for. Exercise should be top of that list because it is what will ensure that you are around to do more and live better. Schedule time for fitness just as you would for getting dressed, working, and attending important meetings. Block out your time for fitness in your daily planner first so that you make the time. Schedule exercise in at a time that makes sense and the rest around it.
  • Buddy up—get a friend to be your fitness buddy; or, if a friend isn’t interested or available, partner with a like-minded acquaintance at the West Chester fitness center and make him or her your friend and fitness buddy. Having a buddy makes fitness fun and (close to) painless and helps you support each other. You’ll find that the reasons you give your buddy to go on work for you, too!
  • Make a list—list all the reasons why you want to get fit and be healthy. This helps you set fitness goals, motivates you with clear reasoning, and works as a reminder for those times when ambition is waning. Refer back to your fitness list to see what goals you’ve accomplished, what goals need revamping or replacing, and for general motivation.
  • Reward yourself—create a reward system as further motivation; with one caveat—your reward cannot be food. Give yourself something worth working for, something that promotes fitness, and something with lasting motivational power. A spa treatment, new clothes/wardrobe, a long weekend or vacation, or new recreational or even fitness activity are some good rewards to start with.
  • Look to the pros—the guidance and support of a good personal trainer is unbeatable as a prioritization strategy for West Chester fitness. A personal trainer will help you in innumerable ways by making exercise more enjoyable, more ‘do’-able, providing ongoing information and support, structuring a fitness program tailor-made for you, and being a general source of motivation. You’ll find that keeping that appointment time and being accountable to someone else helps, too.

You’ll find these five simple tips for prioritizing fitness in your life will go a long way toward your success on the West Chester fitness trail. Small changes like these can make a big impact and really help you keep your good health and well being at the forefront of your list of things that need doing.

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual training needed to successfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

15 March 2010 0 Comments

What a Downington Personal Trainer Can Do for You

If you’re considering working with a Downington personal trainer to help you meet your fitness and health goals, you may be unaware of some of the benefits that working with a personal trainer can provide. Of course, a good personal trainer will assess your current level of fitness and design a fitness program that will help you reach your goals, but what do they do beyond that? In this article, we’ll talk about a few things that make a good Downington personal trainer great – motivation, keeping the program new and interesting, safety and advice.

Motivation

Once you’ve started your fitness program, keeping you motivated is an important part of the personal trainer’s job. Anyone can go on daily walks to maintain their current fitness level, but a personal trainer wants to help improve your fitness level, and he’s going to push you to work harder than you might on your own. But while he’s pushing you, he’s encouraging you at the same time. Now, how he encourages you will depend on the relationship that you and your trainer have created. Not every personal trainer is a drill sergeant, and not every personal trainer will clap her hands and cheer, but you and your Downington personal trainer will have to find the right balance to keep you motivated to return for the next session.

Keeping the Program Fresh

Not only is working out on your own less interesting than working out with someone that is motivating you to continue, but it’s easy to get trapped in doing the same fitness routine over and over again, resulting in your getting completely bored with the whole thing. At least going through the same old routine with your personal trainer will help keep you motivated. But what makes a good personal trainer a great Downington personal trainer is when he uses his experience and imagination to keep the program fresh and new. Depending on what your needs are, he may vary between strength and aerobic training, or incorporate innovative techniques to keep you interested, or even think outside of the box and include fun obstacle courses.

Safety

A great personal trainer isn’t just there to push you forward, but also to make sure you are working out in a safe way. Not only should he be teaching you the proper way to handle weights, stretch your body before a session or use fitness machines, he should be keeping an eye on you during the course of a training session to be sure that you continue working out in a safe way. A great personal trainer will also be on the watch for your progression throughout the session and prevent you from working too hard, because too much exercise can have a detrimental effect on your body as well.

Advice

Some personal trainers may see their jobs and starting and stopping in the thirty minutes or whatever amount of time you’ve agreed on for working out, but a Downington personal trainer will be willing to sit down and talk to you before or after a session to answer questions and give their advice. Perhaps you only see your trainer once a week or once a month and want to catch up on how you feel or what you’ve done since your last session with the trainer or maybe you have some questions about your diet. The time your Downington personal trainer takes to help you improve your total body fitness is really what makes him better than a good trainer, but a great trainer.

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Downington personal trainer clients at Premier receive the individual training needed to successfully reach their goals. All programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

2 July 2009 0 Comments

Accountability in West Chester Boot Camps

Being Accountable at Boot Camps in West Chester Makes it Easier to Lose Weight
Being accountable at boot camps in West Chester makes it much easier to lose weight. One of the reasons people fail to meet their weight loss goals is they become discouraged when they don’t have a way to measure progress. When you are working on your weight loss program while others are doing the same, you get ongoing motivation and support making it much easier to reach weight loss and fitness goals.

Attitude Counts in Weight Loss Programs

Your attitude towards your weight loss efforts has a lot to do with your success. When you are trying to lose weight at home, the chances are there is plenty of temptation around making it difficult to stay on track. You begin with a gung-ho attitude which eventually erodes into an attitude that this diet isn’t going to work so you will try again on Monday.

How many diets have been started on a Monday? Think back on all the times you told yourself you will eat what you want through the weekend and will start your diet on Monday. By Friday the diet is getting very tiresome as the rest of your family eats what they want around you.

In boot camps in West Chester you will understand from day one why it works as a weight loss program. Your class will be full of other people who have the same goals as you – to get fit and lose weight while doing so. When you look around at boot camp, you will see only fellow boot campers who are motivated and determined to succeed.

Accountable to Yourself

In other words, your positive attitude towards fitness and weight loss is sustained every step of the way. You are held accountable as a participant in that you must exert your best effort in order to succeed. The instructor will educate you in the proper techniques and methods while insuring the program includes a variety of fat burning exercises.

People sharing classes in boot camps in West Chester often become supportive friends. Though you are accountable to yourself first, sharing classes with others who have the same goals makes you accountable to each other too. Who wants to go to boot camp class and confess they ate 3 donuts the night before which erased the positive effects of a whole exercise class!?

The structured nature of the programs at boot camps in West Chester holds you accountable in another way. When you attend class, you must do the exercises the instructor lays out for you. Many people trying to lose weight on their own by going to the gym end up wasting valuable time tyring to learn how to use equipment, or they don’t know how to maintain aerobic levels to reach the fat burning stage.

At fitness boot camps in West Chester, you are accountable to yourself, but you get the right instruction, the right guidance, and the right support to be successful at losing weight. Along the way you will also get fitter than you have ever been in your life.

Premier Personal Training with Dennis Carroll is located in West Chester, PA and serves clients in West Chester, Downingtown and Exton. Every client at Premier receives the individual training needed to successfully reach their goals. All fitness programs come with a 100% money back guarantee, so why not get started today? Don’t hesitate! Sign up for a Free Consult now!

20 February 2009 0 Comments

Beware The Saboteur – For It Is You!

We all do it.  In one way or another, we sabotage ourselves.  Some of us in relationships (that was a big one for me). Some of us sabotage ourselves financially, while others sabotage their physical health.

The cause of this strange phenomena has been studied and debated exhaustively. Sabotaging your own success has very little to do with your intelligence level. What it does have to do with is your belief system. You are where you are in life, right now, because that is where you BELIEVE you deserve to be.

You may think that last statement is bull. You may be very unhappy with your current situation. But  may I ask, how is it that you are where you are? Who got you here? The answer lies in your belief system. If you have tried something in the past and failed at it repeatedly, it is because subconsciously, you believed you would fail before you even started. If you keep getting the same result, you only reinforce the ‘fail before you try’ attitude.

So here is the good news. You, can succeed. “How?”, you may be asking. The first step is to recognize that you are sabotaging. Recognize, you are responsible for your failures as well as your successes. And begin to shift your mindset. Begin to focus more and more on your successes (everyone is good at something!).  Start building your confidence by realizing that if you can succeed in one area of your life, then you can succeed in all others as well. If you believe that God created you, then you must also believe that He gave you everything you need to be successful in life.

Set specific goals and start taking baby steps towards them. Focus on the steps to the goal, not the goal itself. It is the steps to the goal that will ultimately lead you to succeed.

When you have overcome the things in life that have stopped you repeatedly in the past, your whole world will change for the better. The rewards are so great that I can’t possibly surmise them here.  Believe that God created you to succeed and you will.

Recommended reading; Psycho-Cybernetics, Maxweel Maltz,M.D. (1960) Get the original version

15 December 2008 0 Comments

My Heroes

When I was young (along time ago), Arnold Swarzenegger’s pictures where plastered all over my bedroom walls. I was amazed and inspired by his physique. I read his books. I went to all his films. I followed his successes. No one else had eight Mr. Olympia titles.  No one else had the sick mountainous ball on top of his biceps. To me, he was the man.

As we grow our priorities change. Sometimes our childhood heroes have to take a back seat.

I spent some time in New York State over the past few years. My experience there was one of my most humbling. I had the great privilege to see some of the country’s finest young men and women. I got to know many of them personally. I have not met another group of people (of any age) who left me feeling more proud or more humble. I am talking about the cadets at The United Sates Military Academy.

These young men and women typically graduate at the top of their class in high school. Valedictorians, class presidents, class officers, athletes, tutors and volunteers, these kids are well rounded. Many are offered scholarships to Ivy League schools, but turn them down.  All have chosen to enter our country’s military service during a time of war. All go in knowing that some of them will not survive the five-year commitment after graduation.

I saw how incredibly hard these kids worked while at West Point. As officers in training, their workload is intentionally overwhelming. Chronically sleep deprived, they are continually challenged physically, mentally and emotionally. And I watched them thrive. I watched them grow. I saw children turned into men and women. I saw students turned into leaders.

At graduation, they are commissioned as lieutenants in the U.S. Army. These young officers are sent to the four corners of the globe. Sent to do the things that are necessary, things most people don’t like to think about.

Many will go on to become political leaders, entrepreneurs and business leaders. Some will become career Army officers. But the most sobering thought of all is this; some will die in service to this great nation, in service to you and me.

They are my heroes now. May God bless them and keep them safe.

SEO in Delaware

21 November 2008 0 Comments

Confessions of an (aging) Adrenaline Junky

I ride dirt bikes. Yeah, so do a lot of other people, so what. Well I guess it is not that big of a deal, but my story illustrates my point and the corresponding concepts around training.

So I started riding when I turned forty, eight, almost nine years ago. And I’ve grown to love it. The rush I got the first time I cleared a double (a type of jump) was intense (that was the first time I tried, I wasn’t so lucky the next time). Now we all know dirt biking is a young man’s sport, but I have no intention of giving it up. Nor do I intend to back off the intense (to me) level at which I ride. In fact, I plan to ride harder and longer than ever as I continue to gain the technical skills needed.

So let’s look at the learning curve. Learning, in many cases, comes with trial and error. Riding dirt is no different. When I make a mistake riding, often (and I mean often) I end up with a little “get off” (slang for crashing). Most of the time when I ride, I’ll experience one, if not two (or more) get offs (If I had a little more brains, I might find another hobby).

So, I’m almost fifty. I ride my dirt bike as hard as I can, and I crash regularly. What is my point? (And you thought I’d never get to it, about time!) For those of you still awake, my point is this. I train to ride. In the gym, I design my exercise regimen to support my ability to ride, and to ride hard (adrenaline…mmm.).

One of my clients, who is in his forties, is getting dropped from a helicopter to go skiing (my adrenal glands are salivating). Now I’ve never done that type of skiing, so I had him simulate the different types of moves he will be making down the mountain. We broke those down into components and together we created a program to enhance his ability to ski hard and to have the endurance he will need not to make mistakes from being tired. Out there a mistake could be bad, very bad. (Why does that make me want to do it?). Then we drill away incorporating fast twitch and slow twitch movements and flexibility movements. In addition, because his cardio-respiratory system will need to acclimate to a higher altitude, with less available oxygen, I have him perform some of the exercises breathing only through a straw (this needs to be done ONLY under supervision AND with medical clearance). By the time he gets to the slope, his only worry will be an avalanche. (Mmm….avalanche, I’m getting giddy).

Another client, Bill is 67. He regularly goes to the racetrack for track days. Bill’s top speed at the track is about 160 mph. Even more impressive is his speed in the turns. Estimated at 120mph, Bill regularly drags his knee through the turns (yum).

The number of professional athletes still competing into their forties (and fifties) continues to grow. I saw a report on Martina Navratilova a few years back. I was amazed at the intensity of her workouts. Being the macho weight lifter type I thought, “It’s only tennis after all.” Martina continued to compete professionally until just a few weeks before her fiftieth birthday. I personally adopted her training style (after a little humble pie).

The great NFL wide receiver, Jerry Rice is 45. Olympic swimmer and silver medalist Dara Torres is 41. NHL legend Gordie Howe played all eighty games of his final season at the tender age of 52. In 1997, at the age of 70, he played one game (on contract) with the Detroit Vipers. The list continues to grow. How long does Brett Favre (how do you pronounce that) have left? Arguably playing his best at the age of 39, you think he doesn’t train? And don’t forget Phillies own Jamie Moyer. Moyer, age 45, pitched (and won) the third game of the World Series against Tampa bay

.

My point is this, at a time in life when many people believe it is time to back off, I say, “No way!” And you should too. Whether hiking and climbing, white water rafting, tennis and golf, helicopter skiing or whatever, train to play better, harder and more often. Be in shape to do what you want to do, when you want to do it, at a level that makes you happy. That is what quality if life is all about.