Have you ever seen a bucket full of crabs? They pinch and pull as they struggle to climb over one another to reach the top of the bucket — to freedom.

 Ask any fisherman and they’ll tell you that a bucket full of crabs doesn’t need a lid — they simply won’t escape.

 Why? Well, it’s not impossible for a crab to climb to the top, and really if they worked together it would be quite easy. But crabs don’t work together…

 Instinctively crabs pull each other down — literally. 

When one crab breaks away from the pack, reaching its pinchers toward the top of the bucket, the others promptly grab onto the escapee’s leg, pulling him back down. That crab is then pushed to the bottom of the pile and his dream of freedom is crushed.

People have a way of acting just like a bucket of crabs. Have you ever decided on a personal goal only to have someone in your life talk you out of it?

Do you have these creatures in your life? A crab is…

The person who discourages you from going to the gym

The person who scoffs when you mention your weight loss goals

The person who snickers when you choose salad over pizza

The crab mentality says “If I can’t have it, then neither can you.” When you decide to do something different, to reach for a goal and to improve yourself, the crabs in your life will do their best to hold you back.

Keep Crabs at Bay: When crabs come snapping, remember the following:

1. Ignore them: When someone in your life begins to pull you down with discouraging words, remember that you don’t have to listen. Don’t let them get into your head. Mentally tune them out or politely remove yourself from the situation. Who are they to tell you what you can or can’t achieve.

2. Understand them: Insults and put-downs hurt, especially when they come from people that we care about. So what is the deal? Why do your friends, co-workers and even your spouse turn into crabs when you decide to improve your life? Do they really hope that you don’t succeed? The truth is that crabs are thinking about themselves-not about you. They see you attempting to better yourself and to change your life. Whether they realize it or not, this scares them. If you better yourself will you still like them? Or will you leave them behind?

3. You hold the power: Even the most persuasive crab doesn’t hold a candle to your iron will. When you are ready to change, and you’ve made up your mind without an inkling of doubt, then 90% of the work is done. Your mind is the most powerful tool at your disposal-don’t let a wimpy crab rob it from you.

Are you ready to make a positive change in your life? Don’t wait any longer. Sometimes we need a little extra push… in that case I recommend talking with one of our fitness experts here at Fitness Together (call 636-922-5320 to schedule a consultation).

My sister just sent me an email about an App I’d like to share with you.  She says she’s been going crazy scanning everything in her cupboards.  It’s called Fooducate.  You can learn more at:

http://www.fooducate.com/

Are you confused by ingredient lists, nutrition labels, health claims and marketing hype? Fooducate is here to help. We are a team of parents, dietitians, and techies. We realize that at the supermarket you have very little time to analyze food labels and extract the information that is important to you. We’d like to help you make better choices for you and your family.

Get the Fooducate mobile application and use it to:

• Automatically scan a product barcode
• See product highlights (both good & bad)
• Compare products
• Select better alternatives
• Dig deeper and learn more about food and nutrition

Features:

• Created by dietitians and concerned parents
• Uses your mobile’s camera to effortlessly scan UPC barcode
• Over 200,000 unique products and growing daily
• Simplified information helps you make better choices
• Works on iPhone, iPod touch, iPad and Android OS version 2.2 and up

“… Fooducate is like taking your own personal dietitian to the supermarket…”

Fooducate analyzes information found in each product’s nutrition panel and ingredient list.

You get to see the stuff manufacturers don’t want you to notice, such as

• excessive sugar
• tricky trans fats
• additives and preservatives
• high fructose corn syrup
• controversial food colorings
• confusing serving sizes
• and more…

Just pick up a product from the shelf, scan it, and let Fooducate do the rest.

Fooducate is NOT funded or influenced by food manufacturers, supplement companies, diets, or any sort of magic pill.

Don’t forget, you can also get some help from previous newsletters on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/STLfitnesstogether.  

If you’re ready to make some changes, but don’t know where to start – give me a call at 636-922-5320.  We’ll schedule an “absolutely no pressure or obligation” health and fitness consultation to discuss how you can begin to move towards a healthier and happier YOU!  

Nate Vogel, CSCS

CWS Chamber of Commerce Small Business Owner of the Year

President

Fitness Together

As we move forward in the new year, and we face the emotions that prompt the holiday roller coaster of actions and thoughts, I am thankful.  Thankful for all the joys and rewards that have found their way into my life.  Many of you who are reading this newsletter right now are the reason for my thankfulness.  Clients, friends, family…my life has been enriched because of my connections with each of you. 

I want to urge you to find laughter with those who need it, to lend a hand to someone who doesn’t expect it, and to reframe your own personal issues as opportunities for growth. 

Moving forward in 2012, my wish for you is happiness, empowerment, joy, and connection.  If I can play a role in contributing to the betterment of you or those you care about and love, such is my passion.

Realize that the perspectives you adopt, such as hope and promise, are choices.  Realize that the actions you take in the days and weeks to come are the determinants of the quality of life you’ll enjoy in 2012.  Realize that the decisions you make today will contribute to the intensity of the adventure you’re about to experience over the course of the four seasons to come.  Realize that the greater importance you place upon your own ability to function and perform at your best, the greater joy you bring to those who rely upon you as well as those you love. 

2012 is yours to create.  This goes far beyond another resolution.  You can chart the course, and love every minute of it.  You can choose your emotions.  You can choose your health to a degree.  You can choose your body (start working out and eat right).  There isn’t any need, nor is there any value, in emotions such as envy and regret.  There isn’t any value in self-criticism and desperate resolution.  Don’t resolve.  Commit.  Really commit.  That doesn’t mean be perfect.  We are prone to human fallibility and perfection is a quest that only leads to a sense of failure.  Don’t be perfect.  Be your best.  I’ll help any way I’m invited to.  I welcome the privilege to contribute to the thrilling futures of those prepared to re-examine their own potential in what promises to be a landmark year.  2012.

Don’t be perfect.  Just Be Better.  Always better. 

Don’t forget, you can also get some help from previous newsletters on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/STLfitnesstogether.  

If you’re ready to make some changes, but don’t know where to start – give me a call at 636-922-5320.  We’ll schedule an “absolutely no pressure or obligation” health and fitness consultation to discuss how you can begin to move towards a healthier and happier YOU!  

Nate Vogel, CSCS

President

This spice that I’m going to mention has come up in conversations with at least 2 clients over the past couple of weeks.  It is one of the most overlooked, but healthiest spices in the world…

You might even call it a “fat burning spice”… in a roundabout way.

And yes, it can actually help you win the battle against excess fat if you use it daily…I’ll explain why.

Here are some other benefits of this miracle spice:

•controls blood sugar levels
•helps maintain insulin sensitivity
•a VERY powerful antioxidant
•may have antibacterial and antifungal properties
•and dozens of other benefits

So what is this miracle spice that fights fat?

Well… it’s good old tasty Cinnamon!

Although cinnamon does NOT directly increase fat burning (such as by increasing metabolic rate, etc), it CAN actually help you to burn off fat and get leaner in an indirect way .

Here’s how… Although cinnamon has dozens of health benefits, the main benefit that will help you to get leaner is through its strong effect on controlling blood sugar levels in your body. You know how important that is if you read my recent series on SUGAR.

In a study published in 2003 in the medical journal Diabetes Care, groups were split into people taking 1, 3, or 6 grams of cinnamon per day in capsule form (the equivalent of approx 1/4th to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon). The results of the study showed that all 3 amounts of cinnamon reduced fasting blood glucose levels by 18-29% after 40 days.

Cinnamon can also increase insulin sensitivity, which essentially means that it is helping your body to control blood sugar while simultaneously allowing your body to produce less insulin. As you know, chronically high insulin levels can make your body pack on the blubber.

How to harness cinnamon to lose stubborn body fat… One possible way to benefit from cinnamon to lose more fat is to use cinnamon daily in your meals when you can, such as in yogurt or cottage cheese, in smoothies, oatmeal, or anything else you can think of where it would go well.

This could help to control blood sugar and insulin response from your meals and thereby control your appetite and cravings throughout the day… hence, helping you to lose body fat more effectively over time.

So now you can see that not only is cinnamon a powerful antioxidant that can help you stay youthful longer, it can also help you to control blood sugar and get a leaner body!

Just a caveat – don’t start piling on the cinnamon thinking it is a “MAGIC” bullet to fat loss.  There is no “magic” – just the same old formula:  A synergistic program incorporating strategic exercise and supportive eating will prove to be “the magic” that heals, that optimizes, and that empowers.

Call or contact Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County today if you’re ready to take your fitness to the next level. Our professional trainers will show you how. 636-922-5320.  Schedule a free consultation to review your situation and develop a plan that will get you on track — even if it does not involve Fitness Together (believe it or not, we are not the answer for everyone — if we’re not, I’ll recommend the best gym, personal trainer, group class, or exercise equipment to meet your needs)….really, and no strings attached. I just want you to succeed. Life is too short not to get the most out of it. So give me a call. What do you have to lose? (maybe a few pounds, but nothing else)!

If you’re ready to change your life, start small and stay positive (that means keeping trying even when you have set backs).  Get a plan that excites and motivates you!  And reach out to friends and family to ensure additional motivation is there when you need it!  If you need additional support, that’s what Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County is all about.  We exist to assist you in achieving your health and fitness goals.  And we succeed where other plans fail.  Check out our success stories to see why.

FACEBOOK SPECIAL!!!

With Halloween today, temptation to overload on sugary treats is everywhere. If you have children, it’s even harder to resist all the goodies from class parties, fall festivities and of course, trick-or-treating. Indulging in occasional treats in moderation will not wreck your health and fitness plans. However, when a one-day holiday turns into a month-long excuse to overindulge, well that’s really when the ghouls and goblins come out.

Here’s some help for Halloween:

• Buy the candy the day of and only buy the Halloween candy that YOU don’t like (if it’s too late, use this one next year)!

• Give kids toys, stickers, and fun stuff instead of candy.

• Set limits on how much your kids can eat and then give the rest away or throw it out.

• Eat a nutritious meal and healthy snacks on Halloween so you don’t mindlessly eat the junk.

• Have light snacks available so that you take the edge off your sweet tooth with those instead of Kit-Kats!

This month’s super food is Pumpkin.  This bright orange vegetable is great for making Halloween lanterns but did you know that it is also a virtually fat-free super food?

The orange color is a giveaway that pumpkin is rich in the disease-fighting antioxidant vitamin precursors called carotenoids (especially the alpha and beta-carotenoids). The carotenoid family of antioxidants is highly effective in mopping up damaging molecules called free radicals.

Free radicals harm healthy cells and can lead to disease and premature aging. Ingesting a wide array of antioxidant foods in your diet is the best lifestyle strategy for fighting off harmful free radical molecules. Pumpkin also contains a nice amount of two other antioxidant vitamins: C and E along with lots of minerals such as iron, magnesium and potassium.

Canned pumpkin is a great and easy way to get in this orange wonder food. 1 cup of canned pumpkin contains 7 grams of dietary fiber (28% of your daily needs), 763% of your daily needs for vitamin A, 17% of your daily requirement for vitamin C, 19% of your daily needs for iron and 6% of your bone-building calcium needs and all this for a mere 83 calories and practically 0 fat and 0 cholesterol! It just doesn’t get better than this, nutritionally speaking.

Call or contact Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County today if you’re ready to take your fitness to the next level. Our professional trainers will show you how. 636-922-5320.  Schedule a free consultation to review your situation and develop a plan that will get you on track — even if it does not involve Fitness Together (believe it or not, we are not the answer for everyone — if we’re not, I’ll recommend the best gym, personal trainer, group class, or exercise equipment to meet your needs)….really, and no strings attached. I just want you to succeed. Life is too short not to get the most out of it. So give me a call. What do you have to lose? (maybe a few pounds, but nothing else)!

If you’re ready to change your life, start small and stay positive (that means keeping trying even when you have set backs).  Get a plan that excites and motivates you!  And reach out to friends and family to ensure additional motivation is there when you need it!  If you need additional support, that’s what Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County is all about.  We exist to assist you in achieving your health and fitness goals.  And we succeed where other plans fail.  Check out our success stories to see why.

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month I wanted to pass on some vital information from Dr. Stephen Holt. He puts out an excellent health newsletter which I highly recommend to you. Here’s Part 1. I’ll send out Part 2 next week.

Thu. October 6th, 2011 Vol. 1, Issue 13

Breast Health, Part 1

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is a good time to evaluate certain risks, lifestyle factors and habits that can impact breast health. This newsletter is Part 1 of a two-part series exploring this important topic in women’s wellness.

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I’d like to take the next two weeks to discuss breast health. The occurrence of benign breast lumps, cystic diseases of the breast and breast cancer are rising. Perhaps as many as one in five women will develop breast cancer, and the number may be as high as one in three in heavily populated areas.

Medical literature has identified many risks for breast cancer, including oxidative stress (free radical damage), poor nutrition, obesity, chemical contaminants in food and the environment, smoking, alcohol, hormonal factors, pollution, electromagnetic radiation, diminished immunity and genetic risks. There is no doubt that many of these risks can be impacted favorably by healthy lifestyle, including good nutritional practices.

Taking care of breast health is a lifelong commitment for women, and regular self breast examination is absolutely crucial. Being self-aware of body structures, including the breasts, is an important initiative for women. In fact, women can benefit from keeping a personal record of self-examination of their bodies, including their breasts.

Vigilance and self-examination are so important because early detection of breast cancer can lead to a better outcome of treatment. Women are encouraged to follow the American Cancer Society’s guidelines for breast cancer prevention. These guidelines involve monthly self-examination with an annual physical exam for women 20-39 years of age, and an annual mammogram and physical exam for women over 40. A family history of breast cancer often causes a need for more stringent monitoring of breast health.

Identifying Breast Cancer Risks

Table 1. below provides an overview of the major identifiable risk factors for breast cancer.

Age – Older women have a higher risk.

Body type – “Apple shape” (extra weight in the upper body and stomach), as opposed to “pear shape” (extra weight in the hips and thighs), increases risk.

Diet – Poor diet (high in fat, low in fiber, deficiency of vitamins A, C, E and selenium) increases risk.

Heredity – Risk is greater for women whose mothers, sisters or aunts have a history of breast cancer.

Marital status – Women who have never married are at higher risk.

Menarche – Early menarche (prior to age 12) increases risk.

Menopause – Late menopause (after age 55) increases risk.

Motherhood – Never having given birth, or having a first child after age 30, increases risk.

Nationality – Women born in North America or northern Europe have a higher risk. Recent trends indicate increased breast cancer occurrence in women of Hispanic, Asian and African descent.

Some food scientists and researchers believe that all risk factors put together may not exert as much influence on breast cancer risk as good nutrition. The type of diet known to support breast health has multiple other health benefits, including the promotion of cardiovascular health. This healthy diet is low in saturated fat, high in omega-3 fatty acids (such as fish oil), high in fiber, nutrient-dense, and low in calories and simple sugars. It also must incorporate certain protective substances, such as antioxidants and other plant compounds found in fruit, vegetables and soy. The wise woman must avoid the potential carcinogens in her environment.

Some of these sources are summarized in Table 2.

Alcohol – Consuming more than nine drinks per week is associated with increased risk of breast cancer.

Aflatoxins – Often found in moldy nuts, seeds and grains. Burned proteins From charred meats off the grill.

Cyclamates – Including artificial sweeteners such as saccharin.

Coal-tar-based food colorings – Also found in some cosmetics.

DDT – A pesticide banned in the U.S., but still used in other countries.

DES -  Diethylstillbestrol, a synthetic estrogen.

Formaldehyde -  An industrial solvent used in rugs, plastics and new clothing.

Nitrates and nitrites – Found in prepared foods such as hot dogs, bacon and lunch meat.

Pesticides – The Environmental Protection Agency identifies more than 60 pesticides as potential carcinogens.

Radiation – Low doses from environmental sources can accumulate in the body.

Smoked foods – Including bacon, ham, fish and cheese.

Tobacco – Smoking or second-hand smoke.

Dietary supplements are not to be used to treat or prevent any disease and discussions about the nutritional management of breast cancer must conform with this legality stated in the U.S Dietary Supplement and Health Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA, 1994). Thanks to emerging research, the power of nutrition in the management of breast health is becoming increasingly apparent. Part 2 of this newsletter published in Breast Cancer Awareness Month will focus on some modern concepts on the use of nutrition for breast health.

Be Healthy!

Stephen Holt, MD

_____

Call or contact Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County today if you’re ready to take your fitness to the next level. Our professional trainers will show you how. 636-922-5320.  Schedule a free consultation to review your situation and develop a plan that will get you on track — even if it does not involve Fitness Together (believe it or not, we are not the answer for everyone — if we’re not, I’ll recommend the best gym, personal trainer, group class, or exercise equipment to meet your needs)….really, and no strings attached. I just want you to succeed. Life is too short not to get the most out of it. So give me a call. What do you have to lose? (maybe a few pounds, but nothing else)!

If you’re ready to change your life, start small and stay positive (that means keeping trying even when you have set backs).  Get a plan that excites and motivates you!  And reach out to friends and family to ensure additional motivation is there when you need it!  If you need additional support, that’s what Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County is all about.  We exist to assist you in achieving your health and fitness goals.  And we succeed where other plans fail.  Check out our success stories to see why.

Here are the 6 Steps:

1. Eat supportive meals frequently combining fiber, protein, and modest servings of starch from the most natural sources possible.

2. Eat fruit, not by themselves, but as meal components along with proteins and fiber, and minimize or eliminate intake of high sugar fruit juices.

3. To fill in the spaces when meals are not convenient, make your own protein smoothies rather than relying upon store bought smoothies. Store bought smoothies contain ridiculous amounts of sugar, even if it isn’t readily advertised. The “liquid flavor” they add is usually turbinado or sucrose sweetened liquid, and the fruits they add come in sweetened syrup. Mix soy protein with a handful of frozen berries and you have a lower sugar meal replacement that helps to provide vital nutrients and manage hunger.

4. Consume adequate fiber while avoiding excesses of refined carbohydrates.

5. Clean your kitchen so it contains nothing processed discarding cakes, white breads and pastas, cookies, and snack foods. Fill your fridge with a variety of vegetables, and protein sources so salads, omelets, and supportive meals can be prepared with little effort.

6. Apply Synergy – the combination of the right nutrition, some aerobic movement, and some resistance exercise to manage fuel ingestion and fuel usage should be three elements present in a synergistic structured exercise and eating program.

Closing notes on Sugar

As a general rule, when you begin to explore labels anything ending with -ose indicates sugar.

I’ll also mention that alcohol is a sugar, a sugar that contains almost twice as many calories as glucose, a sugar that is so simple in form it is absorbed before it even makes it into the intestinal tract. If sugar is sugar, and alcohol is sugar, anything that falls on the spectrum between sugar and alcohol would also be a sugar.

Many foods are sweetened with sugar alcohols which are . . . sugars. They vary in structure, in caloric value, and in insulin response, but they are NOT sugar salvation. If you scan ingredient levels and find the suffix -ol, you’re likely looking at sugar alcohols.

Call or contact Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County today if you’re ready to take your fitness to the next level. Our professional trainers will show you how. 636-922-5320.  Schedule a free consultation to review your situation and develop a plan that will get you on track — even if it does not involve Fitness Together (believe it or not, we are not the answer for everyone — if we’re not, I’ll recommend the best gym, personal trainer, group class, or exercise equipment to meet your needs)….really, and no strings attached. I just want you to succeed. Life is too short not to get the most out of it. So give me a call. What do you have to lose? (maybe a few pounds, but nothing else)!

If you’re ready to change your life, start small and stay positive (that means keeping trying even when you have set backs).  Get a plan that excites and motivates you!  And reach out to friends and family to ensure additional motivation is there when you need it!  If you need additional support, that’s what Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County is all about.  We exist to assist you in achieving your health and fitness goals.  And we succeed where other plans fail.  Check out our success stories to see why.

You start each morning with the promise to be “good” today. You’ll refuse the baked goods at the office. You’ll speed past that fast food place at lunch. You’ll turn a blind eye to the vending machine in the mid-afternoon. And you’ll pass on the ice cream after dinner.

But… you hadn’t counted on the fact that a box of your favorite donuts would be sitting in the break room. Or that co-workers would invite you to join them for fast food place at lunch. Or that Girl Scouts would come through the office after school with boxes of thin mints. Or that your special someone would come home with a pint of Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.

And as you get into bed each night you tell yourself that tomorrow will be different. Tomorrow you will conquer temptation. But tomorrow comes with its own set of special circumstances and temptation gets the best of you once again.

Why Does Temptation Always Win?

We live in society where food temptations are everywhere.

•Walk through a store and you’ll see the unhealthy food items displayed front and center.
•Turn on the TV and you’ll be assaulted with commercials for fattening foods.
•Open a magazine and you’ll notice glossy pin-ups of sugary snacks.
•Go down the street and you’ll have restaurant signs clamoring for your attention.

In addition to the abundance of tempting edibles, you also have deeply ingrained positive associations with indulging.
•You treat tempting food as a reward.
•You turn to tempting food for comfort.
•You rely on tempting food as stress relief.
•You allow tempting food to become a habit.

It’s Your Turn to Win

Temptation doesn’t need to have the upper hand on you anymore. It’s time to fight back using your most powerful asset: your brain. Your mind is an amazing thing. Once it is made up about something it is nearly impossible to change it.

A Matter of Perspective

Imagine for a moment that you’re peacefully floating down a river in an inner tube. The sun is out, the birds are chirping, and you are having a wonderful time. You feel great about the river because it is making you feel good.

Now imagine that you are in a plane flying over the river. Your eye is immediately drawn to an enormous rocky waterfall. You look up the river and just around the bend is a person floating in an inner tube, having a wonderful time, headed straight for the treacherous falls.

Do you think that after your plane ride you’d be happy to get an inner tube and float down the river? Of course you wouldn’t. You’ve seen that the river spells disaster. You now have a negative association (watery death) with the river rather than your initial positive association (relaxing fun).

Overcoming temptation is all about building negative associations in place of existing positive ones. Use the 2 steps below to harness the power of your mind to become stronger than any temptation.

Step One: Create a Strong Negative Association with all the BAD STUFF

If cookies and chips and burgers are put on a pedestal in your mind as your favorite things to eat, then you will always eat unhealthy and will continue to gain weight.

What do you dislike about tempting food?
•It makes you unhealthy.
•It causes weight gain.
•It drains your energy.
•It kills your confidence.
•It degrades your quality of life.
•It hurts your love life.
•Put your own negative here…
•Every time that you encounter tempting food items focus on your list of negatives.

It’s time to kick those cookies off the pedestal and to put something healthy in its place.

Step Two: Create a Strong Positive Association with all the GOOD STUFF

Now that your mental pedestal has been cleared, put healthy food items on it. Juicy fresh fruit, crispy vegetables and savory lean meats are a great place to start.  What do you love about healthy food?
•It makes you healthy.
•It causes weight loss.
•It boosts your energy.
•It builds your confidence.
•It improves your quality of life.
•It enhances your love life.
•Put your own positive here…

Immerse yourself into the world of healthy food. Browse the aisles of a natural food store. Walk through a farmer’s market. Bring healthy snacks to work. Clear your kitchen of anything unhealthy. Using the technique above, you will soon find that healthy food is your favorite food. And temptation will become a thing of your past.

The Domino Effect

Regular exercise makes it easier to eat healthy. Just as healthy eating makes you more likely to exercise. It’s the domino effect. When you begin to make a positive change in one area of your life other areas will soon follow.

Remember, while nutrition is vitally important for weight loss, true results are achieved through a combination of both nutrition and challenging, progressive exercise. Would you like to get that domino effect started in your life?

Call or contact Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County today if you’re ready to take your fitness to the next level. Our professional trainers will show you how. 636-922-5320.  Schedule a free consultation to review your situation and develop a plan that will get you on track — even if it does not involve Fitness Together (believe it or not, we are not the answer for everyone — if we’re not, I’ll recommend the best gym, personal trainer, group class, or exercise equipment to meet your needs)….really, and no strings attached. I just want you to succeed. Life is too short not to get the most out of it. So give me a call. What do you have to lose? (maybe a few pounds, but nothing else)!

If you’re ready to change your life, start small and stay positive (that means keeping trying even when you have set backs).  Get a plan that excites and motivates you!  And reach out to friends and family to ensure additional motivation is there when you need it!  If you need additional support, that’s what Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County is all about.  We exist to assist you in achieving your health and fitness goals.  And we succeed where other plans fail.  Check out our success stories to see why.

Sugar habits are simply obstacles to be overcome. Sugar is not an enemy and I’m not going to ask anyone to give it up. I’m simply going to ask you to recognize and acknowledge the impact too much sugar can have, and to take responsibility for managing your own intake.

My intention in these newsletters is to share some strategies that can help anyone make comfortable adjustments in nutrition and exercise including reduction in excessive sugar intake. I wouldn’t, however, direct you without empowering you, and the information in this email is vital to your empowerment. I mentioned with certainty that if you are subject to excessive sugar intake, you can comfortably reduce it . . . but that brings up a new question.

What is excessive?

That’s a difficult question to answer, as according to USDA figures, the average American consumes near 170 pounds of sugar annually. Even the average is excessive!

The point that bears repeating is, our bodies were not genetically programmed, nor do they have the adaptive ability, to healthfully handle what likely amounts to nearly 35 times the sugar ingestion of our ancestors. More importantly, we don’t ingest 170 pounds of natural honey and fruit sugars. We ingest laboratory produced compounds cleverly converted into various addictive inexpensive sugars with names ranging from turbinado to the all too familiar High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Sugar intake can be pleasurable, and we should enjoy treats and celebrations. We just don’t want to enjoy ourselves right past a state of health. If we begin to consider fruits as sources of fiber, micronutrients, and sugar, we can begin to find comfort ingesting modest amounts of fruit as components of complete, supportive meals. If we limit the processed sugars to occasional desserts and we avoid thinking of candy bars and high sugar beverages as “meals,” we can well manage our intake, perhaps to the tune of 30 pounds per year. Still a lot as compared to what would be considered healthy, but far less excessive than the “average” today.

How Did This Happen?

If we trace how history brought us to170 pounds of sugar per person, we have Alexander the Great to thank for introducing sugar cane as a prized commodity. It came to the U.S. along with Christopher Columbus, and with a newly developed American sweet tooth, the southeastern US and Caribbean region became sugar cane growers.

From the time of Columbus to the time of Elvis some 450 years later, sugar ingestion elevated to 100 pounds per person per year. The early 1900′s brought us homemade creations of cakes and pastries and by the mid 20th century the typical household “dessert” consisted of some combination of pie, ice cream, and chocolate or pastry treats.

Perhaps we would have been OK if it stopped there, if we consumed healthful meals and relished our sugar as treats and desserts, but in the 1970′s, as technology started lessening physical activity, it also opened new doors for food preparation. Food scientists learned to create and mass produce high fructose corn syrup. It sounded healthy. After all, it included the word “corn.”  This discovery and the events that followed might have been the tipping point.

HFCS and other “Natural” Sugars

The reality is, high fructose corn syrup contains sucrose, table sugar, but combines it with fructose in a manner that limits fat mobilization. It spikes insulin, it cripples fat loss, and wow, does it make foods taste good.

Walk into a convenience store and count the candy and snack offerings. They’re not thought of as “desserts.” They’re instead categorized as snacks, energy needs (I “need” a candy bar), hunger satisfiers, meal replacements, and temptations.

If you manage to count the number of offerings, you’ll be amazed, but the amazement won’t stop there, not if you proceed to examine the ingredient labels. High fructose corn syrup, a compound we now know is detrimental to optimal health, is a key feature on virtually every ingredient panel.

You can fall victim to the preposterous assertion that “because it’s fructose it’s good for you . . . fructose is fruit sugar,” and that victimization promises your health will suffer. To the less aware, it does appear to be a powerful argument as fruit sugar sounds “natural.”

Words such as “natural” sell product, but when you extract compounds from natural sources and process them, “natural” goes out the window. After all, isn’t sugar cane “natural?” By that token, isn’t opium?

Even with the acceptance that processing hinders the value of a food compound, words can continue to confuse and marketers know that well. “Raw” sugar they promise is good for you? “Raw sugar” is . . . sugar . . . as is molasses, brown sugar, beet sugar, and maple sugar.

Oh, and while once in awhile honey might be acceptable, you’re better off finding a beehive out in the woods than you are purchasing honey in the local grocery, at least from a nutritional standpoint. Commercial honey comes from bee farms, and those bees are amply fed, but they aren’t fed from pollinating flowers. They are fed an ample supply of… refined sugar! Even the bees have become sugar machines, turning refined sugar ingestion into commercial sugar production.

Let’s simplify

•As our population becomes more reliant on sugar consumption, our population becomes fatter, unhealthier, and more prone to disease.

•As our population becomes more prone to disease, sugar commerce drives billions of dollars and the sugar machine is already rolling big time. Big business is not likely to stop for something as insignificant as subtly growing human disease.

•In order to sell foods that are laden with sugar, food manufacturers hire marketers and advertisers who recognize that labels are billboards and creatively develop attractive copy that speaks directly to impulse. “The Delicious Sugar Free Cookie, sweetened with natural fruit sugar!”

•People who fill their pantries with tasty crackers, snack foods, and fruit-filled breakfast pastries have not only developed rituals and habits that make sugar hard to avoid, but they’ve also created biochemical addiction which feels as if it’s impossible to break.

Call or contact Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County today if you’re ready to take your fitness to the next level. Our professional trainers will show you how. 636-922-5320.  Schedule a free consultation to review your situation and develop a plan that will get you on track — even if it does not involve Fitness Together (believe it or not, we are not the answer for everyone — if we’re not, I’ll recommend the best gym, personal trainer, group class, or exercise equipment to meet your needs)….really, and no strings attached. I just want you to succeed. Life is too short not to get the most out of it. So give me a call. What do you have to lose? (maybe a few pounds, but nothing else)!

If you’re ready to change your life, start small and stay positive (that means keeping trying even when you have set backs).  Get a plan that excites and motivates you!  And reach out to friends and family to ensure additional motivation is there when you need it!  If you need additional support, that’s what Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County is all about.  We exist to assist you in achieving your health and fitness goals.  And we succeed where other plans fail.  Check out our success stories to see why.

Rolling over, turning off your alarm and sleeping in for an extra hour instead of heading out for a morning run is too easy to do. Letting the day get away from you and opting for happy hour with friends rather than working out at the gym can be an easy out too – especially if you’re running solo in your workout routine as daylight gets shorter and temperatures get cooler.

If you are feeling sluggish and struggling to start a workout program, have hit a fitness plateau or just looking for something new to add to your fitness regimen, it may be time to join a pack of workout buddies to help you meet your health and fitness goals. Small Group Personal Training is the hot trend this season as individuals opt for a more cost-effective, fun and engaging environment to meet their personal fitness goals, dreams and aspirations. It doesn’t matter if you are an elite athlete, weekend warrior, new mom, senior citizen or desk jockey, everyone can benefit from training in a small group setting. Click the link below to find out more: PACK Small Group Personal Training

Call or contact Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County today if you’re ready to take your fitness to the next level. Our professional trainers will show you how. 636-922-5320.  Schedule a free consultation to review your situation and develop a plan that will get you on track — even if it does not involve Fitness Together (believe it or not, we are not the answer for everyone — if we’re not, I’ll recommend the best gym, personal trainer, group class, or exercise equipment to meet your needs)….really, and no strings attached. I just want you to succeed. Life is too short not to get the most out of it. So give me a call. What do you have to lose? (maybe a few pounds, but nothing else)!

If you’re ready to change your life, start small and stay positive (that means keeping trying even when you have set backs).  Get a plan that excites and motivates you!  And reach out to friends and family to ensure additional motivation is there when you need it!  If you need additional support, that’s what Fitness Together Cottleville in St. Charles County is all about.  We exist to assist you in achieving your health and fitness goals.  And we succeed where other plans fail.  Check out our success stories to see why.