What Do I Get My Personal Trainer for Christmas?

Minneapolis-Based Personal Trainer Helps Clients Master Christmas Etiquette

So you work with a personal trainer and you want to know what to get them for Christmas.  First of all, as a personal trainer, thanks for thinking of us.  We really appreciate it!  And because you care about getting something your personal trainer would enjoy (or you wouldn’t have searched online for trainer gift solutions), here are a few ideas for you:

Personal Trainer Christmas Gift Idea #1: A Session Bonus

The last six weeks of the year can be a slow business period for personal trainers.  It seems like many people move their discretionary dollars from the service industries into retail for the holidays, which makes Christmas a tough time economically for some trainers.  A financial gift equal to a training session is a welcome idea.  Were it not for the session financial gifts I received last year, I would not have been able to get home for Christmas…the end of the year can be that hard for trainers.

Personal Trainer Christmas Gift Idea #2: A Gift Certificate to a Health/Nutrition/Exercise Store

My entire Christmas list this year is workout and nutrition stuff.  There are new protein powders I want to try, new equipment I want to buy so I can be better for my clients, etc.  A great gift idea for your trainer is a gift certificate to a sporting goods store, nutrition/supplement store, or an online store that fits those categories.  We want to serve you better in 2010, and having a chance to pick up new tools for torture and new drinks to make you gag is how we love to spend our money.

Personal Trainer Christmas Gift Idea #3: Help Us Repair Our Body

A personal trainer has several tiny workouts a day.  Every time we demonstrate an exercise or spot a client and help them move a weight around, we are beating up our body.  A hot stone or deep tissue massage or chiropractic adjustment would do wonders for the body that we have broken to make your body better.

Personal Trainer Christmas Gift Idea #4: A Melaleuca Membership

We like top of the line health products!  We also like being a resource for our clients when they have cholesterol issues, blood pressure issues, sleep issues, and fat-burning issues.  In 2009 I helped several clients avoid cholesterol/blood pressure/diabetes medication because of products from a company called Melaleuca.    Melaleuca has some of the greatest products on the planet for health and body change.  Help us take care of our body and help us be a resource for you by getting us going on a Melaleuca membership.  I love my Melaleuca membership!!!  To learn how to get one for your trainer, email me (adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com)!

Personal Trainer Christmas Gift Idea #5: Referrals!

The economy is not going to tighten down for everyone.  Help us connect with people who need our help!  We love new business!  If we have done a great job with you, please refer us to your business associate, friend, or church member who is looking to make a change!  Chances are good that we welcome new business!

What Do I Do If I Don’t Want To Get My Trainer Something For Christmas?

Giving should always be a want, not an obligation.  If you feel obligated to get something for your trainer for Christmas, give them a card and a $10 gift certificate to McDonald’s…then take a picture as they open their “gift” .  If you don’t feel like getting your trainer anything for Christmas, you need a new trainer!  I want to talk with you if you do not feel connected to your trainer, excited about the progress they have helped you make, or if you simply feel as though it is time for a change!

I love my line of work and love the people I work with.  On behalf of all the trainers out there, thank you for choosing to work with us!  And thanks for remembering us during the Christmas season!

Adam Erwin is an in-home personal trainer who travels the world to work with people who are ready to put excuses aside and work hard to change their body.  Visit www.rapidresultsfitnessmn.com to learn more about what Adam does, who he works with, and how you can have him come and work with you!  A Minneapolis resident, Adam will work close to home (Eden Prairie, Wayzata, Minnetonka, Edina) or will travel to your location (San Diego, Miami, Phoenx, Sydney Australia) to work with you.

Eat Lots and Get Skinny on Thanksgiving!

How to Help Your Body Maximize Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving should be a guilt-free holiday for your body.  In fact, you can even use Thanksgiving to drop a pound or two if you play your cards right.  Here’s how to help your body maximize Thanksgiving…

1) Eat light on Wednesday.  Front-load your calories the day before Thanksgiving (consume 1,000 before 3pm).  Have a light dinner (4-6 oz. of a protein source with a light veggie) and drink lots of water in the evening.

2) Start your Thanksgiving Day with fiber!  I think a fiber in powder form is better than pill form, but pick one and start your day with it.  In addition to helping your digestive track get in line, fiber helps track down toxins in your blood stream.  It’s a great way to start your day everyday, but especially on Thanksgiving.

3) Eat light but don’t skip any meals before the BIG MEAL.  Our metabolism is effectively primed when we eat often.  Eat light and often before the big meal to help charge up your metabolism.  Remember to drink a protein shake after your workout!

4) Do a weight-training-based workout before the BIG MEAL.  Weight training can have a positive impact on our metabolism for up to 39 hours!  By hitting the weights before hitting the feast, your metabolismwill be charged up quite a few hours and will best be able to handle the upcoming caloric load!

5) Enjoy your Thanksgiving meal!  Eat up, and don’t forget dessert!

6) Shut off the foods by 8pm.  I’m arbitrarily picking a time here, but it’s important to stop eating as early in the evening as possible.  I think 8pm is more than reasonable.  After 8pm, stick to water.  Maybe toss in a protein shake in the evening if you are hungry for something.

7) Have a light day of leftovers on Friday.  If we sandwich a high-calorie day (Thanksgiving) with two low-calorie days (Wed. and Fri.), our body will be more able to burn off the Thursday feast (before I get attacked by the training world, read up on caloric shifting…).  Sprinkle in protein, go easy on the carbs, and try to do the #2-#4 from this post on Friday as well.

If you want your body to work for you and not against you this Thanksgiving, use the seven steps above to help your metabolism use your Thanksgiving feast for good.

Adam Erwin is a nutrition and fitness coach.  He works with clients to give them the food and fitness month of their life.  In 2009, Adam’s clients have lost an average of 13 lbs. in the first 28 days of working with him.  To learn more about what it looks like to work with Adam, click to rapidresultsfitnessmn.com.

What Do I Get My Husband/Wife for Christmas?

Minneapolis Personal Trainer Chimes in on Unique Gift Ideas for  Holiday Shoppers

It is crunch time for Christmas shoppers.  In a mad scamper for deals this Christmas season, few of us land the creative and unique gift that best suits our spouse.  Here are a few last-minute ideas that could qualify as “the best Christmas gift ever!”  Please keep in mind that I’m a fitness guy, so each suggestion in this blog will have a fitness/nutrition connection.

Unique  Christmas Gift Idea for Couples With a Budget: Lose 13 lbs. in 28 Days!

Is your spouse dissatisfied with their body?  Do they feel stuck?  In addition to needing to lose a few lbs., are they staring down high cholesterol/high blood pressure/type II diabetes?  Give them access to the program that helps people lose 13 lbs. (on average) in 28 days!

In January of 2009 I launched a brand new program called Virtual Boot Camp.  We had amazing success in 2009 and, with the updates being implements in 2010 we expect even better results (in fact, we implemented a few changes in  October a people dropped an extra 1.7 lbs. on average because of it!).

This 28-day food and fitness program walks people through the best food and fitness month they’ve ever had!  Participants in Virtual Boot Camp:

• Know exactly what to eat AND WHEN with the 28-day meal plan
• Know exactly HOW to workout at home or in the gym with the 28-day online workout video program
• Know exactly what food to buy at the grocery store during Virtual Boot Camp with a weekly grocery list
• Learn WHY we do WHAT we do with the daily blog!
• Put themselves in position to use less medication (cholesterol/blood pressure/type II diabetes), get a better health/life insurance rate, and LOVE THE WAY THEY LOOK AND FEEL!

You may be thinking, “But Adam, by giving my husband/wife this gift, I’m calling them fat!”  Under many conditions, that’s true.  But if this is something your spouse really NEEDS, here are two ways to sell it:

1) Ask them in advance.  If you came to them and said, “Look, I hear you talking about how you don’t have any energy, how you feel fat, and how frustrated you are with your body.  I found a program that looks really neat and might be able to get you where you want to go.  I love you the way you are and I want you to feel good about you.  Do you want to take a look at what I found?”  If they say yes, click here!

2) Do it together.  I’ve had quite a few married walk through Virtual Boot Camp together.  Not only do couples get the best results (my top 5 weight-loss stories all come from married couples), their marriage also tend to get a spark (it’s always nice to do something together where your spouse feels like your teammate).  If Virtual Boot Camp was a “we” experience instead of a “you” experience, you will not be calling your spouse fat.  Your Virtual Boot Camp gift will say, “I want both of us to be healthy, and I want to do it together.”  Plus, there is a couples discount for Virtual Boot Camp from now until Nov. 30th.  Send an email to adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com for details!

Unique Last-Minute Christmas Gift Idea for Vacation-Minded Couples: Lose 12 lbs. in 7 Days at the Destination Body Sculpt Boot Camp

It’s 9am.  You and your spouse are on the beach smelling the ocean air, feeling the soft sand underneath your feet, and working on losing 10 lbs. in seven days.  Thanks to a destination body sculpt boot camp, you are eating wonderful meals, enjoying the sand and sun, and feeling the best you have felt in a long, long time.  Where can you sign up for a destination body sculpt boot camp? wwwrapidresultsfitnessmn.com

The last client I worked with lost 12 lbs. in seven days (he also cut his insulin usage in half as well).  My client record for seven days is 19 lbs!

Maybe you want to shed fat while you hit the slopes.  Perhaps you want to visit Australia or the Bahamas.  Wherever you want your body change and your spouse’s body change to take place, send an email to adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com to start a dialogue about leaving for vacation wearing one size of pants and coming home in a smaller size.

Unique Last-Minute Christmas Gift Idea for Him: Kettlebells and Training DVD

If your man is looking to shed some weight, find his lost energy, and burn calories like he never has before, picking up some kettlebells will do the trick.  Kettlebells are like cannon balls with a handle.  They originated in Russia, and are gaining traction in America as an amazing way to change your body.

While you can buy kettlebells anywhere (and better to buy a 25 lb KB at a sports store instead of buying it online and paying a boatload for shipping),  you must stop by www.dragondoor.com to find the very best in kettlebell training DVDs.  You will need them.  If you want some help on getting kettlebells, send me an email (adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com).  I would be glad to help.

Unique Last-Minute Christmas Gift Idea for Her: Leg Magic

Every once in awhile I get to sample a fitness machine.  Two weeks ago I tried Leg Magic…and it is awesome!  Leg Magic works inner thighs, hips, and butt.  It hits many trouble spots for women.  Go to www.buylegmagic.com to check it out.

NOTE: Before letting your wife open this gift, have her open a new pair of jeans that is two sizes too small for her….then have her open the Leg Magic.  Instead of her asking, “Do you think I’m fat?”, she will be saying “I can’t wait to fit into these?”

Unique Last-Minute Christmas Gift Idea for the Health-Deprived: Lower Cholesterol, Lower Blood Pressure, Increased Energy

I literally just got off the phone with a very happy client.  Not only is she down 25 lbs., the results from her recent blood work were amazing!  Her triglycerides were down 103 points and her cholesterol was down 45 points…in 2 months time!

Set your spouse up for a nutrition consultation.

Adam Erwin is an in-home personal trainer who travels the world to work with people who are ready to put excuses aside and work hard to change their body.  Visit www.rapidresultsfitnessmn.com to learn more about what Adam does, who he works with, and how you can have him come and work with you!  A Minneapolis resident, Adam will work close to home (Eden Prairie, Wayzata, Minnetonka, Edina) or will travel to your location (San Diego, Miami, Phoenx, Sydney Australia) to work with you.

Unhealthy Weight Loss?

How to Know if Your Weight-Loss Program Is Healthy or Not

NOTE: This is a blog post about healthy/unhealthy weight-loss programs.  Eating disorders are not part of the conversation for this post.  While eating disorders play a significant role in unhealthy weight loss, I am not an eating disorder specialist and am not qualified to have that conversation.

We are a weight-obsessed society.  Some people step on their scale multiple times a day (what are you, a Wall Street day trader?).  Others use their weight as their primary indicator of progress with their health.

Weight can be a very misleading indicator.  It’s kinda like a tax return amount.  If I receive a huge tax return, does that mean I paid in way too many taxes last year?  Does it mean I had a really bad year financially this time around?  Weight can be a confusing indicator of health progress just as a tax return can be a confusing indicator of financial progress.

Recently I had a debate online with a trainer buddy of mine.  He had read something about the amount of weight my clients were losing with my Virtual Boot Camp program.  He became concerned.  To him, it appeared as though my clients were losing weight at an unhealthy pace.

I understand and appreciate his concern.  Weight loss at any cost is very dangerous.  In the case of Virtual Boot Camp, I have built my program in a very specific way which triggers a very specific type of weight loss.  Although the weight-loss numbers can be high, the results are healthy.

So, what is the difference between healthy and unhealthy weight loss?

Healthy Weight Loss Removes Unhealthy Sources of Weight

Have you ever cleaned the area behind your refrigerator?  It’s pretty gross, isn’t it?  Over the course of 12 months, that area behind the fridge can become one of the dirtiest areas in our home.  A heavy-duty cleaner and a scraper might be involved in cleaning up that often-neglected area.  If that area was never cleaned, bugs and bacteria would thrive there.  Over time, the fall out from the dust and grime could force the fridge to work harder and perform inefficiently.

The human colon is like the area behind the fridge.  The average human has 10-20 lbs. of feces stuck in their colon.  Let that hit home.  Most people have 10-20 lbs. of awful waste just sitting in their body.  Since this is the case, one of the first things I recommend for my clients is a colon cleanse (if they haven’t had one in awhile).  There is nothing unhealthy about quickly getting rid of cancer-causing toxins that are in your fecal matter.

Fecal matter and excess fat are unhealthy sources of weight.  Any program that focuses on losing unhealthy weight is on the right track.  There are, however, some programs and some trainers that under-nourish or over-train.  One way to know if you are losing healthy is weight is to take note of how you feel.  If you are constantly tired, constantly sore, and constantly drained, you may be off base with weight loss.  If you have abundant energy, fly through your day, aren’t constantly sore from workouts for longs periods of time and do not need an unusual amount of sleep, you may be on the right track.

I’m sure my trainer friends are thinking, “Healthy weight loss can be determined by how you feel???”  It’s one gauge.   A better way would be to look at your specific program to see how the nutrition and training are being allocated.  This, however, can be a tricky diagnosis (if you’d like some help figuring out if you are on the right track or not, send an email to adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com and I’d be glad to help).

Bottom line: if fecal matter and fat loss are the targets of your weight-loss program, you have a good chance of being on the right track.

Unhealthy Weight Loss Removes Healthy Sources of Weight

Our bodies need water.  Our bodies need muscle.  Some people try to lose a few quick pounds by shedding water (via a water pill or other forms of dehydration) and doing things to tear down muscle.  Bad idea!  Any program that loses healthy sources of weight like water and muscles are usually off the mark.

There are many programs out there, big famous programs, that are totally broken and off base.  If your program does not specifically address what nutrition looks like before and after a workout, your program is broken.  In fact, if you program has “weight” in its title, it is probably broken.  But Adam, how can you say that?  Lots of people have been SO successfully on some of the big/national programs.

I can say that because programs that focus simply on weight loss omit the “needing muscle” portion of the health conversation.  Programs that do not specifically address ways to spare/grow muscle with precise exercise and nutrition are missing the mark.  They are leading you to use muscle as a source of weight loss, and that is USUALLY unhealthy.

A muscle cell burns 70% more calories than a fat cell.  So, if you are losing muscle, you are losing your ability to burn calories.  I can hear the ladies saying, “But I don’t want to look like a body builder.”  If you are currently out of shape, the likelihood of you suddenly looking like a body builder is as likely as you working part-time as a fast food joint and suddenly getting too wealthy.

Maintaining and growing some lean muscle is never a bad idea.  After all, muscle is a healthy source of weight.  And the presence of muscle in your body is great news for your metabolism and calorie-burning capacity.

Bottom line: Keeping the body hydrated and keeping muscle fed are important.  Any weight-loss program that focuses on the opposite is off the mark.

_____________

Adam Erwin is a nutrition and fitness coach, based in chilly Minneapolis, MN. (where the lakes are outnumbered only by the taxes).  Adam helps people across the United States to attack the lifestyle problems that are negatively affecting health.  In 2009, his 28-day Virtual Boot Camp program has helped people lose an average of 13 lbs.  To learn more about Adam and how he can help you have the best food and fitness month of your life, send him an email at adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com and also peep www.rapidresultsfitnessmn.com.

Are You Looking at Your Dairy Error?

The Bottom Line on Why Dairy is Upsetting Your Body

I love dairy.  LOVE DAIRY!  I am to dairy what Buddy the elf is to sugar in “Elf” (candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup!).  Cookies need milk, crackers need cheese, and lattes need whipped cream.  In times of economic uncertainty, I believe ice cream might trump gold as a backup currency.

(BIG TIME DAIRY BUZZ KILL COMING IN THREE, TWO, ONE….)

The truth about dairy is this: our bodies are not made to consume dairy.

Why Dairy Is Upsetting Your Body: We Are Not Cows

Guess what people?  We are people.  The milk we were designed to consume is human breast milk.  The function of cow’s milk to to take a 90 lb. baby calf and grow it to 300 lbs over the course of 12 months.  Cow’s milk was never intended for human consumption.

In fact, the average human loses their ability to effectively digest cow’s milk at age 4.  As our bodies progressively develop the digestive enzymes required for a human diet, we lose our ability to digest milk of any kind….human or otherwise.  It should be no surprise that many people struggle to digest dairy.  We were never intended to ingest it.

In fact, I will go as far to say that digesting dairy stresses our body quite a bit.  Bloating, extra mucus, sluggishness, acne, allergies, asthma, acidity in the body, and even bone density problems can result from consuming dairy. That’s right….I just implied that dairy is actually bad for bone density.  Think I’m crazy? Go to www.notmilk.com and see what they say.  Do a little study on dairy if you really want to know what it does to you.

Bottom line on your dairy error: we are not cows and were not designed to consume cow’s milk.

Why Dairy is Upsetting Your Body: Dairy, What Are You, Dense?

I drank 2% milk for a long time.  It’s only 2% fat, right.  Wrong.  It’s 2% fat by volume, but 35% of the calories in 2% milk are from fat. So…2% milk is really 35% milk with some twisted, marketing-based math.  Every glass of milk is a rush of fat to the body.  Brilliant!

While that is bad, it gets worse.  Consider cheese.  It takes 10 lbs. of milk to make 1 lb. of cheese.  Yikes!  Cheese is a super dense fatty food.  Did that ruin your day?  It ruined my day when I found out.  Remember, I love dairy.

We’re not done yet.  Ice cream is super fatty, and butter is 100% fat.  I can’t believe I’m not fatter!  Dairy products are dense with fat.

Why Dairy is Upsetting Your Body: Are You Buying a Bowel?

What dairy does to our #2 is not my #1 concern.  Did you know that cow’s milk is allowed to have feces in it?  Yuck!  We already know it is full of bacteria.  But we are supposed to be okay with the bacteria in it because all that yucky stuff is pasterrized out, right?  Well…

Milk is typically pasteurized at 162 degree (F) at 15-second intervals.  To kill bacteria in water, it needs to be boiled at 212 degrees (F).  Considering that the amount of bacteria in a glass of milk DOUBLES every 20 minutes when at room temperature, I’m not convinced that the 162 degree pasteurization process does enough.  Just an opinion of mine…

The #1 conclusion is that milk has crazy bacteria in it (oh, but it’s the GOOD bacteria, right?) and feces in it to give it that fine after-taste.  Just like dirty water can wreak havoc on the human body, it is tough to imagine that milk is clean enough for our consumption.

Do you see your dairy consumption in a different light now?  The evidence against dairy is pretty overwhelming if you take a look at it.  Dairy causes lots of problems in our body when we consume it.

My challenge to you is this: eliminate dairy consumption for seven days and then consume dairy on the eighth day.  If you do this, I believe you will clearly recognize the errors in your body that dairy causes.

Are you willing to look at your body’s dairy error?  The acne, mucus, allergies, bone density, cancer likelihood, arthritis, Alzheimers, depression, and diabetes likelihood inside of you begs you to take a look look at your body’s dairy error.

Adam Erwin is a nutrition and fitness coach, based in chilly Minneapolis, MN. (where the lakes are outnumbered only by the taxes).  Adam helps people across the United States to attack the lifestyle problems that are negatively affecting health.  In 2009, his 28-day Virtual Boot Camp program has helped people lose an average of 13 lbs.  To learn more about Adam and how he can help you have the best food and fitness month of your life, send him an email at adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com and also peep www.rapidresultsfitnessmn.com.

Fat Camp at Home: Bring Weight Loss Camp to You!

Be the Biggest Loser in Your Neighborhood with Unique Fat Camp with Personal Trainer!

I am watching an ABC “Nightline” program that is focusing on a fat camp.  To be more specific, “Nightline” is focusing on a family weight loss camp.  I have no question this camp is doing good work and helping people.  However, in the few minutes of footage being shown, the biggest thing missing from the weight loss camp is this: real life application.

For people who want to truly succeed with a significant body change, here is what they need to consider.

Fat Camp at Home Consideration #1:  Weight Loss Camps Are….Camps

I don’t live at a weight loss camp.  You don’t live at a weight loss camp.  We live in our home, in a city or town.  We have jobs, we have responsibilities, we have lives.  The biggest problem I have with a fat camp is that, since we don’t live at camps, it is unrealistic to expect someone to take a camp lifestyle and integrate it into a daily routine.

For this reason, I created a program that brings me to you.  I come into your life and work with you daily to help change your life in your own habitat.  To be successful with weight loss in the long run, a weight loss camp needs to fit into your everyday life.  I bring my weight loss camp to you so you can succeed in everyday life, and not just at a camp.

Fat Camp at Home Consideration #2:  Weight Loss Camps Cook Your Food for You!

Do you have a chef on hand in your home?  I don’t.  My nutrition success or failure falls on me.  The foods I buy and the foods I cook are the foods I consume.  At a camp, most of the foods you consume are not made by you (or purchased by you at the store).  You are served, not taught.

When I travel to someone’s home to work with them, I teach them how to cook the best foods for them.  Each meal is a meal you cook, so that you know that you can do it on your own.  A fat camp doesn’t afford you that learning opportunity.

The success of your body change is mostly the result of what YOU do.  It’s what YOU cook, it’s how YOU exercise.  Being catered to at a camp is great customer service, but it is unfortunate disservice to those trying to learn how to incorporate proper foods into their life at home.

Fat Camp Consideration #3:  Weight Loss Camps Do Not Include Customized Exercise

What type of exercise does YOUR body need?  If you are in need of a boot camp experience, it is important to make sure that your exercises are built specifically for your body.

In the “Primetime” exercise footage, some of the exercises being performed at the fat camp were very poorly executed.  Again, it is important to note that I am on board with any person who is helping someone to lose weight, so I’m not bashing the efforts or intentions of the camp.  However, as a personal trainer and as a guy who studies how an overweight body should move, I am not pleased with the execution of the exercises displayed at this camp.

I work with people to make sure their exercises are the built to their needs.  Bad knees, bad backs, or bad feet….how your body moves needs to be build so you can stay healthy and not get hurt.  A fat camp exercise program for teens may be built differently than a fat camp exercise program for an adult.

As the “Primetime” episode closes down, I am really pleased at the results the people experienced.  However, I’ve helped more people lose more weight in less time (and do it more healthfully!) than what was displayed on the ABC “Primetime” episode.

If you are looking into exploring a fat camp or weight loss camp opportunity, I’d love to talk with you about bringing a camp experience to you so that your success can begin and be maintained in your own home.  If you are interested in exploring a home-based weight loss boot camp, visit rapidresultsfitnessmn.com or send email to adam@rapidresultsfitnessmn.com.

Adam Erwin is a nutrition and fitness coach.  Based in Minneapolis, he travels the United States to help people experience the best food and fitness month of their lives.  His cutting edge online program, Virtual Boot Camp, is helping people lose weight and change their body in record time!

Wellnes Tip of the Day: Slice Breads Out of Your Diet!

Losing Weight and That Doughy Figure Involves Re-Evaluating Bread Consumption

Most breads are NOT good for us.  Gluten, the protein type found in bread, is really hard for us to digest (kind of like lactose in dairy products).  Here are a few summary points from a very interesting article I found at this website (http://www.sleepwarrior.com/health-dangers-of-bread-pasta-and-rice).

• Grains put a huge sugar load on the body while providing little nutrients — something our genes weren’t designed to handle well. This is thought to be primarily responsible for the slew of modern diseases absent in pre-agriculture times. In other words, Grok the caveman never had diabetes.
• Grains contain crap our bodies don’t know how to handle. It’s no surprise that lectins, phytates, and gluten aren’t handled well by our bodies — for 99.5% of human history, those chemicals didn’t enter the gastrointestinal tract. By contrast, cows can metabolize phytates, but their cows have always fed on grains.

Many of my Virtual Boot Camp clients notice that we have a slice of bread here and there (granted they are the right kinds of breads in the right portions…VBC is 28 days of providing solutions to problems in the American lifestlye), and stick mainly to long-grain rice (which is safe!).  The best bread to buy is Ezekiel bread.  Other breads, particularly gluten-free breads or even totally fresh breads, are better than what we can buy at the store.  Store-bought bread is the worst!  Stay away!  Buy fresh from a bakery or buy Ezekial bread if you must have it.

Adam Erwin, personal trainer and owner of Rapid Results Fitness,  is not a gym rat with an inner-dictator chromosome like some trainers. He’s not an organic food junkie who asks my clients to drive all over the metro for a perfectly ripened pomegranate like some nutrition coaches.

He focuses his entire line of work on building food and fitness plans that effectively integrate into lifestyles of busy professionals. He’s a food and fitness coach with a fanatical obsession for functional solutions. Not quick fixes, but highly effective solutions that can be accomplished quickly.  His flagship program, Virtual Boot Camp, helps people have the best food and fitness month of their lives!

What Foods Make Us Fat?

Wellness Tip of the Day:  Worried About Putting on Fat? Choose Snickers over Watermelon!

Watermelon makes us fat.  True story.  The amount of natural sugars in watermelon overwhelm our body, creating an excess.  The body then stores the excess sugar as fat.  Snickers, in contrast, does not have the amount of sugars to overwhelm the body and is less likely to be stored as fat.  I hear you asking, “Why isn’t Snickers a part of the boot camp?”

When I work with clients on food choices, I pay a lot of attention to the glycemic index.  The glycemic index tells us how our body is likely to handle the sugars in a given food.  Watermelon is full of natural sugars.  Bagels are full of sugars.  Pretzels are full of sugars!

Grapefruit, grapes, and oranges are some of the best fruits for low sugar content (and therefore low fat storage capability).  Part of boot camp is learning how to feed your body the right way over the long haul.  If you would like me to email you a copy of my glycemic index list, send me an email saying such.  I’d be glad to help!

Adam Erwin is a nutrition-based personal trainer who helps overweight people build and execute the best food and fitness month of their life.  To learn more about Adam’s work, click here!

Decreasing Cholesterol, Triglyceride Levels, and Blood Pressure!

Wellness Tip of the Day: Attack Cholesterol and Triglyceride Levels More Naturally!

I can’t stand prescriptions that have major side-effects.  Can’t stand em!  I was THISCLOSE to working for pharmaceutical giant Lilly after college, but couldn’t stand the idea that I was tapping into a realm of science where side effects were a given…as if we should just accept the idea that making an improvement in one area in health was bound to cause a decrease in health in another area.  I found the idea unacceptable!

When I work with clients with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or high triglyceride levels, I’m glad I know about Melaleuca.  In addition to making the most outstanding vitamins I’ve ever seen, they also make supplements for heart/blood issues that are nothing short of amazing.  Meet Phytomega.  It is a proprietary blend of heart-healthy phytosterols and omega-3 fatty acids to help reduce cholesterol levels and maintain healthy triglyceride levels.  Meet Provex CV.  It is a patented blend of grape skin, grape seed, and other antioxidants to help prevent LDL oxidation and maintain healthy blood platelet activity.  These two supplements are in the Vitality 6 vitapack from Melaleuca.  When I have a client with high cholesterol or triglyceride levels who wants to avoid taking cholesterol medication, these are what I recommend.

Meet ProStolic. It is the first and only heart supplement to maintain healthy blood pressure using a proprietary blend of tripeptides, potassium, pomegranate, and passionflower to protect your heart—naturally.  When I have a client that wants to look at avoiding blood pressure medication or getting off their medication, this is what I recommend.

If you know a family member who is looking to attack their cholesterol, triglyceride levels, or blood pressure and is tired of the idea of taking a prescription for life to do it, I’d love to talk with them about the food, fitness, and supplements that could help improve their blood work!

Personal Trainer on Weight Loss: Got Pain?

What It Takes to See Fat Loss and Weight Loss Progress

Yesterday I got a call from a client that I hadn’t trained in awhile.  “I’m stuck!” she screamed.  We talked about her current food and fitness situation.  The biggest thing that was missing: pain.

Any good personal trainer will tell you that pain is necessary for any type of improvement.  When we create a budget and decide NOT to indulge our itch to acquire, we feel pain.  When we turn away from a tasty piece of cake or our favorite beverage, our body feels a little bit of pain.  It hurts to say “no” to desire. Not only do we register pain when we decide not to indulge in the wrong thing, we can also feel pain when we decide to indulge the right thing.

Pushing the body during a workout can be painful.  If we do cardio intervals our lungs may burn or our legs may feel like jello…both scenarios can be uncomfortable.  If we do super sets of bicep curls our arms may become toast.  And they may be sore for several days afterward.  Doing the right thing can cause pain.

I’m doing a lot of training with kettlebells right now, introducing them to many of my clients.  Kettlebells will make you feel  pain of a whole different sort!

Is there ever growth without pain?  I don’t think so.  I believe the pain we feel from saying no to the wrong things is just as important as the pain we feel from saying yes to the right things.  The next time you feel the pain of saying no to a cheeseburger or feel the pain from doing a challenging set of lunges, take heart.  Pain is necessary for your body’s improvement (injury, however, is not necessary….it’s important to make that distinction).

Adam Erwin, a Minneapolis-based personal trainer,  travels the United States to work with people who want to make rapid and lasting body change.  His personalied boot camp have helped people lose 30+ pounds in 28 days, reduce cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and decrease joint discomfort.   To learm more about how to bring Adam to your city (Dallas, San Diego, Seattle, St. Louis, and Miami are his favorites), please visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com.