News & Events

Our Personal Trainers and Fitness Consultants are often asked dietary questions by our members. Members often ask us for advice, our guidance and opinion with the focus often about losing weight. Our general response is to shift the discussion to one about health and wellness. We attempt to shift the discussion to setting realistic goals, both nutritional and in terms of training and exercise, focused around sound wellness concepts. For example, the questions we may ask of you include: Do your dietary choices seem to successfully supply your energy system with the fuel to move the way you want to move (do you have enough energy)? Are you making dietary choices that put you at greater risk of disease? Does your diet reflect sound, tested principles of moderation or fall to ones with too many excesses? We will often, through these questions, encourage dietary moderation for most our our clients.

For our trainers, our advice is often not so much focused on helping you lose weight in of itself but on striving to be functionally and nutritionally healthy. And for most of us, a diet which features moderated choices, controlled proportions, balanced protein sources and good helpings of vegetables, especially those of the color green (with some fruits, nuts and grains), will successfully fuel us through our daily activities and help support a healthy lifestyle; even if you indulge in some Holiday Season excess…just not too much. A popular simple rule to follow for many of us is to ensure 1/3 your plate is covered with a protein source and 2/3 covered with fruits and vegetables (again, remember the color green in your vegetable selection is generally a good choice).

Many of our members are looking at the specific popular diets of the day. Should I be low carb? Should I be high carb? What’s a Paleo diet? Mediterranean? What’s right for me? As all of us know, the web is filled with opinions. Never in history have we had access to so much information, so easily. Sometimes, web sites offer well-founded, peer-reviewed positions. But, more often than not, web sites promote a particular choice or opinion based on unsubstantiated or biased positions. A good piece of advice is to always look at anyone’s sources. Is the diet backed by sound science? Does the diet ask you to make extreme choices (extreme dietary changes typically don’t work for most of us)? What do they base their opinion or position on?  All of us should be asking these questions before making substantial dietary changes. And, as always, consult with the health and medical professionals in your life where appropriate.

Our trainers can help you with nutritional advice as part of the Personal Training process. As you set your winter fitness/wellness goals, whether they include goals to manage your body weight or are focused on the physical aspects such as strength, endurance and flexibility, talk to our Personal Trainers to help you set a realistic, achievable program.