PB2 - Product Recommendation

I will be suggesting and recommending health products for all to use.  I am in no way sponsored by any of these products (although, I’m completely open to the opportunity).  These recommendations are based on my personal experience with them.

My first recommendation comes for all you peanut butter lovers who have had to cut, or limit the consumption due to the high fat and high calorie content of it.  Fear not!  There is a solution, and it’s a tasty one!  The product is called PB2 and comes from a company called Bell Plantation.

The company has developed a process where they remove 85% of the fat and calories from peanuts, without using chemicals or preservatives in the process.  What the consumer is left with is a low fat, low calorie powdered peanut butter.  All you have to do is mix this powder with a little bit of water, or low fat milk (I prefer almond milk), and then you are left with a peanut butter consistency which is the same as regular peanut butter, but missing all the evil fatty goodness, yet loaded with taste!

PB2 can also be used in your baking.  I use it in energy bars, protein bars, muffins, protein pancakes, and mix it with fat-free applesauce to get the same consistency as regular peanut butter for my recipes.

And just in case you don’t believe me, please find the nutritional information listed below.  To get you even more excited, this product also comes in…CHOCOLATE!

Nutrition facts:

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PB2: Powdered Peanut Butter
Ingredients: Roasted peanuts, sugar and salt.
Serving size: 2 Tablespoons (12 grams)
Servings per container: 15
Amount per 2 Tablespoon serving (when mixed with water):
Calories: 45
Calories from fat: 13

Value and % Daily Value*

Total fat 1.5 g  3%
Saturated fat 0 g  0%
Trans fat < 0.01 g
Cholesterol < 0.01 mg  0%
Sodium 94 mg  4%
Total carbohydrate 5 g  2%
Dietary fiber 2 g  8%
Sugars 1 g
Protein 5 g
Vitamin A < 1%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium <1%
Iron 0%

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Traditional	PB2
2 Tbsp – 190 calories	2 Tbsp – 45 calories
Calories from fat - 130	Calories from fat – 13
Saturated fat – 3 grams	Saturated fat – 0 grams

To order, please visit www.bellplantation.com and while you’re there, check out their recipe section.

If you live in the Calgary area, this product is sold at The Funky Banana, located just inside Goodlife Fitness at Richmond Square across from the West Hills shopping centre.  Oh, and yes, I hooked them up with the product.

Have a fit week, and take care!

For personal training information, please email me at missfitdanyah@gmail.com

Danyah

Reality Check

Last week, I asked the question:  Why do some succeed at their New Year’s resolution of fitness, while others fail?  I asked, but I did not answer the question...until now.

This blog is going to be blunt.  I refuse to sugar-coat what I’m about to say, and some people may not like reading what is about to be put to paper, but it must be said.   This blog is dedicated to all the people out there, who have set a fitness goal for 2012.  This blog is going to help you determine whether you will succeed or fail.  It will either set you apart from the January gym bandwagon jumpers, or give you the first step to becoming a gym regular.

The deciding factor in fitness success, the one thing that separates the people who have changed their lives for the better, who continue to go to the gym year after year, month after month, grueling workout after grueling workout is… consistency, and the refusal to give up on their goal.

Working out is hard.  Pushing your body beyond what one’s used to, is hard.  Moving, if you haven’t moved in years, or ever, is hard.  Your fitness goal depends on a constant effort you must exert, day after day, for the rest of your life.  There is NO EASY WAY OUT. 

When people realize this, they either decide to put in the effort, or continue with their old routine.  And it appears continuing with their old routine is the more popular choice. This is where our society falters as a whole.  We have all become accustomed to having everything done for us.  If we need breakfast, we’d rather throw something in the microwave, or pick something up on our way to work.  We’re tired, and pressed for time, so rather than taking that time to plan and cook a healthy meal, it’s so much easier to have someone or some machine do it for us.  If we need food, or even money, we physically don’t have to get out of our cars anymore to go get it.  We can cruise through the ATM or fast food drive-through, and have it made and handed to us.  While at work, we sit at a desk, and have a machine calculate, evaluate, check, and verify for us.  We have documents delivered to our desks, or call over to the office next door, rather than walking over to talk to a co-worker face-to-face.  We look for the closest parking spot to the building entrance wherever we go.  If we’re exhausted at the end of a long day, guess what?  Food is waiting to be purchased, and brought home.  And when we get home?  We have a giant screen, and two dozen remotes to entertain us, while we sit in a sedentary state as the dishwasher cleans our utensils. 

This is the sad reality.  We would rather have things done for us, than take the time to take care of our health.  Having things made easy is much more valued than hard work.  I would just like to state, that I am not devaluing the efforts made by people in their current lines of employment.  I’m not saying people don’t work hard at their chosen career.  This is the way people have become accustomed to viewing the value of their health, and this is the scariest fact of all.  How can people NOT realize that without their health, they have nothing, and that eventually, all the bad habits will catch up with them in one way or another? That they have a CHOICE in determining their current and future well-being? 

The difference between the gym regulars, and the inactive, is that as gym regulars we have made the CHOICE to value our health, both now, and into the future.  We refuse to let illness, disease, disorders, and weakness consume our current and future state.  We have joined the battle in bettering our health for now, and for the future, not only for us, but for those that we love.  And yes, it is a battle; it is a struggle.  We all have jobs, we all have families, and we all have other commitments beyond fitness.  But we realize that none of those will continue to be possible, if we don’t take care of ourselves first.  We all have bumps in the road, we all have times of frustrations, of plateaus, of time constraints, of stress, but at the end of the day, we tell ourselves that we NEED to do this.  We WANT to do this.  It’s that relentless drive to be healthy, to be better, and to work through the difficult times that allows us to succeed. 

Sit down, and ask yourself:  How badly do I want this? Am I willing to never give up?  Am I willing to work through the bulls*&t, and tell it where to go?  Am I willing to do something hard in order to better myself?

If your answer to this is “yes,” then remember this feeling of determination.  Remember it when the times get tough, and you would rather go home and sit on the couch instead of going to the gym.  Let it drive you, and when you forget, come back to that one moment where you decided to make yourself a better person, and never forget.

Danyah

P.S.  If you need someone to never forget, GET A TRAINER.  We’ll keep you honest, and we’ll be that motivation when you feel you have none.  ;)

danyahwrestling@hotmail.com for more info. 

Set Yourself Up for Success with Fitness as your New Year's Resolution

As fitness professionals, we see it every January.  It’s the eager group of newbies in the gym, who have made fitness their New Year’s resolution.   What we also see, is a four-week crazy, overcrowded frenzy in the gym, and then the usual decline back to the regulars from last year.  Why is it that everyone starts off strong, and then vanishes?  Why is it that people start off with the best intentions, only to fall back to their regular, unhealthy routine?

If you have made fitness your resolution for 2012, I commend you.  You have taken the first step to giving yourself the best gift of all:  the gift of health, and living a healthier, longer, more rewarding life.  Here are some tips to help you stay on track, and make fitness a regular part of your life.

1.        If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  Make TIME for your workouts.  Plan them into your day, your week, your month, the same way you would plan your business meetings, dinner plans with friends, trips, shopping, etc.  Write it down, put your gym time into your phone’s agenda, day planner, or any method you use to hold yourself accountable, and don’t skip out on your workouts!

2.       Ease into a workout routine.  Jumping into a 5-day a week plan when you haven’t worked out in months/years is detrimental.  Start with 2-3 days a week, and gradually add time, and workout days.   This way, you have time to heal, you’re not too sore, and you come back for your next workout with adequate rest.

3.       Your first two to four weeks are crucial to your future success.  This is when you should take every advantage of the services your gym has to offer.  For example, at Goodlife Fitness, we offer free orientations for personal health profiles, circuit training, free weights, cardio equipment use, and group exercise classes.  Book yourself in!  Learn how to do things correctly, learn new things, and keep yourself accountable through pre-set appointments.

4.       Don’t change your diet right away.  Going from one extreme of eating junkfood on a daily basis, to eating super-clean does not work!  Every day, try adding something new and eliminating something bad, until you have found which nutritious, healthy foods work for you.  Remember, 80% of your success will come from what you put in your mouth every single day.  Clean eating is key!

5.       Write your goals down.  Keep a journal.  Writing goals down makes them more realistic, and attainable.  This way, you can also see what’s working for you and what isn’t.

6.       Surround yourself with positive people who support your goals.  Eliminate the negative.  If someone doesn’t support an improvement to your health, and quality of life, then they are definitely not looking out for your best interests.  A positive support system will push you to strive for your best in every respect.

7.       For the love of Pete, GET A TRAINER!  So many people think they can do it on their own.  There’s a reason us trainers went to University for four plus years, and took numerous supplementary courses.  Working out is a SCIENCE.  There is a method based on scientific research, physiological studies, and biomechanical analysis to what we do in order to get you to your goals.  Your body will adapt.  Our goal is to make sure we are constantly tricking your body, using a method called periodization.  If you have no clue what that is, then you definitely need a trainer.   We are most definitely worth the investment.  We also keep you SAFE, and teach you proper form.  Safety, technique, and periodization are all so incredibly important!

8.       Realize that this is YOUR HEALTH.  It frustrates me to no end when people tell me they don’t have time for the main thing that keeps them alive!   You don’t have time to NOT workout.  Look around you.  How many people are on medications for heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, anxiety, and more?  How many of those people do you think would be off those medications, and living happier and healthier if they took the minimal time to help themselves?  This is a reality check, people!  Think about it.

9.       There are no shortcuts.  The only way to get to your goal is to build lean muscle mass, burn fat, increase your stamina, and provide your body with the nutrition it needs to do all of the above.  This takes time!  You didn’t gain all that weight overnight, so you’re sure as hell not going to get it off overnight either!

10.   Women – STRENGTH TRAIN!  You will not turn into a mutant! Get over the myth! Increasing lean muscle is the key to losing weight!  Cardio will help, but on its own, it won’t do s*$t for you.  I have seen cardio queens in the gym daily for years, and guess what…they look the same, or they look “skinny fat.” 

Happy 2012, and may this year be your year of health and fitness.

To get in touch with me for training in Calgary, or want an online fitness plan, please email me at danyahwrestling@hotmail.com.  Make a commitment to yourself this year, for I will definitely commit to you!

Danyah Rivietz

Bkin, CSEP-CPT