Lynbrook | New Hyde Park | NY

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3 Tips for Keeping Your Nutrition on Track

While making resolutions can be super easy, it’s keeping them that can get a little bit tricky. Resolving to lose weight is #1 on many people’s list of goals this year; however, by February it can be challenging to keep up with those resolutions if you’re not giving yourself that same initial push. Maybe your exercise routine is still working strong, but nutritional changes have fallen off the wagon again. Here are a few ideas to keep your nutritional habits heading in a positive direction!

1. Education
Googling the newest diet plans may not spark the motivation you are looking for. Do a little research about healthy eating and compare that with your current nutrition. Ideally you want to be making healthy lifestyle changes and it’s important that they are realistic. Here are some questions you may want to start with: What are sources of lean protein? How can I get protein without eating meat? What is a complex carbohydrate v. a simple carbohydrate? How many grams of sugar should I have in a day?

2. Journal Writing

Journaling both your exercise and nutrition is an important part of holding yourself accountable. Writing throughout the day will help you stay on track rather than trying to jot everything from three days ago down in a notebook. If you write as you go along, you may find inspiration from your healthy breakfast to keep that trend going. Knowing that you have to record what you ate may make you think twice about your dessert choices. This method has proven to be successful when trying to lose weight- that’s why the members of our Weight Loss Program keep journals!

3. Check-In With Your Goals

Setting long-term goals is very important, but be sure to have smaller markers along the way. This way you can reassess your progress throughout your journey if needed. Make sure you utilize your nutrition journal and time with your Exercise Physiologist. Write down any questions you have because they are your #1 resource! Talk with friends or family who have set similar resolutions for themselves and help each other our- you’re all in this together. Not only will you hold yourself accountable, but you can help each other along the way!

 

By Louise Mills-Strasser

Recipe of the Week: Slow Cooker Peasant Stew

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Serves: 6

Ingredients:

  • 6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1.5 lbs
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 (10 oz) cans Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles, undrained
  • 1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 (16 oz) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
  • ? cup fresh cilantro

Directions:

  1. Rub the chicken thighs with cumin, sprinkle with salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium high heat. Add the chicken thighs and cook about 5 minutes or until browned on all sides.
  2. Pour undrained cans of tomatoes into slow cooker. Stir in onion. Place browned chicken on top and cook on Low for 3 to 4 hours. Add in the beans and cook for an additional hour.
  3. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!

 

Original recipe can be found here!

Recipe of the Week: Three Bean Barley Soup

Prep Time: 30 m
Cook Time: 2 h 15 m

Ingredients:

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 large stalk celery, diced
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 9 cups water
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • ½ cup pearl barley
  • ? cup dried black beans
  • ? cup dried great northern beans
  • ? cup dried kidney beans
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano

Directions:

  1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery and carrot and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add water, broth, barley, black beans, great northern beans, kidney beans, chili powder, cumin and oregano. Bring to a lively simmer over high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, 1¾ to 2½ hours (adding more water, ½ cup at a time, if necessary or desired).
  1. Slow-Cooker Variation: Use 2 cups water (instead of 9 cups) and combine all ingredients in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook until the beans are tender, about 4 hours on High or 7 to 8 hours on Low.

 

Original recipe can be found here!

 

Recipe of the Week: Zucchini Frittata

Makes: 2 servings
Prep: 35 mins
Start to Finish: 35 mins

Ingredients

  • 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 cup diced zucchini, (1 small)
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup grape tomatoes, or cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/4 cup slivered fresh mint
  • 1/4 cup slivered fresh basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
  • Freshly ground pepper, to taste
  • 5 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese, (2 ounces

Directions

  1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and onion; cook, stirring often, for 1 minute. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low; cook, stirring occasionally, until the zucchini is tender, but not mushy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, mint, basil, 1/8 teaspoon salt and a grinding of pepper; increase heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, until the moisture has evaporated, 30 to 60 seconds.
  2. Whisk eggs, the remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt and a grinding of pepper in a large bowl until blended. Add the zucchini mixture and cheese; stir to combine.
  3. Preheat the broiler.
  4. Wipe out the pan and brush it with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil; place over medium-low heat. Add the frittata mixture and cook, without stirring, until the bottom is light golden, 2 to 4 minutes. As it cooks, lift the edges and tilt the pan so uncooked egg will flow to the edges.
  5. Place the pan under the broiler and broil until the frittata is set and the top is golden, 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Loosen the edges and slide onto a plate. Cut into wedges and serve.

Nutrition Information

Per Serving: 376 calories, 28g fat, 10g carbohydrates,  21g protein

 

Original recipe can be found here!

Simple Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Cardio Session

“Cardio” is a great way to burn calories and keep your heart healthy. It could be as simple as walking on the treadmill for 30-60 minutes. However, if you’re just going through the motions, you could be wasting your time. Here are some tips to make sure you are getting the most out of your cardio exercise!

Yes, it is true that the longer you stay on cardio machine, the more calories you may burn. However, you can burn more calories in a shorter period of time by simply increasing your intensity. Whether it be increasing the resistance on a stationary bike/elliptical, or increasing the speed or incline on a treadmill.

The “fat burn zone” of cardio is said to be at about 60-65% of one’s estimated max heart rate. At this intensity, 40% of your calories burned will be from fat. This is a fairly low level of intensity and would have to be maintained to for a much longer period of time in order to have a substantial benefit. When you increase your intensity to 75-85% of max heart rate, only 25-30% of your calories burned will be from fat. However, because more work is being done you will burn more total calories and consequently more calories from fat.

Along with changing the intensity, try changing the type of cardio you do once in a while. The human body is great at adapting, and once it is acclimated the same form of cardio may not exhibit the same training effect. If you usually walk on the treadmill, try the bike, elliptical, arc-trainer, stair stepper, rowing, swimming… Try them all!

Finally, it is very important that you eat! Starving yourself before can deprive you of the energy needed to complete a cardio session and starving yourself after will hinder your ability to recover from your workout. In the long run, “starvation” will negatively affect your exercise goals by decreasing muscle and retaining fat.

On other hand, you must make sure you do not eat too much! Just because the elliptical says you burned 400 calories doesn’t mean you’ve earned yourself a 400 calorie meal. Firstly, the machines can only estimate calories so that number may not be 100% accurate. Secondly, weight loss comes down to energy in vs. energy out. So in order to lose weight, you must eat less calories than you’ve burned.

 

By Dave McCalla

3 Weightlifting Myths: Busted!

Are you getting started on building your new body for the New Year, but hesitant to add in a proper strength training routine? Here are three strength training myths that may ease your mind about picking up some “heavy” weights this winter:

  • Lifting heavy weights will make me bulky: Wrong! Lifting heavy weight won’t make you bulky, eating a lot of calories will though. Heavy is a relative term and depends on the individual; a proper strength training routine will help you develop lean muscle and burn more calories while doing nothing. That’s right, nothing… the more lean muscle you have on your body the higher your metabolism will be. The only way to do this is to lift those weights you may have thought were too much for you.
  • “I don’t want to get too big- just tone”: This is one of the most common things said when referring to strength training or weight lifting. “Tone” is a misused term and when talking about your muscles they can only do one of two things; get bigger or get smaller. When you are “toned” it just means that your muscle is more visible but other than that it is impossible to sculpt yourself any other way. So in actuality, your muscles got bigger and you appear more “toned” because they are more visible.
  • “Low weight, High reps!”: A commonly misused phrase, this gives people a misconception of what they need to be doing and may not be appropriate for everyone. Often this will lead to a very light weight being used in hopes that you can do 30 of them and it will be sufficient. For example, when doing a set of 15 repetitions, you want to choose a weight that is challenging from the start and is quite hard towards rep number 14 & 15. If you can easily get to 15 reps with your weight it may be too light- the last four to five reps should be challenging, yet do-able!

 

By Tyler Palmquist

The Right Mindset for the Holidays

The holidays are quickly approaching and we are thinking about all the delicious food that comes with the holidays. It’s important to set your brain up for success, too! It’s time to establish a game plan for keeping your mind and body healthy is during this time of year.

The clients who are the most successful with staying healthy are the ones that plan in advance. Getting your mind to learn how to think healthy is the first step to getting your whole body to be healthy. Break it down into three steps to establish healthy ways of thinking:

  • Anticipate the day or event where you are going to enjoy eating with the family. Keep up with your workout routine before and continue your healthy eating habits. One day of indulging should not ruin all you have accomplished. If you know a big meal is coming, don’t react to a bad meal and then try to workout because you feel guilty about it. You should be able to enjoy the holidays and stay focused on your goals.
  • Plan what you are going to eat for the week in advance. Put your food in containers for the next few days at a time. This is important because it makes it easier to eat healthy and use portion control. If you take two days of your week for an hour each day to prepare your food, the rest of the week is easy. Hold yourself accountable for your actions- you are the only one that can control what you eat. Do your best to maintain a positive and healthy mindset!
  • Enjoy the holidays with your loved ones! The happier you are, the more you will want to take care of yourself. If you do the first two steps, this last step is easy! Don’t feel guilty about enjoying a cookie or two, but don’t eat the whole tray. Savor the foods you enjoy and eat them slowly. Appreciate the time you get to spend with your loved ones. You know how hard you worked up until this point and you deserve to enjoy the holidays!

A healthy mind set is just thinking about you and your health before you think about quick and easy. The saying goes “nothing worth having comes easy;” with hard work and consistency, you will truly appreciate the goals you achieve vs. having something handed to you.

The holidays are not a hard time to stay healthy if you truly want to be. Hold yourself accountable and be positive about your ability to control what you eat and do. If you exercise through the holidays you will feel so good about yourself and your New Years will be better then ever.

 

-Corynne Pereira, MS, CSCS

 

Peak Performance is Better than the Average Commercial Gym

We talk about Peak Performance Fitness being different from your normal health club or gym. But what really makes it better? Check out our list of what makes Peak unique!

turf cardio

  1. Guided and Personalized Workouts.  Unlike commercial gyms, the exercise physiologists at Peak Performance create exercise prescriptions for you, based off of your fitness goals as well as any orthopedic and medical conditions. These exercise programs are updated regularly to progress the individual along their fitness journey.
  2. Safety First. While you are working out there are always fitness professionals watching to make sure you are doing exercises correctly. Also if you have any questions at all, exercise physiologists are always available to help.
  3. Never Wait. There is never a wait to use machines Peak Performance, we always have cardio and strength machines available at any time of the day!
  4. Specialized Equipment. Most commercial gyms do not have a turf, sleds, an Olympic weight lifting station, TRX or specialized physical therapy equipment. At Peak Performance we go out of our way to make sure all individuals have the right equipment whether you are an athlete or physical therapy patient trying to start up an exercise program again.
  5. Comfortable Setting. The setting at Peak Performance has a family-like atmosphere. Everyone is always friendly, cheering you on and looking out for each other. There is also no pressure if you are a novice to exercise and there are no grunting “meatheads” to scare you away.
  6. Specialized Programs. Here at Peak we have many specialty programs such as sports specific training for individuals and teams. We also have different weight loss programs to help you achieve you ultimate fitness goals!