Lose Weight, Gain Energy, and Prepare Your Body for Christmas and New Years!

So you just had amonster Thanksgiving.  You were already overweight, and you just added a few pounds.  With holiday treats surrounding you, more weight is almost a certainty by Christmas.  And don't even think about the impact New Year's will have on your body.

The calendar can make the calories pretty cruel this time of year.  The best way to fight back is to do a cleanse now.  Doing a cleanse now has three major benefits:

Cleanse Benefit #1: Lose Weight Now

Cleanse Benefit #2: Repair Your Body Before You Send it Through Holiday Season

Cleanse Benefit #3: Boost Your Immune System, Be More Energetic, and Change Your Cravings

Part of my job as a personal trainer is to lead my clients through the nutrition and supplemental steps to maximize their success.  I'm leading a few of my clients through a cleanse right now.  If I were training you (if you are serious about body change in '09, go to keepyourbetterhalf.com and read about what I do, then email me! I'd love to answer your questions and talk about how I may be able to help you change the direction of your health and your life!), this is what I'd have you do.

Personal Trainer Cleanse Tip #1: Get the Cleanse that Addresses Your Biggest Need

Some people may be experiencing significant digestive issues (daily upset stomach, bad bowel movements, or no bowel movements!).  If that is you, a colon cleanse or digestive tract cleanse may be right for you.  Getting rid of the excess in your system and cleaning it out will help to repair the entire system.  There are several great colon cleanses.  If you'd like help picking one, I'd be glad to help!

If you are super low on energy and constantly getting sick, going after impurities in the blood is your best bet.  There are many cleanses that touch up on everything, and these tend to help out the blood the most.  The Complete Body Cleanse at GNC is a good one for those of you with energy issues (or those of you who have been eating clean).

Some of you may have celebrated Halloween until Thanksgiving started, and now have an early jump on New Years.  If alcohol is your go-to beverage, a liver cleanse is probably overdue.  There are a few really good ones out there.  If you'd like help picking one out, send an email to adam@keepyourbetterhalf.com.  Whatever you do, pick a cleanse to fit your biggest need.

Personal Trainer Cleanse Tip #2: Drink Water Only

You cannot imagine the difference it would make if you did a cleanse and drank only water during that time.  No beer, no soda, no juice.  Just water.  Your body would feel so incredibly good!  Water is the ticket to a successful cleanse.  Be sure to buy filtered water, processed by reverse osmosis if possible (the label will tell you what type of processing was used).

Personal Trainer Cleanse Tip #3: Eat Clean

This is probably common sense (as is #2), but the benefits cannot be overstated.  If you took out processed foods, sugar, yeast, and dairy while you cleansed your body would feel ten years younger by the end of your cleanse.  Eating fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats from the deli, and maybe an occassional grain (like long grain or brown rice) will help keep unnecessary toxins from entering your body as you cleanse.

If you decide to do a cleanse now (and asked me for help... adam@keepyourbetterhalf.com), you will be amazed at how good you will feel at the end of your cleanse journey!  Do a cleanse now!  Prepare your body for the holiday treats and a tremendous '09.

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.keepyourbetterhalf.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, Sidney Australia) to work with you.

What Restaurants Hope You Don't Do Before Your Next Meal

I am working with a couple on my 30-Day Boot Camp program (view the program at www.keepyourbetterhalf.com), which means we kick their butt twice a day and carefully manage every morsel that goes into their body.  Last week my client couple wanted to go out on a date night.  With two youngs kids at home, a short time at the corner sit-down restaurant chain (Applebees, TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesdays, Houlihans, etc.) was the best that could be arranged for the night.

Before sending them off to the restaurant, we went online to check out the nutritional data from their menu...

Chicken Caesar Salad: 1020 calories, 98g fat, 786mg sodium

Lettuce Wraps: 586 calories, 71g carbs, 1865mg sodium

Prime 5 oz Sirloin Steak (with green beans and baked potato): 1054 calories,  53g fat, 93g carbs, 2516mg sodium

And so it went for everything on the menu.  Lots of calories, too much fat, terrible amounts of sodium.  If one person ordered an appetizer and entree or entree and dessert, it would be easy to clear 2000 calories...and all after 7pm.  Yikes!

Here are the weight loss reality checks that restaurants are hoping you don't make before dine with them.

Weight Loss Reality Check #1: Check the Nutritional Data for Your Intended Meal Beforehand

Don't be a casualty of the calorie.  Many restaurant foods will kill you in at least one category (calories, fat, carbs, sodium, cholesterol), if not more!  Go online and find the nutritional information for the restaurant's menu.  Deciding what to eat and how much of it is easy when you are looking at their awful nutritional data!

Weight Loss Reality Check #2: Budget Calorie Consumption by the Clock

In America, we tend to eat the most calories when our body is least equipped to handle them: dinner! Talk about a recipe for a weight gain!  If you want to give your body a fighting chance to handle your out-to-eat calories, be sure to eat lighter the later you eat.  If your out-to-eat meal is a 12pm lunch, you can go a little heavier than if your out-to-eat meal is an 8pm dinner.  In America, we would all be better off if we swapped lunch and dinner.  It is crucial to eat lighter at a restaurant, and very light if it's late.

Weight Loss Reality Check #3: Be Wary of Sodium the Day Before and Day After Eating Out

Most restaurants douse their foods in sodium.   They are shameless in their use of sodium.  With this in mind, prep your body the day before eating out by having a super low sodium day.  Also, give your body a light sodium day the day after eating out to allow it to recover!  In the US the RDA for sodium is 2400mg per day (which is a ton compared to the UK's 1600mg).  If you are interesting in keeping off of blood pressure medication, pay attention to sodium!

Wrapping It Up

Getting fit and losing weight are tough things to do on a restaurant diet, and almost impossible to do on an unorganized restaurant diet.  To increase your odds of fat loss and weight loss, check restaurant information online before you order, budget your caloric intake based on the clock, and go easy on the sodium before and after a restaurant visit.

Adam Erwin is a personal trainer (with a nutrition background) who travels the world working with people who want to experience fat loss and weight loss in record-time. He currently resides in Minneapolis, MN and loves to train with people whose health does not match their lifestyle. Adam works closely in the Eden Prairie, Wayzata, Excelsior, Minnetonka, and Edina communities.  Visit www.keepyourbetterhalf.com to learn more about his work.