Jes Reynolds…Your Fitness Coach

Eating balanced meals is an important part of reaching your fat loss goals. The right combination of lean protein and complex carbohydrates eaten regularly during the day (every 4 hours) will result in sustained energy levels throughout the day and an improved metabolic rate.

In addition to eating the right combination of foods, you should also do your best to eat them in the appropriate portion sizes. A portion is the size of a deck of playing cards, the size of your closed fist or the palm of your hand for all solid foods and one cup for all liquids. The previous is a general guideline you can use to get started with, please note that portion sizes will vary up or down depending on age, gender, body weight, and personal goals (to lose or gain weight).

Use the chart below as a guideline for creating balanced & healthy meals.

This ones for you Stacia!…Ps This will probably be my only post this summer, and I didn’t even write it!  Enjoy!

Salad 101

Living a healthy lifestyle requires many daily choices, particularly when it comes to meals. Whether eating out or cooking at home, salads seem like the logical “healthy” choice. After all, salads are chock-full of leafy greens, colorful vegetables, and lean proteins, right? How can you go wrong? The answer is that it’s pretty easy to go wrong…and in my estimation, more people go wrong with a salad than right, simply by drowning all those healthy vegetables in tablespoons of unhealthy salad dressing. Much of the benefit to be had from your “healthy choice” is cancelled out by all of the sugar, salt, preservatives, hydrogenated oils, trans-fats, and artificial coloring (just to name a few) consistent with bottled dressing.

By simply keeping a few staples on hand in your kitchen, you can have a delicious salad dressing ready to go in just minutes. By controlling what you put into your dressing and how much of it, you are also controlling what goes into your body. Not only is it a healthy alternative to store-bought dressing, but it is far more economical as well. I am going to share a few of my favorite dressings and accompaniments. Some of them are recipes from my family and friends, others are recipes I came across online or at restaurants…but I can assure you, they’re all delicious and healthy for you!

Balsamic Vinaigrette:

Version 1:
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
3 TBL shallots (thinly sliced)
1 TBL honey
1/3 cup EVOO
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To Prepare: Mix together

Version 2:
3 TBL balsamic vinegar
1 TBL red wine vinegar
1 TBL minced red onion
2 TBL EVOO
½ tsp Dijon mustard
¼ cup honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

To prepare: Mix together

Poppy Seed Dressing:
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup EVOO
¼ tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chives
2 TBL sesame seed
1 TBL poppy seed
¼ tsp paprika

To Prepare: Mix together and if time allows, let sit overnight

(I recommend using spinach in this salad, mixing with strawberries, blueberries, green onions, and slivered almonds. Yum.)

Red Wine Vinaigrette:
½ cup of red wine vinegar
½ cup canola oil
4 garlic cloves, sliced in half

To Prepare: Mix together…and MUST sit overnight

(I suggest a simple salad of romaine or spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, and freshly Parmesan reggiano cheese)

Italian Vinaigrette:
¾ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 TBL water
1 tsp fresh minced garlic
2 tsp sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

To Prepare: Mix together and if time allows, let sit overnight
As everyone’s garden begins to bloom this summer, it’s the perfect time to start playing around with your own version the perfect salad. I hope you all find the time to try a few of these recipes, and to really reap the benefits of the choices that you are making towards your personal fitness goals.

It’s hard to describe exactly how thrilling it is to have the words “Perfect Client” associated with your name on Jes’ blog. Of course, it’s probably only for as long as it takes her to get back from vacation. Oh well, into each life a little rain must fall.

But on to the real topic of this post: my nutrition, which in the past has been far from perfect but has now attained a pretty reasonable level. Here’s my story in a nutshell:

• Eleven years ago, I thought an improved diet meant getting a frosty with my Wendy’s triple cheese burger and biggie fries instead of a coke product. After all, a frosty had dairy, which had to be better for you than the pure chemicals found in coke products.
• Then I had to have emergency surgery for an infected gall bladder and literally took years getting through all the consequences.
• During that time, I started working out intensively with an aim to lose some of my 220 lbs. I made some progress.
• Feeling stalled in weight loss, I turned to the Atkins diet. It worked. Jes tends to eschew Atkins, but if you think Wendy’s frosty drinks are a step toward better nutrition, you have to count Atkins as a much better step in the right direction.
• Atkins worked. I lost a lot of weight and did well for two years.
• Eventually, I found myself at then Gold’s Gym, now Arbor Fit, training with Jes. When I announced my decision to get back on the Atkins’ bandwagon after having been off for a while, well you can imagine the reaction. She actually told me I would not be allowed to train with her. While I thought that was over blown, she seemed so ernest that I decided to pay her some mind.
• And, I’m glad I did! Jes turned me on to On Target Living, founded by her mentor, Chris Johnson. That was a revelation. I enjoined Chris in an extended email exchange the end result of which was him sending me the book he advertises on his site … for free! He probably just wanted to stop the constant email stream (I get a lot of things that way).
• The book is great, and I still use it. I actually eat vegetables and salads now and no longer view Wendy’s frosty drinks as a nutritional step forward.
• Recently Jes turned me on to Lance Armstrong’s Live Strong site, a great place to track nutrition. The nice thing about this site is that, instead of tedious food logs, you just start to type what you ate, and you usually find a good match, with seemingly accurate macronutrient information. Easy, which is critical.

My current approach is to follow on-target principles with Lance Armstrong tracking. It seems to be working. I’m maintaining a good weight.

In the last three years, Jes has been a great resource in all of this, offering all sorts of good ideas, so much so that I finally convinced my wife to take the plunge with her. I’m extremely satisfied. Yes, as you might guess, we butt heads, but Jes’ analyses and knowledge are spot on. She’s the best trainer I’ve known.