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***TESTIMONIALS***
“When I first started out, I was at my highest body weight ever and afraid that I couldn’t get back into shape because of some health concerns. Ellen is a gifted trainer and counselor who believes in me, teaches me what I’m capable of, is really encouraging, and helps me stay on target. Now I’m stronger than I’ve ever been! I reached my goal weight and look forward to maintaining a dynamic exercise routine and healthy eating habits. She’s helped me revamp my lifestyle and reshape my body- I’m so grateful!” R. A.
“I came to Ellen to kick-start my metabolism even though I was a member of a small gym. She changed my attitude towards exercise by introducing invigorating training sessions that made me feel good both mentally and physically. Don’t settle; be challenged. Ellen has made me aware we can do more.” Sandy M.
“Thanks for pushing me. You really are excellent at what you do!”
S.R.
“I started training with Ellen over a year ago twice a week, at that time I had not trained for almost three years and had lost interest.
When I met Ellen I decided to start again, and although working out was never my favorite past time, I love working with Ellen. Every session is different and I have seen results which make me feel really good about myself. Her dedication and patience with her clients is very sincere and she is a great motivator.”
Shelly Winokur
“You have been a great help in getting me to become more active!” S.M.
“I sought out a trainer because I have two small children and exercising had fallen to the bottom of my priority list. Having a weekly appointment with Ellen forced me to find time for myself in my schedule. Having her come to my home means that I don’t need to get a babysitter so I can go to a gym. Even when I go to the studio, I know I can bring my children with me if I need to. I know that keeping myself healthy and being a good example for my children is one of the best things I can do for them. When my two year old wants to do the exercises and stretches beside me during our sessions I know that we are on the right track!”
Joanne F
“I called Ellen after hitting menopause and losing my motivation to work out. At least twice a week I know Ellen is going to knock on my door and I am going to start my day with a healthy work out. I feel so much better now. Thank you Ellen for your dedication.” G.R.
Why work with a personal trainer?
Not because it’s trendy or because you think you need to do it for someone else. But because you are motivated to change your life. You have a fitness goal in mind and you’re ready to attain it—you’re just not sure how.
If your goal is to feel stronger, look better, lose fat, gain energy or eat right, a personal trainer may be the answer.
I can help you understand exactly what you need to do to lose weight in a healthy manner, without fad diets or potentially dangerous supplements. Maybe you have a different goal in mind other than weight loss like strengthening bones, toning muscles, increasing flexibility or heart disease prevention. We can work together to accomplish these goals as well.
All programs are personalized for you but balanced to combine strength, flexibility and endurance activities.
Along with the variety and challenge of their customized exercise program, many of my clients say just having to be accountable to someone else who is their partner in this effort helps keep them motivated!
The benefits of exercise last a lifetime.
Whether you’re 22 or 92, you’re never too old to enjoy all the benefits exercise offers. Perhaps there are reasons you have stayed away from the gym, i.e., it may seem intimidating or you’re not sure how to use the equipment. Working with your own personal trainer can put an end to this anxiety, allowing you to stay focused and reach your goals sooner.
Secrets of the Biggest Loser
The big scale isn’t real, the contestants weigh-in behind the scenes before the show, it’s just a prop. The situation isn’t real, no jobs, no commitments, no racing to dance class or baseball throughout the week. And the weight loss, although real, comes from unrealistically long periods of exercise and probably a fair amount of dehydration. Other than an entertaining and albeit inspirational hour, what is the best take away from the Biggest Loser for the average person?
Sure the contestants on NBC’s the Biggest Loser have doctor’s, nutritionists and trainers with them on their journey to lose 100lbs – 112 to be exact for this season’s winner – but how did they get on the show in the first place and make it through the daily professional athlete-type training regimen? It comes down to one word, motivation. It has been reported that the number one thing they are looking for in contestants is people who really want it. At least 100,000 people tried out to be a contestant and without a doubt, the most motivated are going to make the best TV. You can’t air a TV show for its entire run if after a week or two ½ of the contestants just stop trying to create that often elusive caloric deficit we all need to lose weight. Even with the support team, the kitchen at the biggest loser campus is stocked and contestants have to prepare their own meals.
So back to reality, how does the average person lose 5, 10, 25 or even 100 pounds? The same way the contestants do it, with motivation, and ideally over the course of many months or even years rather than over a 4 or 5 month unrealistically intense period of time. Does a 4+ hour day spent with a trainer and cameras rolling in the kitchen, not to mention a $250,000 prize help? Of course, but let’s not minimize the accomplishment of these contestants – at the end of the day each individual is responsible for what they have accomplished.
Motivation is the only thing required to reach out to a doctor, nutritionist or trainer. Motivation is what gets you moving more and eating less. Motivation when you are morbidly obese, as all of these contestants surely are, can come from concern about a shortening life span, but really do you want to wait for that to happen?
So the big take away from the biggest loser is to find what motivates you, and it doesn’t have to be anything grandiose. Maybe you want to enjoy shopping for clothes again, have less anxiety going into swim suit season or want to set a good example for your children about leading an active lifestyle. Find what it is for you and run with it! Nothing is more motivating than people stopping you and telling you how great you look, translation, “You lost weight, I am so jealous.” But that comes with a lot of hard work behind the scenes first.
Its not glamorous, it is hard work but most of it is in your head. Getting motivated, staying focused and getting out and moving, often. What is motivating about the Biggest Loser, for the person without the months of isolation on campus, is these people prove that weight loss is possible, even when you have a hundred or more pounds to lose. If you think you can’t lose that 5, 10, 25 or even 100 pounds then you won’t. If you get motivated and start to make changes now, think about where you could be in 6 months or 1 year. Exercise when you’re not in the mood; ask yourself if you’re hungry before eating anything, make your own healthy fresh meals and stop eating out four or more times a week!
Seek out the professional advice available and affordable for you. Get a pair of good sneakers. Look at your schedule and schedule in exercise each week, start with a day or two of brisk walking if you are inactive now and build to three to four days. You can keep telling yourself that you can’t lose weight, you don’t have time, you don’t have the money or you can use whatever is available to you including knowledgeable friends, books or the Internet, to become informed about where to start and just start. Today!
Maximizing Fat Loss
As a personal trainer, something I hear often when I start to work with a new client is, “I eat right and exercise but I am still not losing weight.” Many people sincerely think they are doing everything right when in fact they are not doing exactly what needs to be done to maximize fat loss. After all, weight loss should be about losing only fat, not losing water weight and lean tissue. So before you set out on a weight loss plan be aware that the goal is to lose body fat. Step 1 is to understand metabolism. Metabolic rate refers to your body’s energy expenditure or amount of calories you burn. As you age your metabolism slows, effectively replacing muscle weight with fat weight. You eat the same way for years and then suddenly you have gained 10 to 15 pounds. Thank your metabolism and inactivity. If you have not been active or exercise sporadically, you have lost muscle (a calorie burner) which in turn results in gained fat. For example – suppose you burn 100 fewer calories a day due to a slowing metabolism as you age. That is 700 extra calories each week that you don’t need. Eating as you always have with this slowed metabolism adds 1 pound of fat to your body in 5 weeks. That’s 10 pounds a year!
On to the second step, understanding how many calories you need to maintain your current weight and how many you need to lose weight. There are many places to go to for this information, here’s one: mayoclinic.com has a great calorie calculator. It’s no surprise that one of the things you will need to do is input your age – remember your calorie requirements will decline with age. Don’t go searching for calorie counters yet, there is one more step to go.
Step 3 to maximizing fat loss is consistent and intense exercise. Just as people underestimate the calories they eat in a day, they tend to overestimate the frequency and intensity of their exercise. Don’t fool yourself by measuring intensity by sweat or thinking back over the week and trying to remember, “Was that 2 days or 4 days this week I exercised.” Sweat during exercise varies based on age, gender, environment and fitness level, not calories burned. Short of buying a heart rate monitor, the most practical way to measure intensity of exercise is using intuitive measures. Your heart rate and breathing should be elevated. You should be able to talk but not carry on a full conversation. That walk with a friend around the block catching up a week’s worth of news or that magazine you read during 30 minutes you spend on the treadmill is not helping you maximize your burn fat. You have to feel that you are challenging yourself. Start with walking and use intervals of a steady pace for long periods of time to burn fat mixed with intervals where you go harder and push yourself to use more calories. Stored carbohydrates and stored fat are burned the moment you start to exercise with the percentage of fat burned increasing with the duration of exercise. Maximizing fat loss during exercise means exercising most days of the week, consistently each week. Exercise with bursts of intensity, for as long as you can with a minimum of 30 minutes to 60 minutes, in addition to a warm up and cool down of 7 to 10 minutes. Strength training on two non-consecutive days during the week will build that calorie burning muscle, offsetting the aging effects of a slowing metabolism and help shape that new leaner body.
With the understanding that eating the same calories as you age with an inactive lifestyle, and a slower metabolism adds to weight gain you need to find out what your calorie needs are now. Get those calorie needs and subtract 500 calories for a goal of one pound a week of weight loss. To make sure that weight loss is actually fat loss get moving. Start walking at a good pace with intervals of pushing harder, for as long as you can, most days to maximize fat loss. Add 2 days of strength training with dumbbells or resistance bands to shape your new low fat body. Keep a notepad with your daily calories and exercise information to keep yourself honest and then get some sleep.
Step 4, get a lot of sleep. Studies have found that sleep deprivation increases levels of a hunger hormone (ghrelin) and decreases levels of a hormone that makes you feel full (leptin). The effects may lead to overeating and weight gain. With less sleep the hormone for hunger rises in your blood.
Maybe a link to weight gain: Sixty-five percent of Americans are overweight or obese while an estimated 63% of American adults do not get the recommended eight hours of sleep a night.
So, TIVO your favorite shows past 10pm, tire yourself out during the day with long, intense exercise, have an eating cut off time each night and get some sleep to maximize your fat loss!
The Best Tool for Weight Loss Costs Under a Dollar
Its not a dumbbell or a stability ball or a resistance cord, those are great fitness tools and can help build calorie burning muscle, but they cost more than a dollar and they are not as valuable alone as another tool. The best tool for weight loss is actually a memo pad which you can pick up for a dollar or less.
As reported on WebMD, a new study published in the August 2008 edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine shows keeping a food diary may be the key to losing extra weight. For six months, the 1,685 participants in the study kept food diaries and were encouraged to eat a healthy diet and be physically active. After six months, participants had shed almost 13 pounds, on average. The most powerful predictor of their weight loss was how many days per week they kept their food diary. Those who kept food records six days a week—writing down everything they ate and drank on those days—lost about twice as much weight as those who kept food records one day a week or less.
When your goal is weight loss it helps to be accountable to someone or something. If you write down everything you eat and drink each day, with calories for each item and total calories, two things happen. One, you are accountable to that notebook and subsequently to yourself. Two, when you write in it each day, with the calories, and stay active (walk briskly three to five times a week) you will see the number on the scale decline. Don’t skip any item, don’t lose a whole day, and don’t make it a burden, just write everything down daily. It works!
So in addition to the memo pad what else do you need? You need to know how many calories you should be consuming each day. Go to http://www.cookingnook.com/calorie-calculator.html and enter a few cells of information to find out. You also need to know how many calories are in the foods you eat. For this start with labels and pay close attention to the serving sizes. For foods without labels go to calorieking.com to find out the calories in almost anything you eat (hint: foods that are not packaged are generally healthier so try to eat fewer things with labels and those with fewer ingredients). There are also books you can pick up which have serving sizes and calories if you want to invest a few more dollars in yourself.
So you have your memo pad which you picked up for less than a dollar, you found out how many calories you should consume each day and you know where to find the calories in the foods you eat. What else? There is something else which you need that costs nothing but may be the hardest thing to come by, consistency! You need to write everything down, each day, with calories and total calories. We tend to eat the same things over and over so after a couple of weeks of tracking down items and calories this task will become very easy, that is, if you really want to reach your goal.
What do people do most often who don’t lose the weight they want to lose? They stop. They stop being active. They stop watching what they are eating. They stop eating treats in moderation. If someone told you that just by writing down what you eat each day, everyday, you could greatly improve your chances of success why not go pick up a memo pad, it costs less than a dollar!
Find out what all the “om” is about
Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years and has numerous benefits for people of all ages and fitness levels. What I like about yoga is that it is not intimidating or competitive and is practiced in a calm, relaxed environment so it is a great entry point to exercise. And you may be aware that it has benefits for a variety of chronic ailments ranging from stress to arthritis.
What you may not know is one of the most studied areas of the health benefits of yoga is its effect on heart disease. Practicing yoga has been proven to lower blood pressure and slow the heart rate. A slower heart rate can benefit people with hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. And yoga has demonstrated an effect on reducing cholesterol and triglyceride (the chemical form in which most fat exists in the body) levels as well as boosting immune system function.
The practice of yoga combines deep breathing techniques with poses which safely stretch muscles allowing development at your own pace. This flexibility improvement can occur at any age and fitness level with noticeable improvements occurring after only a few months of practice.
In addition to improving flexibility, yoga is also a form of strength training with specific poses focusing on development of upper and lower body strength and almost every pose develops core strength. Many of us find ourselves slouching when standing or sitting and with more developed core strength and improved flexibility and balance comes better posture.
So yoga provides numerous health benefits, improves flexibility, balance, strength and posture but one of the best things about yoga is it is fulfilling and relaxing.
Try this: Sit down on the floor, bend your knees and put you’re heals together. Sit up tall but keep your shoulders relaxed. With your hands palms up, gently placed on your knees, take a deep breath in let the abdomen rise to its limit and at exhalation let it fall completely. Keep the chest still during this entire process – only move the abdomen. This is a mini-lesson on abdominal breathing which is one element of yoga breathing.
So yoga is for you if you are young or more mature. It’s for you if you want to gain health benefits like improved heart function. It’s for you if you want to improve flexibility and balance. It’s for you if you want to improve upper, lower and core body strength and posture. It’s for you if you want to begin an exercise program that is not competitive or intimidating or expand your current exercise program. And it is for everyone who wants to gain all of these benefits while reducing stress and gaining stamina.
With a single class you will be able to see how practicing yoga will achieve all of these things. You may even find out another thing you have been longing to know, what exactly is downward dog?
Are you living like a Sumo Wrestler?
The sport of Sumo Wrestling has a lot more history and depth to it than just living large, but being large is obviously a big part of the sport. How do the wrestlers get large and stay large? Have you developed a lot of the same habits without really realizing it?
1) Skip BreakfastHow many times have you heard that you have to eat breakfast to lose weight and it seems so counterintuitive you ignore the advice? Well, sumo wrestlers skip breakfast to keep their metabolic rates, or the rate the body burns calories, slow. The process of digestion, absorption and metabolism of food increases your energy expenditure.
Take away: Eating breakfast within a ½ hour of waking is a great way to start to burn calories.
2) Exercise on an empty stomach
When trying to lose or maintain your weight you have to watch your calories but you don’t want to starve yourself. If your body has no food your metabolic rates lows down even lower to conserve fuel.
Take away: Eating something before exercise like an apple or a yogurt not only provides fuel for the exercise session, it raises the rate you burn calories.
3) Rest for hours after eating
Sumo wrestlers take a long nap after eating lunch so instead of burning off calories through activity they sleep and gain weight. You may not have the luxury of sleeping for 3 to 4 hours mid-day like the Sumo wrestlers but you may sit at a computer for that length of time or sit in the car to dance or soccer and then sit at the activity and then get back in the car and sit some more.
Take away: Move more. If you are working, take a walk for 20 to 30 minutes after lunch. That may keep your lunches lighter and will keep your metabolic rate higher. If you need to sit at your desk or the temperature keeps you in, at least get up and walk around the office a little bit every hour or so. If you are shuffling your kids to and from activities take some time before or in between to walk for 20 minutes or so, you have to make your activity level a priority too.
4. Eat a large meal late in the day
Unlike the need to eat breakfast, people seem to really think that a late meal is going to ruin their weight loss goal. That’s true to some extent, but if you only worry about the 500 night calories and forget about the 2000 you had during the day you’re missing the point. Having said that, Sumo Wrestlers eat a large meal later in the evening and go to bed with full stomachs leading to storing some of the excess food in cells as fat instead of in the muscles and organs as nutrients.
Take away: Eat your larger meal earlier in the day and spend the day burning that off. A light meal of a small serving of fish, chicken or tofu with vegetables or a salad is great in the evening.
5. Always eat with others
A Sumo Wrestler’s way of life is similar to life in a commune. Sumo wrestlers eat with others in a social atmosphere. According to research, a meal eaten with others can be at least 44 percent larger and with 30 percent more calories and fat. Sound like your last night out?
Take away: Eat out less! When eating with others (including your family) avoid peer pressure to eat more or eat items that you are trying to limit.
You have to have a plan and be in control of what you are doing and what you are eating in order to lose and maintain weight. It doesn’t have to be a burden, but you have to understand what the right habits are and do these things consistently to be effective.
Not sure what to do? Seek out weight loss counseling so you don’t spin your wheels doing the wrong things.