Forks over knives

I just watched the documentary "Forks Over Knives". It is definitely worth checking out. Whether you agree with it or not the research is there to support Their claims.

Guacamole Recipe

Recipe of the Week:

Guacamole Recipe

½ small onion

2 tbs lime or lemon juice ( I squeeze the juice fresh)

Chop the onion and soak it in the lime or lemon juice while you are mixing the rest of the ingredients. This will weaken the flavor of the onion so it is not overpowering.

4 Avocados

Cilantro to taste ( I usually use half a cup)

1 Roma Tomato

Garlic again to taste (I use 2 cloves)

dash of salt

Nutritional Facts per serving, this makes about 4 servings:

Calories 353 kcal

Carbs 24 g

Fat 30 g

Protein 5 g

Sugar 4 g

Sodium 83 g unsalted, sodium content will very with amount of salt added.

This is a great recipe for guacamole. My friend Heather Wood has been kind enough to let me share it. I know that it might appear to be high in fat, but this is a healthy fat that your body needs. These are all natural ingredients and they are all healthy. It is great with chips, but if you want a healthier option try it with Wasa multi grain crispbreads. Enjoy!

Recipe of the week

Recipe of the week: Smoothie to jump start your day

• 1/2 banana (best if frozen)
• 1/2 cup blueberries or 3/4 cherries, 1 cup raspberries (All best if frozen). If fruit is not frozen add 1 cup of ice to the mix.
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
• 1 cup fresh kale
• ¼ cup almonds or 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 2 dates
• 2 tablespoons hemp protein
• 2 cups cold water

Blend all ingredients together on high for 2 minutes. If mixture is pasty, add a little water. The dates will make it brown in color and may make it less than desirable to look at. However, they will make it much sweeter and add great nutritional value. Using almond butter will make it less gritty than if you use whole almonds, but that's just a matter of preference Makes four cups--roughly two servings.

Nutritional Facts:

With Blueberries With Cherries With Raspberries

Total Calories = 578 Total Calories = 574 Total Calories = 543 g

Total Fat = 17 g Total Fat = 17 g Total Fat = 18 g

Cholesterol = 0 mg Cholesterol = 0 mg Cholesterol = 0

Sodium = 59 mg Sodium = 59 mg Sodium = 59 g

Total Carbs = 103 g Total Carbs = 95 g Total Carbs = 89 g

Fiber = 17.3g Fiber = 18 g Fiber = 16 g

Sugars = 64 g Sugars = 64 g Sugars = 43 g

Protein = 18 g Protein = 18 g Protein = 18 g

* All nutritional facts found on “MyFitnessPal” calorie counter app.

Feel free to play with the recipe and comment if you have any great revelations on how to make it better. Keeping in mind that nutritional value trumps taste, but not to the point of being unpalatable.

Starting with the right mind set

     When you are first starting a workout program, the tendency can be to go one of two directions. On one hand, many people tend to overestimate their current fitness ability; they end up pushing themselves to extremes and getting hurt. On the other hand, some people tend to undertrain and really never see a significant difference in themselves. So this begs the question, “What is enough and what is too much?”

    I think the answer is different for each individual. This may appear as though I am trying to dodge giving an answer, but what works for one person really may not work for another. It really depends on a person’s attitude and the ability to listen to his or her body. As individuals spend more time exercising, they should, in theory, be getting more in tune with what their bodies are telling them. This does not happen automatically, though. I see people daily in the gym who are making time in their schedules to be there and arespending money to be there, but mentally they are checked out from what is going on in their workouts. They are just going through the motions.  In order to be successful in the gym, one must be engaged in the task at hand. This requires paying attention to each set, each rep, each muscle that is being worked. When this kind of focus is present, injuries are much less likely and progress toward a fitness goal is more often the result. 

    So, in your next workout, I really encourage you to be fully engaged; don’t just go through the motions.  Make the most out of your time in the gym.  If you are the person who wants to push too much too fast, slow down and listen to what your muscles and joints are telling you and avoid the injury that will sideline your workout for the next couple of weeks.  If you are the person who never really sees the benefits from your workouts, step it up a little, but again listen to your body.  

Introduction

Hello, my name is Kelly Frantz. I am a full-time personal trainer in Louisville, Kentucky. I earned a B.S. from the University of Louisville in Health and Human Performance and received my personal training certification from the World Instructor’s Training Schools. I have worked as a personal trainer since 2005. It is my job and my passion. Since that time, I have had a lot of success helping my clients reach their fitness goals. This improvement in quality of life is the reason I train people; it gives me great satisfaction both professionally and personally.

I have also had clients that were not as successful in reaching their goals, and this is, as you might imagine, unacceptable to me. It leads me to the question, “How can I be more effective with my clients and help them to have greater success?” That is the reason for this blog. The conclusion that I have come to is that, at best, I only see my clients for a short amount of time each week. I want to have more interaction with my clients and anyone who is interested in health, fitness, and nutrition.

My goal with this blog is to assist people in reaching their fitness goals by sharing my philosophies on fitness and life, giving exercise tips, providing nutritional information and healthy recipes, and sharing ideas that may help make personal workouts more effective. I certainly don’t have all of the answers about fitness and health, but I do have a lot of experience in the area of weight loss and sports-related performance. When I am not training clients I can usually be found training myself or participating in one ofthe many sports that I enjoy. I’ve also learned a lot of things that do not work for weight loss and performance, and I hope my insights can help you in your quest for health and fitness. If you have an interest in these topics and would like to join me in this journey, I look forward to getting to know you.

Sincerely,

Kelly Frantz