Introduction: This page is for all our new and current clients to learn and assess their current fitness level. To start with, take the test and assessments provided. Then print or write down the results either on your own paper or the one that was provided to you by your trainer. After completion of the assessments, please review the health and lifestyle information provided and make any notes about questions or concerns that you may have and bring them with you to your next training session.

When you are finished with a piece of equipment

Dietary Guidelines

• Eat small meals every 2.5 to 4 hours or eat 3 meals and 2 or 3 snacks distributed throughout the day (Rationale)
  • See Exchange Lists for food groups
    • Eat 3 food groups every meal
    • Eat 2 food groups every snack
  • Plan meals around moderate or intense exercise
    • Plan snack or meal 1 to 2 hours before
    • Eat high carbohydrates meal very soon after exercise (Rationale)
      • carbohydrates and quality proteins in approximately a 4:1 ratio
      • 10 – 20% of total daily caloric intake
      • Eat a Starch or Fruit exchange for carbohydrates Eat protein every meal and snack
• • Eat lower fat Meat or Meat Substitute or Milk exchange.
  • Combine foods to compliment proteins (optimizes amino acid ratio)
    • Eat legumes (beans, peas, lentils, peanuts) with grains, seeds, or nuts
    • Eat grains with milk or cheese.
• Eat fruits or vegetables every meal and snack
  • Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables (see vegetables and starchy vegetables)
    • See Vegetable and Fruit Color Codes Eat vitamin C rich foods
  • • At least 1 serving a day
    • Citrus fruit, tomatoes, fresh melons, strawberries
  • Eat cruciferous vegetables (cabbage family)
    • At least 3 servings per week
    • Cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts, kohlrabi, cauliflower
  • Eat vitamin A rich foods
    • At least 1 serving every other day
    • Dark leafy greens, and dark yellow foods
• Eat foods with fiber (Rationale)
  • whole grains, vegetables, fruit, and legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
• Eat calcium rich foods
  • Milk, yogurt, cheese
  • Green leafy vegetables, tofu, canned salmon, sardines, or jack mackerel (with tiny bone particles), figs, almonds.
• Make lower fat and healthier fat choices (Rationale)
  • Cook with little or no oil Roast, bake, broil, grill, poach, steam, or boil instead of frying
  • Keep saturated fat intake low
    • Eat leaner meats or meat substitutes
    • Remove skin from poultry
    • Lower fat milk and yogurt
    • Choose lower fat snacks
    • Limit hydrogenated fat (used in products to increase shelf life)
  • Consume moderate poly-unsaturated and mono-unsaturated fats
    • nuts, olive oil, salad dressing, mayonnaise
• Limit refined foods
  • white bread and cereals, soda pop, sweets, alcohol
  • Eat whole foods whenever possible
• Limit cured and smoked products
  • salt-cured, smoked, nitrite cured foods
• Eat a variety of foods from each food group every day
  • Try new foods

Progressive Goals for Eating Habits

Instructions: Pick one goal each week that you feel confident you can modify in your diet for years to come. Every week, record date of commitment by goal. Share your goal with those close to you and put a note of your goal on your refrigerator so you are more likely to succeed.

Eat smaller meals throughout the day (Rationale)

• Eat snack during the time you are without food the longest during your waking hours
• Eat small meals every 2.5 or 4 hours throughout the day
• Plan 3 meals and 2 or 3 snacks distributed throughout the day every 2.5 to 4 hours
• If eating less than 3 meals, eat an additional meal.
• Introduce breakfast by drinking milk, fruit or vegetable juice
• Introduce additional food to breakfast
• Eat cereal for bed time snack instead of a high fat snack food
• Prepare extra for meals so left overs are on hand
• Plan time for preparing a nutritious snack lunch or snack for hard to get away times
• Slightly decrease portion sizes of your largest meals

Eat more fiber (Rationale)

• Eat 100% whole wheat instead of white bread
• Add beans, steamed or raw vegetables to any meal
• Eat a green salad every day
• Eat fresh fruit for dessert or a snack
• Eat oatmeal or other higher fiber cereal for breakfast
• Stock up on frozen vegetables and fruits so they are always available
• Add raw spinach leaves to salad for more nutrients
• Eat a vegetable to a meal: breakfast, lunch, or dinner
• Add vegetables to omelette, pizza, sandwich, stir fry, and other recipes
• If you find it hard to eat vegetables consider vegetable juice or gazpacho
• Purchase pre-cut veggies and salad mixes for convenience
• Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily; keep a tally of servings eaten

Eat lower fat foods (Rationale)

• Eat ice milk, sherbet, or non-fat frozen yogurt instead of ice cream
• Choose lower fat salad dressings (low fat, no fat)
• Substitute plain yogurt for sour cream
• Substitute plain yogurt for mayonnaise in your chicken or tuna salad
• Decrease sandwich spread or salad dressing by progressively adding plain yogurt
• Eat lower fat cuts of meat
• Choose milk with lower fat (2%, 1%, 1/2%, Skim or non-fat)
• Choose lower fat cheese (monzorella, low fat cheese)
• Eat cereal with milk for bed time stack instead of traditional snack food
• Plan to eat healthy 6 days a week and only eat sweets and higher fat foods one day a week

Appetite control

• Eat just until comfortable, leave food on plate if necessary
• Eat a snack before lunch or dinner to reduce the tendency to overeat
• Keep a food journal of the quantities of all food eaten
• Rate appetite after each meal or snack: 1) Very Hungry, 2) Hungry, 3) Satisfied, 4) Full, 5) Very Full
• Check your diet periodically using computer diet analysis software
• Weigh food and serve pre-determined portion before sitting down to eat
• Limit the number of times you eat out at restaurants
• Eat before being around processed snack foods (eg: party, shopping, etc.)
• Agree to do extra exercise if you eat more than you had planned using a caloric expenditure and content database or table

Planning

• Write weekly menu with accompanying shopping list
• Keep shopping list (with pen or pencil) conveniently located in kitchen
• Prepare foods the evening before and refrigerate for the next day

Diet Tips and Rationale

• Eat meals and snacks at regular times every day (Possible Strategies)
  • Less tendency to over eat next meal Particularly if meal is higher fat
  • Less probability to eat easily accessible calorie dense snacks
  • Regular eating may keep metabolism high
    • Particularly digestion of higher fiber foods
    • Thermoneogenesis: calories converted to body heat
  • Maintains energy level throughout day
    • Potentially higher caloric expenditure during activity
• Eat high carbohydrates meal (with protein) very soon after exercise (Guidelines)
  • Improves post workout recovery (Niles 2001) Faster rate of muscle glycogenre-synthesis
    • 50% more glycogen can be stored (Friedman 1991)
  • Improved performance in subsequent exercise
  • Less muscle damage
  • Increased protein synthesis
    • Nearly 3 fold increase (Levenhagen 2001)
    • Decreases post exercise cortisol levels
  • Increase lean muscle mass (Esmarck 2001, Holm 2004)
  • Decreases risk of injury (Flakoll 2004)
• Eat high fiber foods (Possible Strategies)
  • Less tendency to eat calorie dense foods By filling up on vegetables, fruits, and whole grains
  • Fiber can decrease the absorption of dietary fat
    • Fiber acts a barrier in the intestines
  • Helps prevent constipation by adding mass to stool
  • May help prevent certain cancers
• Make lower fat and healthier fat choices (Possible Strategies)
  • Lower fat food are less calorie dense
    • 4 Calories per gram of carbohydratesand protein
    • 7 Calories per gram of alcohol
    • 9 Calories per gram of fatDietary fat is more likely to convert to body fat than carbohydratesor protein
    • It takes 20% more energy for the body to convert carbohydrates or protein to body fat than it does to convert dietary fat to body fat and Less tendency to over eat
    • Particularly if previous meal or snack is small or skipped
    • Fat is more palatable for many
    • Also see: Dietary Fat and Appetite ControlToo much saturated fat may increase blood cholesterol or LDL

Healthy Food Choices

A heart-healthy diet is delicious and varied — rich in vegetables and fruits, with whole grains, high-fiber foods, lean meats and poultry, fish at least twice a week, and  fat-free or 1 percent fat dairy products. By learning to make smart choices — whether you're cooking at home or eating out — you can enjoy flavorful foods while you manage your cholesterol.

Know Your Fats

Knowing which fat raise LDL cholesterol and which ones don't is the first step in lowering your risk of heart disease. In addition to the LDL produced naturally by your body, saturated fat, trans-fatty acids and dietary cholesterol can also raise blood cholesterol. Monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats appear to not raise LDL cholesterol; some studies suggest they might even help lower LDL cholesterol slightly when eaten as part of a low-saturated and trans-fat diet.

The American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee strongly advises these fat guidelines for healthy Americans over age 2:

• Limit total fat intake to less than 25–35 percent of your total calories each day;

• Limit saturated fat intake to less than 7 percent of total daily calories;

• Limit trans fat intake to less than 1 percent of total daily calories; 

• The remaining fat should come from sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as nuts, seeds, fish and vegetable oils; and

• Limit cholesterol intake to less than 300 mg per day, for most people.  If you have coronary heart disease or your LDL cholesterol level is 100 mg/dL or greater, limit your cholesterol intake to less than 200 milligrams a day.

For example, a sedentary female who is 31–50 years old needs about 2,000 calories each day. Therefore, she should consume less than 16 g saturated fat, less than 2 g trans fat, and between 50 and 70 grams of total fat each day (with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, such as fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils).

Saturated fat
Saturated fat is the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol. Saturated fat is found mostly in foods from animals and some plants. Foods from animals include beef, beef fat, veal, lamb, pork, lard, poultry fat, butter, cream, milk, cheeses and other dairy products made from whole and 2 percent milk. All of these foods also contain dietary cholesterol. Foods from plants that contain saturated fat include coconut, coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil (often called tropical oils), and cocoa butter.

Hydrogenated fat
During food processing, fats may undergo a chemical process called hydrogenation. This is common in margarine and shortening. These fats also raise blood cholesterol. The saturated fat content of margarines and spreads is printed on the package or Nutrition Facts label.

Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats
Polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats are the two unsaturated fats. They're found mainly in many fish, nuts, seeds and oils from plants. Some examples of foods that contain these fats include salmon, trout, herring, avocados, olives, walnuts and liquid vegetable oils such as soybean, corn, safflower, canola, olive and sunflower.

Both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats may help lower your blood cholesterol level when you use them in place of saturated and trans fats in your diet. But a moderate intake of all types of fat is best. Keep total fat intake between 25 and 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids such as fish, nuts and vegetable oils.

Trans-fatty Acids and Hydrogenated Fats
Unsaturated fatty acids can be in one of two shapes — "cis" and "trans." These terms refer to the physical positioning of hydrogen atoms around the carbon chain. The cis form is more common than the trans form. Trans-fatty acids (TFA) are found in small amounts in various animal products such as beef, pork, lamb and the butterfat in butter and milk.

TFA are also formed during the process of hydrogenation, making margarine, shortening, cooking oils and the foods made from them a major source of TFA in the American diet. Partially hydrogenated vegetable oils provide about three-fourths of the TFA in the U.S. diet. The trans fat content of foods is printed on the package of the Nutrition Facts label. Keep trans fat intake to less than 1 percent of total calories. For example, if you need 2,000 calories a day, you should consume less than 2 grams of trans fat.

Trans-fatty acids are also formed during the process of hydrogenation.  "Hydrogenate" means to add hydrogen. When unsaturated fatty acids are hydrogenated, some of the hydrogen atoms are added on opposite sides of the molecule to the already attached hydrogen. Cis double bonds convert to trans double bonds, and the fatty acids become saturated.

How are trans-fatty acids harmful?
In clinical studies, TFA or hydrogenated fats tended to raise total blood cholesterol levels. Some scientists believe they raise cholesterol levels more than saturated fats. TFA also tend to raise LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower HDL (good) cholesterol when used instead of cis fatty acids or natural oils. These changes may increase the risk of heart disease.

Because there are no standard methods, it's difficult to estimate the TFA content of food items. It's also difficult to estimate intake, especially long-term intake. The four most important sources of TFA in one large group of women studied included margarine; beef, pork or lamb as the main dish; cookies (biscuits); and white bread.

As of January 2006, the FDA requires trans fat to be listed on the nutrition label. Although changes in labeling are important, they aren't enough. Many fast foods contain high levels of TFA. There are no labeling regulations for fast food, and it can even be advertised as cholesterol-free and cooked in vegetable oil. Eating one doughnut at breakfast (3.2 g of TFA) and a large order of french fries at lunch (6.8 g of TFA) add 10 g of TFA to one's diet, so the lack of regulations for labeling restaurant foods can be harmful to your health.

Is butter better than margarine?
Recent studies on the potential cholesterol-raising effects of TFA have raised public concern about the use of margarine and whether other options, including butter, might be a better choice. Some stick margarines contribute more TFA than unhydrogenated oils or other fats.

Because butter is rich in both saturated fat and cholesterol, it's potentially a highly atherogenic food (a food that causes the arteries to be blocked). Most margarine is made from vegetable fat and provides no dietary cholesterol. The more liquid the margarine, i.e., tub or liquid forms, the less hydrogenated it is and the less TFA it contains.

Regulating your intake of trans-fatty acids
The American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee strongly advises that healthy Americans over age 2 limit their intake of trans fat to less than 1 percent of total calories.

On the basis of current data, the American Heart Association recommends that consumers follow these tips:

• Choose a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole-grain, high-fiber foods, and fat-free and low-fat dairy most often.

• Keep total fat intake between 25 and 35 percent of calories, with most fats coming from sources of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as fish, nuts, seeds and vegetable oils most often.

• Use naturally occurring, unhydrogenated vegetable oils such as canola, safflower, sunflower or olive oil most often.

• Look for processed foods made with unhydrogenated oil rather than partially hydrogenated or hydrogenated vegetable oils or saturated fat.

• Use soft margarine as a substitute for butter, and choose soft margarines (liquid or tub varieties) over harder stick forms.  Look for ”0 g trans fat” on the Nutrition Facts label.

• French fries, doughnuts, cookies, crackers, muffins, pies and cakes are examples of foods that are high in trans fat. Don't eat them often. 

• Limit the saturated fat in your diet. If you don't eat a lot of saturated fat, you won't be consuming a lot of trans fat.

• Limit commercially fried foods and baked goods made with shortening or partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Not only are these foods very high in fat, but that fat is also likely to be very hydrogenated, meaning a lot of trans fat.

• Commercial shortening and deep-frying fats will continue to be made by hydrogenation and will contain saturated fat and trans fat. That's just one more reason to eat fried fast food infrequently.

 Chose lean meats and poultry without skin and prepare them without added saturated and trans fat.

Most meats have about the same amount of cholesterol, roughly 70 milligrams in each three-ounce cooked serving (about the size of a deck of cards).  The American Heart Association recommends eating no more than six ounces of cooked lean meat, poultry, fish or seafood a day.

• The leanest beef cuts usually include sirloin, chuck, loin and round. Choose "choice" or "select" grades rather than "prime."  Select lean or extra lean ground meats.

• Lean pork cuts include tenderloin or loin chops.

• The leanest lamb cuts come from the leg, arm and loin.

• Remove all visible fat from meat and poultry before cooking.

• Remove skin from poultry before eating.

• Choose white meat most often when eating poultry.

• Duck and goose are higher in fat than chicken and turkey.

• Grill, bake or broil meats and poultry.

• Organ meats — such as liver, sweetbread, kidneys and brains — are very high in cholesterol. 

• Cut back on processed meats that are high in saturated fat and sodium.

Eat at least two servings of fish each week.

• Fish can be fatty or lean, but it's still low in saturated fat.

• Recent research shows that eating oily fish containing omega-3 fatty acids (for example, salmon, trout and herring) may help lower your risk of death from coronary artery disease. 

• Prepare fish baked, broiled, grilled or boiled rather than breaded and fried.

Select fat-free, 1 percent fat, and low-fatdairyproducts.

• Minimize your intake of whole-fat dairy products such as butter and whole milk or 2 percent full-fat dairy products (yogurt, cheeses).

• If you drink whole or 2 percent milk, or use full-fat dairy products, gradually switch to fat-free, low-fat or reduced-fat dairy products.

• Look for fat-free or low-fat cottage cheese, part-skim milk mozzarella, ricotta and other fat-free or   low-fat cheeses.

Cut back on foods containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oils to reduce transfat in your diet.

• Use liquid vegetable oils and soft margarines in place of hard margarine or shortening.

• Limit cakes, cookies, crackers, pastries, pies, muffins, doughnuts and French fries made with partially hydrogenated or saturated fats.

Cut back on foods high in dietary cholesterol.

• Try to eat less than 300 mg of cholesterol each day.

• Some commonly eaten cholesterol-containing foods include whole eggs (about 200 mg per yolk), shellfish (50 to 100 mg per ½ cup), “organ” meats such as liver (375 mg per 3 oz), and whole milk (30 mg per cup).

• Egg whites don't contain cholesterol and are good protein sources, so they're fine. In fact, you can substitute two egg whites for each egg yolk in many recipes that call for eggs.

Cut back on beverages and foods with added sugars. 

Many snack foods and beverages have added sugars. Cut back on added sugars to lower your total calorie intake and help control your weight. These foods also tend to be low in vitamins and minerals, and the calories add up quickly. Drinking calorie-containing beverages may not make you feel full. This could tempt you to eat and drink more than you need and gain weight.

• Examples of added sugars are sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, dextrose, corn syrups, high-fructose corn syrup, concentrated fruit juice and honey.

• Read the ingredient list. Choose items that don’t have added sugars in their first four listed ingredients.

Choose and prepare foods with little or no salt. (Unless Cramping Occurs)

Foods low in salt lower your risk for high blood pressure and may help you control it.  Aim to consume less than 2,300 mg of salt or sodium per day.  Some people — including African Americans, middle-aged and older adults, and people with high blood pressure — should have less than 1,500 mg per day.

• Compare the sodium content of similar products (for example, different brands of tomato sauce) and choose the products with less sodium.

• Choose frozen foods, soups, cereals, baked goods and other processed foods that are labeled “reduced-sodium.”

• Limit high-sodium condiments and foods such as soy sauce, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, flavored seasoning salts, pickles and olives. 

• Replace salt with herbs and spices or some of the salt-free seasoning mixes. Use lemon juice, citrus zest or hot chiles to add flavor.

• Try rinsing certain foods, such as canned tuna and salmon, feta cheese and capers, to remove some of the sodium.

Cholesterol, fiber and oat bran

Fiber is classified as either soluble or insoluble. When regularly eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, soluble fiber has been shown to help lower blood cholesterol and may also help reduce the risk of diabetes and colon and rectal cancer. The American Heart Association recommends that you eat at least 25–30 grams of dietary fiber — in both soluble and insoluble forms — every day. The more calories you require to meet your daily needs, the more dietary fiber you need.  Try to eat at least 14 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories you consume.

• Foods high in soluble fiber include oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, citrus fruits, strawberries and apple pulp.

• Foods high in insoluble fiber include whole-wheat breads, wheat cereals, wheat bran, cabbage, beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts, turnips, cauliflower and apple skin.

• Replace low-fiber foods (white bread, white rice, candy and chips) with fiber-containing foods (whole-grain bread, brown rice, fruits and vegetables).

• Try to eat more raw vegetables and fresh fruit, including the skins when appropriate. Cooking vegetables can reduce their fiber content, and skins are a good source of fiber.

• Eat high-fiber foods at every meal. Bran cereal for breakfast is a good start, but try to include some fruits, vegetables, whole-grains and beans in your diet, too.

• Be sure to increase your fiber intake gradually, giving your body time to adjust, and drink at least six to eight 8-oz. glasses of fluids a day.

• Read the Nutrition Facts label on all packaged foods that claim to contain oat bran or wheat bran.  Many of these products actually contain very little fiber and may also be high in sodium, calories and saturated or trans fat.

Read labels for a healthy heart.
Make reading food labels a habit. They'll help you choose foods more wisely. Many foods have saturated fat or trans fat that can raise your cholesterol. Some may be high in sodium, which can increase blood pressure in some people. Also, watch for these key terms, and know what they mean.

• "Free" has the least amount of a nutrient.

• "Very Low" and "Low" have a little more.

• "Reduced" or "Less" always means the food has 25 percent less of that nutrient than the reference (or standard) version of the food.

This information was attained from The American Heart Association.

The American Heart Association established its Food Certification Program  to provide consumers a quick, easy way to identify heart-healthy foods that can be part of a healthful eating plan. Products certified by the American Heart Association contain the heart-check mark and state that the product "Meets American Heart Association criteria for saturated fat and cholesterol for healthy people over age 2." While shopping, look for foods with the heart-check mark symbol on their label. These foods are approved to be part of a healthy diet.