If you’ve ever visited the produce section at any local grocery store, then you’ve probably wondered what the “organic” buzz is all about. Consumers all over the country have gotten more and more curious about the significant financial disparity between ordinary food and organic food. Buying organic foods definitely requires more of a financial investment, but is there true health value in eating an organic diet?

Researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine conducted a systematic review of over 160 scientific studies published in the leading journals over the last 50 years in hopes of coming up with an answer. Their findings showed that there were actually minimal differences in the nutritional content between organically and conventionally produced foods. No conclusive evidence exists that organic food is more nutritious than conventionally grown food. Even the USDA, though it certifies organic food, does not claim that organic products are of greater nutritional value.

There have been several additional studies to support these findings,
so the question then becomes why spend the extra money buying organic if research shows that normal food has the same nutritional content as organic food?

The truth is, despite the fact that the nutritional content may be
similar in foods raised by conventional farmers, organic foods offer an
overall safer, healthier product. The reason that people turn to
organic foods is to avoid the pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones
that are used in conventional farming. Organic farmers do not use
conventional methods to fertilize, control weeds or prevent livestock
disease. Instead, organic farming practices are designed to encourage
soil and water conservation and reduce pollution. The result? A
cleaner, healthier food product!

There has been an abundance of research conducted on how conventional farming methods can actually affect human health. The results of the studies are rather frightening. While most experts agree that some of the chemicals in conventional foods may not pose a significant health risk, there are some pesticides can be quite dangerous.

Organophosphates, which are commonly used to kill off weeds in
conventional farms, have been linked with a range of conditions such as cancer, decreased male fertility, chronic fatigue syndrome in children,and even fetal abnormalities.

In addition, hormones that are given to farm animals to spur their
growth or increase their milk production (such as BGH) have been shown to create hormone imbalances in humans when they ingest the finished product. This can lead to a host of health issues, specifically
premature development in children, which can be a major risk factor for cancer.

The point is, organic diets are really all about clean, chemical-free
eating. Though traditional produce and meats may have the same content from a macronutrient standpoint, organic foods have proven to be a safer, healthier alternative overall.

There are several great resources for buying organic foods here in the
DC area. Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Harris Teeter, and MOM’s all have a great selection of organic produce, meats, and even other products such as toiletries, soaps and deodorants. Whole foods, while a little more expensive, tends to have the greatest variety in their selection of organic foods. Remember to still read the labels on these foods, as not all of them are 100% organic.

If you’re looking for a more economical way to buy organic, there are
other resources available. Check your local farmer’s markets, they’re
all over the DC area. In addition, there are several organic produce
delivery services available throughout DC, Maryland and Virginia.
Washington’s Green Grocer will deliver a whole week’s worth of organic produce for about 35 bucks! Here’s to your health!

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Many television viewers have become absolutely fascinated with the NBC reality show, The Biggest Loser. The show takes obese, deconditioned people away from their every day life and places them on a campus to be put through an intense, grueling exercise and diet regimen geared toward rapid weight loss.

If you have seen the show and the results it produces, you’ve surely been impressed with the transformations in the bodies of the contestants. The weight loss that occurs on the show is nothing short of inspirational. But does the show give an accurate depiction of safe, effective weight loss?

Certainly no one can argue with the end result. Many of the contestants have lost over 200 pounds on the Biggest Loser campus, some at a pace of more than 10 pounds per week! So,it’s clear that the numbers don’t lie when it comes to the results these people are getting. It is truly amazing that this show has helped people take control of their health and more importantly, their lives. We as personal trainers love to see this!

However, there are some things that, as fitness professionals, we feel obligated to caution you against.

The show has the tendency to foster unrealistic expectations on the actual pace of weight loss. Healthy, sustainable weight loss should occur at 1-2 pounds per week. Some of the contestants experience weight loss of 15 pounds per week or more!

While this is impressive, we must keep two things in mind. One is that most of these contestants are morbidly obese and have upwards of two hundred pounds to shed, so it’s not unrealistic for them to shed pounds that are such a small percentage of their overall body weight. The second is that these contestants are on a full-time weight loss program. Their entire day is dedicated to weight loss, and the time they spend exercising can exceed 6 hours per day.

Another part of the show that may give the public the wrong idea about physical training is the unnecessary challenging exercises that the contestants are put through so early in the game. Often times the contestants are pushed quickly into complex, punishing movements without being taught the basics.
This can be a recipe for a medical disaster, and if you watched the premier last week, you know that two people have already landed in the hospital. At no point does losing weight justify sacrificing your health and well being!

Personal trainers, unjustifiably, can develop a bad reputation from this show. The trainers on the Biggest Loser are often shown screaming at the top of their lungs at the contestants in a way that appears to be nothing short of bullying. While trainers should be great motivators, they can push you to
succeed without screaming at you! If you’re afraid to hire a personal trainer because you think you’ll be yelled at, don’t be! You can shop around to find someone who fits your personality!

Despite its faults, this show has done wonders in motivating Americans to take control of thier health and start pursuing their fitness goals relentlessly. We strongly encourage you to watch it and follow along as it will show you
that anything is possible when it comes to achieving your fitness and weight loss goals! The show airs Tuesday nights at 8pm on NBC.

If you want to be pushed, motivated and encouraged like the contestants on the show, we can help you with that too! For just a few more days, We’re still offering 3 FREE personal training sessions with the area’s best trainers when you sign up for a package of 18 sessions or more. And we promise…no screaming, no hospital visits, and you don’t have to get on a scale in front of the entire country like they do on the show .

Call Mike Now at 888-872-7961 ext.1 to learn more or click here for more info. This offer expires on September 30th so jump on it.

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There is a load of information out there in exercise literature which suggests that lower intensity exercise burns more fat than higher intensity activities. But what evidence exists that might prove this theory to be true?

Scientifically, this claim actually makes sense. The human body uses more glucose (sugar) for energy production and less fat as exercise intensity increases. In other words, the harder you work out, the less fat is used as energy to support your intensity level. In fact, when you’re at rest, your body is burning approximately 85% fat and 15% carbohydrates (in the form of glucose) for fuel.

These are scientific facts, but common sense would tell us that being at rest everyday will not help us lose weight! Yes, your body does need a certain amount of oxygen to properly break down fat cells, and yes, your body generally receives more oxygen when you’re exercising at a lower intensity. However, the notion that low intensity exercise is the best way to decrease body fat does not make sense mathematically, nor has it ever been proven in exercise research.

Whenever you hear about certain trends in the fitness world, it’s always best to look at scientific, evidence-based research to get the real facts! Extensive research was conducted on this topic at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. The researchers had subjects perform two 30 minute bouts of exercise: a relatively low intensity bout (about 65% of maximum heart rate) and a relatively high intensity bout (about 85% of maximum heart rate). They then examined the source of energy that was used to support the exercise during the two bouts.

The results showed that for the low-intensity exercise, subjects burned a total of 240 calories, with 96 of those calories (41%) coming from fat. During the high-intensity bout, the subjects burned 450 calories, with 108 (24%) coming from fat.

The picture here is clear. Though the lower intensity bout produced a higher percentage of calories burned from fat, the higher intensity bout produced a greater overall number of fat calories burned, and just look at the difference in overall calories burned!

We’re not suggesting that walking, light jogging or leisurely biking doesn’t have its place in your fitness program. However, to get the most out of your exercise regimen, the research shows that working harder is also working smarter when it comes to burning fat!

Don’t forget, we’re still offering our back to school promotion on personal training! When you purchase any training package of 18 sessions or more, you receive 3 sessions for FREE! Call Mike at 888-872-7961 ext. 1 to sign up for your free trial session with the area’s best personal trainers or click here to get set up.

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If you’re looking for a personal trainer in Virginia and are ready to take control of your health and fitness, you’ve come to the right place.  Achieve Fitness has been serving the Northern Virginia since 2001.  We have helped hundreds of clients Achieve their Fitness and weight loss goals through custom workout program design, coaching, accountability and nutritional guidance.

If you have never worked with a personal trainer, boy are you in for a treat.  Many busy professionals like yourself come to us from all over Northern Virginia and tell us that they have been working out some on their own and are in decent shape but want to get to the next level.

99% of the time, when we hear this, we immediately know what the problem is… Intensity.  See, too many people work within their comfort zones.  Never challenging themselves and their bodies to perform outside of their comfort.  Yes, whipping your body into shape isn’t easy.  It requires hard work.  Sure, if you’re completely out of shape, some light and progressive workouts are needed to get your mind, muscles, joints, ligaments, heart and lungs, accustomed to the new exertion.

Once the foundation has been put in place, you need to train like an athlete.  You need to identify your maximum and strive to improve upon it with each workout.  This is where the trainer comes in.  Motivating you to push past this identified threshold.  This threshold can be measured in many ways but the 2 most commonly used are heart rate and muscular failure.

Serving the following cities in NOVA – Alexandria, Arlington, Springfield, Vienna, Tyson’s, Woodbridge, Annandale, Reston, Herndon, our trainers will bring the necessary equipment to train you in your home, condo gym, office gym, or outdoors.  Whichever is preferred by you.

Give us a call today at 1888-872-7961 or sign up for a free, no obligation trial session.

We look forward to working with you,

Dennys Passeto, CPT
Owner of Achieve Fitness Personal Training, LLC

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Most of us have heard at some point about the growing rate
of obesity in America and the risks associated with it.

However, few people really absorb the true impact obesity has
on our country and the daunting threat it presents to the
population.

Without beating the statistics to death, here are a few that
really hit home. Nearly one third of the country’s entire
population is considered obese. Obesity is defined as an
excess accumulation of body fat, leading to a body mass index
(BMI) of 30 or over.

According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention,
the DC Metro area is slightly ahead of the game, reporting
that only 24.2% of its population is considered obese. Wow,
we’re actually ahead of the game in something other than
crime and traffic? You’ve got to be kidding me!

The health risks associated with obesity are nothing short
of horrifying. Amongst several others, obesity is a major
risk factor for cardiovascular disease, hypertension, certain
types of cancer and type II diabetes. Though awareness seems
to be increasing among the American public, it seems that
the true implications of the obesity epidemic remain somewhat
understated.

So let’s look at the facts. Obesity is the second leading
cause of preventable death in America, second only to smoking.
Obese individuals have an overall mortality rate that nearly
doubles that of normal weight individuals. Obesity reduces
life expectancy by up to 20 years, and it is estimated that
it causes 280,000 to 325,000 premature deaths each year.
Sadly, even being moderately overweight is associated with
a significant increase in the risk of premature death.

The point here is painfully obvious. Obesity is a HUGE
problem in our country. The question then becomes: What can
we do about it?

Any health professional will tell you that there are certain
guidelines you must follow to achieve a healthy body weight.

Let’s look at some of recommendations directly from the
surgeon general. Build physical activity into your regular
routine. Adults should get at least 30 minutes of moderate
physical activity almost every day, while children should get
about 60. In addition, food choices should follow the dietary
guidelines put out by the American Heart Assocation. This
includes consuming a diet that is rich in natural foods like
fruits and vegetables and minimizing the intake of higher
calorie foods that are packed with sugar or hydrogenated fats.

These guidelines seem so simple, so why are so many Americans
still struggling with their weight? While we may not have a
definitive answer, we can certainly identify one contributing
factor. It’s not that we are completely lazy as a society, it’s
actually quite the opposite. It’s that we are so inundated with
demands and responsibility, that our health sometimes takes the
back seat. Sometimes, people simply aren’t able to make their
health a priority!

We’d like to be part of the solution. Now that the kids are back
in school and you have a little more time freed up for yourself,
it’s time to focus on YOU! Through the end of September, we’re
offering 3 FREE Personal Training sessions when you sign up for
a package of 18 sessions or more.

Our personal trainers are the area’s best in the industry. They
will help you design an exercise and nutrition program that makes
sense for you and gets you on track to achieving a healthy body
weight. Summer is coming to an end, and hopefully, so are the
distractions, and most importantly, the excuses!

Call Mike and mention the Back to School special to take advantage
of the 3 FREE Personal Training sessions before the end of September.
You can reach Mike at 888-872-7961 ext. 1 or click here to learn
more about our personal training packages.

We have personal trainers in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.

It’s time to get busy!  As the great Vince Lombardi put it so masterfully, “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.”

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Weight loss supplementation is a billion-dollar industry. Every supplement known to man has come and gone, from laxatives, to metabolic boosters, to fat trappers. Some work and others only drain the wallet. The new kid on the block is Açaí berry, and Oprah and Rachel Ray are its biggest fans.

The açaí “berry” is actually a fruit. Its shape, size and color remind people of grapes. But unlike grapes, it doesn’t contain very much pulp. And similar to the pit of a plumb, açaí contains a single large seed. The fruit grows on trees, with approx. 800 units per panicle (which is something like a branch). Açaí are harvested and are a staple food in under-developed regions of the world. In fact, in a 1999 study of three ethnic groups in the Brazilian Amazon, açaí palm was found to be such a major part of their diet, that more than 40% of their meals contained this fruit.

Acai juice, extract and pulp are consumed in various blended drinks, smoothies, ice cream, liqueurs and even in sodas. In the south of Brazil it is consumed in a bowl mixed with granola. Aside from the popular talk show hosts named above, physicians such as Dr. Perricone have publicly called it one of the Earth’s Superfoods. But why?

Theoretically, if one eats less, has more energy, is not bloated, has regular bowel movements, proper digestion and their liver and kidneys are working properly… they should lose weight. But does taking açaí supplements or enhanced juices actually lead to weight loss?

To be honest, it doesn’t seem this is true. As of today, there have been no controlled studies carried out to support all these claims—let alone the weight-loss miracle claim! Even Dr. Oz is rethinking his stance on the issue and digging deeper into the facts to determine if açaí is truly the new weight-loss giant that marketing firms keep telling us it is.

However, research has found (in varying degrees) that açaí contains very high levels of antioxidants. It is touted and marketed in the United States as being able to simultaneously decrease appetite, increase energy, remove excess waste from the body, cure constipation, decrease bloating and water retention, relieve muscle cramps, aches and pain, lower cholesterol, reverse diabetes, improve heart and digestive health while cleansing the system. Wow!

So if açaí can’t shed those pounds like the natural miracle berry we have been told it is, at least consuming it can help you remain healthy and strong. And while the researchers prove the weight loss aspect true or false, get to the gym and burn those calories… and leave the bacon behind.

The lesson learned here is this: Let’s not wait around to discover if research can prove that acai is the new weight loss miracle. Let’s face it – quick fix weight loss products have never proven to be effective. Get back to the basics and take control of your health the natural way!

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Yes, you read the subject line correctly. Exercise is NOT
linked to weight loss, according to Time magazine’s most
recent article written by John Cloud. The article emphatically
implies that exercise has no substantial role in weight loss
or weight management.  Among several other misleading
assertions made in this article, the most prevalent one is
that exercise automatically increases appetite and therefore
single handedly becomes the culprit for promoting over eating.
Wow!

This article is as reckless as it is completely false, and
frankly – irresponsible. I’ll share the link with you shortly,
but first, let’s explore some reasons why his claims are so
ludicrous.

First and foremost, there is an overwhelming amount of
scientific, evidence- based research that proves the positive
role that exercise plays in weight loss.  The author’s
assertion that exercise uncontrollably increases appetite is
simply erroneous. In fact, studies done by the most credible
authorities in the fitness industry including ACE and ACSM
show that appetite may actually be suppressed for up to 90
minutes following vigorous exercise by affecting the release
of particular appetite hormones. Unless you’re an elite
athlete following a high intensity workout program
consistently, your body’s demands for additional calories
will not drastically increase with a moderate exercise program.

Second, weight loss is a matter of simple mathematics. You
must expend more energy than you take in to lose weight. This
fact has proven time and time again and continues to be
accepted, with good reason, in the modern age. Most of the
individuals described in the article (including the author
himself), are not able to meet their weight loss goals because
they are simply eating too much. To attribute this to exercise
alone is completely unsubstantiated.  The author assumes that
the majority of individuals are powerless in their weight
loss efforts and simply lack the overall will power to keep
their caloric intake at a healthy level. The bottom line is
that exercise and proper nutrition go hand in hand, and you
simply cannot discount one or the other when it comes to
studying weight loss.

Disappointingly, the author also fails to effectively
emphasize the effects that exercise has on overall health.
As we have all seen, people who are “light weight” are not
always healthy. Health can be achieved through exercise in many
different ways including improved muscle composition, lowered
blood pressure and cholesterol, improved cardiovascular health,
and one more “minor” thing known as DISEASE PREVENTION. The
scale is simply not the only indicator of overall health and
well being.

We encourage you to read this article yourself and draw your
own conclusions. Click Here to read about it.

After you read it, also be sure to read a follow-up article
written by Dr. Claude Bouchard, who is the executive director
of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center, which is an
organization that Time magazine “claimed” to have obtained
some of its research from. As you’ll read, this claim is also false.
Check it out  HERE

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