Have you heard of The Jam? The Jam is a nice little coffeehouse in our neighborhood, that we especially like as they have local and organic products for coffee and tea. As our clients know, we are continually stressing the importance of whole foods and minimally manipulated foods.

For a limited time we are offering a promotion with The Jam. Purchase any drink and bring in the cup with the sleeve from The Jam and get one free smoothie from LFA OR bring in three receipts from The Jam and get 15% off Bootcamp or Personal Training!

Some stuff to try:

Green pomegranate tea with milk and honey (ask for honey)

The Veggie Reggie sandwich: choice of 4 vegetables (spinach, spring mix, carrots, raw zucchini, cucumber, red onion, bruschetta), cheese, with a balsamic vinaigrette and spicy mustard on either toasted flaxseed or rosemary olive oil bread.

You can also check out The Jam at www.thejamcoffeehouse.com or on Facebook or Twitter

The Jam is located at:
1210 Wedgewood Avenue
Nashville, TN 37212

The hours are Mon-Fri 7:00-3:00pm and Sat 9:00-3:00pm.

Tired of watching the back of some dude’s head while you live on a treadmill day in and day out at your local gym? Getting bored with your work-out routine that keeps you confined to the four walls of a YMCA? Do you feel like you have reached a glass-ceiling in your training and you’re not sure how to break out of it? Maybe you need something creative, something “out of the box” or better yet, something out of the gym! It’s time for some Urban Boot Camp my friends!

Urban Boot Camp is a whole new outlook on what it means to train and workout. Starting April 30, 2012 we will be meeting you at local parks and green spaces to put you through a fun and creative workout that will consist of jungle gyms, log hopping, picnic table climbs, tree sprints and the great outdoors! It’s time for a break from that gym routine and time to experience the benefits of a challenging workout in the sunshine and fresh air! Through Urban Boot Camp, we hope to show you new ways to reach a health and fitness level that you have never been able to reach before. After experiencing Urban Boot Camp for the first time, in order to get the results that you want, you will realize that it’s not what your gym is made of, it’s all about what YOU are made of! It’s time to take it outside!

The times are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:30am at the same prices as regular boot camp. Contact us to RSVP!

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Video Summary:

We wanted to share a little about what a nutrition consultation is like here at Life Fitness Academy and what we do different. Many times at other places a conventional consultation focuses on calories and breakdown of servings, from how much carbs, fat, protein, fruit, vegetables, and sweets. Also, many times these consultations are not attached to foundational truth, they are instead tied to the prevailing thoughts and science of the day. Misinformation abounds about food.

Here at Life Fitness Academy, our focus is on educating about you about food, the quality of food, and foods that have been nourishing people for thousands of years. Food that God designed our bodies to consume.

Most people cannot pronounce, let alone know, most of the ingredients in the processed food that they are consuming–or the pills that they are popping. We are here to guide you in those decisions.

When you come into Life Fitness Academy we are going to discuss what you are going through, your nutrition history, what your goals are, and help you to understand the foods you are eating–should be eating.

There are so many views on health and ideas about what is healthy. Through our years of experience we can help you avoid some of the common mistakes. Also, since we have grown up eating the SAD diet (standard american diet), we can identify with the changes that are necessary and show you that change can happen and it can happen in a way that is doable and better for you and your family.

There are so many things to learn and we will go through them with you, whether it be discussing raw milk and the 60 plus enzymes which are present in raw milk (and not in pasteurized milk), or parasites that you need to be rid of, or the contaminants that are in your water supply, or the foods that are pesticide laden. We are your consultants to help you make better decisions for you and your family.

We know it can be hard to eat well when on the road–it takes some serious preparation and planning to see where to stop and eat when traveling. So we would like to give you some ideas as to quick snacks you can take with you while traveling. If you have the time you can figure out ways to bring just about anything that you would make at home, but here are some quick and easy things that you can get at most health stores.

Fresh Fruit (bring whole or pieces in tupperware) – apples, pears, bananas, berries, grapes, mangoes, oranges, grapefruit, plums, apricots, durian, star fruit, passionfruit, papaya, etc, etc, etc.

Dried Fruit – unsulfured and with no sorbate (no preservatives) – apricots, raisins, dried plums, dates, figs, mangos, pears, etc, etc, etc.)

Vegetables – carrots, celery, cucumbers, avocados, etc.

Seeds – chia, sunflower, flax, pumpkin, hemp, sesame, etc.

Nuts and nut butters – best raw and without any added oils and only salted with unrefined sea salt – almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, pecans, cashews, almond butter, organic valencia peanut butter, etc

Raw milk cheeses – from grassfed or pasture based animals is best!

Organic yogurt – sheep and goat yogurt is typically easier to digest

Pre-hard boiled eggs – best from organic and pastured hens- made at home and some sold in a resealable bag

Other packaged goods you can find:
Larabars – the original Larabar that does not have brown rice syrup added. Should contain just dried fruit and nuts.
Fearless Raw Chocolate – high quality raw chocolate using unrefined sugar (rapadura)
Kale chips
Dried seaweed snacks
Organic grassfed Beef Jerky
Spelt/ sourdough pretzels
Organic sourdough – long fermented sourdough is easier to digest

Beverages
Herbal Teas
GT’s Kombucha
Fresh squeezed juice from home or from a juice bar.
Organic, full fat kefir or amasai

Mmmmmmm… now I am getting hungry. What do you think? What are some things you like to take on the road?

We all need to breathe. If we don’t breathe, we don’t live–your body needs breathability. The body is continually inhaling and exhaling, inhaling and exhaling. We have posted before about the wisdom of the importance of breathing–from Edwin Checkley, “To learn to breathe is to learn the A B C of physical health, and it is of special importance that this education of the lungs should precede the education of the outer muscular system, for the natural increase of lung strength and chest room is retarded by methods that begin work on the outside first.”

Sometimes we refer to the skin needing to breath, and this is best understood with regard to the need to be unobstructed or unpolluted by toxic substances which are easily absorbed into the skin. The skin does not respirate in the way that our lungs do, but gases can permeate the pores. Also, the skin is the body’s largest (and most absorbent) organ, thus care should be taken for what is put on the skin as well as what is worn on the skin. The Bible mentions fabric worn on the skin in Leviticus 19 and Deuteronomy 22 and there are some interesting ideas as to why. We simply recognize that it is good to use natural breathable fibers on the body (God knows what He is talking about!). Cotton, wool, linen, bamboo, etc are all fabrics which allow air and gases to pass through better and allow the body to naturally regulate temperature. Of course, with the skin, different substances of different size and elemental makeup penetrate the skin differently, or not at all–some molecules are just too large.

Back to respiration. Being that our bodies need air, you can see that the quality of air is important. As studies have shown, indoor air quality is much lower than outdoor (as long as you are not in a smog infested polluted area. If you are in an sealed room, eventually you will use up all the available oxygen and nitrogen and all that will be left is the gases which you have exhaled–the refuse if you will. So a breeze coming in your room while you rest sounds awful nice right about now, huh? So if you are serious about health or recovering from illness, get some fresh air, protect your skin from harmful substances being absorbed, and take some deep breaths!

Celebrate March Madness and St. Patty’s day LFA style with Green Mustache Madness! For this friendly contest, upload a picture to the Life Fitness Academy Facebook page of your best green ‘stache you get from drinking your green smoothie. The picture with the most “Likes” wins one of our new Life Fitness Academy T-shirts! Also, remember to include your smoothie recipe with the picture and we can all learn a new combination! We will announce the winner on March 31, 2012.

Everyone knows that aloe vera is good for burns, right? But did you know that aloe is a superfood that can prevent cancer, stop inflammation, heal bowel diseases, improve digestion, enhance skin health, and boost the immune system? Granted, that is the opinion of Life Fitness Academy (and many many many many studies), so you are free to do with it as you please.

Aloe can be grown or obtained very easily and when consumed regularly provides many of the above benefits. One of its benefits that we want to particularly mention is aloe’s ability to heal and improve digestion and elimination. Most people have diets and lifestyles that are very toxic–and those who have better diets typically eat too much and do not have optimized systems of elimination. If you remove 99% of the waste from your body every day, that 1% not removed becomes a full days waste after 3 months–and most people have years of accumulated waste, as well as damaged eliminaton processes. How should these elimination processes process? Down and out, down and out.

Many methods in attempting to remove constipation or help regularity are very harsh and only add toxicity to the body and overwork the liver, kidneys, and gallbladder. Finding food (fruit, plants, and herbs) that will help regularity as well as strengthen the muscles of the colon by restoring peristalsis, is the best way to go about treating constipation. Aloe is just such a food. Aloe not only helps bowel motility (movement), but it also helps to soothe the intestinal tract. Many sufferers from Crohns, IBS, or ulcerative colitis can be relieved through the regular use of fresh aloe. Aloe helps to break down impacted fecal matter and bring relief from the buildup of toxins in the system. In addition, studies have shown that aloe improves the bioavailability and assimilation of other nutrients by as much as 200 percent.

So if you are looking for help in relief of toxic buildup, regularity, and constipation relief, add fresh aloe (without preservatives or artificial ingredients) as well as herbs and whole foods to restore your bowel and digestive function.

If you’re around Life Fitness Academy for any length of time, you will hear us repeatedly urge you to use coconut oil for all your cooking and well… everything. It has a wide variety of health benefits that I’ll get to in a second, but many people are confused because it is very high in saturated fat. Once again the media has attacked the wrong thing. Unstable hydrogenated oils and trans fats are the culprits here. Unfortunately saturated fats are present in many of the same foods as the unstable guys and got unfairly blamed. Naturally occurring saturated fats are actually much more stable and are the body’s preferred energy source. Cultures like the Tokelau and Inuit and Massai have been studied on several occasions because of their high fat diet and thriving health. According to most health sources today that should be impossible– yet these people are off-the-charts healthier than most Americans.

For a fat to be saturated it simply means that every available carbon atom has a hydrogen atom attached to it. This means that there is no room for rancidity or spoilage by oxidation. Other fats have open double bonds that can be oxidized, which cause free radicals, which cause a multitude of problems on a cellular level like heart disease and obesity. Heat is usually what causes the rancidity of the oils, which is why fried food is so detrimental. The oil is heated so high, that there is no chance of the oil not spoiling. Not only is saturated fat resistant to heat and rancidity, nearly half of all our cell membrane structures are composed of saturated fats. Additionally, most saturated fats are, wait for it, saturated with fat soluble vitamins like D, E, A and K. Look at that, vitamins and the vehicle to transport them all in one package.

Saturated fats got the blame for being lumped in with a lot of unnatural food products. Most processed foods contain hydrogenated oils and trans fats along with the saturated fats. Those are what are unstable and go rancid and cause so many health problems. Your body stores excess carbohydrates as saturated fat on your body so it can be most easily accessed later. Saturated fat is the preferred energy source for body functions. So, naturally occurring saturated fats, not bound by trans fats are nearly pure energy. If you’re feeling tired sluggish, maybe you need more good saturated fats!

A major study was conducted from 1968-1982 on a group of islands that housed the Tokelau people. Researchers observed that they consumed nearly half their calories from coconut, which is very high in saturated fat, making their saturated fat intake on the extreme level compared to most of the world. They had lower cholesterol, hypertension, diabetes and fewer instances of heart attacks than the western world. When some of the Tokelau migrated to New Zealand and ate less coconut, all those numbers increased. The Tokelau that didn’t migrate gained body fat at a slower rate with less physical activity than those that went on to New Zealand. Similar studies were done on the Inuit and Masai cultures with comparable findings. Instead of coconut however, the Inuit’s diet is high in blubber from arctic animals and the Masai eat mainly meat, unpasteurized milk and blood (we’ll leave the blood alone, I’m not suggesting that).

What we do recommend, however, is a diet filled with good fats like coconut oil, grass-fed meat and animal products and avocados. Don’t get spooked because coconut oil is solid. It’s actually liquid at 72-76° F, so even running the jar under hot water will do the trick. One of the best components in coconut oil is lauric acid which is antimicrobial, antifungal and antibacterial. It can help with bacteria, fungi and parasites that can cause indigestion or IBS. It’s like a boost for your immune system as well. You can use it topically on skin for cuts or scrapes, too. Lauric acid also reduces incidence of injury in arteries, so it is actually good for your heart! Coconut oil assists with vitamin and mineral absorption so it’s helpful for bone and dental health. It also helps control blood sugar and improves insulin secretion, which is important for those at risk for, or with diabetes. Coconut oil helps in some way in nearly every system your body has. Help it out!

I cook everything in coconut oil. Scoop a blob into your skillet to sauté your vegetables or cook your eggs. Use coconut oil anytime a recipe calls for vegetable or canola oil. It is a really easy, but important change to make for your health. Coconut oil is not strongly flavored, your food won’t taste tropical, I promise. I usually substitute it in baking also, I think it makes chocolate taste richer, but that’s purely personal preference! Coconut oil works miracles on your skin too- but don’t take my word for it, try it yourself!

By: Ashley Dance

Life Fitness Academy is now carrying Amasai. Amasai is a cultured milk beverage from Beyond Organic. Before you dismiss it because the word milk was mentioned, hang around and see why this product is different.

Traditionally this fermented milk has been known as amasi or maas–and has been a staple for many in Africa. For traditional societies that have little refrigeration, fermented foods are necessary for preservation. These naturally fermented foods are loaded with excellent probiotics and have been shown to inhibit pathogenic bacteria (or the waste cleaning bacteria).

Regular intake of probiotic rich foods greatly aids in enhancing digestion, increasing assimilation of nutrients, replacing healthy intestinal flora (especially after antibiotics), and protecting from pathogenic bacteria. These probiotic foods which have lactic acid producing bacteria (lactobacillus) are a missing component in much of modern diets–diets which have led to an imbalance of healthy stomach and gut bacteria.

Amasai may contain any number of different strains of healthy bacteria depending on the region and environment in which is it cultured. As Life Fitness Academy is now distributing Amasai from Beyond Organic it contains the following benefits:

1. The milk is from grass-fed (greenfed!) cows. The cows are never fed any grains! Being grass-fed the cows milk has the most nutrients, including CLA and omega-3′s.

2. The milk is whole–never skimmed and always loaded with good, healthy fats and fat soluble vitamins.

3. The milk is cultured with over 30 probiotics. Being rich in this many probiotics makes this drink very easy to digest, even for those who might have lactose intolerance. Also, amasai contains twice as much healthy strains as most kefir.

Amasai comes in three flavors: Plain, Milk and Honey, and Raspberry.

Life Fitness Academy is an independent marketer of Beyond Organic products. Come into the gym to try some products or contact us with any questions you may have or to order products on a regular basis.

Bikini Bootcamp begins this week!

It’s that time of year again, ladies– time to get ready for bikini season! Whether you have a long way to go, or just want to firm up, Bikini Bootcamp is the class for you! This 45 minute class will never be exactly the same. We will be sure to focus on those problem “lady areas” like inner thighs, butt, legs, abs and, of course, toning arms. Another key component to the workout will be intense bursts of cardio for some serious fat burning. We’ll talk nutrition to get you the best results possible; diet is more than half the battle! It will be a fun way to train with a group and keep each other accountable so you CAN strut around the beach this year. Feel good knowing everyone’s talking about you (in a good way!).

Join Ashley for our annual class that we love to teach! This class starts in March and runs for a limited time. Sign up today as early registration is only $180 for 3 x’s a week for 6 weeks. The price will go up so do it today! Contact us to RSVP or with any questions you may have.