Weight Watchers is a quite popular diet program based on low fat eating, exercise, and group counseling. Every food item from ice cream to pizza has a point value based on its nutritional content. You can eat as much as you want as long as you stay within your points. To assist the dieter in their lifestyle changes all members are encouraged to attend group discussion and counseling sessions, mostly in person, at local Weight Watchers centers. As of late they have come with out a new creation called Flex points, this is just the same program in a better marketing package. In the Flex plan they have added a weight watchers point calculator and use more weight watcher recipes. Most dieters are given a reserve 35 points (flex points) to use for unplanned activities or cravings. I see no difference from before.
I have many clients that say they had success on the Weight Watchers plan in the past. Yet I always question if it worked so well why are they seeking out a NEW solution? It obviously didn’t work for them in the long term. If it worked so well why didn’t they stick to it?
Weight Watchers in my opinion used to be a pretty sound program, far as trying to help people, but as of late it seems to be using a lot of slick marketing and advertising to bring people in. Far as being successful that’s a different story. They usually advertise telling people enjoy the foods you love and lose weight while you do! The points plan controls the amount of food you consume but not always what those foods are. So you could be potentially eating less food but not exactly better choices for healthy weight loss and long-term success. So the dieter thinks he or she is making some healthy changes in their diet by eating fewer calories and staying within their points but could be consuming higher sugar and fat meals, meals that are not balanced enough, or high enough in calories to support your metabolism. See the problem here? The points system does not differentiate between foods high in sugar or high in carbohydrates protein or fat. This diet is assuming all calories are calories and they all affect your body the same way. I’m here to tell you they do no!
Some foods are more easily stored as fat, some foods effect your blood sugar levels more than others, some foods are actually more thermic, meaning your metabolism actually increases trying to break these foods down! Some foods combinations can make you fatter, while some can make you leaner. If your goal is long-term fat loss (not just weight) then the specific foods you are consuming are more important than the calories from food in general. When will people realize calories are not BAD! Calories are fuel for the human machine. Without the right amount of calories you will slow down are metabolism, and store more fat in the long run. You need calories and the right ones.
Now Weight Watchers is actually selling their own processed frozen meals. They are nice for convenience yes…but are they good for you? No, not really they are balanced yet they are loaded with sodium, preservatives and have a have a paragraph for the ingredient list. You can make the same meal yourself for the same the price and with fewer preservatives. Any diet that cost money to join and then try to sell you their own food has other interests in mind.
Exercise is not a #1 priority for this Weight Watchers program and if your goal is long- term success it should be! The problem with long term diet counseling and group support which most Weight Watchers program includes is you develop no self- reliance and self- discipline to do it on your own, which is crucial to succeed long term. This diet is added to my list that use low calorie deprivation to lose weight on a scale. Weight loss on the scale is not accurate indicator of fat loss. I know many people who lose lots of WEIGHT on a low calorie diet and then long term they gain the majority of it back. Their are 3 things you can lose on the scale:
1)Water
2) Fat
3) Muscle
There are better and more successful options people..trust me.
Your Fitness and Nutrition Coach,
~David Modderman
Filed under Lifestyle, Nutrition, weight loss by on Jun 9th, 2009. Comment. 
Don’t fall for the Acai Berry Myth
You can’t really miss it on the Internet these days. Seems like everywhere you look there’s another company promoting the nutritious Acai Berry as a weight loss miracle.
And that’s why I thought it was critical to write you today. I want to make sure you know my opinion on the subject.
First, you know better than to believe you’re going to pop some pills – ANY pills – and have the pounds and inches melt off like magic. If you’ve been listening to me for any length of time you know true fat loss comes from a variety of factors, including exercise and proper nutrition.
I received and e-mail today that said: “Busy mom loses 30 pounds in 30 days without diet OR exercise”
Sound to good to be true? Well it is! Anyone losing 30 pounds in 30 days is losing lots of water and probably some muscle.
Second, any fitness expert worth their fees will tell you that any diet that promotes you eat any one food all day long and then eat a sensible dinner, well, don’t bother. Yes, you will lose some weight short-term, but as soon as you go back to your old eating habits – and you know you will – you know exactly what happens.
Third, the Acai Berry contains VERY powerful antioxidants and it is getting a lot of good press for that very reason. Yes, antioxidants as in the extraordinary nutrients that help fight the free radicals associated with aging, cancer risk and other degenerative diseases.
And while on the subject, I wanted to fill you in on something that has recently come to light. Did you know that coffee berries (the berry that covers the coffee bean) is one of the most powerful antioxidants on the planet? It’s something researchers have discovered in recent years.
What’s really cool is my friends at Prograde Nutrition have just created an amazing Whole Foods based Anti-Aging formula called Prograde Longevity that includes both Acai Berry and Coffee Berry. Oh, and it also utilizes Green Tea, Pomegranate, Wolf Berry and Biovin Grape (Red Wine extract.)
Just to give you an idea of how powerful this formula is, well, you’d have to eat an entire POUND of raspberries to get the same ORAC value. And in case you’re not familiar with the term, ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity.
I have been taking “Longevity” for the last month to prevent the holiday flu and cold bugs…..and to cleanse my body.
So far so good! 
You can read more about “Longevity” here:
http://realresultsfitness.getprograde.com/longevity
Your Fitness and Nutrition Coach,
~David Modderman
Filed under Lifestyle, Nutrition, weight loss by on Dec 18th, 2008. Comment.
Weight loss is always a New Year’s resolution in January……….
Come New Year most go on a low calorie diet and do cardio/aerobic exercise like crazy in hopes to see that number on the scale go down…..
Unfortunately, this is the wrong approach…….
Weight Loss on the almighty scale can consist of 3 things:
1) Water
2) Muscle
3) Fat
If you are not exercising and eating correctly most of your weight loss will consist of water and muscle…..
Water is temporary and meaningless yet shows up on the scale! But losing muscle will prevent your body from burning fat efficiently! If you are doing anything that’s causing you to lose muscle you are setting yourself up for long term failure…..and you will gain the weight back.
Diets and cardio are NOT the answer…….
The Right exercise and the Right Nutrition are!!
It’s about fat loss people not about weight loss….
Anyone can lose weight…but can YOU lose fat?
Your Fitness and Nutrition Coach,
~David Modderman
Filed under Nutrition, weight loss by on Dec 13th, 2008. Comment.
It’s December………………
Are you waiting like everyone else?
Waiting till January to starting eating better and exercising?
One of the top News Years resolutions every year is to lose weight, get in shape, and get healthy. Yet most fail to follow through with this in January maybe they do for a few weeks and then eventually they get busy and quit all together.
Do you want to fail like everyone else?
Then maybe it’s time to STOP waiting and START doing!
Today is just as a good day as any to start that workout and that eating better.
Just think if you start now you will already have made it a habit by January and you will already have 1 month of results before anyone else.
Your Fitness and Nutrition Coach,
~David Modderman
Filed under Lifestyle, weight loss by on Dec 2nd, 2008. Comment.
Are you a victim of the all or nothing bug?
I used to be in so many parts of my life. As a perfectionist this can happen far too often with too many people.
I remember thinking to myself over and over “well if i can’t do it this way then I might as well not do it at all!”
Is this a good attitude? Looking back I say no it wasn’t.
Do you use the all or nothing approach when trying to exercise and eat healthy?
Many do….
I remember running into a former client at the gym. We had worked together for like 6 months and we had got him in tip top shape. When I saw him for the first time in like 3 months I could tell he had let himself go a little bit. I said “hey haven’t seen you in here in sometime”. He went on to tell me he was working out six days a week and then got real busy at work and got out of the routine and just stopped coming completely. Wow! 6 days a week down to nothing! What was he thinking? Don’t you think he could have managed 2-3 days a week just to maintain his routine? After I mentioned this exact thing to him he looked at me funny and said “wow…I should have done that….3 days a week would have been something.”
That is the all or nothing bug if I have ever saw it….
People on diets do it everyday..”well I just ate a large piece of cheesecake, I guess I am off my diet”
Do you really have to be? No!
How about making the next meal better or the next day better. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing..it should always be at least something…making the effort consistently but not trying to be perfect everyday.
Don’t let the all or nothing bug get you!
Your Fitness and Nutrition Coach,
~David Modderman
Filed under Lifestyle by on Oct 27th, 2008. Comment.
I have worked with a lot of clients over the years and have discussed nutrition with almost all of them. I have never ate perfect all my life infact I don’t eat perfect now and never claimed to. But I still feel its my responsibility as a Fitness and Nutrition Coach to educate people on what is a healthy food choice for them and their family and what is not.
That brings us to peanut butter. Most people love peanut butter and you grew up with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as a kid and still love them today as an adult. But the questions I always ask my clients and others during my supermarket tours is what kind of peanut butter do you buy?
An the answer that comes back 90% of the time is JIF!
JIF peanut butter, looking back that’s what I had as a kid. I don’t think my mom new better. But I do now.
Here is the JIF peanut butter ingredients:
MADE FROM ROASTED PEANUTS AND SUGAR. CONTAINS 2 PERCENT OR LESS OF: MOLASSES, PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL (SOYBEAN), FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES AND SALT.
What it is partially and fully hydrogenated vegetable oils? It’s a long ingredient name for trans fat! The #1 cause for heart disease in America. It is in JIF and thousands of foods in America.
But David……”JIF it tastes so good” yeah with sugar and transfat mixed in together something tastes so good…is making your health so bad!
Do you know reduced fat JIF is worse than regular JIF? How? JIF peanut butter and most peanut butters have some healthy fats (peanut oil) mixed in with the bad fats (trans fat). Reduced fat JIF Peanut butter actually removes the good fats from the peanut butter to reduce the fat but then leaves the trans fat in. Shocking? I say so.
So what would be a better choice “Natural Peanut butter.” Here is the ingrediants of most natural peanut butters.
INGREDIANTS: Peanuts
Wow! Do you see the difference?
Your Fitness and Nutrition Coach,
~David Modderman
Filed under Lifestyle, Nutrition, weight loss by on Oct 20th, 2008. Comment.
Have you been doing the same workout for more than a few months?
Are you starting to get bored?
Not seeing results?
Are you following the right program for what you’re trying to achieve?
I see a lot of people and even trainers doing or giving workouts that are not effective for them or their clients goals.
My clients will never do the same workout for more than 2 weeks unless we are following a specific fat loss program then we might go 4 weeks.
But changing up your routine and having the right focus for your program is very important.
Are you looking for real serious results and a program that is changing every 2-4 weeks to shock your body into building muscle, skyrocketing your metabolism, and burning pounds and pounds of fat? Then you need to try my 17 Week Real Results Program! I guarantee you will reach all your goals in 17 Weeks!
~David Modderman
Filed under Training by on Sep 12th, 2008. Comment.
I went to the supermarket yesterday with a former client of mine. We met there to do one of my famous “Supermarket Tours” For those who are not aware during one my supermarket tours I take clients/individuals through the market for a full hour. We go through each section of the store examining and deciding what are good foods to choose and not to choose if ones goal is improving health and body compostion. These tours are usually eye opening for most people. I have never had a client leave a supermarket tour without them learning something eye opening on how than can improve their nutrition habits. Also, it teaches them how to choose and know what foods to buy and not to buy if they want to achieve their dream body.
Most of you are unaware that their are foods that are labeled fat free that are 100% fat. Most are unaware that most foods that are labeled sugar free contain ingredients that are just as bad for you.
What if I told you:
- Wheat bread was bad for you.
- Slim Fast will make you fatter.
- Most diet foods are killing your chances of losing fat.
- Your kids are being told to eat junk food everyday.
Want to find out why your last diet, and weight loss program was not successful?
Sign up for one of my Supermarket Tours and take control of your life and your body!
~David Modderman
Filed under Lifestyle, Nutrition, weight loss by on Aug 28th, 2008. Comment.
Is any other food or drink reported to have as many health benefits as green tea? The Chinese have known about the health benefits of green tea since ancient times, using it to treat everything from headaches to depression.
Here are just a few health conditions in which drinking green tea is known to be helpful:
- cancer
- rheumatoid arthritis
- high cholesterol levels
- cardiovascular disease
- infection
- preventing tooth decay
-
impaired immune function
What makes green tea so special?
The secret of green tea lies in the fact it is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. 
Benefits of Green Tea for fitness and fat Loss:
- Appetite Control.
- Increase in metabolism during and after exercise.
How much green tea should you drink?
I recommend 4-5 cups of freshly brewed green tea a day. Bottled green tea is not recommended. Bottled green tea contains less antioxidants and usually more sugar and additives (if sugar free).
Drinking non calorie beverages like green tea and water will surely aid you in reaching your fat loss goals!
~David Modderman
Filed under Lifestyle, Nutrition, weight loss by on Aug 27th, 2008. Comment.