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Can I Get Too Much Calcium?

Can I Get Too Much Calcium or Should I drink more Milk?

We are all taught to drink milk for calcium.  We hear it on the radio, at school, from our parents, and all of the milk advertisements.  After years of hearing the same thing over and over again, you’d think we get the hint right? But the latest research raises the question Can I get too much calcium or do I need more?

It turns out, cow’s milk isn’t all that great for us after all.  Tons of people have stopped buying milk and are now getting almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, and other dairy-free alternatives. You may have noticed this trend the past few years is that more and more people are going dairy-free.  I’ve written about how drinking cows milk weakens bones, and consuming more than 600mg of Calcium has NO benefit to bone health.  Even more interesting, dairy products don’t seem to improve bone health in children, prevent stress fractures in adolescents or women.  Osteoporosis is, in fact, best prevented by reducing sodium intake and consuming more plant-based sources of calcium like leafy greens, beans, fruits, and vegetables (NOT milk).  So by asking the question can I get too much calcium, the answer is yes.  

Unfortunately, milk is in many of our processed foods, put in our meals at restaurants, and even slipped into some of our multi-vitamins and protein shakes.  How will we ever manage to go completely dairy-free?  Luckily I am a fully committed vegan who knows about all the cool vegan options!  Just contact me below if you need more ideas or guidance on your journey to a plant-based or dairy-free lifestyle.

Here are 3 dairy-free alternatives to standard cow’s milk products:

Tofutti: Cream Cheese

Follow your Heart: Vegan Gourmet Sour Cream

Earth Balance: Organic Whipped Buttery Spread

 

For more dairy-free or plant-based ideas, Contact Me:

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    Written by Kelly Gibson on 3/8/2017

     

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    Cantaloupe Truffle Bars

    Cantaloupe Truffle Bars with Soy Caramel Sauce

    Homemade chocolate is the best! Try these truffle bars topped with chocolate.

    cantaloupe-truffle-bar-soy-caramel-sauce-kelly-athletics
    Cantaloupe Truffle Bars  w Soy Caramel Sauce

    Do you ever think that it would be IMPOSSIBLE to give up chocolate to lose weight? No worries! You can absolutely incorporate chocolate into a healthy diet, and make healthy chocolate snacks and desserts without putting on a pound! In fact, you will LOSE weight quickly if you learn how to make plant-based chocolate treats (i.e. vegan chocolate) like these truffle bars. Why is plant-based and vegan chocolate better? For one, most milk chocolates are high in fat, and typically include “milk fat” as a key ingredient. Secondly, dairy is the MOST common food allergy in the United States, especially in infants and children. Typically, adolescents and adults don’t realize they are allergic because their bodies have gotten used to having high quantities of milk in their diet over the course of several years. http://www.foodallergy.org/allergens/milk-allergy

    First melt some dairy-free chocolate over a double boiler, drizzle it onto wax paper into rectangular shapes. Then, allow the chocolate to cool while heating up non-GMO soy milk, sweetener and corn syrup on the stove. Then, put hazelnuts and dried pitted dates in a food processor. Mash this into the shape of a granola bar and place onto the cooled chocolate rectangles. Grab a small scooper (or even a measuring spoon) to make melon balls from a cantaloupe. Place melon balls onto the granola bar, drizzle more dairy-free chocolate sauce on top, then dip in soy caramel sauce on the side.

    For the full recipe, get this amazing book or email me to send you a photo of the recipe by: Great Chefs Cook Vegan

    For more tips on Vegan Nutrition, try Online Nutrition Coaching at Kelly Athletics.

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      What is the Average Cost of a Personal Trainer?

      What is the Average Cost of a Personal Trainer?

      What is the average cost of a Personal Trainer? Female Trainers & Male Trainers

       

      If you are wondering what is the average cost of a personal trainer, you probably want to make sure you get the most bang for your buck!  When selecting a personal trainer, find out if they have the experience, positive customer reviews, and offerings that match up to your needs. Many trainers offer extra incentives for signing up for their program such as nutrition products or fitness books, nutritional coaching on the side, free Personal Training sessions for referring friends, or even rewards for being a good client. Most trainers offer a free consultation or discounted Personal Training session for new clients. Instead of committing up front to a big gym who tries to sell you on $75/session for a trainer that you barely know, I recommend that you find a trainer who will take the time to get to know you and show you a thing or two before you make a big commitment. Finding a Personal Trainer who can customize a fitness program to your individual needs is really important. You don’t want to get stuck with someone that gives the same workouts to all of their clients, or someone who doesn’t understand your fitness level. I have had so many people come to me and say that their last trainer was too hard on them and they got hurt. Be careful with who you choose and try before you buy a long-term package.

      What should I charge for Personal Training? Rates can range from $20-150/hour! As a prospective client, it is valuable to understand why Personal Trainers may have a high hourly rate. Much of a Personal Trainer’s income goes toward paying rent for the studio they work at, covering gas expenses (for mobile trainers), and purchasing necessary equipment for clients to use. For trainers employed by a gym, they are getting paid a very small fraction of what clients pay the gym – which in turn gives gym trainers very little motivation to go above and beyond for you. For independent trainers, building a positive reputation that brings in referrals is what makes or breaks them, so they are more likely to provide high quality service and go above and beyond for you. Also, a 40 hour work week doesn’t necessarily equate to getting paid for all 40 hours of work. Personal Trainers need to spend extra time outside of each training hour designing the workout, writing articles for marketing and advertising, building our websites, developing new nutrition or fitness lessons, staying up to date on fitness trends and learning new exercises, keeping ourselves in physically good shape with daily workouts and meal plans, taking mandatory continuing education credits to keep our certification up to date, answering business-related emails and phone calls, setting up and putting away equipment, and much more. Once you have a good sense of what you’d like to spend on a Personal Trainer, it might be important to take a look at what the average local Personal Trainer costs and decide what is most important to you — cost, quality, results, or personality match.

      Here are some of the average costs that I found: The National Strength and Conditioning Association conducted a recent survey of prices and found an average of $50 per hour with a range of $15 to $100 per hour. I’ve seen celebrity trainers charge $150+/hour. Prices do vary depending on region, according to Hagerman, and naturally, they will be higher in urban areas than in rural ones (1). According to the president of NBFE, the average hourly rate for a trainer is $65 per session. However, trainers can charge as low as $25 per hour, depending on geographical location and their experience (2). From calling and asking for prices from local trainers in Chandler & Tempe, independent trainers charge between $45-65/hour and gym trainers typically charge $60-80/hour. Personally I don’t recommend price shopping unless you are truly on a tight budget. Price doesn’t tell you whether or not you’ll LIKE your trainer. If you do like a trainer but can’t afford their one-on-one prices, ask about small group training which is typically 2-3X cheaper. I truly believe that if you find a trainer who you can connect with and enjoy being around, you will be more successful because you will look forward to seeing your Personal Trainer every day and will stick around long enough to get long-term results. If you choose a cheap trainer based on price alone, you are more likely to quit before you see results and go back to your old habits.

      My prices are as high as $65 for 60-minute 1-on-1 personal training or as low as $10 for 30-minute group training in a long-term program. I offer a range of prices so I can help people regardless of their budget. I would like to help people who cannot afford the average cost of a Personal Trainer in Arizona. I have 2 years of experience with dozens of positive customer reviews, and I want to stay flexible within client budgets to be an affordable Personal Trainer for women in the Phoenix area.

      If you find new information regarding personal training rates or pricing of programs that I can add to this article, feel free to share with me here.