CAMAS — Stacey Turnage’s goal was to make it through the holidays without gaining weight. She wanted to partake in the food and festivities without sacrificing her waistline.
The 38-year-old Camas woman not only achieved her goal, she came out in the negative: Turnage entered 2016 about 15 pounds lighter.
“There was a lot of cheesecake, key lime pie and wine still,” she said.
Turnage attributes her success to a nutrition program she joined at a new fitness boutique in Camas, Results Fitness Training. She joined the facility when it opened in October for its fitness classes. But when she heard about the nutrition program offered to all members, she knew it was what she needed to meet her holiday goal.
“I just felt like having the advice of a nutritionist was something I couldn’t pass up,” Turnage said. “I wanted to know how to eat.”
Personal trainer and nutritionist Scott Binder opened Results Fitness Training at Lacamas Crossing, which is anchored by Costco, this fall.
The centerpiece of the facility, which offers more than 60 classes per week, is TRX, a full-body workout that uses suspended straps and a person’s body weight.
Results Fitness offers a variety of TRX classes. Each focuses on certain muscle groups, but all provide cardio and strength-training benefits, Binder said. In addition, the facility offers Pilates and yoga.
But one of the components of Results Training is its nutrition program. Binder emphasizes the importance of nutrition to his members and offers eight-week nutrition programs to help people get their diet on track. He also opens the program to nonmembers.
“I know from being in the industry for 25 years that if we don’t address the nutrition component for people, they’re not going to see the progress they want to see,” Binder said.
“Nutrition is 80 percent,” he said. “Exercise is 20 (percent).”
Turnage joined the facility’s first eight-week program that began Nov. 3 and lost 14.6 pounds. On Tuesday, Binder launched his second eight-week program. The objective of the nutrition program is simple, Binder said.
“We need to get back to basics, and that’s stabilizing the blood sugar,” Binder said.
“We don’t just want people to eat healthy,” he added. “We want people to eat in balance.”
The goal, Binder said, is for people to eat meals that balance their blood-sugar levels and, as a result, their hormones. To do that, people need to eat a balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat, he said.
For men, that means eating 5 ounces of protein, 5 ounces of carbohydrates and 1 ounce of fat. For women, it’s 3 ounces each of protein and carbohydrates and 1/2 ounce of fat. And rather than eating two to three times a day, people should eat five to seven times per day, Binder said.
“We need to speed up the metabolism,” he said.
Binder’s program follows the eight-week plan laid out by nutritionist Mark Macdonald in his book “Why Kids Make You Fat … and How to Get Your Body Back.” Binder gives every member of Results Training a copy of the book.
“It’s not a diet,” Binder said. “It’s a real-life way to live your life.”
Binder also has teamed with local restaurants to offer Results Fitness menu options. That way, he said, members can stay on plan while dining out.
Binder first approached Corbett Fish House, which operates a restaurant a couple of doors down from Binder’s facility. The restaurant was quick to get on board, Binder said. Now, members — or anyone who knows about the off-menu item — can go into the restaurant and order the Results Training meal. For men, that includes 5 ounces of salmon or cod, 5 ounces of quinoa and a salad with dressing on the side. For women, the meal includes 3 ounces of halibut or cod, 3 ounces of quinoa and a salad. Other nearby restaurants offering Results Fitness menu items include Freshii, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Cafe Yumm! and Nuestra Mesa in Camas. Binder said he expects that list to grow as he continues to reach out to restaurants in east Vancouver and Camas, he said.
“If I can make it simple for them,” Binder said of his members on the nutrition plan, “then they can learn from it and do it on their own.”
The latest nutrition program kicked off Tuesday with about 25 people getting “before” photos, body measurements, body mass index readings and their initial weight. The group will meet every Tuesday for nutrition seminars and group support.
Lonny Myers of Vancouver was among the two dozen people giving the nutrition plan a try. Myers, 45, is diabetic. He doesn’t have good control of the disease and realized he needed to make a change, he said.
“My goal, first and foremost, is to get my diabetes in real tight control and live a long, healthy life,” Myers said.
Myers has worked out for years, but he has never really focused on his nutrition. He did work with a nutritionist about five years ago, but he didn’t maintain the program, a familiar problem for Myers.
“I have to … make this a life-changing event,” he said. “Make this long term, not short fixes like I’ve done in the past.”
