How to Get a Workout From Playing Cards

Difficulty:
Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• One full deck of playing cards
• Enough space to lie down

Step1

Assign an exercise to each suit. For example, Diamonds=push-ups, Spades=squats, Clubs=crunches, Hearts=jumping jacks.

Step2

Discard all cards numbered two through five (too easy!). The numbers on the remaining cards determine the number of repetitions you perform for each exercise. Face cards can equal 15 reps, while an ace gives you a 30-second rest.

Step3

Shuffle the cards, draw one and perform the exercise indicated. For example, if you draw the eight of hearts, perform eight jumping jacks. Take a breath.

Step4

Draw another card. Continue drawing cards until you complete at least three sets of each exercise.

Walk Off 5 Times More Belly Fat

Pop quiz: Two women go walking. One finishes quickly; the other takes her time. They each burn about 400 calories. So who sheds more belly fat? The obvious answer: It's a tie. But a surprising new study shows that the one speed walking actually loses more.

Researchers from the University of Virginia found that women who did three shorter, fast-paced walks a week (plus two longer, moderate-paced ones) lost 5 times more belly fat than those who simply strolled at a moderate speed 5 days a week, even though both groups burned exactly the same number of calories (400) per workout. Those speed walking also dropped more than 2 inches from their waistlines, pared about 3 times more fat from their thighs, shed 4 times more total body fat, and lost almost 8 pounds over 16 weeks--all without dieting!

The improvements didn't stop there. The high-intensity exercisers lost about 3 times more visceral fat--the dangerous belly fat that wraps around organs such as the liver and kidneys and has been linked to diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. "Vigorous exercise raises levels of fat-burning hormones," says lead researcher Arthur Weltman, PhD, director of the exercise physiology laboratory at the university. It also increases afterburn (the number of calories your body uses postexercise as it recovers) by about 47% compared with lower-intensity workouts.

So how do you make all this science work for you? Start with our 8-week progressive walking plan, which includes both shorter, high-intensity workouts and longer, moderate-paced ones. Add in the Flat Belly sculpting moves to firm your ever-shrinking middle. In just 2 months, you could walk off 1 or 2 sizes--without dieting!

Then celebrate your success by joining Team Prevention to walk a full or a half marathon. The 8-Week Plan will prime you for the challenge while flattening your belly, and our Walk-a-Marathon (or Half) Training will keep you on track to get in your best shape possible.

(2/2) that you, too, can become great!! ~ Mark Twain

(1/2) Keep away from small people who try to belittle your ambitions~Small people always do that~but the really great make you feel

8 Slim Down Tips from the Biggest Loser Trainers

1. Crank Up the Incline

Run for the hills.

Jillian says, the next time you're doing your treadmill workout try boosting the incline. You'll change the muscles you're training; you'll up your calorie burn by increasing the intensity; and you'll add some variety to your cardio so you don't get bored.

2. Hold That Position

Just because your heart isn't pounding doesn't mean you're not working out.

Core workouts focus on improving strength and stability of the torso. Holding a yoga or Pilates pose offers as much of a challenge as a sweat-drenched workout, says Bob. Start by holding a pose for 5 to 10 breaths, then gradually work up to holding it for one minute. These workouts offer benefits such as improved posture and strengthening the lower back as well as your abdominals.

3. Ditch the Soda

Quench your thirst with better bubbles.

When it comes to choosing a beverage, don't drink soda, says Jillian. Whether it's sugared soda or diet soda, it's terrible for your body. It'll put weight on you, dehydrate you, and deplete the minerals from your system. Make a smarter choice. Sparkling water, unsweetened iced teas, green tea and white tea have been shown to burn more fat and up to 78 more calories per day.

4. Throw Your Weight Around

Discard the equipment for allover results.

Jillian says that a great way to improve your balance and coordination is to work with your own body weight. Oftentimes when you go to the gym and you work on machines, it artificially isolates a muscle, which isn't natural. But when you do things like squats, lunges, pushups, crunches, pull-ups--the variety of exercises is almost endless—you're forcing your upper and lower body to synergize and work together. This gives you more balance, more stability, more coordination and better overall performance.

5. Get Menu-Savvy

Pay attention to these healthy food terms.

Almost 25% of Americans' meals come from eating out. So it's important to make your next restaurant visit a healthy one. Jillian suggests you look for steamed, boiled, baked, grilled, poached, or roasted foods on the menu. Don't be shy about making special requests if you don't see a figure-friendly option. When in doubt, go the salad route. Salads are a healthy choice, especially with dressing and cheese on the side.

6. Avoid Over-Processed Foods

Read nutrition labels to identify diet disasters.

Bob suggests avoiding foods containing high fructose corn syrup, a sweetener and preservative that helps extend the shelf life of food. (Foods to watch out for: soda, cereals, bread, breakfast bars, ice cream.) It's found in processed foods that are often high in calories and low in nutritional value. Simply read the nutritional facts on your favorite foods to see if they contain high fructose corn syrup. If they do, throw them out.

7. Eat These for Stress Relief

Swap junk food for healthy comfort foods.

Bob says it's easy to make poor food choices when we're stressed—but here's the skinny on some real stress-reducing comfort food. Walnuts help replace stress-depleted B vitamins and it's a great source of omega 3s. Also try eating asparagus, a natural mood lightener. Dip them in fat-free yogurt for a touch more calcium. And when chocolate and only chocolate will do, go for the dark option. Dark chocolate contains anti-oxidants with the strength to fight not only cancer but also heart disease.

8. Torch Calories with Weights

Strength train for maximum calorie burn.

When you're working out, it's important to incorporate weight training into your routine says Bob. You'll burn 8 to 10 calories a minute lifting weights. Also, lifting weights gives you a metabolic spike for an hour after your workout because your body is trying hard to help your muscles recover.

Fast Food Renovation

Chef Rocco breaks down our cravings

Chef Rocco DiSpirito understands the allure of fast foods. Quick and flavorful, fast foods are a staple in many a standard American diet. But cheap food comes at a big price. Fast food is filled with calories and saturated fat, let alone the unnecessary sodium and other additives.

"Some of the worst food you can eat is fast food," Rocco told the Biggest Loser cast during a recent episode.

Chef DiSpirito shared these shocking stats:

* A typical stuffed crust meat pizza has 490 calories, 27 grams of fat, 1,570 mg of sodium. That's per slice. A whole pie can run 4,000 calories.

* A typical stuffed burrito with the guacamole, the sour cream and the cheese has more than 1,100 calories, 47 grams of fat, and more than 2,600 mg of sodium.

* A typical triple cheeseburger has 1,230 calories, 82 grams of fat, and over 1,500 mg of sodium. And if you add fries, fat in a typical cheeseburger with fries is 110 grams.

Don't let the allure of fast food muck up your healthy eating plan. If you must eat burgers and tacos, cook healthier versions at home using leaner ingredients like bison instead of beef and yogurt instead of sour cream.

Next time you drive by your former favorite fast food joint, do your body good, keep driving.

This is just a test! My 1st blog from my phone!

Items to keep in yout gym bag...

7 Gym Bag Necessities

When you pack your gym bag before a workout, there are a few necessities you can't do without, like your sports bra and your sneaks. Here are some other items you should consider stowing in your gym bag to make your post-workout life better.

Facial Towelettes

If you don't have time after exercising to shower or even wash your face, these convenient Blum Naturals Daily Towelettes ($7) are perfect. They're alcohol-free, made with tea tree oil to prevent breakouts, and contain no synthetic fragrances, preservatives, or parabens.

Laundry Bag

When you're done with your workout, you don't want your dirty, sweaty clothes to mingle with everything else, so keep a laundry bag in your gym bag. This one from August Moon Organics ($29) is made from organic cotton, so you can wash it with your workout clothes.

Gym Membership Holder

Depending on your gym or studio, you probably have some sort of ID card that you have to show every time you go. Keep it in a little pouch like this one from Vera Bradley ($5), and you can also keep money, tampons, and your jewelery safe while working out.

Flip Flops

If you shower at your gym, that means tons of other people do too. In order to prevent catching athlete's foot or some other nasty bug, wear flip-flops in the shower. These from The North Face are on sale for $9.93! Pack a clean towel too, unless your gym provides one.

BPA-Free Water Bottle

Many people carry a water bottle around wherever they go, but knowing me, I'd leave mine at work when I headed to the gym. So I always keep a bottle in my gym bag to use while working out. Choose a BPA-free one from Sigg, Klean Kanteen, Nalgene, or Intak. Not only will you stay hydrated and save money on bottled water, but you'll be doing the planet good, too!

Snacks

Whether you need a pre- or post-workout pick-me-up, you've got to keep snacks in your gym bag. Try snacks that can stay in your bag since they need no refrigeration, such as fruit and nut bars like Larabars or Kind bars, or bags of trail mix. Bags of whole grain crackers are a good idea too, or if you remember, you can pack fresh fruit right before you head out the door (just don't forget it's in there!).

Deodorant

I keep an extra deodorant in my gym bag in case I want to reapply before a workout. If you don't want aluminum in yours, I like Adidas Cotton Tech deodorant.

5 Reasons to Lift Weights

We should all be lifting weights, or doing some form of strength training, at least twice a week. Yet that statistic on women strength training is well below 30 percent, and there are so many benefits to gaining some muscle. If you need some convincing, here are five reasons you should pick up some dumbbells and start lifting.

24 Hour After Burn

One of the benefits of weight training is the after burn — burning calories as your body recovers from your workout. After an hour long session of lifting weights, the average woman burns an extra 100 calories over the next 24 hours. Those extra calories add up. Think about it: if you weight train three times a week, that is an extra 300 calories per week, and an extra 1,200 calories per month. Over the course of a year that equals almost four and a half pound lost — close to that magic number of five pounds most women I know say they would like to lose.

Source: Getty

Muscle Mass Fights Diabetes

The rate of type 2 diabetes continues to climb in this country and one way to combat the disease is to build muscle. Muscle mass, not only burns more calories a day than most other tissues, it also dispels the blood sugar quickly. Muscles effectively contribute to preventing type 2 diabetes.

Helps You Lose Inches

We all tend to think of cardio as the calorie torcher and the necessary exercise for losing weight. Remember though, it is better to lose inches and gain muscle than to simply lose pounds. Lifting twice a week can reduce your overall body fat by three percent in just ten weeks. This is because muscle tissue requires more energy to simply exist than other tissues like fat, so muscle burns more calories.

Skip the Light Weight Many Reps Routine

There are many ladies out there who fear they will bulk up if they lift heavy weights and many trainers who perpetuate the myth. There is another reason, aside from saving time, for lifting closer to your maximum weight load instead of doing 100 reps with a super light weight: Increase calorie burn for two hours after training. Lifting a greater weight fewer times means you can burn almost twice as many calories post workout. Think of it as more bang for your buck.

Makes You Stronger

I know this one is obvious, but strength training has daily practical applications in lifting heavy things. Increasing your strength also makes you less prone to injury. Two very great things for an active gal.

How to lose weight without going into DEBT!!

By Charles Stuart Platkin

Everything costs money, and that includes staying fit and healthy. But there are ways to trim the fat -– so to speak -– and still, well, trim the fat.

1. Set up an inexpensive home gym. Instead of a gym membership ($30 to $70 per month), invest in an exercise mat, a resistance band and an exercise/stability ball. With those items, you can work out in the comfort of your own home, in a park or anywhere. Learn a few key exercises such as a plank, side plank, squats and push-ups. Also, using the band, learn the chest press, lateral raises, bicep curls, standing back row, triceps extension and overhead shoulder press.

There are many sites online that will help you create a 30-minute home workout for free. Just enter "exercise resistance band workout" into the search engine and see what comes up. Or try: acefitness.org/getfit/RubrBndWkout.pdf and thera-bandacademy.com/exercises and bodylastics.com.

2. Use your tv. Start your own collection of fitness DVDs by purchasing them online at collagevideo.com or amazon.com. Check around for sales. Or rent them from Netflix for as little as $4.99 per month. Or see if your local library has any you can borrow. Also, as a side note, you can save money by borrowing diet and fitness books from the library instead of purchasing them.

3. Use the free stair climber. Find the tallest public building around and climb to the top at least once per day.

4. Walk more. Save gas and improve your life. Walking is simple, it's inexpensive and almost anyone can do it –- you don't even need a pair of sneakers (but it helps). Try to incorporate your walk into something you have to do anyway. For instance, you need to go shopping -– why not walk to the store? Also, while you're walking, you can catch up with friends and family on your cell phone, stop in to visit with friends and neighbors, or use the time to think of ways to improve your relationships. The idea is to multitask while you're staying fit. Or use the walk as a time to reflect. Research shows that the more scenic your walks are, the more you'll want to take them. Walking burns 246 calories per hour.

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5. Bicycle. Go onto craigslist.org and buy a used bike, or buy a new low-cost beach cruiser with a basket. Start biking to get around town -– and to get some exercise while you do your errands. Before you buy a bike, take it for a test ride. Make sure it feels right. Also, don't be shy -- play with the gears and brakes and travel on terrain that's similar to where you're most likely to use the bike. You can even get a $20 monthly credit on your taxes, which can be used for maintaining, repairing or buying bicycles (see: irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15b.pdf). Biking at a leisurely pace of 10 to 12 mph, you can burn 423 calories in just 60 minutes.

6. Jump rope. It is very inexpensive and it burns calories while it improves your endurance, cardiovascular health, coordination, timing and agility. You can buy a jump-rope at your local sporting goods store or go online to ropesport.com, amazon.com or esportsonline.com. Slow jumping burns 9.4 calories per minute or 281 calories per half-hour. Moderate jumping burns 11.7 calories per minute or 352 calories per half-hour.

7. Buy fruits and vegetables in season. Spring: apricots, broccoli, green beans, mangoes, pineapples and spinach. Summer: bell peppers, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, eggplant, grapes, melons, peaches, sweet corn, tomatoes, summer squash, watermelon and zucchini. Fall: apples, butternut squash, cranberries, pumpkin, Brussels sprouts, pears, pomegranates, sweet potatoes and turnips. Winter: apples, grapefruit, kiwis, leeks, oranges, mushrooms, tangerines and winter squash. When not in season, or to avoid having fresh produce go bad, try frozen fruits and vegetables –- you'll probably be surprised by how good they are.

8. Buy organic only when necessary. According to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, the following fruits and vegetables generally contain the most harmful pesticides, so buy them organic when you can: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, grapes (imported), carrots and pears.

9. Cook in batches, and eat at home. Eating out can be expensive and unhealthy (lots of calories and big portions). Cooking for yourself saves money, and you also get to choose the ingredients so you can make sure all your food is healthful. Also, taking the time to cook your own food helps you to appreciate it more -– and preparing, cooking and cleaning up burns calories. One of the most effective ways to ensure that you always have a healthy meal on hand at home is to cook several meals at once. Maybe create a cooking day. For instance, Sunday you could spend the day cooking for the entire week. Make a vat of vegetable soup, or prepare and cook two whole chickens (without the skin, of course). Divide everything into serving-size portions and freeze it.

10. Get group support. One of the reasons Weight Watchers is so successful is that it provides participants with support. You can create your own group support by putting up fliers in your neighborhood or at local markets. Hold weekly meetings with others who want to lose weight. Or, if you're not the organizing type, try the nonprofit TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) at tops.org. Dues are $26 annually in the United States, plus chapter fees that average less than $5 per month to cover operating costs.

The opinions expressed are solely the writer's. Charles Stuart Platkin is a nutrition and public health advocate, founder of DietDetective.com, the health and fitness network and author of "The Diet Detective's Calorie Bargain Bible" (Simon & Schuster, 2007). Sign up for the free Diet Detective newsletter and iTunes podcast at DietDetective.com.

Excerts from Chat with Joy Bauer of the Joy Fit Club

QUESTION:
It is just me and my son and i dont like to cook for just two. I have to be at work at 6 pm so I have little time to cook. What kind of fast food can I eat?

ANSWER:
Joy Bauer: Healthy canned soups (lentil, vegetable, minestrone, bean), lean ham or turkey sandwiches on whole wheat bread with mustard or reduced fat mayo, egg white omelets with vegetables and reduced fat cheese, tacos made with ground turkey meat, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, and shredded reduced fat cheese and salsa. Hope this helps a bit!

QUESTION:
[Comment From Brenda - Woonsocket, RI]
How do I gain some stamina to start an exercising program and eating healthy when everything is so expensive and I am out of a job. I just sit around all day and I haven't the energy to do anything about it. Please help me!!!

ANSWER:
Joy Bauer: Start by simply walking 30 minutes a day -- you don't have to be an athlete and best of all, it's FREE. It's my personal favorite form of exercise -- I try to walk for an hour every day. If you have an iPod, load on your favorite tunes and enjoy some solo time.... or, buddy up with a friend and enjoy a quality visit.

QUESTION:
[Comment From Butler Road]
What are your top three fish choices. I heard some are better than others.

ANSWER:
Joy Bauer: Wild salmon, sardines, and shrimp. The first two are brimming with omega 3 fats and Vitamin D! Shrimp is super low-calorie and low-contaminant.

What to do when workouts and sleep collide...

Your Rest Period

Biggest Loser Club fitness expert Michael Scholtz knows that many of us get our physical activity in the evening hours. Scholtz also knows exercising too close to bedtime can make it difficult to sleep. He shares these tips with BLC nighttime exercisers who need their sleep:

1) Go to bed well hydrated. Drink plenty of water during the afternoon and early evening.

2) Avoid bright light in the evening. Bright light interferes with melatonin production, a hormone we produce that helps us sleep.

3) Avoid eating two hours before going to sleep if possible.

4) Use white noise. The sound of a spinning fan can mute out harsher background noises and keep you at a deeper sleep level.

5) Take a relaxing bath or shower. Light candles if that calms you.

6) Exercise earlier. If your schedule is flexible, hit the gym as early as possible.

7) Avoid stress. Don't pay bills or watch scary movies before hitting the hay.

8) Try chamomile tea. Be sure to avoid any caffeinated beverages before bedtime.

...This is an excerpt, read the full article as a member of the Biggest Loser Club.