Wednesday, April 15, 2009
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.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
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.
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.
�
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.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
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.
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.
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