Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | Add Comment
One of the first things that people do when they go on a diet after the first of the year is start eating salads instead of full meals. The problem is that many salads- especially at restaurants are worse than eating a Big Mac. That’s because they are usually loaded with croutons, cheese, bacon and high fat dressings. So be really careful about salads. They can be great for you but you are better off going to a place with a salad bar where you can make your own or make them at home. There are thousands of recipes available on the web, so get creative. Adding some grilled chicken or tuna is a great way to get a balanced meal in a salad.
Now a word about dressings- skip the creamy dressings like ranch, creamy Italian and Thousand Island. They contain a lot of saturated fat that is obviuolsy bad for your diet. Stick to oil based dressings like Italian and Vinaigrette made with olive oil and tasty seasonings. These dressing have the “good” kind of fat that is healthier for you. Plus, you body needs some fat to absorb and metabolize vitamins and nutrients. So don’t be afraid of oil based dressings, just read the label and make sure you are getting the good stuff. FYI, my favorites are Newman’s Own dressings. Great taste, healthy and the profits go to charity. Can’t beat that.
Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | Add Comment
As new research sheds light on nutrition and diet, we are finding that some of the “diet hype” is not just off base a little, it is completely wrong. The anti-carb crowd is loud and has captured a lot of media attention in the past few years. But, science and common sense tells us that we need carbs to function- just not the wrong type of high sugar carbs that are so prevalent in American diets. Just remember, that the example give here about potatoes and rice assume you are not deep frying them (French-fries) or covering them with sour creme, bacon and cheese. You still need to be smart about how you prepare these foods. So enjoy, but be smart about it. From Prevention-
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A kind of dietary fiber known as “resistant starch” is emerging as a new weight loss powerhouse. A 2008 Swedish study found that people who ate a resistant starch at supper (in the form of barley bread) felt much less hungry than those who munched on plain white bread — and the hunger-quenching effect lasted past breakfast the next day. Found in beans, slightly green bananas, and potatoes (white and sweet), among other foods, this kind of fiber “resists” being digested. Because the starch doesn’t enter your bloodstream, it stabilizes blood sugar levels and may lower diabetes risk. It also boosts levels of healthful bacteria that nurture the immune system.
Stay healthy
Load up your diet with these indigestible carbohydrates, also found in brown rice and corn, says Leslie Bonci, RD, author of the American Dietetic Association Guide to Better Digestion. Because the starch becomes resistant during cooling, serve these foods at room temperature or from the fridge — think three-bean or (low-fat mayo) potato salad. You can find foods fortified with a resistant starch made from corn under the brand name Hi-maize (see our picks at prevention.com/starch). “If you’re eliminating carbs to watch your weight, you’re not doing yourself any favors,” Bonci says. “Adding these starches is an easy way to control both hunger and blood sugar.”
Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | Add Comment
There is a good article on MSNBC about Obama’s dedication to working out every day and his views on self-discipline. With the state of health declining in America due to heart disease, diabetes and all the other ailments that come with our high calorie, low exercise lifestyle, we may get a little help from the President being “Trainer in Chief”.
I can totally empathize with his need to hit the gym every day. Even when I was fighting off the cold I’ve had for the past few days, I went to the gym for a few minutes- just to get the blood flowing. One thing you might notice about Obama’s training routine is that the schedule is simple- everyday. The discipline of going to the gym every day is something that will carry over into other parts of your life as well.
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The more Obama’s life intensifies, friends said, the more he relies on the gym — which is why he might be taking office in the best shape of his life. The gym is where he releases stress, maintains a routine and thinks without interruption. He sometimes wears headphones and barricades the outside world.
…It’s a schedule he started as a 22-year-old student at Columbia University in New York, and it immediately transformed him. In his 1995 autobiography, “Dreams From My Father,” Obama said he was a casual drug user and an underachiever until he decided to start running three miles each day. He stopped staying out late, fasted on Sundays and became a voracious reader, spending most of his time alone in his apartment reading classic literature and philosophical texts.
Physical fitness yielded mental fitness, Obama decided, and the two concepts have been married in his mind ever since.
“It’s always been a priority in his daily routine,” said Christopher Lu, a marathon runner who worked as Obama’s legislative director in the Senate and was named Cabinet secretary last week. “I think it’s an example of how disciplined he is. It’s one of the things that really keeps him balanced.”
Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | Add Comment
With energy drinks like Red Bull being so popular, I thought I’d look at the real effects of caffeine for those of us who workout. Fortunately, a new study has just come out that looks at the effect of caffeine on men and women. While I think that any study like this has the possibility of having a skew due to placebo effect, I think the general conclusions are valid. One of the interesting discoveries is that men seem to be more affected by caffeine than women and that caffeine starts to work almost right away.
Regardless of sex, caffeine has an almost immediate effect, the UB researchers found. Previous studies had shown that alertness starts to increase 30 to 45 minutes after consumption, but the new study shows that the effects begin after as few as 10 minutes.
Adan said: “45 minutes is the time needed for maximum caffeine concentration to be reached in the blood, but levels reach half this concentration after just a few minutes.”
What this means for people who workout- either in the morning or after a long day is simply this- a cup of coffee will help get you going and motivated when you really don’t feel like it. I usually go through the drive thru at Dunkin Donuts before heading to the gym. Not only do I like their coffee, but it really does make a difference. So skip the expensive energy drinks that usually have a ton of sugar in them and get an old fashioned cup of coffee for that workout pick-me-up.
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Children/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
Well, the season is upon us… and I’m not talking about Christmas. The cold and flu season is here and I can attest to that personally- last night I started feeling bad and my head was very congested. I couldn’t sleep well and I had a fever, so I was miserable. I haven’t had a cold or the flu in a few years, so I was surprised by this. Anyway, here are my recommendations for fighting off a cold or flu.
1) Sleep- your body recovers best when it is resting. Take a day off work if you need to. You will recover much faster and the people at work don’t what what you have anyway!
2) Decongestant (Musenex D) so you can breath and Ibuprofen for aches and pains. Nose spray helps me a lot, so you might want to try that as well.
3) Try to eat and drink normal amounts if you can. My stomach doesn’t usually feel bad when I get sick like some people, so even though I’m not hungry, I still make myself eat at least small amounts.
4) If you are really sick with the flu, stay warm and in bed. But getting up and moving around or a walk outside always makes me feel better if I’m not too sick. A little light exercise will usually make me feel better- just moving and stretching helps with the aches and pains.
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If you are really sick, go to the doctor right away. There are several flu medications they can give you to speed your recovery if you get them within 2 days of showing flu symptoms. Fortunately, I only have a bad cold, but most of us know when we are really sick and need to go to the doctor. Remember, the flu is nothing to sneeze at (pun intended). It is estimated that it kills 36,000 people per year in the US, so take it seriously! Here is some more good info on the flu-
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Travel/fit | Add Comment
We’ve all heard the myths about high blood pressure and headaches and well as the one about not feeling well causing high blood pressure. Both are- in general- myths. High blood pressure is for the most part undetectable except by measuring it. So read through these 4 myths over at MSNBC Health and set you mind at ease.
Myth: A bad headache could mean your high blood pressure is about to cause a stroke.
This widely held misconception dates to the time of President Franklin Roosevelt, who died in office in 1945 from a massive cerebral hemorrhage after reporting, “I have a terrific headache.” Roosevelt, who was in poor health, had stratospheric blood pressure, in the range of 260/150. Among the many factors that contributed to his condition was the fact that none of today’s safe, effective medications were available to him. Today, patients virtually never develop the changes in their hearts and blood vessels that ultimately killed Roosevelt. In 30 years of medical practice, I’ve never seen a patient who’d been receiving proper treatment suffer a hypertensive emergency like his.
Finally, here is one that is not a myth- exercise, diet and weight loss is a good way to lower you blood pressure. This is true and is one of the best ways to keep your blood pressure under control. Even mild exercise will help and every pound you lose will help. There are of course, people who need blood pressure medication even with lifestyle changes, but the vast majority of people will see an improvement by losing weight and exercise. Remember, your body was never designed to sit around and do nothing all day!
The Benefits of a 6 Meal Diet Schedule
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Ladies/fit, Quick Tips, Seniors/fit, Travel/fit, Youth/fit | Add Comment
Most people are on the standard “3 square meals per day” plan. But research has shown that eating 6 small meals spaced about 2-3 hours apart is much better for dieting and and general health. There are several reasons- When you eat 6 small meals, you never really get ravenously hungry and so you tend to eat less. This is important for portion control. It also has the benefit of allowing your stomach to shrink so you feel full sooner. This won’t happen instantly, but it will happen over time. A third benefit is that your blood sugar tends to stay more constant throughout the day with out huge spikes and valleys and so your metabolism is generally faster and you just feel better. This really works, so give it a try. But, you have to be deliberate in your meal planning- especially if you have a job that doesn’t allow for this easily. So, you might need to take a small cooler with you that has your food so you aren’t tempted to eat out of the candy bar machine! Eating out- especially fast food is a killer. Keep it to no more than once a week- or never. If you have to eat fast food, look for Subway, Chic-fil-a or something in that genre.
Here are some suggestions for what these 6 small meals should look like.
Breakfast- Bowl of instant oatmeal made with lowfat milk. Coffee, tea or other low calorie drink. Alternately, 3 eggs with only 1 yolk and a piece of whole grain toast with fruit jelly like Orange marmalade or apple butter.
Mid-morning- 1/2 whole wheat or plain bagel with natural peanut butter. Coffee, tea or other low calorie drink.
Lunch- Sliced turkey, chicken or even ham on whole grain bread with tomato, lettuce or whatever you like. If you can’t skip the mayo, use the reduced calorie stuff. The zero-calorie mayo tastes so bad I won’t even try to get you to eat it… Add an apple, peach or some other small piece of fruit and water, tea of coffee. You can also add things like baby peeled carrots since they are very low in calories and are great for nutrients.
Mid-afternoon- Another piece of fruit is a good snack along with some crackers or pretzels. There are so many fruits available that you can have a constantly varied selection all week. All the snack stuff comes in the 100 calorie packs now, so they are easy to bring with you- just don’t eat a bunch of them. Only bring as many as you should have that day.
Dinner- Eat a “normal dinner”, but alway start with salad with a low calorie dressing. Most people never realize how many calories are in salad dressing and so they consume a ridiculous amount of calories just in salad dressings. Salad will fill you up some before the main course so you won’t eat as much. Lean meat, steamed vegetables and some sort of carbs like rice or pasta should round out your dinner.
Evening- You don’t have to eat this meal if you don’t want to or aren’t hungry. But instead of eating a bag of chips or cookies while you watch TV, try eating a small amount of meat left over from dinner with some vegetable type snacks like baby carrots, celery or a handful of nuts (almonds, walnuts and pecans are the most beneficial). This will keep you from going to bed hungry, and help you to sleep better- and sleep is really important for dieting and physical training.
Exercise- The Fountain of Youth
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Prime/fit, Seniors/fit, Spiritual/Emotional, Sports, Travel/fit | Add Comment
Many recent studies have shown that the key to healthy living into your senior years is more dependent on exercise and diet (IE, lifestyle) than on anything else. So it is no surprise that a new study released last month by The Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine shows that exercise keeps seniors younger and allows them to compete in sports well into their 80’s. This is good news for those of us who are over 50 and are concerned about quality of life as we age. While a lot of people simply want to stay young by taking a pill or shot (see my previous post), the evidence suggests that diet and exercise are really the magic formula. No big surprise, but it does mean that we are going to have to get people moving. Not an easy task considering how sedentary our culture has become. Add to that the general attitude that retirement and senior years are for resting, and the problem becomes even bigger.
From Dr. Mirkin:
Athletes who compete into their eighties suffer few medical problems, but those who lapse into inactivity regress toward the general population norms for fitness, weight control and health problems, according to a study in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine (November 2008).
People who compete into later life in sports such as running or cycling can maintain their competitive edge into their eighties. Each muscle is made up of millions of muscle fibers. With aging, particularly after age 50, you lose muscle fibers so you become weaker. You cannot slow the loss of muscle fibers, but you can compensate for the loss of fibers by increasing the size of each remaining muscle fiber with regular vigorous exercise. If the results of this study can be extended to all regular exercisers, you can also expect to live longer and suffer fewer health problems than your non-exercising peers.
Posted by: Curt | Under: 40's/fit, 50's/fit, Diet and Weight Loss, General Fitness, Health, Ladies/fit, Seniors/fit, Spiritual/Emotional, Sports, Supplements, Travel/fit | Add Comment
Me at 50
There is a good article over at MSNBC about the obsession (and cost) that some people have with staying young looking. From cosmetic surgery to hormone replacement drugs, Americans, and I suspect many others around the world are seeking quick and easy fountain of youth treatments. But the simple fact of the matter is that none of this is quick and easy- or without danger of long term side effects. The best and most effective way to stay healthy as you age is a good diet and lots of exercise. Apart from these 2 critical aspects, the rest is just band-aids on a mortal wound. I suspect that all the drugs and treatments have as much a placebo/motivational effect as a real effect.
LAS VEGAS – It’s one of those photos that make you do a double-take. Dr. Jeffry Life stands in jeans, his shirt off. His face is that of a distinguished-looking grandpa; his head is balding, and what hair there is is white. But his 69-year-old body looks like it belongs to a muscle-bound 30-year-old.
The photo regularly runs in ads for the Cenegenics Medical Institute, a Las Vegas-based clinic that specializes in “age management,” a growing field in a society obsessed with staying young. Life, who swears that’s his real last name, also keeps a framed copy of the photo on his office wall at Cenegenics.
We are all going to get old and die- that is the simple fact of life. The real goal should be a quality of life that keeps us able to do the things we love and enjoy for as long as possible. So there might be some benefits to the treatments that they are using to “slow” the aging process. But let’s face it, few people have an extra 1000.00/mo to spend on these drugs. Plus, did you notice that the programs that work all include strict diet and exercise? A good diet and exercise will make anyone feel younger, more energetic and clear minded.
Detwiler, 47, has been Life’s patient for more than three years. In that time, he has adopted the regimen that his doctor also follows — drastically changing his exercise and eating habits and injecting himself each day with human growth hormone. He also receives weekly testosterone injections.
He does it because it makes him feel better, more energetic, clear-minded.
He does it because he wants to live a long, healthy life.
While I am sure there are a few people that do need hormone replacement tharapy, I really do think that the vast majority of people would find that a good diet and exercise plan is just as effective for general wellness as the programs that include all the drugs and supplements. If this were real science and not a money making scheme, there would be studies that use double blind testing to seperate the effects of diet and exercise from the drugs. That said, there is nothing like spending a lot of money on something to convince you of it’s value. That’s just human nature, unfortuately.
Posted by: Curt | Under: General Fitness | Add Comment
This is a little off topic, but with Christmas coming it might be helpful to some of you. One of the sites I visit every day is techbargains.com. They update their site blog style with the latest computer/tech/gadgets deals on the net continuously throughout the day. I’ve found a ton of good deals on computer and consumer electronics there without having to scour the Internet myself. So if you haven’t finished you shopping yet, check it out- you will likely find a few good deals to help out with your Christmas list.
