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4 September 2010
Nutrition
Peanut butter can be a great addition to your diet. The monounsaturated fats are healthy, and it can help you feel full until your next meal. I'm NOT, however, talking about the stuff that comes in a big jar with teddy bears on it. That has added sugar, salt, and hydrogenated oil. I'm talking about making your own. Go to the bulk section of your grocery store and buy about two cups of peanuts (or one cup of peanuts and one cup of some other kind of nut). Remember to get unsalted nuts. Put the whole thing in your food processor and let it rip. In about three minutes, it'll go from chopped nuts to a thick "ball' stage, and from there, to creamy peanut butter. Put it in a jar, and keep it in the fridge. Seriously, it's that easy. Experiment with different kinds of nuts (but don't go 100% almonds -- a home food processor doesn't have enough speed to extract sufficient oil to get it past the chopped nut stage).
Exercise
On any exercise you do, keep your head in the game. Studies have shown that if you actively concentrate on the muscle you're working, you'll actually get better results than if you let your mind wander. There really is a mind/body connection. Use it to your advantage! Plus, concentrating on the working muscle will help you maintain proper form, which is crucial to getting results and staying free of injury.
27 August 2010
Whole grains are good for you. You probably already know that. But do you know why? When wheat is refined into white flour, only one of the three parts of the seed are used. The bran and the germ are discarded. Unfortunately, it's in the bran and germ that most of the nutrition in wheat is found. The resulting product is also usually treated with chemical bleach to give white flour its snow-white appearance. And don't think that the word 'enriched' on the label will help much: some 15 nutrients are lost when the wheat seed is refined, and 'enriching' only puts back four of them. The nutritional uselessness of white flour is worth a whole blog post, but in the meantime, just stay away from it.
Well, it's nearly Labour day. That means summer is coming to a close. Take advantage of the summer we have left by taking your workout outside. I don't mean hauling your dumbbells up from the basement. I mean getting out and getting active. Walk, jog, rollerblade...it's up to you. If you start now, it'll be a habit once fall and winter arrive and you'll find yourself looking forward to it. There's no magic to getting fit -- find something active you like to do, and do it. Often.
20 August 2010
The egg. Unjustly villified for it's fat and cholesterol. Truth is, it deserves a place in your daily diet. The white is pure protein, while the yolk (the part that draws fire) has protein, fat and yes, cholesterol. Remember a couple of things, though; saturated fat isn't the poison we were brought up to believe it was. If you're paying attention to the rest of your diet, the 5 g of fat in one whole egg isn't going to cause any problems. Plus, the fat will help keep you feeling full for longer. Also, studies are showing that dietary cholesterol has less of an effect on your blood cholesterol than was originally thought. Personally, I eat whole eggs for breakfast 4 or 5 times a week, and I haven't burst into flames or anything. One thing: go organic of you can. The hens get a better diet and their eggs get a boost of omega-3's as a result.
If you're about to embark on a new exercise program, swallow your pride and take some 'before' pictures. Then take more pictures every 30 days. After a few months, if you've stuck with your program and paid attention to your nutrition, the changes you'll see in the pictures will inspire you to keep going and going. I know that on day 1, the last thing you want to do is document how you look, but trust me, it will be worth it. I did it, and I'm really glad I did.
13 August 2010
When buying fish, always look for wild instead of farmed. The difference is how the fish are raised: wild fish live in lakes and oceans, and are caught by fishermen (fisherpeople?). These fish eat what comes naturally: plants and smaller fish. Farmed fish are raised in commercial fish operations, usually in tanks with hundreds of other fish packed in gill to gill. These fish are given antibiotics and often fed foods theyd never encounter in the wild, like corn and soy. Being penned in, they also end up ingesting their excrement. Yummy.
Yes, there is still the issue of mercury content in wild fish. This is particularly so in large fish, so you might want to limit your intake of big species like swordfish and shark. Fish like trout, perch, or salmon are generally quite low in mercury, so the health benefits of adding them to your diet (protein, omega 3 fatty acids) far outweighs any downside that may or may not be present.
When stretching (and you do stretch, right?), remember your breathing. Correct breathing will help calm your mind and actually increase your flexibility. As you move into a stretch, exhale slowly. When you inhale, back off the stretch slightly. On your next exhale, sink a bit deeper than you were before. The movement back and forth is subtle. Think of your breath like waves lapping a shoreline. As the water comes into shore, exhale and extend into the stretch. As the water recedes, so do you. Do this gradually, and youll see some significant improvement in your flexibility.
6 August 2010
Is organic produce worth it? As a general proposition, yes. Having said that, I recognize that most people dont have an unlimited grocery budget. If you dont have the ability to switch to organic completely (either because of cost or because your grocery store just doesn't stock it), here's a list of the most pesticide-ridden crops available today. These are things for which you should ALWAYS go organic:
1.Peaches
2.Apples
3.Sweet Bell Peppers
4.Celery
5.Nectarines
6.Strawberries
7.Cherries
8.Pears
9.Grapes (imported)
10.Spinach
11.Lettuce
12.Potatoes
For a whole new kind of burn on resistance exercises, feel the squeeze. When you reach the top of a movement, pause for a count of two and really squeeze the muscle youre working. For example, at the top of a bicep curl, when the weight is up near your shoulder, pause and squeeze your biceps HARD. Then release and slowly lower the weight. Do this for every repetition. Dont be surprised if you cant do as many reps or handle as much weight as normal when you use this technique. (One word of caution: when squeezing at the top of a shoulder movement, be sure not to squeeze and tense your neck muscles as well, since this is a fast way to a painful kink in your neck. Concentrate on the shoulder muscles, and keep a long, relaxed neck.)
30 July 2010
Today's tip is a simple one: Drink more water. Most people don't, and it affects all of our bodily functions. You need water to survive, and that's especially true in the summer months. When we feel warm, our bodies cool off by sweating. This results in water loss. Even if we're not breaking a sweat, we're still losing water every time we exhale. When we breathe out, our breath contains water vapour. Admittedly, we don't lose a lot of water this way, but it all adds up. Keep a Brita pitcher nearby and keep your glass full. And yes, other drinks count too (except alcohol, which can further dehydrate you), but watch out for sugar, fat and caffeine content in other beverages.
Today's exercise tip applies to all those folks who spend their 9 to 5 chained to a desk. Even if you can't get out of the office, you can still avoid neglecting your body. Take time to stretch at your desk. Even some simple head rolls can help you feel rejuvenated when the end of the day seems miles away. Standing any time you're on the phone is another way to keep your blood flowing and calories burning. Here's a good desk stretch that only takes a few seconds: cross your legs so your right ankle is on your left knee (might want to skip this if you're wearing a short skirt today). Without rounding your back, slowly bend forward over your right shin. You'll feel a great stretch in the back of your right leg up into your glute. Breathe and hold the stretch for a count of 10, then do the other side.
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