Hey Fitbuddies,Seems like only yesterday we were all giddy with excitement about summer. Now it’s back to school and business as usual. My how time flies when you’re having fun. I know it’s not like it’ll instantly be sub zero temps and heavy woolens. More than anything it’s a frame of mind. We change with the seasons and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Although I’d love, love, love to live in a climate where it’s above 70 degrees most of the time, there’d still be a built in calendar than signals when it’s time for a change. So we learn to go with the flow and adapt. We (I) complain like crazy about seasonal changes but we survive the heat, snow and energy bills. Once again my mission is to complain less and enjoy more. Before you know it we’ll be taking down the Christmas decorations and hiding Easter Eggs. Happy Labor, Halloween and Thanksgiving. Take Care and Be Well.
To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens. Ecclesiastes 3:1
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o Training Tip - How to Lose Your Gut With Fitness
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I hope the title doesn’t lead you to believe that you’ll only be losing your gut. However, it did grab your attention didn’t it? You know by now that you can’t spot reduce. These tips are great ideas for overall fitness and ultimately optimum health. At least I think they are. Check them out and see if you agree.
- Get off your Rear. Do every exercise standing instead of sitting. You'll burn up to 30% more calories.
- Exercise Blind. When you're sweating away on the elliptical try letting go of the handles and closing your eyes. (Be careful!) Without the visual feedback, your core muscles will have to work harder to keep you balanced, burning more calories and hastening the tightening of your abs.
- Break a Record. Challenge yourself to run, row, pedal or walk farther in the same amount of time—even if it's just one-tenth of a mile—every single workout. This way you're always burning more calories from one workout to the next. Not a bad idea at all!
- Change Directions. One more from the elliptical file. Ride for 30 seconds as fast as you can, then immediately reverse your direction and ride for 30 additional seconds just as fast in the opposite direction. Rest 60 seconds and repeat. The force of stopping your momentum, as well as going from a dead stop to full speed twice in the same interval, will give your fat-burning efforts a massive boost. The elliptical really is your friend.
- Hit the Weights. If you're lazy, it's not as bad as you think—just 10 minutes a day of lifting, three days a week, will help. Harvard research shows that 30 minutes of weight training per week has a greater reduction on waist size than almost any other variable. I’m going to keep telling you this Fitbuddies!
- Eat your Biggest Meal of the Day After you Lift. It takes calories to digest food. And researchers at the University of Nevada found that it takes 73% more calories to process that food after a weight-training session than if you hadn't worked out at all. This isn’t an excuse to cook holiday style meals everyday either.
- Up the Ante. When you run outside, you apply force to the ground and propel your body weight forward all by yourself. When you run on a treadmill, the belt helps you. To counteract this, always walk or run on at least a 1% incline, this grade is nearly equivalent to outside running. Nearly being the operative word.
- Do Sprint Intervals. All-out sprints with brief periods of rest is the most effective form of cardio for fat loss. Try a 2-to-1 "work-to-rest" ratio. That is, sprint two times longer than you rest. So if you run a 150-yard sprint—a good distance to start with—in 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds, then repeat 3-7 times. Please re-read this several times; it’s that important.
- Go the Distance. Do intervals for a designated distance rather than a designated time. Otherwise, you'll be running shorter sprints as you get tired, reducing the number of calories you burn. Make sense?
- Sneak Extra Activity into your Day. Pace around your office while talking on the phone; run into the bank to cash your check instead of using the drive-thru. Sedentary individuals gained eight times more weight than those who fidgeted a lot during the day.
- Step on the Scale at Least Once a Day."If there's one thing that comes up over and over with the thousands of patients enrolled in the National Weight Control Registry, it's weighing yourself every day on a scale," says Rena Wing, Ph.D., founder of the registry. Don't obsess over the number, but at least keep track of the general range of what you weigh so you can catch small changes as they occur and take corrective measures immediately.
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o What’s On Your Plate - How to Lose Your Gut With Nutrition
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- Eat More Protein. About 25%-30% of the calories in each gram of protein are burned in digestion, compared to only 6%-8% of the calories in carbs. Which means you save 41 calories every time you substitute 50 grams of protein for an equal amount of carbs. Guess we can’t live on and have a toned tummy on bread alone.
- Pass on the Potatoes. In any form—mashed and baked, as well as French fries and potato chips. They raise levels of insulin in the blood, triggering your body to stop burning—and start storing—fat. (sweet potatoes are acceptable; they have more nutrients and fiber.) Didn’t I tell ya?
- Eat an Unbalanced Diet. By cycling your calorie intake so that you eat less calories one day and more the next, you'll keep your metabolism on its toes. And that'll ensure you keep burning fat at a high rate. Shoot for an average of 1200-1400 calories a day over a week's time.
- Top your Salad With Vinaigrette Dressing. Studies show that acidic foods such as vinegar and lemon juice work like lighter fluid in your body's fat incinerator, increasing carb combustion 20%-40%. Researchers believe the acids blunt insulin spikes and slow the rate at which food empties from your stomach. Fermented foods like pickles and yogurt are also good sour options.
- Load up on Yogurt. When researchers at the University of Tennessee put a group of volunteers on one of two diets—one high in calcium and one not—and cut each group's calorie intake by 500 calories, they found that the people getting calcium lost twice as much weight (an average of 13 pounds) compared with people on the standard diet. Study author Michael Zemel, Ph.D., believes extra calcium helps the body burn more—and store less—fat. And who are we to doubt him?
- Pop Peanuts. Nuts have a very high satiety power—meaning they make you feel fuller after eating than many other foods. And even though they're high in calories, those calories appear to be processed differently in the body. University of Michigan researchers found that men who added 500 calories' worth of peanuts a day to their diet gained no excess weight at all. Don’t go crazy with them.
- Shop for One. If you have to buy cookies, chips, or other processed junk foods, buy the single-serving package—rather than the large, family-style bag. That way, when you eat the whole package—and let's be honest, you know you will—you'll at last have done a lot less damage to your waistline. Better yet make your own, that way you know they’re chemical and preservative free. That being said, small portions are still crucial.
- Eat your biggest Meal of the Day After you Lift. It takes calories to digest food. And researchers at the University of Nevada found that it takes 73% more calories to process that food after a weight-training session than if you hadn't worked out at all. And not just a protein shake or bar either. Have a balanced meal with protein, carbs, and healthy fats.
- Avoid White Bread. When Tufts University researchers studied the waistlines and diets of 459 people, they found that even with similar age and activity levels, those who ate white bread frequently weighed more than those who didn't. The calories from white bread and refined grains just seem to settle at the waistline more than calories from other foods. There is one exception to the “no white bread rule“. Sourdough bread is low glycemic and the best choice if you just have to have white bread. Small amounts though. Sounding like a broken record aren‘t I?
- Never Forbid yourself a Favorite Food. Here's a shocker: When a group of U.K. researchers told 30 women to avoid chocolate, then packed them into a room filled with the stuff, the women were much more likely to sneak a bite than individuals who hadn't been given the order. Call it the forbidden fruit syndrome. The more you tell yourself you can't eat something you love, the more you're going to want it.
- Don't Starve yourself. "Under normal conditions, humans absorb only about 80% of the nutrients from the food they eat," says A. Roberto Frisancho, Ph.D., a weight-loss researcher at the University of Michigan. But, he says, when the body is deprived of nourishment, it becomes a super-efficient machine, pulling what nutrients it can from whatever food is consumed. Start eating again normally and your body may not catch up; instead it will continue to store food as fat.
- Eat More Slowly. "It can take 12 minutes or longer for the signal that you've started to eat to make its way to your brain," says Mark S. Gold, M.D., of the McKnight Brain Institute at the University of Florida. Quick tips: Sip some water between every bite of food you eat, or at least eat more meals with friends or family members. You'll be more likely to talk and therefore to eat more slowly.
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o Recipe Corner - Fresh Tomato Soup
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Between Farmers Market and generous neighbors with overflowing gardens, making Fresh Tomato Soup should be a breeze. You can make this recipe anytime of the year, but there is nothing like the taste of fresh tomatoes, whether in soups, salsas, salads, or sandwiches. In early spring while in the produce isle at the grocery store I asked one of the workers, “what is a hydroponic tomato?”. He said it was a lab grown or hothouse tomato. And compared to the garden fresh ones they are a hot mess!! If you don’t want to make soup just enjoy the taste of freshness in all the summer crops. Enjoy!
3 lbs of sun ripened tomatoes
1 2/3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
3 TBS of tomato puree or tomato sauce
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 tsp sugar
Fresh chopped basil leaves (about a handful)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Wash the tomatoes and place them in a large bowl. Pour boiling water over them and leave for 30 seconds. After 30 seconds drain the boiling water and add a little cold water to cool. This process makes it easy to peel the skin. Peel the skin off all tomatoes and cut each tomato into quarters. Place the tomatoes in a large pan and pour the chicken or vegetable stock over tomatoes. Bring to a boil and quickly reduce heat to low. Simmer gently for approximately 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree, vinegar, sugar and chopped basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer gently while stirring for a further 2 minutes. Let soup cool slightly and then transfer to a food processor or blender and process or blend until smooth. Transfer the soup back to the pan and reheat gently taking care not to boil. Serve in warm bowls and top with a few croutons if desired.
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o Think About This - Menopause and Migraines
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Statistics say that more women know the harsh reality of migraine headaches than men. You’re moving along with your day, keeping up with your schedule and handling the stress, then suddenly, it hits. Pain and sensitivity to light and sound are just a few of the symptoms that may knock you off your feet. While some migraines may only last a few hours, others can continue for days, completely disrupting your life. If you’re getting older, you may start to experience migraines for the first time, or find they are increasing. Before you start to panic thinking something is wrong, consider that your migraines may actually be linked to menopause. Just what you wanted to hear right?
So why do women entering menopause experience more migraines? The most common cause of migraines is the fluctuating levels of hormones in the body. Even if you’re not menopausal you may have migraines during that time of the month. Again this is because migraines are often related to estrogen levels. Menopause causes bigger sings in hormone levels and so may result in more frequent or severe migraines. I know it’s not fair. Your doctor can probably help you treat these migraines with lifestyle changes and herbal remedies. Be wary of starting hormone replacement therapy because this may actually worsen your migraines and bring on a host of other problems.
Just to be clear, not all migraines are caused by fluctuating hormones. Some women (and men) have migraines that are triggered by being emotional or stressed out. Now if you tend to let your emotions get the best of you and find yourself in the throes of too much stress, menopause will surely not be a piece of cake. Once you reach menopause, all of the above will increase. The cure for these migraines may be to simply relax; take a bath, meditate, or use aromatherapy. Once you unwind, your migraine may subside.
If you’re approaching the age of 50, and you begin to get migraines, you’re more likely to be entering menopause rather than have a serious problem, but you should still consult a doctor. A very few number of migraines are caused by serious problems. The sooner these problems are treated, the better off you’ll be. Even if it’s not a serious problem, your doctor may recommend treatment to prevent many of the uncomfortable symptoms and a few of the diseases associated with menopause, like osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases.
On the other hand, if you’ve experienced migraines most of your life, especially if they coincide with your menstrual cycle, there is some good news for you. The stage where your period starts changing and your migraines worsen is actually called perimenopause; menopause doesn’t officially start until a year after your last period. Once you actually reach menopause, your symptoms are likely to decrease. While doctors are not sure, this may be related to menopause or just because migraine symptoms naturally decrease with time. An interesting, but possibly painful statistic is that most women who experience early menopause due to removal of the ovaries, experience an increase in migraines. This is one of the many reasons doctors prefer to allow menopause to occur naturally if at all possible. This all sounds gloomy and doomy doesn’t it?
While migraines that coincide with menopausal symptoms may be horrible, they are also treatable. You should visit your doctor if you have the onset of, or changes in your migraine symptoms. It is possible to get your life back to your normal.
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