Get an exercise video! If you made a resolution to get fit or lose weight in 2007, now’s the time to go to the store and purchase one exercise video or DVD. Excuses like "Not enough time" or "Bad weather" can derail our fitness program, but an exercise DVD–especially one that has short segments, like this 10 Minute Solution
December 31, 2006
The Weekly Tip
Health Tidbits
• More and more preschoolers are tubby. Link
• Your next burger might be cloned. Link
• Exercise your brain. Link
• Theme parks change their menus. Link
• Losing weight may lower risk of prostate cancer. Link
• Moderate exercise better than vigorous exercise when it comes to lowering cholesterol. Link
Health Tidbits
• More and more preschoolers are tubby. Link
• Your next burger might be cloned. Link
• Exercise your brain. Link
• Theme parks change their menus. Link
• Losing weight may lower risk of prostate cancer. Link
• Moderate exercise better than vigorous exercise when it comes to lowering cholesterol. Link
December 30, 2006
Whittle Your Waistline To Save Your Heart
Most people who carry a spare tire around their middle hope to improve their appearance when they lose weight. But whittling your waistline can also help lower your risk of heart disease!
A recent study, as reported by MSNBC.com, found that the diameter of your abdomen–or your waist circumference–is linked to heart disease in both men and women. Even if your weight is in the normal range, carrying extra padding around your waistline will increase your risk of heart disease.
So how do you turn that spare tire into a six-pack?
Stomach crunches, sit-ups and other abdominal exercises aren’t enough. To get rid of the pudge, you need to lose body fat–and this is best done with proper diet and exercise.
Try these tips to burn fat and trim your tummy:
Boost intensity! If you want to make the most of your workout, try doing intervals for your cardio workout. Intervals are short bursts of high-intensity exercise mixed with moderate-intensity recovery exercise. For an example of interval training, read Burn More Calories With Interval Walking.
Cut your calories! Weight loss–and fat loss–is mostly a matter of calories in versus calories out. Cutting just 100 calories a day from your diet can help you lose ten pounds a year! Read Little Ways To Cut Big Calories to find ways to trim your meals.
Pack on some muscle! The more muscle you have on your body, the greater your resting metabolism–which means you burn more calories throughout the day! So try a strength-training routine that includes some of the exercises in this article: Create Your Own Circuit Workout At Home.
December 29, 2006
Get Fit While You Watch TV
According to a recent MSNBC.com article, the average person watches more than four hours of TV each day. And 40 minutes of that time is spent watching commercials!
The article suggests that we utilize our commercial time wisely. Their suggestion: Use that time to exercise, and you’ll painlessly get 40 minutes of fitness a day–or more than 4 hours a week!
Here are some suggestions that can help you get fit while you watch TV:
• Make it convenient: You’re more likely to exercise if all your props are handy. Keep a basket by the sofa that holds exercise equipment like a yoga mat, hand weights, resistance bands or a jump rope.
• Have a plan: Alternate exercises so you don’t get bored. Plan to jump rope during Extreme Makeover: Home Edition commercials, but do strength training exercises during Desperate Housewives.
• Challenge yourself: Mix things up with a fun challenge. For example, challenge yourself to do as many pushups as possible during a single commercial. Or see how many crunches you can do during one commercial break.
Wondering what type of exercises you can do in your living room? Try one of these suggestions:
Cardio/Aerobic: Running or jogging in place, jumping rope, jumping jacks, shadow boxing, kickboxing drills, squat thrusts, mountain climbers, dancing
Strength training: Dumbbell exercises or resistance band exercises like bicep curls and chest presses, bodyweight exercises like crunches and pushups
Flexibility: Basic stretches, yoga poses
December 28, 2006
The Cure For Hangovers: Time
If you read our personal blog yesterday, you know that I battled a bit of a hangover.
Hangovers aren’t uncommon this time of year, especially among people who normally aren’t heavy drinkers. Holiday parties–coupled with visits from out-of-town relatives and friends–means that many of us make merry with a few cocktails. Add New Year’s Eve to the mix, and some folks find themselves battling more hangovers than usual.
And though everyone has their own "special remedy" for curing a hangover, Reuters Life! news recently reported that the only real cure for a hangover is time.
According to the article, researchers from the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth found that the best treatment for a hangover is time–specifically, 8 to 24 hours.
And their advice for preventing a hangover is simple: Choose non-alcoholic beverages, or drink alcohol in moderation.
Here are a few tips for moderate drinking that have worked for us in the past:
• Drink beverages with very little alcohol. Ask for white wine spritzers that are half wine and half seltzer. Or ask the bartender for just a "splash" of vodka in your cranberry/vodka cocktail.
• Alternate alcoholic beverages with non-alcoholic beverages. Have a glass of sparkling water or club soda between each alcoholic drink. It’ll slow your consumption (and save calories, too!).
• Eat a large meal first. Although it may mean eating a few extra calories, a large meal means there’s less room in your stomach for alcoholic beverages.
December 27, 2006
Challenge Yourself In 2007
Discovery Health’s National Body Challenge is launching this week. It’s the perfect opportunity to commit to a new, healthy lifestyle for the upcoming year.
The National Body Challenge is an 8-week program. It’s designed to help guide participants through a fitness, diet and weight loss plan with free tools, such as:
• A free 8-week membership to Bally® Total Fitness
• Meal plans and weight trackers
• Information and guidance from health experts
• Healthy, low-calorie recipes
Registration for the Challenge officially begins on December 29, 2006. The Challenge officially begins on January 13, 2007 and ends March 10, 2007. (So you’ll be fit and slim by bathing suit season!)
The Discovery Health National Body Challenge television show will air on January 14 and 15. Watch to get inspired as you see different challengers overcome obstacles as they pursue their weight loss goals.
It’s free to register and participate in Discovery Health’s National Body Challenge, and it could change your life! Find more information here.
This Challenge can fit in with your New Year’s weight loss and health goals, or it can be a chance to renew or restart your healthy lifestyle. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re an experienced fitness buff, challenging yourself with a fresh 8-week plan can help keep your program on track!
Challenge Yourself In 2007
Discovery Health’s National Body Challenge is launching this week. It’s the perfect opportunity to commit to a new, healthy lifestyle for the upcoming year.
The National Body Challenge is an 8-week program. It’s designed to help guide participants through a fitness, diet and weight loss plan with free tools, such as:
• A free 8-week membership to Bally® Total Fitness
• Meal plans and weight trackers
• Information and guidance from health experts
• Healthy, low-calorie recipes
Registration for the Challenge officially begins on December 29, 2006. The Challenge officially begins on January 13, 2007 and ends March 10, 2007. (So you’ll be fit and slim by bathing suit season!)
The Discovery Health National Body Challenge television show will air on January 14 and 15. Watch to get inspired as you see different challengers overcome obstacles as they pursue their weight loss goals.
It’s free to register and participate in Discovery Health’s National Body Challenge, and it could change your life! Find more information here.
This Challenge can fit in with your New Year’s weight loss and health goals, or it can be a chance to renew or restart your healthy lifestyle. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re an experienced fitness buff, challenging yourself with a fresh 8-week plan can help keep your program on track!
Review: Specialty Cookbooks
Publishing companies often print new cookbooks that focus on specialty diets–such as low-fat, low-carb or low-calorie. Two of these recently crossed our desks here at RefrigeratorRaid.com, and we thought both were worthy of review.
This cookbook boasts cholesterol-free recipes, making it a great choice for anyone who’s trying to manage or lower their cholesterol. However, it’s also the perfect cookbook for vegetarians, vegans and folks who want to add more soy to their diets.
Many people–especially those who subsist on a diet of meat and potatoes–imagine tofu to be a tasteless white blob. The recipes in this cookbook, however, burst that myth with delectable flavor.
Also, unlike many vegetarian cookbooks, this one requires no fancy ingredients. Almost every ingredient in the book can be purchased at a well-stocked supermarket.
If you enjoy tofu but usually prepare it in stir-fries or scrambles only, this book can help you experiment with new and interesting ways to cook this versatile food.
Our favorite recipe: Thai Rice Noodles with Tofu and Mixed Vegetables
The Diabetes Menu Cookbook by Barbara Scott-Goodman and Kalia Doner
More than 20 million children and adults in the U.S. have diabetes. To help manage the disease, many physicians recommend a specific diet that usually includes limited lean meats, vegetables and some whole grains. Refined sugars and flours are generally supposed to be avoided. For many people, this "new" diet can be a total change to their previous lifestyle, and adjusting to different foods may be difficult.
This cookbook, however, makes it a lot easier for diabetics to enjoy their old favorites. The recipes include Pork Loin with Lemon Marmalade Glaze and Roasted Autumn Vegetable Soup. Despite their impressive names, the recipes are relatively simple–almost anyone with basic cooking skills can produce these healthy, culinary delights.
If you or someone you love is a diabetic, this cookbook can give you the recipes needed to provide a special meal–perfect for a birthday or anniversary celebration–that suits their dietary needs.
Our favorite recipe: Herbed Couscous
Review: Specialty Cookbooks
Publishing companies often print new cookbooks that focus on specialty diets–such as low-fat, low-carb or low-calorie. Two of these recently crossed our desks here at RefrigeratorRaid.com, and we thought both were worthy of review.
This cookbook boasts cholesterol-free recipes, making it a great choice for anyone who’s trying to manage or lower their cholesterol. However, it’s also the perfect cookbook for vegetarians, vegans and folks who want to add more soy to their diets.
Many people–especially those who subsist on a diet of meat and potatoes–imagine tofu to be a tasteless white blob. The recipes in this cookbook, however, burst that myth with delectable flavor.
Also, unlike many vegetarian cookbooks, this one requires no fancy ingredients. Almost every ingredient in the book can be purchased at a well-stocked supermarket.
If you enjoy tofu but usually prepare it in stir-fries or scrambles only, this book can help you experiment with new and interesting ways to cook this versatile food.
Our favorite recipe: Thai Rice Noodles with Tofu and Mixed Vegetables
The Diabetes Menu Cookbook by Barbara Scott-Goodman and Kalia Doner
More than 20 million children and adults in the U.S. have diabetes. To help manage the disease, many physicians recommend a specific diet that usually includes limited lean meats, vegetables and some whole grains. Refined sugars and flours are generally supposed to be avoided. For many people, this "new" diet can be a total change to their previous lifestyle, and adjusting to different foods may be difficult.
This cookbook, however, makes it a lot easier for diabetics to enjoy their old favorites. The recipes include Pork Loin with Lemon Marmalade Glaze and Roasted Autumn Vegetable Soup. Despite their impressive names, the recipes are relatively simple–almost anyone with basic cooking skills can produce these healthy, culinary delights.
If you or someone you love is a diabetic, this cookbook can give you the recipes needed to provide a special meal–perfect for a birthday or anniversary celebration–that suits their dietary needs.
Our favorite recipe: Herbed Couscous
