Tuesday, May 12, 2009 at 12:45AM | Share Article Try this workout to strengthen your whole body - especially your upper body!
Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 4:04PM | Share Article A quick meal that is high in antioxidants and taste! I usually cook some chicken or scallops with the sauce and pour it over the pasta. This is a great dish for people who don't usually like veggies.
Friday, December 31, 1999 at 5:01PM | Share Article I hardly need to quote statistics to convince you that we live in a perpetually dieting society. As a dietitian, I have seen it all. The grapefruit diet. The cabbage soup diet. The Atkins diet. The list goes on and on. And what do all of these diets have in common? Calorie restriction, elimination of foods (or entire food groups!), hunger, boredom, cravings… Though such diets all promise quick weight loss, the eventual punch line is almost always regain. But why? Diets are designed to be a temporary means to an end. Most folks who “go on” a diet hope to at some point “get off” the diet. Unfortunately, this kind of temporary lifestyle change can only guarantee temporary results, causing many dieters to lose and regain the same 10, 20, 30 or more pounds over and over again. Dieting becomes a lifestyle in and of itself, leaving many individuals wondering what “normal” eating is like. Good nutrition boils down to three main principles: balance, variety, and moderation. This is just good common sense. When you envision a healthy diet, what comes to mind? Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, lean meats, healthy fats—a balanced diet incorporates all of these foods, forbidding none. This sort of variety will not only ensure that your body is fueled with every essential nutrient you need for health and wellness, but will also look and taste great! The final principle, moderation, is what brings it all together. Anything in excess spells trouble. The key is to load up on nutrient-dense foods that are low in calories and limit your indulgence of energy-dense foods, which are high in calories but provide few nutrients. Pay attention to serving sizes—ever measure yourself ½ cup of ice cream? By following these very basic principles of good nutrition, you can get off the dieting rollercoaster and make changes that will last a lifetime—improving both the quality and length of your years. So take inventory! Take a minute to assess your current eating habits and look for areas of improvement. Create a list of changes you would like to make and get started on your own nutrition makeover. As Adelle Davis once said, “We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are.” Enjoy! “Food is an important part of a balanced diet.” -Fran Lebowitz Maureen Boswell, RD, CSO, CD, CDE, ASCM HFS
Friday, December 31, 1999 at 5:01PM | Share Article I'm sure you have all seen the relentless infomercials for the P90X workout! It seems like they are on at least one channel all hours of the day. As it turns out, Beach Body Inc is as aggressive at exercise as they are at marketing. Not only do these guys promote and market like crazy but they really put together a great workout package. I say package because when you do make the $120 purchase not only do you receive the workout DVDs, you receive a very comprehensive manual on the exercises you perform but also some very helpful nutrition advice. I watched the infomercials numerous times not really knowing what to think. I have been in the fitness industry for 14 years now and I have seen a lot of flashes in the pan. The fitness industry is full of one hit wonders and products that never even make it that far. Knowing that producing infomercials is not cheap let alone buying HUGE amounts for TV time, I thought there has to be something to this. Next thing I knew I had friends giving it raving reviews. So I watched the infomercial few more times. I looked Tony Horton, the instructor, up on the internet. I found out he is legitimate. I asked more and more people about P90X and I didn’t hear anything negative other than Tony can be a bit over the top as a instructor! Let’s put it this way Tony is full of energy. In this business you have to be. So I pulled out the plastic and made my purchase. Now I’m sure you are asking why would a fitness professional buy workout videos? Bottom line is sometimes trainers need trainers. We like to be able to shut our brains off and be trained once in awhile as well. Besides, I’m all about training on my feet, using my body weight with pushups and pull-ups, doing plyometrics and heck they even incorporate martial arts and yoga. It’s my preferred style of working out. My only hang up was the yoga. I’m not the most flexible individual so yoga is very tough for me. Yes, I need more yoga! The production of the info is really top notch. You have the option of shutting off the instruction which helps if Tony’s guidance starts to bug you and you can do the same with the background music. In my opinion Tony does a great job explaining and demonstrating the exercises. There are usually two or three other people on the set doing the workout showing varying levels of fitness and ways of doing the exercises. This enables just about any level of fitness to do these exercises. There is even a timer at the bottom of the screen showing the duration of exercise you are currently doing and also for the entire workout. For me this was great. I love knowing where I’m headed. There is so much variety in the exercises and types of exercises you could easily perform this routines over and over without getting bored. The only down side is that a lot of the exercises require good form and technique that I know the average home user will not have. If you work out with a partner it would benefit you to critique each other’s form. Their premise of muscle confusion is dead on and there is so much variety your body will not know what hit, in a good way. They also do a good job of cycling the routine to ensure you have some rest over the duration of the 3 month program so you don’t end up over training. On the downside, if you are a very de-conditioned person you may find the workouts to be a little too tough to complete but that’s ok because you can just stop when you need to. Now I don’t usually give home workout routines or equipment glowing reviews but P90X has really earned it. They did their homework and have the right people involved. It’s a bit pricey but I know that if you will truly do the workouts you will see results. The typical problem is if you are like most of the general public in the United States, you will try and most likely like P90X but will have issues with accountability and stop doing the program somewhere along the way. That’s where people like myself come into play. But as a standalone product P90X is top notch. Kudos to Tony and the rest of Beach Body Inc! Let us know if you have tried P90X and what you liked and disliked!