Although it’s still chilly outside for some of you guys, it’s not to early to start thinking about bathing suit season. If you’ve been hitting the bottle and the Doritos bag too much over the read full story
Have you even wondered why you have such an easy time passing on the nachos piled high with cheese and sour cream, but your spouse just can’t resist digging in? It may seem like a read full story
Last year, I read an old news story about a science teacher who kept a Twinkie in his classroom for decades. Roger Bennatti kept an unwrapped Twinkie over his chalkboard for 30 years. When Roger read full story
How many times have you opted to squeeze into a crowded elevator rather than take the stairs? If you are like most people, the answer is, “a lot!”. Stairs symbolize unnecessary drudgery. In any big read full story
Although it’s still chilly outside for some of you guys, it’s not to early to start thinking about bathing suit season. If you’ve been hitting the bottle and the Doritos bag too much over the winter, you may be looking a little more like a beach ball than a bronzed beach god. You need to shed the insulation around your midsection and bulk up your upper body if you want to shape your body into tapered look.
That perfect V-shaped torso with broad shoulders and a tapered waist is attainable with a little hard work. This 6 week plan will tone and tighten your midsection while adding mass to your shoulders. Our plan includes high intensity cardio sessions designed to burn fat around your midsection, combined with upper body strength and core work.
Remember, abs are made in the kitchen too. To get the maximum benefit from this plan, we suggest laying off the booze, processed carbs, dairy, and grains for the duration of the plan. Stock up on lean proteins like eggs, beans, chicken, fish, and occasionally red meat. Pile your plate high with fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Get enough sleep and downtime for your body to maximize muscle growth.
Celebrity endorsements are a big business, especially in the weight loss industry. Even Charles Barkley is hocking diet programs these days. Celebrities sell the dream that if we eat exactly like they do, we too can lose weight to reveal the chiseled physiques that we we all meant to have. Yeah right.
So why do people fall prey to celebrity diet programs?
It’s hard to ignore the visual appeal of looking like our favorite stars. It’s almost automatic to look at the washboard abs of Ryan Reynolds and think, “I want that! How did he do it?”. Before long, you’re on google, searching for the Ryan Reynolds ab diet and stocking up on skinless chicken breasts.
The same thing happens every November the week before the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. The diets of the Victoria’s Secret angels start to appear in every major women’s magazine, including tips from their trainers and recipes for their protein shakes. Last November, angel Adriana Lima famously discussed her diet with the Daily Telegraph:
Lima drinks a gallon of water a day. For nine days before the show, she will drink only protein shakes – “no solids”. The concoctions include powdered egg. Two days before the show, she will abstain from the daily gallon of water, and “just drink normally”. Then, 12 hours before the show, she will stop drinking entirely. “No liquids at all so you dry out, sometimes you can lose up to eight pounds just from that,” she says.
This is a diet that no one would recommend for someone who is trying to lose weight safely. It’s too low in calories and vitamins and minerals to be sustainable for your longterm health.
Yet “Adriana Lima diet” is searched in google 14,800 times a month.
Don’t fall prey to celebrity diet plans. They can do harm your health and your self esteem.
Here are the top 5 reasons why you shouldn’t follow celebrity diet plans:
Chicago’s rate of overweight and obese children is above the national average, and an alderman in Chicago wants to do something about it. George Cardenas (12th), chairman of the City Council’s Health Committee, proposed a soda tax this week at Wednesday’s City Council meeting. Cardenas announced that he was seeking the help of health and nutrition consultants to testify in a public hearing on the “effect of sugar beverages on obesity” and on the “implications of imposing higher sales taxes on such beverages.”
The alderman’s resolution calls for a penny-per-ounce tax on sugary beverages. This comes a few weeks after public debate erupted around a call to regulate sugar like alcohol and tobacco.
Do soda taxes work?
Have you even wondered why you have such an easy time passing on the nachos piled high with cheese and sour cream, but your spouse just can’t resist digging in? It may seem like a matter of willpower, but a new study published in the journal Obesity has found a more complicated reason.
Scientists have discovered the reason why some people have a difficult time on a low-fat diet compared to people who don’t mind banishing fat from their diets. It’s all in our genetics.
Last year, I read an old news story about a science teacher who kept a Twinkie in his classroom for decades. Roger Bennatti kept an unwrapped Twinkie over his chalkboard for 30 years. When Roger retired in 2004, it showed no signs of decay, although it got a little dry and dusty.
I can’t say that I was shocked. Twinkies are the go to food for anti-processed food advocates to blast on. But Twinkies are a little too obvious. Thanks to their cream filling and spongy vanilla “cake”, most people don’t consider a Twinkie to be a nutritious snack.
What other snack foods would have the same results?
I wondered what would happen if I did a similar test with a common snack food that is advertised as a healthy snack. I chose a food that is made out of corn, milk, whey, oil, and artificial coloring. It’s a common staple of lunchrooms, office vending machines, and convenience stores. I chose to experiment with a Cheeto.
How many times have you opted to squeeze into a crowded elevator rather than take the stairs? If you are like most people, the answer is, “a lot!”. Stairs symbolize unnecessary drudgery. In any big city, telling someone that you live in a walkup apartment will evoke sympathy.
Stairs get a bad rap, but they are an important weapon in your battle against the bulge. Depending upon your gender, weight, and physical condition, running stairs can burn close to 1,000 calories per hour. To burn 1,000 calories, you’ll have to crank up the intensity to an 8 or 9 out of 10. But you don’t have to run so hard that your heart is leaping out of your chest for an hour to get the full benefit of stair workouts.
All you need is 30 minutes and a set of stairs to complete a killer workout. Choose one of the following workouts depending on your goals:
Chocolate may be marketed like an indulgent treat, but recent studies have showed that eating dark chocolate regularly is actually part of a healthy diet. Chocolate also has health benefits that go beyond the normal maintenance of our bodies. Chocolate has been used for centuries as a medicine to treat many ailments in cultures around the globe. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” noted Greek physician Hippocrates. This phrase certainly holds true for chocoholics throughout the centuries.
Here are 5 weird health facts about chocolate from ancient to modern times:
Today’s guest post is by Pamela Hernandez. Pamela is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and an ACE Lifestyle & Weight Management Coach. Today, Pamela writes about how you can strengthen your relationship by working out as a couple. Pamela is the owner of Thrive Personal Fitness. Follow her healthy weight loss and fitness tips on twitter: @thrivefit. She is ThriveFit on DailyBurn.
Is your sweetheart the kind of person who is more at home in gym shoes than high heels? If so, you probably want to give your fit guy or gal a Valentine’s Day gift that with enhance their healthy lifestyle. Valentine’s Day is tomorrow, and it’s not too late to grab these last minute gifts for your fit valentine:
This Valentine’s Day, you don’t have to indulge in sugar to enjoy the traditional foods of the holiday. Sugar-free sweeteners like stevia allow you to whip up your sweetheart’s favorite dessert without risking their health.
Stevia is a natural calorie-free sweetener that is a favorite of bodybuilders and diabetics for it’s ability to sweeten foods without triggering an insulin response. Stevia is an herb that is part of the Chrysanthemum family. Herbal stevia powder is 10 – 15 times sweeter than table sugar, and stevioside extracts can be as much as 200 – 300 times sweeter than table sugar.
For sugar-free Valentine’s Day recipes that use stevia as a sweetener, check out these top treats:
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