Category: Uncategorized

Can You Pick Something Good to Eat?

 

Holiday merchandise hits the shelves earlier and earlier every year. Halloween is no exception. The specially packaged candy has been in the supermarkets since September. It silently screams at you, “pick me, pick me.” And whether you have kids or not, you probably want some candy in your house in the likely event of ghosts and goblins knocking on your door. So how do you make sure you don’t ravage all that sugary goodness up yourself? Well, just like anything in life, it’s good to have a plan. If you can’t say no, at least arm yourself with some tips to help keep the damage to a minimum. Liz Vaccariello, author and editor-in-chief of Reader’s Digest, has seven to help you navigate the scary waters of Halloween.¹

1.     Buy candy the day before Halloween

Minimize the number of days the candy is in your house before October 31. Research shows just looking at food triggers the brain circuitry that makes us imagine eating it, says Susan Albers, PsyD, a psychologist and author of the book Eating Mindfully. If you’ve already bought candy, keep it out of sight in the back of your pantry until your doorbell starts ringing.

2.     Look at sugar grams, not just calories and fat

Many of us avoid fat-laden candies thinking it’s healthier to stick to fat-free choices, but those tend to be loaded with sugar, which isn’t exactly a diet free pass. (Your liver converts some sugar into fat, which your fat cells then store).  A serving of Gummy Bears, for example, has 30 grams of sugar, according to Hollywood fitness and nutrition expert David Kirsch (source: HuffingtonPost.com). Compare that with the 9 grams of sugar in two or three red licorice strips.

3.     Act like a kid

Remember when you’d get home, dump out your entire loot, and sift through it creating multiple piles: candy you love, candy you sorta like, and candy you hate/want to trade? Apply that same filter when you’re about to dig into the office candy bowl. If it’s not on the “candy you love” list, don’t eat it.

4.     Ditch the pillowcase

The smaller the bag your kids trick or treat with, the less candy they’ll tote home, and the fewer sweets lying around you’ll be tempted to eat.

5.     Turn trick-or-treating into a workout

Walking around for an hour or so does burn calories! So as long as you have a good, safe place to do it, don’t drive your kids around to satisfy their sweet tooth. Take advantage of the many health benefits you’ll reap from a leisurely neighborhood stroll.

6.     Know what 150 calories of candy looks like

This is a relatively harmless amount to enjoy. But it’s easy to overdo it with those fun size treats. Keep this list in mind: 150 calories is approximately three mini York Peppermint Patties, or two fun-size packages of milk chocolate M&Ms, or six mini Musketeers, or six rolls of Smarties, or seven Hershey’s Kisses, or five snack-size Twizzler twists (from Shape.com).

7.     In a candy coma? Give yourself a clean slate.

If, despite your best efforts, you still wake up in with a candy hangover, don’t beat yourself up over it. Have a filling breakfast with fiber and protein to help steady your blood sugar (try oatmeal with some berries and nuts) and go for a nice, normal, healthy workout at your usual time. Don’t use exercise as a punishment, but rather as a way to recharge your energy levels and confidence after a not-the-best eating day. Bring healthy snacks from home so you can avoid temptation at the office candy bowl.

 

When all else fails, sweat it out. So you overdid it. Halloween candy happens. Pick yourself up and hit the gym or the pavement the very next day. And definitely get rid of the extras lying around…temptation is the mother of all evil!

 

 

 

Resources:

¹ http://health.yahoo.net/experts/losingitwithliz/7-diet-tricks-skinny-not-scary-halloween

 

It’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

In the United States alone, one in five men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. It is the most common cancer diagnosed in men. And although there is no proven prostate cancer prevention strategy, most doctors agree that making healthy choices is your best bet. Of course, this strategy has many benefits that go beyond just prostate cancer. Eating a healthy diet and exercising will go a long way to helping prevent most diseases. If you’re a woman reading this article, make sure to pass this along to the men in your life.

 

According to the Mayo Clinic, there are three good rules of thumb – maintain a healthy diet, exercise most days of the week and talk to your doctor about your risk factors.¹ An article in Men’s Health² has some further tips you can take to keep the odds in your favor.

1.  Drink more coffee – Harvard researchers found that men who drank six or more cups of regular or decaf coffee were 59% less likely to develop advance prostate cancer than those who eschewed the brew.
2.  Give your gland a regular workout (i.e. have lots of sex) – A 2004 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association analyzed data on 29,342 men and found that guys who had 21 or more orgasms a month were about 30% less likely to develop prostate caner than those who racked up only four to seven a month.
3.  See red, eat red – Eat more cooked tomato products to reduce your risk of prostate cancer. This quirky link was first noticed in the 1990s by Harvard researcher Edward Giovannucci, M.D., Sc.D., and subsequent studies have confirmed the power of edible red. Credit lycopene, a pigment in tomatoes that’s more potent after they’re cooked. Aim for two-plus servings a week.
4.  Move it – Exercise reduces the risk of fatal forms of prostate cancer by 41 percent. What’s more, among survivors, those who exercised vigorously for five hours a week had a 56% lower risk of death from the disease.
5.  Top off your oil – In studies on lab animals, the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA in fish oil inhibited tumors. Plus, Harvard researchers found that men who ate fish three times a week reduced their risk of aggressive prostate cancer by 25 percent.
6.  Ditch the doughnuts – Men with the highest blood levels of trans fats have more than twice the prostate-cancer risk of men with the lowest levels. Trans-fatty acids increase inflammation and insulin resistance, both of which may play a role in prostate cancer. Avoid commercially baked doughnuts and cookies, as well as packaged baked goods containing hydrogenated oil.
7.  Shelve the selenium supplements – A mineral found naturally in Brazil nuts, red meat, fish, and grains, selenium became popular as a supplement in the late ’90s because researchers believed it could help prevent prostate cancer. But a recent study of more than 35,000 men published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that 200 micrograms of selenium a day did nothing to defend against the disease (or any other cancer for that matter). Worse, taking selenium slightly increased the risk of diabetes in some men.
8.  Check for so-called bed bugs – A stealth STD may increase your risk for prostate cancer. In a new Harvard study, men with a history of trichomoniasis were more than twice as likely to develop advanced-stage prostate cancer as those who never had the parasite. The infection could lead to prostate inflammation, which has been linked to cancer risk and progression.
9.  Go green – produce is powerful stuff. Case in point: Regularly eating broccoli may lower your risk of prostate cancer and heart disease. In a 2008 British study, scientists found a disease-fighting benefit from consuming just 4 servings of the vegetable a week. It’s likely that compounds found in broccoli, called isothiocyanates, can activate genes that disturb the chemical processes that may cause cancer and inflammation.

If you need help with tip #4, it doesn’t make you any less of a man to reach out to a Personal Trainer. Even if it’s just to recognize areas where you can approve or up your workout regimen a notch, personal training can have many benefits. So what are you waiting for – schedule a free consultation with Advanced Physical Training now!

 

¹ http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prostate-cancer-prevention/MC00027

² http://www.menshealth.com/spotlight/prostatecancer/prostate-cancer-prevention-tips.php

Fiction:

Cardio is the only way to get those extra pounds off…

Fact:

Cardio is a great way to stay healthy. It conditions the heart and lungs. It gives you something to do during your favorite TV. show, but it takes a bit more to lose that last little bit of weight. Cardiovascular training is a key component in weight loss, but not the only component. A well balanced weight loss and conditioning program will include weight training and nutrition as well as cardio training.

According to WedMD (http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/make-most-your-metabolism?page=2), weight training is very important to weight loss, because each pound of muscle burns about 17 times as many calories in a day as a pound of fat. A more efficient muscle means an increase in metabolism. I’m not saying to stop doing cardio, just balance the program with some weights.

When it comes to nutrition, I’ve seen plenty of individuals hit the cardio 2-3 hours a day and not lose a pound. You have to be eating clean and in a calorie deficit to drop the weight.

Here are a few tips:

1. Don’t skip breakfast
2. Get your mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks in
3. Limit the alcohol when trying to lose weight
4. Make dinner the lightest meal of the day
5. Don’t snack after dinner.