The Sunshine Vitamin

Well, we're all happy to see the sun after all this rain, and you want to make sure you spend a little time outside enjoying it. Although we know we can't spend all day out there, it is important to get at least 15 minutes of sun three or four times a week - this is how your body naturally manufactures vitamin D, which aids in absorption of calcium; without vitamin D, your body will only absorb 10% of the calcium it needs. Calcium is the critical mineral that develops bones and teeth, and a deficiency results in soft bones. Another important job of the sunshine vitamin is to strengthen your immune system and stop bacteria that cause disease - a HUGE issue right now. You might be thinking that you easily get 15 minutes a few times a week, but pay attention to how much time you really spend outdoors. If you wear sunscreen, leave your house before daylight and spend most of your day indoors, even if you live in Texas, you might not be getting enough . While sunshine is the easiest way to get vitamin D, you can get it from some foods (milk, butter, cheese, fish and fortified foods - such as cereal) but the absorption rate is lower. You might consider adding a supplemental 100mg tablet to your diet, as this will ensure you are getting enough. The best ways to keep your body strong are to do weight bearing exercises three to four times a week (running, fast walking, lifting weights), and make sure you are getting your calcium - and vitamin D! You'll be strong as an ox when you're 100! Melissa

And last but not least...

Okay, so the third of the three exercises that will together use all the muscles in your body is the stationary lunge. You'll want to do this on a hard surface - tile or wood, and you will need a hand towel. Start in a standing position, hands on your hips, and your right foot standing on the towel; SLOWLY slide the right foot back as you lower your left knee to a 90 degree angle (you should feel this most in the muscle on top of your left leg (the quad). As you come back up, concentrate on squeezing your left glute (butt) muscle, as well as the back of your leg (hamstring); your whole left leg should be working to bring you back to a standing position, but you will feel it the most in these two muscles. Try for two sets of 10, alternating feet - and remember, slowly down and slowly up. There you have it - these three exercises and a 3-mile run or walk will have you proudly strolling around the pool this summer! Melissa

The Perfect Situp

Well, I know you've been waiting impatiently for the second exercise, but I have been having computer problems ALL day - it is SO frustrating!! Anyway, the second of the three exercises that will use all the muscles in your body is the situp - your favorite!! No really, done right and done regularly, these will give you the abs you've always wanted. Lay on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor; your elbows are out and your hands are interlocked behind your neck. Keeping your eyes on the ceiling, slowly raise your head, neck and upper back off the floor, while keeping your lower back on the floor. Concentrate on holding your stomach in, as if you were trying to touch your belly button to your spine. SLOWLY is the key - this is an isometric exercise that will tighten the tiny little abdominal muscles that help to flatten your stomach - hey, just what we wanted!! Work up to 3 sets of 10, but remember that 5 perfect ones are better than 500 crummy ones; those will only make your larger abdominal muscles even bigger and actually make your stomach stick out (oh no!), and will hurt your neck and back. Also, it won't make a bit of difference what you do for five or ten minutes three to four times a week if you walk around all day with your stomach hanging out. Practice holding your stomach in and standing tall, with your shoulders slightly behind your back. You will automatically look five pounds thinner, and you will see the results of your hard work much sooner. Make yourself a sticky reminder, and put it on your steering wheel, mirror, phone - wherever - and then practice, practice, practice. You'll be perfect!! Well, after tomorrow, when you get your last one...Melissa

Quality Over Quantity

There are three exercises you can do, in addition to your cardio, that will work every muscle in your body; these don't require the gym or any equipment, so you can do them at home or on the road. The first is the perfect push-up, which uses all of your arm muscles, and muscles in the chest and back, and abs to a lesser extent (mostly because you're holding your stomach in!). You are in the push-up position, fully extended or on your knees, and you are going to lower yourself to the ground SLOWLY with your hands shoulder-width apart, and directly under your breast bone. If you are not strong enough to go to the floor when your arms are fully extended, start with doing them from a flat service some distance from the floor, but the lower the better. As you lower your body, imagine you are squeezing the front of your upper body to the middle, and this will ensure you are using all of your chest and upper back muscles. Keep your elbows close to your body. The reason you want to to these slowly is that your body has time to isolate the smaller muscles as well as the larger ones; this will help to lengthen the muscle and make it stronger at the same time. Touch your nose to ground (or flat surface) and come up again SLOWLY. You may only be able to do 3 at first, or 5, depending on your arm strenth, and you want to work up to 2 sets of 10 (3 for guys!), and at least twice a week. Change the position of your hands by moving them closer to the center, fingers spread out with thumbs touching, and again just below your breast bone. Make your body work for you - you will love the results!! I'll tell you the second one tomorrow! Melissa

What a difference a day makes...

It's Friday, you might not have made it to the gym as often as you wanted this week (or at all!), and you have big plans for the weekend - so...you'll start getting in shape on Monday. But hey, don't wait til then - that's 3 days from now. If you start today, you immediately feel better - your blood is circulating, those endorphins are coming out and making you happy, you are more alert, and you're in charge. You feel strong and confident. Forget what happened this week - you're having fun now! Why would you want to put THAT off??? Have a great weekend! Melissa

My BIG brain...

My husband is always teasing me about the size of my brain - he's just jealous. His would be big too if he drank more champagne and ate more spicy food! But really, you can increase your brain POWER (which is what we're really talking about here...) by eating a healthy diet that is rich in complex carbohydrates, good fats (in particular, omega 3's), and high quality, lean proteins. Carbohydrates are your brain's primary source for energy - low carbohydrate diets will leave you mentally fatigued and will break down valuable protein to use for energy that would have been better spent building up muscles and making your BODY strong; in other words, carbohydrates make your BRAIN strong. Carbohydrates are easily broken down into glucose, making it readily available to your brain, which needs to be fed constantly. This is not to say that protein is not important - it is, but in a different way. Proteins provide amino acids that make up your neurotransmitters - these allow your brain cells to communicate with each other (so, simply put, allow you to think); and right behind the proteins are your good fats (especially those omega 3's); these boost your memory, and increase your learning capacity. Vitamins and minerals boost your IQ, keep your mind young, improve concentration and positively affect your mood. Some of the best "brain foods" are salmon, oatmeal, blueberries (brainberries!), peanut butter, chocolate, eggs and whole grains - the fiber in whole grains slow down digestion, providing that constant source of energy). Eat what matters to your brain and you'll have more brain matter (hey,a bigger brain!!) Melissa

Spice It Up!

No, I'm not talking about your sex life...but, did you know that eating spicy foods burns calories AND makes you smarter? Spices are big on flavor and low in calories, with NO fat; adding some hot sauce to your morning eggs will help you to eat fewer calories and less fat later in the day; when that Tabasco sauce hits your tongue it triggers the pain receptors in your brain and releases endorphins (there they are again!!); these dull the pain and increase your mood at the same time (hmmn...it will help you know what...!). Spices make you smarter because they sweep out plaque deposits in your brain. The chemical that makes a spice hot is called capsaicin - it's actually an burning irritant that is perceived by your body as pain; the endorphins are released, circulation is increased, your body heats up, and you start to burn calories. Put that sauce on everything! It strenghtens your muscles, reduces inflammation, and lowers cholesterol too. Just remember, a little goes a long way - keep the milk handy! Melissa

It IS a laughing matter!

There is good stress and bad stress, but it all has the same cumulative effect on your body. Stress increases your heart rate, your breathing rate, your blood pressure and your metabolism; blood vessels open up to allow more blood flow into your large muscle groups, your pupils dilate, and your liver releases stored glucose to increase the body's energy levels. Your focus, strength, stamina and alertness are heightened in response to all of these, which allows you to effectively handle the pressure of stress. This is all great, until you have too much stress - either for too long or too intense - and then we begin to overreact; little things become big things, and over time we lose some of our mental and physical capacity to handle day to day situations in a controlled and realistic manner. The trick is to minimize and manage the things that irritate or anger you, and cause you to lose sleep over - at the end of the day - things that are relatively insignificant. One of the simplest ways is to LAUGH - at yourself or the irritant. Laughing increases your adrenaline, your dopamine levels and your endorphins (remember, these are your pleasure hormones); laughing ALWAYS makes you feel good! Laughter is the lazy man's exercise - it contracts your abs and works your shoulders, and causes you to relax. Laughing changes your view of the situation - this helps you to look on the bright side, be optimistic, or shrug it off. YOU decide how you want to spend your day; surround yourself with happy people - it's contagious and refreshing! Melissa

DON'T sit still!

Fidgeting burns calories - as much as 350 per DAY!! Fidgeting requires energy, and of course, the more energy you burn, the less you store! Fidgeting reduces tension, and actually makes you more alert and focused, thereby INcreasing productivity. So go ahead - talk with your hands, tap your foot, pace the floor while you're talking on the phone - even laugh! You can burn 40 calories just by watching some silly movie (like Dumb and Dumber...see, something good comes out of doing the weirdest stuff!). Standing up burns 50% more calories than sitting (standing two hours a day instead of sitting burns an extra 340 calories a DAY), or even chew gum - you can burn 11 calories an HOUR just chewing gum! While some people (like me) have a predisposition to fidget, you can consciously add more movement. Put a sticky on your computer, mirror, or phone to MOVE! And don't forget what we've talked about before - drink cold water and turn your temperature down - your body burns calories trying to keep itself at 98 degrees. So tap away! Melissa

Another rainy weekend...

I know most of you will be tempted to sleep in tomorrow morning - it's Saturday, it will be raining...it's just too tempting. So - sleep in, enjoy the paper, have a cup of coffee. In fact, have three - you won't believe all that caffeine can do for you!! That first cup of coffee stimulates your central nervous system, and this in turn increases your dopamine levels (the pleasure center of your brain); you become alert, full of energy, and you feel great - so great that you want to head to the gym - who cares if it's raining! That coffee increases your metabolism and breaks down fat into fatty acids - these are used IMMEDIATELY for energy, saving your glucose stores for later. You can exercise longer and faster, with less exertion, and you'll recover faster. AND - guess what else! Not only does caffeine improve your physical performance - it also improves your mental performance. Remember, your brain only functions on glucose (stored carbohydrates used for energy). If you are burning fat for energy instead, you are maintaining higher levels of glucose in your body for a longer period of time, so your brain is constantly being fed - not only will you be in great shape, just think how smart you are too!! Enjoy your "sleep in" and have a nice weekend! Melissa

Good Morning!

Well, yes, it's a little early, but now you'll have time to run out and get this before you go to bed so you'll have it first thing tomorrow!! Ocean Spray has come out with Diet Cranberry Pomegranate Juice and it is fantastic!! Only FIVE calories for an 8 ounce glass, 100% of your vitamin C - and look at the ingredients - filtered water, cranberry juice, pomegranate juice and (don't freak out) carrot juice are the first four ingredients. What's funny is, the "Light" version of this same juice has filtered water, cranberry juice, sugar and additives as it's first ingredients (it's light because it's reduced in sugar - the diet version is totally sugar-free); you would think the light flavor would be more flavorful but the the diet version is so rich in flavor you just won't believe how good it tastes (hey, they should hire me...). Kidding aside, try it!! Melissa

Fill it up!

Yesterday we talked about reducing your portion sizes by using a smaller plate, but there are also a few foods that are great at filling you up, even in small portions. The trick is to eat nutrient-dense foods; this means that, calorie for calorie, these foods are high in vitamins and minerals that increase their food value. Take for instance peanut butter - this is an excellent protein/fat combination that is satisfying in taste and great at controlling your hunger for a longer period of time. The fat is monounsaturated, which is the best kind of fat you can have! Next is fish - fish fills you up more than any other meat, and has as much as 22 grams of protein in just a 3.5 oz. serving, along with the added value of omega-3's (your heart healthy fat). We've talked about eggs previously - these get the gold medal for being the perfect protein; even though the yolk is a cholesterol fat, the egg as a whole is not high in fat so you are not getting very much. Then come your high-fiber foods - one of the best is oatmeal. The fiber expands in your stomach making you feel fuller faster (wow!), is low in calories, and keeps you feeling full until lunch. Quaker even has a weight control one out now that has added protein AND extra fiber. Fruits, particularly apples, oranges and pears are high in vitamins and minerals, and high in fiber. They are full of water and low on calories - yeah!! So, the plan here is to focus on low-volume intakes with high-volume nutrition - an easy solution to what you might have thought was a difficult problem (and we have enough of those!!). Happy eating - M.

Dinnertime!

Hopefully, most nights you are sitting down to dinner in front of an actual dinner plate, as opposed to the styrofoam box or dreaded frozen dinner tin tray; and most likely you finish everything without giving much thought to the amount of food on that plate. It is true, however, that eating from a smaller plate will reduce the size of the portion you would normally eat, and along with that, the calories you consume. We tend to eat with our eyes and not our stomach, so it's important to focus on the visual impact of the food, and not the size of the serving. The satisfaction we get from eating is from how it looks and how it tastes - not how much we ate. Start with high quality fresh food, prepare it nicely, and then savor every bite. Practice eating on a salad plate, and cut back slowly - teach yourself to be satisfied with eating less by paying attention to when you start to feel full. By NOT paying attention you might eat as much as 50% more!! Don't eat food you don't like - learn to eat what you love in smaller amounts. Remember that it takes 20 minutes for your brain to send the signal to your stomach that you have had enough, so use this time wisely. If you tend to eat quickly (as I do), start with a glass of water, and follow this with a broth-based soup or salad (or both!); by doing this you won't inhale your dinner, and you will be able to control the amount you eat. You'll be surprised at how much less you eat - I promise! Melissa

Oh, terrific...

Well, turns out, we aren't just lucky enough to have "white" fat, which we commonly know as body fat (actually it's a gross yellow color), but we are unlucky enough not to have much "brown" fat - this is intramuscular fat that is used to regulate body temperatures (so a bad fat vs. a good fat...). There has been a lot of press regarding brown fat recently, but scientists have known about it for decades. Newborns, and in particular, premature babies, have more (it's located along the spine and can be 5% of their body mass) because they have an inability to keep themselves warm - they have lower body mass, so less body fat; their nervous systems are not fully developed, and they are not able to move away from the cold or keep themselves warm on their own. However, as we get older, the body becomes more adept at regulating body temperature, so brown fat stores shrink. It was previously thought that this brown fat was not important, but recent studies indicate that it has the potential to help you lose weight and keep it off by burning calories faster - while keeping your intake the same. When you are cold, your brown fat becomes activated and uses white fat for fuel; this is very inefficient for your body and consumes of lot of white fat (yeah!!) AND burns a higher amount of calories. All of this sounds great - we could just spend more time out in the cold or stick your head in the freezer, but the reality is that as adults we have very little of this "good" fat - adults have a small amount in the neck and between the shoulder blades, and by small amount I mean less that 1/2 of an ounce - and that's for women - we have twice as much as men (oh, hallelujah!!); obese people have less than leaner people, older less than younger, and those with high blood sugar also have less. Researchers have found one of the body's "messenger" proteins promotes the growth of brown fat, and they are working on drugs to stimulate this production; it has also been shown that decreasing the room temperature to the point that you feel chilly can burn up to nine pounds a year - but would you really rather do that than go to the gym and burn those calories the old-fashioned way??? Besides, as your body burns calories, it stimulates your hunger signals - this is why we always eat more in the winter, so it's very hard to keep your intake at the level needed to keep weight off. I just thought I would explain this to you because you will be hearing a lot more about it - please don't be fooled by some magic supplement, when all it takes is drinking a glass of cold water!! Melissa

No wonder I'm so smart...

I absolutely love champagne, and I just today read that it actually helps to protect your brain from injuries and restore full brain function when damaged. There is a particular type of polyphenol in champagne that is different from wine - these are the antioxidants that destroy free radicals that attack cells in your body - but these prevent cell death in your brain, and have the ability to cross the blood/brain barrier and benefit your entire central nervous system. These polyphenols act as an anti-inflammatory in a way that helps to clean up and remove dangerous chemicals from your blood. Just think how lucky the mice were that got in THAT study!! Hey, by the way, as you celebrate Easter, remember not to pop the cork - you only upset the champagne and cause it to spill over the top, therefore wasting precious bubbly. Instead, turn the cork slowly and just let it sort of "whisper" as it's opened. Have a safe and happy holiday! Melissa

For Chocolate Lovers Only

While chocolate may be high in fat and sugar, it is also high in flavenoids - antioxidants that attack free radicals in the cells, lower cholesterol and relax blood vessels from the heart to every part of your body, decreasing blood pressure and lowering your chances of heart disease. Because of it's high caffeine content, chocolate acts in a similar way as antidepressant and stimulant medications in that it releases endorphins (the feel-good hormones involved with pleasure...also known as aphrodisiacs!!), and increases your energy levels. The bad news is that it only takes a small amount to do all this - TWO hershey kisses (bummer!!). Dark chocolate is slightly lower in calories and higher in flavenoids, but many of you probably prefer the taste of milk chocolate, which has a little more sugar. However, because this is your "pleasure" food, you should eat what you like - and have fun!! Melissa

Yuck!!

Well, better late than never, I guess - never got near a computer today...anyway, have to confess one of the reasons was because I was getting a pedicure - what does THAT have to do with nutrition?? Well, I got to watch the food channel, and there was a lady on there that made something so unbelieveably gross and fattening, I just had to share it with you. It was a square of cooked macaroni and cheese (looked hard as a rock) with a slice of raw bacon around it - she dipped it in raw egg and some flour AND DEEP-FRIED IT!! Now, I hope, hope, hope that you also think this sounds AWFUL and that you don't - and wouldn't- even consider eating something like that. You'd have to work out for three days, and it wouldn't be sitting in a boat fishing - you'd have to run 26 miles!! Believe me, it's NOT worth it - I've done it. Have a good night - Melissa

Sounds like fun...hmmm

Because we all know how important exercise is to our overall health and well-being, it helps to push us out the door even when the motivation is low. EVERY activity burns calories; it takes 3500 of these babies to lose ONE pound! As you are burning these calories, you are increasing your metabolism and using your food intake for energy. If the exercise you are doing exceeds the food you are taking in, you will start burning FAT and LOSE WEIGHT! Of course, if losing weight is not a goal of yours (lucky you!) then this means you can take in more calories and increase your fat intake. However, which ever side of the equation you are on, you still need to exercise. There is no better way to strengthen your heart muscles, lower your stress levels AND improve your appearance. If you are tired of your normal routine of going to the gym (which burns approximately 325 calories an hour for women and 475 calories an hour for men - I know, it's not fair...), you might consider synchronized swimming (475 calories for women, 700 for men); or perhaps broomball (400 for women, 600 for men); or, for a few less calories, paddleboating or ping pong (235 for women, and 350 for men). If you REALLY don't have any energy, you might think about darts, croquet or fishing (sitting in a boat) - these all burn about 150 calories for a woman and 200 for guys. As you can see, the possibilities are endless...have fun picking your new thing!! Melissa

Get your spoon out...

This is going to be a week to test everyone's willpower - there are going to be chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, cadbury eggs (my favorite! - I just stick the whole thing in!!) - anyway, you get the idea. Part of the reason it's all so hard to resist is because it is so satisfying - it makes you feel good and it tastes even better. There is another, more healthy food, probably the most satisfying of all foods - and that is peanut butter. There is no other singe food that is as satiating and satisfying, and part of that IS because it tastes so good. When you like what you're eating, life is much more enjoyable. There is actually a Peanut Butter Diet from Prevention Magazine (you can buy the book at any bookstore) and is one for the most successful diets ever. There are recipes for everything, and it's all portion-controlled and easy to make. Peanuts by themselves are better than any other snack - they have one-fourth the carbohydrates and three times the protein of any pretzel or cracker (peanuts have the highest amount of protein found in any plant food); and the protein/fat combination of peanuts and peanut butter keep you full for a longer period of time. The fat in peanut butter is a monounsaturated fat - it's the GOOD fat that lowers cholesterol and controls/prevents diabetes. Peanut butter is full of nutrients, and combined with an apple or a banana, stirred into yogurt or a shake, on a sandwich with whole grain bread, or even just straight out of the jar (but be careful - only two tablespoons allowed!!) you have a well balanced and simple meal or snack. All peanut butter is pretty much the same - not much difference between any of the brands. Be creative and enjoy every bite - but remember to pay attention to the serving size (two tablespoons equal the size of a ping pong ball) - it is still high in calories, but a little goes a long way! Enjoy your day - Melissa

Shopping Around

Sorry to be so late today, but I've been checking out a new store that just opened. It's big, nicely laid out, has a combination of organic and non-organic foods, produce department looks awesome, and everyone was nice. I went up and down all the aisles, checked everything out, and bought some new products. But I did think that this store was trying to be everything to everybody, so therefore, didn't have the depth of variety within a brand as a typical grocery store might have. Some of their prices (wine!!) were higher, and pricing was confusing. That being said, it was still a great store with a lot of variety, and I do love trying new things. On that note, I want to encourage you not to limit yourself to shopping at one store - every store has different brands, and some offer this and others that, but they all have something special or unique, and it can keep you from getting into a rut by changing things up. Sure it's easy to shop right up the street most of the time, but when you have some extra time, go exploring, try something new, mix it up a bit. You might be surprised! Have a nice weekend - Melissa

Read your labels!!!

I saw an article today in Men's Health, and wanted to pass it on. I have said a lot about eating breakfast - it IS your most important meal of the day. Be careful, however, about WHICH oatmeal, yogurt, juice, breads, cereals, etc. that you choose. While oatmeal sounds healthy, many are heavily sweetened and can have as many much as 28 grams of sugar!! Don't just look at labels such as "whole grain", "light", "all natural" or even "organic". They can still be too high in fat or sugar, and too low in fiber. Granola may sound healthy, but look at the labels - many are very high in calories, but very low in nutritional content. Yogurt can have HUGE amounts of sugar - even if it says lowfat (and probably is), it still gets most of its calories from sugar - look on the back, but take Yoplait Light for example - it has 27 grams of sugar - that's 128 calories - wasted calories!! Muffins, bagels - even if they're "whole grain" can have 60 grams of FAT (540 calories - unbelievable!!). Ideally, try to choose things that have 3 grams of fat or less, unless it is coming from nuts (which are naturally high in fat - but know what kind of fat you are eating!!), less than 5-8 grams of sugar, and over 5 grams of fiber. There are so many new foods on the shelves these days that meet all of the above, and are fantastic. Don't be afraid to try something new - add a little fresh fruit, dried fruit, cinnamon - even sugar free pancake syrup (Log Cabin is the best!!) to add flavor and sweetness. Breakfast is the most important meal and you want it to be energizing, not leaving you sluggish and sleepy. Read your labels and know what you're getting out of bed for! Melissa

He's never gonna get it...

So this morning my husband's running out the door with an apple and two lowfat blueberry muffins, and I asked him what he was going to have for a protein - he replies that he just had some orange juice...are you kidding me??? Does he really think orange juice is protein? We've been together for 35 years and he still thinks this way - unbelievable! But just in case some of you might think the same way, here is a short lesson. Carbohydrates are all of your fruits, vegetables, breads, most of your snack foods, desserts - fruits and vegetables have no fat, and most everything else has a little to a lot of fat. Proteins are all of your meats, eggs, and dairy (although dairy usually involves some fat and can have carbohydrates, like yogurt for example). If you only have carbohydrates for a meal, you will be hungry again almost immediately - they are easily digested, and if not used quickly (say, before exercising) will be stored for energy to be used later, and the excess stored as fat. It is important to include some protein with every carbohydrate meal to help slow the digestive process and control your hunger and blood sugar; fat will also do this, but doesn't have the power of protein and most often has a lot of extra calories. You really, really want to have protein in the morning - it is your "wake up" food - it keeps you alert and fueled for a long time; and you want more protein at lunch to keep you alert during those boring afternoon meetings. You don't need as much protein at night - doesn't take much to watch American Idol and you don't want your metabolism all stirred up - a dinner that is heavier on the carbohydrates and lighter on the protein will help you sleep better at night. All this said, if you wake up in the morning and want something in your stomach before you head out for a workout, all you want is a little carbohydrate because it is so easy and quick to digest, and you can immediately use it for energy. You don't want fat or protein then because it will sit in your stomach and yell at you. Immediately after a workout you will again want carbohydrates to refuel your muscles, but include protein to build them back up again and get you ready for the next one. If you only have carbohydrates, the only thing you will want to do is go back home and get in bed. Who wants to start their day like that? Thought so...M.