Your Weight-Loss Solution: Ban the Breadbasket
YOUR DAILY DIET TIP
By James Beckerman, M.D.
Published May 30, 2011
Restaurant bread is generally high in calories and low in fiber – it will not fill you up as much as other foods. Also, we tend not to really “count” the bread we eat before our meals as part of our dinner, and this can lead to eating too much. Consider some strategies for reducing the breadbasket’s impact on your diet: Ask for the breadbasket to be half filled, or take just one item and then have the waiter remove the basket. Avoid butter and even olive oil - they add unwanted calories. Or just ask your waiter not to bring the basket to the table at all.
The typical restaurant customer eats at least two breadbasket items per meal, which runs you at least 300 calories each time you go out. It’s estimated that 40% of people eat out at least three times per week. Think about those business lunches with clients or meals at family restaurants on the weekend – that’s a lot of bread. Try multiplying the number of breadbaskets you come in contact with each month by 300 calories, and enjoy the savings in turning them away.
Always look up,
Jamie
Cardiologist James Beckerman shares 200 evidence-based strategies for prevention, wellness, and weight loss with his new book, The Flex Diet: Design-Your-Own Weight Loss Plan.
To learn more about the Flex Diet, visit TheFlexDiet.com.
MY THOUGHTS
Do I really need to give up those breadbaskets? Or maybe sample 1 or 2 and not gobble up the whole thing - including the basket!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
DANCE FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Dance Your Booty Off
YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
The Lifescript Editorial Staff
Published May 24, 2011
Dancing is a full-body exercise that can really tone your body from top to bottom. If you have weight to lose or just want to sculpt beautifully lean muscles, and the treadmill just isn’t your thing, get your groove on. Got two left feet? Don’t worry, you don’t have to go to a club or embarrass yourself in public. You can dance in the privacy of your own home! Pop in your favorite CD (may we suggest Dancing Queen by Abba?) or choose from a variety of dance workout videos. You can find everything from Brazilian and hula dances to the Cha-Cha.
And if you really do have two left feet, it surely wouldn’t hurt to learn a few new dance moves. For those of you who are social butterflies and love to show of your dancing skills, head to the nearest club. Or try a group dance class at your gym. Variety is the spice of life, so don’t get stuck in a rut with one kind of dance. Take a swing class and sign up for an African dance routine next week. And remember, when all else fails (the video you ordered hasn’t come yet or the class you signed up for was moved to next week), you can always flip on the radio and boogie down at home.
Just don’t forget to shut the blinds.
MY THOUGHTS
Okay! For now, my most immediate dream is to own a Wii. The kids have it and I love hopping on it. I can hardly understand what it's saying (it's Japanese). But it definitely helps shed off pounds. I need to eat right, of course.
YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
The Lifescript Editorial Staff
Published May 24, 2011
Dancing is a full-body exercise that can really tone your body from top to bottom. If you have weight to lose or just want to sculpt beautifully lean muscles, and the treadmill just isn’t your thing, get your groove on. Got two left feet? Don’t worry, you don’t have to go to a club or embarrass yourself in public. You can dance in the privacy of your own home! Pop in your favorite CD (may we suggest Dancing Queen by Abba?) or choose from a variety of dance workout videos. You can find everything from Brazilian and hula dances to the Cha-Cha.
And if you really do have two left feet, it surely wouldn’t hurt to learn a few new dance moves. For those of you who are social butterflies and love to show of your dancing skills, head to the nearest club. Or try a group dance class at your gym. Variety is the spice of life, so don’t get stuck in a rut with one kind of dance. Take a swing class and sign up for an African dance routine next week. And remember, when all else fails (the video you ordered hasn’t come yet or the class you signed up for was moved to next week), you can always flip on the radio and boogie down at home.
Just don’t forget to shut the blinds.
MY THOUGHTS
Okay! For now, my most immediate dream is to own a Wii. The kids have it and I love hopping on it. I can hardly understand what it's saying (it's Japanese). But it definitely helps shed off pounds. I need to eat right, of course.
Monday, May 23, 2011
DON'T EXERCISE QUICKER FOR WEIGHT LOSS
For a Healthy Ticker, Don't Exercise Quicker
YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
The Lifescript Editorial Staff
Published May 23, 2011
It’s no surprise that exercise is good for your heart, but research suggests that endurance training is the preferred form of exercise for better long term heart-health. Endurance training simply refers to low-intensity, high-duration exercises like walking or swimming. It differs from interval training, which is defined by short periods of high-intensity energy bursts followed by a period of rest.
Studies show that those who perform endurance activities regularly have a reduced chance of heart failure, because these activities can help prevent the heart muscle from stiffening. And as an added benefit, adding endurance activities to your workouts can help you burn more calories and lose weight, which also reduces your risk of heart disease.
Take a long walk in the morning to watch the sun rise or hit the pool in the afternoon to cool off. Also, make sure that you’re eating the right foods.
Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!
MY THOUGHTS
My prayer is that God will continue to provide me with a 'safe' place to walk. I like it. So far, the longest walk I've had is 32 kms. And I feel I can do more.
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YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
The Lifescript Editorial Staff
Published May 23, 2011
It’s no surprise that exercise is good for your heart, but research suggests that endurance training is the preferred form of exercise for better long term heart-health. Endurance training simply refers to low-intensity, high-duration exercises like walking or swimming. It differs from interval training, which is defined by short periods of high-intensity energy bursts followed by a period of rest.
Studies show that those who perform endurance activities regularly have a reduced chance of heart failure, because these activities can help prevent the heart muscle from stiffening. And as an added benefit, adding endurance activities to your workouts can help you burn more calories and lose weight, which also reduces your risk of heart disease.
Take a long walk in the morning to watch the sun rise or hit the pool in the afternoon to cool off. Also, make sure that you’re eating the right foods.
Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!
MY THOUGHTS
My prayer is that God will continue to provide me with a 'safe' place to walk. I like it. So far, the longest walk I've had is 32 kms. And I feel I can do more.
Talk to us on Facebook and Twitter!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
RUN FASTER FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Run Faster, By Leaps and Bounds
YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
By Jennifer Gruenemay, ACE-Certified, Special to Lifescript
Published May 17, 2011
Training for speed is no cake walk, but it could make the difference between completing a race and competing in a race. There are a number of things you can do to become faster, but you won’t find “do the same old program you’ve always been doing” on the list.
You can’t expect to run fast in competition if you don’t run fast in practice, which means that strength and endurance training won’t make you faster. Instead, try adding intervals to your training regimen. This can be as simple as adding hills or sprints to your normal routine. Running uphill makes you work twice as hard, which builds strength, power and speed. Surprisingly, running downhill can also improve your speed.
Add plyometric (explosive movement) drills to your workouts to increase power, coordination, agility, and speed of movement. “Bounding” is a good example of a plyometric drill that can help you run faster: As you run, push forcefully off the ground with your feet for each step you take. This exaggerated version of running will have you literally leaping as you run. This improves both your explosive power and speed.
If you decide to follow a speed-training regimen, just keep in mind that it's especially hard on the body and shouldn’t be done on consecutive days.
Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!
Talk to us on Facebook and Twitter!
MY THOUGHTS
Maybe I'm ready to do this. I've been walking around for 2-3 hours everyday for the past 13 days. Leisurely walking. Brisk walking. Today I walked on some rough road. I thinks it's time. To jog a little. That would be some leap for someone who had been sedentary for a really long time.
YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
By Jennifer Gruenemay, ACE-Certified, Special to Lifescript
Published May 17, 2011
Training for speed is no cake walk, but it could make the difference between completing a race and competing in a race. There are a number of things you can do to become faster, but you won’t find “do the same old program you’ve always been doing” on the list.
You can’t expect to run fast in competition if you don’t run fast in practice, which means that strength and endurance training won’t make you faster. Instead, try adding intervals to your training regimen. This can be as simple as adding hills or sprints to your normal routine. Running uphill makes you work twice as hard, which builds strength, power and speed. Surprisingly, running downhill can also improve your speed.
Add plyometric (explosive movement) drills to your workouts to increase power, coordination, agility, and speed of movement. “Bounding” is a good example of a plyometric drill that can help you run faster: As you run, push forcefully off the ground with your feet for each step you take. This exaggerated version of running will have you literally leaping as you run. This improves both your explosive power and speed.
If you decide to follow a speed-training regimen, just keep in mind that it's especially hard on the body and shouldn’t be done on consecutive days.
Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!
Talk to us on Facebook and Twitter!
MY THOUGHTS
Maybe I'm ready to do this. I've been walking around for 2-3 hours everyday for the past 13 days. Leisurely walking. Brisk walking. Today I walked on some rough road. I thinks it's time. To jog a little. That would be some leap for someone who had been sedentary for a really long time.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
GETOVER WEIGHT-LOSS BLAHS
Get Over the Weight-Loss Blahs with Adventure Fitness
YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
By The Lifescript Editorial Staff
Published May 15, 2011
If being cooped up inside of a gym for an hour isn’t your idea of a fun way to spend an afternoon, you sound like you might be more of the adventurous type. And lucky for you, being adventuresome burns a lot of calories!
Whether you’re on vacation or just getting away for the weekend, adventure fitness is an exhilarating way to burn extra calories, lose weight and buff up. Just one hour of your favorite adventure sport can burn more than 500 calories, and you’ll be having such a great time you won’t even know you’re doing your body good!
Take scuba diving, for example; one hour of swimming around in your scuba gear will burn more than 500 calories, and that doesn’t even include all the calories you burned lugging your equipment on to the boat or to the dive site. Snorkeling burns an easy 350 calories per hour while windsurfing and body surfing can each burn up to 300 calories. If you’d rather be on the water than in it, sailing and kayaking burn 340 calories an hour each, while paddle boating at a leisurely pace burns up an easy 200 calories.
Instead of letting the fitness “blahs” get in the way of your weight-loss goals, take your workout outside and make an adventure out of it. You’ll be burning mega calories while you have fun, and there’s no better formula for weight loss than that!
Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!
Talk to us on Facebook and Twitter!
MY THOUGHTS
Why does adventure fitness have to be in the water? The only body of water near me at the moment is the biggest river I've seen. People are fishing. But no swimming. Even if I find that ocean, I'm not daring to take a dip in this weather. And I don't have scuba equipment. Because I don't know how to scuba dive. I'm sticking to walking. Getting lost (almost) is an adventure all by itself. I burn more calories when I get lost. Because it takes me longer to get back from where I started.
YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
By The Lifescript Editorial Staff
Published May 15, 2011
If being cooped up inside of a gym for an hour isn’t your idea of a fun way to spend an afternoon, you sound like you might be more of the adventurous type. And lucky for you, being adventuresome burns a lot of calories!
Whether you’re on vacation or just getting away for the weekend, adventure fitness is an exhilarating way to burn extra calories, lose weight and buff up. Just one hour of your favorite adventure sport can burn more than 500 calories, and you’ll be having such a great time you won’t even know you’re doing your body good!
Take scuba diving, for example; one hour of swimming around in your scuba gear will burn more than 500 calories, and that doesn’t even include all the calories you burned lugging your equipment on to the boat or to the dive site. Snorkeling burns an easy 350 calories per hour while windsurfing and body surfing can each burn up to 300 calories. If you’d rather be on the water than in it, sailing and kayaking burn 340 calories an hour each, while paddle boating at a leisurely pace burns up an easy 200 calories.
Instead of letting the fitness “blahs” get in the way of your weight-loss goals, take your workout outside and make an adventure out of it. You’ll be burning mega calories while you have fun, and there’s no better formula for weight loss than that!
Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!
Talk to us on Facebook and Twitter!
MY THOUGHTS
Why does adventure fitness have to be in the water? The only body of water near me at the moment is the biggest river I've seen. People are fishing. But no swimming. Even if I find that ocean, I'm not daring to take a dip in this weather. And I don't have scuba equipment. Because I don't know how to scuba dive. I'm sticking to walking. Getting lost (almost) is an adventure all by itself. I burn more calories when I get lost. Because it takes me longer to get back from where I started.
Friday, May 13, 2011
LOVE THE EXERCISE FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Love the Exercise You Do
YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
By The Lifescript Editorial Staff
Published May 13, 2011
Why isn’t your exercise program working for you? Probably because you never do it! Studies show that the #1 problem with losing weight is not the diet or fitness plan itself, but rather a lack of follow-through.
The real key is to find an exercise you enjoy. That way you'll look forward to your workouts rather than dreading them. More importantly, you'll be more likely to do them rather than finding inventive ways of avoiding them.
You don't have to get on a treadmill if you don't like it. Bike, swim, hike, walk, dance, climb, or do whatever you love to do – just make sure you move! You can even play tag if you want, as long as you keep moving and work up a sweat. The more you exercise, the more weight you’ll lose, and the happier you’ll be because you aren’t torturing yourself with needless hours of exercises you hate to do.
Whatever you choose, just stick with it!
Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!
MY THOUGHTS
The 'stick with it' is the hard part. I like walking. But i find I get motivation from walking the path I've never walked before and challenging myself not to get lost. So, as soon as I get comfortable with a path I hardly ever notice it at all, I seek another path.
YOUR DAILY FIT TIP
By The Lifescript Editorial Staff
Published May 13, 2011
Why isn’t your exercise program working for you? Probably because you never do it! Studies show that the #1 problem with losing weight is not the diet or fitness plan itself, but rather a lack of follow-through.
The real key is to find an exercise you enjoy. That way you'll look forward to your workouts rather than dreading them. More importantly, you'll be more likely to do them rather than finding inventive ways of avoiding them.
You don't have to get on a treadmill if you don't like it. Bike, swim, hike, walk, dance, climb, or do whatever you love to do – just make sure you move! You can even play tag if you want, as long as you keep moving and work up a sweat. The more you exercise, the more weight you’ll lose, and the happier you’ll be because you aren’t torturing yourself with needless hours of exercises you hate to do.
Whatever you choose, just stick with it!
Check out Health Bistro for more healthy food for thought. See what Lifescript editors are talking about and get the skinny on latest news. Share it with your friends (it’s free to sign up!), and bookmark it so you don’t miss a single juicy post!
MY THOUGHTS
The 'stick with it' is the hard part. I like walking. But i find I get motivation from walking the path I've never walked before and challenging myself not to get lost. So, as soon as I get comfortable with a path I hardly ever notice it at all, I seek another path.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
TAKEOUT FOOD AND WEIGHT LOSS
Your Weight-Loss Solution: Limit Takeout Food
YOUR DAILY DIET TIP
By James Beckerman, M.D.
Published May 09, 2011
Unless you live in New York, takeout and delivery options are pretty much limited to pizza and Chinese food. And here’s the real tip: both are heavy hitters – high in carbohydrates, fat and salt. If there are any vegetables, they are typically drowning in oil or melted cheese.
Sure, they taste great, but try to limit takeout or delivery to once a week – this includes weekends. The food you prepare at home will be healthier, and you will avoid the split-second decision making on the telephone that sometimes prompts you to make the less healthy choice at the last moment.
Always look up,
Jamie
Cardiologist James Beckerman shares 200 evidence-based strategies for prevention, wellness, and weight loss with his new book, The Flex Diet: Design-Your-Own Weight Loss Plan.
To learn more about the Flex Diet, visit TheFlexDiet.com.
MY THOUGHTS
The real culprit here would be time. Well, maybe not. If you desire eating healthy so much, you'll find ways to manage your time-and your refrigerator-so you don't end up munching takeouts.
YOUR DAILY DIET TIP
By James Beckerman, M.D.
Published May 09, 2011
Unless you live in New York, takeout and delivery options are pretty much limited to pizza and Chinese food. And here’s the real tip: both are heavy hitters – high in carbohydrates, fat and salt. If there are any vegetables, they are typically drowning in oil or melted cheese.
Sure, they taste great, but try to limit takeout or delivery to once a week – this includes weekends. The food you prepare at home will be healthier, and you will avoid the split-second decision making on the telephone that sometimes prompts you to make the less healthy choice at the last moment.
Always look up,
Jamie
Cardiologist James Beckerman shares 200 evidence-based strategies for prevention, wellness, and weight loss with his new book, The Flex Diet: Design-Your-Own Weight Loss Plan.
To learn more about the Flex Diet, visit TheFlexDiet.com.
MY THOUGHTS
The real culprit here would be time. Well, maybe not. If you desire eating healthy so much, you'll find ways to manage your time-and your refrigerator-so you don't end up munching takeouts.
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