Practice what you PREACH

Practice what you preach! Converted my desk into a standing workstation today. 

What tips have YOU incorporated from our 'Cubicle Cardio' post?

http://fitmediaconcepts.blogspot.com/2013/01/cubicle-cardio.html

Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday

The Super Bowl match up of the Baltimore Ravens versus the San Francisco 49ers is just one week away. FitMedia Concepts wants to give our readers the tools they need to make healthier food choices during the biggest game of the year.

According to USA Today, “Super Bowl Sunday is the second-most-popular at-home party date of the year… and the second-largest food-consumption event, behind only Thanksgiving.”
 
Check out these stats posted by ESPN.com:

• According to the Calorie Control Council, the average American eats 1,200 calories worth of Super Sunday snacks, enough to fuel two hours of running laps around a football field.

• Chips alone account for a nationwide consumption of 1.8 billion fat grams- roughly equivalent to 4 million pounds of human blubber, or about 13,000 300-pound NFL linemen.

• According to the Hilton Head Health Institute, two heaping handfuls of peanuts can contain up to 680 calories- almost the same as two slices of meat-topped pizza.

• Just SIX cheesesticks add up to 1,140 calories- nearly half a normal person's recommended daily caloric requirement.

• The good news? A single beer equals only about 110 calories. The bad news? The liver converts excess alcohol into fatty lipids, which are then stored around your waist.

With statistics like that we want to provide out readers with a comprehensive list of healthy alternatives to share with their fellow football fans. These recommendations are guaranteed to satisfy the Super Bowl munchies while keeping you on track with your health and fitness goals.

Our favorite 'one-stop shop' for all clean eating recipes is Oxygen Magazine.com

   
Veggie dipping options: ((Instead of chips... go for the veggies!))
Broccoli, bell peppers, carrots, celery, cucumber, radishes, asparagus, snow peas/snap peas, cherry tomatoes, fennel bulb, kale, green onions, jicama, cauliflower, green beans, baby corn, zucchini, summer squash, sweet peppers, brussel sprouts, mushrooms.

Best chip options:
Popchips
Whole grain tortilla chips
Terra Vegetable Chips
Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
Baked Lentil Chips

Dip options: 
Salsa (make your own OR compare sodium & sugar content for store bought)
Hummus (compare calories per serving and sodium content)
Homemade dips (make healthy ingredient substitutions where needed)
Cheese dips (choose lower fat, lower calorie, lower sodium cheeses)  
Veggie dips

Cracker options: 
Kashi Crackers
Special K crackers & chips
Stacy's Naked Pita Chips
Triscuit
Wheat Thins

Warm appetizer recipes:
Eating Well.com
Huffington Post Website
Delish.com
ItSuxToBeFat
Health.com
 

Grilling options:

Fitness Magazine.com

Eating Well.com

Cooking Light.com
Mayo Clinic.com
Food Network.com

Entree options:

Eating Well.com
Picky Eater Blog.com
iVillage.com
About.com
Examiner.com

Dessert options:

Eating Well.com
Food Network.com

Food.com
Cooking Light.com
Delish.com

Beer options:

Huffington Post
Women's Health Magazine

Men's Health
Greatist.com
Eat This Not That.com

Cocktail options:

About.com
Shape Magazine.com
Fit Sugar.com
Live Strong.com
Men's Fitness.com

Cubicle Cardio

Cubicle Cardio 

As many of us already know, a sedentary lifestyle is harmful to your health. The challenge is that most office jobs make people feel as though they are chained to their desk anywhere from six to ten hours a day! 

Courtesy of The New York Times
"Over a lifetime, unhealthful effects of sitting add up. Alpa Patel, an epidemiologist at the American Cancer Society, tracked the health of 123,000 Americans between 1992 & 2006. 

The men in the study who spent six hours or more per day of their leisure time sitting had an overall death rate that was about 20% higher than the men who sat for 3 hours or less.

 The death rate for women who sat for more than six hours a day was about 40% higher. Patel estimates that on average, people who sit too much shave a few years off of their lives."

   

TEN tips to get moving at the office

·      STAND: Modify your workstation so you can stand while typing e-mails and talking on the phone. Stand whenever someone comes to your desk to talk.

·      WALK: Instead of e-mailing that co-worker two floors up, walk up to their office and have a face-to-face conversation.

·      DRINK: Drink more water! Keep a refillable water bottle at your desk. Trips to the bathroom & trips to refill at the water fountain will get you moving!

·      ALARM: Set an alarm to remind you throughout the day to take an activity break. (For example: Every two hours, spend 10 min walking & stretching)

·      PARK: Park further from your building everyday. Stop wasting time ‘shopping’ for closer parking. Put it in park and WALK to the building.

·      STEP: Take the stairs. Every chance you get! Eliminating elevators & escalators from your daily routine will build cardio & endurance.

·      LUNCH: Dedicate 10-15min of your lunch hour to getting moving. Walk the stairs, do laps around the office, walk around the block, options are endless!!

·      BUDDY: Find a ‘fit buddy’ in your office to help each other move more each day. Having a partner adds a layer of support & accountability.

·      STRETCH: Make an effort to stand and stretch every hour right at your desk. Do neck rolls, torso twists, touch your toes, arm circles, knees raises…

·      MOVE: Move your printer, fax, copier, trashcan, phone further away. Every single step counts, so add steps to your routine office treks.

GLYCEMIC INDEX 101

GLYCEMIC INDEX 101

What is the glycemic index? 

According to Harvard Health, the glycemic index (GI) rates carbohydrate-containing foods by how much they boost blood sugar (blood glucose). The impact a carbohydrate-containing food has on blood sugar depends on how quickly the digestive system can break apart the food into its component sugar molecules.

“The glycemic index was originally developed to help improve blood sugar control in diabetes. The GI ranks foods and beverages based on how they affect your blood sugar level, scored on a scale of 0 to 100.” (Mayo Clinic Staff)

Why is a high gIycemic index bad? 

Some foods disrupt the natural balance of the body by creating large spikes in blood sugar levels. When blood sugar and insulin levels stay high, or cycle up and down rapidly, your body has trouble responding and over time this could contribute to insulin resistance. (Mayo Clinic Staff)

What is insulin resistance?

According to the Chicago Tribune, "People often don't realize that insulin resistance can develop into diabetes," said Dawn Sherr, a diabetes educator for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. "And if they're not aware they're insulin resistant, they don't know what steps they can take to prevent it." The Chicago Tribune goes on to explain, "Most people think of diabetes as high blood sugar caused by too little insulin," said diabetes educator Gary Scheiner. "But the insulin resistance is really the root cause of almost all cases of Type 2 diabetes."

 

Why try a low GI diet

• Want to change blood sugar imbalances related to your current diet
• Want to change your overall eating habits 
• Don't want to count calories or go low-carb 
• Want a diet that you can stick to for the long term

These foods may help control appetite and delay hunger cues, which can help with weight management. Balanced blood sugar also can help reduce the risk of insulin resistance. (Mayo Clinic Staff)

What are some low mid and high GI foods?

Low glycemic index (GI of 55 or less): Most fruits and vegetables, beans, minimally processed grains, pasta, low-fat dairy foods, peas, skim milk, kidney beans and lentils.

Moderate glycemic index (GI 56 to 69): Sweet potatoes, corn, white rice, couscous, breakfast cereals such as Cream of Wheat and Mini Wheats. Also sweet corn, bananas, raw pineapple, raisins and certain types of ice cream.
High glycemic index (GI of 70 or higher): White bread, rice cakes, most crackers, bagels, cakes, doughnuts, croissants, waffles, most packaged breakfast cereals. Also instant white rice, brown rice, white skinless baked potato, boiled red potatoes with skin and watermelon. (Harvard Heath & Mayo Clinic Staff)

Diet recommendations: 

• Focus on breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran 
• Choose breads with whole grains, stone-ground flour or sourdough 
• Eat fewer potatoes 
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables 
• Avoid oversized portions of rice, pasta and noodles (Mayo Clinic) 

Why try a low GI diet?

• Want to change blood sugar imbalances related to your current diet
• Want to change your overall eating habits 
• Don't want to count calories or go low-carb 
• Want a diet that you can stick to for the long term

Diet recommendations:

• Focus on breakfast cereals based on oats, barley and bran
• Choose breads with whole grains, stone-ground flour or sourdough
• Eat fewer potatoes
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables
• Avoid oversized portions of rice, pasta and noodles (Mayo Clinic Staff)

Any downfalls to low GI diet?
According to the Mayo Clinic, “The glycemic index doesn't rank foods according to how healthy they actually are. Some foods with the preferred lower GI ranking may, in fact, be less healthy because they contain large amounts of calories, sugar or saturated fat, especially packaged and processed foods. So while lower GI items may help blood sugar balance, choosing them indiscriminately could lead to other health problems.”

Harvard Health goes on to explain, “The glycemic index of a particular food can also be influenced by what it is eaten with. Olive oil or something acidic, like vinegar or lemon juice, can slow the conversion of starch to sugar, and so lower the glycemic index.
The glycemic index isn’t a perfect guide for choosing a healthy diet. But it offers useful information that can help you choose foods that have kinder, gentler effects on blood sugar.”

In Australia, low glycemic index food products are clearly marked with a logo indicating to the consumer that they are making a smart decision for a healthy lifestyle. Click below to learn more about this program.

Workout for your body type

Workout for your body type

Since our earlier post ‘What IS my body type?’ was so popular, we have decided to do some follow up posts on the topic to help our readers be even more informed and reach their health and fitness goals in a safe, effective manner.

This post will focus on fitness and we're working on a follow-up post which will discuss proper nutrition for each body type.

 

We got a great question this week from a ‘Fit Fan’. She asked, “Can you be a blend of two body types?” ABSOLUTELY! Regardless of your body type or which combination you may be, the key is understanding the most effectively diet and exercise routine that suits your body's natural tendencies.

Exercise is important for many reasons, but nothing is more frustrating than spending hours in the gym and not seeing the results you want in the time you expect. This is one of the main reasons people give up on their fitness goals. After today you will have a better idea of how to best train for your body’s needs.

An important point to keep in mind is, “what are my goals?” Different goals require different diet and exercise. An endomorph looking to lose fat would not be successful following a plan designed for an ectomorph who wants to add size and muscle. Different goals require different nutrition and training.

According to Bodybuilding.com:

Endomorph

“An Endomorph's biggest concern should be the losing of fat and adopting a lifestyle that keeps it off. Strength training should be done to get a better muscle to fat ratio and therefore improve metabolism. Use moderate weights at a fast training pace (very little rest between sets and exercises). Engage daily in some activity like brisk walking, biking, etc., and try to increase the amount of time you spend each week.”

Click here for an Endomorph success story

Click here for a sample Endomorph workout

Mesomorph

“A Mesomorph has a naturally fit body but to maintain it or improve it they should exercise and diet correctly for their type. You should train with moderate to heavy weighs and at a moderate pace, not resting too long between sets. Engage in and enjoy aerobic activities, sports, etc. but do not overdo it.”

Click here for Mesomorph workout tips

Ectomorph

"Ectomorphs should concentrate on gaining weight in the form of good lean muscle tissue.Weight training should be done but not too often or for too long each session. Weight should be fairly heavy and workout pace slower (longer rest periods between sets). Aerobic and other activities (sports, dancing, etc.) should be kept to a minimum, at least until you are happy with your weight and looks."

Click here for an Ectomorph success story

Click here for great tips for Ectomorphs

Body type training advice for women

Body type training advice for men

To determine your body type, read our previous blog:
'What IS my body type?'

Stop reading food labels!

Stop reading food labels!

Ok… now that we’ve got your attention, let us clarify. We do NOT encourage you to stop reading food labels. However, what if there were an app that could help you save time in the grocery aisles.

Everyone knows that nutrition labels and ingredients lists can sometimes be confusing or misleading. Even the most informed health enthusiast can have difficulty deciphering the code.

So we would like to suggest a great tool to help our readers be more confident that they are making the best choices possible in the supermarket.

According to Fooducate’s website, their app, “…automatically grades foods and beverage on a scale from A to D… Fooducate’s  algorithm is based on information that is publicly on a product’s package: the nutrition facts panel and the ingredient list.”

In addition to rating your food item, the app ALSO provides healthier alternatives when your selected item scores low. What more could you ask for?