How To Double Your Weight Loss

One of the largest and longest running weight loss studies shows that keeping a food diary can more than double your weight loss.

"The more food records people kept, the more weight they lost," said lead author and researcher Jack Hollis Ph.D. "Those who kept daily food records lost twice as much weight as those who kept no records. It seems that the simple act of writing down what you eat encourages people to consume fewer calories." American Journal of Preventive Medicine, August 2008.

My new favorite way to record food is MyNetDiary.com

You can enter your foods via internet or iPhone. With a food database that lists over 88,000 foods, it ensures you rarely need to enter food labels, and takes less time than any other calorie counting method. It also has a community, so you can connect to the people you want to (like me), to help support your success!

If you want to try it out, I will give a free month to the first 2 people who email me their request!

Committed to your health,
Maren

Why You Shouldn’t Drink Diet Sodas

If these articles don’t change your mind, I don’t know what will…

• It may change your brain chemistry and metabolic limit and make you more prone to overeat and gain weight! Link to article.

• The sweet taste elicits an insulin spike, which blocks your body’s ability to burn fat. Link to article.

• The artificial sweeteners disrupt satiety, the feeling of being full. Link to article.

• When you’re given sweetness without the caloric energy, you end up craving calories more than ever. Link to article.

• Diet sodas erode your tooth enamel, and enamel erosion can leave you at greater risk for cavities and decay. Link to article.

• There is the potential that aspartame could cause cancer. Link to article.

Need I say more! Yes, more research needs to be done, but why would you risk all of the above side effects?

Stop drinking those diet sodas NOW!

What should you drink? Yes, water. But there’s no need to keep it boring. Add a lemon, lime or orange, or a splash of 100% real fruit juice to keep it palatable. Also, just give it a try for a couple of weeks. Your taste buds do change to the point you’ll actually crave it.

Committed to your health,
Maren

Love Cheese? Here's How To Eat it More Healthfully...

Cheese is a popular and dangerous food to love. Yes, it has protein and calcium in it, but it also has loads of calories and saturated fat.

Here are my 4 favorite ways to keep cheese in your diet, while keeping your food in healthy balance.

1. Pick lower fat cheeses. Some of the higher fat cheeses are creamed cheese (10g), cheddar (9.5g), gruyere (9g), fontina (9g) and American (9g). Some of the lower fat cheese are cottage cheese (0-4.5), neufchatel (4g), mozzerella (4.5-6g), goat (6g) and feta (6g). You can compare more cheeses here.
   
2. Seek out brands of lowfat and nonfat cheese. A personal favorite brand of mine is Alpine Lace. 3 oz. of normal swiss cheese has 108 calories and 7.88 grams of fat (5 g saturated), while Alpine Lace Reduced Fat Swiss Cheese has 90 calories and 6 grams of fat (3.5 g saturated).
   
3. Shred or grate your cheese. A much smaller amount of cheese can go a long way when you shred it or grate it, and spinkle it over your food. Like cheese and crackers? Try spinkling a little over a cracker and lighly melting it in the microwave. Like cheese in your sandwhich? Sprinkle some on top of your veggies and lowfat poultry in a whole grain pita pocket to hold it in. Like cheese sauces? Add grated cheese to nonfat milk, a little whole wheat flour to thicken it, and whtever spices you'd like to add. Here's a simple recipe.
   
4. Pick your favorite cheese you can't live without, and limit your cheese comsumption to that. For me it's brie. Any other cheese I could take or leave, so I almost always leave it. Then, the rare occasion I have brie offerred to me, I go for it!

Keep in mind 1 ounce of hard cheese is only the size of 2 dominoes or 2 pairs of dice! Serving size is what counts the most!

Email me your cheese challenge, and I'll give you more suggestions if my tips above don't apply to you!

Committed to your health,
Maren

Preserve Antioxidants - Microwave Your Veggies!

If you're going to cook your veggies, it's healthier to microwave or griddle them.

Vegetables preserve the highest levels of antioxidants if you microwave or griddle them, as opposed to boiling, pressure-cooking, baking or frying.

The Institute of Food Technology released results of a study comparing six cooking methods with 20 vegetables.

They also found:

• The highest antioxidant loss was observed in cauliflower after boiling and microwaving, peas after boiling, and zucchini after boiling and frying.
• Artichokes preserved high antioxidant levels - even with boiling.
• Carrots, celery and green beans have increased antioxidant levels with cooking (except boiling)!

For the most part, don't lose your antioxidants in boiling water!

Committed to your health,
Maren

WARNING: Your Fitness Ball May Burst On You!

3 Million Fitness Balls Recalled by EB Brands Due to Fall Hazard

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with EB Brands announced a voluntary recall of 3 million fitness balls with the following brands: Bally Total Fitness, Everlast, Valeo and Body Fit Fitness Balls.

An overinflated fitness ball can unexpectedly burst while in use, causing the user to fall to the floor. EB Brands has received 47 reports of fitness balls unexpectedly bursting, including reports of a fracture, and multiple bruises.

EB Brands has issued a warning and new inflation rules, but if you want a fitness or stability ball that will NOT burst, purchase a Pezzi GymnastikBall!

Committed to your health,
Maren

What's Worse than Dying 10 Years Earlier?!

A USA Today article "Obesity can trim 10 years off life" announces some shocking news:
Being 40 pounds overweight cuts 3 years off your life, and being 100 pounds overweight can knock 10 years off!

While that news is certainly bad enough, I think they miss an even more important point.

No matter how long you live, the quality of your life is more important. Being overweight can make you miss out on the things you want to do.

Are you uncomfortable from your weight?

• Are you not traveling because you don't fit in the seats?
• Do you groan every time you get out of a chair?
• Do you have no clothes that fit well?
  

Are you in pain from your weight?

• Do you avoid going on long walks because your knees hurt too much?
• Does your back ache when you stand in line?
• Do you have a hard time exercising because every joint hurts?
  

Are you embarrassed about your weight?

• Do you not go out to restaurants because you believe the other patrons are judging you for eating?
• Do you avoid the beach like the plague?
• Do you hate the summer because you sweat profusely?

What do you want to do that your weight is stopping you from?!

Choose to live a LONG and HEALTHY life. :-)

Here's how to start eating right.

And here's how to exercise right.

Committed to your health,
Maren
www.healthfitonline.com

Should I Exercise When I'm Sick?

"Should I exercise when I'm sick?" is a common question I get. After 20 years of reading the research on it and testing my theory out on myself, I've come up with some general rules of thumb:

DON'T exercise if you have:
1. A fever.
2. Body aches (that aren't caused by your last workout. ;-))
3. Are throwing up.
4. Are coughing up copious amounts of green stuff.

Heard the rule, "It's okay to exercise if your symptoms are only from the neck up"? I'd agree with that. It's amazing how a workout can give you a boost of energy and clear your sinuses out, if you just have a mild cold. And moving your body can make you start feeling human again.

Pay attention to how you feel. If you feel like you can function, try a workout. Just take it easier, reduce the intensity if you start feeling more tired than normal, and by all means quit if you start feeling really bad.

While intense exercise temporarily depresses your immune system, moderate exercise boosts it!

Committed to your health,
Maren

Metabolic Resistance Training defined

In my article titled "Why Cardio Is Not Your Answer to Weight Loss!" I talked about metabolic resistance training being the most important type of exercise to do for weight loss.

Q: What exactly is “metabolic” resistance training?

A: Metabolic resistance training, simply defined is: training with resistance that elevates your metabolism. The calories that you burn AFTER you train are what count in this type of training. The goal is to create more work for your body, restoring itself to pre-workout levels, so that you’re burning more calories for the next day and a half. A low intensity workout will burn calories during your session, but a higher-intensity workout can also increase your EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). During this time your body is going through hormone balancing, replenishment of fuel stores, cellular repair, innervation, and anabolism. The more disruption of homeostasis you put your body though, the more oxygen its using, and the more calories it expends getting you back there.

There is no single way to do a metabolic resistance training workout. The possibilities are limitless.

Resistance can include your body weight, dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, machines, tubing, medicine balls, sandbags, or anything else you can resist against or that resists against you.

The higher intensity is created by increasing the volume and density of work you do. Working all your biggest muscle groups in the session, shortening your rest periods to actually ensure incomplete rest, and using supersets or circuits, are all used to get your entire body working harder. Workouts can be organized by reps or by time: keep going until you hit the goal number of reps – even if you have to rest briefly in between to get them done, or do as many reps as you can in a certain amount of time.

A simple example of a metabolic susperset would be pairing 12 pushups with 12 squats. Do the exercises back-to-back, rest 60 seconds, and repeat. Try that 4 times in a row and tell me your heart rate isn't up!

Yes, you should work up if you’re a beginner. Don’t kill yourself on a first session. It's okay to rest in the middle of a set if you need to. Just jump right back in as soon as you're able. And be continually aware of how many reps you got in, in how much time, so you can try to beat that in your next session. Pushing yourself is key.

During these workouts, your heart rate will be elevated and your entire system will feel taxed. You’ll be able to tell you’re burning more calories later, since you’ll feel the recovery process going on. Tired afterward? You did a good job!

Sign up here to get your PERSONALIZED metabolic resistance training workout sent to you online!

Committed to your health,
Maren

We're All Made of Corn!

I rented a fantastic documentary from Netflix this weekend. It's as eye-opening and impactful as "Super Size Me"!

Did you know that we're basically made of corn? No really, your hair sample will tell you so.

When you order a fast food meal, you're consuming corn-fed beef, french fries fried in corn oil and sodas made with high fructose corn syrup.

The over-production of corn in our country is an economic solution to agriculture, but if we continue down the same path, we're going to reverse the progress we're made for the average lifespan.

Learn more here!
http://kingcorn.net/

Committed to your health,
Maren