The Skinny on Weight Gain

The average American gains about 2 pounds a year. This translates to a little more than 100 excess calories each week.



Adjusting the calorie imbalance



100 Less 'Calories In'

-Eat fresh fruit instead of juice or dried fruit

-Put mustard instead of mayo on a sandwich

-Order your coffee 'skinny'-with skim milk instead of cream

-Drink club soda with lime instead of regular soda

-Eat tuna packed in water instead of oil



100 More 'Calories Out'

-Go to your co-workers desk instead of sending an email

-Go for a 15 minute walk on you lunch break

-Get off the subway or bus a stop earlier and walk the extra distance

-Take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator



Apply these tips to save 100 calories each day and after 6 months, the result is a 5 pound weight loss and 10 pounds after 1 year!

The Skinny on Weight Gain

The average American gains about 2 pounds a year. This translates to a little more than 100 excess calories each week.

Adjusting the calorie imbalance

100 Less 'Calories In'
-Eat fresh fruit instead of juice or dried fruit
-Put mustard instead of mayo on a sandwich
-Order your coffee 'skinny'-with skim milk instead of cream
-Drink club soda with lime instead of regular soda
-Eat tuna packed in water instead of oil

100 More 'Calories Out'
-Go to your co-workers desk instead of sending an email
-Go for a 15 minute walk on you lunch break
-Get off the subway or bus a stop earlier and walk the extra distance
-Take the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator

Apply these tips to save 100 calories each day and after 6 months, the result is a 5 pound weight loss and 10 pounds after 1 year!


http://www.b-nutritious.com/

Workout Snacks

Pre Workout:
1-2 hours prior to workout you need a complex carbohydrate for energy and to maintain your blood sugar. Avoid high fat options bacause they take longer to digest.

For each hour of exercise, try to aim for 100-250 calorie snacks. Here are some options:
-banana
-snack bar (luna, balance bar, lara, gnu)
-high fiber cracker and low fat cheese
-low-fat yogurt and raisins
-small bowl of cereal with skim milk
-string cheese and dried fruit

Post Workout:
It's important to replenish your body, especially if your workout was longer than 1 hour. Carbohydrates are important to refuel and protein is needed if you did strength training.

You should snack within 1 hour of finishing exercising. Here are some options:
-high fiber cracker with peanut butter or sliced turkey
-handful of almonds and raisins
-8 ounces of skim milk
-shake made with banana, orange juice, and skim milk
-half sports drink and some cottage cheese
-small vegetable soup

Fluid Needs
-Before: 15-30 minutes prior to exercise: 15-20 ounces of water
-During: 10-15 ounces every 15-20 minutes
-After: 15-20 ounces



http://www.b-nutritious.com/

Foods That Worsen Allergies

Symptoms of itching or swelling in the lips, mouth or throat can occur within minutes of eating a food containing a protein similar to pollen.

These are some of the most common seasonal allergens and their cross-reactive foods:

Ragweed:
Bananas, melons (watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew), zucchini, cucumber, dandelions, chamomile tea

Birch:
Apples, pears, peaches, apricots, cherries, plums, nectarines, kiwi, carrots, celery, potatoes, peppers, parsley, coriander, hazelnuts, almonds, walnuts

Grass:
Peaches, celery, melons, tomatoes, oranges

Source: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
related link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29036809/

Boost Brainpower

"The adult human brain is surprisingly malleable: it can rewire itself and even grows new cells."

- Emily Anthes

Our behavior and environment can cause substantial rewiring of the brain or a reorganization of its functions and where they are located. In fact one of the most active regions of the adult brain is the hippocampus, a structure vitally important for learning and long term memory.

Exercising can improve the brain's executive functions: planning, organizing, multitasking, and more. Physical and mental activity can improve the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to brain cells while boosting the neuron development and survival.

6 Ways to Boost Your Brainpower

1. Exercise-not only does it improve brain function it can also help you sleep better and build up your body's immune system

2. Diet-a diet loaded in saturated fat can lead to a lack of memory and learning capability, it has also been shown to have an increased risk in dementia. Omega-3 fats are healthy fats for the brain and allow for proper function and growth. It can also lead to a resistance against Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, and other central nervous system disorders.

Foods to try and eat: fish, nuts, seeds, blueberries, spinach, walnuts

3. Stimulants-moderate to small doses of caffeine, and other substances that rev up the nervous system, can boost mental functioning and alertness.

4. Video Games-research has shown that playing video games a couple hours a week can improve mental dexterity, hand-eye coordination, depth perception, attention span, and pattern recognition.

5. Music-can activate your brain's reward centers and depress activity in the amygdala, reducing fear and other negative feelings.

6. Mediatation-turning the mind inward on contemplation and relaxation can help relieve the body of anxiety, reduce pain, help high blood pressure, insomnia, diabetes, depression, and skin conditions.

6 Ways to Boost Brainpower

Emily Anthes

Scientific American Mind

Born to Run

"Biomechanical research reveals a surprising key to the survival of our species: Humans are built to outrun nearly every other species on the planet over long distance." -Ingfei Chen

The standard explanation among anthropologists has long been that early hominids left life in the trees to forage on the increasingly open savanna and that walking upright was key to surviving in the new environment. This biped gait led to a new means of travel, running. Homo erectus was most likely a long distance runner, either to escape predators or hunt prey to exhaustion. During this transition in our evolution our physical features changed quite a bit.

Most scientists reason that Lucy, the 3.2 million year old ape, with her chimp like build, could not have been a good distance runner. Her short legs, wide waist, long arms, and curvy fingers and toes, suggest a tree climbing lifestyle. More than a million years later Homo erectus roamed Africa with a much longer, leggier build and supporting many different attributes.

Development of abundant sweat glands and less fur allowed the body to keep cool over extended periods of exertion. Most animals pant to cool their body temperature, a cheetah for example, while extremely fast, will refuse to move once its' internal body temperature reaches 105 Fahrenheit. Our sweat glands and exposed skin allows us to control our body temperature while continuing exercise. We also developed an Achillies tendon. This tendon allows the body to absorb the impact of the body and spring us back into the air. To aid in the gait of running we developed a gluteus maximus and big knee joints, which gives the hip and knee joint the swinging motion. All of these attributes are specific to running, not walking. It is a very strong possibility that early humans ran up to 100 miles within 24 hours to hunt prey or avoid being killed.

Born to Run

Ingfei Chen

Discover Magazine

Watch Out 20 Somethings...

It seems doctors are finding that the "invincible" teenager stage has extended into this generations 20's. More and more 20 something's are living a lifestyle which could have serious health consequences later.

A third of 18-29 year olds are cigarette smokers.
A quarter are obese. 

(this rate has tripled in the last three decades)
2/3 of young adults do not have regular physical leisure time.
45% of women between the ages of 20-24 have HPV.
One-third do not have health insurance.

Currently this age group tends to be 'healthy' but are taking it for granted.
For example diabetes and heart disease are occurring at much earlier ages along with serious illnesses. Doctor's tend to believe that as this generation ages the outcomes of our actions are going to be serious.



'Young Invincibles' Have Serious Health Concerns
By: Madison Park
CNN

The Serious Need for Play

"Free imaginative play is crucial for normal, social, emotional, and cognitive development. It makes us better adjusted, smarter, and less stressed." -Melinda Wenner

Studies have shown a direct correlation with the lack of free play in childhood to adult anxiety and stress. While you might play a soccer game or sudoku on the train, free play is defined as play without an agenda, priory rules, or time constraints. This type of unstructured play promotes mental and physical well being in adults the same as in children. Play instills a new sense of happiness and encourages flexibility and creativity in everyday situations. Having play time might allow you to better function on the job, be more clear headed throughout the day, and give you added motivation to be healthier.


This idea might seem completely impossible to some adults. How do you play after not playing for over 20 years? Here are a couple easy ways to start.

-Try to do an active movement, with no time pressures and no expected outcomes.
EXERCISING TO BURN FAT IS NOT PLAY
-Create Something...Anything. Not for any specific outcome.
-Spend time around children.
-Engage in purposeless social activities or conversations.
-Go outside.


Better late than never...time to have playtime again.
"Curiosity, imagination, and creativity are like muscles, if you don't use them you loose them."
-David Elkind




The Serious Need for Play
Melinda Wenner
Scientific American Mind
February/March 2009