Treadmill Alternatives

I know I have days where I don't want to go to the gym. The gym is often boring, and monotonous, and involves leaving not just my house but also my comfy, purple and gold comfortered full-size bed. At the same time though, I enjoy the benefits of being physically active. So how do I skip the gym and still reap the benefits it provides?

Well, I found a workout that you don't have to leave your house or even necessarily your bed for. Courtesy of Fitness Magazine, the following article titled Sex Positions that Double As Exercise says

No matter how much your partner pleads, you can't substitute time in the sack
for time on the treadmill. However, certain sex positions do work a woman's
muscle groups -- some so much, in fact, that you might not be able to make it to
the gym the next day.

The article makes suggestions for getting the most out of missionary, doggie-style, cow-girl, and others.

Have a good workout ;-)

Sugar Guidelines

I thought this post on the new sugar guidelines was appropriate, seeing as Halloween is this weekend.

The American Heart Association has posted new guidelines on daily sugar reccommendation. According to an article by the Chicago Tribune, "New guidelines from the American Heart Association point to added sugars as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The sugar recommendations are the strictest of any major health organizations' guidelines, and they've stirred up a debate."

The article also lists the new guidelines:

The new AHA guidelines say most women should eat no more than 100 calories of added sugars per day, or 6 teaspoons (25 grams), which is less than what you'd find in a can of soda. Men are advised to keep added sugars to just 150 calories or 9 teaspoons (37 grams).

That's far below the 355 calories or 22 teaspoons of added sugars consumed by the average American each day, according to the most recent government food consumption surveys, which show that our sugar intake is inching up each year.

With Halloween coming up, I decided to look at the amount of sugar (compliments of Nutrition Data) in my favorite candy, Skittles. A 1 serving 2.7 oz pack of Skittles has 47 grams of sugar. Nearly twice the amount of the daily recommendation of 25 grams.

Fitness Gaming

I played videogames for hours yesterday. But don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds!

When I dropped my weight in high school, I attributed it to a few things. First was an elliptical trainer I got for my birthday and the Green Day CD American Idiot that I listened to in its entirety (around 50 minutes if I remember correctly) almost every time I went on it. Second was a belly dancing workout in Fitness magazine that I was convinced wasn't actually a work out. The actual workout can be found here. And the last thing was DDR, Dance Dance Revolution.

I will admit that you have to be good at DDR to get cardio benefits from it. So after a few months when I was finally able to progress from light to standard to heavy, I finally was racking up a large amount of calories burned on the workout mode that all of my DDR games feature. I usually burn about 20 calories for a minute and a half song, but for some of the harder songs I burn even more than 30 calories. So yesterday I played 3 out of my 4 DDR games on workout mode and totaled my calories burned to being around 1,300 calories. Not bad for a videogame, eh? I might eventually post a video of me playing, but until then, if you have never seen anyone play, youtube DDR (perhaps specifically the song Sakura) and you'll understand after you've watched it how it is such a great workout.

Nutrition Data

The Nutrition Data website was just brought to my attention and I'm not sure how I didn't know about it before. It features an actual label for all foods and more:

"On Nutrition Data, you'll find detailed nutrition information, plus unique analysis tools that tell you more about how foods affect your health and make it easier to choose healthy foods. "

The site features many other tools, including a blog, daily needs calculator, unit conversion calculator, nutrition glossary, fast food nutrition facts, a recipe analyzer, and much more. You can also sign up for a free newsletter for nutrition news and healthy tips.

Have It Your Way

...and no I'm not talking about Burger King. That's a Burger King slogan right? No matter.

While reading the November issue of Shape Magazine, I noticed advertisements for websites that allow you to custom-make energy bars, shakes, and granola. Now of course you could do this on your own, but if you're lazy, you may want to give it a try:

1. Element Bars
2. You Shake
3. Mix My granola

I suppose I should mention that snacking is good for you, right? I mean, it seems the opposite of everything I used to think when I was younger. I thought snacking was not an option and that I was supposed to hold off on eating until I was absolutely ravenous. But when I think about it now, that makes absolutely no sense.

Eating is necessary in order to keep your metabolism up. Also, by not snacking between meals, you're more likely to binge during your meals because of how hungry you are. And finally, it is best to eat BEFORE you are hungry than wait until you are hungry. This will also result in less calorie consumption.

One last note, in relation to my last post about cheap and healthy, while I was checking out the You Shake website, I noticed that it had a blog. The latest blog post was titled "Recession Boost: Five Ways to Boost Health and Save Money." I thought I'd include those tips here, suggested by Katie Newton:

1. Drink Water. The cheapest and most healthy source of hydration for your
body is water. Plus, tap water’s free! (And, think of all the plastic
bottles you won’t be throwing into landfills.)
2. Buy Extra Peak Season
Veggies to Freeze (or buy ones that are already frozen). This allows you to take
advantage of peak season discounts on everything from apples to zucchinis. Enjoy
luscious blueberries in the dead of winter without breaking the
bank.
3. Take Bag Lunches To Work. Cook extra for dinner every
night and then just pack up your leftovers the following day for a cheap – and
delicious – midday meal.
4. Eat Vegetarian. Protein-rich foods like
beans and tofu (think Indian curries and Chinese stirfries) cost a fraction of
the price of beef and chicken — and are just as tasty.
5. Go to Farmers
Markets. You’ll get the freshest produce, and help your local farmers through
the recession too! Another bonus: by ditching the candy-laden checkout lines,
you’ll pick up less bags of pricey junk food on impulse.

Cheap 'N Healthy

My friend Ladimir, who apparently follows my blog (lol), posted the following request on my facebook:

"I'd like to request a blog: Healthy and Cheap, two words that CAN mix. And
basically I want to learn to eat healthy on a tight budget. Thanks!"

So here we go.

Some of my favorite cheap, healthy foods include canned tuna, bags of frozen chicken breasts, apples, bananas, potatoes, bags of frozen vegetables, brown rice, peanut butter, and oatmeal.

I dug through the archives of my hotmail to find the following blog posts made by Healthy Eats. The first is Budget Friendly Foods, the second is 10 Healthy Foods Under $3.

So I hope this helps you, Ladimir, and also the rest of you poor college kids trying to eat healthy.

The Importance of Water

Are you drinking enough water?

Your metabolism works best when it is fully hydrated. Drinking cold water is even better. It takes your body more energy to heat it before it's digested.

Another bonus to staying hydrated? It may make you eat less. Many people confuse thirst for hunger. So if you're feeling hungry, try drinking some water first.

But if drinking water gets kind of dull for you, remember that you can get a lot of water by eating fruits and vegetables. I also recommend Crystal Light On the Go packets. They add a lot of flavor to your water with only 5 calories.

Workout Playlists

Studies have shown that listening to music while you exercise can help you go farther and work harder. Below I've listed some songs from my personal workout playlists. I will warn you that I have a totally random, often retarded, taste in music. Nonetheless, these songs get me moving.

• Reach for the Sky--Social Distortion
• Crazy--Gnarls Barkley
• Poison--Groove Coverage (original by Alice Cooper)
• Lovestoned--Justin Timberlake
• Let it Rock--Kevin Rudolf
• Fingerprints--Katy Perry
• You're Gonna Go Far, Kid--The Offspring
• Total Eclipse of the Heart--Nikki French (original by Bonnie Tyler)
• Push It--Salt 'N' Pepper
• Alone--Kim Sozzi (original by Heart)
• Around the World--ATC
• Somebody Told Me--The Killers
• It's Tricky--Run DMC
• Beast and the Harlot--Avenged Sevenfold
• No Reason--Sum 41
• Injection--Rise Against
• 4ever--the Veronicas
• Show Me the Money--Petey Pablo
• Lollipop (Candyman)--Aqua
• Bleed it Out--Linkin Park
• More to Life--Stacey Orrico
• Holiday--Green Day

In addition to these, Shape and Fitness magazines also have entire portions of their sites dedicated to workout playlists. They update these often and even include the playlists that certain celebrities work out to.

1. Shape Magazine Workout Playlists
2. Fitness Magazine Workout Playlists

I'd be interested to know what other people's favorite songs to work out to are. Post them if you'd like :)

Cheap Fitness

Gym memberships are expensive. Cardio equipment is expensive. Weight sets are expensive. Let's face it, fitness can be expensive. But it doesn't have to be. One of my favorite pieces of cardio equipment cost me about $6. The jump rope. Seriously. Try it for a few minutes and you'll feel it. Last year I rearranged my entire room at Centre Plaza so I would have room to jump rope. This year, I wouldn't dream of putting my floors in my old house through that, but there's always the park down the street.

Here are a few jump rope workouts I've found online, but even if you just jump or skip for ten minutes you'll burn major calories.

10-minute jump rope workout
12-minute jump rope workout
15-minute jump rope workout
Jump Rope Calorie Burner

New Blog Name

I finally figured out a name for my blog.

I was on my way to the gym on Tuesday when I ran into a friend from work. He asked me what I was doing and I told him I was going to the gym. His response? "Ahh okay. Get it right, get it tight." Aaaand the title of my blog was born.

Fascinating story. I know.

Calorie Posting Law Update

The New York Times came out with an article today called "Calorie Postings Don't Change Habits, Study Finds". It reports that:

A study of New York City’s pioneering law on posting calories in restaurant chains suggests that when it comes to deciding what to order, people’s stomachs are more powerful than their brains.

Funny, that's what I said. :)

Bring the Body

...and the mind will follow.

Just between you and me, I skipped going to the gym today in favor of a nap between work and class. And I must say that I regret doing it.

My friend Evan, who taught a spinning class at the gym in our hometown, used to say that if you go to the gym three days in a row, you'll get hooked. I never really believed this, but I think I'm finally coming around.

I guess it's true what they say: "bring the body and the mind will follow."

Weight Loss Shortcuts

When I was younger, I used to get so mad that my mom wouldn't buy me Slim Fast. I thought that if I drank it, I would basically instantly get skinny. I obviously understant now that that's not the case. However, I have been guitly of trying a few weightloss shortcuts, including Slim Fast.

Last year I lived in Shadyside and had no meal plan. I worked 8:30-1:30 shifts three days a week on campus and then had class, so I didn't really have time for breakfast or lunch. Every morning, I'd bring a Slim Fast and a protein bar to work--eating one for breakfast and one for lunch. Not only was I always hungry and never truly satisified, but I also didn't lose ANY weight. And you know why? It is possible to not eat enough, and that will prevent you from losing weight.

Another shortcut I tried before was Slim Quick, a powder packet you put in your water bottle. I won't lie. The Slim Quick worked. In three days I was down about 9 pounds thanks to the Slim Quick, an extreme low calorie diet, and cardio exercise. But you know what? That 9 pounds came back not long after. When you lose weight that fast, it's likely that you can't keep up with that lifestyle forever. After all, I wasn't always going to shell out $20 for 2o packets of slim quick (which only last about 10 days if you use two a day), I was eventually going to eat more than 900 calories a day, and I was always going to be able to work out that much (think finals week... haha).

What I've found out is that there really is no short cut to weight loss. If you do it right, it will stick. When I lost my thirty pounds in high school, I did it over such an extended amount of time that I didn't even realize how much I had lost until people started telling me. My advice? Do it right. Eat healthy. Exercise. Because there is no short cut to PERMANENT weight loss.