Katherine Tweed
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T5T Yoga DVD: Have You Entered Our Giveaway Yet?
Photo: www.5tibetanrites.net
If you're looking for a way to get more energy while toning your body, look no further. The Five Tibetan Rites are a series of yoga moves that will revitalize you while building muscle. These rites are believed to work by stimulating and balancing energy centers in our bodies called chakras that correspond to each of our endocrine glands.
This week we're giving away the DVD that details all five moves! Will you be the lucky That's Fit reader? You've got to be in it to win it so be sure and enter before 5 p.m. ET on Friday, November 6, 2009. To enter, just head over to the original giveaway post and enter a comment about how yoga has impacted your life.
New York City Moms Balance Work, Kids and Marathon
From left: Jessica Lebron, Bronx; Angela Gonzalez, Queens; Lisa Stavros DeFillipo, Staten Island; Magdalena Lewy Boulet, Olympian; Beth Segaloff, honorary member; Allyson Hentel-Koplin, Manhattan; Dorothy McPhee, Brooklyn.
Photo: Katherine Tweed
More than 40,000 people will run the ING New York City Marathon this Sunday. Among them will be working mothers chosen to represent all five of New York City's boroughs in the 2009 Foot Locker Five Borough Challenge Team. The women, some running the marathon for the first time, all have unique stories, but share the bonds of being fit, working mothers balancing all the demands that come with those roles. The team of five was also joined recently by another woman, Beth Segaloff, who recently lost her fiancé, Captain Ben Sklarver, just three weeks ago when he was deployed in Afghanistan. The women will run together for the first 13 miles, and then anyone can break away for the second half. The woman with the best time will win a trophy, and bragging rights. But none of these women are part of this team to brag. Instead, they find peace, motivation and solace in their commitment to running. That's Fit recently met the team, along with mom and marathon Olympian, Magdalena Lewy Boulet, to find out how, and why, they have made running such a critical part of their lives.
Ugly Betty's Ana Ortiz Talks Fitness, Pizza and Dropping Baby Weight
Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment
Photo: FITNESS Magazine
Less than three months after giving birth to her first child, Ana Ortiz hosted the FITNESS Mind Body Spirit Games in New York's Central Park. That's Fit caught up with the actress who plays Betty's sister Hilda to find out what she does to fit into some of her outrageous outfits on the show, and how she's looking so good just after having her daughter, Paloma. Despite the success of "Ugly Betty," this New York native is completely grounded, from being honest about shoring up her diet as she gets older, to admitting she doesn't like to pay a lot to get a good workout.
That's Fit: You recently had a baby, what have you done to get back into shape?
Ana Ortiz: They do say breastfeeding is nature's lipo. I attribute it to working out while I was pregnant. I particularly attribute it to this place in New York, Le Maison, where you're using your own body weight and rubber bands. Also, I'm in New York, so I'm walking everywhere.
Woman Loses 211 Lbs., Gets First Kiss
Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation
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Kimberly Anne Evans was overweight her entire life. Teased in grade school, never asked to a dance in high school, she used her weight as body armor, shielding herself from a cruel world. As an adult, she reached 347 pounds.
"Food was my friend, my blanket, my comfort, my lover -- my drug," she told NBC's "TODAY" show as the newest member of the Joy Fit Club.
Unlike many obese people, Kimberly never dieted. Instead, she constantly subsisted on fast food in huge portions for three decades. She would eat multiple McDonald's breakfast burritos in the morning, two cheeseburgers with fries for lunch and pizza followed by ice cream at dinnertime. It came to approximately 9,000 calories a day, nearly five times the recommended daily allowance.
One day, however, she saw a movie that would change her life.
Serena Williams - Unsportsmanlike Conduct
Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment
Let's be honest, it wasn't a clear enough foot fault for the line judge to make that call at such a crucial point in the match. But Serena's reaction was unacceptable. I was courtside after waiting at the Billie Jean National Tennis Center through nearly eight hours of rain to see the women play out their semifinals. The match was tight, although Serena had already beat herself long before she started swearing. She smashed her racquet at the end of the first set in understandable frustration, she was getting outplayed, fair and square. Clijsters had the pressure on, she was playing a cleaner match. It happens to anyone who plays a sport -- some days you don't play your best and your opponent is better.
Many of us can relate on some level to Serena's reaction, but on a stage of that caliber, with so many watching, athletes are setting the tone for much more than their own match. Kids, in particular, emulate what they see their favorite athletes do (which Serena acknowledges in an apology on her website). There is a time in competition, especially individual sports, that it is less about training and fitness, and more about focus and attitude. When the latter fails you, all the hours in the gym can't save you.
Fast-forward to the second foot fault of the match, the call that's been heard around the world. The stadium immediately buzzed, "Was that a foot fault?!" Those listening on US Open radio earpieces heard John McEnroe confirm our questions, it was not a clear foot fault, and it might not have been a fault at all. For those who don't watch tennis outside of the slam finals, let me tell you, foot faults are rarely called, but they have been rife at this year's US Open.
Biggest Loser Video Game Preview
"The Biggest Loser" kicks off just one week from today. The focus of Season 8 is second chances, including a former Season 7 contestant Daniel, who was the show's heaviest contestant ever at 454 pounds. But second chances aren't just for the contestants. To help fans follow along in their own weight loss journeys, The Biggest Loser Interactive game for Nintendo DSi, DS and Wii hits stores on October 6.
The game features Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels to push you through routines to help you reach your goals, just like on the show. It also offers nutrition tips and challenges. The programs have a range of exercises, from yoga and cardio to full-body circuits to tone your body. "We wanted to give people another tool," Bob says. "You're going to have recipes from the book, you can track your progress, you can put in your calorie intake so when you lost the weight you can go back and see what worked."
There are four, eight and 12-week programs. Once you enter your current weight, you can enter your goals. But unlike the show, which has raised eyebrows for its extreme weight loss that is unsustainable for many people in the real world, the game will actually limit the amount of weight you can lose in a given program. If you're looking to lose 50 pounds in four weeks, the game will set more realistic goals for the first four weeks and then you can enter new goals for the next session.
And what about the workout? At a recent preview of the game, many former Biggest Loser contestants and Bob were on hand to break a sweat with a Wii controller. And everyone did sweat. As you go through the exercises, Bob or Jillian coax you along just as they do on the show. "It's actually their voice and their personality," says Nicole from Season 7. "When you see the avatar you're like 'oh it kind of looks like Bob,' but then you hear him -- and it's totally him."
Click on the gallery below to see who wins when newlyweds Damien and Nicole take each other on in a Biggest Loser Interactive challenge.
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The Biggest Loser Video Game Preview
Tara, Damien and Nicole from Season 7, along with Jim from Season 4, were on hand with Bob to show off their slimmer bodies and break a sweat with the new Biggest Loser video game for Wii and Nintendo DS and DSi.
Katherine Tweed
WireImage.com
Biggest Loser Video Game Preview
Tara, Damien and Nicole from Season 7, along with Jim from Season 4, were on hand with Bob to show off their slimmer bodies and break a sweat with the new Biggest Loser video game for Wii and Nintendo DS and DSi.
Katherine Tweed
The game is broken up into lower-body, upper-body and full-body workouts, which you can choose, or a program will be set up for you based on your goals. Tara offered her tips for me (left) and Kelly Zyskowski from Seventeen magazine as we went through a 30-minute routine.
Katherine Tweed
The key to the workout is to mimic the trainer on screen -- not going slower or faster -- to maintain proper form. Bob and Jillian are just as encouraging (and tough!) in the game as they are in real life, according to Nicole from Season 7.
Katherine Tweed
Floor exercises oddly require you to put your Wii controller in your pocket, although many workout clothes don't have pockets. But we discovered it's just as easy to put it in your waistband so the controller can still register your movements.
Katherine Tweed
Two players, including one who is a member of the Biggest Loser Club, went head to head in a challenge. Like the real game, the challenges eliminate players one by one until there is only one winner left.
Katherine Tweed
Bob came by to cheer on Kelly and I as we go head to head in a challenge that involves doing a "mountain climb" move followed by "ax chops." After a 30-minute full-body routine and two challenges, we both got a (surprisingly) good workout. Even though Bob wasn't standing behind us the entire workout, he was with us on the screen and it kept us moving -- and sweating.
Katherine Tweed
After a technical snafu in round one challenge, where Nicole thought she was winning but the controllers were switched around, the newlyweds went for a rematch. "I don't know anything about video games," Nicole admitted. "It was Atari when I was young."
Katherine Tweed
The mountain climbing movement is meant to mimic your character moving across a pool on a tightrope. Nicole is in the lead, but Damien isn't far behind.
Katherine Tweed
Nicole wins this round definitively with good form on her "ax chops." Damien, however, claims his controller must be broken and they have a rematch to settle the rematch.
Katherine Tweed
How To Play Quidditch
Although fall doesn't officially start for a few more weeks, summer is essentially over. For most of us, days of swimming at the beach and outdoor evening jogs are numbered. Fall, however, is a great time to stay active outside by hiking or rock climbing. But if you're a Harry Potter fan, you might want to take to a field or the woods for some quidditch. Real-life quidditch? Yes -- it's possible. In fact, it's already being played by muggles around the country (not necessarily children, I might add). It's not the calorie burn of a long run on soft sand, but it's fun and it's free, except for all those extra brooms you may have to purchase. No magic required.
Are You Drinking Yourself Fat?
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
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| Photo: NYC Department of Health & Mental Hygiene |
The signature images of the ads show an iced tea, soda or sports drink being poured into a glass from a bottle and by the time the drink hits the ice cubes, it's turned into lard. In subway cars across the five boroughs, New Yorkers will spend the next three months with these pictures in the hopes that at least some people will ditch sweetened drinks for healthier refreshment.
"Sugary drinks shouldn't be a part of our everyday diet," New York City Health Commissioner Thomas A. Farley said in a press release. "Drinking beverages loaded with sugars increases the risk of obesity and associated problems, particularly diabetes but also heart disease, stroke, arthritis and cancer."
The scourge of soda is nothing new, but the public campaign to ditch other sweetened beverages is gaining traction. The American Heart Association recently called for Americans to cut back to no more than 100 calories of added sugar a day in our diet.
About a quarter of teens in New York City slurp down a soda every day according to health surveys -- that's equal to about 360 calories -- more than three times what the AHA recommends. The posters are meant to be shocking, but they also help put things in perspective. The campaign points out that sodas used to be in 12-ounce cans, but now 20-ounce bottles are often the standard. And soda isn't the only culprit. The posters point out that "sports" and "energy" drinks are often high-sugar, low-nutrient beverages that should be avoided most of the time as well.
Domino's Serves Up 'Food Porn'
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| Photo: Rachel Been, AOL |
No matter which of the five options you choose, each dinner plate-sized breadbowl is filled with pasta and sauce and clocks in at 1,300 to 1,500 calories. "White-flour pasta with cream-cheese sauce can be a nutritional nightmare on its own," CSPI senior nutritionist Jayne Hurley said in a press release. "The last thing it needs is an 800-calorie white-bread pizza-crust bowl."
And many people are probably not stopping at the single serving of only eating half of this dish. CSPI also takes Domino's to task for topping three of the dishes with Alfredo sauce, which the public interest group dubbed "heart attack on a plate" nearly a decade ago.
Cookie Dough is Back - With a Warning
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| Photo: David Rogowski/AOL |
Let's be honest, there's a lot of people -- young and old -- who love to take a spoon directly to a diet-derailing roll of cookie dough. But Nestle has now slapped a "Do not consume raw cookie dough" warning label to discourage that behavior. There's also a blue label to let everyone know it's a "new batch," not to be confused with that old, potentially tainted roll of cookie dough sitting in your fridge.
Maybe this is the right time to ditch this late-night treat all together. If you want some chocolate chip cookies, bake them from scratch. We recommend trying out this oatmeal chocolate chip cookie recipe for a low-fat version of the classic treat.
Remember, even if you make the cookies yourself, the raw dough still carries the risk of salmonella from the uncooked eggs. But usually a bite of raw cookie dough that is homemade is just that, one or two bites.
The other problem with Toll House cookie dough is that everyone eats it right out of the container. Just like ice cream or a bag of chips, diving directly into the package is a sure-fire way to overeat. And when have you ever seen someone put raw cookie dough into a little bowl and eat a portion size of one or two cookies?
So go ahead and have a cookie every now and then. Just bake them first and keep portion size in mind.
Or if you're craving a sweet treat, try this one of these low-calorie desserts.
