That's Fithttp://www.thatsfit.comThat's Fithttp://www.thatsfit.com/media/feedlogo.gifThat's Fithttp://www.thatsfit.comen-usCopyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only.Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/The 5 (Fruit and Veggie) and 30 (Minute Exercise) Challengehttp://www.thatsfit.com/2009/07/03/the-5-fruit-and-veggie-and-30-minute-exercise-challenge/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/07/03/the-5-fruit-and-veggie-and-30-minute-exercise-challenge/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/07/03/the-5-fruit-and-veggie-and-30-minute-exercise-challenge/#commentsFiled under: , ,

When it comes to weight loss, there are a lot of gimmicks out there. But That's Fit readers know this: Gimmicks never work, and sometimes they can leave you with more weight to lose than when you started. The other day, however, a friend told me about an idea that sounds gimmick-y, but is actually just a new way of looking at solid, time-tested advice.

It's called the 5 and 30 plan. The idea is easy -- eat a minimum of five fruits and vegetables a day and get 30 minutes of moderate exercise. Essentially, the plan reduces calories, increases fiber, improves nutrition and ensures daily physical activity. But at the same time, it sounds pretty simple.

It's not a diet, it's a way of life. And this week, I'm going to try it on for size.

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]]>5-a-dayexercisefitnessfruitsvegetableswalk-the-walkweight-lossBethany SandersFri, 03 Jul 2009 15:00:00 ESTCrave-NX - Can it Cut Your Cravings?http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/05/01/crave-nx-can-it-cut-your-cravings/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/05/01/crave-nx-can-it-cut-your-cravings/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/05/01/crave-nx-can-it-cut-your-cravings/#commentsFiled under: ,



Snacking is by far my biggest pitfall when it comes to losing weight. And working from home doesn't help. Rather than having a set schedule for breaks or lunch, I've got 24/7 access to my kitchen.

So when the makers of a new product called Crave-NX contacted me to see if I'd like to try their seven day diet-spray for a week, I was intrigued. According to Generex Biotechnology Corporation, Crave-NX is a "scientifically formulated and clinically tested oral glucose spray designed to fuel the mind and control sweet tooth cravings (i.e. cookies) and carb cravings (i.e. potato chips) resulting in saved calories."

So yes, I was intrigued, but cautious too. I haven't taken so much as a diet pill since I was 16 years old and wasn't about to start now. So I asked for more information. The spray contains two calories of glucose, which is absorbed through the cheeks, causing a small rise in blood sugar to satisfy hunger cravings without the calories. After looking at the ingredients list (water, glucose, glycerin, sodium, glycocholate, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium benzoate, artificial flavors), I thought "Why not?" and gave it a try.

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]]>crave-nxcravingsglucosehungerwalking-the-walkweight-lossBethany SandersFri, 01 May 2009 11:00:00 ESTFitness Friends Make Workouts Friendlyhttp://www.thatsfit.com/2009/04/17/fitness-friends-make-workouts-friendly/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/04/17/fitness-friends-make-workouts-friendly/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/04/17/fitness-friends-make-workouts-friendly/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

Starting an exercise routine is easy, it's maintaining one that causes many people trouble. One of the most common pieces of fitness advice is to find a friend -- a fitness friend, that is -- so that you're accountable to someone other than yourself to show up for that workout.

It's reasonable advice. If you've made a date with yourself for a 6 a.m. morning run, it's pretty easy to roll over and hit the snooze. But if you know your fitness buddy is standing outside, stretching and warming up, it's a lot harder to say no.

But fitness buddies offer more than accountability, they also might extend the length of your workouts. According to a recent study from the University of California at San Diego, people who were well matched with a fitness partner worked out longer. The trick is finding the right workout partner, because that same study found that exercising with someone fitter actually caused people to cut their workouts short.

Accountability, emotional support and enhanced workout? Sign me up! My plan this week is to convince a friend to commit to seven days in a row of shared workouts.

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]]>exercisefitness-friendmotivationwalking-the-walkworkoutworkout-buddyBethany SandersFri, 17 Apr 2009 11:00:00 ESTDetox Diets - Are They Worth the Hype?http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/04/03/detox-diets-are-they-worth-the-hype/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/04/03/detox-diets-are-they-worth-the-hype/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/04/03/detox-diets-are-they-worth-the-hype/#commentsFiled under: ,


Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

When I started looking into detox diets to try for this week's "Walking the Walk," I started with the master -- Master Cleanse, that is. After I got done laughing -- nothing but lemonade and cayenne pepper for 10 days, maybe even longer! -- I decided I needed to look at some more moderate options.

When it comes to detox diets, I tend to err on the side of science. That is, science doesn't really back the idea that our bodies are full of stubborn toxins that need to be "removed." Most health experts say our liver, kidneys, and lungs do that just fine on their own. But I do think there's merit to the idea of giving up processed foods, focusing on whole foods, fruits and vegetables, and cutting out the junk. I also know that there are people out there who don't think ice cream for dinner is a good idea, so I'm willing to accept that there can be two sides to every issue.

Next, I moved on to Gwyneth Paltrow's version of detox, which can be found on her website, Goop. (On a side note, she calls the Master Cleanse hallucinogenic -- I kind of wish she had elaborated.) Her diet -- based on Dr. Alejandro Junger's book "Clean," out in May -- is pretty reasonable in that you actually get to eat. But by the time I got done buying products specific to the diet -- coconut water, miso paste, bonito flakes -- I wouldn't have enough grocery money left to feed the rest of the family.

No, I needed something clean and simple that didn't require a personal chef, so I based my detox diet on this sample menu from About.com. To find out how the week went, keep reading.

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]]>detox-dietgwyneth-paltrowmaster-cleansewalking-the-walkBethany SandersFri, 03 Apr 2009 11:00:00 ESTHealthy Fast Food - How Easy Is It?http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/03/20/healthy-fast-food-how-easy-is-it/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/03/20/healthy-fast-food-how-easy-is-it/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/03/20/healthy-fast-food-how-easy-is-it/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

In the war on obesity, fast food is usually our biggest target. Cheap and convenient, it's a popular choice. But it's fatty, salty menu choices don't make it a healthy choice.

Some people work hard to never step foot in a fast food restaurant, but I don't think that's a realistic goal for the general population; statistics show that half of Americans' meals aren't cooked at home. Though I think we would all be better off reducing our takeout meals, I think it's also important that we educate ourselves on how to eat fast food without downing 1,000 calories in a sitting.

To their credit, fast food restaurants have started offering healthier options to their customers. Long John Silver's is the latest with their Freshside Grille menu. My goal this week is to eat one healthy meal at a fast food restaurant each day this week, to find out exactly how realistic healthy fast food really is.

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]]>convenience-foodeating-outfast-foodfeaturedhealthynutritionwalking-the-walkBethany SandersFri, 20 Mar 2009 11:00:00 ESTWalking the Walk - Day 1http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/03/20/walking-the-walk-day-1/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/03/20/walking-the-walk-day-1/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/03/20/walking-the-walk-day-1/#commentsFiled under: , ,

qdoba menuDay 1: We've been meaning to try Qdoba for a while now, on the recommendation from a friend. Since it's in a neighboring city, we haven't had a chance. Tonight, though, we happened to be over that way, and this week's "Walking the Walk" challenge was the perfect excuse to stop in.

Qdoba, for those who haven't been, is kind of like a Mexican food Subway. Selections are made-to-order on the spot with fresh (and tasty!) ingredients. In this particular restaurant, I couldn't find any nutritional information. Since I hadn't had a chance to look online, I was kind of ordering on the fly.

The Naked Burrito looked good -- essentially a burrito without the tortilla. But watching my husband's Pablan Pesto Burrito as it was made, I realized it probably would be way too high in calories. Those things are gigantic. The Naked versions aren't terrible though, roughly 500-600 calories depending on your selection. I was looking for something lighter, though. The Naked Taco Salad (no crunchy shell), which I ended up choosing, weighed in at 340 calories. Good choice.

Though Qdoba doesn't have the nutritional information for all of their products online (boo!), they do highlight their decent selection of healthier choices.

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]]>eating-outfast-foodhealthyqdobawalking-the-walkBethany SandersFri, 20 Mar 2009 11:00:00 ESTEat Five to Six Small Meals a Dayhttp://www.thatsfit.com/2009/02/20/eat-five-to-six-small-meals-a-day/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/02/20/eat-five-to-six-small-meals-a-day/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/02/20/eat-five-to-six-small-meals-a-day/#commentsFiled under: ,


Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

Let me let you in on a little secret: Despite my poker-straight hair, I'm like the girl with a curl. When my habits are healthy, they are very, very healthy. When they are not ... well ... you know.

Lately, I've found myself grazing -- skip breakfast, eat a granola bar around ten, start to get ravenous around two, binge, feel guilty, vow to do better. It's ugly. I know myself; regular, nutritious meals are the foundation of maintaining my healthy habits, probably more than anything else. The minute I start skipping meals, I'm headed for diet disaster.

With that in mind, I've decided to try eating five to six small meals a day for this week's "Walking the Walk." Though I tend to be more of a three squares and one or two small snacks kind of girl, I think this will help me get back into the habit of eating consistent, healthy meals. (Plus, it might just jump-start my metabolism.)

I aim for a 1500-calorie day, so I'm going to try and divide those calories equally -- 300 each meal for a total of five meals. If you're trying this at home, be sure to eat the amount of calories that are right for you.

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]]>caloriesdietingfive-small-meals-a-daymetabolismovereatingsmall-mealssnackingwalking-the-walkweight-lossBethany SandersFri, 20 Feb 2009 07:00:00 ESTEat at Home - Save Calories and Cashhttp://www.thatsfit.com/2009/02/06/eat-at-home-save-calories-and-cash/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/02/06/eat-at-home-save-calories-and-cash/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/02/06/eat-at-home-save-calories-and-cash/#commentsFiled under: ,



Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

When it comes to unhealthy habits, eating out has been the hardest one for me to break. If I really put my mind to it, I can plan, prepare and cook healthy meals ... for about three days. Then I find myself making excuses. And then I find myself sitting at a restaurant, letting someone else cook.

In my defense, we don't have a typical 9-to-5 schedule. Between work hours and family activities, at least two nights a week, I'm pulling in the driveway at 7 PM with nothing in mind for dinner (not so good for a healthy diet).

But like I said, those are just excuses. While it's nice to have someone cook and clean up, I pay for this habit with more than just money. Restaurant portions are far too big, and they can be loaded with fat and sodium.

So this week for Walking the Walk, I'm going to eat every meal and snack at home. This is one healthy habit I'm hoping will stick.

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]]>cookingdietingeating-ineating-outhealthy-habitsrestaurantsaving-moneywalking-the-walkweight-lossBethany SandersFri, 06 Feb 2009 07:00:00 ESTSkip the Snacks After 6 PMhttp://www.thatsfit.com/2009/01/23/skip-the-snacks-after-6-p-m/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/01/23/skip-the-snacks-after-6-p-m/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/01/23/skip-the-snacks-after-6-p-m/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

When it comes to late night snacking, the jury is still out on whether or not it helps with weight loss. As Maggie recently pointed out, many experts believe a calorie is just a calorie, no matter what time of day that you eat it.

Over at AOL Health, Bob Greene shares his seven habits of successful weight loss. One of Bob's best known tips, possibly because he shared it with Oprah, is to choose a closing time for your kitchen. In other words, put a stop to late-night snacking. His theory is that if you overdo at breakfast or lunch, you've got time to burn a few of those extra calories off. But if you overdo near bedtime ... well, you can't sleep it off, now can you?

I agree with the idea that a calorie is just a calorie. But as Bob suggests, and as Maggie also points out in this post, late-night snacks tend to be more of the chips and dip variety, eaten mindlessly in front of the TV, rather than a carrot or an apple. That's emotional eating, and getting a handle on emotional eating is one of Bob's seven tips for success.

Bob suggests setting your kitchen closing time for sometime after dinner, usually 7 PM. Since we eat an early dinner, I'll be closing my kitchen at 6 PM this week to cut back on late night snacks and see if this is a tip that really can affect weight loss. Fingers crossed.

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]]>bob greenebob-greeneBobGreenedietinghealthy-habitslate-night-snackinglate-night-snackslose-weightoprahsnackingsnacksTVwalking-the-walkweight-gainweight-lossBethany SandersFri, 23 Jan 2009 07:00:00 ESTSalt - Beat the Bloat by Cutting Backhttp://www.thatsfit.com/2009/01/09/salt-beat-the-bloat-by-cutting-back/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/01/09/salt-beat-the-bloat-by-cutting-back/http://www.thatsfit.com/2009/01/09/salt-beat-the-bloat-by-cutting-back/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

January is the perfect time to try something new, isn't it? That's why I was clicking around over at AOL Health's America Takes it Off, looking for something inspiring to try this week on Walking the Walk. I've created a pretty good routine for myself -- limit my calories, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and be as active as possible -- but still, there's always room for improvement, right?

When I saw this tip from Jillian Michaels, I was intrigued. To get cut, she says, cut the salt ... and that doesn't mean just removing the salt shaker from your dining room table. Instead, she says, to beat the bloat, get your sodium intake down under 500 mg a day.

But salt makes things so tasty, you're thinking (or am I the only one?). Is it really that important to keep an eye on it? According to Jillian, yes. And her take on sodium has the support of top health organizations such as the American Heart Association. Our bodies need about 200 mg of sodium a day, but in reality, most of us eat much, much more than that.

Jillian's 500 mg a day is considerably lower than the 1,500 to 2,400 mg a day that most health organizations recommend. Because my blood pressure tends to fall into the "wow that's low, are you sure you aren't feeling dizzy" category, I've decided to split the difference and stick to 1,000 mg a day this week.

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]]>aol-healthatiobloatcutting-saltcutting-sodiumdiethealthyhigh-blood-pressureJillian MichaelsJillian-MichaelsJillianMichaelslow-blood-pressureprocessed-foodssaltsodiumtipswalking-the-walkweight-lossBethany SandersFri, 09 Jan 2009 07:00:00 ESTSpot Training - Can it Shrink My Belly in a Week?http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/26/spot-training-can-it-shrink-my-belly-in-a-week/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/26/spot-training-can-it-shrink-my-belly-in-a-week/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/26/spot-training-can-it-shrink-my-belly-in-a-week/#commentsFiled under: ,


Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

For the first time ever, I can proudly say I didn't pack on weight over the holiday season. In fact, I've managed to lose about eight pounds since Thanksgiving. I owe it, mostly, to my ban on sugar and chocolate.

Still, I have a lot of work to do. Take, for instance, my abs. They are very sad abs, abs that must be stuffed into too tight undergarments to look good in holiday wear. They're just crying for attention.

We all know that spot training alone doesn't work. After all, you could have the most gorgeous set of six-pack abs in the universe, but if they're covered with a thick layer of flab, who's going to notice? True spot reduction comes from a healthy diet, aerobic exercise and strength training.

That said, I'd really, really like to squeeze into something nice and a little smaller on Christmas. But that's just over a week away, so I'm going to work these abs like crazy every day as an experiment and see what happens. If it works ... hurray! If not, well, a lesson learned for all of us.

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]]>absChristmasflat absflat stomachFlatAbsFlatStomachflatter absflatter stomachFlatterAbsFlatterStomachholidayspot trainingSpotTrainingstomachwalking-the-walkweight lossWeightLossBethany SandersFri, 26 Dec 2008 07:00:00 ESTGlamour Magazine Goes Sweet on That's Fithttp://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/22/glamour-magazine-goes-sweet-on-thats-fit/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/22/glamour-magazine-goes-sweet-on-thats-fit/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/22/glamour-magazine-goes-sweet-on-thats-fit/#commentsFiled under: , ,

candy
We love Glamour magazine. Not just because it's a fancy, glossy publication with juicy details about all sorts of fantastic stuff, diet and fitness included. We also like Glamour because the folks there like us. Well, they like Bethany, and that makes us plenty happy.

Glamour's Daily Heath & Fitness Blog featured a great post recently, titled The Sugar Diaries: Exactly How to Start a Sugar Detox. It's all about how cutting back on the refined stuff is a really sweet idea. We know. That's why Bethany put herself to the test in November and nixed sugar for seven whole days. She wrote about it here. Glamour noticed. And mentioned it in their post.

Thanks, Bethany, for always walking the walk. (Not only has Bethany ditched sugar, she's also spent seven days parking and walking, eating more fiber, chasing her kids, eating five to nine servings of veggies and counting calories.) Clearly, my friend, you are committed to your health and the health of others. We're glad Glamour found you.

You can find Bethany here. If you'd like to follow her Walking the Walk series, click here.

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]]>bethany-sandersglamour-magazinejacki-donaldsonsugarwalking-the-walkJacki DonaldsonMon, 22 Dec 2008 08:00:00 ESTSugar - Goodbye, Sweet Friendhttp://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/16/sugar-goodbye-sweet-friend/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/16/sugar-goodbye-sweet-friend/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/16/sugar-goodbye-sweet-friend/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


Welcome to the Good, the Fat and the Hungry. I'm Karla and I have been -- or am -- all those things. Here, I will share with you my lifelong struggle with my weight, and I hope you'll follow along on with my determined attempt to lose nearly 40 pounds. I promise to tell you every win and setback along the way every Tuesday and Friday.

Sugar.

Let me try that again. Sugar.

Did you feel it that time? I don't know about anyone else but merely saying the word excites me. I don't think about calories, fat grams or carbs when I crave it. It's just plain old sugary goodness all by itself. It stands alone, and none of its other attributes matter when I want it. At those times, it's just me and my Sweetie.

Last week, I was perusing other posts on That's Fit, as I often do, and I came across Bethany Sanders' attempt to walk the no-sugar walk for seven days. My immediate thought: Who does that and why? As I kept reading, I understood. It makes perfect sense that I can't have everything I want all the time, but that rule has never applied to sugar. Should it? I have justified hundreds of Tootsie Rolls and half-eaten Reese's cups for far too long.

Although I had to break the news to Sugar gently, I feel OK saying I need some space. So, I started on Monday, and I plan to follow Bethany's example. For the next seven days, goodbye to all the sweetness in my life. So far, so good -- but this is only day two. I'll be back on Friday, day five -- come see if my story has changed.

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]]>bethany-sanderskarla-carringtonsugarthe-good-the-fat-and-the-hungrywalk-the-walkKarla CarringtonTue, 16 Dec 2008 19:00:00 ESTChasing Your Kids - Is it Fitness?http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/12/chasing-your-kids-is-it-fitness/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/12/chasing-your-kids-is-it-fitness/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/12/12/chasing-your-kids-is-it-fitness/#commentsFiled under:


Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

Ask a celebrity mom how she stays fit and she'll usually demur, "Oh, I just chase my kids around all day." Insert eye-roll. Unless you've got the metabolism of a mouse, keeping your kids busy isn't going to whittle that waist down to the celebrity-standard size double zero. Either they aren't eating, or they're being less than honest.

But for the rest of us -- those who aim to be physically fit but a little more on the average side -- can chasing your kids all day count as fitness? I think so ... that playground equipment can be surprisingly adaptive to an adult workout, after all.

During this week's Walking the Walk experiment, I aim to find out exactly how much of a workout I can get chasing my kids around all day.

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]]>celebritiesdietexercisefamilyfinding time to exerciseFindingTimeToExercisefitnessfunctional fitnessFunctionalFitnesshealthkidsmomswalking the walkwalking-the-walkWalkingTheWalkBethany SandersFri, 12 Dec 2008 07:00:00 ESTNip Your Sugar Habit in the Budhttp://www.thatsfit.com/2008/11/21/nip-your-sugar-habit-in-the-bud/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/11/21/nip-your-sugar-habit-in-the-bud/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/11/21/nip-your-sugar-habit-in-the-bud/#commentsFiled under:

walking the walk

Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

Common diet advice tells us that we should be able to have our cake (or cookies or brownies or ice cream) and our healthy weight, too ... as long as we remember that treats are treats and are to be only eaten occasionally.

This works for a lot of people. And then there are the rest of us, the ones who buy a bag of snack-sized candy bars, intending to eat just one now and then, and then manage to devour half the bag in one sitting.

With friends like sugar, who needs enemies?

In every single weight loss attempt I've ever made, sugar was the thing that eventually tripped me up. But this time around, it's different. I've had a great deal of success, and I'm doing everything I can to keep those diet derailers from stopping my "downward" progress.

Since my biggest diet derailer is sugar, it has to go. Not for good, but for the long haul. Until my new healthy eating habits are firmly in place, letting myself indulge in even a little treat here and there is playing with fire.

Join me on this week's Walking the Walk, where I learn to live without my favorite vice. No processed or added sugars, period. Buckle up, because it promises to be a wild ride.

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]]>dietgiving up sugarGivingUpSugarhealthy habitsHealthyHabitssugarsugar addictionsugar habitsugar hangoversugar highsugar highsSugarAddictionSugarHabitSugarHangoverSugarHighSugarHighssugarssweetswalking the walkwalking-the-walkWalkingTheWalkweight lossWeightLossBethany SandersFri, 21 Nov 2008 07:00:00 ESTFiber - are you getting enough?http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/11/07/fiber-are-you-getting-enough/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/11/07/fiber-are-you-getting-enough/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/11/07/fiber-are-you-getting-enough/#commentsFiled under:


Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

It's weird to think that eating something that your body never actually digests can improve your health, but that's the story of fiber. Fiber is the part of a plant food that can't be absorbed by the body, so it virtually just takes a ride through your intestines.

But just by being there, fiber does your body good. It improves the health of your digestive track by moving things along. Soluble fiber, or fiber that dissolves in water, can absorb sugar before it's digested by the body, which can help prevent and control diabetes. Insoluble fiber prevents constipation and may lower the risk of colon cancer. Fiber can even help lower cholesterol levels.

In addition to all that goodness, fiber-rich foods help you stay full, a definite benefit when you're trying to lose or maintain weight. And since foods that are rich in fiber are also full of antioxidants and other healthy nutrients, you're getting a double whammy of good nutrition.

Most experts recommend that we get 25 to 35 grams of fiber a day. My challenge this week is to do just that.

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]]>cholesteroldiabetesdietdigestionfeaturedfiberhow much fiberHowMuchFibernutritionplant foodsPlantFoodssugarwalking the walkwalking-the-walkWalkingTheWalkweight lossWeightLossBethany SandersFri, 07 Nov 2008 07:00:00 ESTWalking the Walk: Park your car and walk or bikehttp://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-park-your-car-and-walk/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-park-your-car-and-walk/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-park-your-car-and-walk/#commentsFiled under:

Welcome to Walking the Walk, a feature that takes a deeper look at commonly shared diet and fitness advice. Every other week, I'll choose one piece of advice and practice it for seven days. Then I'll report back on what I discovered about making it work in real life and how it affected my own personal fitness -- and how it ultimately can affect your own efforts.

When I returned home from driving my daughter to school last week, I found my husband waiting for me. "You drove?" he said, his eyebrows up. "We were late!" I argued. He rolled his eyes. "It's coooollld," I whined. This got nowhere with the man who rides his bike through blizzards.

I couldn't argue with him because he had a valid point. It's silly for me to fire up our minivan when, if not for a few houses, I can practically see the school from our front porch. (But we were late!) Walking my daughter to school and home again is an easy way to get an extra 20 minutes of physical activity into my day.

According to WalkScore, my neighborhood scores a 60 out of 100 for walk-ability. By walking 15 minutes or less, I can reach video stores, convenience stores, a fruit market, multiple parks, a pharmacy, restaurants, a hair salon (though not my hair salon), school and extra-curricular activities, my husband's workplace, and our city's downtown. We already sold one of our cars, and if I want to be honest with myself, there's often little reason for us to use our other vehicle.

It's easy to become sedentary when you work from home. I was shocked last winter when I put on a pedometer to count my daily steps, which experts say should add up to a minimum of 6,000 a day, and optimally 10,000. Walking just makes good sense -- it gets me moving, keeps me healthy, and saves on gas. So my rules for this week's Walking the Walk are this:

  • If I can walk to it in less than 15 minutes, I will.
  • If I can't, I'll try to bike it. If not, then I'll park in the farthest parking spot possible so I can still benefit from the extra steps.
  • No elevators or escalators allowed -- it's all stairs for me!

Click "next" to find out how the week went.

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]]>10000 steps a day10000StepsADayexercisefeaturedhealthypedometerphysical activityPhysicalActivitywalkingwalking the walkwalking-the-walkWalkingTheWalkBethany SandersTue, 21 Oct 2008 08:00:00 ESTWalking the Walk: Day 1http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-day-1/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-day-1/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-day-1/#commentsFiled under:

Day 1: First day, first dilemma. This morning, I needed to take my three-year-old to story time at the library and then go get my allergy shot. The problem? The locations are on opposite sides of town, neither in walking distance. It hardly seemed right to kick off this "walking" week by hopping in my van the first chance I got. I had to get creative.

Since my husband was at home, we decided he would take our younger daughter to story time on his bike. I hopped on my own bicycle to ride to the allergist. It was the first time I'd ridden my bike without a child aboard in years, so it was kind of fun. It made me wonder why I don't use my bike for transportation more often.

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]]>bicyclebicycle commutingBicycleCommutingbikeBethany SandersTue, 21 Oct 2008 08:00:00 ESTWalking the Walk: Day 3http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-day-3/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-day-3/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-day-3/#commentsFiled under:

Day 3: Groceries are a problem. I need too many to just run to the (expensive) nearby market. I could take the bike with the trailer attached, but good parents don't typically leave their young children at home alone. If I put the kids in the trailer, then I don't have room for groceries. Clearly, it's time to fire up the van for the first time this week. At least that's a small accomplishment.

To limit the number of car trips I make this week, I write out a list of all my out-of-walking distance errands and plan to do them at the same time. Really, I should be doing this anyway. At each stop, I park the car as far away as possible from the entrance. At the veterinarian, this means walking just a few additional feet. But at the big box grocery store where I stock up and some of my other stops, I bet I walked the length of a football field, which really adds up.

My only regret? That I didn't wear a pedometer to see how many extra steps this added to my day. Even if you can't walk everywhere, I think this is a worthwhile way to get a few extra steps in on a regular basis. It definitely takes a new mindset, though. Our busy modern lives have trained us to get in and get out as fast as possible. It was really tempting to grab that up close parking spot to make our errands go quicker, so it will take some mental work to make this a habit.

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]]>fitnesspark and walkParkAndWalkstepswalkingBethany SandersTue, 21 Oct 2008 08:00:00 ESTWalking the Walk: Day 5http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-day-5/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-day-5/http://www.thatsfit.com/2008/10/21/walking-the-walk-day-5/#commentsFiled under:

child's wagonDay 5: My three-year-old doesn't like our new routine. As we headed out for our third trip to the school for the day, she stood in the driveway, stomping her feet. "We always walk EVERYWHERE," she shouted at me. I thought about correcting her. After all, we've only been walking everywhere for five days, not "always," but then I remembered who I was dealing with. So I opened the garage door and pulled out the wagon instead.

In all honesty, I'm beginning to feel the same way. Though I love all the extra physical activity we're all getting -- and it's paid off in helping me over a weight loss plateau -- it takes planning and time to walk everywhere. Twenty minutes for each trip to school -- that's an hour out of my day. After dinner, we walk to an extra-curricular activity -- another 30 minute round trip.

Of course, on the flip side is the fact that I got an hour and a half of physical activity in, enough that I don't feel the need to do a cardio workout. So maybe it all balances out in the end.

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]]>childpreschoolerscheduletimewalkingworking in fitnessWorkingInFitnessBethany SandersTue, 21 Oct 2008 08:00:00 EST