100-related stories
100-Year-Old Athlete Breaks Shot-Put Record
When you're 100 years old, competing in an international sporting event is pretty impressive, so Ruth Frith's story is nothing short of incredible -- she recently broke a world record at the World Masters Games in Sydney. The spry centenarian from Brisbane, Australia, broke the world shot-putting record with her 13 feet, 4.2-inch throw and earned herself a gold medal in the process. Frith fully expected to win in her category -- she was, after all, the only woman competing in the over-100 class for that event -- but few expected her performance to rival that of athletes a quarter of her age. One thing is certain -- she's brought a whole new meaning to the phrase, "my grandma can throw better than that!"
So what's her secret? Frith doesn't drink or smoke, and she works out five days a week -- she can bench press as much as 75 pounds. But she's the first to admit that she isn't really much of a health nut. "Don't eat vegetables, because I never eat vegetables," she told The Australian. "I know people that like diets that will scream at me, (but) don't eat vegetables. I never have."
Still, she must be doing something right.
Want to live to be 100? Here's what you've gotta do.
Calories - 78 Ways to Cut Them
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
The new issue of "Women's Health" magazine just hit stands and it's full of simple ways to help you lose weight. Calories can sneak up on you when you're not looking, so it's best to make wise choices whenever you can. The magazine lists 78 ways to cut 100 calories by making small changes, and I'm going to list my favorite eight here.
- Swap OJ for the real deal -- one fresh orange.
- Take your iced tea unsweetened.
- Use south-of-the-border savvy: Have a quesadilla made with two 6-inch corn, not flour, tortillas.
- Drizzle extra hot sauce, not blue cheese or ranch dressing, on your wings.
Quench kids' thirst with these healthful drinks
Healthy Kids, Nutrition & Supplements
When my son and I go shopping, we always buy 100% fruit drinks for his school lunches. No matter how many times I insist on the 100% varieties, my son is always drawn to the sugary options. I know why, too. It seems as if the 100% juice products are packaged to attract parents -- with images of fruit and so forth. The sugar-added varieties are packaged to attract kids -- my son is drawn to the pouches that have surfers and skateboarders on their packages. But I insist on 100% juice. After all, fruit juice is sweet enough as it is... why would anyone need added sugar?Healthcastle recommends the five top drinks to pack in your child's lunch box:
- Milk. If the school provides milk, you may want to send your child with the money to purchase milk there. (If you're opposed to chocolate milk, be sure to educate your child on that.) If you pack milk cartons, use an insulated lunch box and a freezer pack to keep the milk properly chilled.
- Yogurt drinks. Try freezing yogurt drinks before packing in your child's lunch box. By lunch time they'll still be chilly, but thawed enough to drink.
- Water. Always the best option for hydration, fill a reusable water bottle with water and ice each morning.
- 100% juice. There's no reason for the added sugar, so if you're going to pack juice make sure to purchase one that's labeled 100%. Keep in mind that 100% juice is still high in sugar, so don't let your child sip on these all day. One at lunch is enough.
- Soy drinks. Be sure to pick a soy drink that is calcium-fortified, lightly flavored, and lower in sugar.
And the Smoothie King winner is ...
Reviews & Products, Nutrition & Supplements
Thanks to all 29 of you who shared some pretty scrumptious smoothie creations. Some of my favorites:
- raspberries, strawberries, banana, apple juice, and cranberry nectar
- strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, vanilla yogurt, and flax seed
- strawberry, vanilla protein blend, chocolate whey, and almonds
- ice, mangoes, strawberries, bananas, fresh squeezed Orange Juice, a sprinkle of flax seeds for omega-3s, and a tsp of Agave Nectar as a natural sweetener
Smoothie King Giveaway: $100 could be yours
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
You'd be hard pressed to find a Smoothie King smoothie that isn't both tasty and nutritious. Delicious flavors like Angel Food and Caribbean Way are packed with fresh fruit and nutrients, and you can actually make them even healthier. Simply ask for your smoothie to be "made skinny." "Skinny" smoothies have no turbinado (raw cane sugar) and contain 99 less calories and 23 less carbs than their counterparts. Smoothie King offers more than 30 smoothies under 300 calories after being rendered skinny. The Slim-N-Trim, for one, is a low-calorie treat used by many as part of an overall diet and training program geared toward slimming down.
Smoothie King also offers 50 smoothies with ingredients that meet customers' nutritional and dietary needs. There's The Hulk, with lots of calories and lots of nutrients, for chemotherapy patients who need a boost. There's The Gladiator for individuals who have undergone gastric bypass surgery and need essential vitamins and protein for recovery. And others can be formulated to jump-start energy and immunity; address stress relief, joint, and tissue repair; and build muscle.
Not all smoothies are created equal, say Smoothie King founders Steve and Cindy Kuhnau, who are proud to be the originators of the nutritional, fruit-based smoothie. Want to taste what they're talking about? Consider this:
Smoothie King will award one lucky reader with a $100 gift card, good for use in any one of their stores -- click here to find a location near you.
To enter to win, just leave a comment below before 5 PM Eastern on Thursday, June 12 describing the tastiest and healthiest smoothie you'd create if you could -- we want our mouths to water so make it good. Feel free to go to www.smoothieking.com for inspiration. Click on "Find Your Favorite" under the "On The Menu" category and you'll find bunches of possibilities. We'll randomly choose one winner amongst the eligible entries and announce the winner on Friday, June 13. Some other important details:
- To enter, leave a confirmed comment below describing the tastiest and healthiest smoothie you'd create if you could.
- The comment must be left and confirmed before 5 PM on Thursday, June 12.
- You may only enter once.
- One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
- One winner will receive a $100 gift card for the purchase of Smoothie King smoothies.
- Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
What do 100 calories look like?
Are there 100 calories in 18 Fat Free Rold Gold Tiny Twist Pretzels or in 25? If you picked 18, you are correct. How about two dark chocolate kisses or five dark chocolate kisses -- which serving has 100 calories? Good news: You can have five kisses for 100 calories.Women's Health magazine puts readers to the 100-calorie test with this online questionnaire. Even better than my two previous questions, this survey features photos of various foods in their competing serving sizes and asks you to pick the 100-calorie portion.
Shrimp and cocktail sauce, peanuts and dried cranberries, baby carrots and hummus, bagel and doughnut portions, even McDonald's French fries are a few of the foods that make an appearance in this quiz. It's sure to help you fine-tune your snack smarts. So get started. And best wishes for a stellar test score.
How to make it to 100
Healthy Habits, Obesity, Diet & Weight Loss
Now, more than ever, it's actually possible to make it to the ripe old age of 100. I'm not sure if I personally want to reach this number but for those who do, here's one take on what you've got to do.
Go Mediterranean
A Mediterranean diet is the best for healthy aging and disease prevention.
Read the Paper
Keeping up with current events can extend your life.
Reproduce
Having kids, especially if you're a woman, can help you live longer.
Drink! Drink!
Certain beverages tend to lower the rates of death from cardiovascular disease and other causes.
Slim Down
Obese 100-year-olds just don't exist.
Get Married
Married people live longer than singles.
Have Faith
You can expect to live longer if you have some kind of regular religious practice or belief.
Head to the Country
Avoid the city and long you will live.
Ask Fitz! Your Fitness Questions Answered -- Tomboy Sports & 100 Calorie Snack Packs
Healthy Habits, Healthy Home, Healthy Relationships, Organic, Stress Reduction, Vegetarian, Womens Health, Healthy Kids, Ask Fitz!, Cellulite, Obesity, Healthy Events, Fashion and Beauty, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Reviews & Products, Motivation, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.
Q. Dear Fitz. My high school offers very few sports, but I'd like to play something. I'd like to try out for football, but my old-fashioned mother thinks that will make me a "tomboy". What do you think? Katie
A. You've come to the right place Katie! I happen to have embedded myself in the traditionally male sport of full-contact kickboxing, and you know what? It made me a better woman! Sports are sports. Whether you play with a ball, racket, gloves or sneakers...sports are just a more fun way to exercise and flex your competitive muscles. Period.
I loved getting in the ring to try and knock an opponent out. I loved the strategy, speed, and power of the event. Fighting, in fact, is one of my favorite things to do. Some of the girls I've competed against thought they had to take on some sort of macho persona. Short hair, yucky jeans, and mean snarls. I, on the other hand, preferred to act like a monster in the ring and show up to the after-party like a lady in a pretty dress and heels. Embracing my athleticism, strength and courage has allowed me to appreciate how wonderful it is to be a woman. A strong, athletic, educated woman who loves to have the doors held for her.
Crazy for 100 calories
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
The goods packaged in these mini bags and containers are definitely miniaturized. But the devilish ingredients, including trace amounts of trans fat and hydrogenated oils, are still there. And for those whose cravings get the best of them, one minimized portion of Oreo cookies-- which is certainly better than a big one -- may not be enough. Ever ripped open two or three 100-calorie packs to satisfy your needs? Beware of the possibility.
It's best to stray from the 100-calorie packs and head straight for the fruits, veggies, nuts, and whole grains. One hundred calories may not be a lot, but empty ones tend to be a lot more trouble than they're worth.
Are '100 Calorie' packs worth the extra money?
Do you like those little 100 calorie snack packs all conveniently pre-portioned into single servings? They don't do much for me (I always want more than just one!) but lots of people love them -- so many it has become a $20 million dollar plus per year industry. Food companies make more money off those snack packs than you might as expect -- as much as 20% more than traditional packages. And although they do make portion control a "no brainer" and they save time (both of which are valuable to people these days) what do you think? Is it worth it to you to pay that much extra or are we all getting ripped off?
Quiz: Will you live to be 100?
How much do you know about healthy living, really? How you age through life has so much to do with some of the things we all take for granted, like how much sleep we get and at what age we decide to retire. Some things may even be the exact opposite of what you'd first guess, like eating sweets for one: good or bad? You should pop over to Prevention and take this quiz, it's only 10 questions so it doesn't take long. I won't give up my score, but let's just say I did a lot worse than I thought I would! The questions are strictly true/false, so I'm blaming some of my wrong answers on possible "gray areas." Ha.
Want to live to 100? May depend on mom
What is the secret to a long life? It's something humans have been trying to figure out ever since we started counting years. Maybe it has something to do with geography. Or what about those cold showers? Whatever the case may be, it seems like there are a million different ways to live to 100.Here's another radical theory to explain why people live longer than others. University of Chicago researchers have found that it could all boil down to the age at which your mother gave birth! Apparently if your mom had you before age 25, you are twice as likely to live for 100 years.
A bold claim indeed! Luckily for the rest of us, exercise and healthy eating can offset that birthed advantage that our other siblings may have. But a more plausible fact coming out of the article suggests that women could be up to five times more likely to reach that centenarian mark than us men.
