light-related stories
Simple & Quick Healthy Food - Really!
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
We all know that people tend to use time as a so-called "legitimate" reason to eat poorly. Those people never like me much. Why? Because the excuse is lame and doesn't hold water, and I'm fairly upfront about it. The truth: Bananas are quicker to peel than any package can be opened. Apples don't even need peeling!
Cooked food can also be insanely quick. In fact, I always keep giant bags of various frozen vegetables in my freezer so I can toss them in a bowl and heat them in the microwave in under five minutes. Is it gourmet? Not really. Do I care? Hell no!
What matters most is that we choose fruits, veggies, lean meats and whole grains. Those are a few of the things that are vital not only to weight maintenance, but they support a nourished, energetic and disease-free body. If you are hell-bent on eating poorly than just get on with it. But if you truly want to make fitness happen and change your life, you're going to have to kick excuses to the curb.
SAD - Don't Let It Pad Your Waist
Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation
This time of year -- when they days are cold and short and summer seems like decades away -- everyone is prone to Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), a sort of 'winter blues' condition (symptoms listed here.) SAD isn't too serious -- it goes away from spring, after all -- but it can have some lasting effects, like weight gain. Because, not only are you exercising less, when you're feeling blue you reach for your comfort foods. This year, nip the SAD in the bud with light therapy. According to experts over at The Daily Mail, a lightbox will run you around $200 and will help brighten up your home and your mood. Another sure cure? Exercise does a body -- and a mind -- a world of good.
These 6 Asian foods could help you lose weight
Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
When I'm trying to lose weight but I'm having dinner with friends, I often suggest ordering Chinese food. It's easy for me to order steamed broccoli and shrimp with sauce on the side -- it's so delicious that I don't feel deprived, and many of my friends have picked up on the habit, too. But how often do you prepare Asian food at home? You might be surprised to find that there are quite a few diet-friendly Asian foods you can easily prepare on your own. Honest!
Think about it -- Asian men and women tend to be on the thinner side, and you know it's not from eating General Tso's Chicken every night. Click through the gallery to find six foods you should be eating, courtesy of the Asian Food Grocer blog.
Cinnamon Sugar: Fight it, don't bite it
Healthy Kids, Diet & Weight Loss, Nutrition & Supplements
This morning, my kids asked for cinnamon toast. So I made it for them. I used whole wheat bread, light butter with Canola oil, and a few sprinkles of McCormick's cinnamon sugar. My kids gobbled it down, which makes me happy for whole wheat purposes. My husband tends to think the rest of the equation -- the butter and cinnamon sugar -- is crap. I argued with him a bit, not trying to convince him butter and cinnamon sugar are good for our kids, just to let him know that our kids eat pretty darn healthy most days and there are far worse foods they could have ingested, with far more crap packed into them. Then I questioned myself. Then I did some research.Hungry Girl says in one of her Chew the Right Thing posts that cinnamon sugar is something we ought to fight, not bite. Now she's speaking mostly to us grown-up calorie-counting folks and not to the kids of the world, but here's what she says: "McCormick's Cinnamon Sugar has only 15 calories per teaspoon. So why are we telling you to 'fight it!'? Well, we just don't see why anyone should waste any calories at all on this sweet spice when there is a just-as-good no-cal version available. After all, when you're watching your weight, every single calorie counts. Fifteen calories here, 30 there, another 40 here ... it can all add up." HG doesn't mention sugar in her opinion but clearly, there's sugar in cinnamon sugar.
So what does the Hungry Girl suggest? San Sucre Cinnamon Sugar. It uses Splenda and makes a great sugarless cinnamon sugar blend, she says. No calories in this goodie either. HG's final piece of advice: "Cinnamon helps keep blood sugar levels low, so sprinkle away!"
A Magical Holiday Treat: Papaya, Avocado and Grapefruit Salad
Healthy Habits, Vegetarian, Womens Health, Healthy Recipes, Celebrities and Entertainment, Healthy Kids, Healthy Products and Reviews, Cellulite, Healthy Events, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Going to a Fourth of July bash this weekend? Straight from the Delicious Disney, The Disney Chefs with Pam Brandon book I bring you the most yumtastic side salad ever! Want to look like a fancy pants when you walk through the door at that party? This is the way to do it. I've posted the fairly simple recipe for Papaya, Avocado and Grapefruit Salad in my recipe book at Fitzness.com (page 37) for permanent access. Enjoy!
Vitamin D: 40% of US infants and toddlers aren't getting enough
Healthy Kids, Nutrition & Supplements
Breast milk doesn't contain high quantities of vitamin D, so if you're breastfeeding your infant ask your doctor if supplementing the vitamin is a good idea. Toddlers can benefit from vitamin D-fortified milk. Perhaps the best source of vitamin D is sunlight. While it's, of course, important to protect your child's skin, some exposure to sunlight is healthful as it triggers the production of vitamin D in the body.
Lighten up! Light does more for you than you think
Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation, Alternative & Green Health
For example, did you know that you can use sunglasses to prevent jet lag? Or that using bright lights at night can affect your sleep?
Check out the gallery to see how light can help you improve your health.
Fitz's Cool Tools: Dannon Light & Fit 0% Plus Yogurt
Healthy Aging, Healthy Habits, Healthy Home, Vegetarian, Vitamins and Supplements, Womens Health, Healthy Recipes, Healthy Kids, Cellulite, Obesity, Healthy Events, Fashion and Beauty, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Motivation, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
This week I've been sampling Dannon's Light & Fit 0% Plus Yogurt, and I absolutely love it. Before I go any further though, let me tell you how I feel about yogurt. I like it, but only if I feel like I'm getting a high in calcium, low in sugar, legitimately fruit-filled snack. Now, there is always yogurt stacked up in my fridge, because I have two little children. But, rarely do I even open up a cup for myself. Not that I would ever buy my babies anything "bad"... cause I don't. But I regularly expect perfection of the things I put in my mouth. I'm simply not willing to waste 100 calories on a teeny cup of yogurt. I'd rather have two big pieces of fruit.
So! I was thrilled instantly by the calorie count on Dannon's new Light & Fit 0% Plus Yogurt. Each cup boasts only 50 or 60 calories, depending on the flavor. That I can do! The fruity varieties are also full of real fruit chunks. Fresh and healthy fruit chunks, not the icky stuff dumped in from a can. On top of all that, each flavor has proven to be delicious to both my children and me, and then a few of my personal training clients as well.
Before you go give Dannon's Light & Fit 0% Plus Yogurt a try, I encourage you to do a side-by-side comparison of it's nutritional content versus that of other yogurts. I did this a few days ago and couldn't find anything as good. This is the type of thing you want to put in your fridge if you're trying to lose weight. It's a great fix for your sweet tooth, while providing a decent amount of protein, calcium, vitamin D and other important nutrients.
4 desserts, 0 guilt
Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Reviews & Products, Nutrition & Supplements
So that she can have the best of both worlds -- decadent desserts and happy hips -- Cora has learned to create healthy dishes that still taste like the original sin. Her secret? Substituting lighter ingredients like yogurts, light puddings, soy, or light ice creams. Less fat and calories are the end result, with taste and flavor still intact.
Check out these four delights -- Kiwi Parfait, Affogato, Baked Apples, and Clafouti -- by clicking here. Read the recipes word for word or watch video clips of Cora as she prepares each one.
Want to have your cake and eat it too? Cora says it's possible. Just follow her lead.
Fitzness Food: Low fat Alfredo recipe!
Healthy Aging, Healthy Habits, Womens Health, Healthy Recipes, Healthy Kids, Cellulite, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
If you love the worst of Italian, which is the creamy fatty white stuff...I'm going to be your new best friend. This is a recipe I discovered a really long time ago at a time when I was desperate to have some alfredo in my life...while still trying to stay slim. Often those to desires clash and crash.
Visit page 3 of my recipe section at Fitzness.com and give this dish a try. If you want to go super healthy and cut a bunch more calories, ditch the pasta all together. Usually I enjoy my almost fat free alfredo sauce over grilled chicken or steamed vegetables. That combination provides the magnificent tast of alfredo with actual nutrition. Hard to beat. Enjoy!
'Cooking Light' names its top 20 healthiest cities
Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment
To celebrate its 20th birthday, 'Cooking Light' magazine is enumerating 20 cities that best match its philosophy. The criteria included whether or not the residents where in good health, how many farmer's markets does the city have, and how often do they exercise. There were 15 benchmarks in total needed to make the list, so check it out to see which cities made the cut!Bringing up the rear is Kansas City. This metropolitan community was found to have the purest water of any other major city in the country! Other hot spots included Atlanta, Georgia. Having over 50,000 people participate in their Peachtree Road Race makes them the host of the largest 10k run in the world.
Ever been to Minneapolis? Sitting pretty at number 4, this city's natural attractions and landscapes make it worth standing out. But which place holds the top rank? Seattle, Washington -- fresh food, pedestrian atmosphere, and "inclusive attitudes" put this city at #1. See which other locations made the list, perhaps you're living it!
Not everyone is happy with 'Skinny Starbucks'
The source of her frustration? The wording -- the term skinny can have a negative impact on both the customers and employees, especially after being called out loudly countless times a day. Want more info on the complaint? Click here.
I can see her point. It might be embarrassing for some to ask for a skinny beverage-- it's almost like announcing to the whole store that you're on a diet. What do you think?
Drink wisely
Womens Health, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Remember when everyone thought that fruit smoothies were healthy? To be fair, it's not that they were unhealthy (they did have real fruit in them, which is a good start), they just weren't as healthy as people tended to believe. The reason why was the extremely high number of calories and carbohydrates they contained.
So, smoothies became a little less popular -- replaced, by some, by trendy coffee drinks from Starbucks and Seattle's Best. Buuuuut....people soon realized that those drinks had just as much sugar and calories as the smoothies, not to mention a whole lot more fat, too. From there, it seemed like everyone just decided to stick to bottled water. Like comedian George Carlin aptly pointed out in one of his bits, it was like all of a sudden everyone became thirsty. As popular as water was and still is, it seems to have gotten a little boring. This brought on the flavored waters like Propel and Vitamin Water. The tricky part here is that these flavored water have sugar in them, as well as some calories (though not nearly as many as smoothies and fattening coffee drinks). Oh yeah, and then the New York Times did a piece on Aquafina and Dasani a while back, pointing out that their bottled waters are nothing more than purified tap water. The drink craze continues; the search for something tasty, refreshing, and healthy -- a troika of unreasonable qualities?
Well, not necessarily. While bottled water is still the best health and refreshment option (regardless of whether it is purified tap water or actually from a spring, like Evian and Poland Spring), you still kind of miss out in the taste department. So, to help you along, here's a look at how three relatively healthy, refreshing and tasty drinks stack up.
Blue? or SAD?
- You crave comfort foods, especially carbs, and may even gain weight as a result
- You mood is distinctly worse during the winter -- but you perk up as soon as summer shows up again
- You're depressed throughout the day -- no just as certain times like mid-afternoon.
- You're depressed despite the absence of any sort of traumatic recent event that would cause it.
- You feel drowsy all day long, and can't seem to get enough sleep.
Is moderate or vigorous exercise better?
The debate rages on with friends of mine on whether moderate exercise or rigorous exercise is better for the body. While the circumstances of health change for every person, we're all trying to find that magic formula that weaves time availability with regular exercise these days.A recent study shows that a majority of men (56%) and women (71%) believe moderate exercise to be better than rigorous exercise, although that perception can be argued vigorously itself. Due to time crunches, many folks I know do intense exercise for only 15 minutes per day -- and they believe that it's just as effective as an hour of walking on the treadmill.
How about you? Do you feel better taking your time to exercise moderately (walking, etc.) instead of high-energy exercise like jogging or racquetball?
