EstimatedEst. Read Time: 5 minutes

 Dark green leafy vegetables in colander Are you getting your green leafies in on a daily basis?  We all know that they’re packed with vitamins, but these greens are true superfoods both for health and weight loss! They’re a great source of vitamins A, C and K, are full of healthy antioxidants, and also provide iron and calcium in the diet.  Dark leafy greens are an excellent source of fiber and have close to no calories, so they’ll help fill you up at meals and snacks.  The fiber in the greens also helps slow down and aid digestion.

The US Department of Agriculture recommends three cups of dark leafy greens per week, but I’d recommend you try to get at least 2 servings per day.  Eating your greens along with sources of healthy unsaturated fats such as olive oil, nuts, salad dressings, canola oil and fish greatly improves the absorption of the vitamins and minerals present in the greens.  If you can, splurge for organic greens as industrially grown greens are often sprayed with high amounts of pesticides which are applied directly to the leaves – the part of the plant we eat.

Let’s have a quick review of the veggies included in the green leafy category.  Greens like mustard greens, collard greens, chard, arugula and kale all have a bit of an earthy, bitter flavor but it’s worth trying to sneak them into your food.  Spinach is a more palatable green and its flavor is mild enough to eat it raw. Broccoli is my favorite dark leafy green – it’s tasty and there are lots of ways to dress it up!  Below are 15 easy ways to sneak these dark leafy greens into your diet each day.  It IS easy being green!

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EstimatedEst. Read Time: 5 minutes

active couch potatoFirst of all…sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it?  According to Gretchen Reynolds in her book “The First 20 Minutes: Surprising Science Reveals How We Can: Exercise Better, Train Smarter, Live Longer,”  an active couch potato is a person who sits a lot because of job and lifestyle, and then gets active just for an hour or so per day before or after work.  My guess is that this may describe many of us – particularly if we work in front of a computer most of the time, drive for hours per day and come home to relax in front of the tube, computer or with a book in the evenings.

The percentage of Americans that lead this type of lifestyle has increased over the past several decades, first with the advent of machines replacing physical labor in industry, and later with computers becoming part of the everyday life of most workers.  A recent survey found that 80% of jobs in America are almost completely sedentary!  To top it off, recent studies show that the average American spends 5 hours or more daily in front of the TV.  We’re learning that habit early – toddlers often watch 4 – 6 hours per day.  According to the US Census of 2009, the average American’s commute is about 60 minutes per day with a full 20% of us commuting more than one hour per day.  Put it all together and that’s a lot of time spent sitting.

As for those of us who make the effort and time to head to the gym for 30 minutes to an hour most days of the week, our exercise counteracts the negative effects of our otherwise sedentary lifestyle…right?  New evidence is showing it may not be enough!

 

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EstimatedEst. Read Time: 4 minutes

KaffeeI have a confession.  I am a coffee addict.  Since I try to eat clean and I exercise daily, I’ve even cut sugar out of my diet.  So, coffee is one of my only ‘vices.’ In fact, I myself have struggled with whether it would be better to leave coffee behind too.  Could it be affecting my body in ways I’m not aware of??

What I do know is that I’m not a natural morning person…waking up has always been tough for me.  I’ve long envied those folks who supposedly pop out of bed in the morning all bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to start the day!  It’s hard for me to believe those people exist, but they do.  I am NOT one of them.  But coffee gives me that little spring in my step that I need to get going in the morning – a wake up for both my body and my mind.

But still, in the back of my mind I worry there’s some chance this little secret addiction could be doing me more harm than good. However, new studies show that coffee can actually be beneficial to your health.  And though many of us have experienced the ‘pep’ that a cup of Joe can give you prior to a workout, there’s some scientific evidence that coffee, or at least caffeine, can have positive effects on your workouts too!

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EstimatedEst. Read Time: 4 minutes

exercise on the goGetting your workouts in when you’re traveling – whether it’s for work or fun – is really a challenge! If we’re lucky we can get day access to a gym close by or maybe there’s a gym in our hotel. But if we’re staying with friends or family, there’s just no gym in sight or the hotel gym is poorly equipped what do we do?

Keeping up with your workout routine even when you’re on the road is important. First, it helps you avoid getting sick, which is common when we travel especially with air travel. Exercising while on vacation also helps to improve our energy levels, since traveling can sometimes take it out of us! It also helps to keep up with good habits even when we’re outside of our usual routine. Exercise during your trip will help you not to gain those few extra pounds during your vacay, not only because you’re burning calories during your workout, but also because you’ll be more likely to keep up with good eating habits if you’re continuing to work out.

So what’s the best and easiest way to keep up with workouts while you’re away? There are 3 elements: they have to be fast, something you can do in a hotel room if necessary, and require little to no equipment. Pack your exercise band and join us for this quick, effective upper body travel workout! Continue reading article →

EstimatedEst. Read Time: 5 minutes

antioxidants for weight lossIn last week’s blog post entitled “Top 4 Vitamins Workouts: Muscle Endurance and Weight Loss”, I talked about which vitamins best support our exercise and diet plan.  I recommended foods that would help get these important vitamins into your diet on a regular basis, as it’s always best to get your nutrition through your food whenever possible.

Many people take antioxidant supplements to reap anti-cancer, anti-aging and other health benefits.  However, getting antioxidants in your diet is easy, and some of the tastiest foods out there are packed with them!

But before we talk about what to eat, let’s talk about why.  What are free radicals and how can they affect your health? Why are antioxidants even more important when we exercise regularly? And why is exercise important for fighting free radicals?

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