I don’t know why I still find myself surprised when finding out information like this but I just do.
A recent investigation conducted by the nutrition and development research team at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research, found food marketed for babies and toddlers contained more sugar, salt and saturated fats than McDonald’s Big Macs, cheeseburgers and chocolate biscuits including Tim Tams.
Kraft and Heinz products were among the worst offenders, with Heinz Little Kids Muesli Fingers containing 8.1g of saturated fat and 42g of sugar, compared with Be Natural fruit and nut trail bars aimed at adults with 1.5g of saturated fat and 20.4g of sugar.
We all know how important nutrition is especially in those early years. You must take the time to read the nutrition labels on every thing you buy and do not assume that those made for babies are good for them.
Even though this article is from Australia, the same applies to parents in other countries so have a read and be vigilant.
Finding the inner strength required to eat well and exercise is far more difficult than many people realize.
For most of us, we start off with the best intentions and for a while we stick to our goals, some achieve and a few more go on to greater success.
When it comes down to it, willpower can be fleeting and we often fail at the first real test.
Last night we had dinner with my Aunty and Uncle. Both are in their mid 70′s and have had a few medical conditions expected given their age.
What differs is their general outlook on life and one key ingredient that sets them apart. My Uncle has a very strong willpower and my Aunt does not.
My Uncle is a cancer survivor and from the moment he was diagnosed, he changed his diet and started to exercise regularly. 5 years on and he continues with his regime. He was quite a big social drinker in his day but last night I noticed he only drank water and orange juice. After chatting with him about this, he explained that he wanted to live as long and well as possible and felt that he had been drinking far too much to achieve this. He hasn’t stopped drinking altogether, he enjoys a beer, but he has decided to cut back the amount and the frequency. My Uncle is in the best shape of his life, he looks AMAZING. He is fit and looks like a man in his early 60′s. Given his battle with cancer and heart troubles in the past, I think it is quite incredible to see just how powerful willpower is.
My Aunty on the other hand has absolutely no self control. She is eating way too much, refuses to slow down her drinking to just weekends and just generally seems to have given up. She is overweight and gaining more every time I see her. She looks unwell and has a pale complexion. She looks tired and has no energy and every bit her age.
Her excuse for not slowing down her eating and drinking is that she enjoys life too much to do without these luxuries. There is an irony in this that is just so obvious – I don’t think it needs explaining.
Simple food choices go a long way when it comes to your heart’s health. Focusing on fresh foods full of heart-healthy fats and antioxidants can decrease your risk of developing heart disease and cut your chances of a heart attack. These 10 foods will help keep your ticker in top shape.
Oatmeal
Start your day with a steaming bowl of oats, which are full of omega-3 fatty acids, folate, and potassium. This fiber-rich superfood can lower levels of LDL (or bad) cholesterol and help keep arteries clear.
Opt for coarse or steel-cut oats over instant varieties — the coarse and steel-cut contain more fiber — and top your bowl off with a banana for another four grams of fiber.
Salmon
Super-rich in omega-3 fatty acids, salmon can effectively reduce blood pressure and keep clotting at bay. Aim for two servings per week, which may reduce your risk of dying of a heart attack by up to one-third.
“Salmon contains the carotenoid astaxanthin, which is a very powerful antioxidant,” says cardiologist Stephen T. Sinatra, MD, the author of “Lower Your Blood Pressure In Eight Weeks.” But be sure to choose wild salmon over farm-raised fish, which can be packed with insecticides, pesticides, and heavy metals.
Not a fan of salmon? Other oily fish like mackerel, tuna, herring, and sardines will give your heart the same boost.
Avocado
Add a bit of avocado to a sandwich or spinach salad to increase the amount of heart-healthy fats in your diet. Packed with monounsaturated fat, avocados can help lower LDL levels while raising the amount of HDL cholesterol in your body.
This post includes a short instructional video by our fitness trainer, Roy.
Hypers. That terms has appeared in my personal exercise journal more than any other noun in the past 20 years. In my quasi-hieroglyphic journaling style, hypers simply refers to one exercise; the Hyper Extension, also known as the Low-back Extension. For it’s ability to offer strength to the lower back, hip, and glute areas, I give this exercise more consideration than I give to any other – in, or out of the gym.
As I point to the device above, the first sentence I speak, during the first workout with any new student is this,
“If you only have 15 minutes to go to the gym each week, you should spend 5 of those minutes doing this exercise.”
I then proceed to demonstrate low back extensions done both in proper, and in poor form, so they can visualize the distinction.
I continue,
“Depending how they are done, low-back extensions can significantly enhance your lower back strength, and thus contribute to your posture and over all strength more than any other exercise I know. Done with less than proper form, they can profoundly screw up your lower back.”
Core strength is a very sexy term in fitness these days. I don’t buy into it as a concept – not at all. Discussing the importance of lower back strength is as close as I am willing to get in addressing the concept of core training. Core strength is the snake oil of the modern fitness salesman. The concept of core strength sells books, magazines, and devices like nothing in fitness ever has. Core strength for masses, of course, is all about abs.
If there is a core, your abs are in the vicinity, but not at the center, and should not be the primary to one’s fitness agenda. If there is a real core, it is the musculature of the lower back, gluteal muscles, and upper thighs.
What
Low-back extensions done properly and consistently, will help strengthen, and improve flexibility of the musculature of the lower back.
They help stretch, strengthen, and improve flexibility in the hamstrings.
They will also strengthen and harden the gluteal muscles.
In all three cases, the lower back, the hamstrings, and the glutes, low-back extensions can also have a major influence on the aesthetics of these areas as well – dietary considerations must be in place for these benefits to be noticed.
Be you competitive athlete, weekend warrior, gardener, or just plain active liver of life, including the low-back extension into your fitness regimen can offer you added strength, and serve you well in helping keep your lower back injury free.
Don’t
Don’t cheat this exercise. To reap the benefit, movement must be kept pure. Don’t swing, or allow momentum to be used in any way to continue the exercise. Low-back extensions can cause a significant burning sensation in the musculature of the lower back. This should not be worked through. Rather, when it goes it goes – your instincts will tell you when to stop. I suggest you listen.
How
Place your feet on the pedestal and extend your body beyond the support pads in an erect posture.
Bring arms close together at the chest, parallel to one another, not crossed. This arm position provides the best position for a neutral spinal posture.
Lower your torso slowly (about 6 seconds), bending at the hip joint only, taking caution not to bend or breach the middle spine. The rest of the spine should remain in a rigid alignment with a slight inward curvature through the middle spine.
Lower no further than to a natural stop. At this point you will feel a tight sensation behind the knees where the hamstrings merge to connect behind the knee. This is a normal sensation and is to be expected.
Breath in and out naturally while you are lowering yourself to the bottom position.
Raise yourself up slowly *(about 4-6 seconds). Lead with the shoulders and upper back as you begin the motion upward.
Exhale slowly as you rise until you reach the top of the motion where you began. At this point you will feel a hard contraction in your glutes and in the muscles of the lower back. This is normal and to be expected.
Hold the top position for a “2” count, while taking gentle breaths. Repeat the exercise as many times as you are comfortable doing. Two to three sets of 8-12 repetition one to two times per week should provide noticeable improvement in strength and flexibility with in several weeks.
Testament
In my studio, there is tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment. No student, no client has ever asked me to help them purchase any item of strength equipment I own, that they might also have one at their home to use. No item but one; the low-back extension bench. I have purchased dozens of these, on request, for clients, friends, and students over the years. Like the seminal punk bad, The Clash, low-back extensions are the only exercise that matters. Be well. rc
Roy is our resident fitness guru, please feel free to check out his website for more great information.
This coming Monday I’ll be out all day attending various meetings, I usually find myself either starving by the time I get home or giving in to temptation and buying an unhealthy snack.
One thing I’ve discovered is the need to take along a variety of snacks to keep me sustained and stop me from visiting the vending machine!
Snacks maintain your blood glucose levels between meals which means you fight off the mid afternoon fatigue and delay hunger.
You should look for snacks containing important nutrients such as protein, iron, calcium or fibre.
Here are a few options you can take along with you to help get through a busy day. Some require refigeration, I have a cooler lunch bag which makes all the difference to adding a bit of variety to my snacks.
Don’t require refrigeration
Fresh fruit
Dried fruit and nuts (unsalted)
Vegetable sticks
Whole-grain crackers
Small can tuna
Cherry tomatoes
Require Refrigeration (dairy, spreads, cheese)
Low fat yoghurt or smoothie
Pita bread and hommus
Wholegrain crisp bread with spreads like avocado or low fat cream cheese
Wholegrain crisp bread with cottage cheese
As with everything, you need to be aware of portion sizes. Don’t forget to drink plenty of water throughout your day!
Our local fresh fruit and vegetable market has a large selection of fruit and berries. I have to say though that quite a few are foreign to me, I have no clue about their nutritional value or health benefits.
Today’s random stumble came in very handy as a few of the fruits listed are available at the market. I will be heading down this weekend to pick some up and try them out!
I’ve just finished reading an article from cnn.com and thought I’d share.
There are some good tips and a few that are pretty obvious but still worth a read. It mentions cheese, probably one of my biggest temptations. The only way I can stop myself from eating cheese is to just not buy it in the first place. I would recommend this course of action if you have high temptation foods on your list.
Losing weight and getting healthy isn’t easy, but it’s often the little things that add up over time. Here are some things you may want to avoid and some you should include in your diet if your resolution is to lose weight and feel fine in 2009.
1. Sideline the salad dressing
A quarter-cup of dressing equals 25 to 30 grams of fat. If you eat three salads with dressing per week, that is the equivalent of a stick of butter per week (52 sticks of butter per year), which can not only increase your risk of heart disease and high cholesterol, it could lead to a 12-pound gain. Instead, keep dressing on the side, and dip your fork in it before every bite.
2. Say no to cheese and mayo
They may not seem that relevant, but if you have a tablespoon of mayo and a slice of cheese on your sandwich five days a week, you could gain almost 15 pounds a year! Go for mustard or even hummus to add flavor.
Hypers. That terms has appeared in my personal exercise journal more than any other noun in the past 20 years. In my quasi-hieroglyphic journaling style, hypers simply refers to one exercise; the Hyper Extension, also known as the Low-back Extension. For it’s ability to offer strength to the lower back, hip, and glute areas, I give this exercise more consideration than I give to any other – in, or out of the gym.
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