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New Jersey Creates Office of Nutrition and Fitness

FitSugar — Thu, 31 May 2007 02:00:00 -0700

Say what you will about New Jersey, but it is the first of the 50 states to create an Office of Nutrition and Fitness. The goal of the agency is to better coordinate programs to prevent obesity, most of which will be aimed at children since the Garden State has the highest percentage of overweight and obese children under age 5 - 17.7 %.

The programs will tackle the obesity problem through education, support groups and encouraging physical activity, rather than by banning particular foods. Good to know that the state of New Jersey doesn't believe in going carb free either. Another important goal of the Office of Fitness and Nutrition is to “de-normalize” the massive portions served in restaurants. Other items on the agency's agenda are: nutrition and fitness programs, including promoting physical activity at all ages, providing fresh fruit and vegetables to eligible women, children and senior citizens, and encouraging breast-feeding, which can reduce the baby’s chances of a weight problem later.

All I can say is "Right On" New Jersey - looks like the Garden State is growing some healthy policy. It will be interesting to see what kind of impact the Office of Fitness and Nutrition has on the health of all those folks from Jersey.

Fittingly Mad: No Nutrition Labels on Grandma's Apple Pie

FitSugar — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 02:00:00 -0800

Thanksgiving is an awesome time, so don't think I'm being a Debbie Downer here. Sitting down to that enormous dinner on Thursday night just got me thinking about family meals and how hard it is to know what you're eating. Who knows how many calories are in a slice of grandma's famous apple pie, or how much saturated fat is in the scoop of ice cream on top? Too bad we can't just turn the plate around and see the nutritional info.

If you're a label reader like me, it could drive you crazy not knowing what ingredients are in the food you're eating, or what the calorie, carb, or sugar content is. Since most people aren't as health-conscious as I am, they don't necessarily care that they're serving crackers loaded with trans fat, or that they could have used non-fat plain yogurt in their potato leek soup instead of heavy cream.

So you're going to have to use common sense and your best judgment when you sit down to eat home-cooked meals. I'm not saying you to skip out on any part (especially that amazing apple pie), but remember these three easy tips, and you should be good to go.

To see the tips read more

Don't be shy. Ask the grandma how she made her dishes. Chances are she'll feel flattered, and you'll get some piece of mind.
Since family-style meals are like a buffet free-for-all, be conscious of portion sizes.
Remember that moderation is key. Go ahead and try everything you want, just be sure to have little tastes of each instead of huge servings. That way you'll feel satisfied rather than stuffed.

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Food Review: Forze GPS Shakes and Bars

FitSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:00:46 -0800

I'm typically wary of fitness drinks with gold packaging; they remind me of the weird muscle-building brands I see at the gym. But when I read the label on Forze GPS shakes and bars, I was intrigued.

This line of snacks, including chocolate and vanilla shakes and four flavors of energy bar, is described as a "weight management tool designed specifically for athletes." They promise to activate your appetite control signals, so they can be used as a between-meal or pre- or post-workout snack. Hear what I thought about their taste and the results.

Feel the DailyBurn

FitSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 03:00:43 -0700

I'm becoming a big fan of DailyBurn - a website that lets its users track workout, diet, and health goals in easy-to-read charts and graphs. There's a ton of great health and fitness information on the site and it has a social side that lets users interact with other members.

If you're not very tech savvy, don't be afraid. The site is easy to use and is laid out in a friendly and intuitive way. There are three main areas to DailyBurn - nutrition, exercise, and social networking. To find out how they work, read more.

Nutrition: This is basically an online food journal on steroids. Its food database contains the details of close to 200,000 foods, which makes it easy to track your diet and calorie intake and get a complete nutritional breakdown of what you're eating. There's also a pretty good database of healthy recipes, too.

Exercise: In this area you can design a fitness program for yourself or use one of the 80,000+ existing programs already on the site. If you don't understand an exercise, it's OK, because DailyBurn has tons of videos detailing the exercises. The exercise tracking tool is awesome - you can track your stats for weight loss, muscle gain, strength, and endurance. If you need better improvement in a certain area, it's really easy to adjust your fitness program.

Social Networking: This is where DailyBurn really sets itself apart from other sites. Use this section to find online workout partners and confidants who end up being your biggest cheering section while you reach your goals. And if you like a little healthy competition, you can go up against one another in fitness challenges much like The Biggest Loser. There are also groups members can join depending on their interest.

The basic tools on DailyBurn are free but paid members get access to advanced options like meal planning. The site is a great tool for burning fat and gaining muscle, as well as helping make smarter food choices. I like that I don't need to spend a lot of time inputting information onto DailyBurn because everything I need is already in its databases and navigation tools.

Review: GU Espresso Love Energy Gel

FitSugar — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 03:00:39 -0700

I have been experimenting with different sports gels lately. My latest venture into the world of gooey non-food energy supplements was Espresso Love by GU and it felt like I was going back to the source, since I think of GU as the originator of these energy packets. I ate (or rather gummed and swallowed) this caffeinated GU 15 minutes prior to an early morning swim. If I eat before swimming, I tend to get a cramp, but feel I need some kind of fuel. Since I am a morning coffee drinker, the espresso flavor seemed a perfect fit.

To see how the GU tasted and the nutritional information, read more.

I actually liked the way the Espresso GU tasted because it reminded me of Coffee Nips candy. If you like the taste of coffee, you'll also like this GU. Once in the pool, I felt awake and ready to swim. I had a good 50-minute workout and didn't feel draggy at the end.

Serving size	32 grams (one packet)
Calories	100
Fat	0 g
Sodium	50 mg
Carb	25 g
Potassium	40 mg
Sugar	5 g
Protein	0 g
Vitamin C	130 %
Vitamin E	100%
Caffeine	40 mg

Ingredients: MALTODEXTRIN (GLUCOSE POLYMERS), FILTERED WATER, FRUCTOSE, GU AMINO ACID BLEND (LEUCINE, VALINE, ISOLEUCINE, HISTIDINE), POTASSIUM AND SODIUM CITRATE, GU ANTIOXIDANT BLEND (NATURAL VITAMIN E AND VITAMIN C), NATURAL COFFEE FLAVOR, CITRIC ACID, SEA SALT, GU HERBAL BLEND [CHAMOMILE, COLA NUT (HAS CAFFEINE), GINGER], CALCIUM CARBONATE, SODIUM BENZOATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, PECTIN

My only complaint about this GU was that I had to go online to find out how much caffeine it contained. The packaging only reads "2X caffeine." Many of their flavors contain 20 milligrams of caffeine, so the Espresso Love contains two times that. I thought, "Why not just conveniently list the amount of caffeine in the nutritional info?"

Do you use energy gels? If so tell me your favorite flavor, so I can expand my taste horizons.

You Asked: Energy Bar For a Meal?

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:00:48 -0800

Dear Fit,
I just got off the phone with a friend and I need some advice. She says for breakfast, she eats one Balance Bar. I know some bars are fortified with vitamins, but this doesn't seem like enough to me - calorie- or nutrition-wise. What do you think? Is it OK to eat an energy bar for a meal?
-Concerned Friend

This is an excellent question because I think many people grab a bar for a quick meal because it's quick, easy, and fairly inexpensive. Is it enough, though? To find out what I think read more.

Replacing a meal with an energy bar is not a good idea. For one, most bars contain only about 200 calories. That calorie amount is suitable for a snack, not a meal. Another reason is that those bars were designed to give someone energy before or after a workout, so they tend to be high in carbs and low in fiber. That translates to quick energy at first, but your friend probably feels tired and hungry soon after. The low fiber issue may also affect regularity. The bottom line is that energy bars are not designed to replace a well-balanced meal, since they won't offer the same kind of nutrition. Even the ones that are fortified with vitamins and minerals only offer about 25 percent of your RDI, which isn't very much.

I think it's best to ask your friend why she's only eating an energy bar for breakfast. Is she short on time? Is she trying to lose weight? Does she think it's healthy? Once you find out her reasoning, you can suggest healthy breakfast ideas that suit her needs. There are plenty of tasty options that are high in protein and fiber to offer sustained energy, are easy to make, and won't break the calorie bank.

Fittingly Mad: Are Serving Sizes Correct?

FitSugar — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 02:30:00 -0700

If you've been reading FitSugar, then you know by know that I am an avid serving size watcher. What do I mean by this? Well I always check the nutritional label on foods, and the first thing I look at is the serving size.

Recently, I've been noticing a discrepancy between what the label says and what I measure out myself. No, I am not that anal but when you're cooking you tend to notice these types of things. For example, last night I was measuring out canned chickpeas for a recipe I was making and the can said serving size one cup, but it also said that there were 3.5 servings per can. All I needed was one cup; however, I noticed that there was absolutely no way that there was 2.5 cups left in that can. I measured it out, and the remains hardly filled one cup! I was pretty blown away. I would have gone and measured everything in my pantry, but my husband felt that was taking it a bit too far.

Granted I know that chickpeas are no reason for great alarm since they are not high in calories or fat, but ever since my chickpea incident I've been thinking about how nutritional labels are so sneaky. This is just another reason for me to not trust the information I am getting (and relying on) from them. Keeping track of and watching what you put in your body is hard enough as it is, I don't need to now find out that I've been calculating all wrong because I am not getting the right info.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the fact that an item can have zero trans fats on the label when in reality it does have trans fats. Does anyone else agree that someone (or some organization) needs to take a good look at this nutritional labeling situation?

Source

Celebrity Trainer Gives Tips for The Dogs

FitSugar — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 02:30:00 -0700

Gunnar Peterson, personal trainer to stars like Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani and Penelope Cruz, has probably dealt with some real characters. Lately, though, he is taking on a whole new breed. Literally.

Hill's Pet Nutrition has teamed up with multiple dog owner Gunnar Peterson to kick-off the 2007 Hill's PetFit Challenge, a weight loss program developed for cats and dogs. Gunnar says, "Many pet owners think that food equals love, but this is not the case. My dog Lennox would much rather wrestle with me than have a treat and it's a workout for both of us. The bottom line is to stop lovingly overfeeding and get out and exercise with your pets." Feeling your dog may fall on the overweight side? Then take these tips on getting him (and yourself for that matter) fit:

Regular walk -- Take your dog to the local park or just along the street.
Resistance walk -- Try to walk your dog on different surfaces like sand, shallow water, fallen leaves, snow or on a rough surface.
Enhanced walk -- Use obstacles when you're out walking like benches, trees, ditches and logs for your dog to jump over, crawl under or balance on.
Fetch -- Throwing a ball or toy is great exercise for your dog, and you can make him work harder by doing it on a hillside or stairs. Don't throw sticks, though, as they can splinter and cause injury.
Hide and Seek -- Hide a toy or some kibbles and let your dog find it.
Swimming or hydrotherapy -- Ideal for dogs with arthritis or back problems. Ask your veterinarian about hydrotherapy.
Obstacle courses -- Set up low hurdles (use a broom stick across two objects), tunnels (available from pet shops or use cardboard boxes) and a slalom course (objects set one yard apart) to exercise your dog.

Cats are more of a challenge, but there are tips for keeping cats trim too, so read more

Toys -- Homemade or pet shop toys help to encourage your cat to get moving.
“Catch the Light” -- Shine a flashlight on the floor and walls and let your cat play.
Boxing -- Let your cat play in a box or paper bag.
“Hunting” -- Put your cat's food in different places each day (including on top of tall furniture) and bring out the hunter in your cat!

Source

Jamcore Fitness Video Podcasts

FitSugar — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 11:30:00 -0800

Looking for a new podcast workout system to try? Well there is a new kid on the block - Jamcore Training premieres today.

Videos, created by former competitive body builder Jamo Nazzi and his team of fitness experts, lead you through different programs of exercises. There is a home program (you need some props like a physio-ball), a gym workout with weight machines, and even a 30 minute routine for the office (if you feel comfortable lying on the floor in your cubicle).

You can join for $19.95 a month and then download exercise videos and nutritional advice from the website. The catch is to benefit from Jamcore you have to actually do the work, but the videos are pretty motivational and Jamo's accent is pretty intriguing too. The site is easy to navigate and it looks like it could be a great way to get into a fitness routine.

You Asked: Jackie Warner's New Project

FitSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:50:18 -0800

After reading our review of Jackie Warner's fitness DVD Workout One-on-One Training, many of you expressed curiosity over the future of her hit Bravo series, Work Out. After making a call to Sky Sport Spa - Warner's gym - today, I was told the unfortunate news that the show won't be returning for a fourth season.

I was a bit bummed to hear this but then I remembered Warner has a new show in the works, Thintervention With Jackie Warner. Not only that, Bravo is still looking for real folks struggling with weight loss to cast in the series. Thintervention will feature Warner working with individuals in their day-to-day environments to give them a complete lifestyle overhaul.

Learn the details of this new weight-loss reality show when you read more.
A press release from Bravo breaks down the show's formula:

Each episode of the one hour series will feature a grueling workout with Warner pushing her clients to their emotional and physical limits, a therapy session to get to the root of their weight issues, and a life lesson in nutrition such as grocery shopping or surprise raids of their home kitchens.

Thintervention seems to be banking on the success of The Biggest Loser formula, and given Warner's no-BS attitude, I'm sure we'll see more than a few tears shed as the season goes on. What we won't see is all the drama in Warner's personal life and the lives of her trainers. Personally, I think the drama is what helped make Work Out such a hit among, viewers so it'll be interesting to see how her new show fares.

Are you excited about Thintervention, or do you want Work Out to come back?