5 Tips for Getting More Whole Fruit in Your Diet

The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.

Juma Ikangaa, Tanzanian marathoner

5 Tips for Getting More Whole Fruit in Your Diet

All right, so no processed sugar. High-fructose corn syrup is definitely out of the question. And now science is finally proving that all those artificially sweetened sodas we've been quaffing so virtuously are just as bad for us as sugar is, and probably worse. What's someone with a sweet tooth to do? The answer is the fruit, the whole fruit, and nothing but the fruit. While fruit juice contains some vitamins, you're really missing out on the lion's share of nutrients if you deprive yourself of the whole fruit.

The skin of the fruit contains most of the healthy carotenoids and flavonoids that have numerous benefits, including, studies are finding, providing some protection against cancer. The pulp of the fruit also contains flavonoids and vitamins that can be lost through the juicing process. And where fruit juice really falls short is in its fiber content. An apple contains around 4 grams of fiber. A glass of apple juice contains no fiber. Fiber helps your body digest and metabolize fruit's naturally occurring sugar more slowly, which prevents your body from experiencing a "sugar spike"—the blood sugar elevation you get from drinking fruit juice. Plus we all know fiber is nature's Roto-Rooter^®, scrubbing your digestive system clean.

The argument for working a few servings of whole fruit into your diet each day is a strong one. After all, that old saying "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" didn't come out of thin air. As with incorporating most food into our diets, variety is the spice of life. Here are a few ideas for slipping more fruit into your day.

1. Cut it. A lot of times, a big bowl of fruit can be too daunting. You might not be hungry enough to eat a whole apple and you might opt for a smaller snack. Try slicing up a couple of apples and putting them in an airtight container or bag. By tossing them in lemon juice, you can prevent them from turning that unappetizing brown, at least for a day or so. Keep them in the fridge, or handy on your desk or in front of the TV, for a healthy snack. Any sort of combination of cut-up fruit is a great idea for a TV snack. Instead of absentmindedly eating a day's worth of sodium and fat from the chip bag, you might eat your "apple a day" before you know it.
2. Mix it. Tired of apples? Check out some of the more exotic fruits in your produce section or farmers' market. Have you tried kiwis, pomegranates, mangosteens, or gooseberries? Also, get to know what the seasons bring to your neck of the woods. And by mixing up the variety of fruits you eat, you'll be getting a greater range of vitamins and antioxidants, thus maximizing your health benefits.
3. Dip it. Especially for kids, a little fun time needs to accompany mealtime. But don't fool yourself into thinking that those apple-and-caramel dipper packages are healthy snacks. I guess they're better than pure caramel, but they're still pretty much two steps back nutritionally from just eating healthy fruit. Instead, why not mix up some nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt with a little cinnamon? You'll get the health benefits of yogurt. And cinnamon has also been shown to have additional health benefits, like helping stabilize blood sugar. Dunking your fruit in a little unsweetened peanut butter makes for another great taste combo—the peanut butter gives the fruit some protein, and the fruit gives the peanut butter sweetness.
4. Add it. Forget those cereals with the sugared raisins or other sweetened dried fruit. And I assure you that Cap'n Crunch^® Crunch Berries^® are not found anywhere in nature. There are a ton of hot and cold cereals that contain dried or artificial fruit, and while dried fruit has some nutritional value, it's nothing—in nutrition or in flavor—compared to adding some cut-up fresh fruit or berries to your bowl of bran or oatmeal.
5. Freeze it/can it. While fresh fruit is often the most flavorful and nutritious option, procuring it can often be geographically or financially prohibitive. If getting fresh fruit is a hassle, consider buying fruit frozen or canned, or freezing or canning in-season fruit yourself. As with all prepared food, check the label to make sure that fruit isn't merely a decorative addition to a can full of corn syrup. Fruit is best if packed in unsweetened natural fruit juice. (Pear juice is a common canning juice.) Bags of frozen berries are also great to have on hand to jazz up your morning smoothie or just to pop in your mouth on a hot summer day for a frosty snack. Making "grapesicles" by throwing a bag of grapes in the freezer creates a great snack for kids and adults alike. And here's another good tip: If you have some bananas that are turning brown, peel them and wrap them in foil and stick them in the freezer for later.

We do not stop exercising because we grow old - we grow old because we stop exercising.

Dr. Kenneth Cooper.

Sugar Addiction Detox

Don't count the days, make the days count.

Muhammad Ali

Sugar Addiction Detox

Sugar, sweet sugar—a delightful minute on the tongue in exchange for what feels like a lifetime on the hips. But weight gain isn't the only consequence of eating too much sugar. Ready for the not-so-sweet truth?
Overconsumption of processed sugar can contribute to a number of conditions, including tooth decay, type 2 diabetes, hormonal imbalances, overgrowth of candida yeast, chronic fatigue, more severe PMS symptoms, anxiety, and yep, even wrinkles. On the other hand, if you start to cut sugar out of your diet, you can shed excess weight, increase your energy, improve your concentration, improve your moods, and possibly steer clear of diabetes. Ready to kick-start your sugar detox? To help you out, I'll let you in on some reasons why we get addicted, and how to read food labels for hidden sugars. I'll also give you some tips on how to start your sugar detox so you'll have a much better chance at living a vibrant, disease-free, longer life.
Why we crave sugar. Sweets trigger an increase in the hormone serotonin—a mood-elevating hormone. The body and brain get used to this higher level of serotonin and even depend on it for a sense of well-being. So when our serotonin level dips, (we dip) into the (sweets) to 'correct' the situation. Sweets also "trigger the release of endorphins . . . the brain's natural narcotics, helping you to relax when stressed."
You've probably noticed that although sugar gives you an initial high (a rapid spike in your blood sugar), you crash several hours later, leaving you wanting more. It's because sugar takes away more energy than it gives. Eventually, you find yourself exhausted, anxious, and moody.
Is the sweet taste worth the unpleasant effects? Think gaining weight is the only negative effect of consuming too much sugar? Below some surprising ways sugar intake can negatively affect your health:

• Suppresses the immune system and defense against bacterial infections
• Increases the risk of blood clots and strokes
• Contributes to hyperactivity, anxiety, depression, and difficulty concentrating
• Can lead to hypoglycemia, kidney damage, an elevation in harmful cholesterol, cardiovascular disease, and tooth decay
• Helps speed the aging process, including wrinkles and gray hair

The list goes on . . .
Make the decision to detox from sugar. The first step in breaking a sugar addiction is making the decision to stop eating it completely for at least a few days to start to get it out of your system. While it's usually best to make dietary changes gradually, sugar has the unique ability to inspire cravings that are refueled every time you give in to them. The only way to break the cycle is to stop feeding the fire. Then your cravings should subside substantially. Continue to resist large amounts of sugar and actively avoid situations that cue you to eat sweets. And whether you're at work, at home, or at a party, just because a cookie is sitting out on a table in plain sight, that doesn't mean you have to eat it.
Ask yourself why you're eating sugar before you put it in your mouth. Are you eating out of habit? Because of circumstance? For a special occasion? Because everyone else is? Watch yourself like a lab rat. Begin to face your truth by keeping a food journal. I like to jot down what drives me to eat sugar, when I crave it, where I eat it, why I want it, and how I get it. For example, do you pop up out of your desk chair the second you hear people at the office singing "Happy Birthday" in search of sugar-filled cupcakes? Journaling can be helpful preparation for stomping out your sugar habit by making you aware of why you're eating it.
Begin to eliminate sugar from your diet. For thousands of years, people ate whatever sugar occurred naturally in their diets, and it didn't seem to be a problem, it was a treat. Typical American now eats the equivalent of about 31 teaspoons (124 grams) of added sugar every day (about 25 percent of the average person's daily caloric intake), and that sugar alone adds up to almost 500 extra calories each day! Our bodies simply weren't designed to handle this massive load. The American Heart Association recommends that added sugar should be limited to no more than 6 to 7 percent of your total calories (not including naturally occurring sugars found in fruit and dairy products.) To put this in perspective, if you eat 1,200 calories a day, you should limit your intake to 21 grams of sugar per day. That's the equivalent of about 6 ounces of low-fat fruit-flavored yogurt or one 8-ounce glass of orange juice.
To begin eliminating sugar from your regular diet, simply cut out foods with sugar, white flour, and high fructose corn syrup, including cakes, cookies, pastries, and most desserts. It's okay to have a dessert or sugary snack on occasion, but make sure it's not your main dish. Although sugar is generally found in desserts, added sugar can also be found in your main and side dishes, and even sauces. Look closely at the labels of processed foods, cereals, and sauces—like ketchup, barbecue sauce, spaghetti sauce, peanut butter, and dressings. You can usually find nutritious alternatives with less sugar that taste just as good.
Eliminate hidden sugar. As you begin to decode ingredient labels, it's really important to know all the other words for sugar and sugar alcohols. Here's a hint: Look for words that end in "-ose."

Agave nectar/syrup Cane juice crystals Cane sugar Caramel Corn syrup Corn syrup solids Carob syrup Dextrin Dextrose Fructose Fruit juice concentrate

Galactose Glucose High-fructose corn syrup Honey Lactose Maltose Malt syrup Molasses Sorbitol Sucrose

Trick your taste buds. Using fresh spices and herbs can trick your taste buds into thinking you're eating something sinfully sweet. Try adding cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla, or other sugar-free flavors and spices to your coffee, cereals, or other dishes and drinks that could use an extra kick.
Eat a healthy breakfast. What you eat for breakfast will actually influence your food choices for the next 12 to 15 hours, and influence your energy levels, moods, and your overall sense of well-being. Eating a healthy breakfast balanced between lean protein (like egg whites) and slower-digesting complex carbohydrates (like oatmeal) will help you have good energy throughout the day, stabilize your blood sugar, reduce cravings, and make wiser food choices. Typically, your blood sugar is at fasting levels when you wake up in the morning. If you start the day off with a muffin and a latte, you're choosing to ride the roller coaster for the rest of the day. If, on the other hand, you begin your day with a veggie omelet and fruit or some oatmeal, you're opting for a balance of foods that will be absorbed at a slower rate. Then you'll have a steadier flow of blood sugar that's far easier to keep balanced than if it were fueled by a muffin, a bagel, or a cup of coffee dosed with sugar and cream.
Eat throughout the day. The best way to avoid eating when you're overly hungry is to eat several small meals, spaced throughout the day. This will keep your blood sugar more stable than eating the traditional two or three large meals spaced farther apart from one another. Schedule your meals around your body's needs rather than around your to-do list if you can. You'll find it much easier to stop eating once you're full, to make smart food choices from a rational, calm place, and to maintain even moods and energy levels. Eating balanced meals is essential for getting real satisfaction from what you eat and leaving cravings behind. For most people, this means approximately 50 percent of your meal should be vegetables, and the rest should be split between protein (beans, meat, dairy, etc.), grains, and a bit of oil or other fat. However, everyone's a little different, and you should experiment to find what works best for you.
High-fiber foods fill you up, yet they bring less fat to the table. Plus eating high-fiber foods allows you to eat a higher volume of food while ingesting fewer calories. It's a concept called "energy density"—the number of calories in a specified amount of food. Some examples of energy-dense foods are fruits like apples with skin and bananas, avocados, flax meal, and kidney beans.
Find alternatives for when you have a craving. Make sure you find alternative foods and activities that you actually enjoy. If they aren't satisfying, you'll eventually abandon them for your old habits. When I'm craving something sweet yet healthy, I usually either go for low-fat Pure Protein bar. There are many healthy bars to choose from (see previous mervmail).
If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude. Don't complain.Maya Angelou

6 Simple Rules for Eating Sugar

Problems do not go away. They must be worked through or else they remain, forever a barrier to the growth and development of the spirit.
M. Scott Peck

6 Simple Rules for Eating Sugar

Few topics boggle the minds of dieters and fitness enthusiasts the way sugar does. Is this simple carbohydrate the key to unlocking elite sports performance? Or is it the chains that drag our country deeper and deeper into the obesity epidemic? Annoyingly, the answer is "both." But before you throw your hands up in frustration and grab yourself a Twinkie^®, let's take a minute to talk about sugar. It's not as complex as it seems. In fact, with just a few guidelines, it's incredibly easy to use these simple carbohydrates for good instead of evil.

Rule #1: Just say "know."

Here's a grossly over-simplified look at how sugar, also known as simple carbohydrates, works. Just as with all carbs, you eat sugar and it's absorbed by your blood, where, if you have the right amount of insulin in your system, that insulin converts the sugar to energy. However, if you introduce too much sugar into your system, the insulin stores it as body fat. A little stored body fat is fine; the body likes some emergency fuel. However, if your blood sugar spikes too often and the insulin has to work too hard converting fat, this can lead to a variety of health issues, including type 2 diabetes and heart problems.
As we'll discuss later, when your body obtains sugar from natural sources, like fruits and veggies, the process tends to be checked by fiber, which slows absorption. However, when you eat foods with added sugar, this can overwhelm the usual checks and balances, causing problems like those nasty blood sugar spikes. To make matters worse, consuming too much added sugar can cause a host of other problems, including tooth decay, increased triglycerides (or stored fat), and malnutrition (from overconsumption of foods filled with empty calories and deficient in nutrients).
If you wanted one overarching rule to work from, you might choose to avoid added sugars entirely. You'll get all the energy you need from foods with naturally occurring sugar. That said, there are times when refined sugar is OK or even beneficial. If you're able to build yourself a lifestyle completely free of added sugar, nice work. But for the rest of us, the trick is moderation.

Rule #2: Less is more.

One teaspoon of table sugar has 15 calories. Honestly, if you have a couple of cups of tea or coffee in the morning and you dump the proverbial spoonful of sugar in each, that's 30 calories. If the rest of your diet is tight and you're active, it won't matter. If you're trying to lose weight and are eating at a severe deficit, you'll probably want to skip those few spoonfuls of sugar, because table sugar is nutritionally void and you want every calorie to count nutritionally. Other than that, though, life's short—enjoy your java.

Rule #3: Sugar is sugar is sugar . . .

Agave nectar, honey, beet sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, dextrose, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), whatever. At the end of the day, they're all simple carbs, unregulated by fiber with minimal micronutrient value. Sure, you might prefer one over the other. I like honey because I'm a bit of a whole foods person and it does have a tiny bit of nutritional value, but I still know that if I eat too much, it'll make me fat.

Rule #4: . . . and it's hiding behind every corner.

And you thought Invasion of the Body Snatchers was creepy . . . Avoiding the obvious sweetened foods, like soda, cake, cookies and pies, is only half the battle. Manufacturers add HFCS (as well as other sugars) to a mind-boggling amount of foods because it adds flavor. If it's in a bottle, box, or can, read the ingredients. You'll find sweeteners in everything from ketchup to peanut butter to bread to salad dressing. With a little effort, you can usually find versions of the same food with no added sugars or HFCS that are more nutritious and taste just as good.

Rule #5: No, the sugar in fruit isn't bad for you.

When the low-carb "revolution" hit in the early aughts, fruit was demonized for its sugar content. This is, in a word, ridiculous. Yes, fruit is loaded with sugar, but it's also usually loaded with fiber, which slows sugar absorption, making it an ideal way to get your simple carbs without straining your little insulin buddies. Fruit is also loaded with easy-to-absorb vitamins and minerals. Most fruit is also filled with water, yet another benefit.
Even relatively low-fiber fruits like bananas offer far too many benefits to be denied. Bananas, in particular, are rich in electrolytes, which are crucial to sports performance. As I always say, I defy you to introduce me to an overweight person whose biggest indulgence is fruit.

Rule #6: Occasionally, a hit of straight sugar is a good thing.

You just blasted a killer workout. You've blown through your blood sugar and your glycogen, leaving you shaky and tired. Getting some sugar in there now to help you recharge fast wouldn't be such a bad idea. Furthermore, since it'll rush in so fast, it's a great opportunity to add some protein and micronutrients to that sugar blast, because they'll rush into where they're needed just as quickly (I always have post workout drink/meal that includes simple sugar and protein).
If you genuinely gave the workout your all and you're truly wiped out, you won't even come close to storing that sugar as fat.
So there you go. Not so tough, huh? With a little forethought and self-control, keeping an eye on your carbs can be, ahem, a piece of cake.

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

Albert Einstein

Simple Sugars vs. Complex Carbs

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
Bill Cosby

Simple Sugars vs. Complex Carbs

Many people seeking a positive health and fitness change are very confused about the differences between simple and complex carbohydrates.  And to make matters worse, many of the popular weight-loss solutions seem to do all they can to cloud the waters even further. My goal here is to help you understand the difference between the simple and complex carbohydrates, show you how they impact your health and fitness, and provide you with some simple steps you can take – today – to move you closer to becoming your own fitness champion. After reading this information, you will be one critical step closer toward reaching your absolute physical best!

Carbohydrates are one of three necessary macronutrients that provide calories in our diets. The other two are protein and fat. Carbohydrates provide most of the energy needed in our daily lives, both for normal body functions (such as heartbeat, breathing, digestion, and brain activity) and for exercise (like biking, walking, running up the stairs and all types of resistance training). An ample supply of carbohydrates is absolutely necessary to sustain a healthy existence and a must if your goal is to reduce your body fat and enhance your fitness level.

Carbohydrates are considered simple or complex based upon their chemical structure. Both types contain four calories per gram, and both are digested into the bloodstream as glucose, which is then used to fuel our bodies for normal daily activity and exercise.  The main difference between simple and complex carbs is:

      Simple carbohydrates or simple sugars – These carbs are broken down and digested very quickly, but most simple carbs contain refined sugars and very few essential vitamins and minerals. Examples include table sugar, fruit juice, milk, yogurt, honey, molasses, maple syrup and brown sugar.

     Complex carbohydrates – The complex carbs take longer to digest and are packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. Examples include vegetables, whole grain breads, oatmeal, legumes, brown rice and wheat pasta.

When you eat (or drink) a simple carbohydrate or a simple sugar – whether it is a can of soda, a scoop of fat-free ice cream, or even a glass of orange juice – all of the ingested sugar quickly rushes into your bloodstream. You typically feel a quick rush of energy. Your body then promptly reacts to this sudden spike in blood sugar by calling on the pancreas to produce additional insulin to remove the excess sugar from your blood. And for the moment, you have significantly lower blood sugar as a result of the insulin doing its job, resulting in a sense or feeling of needing more fuel, more energy and more calories. And as you hit that residual low blood sugar, you begin to crave more of the quick-release, simple sugars, and hence you have just initiated the sugar craving cycle.

As this downward cycle continues, your pancreas continues to secrete insulin while it simultaneously reduces its production of another hormone called glucagon. Glucagon production, as it relates to improving your body composition, is very important if your fitness goal is to lose excess body fat. Glucagon is the only hormone that allows stored body fat to be released into the bloodstream to be burned by your muscles as energy. And when the pancreas has to elevate its production of insulin while reducing its supply of glucagon, you are basically locking-in your excess body fat. Therefore, too much simple sugar intake dramatically hinders the process of reducing stored body fat.

When searching out the food choices that include simple carbs (i.e., sugars), start by looking for obvious ingredients on food labels that actually use the word “sugar”, like brown sugar, sugar cane, and of course, just simple sugar.  Also, reduce your intake of foods that have any form of “syrup” in their ingredients.  For example, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, maple syrup and glucose syrup.  And finally, look for those ingredients that end in “–ose”, like sucrose, glucose, lactose and fructose.  All of these ingredients are sugars and, if ingested, will spike your blood sugar and initiate the pancreas to produce insulin and essentially shut off glucagon production – the fat release hormone.

If you find yourself in a situation where you are limited in your food choices (e.g., a breakfast or luncheon business meeting, traveling, dinner parties, etc.), and sugar seems to be the predominant choice, try to eat a protein with the sugar. Protein will help to slow down sugar’s release into the bloodstream, and reduce the insulin/glucagon effect.

Complex carbohydrates, on the other hand – and despite all the negative press they receive in some of the popular weight loss books – are actually your body’s preferred source of energy. When you consume the healthy complex carbs – the ones that have not been altered in a food laboratory – they are broken down into glucose molecules and used as fuel or stored in muscle and the liver as glycogen. When the body has an ample supply of glucose fuel and glycogen fuel storage, it can run efficiently. You will then have the energy to function at your best and provided the material that your body needs to reduce body fat and reach your health and fitness goals.

When you look for complex carbohydrate food choices to put into your body, seek out two subgroups of carbohydrates…starchy ca Starchy carbohydrates include food choices such as brown rice, baked and sweet potatoes, oatmeal, brown pastas and whole grains.

Fibrous carbohydrates include asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, onions, mushrooms, spinach and peppers and can also be found in most varieties of dark green leafy vegetables.

One more very important nugget of carbohydrate information to remember:  Do your best to seek out the complex carbohydrates that have not been processed in a food factory.

When shopping at the grocery store, stay away from the carbs that include the following words in their ingredients: bleached, enriched, processed or refined. These processed and altered foods are void of critical nutrient value and will do very little to fuel and energize your body.

Bottom line, the goal in consuming carbohydrates should be to reduce or eliminate simple sugars and instead focus on the complex carbohydrates – both the starchy and fibrous complex carbs – those that have not been processed or refined.  

Do the best you can. At first, it may seem challenging as you begin to uncover the foods that contain sugar, eliminate them and seek out the more supportive carbohydrates. But once you get into the habit of eating the fibrous and starchy carbohydrates, eventually it will become a way of life for you. I can promise you, after an initial effort, the payoff of eliminating sugar from your diet can be dramatic. Your energy level will soar. You will lose stubborn body fat. And your craving for sugar will completely dissipate.

To wrap up this extremely important section, let me share the same simple steps with you that I share with my clients who are striving for their absolute physical best:

1.      Start to put the good carbs into your body: Complex Starchy and Fibrous Carbs that have not been altered or processed.

2.      Eat small meals more frequently – every 3-3½ hours, 5-6 times per day.

3.      Begin to gain an awareness of food labels and the “sugar” ingredients.

4.      Start to reduce or eliminate the simple sugars and the processed carbohydrates.  Remember:  If your goal is fat reduction, sugar is your worst enemy!

5.      Focus on making progress and forget about being perfect.  You’ll mess up every so often. Forgive yourself and just move on!

6.      Remember that small changes over time will stack up on themselves…and eventually will bring you to a new destination of physical excellence!

·    My mother always used to say: 'The older you get, the better you get, unless you are a banana...
-The Golden Girls

5 Great Vegetarian Sources of Protein

Understanding the cause of failure is important. Understanding the cause of success is far more powerful!

Ed Oakle

5 Great Vegetarian Sources of Protein

Anyone who's read the latest studies about high-protein diets knows that we need to get a substantial amount of protein in our diets—about a third of a gram for every pound of body weight. Meat provides one of our best and most readily available sources of protein, but there are a lot of good reasons to think about cutting back or cutting out our consumption of animal products to satisfy our protein needs.
Aside from the obvious animal-rights issues, there are several economic and environmental considerations to consider. The cost of meat to your personal health is also significant. Although packed with protein, many meat choices contain high levels of saturated fats, the overconsumption of which can lead to heart disease and cancer.
One challenge in going vegetarian is finding enough "high-quality" protein. High-quality protein is defined as protein that contains all eight of the essential amino acids: isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine. Most meat sources have all of the amino acids in one place. Plant sources usually have some of the acids, but not all in one place. So the key is combining foods to get a full complement of amino acids. Here are some of the top ways to get your proteins sans meat.

1. Eggs. Egg protein is commonly referred to as a "perfect protein," because it contains all eight essential amino acids. There's a reason Rocky drank eggs during training; they contribute greatly to muscle recovery. One egg contains 6 grams of protein, with only 80 calories and 5 grams of fat. It also contains more than 200 milligrams of dietary cholesterol, which is high, but dietary cholesterol isn't the same thing as blood cholesterol. In fact, some eggs are now produced with high levels of omega-3s (achieved by adding fatty-acid-rich seeds to the hens' diets), which can actually aid in the lowering of blood cholesterol levels.
2. Dairy. One cup of 2 percent milk contains 8 grams of protein, only 5 grams of fat (3 of which are saturated), and about 120 calories. Switch to skim milk and you get just as much protein, no fat, and 30 percent fewer calories. An ounce of Swiss cheese also has 8 grams of protein, 8 grams of fat (with 5 grams saturated), and a little over 100 calories. Nonfat yogurt may be your best dairy option: 8 ounces has 14 grams of protein and only 137 calories. Or try cottage cheese, which boasts 28 grams of protein in one cup. Many dairy products still have the same saturated-fat issues as meat, and not all people can tolerate dairy well; a not-inconsiderable percentage of the population is either lactose-intolerant or allergic to dairy.
3. Legumes. You probably already know some of the great health benefits of legumes. Not only are they high in fiber, they're high in protein too. A cup of chickpeas has about 17 grams of protein, while a cup of lentils has about 16 and a tablespoon of peanut butter has about 4. Some people blame beans for intestinal distress. It actually isn't the fiber in the beans that causes gas, but a sugar that requires an enzyme (which humans lack) to help digest it. When soaking beans, add a pinch of baking soda to the water. It'll help leach this sugar out of the beans, making you less gassy after eating them. Also, to avoid the sugar, don't cook the beans in the water you soaked them in. Another cautionary measure is that if you weren't much of a bean eater before, introduce them into your diet slowly to give your system time to get used to them.
4. Grains. Usually we think of grains as carbs, but when we're talking whole grains, they actually have a fair amount of protein. A cup of barley, for example, contains almost 20 grams of protein. A cup of buckwheat flour contains 15 grams of protein. A cup of couscous (dry) contains 22 grams of protein. A cup of oats for oatmeal provides you with 13 grams of protein. If you always choose whole-grain varieties of your favorite grains, you'll also get most of your recommended daily allowance (RDA) of fiber as well. But carb-watchers should beware: Whole grains are the "carbiest" of the protein sources available.
5. Nuts and seeds. The mighty almond, which also has the most fiber per ounce of any of the common nuts, also has the most protein—6 grams per ounce. Almonds do have 16 grams of fat per ounce, but only one gram is the unhealthy saturated kind. Pumpkin seeds, or pepitas, have 7 grams of protein per ounce (about 140 seeds) with 13 grams of fat (2 grams saturated). Other seeds, like sunflower and flax, are also good sources of protein, with about 5 grams per ounce.

Another way of getting extra nonmeat protein in your diet is with Whey Protein shakes. I use this in place of a meal or as a snack, containing the highest concentration of branched-chain amino acids—critical for muscle development—of any protein source. Additionally, if you're thinking of cutting back on fish in your diet, you might want to consider adding a decent omega-3 supplement to your regimen.
The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself.

Anna Quindle

Exercise & Mental Health

What you believe and focus on becomes your reality. If you go out looking for trouble, you'll find it. If you focus on happiness, it will appear. Once you decide what you're looking for, your brain will go to work to find it and make it your reality.

Michael McMillan

Exercise & Mental Health

The National Institute of Mental Health recognizes exercise as a valid treatment for anxiety and depression. Levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine are higher in those who exercise. These, in turn, may elevate mood, reduce depression, and improve mental focus. Exercise or physical activity assists the psycho-physiological adaptation of emotional stress. Weight training, in particular, has shown to raise body image and global self-esteem. Exercise has been shown to improve mental function and is speculated to enhance creativity and problem solving ability. Exercise can be seen as one of the components essential for physical and mental health in today's society.

Mental Health

• Exercise improves
• Mental Health
• Emotion
• Mood
• The National Institute of Mental Health
• Recognizes exercise as a valid treatment for anxiety and depression.
• Exercise is self-impowering
• Bring responsibility toward self
• Positive addiction
• May replace negative addictions
• We don't know (Landers)
• Optimal intensity or duration
• Optimal mode
• Dose/response curve
• Time course (acute)
• Law of initial values
• Relative values - ceiling effect
• Lower initial value - greater potential for improvement
• Unfit, anxious, depressed - greater improvements
• Exercises effect on emotion
• Fit vs unfit - lower anxiety for fit
• Chronically trained / adaptation - lower anxiety
• Acute bout of activity - lower anxiety

Most of us have far more courage than we ever dreamed we possessed.
~Dale Carnegie

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)

The purpose of our lives is to give birth to the best which is within us.
~Marianne Williamson

what is hiit?

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is cardio performed at such an intense level that your body will spend the rest of the day expending energy to recover from the ass-kicking you gave it. This is commonly referred to as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption) and it means that you consume a great deal more oxygen recovering from the exercise bout than you would have if you'd just done a steady-state workout.

This means that you will be burning up to nine times more fat while sitting on the couch later that night than you would have if you'd spent an hour on the treadmill at a moderate pace. You will need to push yourself out of that comfort zone you have gotten used to and really challenge yourself. If you are willing to do this, however, I can guarantee that you will spend less than half the time you usually do on those machines and get much leaner in the process.

the benefits of hiit

HIIT training has a number of benefits in addition to the reduction in training time. First of all, this type of training is far superior to steady-state exercises when it comes to increasing your VO2 max, which is the maximum amount of oxygen you can uptake during exercise.

Secondly, when you perform long-duration, moderate-intensity exercise, you can actually put yourself in a catabolic state in which you will start losing muscle mass. That's right: Some of that hard-earned muscle will start degrading itself in your quest to get lean.

Lastly, HIIT training, when combined with a slightly hypercaloric diet (above maintenance level), can actually be anabolic and help you to add muscle mass without adding very much body fat. This means that you can develop the muscle you want without having to bother with endless treadmill torture.

the specifics of HIIT

There are a few different ways to do HIIT training.

You can either do all-out sprints -- during which you go above your VO2 max for a very short period of time -- coupled with adequate recovery periods or you can do sprints that are just below your VO2 max for a slightly longer period with an adequate recovery as well. The first option will really push your body and will elicit the greatest EPOC and VO2 max improvement. The second option will train your body to perform at a very high intensity for a slightly longer period of time while taking less time to recover.

For the first option, warm up at a comfortable intensity for 5 minutes. Then, give your maximum effort for 15 to 30 seconds, followed by a 2-minute recovery. You can walk during the recovery or you can just take it down to a very light jog, depending on your current level of fitness. Perform between 6 and 10 of these intervals, and finish with a cooldown.

For the second option, do the same warm-up as in the first option, and then sprint at approximately 80% of your maximum intensity for 45 seconds to 1½ minutes. Follow this with a 1- to 2-minute recovery period. Repeat this sequence for 5 to 8 intervals, and follow it with a cooldown.

working hiit into your training

These types of workouts are very intense and should only be done 2 to 3 times a week. A great idea is to perform them on your "off" days from weightlifting.

As with your weight training, be sure to take in a post-workout drink (or quickly absorbed meal – simple cabs and protein) to help replenish lost glycogen and repair the muscle tissues.

On a final note, I must enforce that this type of training is not for everyone. Since it is so high in intensity, many people find that they simply cannot work out at this level and end up bypassing their workout altogether. If this happens, you are much better off performing a more moderately paced endurance-type cardio workout. However, try to challenge yourself with a few harder minutes interspersed throughout your workout. This will help increase your metabolism (although not as much as with HIIT), as well as your overall fitness level, which may help you to eventually include HIIT training as part of your workout.

What exercises can be used for a HIIT Routine?

HIIT exercises can be very specific programs, or just traditional exercises, depending on your specific goals and your current physical condition. Here just a few samples you can consider for your HIIT training:

Running	Sprinting	Biking	Stairmaster
Treadmill	Elliptical	Weight Training	Kettlebell
Box Jumps	Thrusters	Pushups	Power cleans
Sled pulling	Jump rope	Plyometrics	Anything else

These are just a few sample HIIT workout samples:

·         Tabata
20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest, for 8 rounds.  A 4 minute killer HIIT routine! 

·         Sprint
5 minute warm up
20 seconds fast run, 40 seconds walk for 5 repeats
30 seconds fast run, 30 seconds walk for 5 repeats
1 minute fast run, 30 seconds walk for 5 repeats
5 minute cool down
(Say goodbye to boring runs!)

·         Weightlifting
Set timer to 1 minute interval for 30 repeats and start a set at every alarm using weight as necessary to complete 15 reps per set. (You’re going to sweat while everyone else in the gym is standing around talking!)

maximize your workout

Whether you have just packed new muscle onto your frame or are trying to gain muscle tissue with minimal fat, HIIT training is your best option. Not only will you spend much less time on the cardio machines, but you will not risk putting yourself into a catabolic state associated with muscle tissue loss. You will also increase many of the anabolic hormones in your body that are associated with building muscle.
A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.

~Henry Brooks Adams