Blog & Newsletter Archives

• Fish – Research shows that eating just one or two four ounce servings of fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, rainbow trout or sardines) can slash your risk of dying from heart disease by 36%.  The omega-3 fats in fish help reduce inflammation in the arterial walls and keep blood flowing.
• A glass of red wine – Red wine contains compounds called polyphenols that help lower cholesterol and blood pressure and prevent blood clots.  One particular polyphenol, resveratrol, may also improve blood flow to the brain and reduce stroke risk.  I emphasize "a glass" and if you don't drink, you shouldn't start.
• Eat more produce – people with high blood pressure found that for every serving of fruits and vegetables eaten, their blood flow improved.  Another reason to load up on produce – potassium.  A nutrient abundant in bananas, baked potatoes, tomatoes and artichokes may counteract the harmful effect of salt in our diets by helping to prevent artery walls from thickening.

"Tweet What You Eat" is a 21^st century spin on ye old food journal (the first thing I tell my clients to do when they say they want to lose weight!).  Tweetwhatyoueat.com lets users broadcast food consumed and calories ingested in real time over Twitter.  The food diary uses the "CrowdCal system", a user-generated calorie database.  Although the database doesn't store caloric values of all branded food products, the TWYE social community holds you accountable – what's eaten must be tweeted – and acts as a supportive source of motivation.  Looks like it might be a little busy on Thursday!

Almost one third of all American adults have trouble sleeping. While the recommended amount of sleep is 7 ½ to 8 hours, the average is 6 hours and 40 minutes and 20 percent sleep six hours or less. That is contributing to a various assortment of ills from impaired driving to hypertension to obesity. A new study in the September issue of the journal Sleep sampled 7,428 American employees and found that insomnia is more costly to the U.S. work place than previously thought: 252.7 days of work lost to insomnia in the U.S. or 11.3 days per worker surveyed. $63.2 Billion in lost productivity, or $2,280 per worker surveyed.

Pete Bils, vice-president of sleep innovation and clinical research at Select Comfort (the company that makes Sleep Number beds) offers these suggestions:
-Darken the bedroom as much as possible. Even a small amount of light can get into your optical system and disrupt your sleep, even when your eyes are closed.
-Make the bedroom comfortable for sleeping. Ideal conditions are 65 degrees and 65 percent humidity.
-Stop drinking caffeine at noon. Your body needs plenty of time to metabolize the caffeine you ingest.
-One hour before bedtime, stop using devices with screens – TV's computers, even cell phones.
-Go to bed at the same time every night, even on weekends.

Developing good balance is essential when you're training, and it positively impacts your everyday life as well.  However, it's an area often overlooked.  A vast majority of our population find themselves vulnerable to falls due to lack of balance as they get older which is why it is so important to start this process earlier and incorporate balance into your fitness program.  Test your balance with this simple assessment.  Stand on one leg with the other leg parallel to the floor (meaning the thigh of the raised leg is parallel to the floor).  Close one eye then close both eyes.  You should be able to hold this position for at least 20 seconds.  Then do the same with the position of the legs reversed.  If you cannot stand on one leg with your eyes closed without toppling or putting your foot down for more than a few seconds - or if you can do it for 20 seconds on one leg but not the other, then you need to work on your balance.  Try some of these balance moves:

Stand with one foot in front of the other, heel to toe and raise your arms straight up over your head. Lean to one side keeping your abdominals, glutes and hips tight.  Do the same thing but lean forward or backward.

Another balance exercise is to stand with one foot in front of the other, heal to toe and hold your index finger about ten inches in front of your face.  Lift your finger up and follow it with your eyes, then move it down below your shoulders and then to each side.  Then repeat those movements with your eyes closed.   Practice these for about ten repetitions.  Not only will this improve your balance, but you find that your core will get stronger.

Okay, once and for all I'm going to respond to that often-spoken but not accurate phrase "If you don't exercise, your muscle will turn into fat."   Does muscle turn into fat?!??!  NO.

What actually happens is that your muscle fibers can grow smaller while your fat cells grow larger.  Using your muscles makes the fibers grow; if you stop working out, they shrink.  Similarly, your body's fat cells can change in size depending on how much fat each one stores.

Can wearing toning shoes really make you more fit?  I get asked that a lot and I have a lot of friends who wear toning shoes.  I haven't tried them personally but those who wear them say they do feel a difference.  Consumer Reports Health reported that sales for toning shoes totaled more than a billion dollars last year – three times the year before.  Consumer Reports medical adviser Dr. Orly Avitzur is hearing more frequently about injuries.  "One patient was breaking in a pair of toning sneakers, and less than 45 minutes after putting them on felt her ankle turn and a bone break, " said Dr. Avitzur.

Toning shoes are intentionally designed to create instability so people who have balance issues should not wear them.  Skechers instructs people to wear the shoes for short periods of time at first to give the body time to adjust.    Skechers says two studies it sponsored showed an improvement in fitness.  But an independent study by the American Council on Exercise (ACE) found no significant difference between exercising in toning sneakers as compared to regular sneakers.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission shows that even younger people in good physical shape have had problems, some of them serious.  Since March, the CPSC has received 36 complaints about toning shoes.

The health benefit touted in commercials is uncertain, but the risk of injury is very real.   If you have balance problems or medical problems in your legs or feet, avoid toning shoes altogether.

Don't eat less, eat smarter!   Making simple substitutions, such as the greens you use in your salad or the snacks you munch on in the afternoon, can help blast away excess fat.  Erin Palinski, a Registered Dietician provided these strategies for cutting calories while keeping hunger at bay.
1. You've traded Wonder Bread for wheat, passed on white rice in favor of brown – now try substituting rolled oats or crushed bran cereal for breadcrumbs in your meatballs.  People who load their diets with whole grains are more likely to lose fat than those who eat the enriched kind.  Whole grains are higher in fiber so you'll feel fuller eating less.
2. Avocado for butter.  This may sound a little adventurous but you won't taste the difference.  Switch out half of the butter in a cookie recipe for mashed avocado.  This simple change will reduce fat content by 40% and cut the number of calories by nearly as much.  You get the creaminess of butter and the fatty taste but less of the saturated fat in favor of monounsaturated kind.  Your cookies might have a green tinge but they also will be chewier and softer.
3. Cauliflower for rice.  Cauliflower is the low-carb dieter's go to food.  Its mild taste makes the veggie a perfect substitute for carb-heavy potatoes and rice.  Cauliflower also has a lower glycemic index than rice so you won't experience that spike in insulin that leads to carb cravings.
4. Spinach for iceberg lettuce.  When it comes to weight loss, any kind of vegetable gets the green light, but if you really want to lose that belly fat, choose dark leafy greens over iceberg lettuce.  The fiber levels are nearly the same but you're sacrificing a lot of nutrients for that extra crunch of iceberg.  Spinach is higher in iron and packs three times as much folic acid.  Research has found that people with the highest levels of folates lost more than 8 times more weight on a low-cal diet compared with those having the lowest levels.
5. Beans for enriched flour or shortening.  Use beans in place of flour or shortening in brownies made from scratch.  It may sound odd, but you probably won't even notice the legumes.  In a blind taste test in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2005, study participants rating brownies made with pureed cooked cannellini beans give the low-fat confections high marks.  If you like to bake your brownies from a box, add a can to a ready-made mix to give your batch a boost of belly-flattening fiber.
6. Sliced zucchini for lasagna noodles.  Increase your veggie intake by layering zucchini or eggplant instead of noodles in your lasagna.  Hiding vegetables in your food increases veggie consumption and decreases the number of calories that you eat.
7. Yogurt for sour cream.  The next time you're preparing a veggie party platter, make your dip out of yogurt instead of sour cream.  It'll have less fat and calories, plus you'll get the bonus of extra calcium.  Dieters who ate three servings of yogurt a day lost 81% more belly fat than once-a-day yogurt eaters.  For a heartier dip, go with plain Greek yogurt.

Exercise is the single best way to torch more calories all day long.  Don't let these mistakes rob you of your postworkout burn.

Mistake #1 – You're in an exercise rut
When you do the same activity day after day, week after week, your mind isn't the only thing that gets bored – your muscles do too.  When you do the same activity or same old strength moves, after a while your body stops being challenged and you plateau.  Change things up and try some new moves.

Mistake #2 – You're a slave to cardio.
While aerobic exercise is good, if you don't balance those workouts with some strength exercises, you're not only compromising your results but missing a key component of health and fitness.  Resistance training is the only way to increase lean muscle mass – that's very important on many levels and especially as we start to get older.

Mistake #3 – You're stuck in a "fat-burning" zone.
If you hop on the treadmill or elliptical trainer, you may see a programming option that allows you to stay in a "fat-burning" zone.  It's based on the fact that at lower intensities, the body uses a greater percentage of its fat stores for fuel.  Sounds great that you don't have to work as hard and you're sucking some of that fat out of your belly, butt and thighs.  But do the math and you'll see the problem.  At a lower intensity level, your body will indeed burn a higher percentage of fat than carbs but you'll burn fewer calories overall.  For example, a 150-pound woman who walks on the treadmill at 3mph (20 minute mile) burns about 112 calories in 30 minutes.  At this moderate intensity, about 50% of this is from fat.  Sounds great to burn 50% fat but that's only about 56 fat calories.  Take that workout into a brisk walk for 30 minutes at 4mph (15 minute mile), only about 40% might be fat but you'd be burning more calories overall – 170 in those 30 minutes or about 68 calories from fat.  Burn more calories and make more of those calories come from fat by increasing your overall effort.  A great way to achieve that is by doing intervals – periods of higher intensity followed by a slower recovery pace.

Meditation is not just for swami-wannabes.  What was once thought "flaky" is now used by the Marines, corporate executives of companies such as General Mills and Google, and students.  Did you know that 40% of all Americans use complementary and alternative treatments, many on the recommendation of their doctor. 

In a recent study by Harvard Medical School, they found that meditation can change your brain.  They had study participants take an 8 week class in meditation and found that the 2 parts of the brain associated with self-awareness and compassion grew while the area associated with stress shrank.

Another study by the University of North Carolina found that people who meditated for 20 minutes a day performed 10 times better than their nonmeditating peers on a test that measured focus.  Sharon Salzberg, author of Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation offers these easy steps for beginners.
1.  Start by practicing 3 times a week, setting a time for 5 minutes.  Sit in a position that is comfortable.
2.  Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.  Focus on your breath and let go of any thoughts.
3.  Every time your mind starts to wander, bring your focus back to your breath.

Meditation helped Rivers Cuomo, lead singer of Weezer, overcome his paralyzing stage fright.  Thirty minutes a day can lower your blood pressure, boost your immune system, and you'll find yourself much calmer.

Simple Food Cures

Got a headache or upset stomach?  Cure it with these simple remedies straight from the kitchen.

Stressed out or anxious – grab a banana.  With only 105 calories and 14 g of sugar, a medium banana fills you up, provides a mild blood sugar boost, and has 30% of the day's vitamin B6 which helps the brain produce mellowing serotonin, getting you through a crisis peacefully.

Suffer high blood pressure – have a handful of raisins.  Sixty raisins, about a handful, contain 1 g of fiber and 212 mg of potassium, both recommended in the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet.  Studies show that polyphenols in grape-derived foods such as raisins, wine and juice are effective in maintaining cardiovascular health, including bringing down blood pressure.

Upset stomach – have some ginger tea.  Studies reveal that ginger (1/4 teaspoon of powdered, ½ to 1 teaspoon of minced gingerroot, or a cup of ginger tea) can ease nausea from motion sickness and pregnancy.  Researchers are unsure which oils and compounds in ginger suppress nausea, but it's safe and has none of the side effects (dry mouth, drowsiness) of OTC meds.

Tummy troubles – add some basil.  Studies show that eugenol, a compound in basil, can keep your gut safe from pain, nausea, cramping or diarrhea by killing off bacteria such as Salmonella and Listeria.  Eugenol even has an antispasmodic property that can keep cramps at bay.  Use minced fresh basil in sauces or salads.
High cholesterol – eat a pear.  One medium pear has 5 g of dietary fiber, much of it in the form of pectin, which helps flush out bad cholesterol, a risk factor in heart disease.

Suffer from insomnia – have some turkey.  A 3 ounce serving of turkey has nearly all the tryptophan (an essential amino acid that helps the body produce serotonin and melatonin, hormones that regulate sleep) you need in a day.  Studies show people who suffer from insomnia are deficient in tryptophan.

Got a headache – have a spud.  The 37 g of carbs in a medium potato can ease a tension headache by upping serotonin levels, as long as you keep the fat and protein below 2 grams, so go easy on the butter and sour cream.

Whole Eggs vs. Egg Whites

I love breakfast!  It's my favorite meal of the day and my favorite for going out with friends.  One time I went out and my friend ordered the omelet with egg whites only while I ordered my eggs and I said I wanted the whole egg.  My friend asked me, "I thought egg yolks were bad for you because of all the cholesterol?"  I replied that the egg yolk is where the nutrition is!"  This is a great example of how confused most people are about nutrition.  Here's a really great article about the truths and myths of the egg from my partners over at Prograde Nutrition. Go to

http://sherylmooney.getprograde.com/two-eggs-a-day.html 

This Sunday is the long awaited (for me) Shamrock Shuffle.  The Shamrock Shuffle race signals the start of the running season, although it's a little strange running a St. Patrick's themed race in April.  Everyone knows that I am a running-fanatic (yes I'm running a marathon again this year!), but it's never too late to start running.  You're not too old…Clarence Hartley of Young Harris, Georgia is running his first Boston Marathon at the age of 81.  You're not too out of shape...Ava Wong, a participant on the TV show The Biggest Loser, is 90 pounds lighter and has her sights set on running a marathon.  Don't know where to start?  Contact me and I'll send you my 6 Weeks To A 5K training program.  Happy Running!

A question often asked is if cooked vegetables lose their nutrition value should I eat them raw?  While boiling veggies for just five minutes may cause them to lose 50 percent or more of their essential vitamins, you don't necessarily have to eat them raw, says Karen Collins, R.D., a nutritionist in Buffalo, New York.  "Try steaming them, which won't leach out all of their water-soluble nutrients," she says. Place them in a colander above a pot of boiling water until they're tender, or nuke them in the microwave for a few minutes with one tablespoon of water per cup.

Did you know that Kristen Frey of Schaumburg is the world's top female stair-climber.  Most recently, Frey did Hustle Up The Hancock in 12:34 and the Empire State Building in 14:47.  While stair-climbing is an amateur sport, towerrunning.com has been listing rankings for stair-climbing for 10 years.   It also is gaining in popularity, last month's Hancock event (94 or 52 floors) sold out in 90 minutes.  Most of these events are fund-raisers for various charities and entry fees usually include a fund-raising requirement.  Other stair-climbing events for charity in Chicago are Fight For Air benefiting the American Lung Association and takes place in the Presidential Towers (45 floors in each tower and participants can do one or all four); SkyRise Chicago benefiting the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and takes place in the Willis Tower (103 floors or 2109 steps);  Kohl's Step Up For Kids benefiting Children's Memorial Hospital and takes place in the Aon Center (80 floors or 1643 steps); Fight For Air also holds a race in Oak Brook Terrace Tower (31 floors or 681 steps although participants can choose to do it one to three times). Suggestions for participating in a stair-climbing event:  walk, don't run up the stairs.  "It can zap your energy by floor 10" according to Joel Africk who heads the Hustle Up The Hancock event.  Experienced stair climbers tend to take the stairs two at a time.  Eric Leninger of Geneva, who won Milwaukee's Fight For Air Climb suggests you pace yourself and use the handrails.  iPods are encouraged since stairwells races are not known for their scenery.