Eating breakfast is like saving for retirement. We all know it should be a top priority, but it always seems like starting tomorrow is a better idea. Yet, study after study shows that people who make time for an early meal are much more likely to maintain a healthy body weight. Plus, eating breakfast can improve focus, energy levels and reduce homicidal tendencies.
Lucky for all of us, there are some breakfast ideas that are so easy, delicious and nutritious that they are capable of helping us to overcome the very strong forces of morning inertia.
The morning breakfast pie is just such an option. It consists of toasted bread (preferably whole grain), nut butter (peanut or almond work great) and sliced fresh fruit. My favorites are apples, strawberries and blue berries.
The morning breakfast pie has everything you need to start your day out right. The bread offers complex carbohydrates for energy and fiber. The nut butter has a bit of protein to keep you feeling satisfied and a tad of healthy fats. The fruit offers just the right bit of sweetness, vitamins, even more fiber and a head start on your five-a-day.The morning breakfast pie takes less than two minutes to make and is a great investment in the rest of your day.
Make one today for a happier, leaner and more productive tomorrow!
We all know salads are good for us, full of fiber, vitamins in their natural states and healthy oils. Unfortunately, making salads on a daily basis can be as much fun as cleaning out the crisper drawer. For some reason, after a full day making a healthful salad feels like a monumental chore. Luckily for you, there is the Salad of the Week solution.
I learned this practice from a very healthful roommate that I lived with for a few months (she also stretched during conversations and danced along the beach wearing her walkman). Each week Super Healthy roommate would visit the local farmers market, stock up on produce and then come home and make a giant salad. She would put the mega salad in the biggest Tupperware bowl I had ever seen and then eat from it for the rest of the week (she ate it without dressing, so maybe she was part rabbit).
This method is brilliant for many reasons. Jumping right on top of the produce before it is even put away ensures that nothing is stashed and forgotten, avoiding the sad, gooey fate of so many vegetables bought by well intentioned people. Also, making one big salad can be a relaxing meditative experience, as opposed to the daily grind of pulling everything out, chopping a little bit of each and then putting everything away again. Salad mass production is much more efficient than the frustrating piece-meal method.
The best part is that when a salad is pre-made and ready to eat you are much more likely to eat more salad thereby keeping your nutritional halo shiny and green.
So get chop, chopping and let the good health roll!
Jump ropes are one of the best bargains in fitness. Great ropes are available for $10 to $15.
Jump ropes are eminently portable and excuse proof. They are light, compact and ready to go with you anywhere.
Jumping rope promotes great posture. There is no way to jump rope while slumping or slouching.
Jumping rope is lower impact and easier on the joints than running, because you usually land on two feet instead of just one. Wear good shoes and don’t try it on concrete for best results.
Jump ropes are associated with bad ass boxers and other super fit types.
Jump roping allows for endless variations and moves, which always keeps things fun and interesting. Check out jumprope.com if you really want to be impressed.
Jumping rope is intense; you can cram a lot of sweat and effort into a little bit of time.
Jumping rope combats osteoporosis.
Jumping rope will improve your footwork, coordination and rhythm and keep you from being laughed at weddings.
Jumping rope increases cardiovascular fitness and lower body strength.
So grab a rope, find a giving surface and get bouncing!
**Clear it with your doctor before starting any new exercise program, especially if you have a history of joint or cardiovascular problems.
The holiday pound exchange. The Christmas cookie layer. The Santa belly. The holiday bonus. Call it what you like, but gaining a few pounds (or more) over the holiday season is as much a tradition as throwing away fruitcake or crowded mall parking lots. Keep a few things in mind to avoid adding “sled handles” to your winter physique
Only eat the REALLY good stuff
This means politely passing or discretely trashing many home baked treats or party options. Remember calories you don’t enjoy are just as potent as those you do.
Get Fierce
During the holidays you’re not likely to have more time to workout, so the best way to keep the calorie balance in your favor is to ramp up the intensity. Add hills and/or sprint intervals to your cardio routine. Try jumping rope or mountain climbers between strength sets. Do power yoga moves instead of your usual static stretches.
Weigh yourself
Even if you usually don’t keep track of your poundage, it’s a good idea to weigh yourself at least once a week during the holiday season. The scale is an early warning device and will let you know if you have been enjoying a little too much cheer. Get a baseline, aim to stay within two to four pounds of that weight and make changes if you get too far off track.
Add nightly walks
Get out and enjoy all the lights, holly and inflatable Santa’s your neighbors went to so much trouble to put up. Even if you’re a scrooge at heart, it’s difficult not to enjoy the magical holiday transformation of your hood (while you burn a few extra calories along the way).
Ask Santa for a fitness treat
Stylish new gear or cutting edge equipment will get you excited to get started on your fittest year ever. Bring on the Champagne flavored Gatorade!
For fitness freaks like us, the primary holiday question isn’t what to get Mom (a trampoline, of course) or do reindeer really know how to fly (only if they have adequate core strength), but should you work out with a cold. This question is asked over and over again, silently and out loud by the sore throated, coughing, sneezing and wheezing. To answer quickly, if it is just a head cold (above the neck) then you are fine to do a slightly mellower version of your usual routine. If the dreaded bug has settled in to your chest or is causing you body aches then its best to take a day or two off (at least).
I suggest you use this bit of downtime to make sure your fitness plan is in balance, because getting sick (unless your other hobby is licking doorknobs) is a sign that something is amiss. So after you are sure your spouse feels adequately sorry for you, sit down and map out the week before the dreaded bug won the battle over your forces of immunity. Did you get at least eight hours of muscle repairing, immunity boosting sleep each night? Did you eat as well as you know you should? Were there any other out of the ordinary stresses that could have delivered the jab, jab, cross, upper-cut to your immune system? Did you party more than usual or suddenly increase your workout intensity or duration? Moderate workouts tend to relieve stress, while very intense ones add more stress to your immune system. If the holidays already have you sleeping less and eating more crap, it’s probably not the best time to start training for the Olympics.
If you are able to figure out what may have led to your current dilemma, then you will be able to avoid that deadly combination in the future. For example you may have had a stressful week at work, which led to less sleep and not eating well. All it would take is a killer workout and dinner with your mother-in-law to put you in the danger zone.
A cold is often your body’s way of letting you know that you aren’t focusing enough on the recovery aspects of your training. Keep in mind that you don’t get fitter while you are working out, but after when your body uses the nutrition and rest you give it to rebuild stronger and better.
So this holiday season keep your to-do list short, learn to say no nicely, keep your workouts moderate and consistent and get to bed on time. And remember, eggnog with rum is not a workout recovery drink!
Ah travel, a chance to get out of your rut and into your groove. Oh, to gander at startling horizons, take wrong turns and find surprising places and bombard your senses with the unexpected, delightful and unusual. Unfortunately, unless you’re on a yoga retreat, things are not so expansive for the major muscle groups of your lower body. Travel often involves a lot of sitting on planes, trains, Venetian gondoliers, elephant’s backs and cars.
Sitting is the world’s most popular form of hip tightening. Walking, whether up mountain trails, along the River Seine or between rides at Disneyland tends to tighten up the hips, hamstrings and calves. Though walking is still great exercise (do as much as possible to counter-balance the chocolate croissants and other traveling delights) in isolation it can cause a body to be tighty, tight, tight.
Having tight hips is the leg equivalent of fingers that are mostly stuck together and can’t move freely forward and back or side to side. Try walking with six-inch steps and you get the idea. Tight hips not only limit your range of motion, they can lead to lower back pain and injury. Tight hamstrings and calves also bring about back trouble and the feeling that you are about 30 years older than you actually are. Additionally, tight calves and inflexible ankles can cause “shuffle walk”, sprained ankles, loss of balance and an increased risk of falls.
Whether you are leading a pack llama up a steep slope, rafting down the Colorado or waiting in line at the Met losing your balance and falling over is not what you want to be writing about on your postcards.
The moral of the story is that it’s important to keep up with a basic stretching routine while you globe trot. Try spending 15 to 20 minutes in the morning or evening loosening up and reconnecting with your body. It’s a great opportunity for a little break from the maddening crowds and will keep you healthy and seeking out new horizons for many years to come.
We all know salads are good for us, full of fiber, vitamins in their natural states and healthy oils. Unfortunately, making salads on a daily basis can be as much fun as cleaning out the crisper drawer. For some reason, after a full day making a healthful salad feels like a monumental chore. Luckily for you, there is the Salad of the Week solution.
