Work Out=Fight Cold/Flu Season

A recent study shows that people who exercise regularly are at a 23% lower risk of catching a cold or flu virus than those who do not. Exercise boosts you immune system. Another study shows that vitamin D is more effective in boosting your immune system than vitamin C. While C is important to get plenty of, make sure you get enough D, which stimulates the body to produce infection-fighting chemicals. If you do catch a cold or flu virus, studies show that echinachea, about 900 mg/day, can shorten your cold by about a day and a half. Zinc, taken every 2 hours while symptoms persist, can shorten your cold by up to 3 days. As always, drink plenty of water!! Even when you are not sick, getting plenty of water is very good for you!

Artificial Sweeteners??

Artificial sweeteners actually make you hungry! Your brain gets confused because you are eating or drinking a sweet thing which should be accompanied by calories, but then the calories are not there. Your brain is like "What?? Where are they?" and it wants those calories so it turns your hunger on so you will eat to provide those calories.

Also, the chemical make-up of artificial sweeteners messes with our bodies and interferes with our hormone levels. When are hormones are not balanced where they should be, it can affect a number of things, including several diseases and your weight.

Tip of the Day

Eat a little something at least every four hours throughout the day, but do not eat anything past 9pm.

Sore After Lifting?

We've all felt it! We lift weights and the next day we can barely move without feeling soreness. This, however, is a good kind of sore! It means that you are getting stronger!

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) is what you are feeling. It is caused by small tears in the muscle fibers that happen when you are lifting. Your body works to repair these tears, but it does such a great job, that it over-repairs. This results in bigger and stronger muscle! The next time you feel DOMS think about how good it feels because you are getting stronger!

Make sure to give muscles a rest in between resistance training so they have a chance to repair before you break them down again. Only lift every other day, or if you like to lift every day then alternate: lower body one day, upper body the next.

The Biggest Loser's Bob Harper Shares Tips on Eating Out Mexican

"First tell the waiter to not bring those chips to your table! I love them and could eat every basket they bring to me....STAY AWAY.Instead place an order for corn tortillas and dip them into your salsa. It is the same thing as the chips except not fried and it will satisfy that craving of wanting to dip.

Instead of refried beans ask for black beans, no sour cream, no guacamole, no flour tortillas, no crispy taco shells.

Okay, now that we have gone through all the NOs let's go to what you can order.

Fajitas are a great choice since the meat will be grilled and your veggies are included. Burritos without the flour tortilla of course.

Tacos can also be ordered if you just get the insides of them.Many times I will order three or four tacos, beef or chicken and combine the insides of all of them on a big salad and bam! There you go. a big taco salad without anything crunchy except the lettuce.

No salad dressing required in a Mexican restaurant, because you have all that good salsa....Ole'!"

Tips from The Biggest Loser;

Let's face it, you're going to have to eat out some time or another while you're losing weight. It doesn't have to be a big deal. Plan ahead and take some tips from Biggest Losers.

"Request all sauces and dressings on the side, and then use them sparingly. Order nothing fried; food should be steamed or grilled only. Avoid restaurants that are 'all-you-can-eat' or are known for their large portions." — Ruben Hernandez

"Know the restaurant you're going to so you can plan what you will eat. Don't let what other people are ordering sway you or change your plans." — Ryan Benson"

I stick with the salads, always with dressing on the side. Don't feel bad about being picky. Ask the restaurant to leave off things you don't want and pick off all the other foods you know aren't good for you. Have it made your way!" — Suzy Preston"

When going out for your favorite coffee drink, be sure to request fat-free milk and no whipped cream. This will drastically cut fat and calories. Also, some coffee bars make hot beverages in smaller sizes than what's listed on the menu. Ask for an 8-ounce size, which is sometimes called 'short.'" — Rosalinda Guadarrama

"Have a low-fat, high-fiber snack (such as fruit and yogurt or raw veggies) before you go out, to avoid feeling too hungry and to prevent the temptation of overeating once you get there."
— Maurice "Mo" Walker

"When I go out for Mexican food, I order a small portion of fajitas without tortillas. I pass on the sour cream and guacamole and have chicken, lots of veggies, and fresh salsa." — Bobby Moore

The Biggest Loser

Just so you all know, the Biggest Loser has started again! It is on Tuesday nights from 7-9 (MT) on NBC (ch 9 in CO). If you have never seen this show, you need to! It is amazing and inspiring! It started a few weeks ago, so if you missed the first few episodes you can watch them online. Enjoy watching this season and feel free to leave comments about which contestants you love, and who you want to see go home! (Tracy is really getting on my nerves!!)

Quote of the Day

"The main thing is to make peace with your body now, before you try to change it. Accept where you are at the moment. Okay, you're overweight. But how great that you've decided to do something about it!"

~Bob Harper, Trainer on The Biggest Loser

Traveling Does Not Have to be Lazy!

Sometimes when I travel I start to feel sluggish because I am out of my workout routine. Here are some suggestions to help squeeze in some workout time while you are away from home.

• Check to see if your hotel has a gym. Pack your tennis shoes and hit the gym, then cool off in the pool!

• If your hotel does not have a gym, but has a pool, go for a swim! Swimming is a great calorie burner.

• Check out the area you are staying in to see what kinds of running trails they have. Pack your shoes and soak up the sun as you run through a new place!

• Pack some resistance bands and workout right in your hotel room. They weigh almost nothing and hardly take up any space.

• Pick up an issue of SELF magazine and complete the workout on the tear-out cards. Most of them do not require any equipment.

• Go sight seeing! You will see so many interesting things that you won't even realize how much you walked.

Healthy Cooking Tip

I always keep all natural, unsweetened applesauce on hand for baking. You can use it in place of oil to reduce calories and eliminate fat in a recipe. You simply substitute the same amount of applesauce for oil.

A half cup of applesauce contains just 50 calories and 0g fat. Just a small tablespoon of oil contains 120 calories and 14g fat. That means a half cup of oil has 960 calories and 112g fat.

You do the math! I bake with applesauce!

Jillian Michaels

OK, anyone who has heard of The Biggest Loser knows who Jillian Michaels is. She has been called TV's toughest trainer. She is in your face intense and doesn't care if she makes you cry.

Well, I decided to try out one of her new workout videos. It is called "Banish Fat, Boost Metabolism". Let me tell you, if you want a challenge, this is the workout for you (Melissa....). It is tough and you want to die as you work through the 7 circuits, but by the time you finish, you feel so energized and good. You have that adrenalin flowing and you really have accomplished something.

So, even though it is intense, I have just ordered another one of her videos and can't wait to try it! :)

SELF magazine

I realize it has been forever since I have posted.... sorry!

I would like to recommend the magazine SELF. I have read many different fitness magazines, and SELF continues to be my favorite. They have great recipes, helpful information, and motivating stories. My favorite thing about SELF is its credibility.

When I was in college we learned about how magazines skew information in their articles to play toward the advertisements. Advertisements = money and that is what companies are after. For this reason, some magazine articles will feature an item, food, nutrient, etc. and talk about how great it is. A few pages later, surprise surprise, there is an ad for a product containing whatever it was mentioned in the article. After reading about it and seeing the ad you think, hey, I should buy this!

I have not seen this to be the case with SELF. While they may have ads that contain things mentioned in articles, the information is not skewed and is well backed up. SELF often cites references from scientific journals. These are the same scientific journals that I used in my undergrad research, so I know the information is legit.

In addition to being a great magazine, self.com is a great tool available to anyone. This website had food logs, workout logs, tips, recipes, articles, videos, and much more. You have free access to the entire website.

Another thing SELF offers is a workout DVD collection. The trainers on these DVDs are great and I enjoy doing them!

If you are looking for a fitness magazine, do yourself a favor and try SELF!

Get Nutrition Facts for Your Own Recipes!

I found an amazing website. It is called http://www.nutritiondata.com This website allows you to enter in a recipe that you have and it will calculate all the nutritional information for your recipe. It is free to join and it will save all your recipes for you. They also include many recipes for you to try, as well as other tools for good nutrition. I highly recommend that you try it out. It is AWESOME!

My New Favorite Breakfast

Yogurt Crunch

1/2 C low-fat vanilla yogurt
1 Tbs sugar-free jam
1/2 C Fiber One original cereal

Mix it all together and enjoy! YUM!

More for Abs from SELF

Here is another excerpt that I got from SELF. I have tried them all and they are great! Enjoy!

Plank poseBalance on toes and forearms (or palms) for up to a minute, pulling belly button to spine and keeping back straight.

Standing bicycleStand with feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, hands clasped behind head and elbows pointed out to sides. Straighten left leg as you lift right leg, knee bent, thigh parallel to floor. Keeping knee lifted and steady, twist torso toward right. Return to start. Repeat on other side for one rep. Do 10 reps.

Side winderStand with feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, hands clasped behind head and elbows pointed out to sides. Lift right leg to side, knee bent, thigh parallel to floor. Keeping knee lifted, bend torso to right side, bringing elbow and knee toward each other. Do 10 reps; switch sides; repeat.

SeesawStand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, hands on hips. Lift right leg, knee bent, thigh parallel to floor with foot flexed. Straighten right leg, pressing heel toward floor, as you lean torso backward. Return to knee lift position and repeat five times. Switch sides and repeat.

Forward bendStand with feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, arms overhead with palms facing in. Lift right leg, knee bent, thigh parallel to floor. Keeping knee lifted and arms raised, bring torso and knee toward each other as close as you can. Return to start; switch sides and repeat for one rep. Do 10 reps.

Teriyaki Stir-Fry

Another great way to load up on veggies at dinner time is with stir-fry. Rather than the usual plain soy sauce flavor that accompanies most stir fry, I prefer teriyaki.

Ingredients:
Chicken
Veggies (I like to use broccoli, carrots, and onion)
ginger
sesame seeds
olive oil
teriyaki sauce

I start by cooking the chicken in a small amount of olive oil (about 1 Tbs) in a large skillet. When the chicken is done, I sprinkle it with ground ginger and sesame seeds. Next, I add all my veggies (cut to whatever size you want them). When the veggies are about the tenderness that I like, I drizzle teriyaki sauce over the whole thing. I stir it all up and let it cook about 2 more min before I serve it. I prefer to serve it without rice because it saves calories, plus I get full on the veggies, but if you prefer rice, brown rice is the healthiest choice.