Do you "feed this fire"?

Despite all the scientific date and proven evidence based programs conducted by the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) along with other reputable Fitness Certification Agencies, I still see and hear “I want to do Cardio first to lose weight and then start resistance training” This is the biggest misconception that still permeates through fitness clubs, unfortunately the diet industry, gimmicky fast weight loss programs, the strong aerobic programs at the most fitness clubs still “feeds this fire”.

Bottom line, when performing any sporting activity or cardiovascular type exercise, ask yourself what is actually doing the work – answer – muscles and bones are the ones doing the work and burning calories, therefore if you have more lean muscle tissue and stronger bones, ligaments, tendons, other soft tissues you increase the ability to burn more calories, you can also work harder for less time – and burn more overall calories in less time – that equals more fat used during and particularly after the exercise is completed = better results and faster results.

Nutrition is also important in that it requires enough calories from healthy food to 1 – Support your daily living metabolism 2-provide energy to perform daily tasks 3-provide energy to perform the exercise work and 4-provide energy to repair tissues and build muscle, bone, soft tissues etc.

Consequently consistent results are dependent on the synergistic combination of all the relevant components. To schedule a comprehensive assessment and the development of a goal oriented program contact Wendy Hammond or Ricky Ali at 305.820.8006.

                                                                                                      Article written by:

                                                                                         Rickie Ali

                                                                        

Caution: St. Patrick's Day is Coming!

Thanks to Jana Billinger from Care 2 Make A Difference

 we are able to supply you with the latest facts; for today's blog post.

Beer and the color green–two great things that are NOT great together. St. Patrick’s Day is known for lots of cool things, but putting food coloring into a glass of foamy, delicious brew is one thing that I’ll never be able to get behind. Why would you take a gorgeous, naturally golden mug of delicious hops and put something so unnatural in it? Not only are food dyes gross, they are not good for you! They have been found to cause hyperactivity in children, who should not be drinking beer of course, but is linked to asthma and cancer in adults.

Now my kind of green beer is the locally brewed and organic kind. The first and best thing you can do is find a local brewery to patronize. Not all of the craft beer makers on this list are organic, but a lot of them are, and the green points you’ll get by drinking beer that hasn’t been trucked from halfway across the country are a bonus.

If you’re looking for some great organic bottled beer, there are many to choose from. Even a few of the big-name brewers are getting in on the act like Miller Organic Amber from Henry Weinhard’s.

Here are some smaller brewhouses, all USDA Organic certified, to look for at your neighborhood bar or market:

Peak Organic Beers, based in Portland, Ore., prides itself on the celebration of local, sustainable agriculture in its production of five different varieties, including a Pomegranate Wheat Ale with Acai and an Espresso Amber Ale. All are USDA Organic certified.

Otter Creek Brewing has been making Wolaver’s Organic Ales in small batches in Middlebury, Vt., since 1997. Brewed with organic malts, hops, special house yeast, and pure Vermont water. Seven brews, including an Oatmeal Stout and Pumpkin Ale.

From the UK, Sam Smith Organic Lager & Ale is made with organic Vienna malt and organic hops from New Zealand. They make a selection of Fruit Beers and Organic Cider, in addition to their lagers and ales.

Eel River Brewing Company in Humboldt County, Calif., advertises itself as the first USDA Organic certified beer in the United States (and maybe the world). Its motto is “Be natural, drink naked.” They have a wide selection from the lighter Blonde Ale to the Triple Exultation Ale–a dark, rich, sweet beer in the tradition of old English ales.

Thanks to GQ's Eat + Drink we are able to supply you with the latest facts;

for today's blog post.

10 Secrets of a Lower-Calorie Lifestyle

1. Reduce!
When you’re young—in your twenties, say—it’s easy to think that no matter how many pounds you put on, you’ll always be able to starve and exercise yourself back into fighting shape. Here’s some bad news: Weight gain is self-reinforcing. As your weight climbs, your body’s metabolism adjusts to maintain your new girth.

The solution? Don’t let yourself slip in the first place. Maintaining a low weight over the course of your entire life is about more than looking good; it’ll preserve your overall health. By being vigilant about how much you eat—no matter how old you are—you’ll save yourself from a lifetime of fending off weight gain and the health problems that accompany it.

2. “Low Fat”? No Thanks
If you grew up in the ’80s, the notion that fat is evil is probably lodged deep inside your brain. But remember: It’s calories you’re concerned about, and you needn’t obsess over where they’re coming from. Certain low-fat foods replace fat with sugar and can actually end up containing more calories: Low-fat yogurt, for example, can contribute more to your daily caloric intake than the richer, creamier (and tastier) full-fat stuff.

3. Learn Your Portions
Even though you’re eating the right mix of things, you’re almost certainly eating way too much of everything. According to Walter Willett, chair of the department of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, for an adult male, a healthy portion of meat is “about the size of the palm of your hand and as thick as a deck of cards.” The more fat or sugar an item has—i.e., the more it resembles dessert—the smaller the serving size. You probably have a good feel for it already; test yourself on these items:

1. An average serving of peanut butter should be the size of:
(a) a Ping-Pong ball, (b) a pea, (c) a tennis ball.

2. A serving of cheese should be the size of:
(a) a wheel of Brie, (b) your fist, (c) a stack of Post-it notes.

3. A serving of pasta, rice, or potatoes should be the size of:
(a) your netbook, (b) your cupped hand, (c) a travel tube of toothpaste.

(Answers: 1.a; 2.c; 3.b.)

4. Starting Now: Less Meat
Want to know where most of your calories are coming from? Follow the lead of two anonymous GQ editors—one a fish-eating vegetarian, one a barbecue fan—and record what you eat for a few days.

Vegetarian
29% Non-meat protein
18% Grains
10% Alcohol
16% Snacks
14% Dairy
5% Fruits/veggies
8% Seafood
Total calories: 10,472

Carnivore 
26% Meat
31% Grains
16% Alcohol
12% Snacks
7% Dairy
8% Fruits/veggies
Total calories: 13,126

5. You Can (Almost) Never Go Wrong With Fruits and Vegetables
As a general rule, you can eat them until you’re full. One of the great triumphs of modern supermarket shopping is the sheer variety of produce on offer—half a dozen kinds of apples, a few kinds of pears, kiwis, mangoes, papayas—and you’ll improve your chances of keeping a healthy amount of fruit in your diet by cycling through different varieties. For veggies, avoid steaming and boiling; they may be the lowest- cal options, but you’ll be bored to death within days—and return to your old, higher-calorie way of eating. Instead, sauté, roast, or grill them.

6. Eat Protein, Curb Hunger
Protein—especially the sort found in lean meats and dairy—is another great way to trick your body into satiety. When digested, it causes the release of a hormone called CCK that makes you feel full. Combine lean protein and fruit—say, yogurt and strawberries—and there’s a perfect breakfast.

7. A Lower-Calorie Night Out
First the bad news: Alcohol is calorie-dense, and a few drinks add up quickly. But by having a glass of water with each drink, you’ll wind up ordering fewer of them (and have less of a hangover the next morning, too). Per serving, wine has the fewest calories, then beer, then cocktails.

8. Keep It Simple
Instead, try focusing on just a few basic ways of cutting back—a salad instead of a burger and fries for lunch (800 calories less) or the petite portion of steak when you’re out for dinner (200 calories less)—and once you’re doing that consistently, adopt another, like buying smaller dinner plates to use at home (you’ll put less food on them).

9. It’s Okay to Indulge—Every Once In Awhile
You will slip up and help yourself to a coma-inducing plate of nachos every now and then—don’t let that derail you. “This is not all or nothing,” says Harvey Simon, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. “It’s not a question of changing everything all at once. That doesn’t work.”

10. Stock Your Low-Cal Pantry
We went grocery shopping with Mark Bittman—bestselling cookbook author, New York Times columnist, and with his latest book, Food Matters, vocal booster of low-calorie eating—to find out how to stock our shelves. Wheat berries? In. Snackwell’s cookies? “Those,” says Bittman, “are the death of America.”

• Olives: For snacking.
• Whole-grain crackers: “Kavli, Wasa, Ryvita, Ak-Mak—they have real guts.”
• Hummus and avocados: For the crackers.
• Popcorn: “Put a fourth of a cup of popcorn in a paper bag and throw it in the microwave. Add lime, salt, and hot sauce like sriracha.”
• Cooked, peeled, vacuum-packed beets: For salads, snacks.
• Olive oil, vinegar (balsamic, white wine, apple cider), and Dijon mustard: For salad dressing.
• A bag of lemons: “Lemons add zest to baked fish, salad dressings, chicken dishes, whatever.”
• Steel-cut oats: For breakfast.
• Wheat berries, bulgur, quinoa, barley, millet: “They’re cheap, they keep forever, and they’re lower in calories than processed grains.”

3 Ways to Make Your New Year's Eve Drinks Healthier

Thanks to  Amanda Chan from MyHealthNewsDaily, we are able to

supply you with the latest facts for today's blog post.

Here it goes...

Whether you're popping open a champagne bottle at a party or cozying up with mugs of hot whiskey on the couch, it's important to be aware of the health effects of what you're drinking, experts say.
For New Year's toasters, when it comes to counting calories, champagne is actually one of the healthiest alcoholic drinks to have as long as you don't overdo it, said said Ruth Frechman, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

"Champagne is just bubbly wine, 100 calories for 5 ounces," said Frechman, a registered dietitian based in Los Angeles. "It's not a bad drink."

Here are three tips to make your celebratory sipping as healthy as possible:

1. Stop after one or two drinks.

The best way to be healthy when drinking on New Year's is to consume no more than a moderate amount of alcohol, Frechman said.

"One drink for women and two drinks for men — those would be moderate amounts," she said.

Research has shown that a moderate amount of alcohol can be beneficial for heart health. A study published in November in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology found that alcohol helps to block the signals of molecules that can lead to the buildup of plaque in the arteries.

But although alcohol has its benefits, too much of it impairs the senses. A study published in September in the journal BMC Research Notes found that people over age 60 have trouble walking without tripping and falling after just two drinks. Furthermore, too much alcohol can lead to blood poisoning.

2. Remember that alcohol has calories.

"You don’t really think of alcohol as having calories, but it does, and it has lots," Frechman said. It's also metabolized straight to fat, she said.

Alcohol contains about 7 calories per gram, just slightly fewer than fat, which has 9 calories per gram, she said.

And when you add alcohol to mixers such as juice or soda, you can double the number of calories in your drink.

"Eating a hamburger is like drinking a screwdriver, with the juice and the alcohol," Frechman said. "A hundred and fifty calories come from juice, 100 come from the alcohol."

In general, spirits such as vodka, whiskey and rum have about 100 calories per shot, Frechman said.

Four ounces (118 milliliters) of champagne has 96 calories, according to the Mayo Clinic.

At the other end of the calorie scale, an eight-ounce (237-milliliter) hot buttered rum has 292 calories, and an alcoholic eggnog of the same portion has 391 calories, according to the Mayo Clinic.

And whether it's cream or cream liqueur that you add to your coffee, creamy mixers will always pack more calories than juice or liquor, Frechman said.

"If you're making an Irish coffee and you're pouring in the cream, that can be 100 calories just from the cream," which contains about 20 calories per tablespoon, she said. "And that's saturated fat — not the good kind of fat."

Irish cream liqueur has 407 calories per 4 ounces, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Margaritas can run the gamut from 200 to 800 calories, depending on what fillers are included in the drink, Frechman said. And a martini can have 400 to 500 calories.

3. Consider using low-calorie mixers in your favorite drinks.

Although it may be hard to substitute low-cal options in your drinks if you're at a bar, it's easy to swap in ingredients if you're mixing drinks at home, Frechman said.

"If you're watching your calories, then you could have a small amount of wine, then fill it with club soda so it's like a wine spritzer," Frechman suggested. "That would give you volume, but it wouldn’t be that many calories."

And use diet soda instead of regular soda as a mixer, she said.

Drinking a rum and cola that uses diet cola, for instance, "really makes a difference," Frechman said. "That saves you between 100 and 200 calories – there's a potential for saving 400 calories just from two drinks."

Juices, while they have calories, may bring health benefits that sodas don’t, she added. Try mixing orange juice instead of a soda with your liquor to get some vitamin C, Frechman said. Or add diet cranberry juice and lime juice to some vodka for a low-calorie cosmo.

Pass it on: For a healthy New Year’s Eve, drink in moderation, keep in mind that alcohol has calories, and consider substituting low-calorie mixers in your favorite drinks.