The Fit Wife

Obesity in America

So the stats out of a recent story circulating the airwaves and Internet really make me sad. News about obesity playing a significant role in rising health care costs highlight some scary facts about the number of seriously overweight people in America.

According to Dr. Thomas Frieden in an interview with CBS News, two-thirds of Americans are obese or overweight. And the average American today is 23 pounds overweight! Even worse, kids aren't immune to the increasingly expanding waistlines. According to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, one out of every three kids is overweight.

Sure, there are a number of things we can blame it on: longer work days, easy access to high-calorie, high-fat fast food, cutting physical education classes out of school. But what's really important is that we all begin to take some serious responsibility for our own health--and that of our kids!

So, stepping off (and back on--and back off) of my soapbox, CNN has some great tips today for slimming down in seven days. Check it out and get moving!

4 days till the 30-Day Shred. I'm ready!!!

 

New Month, New Plan

So my awesome friend, Ashley, who lives back in Ohio, came up with a great idea for kicking off August and (sigh) the last full month of summer. She is gathering a group of friends from around the country to do Jillian Michaels' 30-Day shred.  The program has three levels and each workout is about 20 minutes long. I'll be adding it to my daily routine and will be getting up at 5:30 each morning to complete my "shred" routine. Ashley will be tracking our progress on her blog As Told By Ash and I'll be posting updates here as well. We'll also probably put together a Facebook page for all of us in the group to encourage each other to keep up the routine.

Nothing like a new month to kick things off strong! Starting August 1st....

 

TGIF THINSPIRATION: NATIONAL TEQUILA DAY!

I know, I know. I've totally been slacking on my blog over the past couple of weeks. But with good reason! Work has been so crazy busy that most of my time outside of it has been spent at the gym--or sleeping!

But I couldn't pass up this national day of recognition with out a shout-out to my sometimes best-friend/sometimes enemy Tequila. Woot! It's National Tequila Day! And to celebrate, I wanted to share Hungry Girl's Strawberry Margarita Mousse recipe. Fewer calories than a margarita, but just as much fun. Enjoy!

Strawberry Margarita Mousse

PER SERVING (1/5th of recipe, about 1 cup): 107 calories, 0g fat, 107mg sodium, 13g carbs, 1g fiber, 6g sugars, 2g protein -- POINTS® value 2*

Ingredients:
1 large (8-serving) package JELL-O Sugar Free Strawberry Gelatin Dessert Mix
2 cups frozen unsweetened strawberries, mostly thawed
1 1/2 cups Cool Whip Free, thawed
1 cup cold Sprite Zero (or any diet lemon-lime soda)
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. (2 1/2 oz.) tequila
3 tbsp. lime juice

Directions:
In a medium-large bowl, combine gelatin mix with 1 cup boiling water, and stir until completely dissolved, about 2 minutes. Set aside.

In a blender, combine strawberries, soda, tequila, and lime juice. Puree until smooth. Add this mixture to the bowl with the gelatin mixture and stir thoroughly. Refrigerate for 45 minutes, until slightly thickened but not set. (Do not over-refrigerate.)

Using an electric mixer, blend in the Cool Whip. Once mixture appears mostly blended, use a spoon to mix it up from the bottom. If needed, continue mixing until uniform. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, until mostly firm. Enjoy!

MAKES 5 SERVINGS

A Healthier Bang for your (Star)bucks!

Great news from one of my favorite joints for a caffeine fix. Starbucks has announced a new line of healthier food options with fewer calories and all-natural ingredients (none of that nasty high fructose corn syrup or trans fat).

The new line includes the following healthy treats:

Dark Cherry Yogurt Parfait - With real cherries, vanilla granola, and fat-free cherry yogurt, this has 320 calories, 5g fat, 58g carbs, 2g fiber, and 11g protein.

Marshmallow Dream Bar- This fun little treat has 210 calories, 4g fat, 43g carbs, 0g fiber, and 1g protein.

Farmer's Market Salad - This has bleu cheese, almonds, dried cranberries, apples, carrots, and all-natural balsamic vinaigrette, all over romaine lettuce (our favorite!). It's got 300 calories, 20g fat, 24g carbs, 4g fiber, and 8g protein-- without the dressing, it comes to just 220 calories and 12g fat.

Turkey & Swiss Sandwich - With wheat bread and light mayo, it clocks in at 390 calories, 13g fat, 36g carbs, 2g fiber, and 34g protein.

Strawberry Banana Vivanno™ Smoothie - Starbucks newest Vivanno™ Smoothie flavor is made from simple ingredients – pure strawberry puree, a whole banana, whey protein powder, 2% milk and ice - and under 300 calories.

Starbucks dietitian and nutritionist explains the company’s move:

“Many people do not realize how many hidden calories can be in the average smoothie or restaurant salad. And no one wants to think they’re making a healthy choice just to realize they’ve accidentally consumed half their day’s calories on a smoothie. At Starbucks, our salads and smoothies were designed to deliver real nutrition and great flavors at a sensible calorie level. Our two salads are 250 and 300 calories with dressing and our new Strawberry Banana Vivanno Smoothie provides 15 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber, and 100% of your daily Vitamin C – at just 280 calories,” said Katie Thomson, registered dietitian and senior nutritionist, Starbucks Coffee Company.

Yummy, a whole slew of healthy, new reasons to eat at Starbucks!

Music to my ears

The Fourth of July has once again come and gone. And once again, I am wishing the weekend could've been just a bit longer. Alas, back to the grindstone--and back to two-a-day workouts. Yep, I got up at 5:30 this morning for a 30-minute, rise-and-shine, weight and plyometric routine. This evening I'll be taking an extreme ride spin class at Crunch. Nothing like jumping back into it after a long weekend.

One of the top ways I've found to stay motivated is to work out to beat appropriate music. Tempos between 120 and 160 beats per minute are ideal for calorie-burning. You, of course, can jump on iTunes and create or download your own playlists, but Vital Juice's daily newsletter uncovered some other great options:

• FitMusic offers 22 different types of pre-made workout playlists. Subscribe to one or all for free.
• For Mac users, the Tangerine application will analyze your music library and create playlists based on your personal goals.
• For a digital DJ to spin that playlist for you based on your own music choices, My Workout Album will assemble and adjust the music speeds for you to fit with your routine
• If you have access to a computer with Internet while working out, one of my current favorites is Pandora. Type in a song or artist in the search box and Pandora will populate a playlist for you.

Fitness and Freedom: Happy 4th!

This will be my final post before the holiday weekend as I leave early this afternoon. But I couldn't go without wishing you all a happy, safe and healthy 4th of July!

To send you out, here are some lower-calorie cocktail recipes from Men's Health (see a full list here):

MARGARITA
A margarita made with just an ounce of sour mix can weigh in at 235 calories and 11 grams of carbs. Eliminate the sugar, though, and you'll keep your drink mean and lean. Koch's recipe:

2 oz tequila
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz lime juice
2 tsp Splenda Granular
1 lime wedge (optional)
Coarse salt (optional)

Pour tequila, Grand Marnier, lime juice, and Splenda into a shaker 2/3 full of ice. Shake well. If desired, wet the rim of a rocks glass with the lime wedge and dip rim into salt. Strain drink into the ice filled glass and garnish with lime.
Calories: 165 Carbs: 7 g

LYNCHBURG LEMONADE
This Jack Daniel's masterpiece can pack as many as 350 calories and 33 grams of carbs. By switching out the sour mix and lemon-lime soda for fresh lemon juice and Splenda, and by using orange extract and vodka instead of triple sec, you'll save half the calories and 90% of the carbs, says Koch.

2 oz Jack Daniel's
1/2 oz vodka
1 oz lemon juice
2 tsp Splenda Granular
1/8 tsp orange extract
3 oz diet lemon-lime soda
1 lemon slice

Fill a glass with ice. Pour all ingredients except soda into glass. Stir. Add soda and stir lightly. Garnish with a slice of lemon.
Calories: 179 Carbs: 4 g

Fitness and Freedom: Burger Busters

Scary new statistics about adult obesity are sweeping the Web today. According to a Reuters article, obesity rates continued to climb in the past year with 23 U.S. states reporting adults in their states are fatter now than they were a year ago. And not a single state reported a decrease in the number of obese adults.

 

That, paired with this video from today's Today Show, should be good motivation to make smart choices this weekend. Think a veggie burger at a restaurant is a safe choice? Think again. David Zinczenko unveils some of the worst and best burgers (as well as swaps) at some of the nation's restaurants.

 

 

 

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Freedom and Fitness: Picture This

Picture this: it's the 4th of July weekend and you're in Helen, GA (the little German town of North Georgia), staying in a cabin with friends and family. All around you, beer steins glisten with Warsteiner or Heffeweissen, steaming plates of spatzel and sauerkraut float by your nose and Bavarian chocolate shops beckon from every corner. A little bit of heaven, no? Well not for your waist anyway. So what's a girl to go?

No matter your plans for this weekend, a little planning ahead can keep you true to your diet. So here are some of my top tips for staying healthy and having fun:

1. It's all about snacks: you're less likely to overindulge on schnitzel if you fill up ahead of time on carrots, string cheese and yogurt. Pre-pack snack-size baggies with fresh, chopped veggies or stash some nuts in your purse. That way, when the bratwurst is staring you in the face, you're more likely to say half, bitte!

2.  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate: Did you know that those hunger pangs can sometimes be a sign of dehydration? For most of the country, the 4th of July will be a hot one, so keep a reusable bottle on you filled with water and sip and refill it constantly. Your waist will thank you!

3. Start with a salad: sure, your eyes could be bigger than your stomach. But you're more likely to wolfe down that whole Black Forrest Torte if you haven't started your meal with fiber and water-dense foods, like salads and soups. Just be sure to order a broth-based soup and the dressing on the side, or this calorie-saving trick may have been done in vain.

4. Stick to light beer: sure, the beer maiden may poke fun of you when you request a Miller Light, but she won't be laughing so hard when you slip into that hot bikini and all eyes are on you. But remember, just because you're drinking light beer, doesn't mean you should double-up on your consumption! Try to drink water in between each of your drinks. Not only will it keep you hydrated, your bikini will look the better for it.

5. Split that dessert: this may sound hard to do when forced to choose between the hot apfelkuchen and sweet strudel, but sharing the dessert with a friend, or two, or three also splits the calories between two, or three, or four.

 

Fitness and Freedom!

It's always great to kick off the week looking forward to a long weekend. If you're like me, you may be heading out of town to celebrate the 4th. But, regardless of whether you're traveling or not, the picnics and parties galore this week can put your diet at serious risk! So this week, I'm dedicating my blog to fitness and freedom!!! Let both ring.

If you want arms as fabulous as our first lady, there's still some time to work on that definition before the holiday weekend. Check out how she tones up her arms with this article in Fitness Magazine.

Start making your travel plans now with this guide from South Beach Diet to stay healthy on the go.

Remember the SPF! Long weekends likely mean more exposure to the sun. Check out these resources at Self.com to learn more about skin care and protection.  Be sure to layer on the sunscreen this weekend. Try to get a waterproof kind with an SPF of at least 30, and remember to keep applying it throughout the day.

Since we're talking about skin, I have to give a shout out to the makers of my new skincare line-Exuviance. As silly as I felt at the time, I listened to the saleswoman at Ulta on Friday as she pushed on me the products made by the two doctors who apparentlyl discovered the Alpha Hydroxy acids. My skin is so sensitive, I usually hesitate to spend a decent amount of money on products that may irritate my skin. But they were selling a starter kit and the saleswoman swore that, after I tried it for a couple of days, I would be hooked. Well, she was right. The starter kit had a facewash, day and night creams and a purifying clay masque. I started using the kit on Friday and, I have to admit, my skin is already looking smoother and my pores more refined. So, if you're looking to kick up your skin care routine before the weekend, I'd recommend giving the Exuvance line a try (but make sure you do your homework first and decide which products will work best for you). 

 

    

A Bit of Inspiration....

Happy Wednesday. Hard to get to the gym on a Wednesday night? Check out this amazingly inspirational story.

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