This is a scary trend:  young girls with diabetes purposely skipping out on their insulin in order to lose weight.  Parents, keep an eye on your kids and COMMUNICATE healthy living!

"I wonder if I take you home, would you still be in love, baby" Black Eyed Peas, Don't Phunk With My Heart

When all of these different companies started coming out with 100 calorie packets of cookies, chips and crackers I was among the first to laden my shopping cart with them, eager to indulge in the sweets that I loved. At last! Guilt-free snacking!

But after countless dollars have been spent and a little more common sense learned, I'm putting my foot down.

It's not these 100 calorie packets that either help or hinder us. It's our own sense of willpower. What's the sense of tossing a few 100 calorie packets into your lunch bag if all you are going to do is end up eating 300 empty calories anyway? Want a better snack? Grab some baby carrots. Or celery sticks and a couple of tablespoons of reduced sodium peanut butter (hello, protein!).

Open that 100 calorie bag and take a good look. How much food is really there? Just enough to leave you wanting more. And more. Call it a little tease. For those of you who have iron clad willpower: I salute you. But the rest of us mere mortals need a little extra help so we don't dive into another packet of cookies. And then another.

Kick these 100 calorie packets to the curb. Nibble on fruit, nuts, granola (the healthy kind, not the "laden with sugar" kind), or fresh veggies...these types of foods not only have the ability to give you a boost over your mid-day slump but they are loaded with fiber to keep you feeling fuller, longer.

See if you can't schedule your snacking: late morning and mid-day, and down to the hour if necessary. Knowing when you are going to get something to snack on may alleviate a sense of panic that can be brought on by new-found structure. I used to freak out if I didn't think I brought enough food to work with me. Now I allow myself two snacks and I space them out so I'm less inclined to hit the dreaded vending machine.

Edamame, anyone?

Do TVs, iPods help or hurt your workout?

One more example of Duh, I coulda told you that!

Diet, exercise work for older obese adults too
Well, duh. I coulda told you that!!

What do you do when you are in a pinch for an entry?  Borrow your own work, of course!  Below is the research paper I drafted for my exercise physiology class.  I feel weird about posting it here, but...what the hell.  I need an entry and I've been pressed for time.  So here you go.  If you're at all interested... I got an A on this paper. ;)  Oh, and I can't find my works cited, so ignore all the superscripts throughout... 

Cheers!

There is a general perception that weight training is strictly for men. After all, women don’t need to be stronger, do they? And who wants big, rippling, bulky muscles? Weight rooms are testosterone infested territories that no right-minded woman would dare venture into. That’s just for guys, right? Wrong. Here’s a newsflash: It is critical that this common misconception be changed. The sooner more women begin to lift weights, the healthier these women will become overall. Weight training just may be the single best thing a woman can do to improve her health—for both now and later in life.

Women at any age can benefit from weight training. Younger women will enjoy the end results when their clothes fit more loosely (or better yet, when a new wardrobe is in order!) and their bodies are sleeker and tighter. Sexy muscles are in high demand thanks to well-toned celebrities. But while these stars can afford to effectively “buy” their bodies, the average woman can certainly get the same results from weight training at home or at a local gym with proper instruction. Starting a healthy trend that transcends into a lifestyle change can help women prevent the cold hard realities of aging: stiff joints, brittle bones and reduced mobility. Older women who are far less active now than they may have been thirty or forty years ago will benefit from weight training. While impaired muscle power is linked to disability and limited function in older people¹, it is never too late to slow down Father Time. Weight training can stave off the effects of osteoporosis, a degenerative disease that targets more women than men. The National Osteoporosis Foundation recommends “weight bearing and resistance training exercises” to help prevent osteoporosis² by increasing bone density. Improved functionality can be accomplished as simply as wearing a weighted vest. A study by the American Geriatric Society found that seniors with mobility problems gained strength in the lower body by wearing a weighted vest and stair climbing for up to a maximum of 45 minutes, three times a week for twelve weeks³. This improved mobility can only boost self esteem because the aging senior can rely on herself more than others.

The average woman is likely unaware of how important muscle strength is in her day to day life. But whether it’s lifting groceries, opening jars of pickles, or repeatedly picking up children all day long…muscle strength is required to do all this and more. A woman who doesn’t possess great muscle strength will tire easily and spend more time desperately trying to get rested. Building muscles strength will improve this day to day functionality. In a study completed by the University of Massachusetts and appearing in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, both men and women participated in a resistance training program to assess the variability in muscle size and strength changes. After twelve weeks of training, researchers found that women made more considerable gains in relative strength than men⁴. And if there ever were a group of women who should benefit from gains in strength it would have to be the elderly. Thankfully, they can and do. “I started working with a 92 year-old woman after she fell and broke her ankle,” says Miriam Nelson, an exercise physiologist at Tufts University and author of Strong Women Stay Young. “She now lifts 12 lbs with each leg, and 8 to 10 lbs with each hand. Her balance has improved significantly, and she’s bowling again.”⁵

The most amusing misconception that women have is that weight training will make them bulk up (fortunately most women don’t have the necessary testosterone in their body to attain such a feat). But in actuality, the reverse is far more likely; the average woman will lose fat as she builds muscle. Indeed, researchers at the University of Minnesota conducted a two year study that found that women who strength trained one hour a day, twice a week lost almost 4% body fat while their non-exercising peers lost nothing⁶. And lifting weights can increase the body’s metabolism as much as 7%⁷. So while the typical woman rests comfortably on the couch enjoying the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy, her body will be hard at work repairing and building up the proteins in her muscles that she shredded when curling those fifteen pound dumbbells. What does that do in the long run? This results in a leaner, more sculpted body, that’s what! So if strength training is such a fabulous answer to a chiseled body, what is keeping women out of the weight room? Could it really be the fear of bulking up? “I’ve never had a female client who isn’t worried about that,” says Larry Krug, a personal trainer at Crunch Fitness in Los Angeles. “It’s the very first thing they’ll ask about.”⁸ And the idea of “de-feminization” of college athletes who strength train continues to be a major concern of coaches, athletes and parents.⁹ This antiquated perception of weight training for women is proven nonsense and especially disheartening considering that a weight training regimen can significantly improve the quality of life for women of all ages.

You can call it whatever you want: weight training, strength training or even resistance training. The important thing is to Do It. The many proven benefits of lifting weights will only improve the quality of life for our mothers, sisters, best friends and wives. Creating a support system for women is a necessity for those who aren’t initially comfortable entering the “male dominated” weight rooms. This could be as simple as getting friends together to lift, spot and gossip. Ultimately women will discover that the gender gap is closing quickly in the weight room as more females discover the benefits of weight training.

"What comes around goes around" Britney Spears, Showdown

Guess who 80% of the suffers of osteoporosis are? Anyone, anyone? Unfortunately, if you guessed women, you're right. That number is staggering.

Guess what the Osteoporosis Foundation recommends as a preventative measure against osteoporsis? Anyone, anyone? If you guessed weight training, you're spot on! And that is fantastic.

Get a headstart on that condition though by starting to weight training early enough in life so you don't have to worry about osteoporosis. But if that's not an option (late bloomers, you know who you are!) you can still increase the strength of your bones by increasing bone density. All is not lost!

If you are a women concerned about otsteoporosis, pick up some weights. If you are a women concerned about her overall health, pick up some weights. If you are a women wanting to lose body fat....Iwell, 'm sure you get the idea. Here's one you may not be expecting: If there's a woman in your life who's health you care about...encourage HER to pick up weights. (Ok, men...you can be included in this one, too)

Who have you encouraged today?

Would a custom built $100,000 treadmill be an incentive to climb on board and get to work?  Not if your Maggie.

• 2-3 green lettuce leafs
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1 tbsp thinly sliced red onions
• 6-8 black olives, rinsed and sliced
• 1 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
• 1.5 ounces of grilled chicken strips(Tyson has a small bag)
• 2 tbsp Pasta House salad dressing (or vinagrette equivalent)

This powerhouse salad looks like this on the nutrition chart:

Nutrition Facts Serving Size: 1 recipe Amount Per Serving Calories 302 Total Fat 26g       Saturated Fat 4.8g Cholesterol 40mg Sodium 1312mg Carbohydrate 8.3g       Dietary Fiber 2.7g       Sugars 1.3g Protein 14g Vitamin A 95% Vitamin C 22% Calcium    12% Iron 22%

Granted, the sodium is a bit high on this recipe. This is because of the store bought grilled chicken breast strips. If you make your own that number will almost vanish. But look at your other stats! Only 302 calories? Check out those vitamins! And while 26 grams of fat looks daunting, most of that is good  monounsaturated fat.

And now, to really indulge: I love to treat myself, especially when I eat. I had this deliciousness today for lunch, served up in a china bowl  with a small glass of Merlot to get those benefits of red wine.  It felt rather decadent, if I do say so myself.

And that's exactly how I like it.