“the question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me”
CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK
Challenge this week!
It's a no brainer that kickboxing is a mega calorie burner (Muscle and Fitness Magazine reports that fitness kickboxing can burn over 800 calories per hour) as well as a great workout to tone up your entire body as you rev up your metabolism. If you are a cardio junkie, this is a great cross training workout to switch up your routine. I challenge you to 200 kicks per day (100 kicks on the left leg, 100 kicks on the right). Do this for the next two weeks. This is going to be like your morning coffee and give you that energy boost you are looking for. You'll be breathing hard and sweating out toxins; LET'S GO!
TIP OF THE WEEK
TIP OF THE WEEK!
Back to sugar. I am coming back to this one because I am not sure people realize the effects of sugar on the body, how addictive it is and how it's hidden in so many different foods. My TIP this week is to look on the back of the ingredients list of the foods you are eating and be sure that there are no "added sugars." I really think you will be shocked to see how much added sugar there is in different foods you buy. I promise you will notice a difference in your energy levels and overall mood when you cut back on this. Check out the article below that provides details on how to locate added sugars as well as the dangers of consuming added sugars.
How to spot — and avoid — added sugar
It's not just in sweetened drinks. Sugar is added to cereal, pasta sauce, and even crackers.
We all know that too much sugar is bad for health, but even the detectives among us may not realize how often sugar shows up on the dining table. "It's the added sugar that's problematic. Not the natural sugar in fruit, which has fiber to slow absorption, but added sugar—such as honey, molasses, and corn syrup," says Debbie Krivitsky, a registered dietitian at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital.
Why it's bad for you
Sugar is added to many types of foods, and eating too much of the sweet stuff—even when it seems to come from a natural source—is a risk for weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer, and even dementia. A diet heavy in added sugar is linked to a risk of dying from heart disease even if you're not overweight, according to a study that was published earlier this year in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Why does added sugar cause so much trouble? It's digested immediately and rapidly absorbed, and this causes an upswing in your blood sugar levels. "That challenges your pancreas to pump out more insulin. If the pancreas can't keep up with that demand, blood sugar levels rise, which can lead to more problems with insulin secretion, and ultimately to diabetes," says Dr. David M. Nathan, a Harvard Medical School professor and the director of the Diabetes Center and Clinical Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Sugar also raises inflammation throughout the body, increases triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood), and boosts the levels of dopamine in the brain. "Dopamine gives you a high, and that's why the more sugar you eat, the more you think you want," says Krivitsky.
Where it's hiding
Added sugar is obviously in candy, cake, soda, and fruit drinks. But it's also in foods that aren't considered sweets, including salad dressings, crackers, yogurt, bread, spaghetti sauce, barbecue sauce, ketchup, and breakfast cereals.
You can find added sugar by looking at the ingredients in a product. Look for words ending in "ose," such as fructose, dextrose, and maltose, and look for syrups and juices (see "The many names of added sugars").
You won't find added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label, since the listing for sugar includes both natural and added sugars. Proposed new labels aim to change this. But you can see how many grams of sugar are in a product.
The many names of added sugar
The sweet ingredient goes by many different names on food labels. Keep an eye out for these added sugars when you reading ingredient lists:
agave nectar
brown sugar
cane crystals
cane sugar
corn sweetener
corn syrup
crystalline fructose
dextrose
evaporated cane juice
fructose
fruit juice concentrates
glucose
high-fructose corn syrup
honey
invert sugar
lactose
malt sugar
malt syrup
maltose
maple syrup
molasses
raw sugar
sucrose
MEAL OF THE WEEK + SNACK IDEAS
Israeli salad
Oh so easy! We posted a similar salad a few weeks ago, but we added some extra ingredients to this one to make it even tastier!
Ingredients:
2 cups diced cherry tomatoes
2 cups diced English cucumber
½ cup diced red bell pepper (optional)
¼ cup red onion, diced
¼ cup finely chopped mint
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1–2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl. Season with salt to taste. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
mexican quinoa stuffed peppers
Team, let’s crank out these stuffed peppers and satisfy your hunger for the night.
Ingredients:
6 medium bell peppers (any color), tops cut off and cores removed
1 can of organic black beans
3 cups cooked quinoa
2 cups (8 ounces) freshly-shredded Pepper Jack cheese
1 cup good-quality salsa (I used a salsa verde with corn)
Optional toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado, extra cheese
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange the peppers in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish so that the cavity side is facing up.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the cooked black bean crumbles, cooked quinoa, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese and salsa until combined. Spoon the mixture evenly into the cavities of the six bell peppers. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
Bake uncovered for about 25-30 minutes, or until the peppers are cooked and soft and the cheese is all melted. Serve immediately, topped with optional toppings if desired.
meatball and tomato salad
The salads are rocking this week! Some meat and veggies in this delicious appetizer or entree.
Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground sirloin or lean ground grass-fed bison
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/4 cup canola oil, divided
1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 2 Tbsp. fresh juice, divided
1/4 cup plain 0% nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
4 cups packed arugula
2 cups sliced heirloom tomatoes
1 ripe medium avocado, quartered and sliced
Stir together ground meat, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl; shape into 12 meatballs. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add meatballs; cook until browned on all sides, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat.
Whisk together lemon juice, remaining 3 tablespoons oil, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. Stir together yogurt, 1 tablespoon water, chives, dill, and lemon zest in a separate small bowl.
Toss together arugula and 2 tablespoons oil mixture in a large bowl; place 1 cup mixture on each of 4 plates. Toss together tomato slices and 2 tablespoons oil mixture in the same bowl; add 1/2 cup tomatoes to each plate. Gently toss avocado slices with remaining 1 tablespoon oil mixture in bowl; divide evenly among plates. Place 3 meatballs on each plate; drizzle each with 1 tablespoon yogurt mixture.
INDUSTRY NEWS
Rebel Wilson's Trainer Reveals What It Takes to Embark on Fitness Journey Like Actress' 'Year of Health'
By: Gabrielle Chung
Rebel Wilson has called 2020 her "Year of Health" — and her trainer says there's a reason why fitness is a continuous journey, not a race.
Jono Castano, a personal trainer based in Wilson's native of Australia, recently opened up about what it takes to embark on something like a body transformation, revealing that the biggest keys to success are to set realistic goals and timelines.
"I think with any type of transformation, you shouldn't always look at the easiest option, you know, two months is not enough time to be able to change your body," Castano told Yahoo! Lifestyle.
"A transformation is never ending, the journey always continues, so you can never give yourself 10, 12 weeks. Because it just continues, once you reach your goal then what? Then you're going to stop? You can't stop, it becomes a lifestyle, you continue and you become the best version of yourself as cliche as it sounds."
"Two months just isn't enough time," he added. "Don't forget, two months, you're putting a lot of stress on yourself. When your goal is like that and you don't achieve it, it can cause a lot of mental problems. So, my advice is keep your goals realistic, short and then achieve them and progress from there."
This is why he agrees "100 percent" that Wilson's year-long wellness goal is a good place to start, explaining that fitness should be considered a "change of lifestyle" and not so much focused on weight loss.
"If someone comes in [wanting a transformation], the first thing is, we need to really understand where they're at. So, what I mean by that, is we need to find out their weight, body fat, muscle mass," he shared. "Because what tends to happen as well is that a lot of people weigh themselves and they don't understand why they're not losing weight, because they're putting on muscle, and then they're looking better."
According to Castano, nutrition is just as important as exercise in the fitness journey. He recommends drinking three to four liters of water a day and eating "to be satisfied, not full."
"You can't out-train a poor diet and you can't let the weekend derail your fitness goals. It's a key mistake that a lot of people make. They get to the weekend and everything goes down the drain and then basically Monday to Friday, all the hard work that they did is gone," he said. "I'm all about balance, so with me, if you're going to have one drink, whatever it is, a chocolate, that's totally fine as long as it fits into your calorie count."
As for working out, Castano believes that staying active — regardless if it's taking a walk or intense strength training — is key.
"I always think of it as the more you do the better, but don't over do it. So, for any type of transformation I'd definitely recommend five times a week, with two days of recovery if possible," he shared.
"But recovery is, you know, you're focusing on your stretching, getting a massage, or decreasing the load of the exercises, so, for example, going for a walk. Not every training session needs to be 100 percent, as long as we're moving and we're burning calories I think that's the key for any type of training."
Wilson began her lifestyle transformation last year when she visited Austria's luxury medical detox and wellness center, VivaMayr, with friend and TV host Carly Steel. While there, the Pitch Perfect star got “amazing results” by following the center’s Mayr Method diet plan — which centers around principles like eating slowly and mindfully to aid digestion — a source told PEOPLE.
Now that Wilson is back at home, she’s continuing to follow the tenets of the Mayr Method, while also increasing her workouts.
“She exercises with a personal trainer up to six times a week, goes on walks and is trying to up her protein intake nutritionally,” the source said. “I know she's also been working on conquering her emotional eating patterns of behavior.”
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Yale study says this simple technique is the key to reducing stress
By: John Anderer
You’ve heard it countless times throughout your life. “Just take a breath and calm down,” or “you’re too worked up, go take a breather.” How often do any of us follow that advice, though?
Breathing is a necessity of human life and automatic bodily process occurring, quite literally, all the time. Beyond this main purpose, however, taking conscious control of one’s breath via breathing techniques can also serve as a great way to calm both the body and the mind. Of course, whenever someone is feeling particularly anxious, angry, or upset, taking a deep breath is usually the farthest thing from their mind.
Now, a new study from Yale University is lending further credence to the notion that breathing techniques are an essential ingredient when it comes to managing stress, overcoming anxiety, and building stronger mental health in general. The team at Yale examined the benefits of three distinct wellness programs on groups of college students and found that the program focusing heavily on breathing techniques was the most helpful by far.
“I didn’t realize how much of it was physiology, how you control the things inside you with breathing,” comments Anna Wilkinson, a Yale student (class of 2022) who took part in the research, in a release. “I come out of breathing and meditation as a happier, more balanced person, which is something I did not expect at all.”
Ms. Wilkinson was assigned to the SKY Campus Happiness program, which turned out to be the most beneficial of all three included wellness strategies. Students enrolled in this course reported improvements across six life areas: mindfulness, stress, depression, mental health, social connectedness, and positive affect. The SKYCH program primarily teaches enrollees a specific breathing technique, in conjunction with yoga, service activities, and social connection.
Davornne Lindo, a member of the Yale track team who tried out the SKYCH program as well, had this to say about what she learned: “Now that I have these techniques to help me, I would say that my mentality is a lot healthier. I can devote time to studying and not melting down. Races have gone better. Times are dropping.”
The second examined wellness strategy, known as “Foundations of Emotional Intelligence,” was created by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. This program emphasizes recognizing and controlling one’s emotions, yet only produced one benefit among participating students; greater mindfulness.
The third wellness program, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, is a mindfulness meditation course. This approach didn’t yield any benefits for participants.
In total, 135 Yale students took part in this research. Each student was randomly assigned to one of the three eight-week-long wellness programs, and then after the course had been completed, participants’ wellbeing was compared to a control group of college students who hadn’t received any wellness training.
Why college students? While adults are no strangers to stress, college students are especially vulnerable to overwhelming feelings of anxiety and worry, particularly when the calendar draws closer to the final exam or midterm. These findings can be applied to adults as well; college students aren’t the only ones who can benefit from taking an extra breath here or there.
“In addition to academic skills, we need to teach students how to live a balanced life,” says lead study author Emma Seppälä, faculty director of the Women’s Leadership Program at Yale School of Management. “Student mental health has been on the decline over the last 10 years, and with the pandemic and racial tensions, things have only gotten worse.”
The courses examined in this study were held in person among students. But, researchers say the programs can also be taught online, which is a big plus considering the COVID-19 pandemic.
Even if you feel like you don’t have the time for a dedicated course on wellness or specific breathing techniques, just a few deep, deliberate breaths can go a long way toward staying calm in a trying situation. Try to keep these findings in mind the next time you’re feeling anxious or nervous.
