Smarter Snacking

One of the benefits of working at a gym is getting to read all of the health and fitness magazines that we stock for patrons. A recent issue of SHAPE had 2 great ideas for how to snack without feeling you're depriving yourself.

1) Eat half and half- if you're craving something that's bad for you, eat half of a serving, and have half a serving of something healthy. Example: cocoa puffs and cornflakes or high-fiber cereal, alfredo sauce and red sauce, M&Ms and almonds.

2) The 10-calorie trick: take 20 10-calorie servings of multiple types of food to make a 200 calorie snack that satisfies all of your various cravings. Some good suggestions from SHAPE:

Candy:
2 skittles
3 plain M&Ms
1 gummi bear
1.5 black licorice bites
1 Whopper
2.5 Jelly beans
3 Altoids
4 Nestle Toll House chocolate chips

Sweet:
2 teddy grahams
40 cheerios
1 container tropical berry or strawberry kiwi sugar-free Jello
1 Animal Cracker

Salty:
1.5 Almonds
1 Pecan Half
1 Cashew Half
20 roasted salted soy nuts
1 shoestring french fry
1 Wheatables cracker
2.5 Pistachios
18 salted sunflower seeds
2 fritos
7 pieces pirate's booty
1/3 cup air-popped popcorn (not butter!)
1 French Onion Sunchip
4 Goldfish
2.5 baked Cheetos

Fruit:
1 apple slice
3 red or green grapes
1 orange wedge
2 large strawberries
12.5 blueberries
1 dried pineapple piece
3 watermelon balls


Combine any of the above to have your own customized low-calorie snack.
It doesn't count if you go over the given amount.

Happy eating :)

Wake-up Right

This sounds crazy, but I woke up at 6 am today and I feel GREAT.
There's something really rewarding about getting a lot accomplished before the time your day would normally start.
Plus, now that the weather's getting nicer, the early morning is a wonderful time to enjoy it in a quieter, peaceful setting.

One day this week, set your alarm an hour or two earlier, make yourself get out of bed, sit around for a while, have a cup of coffee, read the paper, do some yoga or go for run.
Having that time in the morning to yourself can help you get going on a long day by letting you take your time getting ready instead of rushing out the door, already stressed.

I promise that it's worth that lost hour or two of sleep.

Bad Mood?

Run.
Take a kickboxing class.
Rockclimb.
Bike.


Absolutely nothing will make you feel better than working out, no matter what kind of funk you're in.
Transfer the anger or frustration you feel at the world into a harder workout. The more upset you are, the harder you can dig into your workout. When you finish, you've gotten a double bonus: you've worked out AND you feel better.

Here's some suggestions for bad-mood workouts:

Intervals on the Treadmill:
Start by warming up at your own easy pace for 5-10 minutes, then alternate 1 minute of sprinting with 2 minutes of jogging or walking. When you sprint, concentrate on using your negative emotions. Repeat for as long as you want, ending with an easy 5-10 minute cooldown.

Spinning:
If your gym has a spin room, it's the perfect place to work out stress. If there's no classes available, grab your iPod and try making up your own routine. After a 2-or-3 song warmup (low resistance, moderate speed), alternate the following with easy song breaks:
-"climb"- choose a 4 or 5 minute song, increase resistance at a constant speed
-"jumps"- at a medium resistance, bike in your seat for an 8-count, then come out of the seat, keeping your butt above the seat, leaning on your elbows for another 8-count, then bike standing up as straight as you can for another 8. Repeat for the whole song.
-"sprints"- at a low resistance, sprint out the chorus of a fast-paced song.

Do a 1-2 song cooldown when you finish, and stretch!