Surviving Easter: How To Avoid Over Indulging By Scindya Datt - Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Just because it’s Easter, doesn’t mean you need to overload on chocolate. Sure, everywhere you go there’s chocolate from wall to wall at the moment and even people giving you chocolates, but with these few tips, you can make it through the Easter period without doing too much damage to your waistline.
Make sure to keep the Easter indulgences to the one weekend. Easter chocolates and hot cross buns tend to appear in stores as early as January, but by limiting the days you splurge to the Easter weekend, you’ll be able to control how much you consume overall while still enjoying those sweet treats.
Why not ask friends and family to exchange non-food related gifts instead of chocolates? For a bit of chocolaty indulgence without the guilt factor, search for items that contain cocoa in them. For example, Max Brenner has a range of shower and bath gels that use cocoa butter.
Keep an eye on portion sizes. An Easter egg weighing 100g has 2200 kilojoules and 30g of fat. Four mini eggs however will give you 600 kilojoules and just 8g of fat.
For those of you who insist on indulging, choose smaller quantities of good-quality dark chocolate as opposed to large quantities of cheap chocolate eggs. Dark chocolate has a better nutritional profile and can also benefit you with their antioxidants. The more cocoa butter and the darker the chocolate, the better.
Have eggs for breakfast. No, not chocolate eggs, but real eggs. It has been proven that eating two eggs for breakfast will keep you fuller for longer. You will feel less hungry over the next few hours, meaning that you’ll consume less kilojoules in that amount of time.
How about organising activities that encourage exercise over the Easter period? A family bike ride, an Easter egg hunt or an egg-and-spoon-race are just a couple of suggestions. This way you’ll be able to balance out your chocolate indulgence with a bit of physical exercise.
Alternatively, you could compensate for those extra kilojoules just by being more active. Consider doing two lots of 15-minute walks at different times of the day. Before you know it, you’ve already done your 30 minutes for the day.
In addition to keeping the chocolate to a minimum, it would be wise to do the same with your alcohol intake. Alcohol can be high in kilojoules, so try and stick to one or two standard drinks. You could also stretch your drinks out by having a non-alcoholic drink between your alcoholic ones. Make sure to eat a healthy meal before you head out though, as this will help limit your snacking.
Finally, make sure that after the Easter long weekend, you return to your normal diet. Cure your chocolate hangover by eating lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and wholegrain cereals while limiting high-fat foods.
Happy Easter!
So long Sarong...10 Exercises to get you beach body ready By Brittany West - Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Bikini season is only months away, so its time to get toned, sculpted and ready to strut your amazing self down a sandy beach in a barely there bikini. To get the ultimate beach body Jenn Scott, trainer for Beach Body Bootcamp and Elle Canada recommend doing the following exercises 3 times per week with 1-minute bursts or cardio in between, such as jumping jacks, stair running or running on the treadmill. Remember to stretch all major muscle groups in the body after your workout to keep muscles long and lean. Hold each stretch for 10 slow, deep breaths.
1. Work that tush! Single Leg Squats --Sculpts the glutes.
Stand on one leg with opposite toes touching lightly beside your supporting foot for balance. With hands on hips squat down as though you were sitting onto a chair. Keep chest and eyes up, an arch in the lower back and ensure the knee does not go beyond the front toe. Allow the muscles of the supporting leg to do most of the work as you squat down slowly and come back to standing by contracting the glute muscles. Breathe in as you squat down and out as you stand up. Repeat this movement for 20 reps on each leg.
2. Tone your tummy! Ab Circles on the Ball -- Sculpts the entire mid-section.
Sit on a stability ball with lower back supported by the ball. You may do this exercise with feet resting against the wall for balance. With hands at the temples, begin with a side bend to the right, then arch back and come full circle through a side bend to the left and then up to your starting position. Perform 10 continuous circles to the right, followed by ten circles to the left. Breathe in for the first half of the circle and breathe out for the second half. Concentrate on contracting the muscles of the abdomen through the entire range of motion.
3. Firm your backside! Lying Ball Raise -- Sculpts the glutes.
Lie face down on a mat with legs stretched and turned out, toes pointed and holding a small stability ball between the ankles. Rest the forehead on the hands. Keeping legs stretched and squeezing the ball between the ankles, contract the glute muscles to raise the ball off the ground as high as possible (most likely a few inches). Try not to use the upper body at all: Focus on allowing the lower body to perform the movement. Breathe out as you lift the legs and in as you lower. Raise the ball slowly and lower to ½ an inch off the ground. Perform 15 repetitions, rest and repeat.
4. Get fierce legs! Jumping Lunges -- Sculpts the entire leg.
Stand with the back facing an exercise bench or chair. Place the toe of the back leg on the bench with legs in a wide lunge (holding dumbbells or with hands on the hips). Keeping the back toe on the bench, lunge down with the front leg and then explode into a single leg jump and land softly, working through the foot and moving smoothly and continuously into another lunge. Breathe in as you lunge down and out as you jump up. Repeat this movement 10 times and then switch legs. Do two sets of 10 with each leg.
5. Tone your legs! Ball Hamstring Curl -- Sculpts the hamstrings.
Lie face up on a mat with the bottoms of the feet on a stability ball. Raise the hips up in the air in line with the rest of the body. Contract the hamstrings to roll the ball in toward the butt, and then roll back out again. Be sure to keep the hips pressed up as high as possible and hips, knees and feet parallel. Breathe in as you roll the ball in towards you and out as you roll it away. Perform 15 repetitions, rest and repeat.
6. Slim your hips! Ab Curl with Ball Between Legs -- Sculpts the abs, inner thighs and hip flexors.
Lie face up on a mat with legs bent squeezing a small stability ball between the knees. Place the hands at the temples. Contracting the abdomen, curl the head and shoulders off the ground as you raise the legs off the ground in toward the upper body. Then release keeping the legs a few inches above the ground. Breathe out as you curl, and breathe in as you release. Repeat this movement 30 times, rest and repeat.
7. Sculpt your legs and butt! Lying Hip Raises -- Sculpts the glutes and hamstrings.
Lie face up on a mat with knees bent and hips, knees and feet parallel. Contract the glutes and hamstrings to raise the hips off the mat in line with the body and then lower keeping hips one-inch off the ground. Breathe out as you raise the hips up and in as you lower. Do 15 repetitions, then rest and repeat.
8. Target your core muscles! Plank -- Sculpts the full body with an emphasis on the core.
Begin on all fours on a mat. Then move into the plank position by resting on the forearms and extending the legs out to balance on the balls of the feet so that the entire body is parallel with the ground. Breathe in and out slowly and concentrate on keeping the abdominal muscles contracted. Work up to holding the position for one minute, rest and repeat.
9. Get a sexy back! Seated Row -- Sculpts the muscles of the back.
Using a resistance band, sit upright on a mat with legs stretched and flexed. Holding the resistance band with both hands, wrap it around the bottoms of the feet. Adjust the tension accordingly and proceed to contract the muscles of the middle back to draw the hands in toward the chest. Keep the elbows in close to the body, the chest open and the head lifted slightly. Pretend you are squeezing a pencil in between the shoulder blades. Then release slowly with continued resistance. Breathe out as you draw the hands in toward the chest and out as you release them away. Perform 15 repetitions, rest and repeat.
10. Sculpt your thighs! Side Hip Raises -- Sculpts the thighs and core.
Lie on the side of the body on a mat, propped up on the forearm with legs bent. Raise the hips of the ground while simultaneously lifting the top leg. Keep the abdominal muscles contracted and the legs parallel with one another. Then lower slightly to one inch off the ground. Breathe out as you raise the hips up and breathe in as you lower back to the mat. Repeat this movement 15 times on each side.
Keep your motivation high by keeping a photo of your target beach body in your wallet and pulling it out when you begin eyeing up that cup cake...you can do it!!
Lipo on your lunch break By Brittany West - Sunday, July 19, 2009
I wish I could melt these love handles away”….Can you?
As a woman I can’t tell you how many times I myself have stood in the mirror in the morning while trying to get dressed for the day pinching little bit’s and pieces of over indulgence in cupcakes or spaghetti, that are now a permanent attachment and wished they would just “melt away.” Could this wish possibly have come true?
A fairly new procedure known as “Smart Lipo” or more correctly, “Laser Lipo” does just that. “Smart Lipo” has very little down time and is literally a non-invasive laser procedure: a true luxury!
The whole procedure begins with a consultation between you and a physician in your area, too see if you are a good candidate. The consultation will assess if the procedure will be possible based on your health background and aesthetic goals. You may also be able to preview before and after photos of other successful “Smart Lipo-ees.”
Smart Lipo is not for everyone however. It is not designed to remove large fatty deposits, but is meant to help patients, who have those last stubborn areas that seem to have a stronger attachment to us than our mothers.
A good candidate will be of good health, including regular exercise and a sensible diet with a weight loss goal between 3-25 pounds.
From Start to finish the procedure typically takes no longer than 45 minutes with a recovery time of 72 hours. Most patients will need 1-3 sessions depending on the size of the fat deposits, to see results. With each session running between $2000= $6000.
With expensive, painful, invasive lipo a thing of the past; could stopping in for a little “thin down” look like a trip to the day spa in the future?
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