Fitness Routine

Eggs are one of our favorite ingredients to use in the kitchen. They can take any meal to the next level, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. Try topping a sandwich or salad with a poached egg, smashing some hard boiled eggs with yogurt and mustard for a lighter egg salad sandwich or chopping up whatever veggies are left in the fridge and whisking them into an omelet for a satisfying breakfast-for-dinner. When it comes to cooking with eggs, the possibilities are endless.     While the whites of an egg do contain some nutrients (riboflavin and selenium), most of the good stuff is packed into the yolk. Here, you reap the benefits of Vitamin D, which is essential for strong bones and proper immune function, choline, which aids in cellular function and plays an important role in fetus brain development during pregnancy, and lutein and zeaxanth, which are antioxidants that help slow the process of macular degeneration.  The nutrient-rich, high-protein content of eggs ma...

Especially with the change of seasons, your body will thrive when fueled with nutrient-dense foods that help ensure its cells get enough oxygen to support a healthy, active lifestyle; your body will boost its natural ability to remove waste products and excess sodium with a healthy mix of vitamin and mineral content it needs for proper cell and liver function; and, of course, your body will produce energy throughout the entire day. The last weeks of winter often lack in fresh fruits, vegetables, and greens, but a lightly-cooked green soup, loaded with healthy ingredients, is just what you need to power your energy levels .  Green vegetables and dark leafy greens are a great choice when it comes to supporting the health of your body. Broccoli and its cruciferous relatives (kale, cabbage, Brussel sprouts) contain sulphur compounds and omega-3 fatty acids, which may offer powerful anti-inflammatory action, possibly reducing the risk of devel...

If you’re looking for a decadent yet healthy family breakfast, you’ve come to the right place. If you find yourself rushing around during the week with not enough time to spend on anything more for breakfast than a quick smoothie or some oats (both of which are awesome options and I hope you are in the habit of making sure you fill yourself with good nutrients every morning), then take some time out on the weekend to get a little more indulgent. Another great quick breakfast option that's easy to prep ahead of time:  Protein Power Quinoa Egg Breakfast I love tinkering around in the kitchen when I have the time, so these breakfast burritos with eggs and sweet potatoes are right up my alley, but why not get your partner or your kids or the rest of the family involved too? It will speed up the process – because you will start getting really hungry when you’re prepping these ingredients! – and it’s a great time to spend chatting, laughing an...

We eat this in our house all the time - it's one of our favorite dishes because it's so versatile, easy & healthy. Mexican food can be very healthy with its fresh produce, fiber, protein and nutritious spices, all in all being low in fat and high in nutrients. You’re doing your heart health a big favor, and Mexican food can even be slimming – especially when you make it yourself and you know exactly what’s going into it. You’ll find essential vitamins and minerals, immune boosting properties, fiber, protein and more in this healthy dinner idea that can keep your whole family happy (even the pickiest of eaters). All of these nutrition perks contribute towards improving your energy levels, keeping your muscles and tissues healthy, strengthening your bones, lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol, improving your circulation and relieving congestion, among other health benefits. Good reads: Struggling to lose weight? What might be happe...

It’s one of my favorite meals to have on a weekday and it also makes for a great weekend brunch. Totally customizable depending on the season & your own tastes, wraps are something you can never get tired of. The basics of assembling the perfect wrap lies in the macronutrient ratios of ingredients. It is very important to incorporate good quality fats, carbs and protein into each meal for optimum nutrition and digestion. So whenever you're building those fast and delicious wraps, be aware of this principle. Love sweet potatoes? Try this dish:  Roasted Sweet Potato, Cauliflower and Barley Salad In this version we are heavy on veggies and healthy fats. We have nutrient-dense dark leafy greens which are packed with minerals and vital nutrients. We also have sweet potatoes which are good source of complex carbs, extra fiber and antioxidants. We get good quality fat and protein from the avocado and also the yogurt, which is rich in probiotics, too. Such a wonderful and...

Sweet potatoes are one of our go-to ingredients in the kitchen – their versatility, ease of use, delicious flavor, and wide range of nutritional benefits mean they can brighten just about any dish.  Sweet potatoes are also high in Vitamin A, which plays an important role in vision, as well as proper bone and immune system development; Vitamin C, which is essential for healthy tissue development and healing wounds; and manganese, which helps the body process nutrients and keep blood sugar low. This, paired with sweet potatoes’ low glycemic index, makes them a good dietary choice for diabetics.  *If you don't like sweet potatoes, you can easily recreate this recipe with any kind of potato you like. Love sweet potatoes? Check out this  Healthy packed lunch idea - Quick & easy to-go lunch The healthy perks don’t stop there. Sweet potatoes are a good source of fiber, which helps keep you feeling fuller longer. The nutrient-dense tuber is...

There aren’t many people who don’t love pasta. This is to a certain extent true and we should be aware of our intake of refined carbohydrates, but pasta can actually be a nice addition to a balanced diet especially if made with minimal processing and quality ingredients. If you can’t find fresh pasta in your grocery store you can definitely buy a packaged one. What’s important to look for that it is made of whole grain instead of refined. And if you deal with gluten intolerance, you can still use variations of the product (made with rice, quinoa, etc) to try to stick to a gluten-free version for optimum health and digestion. A lovely and flavorful option is buckwheat pasta, which is my suggestion for this recipe.  Although it contains “wheat” in its name, buckwheat is actually a seed and is totally gluten-free. It is also high in important minerals and vitamins like manganese, copper, magnesium and fiber. It has such a fantastic nutty flavor ...

The role that nutrition plays in ADHD is, as is true with most other illnesses and afflictions, grossly underestimated. Conventional medicine tends to prefer pills when it comes to the treatment of almost all health conditions; there’s less money in advocating a clean diet & exercise than there is in an expensive prescription drug that needs infinite refills. The downside is that a lot of the drugs are potentially very dangerous, and they really only partially (if you’re lucky) address the symptoms. Using nutrition to treat attention deficit disorder is by far and large the safer and more effective way to lessen the symptoms. Keep reading to learn more about how to build the ideal ADHD diet that can help eliminate or reduce symptoms to a point where they are manageable. “Let Food Be Your Medicine and Medicine Be Your Food” Hippocrates had it right. Lean protein – Lean meats, eggs, a large variety of nuts, beans (also a fantastic source of fiber), chee...

How many times have you sat around at a gathering of family or friends watching your or someone else’s kids run in circles, roll around on the ground, and just play for hours on end without tiring? There’s probably a 99% chance that you or someone else around you made the statement “I wish I had that much energy!”. I’ve done it, as I am sure almost everyone has. But a few years ago I had a light bulb moment. The key difference between “kid” and “adult” fitness My light bulb moment came while at one of those family gatherings as I was sitting in my chair with the other adults watching my cousin-in-law’s children chase each other around like they were on crack. At the time I had a middle-aged client whose main goal was to feel younger and more energetic. Well, someone said something about wanting to bottle the kid’s energy and sell it and it hit me like a ton of bricks. The reason kids are so energetic has a lot to do wit...

Study after study has come out showing that obesity is not only here to stay but is still on the rise, despite an ever-growing negative public sentiment towards those who are overweight and obese. So if being obese is so frowned upon, why are so many people falling victim to it? One reason could be that we are given more things to blame our extra weight on than you can shake an extra value meal at. The growing epidemic of obesity is not an easy disease to pin down and treat because for every proposed fix to a cause, there are two more causes that we come up with to blame instead. Common excuses around obesity: A slow metabolism and certain misleading medical conditions After working for more than a decade as a Nutrition Counselor and Personal Trainer, I have heard people blame weight gain on almost everything you can imagine, though the most popular excuse is a slow metabolism. Until recently, people blamed their slow metabolism on the idea that it just naturally slows as a person ag...

Oh, the rare and lovely days where we actually get to feel like we've done nothing at all. Even while we’re being completely lazy, our bodies are obviously still very busy (they've got a big show to run). The number of calories burned at rest is called the basal metabolic rate, and it’s a measure of how much energy your body uses just to keep all of your complex bodily functions up and running and in check (i.e. your body temperature regulated, your heart beating, your brain humming, and so on). The concept of burning off the body's energy stores while doing absolutely nothing is kind of exciting, until you realize how little you would have to eat in order to avoid putting on extra weight. Related : Search over 500 free workout videos that you can do in your own living room How many Calories do I Burn doing Nothing? Here’s the formula to find your resting metabolic rate: For Women: BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 ...

Unbeknownst to this foodie, the Slimcado is not brand new to the scene. In fact, it has been around for well over 100 years. I just recently saw it in the produce aisle and it raised a red flag; even if the Slimcado was not genetically modified, how do you take a food that is mostly fat and pitch it as a “lite” product, without lessening its nutrition or completely destroying the taste? What is a Slimcado? The fruit boasts roughly 35% less calories and half of the fat of a regular avocado . It looks nearly the same as its traditional counterpart with a few slight variances. There are about 30 varieties sold commercially, but some of the most noticeable differences are that the large seed inside the center of a reduced calorie avocado is slightly fuzzy, and they tend to have a shinier, smoother outside skin. These fruits are grown in Florida in a climate that is much wetter than the ones that regular avocados are grown in. The result is a sort of watered down, less calorie ...

According to the CDC, roughly one out of every five deaths in America is a result of the health repercussions of smoking cigarettes. Smoking causes a person’s chances of developing a long list of various cancers to skyrocket. It impedes circulation and increases the chances of heart disease. On a much shallower note, it’s a very expensive habit, it yellows teeth, and makes a person smell terrible. There’s no doubt that smoking’s a nasty habit, and it’s highly unlikely that you don’t already know that. Having that knowledge doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to drop the habit. There are many tricks, tips, and gimmicks out there meant to help a person quit smoking, but by far and large the one that has the most health perks (not just the absence of health risks) is exercise. How can exercise help you quit smoking? Keep reading, and let the reasons serve as motivation for you to make the move to kick the habit. Exercise can minimize the feel...

An ADHD friendly diet is more complex than simply limiting caffeine intake or large quantities of refined sugars. Media is constantly cramming “health” foods down our throats, but truth be told your best bet in treating ADHD with nourishment is going to be sticking to the basics of the nutrition world, which is the foundation of this ADHD Diet Plan . In that light, there are not only foods that can help, there are also ones that can definitely make it worse. Here are some that you should do your best to steer clear of if you or your child struggles with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Foods to avoid Minimize consumption of packaged products There are very few exceptions to this rule; microwavable dinners, prepackaged lunch meals, energy bars, candy, chips, crackers, and 99% of cereals are loaded with either sugars, salts, preservatives or additives (or all four!). These are not healthy for anyone, but they are particularly risky for someone sensitive to ADHD symp...

Working out with sciatica requires a bit of caution, but having the painful condition should by no means keep a person completely sidelined from physical activity and exercise. In fact, the “use it or lose it” saying applies even to those who have this condition; while rest is an important aspect of healing from an intense flare up, being overly sedentary for an extended period of time can sap your lower back of it’s strength and mobility, which only causes further problems. Core workouts for sciatica prevention and relief Well-developed core strength can help protect the lower back from becoming misaligned and lower the chances of strains and sprains. Try this Sciatica Stretching Video or this short Home Ab Workout in order to tone and tighten your core to protect the otherwise vulnerable lower back. Stretching for sciatica Maintaining flexibility is very important for a person who is prone to develop this painful condition. Stretching the surrounding muscles in t...

Avocados tend to get the cold shoulder from dieters because they are higher in fat and calories than most other fruits. The thing is, this delectable green fruit offers loads of nutrition and heart healthy, hunger-satisfying fats that anyone looking to lose weight should use as an ally. How many calories are in an avocado? There are approximately 230 calories in a fruit of medium size. Avocado nutrition and health benefits They are high in fat, with roughly 20 grams of fat in a medium sized fruit. The good news is that it’s almost all the heart healthy kind; mono and polyunsaturated fat. This fat is also the reason why just a small amount of the fruit can help you feel fuller longer, which is great for fending off mindless munching. They have no cholesterol and very little sodium. Another huge health perk is that they are very high in fiber, with a whopping 9 grams, or approximately 40% of your daily value. They might be fat and calorie dense, but they are also high in vitamins ...

Nuts are widely boasted for their nutritional benefits but what is less talked about is their calories, portion control, and healthy serving sizes. For example, consider walnuts. Walnuts are recognized for their high fiber content, levels of vitamins E and B, and heart healthy omega 2 fats. They taste great in yogurt, on salads, or even by the handful. The potential hitch is the number of calories and the small serving sizes-just one ounce. One serving of walnuts is actually just 7 whole pieces, or 14 halves. One ounce serves up a significant and easily consumed 185 calories, and 18 grams of, albeit healthy, grams of fat. Even considering that the energy is dense and prone to quickly add up if munched on mindlessly, they should be considered an essential diet staple to anyone who is trying to improve their diet or even lose weight. Knowing the basic serving sizes of nuts and having a general idea of how many calories there are in each variation can help keep the fat and caloric conte...

People who are looking to get fit have a much better chance of being successful and sticking to their workouts when they have a partner. Here are just a few of the advantages of having a workout buddy: • A designated partner help to keep you accountable when it comes to following through on your plans to exercise. • Having a workout buddy can make your exercise sessions more enjoyable and less monotonous. • Having a partner who is more fit than you can encourage you to push yourself and increase your fitness thresholds. • Teaming up with someone who is less fit than you can end up putting you in a role that requires a bit of leadership, which can in turn increase your own confidence and motivation levels. • Having someone to do physical activity with gives you someone to share the excitement of achieving your fitness goals. • Having a companion can be a healthy way to cope with life stresses, which boosts your overall health. • Teaming up with a par...

The BMI is widely regarded as a valid reference point for determining whether or not an individual is within a healthy weight range. It is so widely used for gauging bodyweight in reference to wellbeing that health insurance companies use the equation in order to calculate what your rates should be, meaning that they deem a person’s body mass index as being directly correlated with what kinds of health issues an individual is prone to fall ill to. Most health care practitioners chant, “attain a healthy BMI”, like a mantra to their heavier patients who fall outside the parameter of what is accepted as a healthy weight according to this chart. Here's how to calculate your BMI. The Equation BMI = {Weight in Pounds / (Height in Inches) x (Height in Inches)} x 703 A healthy BMI for women is between 19.1 and 25.8. The range for men is from 20.7 to 26.4. Example of how to calculate BMI This particular example of a calculation is for a woman who is 5’8 and 135 poun...

Folic acid is a vitamin that plays a vital process in the body’s production of healthy new cells. Studies have shown that this specific segment of B vitamins encourage a healthy heart, and can help protect the brain from Alzheimer’s and even lower the risk of developing cancerous cells. Some recent research has suggested that folate can provide aid to those that struggle with mood and anxiety disorders, such as depression, bipolar disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Folic acid, or folate, is part of the B vitamin complex and is especially important for pregnant women, who have a higher daily requirement for the vitamin. Women who plan on trying to get pregnant should begin taking a B vitamin complex before they actually begin trying to conceive as it plays a crucial role in the development of the baby’s brain and spine. Folate deficiency symptoms will begin to appear when an individual’s diet does not have enough natural folic acid sources, and if ther...