Healthy Food Chart

Flickr: chrishuseinGlobal warming, swine flu, terrorism, even the Jonas Brothers, you’d figure one of these would mark the destruction of mankind, but no. Instead, doom will come stuffed with cheese, wrapped in bacon, fried in oil, stuffed in a bun and topped with sauerkraut, mayonnaise and lard. The streets will run pink with hotdog. …

It always feels good to be home. I like being in the town where I grew up, around all the things that are familiar to me. I spent the afternoon visiting with family and doing a few errands. We were going to go out for dinner but it got late and we decided (for Will’s sake) it would be best to stay in. We fired up the grill and had pork chops, spinach and roasted potatoes for dinner. I accidently (out of habit) took my photo on my camera and don’t have my computer so I’ll have to insert the picture tomorrow when I get back to Boston. Have a fabulous weekend!

– Post From My iPhone

I travel a lot so I know firsthand how difficult it can be to stick with your workout routine while on the road. For instance, today I am at a hotel in Connecticut that has a makeshift gym that is…

Cooking on the grill is an easy way to make low-fat and low-calorie dishes. With the summer months soon upon us it it time to start using the grill and enjoying some weight-loss friendly recipes outdoors. Here are some great…

Thanks so much for the great questions and comments. Keep them coming! Post your inquiries on any blog entry (related or not) anytime. Thanks so much to Stacewin06 and Greenestacorn for sharing your successJ This weekend we’re headed up north for a camping trip. It should be a blast (I love S’mores), as long as it doesn’t rain. Have a good one.

JGillespie28 says: Can you recommend good resistance bands? I want to buy some, but don’t know where to start.

Answer: EmilySteven’s was right on. I would check out www.spri.com for resistance bands. They have a huge variety and tend to hold up the best. My favorite is the basic Xertube band for about $9.95. If you’re a beginner, you might want to choose a light or a medium resistance. More advanced, choose a medium or a heavy resistance. And while you’re there click the ‘Xertube’ video icon to see a few great band moves. Good luck!

MargiB says: Are you still doing your ab workouts to work on your post baby belly and how are your results coming?

Answer: Oh, the post baby belly! Yes, I’m still working to tighten up those abs on most nights. In fact, I’ve been incorporating Self’ flat belly bonus workout moves too. Check them out at, http://www.self.com/fitness/workouts/2009/04/flat-belly-bonus-video.

ryangm says: I read somewhere that the recommended daily exercise is 30-minutes per day to maintain weight, 60-minutes to lose weight and 90-minutes to maintain lost weight. This doesn’t make sense to me – if you are exercising 60 mins per day and lose some weight, then in order to maintain you have to exercise longer? I recently lost about 5 lbs and don’t want to regain it, but definitely do not have 90 minutes in my day to devote to exercise. Thanks for clearing this up!

Answer: Shedding pounds boils down to simple math. Essentially you need to expend 3,500 total calories weekly above the amount that you take in to lose one pound. That holds true whether you’re at your happy weight and trying to maintain or still have a few pounds to go. As a general rule: Aim to burn about 300 calories per workout to be in the weight loss zone. If you don’t have a ton a time to zap calories, up the intensity of your workouts (intervals are my favorite) to burn more calories in less time. Try this workout from SELF: http://www.self.com/fitness/workouts/2007/12/plyometric-jumping-video. Hope that helps!

cwarlick says: I have a question about HIIT. I know that the work period is supposed to be really short b/c you are working at a level that you cannot maintain. My preferred workout is on a treadmill in my house. However, I cannot physically run fast enough that I feel like I need to stop after a short time because I get afraid of falling. I have fallen on a treadmill once and ever since I can’t go over 8.0mph for fear of falling. I would like to be able to do HIIT so my question is this, can I do HIIT effectively if I add an incline? For instance, if I do a hill program and run on the hills and recover on the flat part is that HIIT as long as I feel like I have to stop after short bursts? Thanks in advance!

Answer: HIIT or high intensity interval training is a great way to burn fat fast. But I’m with you. Sprinting full tilt on the treadmill can be scary! The good news is that you don’t have to go above 8.0 MPH to reach maximum intensity. Crank up that incline! I find that if I’m on an incline of say 5 at 7.0 MPH I’m working just as hard, if not harder, then if I run flat at 8.0 MPH. The key is that you want to be nearly breathless on the sprints after one minute. Lower the incline for a recovery period, but not the speed, and then take it back up again after a minute or two. Good Luck!