I get so mad when I see egg white omelets on menus, or hear people saying they only eat egg whites. There is NO nutrition in egg whites, all you are eating is empty calories, and that is NOT the way to weight loss/healthy nutrition. I hear people say they didn't want the "extra calories" of eating the yolk, but just eating egg whites is a complete waste of calories. You might as well go eat something else. Not saying egg whites are bad for you, but there is no nutrition in there.
You're best bet is to make an omelet, or scrambled eggs, or whatever you're making, and use say 2 whole eggs, and 2 egg whites. That way you're still getting the nutrition from the yolk, but you're eating "more" to make you fuller.
I'm not going too much into it here, because I have an article that I want to share with you that says everything I would say. This is an article from personal trainer/nutritionist Mike Geary, the Truth About Abs guy, on whole eggs vs egg whites.
Check it out, it's worth the read if you're looking to be healthier and leaner.
http://www.truthaboutabs.com/whole-eggs-or-egg-whites.html
Monday, March 25, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Stretching - Hip Flexors
Stretching
is definitely the most important part of your workout and should be
done at the beginning and end of your workout. Your warmup should
always consist of some dynamic stretching to get your body moving and
warm. The stretch at the end of your workout can be more of a
concentrated stretch on individual muscles used during that workout.
First things first, one thing to always remember about stretching is that it takes 7 seconds for your body to realize what you're doing. So you want to make sure you're holding your stretches for at least 20-30 seconds(mainly the concentrated stretches, if you're doing dynamic stretches then obviously you're not holding them).
So this idea came to me because of a conversation I was having with my sister last week. She's doing the Broad Street Run (for those who don't know, it's a 10 mile Philly marathon), and this is her first marathon and she was asking me the other day about stretches for shin splints(which calf stretches help). I started telling her about the importance of stretching your hip flexors as a runner. I thought it would be a good idea to do a series of posts on stretching, targeting one specific area in each post. This post will have the focus on hip flexors.
Whether you're someone who runs 10 marathons a year, or someone who jogs once a week for weight loss, or someone who doesn't run at all, stretching is really important. Even if you're not a runner, you have probably heard about the problems runners can have; whether it be their knees, feet/ankles, or shin splints. Most of the problems that occur from running can be fixed by simply stretching your hip flexors.
First, I want to give a little background on the hip flexor muscles and what they do so you have a better understanding of what exactly you're stretching and why they need to be stretched.
There are 21 muscles that act to flex the femur (or pull your knee upward.) For these purposes, you don't need to know all of them, just a few of the ones that are important to the actual action of flexing the hip joint.
The most important are the Psoas major, Psoas minor and iliacus muscle, collectively known as the iliopsoas. The iliopsoas are responsible for flexion and external rotation. These are the 3 most important hip flexors. There is also the rectus femoris which is part of the quadriceps muscle on the front of your thigh. This is the primary muscle involved in running, which is why it is so important for runners to stretch. There are a few more important ones, but for our purposes you don't need an in depth knowledge of them.
All of these 21 muscles act to move your hip, and for as often as we move our hips everyday, they get a lot of work. That's why it is so important to stretch them.
I read an article a little while ago about a study that was done on runners with different problems, and they had hip flexor stretches that they had to do everyday for a few months or a year (I forget exactly), but from doing these stretches, their problems went away. (I've been looking for the article to post it here, when I do, I'll update this post with it.) But there's proof of how proper stretching can help.
So I want to share some of my favorite hip flexor stretches; I'm going to try and find pictures for every stretch too, to help clarify.
The first 2 are "runner's stretches."
Kneeling hip flexor stretch:
kneel on right knee, with toes down, and place left foot flat on the floor in front of you, knee bent and aligned with ankle. Place hands on left thigh.
Press hips forward until you feel tension in the front of your right thigh. Extend arms overhead, with elbows close to head and palms facing each other, and slightly arch your back while keeping your chin parallel to the ground. Hold for at least 20-30 seconds, then switch sides.
"Runners Stretch"
For the next one, you're just going to bring your leg that's on the ground up and straight behind you. Make sure you keep your bent knee in line with your ankle. The lower to the ground you go, the deeper the stretch.
Here are a few stretches using resistance bands.
Standing Hip Abductor
To abduct is to move your hip away from your body, moving your right leg to the right. (Adduct means to move it towards your body.)
Again, make sure to anchor the resistance band to a stable object. You're going to want the leg that you're stretching to be on the outside. So you want to loop the other end around your right foot so the band crosses in front of you. Keep your right leg straight and slowly lift out to the side for a 2 count, then release it back for a 2 count. Make sure you don't bring your foot inwards, adducting it. Repeat on the other leg.
Front to Back Hip Swing
For this one, you're going to be lying your side, hips stacked legs straight, propped up on your elbow. Bend the bottom leg to a 90 degree angle making sure to keep your top leg straight, toes pointed.
You're simply going to swing your top leg forward and backwards. You want to do this slowly and carefully, keeping your abs and butt tight, and making sure the rest of your body does not move. If you need a little more stabilization, place your hand in front of your stomach.
Butterfly Stretch
I know everyone knows the simple, old butterfly stretch you always did in elementary school gym class. With this however, you want to make sure you're back is straight. If your knees don't touch the floor, no problem! The point is to get the proper stretch, and you'll find over time, you'll be able to push your knees closer and closer to the ground!
Pigeon Pose
First things first, one thing to always remember about stretching is that it takes 7 seconds for your body to realize what you're doing. So you want to make sure you're holding your stretches for at least 20-30 seconds(mainly the concentrated stretches, if you're doing dynamic stretches then obviously you're not holding them).
So this idea came to me because of a conversation I was having with my sister last week. She's doing the Broad Street Run (for those who don't know, it's a 10 mile Philly marathon), and this is her first marathon and she was asking me the other day about stretches for shin splints(which calf stretches help). I started telling her about the importance of stretching your hip flexors as a runner. I thought it would be a good idea to do a series of posts on stretching, targeting one specific area in each post. This post will have the focus on hip flexors.
Whether you're someone who runs 10 marathons a year, or someone who jogs once a week for weight loss, or someone who doesn't run at all, stretching is really important. Even if you're not a runner, you have probably heard about the problems runners can have; whether it be their knees, feet/ankles, or shin splints. Most of the problems that occur from running can be fixed by simply stretching your hip flexors.
First, I want to give a little background on the hip flexor muscles and what they do so you have a better understanding of what exactly you're stretching and why they need to be stretched.
There are 21 muscles that act to flex the femur (or pull your knee upward.) For these purposes, you don't need to know all of them, just a few of the ones that are important to the actual action of flexing the hip joint.
The most important are the Psoas major, Psoas minor and iliacus muscle, collectively known as the iliopsoas. The iliopsoas are responsible for flexion and external rotation. These are the 3 most important hip flexors. There is also the rectus femoris which is part of the quadriceps muscle on the front of your thigh. This is the primary muscle involved in running, which is why it is so important for runners to stretch. There are a few more important ones, but for our purposes you don't need an in depth knowledge of them.
All of these 21 muscles act to move your hip, and for as often as we move our hips everyday, they get a lot of work. That's why it is so important to stretch them.
I read an article a little while ago about a study that was done on runners with different problems, and they had hip flexor stretches that they had to do everyday for a few months or a year (I forget exactly), but from doing these stretches, their problems went away. (I've been looking for the article to post it here, when I do, I'll update this post with it.) But there's proof of how proper stretching can help.
So I want to share some of my favorite hip flexor stretches; I'm going to try and find pictures for every stretch too, to help clarify.
The first 2 are "runner's stretches."
Kneeling hip flexor stretch:
kneel on right knee, with toes down, and place left foot flat on the floor in front of you, knee bent and aligned with ankle. Place hands on left thigh.
Press hips forward until you feel tension in the front of your right thigh. Extend arms overhead, with elbows close to head and palms facing each other, and slightly arch your back while keeping your chin parallel to the ground. Hold for at least 20-30 seconds, then switch sides.
"Runners Stretch"
For the next one, you're just going to bring your leg that's on the ground up and straight behind you. Make sure you keep your bent knee in line with your ankle. The lower to the ground you go, the deeper the stretch.
Here are a few stretches using resistance bands.
Standing Hip Flexor
Make sure you anchor the resistance band to a stable object, put your foot in the band and turn so you are facing away
from object it's anchored to. Keep your right leg straight, and lift it forward slowly for a 2 count, the release it for a 2 count. Repeat on the other leg.
Make sure you anchor the resistance band to a stable object, put your foot in the band and turn so you are facing away
from object it's anchored to. Keep your right leg straight, and lift it forward slowly for a 2 count, the release it for a 2 count. Repeat on the other leg.Standing Hip Abductor
To abduct is to move your hip away from your body, moving your right leg to the right. (Adduct means to move it towards your body.)
Again, make sure to anchor the resistance band to a stable object. You're going to want the leg that you're stretching to be on the outside. So you want to loop the other end around your right foot so the band crosses in front of you. Keep your right leg straight and slowly lift out to the side for a 2 count, then release it back for a 2 count. Make sure you don't bring your foot inwards, adducting it. Repeat on the other leg.Front to Back Hip Swing
For this one, you're going to be lying your side, hips stacked legs straight, propped up on your elbow. Bend the bottom leg to a 90 degree angle making sure to keep your top leg straight, toes pointed. You're simply going to swing your top leg forward and backwards. You want to do this slowly and carefully, keeping your abs and butt tight, and making sure the rest of your body does not move. If you need a little more stabilization, place your hand in front of your stomach.Butterfly Stretch
I know everyone knows the simple, old butterfly stretch you always did in elementary school gym class. With this however, you want to make sure you're back is straight. If your knees don't touch the floor, no problem! The point is to get the proper stretch, and you'll find over time, you'll be able to push your knees closer and closer to the ground!Pigeon Pose
And to end with my personal favorite! I always feel like my hips get stretched so well with this move, and you'll be glad to know I am extremely inflexible with this move, although, with lots of stretching I have been getting better.
Hope you enjoy!!! Get to stretching! Any questions/comments please let me know!
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Making your own frozen veggies
Everyone has bought frozen veggies in the boxes or the bags. Let me start by saying that if you are going to buy already frozen veggies, DO NOT get the steamer bags, or the ones that come with cheese sauce or butter. I undertstand there are kids out there who will not eat their veggies without some kind of fat on them, and that's fine, as long as they're eating their veggies, but you're better off making your own cheese sauce, or adding butter yourself this way you can CONTROL it. (Those steamer bag ones are also processed, so stay far away from them.) Just a helpful little tip there.
Ok, so frozen veggies are not bad for you. Yes, it is definitely better to buy fresh local or organic fruits and veggies and eat them right away because you get SO many more nutrients. But let's face it, not everyone is able to do that, and some times before you can get around to eating them, they go bad. And another problem can be that unless you're getting the frozen veggies during those 10 for $10 sales, they're a convenience item and can be expensive, not to mention it's hard to find organic frozen veggies, if that's what you like.
Well here is a way to buy those organic veggies, but freeze them for later use. At the end of the season, fruits and veggies that are no longer going to be in season will go on sale like crazy with farmers trying to get rid of all their produce. So what you do is buy all those cheap organic (or local, sometimes local is better) veggies and freeze them yourself.
There is one small catch, you can't just stick them right in the freezer. If you do that, you will freeze off all those amazing nutrients! So what you want to do is blanch your veggies first, which just means to cook them just slightly, then freeze them for later use. When veggies are blanched, then frozen at the peak of freshness, you won't lose any of those amazing nutrients. This is also a great time saving, and produce saving technique for those who grow their own veggies!
Corn on the Cob
I'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't love fresh corn on the cob way better than frozen corn. If you like corn on the cob, or off the cob, here's a simple way to keep it tasting delicious!
So everyone knows how to cook corn on the cob, you just boil it. Some people like to grill it, that's fine as well. You only want to boil them for about 5 minutes or so, depending on how many pieces you throw in there. Once blanched, throw in an ice bath for a few minutes to stop the cooking process**. Once it's cool, and dry (!very important that they're dry!) either freeze them whole on the cob or you can remove the kernals and freeze them too! To do this, you're going to want to take you're sharpest, thinnest knife and cut the kernals off into a bowl. Below is a picture of the easiest way to do this.
Take a big bowl, and put a smaller bowl in it (in this case I used a ramekin). Rest the cob on the smaller bowl and cut. All the kernals will fall right into the bigger bowl instead of all over your kitchen!
Then transfer to an airtight freezer bag and put in the freezer for later use.
Broccoli (and Cauliflower etc)
Ok, it's pretty simple for these veggies, too. Again, you just want to blanch them. You will know your broccoli is cooked because it gets very green. So boil just for a few minutes, about 3, but stop before it gets super green. Once blanched, put it an ice bath for a few minutes** then transfer to a collander and let dry completely before transferring to an airtight freezer bag. Freeze and enjoy for later use!
You can do this with any kind of veggies; peas, shelled and washed; asparagus, stems cut off; beans, cleaned, stems pulled off; all for about 1 minute each.
Tomato's are another veggie that freezes great. Once boiled, the skin slides right off and you can freeze them however you like, crushed, whole, diced, etc.
**THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. Make sure once the veggies are blanched they go into an ice bath to stop the cooking process, otherwise they will continue to cook while they cool and dry, and when you you go to cook them after freezing you will have overcooked veggies!**
Another helpful tip is to freeze them in portion control sizes. Once you boil a few heads of broccoli for example, [I pre-cut and de-stem mine before boiling] put them into a few small sandwich sized zipper bags, then those small bags into a larger freezer bag and freeze. Then you can take out one portion at a time. This way you can also make your own mixed veggie bags. Take your favorite veggie; peas, carrots, mushrooms and corn for example. Make indiviual mixed veggie bags with a little of each veggie. When you're ready to cook, throw into a pot with some chicken for some stirfry!
Another thing I also like to do with veggies that I'm not going to freeze, is chop them and prep them when I get them in case I don't get to use them right away. Chopped peppers, zucchini, cucumber, etc., will last much longer in an airtight bag or container in the fridge, than out and exposed to the air and other veggies.
In case you didn't know, having fruits and veggies near each other speed up the ripening process. That's why your bananas are brown after a few days!
Taking the time when you come home from the farmers market or grocery store to blanch and freeze your fresh veggies is an easy, time and money saving technique to get healthy, nutritent rich foods quickly!
Ok, so frozen veggies are not bad for you. Yes, it is definitely better to buy fresh local or organic fruits and veggies and eat them right away because you get SO many more nutrients. But let's face it, not everyone is able to do that, and some times before you can get around to eating them, they go bad. And another problem can be that unless you're getting the frozen veggies during those 10 for $10 sales, they're a convenience item and can be expensive, not to mention it's hard to find organic frozen veggies, if that's what you like.
Well here is a way to buy those organic veggies, but freeze them for later use. At the end of the season, fruits and veggies that are no longer going to be in season will go on sale like crazy with farmers trying to get rid of all their produce. So what you do is buy all those cheap organic (or local, sometimes local is better) veggies and freeze them yourself.
There is one small catch, you can't just stick them right in the freezer. If you do that, you will freeze off all those amazing nutrients! So what you want to do is blanch your veggies first, which just means to cook them just slightly, then freeze them for later use. When veggies are blanched, then frozen at the peak of freshness, you won't lose any of those amazing nutrients. This is also a great time saving, and produce saving technique for those who grow their own veggies!
Corn on the Cob
I'd be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't love fresh corn on the cob way better than frozen corn. If you like corn on the cob, or off the cob, here's a simple way to keep it tasting delicious!
So everyone knows how to cook corn on the cob, you just boil it. Some people like to grill it, that's fine as well. You only want to boil them for about 5 minutes or so, depending on how many pieces you throw in there. Once blanched, throw in an ice bath for a few minutes to stop the cooking process**. Once it's cool, and dry (!very important that they're dry!) either freeze them whole on the cob or you can remove the kernals and freeze them too! To do this, you're going to want to take you're sharpest, thinnest knife and cut the kernals off into a bowl. Below is a picture of the easiest way to do this.
Take a big bowl, and put a smaller bowl in it (in this case I used a ramekin). Rest the cob on the smaller bowl and cut. All the kernals will fall right into the bigger bowl instead of all over your kitchen!
Then transfer to an airtight freezer bag and put in the freezer for later use.
Broccoli (and Cauliflower etc)
Ok, it's pretty simple for these veggies, too. Again, you just want to blanch them. You will know your broccoli is cooked because it gets very green. So boil just for a few minutes, about 3, but stop before it gets super green. Once blanched, put it an ice bath for a few minutes** then transfer to a collander and let dry completely before transferring to an airtight freezer bag. Freeze and enjoy for later use!
You can do this with any kind of veggies; peas, shelled and washed; asparagus, stems cut off; beans, cleaned, stems pulled off; all for about 1 minute each.
Tomato's are another veggie that freezes great. Once boiled, the skin slides right off and you can freeze them however you like, crushed, whole, diced, etc.
**THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART. Make sure once the veggies are blanched they go into an ice bath to stop the cooking process, otherwise they will continue to cook while they cool and dry, and when you you go to cook them after freezing you will have overcooked veggies!**
Another helpful tip is to freeze them in portion control sizes. Once you boil a few heads of broccoli for example, [I pre-cut and de-stem mine before boiling] put them into a few small sandwich sized zipper bags, then those small bags into a larger freezer bag and freeze. Then you can take out one portion at a time. This way you can also make your own mixed veggie bags. Take your favorite veggie; peas, carrots, mushrooms and corn for example. Make indiviual mixed veggie bags with a little of each veggie. When you're ready to cook, throw into a pot with some chicken for some stirfry!
Another thing I also like to do with veggies that I'm not going to freeze, is chop them and prep them when I get them in case I don't get to use them right away. Chopped peppers, zucchini, cucumber, etc., will last much longer in an airtight bag or container in the fridge, than out and exposed to the air and other veggies.
In case you didn't know, having fruits and veggies near each other speed up the ripening process. That's why your bananas are brown after a few days!
Taking the time when you come home from the farmers market or grocery store to blanch and freeze your fresh veggies is an easy, time and money saving technique to get healthy, nutritent rich foods quickly!
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
How to: Plyojacks
Here's a video showing you how to do Plyojacks. They are just a slow squatting jumping jack, or a plyometric jumping jack. Tone those thighs and glutes, and get that cardio in the right way!!
http://youtu.be/7dDPblo0GS4
http://youtu.be/7dDPblo0GS4
How to: hitch kicks
Here's a video on how to do hitch kicks. Get that cardio and tone those legs!
Get at it!
http://youtu.be/EmLaF4zF_YU
Get at it!
http://youtu.be/EmLaF4zF_YU
Sunday, January 27, 2013
How to: donkey kicks
How to do donkey kicks. There are also 2 ways to do these, the 2nd is my preferred. Get that perfect butt you want!!
http://youtu.be/1C-yngZmRKA
http://youtu.be/1C-yngZmRKA
How to: swimmers
Here's how to do swimmers, 2 different ways. You can choose which way you like better!
http://youtu.be/2hHvHI56Tsg
http://youtu.be/2hHvHI56Tsg
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