Who doesn’t love a good Super Bowl party? I may not be rooting for the Giants or the Patriots this Sunday, but I still plan on tuning in for the excitement of getting together with friends for football and of course, Madonna. Along with the commercials, another highlight of a good Super Bowl party is the food. Typical football foods include an array of high-fat chips and dips, fat-laden fried…
Hello tweakfit.com followers. After the hustle and bustle of the holidays and a recent move to the beautiful island of Oahu, I am back with more tips to keep you all fit and fierce. As I am writing this post, I am in a hotel room in Honolulu, since the lease for my apartment does not begin until February. One of my biggest challenges over the past week has been…
An oft-forgotten benefit of exercise is its effects on bone health. As adults get older, bones become more brittle and develop pores. While women are more likely to develop osteoporosis, this condition is also common in men, as is osteoarthritis.
Interestingly, the worst thing you can do when you develop osteoarthritis or osteoporosis is to become less active. An abundance of research has demonstrated that resistance training is effective for…
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Caffeine is that magical drug that wakes many of us up in the morning and keeps us alert late in the day. But did you know that this widely-consumed drug can also enhance your exercise performance? In fact, athletes have been using caffeine as a performance-enhancer for more than 30 years, and many nutritional supplements and beverages are effective primarily for their caffeine content. Caffeine is a stimulant, and is…
Working at a health club for the past two years has provided me with a little extra insight on people’s work out routines. With 2,000+ members at our club, I see just about the same few hundred people every day. The others? I’m sure some are here in the evenings after I leave work or perhaps just come on the weekends. However, there are also quite a few who simply…
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It’s a story I hear all the time… You’ve spent the entire day focusing on eating right- you started out the day strong with a balanced breakfast, packed a healthy lunch, even ate baby carrots for a mid-afternoon snack. You did everything right, then just around 9pm,the sure-tell cravings begin…and they aren’t cravings for more baby carrots or even sugar plums…you’ve got visions of sweets and carbs dancing in your…
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There is much confusion in fitness centres regarding what the best methods are for reducing body fat. So many people are using terrible training and nutritional protocols that I cringe every time I step foot in a gym! This article aims to help abolish some of the common misconceptions people have regarding fat loss, as well as offer some appropriate guidelines to achieving a more toned physique.…
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A quick internet search of weight loss programs will provide more information on the subject than any normal human being could possibly digest. From low-carb diets, protein-based diets, rotating carbohydrate intake, and popular weight-loss programs such as Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers and Nutrisystem, you won’t have any trouble finding sites that claim they’ve discovered the secret to losing weight.
I’ve written about some of these diets in other posts, but…
Some days an extra ten minutes on the snooze button is enough to leave me running around flustered trying to get out the door in the morning. However I always make it a priority to make sure I have a lunch cooler filled with nutritious and filling foods to get me through the day at work. The key to healthy eating is planning ahead, but we have all encountered the…
Protein bars can be a great snack or meal substitute for people trying to lean up and lose belly fat. Although most bars will be a good source of protein, some can also be packed with calories, contain little fiber, and as much sugar as a candy bar. Below I have compared several different common protein bars to help you find the best fit for you. Take my advice, reading…
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An increasing body of research (e.g., Karp et al., 2006; Pritchett et al., 2009) is supporting the effects of chocolate milk as an effective post-workout beverage. One group of researchers from Indiana University investigated the effects of drinking chocolate milk following a workout in a group of elite cyclists. Following a series of interval workouts, one group of athletes consumed servings of chocolate milk while a control consumed another commercial…
As a Registered Dietitian, one of the questions I hear often is concerning Vitamin D. How much Vitamin D is too much? Where do I get it? Why is it important? Vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin” is a fat-soluble vitamin that comes in several forms. One of the largest roles Vitamin D plays in the human body is in calcium metabolism. Maintenance of blood calcium is vital…
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While women and men tend to differ in body size and composition, as well as hormonal characteristics, they do not differ in measures of relative strength, nor do they differ in their responses to exercise. The same weight loss principles, therefore, apply to both sexes.
Is There a “Best Weight Loss Program?”
Much debate exists regarding the best weight loss programs. Advocates of Atkins, Paleo, Ideal Protein, and other low-carb…
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Dietary fiber is one of the most important components of a healthy diet. Fiber, a carbohydrate that enters the large intestine undigested, helps control weight, and people who consume high fiber diets tend to weigh less than those with low fiber diets. Along with weight control, studies show fiber can also help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, colon cancer and Type 2 Diabetes.
There are two different kinds of…
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In order to reduce body fat, you should steer clear of a number of foods. Two categories of foods, in particular, can have a particularly adverse effect on body fat: most white foods and foods high in sugar — especially fructose. White-colored foods are often high in the carbohydrates starch and sugar. Carbohydrates are an essential component of a healthy diet, but many people are not active enough to burn…
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Have a big competition coming up? Or are you simply an active person and want to eat in a way that will provide a maximum amount of energy for the day? For optimal energy, you need to master the art of the pre-competition meal. Much of the pre-competition meal is common sense, but some popular misconceptions exist as well. Follow these guidelines to have your body ready to perform at…
We’ve all likely heard of the concept of periodization with respect to planning our exercise programs. For those who haven’t, periodization is the systematic variation in volume and intensity of exercise in order to reach a high level of performance at the right time of the year. Originally developed by Dr. Tudor Bompa to allow rowers to “peak” during the most important competition of the year, the common exerciser can…
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Historically, nutrition plans for endurance athletes have been centered around carbohydrates and hydration. But it has also become widely accepted that endurance athletes require significantly more protein than the standard adult recommended dietary allowance (RDA). While pure power and strength is often thrown by the wayside when training for an endurance event, maintaining sufficient muscle mass is critical. Failure to do so subjects an athlete to the following potential detriments:…
Eating breakfast every day is key to maintaining optimum health, but many factors prevent us from getting the morning nutrition we need. Many people claim to be too busy for breakfast, and grab a coffee instead (or, worse, nosh a donut or bagel en route to the office). Others eat breakfast at home, but choose foods low in fiber and high in sugar and sodium; tasty though they may be,…
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The Dukan Diet has been gaining quite a bit of steam lately in the weight loss community. The diet sparked my interest mainly because it originated from France, the land of rich calorie loaded dishes. Without further ado, let’s dive into what the heck it is.
Background
The Dukan Diet is a diet invented by a French doctor named Dr. Pierre Dukan. Dr. Dukan started off his career in neurology…
