Whey to Weight Loss

Whey to Weight Loss
By Jorge Cruise, Chief Diet and Fitness Expert
Published November 11, 2008

Little Miss Muffet must’ve been trying to lose a few pounds when she famously ate her whey. Whey has been around for ages, and as it so happens, whey protein is a weight-loss all-star. Whey is the best supplemental form of protein to maximize your retention of fat-burning lean muscle tissue. It also has the highest bio-absorption levels. This means your body’s muscles will stay more structurally supported and your metabolism revved. But the advantages of whey don’t stop there. You’ll also benefit from a strengthened immune system, increased satiety and reduced cortisol levels (a stress hormone). Whey protein should not take the place of regular meals, but it can be consumed as a snack up to two to three times a day. I love a scoop of chocolate whey protein powder blended in water with ice as a delicious 100-calorie snack drink.
Your coach,Jorge Cruise

Stay Slim in Your Own Kitchen

Stay Slim in Your Own Kitchen

You may enjoy treating yourself to the occasional dinner out or grabbing takeout when you find yourself too tired to do anything, but the healthiest option for a dieter is to cook meals at home. Preparing your own food allows you to control the portion sizes and ingredients, so there are no unpleasant surprises, such as butter in your broccoli, animal lard in your beans, or extra salt in your soup. Cooking at home gives you access to all the tools that can help make your meal diet-friendly. You can use measuring cups and spoons to ensure that you use the correct amount of oil and butter - two ingredients that are often used in excess at restaurants. At-home food preparation can save you money, too. A typical strawberry smoothie at your local juice bar can set you back $5, but you can make your own healthy version at home with ingredients that total less than $1. Kitchen scissors are another good tool to have. Many restaurants serve fatty cuts of meat, but if you're the chef you can easily snip off the extra fat and remove the skin before baking. Cut the fat and rely on spices like pepper and garlic to add flavor. Many restaurant meals are rich in meats and starches but low in veggies, so make sure you get your five-a-day by cooking veggies at home. And if you typically let your carrots or tomatoes rot because cutting them up seems too daunting, invest in a vegetable chopper. It’s OK to eat out every once in a while, but most of the time try to make your own healthy meals at home. Your new healthy habit will likely whittle your waistline as well!

Power Walk Yourself Slim

Power Walk Yourself Slim
JORGE’S DAILY FIT TIP
By Jorge Cruise, Chief Diet and Fitness Expert

It’s a good idea to give your muscles a rest from intensive strength-training. During those days of rest, I recommend that you rev yourself up with a cardio-training power walk. I power walk on a treadmill each morning. What are the benefits of power walking? Well, walking briskly for just 20 minutes will burn 150 to 200 calories. And it’s perfect for boosting energy and getting an endorphin high. Plus it’s a low-impact exercise, so you won’t stress your joints. Shoot for an intensity level of about 7 to 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. The key to achieving this intensity is adding an incline to your walk. If you can, find an area in your neighborhood or at a nearby park that has some nice hills to walk. Power walk on your lunch break, or take mini power walks whenever you can throughout the work day. It can be as easy as treading to a coworker’s office rather than calling her on the phone. Power walking is a dynamic aerobic exercise that you’re already familiar with, so give it a try!
Your coach,Jorge Cruise

Can Wine Make You Fat?

Can Wine Make You Fat?
FREE DAILY DIET TIP
By Joel Marion, CISSN, NSCA-CPT
Published November 07, 2008

A glass of wine here and there isn’t bad. In fact, it may protect against heart disease. But it’s the two, three or more glasses that may be doing a number on your waistline and your health. A typical drink — 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of light beer or a shot of 80-proof liquor — contains about 110 calories. Two to three drinks a day adds up to nearly 2,000 extra calories per week. But more important than calorie content is alcohol’s effect on the body’s hormones. Alcohol consumption triggers the release of cortisol, a stress-related hormone that heavily contributes to abdominal fat storage and muscle loss. It decreases insulin sensitivity, leading to increased fat storage and decreased fat burning. It’s also associated with lower leptin levels, a hormone fundamental to metabolism, especially when you’re trying to lose weight. And lastly, even moderate alcohol consumption raises estrogen levels, which may increase your breast cancer risk. Bottom line: If you regularly enjoy alcoholic beverages, you may want to consider its effects on your waistline and your health.
To your body transformation success,Joel Marion

The Many Health Benefits of Pomegranates

The Many Health Benefits of Pomegranates
5 Reasons to Try This Antioxidant All-Star
By Jill Weisenberger, MS, RD, CDE

As you peruse the grocery store aisles, it’s easy to bypass that pile of red, leathery, baseball-sized fruit. Pomegranates are an odd-looking “super food” to be sure, but crack one open and you’ll find a delicious source of antioxidants and nutrients. With disease-fighting properties, pomegranates are becoming popular in both whole and juice form. Here are 5 reasons to pick up a pomegranate, plus two delicious recipes to get you started…The pomegranate, known as the royal fruit because of the crown on top, is bursting not just with a delicious sweet-tart juice, but also with antioxidants and disease-fighting phytochemicals. A staple of the Middle Eastern diet, the pomegranate has a rich history in literature, mythology and religion. It’s spoken of by Juliet in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and is mentioned more than two dozen times in the Bible. And now, pomegranates are growing in popularity in the U.S. While there are many varieties of the fruit, most pomegranates in this country are of the California Wonderful variety. Known for its size, large seeds and sweetness, California Wonderfuls have been found to be especially rich in antioxidants.While we’re loving the taste, scientists are studying the pomegranate’s potential role in fighting heart disease, cancer and other ails. Here are five fabulous reasons to eat a pomegranate today:

Don't Cool It on the Cool-down

Don't Cool It on the Cool-down
JORGE’S DAILY FIT TIP
By Jorge Cruise, Chief Diet and Fitness Expert
Published November 06, 2008

Many people ask me whether they can skip their cool-down. They tell me that stretching won’t help them create leaner hips and thighs, so why bother? Well, that’s simply not true. Stretching helps you accomplish your goal in a number of ways. Most important, stretching helps increase flexibility, which in turn helps your muscles grow stronger. Yes, it’s true! Researchers have found that flexible muscles tend to be stronger and more aerobic than tight muscles. Also, stretching will help to lengthen your muscles, creating a long, lean appearance. Finally, it helps to bring circulation to your muscles, allowing them to quickly recover from your weekly strength-training sessions. This circulation is also important in preventing cellulite. So keep stretching!

Grin for Inner Peace

Grin for Inner Peace
JORGE’S DAILY FIT TIP

By Jorge Cruise, Chief Diet and Fitness Expert
Published November 05, 2008

Today I want to share with you a simple trick that will help change your mood for the better and jump-start your motivation. The key is to change your brain’s chemistry by naturally increasing the levels of a special neuron-transmitter called serotonin. Research has demonstrated that higher amounts of serotonin in our brains make us feel better, while lower amounts make us feel depressed and scattered. The key to maximizing serotonin is not found in Prozac or St. John’s wort. It’s in a smile. You can literally increase the amount of serotonin in your brain by changing your facial expression. By smiling, you change the flow of blood to your brain and provide an internal environment ideal for producing serotonin. So if you want to immediately feel better, just smile. Even better, smile while you get busy performing your weekly core exercises! Do your strength-training sessions two to three times a week on non-consecutive days, and remember to focus on different muscle groups with each session.
Your coach,Jorge Cruise

Grapes helped lower blood pressure and improve heart function

Grapes helped lower blood pressure and improve heart function

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Grapes helped lower blood pressure and improve heart function in lab rats fed an otherwise salty diet, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.
The findings, published in the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, may help people with high blood pressure, they said.
"These findings support our theory that something within the grapes themselves has a direct impact on cardiovascular risk, beyond the simple blood pressure-lowering impact that we already know can come from a diet rich in fruits and vegetables," Mitchell Seymour of the Cardioprotection Research Laboratory at the University of Michigan said in a statement.
In a study sponsored in part by California grape producers, Seymour and colleagues examined the effects of ordinary grapes on rats that develop high blood pressure when fed a salty diet.
Some of the rats ate a diet containing a powder from red, green and purple table grapes and a high-salt diet. Others were fed the grape powder and a low-salt diet. The powder, which contained the same nutrients in fresh grapes, allowed the scientists to measure the rats' intake carefully.
After 18 weeks, the rats that ate the grape-enriched diet had lower blood pressure, better heart function, reduced inflammation throughout their bodies, and fewer signs of heart muscle damage than rats that ate a salty diet but no grapes.
"The inevitable downhill sequence to hypertension and heart failure was changed by the addition of grape powder to a high-salt diet," Dr. Steven Bolling of the University of Michigan, who heads up the lab, said in a statement.
Bolling said he thinks flavonoids, beneficial chemicals found in grapes, green tea, cocoa and tomatoes, could be having an effect on blood pressure. Flavonoids have been shown in other studies to have heart-health benefits.
Food producers are keen to show the health benefits of their products. Studies sponsored by chocolate makers, almond and walnut producers have shown various heart benefits, including reducing inflammation in blood vessels and lowering the risk of heart attacks and stroke.
Grape powder comprised about three percent of the rats' diet. For humans, that would be about nine servings of grapes a day. One serving is about 15 grapes.
The California Table Grape Commission provided financial support for the study and supplied the grape powder. Other sponsors included the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, can lead to heart attack, heart failure, stroke and kidney failure.

Up Your Frequency FREE DAILY DIET TIP

Up Your Frequency
FREE DAILY DIET TIP
By Joel Marion, CISSN, NSCA-CPT
Published November 04, 2008

You may have heard that eating smaller, frequent meals is better than consuming larger, infrequent ones, but do you really understand all the benefits? And more importantly, do you actually follow this diet advice? First, with respect to metabolism, frequent feedings allow your body to use calories for energy, instead of storing them. You could consume 2,000 calories split over two meals, or those same 2000 calories split over five meals. The difference is that the calories in the two-meal situation would be more readily stored as fat while the calories in the five-meal scenario would be more readily burned as energy. Another way frequent feedings help to increase energy expenditure is through something known as the thermic effect of feeding, or TEF. With frequent feedings, your body’s digestive engine is fired up numerous times each day, and that constant stimulation helps keep your metabolic furnace ablaze. Frequent feedings also help with craving control: When you allow yourself to get very hungry between meals, it’s much more likely that you’ll overeat during your next meal. And finally, frequent feedings help maintain calorie-burning muscle by providing a steady flow of nutrients to muscle tissue throughout the day. So are you eating smaller, frequent meals every 2-3 hours? If not, start today!To your body transformation success,

Pistachios May Lower LDL Cholesterol

Pistachios May Lower LDL Cholesterol

But You've Got to Make Room in Your Calorie Budget for Them

By Miranda HittiWebMD Medical News
Reviewed by Elizabeth Klodas, MD,FACC

Sept. 11, 2008 -- Pistachios may help curb less-than-ideal levels of LDL "bad" cholesterol , a new study shows.
But there's a catch: if you add pistachios to your diet , you've got to cut back elsewhere to keep your calorie count steady, since gaining extra weight won't do your heart any favors.
Nuts are already known to be good for your heart when eaten in moderation as part of a low-fat diet. Since 2003, the FDA has allowed almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, walnuts, and peanuts to make a qualified health claim to that effect.

The new study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, is only about pistachios. Almonds and walnuts have been featured in most of the previous nut studies, so the researchers, who included Pennsylvania State University graduate student Sarah Gebauer and Distinguished Professor Penny Kris-Etherton, PhD, put pistachios in the spotlight.
The key question: Would one or two daily servings of pistachios pack a punch against LDL cholesterol ?

Pistachio Power
The pistachio study included 28 adults whose LDL cholesterol level was higher than the optimal range. Their average LDL level was in "borderline high" range when the study started.
Apart from their cholesterol levels , participants were healthy. None was taking cholesterol-lowering drugs .

First, participants spent two weeks on a standard American diet rich in full-fat cheese, oil, and butter and lacking pistachios.
Next came a month on a low-fat diet without pistachios, another month on a healthy diet that included one daily serving of pistachios, and a third month eating a similar diet with two daily servings of pistachios, with two-week breaks between each type of diet.
Participants got all their food, packaged into appropriate serving sizes, from the researchers. And they stuck to their assigned diets pretty well, the study shows.
Lower LDL

Average LDL levels fell when participants ate pistachios -- not enough to get their LDL levels into the optimal range, but enough to get it out of the "borderline high" category.
LDL cholesterol level dropped by 9% during the month that participants ate a daily serving of pistachios and by 12% when they had two daily servings of pistachios.
As for the low-fat diet, it didn't trim LDL cholesterol. That surprised the researchers. What happened? The researchers aren't sure, but they note that the low-fat diet was lower in polyunsaturated fats (which include heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids) and higher in carbohydrates than the pistachio diets.

Pistachios didn't affect levels of HDL cholesterol , which is often called "good" cholesterol.
The study was funded in part by the California Pistachio Commission.