Fitness Tip of the Day: Friday's Facts and Findings -- Rethink Your Drink

You wouldn't eat 15-16 packets of sugar would you?  Then why would you drink them???!!!

It's amazing how much sugar is in some of the drinks we consume daily.  Here's a little rundown:

In a 12 oz. serving of each:

Grape juice:  12 tsp. and 192 calories

Fruit punch - 11-1/2 tsp and  176 calories

Soda - 10 1/4 tsp and 164 (this is the amount in a can) in a 20 oz bottle: 16 tsp (that's 1/4 cup!) and 256 calories

Powdered drink mix:  9 tsp and 144 calories

Sweet tea: 8-1/2 tsp and 136 calories

Orange juice: 7-1/2 tsp and 120 calories

Lemonade:  6-1/4 and 100 calories

Sports Drink: 5 tsp and 80 and 80 calories (again most sports drinks come in bigger bottles and we drink the whole thing)

So, what should we drink?  More and more studies are showing that artificially sweetened drinks are not a good substitute, and can actually cause weight gain.  So, if you're not already consuming these, don't start.

Of course, water is the number one ideal drink.  If you can't tolerate it, you can add a bit of fruit juice or pieces of frozen fruit to it to flavor it.  Cucumber water is also very good and refreshing--it reminds me of a hotel we stayed at once--they had it in the lobby in big glass jugs.

If you like the bubbles, there's always seltzer water.  I particularly enjoy the orange, peach/pear and coconut flavors that LaCroix makes.  You can also take plain and flavor it in the same way I mentioned above.  

If you have to have something sweeter, I recently tried Zevia soda.  It is sweetened with stevia which is a natural sweetener from the stevia plant.  I tried the ginger ale and cream soda versions.  I liked the ginger ale, the cream soda, not so much.  This soda is expensive.  I only tried it because it was on sale and I had a coupon.  It normally retails for $3.99 - $4.99 a six pack, which I find ridiculous!  When I bought it, it was $3.99, but I had a $2.00 off coupon.

There's also unsweetened tea and coffee.  Again, if you need sweetener, I'd recommend trying calorie free stevia.  There's always agave nectar or honey too--but these are not calorie free--there's 21 calories in a tsp of agave and 64 in honey.  

Let's not forget about milk.  There is naturally occurring sugar in milk too, but a cup of skim or 1% milk has the benefits of calcium and vitamin D.  There's also almond, rice, soy and coconut milk--all okay in moderation because of their healthy benefits, but again, these are not calorie free beverages.

So how much water should you drink?  Based on an article I found at IdeaFit:

"The Institute of Medicine (IOM) published its Dietary Reference Intake for water in February 2004. The committee explains that drinking fluids represents about 81% of total water intake, with 19% of water being provided by foods. So, the recommendation for actual fluid intake is 3.0 liters for men and 2.2 liters for women. Since 1 liter = 33.8 fluid ounces, men are advised to drink 101.4 fluid ounces, or 13 cups (a cup is 8 fluid ounces) of drinking water and other beverages per day, and women are advised to drink 74.4 fluid ounces, or 9 cups, per day."  

According the the Mayo Clinic website, there really isn't a one size fits all amount of water that we should be consuming daily.  It's a very individual thing based on climate, daily activity, etc.  But in general, this website gives the same amounts listed above, but states them as total beverages a day, not necessarily water.

Here's a link to the ideafit article: The Wonders of Water

and here's one to the MayoClinic article:  Water: How Much Should You Drink Every Day?

Fitness Tip of the Day: Thursday's Total Body - BeFit in 30 EXTREME - Total Body Conditioning Level 2

Today's total body workout comes from BeFit in 30 EXTREME.  I posted the intro and workout calendar to this program on June 26 along with the Level 1 workout.

This workout is 20 minutes in length.  It includes 3 circuits of exercises that include endurance, strength and plyometric training.  It does not include much of a warm up or cool down, so please do those on your own--they are both extremely important!

If you have bad knees or any back issues, please don't jump!  You can modify the plyo work by making the move slower and/or  lower impact but BIGGER.  Again, form trumps speed ALWAYS!   The people in the back show the modifications, but modify more if necessary.

During the "rest" segments, make sure to keep moving, do not stand still.  Use that time to grab a quick drink of water if necessary.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Wednesday's Wild/Warrior Workout - Tae Bo -- Billy's Bootcamp Cardio Inferno

Today's workout is another one of the many Tae Bo routines by Billy Blanks.  This one is called Bootcamp Cardio Inferno.

As in his other workouts, Billy uses counting to make sure that people are breathing during the workout.  I find it a bit annoying after a while, but as an instructor I do see the point of it. You want to make sure you are getting oxygen throughout the workout.  (It also helps him know how many reps you've done, while he talks).  Sometimes he moves a little fast, remember if you start to lose form/control, slow it down; form always trumps speed.

I'd skip the first 4 minutes of unnecessary static stretching and start the workout from here.  If you want to do some active stretching first, do the warm up video linked on the right side bar.

One more safety note--on the punches and kicks, be careful not to snap the knee or elbow joints. The power in the punches comes from the shoulders and upper back.  The power in the kicks comes from the quads and hamstrings.

You will continually move from one exercise to another to keep the heart rate up during the entire workout.  Remember, take breaks if needed.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Tuesday's Trunk and Core -- Flat Abs Walk

As I've said before, walking is one of the best and easiest forms of exercise you can do to get and stay healthy.

Today's workout is called "Flat Abs Walk" from a new channel I found on You Tube: JessicaSmithTV.  It is a 40 minute inside walking workout that burns calories through marches and step touches, but also strengthens and tones your abs by doing standing abdominal exercises such as high knees and twists as you continue to "walk."

I do like the instructor's way of teaching.  She is great at cueing for form, safety and modifications.  As someone who suffers from plantar fasciitis, I do recommend wearing shoes for the workout.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Monday's Muscle Work -- BeFit in 90 -- Day 32

Today I'm posting the four videos from Day 32 of the BeFit in 90 series.  This is Phase 2 of the program.  I posted Day 31 which began Phase 2 on June 27.

The sculpting portion is upper body; on Day 31, it was lower body.  There is also a yoga portion and a MMA (mixed martial arts) portion so you will get aerobic work and some active lower body work too.

Video 1 is your warm up (same as Day 31):

Video 2 is 10 minutes long and is entitled Yoga Dynamics 

Video 3 is 9-1/2 minutes long and is entitled Ripped Back & Shoulders:

Video 4 is 9 minutes long and is entitled Cardio MMA Level 2:  Once again, watch your knee and elbow joints as you punch and kick.  She calls it a "snap kick," but do not snap the knee--the snap comes from the thigh powering through the foot.

There is no cooldown or stretch included, so please make sure you walk around, let your heart rate come down a bit and then do a full body stretch.

Fitness Tip of the Day: Sunday's Recipe Share -- Healthy Food on a Stick

It's Summer, time for food served on a stick!  However, I hope corn dogs aren't the only thing that come to mind!  There are many great foods that can be served in this fun, portable way.

What is your favorite food on a stick?  I just made a simple chicken kebab using boneless breast meat sprinkled with lemon pepper and oregano.  I drizzled a bit of olive oil over the chicken so it wouldn't stick to the grill (you could just oil the grill grates too).  I served it with some grilled whole wheat pita bread and a side salad--yum!

Once again, I've relied on Cooking Light magazine to pave the way.  They have 20 awesome recipes on their site.

Appetizers:

Grilled Okra and Tomato Skewers

Main Dishes:

Chicken Kebabs with Nectarine Salsa

Even Dessert:

Chocolate-Toffee Apples       

Limoncello Pops

Here's a link to all the recipes:  Food on a Stick

For all you corn dog lovers out there, here's a bonus recipe from Rachel Ray for Baked Corn Dogs--I make these every time I make chili--I don't put them on a stick, but you could.  If I'm in a huge hurry, I just make up a batch of mini corn muffin batter,cut hot dogs into thirds, fill the mini muffin pan 2/3 way, stick a piece of hot dog into the middle and bake.  Let me be the first the say, they are not the same as fried corn dogs--but they are a healthy, satisfying substitute for me--and my family loves them.

Here's Rachel Ray's recipe:  oven baked corn dogs

In a pinch, there's always Pickle on a Stick--easy peasy!!!