Author Archives: Doug Kuiper
Snack Your Way to Health
The August 2009 edition of Real Simple(not yet available online) offers a comprehensive overview on healthy snacking, including why it makes sense to eat and snack more regularly. In advance of the online version, here’s a preview. Small, regular meals and snacks keep your metabolism moving, help you eat less at meal time, improve your [...]
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Summer Water Safety for Kids
With summer here in the northern hemisphere, kids and parents flock to beaches, pools and water parks. Water provides a great environment for healthy, fun activities. It’s also an element to be respected and treated with vigilance and safety. Unfortunately, drowning is one of the most common causes of death for children. To make sure [...]
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Use Your Body, Part II
Building on last week’s workout tips, here are two great routines for which you need nothing but your body. Even better, these routines from Women’s Healthfeature supersets, which maximize muscle growth and calorie burn. Review the routines for yourself at http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/total-body-workout-13. In addition to their many benefits for the body, these workouts are a great [...]
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Healthy Summer Tacos
Try this delicious and nutritious recipe for four from the New York Times for some healthy summer zest. 1/2 small red or white onion, finely chopped 1 ear of corn, steamed for five minutes 1 pound ripe tomatoes, finely chopped 1 to 3 jalapeño or serrano peppers (to taste), seeded if desired and minced 1/2 [...]
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Top Ten Healthy Family Activities
Will your family be traveling locally or “staycationing” this summer? Realbuzz.com suggests these great Top 10 Healthy Family Activities to keep the family entertained during the summer months: http://www.realbuzz.com/articles/top-10-healthy-family-fitness-activities/. Contributed by Kathleen Kennedy Ferris
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Use Your Body
Some of the most effective exercises use only your bodyweight: planks, pushups, lunges, crunches and more. This is great news, because it means you don’t need a gym membership, a personal trainer or exercise equipment to keep fit. The next time you’re traveling for work or don’t have enough time to hit the gym, drop [...]
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Eating for Exercise
The invaluable New York Times’ Wellness blog this week brings us a fascinating article on eating (and drinking) for exercise. Leslie Bonci of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center tells us that we should eat a “fist-sized” portion of protein and carbohydrates (half of a peanut butter sandwich will do) about an hour before exercise. [...]
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Try Bukodon
Variety in healthy activities can help keep both kids and adults interested in and motivated to exercise. If your yoga workout needs a little lift—or if you can’t get your kids to stick with yoga—how about giving Bukodon a try? Creator Cameron Shayne has combined martial arts and yoga to target mind, body and spirit. [...]
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Keep Cravings at Bay
Stress, fatigue and numerous other factors—none of which is directly related to physical hunger—can drive us to eat in an unhealthy manner. Fortunately, Healthmagazine brings us a great article on controlling cravings. With these five great tips, you can avoid the binging pitfalls: http://diet.health.com/2009/04/08/cures-for-your-cravings/.
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Six Minute Fitness
Can rapid bursts of highly intense activity have as beneficial an impact as lengthy endurance training? Yes, suggests recent research out of Canada’s McMaster University.Apparently, not only does interval training equal endurance training in promoting weight loss, but in launching muscle growth as well. According to the New York Times’ write up on the study, [...]
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Healthy Lime Chicken With Strawberry Salsa
Lime-Chicken With Strawberry Salsa Here’s a great, summer recipe from Fitness magazine. Combining summer fruit and healthy ingredients, this dish will satisfy your appetite and maintain your waistline. · vegetable oil · tablespoon mild-flavored honey (such as acacia or clover) · large clove garlic, minced · 1 1/4 teaspoons chili powder, divided · 1/2 teaspoon [...]
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Why Is Yoga Effective for Weight Loss?
As more research begins to verify yoga’s weight-loss capabilities, it’s becoming clearer exactly how the practice can help. Certainly, yoga’s ability to strengthen core muscle groups is a start. However, yoga’s reach goes far beyond that, supplementing regular physical practice with mental and spiritual benefits like understanding our need for comfort, teaching us how to [...]
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Aqua Aerobics
We’ve all seen or heard about elite athletes who do their rehab in the pool. Now, working out in the pool is becoming much more than the domain of the professional athlete or the weekend warrior doing rehabilitation. The Los Angeles Times has a great review of four total body exercises that even a novice [...]
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Ten Keys to Happiness
Real Simple’s Gretchen Ruben brings us a telling and personal review of how to attain happiness. She offers ten simple principles, culled from a year of personal study, review and expert advice. With suggestions you might expect—like get more rest, and eat when you’re hungry—as well as surprises like quit nagging and sleep on your [...]
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Superset Your Way to Fit
A great way for increasing your fat burning power is to do two sets of exercises back-to-back with no rest. Trainers call this technique “supersets,” and it can increase your metabolic rate by almost 15 percent. For a great series of superset exercises that will get you toned in no time, go to the Women’s [...]
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Healthy Egg Salad
Certain summertime favorites pack far too many calories and too much fat for our own good. Contrast your great aunt’s mayo-heavy version with this tasty, healthy take on a summertime classic egg-salad from Shape magazine. Ingredients 3 extra-large eggs 1 celery stalk, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped 1 teaspoon of whole-grain or Dijon [...]
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Don’t Wait for Thanksgiving
According to a study from the University of California at Davis , a positive, thankful life outlook has an exponential effect. People who give thanks regularly and view life positively are more likely to exercise, to sleep better and to quit smoking. Give your body and mind a boost by sending a quick note of [...]
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Fat-burning Portions
Studies show that people who eat meals evenly balanced between carbohydrates and proteins ditch more fat than those who—like most of us—eat meals heavier in carbs. There are some very simple ways to increase the protein in your meal mix. Add a great protein boost from lentils, black beans and cannellini to dishes like soups, [...]
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Fitness in the Park