FitSugar

Smarter Eats: Gwyneth Reminds Us to Get a Healthy Dose of D

FitSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:30:31 -0800

Gwyneth Paltrow's dishing out some healthy advice on GOOP this week - get your daily dose of vitamin D. The super-fit star points to Dr. Frank Lipman's healthy tips for getting our fair share of the vital D, who reminds us that, especially this time of year -when we head into the colder season and see less sunlight - it's even more important to supplement our diets with the vitamin, and avoid a vitamin D deficiency.

If you're wondering why it's so important, just remember that vitamin D was first recognized for its importance in maintaining healthy calcium levels for our bones. According to Dr. Lipman, it's now becoming increasingly apparent that we've underestimated the value of the vitamin, and a lack of it has been associated with obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, and breast cancer - to name a few.

Since we rely on the sun to generate the most reliable way of getting vitamin D, it's a good idea to up your intake of foods that can naturally deliver the goods - try fortified milk in your cereal, dried shitake mushrooms with your stir fry or salad, and wild fatty fish, like salmon and halibut. Just be aware that only 10 percent of your vitamin D intake can come from food, so to really eat smarter and healthier, it might just be a good idea to supplement with the active form of the vitamin, D3. Be sure to read all of Dr. Lipman's great tips, and until we see some sunlight this Spring, make sure you're getting your daily dose with fortified foods.

Have You Ever Done a Cleanse?

FitSugar — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:47:09 -0700

I was asked recently if I've ever detoxed like Gwyneth Paltrow does. Personally, I've never committed myself to a rigid master cleanse or detox diet for a prescribed amount of time, but I've definitely made adjustments to my diet.

After an unusually indulgent holiday season spent away from home, I cut out alcohol and sugar for a month and ate nothing but brown rice and steamed veggies for two days. And though I do think putting limits on sugar and alcohol are helpful, you won't see me on a restrictive meal plan like that again. It's important for me to have a balanced diet that also consists of dairy, fruit, and lean protein, and most cleanses don't allow for that.

I have a few friends that cleanse at least four times a year and they swear it does wonders for them. What about you - have you ever cleansed?

Gwyneth Paltrow Does Another Detox

FitSugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:00:28 -0700

As someone who is known for doing detox diets a few times a year, Gwyneth Paltrow is in cleansing mode yet again. She's previously completed the Master Cleanse and other liquid-detox diets and described the three-week detox she's finishing in her most recent GOOP newsletter.

While Gwyneth writes, "This program allowed me to work and exercise regularly, something I cannot do if I am on a liquid-only detox," two of her three daily meals in this diet were liquid-only. See what her cleanse contained this time around when you read more.

Gwyneth followed The Cleanse Program, designed by cardiologist and detoxification specialist Dr. Alejandro Junger. According to the doctor, "the detox eases digestion by providing two liquid meals a day and a solid one in between, eliminating allergenic and mucus-forming food." Dr. Junger recommends eating organic foods while avoiding processed ones and "making time for detox-enhancing habits like sauna and massage."

I'm all for fueling your body with natural food instead of processed stuff, but you'll never see me adopting a diet that allows only one solid meal a day - even if it did "work wonders" for Gwyneth. My body and brain need more fuel to provide enough energy required for my active lifestyle.

Gym Gossip: Details on Tracy Anderson and Gwyneth's Gym

FitSugar — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 03:30:00 -0700

Last January when asked if you would want to join Gwyneth's gym she was planning to open with her trainer Tracy Anderson, most of you were not swayed by the celebrity affiliation.

Well, the inner workings of the gym have been revealed, and for starters it is not a gym - it's a studio. Let's start with the cost of joining the ~~gym~~ studio. The initiation fee ranges from $790 for a six-month membership to $1,500 for a full year. The monthly fees are $900 a month. For that hefty price, you can choose from 85 classes offered weekly, featuring cardio dance aerobics, which Gwyneth described by saying, "It's fun because it's not like you're running mindlessly on a treadmill." And running is something Tracy thinks you should never do, since she believes running creates too much bulk on your backside, and "a bulked-up bottom is not a pretty one." But I digress. To see what else you get for $900, read more.

Unfortunately, Anderson will not be taking on clients at the Tribeca studio. She splits her training time between the two stars that made her famous, business partner Gwyneth and Madonna, whom Tracy and staff refer to as M. However, members will receive personalized attention from her staff. Every member receives a customized program every 10 days, which is good since it is recommended that you work out at for at least 30 minutes, but preferably 60 minutes, six days a week. Whatever you do, don't supplement Tracy's work with yoga. Tracy wants your undivided attention, and has forbidden her star clients to practice yoga.

If you cannot make it to the Tracy Anderson Studio, you can try her method with a free mini webisode. Since the gym is out of my budget, I think I am gonna head out for a run. What about you?

Would You Join a Gym Owned by Gwyneth Paltrow?

FitSugar — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 04:30:00 -0800

Restaurants and bars are common celebrity pursuits, and word is that Gwyneth Paltrow is trying to add fitness to the list of business ventures backed by celebs. A famous name attached to a new business creates a whole lot of buzz, and if the product is strong enough, there's a good chance the project will have staying power.

We've heard Gwyneth's constant praise of her personal trainer, Tracy Anderson, and the actress has shared some of the fitness tricks she uses to keep her booty firm. The two blondes have been successful in collaborating to shape Gwyneth's body, and if their rumored plan to open a chain of gyms together is true, they'll turn their workout partnership into a business one.

Source

Gwyneth Paltrow's New Year's Booty Workout

FitSugar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 03:30:00 -0800

While Gwyneth Paltrow and I tend to be on different pages regarding detox diets, her dedication to fitness is something I fully support. She has been keeping the world posted with her newsletter, and in her latest one Gwyneth shares the "New Year's butt" workout recommended by her trainer, Tracy Anderson. Gwyneth says, "It’s really hard. But do it like she says to do it and I swear that in 10 days you will see your butt change shape."

Tracy sent a video of the workout that she filmed from her hotel room, and a chair is the only equipment needed. There are several variations in the sequence and Tracy instructs her client to begin with 20 or 30 repetitions of each exercise per leg, which seems like a well-rounded (though slightly time-consuming) booty workout. She recommends working up to 50 reps and adding one-pound ankle weights for more challenge. View Gwyneth's newsletter to see the video and follow the link she provides if you want to download the workout onto your iPod.

Reality Check: Gwyneth Paltrow's Detox Diet

FitSugar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:30:00 -0800

There are many ways to usher in the New Year. After a couple weeks of nonstop holiday celebration replete with rich foods and plenty of drink, many folks decide that the best way to begin anew is with a detox cleanse. I firmly believe there really is no need to detox, but if you insist on doing a cleanse, you can detox without starving yourself. This issue is a place where Gwyneth Paltrow and I have agreed to disagree.

Although her daily diet is incredibly healthy, Gwyneth believes in the New Year detox. After collapsing last January at the end of a five-day live-food fast, she is at it again following a week long cleansing regimen. This time, though, she is following the advice of detox specialist Dr. Alejandro Junger. Gwyneth is also sharing the details, recipes and all, on her website goop.com.

The lovely, leggy blonde and mother of two writes:

It is that time of year, folks. I need to lose a few pounds of holiday excess. Anyone else? I like to do fasts and detoxes a couple of times during the year, the most hardcore one being the Master Cleanse I did last spring. It was not what you would characterize as pretty. Or easy. It did work, however. As I do not wish to subsist on lemon water in the middle of winter, I asked my doctor, a detox diet specialist, for the guidelines he uses to achieve a good detox that is not as hallucinogenic (in a bad way) as the Master Cleanse. He actually thinks that the Master Cleanse can be dangerous because the liver is not supported by the nutrients it needs.

To see what she is eating and why, just read more.

While her explanation sounds sensible, just reading over the menu left me feeling hungry and deprived. The majority of the meals are liquids - smoothies, soups, or juice with hardly any grains (read: carbs to fuel your brain) in the meals. The simplest way to explain is to list the foods she will be avoiding for seven days:

No dairy
No grains with gluten
No meat or shellfish
No processed food including all soy products
No fatty nuts
No produce from the nightshade family - potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant
No condiments
No sugar
No alcohol, caffeine or soda

While jumping back into my healthy habits might be a bit jarring this first full week of the year, I am simply going to return to my old health habits of eating well balanced meals and exercising regularly to cleanse myself of my holiday debauchery.

Gwyneth concludes the detox edition of her newsletter like this: "I will be suffering along with you to kickstart my year a bit lighter." I, for one, do not wish to "suffer" with Gwyneth. I want to enjoy every minute of 2009 and eating just soup is not my idea of health or fun.

Source

Gwyneth Doesn't Diet, Do You Believe Her?

FitSugar — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:30:00 -0700

I really love Gwyneth Paltrow. I love that she's gone from always being in the spotlight to focusing on being a mom. She's on The Oprah Winfrey Show talking about her diet today, and here's what she says . . .

I was skeptical about her not dieting (didn't she follow a serious macrobiotic diet?), but back in 2006 she basically said the same thing. So it's not like she is flip-flopping her story too much. Regardless, what do you guys think? Are you buying into her saying that she doesn't diet at all, or do you think there is no way she gets her figure from working her butt off at the gym?

Get the Bod: Gwyneth and Madonna's Workout

FitSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:30:00 -0700

User jennmerr recently pointed out an interesting article from US Magazine about what Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna do to stay so darn fit that you may also be interested in.

The tips come directly from their trainer, Tracy Anderson. They're pretty detailed and, true to Tracy's style, involve a lot of reps. To see the whole 6-week workout just read more.

The Workout: While following this plan six times a week, use 3-pound weights, max. Anderson explains, “It’ll get you to your tiniest, tightest point without overdeveloping muscles.” Get video footage of the workout [below] at tracyandersonmethod.com (upper right hand corner).

WEEK 1: Make a 20-minute iPod playlist and do a different cardio activity (treadmill sprints, jumping rope, running on a trampoline) for each song. Switching activities will keep any one group of muscles from bulking up. “You should be dripping sweat and taking very few breaks,” she advises.

Get crunching! Do these three moves on a mat:

Lie flat on back, legs straight, then bend legs and pull to chest, feeling exertion in abs (50 reps).

With legs at 90-degree angle, do 50 crunches.

Lie with legs straight, feet apart. As you slightly lift one foot, crunch straight up and down; return foot to floor and lift the other while crunching. Do 60 times, each side.

Tone. Do 100 reps each, or 200 for moves that alternate sides:

With feet shoulder-width apart, hold arms out in a T and rotate palms from -facing floor to ceiling.

In same stance, bend one wrist and pull across body, arm straight, in a smacking motion across your body. Alternate arms.

Then, with arms straight behind you, palms to-gether, snap your wrists from side to side.

Hold a 3-pound weight above your head with elbow bent at a 90-degree angle. Then lift weight straight over head. Do all reps on one side, then switch arms.

With weight in hand, hold one arm out in a T, bend at elbow to cover eyes, then straighten, keeping arm lifted. Do all reps on one arm; switch.

Do grand pliés: Stand with feet -shoulder-width apart, toes pointing out. With hands on hips and back straight, slowly bend knees until thighs are parallel to floor.

WEEKS 2–6: Increase cardio 10 minutes each week, so by week six, you’re up to 60 minutes daily, plus toning exercises.

As with everything, take these tips with a grain of salt. I don't fully agree with Tracy's view on running - she says not to do it. It is, however, one of my favorite pastimes. I won't be stopping anytime soon. Tracy also recommends a diet, something else you should take with a grain of salt. This diet is one that would leave me starving, especially if I am doing 60 minutes of cardio per day. She swears by it so if you're interested check it out here.

Source

Healthy Dose Link Time!!!!!!

FitSugar — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:15:00 -0700

fitPod has another excellent music mix for you to download. Did I mention that it is an hour long and FREE.

That's Fit tells you everything you wanted, or not, to know about TB.

Bored with your running program? Complete Running gives you some great suggestions for beating the workout doldrums.

About:Yoga reviews the finer points of Tadasana, aka Mountain Pose.

Back in Skinny Jeans provides interesting commentary on Tyra Banks' very public weight loss.

Fitness Fixation has some colorful commentary on PR campaigns for weight loss drugs.

The Skinny Website has the skinny on Gwyneth Paltrow's Pilates regimen and how it helped her drop her baby weight.

Sleepy? Lift News wants you to know metro naps energy pod for taking a snooze at work.

About: Low Fat Cooking teaches you how to make meringue - a great option for a low fat dessert.

Leslie at the Weighting Game is in love with her new physio ball. Read her post and see why.

HealthBolt shares the secret ingredient to boosting your metabolism.