FitSugar

Movie Alert: In the Family

FitSugar — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:00:00 -0700

What would you do if you learned that you have the genetic marker, known as BRCA gene mutation, for breast cancer and you had a 95 percent of developing the disease? Filmmaker Joanna Rudnick decided to make a documentary film about the dilemma facing her, like having prophylactic mastectomies, and many other women who have been confronted with the information that they have the genetic disposition to develop the disease. Here's the trailer for the film that premieres tonight on PBS.

You can check your local listing at the POV website. My PBS station is playing it tonight, Oct. 1, and tomorrow as well.

Road Tripping Moves For T-Day Travel

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:55 -0800

Considered the most travel saturated holiday in the US, many of us will be taking to the road or to the skies to see our family and friends this Thanksgiving. If you're flying try these stretches to keep yourself sane on the plane. And if you're driving I have a few moves to keep your body awake and make good use of your time stuck in traffic.

Steering wheel isometrics: Using simple isometric exercises, you can work your arms. Start with your hands at nine and three on the steering wheel (just like driver's ed class) and press inward with your arms. Hold for five counts, but keep the tension out of your neck. Repeat four times, and then move your hands to 10 and two and repeat. Changing positions of your hands will work different muscle groups.
Belly vacuums: This is a great way to work your abs at traffic lights or waiting out a traffic jam. On an exhale simply pull your abs toward your spine without letting your back round. Keep the abs engaged and focus on breathing into the back of your ribs for three to five breaths.
Glute winks: Your bum can get sore and numb from sitting for so long. This exercise not only works the glutes a bit, it also gets the circulation going once again and can relieve low back pain, too. Simply squeeze your right glute for three to five seconds, release it and switch sides. Repeat for a total of 10 times.

Feeling tense behind the wheel, I have a few remedies so read more.

Shoulder shrugs: Keeping your hands on the steering wheel, inhale and raise your shoulders to your ears. Exhale allowing your shoulders to drop. Repeat a total of five to 10 times.
Deep breathing: Don't underestimate the power of breathing to calm yourself down in heavy traffic. Inhale and fill your lungs, then slowly exhale releasing the tension from your upper body.
Slow shimmy: Channel a slower version of Beyonce's shoulder shimmy to release tension in your upper body. Keep your hands on the wheel, bring your right shoulder forward, then alternate bringing your left one toward the wheel. This move will make your spine twist a bit, which feels great after staring at the road for hours on end.

I also suggest stopping every two hours to stretch your legs. Just walking about a bit can enliven the weary traveler and help you stay alert while driving. I like to stretch my hamstrings by propping my heel on the bumper of the car.

Gift Ideas For Yogis

FitSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:00:59 -0800

Yoga love has blossomed everywhere it seems, and just about everyone I know has either tried it, or practices regularly. I'm sure you know a friend or family member who has yoga coursing through her veins, so this holiday season, give her a gift to support her obsession.

Ashley Greene's New Moon Diet

FitSugar — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:00:19 -0800

If you were part of New Moon fever this weekend, I’m sure you were transfixed as I was watching the epic battle scene between the Cullen family and the Volturi. The young actors demonstrated dynamic moves coupled with super human strength that were spectacular to watch on the big screen.

Moves like that don’t come easy, Twilight actress Ashley Greene told Us Magazine. Greene, who plays Alice Cullen in the films, said that prepping for the role involved a lot of training - up to four hours a day! In addition to working out with a personal trainer every day, she also had an intense week of fight training with the rest of the New Moon cast. No wonder all the actors look ripped.

To find out how else Greene stays in shape, read more.

Greene was pretty candid in admitting another reason she’s looking so svelte - 12 hour workdays don't "leave too much time to eat." Before dismissing Greene as an actress who starves herself to look good, the star did say that she ate well and stuck to healthy foods during filming. As for her day-to-day off the set she does Pilates six times a week.

"I do it early in the morning. It wakes you up, and it's kind of refreshing," said Greene, who is headed to London in a few months to begin filming the thriller The Apparition. "And that is basically it. Sometimes cardio. I am not a big weight person because when I do weights I build muscle mass."

A Weight Control Camp for the Whole Family

FitSugar — Tue, 29 May 2007 15:45:00 -0700

Reminiscing about summer camp can either bring up fond memories or memories you would rather forget. I had a girlfriend in grade school who got shipped off to fat camps for a few weeks during the summers, when it was her parents that really needed to spend a few weeks at fat camp - talk about a bummer. I was thinking there must be a way to make this kind of situation much better - enter Wellspring Family Camp.

Wellspring Family Camp is the world's first weight loss camp for young children and their parents. Children ages 5-13 attend Family Camp and are accompanied by one or more parents or grandparents for a two-week session (or an intensive one-week session). I love this idea because with all the focus on childhood obesity, parents need to take a good look at themselves and change their habits as well. I also think this camp is a great way for everyone to learn the ins-and-outs of eating (and living) healthy, even if all the members are not overweight.

Family weight management camp does not come cheap, however. Tuition before reimbursement by health insurance (if your company will reimburse you) is $5,350 for two-week sessions for each parent-child pair (2 people); $1,000 for each additional parent or child. One-week sessions for each parent-child pair (2 people) is $2,700; $500 for each additional parent or child.

For me, the part I hated most about summer camp was being apart from my family, so this is a good way to alleviate those homesick feelings, while still getting the camp experience. Plus, you know what they say: A family that plays together stays together. For more information visit WellspringFamilyCamp.com.

Gifts For Active Snow Bunnies

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:00:32 -0800

Although snow may not be falling in your neck of the woods just yet, it's never too early to start thinking about all the people in your life who love playing in that fluffy white stuff.

If you have a friend or family member who's big into hitting the mountain, here are some gift ideas that are sure to keep her warm and happy. Although picking out ski or snowboard equipment is best left up to her, these items are sure to make wintertime even better.

Diet Tip: Yes to Family Dinners - No to Family Style

FitSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:30:00 -0700

Whether you're cooking a meal at home or going out to eat, if you're trying to lose weight, it's no secret that family-style dinners encourage us to eat more. When you have an empty plate in front of you and you see a whole array of different dishes to try, your eyes can be bigger than your stomach, and you can end up serving yourself a lot more calories than you would if you were just given a regular serving of food. It's just like going to a buffet. The food is in front of you, so you tend to keep going back for more. I'm all for sharing a meal with friends and family, but do yourself and your waistline a favor, and serve meals onto plates rather than from dishes on the table.

Source

Get Physical: Family Yoga

FitSugar — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 02:00:00 -0700

Doing yoga can be so much fun, especially when you do it with people you care about. Why not designate a half hour this weekend to practicing with your entire family? Ideally you should do it around 10:30 or 2:30, so you are in between mealtimes (yoga doesn't feel very good on a full or completely empty belly).

Pick a spot in your home or outside if weather permits so you all have enough space to move. You can set up mats if you have them, or just do the poses on a hard wood floor or carpet.

If you have experience going to yoga classes, just think of the poses you love to do, the ones that stretch and open, relax or energize, or the ones that are fun to try.

If you have younger kids in your family, make the poses more active. Bark like a dog in downward facing dog pose. "Ribbit" and leap like a frog in Squat pose. Make a forest when your entire family does Tree pose. Each person can practice being the wind and blowing the branches in the trees.

Kids also love being in charge, so you can play a game of "Simon Says" with yoga poses. At the end, when you lie down in Savasana to rest from all your hard work, you can take turns massaging each other's feet.

With a little creativity, you'll be doing yoga together and having fun in a healthy way.

Fit's Tips: Maybe yoga is new to you. If so, check out this incredible book called Playful Family Yoga for Kids, Parents, and Grandparents. It's actually out of print now, but you can get a copy through Amazon starting at $39.99. I love this book because it illustrates so many wonderful partner poses.

How to Work Off Thanksgiving Calories

FitSugar — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:00:08 -0800

If you're worried about devouring a huge Thanksgiving meal and what that will mean to your waistline, have no fear. You can have your cake - I mean pie - and eat it too, you just have to get moving afterward. After the break, check out the calorie amounts for your favorite Thanksgiving foods and find out some ways you can work off those tasty calories.

To see the chart, read more.

Food	Amount of calories	Activity
6 oz. mulled wine	156	Swimming laps moderately for 20 minutes will burn 158 calories.
3.5 oz. white turkey meat	156	20 minutes of football burns 158 calories.
3.5 oz. dark turkey meat	186	Sneak away for a 20-minute jog and burn 197 calories.
1/2 cup mashed potatoes	150	Burn 158 calories by walking briskly for 40 minutes.
1/2 cup gravy	150	44 minutes of cleaning burns 152 calories.
1 small baked sweet potato	54	Stretching for 15 minutes burns 59 calories.
1/2 cup stuffing	180	A 23-minute bike ride at a moderate pace will burn 181 calories.
1 slice apple pie with 1/2 cup ice cream	555	Hiking for an hour and 35 minutes will burn off 561 dessert calories.
1 slice pumpkin pie	180	Take the family bowling for an hour and burn 180 calories.

Reality Check: Ashlee Isn't a No Carbs Kind of Girl

FitSugar — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:00:02 -0800

Even though she lives the So Cal lifestyle, Ashlee Simpson-Wentz told Women's Health that she doesn't starve herself for a Hollywood figure; she simply loves food, and one of her favorite feasts features Mexican fare. Once a week Ashlee and her hubby, Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz, invite family and friends over for taco night. Ashlee told the mag that she's not afraid of cheese, eats cheeseburgers with ranch dressing, and indulges in French fries. But don't spread the rumor that she's eating for two, because she's not, and Ashlee shares that she's even slimmer than ever.

She boasts about devouring whatever she wants, doesn't deprive herself of the foods she craves, and still has such a great figure. To find out what she asys is her secret, read more.

Ashlee's secret weapon is Bronx Pilates! Her 1-year-old son is in her arms all day, and carrying around that extra weight has helped to really tone her arms.

Before she gave birth, Ashlee had gained 50 pounds, and her breasts were up to a size E when she was nursing. So once baby Bronx was two weeks old, she was ready to start losing the extra pounds. A home-delivery meal plan didn't work since she's a big eater. She says, "If I want a grilled cheese sandwich, I'll eat a grilled cheese sandwich." So she turned to exercise, and with the help of a personal trainer, the new mama set up a home gym and started circuit training. Four weeks later, Ashlee had lost half her baby weight. Her diligent workouts have definitely paid off. Of course, this young actress also has her youth and genes to thank. Though she looks amazing now, Ashlee dispels the notion that her bod was a result of Hollywood stress. She says, "I wasn't in a rush to get back to this body for anyone else. It was more like, 'I wanna look good [for me]? I wanna feel good.'"

Ashlee is feeling great and very appreciative of her family and all life has blessed her with. On top of a great career and a healthy son, her hubby is a great source of comfort and support. "Pete isn't worried about stretch marks, " she says, "He always makes me feel sexy."

The way she explains it, she doesn't really do anything currently to maintain her figure. Do you believe it?