FitSugar

Get in Gear: The Sugar Pack

FitSugar — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 04:00:00 -0800

If you are into doing anything outdoors, you've got to have a Camelbak. It's an easy way to make sure you've always got your water with you.

Sometimes when you're out for the day, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, or whatever, it's annoying to have to stop all the time to get your water bottle out of your backpack.

Using the Camelbak keeps your water much more accessible so you are apt to drink as much water as you need.

It's a pack that has a reservoir pouch that holds the water. And there's a little tube that goes from there all the way up to your shoulder. To get the water out, you bite down on the end and suck - it's like a big straw - it's so easy.

But won't my water freeze? Nope. Camelbak makes insulated packs like this one so your water is protected from the cold. It's called the Sugar pack. You know I love that!!!

For $70, it holds 70 oz of water and has extra storage space for important things like snacks, a camera, your cell phone, and extra layers. What a brilliant idea.

Lessons From the White House Chef

FitSugar — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:00:07 -0800

Part of Michelle Obama's master plan to reform eating habits in this country includes the directive of a young chef named Sam Kass. Kass has been the Obamas' personal chef for several years now, and when the Obamas packed up and moved to the White House, he did too.

Kass, 29, plays more than cook at his current post: he is the first White House chef to have an actual desk in the East Wing and works alongside the rest of Ms. Obama's policy team with the title of "food initiative coordinator," meaning he's given the daunting task of getting the entire country to eat better.

To hear how Kass is trying to making the country healthier, read more.

How does one man do that in a country where the golden arches rule? In the latest editions of People and the Chicago Sun Times, Kass shares that moving past the obstacles won't be easy but "it's an unbelievable opportunity" that he couldn't turn his back on. In the last year, the chef has gotten closer to his goal by helping plant a garden on the White House lawn and educating children about the benefits of healthy eating. He's also discussing legislation with the Agriculture Department that would reform school lunch on a national level.

When it comes to feeding the first family, Kass and White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford serve up classic fare like burgers and tacos, but make healthy food swaps and use lean beef and low-sugar ketchup instead. As for dessert, it's a special treat served only on the weekends, and that order comes directly from Michelle herself.

Inspired by the Slow Food movement, Kass looks to the White House garden to inspire his menu, pushing forth the idea of eating local and by season. Right now, he's got his eyes on a bevy of sweet potato dishes and fresh salads, which should come in handy for the Obamas' first state dinner later this month.

Snickers Energy Bars?

FitSugar — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:30:06 -0700

Clif, Balance, and Luna are a few of my favorite brands when choosing energy bars, but the popular packed-with-peanuts candy bar company wants to get in on the action too with their Snickers Marathon bars. I know what you're thinking. Snickers? Making energy bars? Yep. They were designed to give good tasting energy to active, healthy people, and they come in three varieties - Energy, Nutrition, and Protein.

I find it ironic that the ingredients couldn't be found anywhere on the entire website. Wouldn't health-minded people want to know what they're eating? Seems a little sneaky. Then when I did some research, I discovered these bars contain corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup - just what I expected from a food that has Snickers on the label. The website did include the nutritional labels, so to see how these bars measure up, read more.

	Calories	Sat. Fat (g)	Chol. (mg)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)
Energy: Multigrain Crunch	220	2.5	5	210	31	3	17	10
Energy: Chewy Chocolate Peanut	210	3	5	200	26	5	15	13
Energy: Chewy Peanut Butter	210	3	5	240	25	4	15	14
Nutrition: Dark Chocolate Crunch	150	2.5	5	140	22	7	9	11
Nutrition: Honey & Toasted Almond	150	2	5	125	22	7	10	10
Protein: Caramel Nut Rush	290	5	5	190	40	10	22	20
Protein: Chocolate Nut Burst	280	3	5	340	37	11	18	21

I was wondering, have any of you tried these Snickers Energy bars?

How to Avoid Germs at the Gym

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:00:00 -0700

The cold temps are moving in and it's that time of year for colds and the flu. To prevent getting the sniffles, sore throat, and achiness, you've got to avoid the germs. It's not enough to watch out for germy places in your home. You've also got to beware of places that are shared by tons of people, and for FitSugar readers, that means the gym. Yours may seem neat and clean, but that doesn't mean it's germ-free. So here are some ways to avoid the invisible creepy crawlies that can make you sick.

Spray down all equipment before you use it with disinfectant spray. It may be a rule at your gym that you have to clean equipment after you use it, but who knows if the person before you remembered, or how thorough they were. Wipe down everything you touch including handles on weight machines and dumbbells, yoga balls, and buttons on the displays.
Purchase your own mat for yoga, Pilates, or strength training. They're sweat on by many, and rarely get washed.
If you're a major germaphobe, pack along other equipment like weights and resistance bands.
Bring your own towel from home to wipe off your sweat or to use after you shower. The gym towels are supposedly clean, but you never know.

For more tips on avoiding gym germs read more.

Refrain from touching your mouth, nose or eyes while working out.
Wash your hands often, or use hand sanitizer.
Keep a towel between you and the seat in the sauna.
Fill up a reusable water bottle at home, and bring it to the gym. Germs can pass easily from a person's mouth, to their water bottle, then to the fountain tap and back to another bottle, and to another person's mouth, if people hold their bottles against the tap when filling them. Gross.
Shower immediately after working out to get rid of germs. If you can't, be sure to wash your hands and face, place your sweaty clothes in a plastic bag, and put on a clean outfit.
Wear flip-flops in the shower to avoid picking up athlete's foot.

Healthy App: Slim Down Shopping List

FitSugar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:00:08 -0700

If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, I hope you're taking advantage of all the great health and fitness apps available. I just downloaded a new healthy app from Women's Health - the Slim Down Shopping List. It is cool, easy to use, and best of all it's free!

For more details and to see some pics of this application action keep reading

Sports Energy Products Explained: Gels and Chews

FitSugar — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 10:00:07 -0700

When you need energy for long workouts, there are many choices. Sport drinks, powders, and tablets offer fuel with hydration, but many just provide electrolytes to prevent dehydration. If you're working out for over an hour, you need to provide your muscles with some fuel, aka glycogen, and that's where gels and chew come into the mix. Conveniently packaged in single-serving packets, full of carbs and sometimes electrolytes, you can easily carry one in your pocket or pack. Gels like GU, Clif Shot, and Hammer Head contain sugars that provide super concentrated, fast-acting fuel. Just squirt a pack in your mouth every 30 to 40 minutes of intense exercise, down some water, and you're good to go. You can easily consume the entire serving while on the move, provided you have water to help wash it down.

Bite-sized energy chews such as GU Chomps, Clif Shot Blocks, and Luna Sport Moons offer the same quick energy, but they're less sticky and messy than gels. Since they are more like gummy candies, some folks find them more pleasing to eat, making them great for hikes and longer, slower runs or rides. They can also be easier to digest for some people (although that has not been my experience), but remember that you need to take them with water just like gels. Consume six chews per hour of running, and what's nice is you don't have to take them all at once. Both gels and chews are fairly inexpensive, about $1.30 per packet. Tell me which do you prefer - gels or chews?

Fittingly Mad: "Functional" Junk Foods

FitSugar — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 03:00:39 -0700

Companies are always coming up with new ways to entice customers to buy their products. Recently, a whole line of functional foods has evolved - regular foods that are enhanced with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. These products sound really healthy, so the average consumer sees "Now With Added Fiber" or "Packed With Vitamin A" on the package and places it to the cart without even looking at the label. If they did peek, they would be appalled to see that these products are often just junk food disguised as healthy food. Many of these products contain loads sugar, corn syrup, sodium, and the dreaded trans fat.

Food companies are preying on lazy consumers who see buzz words like "antioxidants," "fiber," and "omega-3s," which make us think we're not getting enough, so we feel compelled to buy these products. The truth is, if you eat a healthy diet full of a variety of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, and lean proteins, you don't need all these enhanced foods. You get enough of what you need from your diet alone. If you're worried about making your quota of certain nutrients, then opt for eating a food that naturally contains what you're missing, instead of foods that are artificially enriched.

Healthy Dinner Idea: How About Breakfast?

FitSugar — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 12:30:00 -0700

Sometimes it can be so hard to come up with exciting ideas for dinner, so a couple times a month, my family and I like to have breakfast for dinner - the girls love it. It's not just because we love breakfast foods, but they're also high in fiber and protein, so they're healthy, too. Check out the nutritional info for some simple breakfast meals.

For a quick and satisfying meal, cereal and milk:

Food	Calories	Fat (g)	Chol. (mg)	Sodium (mg)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Sugars (g)	Protein (g)	Calcium (mg)
1 cup skim milk	91	.7	5	130	12.3	0	12.3	8.7	316.2
1 cup Kashi Go Lean cereal	140	1	0	85	30	10	6	13	60
1/4 cup sliced strawberries	13	.1	0	0	3.2	.8	1.9	.3	6.6
Total	244	1.8	5	215	45.5	10.8	20.2	22	382.8

To see the nutritional info for a veggie omelet and berry french toast keep reading

Food Review: Clean Cravings Gluten-Free Crusts

FitSugar — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 10:00:00 -0700

I experimented with a gluten-free diet in college for a variety of reasons. My strongest memory from that period of my life was missing pizza. Crust was a digestive curse. Now if Clean Cravings and its line of crusts had been around, things could have been much different. The brand has created a line of crusts made without wheat, gluten, dairy, casein, yeast, soy, corn, sugar, peanuts, or nightshade vegetables. For folks with food allergies, this is a blessing.

To see how Clean Craving mini crusts taste and their caloric content, read more.

	1 5-inch crust	1 5-inch crust (rosemary)
Calories	160	160
Total Fat (g)	1.5	1.5
Saturated Fat (g)	0	0
Cholesterol (mg)	3	2
Sodium (mg)	280	290
Carbs (g)	34	34
Fiber (g)	3	3
Protein (g)	2	2
Calcium (mg)	2 %	0 %
Iron (mg)	6 %	4 %

These crusts have a satisfyingly moist and chewy texture, and they're full of nutty flavor with subtle sweetness. Use them to make pizza, top them and serve as appetizers, make sandwiches, cut and toast them and serve with dip, or eat them on their own. As far as gluten-free foods go, I've tried my fair share, and these really do taste good. So far, my favorite way to eat them is to smear on a layer of pesto, sprinkle some mozzarella cheese, and add a slice of tomato. Pop it in the toaster and this savory snack tastes warm and chewy with a hint of crispiness. You can buy a three-pack of five-inch minis for $5.99, or a single 12-inch crust for $7.99 - definitely not cheap, but to avoid stomach cramps and still eat tasty foods, I'd say they're worth it.

Tips For Open-Water Swimming

FitSugar — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:00:57 -0700

Summertime is swimming time, and if you're looking to swim in the great outdoors - in the first stage of triathlon or an open-water swim - you should check out these tips from Sugar user runningesq. She's a veteran triathlete and currently training for the Ironman Cozumel this November. Needless to say, she has experienced many open-water swims and we can all learn from her experience.

See if the race is wetsuit legal. If it is, buy or rent a wetsuit . . . it makes a big difference.
If you are new to open-water swimming start near the back and outside of the pack. The front is a human washing machine!
Expect to get knocked around a bit . . . with all the bodies, it's impossible not to knock into/ get knocked into other swimmers.
Every 4-5 stroke look UP . . . This goes against everything you've been taught in swimming, but you need to make sure you are going in the right direction. It's called "sighting."

Have any tips to add? Please share them in the comments below.