FitSugar

Get PetFit With Gunnar and Molly

FitSugar — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:30:00 -0800

Trainer to the stars, Gunnar Peterson along with the help of Molly Sims, is looking to get people active with their pets in the PetFit Challenge. This nationwide challenge aims to get pets and their owners on track for an active, healthy, and happy life together. I love the idea so I'll be signing up my dog and myself, as we can both always use the extra push to get moving - let's hope she likes lunges as much as I do.

For more pics of Molly exercising with her Yorkies and for some fun exercises you can do with your dog just read more.

Power Dog Walks With Intervals: Take your dog for a walk on a leash. Throughout the walk, mix in some intervals of jogging, running, or high stepping to help increase your heart rate and burn calories for both you and your dog.
Fetch Races: A twist on an old favorite. Grab your dog’s favorite toy and toss it at your local dog park or in your backyard . . . except this time, race your dog to retrieve it! For owners who don’t have access to a dog park or backyard, this can be done in the hallway of your home with a soft toy.
Fetch Tease For Abs: Another twist on classic fetch. Grab your dog’s favorite toy and pretend to toss it as you reach the top of your sit-up. Try to get in as many reps as you can until your dog becomes wise that you still have his toy. This is perfect for your backyard, your local dog park or even inside your home.
Dog Squat Tease: Stand with your legs spread shoulder width in preparation to do a leg squat. As you descend, tap your dog with his favorite toy. As you rise, lift the toy above your head to encourage your dog to jump after it. This can be done in your home and outside as well.

If you are a cat owner, you are not out of luck. Check out the Curious Cat Curls on PetSugar.

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Bauer-Griffin

Savory Snacks 100 Calorie Quiz

FitSugar — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 09:00:00 -0800

Not only is it OK to have a snack attack every once in a while, but it's also healthy. Eating 100-calorie snacks between small meals can help regulate your metabolism. To test your low-calorie savory snacks knowledge, take my little quiz.

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You Don't Have to Give Up M&M's in '08!

FitSugar — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 10:00:00 -0800

It's the New Year again, and you know what that means: time for New Year's resolutions. Here at FitSugar, we are going to be helping you out with all kinds of advice for sticking to those healthy promises, which is why I am so excited to tell you about M&M's® 100 Calorie Packs. Thanks to our friends at M&M's®, you can have real enjoyment with less guilt. M&M's® 100 Calorie Packs allow you to indulge in the candy-covered chocolate treats you love without breaking your resolutions. Available in the candy aisle, these products are identical in ingredients to their full sized counterparts. The trick is that they come in perfect portions that are just 100 calories per serving. So you really don't need to give up chocolate in order to stick to those resolutions. Pretty awesome, right?

Thank you to M&Ms® 100 Calorie Packs for sponsoring this post.

Fit Tip: Cross Train

FitSugar — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 08:45:00 -0800

If you are going gang busters at the gym, as many people do come January, and are just tackling the treadmill I am here to urge you to cross train. Variety is the spice of life and if you are mixing up your workouts the chances of getting bored and stopping significantly decreases. Boredom is one major fitness routine killer.

The best part of cross training is that if you are trying to lose weight, cross training can help you burn more calories. Since the human body has evolved to be an efficient machine, it quickly adapts to the stresses we put on it. If running is your go to cardio exercise, when your running improves and you become a more efficient runner you also burn less calories. To alter this unfortunate situation, to burn more calories you need to confuse the efficient machine by adding unfamiliar movements into your exercise pattern. Why not mix swimming in with your running? If you feel like you are an especially bad swimmer, think of all those calories you will be burning just trying to stay afloat.

There's another bonus to cross training to lean about it read more.

Another bonus of cross training is that mixing up your routine also decreases repetitive strain injuries from over use. Adding biking, swimming, etc. to a running program, your joints get a break and your muscles will be worked in different ways. Making you well rounded in your fitness.

Fit's Tip: Cross training, and working out in inefficient ways, can work against you if you are attempting to run a fast marathon. In that case, you simply need to run. However, why not save your leg joints and trade one run a week for a pool run. Running in water means you are working your muscles against the resistance of the water by not pounding your joints on the pavement.

And you? How do you cross train? Share your cross training plan in the comments section below.

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Halloween Survival Guide: Candy Breakdown

FitSugar — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 15:45:00 -0700

I have a love-hate relationship with Halloween. I love going pumpkin picking, making jack-o-lanterns, roasting pumpkin seeds, and creating costumes. Oh, who am I kidding? I also love the candy, the bags of tiny bite-sized servings are my weakness. To keep my candy intake in check, I buy my candy a few days before Halloween and buy the candy I don't like.

How bad are these tasty little morsels, really? A few bites can't hurt, right? To see how many calories haunt your favorite Halloween candy, read more

The calorie content in this chart is based on one piece of Halloween ‘snack’ or ‘fun’ size candy, not full size servings found in the candy aisle. The good news is that on most bags of candy, the serving size includes 2-3 pieces/bags/packets of each. I guess those candy companies know how "fun" those fun packs really are.

1 treat size (fun size)	Calories	Fat (g)	Sugar (g)
Snickers	71	3.6	7.6
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup	88	5.2	8
Reese's Caramel Cup	100	5	11
Reese's Nutrageous	95	5.5	7.5
Milky Way	77	2.9	10.2
Butterfinger	85	3.5	8.5
Almond Joy	91	5.1	9.2
Milk Duds	40	2	6.3
M&Ms	90	4	11.5
Peanut M&Ms	93	4.7	9.1
Nestle's Crunch	51.3	2.7	5.6
Peppermint Pattie	47	1	8.6
Kit Kat	73	3.7	.67
Dots	70	0	11
Skittles	80	.8	15
Jelly Belly Jellybeans	35	0	7
3 Musketeers	63.3	2	10
Milky Way	75	3	10
Hershey's Bar	66.7	4	7.7
Take 5	105	5.5	9
100 Grand	95	4	11
Nerds	50	0	12
Whoppers	100	4	13
Mike & Ike	50	0	9
SweeTarts	10	0	2.4

Knowing the calorie count of some of my favorite treats, I don't feel so bad about stealing a few pieces of my daughters' candy.

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