I don’t know why you can only get clementines during Christmas. It seems counter-intuitive to me, but when those little orange citrus show up in my grocery store, I’m the first to buy a box. The reason I love clementines so much is because they are EASY to peel. I hate peeling oranges, but clementine peels come off in one easy pull. They are also sweet compared to other citrus fruits. Sweeter than an orange and half its size.
Best of all, they are low in calories. They average 35 calories a fruit, so I can eat two of them for one Weight Watchers Point. Of course, I need to eat two for them to count as a fruit to check off, but I’m alright with that. They taste good and they are low maintenance.
It’s clementine season and it only last a month or so, so get out there and get some. If you have been struggling eating enough fruits and vegetables, here is a welcome addition to your diet. You only get them once a year, so enjoy them while they’re here.
Tom Mangan lived in California for five years before he realized that he was near some of the best trails in the country. Now, he regularly blogs about his hikes, other people’s hikes and the beautiful scenery on the way. I found his weblog to be inspiring and motivating.
Next time you’re dreading working out, remember, you probably live within 30 minutes of a nature trail. Take the drive and take a hike. Your exercise routine will feel like an enjoyable experience instead of a chore of drudgery.
When I first got my Nike +, I noticed the feature in their software to challenge your friends to a race. I thought it was really cool, but I didn’t have any friends with a Nike +, so I just ignored it. After reading the forums, however, I noticed that Nike had set up a whole section of their running forums to find people to race with on challenges. Just in case you missed it, too, here’s the link:
I have to admit that this has become my favorite feature of the Nike + software. I did my walk this morning and as soon as I was done, I ran to the computer to sync my iPod with the computer. As soon as it was finished, I logged onto Nike + to see how I rated on the challenges I’m participating in. For the first time ever, I was in second place. Of course, all of that could change the minute the other challengers sync their iPods, but for a brief moment, I am in second place. I took a screen shot of it just to remember it!
I have had a really hard time with motivation to exercise lately. I had set up goal after goal on my Nike +. I made them really easy goals. All I had to do was run three times a week and I would make it, but it just wasn’t working for me. The minute I joined these challenges, my motivation sky-rocketed. I would look at a runner who was maybe one or two people in front of me and I would try to beat their mileage. My competitive streak just kicked into full gear right in the middle of the Christmas season. Whoever said that it was hard to keep up with your exercise program in December hasn’t been challenged on Nike + yet.
If you have a Nike +, you’re really doing yourself a disservice not joining a challenge or two. If you don’t already have one, I’ll be honest, you don’t need one. You don’t need an iPod, Nike + or even high tech sportswear to stay fit this winter. All you need is the will to do it. Try challenging a friend to log your runs by hand. See who can run the furthest from now until New Year’s. Get a jump on your New Year’s Resolution and start exercising now!
This just in from Jim in Tampa, Florida, Bike-O-Vision has created a series of DVDs that allow you to envision riding the world on your bike. They are very similar to my walking DVDs. You ride your exercise bike in front of your television and watch the beautiful scenery go by. It’s like really being there, except you don’t have to freeze in the cold or sweat it out in the humid heat.
It’s great to see that other companies are doing the same thing. I haven’t been able to record bicycle rides because the vibration is so intense that the video was unwatchable. I’m so glad that a professional company is getting this footage and making it available to all of us!
“Let’s just say the Enviga is true to it’s word and the increased energy expenditure actually leads to fat burning. According to Nestle you need to drink 3 cans per day. So, to burn 1 pound of fat (3,500 Calories) you would need to drink 105 bottles of Enviga over 35 days. That amounts to $147 (average $1.40 per can).
“Enviga is sweetened with aspartame and ace-k. At 3 cans a day – that’s a lot of aspartame going down the hatch.
“This isn’t a weight loss wonder – but simply a stepping stone in a market where carbonated drink sales have been falling.”
Remember, weight loss is big business and companies think we are stupid. Don’t fall for it. Just because they slap a label on something telling you that it will make you lose weight, doesn’t mean it will or that it’s good for you.
A lot of us are trying to eat healthy while we are out Christmas shopping. That can leave us confused and hungry at the mall food court.
What do you eat when you are out shopping?
How do you compensate for it?
Do you pack your own food with you, or risk things at the food court?
What are the healthiest options?
You don’t have to sacrifice health at “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” It’s possible to eat healthy on the go. I want to hear how you have done it.
Svetol is a green coffee extract that is supposed to help with weight loss. The websites promoting it say:
“Clinical studies demonstrate the twin actions of Svetol:
-The slimming action results from a decline of the body mass index which leads to weight management. The results of the study show a reduction in weight of 5.7% after taking the supplements for 2 months.
-The shapelier body contour results for an increase in lean body mass and reduction in fat. The results of the study show an increase of the LM/FM ratio of 4%.”
They are quick to use words such as “clinical studies” and “reduction in weight”, but I can’t find anything online to show the results of the studies, whether they were performed by a reputable facility and whether they were double blind. Without this information, there is really NO PROOF that Svetol does anything but take your money away. Remember, don’t spend any money on a nutritional supplement that hasn’t jumped through the hoops and proved what they are saying.
That doesn’t mean that nutritional supplement manufacturers aren’t going to jump on Svetol like it’s the best thing in the world. Expect to see lots of products with Svetol included like, CoffeeSlender, which is an instant coffee containing the extract. Considering how eager food manufacturers are to put “weight reducing” supplements into EVERYTHING (Remember chromiumn?), let’s just hope it doesn’t poison people or cause horrible side-effects like ephedra did.
This video is Not Safe For Work (NSFW). Okay, there was NOTHING in this video that offended me, but these days, it seems like any Internet surfing offends employers…
This video shows women posing with household appliances in sexually suggestive positions and double entrendres flashed to their side. No one would have even noticed this video if it wasn’t for one thing:
The women are amply endowed.
Some people are calling it sexist crap, others are feeling empowered that plus-sized women could be shown in such a sexually positive light. The true irony of this song is the chorus keeps repeating over and over, “She’s so skinny.”
What do I think?
All I can think is, “Man, where can I find those clothes because I want to look that sexy!!”
How do you feel about it? It seems to have touched a nerve with people…
Here it is. I tested the Nintendo Wii with my heart rate monitor. We played Wii Sports, Monkey Ball Banana Blitz and Rayman Raving Rabbids. This commercial gives you a pretty good idea of how much movement you will be doing when you play. There is a scene where the mom is running in the game and she can’t help but move her feet. That exact thing happened to me. We were playing Rayman and I had to run as fast as I could to deliver a bomb to a bunny instead of letting it blow up in my face. You run by moving your arms up and down as if you’re jogging. You could do it sitting down, but you really are faster if you stand up. I couldn’t help but run in place. Mike said, “You don’t need to move your feet.” I shouted back, “Shut up!” and got the fastest time of anyone else. Moving your feet makes you move faster too and my heart rate monitor read 129 bpm.
On the whole, however, most of the games didn’t get my heart rate any higher than it was while I sat on the couch watching others play. Tennis, bowling and baseball on Wii Sports didn’t really do anything for me. The boxing, however, got my heart rate up to 127 bpm. It was a little frustrating, however, because it didn’t feel like my punching in the air had anything to do with what was happening on the screen. Worse still, Dan knocked me out in only three rounds. I hate to lose.
Monkey Ball Banana Blitz sucks. Sorry… I really hate to say it because I have LOVED Monkey Ball on the Xbox, but the mini-games are NOT intutitive at all. They really didn’t use the Wii controller well. None of the games got my heart rate up at all except the Monkey Boxing. Ironically, the Monkey Boxing was way more responsive than the boxing on Wii Sports. If you like boxing, I would totally recommend Monkey Ball. Every time I threw a punch, my monkey moved it’s arms. It may not have hit the other monkey, but it at least tried, which is more than I can say for the responsiveness of the Wii Sports boxing.
The hands down favorite, however, is Rayman Raving Rabbids. From cow throwing to shooting bunnies, it was the most fun. It didn’t bring my heart rate up at all except on “Bunnies Don’t Give Gifts” where I had to sprint with the bomb and the “Bunnies Don’t Know What To Do With Cows.” If Rayman wasn’t a cardio workout, it definitely did something for my arms because the next day, Mike, Dan and I had arm soreness. Stacey was tough, but I think she works in at an insurance company where she has to lift thousands of claim forms every day or something…
On the whole, the Wii Workout isn’t that great. It’s not quite intense enough to get your heart rate up for an extended period of time and it isn’t too much of a muscle workout. Is it exergaming? Not really… Is it better than any other gaming console for getting you out of the couch? Heck yeah!
What would you do if you could just start walking and just keep on walking for thousands of miles through North Carolina’s natural beauty? You would find yourself on the Mountains to Sea Trail.
Although it’s not completed it recently won the Steward for the Environment Award from REI. The idea of being able to start on a path and just keep walking until you hit the ocean is beautiful to me. There are a couple of trails like this planned all across the United States. There just might be a local trail in your area that might be good enough for a winter walk in the snow. It might not be 1000 miles, but then again, how often are we able to walk 1000 miles?
Buy Walking Videos
They are also sweet compared to other citrus fruits. Sweeter than an orange and half its size.
Here is a great review of Enviga, the purported “negative calorie” drink from the Coca-Cola company.
