Having just ended the most wonderful and hectic time of the year, I’m sure that it was hard to keep up with the news, tips and advice on fitness, diet and health. Don’t worry! Here you have some of the best info that you don’t want to miss, including the best exercises to do in your 20s, 30s and 40s; a healthy and easy to make granola; and how much cardio you need to do to shed the holiday pounds.
Men’s Health British Edition (November 2011)
Do you want to protect your skin from bad weather? Eat avocado. It’s rich in vitamin E and oleic acid. Both help repair the skin and stop it from drying out.
Check these symptoms to know if you may have high cholesterol before going to the doctor: a) yellowish deposits in the eyelids b) angina, often felt as a pain in the chest c) ruptured small blood vessels and/or d) leg pain when exercising.
Drink around the clock:
- 8 am: Cranberry smoothie. Blend cranberry juice with yogurt and pumpkin seeds. It’ll provide the right brain stimulus to kick off the day.
- 10 am: Beetroot juice to revive.
- 1 pm: SuperGreen drinks. To avoid poor digestion that will affect your mood.
- 7 pm: Coconut water. Especially as post-workout hydration beverage.
When tasting different cuisines, what to go for and what to avoid:
- India menu: Go for the chicken jalfrezi. Avoid onion bhaji
- Italian menu: Choose the spaghetti arrabiata. Avoid carbonara
- French menu: Salade entrecorte is a good choice or start with a bouillabaisse. Avoid fritots de camembert.
The six-pack casserole:
- 700g turkey, 1 celery stalk, 2 onions, 2 parnish, 2 tins of tomatoes, 1 tsp paprika, 400g potatoes, 2 carrots, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 400g kidney beans, 3 tsp mustard.
- Cook the turkey until golden. Add the onions and soften, throw in the spices, mustard and the sauce. Add the beans, celery and tomato and transfer to a casserole dish. Layer the pre-boiled root vegetables on top and bake at 200 C for 30 minutes.
The ultimate workout when you are in your:
- 20s: incline bench press, Romanian deadlift, jump squat, clean and jerk, chin-up and sprints.
- 30s: squat, lat pull down, deadlift, tricep dip, dumbbell bench press, interval sprints
- 40s: super set: a) push-downs, cable rope curl, b) cable crossover/ isometric press-up, c) Russian twists/hanging leg raise. Straight sets: seated row and jumping lunge. As per cardio, do a mini-triathlon (3 machines, 10 min. each one)
Prevention (January 2012)
- Chicken soup not only fits any diet in terms of weight control, but also it’s been suggested as a good recovery drink along with its properties to heal the cold faster, but among so many options which ones are the best to not to sabotage your effort:
a) Frozen: Kettle Cuisine Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles
b) Classic: Progresso Traditional Chicken Noodle
c) Low sodium: Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle
d) Organic: Health Valley Organic Chicken Noodle
e) Vegetarian: Amy’s No Chicken Noodle Soup
M&F Hers (Nov/Dec 2011)
- What’s the difference between doing walking lunges and other leg exercises? In a study when subjects performed 4 sets of 12 reps of walking lunges twice per week for six weeks, the move improved hamstring strength (back of the legs muscles) by 35 percent, but failed to improve quadricep strength. So, this suggests that walking lunges give the hamstrings more work, which is great, especially for women. However, mix it up with other moves such as static lunges and squats to make sure that you work the quadriceps too.
- How many times do you need to do cardio to lose weight? In a recent study when men and women were put in groups of doing cardio for 30 minutes less than twice a week, two to three times a week or four-more times a week, just the last group was able to lose a significant amount of weight (around 15 pounds).
Men’s Health (December 2011)
Granola has gotten a bad reputation when dieting. This is because the commercial stuff is loaded with sugar. Make yourself a healthy granola to add to your oatmeal or yogurt.
-3 cups of old fashioned rolled oats
-1/4 cup of apple juice
- 3 tbs maple sugar
-1 tbs brown sugar
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbs vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 325F. Spray a small rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with foil. Add the oats and bake until crisp and fragrant about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the remaining ingredients in 1 cup glass measuring cup. Pour the mixture over the toasted oats, toss and bake until crisp and browned, 20 minutes more. Transfer to a re-sealable container and let it cool; seal and store for up to 2 weeks. Make 6 serves. (219 calories per serving, 7 g protein, 4 g fiber)
Bonus: Add seasonings and ½ cup chopped nuts to your granola after the first 20 minutes of baking. Then stir in ½ cup of dried fruit after the granola is baked. Some suggestions are: a) chopped walnuts and dried cherries, b) pistachios and chopped dried apricots or c) pumpkin seed and chopped dried apples.
Do you want to protect your skin from bad weather? Eat avocado. It’s rich in vitamin E and oleic acid. Both help repair the skin and stop it from drying out.
Check these symptoms to know if you may have high cholesterol before going to the doctor: a) yellowish deposits in the eyelids b) angina, often felt as a pain in the chest c) ruptured small blood vessels and/or d) leg pain when exercising.
Drink around the clock:
When tasting different cuisines, what to go for and what to avoid:
The six-pack casserole:
- 700g turkey, 1 celery stalk, 2 onions, 2 parnish, 2 tins of tomatoes, 1 tsp paprika, 400g potatoes, 2 carrots, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 400g kidney beans, 3 tsp mustard.
- Cook the turkey until golden. Add the onions and soften, throw in the spices, mustard and the sauce. Add the beans, celery and tomato and transfer to a casserole dish. Layer the pre-boiled root vegetables on top and bake at 200 C for 30 minutes.
The ultimate workout when you are in your:
- 20s: incline bench press, Romanian deadlift, jump squat, clean and jerk, chin-up and sprints.
- 30s: squat, lat pull down, deadlift, tricep dip, dumbbell bench press, interval sprints
- 40s: super set: a) push-downs, cable rope curl, b) cable crossover/ isometric press-up, c) Russian twists/hanging leg raise. Straight sets: seated row and jumping lunge. As per cardio, do a mini-triathlon (3 machines, 10 min. each one)
- Chicken soup not only fits any diet in terms of weight control, but also it’s been suggested as a good recovery drink along with its properties to heal the cold faster, but among so many options which ones are the best to not to sabotage your effort:
a) Frozen: Kettle Cuisine Chicken Soup with Rice Noodles
b) Classic: Progresso Traditional Chicken Noodle
c) Low sodium: Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle
d) Organic: Health Valley Organic Chicken Noodle
e) Vegetarian: Amy’s No Chicken Noodle Soup
- What’s the difference between doing walking lunges and other leg exercises? In a study when subjects performed 4 sets of 12 reps of walking lunges twice per week for six weeks, the move improved hamstring strength (back of the legs muscles) by 35 percent, but failed to improve quadricep strength. So, this suggests that walking lunges give the hamstrings more work, which is great, especially for women. However, mix it up with other moves such as static lunges and squats to make sure that you work the quadriceps too.
- How many times do you need to do cardio to lose weight? In a recent study when men and women were put in groups of doing cardio for 30 minutes less than twice a week, two to three times a week or four-more times a week, just the last group was able to lose a significant amount of weight (around 15 pounds).
Granola has gotten a bad reputation when dieting. This is because the commercial stuff is loaded with sugar. Make yourself a healthy granola to add to your oatmeal or yogurt.
-3 cups of old fashioned rolled oats
-1/4 cup of apple juice
- 3 tbs maple sugar
-1 tbs brown sugar
-1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbs vegetable oil
Preheat the oven to 325F. Spray a small rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with foil. Add the oats and bake until crisp and fragrant about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the remaining ingredients in 1 cup glass measuring cup. Pour the mixture over the toasted oats, toss and bake until crisp and browned, 20 minutes more. Transfer to a re-sealable container and let it cool; seal and store for up to 2 weeks. Make 6 serves. (219 calories per serving, 7 g protein, 4 g fiber)
Bonus: Add seasonings and ½ cup chopped nuts to your granola after the first 20 minutes of baking. Then stir in ½ cup of dried fruit after the granola is baked. Some suggestions are: a) chopped walnuts and dried cherries, b) pistachios and chopped dried apricots or c) pumpkin seed and chopped dried apples.