Take, for example, heading off into a restaurant. There are certain words that we recognize as healthy: salad, smoothie, grilled etc. We hear those words and immediately think, “ah, that’s a healthy choice.” And we try to teach our kids to recognize the same words as being preferable food choices.

So what happens when it turns out that one of those “healthy” buzz words is actually packing more sugar than you know what to do with? All of the sudden, a healthy snack could turn into two or three days worth of dessert.

Diets that are high in sugar can lead to weight gain and various weigh-related diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. To address some guidelines, women should probably keep their sugar intake to 25 grams per day; men to 37.5 grams per day; and children to roughly 6 grams per day.

So MIchael and Elle decided to have a look at a very popular smoothie to see how much sugar is in each serving. As Elle mentions, smoothies are drinks with fruit and vegetables– sounds healthy, right? But have a look and see just how much sugar can be found in these smoothies…… and before you watch, take a little guess, knowing what you now know about recommended daily intake.

For more healthy ideas, join the Fitness Guru community on Facebook. And if you have any questions about family health and fitness, shoot me an email at Michael@fitnessgurunyc.com and Elle and I will try to answer it in an upcoming video.

Rock on!!

So in an effort to make water a little more fun, Michael and Elle experiment with some natural flavors. Check it out……. and if you have your own creative ideas to make water more enjoyable, shoot me an email at dad@fitnessgurunyc.com.

Hmmm…..where to begin?……

We could begin with the fact that Ms. Deen has kept her condition quiet for a few years. Certainly, it is a personal issue and need not be discussed publicly. That is, until it is time to collect a check from a major pharmaceutical company.

We could begin with the fact that she continued pitching her brand of cooking– high-fat and high-sugar– when her condition could have prompted her to come forward and help create a change in the way many people view their plates and indulge their palates.

We could start by saying that she is the victim here and that the diet does not necessarily cause diabetes, that there is a genetic factor that must be taken into account.

Here’s where I’ll start: yes, there is a genetic factor and it is unfortunate when people develop this illness later in life. But serving up a menu of buttermilk fried chicken is beyond irresponsible. If there are individuals, Ms. Deen included, who are genetically predisposed to type 2 diabetes, then her manner of culinary expertise is the equivalent of a loaded cross bow– may not kill ya, could kill ya but maybe not. And her response to the accusations of irresponsibility? “I always preach moderation, y’all!” As if adding her li’l southern “y’all” is just going to make it so damn cute, well, hell, let’s just drop the whole thing. We’re talking about high fat and sugar contents. Moderation is pretty tough with these substances that our brains crave. And once our taste buds become trained to seek these foods, it becomes even harder. So the idea of a great frisee salad with a side of buttermilk fried chicken is pretty amusing.

No, this irresponsible individual decided to keep right on serving up her Southern cuisine, avoiding the high road and the ability to initiate change. That is until she is given the opportunity to make some money pitching Victoza. Hey, anybody mention that FDA has warned about possible thyroid cancer in animal studies? I know, I know– the animals were probably going to get thyroid cancer anyway so a little bit of the old drug, in moderation y’all, ain’t going to do all that bad, will it?

Anthony Bourdain, another celebrity chef with no shortage of opinions, went off the deep end about Deen. “I would think twice before telling an already obese nation that it’s okay to eat food that is killing us,” he told TV Guide in an interview, calling her “the worst, most dangerous person to America.” I love Anthony Bourdain. But it’s a bit much. I don’t think she is the worst. In an age of ponzi schemes, it seems like she has stumbled onto a culinary cash cow– selling the poison and the cure.

But what do you think? Time for a poll…..

Today is Ali’s 70th birthday! A tip of the hat to the Greatest, a man whose athletic achievements are so famous that they need no mention on this page. He has been called by many the most famous person on the planet. If that ain’t the truth, it certainly is close.

In an attempt to celebrate the man, I searched for a quote to post on the Fitness Guru Facebook page and I came up with the one above. The man has had many, many famous quotes, but this one hi me hard this morning, I think, perhaps, because we are still in the midst of the Resolution Revolution.

Here’s the thing about working out: it just isn’t pleasant. Not in the traditional sense. Sure, there is the endorphin high (and my friend Chris writes about the biochemical effects of exercise brilliantly in his book, The Athlete’s Way). But for the little investment that you make working out on a regular basis, you will feel better. The effects of exercise on every aspect of your life are tremendous: more energy, less pain, even psychological benefits like…..what’s that word?…….joy!

So maybe you won’t be calling yourself Champion for the rest of your life (but you should). The quality of life will be improved greatly simply by exercising. So as we get deeper and deeper into the Resolution, and all your friends who started out the year with the very best of intentions start to drop by the wayside, remember the words of the Greatest. Have a workout or two where you don’t care about calories or burn or sweat. Do it just to get the blood flowing. Your body will thank you, your mind will thank you. And, most importantly, it will keep you solidly on track this year, making it the healthiest year of your life.

Rock on!!

What’s your Resolution?

I’m not going to bore you with the statistics on Resolutions and how many people drop their health and fitness Resolutions before the end of January. There really is no need: you all have friends who you have watched make and break those promises. You may have made the promises to yourself, only to decide in the first few weeks of the year that life was better without being burdened with all those chains.

But the start of the New Year is a brilliant time to turn over a new leaf. Here’s the catch: the leaf is delicate and if you turn it over with a big iron fist, it’s going to tear (oooooh imagery!). Most of us will come out of the gate way too fast and burn up just as quickly. We try to change everything we are eating, we try to workout far beyond our personal capacity, and the reward at the end of the day is exhaustion and a sense of defeat.

So enter Zen. We all know Zen. It’s that thing where you sit and stare at a stream.

Well, yes, but a little bit more. Zen is a school of Buddhism and the word itself is a derivation of the Sanskrit word for “meditation”. Part of the Zen practice is a voyage of introspection, discovering the nature of oneself. It is a slow and patient journey, one that leads the practitioner to enlightenment. Here’s the catch: there is no time line for enlightenment. If you wanted to enroll in a 12-week course in Zen meditation because the teacher promised enlightenment at the end of 12 weeks, I’d say stay away. That’s not the nature of the beast.

So how does that relate to your Resolution? We tend to attack our Resolutions like a hungry animal. We are driven by some sense that we are lacking something, some quality (think “thin”) and assume that if we take all our energy and throw it in some direction, we will attain that missing element. It’s firing a shot gun at a target while blindfolded. Some people who are patient enough will keep firing the shotgun and eventually hit something. But most of us lose our patience.

I had an interesting talk with a young woman the other night. She had just had a baby eight weeks ago and she and her husband decided to sign up for personal training sessions at their local gym in order to get in top shape for parenthood. Her husband wanted to take off a few pounds around his middle (let’s call it his sympathy belly) and put on some upper body muscle. She wanted to 1) recover from the physical exhaustion of pregnancy and childbirth and 2)prepare for her first half marathon she is going to run in May. Excellent goals for both of them. The trainer had them doing exactly the same workouts, which consisted of heaving around lots of weight.

What?

Yup. So she is tired and sore and ready to throw in the towel, while her husband, somewhat less frustrated, is hoping that he will get the results that he is paying a great deal of money to have.

This is a situation where the trainer is blindfolded and firing a shotgun at the clients, hoping that his particular pattern of training will help them achieve their goals.

Ain’t going to happen.

Back to Zen. The first step is patience. It doesn’t take any sort of thought or plan to get out of shape. We can do that very easily. But to get yourself in shape takes a great deal of thought and knowledge, both of the science itself and of your own body. You don’t have to enroll in any sort of graduate program, but you do have to become more introspective. Most people will say that they eat healthy, but when pressed, have no idea how many calories they consume daily; rarely get their recommended intake of fruits and vegetables; miss out on all the joys of fiber; and tend to snack as though the snacks don’t count. Workouts are an all-or-nothing affair that leave them depleted and drawn to all the wrong foods when they sit at the table.

So the three steps to the successful Resolution:

1. Journals. Keep track of what you eat by writing it down. Yes, there are apps you can use to track your food, but most of us will never open the app as often as we open our mouths. Go the old fashioned way and write it down in a notebook with a pen. Then seek the advice of a nutritionist who can help you sort out the patterns you have created and give you a little guidance as to how to change course. Don’t get involved in someone who wants you to visit every week for the next 400 weeks. That isn’t necessary. What you need are some simple steps to get you on the right track. It’s all about a little education.

2. Spend some money on a skilled trainer. And buyer beware. You know that uneasy feeling you get when someone is trying to sell you a car and it just doesn’t seem right? Do you buy the car? Well, just because someone has pumped up biceps and a wash board stomach doesn’t mean that they are a quality trainer who can help you with your personal situation. Ask question, take a trial session. And if it doesn’t feel right, speak up or move on. Otherwise, you’ll end up deflated and depressed like my new mom friend.

3. Patience. I can’t stress this enough. It took you a while to get out of shape. It’s going to take a while to get into shape. Don’t expect huge changes in a few short weeks. In fact, if you have huge changes in a short period of time, you are far more likely to snap back like a rubber band and find yourself in exactly the same position next January. Create a three month fitness schedule for yourself. Try to vary the workouts across the board: take a class, throw a frisbee…..it’s not just logging mindless hours on a treadmill. Place the workouts at times when you know there is little chance you will have to reschedule. But set it up for yourself in advance, so you see the path that you are going to follow. This is going to make it far less likely you will consider each workout an all or nothing event.

And if you have questions, hit me with them, sooner rather than later. Nothing worse than fitness frustration. michael@fitnessgurunyc.com

Rock on!!

The Pelican i1050 iPhone Case:
Having problems working out with your iPhone? The Pelican i1050
case offers water resistant, crushproof and dustproof protection for your iPhone, iPod touch, Blackberry and other smart phones. Fitted rubber liner cradles your music player to protect it from damage. Easy-opening, lockable latch releases lid; mesh pocket under lid helps organize small items like earbuds. Earphones plug into protective right-angle jack on side for no-fuss listening; built-in cable manager holds earphones and cable. There is also an exterior carabiner clip and strap attachment point.

The Garmin Forerunner 405:
For the runner in the family who wants to take it up a notch, here ya go…..with the Forerunner 405
, Garmin has finally put thepower of GPS location-based date into a sleek sport watch that can be worn all day. Runners no longer have to choose between function and fashion. Garmin’s ANT + Sport wireless platform that wirelessly sends your data to your computer and a touch bezel that lets you change screens with a simple tap (no more fumbling for buttons) run make this not just a leap forward in GPS-enabled fitness devices, but in training devices period. Forerunner 405 comes in two color options — black or green.

Powerblocks:
If you enjoy working out at home, but don’t enjoy the idea of having four or five pair of dumbbells littering your bedroom floor, check out Powerblock. I’ve been loving these adjustable dumbbells for years. Two simple dumbbells will give you a variety of various weights, starting at 3 pounds and moving all the way up to 125. The perfect exercise answer for home workouts!

Gloves:
My personal favorite of the season. How many times are you outside running and jumping about and a less-than-thrilling song comes on? You have to take off your gloves to fumble with your digital music device. No more! Not with the North Face E Tip Gloves
!! The design of the finger tips allows you to use your touch screen with your gloves on!! No more chilly hands just to have better music!! There has to be a Nobel Prize in that somewhere!

DVD:
Stuff that loved ones stocking with The Fitness Guru presents Everyday Pilates!! The five different workouts on this DVD will get you in tip top shape with the Fitness Guru right in the comfort of your own home! Happy Holidays!!

But…….

(you know, at times I hate being the “half empty, half full” guy)

…..are these the same Girl Scouts who are wandering hill and dale selling their cookies by the pallat-full. Yes. And some of those cookies are wonderful little snacks that are, by and large, not all that bad when eaten in moderation. But many of those cookies are still baked with high fructose corn syrup. Now, there is the ever present debate that maybe, just maybe, high fructose corn syrup isn’t the evil entity that some people fear it to be. That scary old house on the corner is just in need of a new coat of paint. I don’t want to enter that debate– though, I will note that obesity trends increased at a RIDICULOUS rate moving forward from the early 1980′s when high fructose corn syrup was introduced as a sweetener in processed foods. The Girl Scout web site says that they leave it to their bakers to decide on ingredients for the cookies, and that the corn syrup is necessary to give the cookies that wonderful crispy brown coloring.

Okay…….

But I’m not buying. Girl Scouts: I salute you for getting the ball rolling. You are responsible for the development of many of our children and helping them grow into the strong women of this nation. But don’t pass the buck and say you leave it up to your bakers to make these decisions. If you are committed– and I mean TRULY committed to the well being of our kids (and, let’s face it, some of the adults end up eating the cookies too)– then take the bull by the horns and start making serious changes. Create healthier cookie options; educate the consumers as to the fact that cookies are a treat and should be consumed according to the serving size (anyone every read the serving size on the side of a cookie box?). Or how about finding a new means for the Girl Scouts to raise funds that drive the healthy message home? Yes, cookies have a low production cost and high sales appeal and you can sell millions and millions of boxes. But dammit, if you are going to try and build this message, build it from a firm foundation and drive it home. Anything less is hypocritical.

Rock on!!

But, simultaneous with this growth, is the growth of greater societal stress. Many of the economic safety nets developed in the 1960′s have started to erode in the past 30 years, leading to a greater feeling of instability and economic unease.

And all this stress leads us to our foe, cortisol. I have written about this hormone many times. Often, I feel like cortisol is the Professor Moriarty to my Holmes. Cortisol is one of those great Darwinian developments. Thousands of years ago, when we were hunting antelope on the open plains, cortisol was a fantastic gift. In the event we were unable to find food, our bodies would release cortisol, which in turn, would trigger our bodies to hold onto fat. This fantastic chain would help prevent starvation during those times when the antelope proved just a little smarter than the hunters.

Over the centuries, we have outsmarted the antelope: first we developed bows, then guns, then Quickie Marts on every corner where we could buy blueberry muffins and Super Large Slushies 24 hours a day. Success! Hunger slowly becomes a thing of the past. Unfortunately, no one bothered to tell cortisol. So in periods of high stress, our bodies STILL release the hormone, taking those muffins and converting them to fat which the body then fights to hold onto. High stress + high fat/sugar foods= obesity epidemic. And epidemic it is, with 7 out of 10 adults in the United States now overweight or obese.

So whacha gonna do? In the midst of creating that super fitness routine and rigorous eating plan that are going to help you shed the pounds, you must also develop that third part of the magic triangle: some form of stress reduction. Some people find that going for a run helps combat their stress. Others find that sitting and meditating is the best form of stress reduction. It may take some experimentation, but finding that means of stress reduction is going to be key to your successful weight loss.

Here’s a great place to start. Check out the Fitness Guru Relaxation podcast. Yes, it may drive you nuts. You will actually have to sit and breathe and relax. But, hey, it’s a starting point. And from that starting point you can start to experiment with what works for you.

Relax and rock on!!

Though opinions may run from “uncertain results” to “unnecessary luxury”, both of which I understand, there are many instances when hiring a personal trainer may be in best interest.

• Starting a fitness program.

If you have decided that now is the time and you want to get going, but you are not too certain as to how to begin, a trainer can help you create a program that best suits your needs.

• Plateauing

If you’ve been working out for a while, and at the outset you saw fantastic results but now you are sort of coasting, a trainer can help you with new ideas and insights that can help lift you off that plateau.

• Training for something sports-specific

If you’ve decided that it’s time to run that half-marathon or marathon, or maybe a triathlon is in your future, a trainer who specializes in these sports can help you train safely and efficiently for best results.

But buyer beware! There is a very low barrier of entry into the world of professional personal training: there is no set state or federal criteria that dictates who may call him or herself a trainer. Therefore be very thorough when starting out looking for that special someone.

• Education

There are many different forms of trainer education, from weekend internet certifications through PhDs in exercise science, and everything in between. Find out as much as you can about your potential trainers background and then go home and do a little research: what criteria did they have to fulfill to become certified? How much time was spent in the education process? Do they seek out forms of continuing education and further certification to learn more about how to help you? Remember: you’re trusting your physical well-being to this person. Make sure they have understanding of how the body works.

• Discussion

Have a talk with this person before the session. Tell them what it is you want to accomplish and find out how they work. Remember: you are interviewing, not just being interviewed. It’s important that they ask questions to learn about you, but it is just as important that you also ask questions about their background.

• Game Plan

Once you have had the conversation, discuss what the course of action will be. And listen to what they have to say. Do you feel that they are proposing a game plan that takes into account both your present condition and your goals? The key to a personal trainer is the word “personal”. If you feel you are simply being sold a bill of goods, this person may not be right for you.

Keep in mind that when you sign up for training, you don’t have to sign up for an indefinite period — such a thing can be costly in terms of time and money. But even two or three sessions with a really good trainer can help you get started, get out of your rut, or start out on a whole new experience that you had never even considered.

And lastly, remember: when you do hire the trainer, you are hiring them to educate and motivate you, not to do the exercises for you. Learn all that you can and put that knowledge to work for you. No brain, No gain! And that will take you where you want to go.

If you have any questions about trainers, or anything fitness or nutrition-oriented, shoot me an email at michael@fitnessgurunyc.com.

Rock on!!

KFC's Double Down

Now, as The Fitness Guru, I would hope that Food Stamps would be used in the best interest of health. Fast food doesn’t fall into that category. Many health advocates would agree with me: by giving people easier access to fast food, we are increasing the likelihood of further health problems down the road and an even greater economic problem. But the pro-restaurant lobby would argue that many people don’t live near fresh food supplies. (Author’s note: that argument bugs the hell out of me. Maybe it would work in 1853, but in 2011, with one out of five New Yorkers on Food Stamps, that argument doesn’t wash).

Four states– California, Arizona, Michigan and Florida– have all allowed restaurants to accept Food Stamps.

So here’s today’s question: