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Many people can’t wait for the first day on the mountain, then after only tow or three runs are so tired and exhausted they are already ready to go home. Many people may even hit the gym all summer and work their legs out regularly and are still sore after only a hour on the mountain.

As everyone knows snowboarding requires flexibility, balance, strength and muscular endurance. But for some reason the normal gym routine with squats, calf raises, leg press, lunges etc… just doesn’t prepare you for the mountain.

Here are some exercises that might help get you ready to rock all day your first day up and show all your friends what wimps they are for crying after two hours and only three runs. Even for those of you who don’t get to exercise your legs regularly year round doing some exercise for a month or two will help get you ready for a great season.

1. Balance Board - Helps in core conditioning and balance, both of which are essential for snowboarding.

2. Wall Sits - These help increase lower body endurance and are a great way to train your muscles for shredding down the mountain. It also helps to try doing wall sits with your feet position the same as your snowboard stance.

3. Stretching - Make sure to stretch regularly and keep your legs loose. Always make sure to warm up your legs and stretch right before hitting your first run.

These are just a few additions to add into your workout that can help you get ready for tearing up the mountain, but you should still do a regular leg routine workout including squats, lunges, leg extensions and leg curls. Don’t neglect working your back and core as well.

Whether a beginner or a competitor, anyone can benefit from these exercises. The main body parts that need to be properly trained are the legs, back and core.

Follow This Golden Rule! Don’t Over Fuel!
By Diana Chaloux

Diana Chaloux is an ACE/AFAA/FPI Certified Personal Trainer. She is also the WBFF Figure World Champion, WBFF Figure and Fitness Model Pro and owner of Destined 2 Be Fit.
Diana offers Online Training and Nutrition Programs, for details and to register to work with her visit www.wellnessengine.com/dianachaloux .
One on one personal training is available in Kansas City, write to Diana for details.

Imagine your body is a car. It is the vehicle that gets you where you want to go, it performs all of the functions necessary for you to live your life. If your body is a car it needs fuel to function and run on a daily basis. But what happens when you over fuel a car? The gasoline spills out. Your body works in much the same way. Instead of gasoline, we use food for fuel.
If you over fuel your body by eating too much, that fuel also spills over, only in your body the “spill over” is fat!

Calories are units of energy that we receive from the foods that we eat. Every person needs a certain amount of calories each day in order for their body to perform. Your body uses calories whether you are working out in the gym or grocery shopping, whether you are standing in line at the bank or sitting perfectly still on your couch. Your body is burning calories even while you sleep at night.
Of course, the amount of calories you burn up during an hour of exercise is significantly more than the amount you use during an hour sitting on the couch!

When you provide your body with more energy than you are using in a day, it has to spill over somewhere.
The results of over fueling can be an excess of fat in your tummy, thighs, behind or arms! Each body is different so there is no telling where your body will decide to store this excess fuel!

In our fast paced society the tendency to over fuel has grown exponentially over the last several years, resulting in a severe increase in overweight and obesity among adults and children. A serious lack of physical activity and overeating are causing the American peoples’ waistlines to expand, and their health and fitness levels to decline.
Basically, there are a lot of cars that just sit in the parking lot all day, yet they are still being filled up with fuel! That’s a lot of spill over!

The type of fuel you provide your body with is very important. The higher quality foods you eat, the better your performance is going to be. If you want your car to perform at its best you wouldn’t fill it with cheap and dirty gasoline or oil would you? Instead you would provide it with the highest quality fuel so that it would function at its optimal capacity and stay in the best condition possible for a long time.
Why on earth would you treat your body any differently?

Filling your body with poor quality fuel such as sugary, fattening and calorie dense foods can affect the health of your “vehicle”.
Your engine may start to break down in forms such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol!

Your body needs high quality foods in the proper amounts each and every day to stay fit and healthy, and to perform at its optimum. In order to avoid the fat “spill over” you need to eat nutritious foods. The highest quality fuel comes from foods such as vegetables and fruit, lean meats such as chicken, turkey or fish, healthy fats from nuts or avocadoes, energy boosting carbohydrates from sources such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, or oatmeal, and low fat or skim dairy products. With these foods as the staples of your healthy eating plan, you are sure to function at your max capacity.

Eating small meals frequently throughout the day will prevent you from over fueling and causing calorie “spill over” better known as weight gain. You also need to exercise and use your body for physical activity every day.
A car that sits in the garage and is never driven will start to break down and deteriorate, the same thing will happen to your body if it isn’t used to move as it was intended!

Start caring for your body in the same way you would an expensive vehicle, with the right type and amount of fuel you too can be a fit and healthy high performance machine.

Online Training and Nutrition with Diana www.wellnessengine.com/dianachaloux
One on One Personal Training is available in Kansas City, MO write to Diana for details.

By: Kasey Esser
8/10/08

At first thought bodybuilding and college don’t seem to gel together.  As you know, living the bodybuilding lifestyle requires eating consistently and frequently throughout the day, hard lifting at least an hour per session, and 7-8 hours of sleep a night.  Living the college lifestyle usually requires eating frantically and sporadically throughout the day, hard studying at least a couple hours a day and a maximum of 4-5 hours of sleep a night.  Leading these lives simultaneously can prove to be difficult and frustrating.  As a collegiate bodybuilder myself, I know the many pitfalls that college poses in regard to achieving bodybuilding goals.  However, the 4 or so years you attend college can be one of the most fruitful times of your life in regard to both your bodybuilding goals and life in general.  This is not an article on how to bodybuild in college it’s all about finding a balance and remembering always to have fun and enjoy the unique, abundant experiences college has to offer.

My first year as a collegiate bodybuilder had its ups and downs.  How was I supposed to be a self-proclaimed bodybuilder and still give all I had to the fun times of college?  At first I struggled, as expected.  I had made up a list of bodybuilding goals I wanted to achieve in my first semester of college and I intended with all my might to meet those goals.  When I arrived naïve and awe struck on that first day on a new campus in a different state I was amazed at how many opportunities lay before me.  The first week I had made so many friends I couldn’t even remember all their names.  So many new things were being thrown at me that bodybuilding was one of the last things on my mind.  I didn’t even lift that first week I was there.  Once the initial whirlwind died down though, I got down to business.  Bodybuilding had risen back to the forefront of my mind along with school and all my new friends.  As my first year of college flew by I learned quite a bit about what it takes to maintain a life as a bodybuilder and a normal college kid with an active, exciting social life!

Nutrition
As bodybuilders, nutrition is the number one priority in our world.  As a college student, eating right and eating frequently was tough.  I did my best though, routinely being one of the few who showed up to breakfast at our dining hall.  One of the best tips I can give to other collegiate bodybuilders in regard to nutrition is like a Boy Scout, to always be prepared.  Pack numerous bodybuilding snacks and drinks in your backpack so if you ever end up in a rush (as in every day) and can’t make it to the dining hall to eat you’ll be ready.  As far as what the dining hall offers, just be sensible and choose wisely.  For example, if you have a choice between what looks like a fatty cut of beef and skinless chicken breast what are you going to choose?  Most schools offer a wide variety of protein rich food and as a bodybuilder you probably have the supplements needed to make on your own.  Don’t freak out about splurging, have fun and drink that chocolate milk or eat those cookies you’ve been eyeing for the past week.  Contrary to what many bodybuilding sources tell you, it won’t undo weeks of gains you made.  I promise.  Because you eat like a bodybuilder you will get made fun of and teased about it.  It’s usually not hurtful, other people just can’t understand why you eat the way you do or why you have to drink all those protein shakes.  Just laugh it off and if a guy is questioning you about it just flex your bicep at him and he’ll be quiet.  Trust me, I’ve done it.  

Also, with all those new friends I made, there were a lot of opportunities to eat out.  Don’t pass on these chances!  Just because it is not on your diet to eat Hooter’s wings doesn’t mean you shouldn’t.  Never put bodybuilding ahead of developing relationships with friends.  It’s not worth it.  In the end, it really isn’t impossible to eat like a bodybuilder and eat like a normal human with your friends provided you make the effort to plan ahead and take advantage of the all you can eat buffets!

Training
The other obvious priority in a bodybuilder’s life is actual bodybuilding training!  This is one of the easiest aspects of bodybuilding to manage while in college.  Believe it or not, you won’t need to study all day like your parents or whoever may have said.  There will be time to lift.  It just depends on your schedule and your school gym’s hours.  Lucky you if your gym is open 24/7.  Mine isn’t so I have to account for that.  Late afternoon around 3 or 4 is usually the best time to lift because classes are over and there’s really not much to do around this time so take advantage of that window.  If you are busy around this time, you will have to go in the evening or God forbid early in the morning.  There were days when I knew I wouldn’t be able to lift at my normal time so I would go at 6 a.m. to get in my lifting and breakfast, and sometimes a shower before my 8 a.m. class.  You just got to do what you got to do.  If it comes down to it though, never put studying behind lifting.  If you only have 1 hour in the day to lift or study, make sure you study.  I know it sucks because you would rather lift but I made this mistake a few times and it cost me.  And keep in mind that your parents are most likely funding your education so keep that in mind too.  Getting an A in a class is much more important than missing a day of lifting.

Sleep
From my experience and stories I’ve heard from my bodybuilding-conscious friends, sleep is the hardest piece of the puzzle to come by in college.  It’s just the nature of college.  There are so many people to hang out with and so much studying procrastination that the hours after 10 o’clock are always eventful.  For a bodybuilder, this can be a tough pill to swallow (no pun intended).  When I arrived at school I was used to going to bed early and I quickly found out I could not maintain this early to bed philosophy if I was to maximize my college experience.  So I made a little sacrifice and started staying up later, especially on the weekends and it made a big impact in terms of the amount of fun I had and the enriching of those all important college friendships.  The conversations you have w/ people after 11 o’clock are the ones that really stick with you.  Granted, I usually didn’t get the full 8 hours recommended by almost everyone but I did my best to maintain a balance between staying up late with my non-health conscious friends and getting the sleep needed to maximize my bodybuilding gains.  You can make gains on less than 8 hours of sleep so go ahead and stay up late (but not too late) with your friends and have fun!

Drinking
This is a topic that is shied away from by most collegiate bodybuilders because they are either afraid to admit that they drink every now and then or afraid to say that they don’t (for coolness reasons).  This is a big topic though because no matter what school you go to drinking will be present, even at a  “dry” campus like mine.  Most likely, you know drinking doesn’t have a place in a serious bodybuilding program because of its testosterone inhibiting effects and empty calories.  I, for one, don’t drink and am not afraid to admit it.  I did receive a lot of questions about why I didn’t and answered them truthfully.  If they don’t like the answer don’t worry about it, bodybuilding is not an endeavor for those who desire to please others.  There will be temptation and if you do give in don’t beat yourself up about it, but if you have any serious bodybuilding aspirations then you likely will not have any desire to.  You can still have fun at parties without drinking because I have a lot of fun at every party I go to.  The fun part is about being around your friends and the music and the dancing.  Most likely, if you don’t drink then you will have friends who don’t drink so try to spend time with them if you start to feel left out at a party because everyone else is drunk.  And it’s always fun to make fun of the people who are way too drunk with your other sober friends.  

For me, bodybuilding and college go hand in hand.  The college life gives me a break from the disciplined life I lead as a bodybuilder and bodybuilding gives me a refuge from the hectic college life.  It’s all about finding a balance and staying true to yourself.  Use my experience as a guide and do what works best for you.  Realize college is such a unique opportunity and take advantage of it in the short 4 years you’re given.

As bodybuilders, we can tend to get caught up in ourselves and our lifestyle a little too much.  We have to always have an eye on the big picture and realize that bodybuilding is not the be-all and end-all of our existence.  Try to live the bodybuilding lifestyle as best as you can in college but remember not to take yourself too seriously and to always have fun.  The day bodybuilding feels like a job or chore is the day I stop.  After all it is college and it is supposed to be the most fun part of your life and so far I believe it has definitely lived up to that billing.  So take in all the opportunities it has to provide and grow and have fun at the same time!  

We filmed all the footage starting last April of 08′ through September of 08′. I go from 282lbs down to 260lbs through this elapsed time and transition from swollen to sliced!

The DVD includes me training all muscle groups Pecs-Delts-Arms-Legs-Back-ABs and Cardio,
in Contest prep for the Europa show and Atlantic City open and masters competition.

We Call it Andy Haman IFBB Pro “It’s All LIGHTING!”

because many time people ask me how I get into such good shape or “how did you get so big!?”
and I always answer Joking- “It’s all LIGHTING!” referring to good lighting in the gym or a photo shoot!

The DVD is filled with Ridiculously funny stuff with me Guest Posing-Cooking-Training-Shopping-and spending time trying to get my training done during the day while taking care of my four children!

Some fun highlights include:
Issac Hinds Photo Shoot!
Halloween Guest Posing with my kids!
Ripping cans apart!
500lbsplus Bench press at contest weight!
American Gladiator Tryout Footage!
News interviews!
and Europa Footage!

Everything was filmed here in Colorado Springs, Colorado at FLEX gym-Villa Sports
and my Home with the exception of the Europa footage-

We Rated it R Ridiculously Funny! as it not your typical Hardcore Bodybuiding DVD
because of all the time I spend with my family trying to juggle getting them to school and there activities through the day!
(make no mistake though- it’s packed full of incite and plenty of gym time with lots footage of just me Blasting away with the Iron!)

Get more info here

Tasty Transformations (Part II)
By Phillip L. Dell

        We’ve all heard the saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” and rightfully so, as we need something to kick start our metabolisms so that our bodies can efficiently process the food we eat throughout the day.  With this in mind I, found it fitting that the first recipe be something of breakfast nature.  I love breakfast!  French toast, pancakes, eggs, sausage, you name it, I love it!  Everywhere in the world there are staples at the table.  Whether on the farm or in the south you are likely to find one of my many favorites-sausage gravy!  Warm, rich and poured all over some freshly baked biscuits or on top of eggs, there simply is nothing like great sausage gravy.  This recipe can be made in many ways, but I believe this to be a great way to start.  Just like in many recipes, you are the chef!  Don’t like an ingredient, or would like to add something?  Go for it!  You’re the chef, and most importantly the one that will be eating it.  So, don’t be afraid to experiment.  Let’s get cooking!

Classic Sausage gravy  (a.k.a. sawmill gravy)
(4 servings)

1 pound bulk pork breakfast sausage (I like Jimmy Dean’s Bold or Bob Evan’s)
¼ cup Flour, all-purpose
2 cups Whole milk
Salt and pepper to taste

        Cook sausage in a skillet (cast iron is best). When done, remove sausage from pan and pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Whisk flour into the fat and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk a little at a time. Return to medium-high heat and stir occasionally while the gravy comes to a simmer and thickens. (Be sure to scrape up any brown bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan, that’s where the flavor is.) Check seasoning, add crumbled cooked sausage back into the pan, and stir mixture and serve.

Classic Sausage Gravy Transformed
(4 servings)

1-pound basic breakfast sausage (recipe follows)
¼ cup oat Flour
1 Tablespoon Olive oil or grape seed oil
2 cups fat free evaporated milk (I like Nestlé’s®)
Salt-free seasoning to taste (I like Mrs. Dash® Seasoning’s)

         Cook sausage in a skillet (cast iron is best). When done, remove sausage from pan and add oil. Whisk flour into the oil and cook over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk a little at a time to prevent lumps. Return to medium-high heat and stir occasionally while the gravy comes to a simmer and thickens. (Be sure to scrape up any brown bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan, that’s where the flavor is.) Check seasoning, add crumbled cooked sausage back into the pan, and stir mixture and serve.

Basic Breakfast Sausage
(8- 2 ounce servings)

1-teaspoon ground sage
1/2-teaspoon coarse black pepper
1-teaspoon fennel seeds
2 Tablespoons ice water
1 pound ground extra lean pork (I like farmer John’s)*

Procedure
       Combine, sage, pepper, fennel and ice water in the bottom of a bowl, whisk to combine. Add pork and mix to combine spices.  Note:  At this point you could form into 2-ounce patties (I like to use an ice cream scoop for this.) and freeze for later use.  Otherwise proceed to make gravy.

*Ground Turkey or chicken may be substituted for pork.

Chef’s Note:  

           This is a basic starter recipe.  For something different, try adding a pinch of ground coriander, ginger, thyme, cayenne and nutmeg.  To make this into maple sausage, add two tablespoons pure maple syrup (I prefer adding a premium sugar-free maple syrup such as Maple Grove) or, for added kick, add one teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the mix. If time allows, I recommend making the mixture the night before as to let the flavors develop further.

           Now that you’ve read the recipes let’s discuss the differences.  Starting with the sausage itself.  When using a commercial product, there tends to be a large amount of fat and sodium, thus making it higher in calories.  By making sausage from scratch, you have the ability to control the amount of fat that is added and the amount of salt used in the recipe.  Also, when using an extra lean protein you get the added benefit of higher protein.  Most commercial brands contain only 4 grams of protein per serving; the scratch recipe contains 16 grams.  The fats in the commercial product primarily come from the animal and additional mounts are added to help with moisture.  A two-ounce serving of the commercial sausage contains approximately 21 grams of fat, Where as the scratch recipe contains only 4 grams.  While it may seem like a lot of work to make sausage from scratch, I can assure you the benefits are well worth the extra step.  

           Moving on to the gravy.  There were a number of changes in this recipe to make it better for you.  Starting with the flour: All-purpose versus oat.  All-purpose flour, (whether bleached or unbleached) has been enriched.  What does this mean?  Enriched simply means that all of the health benefits that wheat contains have been removed during a refining process (Don’t worry I’ll cover more on this at a later date).  
What you are left with is simply a powder also known as a simple carbohydrate.  When the body breaks this down it turns into sugar and will raise insulin levels and eventually metabolizes as fat.  Unlike All-purpose flour, oats contain an abundant amount of added health benefits such as protein, vitamins and fiber.  Oats, whether in whole or powdered form, still contain the same health benefits unlike refined flours.  The fiber found in oats slows the absorption of sugar into the blood stream, thus reducing the amount of insulin the body produces.  The insoluble fiber found in oatmeal has been found to lower cholesterol levels as well. In addition, fiber will help you feel more satiated (full) and can prevent you from overeating.

          The second item is fat: Saturated versus Unsaturated.   I know what you’re thinking, “I thought I was trying to eliminate the fat.”  Well, not all fat is bad.  However, fat is bad in large quantities.  What you are looking for is health benefit.  The fat in the classic recipe comes from pork fat and whole milk.  The transformed version gets its fat from olive or grape seed oil, which is made up mostly of unsaturated fat.  Medical professionals have determined that these fats do not raise cholesterol levels unlike their artery-clogging cousin–saturated fat.   The whole milk was replaced with non-fat evaporated milk.  Whole milk contains 8 grams of fat per 8 ounce serving and has 140 calories, where as the fat free variety contains 0 grams of fat and only 80 calories.  Evaporated milk has had some of the moisture (water) removed from it, making it denser in comparison to regular fat-free milk.  This is a great thing.  By doing this, evaporated milk can be used in place of heavy cream in almost all recipes including whipped cream.  Now, if you don’t have evaporated milk, fat-free (skim) milk can be used, but you will need to increase the flour in the recipe to help thicken the gravy.  It will also thicken more the longer it boils.  

         Last but not least, sodium:  salt versus no salt.  The transformation recipe offers a tasty, no added sodium to the meal.  All the foods you eat contain sodium! Yes, even vegetables.  So why add more sodium in the form of salt?  Our bodies need sodium in order to function correctly.  By consuming added sodium, your body retains water.  While retaining some water during a bulking phase at the gym might help you, there are great deal of health concerns that you may be faced with such as high blood pressure and cholesterol.  Both of these conditions could be detrimental to your body during a workout.  Running on a treadmill with high blood pressure would not be a smart thing.  Your blood pressure will elevate all on its own when you workout, so you don’t need to help it by adding salt to your food. There is some great no-salt seasonings sold commercially that are substitutes for salt (such as Mrs. Dash® seasonings) or, you can make your own.  Trust me when I tell you your body will get used to not having the added salt a whole lot faster than you think.  

        There are great number of things that simply cannot be covered in just one article.  However, I hope you have learned enough to want to learn more.  Most importantly, I hope you have been motivated to get in the kitchen and starting your own transformation.  Eating right is the first place to start when trying to transform yourself into the body that you have always wanted.  However, along the way you may want some help in the form of personal trainers (Such as Carlos Nunez of Get Lean Las Vegas 702-882-4702) and personal chefs (such as Sin City Chefs, Inc. 517-214-0014). Together they can write you a meal plan suited for your body type, lifestyle, and workout. They can also coach you on your eating and cooking, or even cook your food.  The choice is yours.  All you have to do is do it!  It can be done.  I did it you can too!  Come on into the kitchen with me and Taste the Transformation!  Your health and body will thank you for it.    And remember, you are not going on “a diet” A diet is simply a Day In Eating Transformed! ™

Tasty Transformations
By Phillip L. Dell

          A couple of years ago I was at a crossroads, I believe a lot of us face similar situations every day.  We have this belief that we are inadequate in our appearance and that we must change it by going on a “diet”.  The truth is, every second of our lives we are on a diet.  It’s whether or not we are on a “fad” diet or on a diet in which we will succeed for the rest of our lives that determines whether or not it is a successful one.  A “diet” as defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary:

1. Food and drink regularly provided or consumed.
2. Habitual nourishment.
3. The kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason.
4. A regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one’s weight.

          Try not to think of a diet as a four-letter word.  Rather, look at it this way - a diet is: A Day In Eating Transformed™.  It’s a way of life!

          So, what am I trying to say here?  Fad diets may work in the short term but will likely fail in the long term. A true diet is when you are eating in a way where your body is given the proper nutrients needed to function regularly all the time, whether in the gym or in our daily lives.  Unlike fad diets that may give “now” results, they are likely not giving you “later” benefits.  We all have the ability to have a successful diet, and we can all help each other achieve this goal.

          With simple knowledge of proper eating etiquette you will be able to eat what you want and still keep it in your plan.    In this and future articles I will cover the basics of taking your favorite recipes and “transforming” them into healthier versions; all without removing the flavor while transforming yourself in the process.  Minor modifications to one’s diet can make a major difference in one’s appearance.  It helped me go from a hefty 217 pounds, to a lean 125 pounds and I believe although different for everyone, you too can achieve your goals.  Let’s get cooking!

Transforming Your Ingredient Selection

         There are many things to consider when choosing the right “ingredients” for a successful recipe transformation.  In this article, I will give an overview of ingredient categories and other topics of interest.  This includes cooking styles and how they can help make a recipe healthier.  Let’s start with ingredients.

Protein
        Animal proteins such as, beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish/seafood, and wild game.  Eggs, and egg whites. Milk (casein), Legumes, (such as edamame soybeans) and beans.  Protein powders are made up of whey and soy.

Carbohydrates
        Rice, pasta, grains/ flours, such as wheat, quinoa (keen- wah), oats, cous cous, potatoes, fruits and vegetables.  Legumes.

Fats
        Oils such as vegetable, olive, canola, grape seed, nut oils, seed oils, butter, nuts and nut butters, egg yolks.

Sugar
         Cane sugar, pure maple syrup, honey, fruit, agave nectar, alcohol.

Seasoning
         Herbs and spices

         As I had previously mentioned, these are only the components of what are commonly found in a recipe.  I will go further into each and how they affect our bodies in future articles-including how to choose the right ones and why.

Transforming Your Cooking Techniques

        Let’s move on to cooking techniques.  This is an area that often gets overlooked when considering how healthy the recipe actually is.  Give this some food for thought:  From a caloric standpoint, do you think that a sirloin burger made on a grill contains the same amount of calories as a burger cooked in a pan? The burger cooked in the pan has been cooked in all its juices and fat, thus making it higher in calories.   While I agree in theory it’s a tasty way of cooking, proper etiquette on how not to overcook something will often give you a better result.  I will elaborate on this more as well as how to choose which is best for your cooking application.  Here are a few different ways to cook your favorite foods:

Baking
           You can bake in covered cookware with a little extra liquid.  Parchment paper packets can be used for vegetables, chicken, and fish to seal in flavor and moisture.

Grilling/ Broiling
           Choose meat cuts that are well trimmed of fat and not heavily marbled. Lean meat, poultry, and fish can stick, so spray the grill before cooking.  Baste lean meat, fish and poultry with marinades, barbecue sauce, low-calorie salad dressings, or even beer to help keep the lean texture moist. By grilling or broiling you allow the fat to drip off the meat while adding flavor.

Steaming
          Use a basket and place it over simmering water.  This is especially good for vegetables since boiling can lead to overcooking and a loss of natural flavors and nutrients.  Season vegetables with herbs, lemon juice, or broth instead of butter or margarine, for a tasty, flavorful meal.

Stir Frying
          For vegetables, poultry, or seafood, use a small amount of canola oil in a Chinese Wok.  The constant movement and the high temperature keep it from sticking and burning.  Use a wok or heavy iron skillet and cut meat into bite-sized pieces.  Heat the empty pan, add meat, and stir-fry until brown.  Remove fat with baster or spoon.  Red meat can also me cooked this way.  Just remember that red meat naturally contains fat.  Keep this in mind when adding more to the pan.  In some cases additional fat may not be needed at all. Grains may be browned in this manner as well, but remember to stir constantly to prevent burning.  

Sauté
          Try rubbing a tiny bit of canola oil into the pan with a paper towel.  Even though canola oil is considered “heart-healthy” this allows for smaller amounts to reduce fat content.  To eliminate fat, use a small amount of broth or wine or a nonstick vegetable spray.  Invest in some nonstick cookware and try using the low fat, or non-fat cooking sprays.  
To sauté without shortening, place ¼ to ½ cup of chicken or vegetable stock, or water, in a skillet or pan.  Add a few herbs.  Heat until simmering, add ingredients (usually chopped vegetables), and heat until vegetables are tender and slightly brown.  This method takes 2 to 10 minutes, depending upon the size and type of vegetable.  Stir frequently to keep from burning.  You can sauté in a non-stick pan and omit the liquid, but the stock imparts flavor to the vegetables.  Using finely chopped vegetables to your dishes will help replace the reduced amount of meat.

Braising/Stewing
        By adding additional liquid to the pan before cooking, this process can be done in the oven, on the stovetop, or in a crock-pot. During the long cooking process, the excess moisture helps draw the fat from the food and add more moisture at the same time. To reduce fat even further, refrigerate the cooked dish and remove the chilled fat before reheating.  

Poaching
       Immerse your chicken or fish in simmering liquid. A few examples are; low sodium both, stock, and water.  Wine could be used as well depending on the desired flavor.

Roasting
       Make sure to use a rack so that the poultry so meat doesn’t sit in its own fat drippings.  By setting the oven at 350 degrees or less, you can avoid searing.  

These are some of the ways that you can transform some of your cooking styles so that you can prepare more nutritious, healthy meals. This ensures that you meet your goals of eating well and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In the next article, I will discuss ways that you can transform very unhealthy (but very tasty) recipes into great tasting, smart-fat, lower sodium meals.

Bibliography

Online Sources:
Merriam-Webster Online:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diet

Your Kickstart Guide to Healthy Eating!
By Diana Chaloux

Diana Chaloux is an ACE/AFAA/FPI Certified Personal Trainer. She is also the WBFF Figure World Champion, WBFF Figure and Fitness Model Pro and owner of Destined 2 Be Fit.
Diana offers Online Training and Nutrition Programs, for details and to register to work with her visit www.wellnessengine.com/dianachaloux .
One on one personal training is available in Kansas City, write to Diana for details.

Healthy eating habits and consistent exercise are the keys to long term maintainable weight loss. There are no quick fixes, magic pills or crash diets that serve as effective long term solutions to losing unwanted pounds and ultimately leading a more fit and healthy lifestyle.
But where do you start? If you are ready to make some changes but you’re not sure of the first steps to take in order to develop your own healthy habits then read on!

You can start making the right choices for your body today. This kick start guide will provide you with suggestions for changes you can make to your eating habits. Each week choose changes which you can commit to.
Make the choice to incorporate two new healthy habits each week for the next month, and you will have developed a nutritious way of eating which you can stick with for the rest of your life!

Clean out the closets: It is so much easier to avoid temptation foods when they are not in your house! Remove foods such as cookies, candy, chips, ice cream, fried foods and any other treats that will sabotage your healthy intentions in a moment of weakness. If you need to keep treats around for other family members select one shelf to store their goodies on and keep that as your “off limits” shelf.

Limit sugar and sodas. Avoid adding sugar to your foods and beverages. Choose a no calorie sweetener instead. Avoid drinking your calories, cut out or at least reduce the amount of sodas and sugary beverages that you consume. Opt for water, flavored water, tea or Crystal Light. Read labels and choose foods that have no added sugars, and if you have a sweet tooth try curing it with some healthy fruit.

Eat more frequently: Start eating 5-6 small meals per day, eat every 2-3 hours even if it is just a small snack. Be sure to eat breakfast it truly is the most important meal of the day. A sample eating schedule for the day may be: 8:00 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 3:30 p.m. 6:00 p.m.

Eat more vegetables: Eat at least one serving of vegetables with 2-3 of your meals throughout the day. Vegetables have high nutritional value, low calories and they keep you full for longer. Add flavor to your vegetables by skipping the butter and dressings and choosing lemon juice, vinegar (white wine, red wine, balsamic), salsa, splenda or spices instead.

Shop the perimeter: When you visit the grocery store stay on the outside perimeter as much as possible where you will find the fresh fruits, vegetables, meats etc.
Avoid the internal aisles laden with unhealthy, high calorie, high fat, sugary foods!
Start a food journal: This will be an ongoing goal and a means to identify how much you are eating as well as your “trouble” times during the day. Write down everything you eat noting the time of day and portion size.
You may find that you are eating more than you realize!

Portion control: Read 20 Nutrition Labels from products in your kitchen which you eat on a regular basis. Educate yourself on portion sizes, calories, fats, carbohydrates and sugars in a serving size of each item.
When you eat these foods measure out your serving sizes using measuring cups or a food this will help you in the beginning as you learn what a true portion size is!

Choose low fat or non fat dairy: Dairy products are a great source of protein, calcium and essential vitamins and minerals that your body needs. However these items can be high in calories and fat. To reap the benefits of dairy but avoid the excess calories choose yogurts, cottage cheese, milk and cheeses that are either low fat or non fat.

Choose nutritious carbohydrates: Avoid eating white pastas, breads and other carbohydrates that are “enriched, processed or bleached”. Foods that have undergone any of these procedures have lost most if not all of their nutritional value. Instead opt for whole grain pastas, breads and rice with contain a higher fiber content (ideally 2 grams per serving or more).

Choose Lean Meats: Lean meats are an important source of protein for your well balanced diet. Good selections are lean ground turkey or lean turkey breast, lean chicken, extra lean beef or white fish.

Eat well balanced meals: Include a healthy protein and carbohydrate with each of your small meals or snacks. Incorporate fats in small portions into a couple of your daily meals from sources such as almonds, natural peanut butter, olive oil or avocados.

Be prepared: Plan ahead for your day! Prepare your meals and snacks in advance so you never get “stuck” without nutritious foods to eat. This can lead to overindulging and making unhealthy choices! When you are going out to eat, mentally prepare yourself for making a healthy selection at the restaurant and don’t be afraid to modify your meals.
Being prepared and planning ahead is crucial for developing your healthy eating habits for life!

Online Training and Nutrition with Diana… register at www.wellnessengine.com/dianachaloux
One on one personal training available in Kansas City, write to Diana for details.

Designing your own full body workout is easier than you might suspect.  If you want to make sure you work all the important muscles in the body you don’t need to go through them one at a time with a specially designed exercise that targets just that muscle.  In fact it would be almost impossible to work one, and only one, muscle at a time because of the way our body is put together.  Besides, even if you could only work just one muscle at a time it would take you a LONG time to work through them all and today who has the time for that?  Instead you don’t even have to focus on the muscles.  Not focus on the muscles?!  That’s right, not focus on the muscles, well not entirely.  Instead you look at your joints and how they articulate.  For example let us say you like working your chest muscles but you’re tired of bench press.  Well what joint movements are involved in working your chest?  When it comes down to it pretty much any exercise that involves your upper arms starting out to the side and moving closer together in front of you can qualify as a chest exercise.  All chest exercises share this same element; bench press, push up, pec-deck, dumbbell fly, any of those crazy workouts that your trainer gave you that left your chest feeling sore the next day.

Does this mean you have to go through this for all your muscles and joints?  Not necessarily.  Pick any exercise that you like doing.  Take squats for example and look at everything involved; arching the back, straightening the knees, hip movement.  Arching your back = lower back muscles, straightening the knees = Quads, and straightening at the hips = Gluteals and hamstrings (your butt and the back of your legs).  So what should you look at to ensure you’re getting your full body workout?  You have your ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, neck, elbows and wrists.  Designing your workout this way is also a great way to ensure you end up with a good muscle balance.  Want to balance out those massive pecs of yours?  The answer isn’t regular pull-ups, rather think dumbbell rows but with the elbows out to the side instead of next to your body.  Usually there is some kind of machine for this but not always.  Want to do it free weight style think reverse dumbbell fly.  Find a bench, you may need to elevate it a bit, grab some dumbbells lie on your chest and do just the opposite thing you do during regular dumbbell flies.  The muscle balance you will be able to achieve important because it will help you to avoid “joint instability, muscular dysfunction, muscle weakness and increased risk of musculoskeletal pain and injury.” (Bell, 2007)

        So what would a sample workout look like based on all this talk? Well let’s start from the top down.  Whenever you see to exercises paired together that means the exercises are both working the same joint movement just from different sides usually a push vs. a pull.  Think hand stand push-ups vs. pull-ups.

Neck: Here you want to look at bending forward, backward, side to side and twisting motions.  No you don’t have to make your neck so big that it disappears, just do what’s right for you.

Tripod neck rolls – Get up on your hands and knees and place your head on the ground.  Be sure to stabilize your head with your hands.  Now just roll your head back and forth 10-15 times and then side to side 10-15 times.  The better you get the less you let your arms hold you up.  More advanced people can go to their feet and really advance people can do it with their hands behind their knees, just be really careful!  Need a change?  Do the same thing from a back bridge.

Nos – As in saying No multiple times (it’s not a possessive word or a contraction so it doesn’t get an apostrophe) Lie on your back with the back of your head just slightly off the ground and make the no motion.  Make sure you look both ways about 15 times.  (You can also do “yeses” from here.)

Shoulders: Here it’s a bit more complicated due to the variety of ways you can move your arms.  You have up & down in front of you, forward and backward, up & down with your arms to the side and rotation.  Each paired set of exercise represents one type of movement.

DB Military Press with elbows in front (palms facing each other)
Pull-ups, close grip palms facing you

Dips
Standing DB Row – As long as you keep your back arched leaning over a bit and putting your hand on something for support is just fine.

Military Press – Just like bench but from a seated or standing position (Elbows out to the side)

Lat Pull-Down

Bench Press – Regular or dumbbell you can also switch up with pushups or pec-deck if you like as long as the elbows start out to the side and not at your sides. (Here your elbows are straightening so you’re also working those triceps.)

Reverse DB Fly

Decline Bench Press
Standing Preacher bar lift (OK, so I don’t actually know a name for this one) Put some weight on of those zigzag bars that are often used for curls.  While standing and holding it in front of you just lift it to about chest level.

Shoulder twist up – Get a handle attachment for one of the low cables or use a resistance band that’s attached to something at waist height or lower.  Start with your elbow out to the side and your forearm pointing forward, the 9 o’clock position, and then twist your shoulder so your elbow stays in one spot but your hand rotates to the 12 o’clock position.  Only a quarter turn of the shoulder is necessary.

Shoulder twist down – Just the opposite of shoulder twist up.  Start with a high cable or resistance band and again a quarter twist is sufficient.  Be sure to set yourself up so the weight can’t force your arm to rotate past the 12 o’clock position to say the 1 or 2 o’clock position as this is potentially very bad for your shoulder.

Elbows: You most likely already worked the muscles involved here but if you like the extra work here you go.  The elbows are pretty simple just extension and contraction.

Bicep curls - Contraction
Tricep extensions - Extension

Wrists: Don’t forget about these, wrist exercises are what will give you that nice firm handshake and potentially even a cast iron grip.  One common way is to have a dowel or rod with a rope attached in the middle and weights attached to the end of rope.  Then you just roll up the rope.  Don’t forget now, in addition to bending up and down you can also twist your hand.  Here are some options:

Wrist curls – Just rest your forearm on your leg or a bench with palm up and a dumbbell in your hand and start doing curls.  For a little extra challenge just let your fingers open a little bit on the way down

Reverse wrist curls – That’s right just flip you hand over palm down and repeat.

Wrist twists – With either a long stick or a short stick with some kind of weight at the end hold the stick straight up in front of you and twist it slowly down to the inside then up and slowly down to the outside and back up.  You can also go straight down to the front and back up.

Spine: Yes the ever important spine, when most people work this I usually only see them working the front part.  Don’t be one of those people.  Your back bends forward, backward, to the sides and of course can twist as well.

Crunches (or any other of the plethora of ab exercises) You like the full sit-up? Great! Now you’re working your hips to.

Back extensions (Don’t have the fancy gym thing just lie on the floor and lift your hands and/or legs off the floor like your super woman or superman.

Russian twist – This will work both your abdominal and oblique muscles

Side Bends – Stand with a weight in one hand and slowly bend to the side opposite the weight.

Hips (& Knees): These two are easy to pair together due to the exercises available though if you do want to isolate them you most likely have to resort to some kind of machine exercise.  For hip motions just look at how your legs bend; forward, back and in and out from the side.

Squats – As mentioned above this will also work you lower back but you do have muscles that go from your lower back to your spine, after all how else you stick your butt out?  Now if you planned to do both back extensions and squats on the same day I recommend you do squats first so your back isn’t fatigued during the more strenuous/dangerous exercise.

Weighted Knee Raises – For this one you can us a resistance band, ankle weights, or occasionally a gym will have some fancy ankle attachment for one of their cable machines.

Side Bridge – To do this on your right side just support yourself on the side of your right foot and your right forearm only.  Be sure to keep the back nice and straight.
Side Bridge #2 – Just like before, only this time support yourself with inside of your left foot and right forearm, keep the right foot off the ground.

V-ups – I put this one in here so you don’t forget that the hip has a top and bottom to it.  You have separate muscles that connect the hips to the spine and hips to the legs it’s not like your knees or elbows where you only have one type of movement.

Knees: The knees like the elbows are fairly simple: extension and contraction.  Here again to isolate you most likely need to resort to a machine.  However other than running and the rowing machine I can’t think of many ways to work the lower hamstrings (knee contractors) without some kind of device.

Leg curls – almost every gym has a machine for this. Don’t have a machine ankle weights or resistance bands can also work.
Leg extensions – again most gyms have a machine for this, just look for it next to the leg curl machine.  Of course you also work this muscle group during the squats so if you’re looking to shorten up your workouts don’t feel too guilty about letting this one go.

Ankles: Strong ankles help prevent sprained ankles and strengthening your ankles after you’ve recovered from a sprain can help to prevent future sprains.

Calf raises – Anything that involves getting up on your toes.

Toe raises – Just set a weight like a 10 or 25 on top of your shoe and start lifting your toes while keeping your heel stationary or on the ground

Foot Circles or ankle twists – These muscles are usually worked with isometrics you can either do slow circles where you really push the foot hard with the muscles or alternatively sit with your ankle on your knee and twist the foot so the bottom of the foot turns up.  For sets just use your breaths hold position when you breath in and squeeze even harder every time you breath out.  Don’t let up on the muscle tension until you have done this for 5 to 10 breaths. You can even use your hands to add to the resistance. Then just go the other way.  Keep your ankle on your knee and twist the foot as though you’re trying to turn the bottom of the foot to the floor. Repeat with the breathing as before.

         Now again this is just a sample workout.  You don’t have to separate your workout by each joint movement like I have.  Rather, look at your favorite exercises, see which joint movements you already have, chances are you are hitting most of them already.  Now look at what you’re missing so you can see where you need to add things.  Once again you don’t have to isolate or go strictly joint by joint to ensure a full body workout.  Exercises like squats, cleans, burpies, and even the bench press do a great job at involving multiple joints and thus multiple muscle groups.  In fact the current belief is that the more muscle groups you involve at one time the more calories you burn.  Or if you want to look at it from a strength and endurance point of view the more muscle groups your working at once the higher demand your are putting on your body for things like ATP or oxygen if you maintain an aerobic state, and since your body likes to adapt to the demands on it: A consistently higher demand leads to higher stores or flow of energy which of course leads to more explosiveness and more endurance.  So try to think of new ways to modify your exercises to involve more muscle groups.  One of my favorites is the squat with some type of military style press.  You could also do pull-ups where you have to jump up to the bar each time.  Once you start thinking about this and get your creative juices flowing many more possibilities will occur to you.

As always, check with your doctor before beginning this or any workout regimen, and be sure to warm up before and stretch before and/or after your workout.

-Tim Miceli

Bell, J.(2007). Advanced fitness assessment: muscular balance. International Fitness Professionals Association.