Douglasville Gold’s Gym Ezine

By Lisa Gorman, Registered Dietitian

Broccoli Packed with Vitamins and Minerals

One stalk of broccoli (about 1 ½ cups chopped) is packed with an enormous amount of vitamins and minerals that aid in muscle recovery and help in maximizing metabolic functions. Broccoli contains chromium which is an essential trace mineral that the body needs to metabolize carbohydrates, fats and proteins. It helps control blood sugar levels by enhancing insulin’s effects at the cellular level in muscles. The 65-mg of calcium provided in one serving of broccoli can help to control fat storage by excreting dietary fat from the intestines before being absorbed. Broccoli is an excellent source of glucosinolates that are derived from branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) – proteins that help in cellular defense. When broccoli is chewed or chopped, the glucosinolates are converted into potent phytochemicals or antioxidants that help protect the cells from stress. Broccoli is a good source of vitamin C with about 120 mg per 1 ½ cups chopped. Vitamin C helps you recover faster from intense workouts while protecting the immune system.
Want to learn more about functional foods that will boost your metabolism and enhance your workouts? Get your personalized nutrition plan today! Contact Lisa Gorman Registered Dietitian Gold’s Gym 770-843-2210 or lmgnutrition@hotmail.com

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By Kathy Scapin, Gold’s Gym

Eating at Home a Better Choice

It is a fact that when you are able to prepare your food at home you are in a better position to control your portion size and the calories that you consume. Not to mention the money we spend for the convenience of that high fat, sodium-laden food.  The reality is that it is necessary from time to time to order fast food or eat at a restaurant known for it’s heaping portions. When faced with this dilemma there are a couple of key points to remember.

Portion Control Problems

One restaurant portion could feed an entire fraternity house–who needs all those calories? So when you order an entree, ask them to automatically put half of it directly into a take-home box. That way, it’ll never show up on your plate! Staying slim helps lower your risk of cancer, diabetes, stroke, and many other illnesses. And you’ll have a ready-made meal for tomorrow! Order The Appetizer Portion.  Did you know the first three bites are the most satisfying?  After those initial three bites we eat because it is there.  Our taste buds are actually satisfied very early on.  So order a side salad and an appetizer as your main entrée.  Always order a side salad when eating at traditional fast-food outlets. You will be less likely to fill up on only the unhealthy items, and the salad will provide some fiiber and vitains to balance an otherwise unhealthy meal.

Can you Skip the Bread?

As soon as you sit down, let the waiter know you would like them to not bring the bread and butter to the table.  You won’t be tempted to nibble.

Better Fast Food Options

Forego the Combo meals and say no to super sizing.  Most fast food chains now offer healthy salad options.  Wendy’s small bowl of Chili, or small hamburger is two good options. Either choice combined with a salad makes a great lunch option. Just watch that dressing choice or you will sabotage your good decision.

Know the Facts

Did you know that almost every restaurant or fast food chain has their own website with the nutritional breakdown of all their options?  With a little planning you can make good, healthy decisions.  Remember that chicken isn’t always a healthy choice. Many fast food chains offer fried breaded chicken sandwiches on white bread that are actually richer in fat and calories than a burger. Grilled chicken is a better option yet hold the mayo. A tablespoon of regular mayonnaise has almost 100 calories! Try a little mustard at 10 calories a tablespoon. Don’t add a sugary, calorie-rich drink to an already unhealthy meal. Water is available everywhere and is good for you. Drinking a large glass of water with your meal will help you feel fuller earlier.

Eat a Small Snack to Avoid Cravings

Make it a habit to eat a piece of fruit, a bowl of cereal, or some lowfat yogurt before you set out to run errands. Regular eating can help you feel full and avoid temptation. Stock your car with bottled water and healthy snacks. Have a small snack before the cravings hit, and you’re less likely to pull into that drive-through fast food outlet. Consider a supermarket for your fast food break. You can pick up precut and washed fresh fruit or vegetables, yogurt, or lowfat cheese. Many supermarkets also offer sushi or other healthy prepared items.

Gold’s Gym Personal Trainers can design a nutritonal plan to help you lose the weight and keep it off.  

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By Skip Johnson, Gold’s Gym Managing Partner

Research overwhelmingly shows that regular exercise lowers the risk for many diseases, enhances the functioning of virtually every physiological system in the human body and improves psychological well-being. 

1. Helps you to more effectively manage stress.     

2. Helps you to lose weight – especially fat weight

3. Improves the functioning of your immune system.

4. Reduces medical and health care expenses.

5. Reduces your risk of getting heart disease

6. Increases your level of muscle strength.

7. Improves athletic performance.

8. Can help relieve the pain of tension headaches.

9. Allows you to consume greater quantities of food and still maintain caloric balance.

10. Helps you sleep easier and better.

Are you ready to reap the benefits of exercise?  Gold’s Gym is ready to help you get started!  We have a Free Mini-Membership waiting for you!

By Lisa Gorman, Registered Dietitian

Awesome Almonds 

Nuts, like almonds, contain healthy monounsaturated fats.  Studies show that “good fats” versus saturated fats isn’t absorbed the same way as a hunk of butter.  It appears less monounsaturated fat gets stored in fat cells than saturated fat.  Second, having a little fat 30 minutes before a meal (around 70 calories worth) causes a hormone called cholecystokinin (CKK) to be released from the intestine, which causes you not to want to eat much. For instance eating 6 walnuts, 12 almonds, or 20 peanuts before chowing down on your main meal could reduce overall food intake.  Aim for 25-30% dietary fat daily with only 7-10% coming from saturated fat.

Want to learn more about functional foods that will boost your metabolism and enhance your workouts? Get your personalized nutrition plan today!  Contact Lisa Gorman Registered Dietitian for Gold’s Gym @  lmgnutrition@hotmail.com   Get started at Gold’s Gym with a FREE Mini-Membership!  No strings attached!

 By: Leslie Austin, Gold’s Gym Director.

Benefits at Every Age

No matter at what age a woman becomes physically active, an ever growing body of research continues to support the idea that the benefits of this increased activity aretremendous, and extremely beneficial throughout a woman’s life.

Importance of Youth Exercise

Until recently, most people believed that children didn’t need to worry about getting enough exercise. But with the advent of television and computers, growing generations of sedentary children are becoming the next generation of unhealthy adults. Current research is finding that heart disease begins developing in youth. Considering that cardiovascular diseases are now the leading cause of death for women as well as men, one could conclude that childhood and adolescence is the appropriate time to develop healthy lifestyle habits that include exercise.

Exercise in Midlife is Very Important

During midlife, the most common physical complaint among women is weight gain. This slow, but steady and persistent gain is something the majority of middle-aged women experience. Some experts believe it is caused in part by hormonal changes; others argue it is most likely due to a decreasing amount of lean muscle tissue, which results in a slower metabolic rate. It is widely known that a woman’s bone density begins to decline even before her midlife years, and bone loss accelerates after menopause. While most types of activity offer some protection against bone loss, weight-bearing exercise such as walking, jogging and strength training seem to offer the greatest benefit.

Senior Exercise is Important

Physicians who work with the elderly are the fastest growing group of doctors who use exercise to combat injury, illness and disease. Washington Physiatrist Scott Gross, M.D. routinely prescribes exercise programs to his elderly patients. “Decreased muscle strength, flexibility and endurance is central to many of the problems I see in older adults, especially women. In terms of daily living, the typical 75-year-old woman I see rarely has adequate strength to carry groceries up a flight of stairs, and certainly could not pick herself up off the floor after a fall.”

Start Exercising Now

Once you’ve made the decision to begin exercising, don’t wait. By starting today, with something as simple as a walking program you will discover the key to a lifetime of health. For many women, young, old or in the middle, the day they begin an exercise program can be the day they discover the key to improved quality of life.

Are your ready to get started on being a healthier you?  Gold’s Gym wants to help you get started with a FREE MINI-MEMBERSHIP!  Get Yours Today!

People Marrying excess weight who aim to ward off diabetes should try to lose the pounds before they reach middle age, Australian researchers suggest.

BODY MASS INDEX Strong Predictor for Diabetes Risk

A woman’s body mass index (BMI) in her late 40s was the strongest predictor of her risk of developing diabetes over the next eight years, Dr. Gita D. Mishra of the University of Queensland and her colleagues found.

On the other hand, there was no link between weight change in subsequent years and the likelihood of becoming diabetic.

Is Your Weight The Problem?

While excess weight is understood to boost the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the effects of shorter-term weight gain or loss are not as clear, Mishra and her team note in the journal Diabetes Care. To investigate, the researchers followed 7,239 women for 8 years. Study participants were 45 to 50 years old when the study began, and they completed surveys on their health at the study’s outset in 1996 and in 1998, 2001 and 2004.

Your greatest risk.

Those with BMIs of 25 or greater, indicating they were overweight or obese, in 1996 were at the highest risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 2004, the researchers found. Very obese women with BMIs of 35 or above were 12 times more likely than their normal-weight peers to become diabetic.

Want to know your body mass index?  Get a Free Mini-Membership and find out today.

Do You Want to Lose Weight and Keep it Off?

People who consistently engage in high levels of exercise over the long haul are the most successful at losing weight and keeping it off, a new study shows.

Among a group of overweight men and women participating in an 18-month weight loss program, those who were still getting 75 minutes of exercise daily a year after the program ended had lost 26 pounds, compared with 1.8 pounds for people who were exercising less.  But only 13 of the 154 people who completed the study were able to sustain this level of activity, Dr. Deborah F. Tate of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and her colleagues found. “Strategies are needed to help participants maintain high levels of activity over the long-term,” she and her colleagues conclude in a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The researchers initially assigned 202 people to either a high physical activity group who aimed to burn 2,500 calories per week (equivalent to a 75-minute walk daily) or standard behavioral treatment, including 30 minutes of exercise daily, equivalent to 1,000 calories per week.

Exercise Works!

Twelve and 18 months later, people in the high activity group had lost significantly more weight than those in the lower activity group.  Although the participants in the high activity group were able to sustain the 2,500 calorie per week exercise goal during the 18-month study, their activity level declined once treatment ended, which resulted in no between-group differences in activity or weight loss at 2.5 years.

Gold’s Gym has the programs and expertise to help you lose the weight and keep it off!

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By: Cynthia Conde, Gold’s Gym Fitness Institute

You know the drill when it comes to losing weight – take in fewer calories, burn more calories. But you also know that most diets and quick weight-loss plans have about as much substance as a politician’s campaign pledges.

You’re better off finding several simple things you can do on a daily basis – along with following the cardinal rules of eating more vegetables and less fat and getting more physical activity. Together, they should send the scale numbers in the right direction: down.

After breakfast, make water your primary drink.
At breakfast, go ahead and drink 4 oz orange juice. But throughout the rest of the day, focus on water instead of juice or soda. The average American consumes an extra 245 calories a day from soft drinks. That’s nearly 90,000 calories a year – or 25 pounds! Plus, the water will make you feel full.

Watch every morsel you put in your mouth on weekends.
A University of North Carolina study found people tend to consume an extra 115 calories per weekend day, primarily from alcohol and fat.

Downsize your dinner plates.
Studies find that the less food put in front of you, the less food you’ll eat. Conversely, the more food in front of you, the more you’ll eat. So instead of using regular dinner plates, serve your main course on salad plates.

Eat 90 percent of your meals at home.
You’re more likely to eat more – and eat more high-fat, high-calorie foods – when you eat out than when you eat at home. Restaurants today serve such large portions that many have switched to larger plates and tables to accommodate them!

Walk for 45 minutes a day. Burning an additional 300 calories a day with three miles of brisk walking (45 minutes should do it) could help you lose 30 pounds in a year without even changing how much you’re eating.