AlaVie Fitness Blog

Recent studies show that spending time with healthy role models, ones that practice good self-control in regards to eating, can keep you on track with your fitness goals (see article below).  In my own daily living, I know that I am more apt to make those healthy decisions around my fitness buddies than say my college drinking buddies.  That’s why it’s so important for me to have my fitness community and why I created AlaVie Boot Camp which fosters that fitness community.  If you’re struggling with self-control and making healthy decisions, surround yourself with healthy people.  We’d love to have you join our fitness family here at AlaVie!

Article:
FIT BITS

It’s time to vote for your favorite, can’t-live-without-’em Best of the East Bay foods, shops, services, kid-friendly places, fun spots, style finds…and boot camps!

Diablo Magazine will tell you all about the winners in their biggest-of-the-year, special July issue.

We know it’s a long poll, but they value your opinion, so get a cup of cup coffee and dig in. To vote for AlaVie, scroll down to the Fitness category and type in “AlaVie Boot Camp” in the boot camp blank.

Need a little extra motivation? Cast your online vote for Best of the East Bay and and you could win four nights in an ocean-view suite at Fairmont Kea Lani, airfare for two from Hawaiian Airlines, and a rental car courtesy of the Maui Visitors Bureau!

Cast your vote here

Hello AlaVie Boot Camp Fans.  Once again, boot camp has been ranked the top fitness pick for 2010 (was also rated high in 2009).  What can we say, it works, it’s fun and it’s affordable!  Check out the article below.

Indianapolis, IN — (SBWIRE) — 03/02/2010 — The National Institute for Fitness and Sport chooses BOOTCAMP as a top 2010 fitness pick due to proven results for participants and its no-nonsense approach to weight loss exercise programs. Unlike it’s group fitness counterparts, Bootcamp doesn’t necessitate having rhythm or working through complex movement patterns. What it does offer is challenge, camaraderie and motivation – U.S. army-style with exercises like push-ups, crunches, squats and more, and may be used to improve athletic performance.  More..

You lead a busy life. And you have the best of intentions when it comes to preparing healthy meals at home. But between all of the planning, the shopping and the brainstorming, you may be hurting for inspiration - or eating out more often than you’d like.

Enter thescramble.com. A seasonal online weekly menu planner and cookbook founded by health guru Aviva Goldfarb, thescramble gives members a weekly menu plan with five healthy, delicious dinner recipes that take less than 30 minutes to prepare.

Sure, you’re thinking, a menu plan is great - but what about the shopping? And what if I don’t like the recipes on offer?

Thescramble.com has it all figured out. In addition to your quick/healthy/delicious recipes, they’ll send you a shopping list so you can gather all your ingredients in one trip to the supermarket AND give you access to a searchable database where you can customize your weekly dinner plan.

Eliminate the stress of planning your meals at home. And let us know how it goes if you decide to become a scrambler!

Click here to learn more about thescramble.com

According to Caroline Hwang of Fitness Magazine, when you stick to a routine, it’s easy to become, well, stuck. “We fall into a comfort zone, and we keep doing the same thing even when we’re not seeing any improvement,” says Barbara Bushman, PhD, a professor of exercise physiology at Missouri State University in Springfield. If you’re not trimming down, toning up, or feeling any fitter, it’s likely due to one of the following exercise errors.

Click here to learn about the 10 most common workout mistakes - and how to overcome them to get the body you want.

AlaVie Fitness has been nominated for SFGate.com’s Best of the Bay award!

If you’re an AlaVie fan, cast your vote today in the ‘Best of Mind & Body’ category under ‘Personal Trainers.’

When you vote for AlaVie Fitness at sfgate.com, you can also enter to win a $500 gift card.

Voting ends May 29. What are you waiting for?

We loved this article by freelance wellness writer Maxine Hurt, which outlines a list of six common health and fitness fallacies - and sets the record straight:

By this time, you know that you should never skip breakfast, all carbs are not bad for you, fasting is a dubious get-thin-quick solution with negative short- and long-term repercussions, and cutting up your food up into tiny pieces before eating it doesn’t decrease your caloric intake, despite what Alicia Silverstone’s diet-obsessed character in Clueless says.

But just when you think you’ve found a clear path in the labyrinth world of fitness, nutrition, and health, a whole new set of myths, exaggerations, and flat out lies pop up, ready to thwart your wellness goals. This means that you have to be forever vigilant, separating the bad information from the good to ensure that your health doesn’t suffer as a result. Here are a few common fallacies explored to help you stay on track.

Read the full article at divinecaroline.com

The experts at Men’s Health recently pointed out one of the most under-the-radar health hazards around: salt overload. Review this list and choose your food carefully. Too much salt will do more than make you bloated - it’s bad for your blood pressure and your heart, too.

1. Raw Chicken
Salt solutions are pumped into chicken parts to plump them up. Check the label for fine print that says something like “10% broth solution.” That means you can expect as much as 60 mg sodium in one chicken breast. Look for chicken that doesn’t come with an added broth solution.

2. Noodles
Italian pasta is fine. But plain Japanese somen noodles carry 280 mg sodium per cup, without the salted broth they’re usually served in. Even worse: seasoned ramen noodles, at 1,434 mg per package. Switch to soba noodles, at only 68 mg per serving.

3. Precooked Frozen Shrimp
It’s just steamed shrimp, right? Wrong. Most cooked, frozen shellfish in stores was processed with salt. Expect about 222 mg sodium for 3 ounces. Buy yours at the fish counter; they’ll even steam, peel, and devein the shrimp for you.

4. Frozen Dinners
A Swanson Hungry Man Meatloaf Dinner weighs in with 1,870 mg sodium. Even though it sounds innocuous, Uncle Ben’s Spicy Beef & Broccoli Rice Bowl contains 1,550 mg, thanks mostly to soy sauce. If you insist on the convenience of Uncle Ben, try his Sweet & Sour Chicken Rice Bowl instead, at 620 mg, which is still rather high. Your best bet is to cook up your own stir-fry.

5. Cornflakes
A big bowl (2 cups) of this all-American breakfast cereal has 532 mg sodium. Better options: whole-grain cereals. For example, a chunk of shredded wheat has only 6 mg; 2 cups of cooked oatmeal has less than 5 mg.

6. Ketchup and Mustard
Ketchup has 167 mg per tablespoon; mustard, 168 mg. Spread ‘em thin.

7. Smoked Trout, Salmon, or Turkey
Smoke is what you taste, sodium is what you consume. Before they’re smoked, these foods are soaked in a salty brine. Smoked salmon has more than 600 mg sodium in a 3-ounce serving. Limit the smoked stuff to special occasions.

8. Cottage Cheese
This popular protein source has 918 mg sodium per cup. Low-sodium versions contain just 29 mg. Or substitute hard cheese and some milk.

Check out this fabulous Oxygen Magazine piece by Sarah Tuff about the effects of food on your state of mind and your energy level:

Food and supplements can significantly impact mood and energy by altering the levels of various brain neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), says Zoltan Rona, M.D., M.Sc. So the next time you’re down in the dumps, you’ll need Oxygen’s Mood Food Shopping List.Green Tea: “If you drink green tea, you’re getting a lot of L-theanine, an amino acid that elevates the relaxing neurotransmitter, GABA,” says Rona.

Sweet potatoes: “Carbohydrates give you energy for exercise,” says Jim White, a Virginia Beach dietitian and personal trainer. Plus, recent research shows that these tubers can help stabilize blood sugar, helping you avoid a grumpy crash.

Lean turkey: Proteins help supply the necessary amino acids for manufacturing neurotransmitters. Aim for about one gram of protein for every pound of body weight.

Chocolate: “If you eat chocolate, you raise the blood levels of phenylalanine, a precursor to dopamine (the feel-good neurotransmitter),” says Rona.

Blueberries: Foods containing purple colored pigments (including blueberries, pomegranate and beets) enhance nerve-cell signaling and strengthen the vessels that supply blood to the brain, explains Alan Logan, naturopathic doctor and author of The Brain Diet (Cumberland House Publishing, 2007).

Spinach: Popeye’s favorite food, along with other green leafy vegetables, is high in magnesium, which plays a role in more than 300 cellular reactions, says Rona. “If you improve cellular function, you improve mood and energy too,” he says.

Apples: A study published in Experimental Biology and Medicine showed that apples help preserve our body’s cells, which staves off fatigue.

Whole grains: “High carbohydrates elevate serotonin because they help get tryptophan into the brain,” says Rona. “This has an antidepressant effect as well as an anti-anxiety effect.”

Beans: They’re a good source of B-vitamins that can help provide relief from PMS and other general moodiness, insomnia and fatigue, says Rona.

Sparkling water: Use it as a pick-me-up instead of java or booze. “Coffee and alcohol tend to make you urinate out your B-vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium and zinc,” says Rona.