Power Blast at Lunch!

We all run short on time and unfortunately the gym is one item that gets put on the back burner. Need that quick, total body workout? Before or after work doesn’t work for you? We have a solution!

Join us in Power Blast! Get an awesome workout in during your lunch break!

Trish Rickman teaches this short 40 minute class from 12:10-12:50 on Monday & Wednesday. Blast through powerful moves in a chosen time frame for those who are on a tight schedule and want a quick workout during their lunch break. The class incorporates a H.I.I.T. type routine and no class is the same!

Watch this short video clip to get an idea of the class!

Want to know a little more about Trish? She’s a 35 year old mom of 2 and a Claremore native! Trish has always been fit and loves to run and challenge herself as much as possible. Trish became an instructor in May of this year “All I can say is that it has been a blast!” She chose to become an instructor to help others achieve goals they thought never possible, encourage them, be a positive influence and let them know anyone can do anything they put their mind to! Trish believes that your mind is a more powerful than people give it credit for.

Trish’s best advice for someone just beginning is “to be patient and stick with it, it will be worth it in the long run. We have all had to start some where to get where we are now, don't be afraid to take chances and ask questions.”

As Trish believes, pain is weakness leaving the body. Join her on Monday & Wednesday at 12:10 to sweat it out!

Nutrition for Children & Teens

Easy Ways to Help Your Kids Eat Healthier

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. Follow these guidelines for healthy eating for kids!

Healthy eating can stabilize children’s energy, sharpen their minds, and even out their moods. While peer pressure and TV commercials for junk food can make getting kids to eat well seem impossible, there are steps parents can take to instill healthy eating habits without turning mealtimes into a battle zone. By encouraging healthy eating habits now, you can make a huge impact on your children’s lifelong relationship with food and give them the best opportunity to grow into healthy, confident adults.

Developing healthy eating habits

Children develop a natural preference for the foods they enjoy the most, so the challenge is to make healthy choices appealing. Of course, no matter how good your intentions, it’s always going to be difficult to convince your eight-year-old that an apple is as sweet a treat as a cookie. However, you can ensure that your children’s diet is as nutritious and wholesome as possible, even while allowing for some of their favorite treats.

The childhood impulse to imitate is strong, so it’s important you act as a role model for your kids. It’s no good asking your child to eat fruit and vegetables while you gorge on potato chips and soda.

Top tips to promote healthy childhood eating

• Have regular family meals. Knowing dinner is served at approximately the same time every night and that the entire family will be sitting down together is comforting and enhances appetite. Breakfast is another great time for a family meal, especially since kids who eat breakfast tend to do better in school.
• Cook more meals at home. Eating home cooked meals is healthier for the whole family and sets a great example for kids about the importance of food. Restaurant meals tend to have more fat, sugar, and salt. Save dining out for special occasions.
• Get kids involved. Children enjoy helping adults to shop for groceries, selecting what goes in their lunch box, and preparing dinner. It's also a chance for you to teach them about the nutritional values of different foods, and (for older children) how to read food labels.
• Make a variety of healthy snacks available instead of empty calorie snacks. Keep plenty of fruits, vegetables, whole grain snacks, and healthy beverages (water, milk, pure fruit juice) around and easily accessible so kids become used to reaching for healthy snacks instead of empty calorie snacks like soda, chips, or cookies.
• Limit portion sizes. Don’t insist your child cleans the plate, and never use food as a reward or bribe.

How can I get my picky child to enjoy a wider variety of foods?

Picky eaters are going through a normal developmental stage, exerting control over their environment and expressing concern about trusting the unfamiliar. Many picky eaters also prefer a “separate compartmented plate,” where one type of food doesn’t touch another. Just as it takes numerous repetitions for advertising to convince an adult consumer to buy, it takes most children 8-10 presentations of a new food before they will openly accept it.

Rather than simply insist your child eat a new food, try the following:

• Offer a new food only when your child is hungry and rested.
• Present only one new food at a time.
• Make it fun: present the food as a game, a play-filled experience. Or cut the food into unusual shapes.
• Serve new foods with favorite foods to increase acceptance.
• Eat the new food yourself; children love to imitate.
• Have your child help to prepare foods. Often they will be more willing to try something when they helped to make it.
• Limit beverages. Picky eaters often fill up on liquids instead.
• Limit snacks to two per day.

Persuading children to eat more fruit and vegetables

Making mealtimes playful can mean healthier eating for your kids. Here are some fun, creative ways to add more fruit and vegetables to your child's diet:

• Top a bowl of whole grain cereal with a smiley face: banana slices for eyes, raisins for nose, peach or apple slice for mouth.
• Create a food collage. Use broccoli florets for trees, carrots and celery for flowers, cauliflower for clouds, and a yellow squash for a sun. Then eat your masterpiece!
• Make frozen fruit kabobs for kids using pineapple chunks, bananas, grapes, and berries.
• Go food shopping with your children. Let them see all the different fruits and vegetables and have them pick out new ones to try.
• Try fruit smoothies for a quick healthy breakfast or afternoon snack.
• Add vegetables and fruits to baked goods – blueberry pancakes, zucchini bread, carrot muffins.
• Add extra veggies to soups, stews, and sauces, grated or shredded to make them blend in.
• Keep lots of fresh fruit and veggies washed and available as snacks. Apples, pears, bananas, grapes, figs, carrot and celery sticks are all easy to eat on the run. Add yogurt, nut butter, or tahini for extra protein.

Limit sugar and salt

One of the biggest challenges for parents is to limit the amount of sugar and salt in their children’s diets.

Limiting sugar

The American Heart Association recommends that sugar intake for children is limited to 3 teaspoons (12 grams) a day. Cutting back on candy and cookies is only part of the solution. Large amounts of added sugar can also be hidden in foods such as bread, canned soups and vegetables, frozen dinners, ketchup, and fast food.

• Don’t ban sweets entirely. Having a no sweets rule is an invitation for cravings and overindulging when given the chance.
• Give recipes a makeover. Many recipes taste just as good with less sugar.
• Avoid sugary drinks. One 12-oz soda has about 10 teaspoons of sugar in it, more than three times the daily recommended limit for children! Try adding a splash of fruit juice to sparkling water instead.
• Cut down on processed foods, such as white bread and cakes, which cause blood sugar to go up and down, and can leave kids tired and sapped of energy.
• Create your own popsicles and frozen treats. Freeze 100% fruit juice in an ice-cube tray with plastic spoons as popsicle handles. Or try freezing grapes, berries, banana pieces, or peach slices, then topping with a little chocolate sauce or whipped cream for an amazing treat.

Avoid foods that impair mood

Certain foods and drinks can make kids and teens more vulnerable to mood disorders such as depression and anxiety.

• A recent study found that people who drank four or more cups of soda or sweetened fruit drinks a day—including diet versions—had a much higher risk for depression.
• Excessive amounts of caffeine from soda, energy drinks, or coffee drinks can trigger anxiety in kids and teens and may also aggravate feelings of depression when the caffeine wears off.
• A diet high in processed foods, such as fried food, sweet desserts, refined flour and cereals, and processed meats, can increase a child or teen’s risk for anxiety and depression.

Limiting salt

One teaspoon of salt contains about 2,300 mg of sodium. Some guidelines for the maximum salt intake for children:

If a child is…	They should eat less than…
1 to 3 years old	1,500 milligrams a day
4 to 8 years old	1,900 milligrams a day
9 to 13 years old	2,200 milligrams a day
14 to 18	2,300 milligrams a day

• Avoid processed, packaged, restaurant, and fast food. Processed foods like canned soups or frozen dinners contain hidden sodium that quickly surpasses the recommended limit. Many fast food meals are also loaded with sodium.
• Opt for fresh or frozen vegetables instead of canned vegetables.
• Cut back on salty snacks such as potato chips, nuts, and pretzels.
• Choose low-salt or reduced-sodium products.
  
  
  Reprinted from www.helpguide.org

Bicycle Crunches - Flatten & Firm Your Abs

By Stephen E. Alway, Ph.D., FACSM

With pool parties and beach plans, there is no hiding your waist shape. However, there is no cause for panic because you can do a few things that will be effective enough to put the finishing touches on firming your entire waistline. Importantly, if you are committed to get your flatten your abs, you may want to raise your aerobic portion of your workout, to twice each day if possible. That does not mean you need to live in the gym, as the second aerobic piece could be a brisk 40-minute walk in the evening. The goal is to raise your metabolic rate to burn more fat, and when you do, the benefits of your direct abdominal training will be all the more evident.

The best abdominal exercises shorten the fibers in the front and sides of the abdominal wall and they do not stretch these muscles.1 Bicycle crunches will create strong shortening contractions while also challenging your core.2 The bonus for this exercise is that there is no need for any specialized equipment to effectively begin to reshape your abdominals.


Exercise: Bicycle Crunches

1. Lie on your back on a mat. Flex your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Place your hands behind your head (avoid clasping or intertwining your fingers). Alternatively you can gently contact your fingertips to the temple on each side of your temple.

2. Press your lower back into the mat and tighten your abdominal muscles. Lift your head, shoulders and upper back from the floor.

3. Move your right elbow and left knee toward each other while straightening your right leg. Do not let the leg that is straightening contact the floor mat.

4. In a smooth transition, flex the hip and knee so that your right knee moves back toward your chest and twist so that your left elbow and right knee move toward each other. Straighten your left knee as the right knee is flexed.

5. Twisting the elbow to the right and left knee in the sequence is considered one full repetition.

6. Make the transition between twisting to the right and left, and flex and extend the knees in a fluid and continuous fashion, much like pedaling a bicycle (hence its name). You should work up to three sets of 25-30 repetitions.



The twist from one side, then the other as you are coming upward on successive repetitions, fully activates theinternal and external oblique muscles.6 The rectus abdominis is contracted almost constantly throughout the entire set. The smaller size and the lower attachments make the most inferior part of the rectus abdominis harder to develop. However, bicycle crunches strongly activate this lower area.

As you progress and your abdominals are getting firmer and stronger, you can make the exercise more challenging by holding a light weight behind your head as you do the exercise. However, do not cut the repetitions down just to lift a heavier weight in this exercise.

The old adage that once you learn to ride a bike you will not forget is fairly accurate when it comes to bicycle crunches. Once you get the handle on the exercise, you are going to want to keep “pedaling” your way to a firm and shapely abdominal wall. The exercise is challenging and effective but it is not terribly difficult to perform, especially once you get your legs moving smoothly. If you tighten your diet, increase the frequency of your aerobics, and hit bicycle crunches as part of your regular abdominal training (maybe even throwing in a few sets at home between workouts), you’ll be able to sculpt a new thin, flat and firm abdomen.

Reprinted from www.fitnessrxwomen.com

Why Are Vegetables Important to the Human Body?

By Shannon Hyland-Tassava

"Eat your vegetables!" It's a directive you've likely heard your whole life, since Mom served a side of broccoli with your meatloaf or mac-and-cheese. Now, it's the medical experts who encourage you to add more veggies to your diet, with the American Cancer Society advising at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day for good health. The Harvard School of Public Health goes even further, recommending nine servings of vegetables and fruits each day. It's enough to make you wonder exactly why vegetables are so important to human health. 

Join us beginning August 1 as we take Health.com's 21 Day Challenge: Power Up Your Veggies. We will post each day for 21 days your veggie challenge. Boost your veggie intake in just 3 weeks with these easy recipes and expert strategies that we will post!

Vitamins and Antioxidants
One of the main health benefits of vegetables is their high nutrient content. Vegetables are loaded with vitamins and minerals that contribute to growth and the maintenance of good health. For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture notes that many vegetables are high in potassium, which is important for healthy blood pressure. Various vitamins, such as C and A, help keep eyes, skin, teeth and gums healthy, fight infection and promote wound healing. Perhaps most importantly, vegetables are rich in a particular group of nutrients called antioxidants, which fight cellular damage and help prevent heart disease, cancer, Parkinson's disease, atherosclerosis, heart attack and Alzheimer's disease, says the Linus Pauling Institute.

Fiber
Another substantial benefit of vegetables is dietary fiber. Fiber is an important nutrient found only in plant foods. As part of a healthy diet, fiber helps scour bad cholesterol out of your arteries, thus lowering your risk of heart disease, says the USDA. Fiber also keeps your digestive system running smoothly, helps control your blood sugar levels and may help prevent cancer.

Diet-friendly Characteristics
Vegetables are also a boon to dieters. Because they are generally low in fat and calories, you can eat a lot of them without gaining weight. If you substitute vegetables for other, higher-calorie foods in your diet, you'll slash your calorie and fat intake, making weight management easier. The fiber in vegetables also helps you manage your weight. Fiber makes you feel fuller for a longer period, helping you eat less overall and aiding with weight loss or maintenance.

Considerations
Some vegetables are healthier than others. The Harvard School of Public Health states that potatoes -- which many people consider a vegetable -- actually do not count toward your daily recommended servings of vegetables. Instead, potatoes, and often corn as well, are starchy foods more akin to a grain serving than a vegetable serving. When choosing vegetables, keep in mind that, in general, brightly colored vegetables are higher in nutrients than less vivid choices. For example, spinach contains many more vitamins and antioxidants than iceberg lettuce. If you have questions or concerns regarding your diet or vegetables for good health, consult your physician or a registered dietitian for more recommendations.


reprinted from Livestrong.com

How to Make Any Recipe a Clean Recipe

By Rebecca Longshore, Cooking Light

When it comes to eating clean, it’s often much easier than you think. Plus, you rarely have to alter the essence of your favorite dishes to achieve a cleaner plate. The key to turning them into a “clean” dish is to start from the root—the ingredients.

To build a cleaner plate, it first starts in the market where you choose your produce, whole grains, dairy, proteins, and other items. Look for ingredient lists that are short and contain no preservatives, artificial colorings, added sugars, and other processed ingredients.

Make sure you balance your plate by filling at least half with fruits and veggies, choosing whole grains for a fourth of your plate, and lean, clean meat for the remaining fourth.

To convert a recipe to a clean recipe, simply look at all of the ingredients and start substituting. Here are your basic substitutions:

Sugar > organic maple syrup / organic honey
Baked goods > white whole-wheat flour / whole-wheat flour / almond flour / coconut flour
Grains > unprocessed, dry quinoa / farro / brown rice / oats / homemade whole-wheat bread (or whole-wheat bread from a local baker / 7 Sprouted Grains Bread)
Dairy > organic, unprocessed cheeses, milk, Greek yogurt
Protein > Choose leaner meat, and limit meat portions such as pork and red meat to 3 ounces and chicken to 4.5 ounces per day. Seafood and plant-based proteins are encouraged. Look for meat that is grass-fed and raised without antibiotics or hormones.
Condiments, dressings and salsas > Make your own, and nix the added sugars and excess salt.

Get creative with fruits and veggies:

Use avocados as a bowl for poached eggs, tuna salad, or even quinoa.
Swap out potato chips for apple chips, beet chips, sweet potato chips, and kale chips.
Use apples and celery in place of crackers to pair with nut butters.
Use squash in place of pasta, such as zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
Infuse water with fresh herbs, and fruits.

Here’s an example of a recipe we’ve converted to clean, Chicken Kebabs and Nectarine Salsa.

While this recipe is almost completely clean, the marinade calls for brown sugar. For a cleaner sugar, replace 1½ teaspoons of maple syrup for the 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.

Reprinted from Health.com

The Delicious Watermelon Popsicle You Need to Try

By Susan Rinkunas

Who doesn’t love watermelon? Not only is it delicious, but it’s low in calories, packed with vitamin C, and may even help relieve muscle soreness. Since Sunday is National Watermelon Day, we wanted to share this refreshing watermelon Popsicle recipe.

Actress, ZICO Coconut Water spokeswoman, and former Healthcover star Jessica Alba recently hosted a cooking class in New York City with Casa Mono chef Andy Nusser to demonstrate how to cook with coconut water. One of the courses was this delicious four-ingredient ice pop, which creates a pretty ombré effect as it freezes. It will give your taste buds a mini tropical vacation. Enjoy!

Watermelon and Coconut Water Ice Pops
(Serves 6-8, depending on size of ice pop molds)

What you’ll need:

4 cups watermelon chunks, seeds removed
1/2 cup unflavored coconut water
Juice of 1 fresh lime
2 tablespoons agave nectar
Ice pop molds, or small paper cups and Popsicle sticks

How to make it:
1. Combine watermelon, coconut water, lime juice, and agave nectar in a blender, and puree until smooth.
2. Transfer to ice pop molds or cups, insert Popsicle sticks, and freeze.

Reprinted from Health.com

The Real Reason Why You Can’t Stop Snacking at Night

By Julie Mazziotta | health.com

Like a moth to a flame, you’re drawn to the florescent glow of the refrigerator light, what with the leftover spaghetti and meatballs, cold pepperoni pizza, and scrumptious week-old birthday cake that’s lurking in there. As you probably know, giving into these late-night cravings is not a good move for your waistline. Still, how many times have you found yourself spooning ice cream into your mouth after dinner without being able to stop?

Finally, a new study may explain exactly why those midnight munchies are so hard to control: Researchers from Brigham Young University put 15 women on the same eating plan and had them hop into an fMRI machine for a brain scan while they were shown a series of 360 pictures featuring both healthy, low-calorie foods and crave-worthy, high-calorie foods. They did the experiment twice—once in the morning and again at night, a week later. In the end, they found lower reward-related activity in the brain at night in response to high-calorie foods than they did in the morning.

This could mean that at night, you don’t get the same rush of satisfaction that you might get during the day, leading you to crave snacks even more.

“You might over-consume at night because food is not as rewarding, at least visually, at that time of day,” lead author Travis Masterson said in a news release. “It may not be as satisfying to eat at night, so you eat more to try to get satisfied.”

“We thought the responses would be greater at night because we tend to over-consume later in the day,” study co-author Lance Davidson added in the release. The lackluster neural response in the evening likely means that your brain doesn’t register the food you’re eating as well, so your impulse is to keep on eating in search of the pleasure you’re used to getting out of it.

Masterson and Davidson also found that the participants were more distracted by food when they tested them in the evening, and thought they could eat more, even though their reported hunger and “fullness” levels were the same as during the day.

On top of that, the study participants were told to avoid eating for certain periods before each test. “They should have been less hungry at night because the fasting period was shorter,” Masterson told to CBS News. “We know that there is something going on here.”

Eating a well-rounded dinner with protein, healthy fats, whole grains, and fiber can help ward off the trip to the fridge in the first place. But if you know you’ll snack regardless, prep some low-cal options like carrots and hummus ahead of time and stick them front and center in your fridge, and keep the indulgent goodies out of sight.

Masterson’s own research is already working for him. When he feels a siren call to the fridge after-hours, “I tell myself, this isn’t probably as satisfying as it should be,” he said. “It helps me avoid snacking too much at night.”

reprinted from Health.com