Archive for May 2009

6 Pack Abs: Mel B. Gets her BlackFitness On!

All eyes on Mel B. as she got her BlackFitness On. The former SPICE GIRL showed off her 6 pack and ripped figure in Las Vegas yesterday. The self-confessed fitness nut has a body that could rival a bodybuilder…I’m getting jealous here. She’s taking it to another level post pregnancy. (two babies by the way)

Stephen Belafonte and Mel B

People are email me telling me this is too much….are you kidding me?

Please do not compare her to buffie the body

and yes she too has a fitness dvd…

Mel B. with fans

The reason for her donning this skimpiest of white bikinis was to host the Hot Bodies at Tao Beach bash at The Venetian hotel.

the New Mel B.

My Semi 2-Day Detox...

So after falling flat on my face after Memorial Day…I was starting fell bloated, sleepy with headaches and stomach aches, and dear I add poor bowel management. I really could not take the trip if I was paid and I was majorly clogged. So these were all the classic warning signs that I tell people about all the time.

TIME TO DETOX! I did feel like going for a colon cleanse even though I am overdue so I opted for a 1 day fast followed with 2 days of fruit and veggies.

Saturday went great. I focused on schoolwork, yard-work and even played some ball while drinking a gallon of water throughout the day. Later I went home and had some tea. I survived until midnight (26 hrs after my last meal) until after the game where I had a small salad with a couple of oz. of chicken breast. Not bad and I felt better but that wasn’t part of the plan. Either way I woke up today, had my tea with lemon, several hours later had some veggies and egg whites. I just had a green smoothie with berries, bananas, protein, touch of 100% cranberry juice, aloe and mean greens.  Whoa! The thing about detoxing is this smoothie is sweet as hell.  I’ve had it before but not like this…

Anyway I’m not where I want to be but my last bathroom trip felt like heaven. I’ve done a 5 and 7 day detox so this was just a chance to give my body a break. I will continue to do fruit and veggies and sneak in some protein via egg whites and tuna but I just want to take it easy this week. No..I’m not one with Buddha nor do I have found the light but I am going to the bathroom…thank God…

Study says…A Girl with a Big Booty is healthier, versus girls with a case of Noassatol

This is a repost from reuters.com because no one believed me…

Scientists find something good about a big bottom
Tue May 6, 2008 6:15pm EDT
By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A type of fat that accumulates around the hips and bottom may actually offer some protection against diabetes, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

“If we can capture those (substances), we might have an opportunity to convert them into drugs or use them as guides to help develop drugs,” he said.

They said subcutaneous fat, or fat that collects under the skin, helped to improve sensitivity to the hormone insulin, which regulates blood sugar.

Mice that got transplants of this type of fat deep into their abdomens lost weight and their fat cells shrank, even though they made no changes in their diet or activity levels.

“It was a surprising result,” said Dr. Ronald Kahn of Harvard Medical School in Boston, whose study appears in the journal Cell Metabolism.

“We actually found it had a beneficial effect, and it was especially true when you put it inside the abdomen,” Kahn said in a telephone interview.

Kahn said he started the study to find out why fat located in different parts of the body seems to have different risks of metabolic disease such as diabetes.

Researchers have known for some time that fat that collects in the abdomen — known as visceral fat — can raise a person’s risk of diabetes and heart disease, while people with pear-shaped bodies, with fat deposits in the buttocks and hips, are less prone to these disorders.

Now it turns out that subcutaneous fat — fat found just under the skin — may be actively protecting people from metabolic disease.

Kahn and colleagues conducted a series of experiments on mice where they transplanted subcutaneous fat from donor mice into the bellies and under the skin of mice.

Mice that got subcutaneous fat transplanted into their bellies started to slim down after several weeks, and they also showed improved blood sugar and insulin levels compared to mice that underwent a sham procedure.

“What we found was that when we put it in either place, there was some improvement in metabolism,” Kahn said.

“I think it’s an important result because not only does it say that not all fat is bad, but I think it points to a special aspect of fat where we need to do more research,” he said.

Kahn’s team is working to find the substances produced in subcutaneous fat that provide the benefit with the hope of developing a drug that might copy this effect. Although fat is known to produce several hormones, Kahn said none of the known hormones appeared to be involved in this process.

(Editing by Maggie Fox and Doina Chiacu)

Snacks for on the Go!

Keep these under-200-calorie snacks handy in your travels:

• 2 cups fat-free popcorn (or buy 100-calorie packs for microwaving)
• Single-serve instant oatmeal
• Whole-wheat crackers (reduced-fat Triscuits are good)
• Energy bars with less than 200 calories (Luna, Kashi, 100-calorie Balance)
• Whole-grain, ready-to-eat cereal (Oatmeal Squares, MultiGrain Cheerios)
• Sliced apple or celery sticks with 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• Snack-size light yogurt or fat-free pudding (4 to 6 ounces)
• Snack-size low-fat cottage cheese packs
• Single-serving size bag (about ¼ cup) nuts (almonds, soy nuts, pistachios, walnuts)
• Any whole fruit
• Serving of soy chips
• Single stick of string cheese
• Fruit leathers, or flat strips of puréed dried fruit
• Single serving of dried fruit and nut mix

Now here is the kick all of these can be wrecked with sugar laced by products be sure to get these in their rawest and freshest form.

The End of Overeating!

Nice post from theLawRawtory.com site featuring the author David Kessler M.D.

Oddly enough I’ve been feeling like crap since Memorial Day weekend. Constipation, stomach pains, bloated, headaches and straight up tired…I think we know what time it is…DETOX!  Usually, when I detox I work harder on house projects and on my rental properties, I consider this my personal time.

We all know what’s important here slimming down, eating better, and enjoying high quality food instead of high quantity food. I’ll keep you posted…

6 Thoughts That Will Keep You From Getting Thin

(BlackDoctor.org) — Do you hear those voices in your head talking to you? I do, all of the time. I always here that little voice that tells me, “One candy bar won’t hurt” or “It’s okay if I don’t go to the gym today because the next time I go, I’m gonna work twice as hard to make up for it.”You know those suggestive little voices that whisper in your ear… and suddenly you’re knee-deep in ice cream? Change the sabotaging, discipline-destroying thoughts, and you can change your life, or at least your weight.

I ordered the grilled cheese, so why not get the fries, too?

One treat at a time. I’m indulging in grilled cheese, so I’ll trade the fries for a salad.

Here’s How: “The thought pattern is, I’ve already blown it for today, so I might as well keep going,” says Janet Polivy, PhD, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto. She calls it the “what the hell” effect and says it causes people to devour so much food that they feel they’ll never get back on track. To prevent this scenario from playing over and over, Polivy says, you have to redefine your idea of healthy eating. Allow yourself the occasional treat, as long as it’s accompanied by smarter food choices like fresh fruit and vegetables. At roughly 500 calories, one melted cheddar on rye a week should hardly make you fat. Habitually tackling on a large order of fries, however, might.

I’ll just have this one cookie.

If I can’t stop at one or two cookies, I shouldn’t have any at all.

Here’s How: We stand by the above tip that it’s okay to eat your favorite foods, provided you’re the type who can stop after a small amount. “One cookie could turn into 1,000 calories or more if you proceed to eat the whole bag,” warns Stephen Gullo, PhD, president of the Institute for Health and Weight Sciences. He suggests that you take a step back and honestly assess how you’ve reacted to your favorite foods in the past. You may discover that chocolate chip cookies trigger uncontrollable cravings but one square of dark chocolate appeases your sweet tooth quite nicely.

My husband says I look fat, so I guess I should start exercising.

I want to get in shape for myself, not for him.

Here’s How: Whether or not you need to shed a few pounds, acting in response to someone else’s hurtful remarks will breed self-doubt and lower your self-esteem, says Marlene Schwartz, PhD, co-director of the Yale Center for Eating and Weight Disorders in New Haven, Connecticut. To reset your weight loss goals so they revolve solely around you, sit down and figure out how you could benefit from changing your lifestyle. (Writing your thoughts out on paper might help.) If you identify areas that need improvement, talk to your spouse about how he can play a part: Plan low-fat weekly menus together in lieu of eating out, or take walks after dinner instead of watching TV. Alternatively, if you’re exercising, eating right, and feeling pretty healthy the way you are, Schwartz says, “tell him that this is his problem, not yours.”

What’s the point of losing weight during the winter? I’ll get in shape for summer.

By eating more now, I’m creating a lot of extra work for myself when spring rolls around.

Here’s How: A study by scientists at the National Institutes of Health tracked 195 people through the holidays and found an average weight gain of about a pound.

By the following year, most had gained another half pound, and the researchers predicted that the trend would only continue. To prevent this outward creep, Gullo says, keep thoughts of summer in your house all year long by hanging a bikini or skimpy sundress on the back of the bathroom door, and visualize yourself wearing it every time you head for the leftovers. He also proposes committing to a regular exercise program in the fall, “before the winter blahs set in,” because lugging last night’s comfort food through an hour-long spinning class isn’t so comfortable.

Fat runs in my family, so why bother exercising?

I can’t change my DNA, but I can change my fate.

Here’s How: “Genetics helps determine your natural weight range, but you have some control over where you fall within that range,” says Edward Abramson, PhD, an expert on obesity, dieting, and weight disorders and the author of Body Intelligence. Rather than aiming for a size 2, aim for health: If being overweight is a family trait, diabetes, heart disease, and other obesity-related illnesses could be, too, Schwartz says. Walk to the grocery store, choose the stairs over the escalator, and take good care of the body you were born with. “It’s important to distinguish between body size and body health,” she says. “Research shows that people who are overweight and physically fit can live longer than people who are ideal weight and not physically fit.”

After that grueling workout, I deserve a bacon double cheeseburger.

After busting my butt at the gym, my body deserves the VIP treatment.

Here’s How: “Most people overestimate the number of calories they’ve burned,” says Brian Wansink, PhD, a professor of marketing, applied economics, and nutritional science at Cornell University and author of Marketing Nutrition. To burn off a bacon double cheeseburger, the average 140-pound woman has to jog at a rate of five miles per hour for more than 60 minutes. Recast your concept of reward: Instead of seeking food, take a luxurious bubble bath, rent a guilty-pleasure movie, buy a new pair of shoes, or lose yourself in a good novel.

I’ll grab a candy bar to get me through my mid afternoon slump.

When my energy flags, I need food that will help me go the distance.

Here’s How: Candy and other sweets have little nutritional value, and they destabilize blood sugar, causing you to have more cravings later on, Gullo says. To head off a snack attack, he suggests, “reprogram yourself to seek out a mini-meal 30 minutes before you usually hit a slump.” By eating before you’re famished, you should be able to resist the sweet stuff and choose foods with enough protein, fat, and complex carbs to keep you sated and energized until dinner. Some of Gullo’s top picks: bran crackers with low-fat cheese, a hard-boiled egg, or a cup of low-fat yogurt.

By De’Laney Rowland, BDO Staff Writer

Skinned Cat, Raw Meat Ming's BBQ Atl Resturant

This is for my Atlanta people…avoid Ming’s BBQ in Doraville GA at all cost! Story below taken from myATLtv.com when a skinned cat and raw meat were found behind the resturant.

DORAVILLE, Ga. — A Chinese restaurant in Doraville is on probation for the next six months after police made a disturbing discovery outside the back door of the restaurant.

Doraville Police responded to a complaint about the mess behind Ming’s BBQ on Buford Highway and took pictures of a skinned cat and raw meat allegedly being stored outside.

The pictures were taken on January 23, 2009. They show grease traps overflowing, pigs stacked in buckets, boxes of raw meat stacked outside and pieces of meat hanging from a fence in the back of Ming’s.

Police said they actually witnessed an employee throwing the meat over the fence into an abandoned field next door.

“We had lots of concerns because there was so much meat outside,” Officer Rosemary Martin told 11Alive News. ”We actually looked at a couple of layers on top and saw that they were not the temperature they were supposed to be. So we called the health department, and the health department came out.”

Officer Martin issued two citations: one for failing to clean the property, the other for unlawfully discharging grease and oils.

In court a couple of weeks ago, a municipal judge issued a $5,000 fine, ordered the owners to serve 60 hours of community service and submit to weekly inspections for the next six months.

“They did get everything cleaned up,” Martin said. 

After scoring a 59 during a DeKalb health department inspection in January, Ming’s improved dramatically to earn a 96 during a re-inspection two weeks later. 

When 11Alive News checked the back of the restaurant on Monday, it was clean.

A manager who identified himself only as “Jack” declined to go on camera, but he insisted the meat captured in photos wasn’t outside for very long and was in the process of being moved to refrigerators.

Since then, he said Ming’s has stopped ordering so much food, changed food suppliers and put food safety managers on duty at all hours.

There was another disturbing discovery by police. They took photos of a skinned cat at the back of Ming’s.

The owners told police at the time that they didn’t know anything about it.

The manager told 11Alive News he was offended that it would be connected to the restaurant in any way.

Bootynomics Video 101:Buffie the Body Workout Plan

I was just about to write an article about all these celebrity workout videos and look what I find…Bootynomics 101:Buffie the Body Workout Plan. Nubian Fitness Goddess beat me to the punch and wrote an article about it HERE. So if you want that big 45″ stripper butt then this must be the video for you…or is it?

I believe it is well documented that this girl has had ass implants, so what qualifies her to do a fitness video. In a post Buffie the body: Healthy My Ass, I reminded people that the term “Your thickness is my weakness” does not apply to an overweight model. I like ‘em thick like the next guy, but is this the model of perfection? Is this what women should be aspiring for when they hit the gym? I hope these are not clips from the dvd…