Archive for March 2010

Rihanna’s Diet & Midnight Exercise Routines

The R & B diva Rihanna has one amazing body and considering her reputation for wearing skimpy reveal-all outfits on stage it’s only natural that she has to be careful with her diet and exercise plan. Her personal trainer, Ary Nunez, gave OK! magazine the inside scoop on Rihanna’s on-the-go diet and strict exercise practice. In regard to working out Ary likes for Rihanna to have a total body workout and at all times keeping her heart rate up at 75 to 85 percent so that she’s always burning fat. Ary said,

“She starts with working the core stabilizer muscles, then the lower body and upper body. I aim to target all muscle groups.”

In addition, Rihanna is very dedicated so if they have to wait until midnight to workout, then that’s what they’ll do and they actually have a 12am workout.

When it comes to Rihanna’s eating habits she has to eat light meals and snack a lot since she’s so busy with touring and making special appearances. For example, she’ll eat bbq-flavored popchips that are only 100 calories or she also like hard-boiled eggs and fresh papaya. Ary said,

“Rihanna eats when she gets hungry and has fruit and protein at every meal.”

Rihanna is a disciplined woman who’s serious about her art, her music and her body.

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Moving is the Best Medicine:Video PSA

The Fitness Diva posted an awesome video, had to share.

The Arthritis Foundation and the Ad Council have come up with these videos promoting exercise and movement to help in the fight against osteoarthritic pain. This vid makes me chuckle every time I watch it! Check it out!

Also stop by their website. The site has some fantastic resources, including a tool for assessing your osteoarthritis risk, community support forums, and a local events calendar: FightArthritisPain.org
Did you know that one in five U.S. adults, or 46 million people, has arthritis? An estimated 67 million will have it by 2030, but as the PSA shows us, ‘Moving is the Best Medicine’ to fight the pain of osteoarthritis – the most common form of arthritis.

Fitness Is Learning

So knowledge is power and that is definitely true when it comes to achieving your personal fitness goals. There is a very broad variety of training techniques and diets. Some of which might even contradict another. All the same is learning new ways to lift and workout are some of the best ways to surpass the barriers you face along your journey. You need to weedout the lies and store the truths you come across. I will tell you some truthful things for me. I wont tell you why I am listing these terms, thats what i want you to find out. Learn about these terms I list and know they have worked for me and may work for you.

1. self discipline
2. mind over matter
3. powerlifting
4. isolation exercises
5. compound exercises
6. calestinics
7. high and low intensity cardiovascular exercises
8. target heart rate and anerobic threshhold
9. form
10. bodysculpting
11. vascularity and muscularity
12. flexing
13. equal and balanced workouts
14. various sports training
15. priority training
16. free weights
17. flys
18. healthy foods
19. metabolic rate
20. amino acids
21. rest, sleep, recovery

I want you to research these different terms and see how they can help your workouts, diets or life. Google it!

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DIY: Protein Granola Bars inspired by Smitten Kitchen

Protein Granola Bars

I have too much time on my hands apparently. I followed this recipe from smitten kitchen and made some protein bars. Then I turn around and make more carrot and cranberries muffins with pulp from some juicing not to long ago. Anyway here is the recipe, trust me this is way better then the crap in the stores.

Some of you have asked me to share what kind of cooking I’ve been doing to stash in the freezer and hopefully tide us over for the coming storm (T-minus 22 days, not that anyone is counting). I know it’s common, in a fit of impatient nesting, for soon-to-be mamas to tuck away pans of enchiladas and lasagnas and meatballs and other hearty, freezable fare so that they don’t starve in those early weeks when the baby demands constant surveillance (okay, cooing), but despite understanding the logic behind this, I should confess: I’m prepping nothing.

At least one of the reasons I’ve decided to ignore sound advice to cook and stash while I can is that food could not be easier to come by around here. Hummus platter with fava bean stews, pirogis and borscht and/or Tom Collichio-crafted sandwiches arrive so quickly after you call, we’ve become convinced that they’re actually preparing in our building’s basement and you don’t even want to know how many Thai and sushi restaurants there are per block around here (at least two). Plus, both of our families live within an hour of the city and (Hi Mom! Hi Alex’s Mom!) our moms are not only good cooks, but have vowed to keep us from starving. Wasn’t that sweet of them?

But mostly, I don’t want to fill our freezer with practical meals that will allow us to dote fully on our baby is that I hope to get back in the kitchen as soon as humanly possible after the baby is born, and the only way to get me back in the kitchen is to let me get hungry for something that nobody makes the way I want them to. It is the only reason I cook, it’s the only reason I’ve ever wanted to cook and it’s the only thing that’s going to get me to cook when feasting on pudgy baby cheeks no longer cuts it, as impossible as that is to imagine.

Though I did make granola bars, albeit as much for now as for later. I spend a ridiculous amount of time in doctor’s offices these days and I’m not the kind of person who plans ahead well and find myself starving and wondering if it would kill me to just once pack a nutritious snack. The pre-packaged ones are ick to me, more candy bar than wholesome, but I had one from Le Pain Quotidien last week that was so good, so hearty and so barely sweet, I knew I was overdue to try my own hand at them. I’m so inspired, I might even make an extra batch for the hospital bag. I hear it helps wash down the post-baby double-bourbon.

Granola Bars
Adapted from smittenkitchen.com

I started with Ina Garten’s recipe but hacked it a bit. First, I decreased the sugar because, as I mentioned, I find most granola bars excessively sweet. Think you’ll miss it? Stir in the 1/4 cup brown sugar I took out. I also removed the tablespoons of butter, as I’m convinced that the oil component in most homemade granola recipes prohibits clumping. Of course I have yet to do a side-by-side test of this theory — this is the Smitten Kitchen, not America’s Test Kitchen! — so if you think you’ll miss the butter, stir in three tablespoons, melted.

Finally, if you’re going to be a houseguest this holiday weekend — can I come, too? — I think these would make a spectacular hostess gift. Or, you know, something to tide you over until the rest of the house rouses for a late breakfast.

Makes 12 to 16 granola bars

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
2 tbsp almond butter or peanut butter
1 cup trail mix or mixed nuts
1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed (I used unsweetened)
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
2/3 cup sugar free syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and cinnamon
3 scoops vanilla protein
1 1/2 cup dried fruit, or a mix of dried fruit (I used chopped apricots, cranberries and raisins)
water as needed

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter an 8×12-inch baking dish (lacking this, I used a 9×13-inch) and line it with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ. Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.

While the mixture is still warm, stir in the honey, vanilla and salt until the mixture is well coated, then the dried fruit. Add a few small table spoons or more as needed to create a paste. Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press, press, press it in (wet fingers and/or a silicon spatula work great for this) until the mixture is packed as tightly as possible.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares — your best serrated knife is great for this.

You can store these in an airtight container at room temperature for a week or two, as you would cookies, however, I prefer to store mine in the freezer. I find that they stay the most crisp this way as all granola tends to soften at room temperature after a day or more.

Vanessa Williams’ Workout of Pilates, Cardio, Yoga and Strength Training

Ugly Betty actress Vanessa Williams is one hot 47-year-old. How does she do it? She eats healthily, exercises regularly, and avoids stress. She says the older she’s gotten the more she’s learned to stop stressing about the future, because it only causes wrinkles. As Prevention magazine’s April cover girl, she shares her fitness and diet tips.

Because she’s got kids, Vanessa often finds herself making pancakes, waffles and French toast, but she knows to not stuff herself and simply cuts down on the portions. The mother-of-three was one of the few actresses who took an early liking to Pilates before most people even knew what it was.  She says by working out with her trainer, Mari Winsor, she’s developed a very strong core.

Vanessa, however, also realizes the importance of weight training. The former Miss America adds strength training to her usual workouts to add definition to her body – she says Pilates, cardio and yoga can only get you so far. When she feels like she’s in a rut or needs some fresh air from her usual routine, she hikes in the hilly area of her neighborhood. She even sometimes takes a pet with her to create an interval workout.

Dance is another way to shake things up, literally. Vanessa has learned that salsa is a great cardio workout she can alternate with her three-day-a-week treadmill routine. But her biggest asset is knowing that she’s a 47-year-old mother-of-three and is realistic about her weight these days. She’ll never have washboard abs, but she is healthy and in great shape.

NAAFA Defends Gabourey Sidibe’s Obesity

The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) has spoken out for Gabourey Sidibe after she was taunted to lose weight by Howard Stern and AcaiSupply weight loss company. The organization doesn’t necessarily encourage people to get fat or stay fat but they do think that people can accomplish goals and be successful regardless of their size. Peggy Howell, a spokesperson for the NAAFA said,

“You cannot tell by looking at a person if they are healthy. Fat does not equal disease and thin does not equal healthy.”

In previous interviews, before Gabourey was nominated for an Oscar, she told Oprah Winfrey that she had come to terms with her body and is proud of who she is. She started dieting at six years old and after years of struggling she decided to accept herself.

This may be a Cinderella story, but one has to wonder how long Gabourey can keep up this facade and not crumble to the demands of Hollywood and life under the spotlight.

Celebrity Diet Doc Says…
While certainly true that obese individuals can be more physically fit than thinner counterparts, despite appearances, waist circumference is a strong predictor of obesity related conditions such as heart disease, increased blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, stroke and cancer. Waist circumference is a measure of belly fat and men should have waist circumference less than 40 inches and women less than 35 inches.

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YESTERDAY YOU SAID TOMORROW

I’m Back!

Forest Whitaker’s Weight Loss on Vegan Diet

A couple of weeks ago at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, actor Forest Whitaker shocked fans with his new, slim physique. The 48-year-old actor, director and producer – who usually sports a burly figure – presented Oscar winner Sandra Bullock with her Best Actress award at the glamorous ceremony.

In 2007 Forest had to gain 70 pounds for his role as Uganda dictator Idi Amin in The Last King of Scotland, for which he won the Best Actor Oscar, but after filming he says he got “serious” his diet and exercise routine. While Forest works out by doing martial arts and going hiking, the secret to his weight loss is his vegan diet.

“I’ve been trying to take care of myself,” he told Rachael Ray on her talk show recently. “I did meet with a nutritionist … and he talked to me about the way I was eating. I shifted the way I was eating, the way I was living. I started working out. I just wanted to be able to live a really good life.”

Other actors who have lost and maintain their weight on a vegan or vegetarian diet include Rubben Studdard, Ginnifer Goodwin, Alicia Silverstone and Ellen DeGeneres.

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