January 10th, 2010
When the weather is freezing cold and you don’t feel like going outside, or your are snowed, try working around the house to burn some calories. The winter is a great time to cross some things off of that to-do list while you are sitting around the house. Try these ideas.
- Do you have some painting that needs done? If so, this could be a solid few hours of activity in the comfort of your own home and even the least handy person can use a paint roller. Just don’t forget the blue tape!
- How is the seal on your windows? Going around the house putting plastic on all of the windows will keep you active and save a few dollars on your utility bills!
- For the more advanced people, take on a new project like finishing the basement, you will be sure to get plenty of workouts carrying lumber, drywall, flooring, ect. You can even make it into an exercise space for when you don’t feel like going to the gym with some inexpensive equipment.
Tags: Chicago Fitness, Family Fitness, Stay Active Indoors, Working Together
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August 13th, 2009
Nice weather has finally reached Chicagoland, which means it’s time to get outside and be active. We at Chicago Family Fit will be walking to support the SEA Blue Prostate Cancer Walk on September 13, 2009 in Chicago’s Lincoln Park. The event consists of a 3k walk and includes entertainment and a post-walk lunch buffet.
Proceeds from this event go to programs for Prostate Cancer survivors and their families. We are proud to help raise awareness and donate to such a worthy cause.
If you would like to participate, or to find more information about this great cause, please visit the event site at http://budurl.com/SEABlueHomeBlog
Tags: 3k SEA Blue, Cancer Awareness, Charity, Chicago Family Fit, Prostate Cancer, SEA Blue Prostate Cancer Walk
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August 11th, 2009
School is almost here! For parents it means getting your kids up and out the door for the first time in months, which can be easier said than done. We all know the importance of healthy foods for proper health and learning ability but sometimes forget in the morning scramble. With this in mind, I have listed some do’s and don’t for breakfast foods that work for you also.
Do:
- Have plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables available, they are healthy and handy to take with you if you’re running low on time. Great options include bananas, peaches, and apples.
- Have a pantry full of nutritious breakfast cereals, I suggest oatmeal, bran, and Kashi cereals. They are low in refined sugars and high in fiber and complex carbohydrates.
Don’t:
- Fill them up with sugary foods like Pop-Tarts, Toaster Strudels, and Sugar Smacks. These foods will not provide sustained energy to last through the morning and will result in leaving them tired and sluggish.
- Let them leave the house without eating anything! This is the worst yet; the brain has a difficult time
Tags: Back to school, Family Fitness, Health Breakfast
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May 28th, 2009
After the latest incident involving the daughter of former boxing champion Mike Tyson on their home treadmill, I would like to give some suggestions to improve home safety. Now that many people are starting to exercise, it is not uncommon to find some exercise equipment such as Treadmills, Bicycles, Ellipticals and Free Weights in ones home.
Many people keep their equipment in the basement or a spare room where kids may have access. With that said, parents must be very careful of their children playing around this equipment because they could easily get hurt. Some of the potential injuries could include:
- Falling off of a machine
- Dropping a weight
- Getting tangled in cords
- Equipment falling over onto a child
- Using equipment as a toy which could cause injury
I suggest that if you have small children in your home that you educate them about your home exercise equipment. Please explain the purpose and that it is not a toy because of the potential injuries that could arise. If at all possible, you should try to keep a locked door between your children and your exercise area to prevent them from going near it in the first place. Also, if you pull the safety cords out of your treadmill it will not turn on, so taking it out when not in use is a great idea.
Tags: Home gym Accident, Mike Tyson Family Accident, Treadmill Accident
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May 17th, 2009
As more people decide to jump on the health food bandwagon, major food companies are trying to capture these consumers with misleading advertisements, and of course, make a major profit. Let’s look at one example using a staple food in many diets, the egg. The latest marketing trend is the “Omega 3” label that you will see when browsing store shelves.
It is well known through major media sources that Omega 3 Fatty Acids can help to increase heart health, so people are buying these foods despite their inflated cost. Now that the eggs are higher in Omega 3’s, does that mean the eggs are now healthy? Regardless of how much Omega 3’s are in your egg, they are still high in cholesterol if you eat too many, which is a major risk factor for heart disease…. Wait, aren’t we paying a premium price to lower the same risk factors?
Exactly my point! If you are going to start paying more to eat “healthy” eggs everyday then you can probably count on having higher cholesterol at your next check-up as well. I suggest that if you are going to eat an occasional egg, that a little bit of extra omega 3’s can be achieved through other dietary sources that are much more cost effective. Instead of paying for enriched foods, why not simply eat more of them in the first place? So I have attached a few foods for you to try:
• Cabbage
• Flax seed and Flaxseed oil
• Cauliflower
• Fish such as Salmon, Herring, and Tuna
• Nuts
• Olive Oil
• Avocado
If you have any more questions feel free to email us via the contact page.
Tags: Healthy Eggs, Omega 3 Eggs
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May 3rd, 2009
In case you haven’t heard, Hydroxycut, one of the highest selling weight loss products has just been recalled. Many of you may wonder how the Food and Drug Adminstration is just now banning this supplement after 9 years in the market and millions of bottles sold.
The reason is because dietary supplements are not required to pass any type of FDA testing prior to hitting store shelves. Supplements are only investigated if there have been enough cases reported to start an investigation. Research studies show that taking Hydroxycut can lead to liver problems and possible death! That’s right, people are dying from taking a product that you see in magazines, television, and store shelves because of a loophole in FDA testing rules and regulations.
My stance is that you have to be very careful about choosing what types of supplements that you purchase and put into your body. If you are going to take them, there are a couple of things that you must do prior to making your purchase:
• Read the ingredients and stick to ones that have been researched.
• Realize the loophole in FDA regulations, and know that the product probably does not do what it says.
• Contact someone that is knowledgeable about supplements, you must realize that the people at GNC and Vitamin Shoppe get paid by selling you supplements, so their advice maybe be a little skewed to make the sale.
If you have any questions about what type of food or supplements that you are taking I encourage you to send an email via the Chicago Family Fit Contact section.
Tags: Food and Drug Administration, Hydroxycut Recall, Supplements
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April 19th, 2009
When it comes to losing weight, crash diets might work for a week or two, but eventually results in gaining the weight back plus a few extra pounds. In order to lose weight and keep it off, you have to be able to stick to your diet. I suggest that you make some easy modifications to save a few calories.
For starters, eat fresh fruits and vegetables for snacks instead of fried potato chips, cookies, and sugary junk food. To ensure that you actually eat your fresh foods, cut them up ahead of time and keep them handy. You will be much more likely to eat the healthier snacks if they are at your fingertips.
The next tip is to cook your own meals as much as possible. By avoiding pre-packaged or restaurant prepared foods you will save a lot of calories to help lose weight. By not spending on lunch or dinner, you will also save some money!
Finally, and maybe the toughest for many of us is to cut out empty calories from pop and alcohol. Both of these foods are loaded with sugar and calories while providing no nutritional value. If you must have a few drinks, try to keep it less than three. Eventually you want to try to limit these from your diet for optimum weight loss.
Tags: Diet Change, Healthy Snacks, Save Money, Weight Loss
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March 31st, 2009
With summer fast approaching, I am often asked, “what do I have to do to lose this before summer?” while pointing at either their stomach, rear end, or arm flab. Obviously working out and eating right will help, but this is not a great answer since it is neither specific nor consistent with everyone. There are many ways to workout, and eating right is too general for someone to follow.
If you are in a bind and need to shape up quick, then circuit training is a great way to lose a few pounds. Circuit training simply takes your workout and cuts out the rest, standing around, and talking between sets. This no-nonsense approach combines the benefit of strength training with cardiovascular training to tone muscle and burn fat. A sample would look like this:
• 10 Push-ups
• 20 Abdominal Crunches
• Jump Rope for 45 Seconds
Instead of resting after each set, perform all three exercises consecutively without rest, grab a drink (included in 30 seconds of resting) and repeat the circuit again. Repeat this circuit 3 or 4 times, then move to the next circuit. I used very basic exercises in this example, but as with any effective workout, it should be tailored to your goals and abilities by a trained professional. Depending on your level of fitness, you should be able to complete three sets of three circuits during 45 minutes.
Read Part 2 of this blog to address diet tips.
Tags: Burn Fat, Circuit Training, Fat Loss, Tone Up
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March 30th, 2009
As I mentioned previously, cleaning up your diet will help lose those unwanted pounds before hitting the beach, pool, or summer vacation. In order to effectively lose weight, there are a few things you can limit to reduce your daily caloric intake.
Avoid empty calories! Sources include high sugar and high fat foods such as:
• Pop
• Fried foods
• Pizza
• Fast food
• Many cereals
• High fat meats, ex. Prime Rib, Ribs, Cheap Hamburger
This can be achieved by reading the food labels at the grocery store. Do not buy foods that have:
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• High Saturated Fat
• Low Fiber
• High Sodium
Although this list may be difficult to adhere by at first, gradual change over time will be the key to losing weight and keeping it off for good! Try replacing some of the high calorie foods with healthy, bright colored fruits and vegetables and opting for grilled or baked foods instead of fried. Please refer to the contact section if you would like to work with someone to help design the best plan for your needs.
Tags: Circuit Training, Diet Tips, Empty Calories, Weight Loss
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March 17th, 2009
Every day we watch the news, listen to the radio, or open up our Internet browser and can be assured that there will be some new health breakthrough, usually for the worse. We hear about obesity rates on the climb, increased numbers of Heart attacks, Strokes, Alzheimer’s, Type II diabetes and many more. The sad thing about many of these diseases is that they are on the rise due to poor decisions that many of us make on a daily basis.
Many conditions are directly related to being overweight. Usually overweight, or over fat happens from a combination of poor lifestyle habits. The most prominent reason is lack of physical activity combined with a high calorie diet. Obviously the physical activity usually comes from driving everywhere, lack of exercise, and to be honest, laziness. Sometimes there are exceptions for people that are unable to exercise due to medical conditions, but like I mentioned above, mostly laziness.
The other half to this discussion is the high calorie diet that many of us are consuming. Often I am impressed by how many calories, grams of fat, sugar, and sodium that they can actually fit into a fast food meal! Next time you are browsing the web I encourage you to research the nutrition of your favorite fast food meal; more often than not, you will be impressed as well.
Next I would like to present my ideas on fitness being a Preventative Medicine. First I would like to describe how preventative medicine works. Preventative means to decrease the likelihood of getting certain diseases or health problems. This varies from the thought of catching something in its early stages such as breast cancer through regular mammograms, or prostate cancer through regular check ups. This approach would prevent Type II Diabetes, Obesity, and many health concerns in the first place by managing your weight through healthy diet and a well-designed fitness program.
Our approach at Chicago Family Fit is to educate families on proper nutrition while promoting an active lifestyle for everyone. This approach is the real Preventative Medicine for the 21st Century.
Tags: Fitness, Health Care, Obama Healthcare, Preventative Medicine
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