BEAT THE HOLIDAY STRESS AND WEIGHT-GAIN! - HEALTHY TIPS TO SURVIVE THE HOLIDAYS - Part II - At The Mall

Not only are there sales galore, but there are also numerous traps lurking about the mall that can ruin your holiday fitness plan. In today's post we'll highlight 3 easy ways to make your shopping experience work for you.

Holiday Shopping Tactics: We all have to do it at some point. Although the cyber world has made this holiday activity far easier than what it’s been in the past, some of us will still find ourselves having to brave the malls to do our shopping in person. Take this time and use this as an opportunity to work for you rather than against you

1.Don’t go shopping hungry! If you know that you’re going shopping, plan a light meal prior to going, or carry a snack with you like a healthy snack bar. When hungry, the smells at the food court become very enticing. Foods that you would not normally eat will call out your name.

2.Plan to eat. Instead of hitting the food court, plan to eat at one of the onsite restaurants. Due to their larger and more diverse menu items, many restaurants will offer you healthier food options than the fast food places in the food court. Plan to have lunch prior to shopping or dinner afterwards. This will also help to reduce holiday stress by giving you a chance to relax and decompress after dealing with all of the holiday hustle and bustle.

3.Park far! How long does it take to find a parking spot near the door? How frustrated do you get when you can’t find one, or you have found one, but someone else cuts I front of you and steals your spot before you can get in there? Rather than driving around for hours and getting frustrated while searching for that perfect parking spot closest to the entrance, park the car and walk. One way to do it is this, if Macy’s is on one end of the mall, park on the opposite end, this will encourage you to walk. 10,000 steps (2 miles) a day is required to maintain heart health, Take advantage of the walking distance and include these extra steps to and from the car in that daily allowance. In addition to the heart health, the other benefit here is that you will significantly limit the amount of stress that you will endure during holiday shopping season since you won’t be fighting with other shoppers for that ever elusive parking spot near the door.

Up next in our Holiday Fitness series... Commit to being fit! The benefit of scheduling time for YOU.

High Fashion Or Mixed Messages - If A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words, Then What Does This Photo Say?

While surfing the web looking for photos to post on my blog, I typed in “images of holiday workouts”. I expected to get images of people working out in the gym, or working out on vacation. I did see those, but one of the first images to pop up was the following. I cocked my head to the side and thought… “Hmmm… really??? Maybe this is just an editorial pic to sell couture workout attire ala the gold lame outfit and black heels.” So, I let my curiosity get the better of me and clicked on the link only to find that this photo was from HarpersBazaar.com to encourage working out during the holidays. Okay, kudos to HB for encouraging holiday fitness, that’s the right message. But did HB have to use this photo? Wrong message! Yes, I know some of you are thinking “but it’s Harper’s Bazaar, they’re a high fashion magazine and focus on everything couture” Yes, I know. I love high fashion as much as the next Fashionista, I even have the shoes shown in the photo, but I am also very realistic when it comes to body images and what we sell to the public. This photo in my view sends a pretty conflicting message when selling fitness. Now granted, because of Harpers Bazaar’s image and marketing strategies they would never opt to use a Fitness Model for a photo like this, but better options other than the use of a rail thin model sans muscle tone could have been considered. Within this same Harpers Bazaar holiday reel, previous photos encouraging stress relief and lower sodium intake contained photos of a bubble bath with candles and a photo of a salt shaker. In the same vein, HB could have also used a stylized photo of hand weights with a water bottle and towel to convey the same message about fitness. For those who may consider this to be a harmless photo, the reality is this. Many women and young girls see these photos and aspire to be that model. As a result, many of these same women and girls will also do harmful things to their bodies and psyche to get there. When placing images into the public’s eye, we should be mindful and responsible for what we deliver. As we know, the fashion world has been routinely criticized for the negative body images they promote by using extremely thin models for editorial shoots and fashion show runways. Dressing the same type of model in athletic fashions and placing her in a workout setting next to a caption promoting fitness workouts doesn’t do much for changing the mindset or the practice. What this now does is shift the paradigm to say that not only is this the standard of beauty, but it is also the standard of physical fitness and health.

BEAT THE HOLIDAY STRESS AND WEIGHT-GAIN! - HEALTHY TIPS TO SURVIVE THE HOLIDAYS - Part I - At the party!

The Holiday Season is here and in full swing while many of us are finding that our schedules are now filled with parties, dinners, shopping plans, and trips to visit friends and loved ones. Statistics show that the typical holiday weight gain during the 6 weeks between Thanksgiving and the New Year is 7 – 15 lbs, while most people spend the rest of the next year trying to work it off. But with all of the excitement and festivities, keeping on track with fitness goals can be very tough. The good news is that it’s not impossible, it just requires a bit of strategy and planning ahead. At a loss for what to do? No worries, here are some easy to do tips which you can follow to minimize your holiday weight gain and the holiday stress.

Party Time and Time to Dine – this is where so many of us experience the majority of our drop off during the holiday season because of the countless temptations that are there; the food the desserts and the cocktails are all so enticing how could you possibly resist? If you know what to look for, you’ll know how to prepare.

1. Don’t go to the party or dinner hungry. The hungrier you are, the more likely you will over eat and binge on the treats. Have a light snack before you get to the restaurant or party such as a handful of nuts or a piece of fruit. If you’re a person who’s always on the go, opt to carry foods that travel well such as apples. Clementines are now in season; their diminutive size and ease of peeling make these a great portable item for snacking and with less than 100 calories and 0 fat grams, these fruits will aid in your feeling of “fullness” without compromising your waistline and will also keep you from overdoing it with the hors dourves and appetizers. This brings us to the next point…
2. Be mindful of the hors d’oeuvres. Although seemingly harmless due to their size, many of these treats can add up quickly in calories as they can start at 100 calories each. Try choosing no more than 3 hors d’oeuvres and eat them slowly.
3. Socialize and mingle with other guests. What’s talking and mingling got to do with anything? The more engaged you are in conversation, the less likely you are to fill your mouth with food. So those 3 hors d’oeuvres items that were just suggested will now take longer to eat.
4. No hovering allowed! Do NOT camp out at the hors d’oeurves table. When standing next to the food table, the food is right in front of you and within immediate reach, because of that, most people have a tendency to eat out of convenience even though they are not hungry. Move away from the table!!!
5. BYOD: Bring your own dish! If the party is potluck, bring a healthy dish that you will enjoy, this way you know that there’s at least something for you to eat without ruining all of your hard work
6. Limit the amount of holiday cocktails. There are so many hidden calories in holiday cocktails especially the sweet, creamy and frothy beverages that are so fun to drink during this time of year. As an example, an 8oz. serving size of Egg Nog without the alcohol is over 400 calories, add in the rum and you’re close to 500. Apply the same principle here as with your food. Enjoy in moderation taking your time to drink what’s in your glass. Talk with those around you and space out your drinks by drinking water in between cocktails.
7. Portions! Portions! Portions! Don’t glob everything onto your plate at once; take smaller amounts of your delights.
8. Eat until you’re no longer hungry, not until you’re full. This is a BIG DEAL. Many times we eat because the food is there and no matter how many signals our bodies give us to say that we’ve had enough, we continue to eat. If you are no longer hungry, stop eating! Take it back to the point of socializing, enjoy the conversations around you.
9. Shake Your Groove Thing! When the music starts, get up and move. One of the best ways to burn calories after dinner is to dance so tell the DJ to pump up the volume and then hit the floor. This IS a party right?

Up next in our Holiday Fitness series... At the mall. Not only are there sales galore, but there are also numerous traps lurking about the mall that can ruin your holiday fitness plan. We'll show you how to make your shopping experience work for you. Stay tuned...

NFL and White House Commit to Tackle Childhood Obesity With New Holiday PSA

We've seen the headlines "Childhood Obesity at Epidemic Levels in the U.S." We've heard the statistics report that 25-32 million children in America are considered obese. This is primarily due to poor dietary habits and lack of exercise. The combination of fast foods diets and sedentary lifestyles that many of our children have are creating a generation of children who are beginning to see illnesses that were once only common in adults such as: Type II Diabetes, High Cholesterol and Heart Disease.


Committed to helping to “tackle” childhood obesity, since 2007, the NFL has committed $200 million to youth health and fitness via athletic programming, grants and media air time. This holiday season, the NFL via their Play 60 campaign has teamed up with the White House's United We Serve initiative to encourage children to become active 60 min/day to help reverse these levels. This new partnership is an extension of their commitment to help address these issues. Community Service does not just stop at donating to the poor or giving to charitable causes; it is also about what goes on in our own communities, our own backyards. In this case, it’s helping our children live healthier lifestyles today so that they can be healthier adults tomorrow. Check out the PSA that aired Thanksgiving and will continue to air during the holiday season...

I'll Gladly Trade You Three Quarter Pounders Today For A Tub of Popcorn Tomorrow!

The holiday season is descending upon us and just as they do in the summer, Hollywood begins to lure us back into the theatres with promises of “Holiday Blockbusters”  So when we think of movies, what else do we think of? Popcorn of course! I don't know about you, but I make a bee-line right to the concession stand to get my popcorn before the show starts. I'll even risk missing the previews of the upcoming films to get my buttery snack. I mean let's face it, the butter and the salt in that tub of popcorn just makes the movie experience so much more exciting. Movies and popcorn go hand in hand, so much so that we've even re-created the movie experience at home. Large screen TV’s with surround sound AND… POPCORN! Some folks even have popcorn machines in their home theatres. But of course, the popcorn that you make at home, no matter what the writing on the package says, never tastes quite like it does at the movie houses. So I'm sure you're thinking by now "OK Miss Fitness Lady, are you really trying to convince us to eat popcorn at the movies?" Trying to convince you? No, most of us are going to do that anyway. So if you are going to eat the popcorn, do so as an informed consumer so that you can make better choices.


But before we jump into things, I want you to think about this question for a second.  Could you eat three McDonald's Quarter Pounders and a stick of butter in one sitting?  Well, if you're eating a medium-sized movie popcorn and a soda, you're definitely consuming its equivalent.  A recent study by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) ,which updates their expose conducted 15 years ago, looked at popcorn from three major movie houses and provided an eye-popping assessment of the nutritional value of America’s favourite movie snack. The three chains reviewed were Regal Cinemas, Cinemark and AMC.

*According to the study, this is how they fared:

Regal Cinemas the largest theatre chain; pops their popcorn in coconut oil

• Large tub = 20 cups of popcorn, 1200 calories, 980 milligrams of sodium, 60 grams of saturated fat (3 days worth of fat and equivalent to the fat in a stick of butter)

• Medium bag = 20 cups of popcorn, 1200 calories, 980 milligrams of sodium, 60 grams of saturated fat *(the only difference between the large and the medium is the packaging & price, everything else remains the same. Oh, and you get free re-fills with the large)

• Small bag = 11 cups of popcorn, 670 calories, 550 milligrams of sodium and 24 grams of saturated fat *(That’s about as many calories as a Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pepperoni Pizza—except the popcorn has three times the saturated fat.

AMC, the second largest theater chain, also pops in coconut oil but has smaller serving sizes.

• Large popcorn has 1,030 calories and 57 grams of saturated fat. That's equivalent to eating a pound of baby back ribs topped with a scoop of Häagen-Dazs ice cream—except that the popcorn has an additional day’s worth of saturated fat.

• A medium has 590 calories and 33 grams of saturated fat;

• A small has 370 calories and a day’s worth—20 grams—of saturated fat. (Like Regal, AMC reports calorie counts lower than those returned in CSPI's lab tests.)

Cinemark, the third largest theatre chain pops in heart-healthy canola oil.

• A large has 910 calories with 4 grams of saturated fat;

• A medium has 760 calories and 3 grams of saturated fat;

• A small has 420 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat.

Considering that many of us go to the movies after dinner where we've already consumed a generous amount of calories, we then top it off by consuming more calories when we buy at the concession stand. Many people are lulled into a false sense of diet security because popcorn by many standards is considered a healthy snack, but as you've seen by the numbers, once you add the quantities, the salt and the butter, that healthy snack now turns into a health nightmare. When I go to the theatre, very rarely will I eat a bag of popcorn by myself. If I have it, I will buy a small without the extra butter (since it’s already popped in oil) and share it with a friend while the beverage of choice to wash it down with is water.

No, I’m not the "Food Police" and by no means am I trying to tell you to completely stop eating popcorn at the movies. The intent of this is only to inform you of the nutritional values so that you can make better and informed decisions on whether you want the popcorn or not, how you want it prepared and how much of it you'd like to buy. Unless you have medical conditions and medically imposed diet restrictions as recommended by your physician, there’s no need to deprive yourself. If you’re already physically active and follow a healthy and balanced way of eating, a night at the movies is not going to completely undo your hard work. Everything is balanced by moderation. But with this information, you can determine for yourself how you choose to enjoy your movie experience.


Tips to enjoy a night at the movies without blowing your diet:

Dining beforehand:

• Cut your caloric intake by sharing your entrée with a friend
• Go for smaller portions and load up on the veggies
• Be mindful of your alcoholic intake as that can add to your calorie consumption quickly
• Skip dessert if you're planning to have snacks at the theatre

At the theatre:

• Buy a smaller portion of popcorn
  
• Opt out of the re-fills
• Say "NO" to extra butter.  Popcorn is already popped in oil, adding more increases your calories by some 130 cal/teaspoon
  
• Share your popcorn with a friend,
  
• Instead of regular soda, drink diet soda or water

Curious to know the movie releases for the remainder of 2009? Check out this link: http://www.film-releases.com/film-release-schedule-2009.php

Hair We Go Again! – The African-American Woman’s Hair Raising Issue of Hair v. Health

The hair issue seems to be raising its ugly head again. With the recent release of the new Chris Rock film: “Good Hair” the conversation again turns towards the importance that black women place on their crowning glories. The amount of money that women, black women in particular, spend on their hair according to the film is staggering. We spend billions to have our hair "fried, dyed and laid to the side” as they used to say, and because of that, we are NOT going to mess it up. I know women who have claimed to develop awkward sleeping positions, like propping pillows up behind them, so that they could sleep sitting up. Or one young lady I know who claims to sleep with her head hanging off the bed so that she doesn't "smoosh" her do. I for one like a good night's sleep, so I'm not about to allow a style to get in the way of my dreamtime, so the most that I will do is to sleep on a pillow with a satin cover or pull it up at night with a satin scrunchie. Yes fashionistas, I did say scrunchie, and mind you, it's only for sleeping and doesn't go outside of the house. ;-)

In that same vein, a hairstyle has never kept me from the gym or my regular workouts. My personal stylist is very used to me saying to her, make it cute enough to last me a day, because it won't make it past the week-end. And many of my colleagues who see me with a straightened style know not to get used to it 'cause it won't look like this tomorrow.

   
Allegra Feamster rocking a 'fro on the Tom Joyner Fantastic Voyage Cruise 2009. this style worked well with my teaching and performance schedule on board the cruise.

I joke about that aspect, but it's true and very real. If you talk to most Fitness Professionals, especially those who have experience working with black women, the number one reason that they give for not working out is "they don't want to mess up their hair". To that I say, get over it! Maybe at one time that may have been a weak but valid excuse, but nowadays women have so much freedom to play with different styles. With the teaching schedule that I maintain, I work out regularly and still maintain a great appearance from head to toe. The trick is experimenting and finding hairstyles that work well with your lifestyle. You can braid it, get a weave or extensions, buy a ponytail, a wig, wear it natural as a fro, locks, twists. There are so many options, but just don’t let the hair issue get in the way of your health. At the rate many of us are going we will be good looking corpses faster than you know it. Imagine the conversations at the funeral, “she was so young…but her hair was always fierce”. Some how I just don't think that's how it will play out. At that final stage, who will care about your hair? Your fly and fierce hairstyles won’t make a difference when you're not there to enjoy life with your loved ones, especially for reasons that are preventable! For those ladies who get it, I applaud you. I've seen some of these ladies get really creative. Before class they go into the locker room and carefully wrap their hair, and some have even rolled it up in curlers and covered it up with a scarf to keep it in style. When I see them after class or their workouts, they'll smile at me and say, "I love looking good, but I need to work it out and that's more important." What's even better about this whole scenario is that the guys at the gym who see this actually don't mind. Their response is," I can't get mad at a woman who puts her health before beauty and a hairdo". Did you hear that ladies? They're more impressed that you're working it out!

Mel B. post-workout in LA 2007

This summer I taught at a fitness event outdoors and it poured cats and dogs. I waited for the director of the event to tell me to stop the workout, but he said keep it going and so we did. Although we lost a few women to the elements, the majority stayed until the very end. And when the rain cleared I said, “Well, that eliminates excuse number one…the HAIR ISSUE. If you ladies can work it out in the rain, you have no more reasons to EVER use hair as a reason to forgo you workout again." They all laughed, but they knew it was true.

With hair pulled back, she's ready to go!

So why is this so much of an issue? According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 80.5% of black women in the United Sates are considered overweight while 54.3% are clinically obese having a body mass index (BMI) higher than 30. At these raised levels, that means that 80.5% of black women are at a higher risk for weight-related illnesses or chronic conditions that are exacerbated by higher weight levels such as Diabetes, Hyper-tension, Heart disease, Cancer and Stroke. Have the freedom to wear your hair in whatever fashion you choose, but please ladies, do not let it get in the way of your life! As the old saying goes “over my dead body…” if a change in habits does not occur today, that may be sooner than you think.


Source: CDC/National Center for Health Statistics

Fitness, Wellness, & Diet Talk with Allegra Feamster

Fitness, Wellness, & Diet Talk with Allergra Feamster


We'd like to thank our friends over at NDH Chicago for a great time Saturday. We had a fun in the studio as I had a chance to talk with our Twenty-somethings Generation about fitness and living healthier lifestyles today and not waiting until you're a thirty or forty something to make the change. As we know..., what we do today sets us up for every tomorrow. We had a wide range of topics for discussion as well as questions from some of the in-studio audience. Some of my favourite topics hit: Acidity and alkaline levels in the body, and the effects of sodium on the body. Kudos to Quintin and Nobody Dances Here for putting on a great show. Check it out..