Friday Nibbles

Happy Friday, friends! I hope you have some great weekend plans ahead of you. I’ll be roadtrippin’ to Hartford, the Berkshires, and Saratoga Springs to see Phish play their final shows of their summer tour. Can’t think of a better way to spend a weekend! 

Thank you to those who left comments about topics they want to know more about. The invitation ALWAYS stands, so continue to ask away.

Here are this week’s top stories:

Most importantly, check out my post from Naked Apartments on what might be lurking in your reusable tote bags.

Do we need milk in our lives? I believe the answer is NO.

Some tips on how to build a better relationship with your food. Cause it’s all about the love.

Yoga and eating. A perfect partnership to curb your eating.

As if you needed another excuse to eat chocolate!

All veggies are good for your health, but these are REALLY good.

All this talk about health care reform.  How about HEALING reform?

We all love dirty secrets. Especially ones about body fat.

Very important for summer–natural remedies for mosquito bites. Written by a fellow diva friend!

I knew it was too good to be true when the Arc trainer at the gym showed I had burned 200 calories in 15 minutes

Finding Time for the Burn–from Naked Apartments

 Check out my latest post at the Naked Apartment’s blog:

July 16th, 2009 by Amanda Goldfarb

 

New Yorkers have this “thing” with time.  We never seem to have enough so we obsess on how to make more of it. And when we find a spare minute here, another there, we still never seem to maximize our potential.  Five minutes of TV turns into an America’s Next Top Model marathon on VH1. We take classes on how to manage our time, all the while we could be using that class time to actually DO something.  So when we read that we should be exercising 30-60 minutes a day, we laugh. Who has the time for that? 

I used to be a five-day-a-week morning gym rat. I loved it. I felt that I somehow belonged to an elite workout club whose members were hardcore, 6 a.m. exercisers. We bounded through our day with that smug “look at me, I’ve already exercised!”  smile on our faces. 

Sadly, I am no longer a card-carrying member.  A move to another borough, a longer commute, and evening classes has thrown a wrench into my exercise schedule. I’m one of those, sigh, evening workout-ers. And because something always pops up after work, my workout schedule is a mess. Or actually non-existent. But I still need to work out. How can I make some time to get my daily exercise?

Here are 5 easy tips:

1. Wear a pedometer: A very basic exercise tool, this little gadget measures the amount of steps you take.  The goal is to take 10,000 steps, which is about 5 miles. Seems like a lot, right? You might be hitting this goal already, in which case, aim for 11, 000 steps. Lucky for us we live in the most walkable city on earth. Strap on those fit flops and get walking. (insert link: http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HJ-112-Digital-Pocket-Pedometer/dp/B0000U1OCI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1247019207&sr=8-1)

2. Use the stairs: I never understand why people don’t walk up the escalators when in the subway.  If you have an injury, debilitation, or heavy suitcase, you have an excuse. The rest of you: start climbing! And the people that take the elevator one floor…down? Again, start stepping.  Even if you start out with just one floor, something is better than nothing.

3. Work out at home: I know what you’re going to say: “I don’t have enough room in my apartment.”  Or, “When I get home the last thing I want to do is work out.”  Fair enough. Try this: during commercial breaks try different exercises. Triceps dips off of your coffee table during one break, pushups during the second, and crunches during the third. Repeat and you’ve watched one hour of television AND worked out for 30 minutes. Hooray for multi-tasking!

4. Schedule gym time: Exercise is just as important as a business meeting or happy hour.  Treat your gym time as an appointment and literally schedule it in your planner. Think of it as much needed alone time, where you can catch up on the latest podcast or listen to Totally 80s.

5. Get a buddy: I’m all about accountability partners. Why not find a friend that is in the same predicament as you (which is probably 90% of your friends) and schedule time to be active together.  Go for a walk, take a spin class, or play Wii fit for some healthy interactive competition.   Whatever it is, no more excuses, just move!

Amanda is currently studying at NYU for her Masters in Nutrition & Dietetics, and is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor with a degree from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York City. She is committed to inspiring people to live their best, most fulfilling lives possible, incorporating mainstream, holistic, and integrative approaches to health and wellness.  Check out her blog.