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Twinkie’s Challenge: Buy Organic

Twinkie — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:00:36 +0000

There are a lot of people still debating on whether they should buy Organic or not. Let’s set the record straight once and for all when it comes to Organic.

Definition

Organic food is grown, processed, and packaged without the use of agricultural chemicals, artificial colors or flavors, genetic modification, irradiation, or other synthetic ingredients.

Per the National Organic Program, here are some definitions that should help clear up their labeling:

“‘100 Percent Organic’ must contain (excluding water and salt) only organically produced ingredients and processing aids.

Products labeled ‘Organic’ must consist of at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt). Any remaining product ingredients must consist of nonagricultural substances approved on the National List including specific non-organically produced agricultural products that are not commercially available in organic form.”

Later, the National Organic Program addressed the term “made with organic ingredients”. They wrote:

“Processed products that contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients can use the phrase “made with organic ingredients” and list up to three of the organic ingredients or food groups on the principal display panel.”

Something good to know: If you use the USDA Organic seal on your products that are not produced or handled within the National Organic Program’s regulations, you can have a civil penalty of up to $11,000 US Dollars. Ouch!

Just so you know, products labeled as “Naturally Grown” are not regulated. Some smaller farms who can’t afford to join the National Organic Program to be labeled as “USDA Organic”, can label their products as “Naturally Grown”. Since it isn’t regulated though, there are no guarantees on what you are really getting with this label.

Organic Farms

Having an Organic Farm is a strict business, and as you now know, you can’t just mark up your products as “USDA Organic” just for the fun of it. Organic farms do not use synthetic chemicals or drugs. They instead treat their soil, plants, and animals with natural products, which are a much safer alternative. They have surprise inspections by Inspectors who test the water, soil, plants (or animals) to make sure that everything is within USDA Organic standards. Once they do this, they review receipts from anything from feed to other records of reports and tests. This takes time and money, done twice a year, and the organic farmer pays for the fees involved to be able to label their products as “USDA Organic”.

Nutrition

The debate on whether Organic is really worth the usual additional costs seems to boil down to the common question, “Is Organic healthier for you?” or “Is Organic more nutritious?”. The answer to both of the questions is a simple “Yes”.

According to Virginia Worthington MS, ScD, CNS, in her article “Nutritional Quality of Organic versus Conventional Fruits, Vegetables, and Grains” in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, she found in her studies:

“…the vitamin C content of an organic fruit or vegetable is 27% more, on average, than a comparable conventionally grown fruit or vegetable.”

She also found from the various produce she studied, that you can, on average, find about 21% more Iron, 29% more Magnesium, and 13% more Phosphorus. You will find about 15% less Nitrates. This is all very good news for your body, and more reason to stick to Organic produce.

The Nutrients come from the soil, which then in turns feeds the plant what it needs to produce healthy good-for-you produce which we get to enrich our own bodies with. If the soil is infested with pesticides and harmful chemicals, it will be lacking in nutrients, and the produce will in turn be depleted of nutrients.

Keep in Mind

When you do see “Organic” Chocolate bars, for example, it doesn’t mean it is all of a sudden it will be considered “healthy” or even “low calorie”. It still is sugar, candy, and not to be considered as food. Organic Candy is still Candy! Keep that in mind while you are in the grocery store, and try to stick with foods in its natural form. For example, choose fresh Organic Pears versus Canned Pears.

Your body deserves the best, and it deserves Organic.

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Fitness joy for Twinkie

Twinkie — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:00:14 +0000

Believe it or not, I wasn’t always a fan of exercising….

When I thought of exercising I just thought of sweating, lifting weights, and trying to catch my breath. It has taken me years, but I have come to love working out.

I think the trick is just finding something that you love, and it becomes easy to stick with it. I started out with Dance. Dance worked for me because I love music, and it was just so much fun to move with the music. I could dance for hours on end, and I have before.

If you are in an exercise routine that you absolutely hate, try to find an alternative that still gives you the same benefits. Again, if you actually enjoy what you are doing, you will make the time to make it happen, won’t make excuses on why you can’t keep it up, etc. You want to be happy with what you are doing with your time, exercising included.

So what is an exercise that you love to do?

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Why you should give Yoga a try

Twinkie — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:00:20 +0000

There is a lot of hype about Yoga, and the health benefits of doing Yoga on a regular basis. I have been a bit reluctant to try it out for several reasons. First of all, I like to do cardio works outs that make me sweat (funny how I used to not like that part of exercising), and something where I feel like I am burning a ton of calories and making some progress in my weight loss or maintenance. I tend to do exercises like running, swimming, and the elliptical machine. After those work outs, my body just knows that it worked out. This again shows me that I am making some progress, and I feel good about what I have done. So now back to Yoga. When I think of Yoga, I have to admit, I thought it was just a little boring and maybe a little too easy?

I went to my first Yoga class a couple of months ago. Let’s just say all of my previous thoughts about Yoga were pretty much dissolved. I realized I wasn’t nearly as strong as I thought, and by the end of the class, not only did I sweat because of the amazing workout, but I was calling myself a “pansy” for not being able to do some of the “simple” and “boring” moves that I thought Yoga was all about. By the next day, the way my whole body felt, I knew this was something my body needed and wanted more of.

Not to my surprise, I wanted to do some more research on the benefits of Yoga.

Flexibility

I thought this was a bit of an obvious find, but still wanted to mention it. Not a lot of exercises will help with flexibility like Yoga does, and I believe that by gaining some more flexibility with Yoga, it will help out with your other exercises that you are doing. Worried you aren’t flexible enough? No need to worry. Do the poses the best you can, without causing yourself pain. You will soon find poses you couldn’t do, with time and practice, eventually you can do them. Everyone is at a different level, and you don’t need to feel like you have to be a pro your first time around.

Strength

If you want and all over toned body, Yoga is for you. Remember how I said I felt like a “pansy” after Yoga? There is a good reason for that. You have to use your muscles for the poses, and if you aren’t strong enough just yet, you can be by doing yoga on a regular basis. If you can’t do the pose yet, don’t worry. Keep practicing on a regular basis, and you will find you can start doing poses you couldn’t do a month ago. You can see your progress right before your eyes! If it makes you feel any better, there were strong guys in the class who were still struggling with some of the poses, which leads me to my next benefit of Yoga.

Balance

Yoga will help you with your balance, which is one of the reasons some guys who were very strong still had some struggles- they were learning how to balance their bodies, and use their muscles in ways they never had to before. You will notice the more you practice these poses using your balancing techniques, you will start to get a little better and better with each practice.

Reduces Stress

Even though your first Yoga experience may be more difficult that you could have imagined, it might just surprisingly be quite relaxing all at the same time. If you are in a class setting, usually the Yoga instructor will put on some soft and relaxing music, and may even dim the lights (depending on type of Yoga). With Yoga you get to focus on breathing, flexing, relaxing, holding positions, all at the same time. If you ever have a tough day at the office, Yoga might be a good way to relieve the stress, which is obviously something good for your body-inside and out.

“Where can I do Yoga?”

-If you have a gym membership, that might just be a great place to start. A lot of gyms will have Yoga classes, as well as others like Spinning, Aerobics, and Dance. Find out what classes your gym offers, and if you are new to Yoga, feel free to talk to the Instructor before or after class and let them know if you have any questions, or if you need help with some of the poses.

-You might want to try a Yoga Training DVD, which is great because if you want something convenient, you can do this in the comfort of your own home. It can be like having your own personal trainer at whatever time of day you want to do Yoga.

-The Internet not only has plenty of reading material on Yoga, but it also includes Yoga videos. Try doing a search on Yoga in your Search Engine, or even go to a site like YouTube for Yoga instructional videos. Just realize the instructor may not be licensed, but still may know what they are talking about. Take it for what it is.

If you haven’t already given Yoga a chance, I urge you to now. If you are already reaping the many benefits of Yoga, feel free to comment about your experiences with Yoga.

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Twinkie’s Favorites

Twinkie — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:00:54 +0000

New to health food? Maybe you are starting to get sick of eating the same healthy food all the time because you don’t know what else is out there?

I like to try new things. When it comes to food, I get bored easily. I just can’t seem to eat the same thing over and over again. So, as I am grocery shopping (something I just love to do), I take my time looking at what products are out there. I come home with new things all the time to just try it out, and hopefully find something new my husband and I will both love. Some things I have brought home haven’t been so successful. I have thrown away some food because of this (not something I am proud of), but I am hoping by posting about some of the more successful finds, it will help you find something you too will enjoy.

Don’t be scared to trying new things…you never know what you will discover.

Bon Appetit!

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Nutrition Counts in Calorie Counting

Twinkie — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:00:29 +0000

Nutrition. So many words and thoughts come to mind…

I started eating extremely healthy and began exercising on a regular basis, but I wasn’t losing any weight. Turns out, I was consuming quite a bit of calories, and If it weren’t for my daily exercise routine, I probably would have been gaining weight! Yes, gaining weight on carrots and apples. Ok, not just on carrots and apples, but I think you get my point. What I have come to find is, our bodies are like a math problem. We can figure out how many calories you need each day living your life and maintain your current weight. You can also figure out by simple math how to lose or gain weight.

If you want to lose a pound of fat, you need to either burn 3,500 extra calories or eat 3,500 calories less, or a combination of the two. Combination of the two is preferred (and I think it’s easier!). For example, If you just wanted to lose 1 pound a week, you could burn 300 calories a day by doing some cardio, and then consuming 200 calories less than you normally eat.

It might be a good idea to count calories until you get the hang of what you should be eating. It might surprise you how much calories you are consuming each day, and even more of a surprise to find out how many servings you are eating!

With calorie counting, you might think you can eat whatever you want. Technically, you can, but it’s not recommended. I remember eating something unhealthy like a candy bar, and since I was counting calories and staying within my daily “budget”, I thought I was OK. Problem is, I was hungry. Very hungry and miserable, and that can’t be good for anyone who is trying to stay within a certain amount of calories. Candy can only satisfy you momentarily. Real food is what is going to give you energy, make you feel good, and keep you going throughout the entire day.

As far as calories go, you do not want to consume less than 1,000 calories in a day. Talk to your doctor or a professional nutritionist to find out how many calories you are supposed to consume. Typically, you don’t want to lose more than 2 pounds in a week. Losing 2 pounds in a week is a lot, maybe even more than you think. Be patient, and realize if you start losing more than 2 pounds a week, it could be muscle. This isn’t a good thing, since muscle is what is helping your body lost fat in the first place. Again, consult a Doctor or Nutritionist before you start any diet/exercise plan.

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The Frisbee Workout!

Twinkie — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:00:14 +0000

For those who might not like to go to the gym or “workout”, here is an idea for you: Frisbee. That’s right, play Frisbee with your kids, with your dog, or with a friend. And if you can, play Frisbee when it is really windy outside – It makes it more challenging.

I recently played Frisbee (the first time in years), and with the wind blowing at the lack of aim and catching coordination, I was left running after the Frisbee again…and again. I ended up running around a lot, but I didn’t mind because I was having fun and wasn’t thinking about myself working out, but just playing this game and trying to improve at it.

As adults working all day every day in this little office/desk/cubicle, it can be hard to get up and do something. Try to find something you enjoy that helps you stay active, gets you moving, and hopefully laughing all at the same time. By the end of it, you will have had fun, and burned some calories all at the same time. Good for your mood and your body all at the same time.

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