McDonald's Texas 2 Burger

Although Japan is often associated with long lives and a healthy diet, McDonald's is fattening its menu with burgers named after places in America. The burgers are topped with unconventional ingredients and clock in with extremely high calorie counts.

The Texas 2 burger features chili, three buns, cheese, bacon and totals 645 calories. The Miami burger has 557 calories and contains tortilla chips. The Manhattan burger consists of pastrami and mozzarella cheese stacked on top of the beef patty.

Although McDonald's has tried to give customers healthier options in the United States, the chain restaurant is trying to capitalize on image of "Big America" in Japan. The burgers are only available for a limited time, and many Japanese want to try them before they're gone.

"It looks just like what I imagine American burgers to be," said Tomomi Sasaki, a McDonald's customer in Shibuya. "Big, and rich in flavor." She ordered the Texas 2 burger. "If it's only around for now, I have to try and test it out."

Reproduced from Dietsinreview

Janet Jackson

Actress and singer Janet Jackson recently discussed her healthy habits in an interview with Health magazine. Jackson confesses that she hates working out, but loves her personal trainer. "He knows I love sports and games, so that's how he gets me. We'll do obstacle courses. He said recently, "You've got to lift." But right now, I just want to run and do ab work. So I'll run for maybe an hour." To make her workout more bearable, she also listens to music or watches movies while on the treadmill.

Once a vegan, Jackson has decided to make some modifications to her diet. "My trainer is constantly in my ear about not getting enough protein, so I started eating fish," she said. "When we were growing up, all of us kids were vegetarians. No one had asked me to stop eating meat-I just noticed everyone else around me had stopped, so I followed the crew."

Jackson also shared her thoughts on body-obsession in Hollywood. "It's one thing to be fitness-obsessed in a positive way, but it's become too negative," she said. "I've seen photographs of people in bikinis, circled where they have cellulite. But it's like, look, we're all human. Some of the thinnest models have cellulite, it's genetic. I think it's mean-spirited."

Reproduced from Dietsinreview

Okay guys and gals, it's the first week of the new year, and that means it's time to put up or shut up. That's right, you've made your fitness resolutions, now it's time to act on those promises to yourself.

Now that the holiday food should be long gone, let's start thinking about better eating habits and how to get in consistent solid cardio workouts. One of the keys to making real long-lasting changes in your life is positive thinking. Most people won't get through February with their New Year's resolution, but you can buck that trend with some positive imagery and positive thoughts.

Here is a collection of songs to inspire you in your early 2011 New Year's resolution to get in shape:

Gym Music Playlist of the Week: New Year Resolution Mix

Click to download!

1. Blur - Song 2

2. Sly & The Family Stone - I Want To Take You Higher

3. Motley Crue - Kickstart My Heart

4. Van Halen - Right Now

5. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run

6. James Brown - I Got You (I Feel Good)

7. New Radicals - You Get What You Give

8. Cake - The Distance

Reproduced from Dietsinreview

This decade has been a rather interesting one with all the new technology and fitness trend advances. Home fitness has become extremely popular these days and companies like Nintendo and XBOX are completely capitalizing on this with the release of the WiiFit and Kinect, respectively. The new biggest things are workout video games- which I am completely for if it gets you up and moving. I strongly believe that anything that can motivate you to exercise is a good thing. I, personally, am old fashioned and love to run outdoors and hit the weights indoors at the gym. That is definitely not for everyone, and this new advance in in-home fitness is perfect for today's population. With that being said, there are pros and cons to video game workouts, so read on to decide if they are for you.

Cons Of Video Game Workouts:

• Limits the variety of physical activity
• Stuck inside rather than enjoying the fresh air
• Decreases social interaction
• Lack of strength training
• Some muscles or parts of the body can be missed or overlooked. All muscles are not targeted or trained like in normal weight and cardiovascular training.
• May bother neighbors or roommates
• Games systems are a big hit on the bank account, and it is even more expensive to purchase new games.
• Video game workouts tend to be lower intensity than traditional workouts.

Pros Of Video Game Workouts:

• Combines fun and exercise together
• Promotes weight management
• Helps improve and increase physical activity
• Accessible for all ages and populations
• Brings family and friends together
• Less intimidation than the gym

Reproduced from Dietsinreview

Two recently released products can help you keep your blood pressure in check using your iPhone. One is the iHealth Blood Pressure Monitoring System and the other is Withings iPhone Blood Pressure Cuff.

The iHealth Blood Pressure Monitoring System features a cuff and a dock for your iPhone or iPad. The device not only allows you to measure your blood pressure, but also to track changes in blood pressure and send or share results using the companion app. The dock will also charge you device.

The second, slightly more expensive monitor is the Withings iPhone Blood Pressure Cuff. This cuff has the advantage of being slightly more compact, because the cuff connects directly to you iPhone. The cuff also comes with a monitoring app that allows the user to measure, track and share.

Although medications can be prescribed to lower blood pressure, but usually it's better for a patient's overall health to make lifestyle changes like eating less salt and exercising more. Hopefully, products like these that can allow people to monitor their own health will produces more effective results.

Reproduced from Dietsinreview

 

The Eat This, Not That! series of books have a nice collection of tips to aid you in making smarter food choices.

They've recently released a brand new edition, Eat This, Not That! 2011, which claims to provide thousands of easy food swaps, helping you save 10, 20, 30 pounds, or more.

The book covers food choices from popular fast food restaurants, but also looks at items you would see at the grocery store, and even includes some foods you may already have in your own kitchen.

So, is this a diet book?

Well, it's not like other diets, which recommend complicated meal plans, or step-by-step rules. The idea is that you can make smarter food choices, rather than depriving yourself of certain food types, using the information contained in the book.

The basis of Eat This, Not That! 2011 is food swapping to cut calories:

Smart swaps equal fewer calories. Fewer calories equal fewer pounds and a longer, healthier, happier life. It's as simple as that. 

So, what are some of the worst foods to avoid in 2011? Here are a couple of suggestions from the book:

• The worst "healthy" sandwich is the Blimpie Special Vegetarian (12"). With 1,180 calories, 29 g fat (18 g saturated), and 3,540 mg sodium, theres not much healthy about this bad boy. Often when you put vegetarian in front of a food people automatically assume it is healthy. But, it's hard to believe you'd be better off with two Big Macs than this option.
• Or, how about the Wendy's Triple Baconator? It has 1,350 calories, 90 g fat (40 g saturated, 3.5 g trans), and 2,780 mg sodium. This beast has three quarter-pound beef patties, with nine strips of bacon, three slices of cheese, and a big dollop of mayonnaise. That's 10 layers of fat, on top of fat, on top of fat... phew!

Is this book worth buying?

While I don't advocate eating out a lot, we all have to do so at times, and perhaps for you it is a necessity. So, if you find yourself eating away from home often, this book could really aid you in making better food choices.

The best way to use Eat This, Not That! 2011, is to keep the book in your car or bag so that when you need to eat out, you can quickly look up the restaurant you are going to and make an informed decision about what you will eat before going inside.

Some people have complained that much of the information in the new book is the same as the previous book. So, if you purchased the previous book, I'd skip this one. But, if you don't have any of the books in the series, it's a handy reference guide to have access to.

Reproduced from DietBlog

Credit: Hygienematters

In an age where parents are looking to advantage their children in an ultra-competitive world, kids are being started earlier and earlier in academics, arts and yes, athletics.

And not even children anymore, but babies and toddlers are getting very early starts in sports-related training.

Enter entrepreneurs like Doreen Bolhuis, founder of "Gymtrix", a company that offers a library of videos starting with training for babies as young as 6 months. "With the babies in our family," she said, "I start working them out in the hospital."

Yikes...

Companies have jumped on the insecurities of parents, with outfits like Baby Goes Pro, and Athleticbaby.

Even fitness facilities are fully on the bandwagon, with The Little Gym boasting 20,000 children under the age of 2 enrolled in their programs, accounting for a quarter of total enrolment.

My Gym, based in Sherman Oaks, California, said 55 percent of those who attend classes at its 200 locations -- 157 in the United States -- were 2 ½ or younger.

Youth fitness experts aren't overly enthusiastic of the trend.

Dr. Lyle Micheli, an orthopedic surgeon and founder of the first pediatric sports medicine clinic in the United States, at Children's Hospital in Boston, says this of the phenomenon;

I don't know of any evidence that training at this infancy stage accelerates coordination.

Dr. Micheli also notes that there is a risk of overuse injury.

Dr. Kwame Brown, of the International Youth Conditioning Association, and proprietor of an excellent Youth Fitness blog called "Move Theory," had some very lucid thoughts on this topic;

Children need opportunities to create. Adults often don't realize how stifling encouragement can be. We think encouragement and direction are always positive. In the long term, for a child, these things can be the kiss of death to creativity, and they can actually kill enjoyment when misapplied... Even biomechanically for a child, if they are always being "taught" how to move, it stifles the development of skill.

Read Dr. Brown's entire blog entry here.

Eric Chessen, founder of Autism Fitness went so far as to call the trend an "epic disgrace". He adds,

Play has become known, whether openly stated or not, as "unproductive" because it does not teach a toddler how to take the SATs effectively or drive a golf ball 400 yards.

Chessen's solution; Establishing healthy movement patterns, the opportunity to play, and reinforcing creative and social aspects of exercise... beneficial to ALL populations, and the basis for lifelong fitness, rather than the golden opportunity of a forty year-old obese guy talking about how he used to play high school football.

Bottom Line

I agree wholeheartedly with the aforementioned Youth Fitness practitioners. An urgency has been created and people are lining up to cater to parent's fears that their children will somehow be left behind without them.

Play with your toddlers. Give them opportunities to explore their worlds with very little inhibition, and they'll be just fine.

Reproduced from DietBlog

Christie Brinkley. Credit: celebrity-pictures.ca

Have you ever wondered how a middle-aged model like Christie Brinkley has been able to stay so beautiful? Me neither, but after seeing recent photos of her, it hit me how amazing she still looks at the age of 56.

While I don't keep up with such things, plastic surgery may have a role, but it doesn't change the fact that her entire body still looks great after all these years.

What's her secret? In an interview with Shape magazine, she reveals her creative ways of staying fit- the first of which conjures a pretty ridiculous image:

"I think of drying my hair as really boring. I thought, 'OK, I'm going to multitask.' I'll dry my hair as though I'm sitting on a chair, even though there's no chair there. Then I'll do some squats."

Then there's this:

"When I'm brushing my teeth, I'm bending my leg behind me, or I'm lifting my leg up and holding it in that position so I'm squeezing my butt in. I can do that while I'm washing or slicing vegetables, too. Or I go up and down on my toes, working my calves a little bit."

While I don't think there's inherently anything wrong with multitasking or getting workouts in where you can, this strikes me as a bit obsessive in a way. Hey, whatever works for you.

Here are some of her more "normal" ways of exercising:

• She tries to get 100 push-ups in every day. This is also worked into her morning routine of getting ready for the day.

• Christie mixes it up, but her one constant is her Total Gym, which is often just a quick 15-minute routine each day.

• Other fitness activities she enjoy include yoga, kayaking, stand up paddle boarding, surfing, rafting, and running on the beach.

So what is her advice for anyone trying to get started on an exercise routine?

"I think variety is the spice of sticking with an exercise routine, whether it's getting a dance tape one day, or getting a tape with those stretchy things to work with resistance on a different day," says Brinkley. "Arm yourself with a few different things. Ask your friends to go jogging or on a long walk. Sign up for a dance class. I really think that mixing it up it keeps it fun. And that's really the only way that you can stick with it."

Reproduced from Dietsinreview

I wouldn't call myself a hip hop connoisseur, but I do enjoy it now and again. While I'm not into the obnoxious, material-worshiping, misogynistic stuff out there, there is also plenty of interesting and creative hip hop music to choose from, currently and from yesteryear.

While much of what is musical on a hip hop song is sampled from other artists, the beats that are laid down are often great for a cardio workout. Hip hop is, after all, built around the MC's rhythmic ability to sling a good rhyme over a steady beat.

Back in my college days I was partial to the jazz-influenced hip hop scene, so a few of these selections will reflect that. Are you ready? Let's get right to it! Here are some of my favorite old school hip hop tunes, which also just happen to be good for getting a little cardio in:

Gym Music Playlist of the Week: Old School Hip Hop Workout Mix

Click to download!

1. A Tribe Called Quest - Jazz (We've Got)

2. Public Enemy - Can't Truss It

3. Slick Rick - Children's Story

4. L.L. Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out

5. Digable Planets - Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)

6. Run DMC - Walk This Way

7. Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight

8. Beastie Boys - Shake Your Rump [Explicit]

9. Black Sheep - The Choice Is Yours

10. The Brand New Heavies, Featuring Gang Starr - It's Getting Hectic

11. Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance

Reproduced from Dietsinreview

Reproduced from Dietsinreview