Eat the Skin to Get Skinny.

First, please forgive my use of the word "skinny" in the title.  While it might be catchy, though somewhat corny, it's definitely on my list of "Top Ten Least Favorite Words To Use When Describing A Fitness Lifestyle." (I'll address them all in a future blog, for sure.)  On to today's content...

We all know that fruits are an important part of any nutrition plan. But did you know that some fruits are better than others? Generally speaking, fruits that have edible skins are going to have a better effect on your physique than fruits that you need to peel.

The skin of the fruit is going to provide more vitamins and minerals than skinless or peeling-required choices.  More importantly, it's where you'll find the fiber. One regular-sized pear can have five grams of fiber in it. That's as much as one-half cup of oatmeal!  Increased dietary fiber can work towards improving cholesterol levels, control blood sugar levels, and decrease appetite between meals.  Basically, more fiber is what we want.

So, we're definitely going to lean towards things like apples, pears, and peaches instead of bananas, oranges, and pineapple, for example. Try to get at least three pieces of fruit with skin each day. Maybe add an apple with breakfast, some cut up kiwi with lunch, or sliced peaches with fat-free whipped cream after dinner.

Also following this "skin rule" are various berries. Blueberries in particular, are often referred to as a "magic food" because they're so rich in antioxidants and phytonutrients (extremely beneficial natural chemicals). Consider one handful of berries (or about 1 cup) to be one serving. This is a very easy way to sneak a fruit serving into your meals. Add a handful of raisins in your oatmeal, toss some dried cranberries onto your salad, or put some blueberries into that peaches and whipped cream dessert you've already made.  The most important point is...fruit is good, but fruit with skin is better. 

Minimize Machines.

If you're interested in resistance training (and you should be, since it's one of the most effective ways to increase strength and build metabolism-boosting muscle), you want to make sure that most of the exercises you do use free weights, like barbells and dumbbells, instead of machines.

Free weights allow us to move our bodies in the most natural patterns, as opposed to machines which operate on fixed patterns. What this means is that if you have a bad shoulder or a bad knee, for example, free weights allow you to push or pull the weights where you'll feel no discomfort, while a machine tells you "Nope, this is the way your body's going to move." This fixed pattern of movement is responsible for more training-related injuries than anything else.

In terms of exercising at home, you can perform every basic exercise needed to train your entire body with just one barbell (or even just one dumbbell).  You'd need at least 5 separate machines, or one large-sized "home gym" unit to do the same job.

So, a general rule of thumb: For every three free weight exercises in your workout, perform no more than one machine exercise, if any at all. Any more than that, and you're most likely taking the long road to your goals. Free weights are definitely the fast track.



 

Welcome To The Beginning

Hi everyone.  I've made the big entrance into the blogosphere, or whatever
they call it.

This will be where I can address the topics that need addressin', shatter the myths that need shatterin', and spread the fitness advice that needs spreadin'.  ;)

I guess I'll wrap up now, having kept things quick and simple.  Keep an eye out...this should be fun.