There’s been a lot of hype in the news recently about the miracles of keeping a food log. Tons of stories, like the one found in Metro’s Tuesday’s article, “Start a diary, shed pounds ,” have cited findings from a recent study of nearly 1700 overweight people. It’s big news because the results show that this extremely easy-to-use, mobile and highly attentive method doubles weight loss efforts !

The authors of the study suggest that keeping a food diary give dieters the ammunition they need to triumph in their battle against the bulge. Knowing how many calories are consumed in a day and where they come from, allow dieters to create and execute a successful plan of attack.

But why do food diaries work so well?

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These hot summer days start off great with a cold, tasty and fully nutritious smoothie in hand. While berries and chocolate dominate taste, the Australian touch of a kiwi fruit adds a pleasing and complimentary texture. Try this yummy, crunchy smoothie breakfast treat to jump start your day.

A Berry Yummy Aussie Smoothie

Makes 1 serving or 20 oz.

Ingredients

Mixed berries (blueberries, strawberries, cranberries & blackberries), frozen – 1 cup
Kiwi fruit, without skin – 1 large
Yogurt, plain, skim – ½ cup
Soy beverage, chocolate – ¾ cup
Flax seed, ground – 2 tbsp
Ruth’s Organic Hemp Protein – ½ serving

Directions

Blend until smooth. And enjoy!

Nutritional Information

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Are you an exercise phobe looking for an activity that doesn’t seem like work? What if I told you that I knew of a low-intensity, highly effective workout that if practised, would give you the long, strong and lean body of a dancer or gymnast?

Developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920’s while incarcerated in a WWI German internment camp , Pilates is a series of muscle strengthening floor exercises. Many people like this form of exercise because there a very few repetitions, easily preventing boredom. And, you barely break a sweat!

Pilates is based on a holistic perspective and is a mind-body method that requires slow and controlled movements. The participant purposefully moves in and out of poses, strong from their core, concentrating on contracting and stretching the necessary muscles to perform each exercise.

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A strong core is integral to any health plan. It is the foundation of any fit body, making everyday movements a cinch while improving your posture, breathing and preventing injury.

If you’re looking for the most effective way to a toned stomach, then try the plank. It’s a challenging exercise but it works all of your core (and more) at once, and gets easier over time.

Check out this Expert Village video (2 ½ minutes long) for the plank. It includes variations as well so that you can increase the difficulty as you strengthen your core:

The plank is one way to measure fitness levels . Can you hold the plank for 60 seconds? Go ahead – try assessing your core strength !

So when was the last time you scarfed down a bag of chips? Or a whole row (or box) of cookies? We all do it from time to time. Even after conquering my weight issues and replacing many of my unhealthy habits with healthy ones, I still succumb to the odd `Poor Me Eat Fest’.

But why do we do it? Well, yesterday in Metro , Smart Cookies – which is a group of ladies who give advice on frugal living – wrote an article on materialism and how to curb your spending, “Find the perfect day ”. They reviewed an Eckhart Tolle book, A New Earth , which reveals that many people fulfill their basic human needs by consuming things. They become obsessed with obtaining things in attempts to fill or complete themselves.

Now Smart Cookies relates this information to shopping, but any addiction applies whether it’s food, drinking, drugs, entertainment, etc. But what are these basic human needs that we fulfill through our addictions? Tony Robbins identifies them as: certainty, variety, significance, connection and love, growth and contribution.

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In its most pragmatic terms, health is basically: living (or dying, depending on how you look at it) gracefully.

All of Nature, from little ferns to humans to ancient elephants, when born begin a journey through life toward death. It’s the biology of life. We all start fresh and pink, and if we’re lucky to die of old age, we end the journey wizened and, well… used up.

But things work so much better when they’re new! So the trick to a joyful (and long) life is to treat your body with respect and keep it as new as possible. Healthy living is knowing what the body needs to slow down the aging process, and then doing it so you can maintain your youth.

But how do you get healthy? What is health ? Wouldn’t it be nice if someone just gave you some healthy living guidelines so you get started finding what your body needs to function at your optimal levels? Well, here you are! The following 10 tips are guaranteed to improve your health:

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Get down and boogie as chocolate monkeys dance on your tongue. Savour this jungle fever in a glass knowing that it’s low-calorie, nutritious, fresh, delicious and packed with protein that will help you lose weight and lean up!

Cocoa Monkey Jungle Fever

Makes about 40 0z. or 2 servings

Ingredients

Mango, fresh, sliced – 1 cup
Banana, fresh – 1 small (6" long)
Flax Seed, ground – 2 tbsp
Yogurt, plain, 2% – ½ cup
Soy beverage, chocolate – ½ cup
Ruth’s Organic Hemp Protein – ½ serving
3 ice cubes

Blend until smooth. Sip on that smoothie and enjoy the goodness!

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Earlier this week, Metro ran a great story written by Brian Towie on the healing powers of nutrition, “Repair, regenerate.” Great timing, considering I ran into a car only last Friday and could use these pearls of natural wisdom.

The article (which was not published online for some reason) suggested that we focus on 4 important aspects of recovery:

1. Stay hydrated
2. Ingest high-quality proteins (0.8g per kilogram of body weight)
3. Don’t ignore your fruits and veggies
4. Include poly- and mono-saturated fats in your diet

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Ok, so we all have a general idea of what constitutes junk food. But have you ever wondered what the absolute worst foods are and why they are bad for us?

Check out this Nutrition by Natalie video, “Top 10 Worst Foods” and find out how to get healthier just by avoiding these foods (or at least by making them the exception rather than the rule.

On the alternative side, have you ever wondered what the healthiest foods Nature provided us and why they are considered so?

Check out this second Nutrition by Natalie video, “Super Foods!” to find out which foods pack the greatest health punch:

A couple of days ago, I posted about how fitness is important to survival , referring to my boxing match with a Mazda earlier that afternoon. It was about due, considering I’ve been an avid, long-distance inline skater in Toronto for over 10 years now, 0 accidents; thank you very much.

But Friday was my lucky day because even though I’ve been meaning to pick up a helmet lately, I hadn’t yet and wasn’t wearing one when I ran into the Mazda. Thankfully, I didn’t hit my head. But I realize the error of my ways now, as part of healthy living is reducing the threats to your life. I love my life and I no longer want to take unnecessary risks with it.

So rather than stop rollerblading altogether because of the dangers, here’s an incomplete list of what NOT to do when rollerblading in the city, or 12 really bad rollerblading tips (depending on how you want to read it):
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