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Archive for May, 2008

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Biggest Loser Casting Season 7

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We promised to let you know - it looks as though Biggest Loser has opened casting for season 7 (scheduled to premiere January 2009).

The casting call is asking for couples. This could be your turn- don’t wait, get your video in!

Curious about the upcoming Biggest Loser season 6? It’s currently filming, the contestants have been at the ranch since the first week of May. Season 6 is scheduled to premiere in September. Stick with DietsInReview.com as the fall season approaches- we’ll have cast bios, premiere dates, weekly episode recaps and eliminated contestant interviews.



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Food Find: HoneySuckle White Italian Turkey Sausage

We’re big fans of Italian food in my house. We’d eat pasta or pizza every night if we could get away with it- but we can’t. My Food Find this week is HoneySuckle White’s Italian Turkey Sausage.

honeysuckle white turkey sausageI’d had a craving for stuffed shells for a while, but wouldn’t give in because I just didn’t want to let myself eat the Italian-style pork sausage and lean ground beef combo I typically use. While grocery shopping I spotted the HoneySuckle turkey sausage, and figured I’d give it a shot.

My Recipe
We were pleasantly surprised. The flavor is fantastic, it crumbled just the way I wanted and I didn’t feel bad for eating it. I added chopped mushrooms, shredded carrots, chopped sweet red pepper and fresh basil to my sauce, packed the mixture into whole grain pasta shells, sprinkled the top with a little parmiggiano-reggiano cheese and baked a fantastic pasta dish, with a healthy kick.

honeysuckle white turkey nutrition factsHow does the turkey sausage stack up to the pork and lean ground beef (2.5oz serving)?
CALORIES FAT
Turkey: 100 5g
Pork: 234 18.6g
Beef: 125 7.1g

You should definitely consider this turkey as an alternative to make your favorite recipes healthier. HoneySuckle White, and its sister brand ShadyBrook Farms, make a quality product with a broad variety like Turkey Brats and Tenderloins (also good, and will save calories at the summer cookouts!). It’s definitely something you can sneak in and your family won’t quite notice the difference.

Grab this $1.00 coupon and try it out. Let us know how you use turkey in your recipes.



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Mediterranean Diet preventing Type II Diabetes

A newly released study from Spain is praising the ideals of the Mediterranean Diet for its prevention of type II diabetes. The diet is based on the lifestyle for that part of the world- rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, olive oil, nuts, fish and legumes. The key for diabetics is in the Mediterranean Diet’s avoidance of animal products, like meat and dairy.

The study, conducted in Spain, followed more than 13,000 individuals for 4.4 years. Those who followed the diet most closely reduced their risk of type II diabetes by 83%.

In addition to following a healthy diet, like the Mediterranean, regular exercise and maintaining a healthy weight are two other strong preventatives for type II diabetes and heart disease.

Learn more about the Mediterranean Diet.



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Food Network Casting Call in OKC

If you have not yet joined the Oklahoma City Mayor’s weight loss challenge- then you and your family by be eligible for a new Food Network show. The casting call is tomorrow!

Casting Call for Documentary Series on the Food Network
In search of new members for Mayor’s Challenge

Al Roker Entertainment, Inc. is coming to Oklahoma City in search of overweight individuals and families who are ready to join Mayor Cornett’s Weight Loss Challenge.  If you know of someone who has not yet joined, please pass on the following information.

When: Saturday, May 31st

Where: Civic Center Music Hall
201 North Walker Avenue
CitySpace Theatre

Time: Noon to 5 pm

Food: True Life*, premiering on The Food Network in Fall 2008, is an exciting new reality series that will reveal a whole new side to the world of food!

See the power and the paradox of food. Watch how food motivates, heals, and redeems, and watch complex stories about food phobias, fears and addictions. Through these stories, we will examine how food affects men, women, children, and even entire communities.

Each episode will reveal how food transforms people’s lives, with diverse and compelling stories that will fascinate, inform, surprise, and entertain.

For more information and to make your casting appointment, please contact Mary Lively at 646-723-9827 or via e-mail at mary@alroker.com.



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#1 Butt Burning Workout

Finding the right work-out routine is a tough challenge. Remember, every “body” is different and you need to find something that works for you. I put together a glute routine which incorporates cardio and several super-sets. A super-set is somewhat like circuit training: move from machine to machine without rest which in-turn keeps the heart rate up.

Warm-up: Stairs (3 minutes)

Dumbbell squat
dumbbell squat
dumbbell squat

(Click on image to view this exercise…)

 

DB Squats: 1 Set of 15-20 (Light Weight)

Single-Leg Leg press: 1 Set of 15-20 Each Leg (Light to Moderate Weight)

Stairs (3 Minutes)

Repeat

dumbbell lunge weight training
alternating dumbbell lunge

(Click on image to view this exercise…)

 

Stationary DB Front Lunges: 1 Set of 15-20 Each Leg (Light Weight)

dumbbell lunge weight training
alternating backward dumbbell lunge

(Click on image to view this exercise…)

Stationary DB Reverse Lunges: 1 Set of 15-20 Each Leg (Light Weight)

box, dumbbell step up balance and stability, weight training
dumbbell step up on bench

(Click on image to view this exercise…)

Step-Ups on Bench or Step: 1 Set of 15-20 Each Leg (No Weight)

Stairs (3 Minutes)

Repeat

dumbbell deadlift weight training
stiff leg dumbbell deadlift with overhand grip

(Click on image to view this exercise…)

Stiff-Leg Dead Lift: 1 Set of 15-20 (Light Weight)

no equipment superman weight training
superman with opposite side arm and leg

(Click on image to view this exercise…)

Prone Straight Single-Leg Glute Raises: 1 Set of 30-50 Each Leg (No Weight)

Stairs (3 minutes)

Repeat

Cool-Down: Stretch

See other fitness tips from Matt.



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Oprah’s 21-Day Cleanse

There is no dispute: When Oprah acts, the country, no, make that the world, pays attention. Whether you love the Queen of Talk Shows or not, Oprah’s ability to change what we read to the causes we champion is legendary and expansive.oprah

Her latest endeavor is putting herself up to a tremendous dietary challenge: A vegan fast for 21 days. Since going on this fast just last week, she has been blogging about her experience as she swaps bagels for steel cut oatmeal, grilled chicken breast for tempeh salad and fluffy flapjacks for wheat-free crepes. No bread. No red wine. No processed sugars. This is the real deal, folks.

What I like about this cleanse is that it puts the red light on your food cravings. It forces you to think about how powerful our minds and emotions are in choosing the foods we eat. It separates need from desire. We don’t need a $5 coffee drink topped with whip cream and chocolate syrup every afternoon. We may crave it, but we don’t need it. Once we get past those initial hurdles, we’re left with an honest examination of food: how it makes us feel and what purpose it serves. And that is the real purpose of the cleanse: to see if we can deprogram our cravings and learn to eat in a more mindful, conscious and enjoyable way.

I don’t know about you, but I’m very anxious to see the finished product of Oprah’s three-week cleanse. I think she is going to have a lot to say about her experience. And we’ll all listen. Keep up with her 21 day Blog if you’re interested in the details.



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Looking Good… Naked

Many of us can don our favorite pair of jeans or even our bathing suits and feel pretty confident with how we look. But looking good naked? Yikes! For those of us whose name is not Gisele Bundchen, we feel like turning off the lights, closing the drapes and throwing towels over our bedroom mirrors when we are sans clothing.

But leave it to Oprah Winfrey and famed stylist Carson Kressley, one of the Fab Fives from the television show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” to save us from our naked misery. Friday on Oprah, the show is reaired an episode on how to look good naked.

Kressley does NOT suggest that you starve yourself on a 3-day crash diet or wear the piece of spandex cinched around your waist to make your middle look smaller. Instead, he focuses on the crux of our incalculable fear in being bare: Self-Esteem.

With some very creative and heartfelt ways of communicating with these women, he tries to show us that all the self-berating we inflict upon ourselves, is just that: a harmful dialogue that exists in our heads and in our heads only. In fact, when it comes down to it, more often than not, we see ourselves much heavier than what we really are.

You’ll have to turn into Oprah on Friday to see how he accomplishes this factual and illuminating reality. One of the lines that I love from this show is “You don’t have to be perfect to be pretty.” Isn’t that true? If you have ever dealt with a weight issue or body image problem, watch this episode. It’s 60 minutes of television that has the capacity to really change how you see yourself.



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Announcing: Jillian Michaels Meal Plan

The queen of fitness is adding another jewel to her crown - the Jillian Michaels Meal Plan. You know her best as the hard-as-nails black team trainer on NBC’s Biggest Loser; but more and more people are becoming Jillian fans by following her online fitness and diet program, as well as her many popular books, like “Making the Cut,” and videos like “30 Day Shred.”jillian michaels

Jillian Michaels Meal Plan will launch in June 2008. The program is being powered by the eDiets Deliciously Yours, another quality, popular diet delivery service.

While a lot of specifics aren’t being shared too soon, we do know that Jillian worked closely with the eDiets chefs to create more than 50 meals so that you can enjoy healthy and delicious breakfasts, lunches, dinners and even snacks, seven days a week.

“I couldn’t be more excited and proud of the program that eDiets and I have created,” says Michaels. “They share my passion to provide people with powerful and cost effective solutions for living a happier, healthier life.”

Jillian Michaels Meal Plan will be free of trans-fat and preservatives, be delivered chilled and fresh, and will run about $140 per week. Learn more about it with this mini-review, and trust that DietsInReview.com will share more details as we have them.



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Why and How to Choose a Personal Trainer

Choosing a personal trainer is a stressful situation and could end up being a disaster if not properly done. I recommend setting up as many free consultations as possible with different trainers. Be sure to check credentials, personality, and style of training. Clashing personalities is rough on both parties. This will be a personal one-on-one relationship and you need to be comfortable with the trainer and able to understand his or her directions. Choosing the gender of your trainer is one way to narrow your search. Many people find it easier to take guidance and motivation from a trainer of the opposite sex, while others may only feel comfortable with a trainer of their own gender.

8 Benefits of a Personal Trainer:

  1. Assess individual abilities and needs
  2. Help set realistic goals
  3. Personalize workouts to achieve goals more quickly
  4. Provide motivation
  5. Provide correct technique and instant feedback on how to adjust posture, motion, or exertion to get maximum results and prevent injury
  6. Life-long friendship
  7. Keep work-outs fun and fresh
  8. Able to adjust/modify certain exercises to fit personal needs

Send your fitness questions to Matt!



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Sex and the City Diets

It’s obvious that the four women who define Sex and the City are fabulous- both in their movie lifestyles and their real-life bodies. We found the ways they maintain those enviable shapes, and it appears, they’re really pretty normal girls. No extreme dieting, no insane workout sessions- just smart choices. See how each of your favorite Sex and the City stars eat and workout before bringing to life Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. Thankfully, their real life choices are healthier than their movie diet of martinis, cigarettes, olives and sex!

sex and the city

Sarah Jessica Parker, “Carrie”
SJP is probably the most nonchalant about the whole dieting thing. She says she doesn’t have any specific regimen she follows. She sticks to “everyday exercise” and tries to find ways to sneak in exercise. For instance, she rarely takes a cab, choosing to walk instead and she skips elevators to race up by foot. As far as eating- she’s a big food lover and said she always planning her next meal. She has been known to the follow the Zone Diet, which is a healthy balance of protein, carbs and fat.

Kristen Davis, “Charlotte”
She’s not ashamed of her curvy body and chooses to embrace it rather than fight it. Kristen is also known to follow the Zone Diet when she needs to shed a few pounds. She’s also a fan of eastern and Chinese medicine, especially the book Total Renewal, and follows a detox to boost her immune system. She removes wheat, sugar, dairy and alcohol from her diet and sticks to foods like brown rice, eggs, nuts, vegetables and salmon. As for exercise, she likes to walk her dogs, cycling, hiking, yoga and pilates.

Cynthia Nixon, “Miranda”
The red-head of the group is pretty hush about her eating habits. She maintains a healthy diet, as she is a recent breast cancer survivor and current spokeswoman for Susan G. Komen. She’s more apt to share her workout routine- which includes a lot of family time. Together her crew does yoga and gyrotonics, a combination of yoga, ballet, tai chi, swimming and gymnastics.

Kim Cattral, “Samantha”
The older of the Sex and the City women, she also appears to be the most athletic. She says she’s been active her entire life, enjoying sports like skiing, tennis and running. She exercises daily, at least 30 minutes, and if she can’t get to the gym finds ways to get her body moving. When it comes to eating, she likes to follow low-carb diets like the GI Diet and South Beach Diet. The GI Diet relies on the glycemic index, food that easily digest in the body and usually are low in carbs or sugar; South Beach Diet is the low-carb giant.





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