Weight Loss | pg.4

Despite the common observation that obesity runs in families, genetic research shows that the habits you inherit from your family are more important than the genes you inherit. Obesity genes account for only 5 percent of all weight problems. So, we have to wonder, what causes the other 95 percent of weight problems?

Imagine eating 12 pounds of food a day — and still staying thin and healthy! That may sound crazy, but it’s exactly what our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate for millennia. Of course, I wouldn’t advise anyone today to eat 12 pounds of food, because the food in our society lacks one major ingredient that our ancestors ate in nearly all their food — fiber!

Summer is finally here! Warmer weather, longer days and relaxed schedules; it’s no wonder it’s a favorite time of the year for many, including myself. However, don’t let summertime throw your healthy lifestyle into a tailspin. I hear people say they plan to “get more exercise” and “get outside” … but talk is cheap.

“Live to 120 years old by eating as much as you want and drinking lots of red wine!”

That’s the intriguing finding of a recent study from Harvard researcher David Sinclair and his group.

Are you tired and worn out? Do you have sore muscles, fatigue and brain fog?

If so, you might have metabolic burnout!

Imagine if you could find a way to tune up your metabolism, increase your energy levels, think clearly and feel less achy. Imagine if you could prevent diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and dementia. Imagine if you could heal fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. Imagine if you could get to the roots of aging, slow the whole process and eliminate most age-related diseases.

Your digestive system might be making you fat. It’s hard to believe, but very true!

Today, I’m going to explain how the bugs in your digestive tract and the way they upset your gut’s immune system just might be behind those extra pounds. I have observed this in hundreds of patients. Remarkable new research has recently confirmed this phenomenon. I have developed very effective treatments for it, based on understanding the way in which all the body’s systems – the gut, the immune system, detoxification system, hormones and more – are connected.

The New York Times article “When Chocolate and Chakras Collide” triggered a cascade of associations for me around yoga, food and eating disorders. I am a proponent of any diet that makes you feel well in both body and mind, and that one person’s food can literally be another person’s poison. I truly appreciate the dilemma that many folks face when they decide to commit fully to the precepts and teachings of yoga, but I also think there is another side to the story – that of “rules and restrictions.”

It’s January and the gyms are packed.

I have written many times over the years about correcting poor form or bad habits at the gym. It’s not a new subject, but I have been “moved” to write about it one more time after last Saturday morning when I was at the gym and was compelled to offer some free advice to the woman next to me.  Here was the scenario:  I like to exercise on the Stairmaster Stepmill…you know the machine with the revolving stack of stairs. I usually mind my own business, but last Saturday the woman next to me was so slumped I couldn’t keep my blinders on.

by The FIRM nutrition expert Sara Ryba, R.D., C.D.N.

Let’s start 2010 with a clean nutrition slate by giving up some of the most unhealthy and addictive foods on the market. Below you will find a list of eight foods that are, in my opinion, the biggest roadblocks to you and your nutrition goals. After each offending food you’ll find a delicious, healthier substitute. So never fear, your new improved 2010 menu will be delectable, satisfying and slimming!

By The FIRM Master Instructor Mindy Fenske

The new year is a time to reflect on what we have done, to make plans for the future, and to celebrate with friends and family. It is also a time for resolutions. How many of you have made resolutions in past years that have somehow been, well, less than achieved? Let that all change this year. This will not be the year that a goal has been set and not met. This will be your year of success, and here are the eight simple ways to make that happen.