JJ is the queen of “meal assembly” and The Stoup is one of her favorites to prepare!

Try JJ’s favorite or follow the steps to prepare your own!

The “Stoup”

1.   Chicken or veggie broth – low sodium and organic

2.   Add lentils, legumes, brown rice or quinoa

3.   Add non starchy veggies – load it up!

4.   Add chopped protein

5.   Serve with a side salad with EVOO and lemon juice

My favorite:

1.    Chicken broth

2.    Lentils

3.    Sauteed & chopped onions, garlic, red and yellow peppers, zucchini

4.    Diced roasted chicken breast

5.    Serve with mixed field greens and herb salad

Watch for more of her Meal Assembly favorites!

*From JJ’s Allergy Free Ultimate Meal Assembly Guide

JJ is the queen of “meal assembly” and The Plate is how she prepares a balanced meal.

Try JJ’s favorite or follow the 4 steps to prepare your own!

The Plate

1.   Protein

2.   Starch – sweet potato, etc

3.   Veggies

4.   Healthy fat (fish, olive oil, avocado, nuts)

My favorite:

1.    Grass fed beef filet

2.    ½ sweet potato

3.    Asparagus, lightly sautéed with olive oil (4.), garlic and sea salt

Watch for more of her Meal Assembly favorites!

*From JJ’s Allergy Free Ultimate Meal Assembly Guide

Q:

“JJ – are your 4X4 workouts intended to help people lose weight or help already fit people to maintain their current weight/exercise routines? According to Mercola there is a difference and he states that overweight people need at least 1 hr of cardio 5-6 days per week to lose weight before moving to an exercise maintenance schedule. I must say I like your 15 min 4×4 workouts better than 1 hr cardio! Thanks!”

A:

Here is the deal

DIET is critical for weight loss
Exercise is there for maintenance

The single MOST important thing for long term weight management and enhanced fat burning is MUSCLE – it is your metabolic spanx – it holds everything in tighter and boosts your metabolic rate.

I have a three phase approach to fitness that is detailed in my Get Fit Fast program.

First move more – we were meant to move and we should be doing so at least an hour a day – park farther away, walk the dog, take the stairs, etc. Use a pedometer to ensure that you do this BUT this is not exercise, this is what we should be doing as part of daily life.

2- burst to blast fat .  I DO NOT believe is steady state endurance style cardio – ie activites where your heart rate is around 70% of max for 30 or more minutes – lowers your immune system, makes you better at storing fat, raises stress hormones, lowers building hormones and increases oxidative stress which ages you. No thanks!

Contrast with burst training – again detailed in my Get Fit Fast program which helps you handle stress better, boosts metabolism longer and improves fat burning – all by supporting good growth hormone response, then add resistance training to build or maintain muscle.

The 4x4s are your burst training + resistance training all in one. Depending on how much exercise you need based on your genetic makeup (LINK TO FIT) what we ID through the FIT weight loss and wellness profile – you may be able to pull off doing 3 4×4 workouts a week and of course your daily moving more.  If you are one who needs MORE exercise you may need to increase the overall bursting and/or weight training  - again this depends on your genetic blueprint.

This will help you keep your metabolism healthy and keep your body composition lean as people who attempt to maintain weight loss through diet alone generally end up TOFI (thin outside, fat inside) which means you make look good in your clothes, but not without and you definitely won’t be healthy!

JJ is the queen of “meal assembly” and The Bowl is one of her favorites.

Try JJ’s favorite or make your own!
 

The Bowl

1.   Choose brown rice, quinoa or legumes as base

2.   Add stir-fried, steamed, roasted or sautéed veggies

3.   Add your protein

4.   Top with your sauce/seasoning

My favorite:

1.       Quinoa

2.       Roasted Brussels sprouts, asparagus & red peppers

3.       Grilled salmon

4.       w/ lemon and sea salt

Watch for more of her Meal Assembly favorites!

*From JJ’s Allergy Free Ultimate Meal Assembly Guide

JJ is the queen of “meal assembly” and The Wrap is one of her favorites.

The Wrap requires no cooking. Try JJ’s favorite or make your own!

The Wrap

1.   Start with rice wrap or romaine, butter leaf lettuce leaves

2.   Add protein

3.   Chopped non starchy veggies and leafy greens

4.   Add healthy fat – chopped nuts, avocado

JJ’s favorite:

1.    Rice wrap w/

2.    Turkey slices

3.    Arugula, basil and Heirloom tomato

4.    Sliced avocado

Watch for more of her Meal Assembly favorites!

*From JJ’s Allergy Free Ultimate Meal Assembly Guide

In that humans naturally produce reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are necessary for a range of functions, including cell signaling, overproduction of ROS – which can occur as a result of high intensity exercise – may overwhelm the body’s antioxidant defenses and can lead to oxidative stress, a condition that is linked to an increased risk of various diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s, and cardiovascular disease. Glen Davison, from Aberystwyth University (Wales), and colleagues have found that dark chocolate containing 70% cocoa was associated with a blunting in oxidative stress after exercise.  The researchers recruited 14 healthy men to participate in a study in which subjects consumed 100 grams of dark chocolate (70% cocoa), a control bar, or nothing. Two hours later, each subject bicycled for 2.5 hours at 60% of the maximal oxygen uptake level. The team found that the intake of the dark chocolate resulted in an increase in antioxidant status before the cycling, and reduced levels of F2-isoprostane, a marker of oxidative stress, one hour after the cycling had finished, as compared with the control bar.  In addition, insulin levels were also increased before the trial and after cycling for men who consumed the dark chocolate, suggesting a better maintenance of plasma glucose concentration.  There were no changes in markers of immune response, which is known to be affected by rigorous exercise.

Continue reading…

Glen Davison, Robin Callister, Gary Williamson, Karen A. Cooper, Michael Gleeson. “The effect of acute pre-exercise dark chocolate consumption on plasma antioxidant status, oxidative stress and immunoendocrine responses to prolonged exercise.” European J Nutrition, 5 April 201

The Dirty Dozen: Apples top list, cilantro’s unapproved pesticides make record debut

Caren Baginski

Jun. 14, 2011 12:31pm

The Environment Working Group’s latest “Dirty Dozen” list reveals dirty pesticide practices, with apples jumping up three spots to number one. Are EPA’s pesticide guidelines simply being ignored by growers or are tests improving?
Move over celery. This year, apples take over the top spot on the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) “Dirty Dozen” list as the most pesticide-laden produce. Apples jumped three spots from last year’s list and for good reason: According to the USDA, pesticides appeared on 98 percent of the more than 700 apple samples tested.

The EWG yesterday released its seventh edition of the Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, a resource that ranks pesticide contamination for about 50 popular fruits and vegetables and recommends which produce is best to buy organic. Apples typically have occupied the top three spots on the Dirty Dozen list.

“Apples grown conventionally often have multiple pesticide residues due to the use of pesticides during the growing phase as well as post harvest, when apples are sprayed with another fungicide that allows them to stay in cold storage facilities for months,” said Sara Sciammacco, press secretary for EWG. “Only five pesticides that were detected on apples were unapproved in 2009,” she added, noting the unapproved percentage would be just under 5 percent.

Dirty Dozen (highest in pesticides)

1.       Apples

2.       Celery

3.       Strawberries

4.       Peaches

5.       Spinach

6.       Imported nectarines

7.       Imported grapes

8.       Sweet bell peppers

9.       Potatoes

10.   Domestic blueberries

11.   Lettuce

12.   Kale/collard greens

Unapproved or approved, pesticide use isn’t just concerning for consumers. “In the organic marketplace everybody is concerned about pesticide exposure,” said Addie Pobst, import coordinator and food safety officer for organic produce distributor CF Fresh. “Organic is not a residue-free claim because the sad fact is our world is filled with chemicals and we cannot guarantee that there will not be a particular residue on a particular fruit. What we can guarantee is that we do not apply any of these synthetic ingredients.” Pobst thinks that the updated Dirty Dozen may prompt consumers to start buying organic apples over conventional.

EWG analysts examine testing data by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration from 2000 to 2009 to come up with the latest Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists. The USDA began testing produce in the ’90s and currently tests about 20 different foods each year. EWG ranks produce by six equal factors, and produce is usually washed and peeled before testing.

A recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism found that higher serum free testosterone (T) in older woman has a positive association with greater bone mineral density and lean body mass. It’s interesting to note that unlike men, women with higher free T levels also had greater fat mass. Future studies might explore whether T effects are estrogen-independent and whether a causal relationship exists between T, bone, and body composition.

Why does this matter? As we age, we naturally lose bone mass, making bones weaker and more susceptible to breaks. A lower than normal bone mineral density is called osteopenia. Women are more prone to osteopenia because of hormonal changes during menopause that accelerate the loss of bone mass. Those who haven’t reached peak bone mineral density by age 30 are at even greater risk for osteopenia. Eventually, osteopenia can turn into osteoporosis, a progressive disease that increases your risk for spinal and hip fractures.

There are a few other ways to improve bone mineral density, including weight training and eating a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D. This underscores the importance of exercise and nutrition, especially as you age.

These days, plenty of women (and men) remain active into their sixties and beyond, a practice I encourage in all my clients. After all, as children leave the nest and we begin cutting back our work hours, we have fewer excuses for not leading a fit lifestyle. Get moving and you just might feel younger longer!