Calorie counting made easy

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Q. Glen, I want to lose weight, How do I monitor my daily caloric intake?


A. Eat less, exercise more. If only it were that simple! As most dieters know, losing weight can be very challenging. A range of influences can affect how people gain and lose weight. But a basic understanding of how to tip your energy balance in favor of weight loss is a good place to start.

Start by determining how many calories you should consume each day. To do so, you need to know how many calories you need to maintain your current weight. Doing this requires a few simple calculations.

First, multiply your current weight by 15 — that’s roughly the number of calories per pound of body weight needed to maintain your current weight if you are moderately active. Moderately active means getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity a day in the form of exercise (walking at a brisk pace, climbing stairs, or active gardening). Let’s say you’re a woman who is 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds, and you need to lose about 12 pounds to put you in a healthy weight range. If you multiply 150 by 15, you will get 2,250, which is the number of calories per day that you need in order to maintain your current weight (weight-maintenance calories). To lose weight, you will need to get below that total.

For example, to lose one to two pounds a week — a rate that experts consider safe — your food consumption should provide 500–1,000 calories less than your total weight-maintenance calories. If you need 2,250 calories a day to maintain your current weight, reduce your daily calories to 1,250–1,750. If you are sedentary, you will also need to build more activity into your day. In order to lose at least a pound a week, try to do at least 30 minutes of physical activity on most days, and reduce your daily calorie intake by at least 500 calories. However, calorie intake should not fall below 1,200 a day in women or 1,500 a day in men, except under the supervision of a health professional. Eating too few calories can endanger your health by depriving you of needed nutrients.

Meeting your calorie target

How can you meet your daily calorie target? One approach — probably the most accurate — is to add up the number of calories per serving of all the foods that you eat, and then plan your menus accordingly. You can buy books that list calories per serving for many foods. In addition, the nutrition labels on all packaged foods and beverages provide calories per serving information. Make a point of reading the labels of the foods and drinks you use, noting the number of calories and the serving sizes. Many recipes published in cookbooks, newspapers, and magazines provide similar information.

If you hate counting calories, a different approach is to restrict how much and how often you eat, and to eat meals that are low in calories. Indeed, dietary guidelines issued by the American Heart Association stress common sense in choosing your foods rather than focusing strictly on numbers, such as total calories or calories from fat. Whichever method you choose, research shows that a regular eating schedule — with meals and snacks planned for certain times each day — makes for the most successful approach. The same applies after you have lost weight and want to keep it off. Sticking with an eating schedule increases your chance of maintaining your new weight.

Some people focus on reducing the fat in their eating plan because, at nine calories per gram, fat by weight contains more than twice as many calories as carbohydrates or proteins (four calories per gram). By substituting lean cuts of meat for fatty ones, avoiding high-fat packaged foods and snacks, and refraining from fat-rich products such as butter, mayonnaise, and salad dressings, you can cut out dozens or even hundreds of calories per day. On the other hand, many people mistakenly think that cutting fat always means cutting calories. Some fat-free foods actually contain more calories than the regular versions because manufacturers use extra sugar to make up for the flavor lost in removing the fat. Moreover, low-fat or nonfat foods are not low-calorie if you consume them in large quantities.

When you can’t count calories

Guidelines to follow when straight calorie counting is impractical.

1. Eat foods that are filling and low in calories. That means meals and snacks made with whole grains, such as brown rice, whole-wheat bread, and oatmeal, as well as legumes, such as lentils and other beans.

2. When you eat meat, choose lean cuts of meat and modest amounts — about 3½ or 4 ounces per serving.

3. Avoid fried foods. For stovetop cooking, it’s better either to stir-fry foods in nonstick pans lightly coated with a cooking-oil spray or to braise them in broth or wine. Baking, broiling, and roasting add no extra fat to your meals.

4. Use low-fat or nonfat dairy foods. Milk, yogurt, and cheese are good sources of protein and calcium, but the whole-milk versions of these dairy products are very high in fat.

5. Avoid fast foods. Hamburgers, chicken nuggets, French fries, and other fast-food meals and snacks tend to promote weight gain for two reasons. First, they are high in fat, calories, or both. Second, the “value meals” are often excessively large and tempt you to overeat.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

How Long Should You Hold a Stretch?

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Q. Glen, How many seconds do I have to hold a stretch?


A.basic static stretch – holding the pose for an extended period – should last about 30 seconds. Anything less than 20 seconds won’t make a significant difference in lengthening muscle fibers and tissue; hold too long and you risk injury. While some recent studies suggest stretching doesn’t necessarily improve performance or decrease one’s risk of injury, the American College of Sports Medicine still advises stretching your major muscle groups two or three days a week.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

7 Most Effective Exercises

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Q. Glen, What are the most Effective Exercises?


A.Experts say there is no magic to exercise: You get out of it what you put in. That doesn't mean you have to work out for hours each day. It just means you need to work smart.

That said, experts agree that not all exercises are created equal. Some are simply more efficient than others, whether they target multiple muscle groups, are suitable for a wide variety of fitness levels, or help you burn calories more effectively.
So what are the best exercises? We posed this question to four fitness experts and compiled a list of their favorites.

1. Walking.

Any exercise program should include cardiovascular exercise, which strengthens the heart and burns calories. And walking is something you can do anywhere, anytime, with no equipment other than a good pair of shoes.

It's not just for beginners, either: Even the very fit can get a good workout from walking.

"Doing a brisk walk can burn up to 500 calories per hour," says Robert Gotlin, DO, director of orthopaedic and sports rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. Since it takes 3,500 calories to lose a pound, you could expect to lose a pound for every seven hours you walk, if you did nothing else.

Don't go from the sofa to walking an hour day, though. Richard Cotton, a spokesman for the American Council on Exercise, says beginners should start by walking five to -10 minutes at a time, gradually moving up to at least 30 minutes per session.
"Don't add more than five minutes at a time," he says. Another tip: It's better to lengthen your walks before boosting your speed or incline.

2. Interval training.

Whether you're a beginner or an exercise veteran, a walker or an aerobic dancer, adding interval training to your cardiovascular workout will boost your fitness level and help you lose weight.

"Varying your pace throughout the exercise session stimulates the aerobic system to adapt," says Cotton. "The more power the aerobic system has, the more capacity you have to burn calories."

The way to do it is to push the intensity or pace for a minute or two, then back off for anywhere from two to -10 minutes (depending on how long your total workout will be, and how much time you need to recover). Continue doing this throughout the workout.

3. Squats.

Strength training is essential, the experts say. "The more muscular fitness you have," says Cotton, "the greater the capacity you have to burn calories."
And our experts tended to favor strength-training exercises that target multiple muscle groups. Squats, which work the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteals, are an excellent example.
"They give you the best bang for the buck because they use the most muscle groups at once," says Oldsmar, Fla., trainer David Petersen.
Form is key, though, warns Petersen.
"What makes an exercise functional is how you perform the exercise," he says. "If you have bad technique, it's no longer functional."
For perfect form, keep feet shoulder-width apart and back straight. Bend knees and lower your rear, says Cotton: "The knee should remain over the ankle as much as possible."
"Think of how you sit down in a chair, only the chair's not there," suggests Gotlin.
Physical therapist Adam Rufa, of Cicero, N.Y., says practicing with a real chair can help.
"Start by working on getting in and out of a real chair properly," he says. Once you've mastered that, try just tapping the chair with your bottom, then coming back up. Then do the same motion without the chair.
Gotlin sees lots of patients with knee pain, and says quadriceps weakness is the cause much of the time. If you feel pain going down stairs, he says, strengthening your quads with squats may very well help.

4. Lunges.

Like squats, lunges work all the major muscles of the lower body: gluteals, quadriceps, and hamstrings.

"A lunge is a great exercise because it mimics life, it mimics walking," only exaggerated, says Petersen.

Lunges are a bit more advanced than squats, says Cotton, helping to improve your balance as well.

Here's how to do them right: Take a big step forward, keeping your spine in a neutral position. Bend your front knee to approximately 90 degrees, focusing on keeping weight on the back toes and dropping the knee of your back leg toward the floor.
Petersen suggests that you imagine sitting on your back foot. "The trailing leg is the one you need to sit down on," he says.
To make a lunge even more functional, says Rufa, try stepping not just forward, but back and out to each side.

"Life is not linear, it's multiplanar," says Rufa. And the better they prepare you for the various positions you'll move in during the course of a day, the more useful exercises are.

5. Push-ups.

If done correctly, the push-up can strengthen the chest, shoulders, triceps, and even the core trunk muscles, all at one time.
"I'm very much into planking exercises, almost yoga-type moves," says Petersen. "Anytime you have the pelvis and the core [abdominals and back] in a suspended position, you have to rely on your own adherent strength to stabilize you.

Push-ups can be done at any level of fitness, says Cotton: "For someone who is at a more beginning level, start by pushing from the kitchen-counter height. Then work your way to a desk, a chair, the floor with bent knees, and, finally, the floor on your toes."

Here's how to do a perfect push-up: From a face-down position, place your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Place your toes or knees on the floor, and try to create a perfect diagonal with your body, from the shoulders to the knees or feet. Keep the glutes [rear-end muscles] and abdominals engaged. Then lower and lift your body by bending and straightening your elbows, keeping your torso stable throughout.

There are always ways to make it harder, says Rufa. Once your form is perfect, try what he calls the "T-stabilization" push-up: Get into push-up position, then do your push-ups with one arm raised out to the side, balancing on the remaining three limbs without rotating your hips.

6. Abdominal Crunches.

Who doesn't want firm, flat abs? Experts say that when done correctly, the familiar crunch (along with its variations) is a good choice to target them.

For a standard crunch, says Cotton, begin lying on your back with feet flat on the floor and fingertips supporting your head. Press your low back down and begin the exercise by contracting abdominals and peeling first your head (tucking your chin slightly), then your neck, shoulders, and upper back off the floor.

Be careful not to pull your neck forward of the rest of your spine by sticking the chin out; don't hold your breath, and keep elbows out of your line of vision to keep chest and shoulders open.

For his part, Petersen teaches his clients to do crunches with their feet off the floor and knees bent. He says that with feet kept on the floor, many people tend to arch the back and engage the hip flexors.

"Crunches can be excellent, but if they're not done correctly, with the back arching, they can actually weaken the abdominals," Petersen says.

To work the obliques (the muscles on the sides of your waist), says Cotton, take the standard crunch and rotate the spine toward one side as you curl off the floor.

"Twist before you come up," he says. "It's really important that the twist comes first because then it's the obliques that are actually getting you up."

But keep in mind that you won't get a flat stomach with crunches alone, says Cotton. Burning belly fat requires the well-known formula: using up more calories than you take in.

"Crunches work the ab muscles; [they're] not to be mistaken as exercise that burns the fat over the abdominals," he says. "That's the biggest myth in exercise going."

7. Bent-over Row.

Talk about bang for the buck: This exercise works all the major muscles of the upper back, as well as the biceps.
Here's how to do it with good form. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, then bend knees and flex forward at the hips. (If you have trouble doing this exercise standing up, support your weight by sitting on an incline bench, facing backward.) Tilt your pelvis slightly forward, engage the abdominals, and extend your upper spine to add support. Hold dumbbells or barbell beneath the shoulders with hands about shoulder-width apart. Flex your elbows, and lift both hands toward the sides of your body. Pause, then slowly lower hands to the starting position. (Beginners should perform the move without weights.)

Technique

These seven exercises are excellent, efficient choices, the experts say. But with just about any strength or resistance exercise, says Petersen, the question is not so much whether the exercise works as how well you execute.

"Done with good technique, all exercises do what they're supposed to do," says Petersen.

The trouble is that poor form can change the whole exercise, putting emphasis or even strain on different areas than intended. This can hurt, rather than help you.

So especially if you're a beginner, it's a good idea to seek the advice of a fitness trainer - whether it's a personal trainer or a trainer at your gym -- to be sure your form is safe and correct.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Common Fitness Blunders

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Q. Glen, What are the common mistakes one make in trying to get fit?


A. There are numerous fitness blunders that everyone—beginners and experienced exercisers— fall into occasionally. Some may even become a regular part of your fitness routine. But, to get the best results from all your hard work, it’s important that you don’t find yourself creating a fitness routine filled with mistakes. This can set you up for injury, lack of results, boredom, plateaus, and just an overall lack of success. Analyze your fitness routine on a regular basis and ask yourself if you fall into any of these common blunders.

Blunder #1: Skipping the Warm Up, Cool Down, and Stretches

This may be one of the most common habits of exercisers! You finally committed yourself to a fitness routine, and you don’t want to waste any time. Often individuals jump right into exercise full bore. After all, warming up and stretching seems meaningless and a waste of time.

NOT TRUE! Warming up and stretching should be the foundation of your exercise. They should be viewed as a transition into exercise, allowing your body and mind to prepare for running, jumping, endurance, etc. Here is what you gain from a proper warm-up/stretch and cool-down/stretch:

• Your muscles and connective tissue loosen to prepare for the stress of exercise
• Oxygen and blood flow to your muscles and connective tissue increases, providing fuel for better muscular performance
• Tension in your body decreases
• Breathing patterns establish, helping relax the body during exercise
• Joints are lubricated to allow for better performance
• Muscle soreness is prevented and/or reduced during and after your workout
• Better body awareness
• Quicker reaction time
• Improved posture
• Improved coordination

You’ve probably exercised without warming up and stretching properly, and maybe nothing horrible happened. It may seem unnecessary, but consistently skipping it will limit your gains and put you at risk for injury. You could even be injured without even knowing it since you may not feel any pain right away.

Fix it Tip: Try to warm-up with a low impact exercise for 5-10 minutes. A light sweat is a good indicator of your body temperature rising. Follow your warm-up with 5-10 minutes of stretching, head to toe. A cool down and stretch is just as important, following the same guidelines. Most of your flexibility benefits will come from your post-exercise stretch because your muscles are so warm.

Blunder #2: Looking For Instant Gratification

We are a culture of instant gratification seekers! Expecting fast results from a new diet and fitness plan is very common. Unfortunately it is one of the worst mindsets a beginner can create. You know about all the great benefits of exercise, like increased energy, weight loss, and better health. You exercise for a week straight, wake up the following Monday completely wiped out, a couple pounds heavier (because the exercise made you so hungry), and you have a cold. What gives?

Exercise definitely provides many great benefits, but the results are often seen weeks or even months after you begin. When you are consistent:

• Your metabolism speeds up to allow for weight loss
• Your body will adjust to the stress of exercise and you’ll feel more rejuvenated
• Your immune system improves to help prevent sickness
• Your strength and endurance improves, making exercise (and daily tasks) easier
• Your mood and energy levels stabilize throughout the day
• You sleep better at night
• You look and feel better!

Fix it Tips: Don’t throw up your hands if you don’t see what you are looking for. Analyze what you are doing and try to make adjustments. It’s worth it.

• Try to focus on other improvement besides weight loss- how you feel, how much you’ve learned, how you have more energy, etc.
• Keep in mind that progress may be slow in the beginning. It probably took you many years to gain the weight you are trying to lose. You can’t expect to take it off in a fraction of the time. Plus, slow and steady weight loss (about 1-2 pounds per week) is healthier- AND you’re more likely to keep it off when it happens at this rate.
• Get support and encouragement from a buddy, your friends and family, or on the message boards. Sometimes a kind word is all you need to stop you from giving up.

More Fitness Blunders to Follow.....

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

7 Best Ab-Flattening Foods

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Q. Glen, I doing 1000 crunches! Nothing is happening . Am I eating right?



A. If you’ve been doing crunches for months and still aren’t seeing results, the problem might not be your exercise plan. According to experts, there are certain foods that can make bellies appear bloated and flabby. Fortunately, there are also several superfoods that can give virtually any stomach a leaner, more toned look. To get started, try these seven belly-flattening treats.

1. Healthy fats. Certain types of fat, such as omega-6s and trans fats (most often found in baked goods and corn oils), can declare war on your waistline. But monounsaturated fats (found in olive oil, fish, and flaxseed), can have ab-flattening effects. According to a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, a diet rich in monounsaturated fats helps people lose small amounts of body fat without reducing their caloric intake.

2. Oranges. Instead of drinking a glass of orange juice with your breakfast in the morning, try eating a whole orange instead. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whole fruit makes people feel fuller than juice does. In addition, a medium orange contains much more fiber than its liquid equivalent, and in several studies, fiber has been shown to reduce belly fat.

3. Popcorn. Whether they’re labeled light, fat-free, or regular, most popcorn varieties are healthful. But for flatter abs, it’s especially important that your popcorn isn’t loaded up with extra butter and salt, either of which could lead to weight gain and bloating. For best results, opt for whole-grain brands with no trans fats.

4. Turkey. A lean cut of turkey offers the protein your body craves without the additional calories that come with many processed foods. Just be sure to order low-sodium turkey from the deli counter, and avoid purchasing the packaged kind, which can be loaded with belly-bulging preservatives.

5. Celery With Peanut Butter. This children’s favorite is often called “ants on a log” when raisins are added, but it can be a great snack for adults, too. Peanut butter in small quantities provides good sugars and quick proteins and can ease your food cravings. The celery is a primarily water-based vegetable, so you can eat as much as you want without feeling guilty.

6. Milk. As it turns out, milk really does do a body good. In fact, studies have shown that drinking three glasses of low-fat or fat-free milk every day can help maintain a healthy weight. If you aren’t big on dairy products or don’t like the taste of plain milk, try mixing milk into a protein shake or sorbet, or look into soy options. Other dairy products may also help; remember to eat in moderation low-fat or skim versions of cheeses and yogurts.

7. Wine. A growing body of research suggests that drinking a glass of wine with dinner may help you maintain a smaller waistline. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, one 4-ounce glass of red or white wine seems to be the optimal amount. However, moderation is key: Drinking any more alcohol than that could put you at risk for weight gain.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

KEEP YOUR METABOLISM REVVED 24-7

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Q. Glen, How can I keep my metabolism going and stop my weight-loss plateau?


A.After a few weeks, any workout can feel old.

But the Fitness Builders, Clean, Lean & Mean workouts are designed to eliminate boredom and keep the pounds melting off. Each week you add more reps or another set, which means new muscle growth and more calorie burn.

Here are two ways to avoid the dreaded weight-loss plateau:

1. Keep things varied with intervals. They burn belly fat more effectively than standard cardio Interval training"will skyrocket your post-workout metabolism, allowing you to burn almost twice as many calories as you would with traditional cardio workouts,

Your easiest move: Get on a stationary bike, go as hard as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 20, and go again. Do that eight times. You'll be drained—but finished in just minutes.

2. Learn to increase resistance properly. Focus on reps before weight. If a set calls for eight reps, any weight where you can do six to 10 reps is the right amount. If you can do more, increase the weight; if you can't do six, drop back.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Use Aerobic Exercise as a Building Block

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Q. Glen, Do I have to stay on a Treadmill to get good Cardio?


A.There is More to Cardio than Just Running

If the exercise world was to pick a mascot, what do you think it would be? A jump rope? A punching bag? A man with a giant baseball as a head? If I had to guess, it would be a treadmill. This machine is one of many ways to get moving and running, which is vital to anyone who is exercising. This is because it’s aerobic exercise, a cornerstone to being physically fit.

Aerobic exercise uses large muscle groups rhythmically and continuously and elevates the heart rate and breathing for a sustained period. Say what? In other words, you are exercising at a faster but stable rate, as the heart and lungs try to keep up with your demand for blood and oxygen so you can continue exercising.

The beautiful thing about aerobic exercise is you can do it everyday without even knowing it! When you walk up the stairs instead of taking the elevator, when you ride bikes with your family, and when you run with your dog--it’s all aerobic exercise.

The benefit list for aerobic exercise includes decreasing cholestrol levels and blood pressure, improving muscular endurance, reducing body fat, and it makes your heart, lungs and bones stronger. You will breathe easier and your heart will be much healthier.

Eventually, you will want to build up your cardio level so you can also partake in anaerobic exercise, which is exercise at a more difficult pace. This is when you are going all-out, like the 100-meter dash. Consider anaerobic the icing on the cake to good, cardio exercise. It’s important to gradually work anaerobic exercise into your workout, starting with very low intensity, especially if you’re not used to it. Doing 20 wind sprints or something similar right away can lead to injury or worse.

Here are some examples of both aerobic and anaerobic exercises. Feel free to try some or all of them out when you are ready:

Running Riding a bike Elliptical machine Rollerblading Swimming Skiing, especially cross-country Canoeing Spinning Even walking!

Anaerobic Weight lifting Sprinting – on your feet or a bike Jump rope Sports like tennis, basketball, football

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

7 Ways to Stay Motivated For Your Workouts

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Q. Glen, I want to Exercise more, Eat Healthier but I can not stay motivated! Do you have any tips?


A.You can have the best exercises and intentions, but it's all worthless without the motivation. Here's how to maximize yours -- and push yourself harder, farther, and faster

There will be days (every day?) when you don't feel like doing your workout.

Sometimes you don't want to get out of bed.

Sometimes you don't want to leave your office because you feel like there are too many deadlines (this is when you need a workout the most!).

Sometimes you don't want to end storytime with the kids only to head down to the basement gym.

It even happens to me.

But I knew how I'd feel like a million bucks after the workout. And in the end, I know I can't let myself become "soft" and start skipping workouts. I have to lead by example.

So if you are set on achieving a goal, then when it's workout time, come heck or high water you've got to bear down and do the job.

Here are 7 tips for you to get inspired to get through your workout.

1) Reward yourself. Finish your workout and treat yourself to a magazine, a TV show, some extra time with your family, some new songs for your IPOD, or even a little extra time for yourself.

2) Or set up a punishment for missing workouts. Skip the workout, put $20 into a jar to spend on home repairs. Make sure your spouse controls the jar.

3) Review your goals everyday and every night. Keeping your goals fresh in your mind will help you stay on track.

4) Realize that the hardest part of the workout is often getting your butt to the gym. Once you get 5 minutes into the workout, you will be over the hump. So tell yourself, "I'll just go in and do 1 set of the first 2 exercises, then I can go". Next thing you know, you'll have done the entire workout.

5) Visualize yourself doing a great workout and finishing strong. Get yourself mentally prepared and you will literally have better workouts each time.

6) Crank the tunes. Seriously, nothing motivates like music.

7) Get social support. If you have a workout partner, you'll feel like crap if you let them down.

Now get out there and kick the fat to the curb,

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Feeling Flexible: Work It Out

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Q. Glen, I workout a lot, but I am always stiff! Any sugesstions?


A. Along with muscle strength and endurance, flexibility is on the top of the list when evaluating your fitness level. Flexibility is a joint's ability to move through a full range of motion. Without flexibility, you'd be missing an important part of overall health. Stretching before and after every workout is the best way to increase flexibility. Along with improved performance, posture and lower risk of injury, flexibility also aids in balance and coordination.



Glen's Bottom Line: Start Flexing!!!


Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !


My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health


Any questions?
Ask Glen!

The Speed of Lite: Chew On This

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Q. Glen, I eat fast! Very fast , I eat so fast and so much by the time I have realize it I have eaten to much! any suggestions?

A. Savor every bite and eat slowly. Digestion takes time. You may keep on eating because you still feel hungry. By taking it slow and steady, the body has time to realize it's full. This usually takes about 20 minutes -- so pace yourself. Never eat while standing. Make the meal your main focus. Instead of eating at record-setting speed, take it slow. You'll be less likely to go back for seconds when you already feel full

Glen's Bottom Line:

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program.

Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any Questions?
Ask Glen

Dieting By The Book: What You Need

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Q.Glen, I get bored with my "diet" food ! Any suggestions?

A. Experiment in the kitchen. Variety is the spice life -- it's also a great strategy for sticking to your meal plan. Trying different recipes will keep your weight-loss efforts from getting boring. Stop by a used book store and pick up a couple of healthy cookbooks. Surf the web for meals that appeal to your tastes. Peruse magazines for new ideas. There's a wealth of resources out there loaded with healthy variations of traditional favorites or meals you've never even tried.

Glen's Bottom Line: Variety is the spice life! So get Spicy....

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program.

Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any Questions?Ask Glen!

Do's and Don'ts of Good Goal Setting

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Q. Glen, How do I go about setting my Goal's for Health and Exercise?


A. Goal achievement, especially when it comes to health and fitness, can be a mystery. Most of us have no trouble with Step 1 (Setting the Goal). Setting a goal is the easy part, it's those other steps that can be a puzzle. But you CAN turn achieving your goals into a science with the right strategies. Here are a few of my favorites:

DO create a plan. DON’T wait for "someday" to roll around.
Setting the goal is just the first step. Know where you’re going, what resources you’ll need, who can help and – most importantly – what Plan B is when life throws a monkey wrench into Plan A.

DO start small. DON’T focus on too many things at once.
Try focusing on one goal at a time. Use a small goal that you know you can do each day for the next two weeks, like getting up without the snooze or drinking eight cups of water. Build that first habit to boost your confidence and pick up speed.

DO write it down. DON’T forget to give yourself a deadline.
Deadlines turn wishes into goals. The act of writing down your goal is powerful enough to keep you committed and focused. Better yet, find a visual that represents your goal or how your life will be different. Seeing it makes it seem more possible.

DO be specific. DON’T deal in absolutes.
Avoid the words ‘some’ and ‘more’, as in "I will get SOME exercise" or "I will eat MORE veggies." It leaves too much wiggle-out room. Deal in measurable things that you have control over. And never say ‘never’ or ‘always.’ All or nothing is a common attitude that leads people back to bad habits.

DO leave room for failure. DON’T expect perfection.
Persistence is key. Accept the fact that you might not make it on the first try. In a recent study, only 40% of people who successfully followed New Year's resolutions did it on the first try; 17% of resolution achievers took six or more tries before they got it right – but they did get it right.

DO track your progress. DON’T fool yourself into failure.
Memory can be pretty selective. It conveniently forgets that extra brownie while remembering activity that never happened. The only way to know for sure is to track goals regularly with a checklist or journal.

DO reward your success. DON’T beat yourself up over failure.
This is the step that trips up most people. Negative reinforcement is all around us, telling us every day what we’re doing wrong. This is not the approach to take to succeed with your goals. Why not focus on what you’re doing right instead? If you take a step back, learn from it and take two steps forward.

DO find a support system. DON’T try to do it alone.
A goal buddy can make all the difference this time. People that can help are all around you – on the SparkPeople support message boards, at work, even in your own family. Just add one person to your support group, and you double your motivation, double your energy, double your commitment – and double your FUN.

DO make a commitment. DON’T ever forget that you can do it.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

How to end the fat loss confusion

Ask Glen!




Q. Glen, How Do you Stop all this Fat loss Confusion?


A. People are confused more than ever about how to burn fat. They are confused about the best way to go about achieving the body they want. They are confused about what works and what doesn't, and the reasons why.

There are countless individuals slaving away in gyms and fitness centers around the country right now. They are working tirelessly, almost every day, on the treadmill, stair-climber, elliptical, etc. to burn those calories and fat. They also might be lifting weights several times a week for hours at a time to build some strength and muscle. They might even join a few aerobics or spinning classes too.

They are probably also trying one of the latest diet strategies that promises miracle fat burning and weight loss. They could also be spending a lot of money on the latest and greatest dietary supplements that could be that miracle pill that will aid in weight loss.

They are also carefully watching the scale as their main judge of fat loss progress. If it goes up a pound or two, they may behave rashly and maybe even change up their entire workout or diet program! And of course there are others are doing variations on that same theme.

After all, this is the kind of stuff that many of the popular fitness and diet gurus typically recommend to burn fat. But with so many different strategies and plans being pushed as the be all and end all, what happens is we tend to go overboard.

And when that happens, we lose sight of what really matters in achieving lifelong fat burning, fitness and health…the principles than many people don't know about, most people have forgotten, and only a select few put to use to achieve lifelong health and fitness. These are the same principles I used to drop over 40 pounds of unwanted body fat, keep it off, and revitalize my life!

With any exercise or nutrition program, you'll probably lose some fat initially, but far too often the progress doesn't continue or doesn't come as fast as the person would like because they're using a temporary mindset. They're only focused on the short term and one specific goal. So they end up switching to something else, and the cycle continues until they've become consumed by this cycle of confusion.

I believe that this is one of the biggest, if not the #1 reason for the lack of fat loss and fitness progress that is being experienced by the masses of exercisers and dieters in the world. They are jumping from one fad diet or exercise routine to another, while losing sight of what's really important, and what really works. Simply put, they are exercising far too much, not nearly intensely enough, and trying to adhere to unrealistic diet recommendations.

If instead they focused on a long term plan, a lifestyle as it's often called, and didn't worry about "losing 10 pounds by summer", they would find it far easier to do the right things most of the time. And those right things include brief, progressive, and intense resistance training, eating a diet full of nutrient rich foods, drinking tons of water, and getting plenty of quality sleep and rest.

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."


Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Tight Abs in a Hurry

Ask Glen!



Q. Glen, I hate my stomach ! What can I do about it?



A. I know how it is. Every day you get out of the shower, glance in the mirror and then quickly turn away. Ugh.

Gotta do something about that poochie gut. And then you get dressed and go to work, and immediately, other than having to feed it, your stomach is the last thing on your mind.

Who has time to do all those abdominal exercises anyway, right? Well, YOU do, for one! Even just 5 or 10 minutes a day devoted to toning your tummy is much better than ignoring it. So here are some suggestions for a variety of ab exercises, all of which can be done quickly and easily at some point during the day.

(One quick note. You can do sit-ups all day if you want, but your tight, rock-hard abs won't be visible if they're concealed under a thick layer of fat. So if you aren't already lean, you'll need to diet in addition to exercising in order to see the results.) Try to do three of the following exercises at least three days a week. Shoot for five or six days if you possibly can.

Each exercise targets a specific abdominal area -- upper abs, lower abs and obliques (the sides). If you have time to do more than one of these exercises, choose ones that target different areas. Remember to always exhale with the exertion and inhale as you relax.

Sit-ups -- The classic sit-up goes in and out of style as an effective abdominal exercise, but many professional trainers swear by it. It can be tough on your back, though, so it may not be for you if you have back problems. This exercise mainly works the upper abs. Lie on your back on a hard surface. With your feet flat on the floor, bend your knees at an angle a little tighter than 90 degrees. Put your hands behind your head. In a smooth, controlled manner, raise your upper body to a fully upright position.

You may need to have someone hold your feet, or place your feet under a heavy piece of furniture. Lower yourself to the floor, and, without resting, repeat the motion. Concentrate on using your stomach muscles to pull yourself up. Be careful to keep your head and neck relaxed. Shoot for three sets of ten repetitions.

If you're a rank beginner, and depending on your age, you may not be able to do more than one or two reps. That's alright. If you work out consistently, you'll gradually be able to increase your reps.

Crunches -- If back problems prohibit you from doing sit-ups, do these instead. Assume the same position as described above, but just pull you shoulders and upper body off the floor, then return to the resting position. As always, do these in a slow, controlled manner. And concentrate on pulling from the abs, making sure your neck and head are relaxed and NOT pulling

Standing Ab Pull -- Stand with your knees bent a little. Place your hands on your knees. Exhale completely. Suck your stomach in and hold it for five seconds while simultaneously raising your body until you're just about standing upright. Now relax your stomach muscles and take a deep breath. Exhale as you place your hands on your knees and bend them again. Do 10 if you can. This works both upper and lower abs.

Leg Raise -- Lie down on a flat, hard surface. Put your hands down flat at your sides and bend your knees slightly. With your feet together, raise your legs until your shins are more or less straight up and down. Without pausing, gradually lower your legs back to the starting position. Concentrate on working your lower ab muscles the whole time you do the exercise. Shoot for 10 reps.

Oblique Crunch -- Lie on your back on the floor and put your hands behind your head. Bend your knees.

Keeping your feet and legs together, allow them to drop to the left as far as possible, while keeping your back flat on the floor. Pull your shoulders and upper body up off the floor as high as you can manage -- perhaps a few inches. Again, DO NOT pull from the neck. Your head should be resting in your hands, completely relaxed. Slowly drop your shoulders back to the floor. Do ten reps (or as many as you can manage). Now turn your legs to rest on the right side and repeat. This exercise works your obliques, or side abdominal muscles.

Do as many of these exercises as you can. If you can do them all, you're getting a complete ab workout that you can probably do in less than 20 minutes!

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life.

Yours in good health

Any questions?

Ask Glen!

Study up!

Ask Glen!

Q. Glen, I think I am eat right! How do I know for sure?

A. You may think you are choosing the right foods, but unless you learn how to read food labels properly, you may unknowingly hurt your healthy efforts. Try to make it a habit to find and read every product's nutrition label before you purchase it. One of the most common mistakes many people make is skipping the top of the label where it describes the serving size and the number of servings per the item. Make sure you get a good grasp of these numbers before you read the rest of the label.

Glen's Bottom Line: Know Your Favorite Foods

Any personal health questions or problems mental or physical or before starting any diet or exercise program. Please consult your physician !

My mission is to provide you with "Trusted Advice for a Healthier Life."

Yours in good health

Any questions ?

Ask Glen