Sunday, April 24, 2011

Avoid Office Temptations


Scenario: You got your morning work out in for the day. You had a healthy breakfast. You're feeling great at work! You walk into your office kitchen to refill your water bottle when you see a box of Dunkin Donuts, leftover meeting desserts from the Corner Bakery, or some other temptation! Suddenly, you're feeling hungry, your mouth begins to water, and your brain tells you "hey, it's free, why not?".





Does this sound like a familiar scenario to you? If so, you're not alone! A recent study from Cornell University found that candy treats from colleagues make workers pack an extra 7 pounds a year...yikes! In fact the average American worker is packing on the extra weight every year, despite the fact almost a third are on diets.



So what do we do the next time temptation greets us at work tomorrow? Here's what I do:


  • If there is a muffin/cupcake, I ask a coworker if they'll split it in half with me. If I avoid it all together, I know I'm more apt to binge later in the day.



  • I research the nutrition facts before I officially grab the free food. If its really high in calories , carbs, or fats--the temptation is quickly snapped back by reality and I realize that I don't infact what that treat.



  • I stop and ask myself "was I hungry before I saw this food", if I wasn't, I go back to my desk. If I start to feel hungry, I pull out one of my healthy snacks.


So--how do you guys fight the sweet temptations at work?

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

EAT: Interview with Dr. Ian Smith


We had the opportunity to interview Dr. Ian Smith!


 You may know him from  Celebrity Fit Club or the 50 million pound challenge. We got the inside scoop on his new book EAT: The Effortless Weight Loss Solution. He is certainly doing his part to fight Obesity in the our community. His new book addresses a range of topics from the first steps to achieving a healthier lifestyle to what foods to buy organic. The best part about this book is that it is about a lifestyle change, NOT A DIET.  The book focuses on the healthy things you can eat versuses all the stuff you have to cut out.  





Watch the video to get the inside scoop on his book and check out his new book (link on the left) to move forward with your healthier lifestyle. Click the Video Above!




We have one free copy of the book EAT: The Effortless Weight Loss Solution to give away to a lucky reader. If you are interested please comment on the post saying your are readying for a lifestyle change and email nubianfitnessgoddess@gmail.com 


The video is on youtube just in case you have difficulty with the image above. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vLFles8l5M

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Beyonce Workout:Move Your Body!


Beyonce has partnered with Michelle Obama to fight obesity. She is promoting exercise with the "Let's Move Campaign." She has remixed one of my favorite workout songs "Get 'Em Bodied." The new version is called  "Move Your Body" and there is a workout routine that goes along with it. It is definitely great to see Beyonce taking time to fight Obesity. Especially because Obesity disproportionately affects Black women.  Click the link above to check out the video and then click the video below for instructions on the full routine.........




Free Instructional Video



What do you think? Is this a workout you would try?



Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Tweet Your Way to a Bikini Body with Kelly Rowland!


If you 'like' Nubian Fitness Goddess on Facebook, you probably saw me rave about this new Twitter challenge earlier this week. But if not, I want to be sure you don't miss this! Kelly Rowland has teamed up with Jeanette Jenkins for the 'Bikini Bootcamp Twitter Challenge'. They challenge you to try Jeanette’s DVD every Tuesday and Thursday for the month of April and May. Yes, you only have a month and a half left but there are so many benefits, including:


  • The convience of using social media on your home computer.

  • Team support not only from the fit Ms. Jenkins and Ms. Rowland, but from challenge members all over the world.

  • The motivation to kick your 'get ready for summer' workout and healthy eating mindset into gear.




Still not sure? Check out the current tweets using the hashtag #Motivation here to see what everyone's buzzing (or tweeting) about. So if you are still on the fence about getting a your very own Twitter account, you know have a reason! Leave a comment and let us know if any Nubian Fitness Goddesses are going to represent us during the challenge :).

Get a preview of the Bikini workouts--Goddess approved!

P.S.: If you're on Twitter, be sure to follow Jeanette and Kelly to get the latest and greatest:


Monday, April 11, 2011

Jennifer Cohen: No Time Like the Present




Last week, we had the chance to catch up with Jennifer Cohen, author, entrepreneur, fitness and health expert, star of the upcoming CW network TV program, "Shedding for the Wedding" and as a huge advocate for walking to get fit, she's partnerhing with Weight Watchers for their Walk-it Challenge!






This goddess knows her stuff! And I'm happy to share a video of our conversation because I don't want you to miss one single piece of advice coming straight from the expert herself. Be sure to watch and listen in as she answers some of the questions you submitted on Facebook.




YouTube is being evil, so we can't embed the video without crashing the site (I've wrote this short blog 3 times lol). But click here for the goodies!






*Heads up: My voice via the phone is very staticy/muffily, so apologies for the technical issues.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

The Hair Issue: Dealing with Hair and Sweat







So I've noticed that a lot of you all find my blog by searching for hair maintenance during and after exercise. I'm happy so many of you are past letting hair your prevent you from exercising. I wanted to make sure that I provided you all with adequate information here. Luckily my sister is licensed beautician and she was gracious us enough to come up with some tips for you all. If you have any specific questions feel free to comment with them and I'll get them to her.

Enjoy!

Hi, My name is Dani I am a certified Cosmetologist. I work with all types of hair with Women and Men. When working with my clients I often find myself teaching them about maintenance and care for their hair. So I decided to jump on the bandwagon and help you guys on this blog.

Today, there are so many people that want to workout but also want maintain the fresh new hairstyle, and it seems impossible. Well, I am going to give you 5 tips to help maintain your hair while working out.


Sidebar: Your scalp has many holes in which is what hair(keratin) grows out of. You also have something called a sebaceous gland and when you are working out. The pores on your scalp open up and the sebaceous gland releases sebum (sweat). So yes your hair makes it's own sweat. AND THAT IS FINE! I know it sounds gross but you actually need the sebum. So if your scalp is dry. Try cutting down on shampooing so frequently. Let the sebum run down the hair strands.


Top 5
1. When working out, try to stay away from covering your head completely. You want your hair to breathe. Try using a sweatband or even a hairnet.
2. After working out and your hair feels dry and itchy, You may use a non-greasy light moisturizing lotion or serum and massage your scalp( with finger tips only).
3. If you work out very often and your hair becomes dry and brittle try a Deep Conditioner every two weeks. Still dry? up the Deep Conditioner to Once a week.
4. If you get a wrap or hair styled with curling irons. Next time try a RollerSet. Less heat and curls stay in longer.
5. NEVER NEVER NEVER before going to work out use an alcoholic product on your hair. Your hair makes it's own sebum which contains acid. Acid plus the alcohol will eat up your hair.

-Good Luck!
Dani

***I want to share one of my own tips. Do not touch your hair until it is dry. It takes my hair about 1 hr to dry after working out. While I'm in the gym or running outside I keep a sweat band on it and pull it into a loose ponytail so it can breathe. After I'm done I put a silk scarf on it and let dry. After it dries it is so much easier to manipulate. I usually just comb it down and wear it down. It took me while to learn that I shouldn't touch it until it dries. It seems like common sense but I wanted to share it anyway. So I get up a little earlier to make sure I have time to let it dry...if not it's up into a ponytail.****

Questions, Comments?
Please Share your tips!


(This is a Repost)

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Caffeine - How Much Is Too Much?

Is too much Caffeine wrecking your diet ? Check out this post from guest blogger Ms. Maxine


Who's really in shape? We have to admit that between wanting to love our bodies the way they are, bulgAdd Imagees and all, there is a little twinge of envy when we see celebrities with their perfect figures.

I'm not saying that we should strive for stick thin physiques and the six pack abs we see on TV, which were either achieved via religious dieting regimens or plastic surgery. In all honesty, exercise is more than taking interest in more than just aesthetic appeal; buckling down and getting in shape is actually good for our bodies and our minds.

Taking our fitness to a whole new level can take a certain amount of discipline, meaning breaking bad habits (I'm talking to all you smokers out there, each stick you puff lessens four minutes of your life) and vices, and for most people, a hidden vice that may be hindering your best shape is caffeine.

A few facts about caffeine:

  • It was first found as a chemical in 1820 by German chemist Friedlieb Ferdinand Runge then by French chemists Robiquet, and then again by Pelletier and Caventou.
  • Pelletier named the substance caffe, from the drink it was distilled from.
  • Caffeine mostly consumed by Americans in the form of coffee, tea, and other drinks and food containing cola.
  • Often paired with sugar in products like soda and energy drinks, the high from caffeine is given a boost, making caffeine that much more enticing as a drink.
  • Caffeine is consumed by 90% of North Americans every day, usually in the form of coffee.

The supposed weight loss effects of caffeine have been chronicled in an article by the Mayo Clinic wherein it is explained why people assume that caffeine might help them lose weight:

  1. Caffeine works as an appetite suppressant: Different studies have found caffeine to work as an appetite suppressant for those who do not have a tolerance for it already. Small doses of caffeine work to suppress appetite, but the Mayo Clinic affirms this fact only until the consumer has built up the tolerance for it. When the consumer has had enough caffeine that they would need more and more for it to feel an effect, the appetite suppressing qualities of the chemical subside.
  2. It boosts metabolism: Stimulating thermogenesis, the body's process of producing heat to burn off calories, caffeine is a metabolism booster. But, depending on the amount you drink, there will not be enough of an effect to burn enough calories to cancel out the coffee you just drank to suppress your appetite or get a boost before a workout.
  3. It acts as a diuretic: Until the body has built a tolerance to caffeine, the body expels it as liquid, increasing loss of water weight. This short term diuretic effect of caffeine only last until you have built up a sufficient tolerance to the chemical.

While there are many attractive benefits to taking in caffeine, like alertness, loss of drowsiness, there are clear downsides to ingesting:

  1. It can affect our sleeping habits: Too much caffeine can over stimulate our nervous system, causing insomnia and irregular sleeping patterns.
  2. It can cause anxiety and nervousness: As our bodies become more tolerant to caffeine, this tolerance causes us to drink more and more to produce an effect. The constant stimulation of chemicals in our brains can cause bouts of sweating, nervousness and anxiety.
  3. It is addictive: Affecting the same parts of the brain that illegal drugs like cocaine and heroin do, caffeine can cause people to become dependent on it (in line with a building tolerance), which can only lead to more consumption. In fact, there are even withdrawal symptoms found in people who quit caffeine after years of drinking a few cups a day. These symptoms include headaches, drowsiness and lethargy as well as mood swings and possible depression.
  4. It can put a strain in your heart and circulation: Those with heart problems and hypertension are advised by their doctors to abstain from caffeine, as this stimulant causing stress on the blood vessels due to over work.

As with any chemical or drug, caffeine has its tentative upsides and its clear downsides. Taking care not to have too much and not to rely on caffeine will help you get in better shape and increase your energy levels. This hidden vice of national (if not global) caffeine dependency may actually be the barrier to a fitter, better world.

Maxine is a mother and wife who is dedicated to going green. The more she has learned, the more important she has seen it is for her family's health and well-being as well as that of the earth. When not with her family, she works for Treetopia, a seller of artificial Christmas trees.

Product Revew & Giveaway: EatStrong

We love keeping you guys informed on easy ways to stay fit and healthy. We also love sharing free products with you all. Today we have two yummy and healthy snacks for our Goddesses to try. Check out our review and then be one of the first 10 Goddesses to LIKE this post on Facebook or comment on this post and you will receive free EatStrong Snacks! After you LIKE the post or comment email us at nubianfitnessgoddess@gmail.com.

EATSTRONG
Trail Mix

This yummy sweet and salty trail mix has flax and sunflower seeds to make it even healthier. It also has small chocolate drops so you can get your chocolate fix too. It's a decent sized bag for 260 cals (plus 5 gm protein and 7 gm of fiber). I was able to divide it up and have half as my after gym snack and the other half as my mid-day snack. I love the portion control because it's so easy to eat more nuts than you planned. This is the perfect addition to your healthy snack options.

EATSTRONG Energy Boost

Many of us do not get enough protein in our diets. Nuts are a good source of protein but again portion control can sometimes be difficult with nuts. EatStrong's perfectly portioned energy bar packs 12 gm of protein with a low sugar content (7 grams) and no artificial ingredients. I was surprised to see how low the sugar content was. Most energy bars have 20+ grams of sugar , so this is definitely a good alternative.

My favorite was the trailmix but if you are looking for more protein the bar is a good option too.

Have you tried them?