Search Weight Loss Topics:

Page 1,902«..1020..1,9011,9021,9031,904..1,9101,920..»

Home » Page 1902

In our ever-earnest quest for health (and perhaps to be part of the hip diet-following crowd), certain phrases make their way into our gastronomic vernacular. At times, admittedly, they stick in our craw:

Paleo. Whole 30. Cleanse.

Then there's this one, alluring in its innocence, tantalizing in its seeming simplicity: clean eating.

It sounds, on the surface at least, to be a breath of fresh air -- inhaled and exhaled, slowly and yoga-esque, through the nose. What, after all, what could be more basic than clean eating?

Lots, apparently. The headline on a Good Housekeeping column called it "Total BS." Huffington Post UK wrote about "How Clean Eating Became a Dirty Word." For every website or trainer or dietitian touting it, there's another rolling their eyes or giving it a thumbs down.

It's confusing, they say. It implies if you're not eating clean, you're an overweight sloth whose food is unclean. It can cause anxiety in a world that already has plenty enough worries -- particularly of the dietary variety.

"I tend not to use the phrase often," says Sara Asberry, registered dietitian at the University of Texas at Dallas, "because I feel it has a lot of mixed messages. It inadvertently is implying that all other foods are dirty."

Julie Kuehn, registered dietitian and personal trainer at Life Time in Allen, Texas, loves it.

"When I hear 'clean eating,' I think, "Oh, yeah!'" says Kuehn. "I feel like, honestly, as a dietitian practicing for 23 years, I think we've finally stumbled upon the catchphrase that gets it."

One problem, though, seems to be coming up with a mutually agreed-upon understanding of the two words. What exactly does it mean?

"There are a lot of definitions, and that's part of why it can be so confusing," Asberry says.

Kuehn defines the concept basically as "minimally processed foods. If it came from the ground," she says, "it looks pretty much like it did when it was growing. A potato chip looks nothing like a potato."

But, she acknowledges, people do get a little carried away: "Should we get all organic? All local meats? There's not a clean-eating council to define it."

In the past, Kuehn says, so-called "diets" revolved around eliminating something -- for instance, carbohydrates or fat. "Everybody's always trying to eliminate a food group, then another group of scientists comes out and says 'No, eat this.' It's leaving consumers confused and baffled."

But, says Asberry, many people are just as baffled with clean eating.

"If they come to me wanting to eat more fruits and vegetables and whole grains and lean protein, I can support them," she says. "But if they come to me wanting to eat all organic and omit foods from their diet -- 'I hear dairy is bad for me' or 'I hear grains are processed foods so I don't want to consume them' -- they're eliminating really nutritious foods. A lot of times, if you're eating too much of one thing, you're not eating enough of another."

Allison Cleary, a registered dietitian at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center at White Rock, also cautions against taking clean eating too far. Say, for instance, you eliminate fast food. OK; they're not exactly known as bastions of health. Then you move on to all deli meats. Again understandable, because some processed meats have been shown to increase cancer risk. Then you read online that you should be grinding your own meat.

Then you hear that steaming broccoli will change the nutritional content and rethink this important vegetable. Then you start turning down dinner invitations for fear you won't find anything on the menu that falls into what you consider "clean eating." Then you begin looking askance at other people who eat a chocolate-chip cookie or meat that isn't grain-fed.

"It's not mentally healthy, mainly because it causes a lot of anxiety, a lot of worry," says Cleary. Plus, "clean eating, in its most extreme form, is pretty time-consuming."

When people find out she's a dietitian, she says, they often brag about eating clean. "They're almost looking for praise and recognition, like 'You're doing something good!' If it's just a quick thing, I say, 'Yeah, eat your fruits and vegetables,' and I leave the conversation. People get defensive if I say it's not all it's cracked up to be."

When Kuehn meets with clients, she stresses the importance of making small and slow changes that will become part of a permanent way of eating. She tells them to forgive themselves for past dietary transgressions, and to look at food as fuel.

"Clean eating is a way of eating," she says, "a new lifestyle. There are no foods they're not allowed to have. We move toward a healthy balance and do it as a way of life."

Here are some tips to eating -- call it what you will -- clean, healthy, sensibly.

LOOK FOR CLEAN LABELS

If you're having oatmeal, Asberry says, the label should say "100 percent rolled oats."

"If we're looking at yogurt, I want to see milk and active cultures. Past that, we should be more cautious. Milk, I want it to say 'milk.' Unsweetened almond milk wouldn't fit in as clean. It's a paragraph of ingredients." It's not a "bad food," she says, but "they're trying so hard to make it a substitute for milk that it has to be heavily fortified to compare."

SEEK OUT FOODS WITH NO LABELS

Shop grocery store perimeters: "Fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh lean protein, dairy products, really nice whole grains," Asberry says.

EAT MINDFULLY

This is the concept of "just listening to your body and really trying to nourish your body," Cleary says, "of trying to recognize your hunger cues, eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're full."

Craving a cheeseburger? Ask yourself if it's something you really and truly want. "If it is, allow yourself to have it, guilt-free, without beating yourself up, and without overeating," she says.

Asberry suggests creating routines: Eat at the table. Instead of walking around the house mindlessly munching on a bag of chips, make nutritionally dense trail mix with nuts, unsweetened dried fruit, whole-grain pretzels and dark chocolate chips. Put a portion on a plate or napkin, eat that and put the rest away.

MAKE SMALL BEHAVIORAL CHANGES

"There's no magic cure for a healthy diet, no one thing you have to eliminate or one super food you want to add and you'll automatically be super-healthy," Cleary says. "A lot of people want that."

If you tend to pick up most meals from a drive-through window, decide to make lunch or dinner one day a week. "When you feel comfortable with that, work on two days or three," Cleary says. "Over a period of time -- we're talking months and years -- you'll look back and say, 'I made a big lifestyle change.'"

NIX THE WORD 'CHEATING'

"Most people have a hard time with this, but I say, 'You're in it for the marathon, not the sprint,'" Kuehn says. "The goal is 80 percent of the time to be spot-on. Don't consider it messing up; consider it training yourself."

PLAN AHEAD WHEN EATING OUT

Just about every restaurant posts its menu online. "A safe thing is usually grilled salmon or other fish," Kuehn says. "I tell them instead of couscous or white rice, do extra vegetables. Or a salad, but check what they put in it. Are there candied pecans in there?" If so, pick another kind.

STILL CONFUSED? SEEK HELP

"If you have any question about bloating or feeling gross or you feel like you're in a brain fog, lab testing is very helpful," Kuehn says.

Adds Cleary: "People generally know what their weaknesses are and what they need to work on. But if you're having difficulties, see a dietitian. We're able to work with you and help you with your problem areas. You're supposed to enjoy your food."

See the original post here:
Dishing a little dirt on the 'clean eating' diet craze - Quad-Cities Online

Read More..

Psychology Today (blog)

Ketogenic Diets for Psychiatric Disorders: A New 2017 Review Psychology Today (blog) It remains unclear how ketogenic diets work to control seizures, let alone how they may improve psychiatric symptoms. On a fundamental level, we are not even sure whether it is the presence of ketones, the reduction in blood sugar, the reduction in ...

Read more:
Ketogenic Diets for Psychiatric Disorders: A New 2017 Review - Psychology Today (blog)

Read More..

Anthony Warner is a professional chef and blogger. A regular contributor to New Scientist and The Pool, his blog has been featured in the Guardian, Mail on Sunday and other publications. In 2017, he was named on the Telegraph's Food Power List of tastemakers changing the way we eat and drink. He lives in Nottinghamshire, blogs at angry-chef.com and you can follow him @One_Angry_Chef.

Assembling a crack team of psychiatrists, behavioural economists, food scientists and dietitians, his new book, The Angry Chef: Bad Science and the Truth about Healthy Eating, unravels the mystery of why sensible, intelligent people are so easily taken in by the latest food fads, making brief detours for an expletive-laden rant. Below, exclusively for Foyles, Anthony explains what needs to change in diet books.

Heres a bit of free advice to save you some time, energy and heartache over the next few years. Diets dont work. I give you permission to ignore every single diet and health title in the latest book charts. Dont feel the need to buy any of them, and if you already have one, make sure you ignore all the advice contained within.

Dont believe me? Well, despite the diet industry being worth well over half a trillion dollars per year worldwide (1), there is good evidence that almost all that money is being wasted on false hopes and broken promises. Numerous scientific studies and reviews have shown that the large majority of people who start a diet will have regained any initial weight loss within five years. To make things worse, around 40% of dieters will actually end up heavier than when they started (1,2). In fact, one of the most reliable indicators for whether or not you are going to put on weight in the long term is if you are currently on a diet.

So, for those of you who have taken the cant be bothered approach to weight loss, congratulations. You are probably doing better than all those kale munching detoxers, faithfully clutching the latest lifestyle gurus guide to effortless perfection.

And dont be fooled by the many books that promise this is not a diet, its a sustainable lifestyle change. For within the pages, you will still find rules and restrictions, disordered eating dressed up with pseudoscientific language and some flashy food styling. These books hide aspirations of thinness under a veil of wellness - gluten, grains, carbs, dairy or meat, being needlessly demonised to hide the weight loss goals that lie at their heart.

These are still rules. This is still dieting. And diets just dont work. Long term, you will most likely put on weight, and once again be forced to invest in the latest fad, probably just a reworking of the same pointless rules that let you down before. Your financial, physical and mental health will all be much better off if you do nothing at all.

So, given that their product is scientifically proven not to deliver on its promises, what exactly should the authors and publishers of diet books do? Well, I have three simple rules they might want to consider following -

I think that following those three simple rules would kill the diet industry for good, and for the mental and physical health of the nation, that would be no bad thing. But would it create a dystopian future of deep fried cakes, trifle sandwiches and rampant Type 2 Diabetes? Is every attempt to improve our diet destined to failure? Am I really suggesting that we should we all just stop bothering?

Perhaps not. In many ways, the greatest books about healthy eating are the ones that never mention the word health at all. For it is only when we learn to celebrate food, to enjoy a wide variety of delicious ingredients, and break the moral associations that we have with dietary choices, that we start to eat well.

To the endless stream of health bloggers, chefs and authors, that dominate the book charts, I say this. If you want to help people eat healthily, write books that celebrate fruits, vegetable and fish because they are delicious, rather than harping on about their supposed medicinal value. Give us recipes that help people take the time to appreciate and enjoy variations in flavour, colour and texture. Make dishes that tempt, delight and surprise. Use your culinary talents to create a world where people look forward to trying a new broccoli recipe with the same excitement as a new ice cream and one that makes no moral distinction between the two.

Although books telling us how to lose weight are destined to fail, recipes that provide a joyous celebration of food can genuinely improve our health. We need to let go of the guilt we attach to food pleasures, and dismiss any feelings that treats need to be earned or justified in some way. For it is only when the food we want to eat is the same as the food we should be eating that we will ever have a truly healthy diet.

Read the rest here:
Anthony Warner Explains Why Diets Don't Work - Foyles

Read More..

Practical tips to make sure your hormones become and remain balanced

IF you need coffee to get going and chocolate to see you through the day, it could be down to your hormones.

The chemical messengers released into our blood control major bodily functions, from hunger to mood.

Sidey Clark

And when they are out of sync, they wreak havoc with our well-being.

Nutritionist Angelique Panagos believes that by tuning in to your hormones and making simple lifestyle changes, you can bring them back into harmony.

Her new book promises to help you sleep better, lose weight, have more energy and feel happier.

Here, NATASHA HARDING shares the best bits.

IT IS important to understand that no hormone works in isolation. Heres how to make sure your hormones become and remain balanced:

NOURISH: A few easy tweaks to our diet can make a huge difference to our hormonal balance.

Eat the right carbs such as brown bread and porridge. These are are slow-release carbs.

Stay hydrated and avoid caffeine, alcohol and stimulants.

Eat good fats each day such as avocado, because they help to build hormones, reduce inflammation and keep our cells functioning well.

BALANCE: Steady blood sugar levels stabilise our insulin production, this leads to better moods, quality sleep and reduced PMS symptoms.

Maintain your blood sugar levels by eating balanced meals regularly. If you skip meals or leave many hours between them, blood sugar levels can crash.

Make breakfast a priority. Have a good, protein-rich breakfast within an hour of rising. This will boost your mental energy and set your hormone pattern for the day.

Avoid sugar and artificial sweeteners. Foods high in sugar, such as chocolate or sweets, send your blood sugar rocketing. What goes up, has to come down.

The crash will leave you irritable, hungry and reaching for more of the sweet stuff. Read the ingredients labels and watch for sugars many guises (syrups and names ending in -ose, like sucrose or dextrose).

Getty Images

NURTURE: For you to successfully combat stress and find balance, we need to activate the bodys natural relaxation response.

Prioritise sleep. It is vital for all bodily functions and is controlled by your hormones. We need to start putting a curfew on laptops, computers, tablets and phones.

Laugh more. Laughter is food for the soul. It helps release happy hormones such as a serotonin, which boost mood.

Be more active. Adaptive exercises, like going outside for a brisk walk and filling your lungs with fresh air, can be just what you need to re-energise.

CLEANSE: Toxins can be in the products we use, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.

Filter your water and buy food unwrapped. Choose food with as little packaging as possible to reduce your exposure to chemicals found in plastics and canned products.

Try bathing in Epsom bath salts for relaxation and boosting blood flow.

Getty Images

MOVE: Exercise is essential but dont feel like you have to hit the gym. Just spend a little time figuring out what works best for you.

Try to take the stairs, not the lift. Buy a pedometer or activity tracker to monitor your movement and motivate yourself.

Get the kids off the sofa and away from video games go for a family stroll or a kickabout in the park.

RESTORE: Create some me time it is so important for stress reduction, improved mood and good digestion.

Take some time out. Have a quiet cuppa or read a magazine.

Be social. We are social creatures so find your tribe and nurture those relationships.

Treat yourself. It doesnt have to cost the earth, just be sure to stop work, unplug and wind down.

Six key hormones affect what you are like as a person. They are:

PROGESTERONE: Helps prepare the body for conception and pregnancy while regulating the menstrual cycle. Results of an imbalance include irregular monthly cycles, miscarriage, osteoporosis, PMS and irritability.

TESTOSTERONE: Commonly known as a male hormone but women have it too. Over-consumption of sugary foods can cause the ovaries to create too much testosterone. Low-fat diets, depression and lack of exercise can also cause testosterone levels to fall.

OESTROGEN: Performs more than 300 functions in the body including maintaining bone density. Obesity, stress, environmental toxins and too much caffeine can lead to too much oestrogen being produced, causing mood swings, memory loss and problems focusing.

CORTISOL: The stress hormone is the only one we produce more of as we age. It balances blood sugar, the immune system and helps with weight control. Too much or too little causes impaired immunity, risk of osteoporosis and excess belly fat.

THYROID: These hormones give us energy and help maintain weight. Women are more susceptible to thyroid disfunction than men. It can result in weight gain or not being able to shift extra pounds and fatigue.

INSULIN: Created in the body to help regulate blood sugar levels. Results of an imbalance include Type 2 diabetes, irritability and low mood and energy.

Follow this link:
Tuning in to your hormones can help you sleep better, lose weight, have more energy and make you feel happier ... - The Sun

Read More..

Jordan Times

Heatwave a chance to lose weight nutrition experts Jordan Times AMMAN Hot and summery weather is an opportunity to lose weight due to lack of appetite and high consumption of liquids, experts said. As the Kingdom witnesses a heatwave with temperatures exceeding 40C in many parts of the country, nutritionist ...

Visit link:
Heatwave a chance to lose weight nutrition experts - Jordan Times

Read More..

Boutique fitness studios, CrossFit and FitBits are as popular today as Jane Fonda, the ThighMaster and Tae Bo were in the 1980s and 90s.

Roughly 20 percent of the $30 billion health club industry are boutique fitness concepts, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association. Those studios specialize in everything from boot camps to dance classes to indoor cycling.

The CrossFit brand, meanwhile, is an industry of its own, annually bringing in roughly $4 billion worldwide. FitBit, which looks like a watch and tracks steps taken, earned revenues of $2.17 billion worldwide for fiscal year 2016, the company reported.

Every so often, a fitness movement comes along that gets people pumped up in the seemingly never-ending quest to lose weight and get in shape. Thirty years ago, it was workout videos or devices that now seem weird. Today, its specialty workout classes and tech-minded fitness.

Why do people need to jump onto whatever is trendy to get motivated? And, with a recent University of Washington study estimating that more than 107 million children and 603 million adults are obese is it working?

Hopefully, said Julie Cobos, supervisor of clinical fitness at Lakeside Hospital in west Omaha. Trends come and go, but the desire remains.

This is nothing new, she said. Its whatever new thing people are seeing, the marketing and the visibility. Everyone wants to look good and see results.

But while some fitness crazes end up being short-term fads (anyone remember Buns of Steel?), others appear to have staying power, perhaps because they can work. They also can inspire people to push themselves harder than they thought they could, subsequently changing their lives.

We gained nearly 70 members our first year in business and have nearly 150 adult members after being in business for three-plus years, said James Kuna, co-owner of CrossFit Viral near 165th Street and West Maple Road. We have all levels of participants, from elementary-school kids to young college-aged athletes to middle-aged soccer moms to 60-plus year-olds looking to restore some physical function.

Advocates believe CrossFit is unlikely to go the way of pole dancing fitness classes.

CrossFit in particular has become arguably the biggest fitness trend in the world, with more than 4 million devotees at 13,000 gyms in 120 countries, according to its website.

Individuals of all fitness levels can take part. Professional CrossFit athletes compete at the national CrossFit Games every year. Elite athletes and regular folks can exercise at their local gyms and get really, really good at it.

People who go to CrossFit are told what workout to do every day, and since they can spend a lot of money on it, they can be more motivated to show up.

Many people simply need accountability as it pertains to physical fitness, Kuna said. If they spend X amount of dollars on a personal trainer, there is someone expecting them at the gym every week. When they might otherwise find a reason to not go to the gym, they now have both a personal and monetary commitment to someone to show up.

The friendships that can evolve from popular fitness trends, especially at smaller gyms and boutique fitness studios, boosts motivation, Cobos said.

It becomes a community, she said. Its like, I know Im going to see Denise and Bobby today, and we can catch up after class. That social aspect keeps people going back to any facility.

Sabry Edwards belongs to Renegade Bootcamp and Boxing, a boutique fitness studio at 1851 Madison Ave. in Council Bluffs. She likes the extra motivation the smaller group setting and one-on-one instruction the gym provides.

The Council Bluffs woman said her coach does all the thinking for her.

I literally walk in the door and have an instant awesome workout without having to plan anything or think out a game plan. Working out makes me feel great and helps me get my day started on the right track. It also helps in making better choices in my eating.

Sarah Ziegler of Council Bluffs also belongs to a boutique fitness studio. A runner for years, she bought a FitBit a few years ago after noticing how much fun her workout buddies were having counting their steps and competing with each other.

I do so much as it is that I dont really care how many steps I get in, Ziegler said. But that being said, on my off days it truly showed me how lazy I was and would prompt me to get up and walk around.

For her part, Cobos, the Lakeside fitness head, said she doesnt mind what people glom onto as long as they never stop trying to improve their health.

We encourage a healthy lifestyle, and healthy lifestyle has a broad range, she said. We just focus on keeping everyone in a healthy state, whatever it takes.

Read the original:
Fitness trends evolve, keep people active - Omaha World-Herald

Read More..

Deborah Allard Herald News Staff Reporter @debsallard

A passion for fitness, hard work, and muscle has put Angela Gargano on the cover of Womens Health magazines July/August issue, now on store shelves.

Gargano, 27, of Cranston Rhode Island, is one of five finalists in the magazines fifth annual search for the next Fitness Star. Shes the only contestant in New England.

This is like the coolest thing ever, Gargano said.

Gargano, with a degree in biology and chemistry, gave up her pharmaceutical career to follow her heart and became a personal trainer in Rhode Island gyms. She opened her own gym, AGAthletics in Cranston last Wednesday, and is also teaching a class at Prestige Fitness and Gymnastic in Swansea later this month.

Gargano, who has always been athletic, remembers a time when it wasnt fashionable for a girl to be strong.

She was bullied and called man arms when she was in the fifth grade.

My arms were muscular, she said. People didnt really understand that.

She covered her arms so the kids wouldnt make fun of her.

I was literally just wearing hoodies ... even when it was 90 degrees, Gargano said.

But Gargano learned to embrace, and cultivate, her strength.

She grew up in New Jersey, and was captain of the gymnastics team as a student at Rhode Island College. That all changed when she suffered an ACL tear of a main ligament in her knee.

After being told her future as a gymnast was over, she turned to a personal trainer and began strength building.

It opened the door to fitness beyond gymnastics, Gargano said. As I got older, I learned my strength is the best part of myself.

Gargano said she teaches and trains people of all ages and fitness levels in her classes, helping them to find their outer and inner strength.

She was chosen as a Womens Health magazine Fitness Star finalist because of her tenacity, passion, empowering personal story and incredible workouts, according to a Womens Health statement.

Gargano is a certified personal trainer, Fitness and Bikini Professional and a featured fitness model.

Shes been in numerous fitness competitions and was a qualifier on America Ninja Warrior a couple of years back. She leads boot-camp-style workouts and a Sunday Shred.

Things keep growing and growing, Gargano said.

She said the best part of being chosen as a Womens Health finalist was meeting the four other finalists during the March photo shoot in New York. She said they share a common belief in good nutrition, natural fitness and how it leads to living a good life.

Strong looks good, but it feels even better, Gargano said.

The other four finalists are Lana Titus, of Los Angeles, California, Denise Harris, of Brooklyn, New York, Darcey Wion, of Columbus, Ohio, and Betina Gozo, of Portland, Oregon.

The women will compete for the title of 2017 Next Fitness Star and the opportunity to star in a Womens Health workout video series.

Readers and fans can visit WHNextFitnessStar.com to watch videos of each finalist and vote for their favorite.

After the votes are tallied, the magazines panel of expert and celebrity judges will decide who should be crowned the 2017 Next Fitness Star.

Voting is open now through Aug. 4. The winner will be revealed on CBSs The Insider on Tuesday, Aug. 22.

Visit http://www.agathletics.com to learn more about fitness classes.

Email Deborah Allard at dallard@heraldnews.com.

More here:
RI woman, local instructor a finalist for 'Women's Health' Next Fitness Star - Fall River Herald News

Read More..

Deborah Allard Herald News Staff Reporter @debsallard

SWANSEA SALT Fitness Yoga Cafe and the Swansea Mall will team up for a Summer Fitness Challenge with other local wellness partners over eight weeks.

The challenge will kick off on Sunday, July 9, at Center Court in the mall from noon to 2 p.m.

Fitness, food, fashion and other vendors will be on site when participants sign up for the challenge.

Free fitness classes in a variety of styles will be offered throughout the challenge.

Itll feature beauty from the inside out, said Shaun Gadbois, owner of Salt Fitness along with Andre Gadbois.

He said it will be a way for people of all fitness levels to get in shape, and also help revitalize the area through all the good things people are already doing in the community.

Classes will be held in a mall space next to SALT Fitness. SALT staffers and other fitness gurus will offer the free classes in the rented space.

Its an amazing opportunity to get ... a taste for different types of fitness, Gadbois said.

A schedule of fitness classes is being finalized and will be available by July 9. Participants can download an app and sign up for classes.

Participants will weigh in at the kickoff and will be eligible for prizes throughout the Summer Challenge.

The program will end in August. There will be a dinner to celebrate the winners.

An advance registration cost of $20 will go toward paying rent on the workout space. Registration on the day of the kickoff event will be $30.

For more information, call SALT at 508-617-4554.

Those who would like to participate can register at http://clients.mindbodyonline.com/classic/ws?studioid=9505&stype=41&prodid=1812.

Email Deborah Allard at dallard@heraldnews.com.

See the original post here:
SALT, Swansea Mall to kick off Summer Fitness Challenge - Fall River Herald News

Read More..

WESTBROOK >> Barefoot Bands. Its the insanely popular workout at Westbrooks Fitness on the Water thats strengthening, lengthening and toning bodies up and down the Shoreline and its coming to Branford on Saturday, July 15.

Witness a recent morning class. Dance music pulses through the sun-lit space. A group moves together like fitness marionettes, tethered to a rainbow of resistance bands they pull down from the ceiling.

Theyre on their feet. Theyre on their knees. Theyre on the floor. Theyre lunging, kicking, squatting, twisting, planking. Theyre working their shoulders, triceps, and biceps. Theyre getting down with the music. Theyre having a blast.

The mashup of yoga, Pilates, and barefoot cardio is the brainchild of Dana Brown, the ringleader of the morning festivities, as well as operations manager and fitness instructor at Fitness on the Water.

You pull down the colored bands that correspond to your fitness level so anyone can do it, said Brown, amid the scent of lavender and the tinkling sound of the waterwall in the spa-like sitting area on the grounds of Waters Edge Resort.

Its invigorating, its all-absorbing, its fun, it sets the tone for the rest of my day, said Becky Armstrong of Madison, whos not averse to traveling to the studios flagship location in Essex when theres a wait list.

Jennifer DiPasquale, who had suffered from chronic stress fractures and knee issues, is also a Barefoot Bands enthusiast.

Its fun, its challenging, and thank goodness, because its the only exercise I can do, said the Old Saybrook mother of two whos lost 21 pounds since joining the studio four months ago. Its gentle on the joints and it gives you stability and helps with balance.

Jillian Hill of Old Saybrook, a former marathoner and morning regular, had a similar take. The classes are a blast, she said. You get the benefit of a full cardio workout without having to spend hours on a treadmill. Plus youre working your whole body. Ive never been in better shape.

Theres a reason its so effective, according to Brown, a level 3 comprehensive certified Peak Pilates instructor, a designation thats involved 800 hours of training and has refined her ability to read bodies and identify imbalances.

For one thing, Barefoot Bands is part and parcel of the studios philosophy.

Fitness should be a fun and inviting activity and never a chore, said the lithe 42-year-old dynamo. Were about helping people of all ages and levels feel welcome to come in with their particular fitness goals and motivated to keep coming back to achieve them.

For another, Barefoot Bands, as with other classes offered by the studio Piloxing at the Barre, for example, a fusion of Pilates, boxing, and Barre is based on the principles of Pilates.

Ive been teaching fitness my whole life, Brown said. Pilates is the one form of exercise I can guarantee that if you do on a regular basis, your entire body changes. You build your bodys core strength. Your posture improves. Your muscles get longer and leaner.

That DiPasquale has seen palpable results is no surprise. Pilates is one of the only forms of exercise thats great for everyone no matter their age or fitness level, said Brown.

Its really an extension of physical therapy. Everything can be modified. Everything can be progressed. Its gentle but when done correctly, it can be extremely challenging and effective.

The same can be said of the Barre classes, of which Hill, who works in real estate at Seabury-Hill Realtors in New Haven, is a devotee. The full-body workout features a combination of postures inspired by ballet, yoga and Pilates, with the barre used as a prop for stretching and strengthening.

As with many of the classes at Fitness on the Water, the emphasis is less on how many reps you can do or how much weight you can lift than on precision and proper form, said Hill.

Thats because, according to Brown, form is everything. You have to master the basics. If you dont, if youre not doing it right, youre either going to get hurt or youre going to think its too easy.

That Susan Connelly, formerly with the Joffrey Ballet, is one of the Barre instructors, is by design. All of our instructors are very experienced, Brown said.

That said, you dont need to be a classically trained dancer to pli your way to a stronger body.

There are no superstars, said DiPasquale. There are people of every size. All of them, she said, the instructors get moving and keep moving. Dana [Brown] in particular is inspiring. She checks in with me about my knee. She makes me want to keep coming in and keep working harder.

Thats not to say that pulling down those resistance bands or bellying up to the barre wont be a challenge. Theres a reason Hillary Kennedy, who leads classes in Barre, Pilates, and Barefoot Bands, is known as Killary Hillary. Youre going to discover muscles you never knew you had, Brown said.

Of course, if Barefoot Bands, Piloxing at the Barre and Shockwave Rowing, a circuit challenge that includes a specially designed WaterRower machine as well as infrared saunas to cure insomnia and soothe arthritis seem like the latest fitness fads, the instructors at Fitness on the Water arent apologizing.

We offer classes, and services, that you can only find in the most cutting-edge studios in New York and L.A., said Brown.

Whats different with us is that we do it in a non-intimidating, encouraging environment with instructors who have the experience and know-how to modify workouts for anyone of any age or fitness level.

More than that, it seems, it works. I never imagined I could see these results, DiPasquale said. Barefoot Bands has changed my life.

Fitness on the Water is located at 1587 Boston Post Road in Westbrook. For more information, visit http://www.fitnessonthewater.com, call 860-391-8735, or email dana@fitnessonthewater.com. The Branford studio will be located at 469 East Main St. in the Planet Fitness building. For information on classes and schedules, visit http://www.fitnessonthewater.com or facebook.com/fitnessonthewaterbranford.

Read the rest here:
Fitness on the Water: Taking workouts to a new level - Shoreline Times

Read More..

The good

The bad

Verdict

Polar's A370 fitness tracker gets a boost from continuous heart rate-monitoring, connected GPS and and a colorful display, but the GPS is wonky.

Polar's new A370 fitness-tracking wristband is a course correction from its predecessor, the A360, which was lacking in a few key areas. The A370 improves upon the last-gen model, with continuous heart-rate monitoring, GPS (sort of), an easier-to-fasten band clasp and a new sleep-tracking tool called Polar Sleep Plus.

But the $179 A370 is also a direct shot at Fitbit, the category leader, with a handful of marquee features yanked straight from last year's best-selling Fitbit Charge 2. Can Polar out-Fitbit Fitbit? Spoiler alert: no.

The A370 looks almost exactly the same as the A360. Both have beautiful, bright, full-color TFT capacitive touch screens that show the time when you move your wrist. Fitbit's Charge 2 also has a touch display, but I prefer the A370's because it's much longer and can show more information at a glance.

When you swipe down from the main clock view, you'll see settings, your heart rate and an overview of your daily activity. You can also start a training session from that menu. A bigger display makes it easier to see data at a glance while you're running outside, which is a bonus.

To sync the tracker with the Polar Flow app, press and hold the side button on the A370. (It's bizarre that this function has a dedicated hardware button.) The same button will pause or end a workout. The A370 supports phone notifications from any app, which is far better than what the Charge 2 offers: limited text, call and calendar alerts. Like the Charge 2, the A370 also enables alarms and sends you messages encouraging you to move. All of these alerts are accompanied by a strong vibration, which will definitely wake you from a dead sleep. Trust me.

With the A370, Polar has moved to a more traditional watch buckle to fasten the fitness tracker, which makes it much easier to put on than the A360.

But the A370 still looks very much like a run-of-the-mill fitness band. Its six interchangeable straps are available only in a sporty elastomer material, which you won't want to wear with a dressy outfit or to a fancy event. Polar offers two band lengths, small and medium/large, but if you have a small wrist, the A370 will look massive. There's no getting around it. I prefer the size of Fitbit's Alta HR over both the Charge 2 and the A370, which both look ridiculous on me. But the A370's larger display almost makes up for its all-around huge size.

Where the A370 differs from its predecessor is in its continuous heart-rate tracking, which means the device can do almost everything the first-gen fitness tracker couldn't: log your outdoor running mileage and speed, offer heart-rate-based insights on your activity, and give you a more comprehensive look at your sleep patterns. Polar is touting its new sleep-tracking tool as one of the A370's marquee features.

While Fitbit uses the heart rate sensors on its Charge 2 and Alta HR to track your sleep cycles which presumably Polar could also do with the A370's continuous heart-rate monitor Polar Sleep Plus is pretty bare-bones. The device accurately detected my sleep and wake times and synced them to the Polar Flow app, but the graphed data didn't include how much REM versus light sleep I got per night, like Fitbit's app does. Your heart rate during sleep says a lot about the quality of rest you're getting, and Polar Sleep Plus could offer more useful insights.

I do like the in-app sleep-continuity rating, which tells me how many times I woke during the night, and the ability to give my own feedback on each night's sleep. Polar's nightly report also includes your lowest heart rate during sleep, which Fitbit's doesn't. While that data point is probably more useful to people with sleep disorders or heart problems, I still found it fascinating.

The continuous heart-rate tracking is more relevant for runners than it is for insomniacs. The A370 samples your heart rate every 5 minutes during the day and night, but when you start a training session, the device kicks into high gear and tracks your heart rate throughout your workout. Polar uses this data to more accurately estimate calories burned during your session and offer post-exercise feedback based on how hard you trained.

Optical heart rate sensors have improved by leaps and bounds over the last few years. I took the A370 on several 3-mile runs over the course of a week and a half, and it consistently and accurately tracked my heart rate. I strapped a Polar H10 heart rate monitor to my chest for comparison and got almost exactly the same results.

With the A370, Polar addressed the lack of GPS that made the A360 a no-go for runners and bikers. Instead of baking GPS directly into the device, Polar went with the Fitbit Charge 2 approach: allowing the A370 to use your phone's GPS. However, this means you can't accurately track your mileage without toting a second device along.

Frankly, the connected GPS was annoying. First you have to change your smartphone settings to allow Polar Flow to constantly track your location, which is a setting I hate to turn on for any app. Without doing that, you won't get maps of your routes. Even after I changed my settings, the A370 kept losing the GPS signal on my morning runs and vibrating my wrist every single time to alert me. That may have been the fault of my iPhone 7 Plus and Brooklyn's tree-lined streets and parks, but it was still irritating. The Polar Flow app still managed to accurately map my route and graph my pace per mile, but those constant vibrations killed me.

Like many fitness-tracking apps, Polar Flow (available for Android and iOS) has a lot going on. There are tabs for your main feed, which displays your daily activity and workouts, as well as updates from any friends you've added in the app.

The Activity tab gives you an overview of your day with charts and graphs galore, and includes data on workouts and sleep. But then workouts and sleep get their own tabs with deeper insights, because why not? The whole app could use a streamlined redesign. This is where Fitbit shines. Its app is gorgeous; its social features are easy to find and use, and I don't have to dig around to find the data I want to see.

I took the A370 on several 3-mile runs over the course of a week and a half, and it consistently and accurately tracked my heart rate.

Polar has another app, Polar Beat, which syncs with the company's H10 chest strap and offers voice coaching. That app looks like a million bucks with a very Apple-inspired design, but it offers far fewer features than Polar Flow. If Polar would marry the two, I would love the A370 a whole lot more.

Few people want to wear a device that has to be charged every single day. Our phones alone require constant care and feeding, and the last thing my routine needs is more devices that require nightly charging. Polar's device promises up to four days on a single charge, though I was getting just three days with continuous wear, notifications enabled and 30- to 40-minute daily training sessions. That's on par with the A360, but the Fitbit Charge 2 can last about five days on a charge.

The A370 wins bonus points for using a micro USB cable instead of a proprietary charger, though the port cover feels flimsy, like I might lose it at any moment.

The A370 is a vast improvement over the A360. It offers accurate, continuous heart-rate tracking; connected GPS; deeper sleep insights; and a better band clasp at a lower price than Polar's previous band.

If you're a serious athlete, a more fully-featured GPS watch, such as the Garmin Forerunner 35, would be a better investment. If you just want a fitness band that can track your exercise and sleep without too much fuss, the A370 is a good option. But Fitbit's Charge 2 is less expensive and offers many of the same features, with the bonus of a great app and interchangeable bands that can transition from the gym to the office.

Excerpt from:
Polar A370 Review: This Fitness Tracker Has Heart - Tom's Guide

Read More..

Contact Us Today

Page 1,902«..1020..1,9011,9021,9031,904..1,9101,920..»

Home » Page 1902