What do you do for exercise? Do you bike or walk? Why not do that on the way or at least part of the way to work.

Walking or biking to work, even part way, is linked with fitness, but very few Americans do it, according to a study of more than 2,000 middle-aged city dwellers.

In what may be the first large U.S. study of health and commuting, the researchers found only about 17 percent of workers walked or bicycled any portion of their commute.

The new study is based on tests and questionnaires from 2,364 workers who were part of a larger federally funded study on heart disease risk. The participants lived in Chicago, Minneapolis, Birmingham, Ala., and Oakland, Calif. They were asked in 2005-2006 about their commuting habits in the past 12 months. Read the rest of this entry »

Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: Alabama, Archives of Internal Medicine, Birmingham, California, Chapel Hill, Chicago, heart disease, James Sallis, Minneapolis, North Carolina, Oakland, obesity, Oregon, Penny Gordon-Larsen, Portland, San Diego State University, United States, University of North Carolina

It is no big story that obesity rates are rising in the US but there are new numbers out, and reccomendations from The Trust for America’s Health.

The gravy train — make that the sausage, biscuits and gravy train — just kept on rolling in most of America last year, with 31 states showing an increase in obesity.

Mississippi continued to lead the way. An estimated 29.5 percent of adults there are considered obese. That is an increase of 1.1 percentage points when compared with last year’s report, which is compiled by Trust for America’s Health, an advocacy group that promotes increased funding for public health programs.

Meanwhile, Colorado remains the leanest state. About 16.9 percent of its adults are considered obese. That mark was also up slightly from last year’s report, but not enough to be considered statistically significant.

The only state that experienced a decrease in the percentage of obese adults last year was Nevada.

“Quick fixes and limited government programs have failed to stem the tide,” said Dr. Jeff Levi, executive director of the trust, in explaining the rise.

Health officials warn that the incidence of obesity in a particular state doesn’t mean it treats the issue less seriously than others. States have different challenges to contend with when it comes to obesity, said Dr. Janet Collins of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: advocacy group, Alabama, America, America's Health, BMI, CDC director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Colorado, director, executive director, hawaii, heart disease, Janet Collins, Jeff Levi, Jeffrey Koplan, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, nutrition counseling, obesity, Rhode Island, Trust for America, United States, USD, Vermont, West Virginia

Kim Lyons is a fitness contest competitor from California. Yesterday I posted about how Jillian Michaels has left the Biggest Lose and is being replaced by Kim Lyons . Who is Kim Lyons you may be wondering? Well I dug around and found the following bio on her at the Kim Lyons website. It looks like she has quite the background and I am excited to see her in action when the Biggest Loser comes back to TV next January

Height 5′4
Birthday 5-5-73
Weight 120 off season 115 competition
Measurements 34-24-34
Hair Blonde
Eyes Brown

My Childhood

“Home is not the place where you live, but the place where you belong”

I was born in Texas, then moved to England, Sacramento CA, New Mexico, Alabama, Back to Sacramento, Idaho, Virginia, Colorado, Texas, Arizona, Italy, Utah and now I’m in Hermosa Beach, CA Although I always made where I’m living home, I have been coming to Hermosa Beach since I was five to spend the summers with my Grandparents. I have always called Hermosa “home”. It is the only place that I have continued to return to throughout my life. It sounds silly, but I still get so excited every time I wake up and realize I live here!

Athletic Background
I have always been involved in sports. Gymnastics, dance, track, softball, and cheerleading were I spent most of my time. Moving so often it was hard to make new friends, having sports always put me in with a little group. I cheered all the way through my last year in college. Most people really under estimate how much athletic talent and time is required as a collegian cheerleader.

Getting started as a fitness competitor
I never planned on a career in fitness. Throughout college I studied nutrition and other related topics to get my BS in Human Development and Nutrition. I just needed to get a degree so I could become an airline pilot. That was my goal. However, my love and passion of the fitness industry and modeling lead me down a different path.

Shortly after graduating from Colorado State I began teaching aerobics and working at the front desk at a new World Gym opening up across the street. I rarely lifted weights, and taught about 6 classes a week. One of the trainers asked me if I wanted to train with him and another girl looking to share the cost of the sessions. The other girl, Shannon, was training for the Galaxy. She had the most amazing abs I’d ever seen. After about a month of training and learning to eat better, my body had drastically changed and I decided to compete as well. There were about 100 girls in the competition and I placed somewhere in the top 20. I was super happy with that and had a blast. Even better, I was swamped by several top photographers in the business. I started to get exposure, and from there the ball kept rolling. I never dreamed I’d actually get the job of my dreams as a “Weider Athlete”. I have since signed on as part of “Team Muscle Tech”. Life just keeps getting better!

Me in a Nutshell!
I’m a totally down to earth! I believe in the good old fashion phrase “Treat others as you’d like them to treat you!” If I’m having a bad day and someone smiles, says hello, or gives a compliment can really turn my day around. Sometimes I feel like everyone is so quick to be critical and not to give a compliment. I think we all critique ourselves enough, sometimes it is hard to see the beauty in ourselves.

I guess overall I’m pretty much a goofball. I’d say I have a smile on my face 90% of the time. Doing sexy shoots is not my thing, I think I look silly when I have a serious face! Many people think I’m a goodie two shoes because I don’t do a lot of sexy T and A shoots, but really I just have a butt complex and my top half is usually to lean to brag about! I’m super independent and love to be alone. I love days when I can just sit around my house, catch up on e-mails, clean out a drawer or two, fold the laundry, and walk the dog. I don’t understand how people can be bored. I need about ten lifetimes to do everything I want to do!

Tags: airline, Alabama, Arizona, California, collegian cheerleader, Colorado, Gymnastics, Hermosa Beach, Idaho, Italy, jillian michaels, kim lyons, little group, New Mexico, Sacramento, Shannon, Softball, Texas, United Kingdom, Utah, Virginia, World Gym

I found this article at Sign on San Diego. It is a geat article on the value of these “other” egg products that we see in stores. I only eat eggs on the weekend when I am hungry for a bigger breakfast with the kids and have always wanted to know more about these eggs. I bought them once and they tasted like eggs but just never bought them again…

Remember the days when shopping for eggs was just a question of large or jumbo?

Today’s supermarkets present dizzying choices: “free-roaming,” “omega-3,” “100 percent organic,” “cage-free,” “compatible with cholesterol-reducing diet,” “natural sunlight,” “hand-gathered,” “vegetarian diet,” “high vitamin E,” “humane harvest,” “vegetarian hens with roosters.”

It’s a trend born of the egg’s new and improved nutritional rap and fueled by the zeal of low-carb dieters. And these designer eggs bear designer prices.

So what makes them different? It boils down to two things: what the hens eat and how they are housed.

Technorati Tags: egg, supplement, nutrition, fitness
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Alabama, Alberta, allergic reactions, American Heart Association, Anne Van Beber, associate professor and chairman, associate professor and chairman of the department, Canada, canola oil, Consumer Reports, designer, egg products, Environmental Protection Agency, fish oil pills, food, food staff, high-oil fish, reducing diet, San Diego, San Francisco Chronicle, Texas Christian University, the Edmonton Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, University of Alberta, vegetarian diet