How Do They Stay in Shape? Celebrity Diet Tips

Ever wonder how some celebrities stay in shape? And I don’t mean that whole “I eat whatever I want, I’m just lucky” crap. I’m talking about some honest-to-goodness truth about how celebrities stay in shape? Well, I have some for you. Hopefully these help provide some tips as you develop your diet.

Ladies
Jennifer Love Hewitt: According to the actress, she does not buy snacks around the house, and she does not keep food at home to last longer than two days. This is quite clever if you have stores near you because when you have cravings late at night, the store would already be closed. Plus, your vegetables would always be fresh and you’d never be left with the temptation of a lot of food.

Jennifer Lopez: According to Jennifer, she does not believe in cutting food that she loves out because that would only make her want it more. So she cuts out desserts because that is what she can do without. And for the food, she cuts down her portions. Here’s the kicker: She reduces her drink calories by cutting alcohol from her diet.

Heidi Klum: After she had a few babies, Heidi Klum took nude pictures of herself weekly. Why, you ask? She could see how much weight she was losing or gaining each week. I would like this idea, but all naked pictures seem to eventually leak and start floating around somewhere.

Cheryl Cole: During the week, she tries to steer clear of carbs. She has one pig out day on Sundays. Apparently, she chose this because it is her hangover day.

Drew Barrymore: How does she deal with hunger between meals? She snacks on low-fat Jell-O. Jell-O is very low in calories. For the chocolate-indulgent folk, Chocolate Mousse Jell-O contains about 60 calories. That’s much better than most snacks.

Tyra Banks: Tyra says she lost weight by eliminating some bad little food habits, like putting bacon on her salads.

Jennifer Hudson: It’s no secret that the songstress fully supports the Weight Watchers diet program. The Weight Watchers points programs are pretty good because they help you make a lifestyle change.

Kelly Rowland: According to Kelly, she knows what works for her body and what doesn’t because she’s done test runs eliminating things like sugar from her diet. This is a good idea since we all have different bodies, and different body parts that plague us. One thing she always says is that she does not believe in crazy diets because you just put the weight back on straight away. I’m definitely with her on this one. Crazy diets are a no-no. Lose weight steadily and healthily, rather than super fast.

Men
Ryan Reynolds: Years after Blade and X-Men, men are still searching for Ryan Reynolds’ diet and workout routine. For his diet, Ryan says he eats every 2 to 3 hours so his metabolism is constantly running, and his body does not need to store fat for energy.

Hugh Jackman: Hugh always eats protein before he trains. His protein of choice is steamed chicken. In fact, he says while he was training for Wolverine, he ate like 29 chickens a day. While that might be an exaggeration, you don’t get that much muscle without that much protein. Just keep in mind that he was also working on his muscles from about an hour and a half every single day for about a year and a half.

Usher: According to Usher, seventy percent of ab work is what you eat. So he keeps a nutritionist who makes sure he stays on chicken, fish, light fruits, and dark green salads. He has a very very strict diet. But then again, I guess you don’t get Usher’s abs without being super strict.

Boris Kodjoe: Boris keeps his diet clean and eats small meals every few hours. In the morning, he gets in the most calories, and then later in the day, he sticks to fresh, local produce and lean meats.

Will Smith: Will Smith focuses on eating a high protein diet and cuts out all junk food.  He doesn’t eliminate all of his carbohydrates, but he does focus on eating healthy sources of carbs instead of the processed version. That means that he goes for whole grain versus white.

Idris Elba: No matter what, Idris says he gets in some carbs and protein for breakfast, usually a healthy cereal and some eggs.

Chris Brown: Chris Brown’s diet plan actually allows eating any foods as long as the caloric consumption in a day doesn’t go beyond the allowable caloric allowance. This is a little bit like the Weight Watchers philosophy that you can eat anything but you have a daily calorie limit. In the end, you’ll find yourself eating smart because you do realize that you need to spread your calories out across the day.

David Beckham: David usually has a breakfast of wholemeal cereal, toast and milk, a mid-morning snack of fresh fruit, a mixture of ground cheese and fresh fruit before and after practice, and grilled white meat or fish for dinner. He also limits wine to once a week and bans sweets and candy. While that sounds pretty strict, we can get some tips from his diet. What we can highlight is that we need to eat a good breakfast, eat before and after workouts, and eat a lot of protein at dinner. 

I know that’s a lot of information, but here’s how you can look at it. If there is a celebrity you think has a body similar to yours, and yet they’ve been able to stay in their target weight/muscle definition, maybe some of their diet tips can help. Let me know if any of these work out for you.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Howcelebritiesloseweight.com

Tricks to Firm up Fast

You don’t have too much time to spend in the gym? I’ve heard that story countless times. We always make time for what’s important, but the truth is we do also have pretty busy lives. The good news is that there are some tricks to get the most out of your workout in the least time. As I said a few weeks ago, there is no use sitting in the gym for hours on end just to be there, when you can stay for a short time and max out your workout. Your time is tres important, so being smart about it is the key.

Don’t slow down: It seems easy enough, right? But you do firm up the most when you go at your max for a short time, rather than go at a medium energy level for an extended period. Going at your max means intense bursts of cardio, and circuit strength training. Have you ever seen the people that do interval training when it comes to cardiovascular exercise? Like a burst of energy and speed, and then medium speed, another burst, then medium speed, and so on? Or the people that do a circuit of like 5 strength exercises over and over without a break in-between? Yes, they know a secret that you don’t. What’s the secret? You build muscles by tearing up your muscles to the max and then giving them time to repair. So if you lift as much as you possibly can, run around on different machines and really tear up your muscles without a break, and then go home and rest, that rest would be so good on your body that you would actually see the difference. The only negative is that this type of intense workout session should not be done every day because then your muscles are not given the chance to repair themselves.

Five is better than Zero: Well, a 2 year old can tell you that. We get so caught up in “looking for time to exercise” that we don’t realize that we could do bursts of exercise anytime, especially strength training. You know what's better than 5 minutes of nothing? 5 minutes of exercise! We’ve been blessed with our own body weight, right? So if your favorite TV show is on a commercial break, why not do 5 minutes of pushups? If you’re waiting for someone to show up to drop something off, do some sit-ups or squats. It does add up. You could find that you go from 0 minutes of exercise in your day to 15 minutes.

Hang out plus exercise: You dance, right? No? Well, you do now! Multitask by hanging out with your friends and getting a workout at the same time. I know you move around in your seat when [insert most recent club-banger here] comes on when you’re out with your friends. Get up and dance to it then!

Change your abdominal exercises: Yea, we all know how to crunch, but you could benefit so much more (and faster) if you vary the exercises you do for your belly. In fact, you could even incorporate tools like a stability ball that help to target all the different abdominal muscles at once. Don’t just do crunches and sit-ups; that would take you forever, and could hurt your neck as well.

Slow down your strength training: Yes, yes, I noticed that this seems to contradict the first thing I said, but let me shed some more light. A lot of people rush through their reps when they strength-train, and don’t give their bodies time to get the most out of the workout. For example, when you’re doing a squat, do you pulse quickly just to get over with it as soon as possible? Try a different approach. Slow it down. When you go into a squat (or any other repetitive exercise), go as far as you can, pause in the position for one second, and then come up. Tell me how your muscles feel after. You could be doing exactly the same exercise as someone else and not letting yourself feel all the benefits of the exercise. So when next you strength-train, give yourself time to feel the burn in the contracted position before you extend. Tear up those muscles a little bit more. But don’t use the excuse of doing fewer repetitions because you feel more pain. Do the same as you would have if you were going fast.

So what did we learn today, class? Go faster, harder, and tear up your muscles in a shorter span of time than going at an average intensity, and exercise wherever and whenever you can no matter how little.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: Becomegorgeous.com

The Wonder that is Tofu

With that title, several things are probably going through your mind right now. No, I have not turned this into a  vegan tree-hugging blog.

From the time I’ve spent writing here, I’ve come to realize several things. One big thing that I’ve realized is that there is not only one type of reader here. In fact, since a majority of readers are Africans, I will narrow it down; there is not only one type of African. I believe there are many people that would like to try new things, but don’t know how to cook them, and feel stupid asking. Well, if you ever thought of making tofu, or if you’ve eaten it out a lot but just don’t know how to cook it, rest easy because I’m here to help.

What is tofu?
Stop scratching your head. In some parts of the world, tofu is pretty unpopular. For those who may not know what tofu is, it is basically a coagulated form of mashed soybeans. You know what soybeans are? Then you pretty much know what tofu is. So why is it so popular? It has become synonymous with vegetarianism because of its ability to absorb any flavor it comes around. Unlike meat that takes a while to absorb the flavors of sauce around it, tofu absorbs these flavors very easily. So you can cook it in almost anything and it would taste just like it.

There are several textures of tofu, but for cooking, we commonly use firm tofu.

What are the benefits of tofu?
Besides its absorbent quality, tofu is also known for its very healthy nutritional content. Let’s stack tofu up against beef and chicken, shall we?

Tofu contains much less calories than animal-based products. The only drawback is that although it is high in protein, you’d need at least twice the size to get the amount of protein meat gives you. But again, if you are already surpassing your daily protein requirements, this should not be a problem. Additionally, a lot of the calories in tofu come from fat, but note that it is the good fat, like the kind found in nuts and fish.

Cooking with tofu
So remember how I said tofu was super-absorbent? This is the point where that actually impacts us in a negative way. To ensure that firm tofu does not dry out, it is usually sold as a large block soaked in water. But then, this means that we have to drain the water out before we cook it or it would be all mushy. This draining process does take some time.

With chicken and beef, you can just cut them up and throw them in a pan. With tofu, you have to do the following:

• Put a couple of layers of napkins on a dish
• Remove the tofu from the water, and put it on top the napkins
• Put a chopping board on top the tofu
• Put something heavy like a can of tomato sauce on the chopping board to help press out the moisture from the tofu
• Leave this way for at least 15 minutes.

After this, your tofu should be well drained and ready to chop up and cook. To give it a hard meat-like texture, you could bake, grill or fry the tofu for a little bit before you put it in food. Tofu is most commonly used in sautés, noodles, or sauces, but you can basically use it in anything as a meat substitute.

Do you want to try tofu, but are not sure what to make? Here are a few healthy tofu recipes to help get you started: Tofu Recipes. There is so much on that list from Indian to Chinese to Italian. Maybe one day, we’ll have some Nigerian dishes up there too…

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: nytimes.com

Do You Really Need to Exercise an Hour a Day?

I found this article that I really wanted to share. Sometimes, we get so caught up in numbers that we go down the path of "quantity" rather than "quality" when it comes to exercise. The article below talks about how we can focus on the quality of our cardio exercises, and a few things we can do to reduce the amount of time we spend working out, but still reap the same benefits. Check out the article on Health.com at the link below:

Do You Really Need to Exercise an Hour a Day?

Let me know what you think.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: mystrongmedicine.com

Selecting the Right Running Shoes

 

Do not underestimate the power of your shoes to propel you forward or hold you back. We are usually drawn to the bargain shopping experience, and so we tend to do the same with our running shoes. But many of us will not bargain shop for a bad quality pair of pumps or work shoes, so why do we do it with the shoes we use to work out?

However, I do understand that the task of picking a good quality pair of running shoes is daunting, especially since we are not experts and find it difficult to understand the technical aspects of shoe design. But there are a few simple steps you can follow to choose the right pair of shoes for your feet.

What type of feet do you have?

Everyone has different feet, and so the shoes that we feel comfortable in are also very different. Between your heel and the balls of your feet, there is an arch on the inside of your feet, right? Depending on how high or low that arch is, you would need a different type of shoe. To measure you can dip your feet in water and step on a surface where you can see the outline of the shape the water would make when you step off (e.g. paper towels).

• A regular arch is where the part of your foot that touches the floor when you stand is a little less than half the width of your foot. This also means that there would be less pressure on the left or right side of your foot as you balance. People will regular arches should focus on comfort and stability, and so you should stay away from shoes where the whole sole has no inward arch. And definitely stay away from shoes where the sole has an outward arch. An example of a good shoe for the regular-arched people is the Adidas Women's Supernova Glide 3. See the curve where your foot arch is? That’s exactly what your foot needs.

• A low arch (also called overpronation or flat feet) is where the part of your foot that touches the floor where you stand is almost the entire width of your foot. So there is a lot of pressure on the inside of your foot where there shouldn’t be because you roll inward as you walk. Stay away from shoes with an arch as those would be uncomfortable.  An example of a good shoe for the low-arched people is the New Balance 1123. See how it seems to focus more on motion from the heel to the toes as you land? That’s what your foot needs.

• A high arch (also called underpronation) is where the part of your foot that touches the floor where you stand is pretty thin, and almost not visible. There is a lot of pressure on the outside of your foot because the inside basically does not touch the ground. You need shoes that have a lot of cushion to absorb shock so that they could push some of the pressure off of the outer foot. An example of a good shoe for the high-arched individuals is the Nike Air Max+ 2011. See the cushioning on the shoe? That’s what your foot needs so your ankles don’t get sprained. I’m partial to Nike for underpronation because they make a lot of well cushioned shoes.

Although this is a great start, I want to stress that if you have a running store near you, please go there. They would measure your foot, your arch and degree of pronation, as well as your posture, what surface you run on, how long you’ve been running, and how much you weigh. Take your old shoes when you go to a store because they help the clerk figure out how you run. All the shoes I’ve named above are from major sneaker companies that have specialty stores. Go to one if you have a store near you. If you do not, use the tips above. And remember that your shoes could make or break your workout routine, so please invest in them.

If you have questions, let me know. It is not an easy process selecting the right shoes if you are serious about working out, but when you get the right ones, it is well worth it.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

When is a Salad Not a Salad?

The conditioning we have received is to tag certain words in our brains as good, and others as bad. For example, if I said the word ‘burger’, you would immediately think juicy with tons of calories. And if I said ‘salad’, you would think dainty, few calories, possibly tasteless, and good for you. If you’ve ever been to a Nigerian 10-year old birthday party and looked at the mayo-infused coleslaw being served, you’d think again. Some salads are worse than a Double Whopper. The word salad is just that, only a word. Restaurants can get away with a lot if they just name an item a salad.

The same theory goes for a burger. If you make it absolutely greasy with greasy onions, tons of cheese, and tons of fatty dressing, of course it is unhealthy. But if you stick to lean meat, get a low calorie bun, skip the cheese, and minimize the dressing, a burger can actually contain less calories than some salads out there.

So what should you look out for when choosing or making a salad? What defeats the whole purpose of having a salad? Here are some of the items:

Bacon: I don’t even need to point this one out to you. Bacon is pretty greasy and salty, and although it’s, you know, bacon, and it’s delicious, a few strips can defeat the purpose of having a salad. It is really not that filling as well, so it just feels like eating empty calories. Try to stick to other forms of lean meat.

Dressing: Rather than use creamy dressings, I would stay try to stick to small servings of vinaigrettes or olive oil. If you absolutely must use a creamy dressing, serve it on the side so you can use just a tad as you eat the salad. There is no point if the number of calories in the dressing is more than the whole salad.

Nuts: Be very careful here. People like to throw in some nuts here and there to spruce up a salad, but when it starts to take over the salad, then there’s a problem. Nuts are great for you, but just like anything, they do contain calories too, and so we can’t eat them endlessly and expect to get away with it. Oh, and stick to nuts with low salt content.

Greens: All edible greens are great for you. But some are better than others. I live by the rule: the greener the vegetable, the better it is for you. Greener vegetables have more vitamins and antioxidants than bland-colored vegetables. So to all the lettuce lovers, come to the spinach side!

Meat: Let’s face it; a plain salad is just blah. You can make your salad taste better and be more filling by adding in some meat. But it’s important to be careful with the type of meat you use in a salad. I once saw a salad with bacon bits, sausage, and chopped burger patties. You may as well just eat a few pizzas. With salads, try to stay in the lean meat or fish category: chicken or turkey breast, lean beef, salmon, etc.

Dried fruit: I love love love fruit in salads. They help to naturally sweeten the vegetables. But please pay attention to the number of calories in the fruit you use when using dried fruit. Some dried fruit are caramelized with sugar and syrup, and that could multiply the number of calories in the raw fruit. If possible, stick to fresh fruit like berries, peaches, oranges, and apples with a low number of calories and tons of other benefits.

Now, just to give you an idea of real-life salads out there that contain over 1000 calories. These are all American restaurants, so if you’re outside the US, these may not apply to you. But I just want you to see how easy it is to pick a bad salad.

• Cheesecake Factory Grilled Chicken Tostada Salad (contains corn tortillas, avocado cream and sour cream) – 1130 calories
• Chili’s Quesadilla Explosion Salad (contains cheese quesadillas) – 1400 calories
• Outback Steakhouse Queensland Salad (contains bacon, cheese, croutons, and mustard vinaigrette) – 1410 calories
• IHOP Chicken & Spinach Salad (contains fried chicken, bacon and garlic bread): 1600 calories

If you make a spinach salad with turkey breast and some blueberries with balsamic vinaigrette, you could eat about 200 to 300 calories depending on the size. See the difference? The summary is it's easy to assume it's great because it has the word salad in it, but ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION TO THE CONTENTS OF YOUR SALAD!

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Gym Machines You Should Probably Avoid

This is going to sound a little contradictory, but going to the gym shouldn’t mean you frequently use all the machines there. Let me explain. Every manufacturer wants you to believe his latest creation will change your workout forever. Strength training machines were created to make your life easier as you work out so you wouldn’t have to build your own exercises. And who doesn’t like that? However, some of them are not necessarily good for our bones, joints, and in some cases, even the other muscles in our bodies. It doesn’t mean they won’t work, it just means if you keep using them long term, you could actually hurt yourself. What are some of these machines?

Seated Leg Extension: If you Google “Gym Machines to Avoid”, this would almost come flashing on your screen like a siren. Seated leg extension machines can vary from one to the next. However, the basic idea is that if you lock your thighs in place, and hold your ankles behind a roller, you can build your quads (your thigh muscles) by lifting your legs from your knees down. It’s a little hard to describe so see the picture above for an idea. The positive is that it does work on your thighs. The negative is that a lot of pressure is applied to your knees because of the range of motion. So what can you do instead? I say you can’t go wrong with some squats!

Seated Rotation Machine: I know, I know, this machine looks like it will give you a cinched waist. But in reality, it can put a lot of pressure on the spine as you are rotating quickly. Some seated rotation machines even go the opposite way allowing you to rotate your lower body, but not your upper body. Doing this speedily can also put too much pressure on your spine. To strengthen the sides of your waist, do some exercises like the bicycle or any kind of side crunch.

Leg Press Machine: This is a favorite in gyms because people feel like they are working hard on their legs without actually exerting too much energy. Simply straighten your legs? Sounds great! But this machine has the same issue as the leg extension machine: you put undue pressure on your knees because you’re not allowing your upper body to help you at all. What’s a good alternative? Need I say it? The squat! For some good extensions, you can also try the lunge.

Ab Rocker: You know that machine that looks like a mini-rocking chair that you put on the ground, hold the bars, and do crunches? No? See the picture above. It was the infomercial craze back in the day. But recent studies have shown that this machine just puts pressure on your spine and your neck, and what’s worse is that it really doesn’t work your abs as well as a regular crunch. Ouch. What’s the alternative? Just do some crunches or sit-ups.

Behind-the-neck Lat Pull-Down: This is the lat pull-down machine that forces your chest forward as you pull the weight down towards your upper back. The problem with this machine is that it forces your chest into a position that is not very helpful in building muscle. Because the position is unnatural, it can leave you without the benefit of the exercise because you didn’t do it correctly, or it can cause shoulder pain if you did do it correctly. There’s hardly a winning scenario here. What are some alternatives? Do lat pull-downs, but on the front not the back. Or use dumbbells behind you and lift them up in a straight line behind your lower back.


The more I exercise, the more I realize that we can rarely go wrong with using our own body weight or using free weights like dumbbells. The trick is just learning how to use them right. Machines aren’t bad, but they do add a little complication, and it’s sometimes difficult to figure out which ones are the most beneficial because everyone is singing that they are the best and will give you a rocker bod. They even use those fitness models in the ads that make you run straight to the gym. But pay attention to how your body feels as you use these. Does something not feel right? Does it feel like your body was not meant to move that way? Then stop and try to do something else.

Cheers Eights & Weights!

Photo credit: blog.gaiam.com, incredibody.com, keywesttanningandfitness.com, womenshealthmag.com, bodybuilding.com, borndare.wordpress.com