For years, I've heard the argument that eating healthier foods is more expensive. It's hard to argue with that when you have McDonalds and Burger King supersizing meals for a measly $0.39, yet a salad can run you $9.00 at a to go restaurant. Not too long ago, I saw a post on what 200 calories of food looks like. I wondered what 200 calories of food cost. Lucky for me, someone already did that. As a general rule, you want to "eat from the rainbow". Foods that have lots of color have more nutritional value. Unfortunately, everything looks pretty beige (except for the brightly colored candies, cereals, and chips) until you get to just above the "Cost of 200 Calories: Over $1.00" category. The Avocado makes it's debut at $0.99. It makes me sad that not only is bad for you food cheaper, but it's so readily available – Read More . . .

I do my personal training out of a small personal training studio in the heart of Austin. The studio is called Absolutely Fit! & has recently launched it's website. You can only workout there if you're working with your personal trainer. What I love about working there is that it's a little like The Island of Misfit Toys — Everyone belongs. And because everyone belongs there, my clients & I don't feel uncomfortable. Ever. The studio is fantastic because it's just the right size, it has all of the necessary equipment, the location is perfect & clients don't have to pay for a membership. Sometimes we have complete privacy, other times we share a space with a few trainers & their clients. It all depends on the time of day. Everyone knows everyone else & share in group discussions (or eavesdrop if that's your thing).  It really is awesome. Thank Read More . . .

Just in case you wanted to remember the insecurity that you felt in grade school gym class, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports has just re-issued the Presidential Physical Fitness Test for Adults. The test measures your aerobic capacity, flexibility, muscular strength (sit-ups & push-ups), and body composition. Unfortunately, you won't get a certificate signed by Dubyuh, but you can see where you rank in relation to others across the nation.  Step 1: Print the data collection form  Step 2: Enter the data online for your results  Here's what I got: Fitness Component Test Event Your Results Your Score Aerobic Fitness* 1.5-Mile Run 13:30 75%ile Muscular Strength Half Sit-Ups 85 100%ile   Push-Ups 45 95%ile Flexibility Sit-and-Reach 17 55%ile Overall Score (based on percentile average) 81%ile Body Composition BMI: 22.3 Normal Waist Circumference 28 So, yes – flexibility is something that I always try to work on. See Read More . . .

I brought my cat & dog to the vet the other day to get their annual exams. I mean, who wouldn't want to keep a face like that healthy? Anyway, because Lucy is aging, the vet suggested that we give her both fish oil & glucosamine. I take both of these supplements myself & figured that I could just give her what I take myself. Yeah – I thought wrong. I am an avid label reader – it's my job & it's what I do. The vet informed me that just because the label on the supplements says that it has 500mg of whatever it says that it has in it, it really doesn't have to. He then told me about a kids vitamin that when tested, actually had lead in it. Yes – LEAD! and a brand of glucosamine that when tested, didn't have ANY glucosamine in it. So Read More . . .

Dear God! No!  Just when I thought that there were no more food atrocities to commit against the human race, along comes hamburger in a can. It makes me realize that I am just not creative enough to come up with disgusting and evil foodstuffs. I'm speechless. I'm shaking my head as it is buried in my palms. Just make sure that you watch the videos to gain the entire experience.     Read More . . .

Back in September I tried Bikram Yoga for the first time. I was undecided as far as the benefits go, and was pretty sure that my body was not meant to contort into some of the positions that the class was doing (specifically Eagle Pose & Fixed Firm); however, I decided to give it a try. I signed up for an unlimited 30 day membership (at an unbelievably affordable rate) & made the commitment to go. Now, at this point, I need to confess that I have inherited frugality from my father. Or rather, I'm cheap. Plus, since I'm a personal trainer, I hate having to pay to exercise. There are lots of personal trainers who have separate gym memberships from where they work – that just seems crazy & a waste of money to me. But I digress… Because I hate paying to exercise, and because I am cheap, Read More . . .

Yesterday, Jenny McCarthy & Holly Robinson Peete were on the Oprah Winfrey Show. They both have sons with autism. Jenny McCarthy has just published a book titled: Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism where she discusses her journey to reverse autism in her son. Yes, you read that right – reverse autism. What I find fascinating about this topic is that she was able to do it through food. Within 2 weeks of eliminating dairy, wheat, and artificial flavoring and dyes from her son's diet, he had doubled his vocabulary. That's HUGE! For those of us who are healthy, we don't really consider how food affects us – maybe a bit in reference to our weight, but to realize that there are foods out there that are toxic to us — foods that may be fine for someone else, but for a child it clouds the brain, Read More . . .

A few weeks ago, Hungry Girl wrote about the Healthy Dining Finder. Just over the weekend I stumbled upon the site myself. Now I have to say that I was really disappointed in the restaurants that I found, but given that they are a new site & they were focused on chain restaurants, the results are acceptable at this point. The fate and success of this site is now up to us. On the Healthy Dining Finder website, they have a preprinted form that you can hand out to your favorite restaurants. I think this handout does two things: 1) it allows those restaurants who do serve healthy food to register their location on the website, but more importantly, I think it sends a message to any restaurant that we as consumers are starting to demand foods that are good for us from restaurants. New York City is on the Read More . . .

I love the TV show "The Biggest Loser". I don't really know why I like watching it so much, but I do. I'm amazed at the contestants losing 3 to 20 lbs on a weekly basis. It's fantastic to see the contestants get smaller and smaller and smaller & then see what they looked like at the beginning of the show. I really couldn't care less about the drama – I TiVo it for that same reason – so that I can skip over the overly dramatic TV crap – that way, I can get through a 60 minute show in less than 40 minutes. Although I was never as heavy as the folks who are on that show, I can relate to their struggles & am completely jealous that I didn't have a team of doctors, dietitians and personal trainers at my disposal when I went through my weight Read More . . .

The USDA Food Guide Pyramid     In this blog post I talk about the Metabolic Typing Diet   http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/pdf/DGA2005.pdf   http://www.mypyramid.gov/         Read More . . .

I am a personal trainer and nutritionist. I train folks out of two different locations: the Westwood Country Club fitness department and a local independent gym. At the beginning of 2007 the local gym that I trained out of changed ownership. The policies that the new owners put in place forced me to look at other options for training my clientele. I explored opening my own private boutique, I looked into other personal training gyms and renting space from other trainers who have their own studio space. Although some day I like to think that I'd like my own personal training studio, until I increase my independent client base, it doesn't make fiscal sense. I settled on a new personal training gym: the South Congress Athletic Club. They just opened their doors January 12th & they are in the very hip part of town, the South Congress District. It takes Read More . . .