Sunday, April 11, 2010

Conquer Your Kitchen!


Ultimately the way to conquer your kitchen starts at the grocery store. What you put in your cart is key to how you feel & look in your every day. We all have our moments of the sweet crave or binge crave. If you don't have it in your cupboards, you will not eat it!

The key to success at the grocery store is to think: "Perimeter" If you buy the majority of your items from the perimeter of the store, you will ultimately pick more fresh, nutrient dense food, helping you stay healthy and slim.
AISLES TO AVOID:
Chips/ Candy aisle - This aisle is not meant for lunch items, but is to be used only for special or on a few occasions. Once a month at the most.

FOUR ITEMS TO BUY EVERY TIME YOU SHOP:

1. Lean protein: choose chicken, deli meats, or eggs,
2. Dairy: Buy low fat, organic yogurt, or lean cottage cheese
3. Fruit: Pick a variety of bright colored fruits that you won't get bored with.
4. Vegetables: Buy a variety of fresh, bright colored veggies that you can steam or eat on the go.


Danette Allen Fitness
www.danetteallenfitness.com
Body Heart Mind Soul

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Total Body Boot Camp in Costa Rica

Your Invited!! April Total Body Boot Camp in Costa Rica


Sunday, March 14, 2010

Danette Allen Supports Women's Health*


*Unpublished version






Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Does Drinking Diet Drinks really give you energy and help you loose weight?




With claims like "don't waste your work out," "healthy sustained energy," and the promise of a "shake for breakfast and lunch with a sensible dinner will help you loose weight," what diet drink do you choose?
The question to be asked is: Do these diet drinks (EAS, Slim Fast, Atkins, and Muscle Milk) do what they claim? Do they give you sustained energy all while helping you loose weight?
Studies conducted by the Mayo Clinic state that manufacturers of protein shakes may claim that their products decrease body fat or promote weight loss. But there is no evidence that this is true. Eating a source of protein as part of a meal or snack is a good idea. You'll likely feel satisfied longer, which means you're likely to consume fewer calories overall. Occasionally having a protein shake with added vitamins and minerals as a meal supplement is better than skipping a meal. However, these types of shakes — even if the labels shows added nutrients — do not replace all of the benefits of whole foods, such as fruits and vegetables.

Also, the down fall of these drinks is that nutritional supplements can be marketed without FDA approval of safety or effectiveness. Athletes who choose to ingest these supplements should be concerned with the safety of long-term use. They are low-nutrient, low-fiber, highly-processed, high-calorie "foods," whose consumption reduces the phytochemical density of your diet.

The diet drinks studied contain large amounts of protein. Ingesting more protein than your body needs is not a small matter. It ages you prematurely and can cause significant harm. The excess protein you do not use is not stored by your body as protein; it is converted to fat or eliminated via the kidneys. Eliminating excess nitrogen via your urine leaches calcium and other minerals from your bones and breeds kidney stones
Bottom Line:
By not consuming diet drinks you are saving money, saving your health by eating real foods versus processed foods, and you may cut back on fat/ meal. So if you are going for weight loss and increased energy there are better alternatives. Instead of purchasing a drink, grab a precut fruit bowl, a yogurt, string cheese and an apple, or grab a grilled chicken breast from the deli.
Danette Allen Fitness
www.bodyheartmindsoul.com
"Live Your Best Life!"

Health & Fitness Retreats, Exercise Workouts, Nutrition, Motivational Tools, Events & More

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Monday, March 1, 2010

Channel 5 TV segment "Diet Drink Controversy"

Watch Wed. the 3rd at 11:00 am  Channel 5...I am talking about the Diet Drink Controversy.  Do these diet drinks such as Slim Fast, EAS, and Muscle Milk really do what they claim?  Do they give you extra energy and help you loose weight?


Danette Allen Fitness
www.bodyheartmindsoul.com
"Live Your Best Life!"

Health & Fitness Retreats, Exercise Workouts, Nutrition, Motivational Tools, Events & More

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Thursday, February 25, 2010

US Magazine --Danette Allen with Kathy Smith-- The No Gym Workout!

 

 The No Gym Workout!

There's much you can do at home to get a great work out.  Check out this article in US Magazine by Kathy Smith.  Kathy asked me to model the different exercises.  This was a fun experience and hopefully it will help many people to eliminate excuses and see results!

Danette Allen

Health & Fitness Retreats, Exercise Workouts, Nutrition, Motivational Tools, Events & More

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

WHICH YOGURT? Healthy vs. More like a Dessert



As your grocery shopping and come across all the different yogurts, which one do you choose? Weight Watchers claims to "widdle your waist line," while Activia promises to "promote great digestion and health." Yoplait says it "tastes great all while helping you fit into that smaller size jean." With so many choices, no wonder consumers are confused!

Doing a little research and taste sampling, I was able to take some of the most popular brands and compare them against one another.
I compared them with:
• sugar content
• fat content
• ingredients
• taste.

My sample consisted of:
1. Yoplait
2. Dannon
3. Danon Light & Fit
4. Weight Watchers
5. Activia
6. Wallaby
7. Greek Gods
8. Brown Cow
So which ones should you buy for health purposes?



Wallaby, Greek Gods, and Brown Cow all had the best ingredients - or should I say less ingredients. They were not weighed down with artificial flavorings, chemicals such as yellow #5 or blue #1. Why start putting chemicals in your body first thing in the morning, when you don't have too? They all contained a lower sugar content, consisting of organic cane sugar, instead of high fructose corn syrup (chemically altered sugar). The best thing though, is they contained all live cultures of healthy bacteria such as L. acidophilus, L-bigaricus, S. thermophilus, & bifidus.


Weight Watchers and Danon Light & Fit were not everything they claimed. Yes, they had low fat content, but high sugar content. They also did not contain all of the live cultures, which is why yogurt is healthy in the first place. Weight Watchers, especially, had many chemicals but unlike Danon Light & Fit it had more live cultures.


Yoplait and Danon were defiantly your dessert yogurts. Having both High fructose corn syrup, chemicals, and not many live cultures. Yes, they may have all the flavors under the moon, but at what cost?


I know you are all wondering about Activia..does it really help with digestion? The answer is yes…but not any better than Wallaby, Greek Gods or Brown Cow. All those yogurts contain the same live cultures which help with digestion, but Activia just has a great marketing plan!

All in all, your best bet is to purchase a low fat, plain flavor brand such as Greek Gods, or Wallaby. They have all natural ingredients, all the live bacterial cultures to promote digestion and health, no fat, and low amounts of milk sugars and a nice tasting creamy flavor. The beauty about purchasing plain yogurt is you can add your own natural flavoring. Flavor it with a tsp. honey or all natural maple syrup. You can pour Acai juice or add fresh blueberries and nuts.

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