Tag Archives: Steve Victor

How do you get your exercise?

Fitness, , , , ,

The Victor crew just found out about MET. This stands for Metabolic Equivalent of Task. The measurements are rated as < 3 (light intensity activities), 3-6 (moderate intensity activities), and > 6 (vigorous intensity activities). Each activity you do is given a rating. If you are a coach potato, your level is 1.0. At a desk, writing or typing: 1.8. Walking 2.5 mi/hr only brings you to 2.9 while 3.0 mph will give you a 3.3 rating and 3.4 mph a 3.6. Jogging gives a 7.0 and rope jumping a 10.0. Some of these ratings may change due to your actual size and how vigorously you do them.

So what does this all mean? Well, it is recommended by the CDC you have at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activities per week or 75 minutes of vigorous activities.

Here are few places to find some activity charts:
Harvard.edu
TopEndSports.com
AppliedResearch.Cancer.gov

Steve Victor

Fall is almost here … how do enjoy the flavors of fall?

Healthy Eating, , , , ,

Now that fall is almost here, many turn to their favorite flavor … pumpkin. Today I asked Jody’s crew to discuss pumpkin flavored coffee drinks. We say flavored because we cannot be sure there is actual pumpkin in the drinks.

Starbucks has Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino Blended Beverage. They do not list the ingredients. They come in three sizes: Tall (12 oz), Grande (16 oz), and Venti (24 oz).

The Tall is 300 calories with whole milk and whipped cream. You can cut that down to 200 with non-fat milk or 210 calories with 2% or soy milk and no whipped cream. Even with non-fat milk and no whipped cream, it has a whopping 45g sugar! (An adult male should limit to 35g/day and female to 25g/day.)

If you step up to the Grande with non-fat milk and no whipped cream it is 300 calories and 70g sugar. The full deal with whole milk and whipped cream is 72g sugar and 450 calories. The Venti with the works is 550 calories and 92g sugar (which means 368 of the calories are sugar alone at 4 calories per gram sugar). Cutting that to non-fat milk and no whipped cream brings it down to 390 calories and 90g sugar.

Another Starbucks drink is the Pumpkin Spice Latte. The sizes of this drink are Short (8 oz), Tall (12 oz), Grande (16 oz) and Venti (20 oz). The calories and sugar for these drinks made with full fat milk and whipped cream are Short: 220 calories, 25g sugar; Tall: 330 calories, 38g sugar; Grande: 420 calories, 49g sugar; Venti: 510 calories, 62g sugar. With non-fat milk and no whipped cream they are Short: 130 calories, 24g sugar; Tall: 200 calories, 37g sugar; Grande: 260 calories, 48g sugar; Venti: 330 calories, 61g sugar.

We would be remiss if we didn’t mention Dunkin’ Donuts as well. They have several pumpkin drinks as well. The Pumpkin Latte comes in Small, Medium, Large. With whole milk the calories/sugar are Small: 230/36g; Medium: 340/52g; Large: 450/69g. Using skim milk would change that to Small: 180/36g; Medium: 270/53g; Large: 360/70g. We find it interesting the skim milk version raised the sugar one gram in both the medium and large.

You can get a plain Pumpkin flavored coffee. You can go to the page and figure out the calories by choosing sweeteners, size, dairy products. You can also check out the Pumpkin Mocha page or you can check out the Pumpkin Creme Brulee.

Want to tackle it on your own? Here are a couple links to recipes to get you started: Pumpkin Spice Latte, another Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Remember: Drink responsibly!

Steve Victor

Are you sleeping enough?

Health Issues, , ,

The Victor crew found that AsapSCIENCE has a video titled How Much Sleep Do You Actually Need?
They cite a study done with people sleeping 4, 6, and 8 hours. Of course the group that had the 8 hours of sleep fared the best. The lowest group suffered the most.

Further, outside of this video it was found that different age groups need different amounts of sleep. Infants need 12-15 hours/day. Children range from 10-14 depending on age (more for younger children). Teenagers should get 8.5-10 hours. Older adults may have trouble sleeping as long as they should so they can fill in the deficit with naps.

Another finding was if you didn’t get enough sleep or got too much sleep, you were at higher risk of obesity and heart disease.

Steve Victor

Blueberries

Healthy Eating, , ,

With blueberries still being pretty plentiful in our stores, the Victor crew did some digging to find some information about blueberries.

  • July is blueberry month.
  • Blueberries protect against memory loss. It takes a serving a week to help slow down cognitive decline by several years.
  • According to the University of Maine, more blueberries are produced in Maine than anywhere in the world.
  • They can be used as a natural dye. Legend has it that the colonists boiled them with milk to make gray paint.
  • Blueberries should look “dusty” but don’t wash the dust off until you are ready to eat them. They may spoil quicker.
  • Blueberries are related to rhododendron, azalea, and cranberries.
  • Many food items that are blueberry “flavored” contain no blueberries but rather combinations of sugar, corn syrup, starch, oils, and artificial additives.
  • You can freeze them without damaging the antioxidants.
  • Organic blueberries were found to have significantly more antioxidants.
  • One cup contains 84 calories and 24% of your recommended daily value of vitamin C and 114 mg of potassium.
  • They help stop bacteria from multiplying and attaching to the bladder wall to ward off urinary tract infections (like cranberries).
  • They may help guard against cancer due to the anthocyanins (what gives the blue color).
  • They can help reduce artery inflammation.
  • In 2011, North America went through 853 million pounds of blueberries (or 39.5 oz/person).

Check out some blueberry recipes on the Blueberry Council’s website.

Steve Victor

Food that help keep you fit

Healthy Eating, , , , ,

Jody Victor found an aricle from ABC News that tells us about some foods to help get us in shape. Here is their list:

Beet juice: aids in stamina. They state that research shows it may be more effective than caffeine.
Honey: help with endurance. Consuming honey before exercise acts like a “time-released” fuel keeping sugar and insulin levels steady longer.
Pea protein: delays muscle fatigue. You can this in powder form. Since it’s rich in amino acids it can delay fatigue during exercise.
Blueberries: reduces inflammation. When fresh blueberries aren’t available, you can use dried or freeze-dried berries.
Tart cherries: fight pain and regain strength. In a test, it was found that drinking 12 oz of tart cherry juice twice a day helped them gain strength. Frozen, dried, or juice options.
Salmon: to build muscle. Omega-3 fatty acids may also be a muscle booster. Try to include wild salmon in meals a few times a week, or even salmon jerky.
Watermelon: reduces muscle soreness. It was found that watermelon juice helped relieve muscle soreness when drinking about 16oz an hour before exercise. ‘
Pomegranate: muscle strength recovery. It was found by researchers that it helps improve muscle recovery. About 4 ounces of juice was enough to help improve muscle soreness/weakness.
Coffee: for next-day energy. It helps replenish glycogen more rapidly after exercise.
Watercress: reduce DNA damage. It counters the “wear and tear” of exercise. 3 oz. of fresh watercress was enough.
Dark chocolate: curb exercise-induced stress. In a study, the men who consumed 3.5 oz. dark chocolate before 2 1/2 hours of cycling experienced higher blood anti-oxidant levels. Yum!

~ Steve Victor