DANCER FIT: dancing fitness back into your life

Insulin is a hormone released from your pancreas in response to increases in blood sugar levels. Insulin’s job it to get sugar out of the blood and into fat or muscle cells. If you constantly have high blood sugar levels, your muscles can become numb to insulin, resulting in insulin resistance. Chronic high levels of insulin, sugar, and insulin resistance pose a major problem to your health (i.e. impact your risk of heart disease and cancer). Here’s how:

Low Good (HDL) Cholesterol

While women tend to have higher levels of HDL (the good) cholesterol compared to men, insulin resistance is linked to low HDL. HDL is protective against heart disease so the more the better.

High Triglycerides

Triglycerides are a measure of the level of fat in your bloodstream, but what might surprise you is that the amount of fat in your diet has little to do with your triglyceride levels. Instead, the amount of sugar in your diet (and bloodstream) has a major impact on your triglyceride levels. How? Your liver takes the sugar in your bloodstream, turns it into fat, and then dumps it back into your blood. Controlling the sugar and total amount of carbohydrates in your diet can significantly impact your triglyceride levels.

Breast Cancer Growth

Researchers estimate that 60 percent of breast cancer tumors are hormone dependent (insulin is one of these hormones). Insulin plays a role in the production of a group of compounds that directly impact tumor cell growth. Additionally, insulin works in concert with estrogen to regulate key growth factors that are essential for promoting tumor cell growth.

It is amazing to think that these major diseases are all impacted by insulin and sugar. The good news is that you can control both of them very easily: Stop eating sugar! I’m not talking about the sugar that you allow yourself to indulge in once or twice a week. I’m talking about all of the other sugar and simple carbohydrates that sneak into your daily diet:

• Added sugar in beverages: Frappuccinos, lattes, sweetened teas, soda, etc.
• 
Most breakfast cereals: Check the ingredients list, you’ll be mortified at all the sugar in “healthy” cereals.
• 
Refined grain products: Rice cakes, white bread, refined and processed baked goods, etc.

• Energy and granola bars: While some are good for you, a majority of them are packed with sugar by one name or another (i.e. high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, corn sugar, brown rice syrup, glucose, etc).

The problem is that our brains get addicted to sugar (they really do). So making the break from eating sugary foods and foods with fast acting carbs can be difficult—but it has to be done.

So if you want to make one diet change to improve your health as a woman, steer clear of the sweet stuff!

(Source: shape.com)

Did You Know?…

Cinnamon is another compound that can improve your body’s ability to metabolize and use carbohydrates. Research shows that you can experience this effect with one tablespoon of cinnamon added to a meal.

Eat Fruit! It’s good for you :)

SPINACH AND CHICKEN STIR-FRY WITH RASPBERRIES

616 calories, 4.7 grams sugar, 25.8 grams fat, 38 grams carbohydrates, 54.8 grams protein

This light and refreshing meal is the perfect spring stir-fry. Every ingredient, from fiber-packed quinoa to antioxidant-rich spinach, is not only good for you, but also delicious when tossed with pomegranate vinaigrette and tart, juicy raspberries.

Ingredients:

1/2 c. uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 c. chicken broth Dash garlic powder
1 tsp. canola oil 2 chicken breasts, sliced
Salt and pepper
1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
1 6-oz. bag baby spinach
1/4 c. bottled pomegranate vinaigrette (or other fruity salad dressing)
1/2 c. fresh or frozen-then-thawed raspberries
2 tbsp. chevre or feta cheese

Directions:

Combine quinoa, chicken broth, and a dash of garlic powder in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then cover and turn the heat down to medium-low. Simmer until quinoa is tender and all the broth has been absorbed, about 12 minutes. Meanwhile, heat canola oil in a large skillet over high heat. Season chicken slices with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Add chicken and onion to the skillet and stir-fry until chicken is cooked all the way through. Add salad dressing and baby spinach to the skillet and toss until spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Divide quinoa among plates, then top with the chicken stir-fry, raspberries and cheese. Makes 2 servings

(Source: shape.com)

Did You Know?…

Among numerous benefits, green tea actually helps in muscle recovery! Studies have proven that those who had green tea as well as H20 after a workout had better muscle recovery and less soreness than those who only hydrated with H20.

Get that kettle boiling! 

After doing a little reading, as well as resting (I was sick for about a week, still getting over all the symptoms of cold, flus & stress) and I thought Id share this with you all. A great few food ideas for a metabolic increase! Who doesn’t want that? After being sick, I realized (once again) how much our diet impacts our quality of life.
Eating good foods doesn’t help make you look and feel good, but they can really add to your overall energy, attitude, and ability to cope with life and it’s stresses.

So jot down these foods next time your about to head to the grocery store, and you won’t be disappointed. 


+ Grapefruit: it’s filled with water & fiber. Eating half a grapefruit with meals promotes weight loss. As seen above, I add flaxseed to my grapefruit with a dash of Stevia to enhance the taste.

+ Spinach: it’s seven cals a cup [ uncooked ]! Spinach has tons of folate which lowers your stress hormones [  that makes you gain weight in your mid section- you want as lowstress hormones as possible ]. Add it to smoothies too.

+ Eggs [ cage free ]: they contain B12, which is an energizing vitamin that helps boost the metabolism & burn fat. Protein also keeps you full.

+ Chili Pepper/Flakes: I die over spicy food- it’s my favorite. Add these to hummus, salsas, pizza, etc. to spark the metabolism & increase calorie burning.

+ Dark Chocolate: the perfect dessert in moderation & a healthy fat [ other healthy fats: avocado, olive oil, nuts, & olives ].

++ Extra foods that shrink that annoying muffin-y looking crap that hangs over the jeans: Greek yogurt [ it’s filling ], berries [ loaded with fiber ], & pineapple [ eliminates bloat ].

(Source: theskinnyconfidential.com)

I have rediscovered my love for my Magic Bullet.

I was given a Magic Bullet miniature blender a while back as a Christmas gift, and I have to say, never really took advantage of it’s coolness till now. Im not sure why I didn’t exploit all the options that the Bullet has for making great drinks, sauces and soups, but whatever the reason was, it’s in the past now!

As the summer heat approaches, there isn’t anything quite as refreshing as having a cold fruit smoothie on a hot day. For getting in some extra nutrition, adding in some veggies to that smoothie can really amp up your daily dose of greens!

Here is a smoothie recipe that I am enjoying making pre-workout, post-workout or even for breakfast on those busy days when eating a full meal isn’t really an option.

Blueberry-Kale Smoothie:

1/4 cup of non-fat plain Greek yogurt (make it 1/2 a cup post-workout for a protein boost)
1/3 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup chopped kale
1/2 cup of Bolthouse Farms Green Goodness smoothie juice drink 
1/4 cup of water (or almond milk)

Blend all together and enjoy!

 

This is a cheesecake recipe from blogilates.com’s Cassey. Not only do they look great, but they are so simple to make!

INGREDIENTS (makes 1 dozen cheesecakes, if baked in a cupcake pan)

Cheesecake part:

• 1 cup of nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp of nonfat or 1-2% fat cottage cheese (I used 2%)
• 1 tbsp of whole wheat flour (orig. recipe called for coconut flour, but I didn’t have any)
• 1 whole medium lemon
• 2 fresh organic eggs
• 1/4 cup of vanilla whey
• 1/4 cup Stevia
• 1/2 cup berries

DIRECTIONS:

1. Make the crust: blend the nuts and dates together in a food processor. It should turn into a crumbly gravel. If you don’t habe walnuts, you may experiment with other nuts, but I cannot assure you that they will stick together as well as walnuts do! The stickiness from the dates should hold the bits together.

2. Scoop about a tablespoon of the crumbly mixture into the bottom of the cupcake pan. This will be your cheesecake crust. You can spray the cupcake pan with PAM beforehand, but i found later that it didn’t stick very much anyway. So this step is unnecessary if you have a new slick pan.

3. Using your fingers, press the crumbles down so that it becomes a dense layer, almost like the graham cracker layer of a real cheesecake! (I learned this from eating raw vegan cheesecakes.) If the crunbles keep sticking to your hand, try spraying your finger tips with PAM. Or spray the bottom of a rounded spoon and press with that.

4. Next, make the liquid cheesecake mixture: pour everything into a blender and give it a whirl for about 15-20 seconds or until smooth. You may taste test this to see if it tastes ok.

5. Pour the mixture on top of the crust about 3/4 of the way full.

6. Throw a tiny handful of berries (I used blueberries) into each tin. This is about 6-7 berries.

7. Bake at 325F for about 20 minutes and until tops are no longer liquidy.

8. Take out, eat, and enjoy! I promise you will love this. I just had the urge to make mini cheesecakes today and this is the exact recipe and ingredients I used.

Did You Know?…

Complex carbohydrates and fiber are big helpers when it comes to keeping your metabolism revving! They increase your metabolism and help keep your insulin levels low after a meal. It’s good to keep your insulin levels down because once you get a spike in insulin production (like after eating candy) your body starts thinking it needs to store fat. So then this causes your metabolism to slow down, resulting in a decrease of calorie burn.

(Source: blogilates.com)