From the Newsroom : Carrie Lazarus

Calorie Counting: How Interval Training Helps

shaunganley — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:23:00 GMT

Posted by Carrie Lazarus - I’ve been hearing from many of you excited to try interval training. If you missed the report we did at the Institute for Human performance at SUNY Upstate, we showed how many calories you can burn by walking, running and doing intervals of walking and sprints on the treadmill. Exercise physiologist Carol Sames had me wear an oxygen mask as I exercised on the treadmill. It measures exactly how many calories you burn as you work out. A 20 minute walk at 3.5 miles an hour burned 90 calories. Running for 20 minutes at 5 miles an hour burned 230 calories. Intervals of walking for 2 minutes at 3.5 miles an hour and then sprinting for 45 seconds to a minute, then walking again for 2 minutes burned 195 calories; nearly as many as running the whole time.

So interval training turns out to be a very efficient way to work out. And you don’t need a treadmill. You can do it on any exercise machine, or even walking outside. If you’re already exercising and would like to try it, experts recommend starting with a walk at your normal speed, then increasing the speed by a couple of miles an hour for 30 seconds, then go back to the walk. Try to work up to 10 sprints. As you get more comfortable with interval training, increase your sprint speed until you can sustain it for one minute, then return to the walk.

And the calorie burn from interval training doesn’t stop when you get off the treadmill. Studies have shown you’ll continue to burn calories at a higher rate anywhere from a couple of hours to 24 hours later. So start sprinting!!!

Danger of Long Wait in the Emergency Room

shaunganley — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:35:00 GMT

Posted by Carrie Lazarus - We all expect to wait in the emergency room, but a Harvard Medical school study out this week shows that nationwide, heart attack patients are waiting too long to be seen in the E.R. In 1997, the average wait for a heart attack patient was 8 minutes. In 2004 it increased to 22 minutes. One in four heart attack patients waited as long as 50 minutes.

With these shocking numbers in hand, we went to the emergency room at St. Joseph's hospital in Syracuse and learned about a program to see and treat heart attack patients as quickly as possible It's called Door to Wire; door being the door to the E.R. and wire being the catherization lab where patients receive treatment to open blocked arteries. St. Joe's coordinates with paramedics in the ambulance to begin testing and treatment before the patient even gets to the hospital. By the time the ambulance pulls in, the cardiologists have most of the information they need to take the patient right to the cath lab.

Two important takeaways from this:

1. Recognize the symptoms of a heart attack.
           Chest pain or pressure that may spread to the neck, shoulders, arms back, teeth or jaw
           Shortness of breath
           Nausea
           Anxiety
           Sweating
           Stomach pain that feels like heartburn

2. Call 911. Don't drive yourself or have someone drive you to the hospital.

Enjoy Your Thanksgiving Feast... in Moderation

shaunganley — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 15:58:00 GMT

Posted by Carrie Lazarus - Thanksgiving; it’s a time for family, a time for showing appreciation for all of life’s gifts, and of course, a time to eat. This week marks the beginning of the season of gluttony, the time when even the most health-conscious among us gives in to the temptations of the holiday table. I read one estimate this week that puts average American consumption throughout Thanksgiving day at 4500 calories and 229 grams of fat!!!

Although the turkey takes center stage at the Thanksgiving table, it’s probably the most nutritious part of the meal. A 3 ounce portion of turkey breast with the skin removed contains only 120 calories, one gram of fat, 55 mg of cholesterol and 45 mg of sodium. If you prefer dark meat, it’s 138 calories and six grams of fat for boneless, skinless thigh meat. Dark meat also has more zinc, riboflavin, thiamine and B vitamins than white meat.

So where do all those calories come from? If you cook your stuffing inside the bird, it will absorb fat and calories. You can cut down on both by replacing the butter with olive oil, toss in plenty of vegetables and replace at least half of the white bread with whole grains.

Holiday pies also pack their fair share of calories. Many pies contain more than 500 calories per slice. Scoop some Hagen-Dazs on top, and that rises to 800 calories. Many of the calories lurk in the pastry, so pick a pie with a single layer crust.

The bottom line? It wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without all our favorite holiday recipes. Take a small portion of everything you like and enjoy!!!

Trick-or-Treating Fun; How Much Candy to Let the Kids Eat?

Carrie Lazarus — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 19:36:00 GMT

Posted by Carrie Lazarus - Happy Halloween!!! Hope everyone had a fun and safe trick or treating experience. Now that it’s over for another year, the question is, what do you do with all that candy? I don’t want to be the Grinch who stole Halloween, but with so many adults and children overweight, it just doesn’t make sense to keep the sweets hanging around the house until the very last little Snickers is gone.

I’ve been talking with our 9 Kids Challenge Trainer Joel Brown about a reasonable strategy. He advises letting the kids pick a couple of pieces of their candy each day for about a week, then getting rid of the rest. As for the grownups, you may look at those minibars, which are about the size of a D battery, and think they can’t have that many calories, right? Here’s a look at the numbers for minibars:

Kit Kat 73
Milkyway 75
Snickers 80
Reeses Peanutbutter Cup 110
Baby Ruth 85
Nestle’s Crunch 60
3 Musketeers 63
Butterfinger 85
Tootsie Roll 50

Chilly Weather = Lack of Motivation?

Carrie Lazarus — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:56:00 GMT

Posted by Carrie Lazarus - Now that the weather is finally acting like fall and the mornings are quite chilly, I’ve been having trouble getting myself motivated to take my daily walk. So I decided to try changing the morning routine. I had been dropping the kids off at school, then having a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. When the sun was shining and the early morning temperatures were in the 60’s, I’d get right out there and start walking. But when it was only 40 degrees, I started coming up with excuses not to walk or put it off for the evening. That never happened, not once.

Since I really love that morning cup of coffee, and I probably need it too, I’ve turned it into my reward for walking. Now when I return from the school drop off I put on my sneakers and head out, knowing that coffee will be waiting for me when I get back.

I’m only a week into the new routine, but so far it’s working. Since this time of year tends to be when I fall off the workout wagon, I’m hoping a change in routine will prevent that from happening.

Do you have strategies that keep you on the road to fitness? I’d love to hear them. Thanks in advance and here’s to caffeine!!!