The London 2012 Olympics

Written by Staff Writer - Posted on 8 February 2012

Welcome back to another week of PGXs’ Thursday Obsessions!

PGX is obsessed with the London 2012 Olympics and the inspiration that it provides the world.

The London 2012 Olympics are finally here, so it’s no wonder that this week we’re obsessed with The Games! Like many people around the world, I’ve been tuning into the 2012 Olympic Games since they began last Friday in London. And like many people, I’ve become obsessed with watching the world’s greatest athletes achieve the seemingly impossible, day after day!

Personally, I find that witnessing these extraordinary athletes achieve their personal bests is incredibly inspiring (nevermind that some of their bests are breaking Olympic Records!). Watching an athlete who has given a sport their all, finally reap the benefits of all of their hard work is inspiring. Not that I believe that the Olympic Games are anywhere in my future, but I find myself wanting to challenge myself in my workouts. I want to run faster, longer and train harder. Here’s to hoping that I can hang onto that Olymic Inspiration when the Games are finished!

Some of my favourite Olympic sports to watch are gymnastics (how DO they do all that?!) and volleyball. What are your favourites to watch? Do you find that the Olympics inspire your workouts?

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Salad in a Jar!

Written by Staff Writer - Posted on 4 February 2012

This is an easy and convenient way to make salads-to-go!

Bring your salad to have along side a sandwich at lunch, on a picnic or anywhere. You can either eat the salad from the jar or tip it out into a bowl or onto a plate. Just take it and shake it when you?re ready to eat.

The secret to jar salads is to keep the dressing on the bottom, then layer your ingredients from most hearty, such as carrots to least. Just make sure your greens are on top! Here are a couple of recipes ideas to get you started. Sprinkle with PGX Daily Singles for a great source of fiber and much more.

Balsamic Chicken Salad
Dressing: Mix balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Layer it with: Cold, cooked chicken, chopped walnuts, apple, celery and onion. Top with leaf lettuce. For a vegetarian option, use tofu instead of chicken.

Hearty Spinach Salad??
Dressing: Select your favorite dressing.
Layer it with: Carrots, cucumber, celery, hard-boiled egg, tomato, walnuts or almonds. Top with baby spinach.

Summer Salad
Dressing: Mix in 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 1/8 cup lemon juice and dash of salt.
Layer it with: Cold, grilled chicken, pecans, fresh raspberries and blueberries, and crumbled goat cheese (optional). Top with arugula or Boston lettuce. For a vegetarian option, use grilled tofu instead of chicken.

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Homemade Snack: Beet Chips!

Written by Staff Writer - Posted on 2 February 2012

Got a craving for chips? Try something different!

Let’s give the potato a break and try homemade beet chips instead!

Every once in while I just crave that satisfying crunch of chips. But when you buy them from the store, most of the time all you can find are potato chips. Maltodextrin, monosodium glutamate, modified corn starch, swiss cheese (milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes)… not exactly typical ingredients you can find in the store, right?

So let’s go back to the root of the potato chip and use beets instead! All you need are beets, vegetable oil and an oven! The best thing about making these at home is that you can control how much oil you use. Not a fan of frying? Try a straight to baking method and let us know how it goes!

How To Make Beet Chips :

Peel and slice beets very thinly or use a mandolin
Fry beets in vegetable oil at 350 degrees, for about 2-4 minutes
Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes

Cool and enjoy!

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Weight-Wise Wednesday: Mediterranean diet

Written by Staff Writer - Posted on 8 January 2012

The Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet uses Mediterranean-style cooking and is considered a heart-healthy eating plan.

The Mediterranean diet is based on a healthy eating plan using the traditional cooking style of countries around the Mediterranean Sea.

Key components of the Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes:

Getting plenty of exercise
Eating primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts
Replacing butter with healthy fats such as olive oil and canola oil
Using herbs and spices instead of salt to flavor foods
Limiting red meat to no more than a few times a month
Eating fish and poultry at least twice a week
Drinking red wine in moderation (optional)
Enjoying meals with family and friends

As the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid shows the diet includes plenty of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables! Many people who switch to this diet say they’d never eat another way! For more on the Mediterranean Diet check out the Mayo Clinic website.

Does this look like something you’d like to try out? Let us know in the comments below!

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Matching Music to Movement

Written by Staff Writer - Posted on 2 January 2012

PGX checks out the latest in exercise apps!

Match your music to your pace and never miss a beat while you exercise!

Looking for motivation and the right tunes to get you ready for your workout? There’s a new app available from iTunes that allows you to match the music to your heart beat.

Check out this video featuring how Cadence Run DJ matches the rhythms of your music to a corresponding beats per minute number (BPM).

Get your daily fiber and keep on moving everyone!

Cadence Run DJ is available on iTunes.

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

PGX program participants talk about their success

Written by Staff Writer - Posted on 1 December 2011

These PGX Program participants are proud of their success! Follow their lead and sign up for the PGX Program today and start losing weight for free!

Althea, who lost 29 pounds, felt overwhelmed by diets that prohibited foods. ?With PGX, the biggest thing was not feeling hungry. That?s what kept me going. I am still eating well, and if I have a small cheat here and there, I?m still getting results. (This is something) that I can do the rest of my life.?

Tyson, a non-breakfast eater, lost 44 pounds. ?You can see a difference right away. (Losing weight) is not as hard as you think it is.?

Sandra, who was borderline obese, lost 40 pounds. ?This is easy. I even stayed on track while I was on vacation in Mexico.”

Krysten, who lost 19 pounds, always felt bad about herself when she dieted. ?This has changed the way that I live. It has made me a healthier person in general. I have more energy and I feel better mentally and physically.?

Jim said losing 20 pounds was easy. ?It?s learning about healthy choices. You?re not trapped in a strict program that frustrates you.”

Cherie was scared she wouldn?t be able to do it, but lost 17 pounds. ?Not always feeling hungry gave me the opportunity to make good choices.?

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Changing the Clocks and Your Children’s Health

Written by Staff Writer - Posted on 11 October 2011

With the change of the clocks, daylight fades earlier in the winter months. What does this mean for your children?

It is such a gorgeous sunny day outside as I write this, it’s seems hard to believe that in just a few hours, the sun will have set! Now that the clocks have been put back, our evenings come much earlier. What does this mean for your kids?

A recent study from UK researchers suggests that not changing the clocks would keep your children active by allowing them more outdoor play. What do you think?

BBC Health News reports on this interesting idea.

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Get the TIFF Red Carpet Physique

Written by Staff Writer - Posted on 9 September 2011

TIFF is on and the celebrities are out in full force, looking lean and toned.

PGX looks at how you can get those lean and toned limbs, celebrity style.

With the Toronto International Film Festival, or any Hollywood to-do that rolls out a carpet for that matter, comes the parade of svelte physiques, waiting to get their photographs taken! True, some of the stars could use some more meat on their bones but there are healthy looking, toned figures on the red carpet that are the result of good nutrition and exercise. On Wednesday, eTalk featured celebrity trainer Brent Bishop and he shared three easy moves that you can do at home to get those long lean limbs, flat abs and toned muscles!

These classic but tweaked exercises will help you reach your fitness goals. It won’t be long before those photographers are taking your photo and asking, “Who are you wearing?!”

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Stress can lead to food cravings

Written by Staff Writer - Posted on 6 September 2011

Work, kids, bills ? it?s a perfect recipe for stress. And it may be causing you to gain weight. Food cravings are easy to succumb to during stressful times, but there are ways to overcome the anxiety and keep the cravings at bay.

Fact: Food cravings often arise from stress. Stress promotes weight gain, while relaxation promotes weight loss. When your body is stressed, blood sugar levels are raised dramatically as the liver dumps stored glucose into the bloodstream. When you are relaxed, blood sugar levels are maintained in the normal range. Some of the most popular relaxation techniques are meditation, prayer, progressive relaxation, self-hypnosis and biofeedback.

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)

Spring clean your diet

Written by Staff Writer - Posted on 6 July 2011

The days of heavy, winter-weather comfort foods are over! Warmer temperatures are finally here, and that means we?re no longer craving that hot pot of chili, but instead are reaching for fresh melons and a cool crisp salad. Spring is a great opportunity to clean up our diets, and get rid of those bad eating habits we adopted over the long winter. Here are some tips to help give your diet a good spring cleaning:

Make an inventory of your meals.

We like to think that we can remember everything we eat each day, but you might be surprised at what you are forgetting. Keeping a log of what you eat after each meal is a good way to track any bad habits, and take notice of important food groups that may be lacking on your plate, such as fruits and vegetables.

De-clutter the kitchen.

This means more than just wiping up spills and removing mystery leftovers from the refrigerator. It?s time to get rid of those high-calorie salad dressings, dips and condiments. Also say goodbye to processed meats such as sausage and hot dogs, as well as juice, sodas and other sugary drinks.

Organize.

You?ve cleaned the junk out the cupboards and refrigerator shelves, now it?s time to organize. Stock the pantry with some healthy staples including whole-grain cereals and breads, oats, fat-free popcorn, fat-free refried beans, and diced tomatoes. In the freezer, load up on frozen veggies. Many people don?t realize that frozen vegetables are often more nutritious than fresh produce found in the grocery stores. They?re cheaper too.

Freshen up your taste buds:

More and more local farmer?s markets are opening every weekend. This is a great opportunity to stock up on in-season produce. Chefs and nutrition experts agree, foods taste better and more nutritious when you get them in season. There are many websites out there that can help you find out which fruits and vegetables are ripe for picking near where you live.

A smart diet is important to a healthy lifestyle, but don?t forget about exercise! Many of us are jumping to get outside after spending months cooped up on the couch. Now is the time to dust off those sneakers and get outside for a run, or pull out some gloves and start digging in the garden. Winter hibernation is over, and it?s time to get moving!

Rating: 0.0/5 (0 votes cast)