Gina Jackson Personal Fitness

If you think health and fitness are only about throwing the weights around, riding or running for cardio and  sweating through that hot yoga class, believe me you are missing 90% of the point.  What you put in your body is as important and crucial to your body as moving it.  For that reason, since I love flavors with my clean food I am SCREAMING about the goodness of the new Chimole Salad the Green Kitchen has prepared with fresh fish. Read the rest of this entry →

During the winter months you might find you need a little extra energy to throw around that snow, shovel under those tires and tredge those bags up the icy steps.  Comfort food with that lean protein, right?

Eating the right kind of carb – prepared the right way – can give you the extra fuel source you need without compromising all the hard work you are doing with your body.

Read the rest of this entry →

Kick-ass workout today. Started at 830am in the gym with leg presses and I pumped up the volume to three plates. That means, ladies that I pressed 270 pounds for 20 reps about 4-5 sets. After which I worked my hamstrings, quads and adductors and abductors.

Then the best part, because of the 50 degree temperature of this sweet December, post-Christmas morning, was my 3.5 mile run outside in my Kangoo Jumps which people don’t seem to be surprised with anymore….I am just part of the woodwork and the shoes are the paint on my woodwork. Read the rest of this entry →

Just got in from my 45 minute run on my Kangoo Jumps and of course, the first thing I need to do is eat something! I am usually famished after a good cardio workout. So, while eating a small bowl of Greek yogurt (smothered in raw blanched almonds and a swizzle of honey), I found a reminder recipe for dinner tonight. Collard Greens – Sauteed!

Read the rest of this entry →

I have always infused my water bottles with a couple Green Tea Bags (generally I used Ito En Japanese Green tea) but recently added Oolong to the mix for the extra flavor and color change. I found these facts online.  Read the rest of this entry →

I have been using Papetti Egg Whites (now Crystal Farms) for years.  I love them because they are already pasteurized; two egg whites come in a little plastic cup that I empty many mornings into a custard bowl; pop into the microwave and 2 minutes later have perfectly instant “souffle” egg whites.  Now I found a way to make them better! Read the rest of this entry →

I have increased my protein intake significantly to support my increased activity levels.  I am eating more quality proteins to support my lean muscle development.  Just trying to kick it up a notch.  Important for muscle as much as it is for women over 40 and particularly so for postmenopausal women. Read the rest of this entry →

NYTimes July 24, 2008,  2:40 pm – Tara Parker Pope

This needs to be read in it entirety from the Health News of the New York Times:

High-fructose corn syrup is a sweetener used in many processed foods ranging from sodas to baked goods. While the ingredient is cheaper and sweeter than regular sugar, new research suggests that it can also make you fatter.

In a small study, Texas researchers showed that the body converts fructose to body fat with “surprising speed,’’ said Elizabeth Parks, associate professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. The study, which appears in The Journal of Nutrition, shows how glucose and fructose, which are forms of sugar, are metabolized differently.

In humans, triglycerides, which are a type of fat in the blood, are mostly formed in the liver. Dr. Parks said the liver acts like “a traffic cop” who coordinates how the body uses dietary sugars. When the liver encounters glucose, it decides whether the body needs to store it, burn it for energy or turn it into triglycerides.

But when fructose enters the body, it bypasses the process and ends up being quickly converted to body fat.

“It’s basically sneaking into the rock concert through the fence,” Dr. Parks said. “It’s a less-controlled movement of fructose through these pathways that causes it to contribute to greater triglyceride synthesis. The bottom line of this study is that fructose very quickly gets made into fat in the body.”

For the study, six people were given three different drinks. In one test, the breakfast drink was 100 percent glucose. In the second test, they drank half glucose and half fructose; and in the third, they drank 25 percent glucose and 75 percent fructose. The drinks were given at random, and neither the study subjects nor the evaluators were aware who was drinking what. The subjects ate a regular lunch about four hours later.

The researchers found that lipogenesis, the process by which sugars are turned into body fat, increased significantly when the study subjects drank the drinks with fructose. When fructose was given at breakfast, the body was more likely to store the fats eaten at lunch.

Dr. Parks noted that the study likely underestimates the fat-building effect of fructose because the study subjects were lean and healthy. In overweight people, the effect may be amplified.

Although fruit contains fructose, it also contains many beneficial nutrients, so dieters shouldn’t eliminate fruit from their diets. But limiting processed foods containing high-fructose corn syrup as well as curbing calories is a good idea, Dr. Parks said.

“There are lots of people out there who want to demonize fructose as the cause of the obesity epidemic,” she said. “I think it may be a contributor, but it’s not the only problem. Americans are eating too many calories for their activity level. We’re overeating fat, we’re overeating protein and we’re overeating all sugars.”

Are you struggling with managing or maintaining your weight loss goals? Big hint here! Eat more vegetables! You can accomplish amazing things by eating complex carbs (READ vegetables) with your protein. Read the rest of this entry →