longevity

Fit Links: Perfect Post-Workout Eats and Banishing the Winter Blahs

November 4, 2011 at 4:13 pm
By Karla Walsh

This week’s fit links from around the web:

• Don’t undo all of your hard work—maximize it! Pro tips for what to eat after you exercise. — Vital Juice
• Sneak in a strength session away from the gym. Here’s how! — Fit Sugar
• Procrastinating, Facebook, red meat…many of the things you considered as “bad” may actually be good (in moderation). — iVillage
• Try these eight tricks to bypass the winter blues as we “fall back” this weekend. — TIME Healthland
• Why limit thankfulness to just one day? Let’s reflect on what we’re grateful for each day this month. — Carrots ‘N’ Cake
• All women should be able to exercise in style! These five outlets offer great options for plus-sized fitness apparel. — Yahoo! Shine
• Improve your health and longevity (and the well-being of those around you) with this cost-cutting habit. — NPR

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20 Years Younger: Oprah’s Trainer Bob Greene Shares Youthful Insider Secrets

October 13, 2011 at 1:19 pm
By Karla Walsh

Bob Greene is best known for helping teach Oprah how to live her “Best Life.” Now he’s sharing what he learned then, and through extensive research since, to help the rest of us live younger, healthier lives. His new book, 20 Years Younger, claims that if you pinpoint four areas of your life, you can quickly and easily turn back your body clock. “It’s all about consistency,” Greene says. “If you make healthy choices day after day, they really add up.”

While Greene admits that he hasn’t always lived a perfectly healthy life (exhibit one: the UV skin damage he sustained as a young adult and discovered during a recent scan at the dermatologist), he revamped his routine after scouring medical research and interviewing experts. After doing so, he noticed almost immediate improvements in energy levels, immunity and youthful appearance.

We scored the inside scoop from Greene about how we too can look, feel and live years below our biological age!

• Snack on these surprising superfoods. You’ve heard a lot about the antioxidant powers of blueberries and dark chocolate. But don’t discount the lesser-known nutrient-packed counterparts like kale, eggs, pomegranate, grapefruit and quinoa. Greene also suggest limiting saturated fats and cutting out trans fats.
• Work up a real sweat. To maintain health, you can get by with less, but for the best weight-loss, fitness and immune-boosting results, “strive to work out a minimum of five times a week,” Greene says. “I ran into Jack LaLanne at the airport a few years ago, and in his 90s, he looked like he was 60. He had a great spirit and amazing energy—he is a walking testament to the power of being active!”
• Give your skin some TLC. Sunscreen is a daily must, as we know, but it’s not too late if you’ve already experienced some skin damage. Greene swears by a sea salt skin polish (we like one that’s a mix of equal parts fine sea salt and olive oil) and recommends visiting a dermatologist to ask about vitamin C or vitamin A treatments to nourish sun-aged skin.
• Get some shut-eye. “I close myself off from the world when it’s time to sleep,” Greene says, although sometimes that has caused him trouble! “Oprah was trying to reach me soon after we first became friends, and when she tried to call my phone, it was off. She said, ‘How do people reach you?’ I told her that if she had called my doorman and said she was Oprah, I think he would know who that was and pass the call along!” Greene, a Tempur-Pedic fan, thinks sleep is the “forgotten step-child” of the wellness world, and suggests seven to eight hours in a room without dogs, ambient light or electronics.

More from FITNESS: 

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How Much Time Do You Spend in Front of the Tube?

August 17, 2011 at 12:05 pm
By Karla Walsh

Talk about a shocking statistic: Each additional hour spent watching TV after age 25 can cut your lifespan by 22 minutes, Australian researchers say. Hold up—are you serious scientists? My addiction to The Biggest Loser and (OK, I admit it) The Bachelorette could be shortening my life?

If you dig a little deeper in the study, you’ll find that the link between tube time and longevity is most likely not direct—so it could also be attributed to a habit of snacking on junk food while watching. Or perhaps the link isn’t causal, but those who aren’t as healthy or are inactive to begin with watch more TV, so they may have shorter lifespans. More research is needed to determine the real explanation, but many people agree that there is something about the allure of a couch, a clicker and some fun distraction after a long day…

I haven’t had a TV for more than a year (thank goodness for online shows!) and do miss zoning out in front of Bravo or getting ready in the morning with The Today Show on in the background catching me up on the news. But now I’ve found that when I do watch shows, I’m nearly always multitasking. I pop in a workout DVD to share the computer screen with the latest episode or prepare a healthy dinner while I watch. Then if I need some true vegging out, I turn my electronics off and grab a book or magazine. Who knows if that will actually help me live longer, but it at least lets me feel a bit better about my chances of making it to 100!

For more easy ways to add years to your life, click here.

Now tell us: How much TV do you watch? Will this research change your viewing habits?

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