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Turns out that low-calorie dry martini or scotch
on the rocks might not be as easy on your diet and weight loss attempts as
you'd imagined. Just a heads-up on a common misconception about alcohol
and calorie content: While low calorie drinks are the better choice when
deciding between those and more calorie-laden, sugary drinks, it's not the
calories (or lack thereof) in the low-cal drinks that are the make-or-break
issue in whether your beverage will affect your diet or not.
It’s the alcohol, not the calories, that make a night out of heavy drinking a
stress on your body’s ability to burn fat.
While some of the calories
from alcoholic drinks are turned into fat, the alcohol itself prevents your
body from using fat as its main energy source. Once in your system,
alcohol is turned into a substance called acetate; it cuts to the front of the
line so that your body uses this as its primary form of energy, therefore
stopping the use of body fat as energy in lieu of the acetate. So, a few
extra calories aside, it’s the cease-fire between your metabolism and body fat
courtesy of the acetate formerly known as alcohol that really prevents you from
burning fat. For anyone who can’t imagine a night out without drinking, a
couple of suggestions: keep the drinking slow and light, or replace liquor with
wine, which doesn’t have as harsh an effect. Otherwise, a lean and strong
body might be a little further from your reach as you’d imagined.
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Although the days when the
H1N1 virus, formerly known as the Swine Flu, brought to mind mental pictures
resembling scenes from Outbreak have passed, the virus itself is still present,
and precautions should be taken. The most significant difference between the
H1N1 and the seasonal flu viruses is that H1N1 has a higher incidence in the
younger population and pregnant women. The virus presents with symptoms
including fatigue, fever, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, cough, and body
aches. The severity has a wide range from mild flu-like symptoms to
severe respiratory symptoms requiring hospitalizations. It is spread
through person-to-person contact by respiratory droplets and can stay alive on
inanimate objects up to eight hours. The H1N1 flu vaccine is the best
weapon against the flu; it's manufactured the same way as the seasonal vaccine
under rigorous oversight and approval by the FDA.
There are certain target groups who should
receive the vaccine: pregnant women; health care workers; people often around
infants under six months old; anyone under 24; and people from 25-64 with underlying
medical conditions. To help prevent the spread and reduce your risk of
contracting H1N1: Get the vaccine if you meet the above criteria. Cover your
nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing then discard the tissue
immediately. Wash your hands frequently with soap or hand sanitizers. Avoid
touching your eyes, nose and mouth to avoid spreading germs. If flu symptoms
appear, call your physician. Anyone infected should stay home for at
least one week from when symptoms began; prescription medications are available
to help handle the severity of the virus. For additional information
contact the Center for Disease Control (CDC) at: www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/ or
phone the CDC hotline at 1-800-CDC-INFO.
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Blame it on the Tour de France, but lately it feels as if my dusty bike has been beckoning me from my balcony. Or maybe it has to do with too much routine at the gym, in which case bicycling would be a great way to mix things up and enjoy the city at the same time. Because San Antonio has been ranked the third most overweight city in the nation, it's important that we encourage ourselves and others to lead a healthy life in our city. One great way to start: bicycles.
According to J.D. Simpson, the senior cycling specialist at BikeWorld, depending on your weight and the speed at which you ride, you can burn over 300-500 calories riding a bike for an hour. San Antonio Wheelmen (SAW) (sawheelmen.com) has group sessions for riders of all experience on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, both beginning at Bike World (Broadway or 1604 locations); in August begins a SAW Rider Education Series for new riders or those getting back on the bike: You learn about the bike with others in your arena of expertise (or lack thereof), group riding sessions included. Another option is to ride your bike around downtown or the King William area alone or with a couple of friends; Blue Star Bike Shop (bluestarbrewing.com) offers bike rentals for those without a bike.
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It's so easy to become
entranced with the swirl of a belly dancer"s hips and stomach that it's easy to
forget that it"s a workout. I learned this the fun way with a class at
the Little Egypt Belly Dancing Studios. After class, I had the pleasure
of talking belly dance with the three most intriguing personalities at the
studio: Brenda, the studio's owner/dance instructor; Michael, the drummer whose
bongos stirred up quite a beat; and Stefania, a professional belly dancer/restaurateur who danced for us after class (she owns Courtney Italiano
and Dolores del Rio, both of which serve their food with a side of belly
dancer).
A wonderful thing about the dance is that it has such positive physical
and mental benefits. Its focus on the core muscles(those found in the torso) has
a Pilates/yoga-like characteristic to it that increases flexibility and
strength. It also works the legs, back and upper body if a veil is used, which
I discovered during class as I popped my hips from left to right (coordination
is vital). Brenda pointed out that it’s something for women of all ages and
sizes, and seemed especially enthusiastic about its positive mental
effects. For example, three doctors are taking private lessons with her
(separately), which she says is not a coincidence. They are all looking
for an outlet, something to do for themselves to stay soft and feminine in such
a hard corporate world. There is a connection between the right and left
side of the brain that needs to be made with the dance. Michael compared it to
drumming: a holistic approach to the body, incorporating the left with the
right; soon after he said this, I looked up and noticed a shirt with the words
"The belly dancer always gets the drummer” on the front and realized that,
after my experience with the dance and with his perfectly fitting analogy, it
seems that the drummer gets belly dancing.
Get in touch with your femininity at Little Egypt Belly Dancing Studios
or visit their site for more information at http://www.blittleegypt.com.
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