Events and Contact Information

Saturday 9/10... 5K Courage Run/Walk.  Benefiting Courage to Be You, Inc. working to fight human trafficking.  Run will start and finish at Foothills Christian Church (9655 W State St.).  Registration @7:30am, Race @8:30am.  Cost $15.

Saturday 9/24... St. Luke's Women's Fitness Celebration.  5K Run/Walk.  A great cause to inspire healthy attitudes in participants so that it reaches their families and communities.

Contact Info:

Phone: 208.939.6283

Email: brianmitchell@fitnesstogether.com

Website: www.fitnesstogether.com/eagle

Location:

420 E. State Street, Suite 125

Eagle, Idaho 83616

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Client Of The Month - Zach Miller

Zach worked hard all summer and achieved some pretty incredible results.  He was able to gain almost 13 pounds of muscle while dropping down to 9% body fat, all within the last 3 months!

"My goal at the beginning of the summer was to gain muscle and lose fat, and I was able to accomplish that through hard workouts with Brian, cardio on my own, and improved diet.  I feel so much stronger and was able to see more toning and definition in my chest, arms, and abs.  I am confident that I can accomplish my fitness goals if I put in the time and hard work!"

Eating Well On A Budget

A healthy diet is affordable with a little planning, smart shopping and basic cooking skills.  Here are some tips from Jenny McCary MS, RD, LD

Meal-Planning Tips

• Check your fridge and cupboards to see what you already have on hand that you can use.
• Plan meals around the best weekly store specials. Stock up on sale items if space allows.
• Use coupons only for items you already buy.
• Get inspired by exploring one of the many online recipe finders, or check out a cookbook from the library.
• Add more meatless meals. Meat is the most expensive part of a meal.
• Use leftovers, to save time and money.
• Keep a running shopping list and jot down items when you run out. To make shopping easier, organize the list around your grocery store layout.
• Keep all your weekly meal plans. In no time, you’ll have a monthly menu cycle and a “go-to” list of quick meals.

Preparing Food at Home

After shopping, dedicate a little time to organizing food at home.

• Divide large packages of raw meat into smaller meal portions.
• When you have time, brown meat and chicken, package them and freeze them for use in meals later.
• Clean and cut up vegetables for meals and snacks that will be eaten within a few days. Wait to wash others just before eating.
• Cook in batches, and freeze extras.
• Keep a frozen-food inventory so that unknown meals don’t get buried in the freezer.
• Toss food into a slow cooker in the morning so that dinner is ready when you get home.
• Use the plate method: fill half the plate with fruits and veggies, one-quarter with protein and one-quarter with whole grain.
• Cook with friends. Take turns hosting a small group to plan meals, share recipes and cook large batches of food. Package the meals for everyone to take home and freeze.

Recipe Of The Month - Heart Healthy Chili

2 cups chopped zucchini

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cups chopped celery

1 cup chopped bell peppers

2 teaspoons chopped fresh garlic

1 pound chopped cooked turkey

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin seed

2 cups diced canned tomatoes, no-salt-added variety

4 cups canned kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 teaspoon brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 475 F.

Spray a glass baking dish with cooking spray. Arrange the zucchini in a single layer in the baking dish. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes until slightly tender and lightly browned.

While the zucchini is roasting, add the oil and chopped onions to a dutch oven or soup pot. Saute over low heat until the onions are browned. Add the celery and peppers and continue to saute. Add garlic, turkey, chili powder and cumin seed. Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, kidney beans, vegetable broth, brown sugar and the roasted zucchini. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Ladle into warmed individual bowls. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Analysis (per serving)

Serving size: About 1.5 cups

Calories          277       Cholesterol     43 mg

Protein            26 g     Sodium          315 mg

Carbohydrate   32 g      Fiber             9 g

Total fat          5 g      Potassium      764 mg

Saturated fat 1.5 g      Calcium          84 mg

Monounsaturated fat  2 g 

Too Much TV Could Shorten Your Lifespan

Would you just stand up already?

In the latest study to show that sitting is bad for you, British researchers found that for every hour you sit in front of the TV, you cut your life expectancy down by nearly 22 minutes -- the same effect as smoking two cigarettes.

And watching TV for six hours a day can cut your life expectancy down by five years, University of Queensland researchers said.

The average American age 15 and older spends about 2.7 hours a day watching TV, according to 2010 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, in 2009, the ratings company Nielsen released figures that showed that Americans spend an average of 4 hours and 49 minutes watching TV a day.

TV-watching is considered sedentary behavior, known to increase the risk of death from heart attack or stroke. The Australian researchers found that engaging in sedentary behavior by watching a lot of TV could have as big of an impact on health as smoking and not exercising.

To come to this conclusion, researchers analyzed the TV-watching habits and risk factors for chronic diseases of 11,000 people ages 25 and older who participated in the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study. Then, they compared that data with the 2008 estimate that Australians 25 and older spend an estimated 9.8 billion hours watching TV, which is linked with 286,000 fewer years of life. The study was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

"While smoking rates are declining, watching TV is not, which has implications at a population level," study researcher Dr. Lennert Veerman told The Guardian.

Past research also shows that watching too much TV can kill you. A Harvard review published earlier in the year in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that watching two hours of TV a day can bump up the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 20 percent, the risk of heart disease by 15 percent and the risk of early death by 13 percent.

Exercise Of The Month - Lateral Twisting Plank

 Benefits:

• Muscular endurance and strength in the rectus abdominis, obliques, quadratus lumborum and spinal extensor group
• Side-lying balance
• Core stabilization
• Hip, pelvis, abductor stabilization
• Shoulder girdle stabilization

Even 1 Soda a Day Can Hike Your Diabetes Risk

A soda a day? That's not so bad—a 150-calorie blip, burned off with a brisk half-hour walk. But it's not only your waistline that's at stake. A study released in the journal Diabetes Care found that people with a daily habit of just one or two sugar-sweetened beverages—anything from sodas and energy drinks to sweetened teas and vitamin water—were more than 25 percent likelier to develop type 2 diabetes than were similar individuals who had no more than one sugary drink per month. Since the overall rate of diabetes is roughly 1 in 10, an increase of 25 percent raises the risk to about 1 in 8. One-a-day guzzlers in the study also had a 20 percent higher rate of metabolic syndrome, a collection of indicators such as high triglyceride levels suggesting that diabetes is not far off.

Can Celery Keep Your Brain In Shape?

We all accept that as we age, our memories get worse. Turns out that eating the parsley garnish on your plate may help. A recent study looked at how a compound called luteolin, (commonly found in parsley and celery) slowed cognitive decline in older mice. What they found was that the mice that were given a diet fortified in luteolin had brains that functioned much like their younger counterparts.

What is luteolin?

Luteolin, similar to quercetin, is a flavonoid, which means it fights the aging process in all our cells, and is associated with lowered risk of developing cancer and heart disease. In the brain, flavonoids protect cells from the aging process by reducing inflammation. Research has also been conducted involving luteolin and other neurological diseases, including diabetic neuropathy and multiple sclerosis; however, more research is needed. Luteolin is found in most leaves, which means it’s abundant in many herbs including parsley, celery, perilla leaves, chamomile tea, rosemary, oregano as well as olive oil, carrots and peppermint.