Bike Two Ways for Great Abs

Believe it or not, having a nice tapered waistline and a little sexy ab muscle definition doesn't take a whole lot of work. All it takes is a combination of fat-burning cardio and muscle-building core workouts -- or as I call it "bike two ways".

The first "bike" is basically any cardio workout that helps burn the fat, letting the muscles underneath in the torso (and everywhere else) show through. Whether you choose to actually bicycle, run, kickbox or dance your way into a cardio-burn, incorporate this for at least 20 minutes a day/3 days a week to give your fat cells a run for its calories!

The second "bike" is the bicycle crunch, demonstrated below:

I absolutely love this move since it engages all the major core muscles: front, sides, upper and lower. No surprise that it's considered one of the best ab moves to do!

While this and other targeted-muscle exercises will not "spot reduce" and shrink the fat specific to that area, it will show some really nice lean and mean cut and definition once the fat does go away (which is what the cardio is for.)

Activia Experience While Running

Ugh, had a planned 10/11 mile hilly run cut short to a 7-mile due to getting an Activia experience 5 miles in. For your reference, courtesy of NBC's SNL:

First off, I didn't pull the full "Jamie Lee!" (possibly the look.) Fortunately, I made it home without incident and thankful I don't run far away enough to worry about where I have to take care of business. But now I'm just wondering what could've set me off, so to speak.

The top (or should I say bottom?) suspects are:

1) drinking coffee about half-hour before my run, which might have woken up my GI tract as well
2) having warmed milk in middle of night after unexpectedly waking up (and I'm just a tad lactose sensitive)
3) a meat and alcohol laden dinner from two days ago, VERY out of the norm for my body and probably tough to process

More likely, it's probably the combo of the three strikes that got me out. I guess lesson learned to keep a closer eye on what I eat.

And apologies for all the bad puns and possible TMI - believe me, it's way crappier experiencing it first-person.

Foodie Fit Friday Tip: Watch Those Portions

The bento box at Shojin is sensibly portioned and have great variety between the different food groups

Weekends are usually more challenging in managing what you eat; less structure, more celebrations, etc. -- so here's a Foodie Fit Friday Tip to help with healthful eating for the next two days (and onwards!)

Foodwise, we are definitely living in the land of plenty. Between meals with lots extras to add on, ever-larger meal plates and growing portion sizes, it's easy to lose track of what a 'serving' is. So here's a friendly reminder from me and the American Dietetic Association on what a serving looks like. (Sidenote: to clarify, servings are standardized whereas portions are variable.)

- A serving of meat is three ounces, or size of a deck of cards
- A serving of cooked veggies is half a cup, or a light bulb (raw veggies, by the way, is one cup)
- Each dairy serving is eight ounces of milk, one ounce or one slice of cheese; an ounce of cheese is about a pair of dice (and not those huge plushy ones you dangle about.)
- A serving of nuts is an ounce, or a modest handful
- One serving of cooked pasta/rice is a cup, or a tennis ball
- For breads, each serving is one slice (even less for denser, larger ones like oversized loaves or bagels)
- One drink in alcohol equals to 12 oz. of beer, 5 oz. of wine or 1.5 oz (a shot) of spirit (i.e. a full pint glass is actually 133% serving of beer, and a bottle of wine contains five servings)

I am not saying you should use a measuring spoon and cup to scrutinize everything you put in your mouth, but hopefully these visual cues will help you gauge how many servings of the various food groups you're consuming and make adjustments as needed.

Likewise, feel free to indulge occasionally in that large piece of steak, the must-have cheesy baked pasta dish or that decadent dessert, but try to compensate by cutting back on those food groups on days leading up to and following that splurgy meal. As noted recently, moderation is key.

What is moderation?

Given all my talk of moderation when it comes to eating, I guess I should disclose what my idea of the word means -- which to some may feel like a near-anorexic diet and to others a gluttonous feast.

But ultimately, if the goal is to maintain or lose weight, you have to gauge the calories you take in versus calories being burned, with caloric intake equaling burn for maintenance and intake less than burn for weightloss (approximately 3,500 calories per pound.) I'm not a obsessed, precise calorie-counter, but I do a fair job of guesstimating how many I'm eating -- as for estimating calories burned, there are calculators out there like this easy-to-use one at active.com, which takes into consideration your sex, current height, weight, age and activity level.

That being said, I try to stay within 1,600-1,800 calorie range on a normal day, enough to for me to have three satisfying meals plus wiggle room for snacks/treats/alchy while still creating a signficant calorie deficit (if the calculator's guesstimated 2,400 calories burned/day is to be trusted.)

So on a given week with 4-5 days of normal eating, I'll have a weekly caloric deficit of 2,400 to 4,000 calories -- which I have to "splurge" on more indulgent and decadent meals at home or out and about. And given my love of all things sweet and fatty, two to three splurge meals will easily fill that deficit up, so that's how I moderate my indulgences: no more than three blowout meals on a given week. I think of it as my own "three strikes" rule. And it works for me in the past two and a half years at this weight, since I've never deviated more than five pounds.

Of course, this is what works for me -- unless you're identical to me in body size, activity level, eating habits and food cravings, you're probably going to have different calorie needs and probably a different regimen. If you don't eat out a whole lot, you may do better with a consistent but overall higher-calorie intake everyday. Or if you go out-of-town regularly, perhaps a "three weeks clean, one week mean" schedule is more suitable. There's definitely some room to play around as to finding what lifestyle's best for you, but just remember and use the simple calories in-calories out formula to guide your eating habits to meet your goals (word of caution: don't try to restrict yourself too much trying to get fast results; as a rule, healthy weight loss is considered 2 pounds/week maximum a.k.a. 7,000 calorie deficit.)

P.S. if 1,800 calories a day sounds like a deprivation diet to you, keep an eye out for this blog where I'll share some of my favorite recipes and products that's filling, tasty and won't blow your calorie budget.

LA Times' DIY Weight-Loss Issue Today: Check It Out

Whether you'll still trying to make good on that New Year's resolution or getting into that trim summer shape or just attempting to blast those last few unwanted pounds, today's LA Times Health section is well worthwhile read, focusing on do-it-yourself weightloss: with a well-rounded look at developing a workout routine, modifying eating habits and building a support system to stay on-track. And kudos for mentioning the doctors' visit before the lifestyle overhaul to make sure the body's a-OK to go.

And of course, one doesn't have to follow these guidelines down to the very last details -- take the tips and advice that you can use and incorporate into your lifestyle.