Mom Corps' Blog - Health and Fitness

5 Exercises You Can Do At Your Desk

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 13:00:00 -0500

You want to get in shape but it's not a priority? I understand! It's hard to juggle work, kids, PTA, football schedules, cheerleading, etc.. the list goes on and on. We tend to put exercising at the bottom or close to the bottom of the list at this time in our lives. I have 3 small kids myself, I KNOW how hard it is! I want to offer some useful suggestions on how to squeeze in a quick workout here and there.

The key is to wake up & think, "How can I get my workout in today". It can also help to put it on your calendar on Sunday when you are planning your week. It doesn't have to be one and a half hours at the gym, 5 days a week. You can start with 3 - 30 minute workouts and build up to more. Plan to take the kids to a park where you can walk while they are playing, the East Cobb Park is perfect for that! There are also a lot of benches there to do tricep dips or step-ups on the bench! You can do walking lunges as you are walking! Bring a set of weights & do some bicep curls. The sky is the limit!

There is another way you can workout throughout the day exercising at your desk. Here are 5 exercises that I would recommend doing at your desk a few times a week in addition to the 3 30 minute workouts!!

1. The Wooden Leg: For lower-body strength: Sit in your chair, extend one leg out straight in front of you and hold for two seconds. Then raise it up as high as you can, and hold it again for two seconds. Repeat with each leg 15 times.

2. Invisible Chair Sit: Stand in front of your chair with your feet a hip's width apart. They work best if you lower your seat as far as it will go. Place your hands on your hips and lower your butt until it's just above the seat. Then sit down as slowly as possible. Do 20 repetitions. To make it harder, reach your hands overhead as if you were holding a beach ball. If you're really feeling steady, try it on one leg.

3. The Magic Carpet Ride: This works your core and arms. Sit in your chair with your legs crossed and your feet on the seat. Then place your hands on the armrests, suck in your gut and raise yourself a few inches above the seat, using your belly muscles and hands. Hold for 10 to 20 seconds. Rest for 30 seconds. Repeat five times.

4. Desk Push Ups: Stand a yard or more away from your desk, with your feet together. Place your palms on the edge of the desk a shoulder's width apart. Lower your chest to the edge of the desk, and push back up. Remember to exhale on the way up. Do 20 times.

5. Seated Crunches: Put your feet flat on the floor and sit up straight. Put your hands and arms folded in your lap. Breathe in through your nose, "crunching" your upper and lower abs by pulling your legs up. Push your back against the chair. Hold for 3 seconds and relax, breathing out through your mouth. Do about 100 if you have the time, otherwise do 2 sets of 50 or 4 sets of 25!! You can do this!!

The word exercise comes from the Latin exercere, meaning to keep busy or at work. You are at work and you have to keep busy!!!

Good luck girls! The idea is to feel good and these things will all help you feel good, I promise!! Please call me if you have any questions or would like to try a FREE boot camp at the park! We offer a variety of classes throughout the week at 6 different parks in Marietta, Woodstock, Smyrna, Kennesaw & Acworth.

Heidi Morris
Certified Personal Trainer
Owner, Boot Camp in the Park, LLC
www.BootCampInThePark.org
heidi@bootcampinthepark.org
678-938-7262

Would You Eat Salad If You Were Not on a Diet?

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:48:00 -0500

"Salad Days" was a termed coined by William Shakespeare to describe a time of youth and innocence. Today the phrase "salad days" could just as well describe the first few days on a diet since one of the first things people do when they take the plunge into the routine of a weight-loss program is to buy fresh vegetables. Armloads of leafy greens, carrots, broccoli, and bean sprouts are purchased, washed, put away and. forgotten.

"I really planned on having a salad every night with dinner," a client told me in a typical scenario, "but by the time I would get home, I was too tired to start cutting up vegetables. Yesterday I opened my vegetable bin because I needed an onion and it was full of disgusting rotting lettuce and shriveled up carrots."

Just as typical is the individual who is committed to eating a large salad sprinkled with nothing but lemon juice every night. Predictably within a week or so, eating the salad becomes more an exercise in self-discipline than enjoyment. " I used to love salads," another client told me, "but what I really loved was the avocado slices, sugar- coated pecans, chunks of goat cheese, and, of course, the salad dressing. Eating lemon juice-coated lettuce leaves does nothing for my taste buds. I am thinking of getting a rabbit so the veggies do not go to waste."

So as the diet progresses, the salad days are just a memory or a soggy mess at the bottom of the vegetable bin.

Vegetables that have to be cooked usually don't even make it home from the supermarket. We may look at the rows of raw beets, parsnips, cauliflower or gigantic bunches of leafy kale and mustard greens when we are food shopping and leave them staring back at us. We say to ourselves: "The kale looks like it comes from a rain forest; the beets will turn my hands red; parsnips look like anemic carrots. And I hated cauliflower when my mother overcooked it."

"I wish supermarkets would run a video of how to prepare some of the vegetables I see in the produce section. Each week I tell myself that I am going to cook parsnips or turnips but then I lose my nerve and end up buying only string beans, carrots or tomatoes," said a friend. I responded with my own story of going to a nearby Asian supermarket and being afraid to buy much of the produce displayed there. "The shelves are filled with dozens of items that I am sure are very nutritious and taste good but I don't know whether I am supposed to use them in a stir-fry, or soup, or steam or boil them," I told her. " I limit myself to buying vegetables I recognize from eating in Chinese restaurants. "

Here are some suggestions that might get these foods out of the supermarket and onto your dinner plates:

" Buy fresh vegetables that are ready to eat. Grape tomatoes, bagged mixtures of leafy lettuces, grated or baby carrots, cut-up cauliflower and broccoli and packaged slices of green and red peppers require only removing from plastic before eating.
" Put your salad bowl on the counter before you leave for work in the morning to remind you to eat salad when you return.
" Invest in good extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, a pepper grinder and peppercorns. These are the basis of a good salad dressing that you can make faster than unscrewing a bottle of salad dressing. And the olive oil and vinegar will last for months.
" Buy or sharpen a paring knife and make sure you have a vegetable peeler. The really cheap ones without the fancy handles work best. Get a chopping board and make sure it can be cleaned easily. Now you have the tools to prepare your own salad vegetables when you are ready to move beyond buying them already prepared.
" Making salads and salad dressing is an activity easily shared with other members of the household. I remember doing this when I turned 7 or 8 and could handle a peeler and knife under supervision. Most kids are able to handle tablespoons and measuring cups and all of them love to toss a salad.
" Salad ingredients do not have to be confined to vegetables. Apples or pears sliced thin, hard-boiled eggs chopped up, and leftover chicken, ham or turkey will turn the salad from a side dish to a main dish for lunch or a light supper.
" Frozen vegetables can be steamed or prepared in the microwave. But avoid the ones that come with sauces; they are high in calories and artificial ingredients. Avoid them.

There are also flavor strategies you can try which take only seconds:

" Lemon juice. If you don't have fresh lemons, use the juice that comes in the plastic lemon. Many cooked vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, string beans, and carrots perk up with a sprinkle of lemon.
" Roast vegetables. Microwave vegetables until almost cooked and put them on a foil-lined cookie sheet. Drizzle on a little olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt and roast them in a hot oven for 5-10 minutes. You can also microwave sweet potatoes until almost cooked. Then slice and roast them. They taste better than French fries.
" Use herbs, fresh or dried, to bring taste to cooked vegetables. Fresh dill snipped over string beans, cauliflower or carrots makes them smell like crunchy pickles and fresh basil chopped over steamed vegetables gives them a gourmet touch . Try adding slivers of fresh ginger to frozen broccoli before microwaving; it makes them taste sweet.
" When you have time to do more than a few minutes of vegetables cooking, consider making soups. Pureed soups are perfect for those of us who hate measuring anything when we cook. All you need is a big pot to cook whatever vegetables you want to put into the soup, along with some store-bought broth and herbs. This is particularly useful for those vegetables that may be a little too old for the salad bowl. Once everything in the pot is soft and a little cool, put it into a food processor and blend.

Also:

" Add yogurt or fat-free sour cream to cold spinach, carrot, broccoli or cucumber soups. Add small pinches of curry and cayenne pepper for a different taste.
" Too little time to cook the vegetables? Try a trick I learned when I had babies. Use pureed baby vegetables. They need salt and spice but do not need a food processor.
" Buy prepared soups (low sodium are best) and add your own vegetables to the pot.
" Use a rainy Sunday afternoon to put up soups that you can freeze.
" Keep the food processor or blender handy. A gazpacho, which is a soup containing fresh tomatoes and chopped summer vegetables, can be made in minutes and is great for those overripe tomatoes you haven't gotten around to eating.

When you have lots of time to experiment with vegetables, do two things: ask friends or neighbors who know how to cook vegetables that are unfamiliar to you (like artichokes or spaghetti squash). I have a Russian neighbor who told me how to prepare beets without staining my hands red.

Go to the Web and look up recipes. There will be more than you can use. If the recipes have reviews, read them. The reviews will tell you how easy or hard the recipes are to follow and whether they are worth doing. Print out one or two that you might use immediately and follow them. Don't put them in a drawer. You will forget you have them.

If you follow some of these suggestions, your "salad days" will turn into a permanent way of eating.

Judith Wurtman is the author of "The Serotonin Power Diet".

Do You Really Want to Know What Your Teen is Eating for Breakfast?

Sun, 01 Mar 2009 21:32:00 -0500

Melissa is one of the eleventh grade students I tutor at an urban high school. When she joined me one morning last week, she was munching on barbecued chips and drinking soda. I asked her if this was her breakfast. "No," she answered." I had a sausage and egg sandwich and a Coke before coming to school." "Do you ever eat breakfast at home?" I asked. She explained me that she didn't have the time because the bus picked her up around 7 AM. The school was near a convenience store so she and her friends would stop there before going into the school. "What do your friends eat for breakfast?" I asked. "They will buy breakfast sandwiches or doughnuts or candy bars. It depends on how much money they have," she told me.

We were studying cellular respiration but I thought it was important to delay talking about ATP formation and focus on her eating habits for a few minutes. I figured her cells would thank me for doing so. There were no surprises. She snacked frequently and showed me a Snickers bar she had in her backpack for later on. Cookies, chocolate milk, tortilla chips, soda, tacos, cheeseburgers and fries were staples. She rarely ate meals at home although she did when fried chicken, or macaroni and cheese, was being served. Vegetables were limited to the shredded lettuce and tomato sprinkled on a fast-food taco and she never ate fruit. "It's too expensive," she told me. "A banana or an apple at a convenience store costs almost a dollar and I would rather spend my money on fries at McDonalds." Were it not for the cheeseburgers and tacos with shredded cheese she ate as snack/meals, her dairy intake would have been limited to the two or three chocolate milks she drank each week. And she will always buy a can of soda, not diet soda, to drink when she is thirsty.

According to national surveys, Melissa's eating habits are typical of teen eating. Many have replaced meal eating with frequent snacking and the snacks are usually from the fried, fatty and fast-food groups. When I mentioned to Melissa that many fast-food restaurants offered salads and grilled chicken, she looked at me as if I was suggesting she eat sautéed earthworm for a snack. "It has to be fried or salty or crunchy and maybe sometimes sweet," she told me. " I don't want to spend my money on salads and chicken." Unlike those of us in other age categories, teens do not think of their homes as a source of meals and snacks. Melissa admitted that her mom cooks meals for her father and siblings and that the refrigerator is filled with fruits and vegetables. But like her peers, Melissa would rather go out to the convenience stores and fast-food restaurants to eat than sit down with her parents and siblings for a meal.

The short and long-term consequences of a teen diet are obvious. It is hard to see how any teen can pay attention in class when the first or second or third meal of the day is a high fat, high salt, refined carbohydrate snack. The near absence of foods supplying essential nutrients to the body must take its physiological toll. Calcium deficiency probably won't show up for several more decades as osteoporosis but iron deficiency may be apparent right away. Unless the females eat reliable sources of iron (and this may be one benefit of eating fast-food hamburgers) there will no way of compensating for menstruating- associated iron loss. The chronic tiredness that hovers over most teens may not be due entirely to too little sleep. The girls may also be anemic. It has been suggested that teens take vitamin pills because their erratic diet lacks sufficient amounts of the nutrients they should be eating daily. I suggested this to Melissa but she couldn't accept the concept of taking a pill to make sure she stayed healthy. Yet fear of obesity has a significant influence on what female teens tend to eat or rather not eat. But here again, the self-imposed dietary restrictions eliminate essential components of the diet. And one fears that if teens are told about the fattening effects of their diet, that the females and maybe some of the males may go in the opposite direction and become anorectic or bulimic. The most successful approach to changing teen eating into something that resembles nourishment may be to appeal to their vanity and /or athletic prowess. Hair and complexion are sources of concern and teen magazines are filled with cosmetic ads that promise shiny locks and flawless skin. If the manufacturers of hair and skin products were to advertise their products with the proviso that the products will work only if a healthy diet is followed, perhaps interest in what constitutes a healthy diet will arise. Ads for products that make cheeks and lips rosy could advise the teenager consumer that their lips and cheeks will look even more naturally attractive if they are not anemic or vitamin deficient. Competitive advantage in sports as a result of healthier eating may convert some to giving up their Doritos for carrots and their sodas for low-fat milk. One hopes that high school coaches have some influence in this area and require that their teams follow healthy diets with penalties for skipping breakfast or eating fries and a soda for lunch.

The final argument for getting the teens to go home to eat real meals is the effect of nutrients on their brain power. Teens must pass state examinations to get their diploma and the college bound have the SAT exams to get through. The teachers spend hours preparing their charges for the state exams and many students pay to attend after-school classes to prepare for the SATs. Yet no time is spent in telling the kids how to eat so that they will learn better in the classroom and do better on their tests. I suspect that many who want to do well on these exams so they can graduate and for some, go to college, might be willing to eat so as to maintain their brain power. And that might be the most persuasive argument of them all. Judith Wurtman is the author of "The Serotonin Power Diet".

Boning Up on Calcium (and Vitamin D)

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 18:19:00 -0500

"I can walk for 12 minutes on the treadmill," boasted Shirley to me when I bumped into her as she emerged from our neighborhood gym. "This is the first time in my 76 years that I have ever exercised. But my doctor told me I had to for my bones. Now I have a trainer and I am even lifting weights." "Are you taking calcium also?" I asked, having just purchased a large bottle of calcium supplements myself. "No, I can't be bothered. I take enough medication for my high blood pressure. My doctor didn't say anything and besides, I drink at least a glass of milk a day." The sidewalk did not seem to be the place for a short workshop on calcium supplementation but as I walked away, I wondered if Shirley was really doing enough for her bones. I wanted to ask her if she had a bone scan recently to find out if she was developing osteoporosis. Was she getting enough vitamin D? Did she even know calcium would not be absorbed into her body unless her body had enough vitamin D? A glass a milk a day did not seem to be enough to give her the calcium she needed at her age and somehow I doubted she was drinking shots of cod liver oil to get her D vitamin. Was my interest in Shirley's bones a result of a recent conversion myself on the importance of getting enough calcium and vitamin D? So many people I knew were on medicine to reverse the early signs of bone weakening that it felt like an epidemic. And these were not people in their eighties: one was a competitive athlete in her forties and another was the fifty-something husband of a friend. What they all had in common was years of avoidance of dairy products, not taking calcium supplements, staying out of the sun to prevent skin cancer and as a result, preventing natural vitamin D from being made in the skin. Additionally, they didn't do enough upper body weight-bearing exercise. According to the National Osteoporosis Foundation, adults under the age of 50 need l000mg of calcium and over 50, 1200 mg daily. Eight-ounce servings of milk, cottage and ricotta cheese and yogurt provide between 25-40% of daily calcium needs. Some orange juices and other foods are fortified with calcium fortified but unless one makes the effort to consume enough of these foods daily, it is very easy for your diet to be deficient in this essential mineral. Think you are getting enough vitamin D? Think again. The National Osteoporosis Foundation reviewed studies on the intake of this vitamin and found that there is a widespread deficiency in the U.S. among adults. Our bodies make vitamin D naturally through the action of ultraviolet radiation on our skin. So it seems as if we should all have enough. Wrong. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation is also linked to skin cancer so protective skin coverings and sunblock effectively prevent this vitamin from being made. We can't really get enough from food unless we eat a great deal of salmon, tuna and mackerel and drink fish liver oils. Fortunately, our milk has been fortified with this vitamin since the l930's when it was found that vitamin D prevented rickets, a bone disease prevalent among children. And now orange juice, ready to eat breakfast cereals, yogurt and margarine may also be fortified with vitamin D. A National Institute of Health (NIH) fact sheet on adequate intake of this vitamin recommends 200 IU (international units) daily for those 50 and younger. For baby boomers and beyond, ages 51-70, the amount goes up to 400 IU. And people over 70, such as my 76-year-old neighbor, should be getting 600 IU a day. So for many of us, supplements may be the only reliable way of getting enough of this mineral and vitamin in our diet. A quick check of calcium supplements in my local drug store indicated that most contain vitamin D as well. But not all calcium supplements are equally effective or even safe. Calcium from unrefined oyster shell, bone meal or dolomite may contain lead. Moreover, you won't find calcium in pure form in any supplement. In nature this mineral is always combined with another substance. The most common combinations found in supplements are calcium carbonate, calcium citrate and calcium phosphate. The pills tend to be large, but chewable forms of this supplement are also available. The NIH Bone Health fact sheet suggests not taking all the pills at once but spacing them out throughout the day. This apparently improves their absorption into the body. Calcium carbonate is absorbed best when taken with food but calcium citrate can be taken on an empty stomach. Remember to drink plenty of water as these supplements can be constipating. And check with your physician about interactions between calcium supplements and other medications you may be taking. If you are post-menopausal ask about having a bone scan to establish your own baseline of bone density. And don't wait until you are 76 to start to exercise. Judith Wurtman is the author of "The Serotonin Power Diet".

Is There Such a Thing as a Low-Calorie Christmas?

Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:47:00 -0500

Entertaining during the Christmas holidays is always associated with excess. Even this year of self-imposed frugality will not eliminate the inevitable batter-dipped appetizers, cheese platters, meat carving stations and fat-laden dips at "important" parties and platters of homemade lasagna, meatballs, dumplings and even goose at Christmas dinner at home. Bowls of nuts, chocolates and cookies cover all available spaces and festive drinks such as Champagne and eggnog will accompany these holiday delights. Vegetables will be in short supply. Maybe vitamin pills ought to be served along with dessert to make sure that the diners are getting some of the nutrients they need. For reasons that are probably lost in the Stone Age, entertaining guests is always associated with providing more to eat and drink than when the family is dining by itself. I have a cousin who was chattering to me about a holiday dinner she is planning. "I am going to serve a roast," she told me, "but I am also going to have chicken for people who don't like red meat. Then I thought I would also make some Swedish meatballs for people who might not like roasts or chicken." "Why don't you just serve one main dish," I asked in astonishment. "After all, they (the family) know they are not coming to a restaurant." "Well, they are my guests," she replied, a little huffily, "and I have to make sure they are well-fed." I had the uncharitable thought that many of our mutual relatives were probably too well-fed already but I kept it to myself. So what are we to do when confronted with an abundance of holiday food and a plenty of opportunities to eat it? For many this is an irrelevant question. "Of course I gain weight during Christmas," an irate client told me when I asked her to try to stay on her diet through December. "I'll go back on the diet in January." Others who struggle all year to prevent themselves from gaining weight may forego eating at holiday parties and meals and opt for a bowl of cereal and milk when they come home from the festivities. But there is a middle ground, one that will allow you to enjoy the special holiday foods without gaining weight. Here is what you can do: 1. Never go to a party hungry. This means eating breakfast and lunch and then a small snack before a nighttime dinner or reception. 2. Eat only interesting food. Skip the predictable appetizers; certainly there is nothing special about nuts, cheese dips or batter-dipped zucchini puffs. Stick with foods that are special for the season and not available at other times of the year. 3. Beware of passed hors d'oeuvres. These tasty little delights on trays pack a lot of calories and even though you consume them in seconds, their impact on your scale can last for days. 4. When taking food from a buffet table or serving yourself family style at a holiday meal, take small amounts. Since we all tend to eat what is on our plates, you will eat less if you start with less. If you are hungry (and don't forget, there is dessert coming) you can always have seconds. 5. Alcohol is the stealth calorie producer. It doesn't taste fattening (unless you are drinking eggnog) and it makes you feel good until you try to button your skirt or pants a few days later. Never consume alcoholic beverages because you are thirsty. And if you are drinking (or eating) too much because you are bored, go home and wrap presents. 6. Exercise. Look at your schedule and figure out when you can get 30 minutes of some physical activity in at least three times a week. If it means arriving at a party a little later or leaving a little earlier so you can get up the next morning, do it. Exercise has been shown to reduce fatigue--even if you are exhausted before you begin. Working up a good sweat, and getting your body heated, will revitalize you. Of course, you will also be using up some of those excess calories. And remember that the bottom line for all these festivities is to enjoy the company of others. I wonder if I tell my cousin that, she will only serve chicken. Judith Wurtman is the author of "The Serotonin Power Diet".

Help, Food Network!

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 19:14:00 -0500

There is something wrong with this picture. I am pushing the pedals on the elliptical trainer, which has me climbing a hill without end. As I sweat my way through the workout, I distract myself by looking at a program on the Food Network shown on the overhead TV screen. I watch as a skinny female chef is putting an enormous chunk of butter into a pot of cooking carrots. While that melts, she goes over to some grits and adds the rest of the stick of butter, assuring us that these foods will now taste yummy. The program thankfully comes to an end, and I hope that the next show will teach me how to cook something that doesn't shut my arteries down like the route to Cape Cod on a summer weekend. I am not in luck. This program is on desserts and not only does the male chef use (no exaggeration) three sticks of butter for four desserts, he also tops one of them with freshly whipped heavy cream. I just don't get it. Obesity is overwhelming the country. To try to combat it, health writers implore us to adopt healthy eating habits, people are given calorie information on packaged foods and now in New York restaurants, reality TV shows showcase contestants competing for the highest weekly weight loss and restaurant corporations are altering their menus to include calorically lighter fare. But to watch the food channel, one might think that we were a nation of underweight, underfed, over-exercising individuals who need to eat a half a pound of butter a day just to survive. What if the Food Network was required to tell the viewers how many calories are in an average size serving of each dish featured on the program? Let the cook on each show plate an average serving of carrots, or grits or deep-fried melted cheese and ham sandwiches and display the number of calories the foods contain. With that information we would not be able to deceive ourselves into thinking that just because the butter is not longer visible in the dish, it is not there. Exposing the caloric contents of the cooking show foods is very likely to influence their consumption. At least this is what New York restaurants have been learning. Last week, the New York Times reviewed the response of several restaurants in the city to calorie labeling of their menus. According to the article, which appeared on Oct. 29th, Dunkin' Donuts added a low-calorie egg white breakfast sandwich, Cosi (a sandwich chain) is now using a low-fat mayonnaise and several restaurants decreased substantially the size of their servings. Starbucks, for example, decided to reduce the size of its butter-filled croissant rather than decrease its butter content. Another popular lunch restaurant decreased the size of its quiche from eleven ounces to six. No one expects that giving caloric information will change people's eating habits by tomorrow. Just as we (until recently anyway) allowed ourselves to buy impulsively even if the cost was too high, we will still eat something we want regardless of its calorie cost. But the impact of calorie labeling is to allow us to make an educated choice. If we see that a tuna melt sandwich has l700 calories and a grilled chicken sandwich 580, we may be more likely to eat the sandwich with fewer calories. We may be less casual about the kind and amount of food we mindlessly munch on for snacks. The article pointed out that a large bucket of movie popcorn has more than half the number of calories we should be eating in a day. Add a large soft drink to that and you may leave the movie theater heavier than when you entered. I am not optimistic that the Food Network will undergo a major shift in its cooking policies. The main reason is that high-fat ingredients make food taste good. Heavy cream, bacon, egg yolks, oil, cheese, and butter are the staples of western cooking, especially France. But the mission of the Food Network should be, in part, to each us how to make food taste good without depending on these unhealthy ingredients. Tell me how to make healthy foods that a relative who just had a quadruple by pass can eat without having another heart attack. Show me how to assemble ingredients for a dinner party, which do not require a double dose of cholesterol-reducing drugs afterward. How can I make foods taste savory without using added salt? Are there desserts out there that a dieter can eat and treats for kids that won't push them into obesity? Fortunately there are many sources of nutrient-rich recipes that are low in salt, sugar and fat. Many women's magazines feature healthy recipes, and magazines devoted to cooking, such as Cooking Light, are filled with dishes that meet exacting health standards. Internet recipes will also give nutritional information so you know the calorie and nutrient content of what your are cooking. And in the meanwhile, as I wait for the Food Network to change, in the gym I'll just watch ESPN. Judith Wurtman is the author of "The Serotonin Power Diet"