LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Fitness |
by Rick Moore |
It's a Victory for All I'm growing a Victory Garden. Never in a million years would I have thought to do this. My garden is doing really well and just today I picked the first tomatoes off my gigantic tomato plant. This thing is huge. The burpless cucumber plant is out of control. Its tentacles are grabbing onto anything they can cling to. I've got some banana peppers growing gangbusters and the white eggplant looks oddly alien. How did this happen? Well, one of my clients is an all-natural food fan. She brought over the baby plants and created an awesome container garden to get me started. After Terry had done the hard work it was up to me to take care of my freshly planted baby veggies. Water and weed daily and stick to it. Did you know that you can slim down with low calorie fruits and veggies that are now growing, and plentiful? Supermarkets, fruit stands by the roadside, and farmers markets in almost all our nearby towns, offer tasty nutrition options for us. There are great, tasty items to choose from. Here are the best to take advantage of this season. Tomatoesno surprise here, eh? Nearly everyone loves fresh locally grown tomatoes, and why notthey contain large amounts of vitamin A and Vitamin C. One medium tomato is low in carbohydrates, high in fiber, and has about 35 calories. They sure beat those hydroponic slush balls they call tomatoes from the supermarket. Tomatoes contain lycopene, a very important antioxidant. It has been shown to help prevent several types of cancer, and help with LDL (bad) cholesterol. Want another super diet food? Peppersred, yellow, orange, and greenhave great antioxidants, and boost your immune system with beta carotene, and fiber. Did you know that peppers have lots of Vitamin C? More than tomatoes, in fact. Eat your ellagic acid. That's right! It's an antioxidant found in berries; blueberries, strawberries, and raspberriesberry good! Blueberries have been shown to improve memory. Berries have also been shown to slow the reproduction of cancer cells. A bonus is that berries also help prevent urinary tract infection. Berries are low in calories and high in fiber. Cooking tends to break down some of the antioxidants so your best option is to pop them in the freezer, and then later you can pop them in your mouth. Which fruit has more carotene than any other? If you guessed mangoes, you were right. This summer treat has come into its own. They contain potassium which is important to regulate blood pressure and heart rate. Want a healthy immune system? Break into a mango. The fiber in a mango helps curb your appetite, too. A teller at our local credit union recently gave us a 10 pound bag of freshly picked peas. Peas and zucchini squash are my favorite summer veggies. Peas, black beans, lima beans, even garbanzo beans are great sources of fiber, iron, and protein. Choosing beans instead of animal protein can mean lower calories and saturated fat, and zip on the cholesterol. Perhaps the most important food of all time guaranteed to help you lose and maintain your weight, is watergood old H20. Can't grow it, but it's a great diet food, and a key to those trying to lose weight. Having no calories, it makes up nearly 60% of the human body. Water is in those fresh fruits and veggies that we so enjoy. Water helps you digest your meal, hydrate the body, and keep normal bodily functions running efficiently. It is advisable to drink eight glasses of water a day. That's eight glasses at eight ounces each for 64 ounces per day per person. I'll drink to that! Anybody got any left over blueberries? Yum!
Rick Moore is a personal trainer certified by the American Fitness Professionals &Associates. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 19 No. 10 July 31, 2009 |