How Do I Use My Stability Ball?

In honor of our excellent Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce representative, McKinze Cook, the stability ball is the focus today! McKinze has amazing health and wellness ideas and have helped us put Habit 4 Health on the fast track to success so I'm sharing with you one of her health blog ideas.


The best feature of the stability ball is that it forces you to utilize your stabilizing muscles during each move. Sitting on the ball, lying on it like a bench, propping your feet up for a challenging push up, the stability ball does it all.

Stability Ball Exercises

1. Squat and Press with Stability Ball
-Stand with feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent.

-Walk feet forward allowing stability ball to roll underneath body until it is positioned on lower to mid-back region. Raise hips slightly to create a 'table top' position parallel to floor.

-Place hands across your chest. Head should be in a neutral position with a space between chin and chest

-leading with the chin and chest towards the ceiling, contract the abdominal and raise shoulders up.

-return to start position

-remember to keep head and back in a neutral position (hyper extension or flexion of either may cause injury)

-complete 3 sets of 20 repetitions.

2. Stability Ball Crunch
-Sit in upright position on stability ball with feet flat on floor.

-Walk feet forward allowing stability ball to roll underneath body until is positioned on lower to mid-back region. Raise hips slightly to create a 'table top' position parallel to floor.

-Place hands across your chest. Head should be in a neutral position with a space between chin and chest.

-Leading with the chin and chest towards the ceiling, contract the abdominal and raise shoulders up.

-Return to start position

-Remember to keep head and back in a neutral position (hypertension or flexion of either may cause injury)

-compete 3 sets

Kick Start Healthy Habits Fitness Boot Camp begins again March 8th. 6:10 - 7:10 AM and 5:30 - 6:30 PM. Join today for more stability ball excercises and much much more!

Dessert: Sorbetto

Habit4Health meetings are scattered throughout the Corridor area and we find ourselves working over a cup of hot tea at Capanna at least once a week.

As we were waiting for the polite girl behind the counter to get us our different teas, I noticed the nutrition information for their sorbetto. Never having it before, I was amazed at the mostly low calorie and total fat count. I tried it and I have found a new fun, fairly good for me, dessert. then.

Sorbetto, not to be confused with sherbet, is a frozen dessert made with sweetened water flavored with iced fruit, chocolate, wine or liquor. Sorbet is a Roman invention and is often served between courses as a way to cleanse the palate before the main course.

Following sorbetto nutrition information is based on a serving size of 4oz.

Frutti Di Bosco has 138 calories, 2 grams of total fat, 31 grams of carbs, 1 gram of saturated fat, and 1 gram of fiber.

Chocolate has 143 calories, 3 grams of total fat, 31 grams of carbs, 2 grams of saturated fat, and 4 grams of fiber.

Strawberry has 135 calories, 2 grams of total fat, 28 grams of carbs, 1 gram of saturated fat, and 1 gram of fiber.

Raspberry has 140 calories, 2 grams of total fat, 31 grams of carbs, 1 gram of saturated fat, and 1 gram of fiber.

Mango has 143 calories, 2 grams of total fat, 32 grams of carbs, 1 gram of saturated fat, and 1 gram of fiber.

Comparison:

Cold Stone ice cream has 235 calories, 14 grams of total fat, and 23 grams of carbs

Haagen-Dazs ice cream has 274 calories, 17 grams of total fat, and 25 grams of carbs

Baskin Robbins has 230 calories, 14 grams of total fat, and 23 grams of carbs.

SUPERfoods!

Imagine a SUPERfood-- not a drug -- powerful enough to help you lower your cholesterol, reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer, and, for an added bonus, put you in a better mood. Did we mention that there are no side effects? You'd surely stock up on a lifetime supply. Guess what? These life-altering SUPERfoods are available right now in your local supermarket.


'The effect that diet can have on how you feel today and in the future is astounding,' says nutritionist Elizabeth Somer, author of Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy, Mood, and The Essential Guide to Vitamins and Minerals.


Even people who are healthy can make a few tweaks and the impact will be amazing.' Somer says. 'I'd say that 50% to 70% of suffering could be eliminated by what people eat and how they move: heart disease, diabetes, cancer, hypertension can all be impacted.'

You don't need specific foods for specific aliments. A healthy diet incorporating a variety of the following SUPERfoods will help you maintain your weight, fight disease, and live longer. One thing they all have in common: 'You don't find fortified potato chips in the SUPERfood category.'

Top SUPERfoods Offering Super Health Protection

Beans-- Oranges-- Pumpkin

• Blueberries-- Salmon-- Soy

Broccoli-- Spinach-- Tea (green or black)

Oats-- Tomatoes-- Turkey

Walnuts-- Yogurt

Here's to SUPER eating!

'Super Bowl' Munching

Tailgating starts at noon and the game starts at 5:25 PM on CBS.

So the munching starts at 11 AM as you prepare your 'Super Bowl' dish. How do you get through the 'Super Bowl' munching day and still have a successful day on the scale Monday?

Here's how!

1. Fill up on water first.
Drink 20 oz. of water before going to the party. By the time you get there, you should be starting to feel full before you hit the food table.

2. Eat the foods you actually CRAVE. Don't fill up on the 'fillers' just because they are sitting on the table.
If you don't normally eat things no that buffet, don't eat them at the party. Eat only your favorites and skip the 'blah.'

3. Kick off with fiber.
Place mugs of turkey chili (use extra-lean ground meat) on the first table that guests see as they walk into the room. The filling snack will set the stage for a healthy evening.

4. Intercept fatty snacks.
Put buffalo wings out of arms reach. They're almost always cooked with the skin on, but you can slash fat and calories a bit by baking instead of frying.

5. Tackle Cravings.
Toss a 3-ounce package of microwave popcorn with 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes for a sweet-and-spicy snack with about 15 calories per handful.

6. Pass on big portions.
It's easy to overdo chips and guacamole. Put 6 tablespoons of guacamole into ramekins with baskets of about 30 chips on side tables. This is the perfect amount for two people to share.

7. Take an alcohol time-out.
Save calories by stocking an easily accessible cooler with non-booze beverages like diet soda and sparkling and bottled water. Leave the beer in the kitchen so you have to travel to get it.

Enjoy the game AND the food!