Month: August 2004

What are the best ways to lose weight?

Don’t be so concerned about how much you weigh. Instead be concerned with how much of that weight is fat. You want the weight loss to be fat, not muscle or water.

To lose fat you need to burn more calories than you take in. To do it efficiently and to make sure it stays off, the following three steps should be taken and should become part of your every day lifestyle.

1. Start an aerobic program. The activity should be something that you like doing and look forward to doing. The activity doesn’t need to be an aerobics class. Instead it could be walking… Anything that will elevate your [heart rate] and keep it around your Training Zone for at least 12 minutes. Remember, the longer the better.

2. Modify what you eat. Eat [a balanced, low-fat diet.] Also eating small meals more frequently during the day will raise your metabolism and keep you from getting hungry.

3. Incorporate Resistance Training: To build muscle that will, in turn, help burn calories throughout the day. A simple weight program where you slowly add weight and perform basic exercises every other day… is enough for most people.

What is aerobic exercise?

Aerobic means [depending upon] oxygen. [In aerobic exercise] your muscles are working in an oxygen rich state. After 12 minutes [this] causes your body to produce fat-burning enzymes.

An aerobic exercise is one that fits the following four requirements:

1. Is steady, nonstop.
2. Lasts twelve minutes minimum.
3. Has a comfortable pace.
4. Uses the muscles of the lower body.

What should my heart rate be to lose fat?

When doing an aerobic workout your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) needs to be determined. Your MHR is defined as 220 minus your age… While performing aerobic exercise your [heart rate] should stay within 50-80% of your MHR. This is your Training Zone…

How long should I work out to burn fat?

An aerobic work out should last at least 12 minutes. Do not count your warm up or cool down, only the amount of time your [heart rate] is within your Training Zone…

Why 12 minutes? This is the amount of time needed for the body to start producing fat burning enzymes. The idea is that you want to get your body to use fat for energy. After 12 minutes you start to burn fat at a higher rate.

What’s a warm-up? Cool-down?

A warm-up is an activity that gets blood flowing to your muscles and slowly elevates your heart rate. Usually a… brisk 5 minute walk… is enough…

A cool-down is just the opposite. You want to gradually slow the body down. This is usually done by… walking at a fairly fast pace and gradually slowing down over a few minutes…

What is anaerobic exercise?

Anaerobic means [not depending on] oxygen. [In anaerobic exercise] your muscles are working in an oxygen deprived state. This causes your body to produce sugar-burning enzymes. You are expending energy faster than your body can replace it by metabolizing oxygen.

An anaerobic exercise is any activity that fails to meet the… four requirements [of an aerobic exercise. Weight training, for example.]

What things should I know before starting a training program?

A person beginning a training program needs to realize a few things before they begin.

First, changes don’t happen overnight. You have to think about where you want to be a year or two from now and slowly achieve minor goals. Putting on muscle, or taking off fat should be done slowly for best results.

Second, if you want to become more healthy you’ll need a permanent lifestyle change. Many people take up aerobics or weight training, lose/gain a few pounds and quit. Months later they’re back where they started from.

Third, you need to be informed. There are plenty of books and magazines to help get you started. Ask a lot of questions and experiment with different exercises and/or activities.

Last, not everyone has the genetics to build 20" arms or to run a sub 4 minute mile. Don’t get discouraged about what you don’t have. Improve on what you do have.

Should I eat before or after training?

You should eat when it makes you feel best. To improve performance it is generally recommended to consume some kind of quick energy source (carbs, sugars) prior to exercise and some source of protein after to aid in recovery and growth.

How can I get a washboard stomach?

You can’t spot reduce! Men generally store fat around their waist, while women generally store it around their hips…

The best way to get and keep a washboard stomach… is by following a low fat diet and doing plenty of [aerobic exercise]… Get rid of the fat and your abs will show up…

Frequently Asked Questions

¹ Gas prices are still trending down — now a full 26¢ below their recent high — while light crude futures traded at $45 overnight, just below their 21-year record high of $45.04 chalked up earlier this week… and they said the President cannot influence the economy!

• 2 cups Milk
• 8 Large Egg Yolks
• ½ cup Sugar
• 1 pinch Salt
• Ice cubes
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, scald milk.

In another medium saucepan, mix together egg yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt with a wooden spoon until well blended, being careful not to make the mixture foamy. (The egg yolks and sugar will now be mixed enough and will not curdle on contact with the scalded milk.)

Stir the scalded milk into the egg-yolk mixture very slowly. A thin, white layer of foam will float to the surface of the uncooked custard.

Place the saucepan over high heat. Using the wooden spoon, stir the custard in a “V-O” pattern: Start at eleven o’clock on the “face” of the saucepan, stir down to six o’clock, and return to one o’clock; then stir around the edges of the saucepan, beginning and ending at twelve o’clock. Continue stirring this way until the foam starts to lighten in color. The custard will become smoother and smoother; continue cooking until there is no more foam on the surface of the custard and only a few larger bubbles remain at the edges, about 4 minutes. At this point, an instant-read thermometer should read between 165°F and 170°F. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Using a hand whisk, beat the custard as strongly as possible in order to cool it (this process will prevent the eggs from being poached). Continue beating until the thermometer registers 155°F and the custard evenly coats a spoon and leaves a clean mark when you run your finger through it.

Prepare an ice bath: Fill a large bowl halfway with ice cubes; toss salt generously among the cubes, and add a bit of water.

Add vanilla extract to the custard. Set a sieve over a large clean bowl, and pass the custard through the sieve.

Place the bowl in the ice bath, and stir the custard until it has completely cooled. Lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the custard to prevent a skin from forming. Store the custard, refrigerated, for up to 24 hours.

Food Network: Creme Anglaise

The cool, wet weather that has enveloped Pennsylvania and the Northeast this summer has created ideal conditions for a serious plant disease long feared by potato and tomato growers, according to a specialist in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

Late blight, caused by the fungus Phytophthora infestans, can wipe out entire fields of tomatoes and potatoes within two weeks of infestation. The disease, which caused the famous Irish potato famine in the 1840s, occurs sporadically in Pennsylvania. In 1994, confirmed late blight outbreaks caused yield losses as high as 100 percent in some Pennsylvania fields, costing growers millions of dollars…

The disease thrives in cool, moist conditions. “The ideal conditions for late blight are nighttime temperatures of 50 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit — accompanied by fog, rain or heavy dew — and daytime temperatures of 60 to 70 F for at least four or five days,” says [Barbara Christ, professor of plant pathology]. “The fungus requires moisture on the leaf surface, and may die after an extended period of temperatures above 86 degrees.” …

The first symptoms are small, irregularly shaped dark spots on leaves that may expand rapidly in moist weather to form brown, blighted areas. Leaves may become limp…

Home gardeners should check their potato and tomato plants for symptoms weekly, more often during cool, wet weather. “If symptoms appear, remove and bury or burn all parts of infected plants,” says Christ…

Weather Conditions Raise Concerns about Late Blight in Crops