Here are your fitness Tips you requested. Following these simple ideas will help you along to reach your goals. We will send new tips weekly to help keep fresh thoughts in your mind and keep you motivated. As always you can get this and much more information including fitness calculators at our website at http://www.vitaminbungalow.com/articles.cfm This issue contains the following: FIT TIP MOTIVATION TIP FITNESS Q&A HEALTHY RECIPE FIT TIP Get and Stay Active For fat loss, you need to expend more calories than you expend. Therefore, your fat loss efforts don’t have to be limited to your exercise routine. How active you are throughout the day affects how healthy you are by improving metabolism and increasing the number of calories you "burn" during the day. Maximize every opportunity to be active. Exercise doesn't have to be limited to the track or the gym. You can greatly increase the amount of physical activity your body gets by making small lifestyle changes. Here's a few simply examples: - Try to get in the habit of taking the stairs instead of the elevator. - Keep your athletic shoes in the car so you're always prepared. - Take a brisk walk after lunch before returning to work. - Choose a hike or a bike ride instead of a movie. These don't take a lot of extra time and are well worth the extra effort. Besides burning additional calories and "jump-starting" your metabolism, these changes keep us focused and productive, moving in the right direction to a healthier lifestyle and better, long-term results. You might be interested in using our free Calorie Calculator, where you'll find out how many calories your body "burns" (used or expended) for more than 70 different exercises/activities. MOTIVATION TIP Response to Challenge The people who add the most to our lives are often the ones who challenge us the most. The teachers whom we remember with fondness and appreciation are those who pushed us, not those who pampered us. A demanding customer is rarely a pleasure to deal with, yet that customer can challenge the business to move forward. The experiences which cause us to grow are the ones in which we're challenged to push ourselves past our previously perceived limits. Strength is built in response to challenge. A bodybuilder must lift heavier and heavier weights in order to increase muscle. There is no other way. The more magnificent the accomplishment, the more daunting are the challenges which must be overcome. The challenges you face provide a pathway to excellence. They are difficult and they will bring out the best in you. To be the best, you must be willing to face the biggest challenges. You most certainly can do it. It's what you're designed to do. Are you ready and willing? It's up to you. FITNESS Q&A Q: What can I do about the problem of mislabeled nutritional facts? That is, certain foods are labeled as having X number of calories, however, upon multiplying the grams of protein and carbs by 4, and grams of fat by 9, the product does not equal the calories on the label. I hear that fiber contains zero calories. Is this true, and if so, does this affect the total calories on the label? I understand that protein contains 4 calories/gram and carbs contain 4 calories per gram and fat has 9 calories per gram. How can simple and complex carbs both be 4 calories per gram when complex carbs take longer to digest, or am I mistaken? A: To answer your question, fiber does not provide the body with energy or calories. Fiber is actually considered to be a "non-nutrient." It is a general term, referring to complex carbohydrates that the body cannot digest or absorb into the bloodstream. Instead of being used for energy like other carbs, fiber is excreted. Fiber can't nourish your body, so that is why it is considered a non-nutrient. Unlike cows, we lack the enzymes to breakdown fiber into a unit small enough for absorption. For this reason, fiber is an important component in keeping the bowels healthy because it is passes through the intestine, without absorbing, working primarily as a "cleanser." In reference to your question about food labels and their inaccuracy, I do not know the margin of error that the food manufactures. I generally notice that they give themselves a buffer for calories - usually + or - 5 calories. As far as the fact there are 4 calories per gram no matter if it is a complex carbs or simple carb, the answer is simple. It doesn't matter what form a food is in when it is eaten, the final product is what calories are based on. A complex carbohydrate, just like a simple carbo, breaks down to the simplest sugars; glucose, galactose or fructose. Except for fiber, all carbohydrates - both sugars and starches - break down to single sugars during digestion. Protein breaks down into amino acids, again 4 calories per gram and fats into lipids, 9 calories per gram. I hope the above information is helpful to you. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact myself, or any one of the other 29 GHF experts. We'll be sure to get right back to you! Laura Spanbauer, MS, RD GHF’s Sports Nutrition Expert HEALTHY RECIPE . Sun-Dried Tomato and Garlic Chicken Makes: 4 servings Ingredients: • 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts • 10 - 12 garlic cloves • 1 onion, sliced • 1 green pepper, sliced • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), chopped • 1/4 cup white wine (optional, could use vinaigrette instead) • 1/2 cup chicken broth • 1 teaspoon dried oregano • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper Directions: • Rinse and cut all visible fat off of chicken breasts. • Coat a skillet with nonstick cooking spray (nonfat), and preheat over medium heat. • Mince 2 of the garlic cloves, and place them in the skillet with the chicken breast in the skillet. Surround the chicken with the remaining garlic cloves. • Cook the chicken for 2-4 minutes on each side, or until the chicken and garlic cloves are browned. Remove the chicken from the skillet. • Lay the onions, green peppers, and tomatoes over garlic cloves in baking pan (9-13-inch). Arrange the chicken over the tomatoes, onions, green peppers, and garlic. Pour wine and broth over chicken, and sprinkle with oregano and pepper. • Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes. • Serve chicken breasts with the vegetables and pan juices. Nutritional Information: Serving size: 1 chicken breast with vegetables Calories: 210 Fat: 3 g Cholesterol: 72 mg Protein: 30 g Carbohydrates: 15 g Fiber: 3.5 g Sodium: 310 mg "The people who succeed in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them.” - George Bernard Shaw We hope this information was useful to you. As always you can get lots of great information by visiting our site www.vitaminbungalow.com/articles.cfm. If you wish to unsubscribe from this campaign, simply go to this URL http