Credit: TheBusyBrain

In preparation of Labor Day, the final hurrah of summer, we’re sharing these fab links with you—hot off the grill!

Can we please stop the anti-aging insanity?! —Yahoo Shine

Ten foods that save money, get you healthy and are a cinch to prepare! —That’s Fit

No really, can you eat food past the “use by” date? Finally an answer! Fat Fighter TV

Um, you had us at “breakfast cookie.” —Fit Sugar

Ever heard of stealth fiber? Us either. This is another reason why I avoid processed foods! —DailySpark

If you need new workout tunes, check out this swap! —CorgiPants

We want this panini. Like now. —Sargento

First there was the book, then the movie. Now there’s the Eat, Pray, Love workout! —Self

We thought calcium supplements were good for bones. Now research says they’re not so good for the heart. —That’s Fit Canada

Do you have a fave link from the week or even the summer? Share it in the comments below, peeps! —Jenn

Today’s post is courtesy of a special guest writer, Alyse Levine, MS, RD, who is a LIVESTRONG.COM nutrition advisor and founder of NutritionBite LLC.

Whether you’re hitting the gym for 30 minutes or are training for a triathlon, what you eat can greatly impact your performance. The base of any active person’s diet should consist of unprocessed, wholesome foods and incorporate a mixture of carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

What to Eat for Workouts

Eat your carbs. Carbohydrates are the body’s preferred fuel source and are crucial for endurance exercise and optimal performance. They provide fuel for the muscles and help prevent fatigue. Whole grains, fruits, starchy vegetables, legumes, and nonfat or low-fat milk and yogurt are all great sources of carbs. Fruits and vegetables are also packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber, as well as phytochemicals and antioxidants that help with post-exercise recovery and muscle repair. Basically, they’re fuel for you!

Protein packs a punch. Protein is also a necessary component of an athlete’s diet and is critical for muscle building and recovery. Lean protein sources include white meat poultry, fish, lean beef, eggs, nuts, nut butters, beans, cheese and soy. However, more protein does not mean better performance, so get off the high protein-low carbohydrate diet bandwagon! When it comes to animal protein, a serving should fit in the palm of your hand. Also, to stimulate muscle growth, it is best to evenly distribute your protein intake throughout the day, rather than eating a very large portion at one meal.

Do not fear fat! Fat is another essential component of an exerciser’s diet. Opt for mostly good fats, such as olive oil, canola oil, nuts, nut butters and avocado. Also, aim to eat fatty fish (such as salmon, tuna and sardines) two to three times a week to get a good dose of omega-3 fatty acids, which help decrease the risk of heart disease and stroke. Limit unhealthy fats such as fried foods, fatty meats and full-fat dairy products.

When to Eat It

Before exercise. Eating too much or too little before exercising may hamper your performance. Eating too much can cause you to feel sluggish or have an upset stomach, cramping or diarrhea. (Um, not fun!) This happens when both your muscles and your digestive system are competing for energy to do their jobs. On the other hand, not eating before you exercise can leave you feeling weak, tired or faint due to low blood sugars. (Also no picnic!)

When planning your pre-workout meals and snacks, time when you eat with how much and what you eat. Eat large meals three to four hours before working out and have smaller meals two to three hours prior. When eating close to a workout, reach for carbohydrate-rich foods with a little bit of lean protein. To help prevent GI distress, avoid foods that are high in fiber, sugar or fat, and foods that cause gas—all of which may cause indigestion. (Again, not fun.)

During exercise. If your workout lasts less than an hour, no food or sports drink is necessary—plain old water is sufficient (see below for specific hydration tips). In fact, if your workouts are not longer than an hour and weight-loss or maintenance is one of your goals, consuming calories during your workout will likely counter (and may even exceed) your calorie burn during the workout! However, if your workout is longer than an hour, then you may need to replenish with carbohydrates and electrolytes in addition to fluids during the workout (a sports drink would work).

After exercise. To help your muscles recover and replace their glycogen (AKA carbohydrate) stores, eat a meal or snack that contains both carbohydrates and protein within one to two hours of your exercise session. Examples of good post-workout meals or snacks include an appropriate portion of:

• Peanut butter, honey and banana sandwich
• Fruit salad with yogurt
• Turkey, cheese and apple slices
• Hummus on pita
• Minestrone soup with crackers and cheese

Drink up. Proper hydration is just as important as proper nutrition in promoting ideal performance—before, during and after exercise. While under-hydration is dangerous, there are also dangers to over-hydration. Hyponatremia, a condition caused by over-hydration, can lead to fatigue, nausea, confusion and possibly death. The chart below contains guidelines to help ensure that you are maintaining a good fluid balance. You can monitor your water intake (and your food and fitness activities!) with MyPlate, a calorie and fitness tracker on LIVESTRONG.COM.

Water Timing

*If concerned about whether or not you are rehydrating appropriately, weigh yourself without clothes on before and immediately after your workouts; for every pound lost drink 2 cups of water. This amount will vary depending on sweat rate, the temperature, humidity and your workout duration and intensity.

When it comes to eating and exercise, every Fit Bottomed Girl is unique, so modify the above general recommendations with your unique food preferences and tolerances. Let your experience guide you on which pre- and post-exercise snacks and meals work best for you. Happy eating! —Alyse Levine

A big thanks to Alyse for the tips! —Jenn

Credit: PinkMoose

Today we’re featuring an Ask the FBGs post. This feature allows readers like you to ask the FBGs for advice. Nothing is off limits, although we do prefer that it’s fitness or nutrition related, so send your undying health questions to AsktheFBGs@fitbottomedgirls.com. You just might see them posted on the site in the future!

Dear FBG,

I’m an overweight woman, who has been trying desperately on and off to take off weight. Things are going pretty well right now, but I would really like to start running. (I am LOVING the Run Like a Mother book I won by the way!)

My problem? Finding plus-size performance wear that isn’t skin tight and/or sleeveless. I’m an apple shape, carrying most of my weight in my tummy, chest and especially my arms. I am not comfortable in anything sleeveless out in public, and while I don’t expect a shirt that hangs off me, I don’t want it clinging to me either. (If people can count the rolls, it’s too tight.) All these little cap sleeves and so-called “short sleeves” that barely cover my armpits will not work. So far, I’m relegated to working out in my cotton T-shirts, and let me tell you, they hold the sweat smell. I tried Tide with Febreeze—didn’t help. I’m going to try the Win detergent next, but I digress. Is there anywhere a woman can buy a loose-fitting performance-type top with nice, roomy short sleeves?

Thanks so much for the site and all the information you put out there. I’ve really enjoyed it.

—Top Heavy

Dear Top Heavy,

Oh girl, thanks so much for your question! This is an issue that so many ladies, especially on weight-loss journeys, struggle with because you want to look good and show off your hard work, but in a way that is both comfortable and flattering. Thankfully, there are some good companies out there.

We did some research and found the following options:

• The Champion brand at Target (hooray for affordable!) has some good looks that are semi-fitted, leaving you room to move and sleeves that actually cover what they’re supposed to.
• A company that really seems to get it, Always for Me, has a great line of workout clothes and sports bras. It isn’t as affordable as the stuff at Target, but its refreshing to see real plus-size models in the apparel. Plus, the company’s sports bras have been featured on The Biggest Loser!
• If you’re looking for a bit more fashion and sleekness with your workout gear, we totally recommend Lolly 38′s Taffy line of workout apparel. From fun designs on yoga pants to tailored tanks, there’s some fun stuff here with department-store pricing.

Between these sites, you should be able to find something that both functions and flatters! Let us know how the workout gear shopping goes!

Fit bottoms come in all shapes and sizes!

—Jenn

Credit: Shayan (USA)

Many moons ago when I first moved to California, a dear friend took me to this popular juice place and promptly ordered me a shot of wheatgrass with an orange slice to chase it with. Never to turn down something without first trying it, I squeezed my eyes shut and took one for the team. Grassy indeed, but the taste was fleeting. The orange prevented me from feeling like I had just ran outside and licked the lawn,  so the shot got two thumbs up. 

 According to the experts, wheatgrass is more than twenty times denser in nutrients than other choice vegetables, and since it’s considered a vegetable in the grass stage, it’s safe for people with wheat allergies. Score! A couple of seconds of grass tongue and you’ve got a freshly detoxed body and energy to boot. 

For that reason alone, I was game to try the Wheatgrass Boost shot that AgroLabs sent me. I’m not gonna lie, I was totally expecting the same grassy icky taste that typically accompanies the greeny goodness I’ve had in the past. To my surprise, the stuff wasn’t grass-like at all. In fact it was sort of tasty. Somehow they were able to mask that “natural” taste with fruits like apple and pear.

However, after reading the label, some foreign-looking words raised my “too good to be true” alarms pretty quickly.  So I brought in the big guns to break down the ingredients for me. Elisa Zied, a registered dietitian and FBG friend, was kind of enough to send me information on two ingredients I had never heard of: arganine and bisulfate of soda (AKA sodium bisulfate).

Rule of thumb, if it could cause bleeding or isn’t recommended for pregnant women, I’ll pass!  Turns out those two questionables ingredients aren’t as natural as I’d personally like. In this case, the two ingredients  combined with the fact that I really didn’t feel a burst of energy were two strikes too many. I think I’ll stick to the pure stuff next time around. Bring on the orange chasers! —Tish

Credit: futureatlas.com

It’s almost the start of another month and you know what that means—time for a new FBG challenge! As you might have guessed from the photo, September’s challenge is all about cutting back on the time you spend in front of the old boob tube.

Last month we ran a post about new research that is finding a link between TV time and obesity. Now we all know that the obesity epidemic is being caused by a myriad of things (food, inactivity, environment, chemicals, the list goes on and on!), but one thing is true: While watching TV may be fun (especially in a social setting or while at the gym), too much of it can interfere with other things that make us feel more connected, such as talking to a friend one-on-one, going for a walk and talking to neighbors, or even reading a book outside and enjoying a cool fall evening.

So, the challenge for all you FBGers is to cut your TV time in half and replace the time with an activity that is more nourishing to the body and soul. If you’re not much of a TV watcher, this challenge will be pretty easy, but for those of you who are addicted to reality TV (Real Housewives, anyone?) cutting your time in half might be a bit more interesting. I, for one, have stopped watching as much TV, but once The Biggest Loser is on in a few weeks, I’ll definitely have to cut out the mindless channel surfing to make time for those two-hour Bob-filled TV evenings.

So who’s in? Commit here—totally free! —Jenn

Credit: tibchris

We recently had a reader contact us about a new website she was working for called Songza. Songza’s shtick is basically social online radio. So individuals or groups of users can create a themed radio station and then other people can access the playlist via a link and request songs to be played and added to the list. Ya’ll see where this is going?

Well, we obviously were intrigued (you know how much we love good workout music!), so we decided to create an FBG Station for all of our—and your—workout tunes! From upbeat indie tunes to Gen X pop tunes to Lady Gaga and Queen classics (of course!), it’ll get your body moving. Listen at work, at home or even from your iPhone! And please, add your fave workout songs to the FBG station—there is awesomeness in numbers, after all!

Rock that body. Come on, rock that body!

Last fall, I had the opportunity to run in the Nike Women’s Half Marathon in San Fransisco. It was amazing and, of all the races I’ve run, it’s one that I look back on as extra special because not only was the scenery beautiful and I shaved two minutes off my previous half-marathon time, but I got also some kick-ass swag! At the end of that race, handsome men in tuxedos were waiting to hand finishers Tiffany & Co. necklaces that were delicately wrapped in that signature blue box.

It. Was. Awesome.

And now, whenever I see or wear that necklace, I remember fighting up those San Fran hills and overlooking the Pacific Ocean as I “ran like a girl.” It’s a subtle necklace, and not like one of those technical Ts that you usually get that scream “I ran this race!”

So when we stumbled up The Silver Maple, I immediately was drawn to its fitness-inspired jewelry. With sayings such as “One more mile,” “Run like a mother,” and even customized bragging rights (they’ll engrave the name of your race on a necklace pendent), they’re not only cute—but they’re also a memory of all of your accomplishments.

We women work so darn hard sometimes. From raising healthy families to working to pay the bills to taking care of our bodies and pushing ourselves to be the best we can be, sometimes we forget to take a step back and reflect on all the amazing things we do each and every day. Sure, it’s just a necklace, but sometimes it’s the daily reminder that says, yes, I am awesome. I am strong. I am fit—inside and out. —Jenn

Want to express your FBG attitude with some bling? The Silver Maple has agreed to give away its Running Makes Me Happy necklace to one lucky U.S. reader. Leave a comment with why running makes you happy, and we’ll randomly select one comment to win. The winner will be notified directly by email.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Fit Bottomed Girls and Energy Zone 151 have partnered to create the reality series, The Metabolism Experiment. Over the course of 8 weeks, nutrition guru Jessica Edwards (owner of Energy Zone 151) and FBG Jenn will teach you a ground-breaking and realistic way of eating, moving and living unlike anything you’ve ever seen all while being filmed, as part of a larger online documentary on weight-loss.

What It Includes

Through a series of weekly 2-hour education seminars and outings in the Kansas City area, we’ll teach you to:

• Build confidence
• Set goals
• Cook quick, healthy and delicious meals
• Dress for your body type
• Increase your energy
• Lose fat, not muscle
• Increase your metabolism naturally
• Detox the right way
• Find the right exercise for you
• Celebrate the Fit Bottomed Girl that’s in all of us!

Details

Dates: TBA (but soon!)
Location: Energy Zone 151, 7929 W. 151st St, Overland Park, KS, 66223 (formerly It’s a Grind Coffee)
Cost: $30 a class, plus a $10 registration fee (covers class costs)
Bonus: The winner will get a mad, crazy prize perfect for her!

Interested?

Auditions are going on now! Email contact@fitbottomedgirls.com with your story and a photo to be considered for this opportunity. And while this opportunity is available only in Kansas City right now, if you live somewhere else and want to get involved, email us anyways! We eventually want to take the FBG Challenge nationwide!

—Jenn

Let’s just get one thing straight:  I was not scared when I got on the subway in New York City to visit the 57th street Complete Body & Spa on the Upper East Side.  I was not scared when I entered and filled out the necessary health paper work that prevents folks like you and me from sueing trainers if they pull a muscle a little too hard.  I was not scared when Alex Reznik, world renowned trainer (He trains Deepak Chopra!) came walking through the door with a famous hair stylist friend. No, the terror didn’t hit until the former Russian military trainer told me he was going to take me through 20 years of his training experience in a brutal, quick-fire fashion. The man combines techniques from the Russian army, athletics and ballet and created a fearsome program.

It all started off so lovely, too…He figured out quickly by staring at me that I have posture issues. (That’s what happens when you’re THE tall girl in school for years!)  So I slouch. Is that a crime? Apparently Alex thought so.

He put me and my partner in crime Mark, (aka trainer, fitness hoss and exercise translator) on a treadmill for a quick warm-up. He knew I was a runner and assumed that meant I was a good one, so he set my pace at 8.5 mph and jacked my incline up to 7 percent. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I died. I really did. A piece of me now haunts that equipment. (The farthest one on the right if you go.)

For the next hour and a half, that man took us through the most ridiculous functional core-training workout I have ever allowed my muscles to participate in. No clue what that is? It’s legal cruelty. That’s what it is! You basically start out with something like a plank. Easy enough, right? Then you add a little weight…then some instability and this trifecta of pain goes on and on. Add a little more of this and that and voila! Believe me: Your body will be screaming for mercy in languages you’ve never spoken before.

I will say he made the agony entertaining though. He teased me quite a bit for being weak, but he made sure  to sprinkle life lessons into the jabs. There was a period of rest where he asked us to clear our minds and meditate, using an email analogy to explain why mind clutter isn’t good for our noggins. At one point, I asked Alex what he looks for in a client. He said someone that shows up on time and has heart.  I could tell he meant it, too.

All in all, I felt honored that he took the time out of his busy schedule to pamper/torture us both body and mind. I felt like a bad ass for not dying, and Mark left inspired out of his freaking mind. He couldn’t stop talking about all of the crazy exercises Alex knew. (The man has 1,001 different variations of a push-up!)

If you’re fortunate enough to afford the guy, you won’t be disappointed. The insano workout he took us through usually is something you’d train for over a period of four to eight weeks, depending on your fitness level. (I’d need eight.)

If you feel the need for some Russian-workout speed, try out some of Alex’s moves and tell me what you think.

3 Red Army Moves

1. One-Leg Squat

• Level One: Stand on one leg, with the arm on the same side as the raised leg, bend to touch the floor. Your raised leg will extend behind and bend the straight leg.
• Level Two: Using a Bosu, stability pad or mat, perform the above movement.
• Level Three: Back on solid ground, hold a dumbbell in the hand of the leg that is raised and perform the above movement.
• Level Four:  Continue with the weight and this time perform the movement on an unstable surface.

The Push-Up

• Level One: Do a push-up on a bench (hands placed on the bench, feet on the ground).
• Level Two: Perform a push-up on the floor.
• Level Three: Go back to the bench, and raise one leg up through the push-up motion.
• Level Four: On the bench, do a pylometric push-up on the bench.
• Level Five: Do pylometric push-ups on the bench with one leg up or do  a plyometric push-up on the floor.

Back Row

• Level One: Perform a one-arm row, standing bent over.
• Level Two: Same motion as above, but bring one leg up.
• Level Three: In the push-up position on the floor, alternate rowing the arm back with dumbbells.

If those have left you thirsty for more, head to Complete Body & Spa for details about gyms in your area. Alex currently has three gyms in NYC and plans to open a Los Angeles facility in the near future. This little factoid tickled Mark pink, but left me in a state of shock. Imagine, if you will, a semi-rational FBG running around while clutching at her heart. His push-ups still haunt my dreams at night… —Tish

Credit: lrargerich

Ever notice how you can’t spell “workout” without the word “work?” Most of us view work as something we have to do, not necessarily something that we want to do. It’s the opposite of leisure and the killer of fun. We all know that we should exercise, but wouldn’t being active be more fun if it was less like work and more like the recess you remember as a kid where you were dying to get outside to run around and play? When kids exercise, it’s called play! When adults exercise, it’s called working out. But what if you could recapture the fun and fitness benefits of play as an adult?

Workouts that mimic the games and activities of your childhood are a hot new trend in fitness. These nostalgic exercises are becoming popular because they feel more like fun than traditional fitness and take participants back to a carefree time when they didn’t have to worry about bills, what to make for dinner or acing that presentation at work. It’s like being a kid again! Except this go around, you know that while you’re having fun, you’re also burning a bunch of calories, building muscles and strengthening your heart. Everyone wins! Continue reading for eight recess-inspired activities that are more than kid’s play!

—Jenn