Green Gourmet NonStick Cookware

These are a 12-piece set of Cuisinart Green Gourmet Hard Anodized Cookware. They are energy-efficient and eco-friendly with Cermica nonstick surfaces that reduces your carbon footprint and with the nonstick coating also allows for easy food release and as an added bonus, require you to use less fats and oils while cooking.

Green Gourmet NonStick Cookware Review

As a family that buys a lot of organic and healthy foods for higher price tags than most I have always been really alarmed to know that conventional non-stick cookware can be dangerous and even toxic to use.

The Teflon is the non-stick cookware off-gasses and can easily be scratched off and end up being eaten by your family. Eating Teflon and breathing in dangerous chemicals when cooking over high heat did not appeal to me in the least so I have avoided the convenience of non-stick cookware for years.

Even stainless steel isn’t risk free since it is often mixed with nickel which is allergenic, as well as other unknown metals so you don’t really know what you’re getting when you buy stainless steel. And don’t even get me started on the dangers of aluminum pans! Glass is pretty healthy for cookware but is infamous for causing you to burn your food, which is hardly appetizing!

That has all changed though with the release of some new greener and cleaner cookware lines including the Cuisinart Green Gourmet set. It is made with Cermica and this new technology creates a non-stick surface that works just as well as Teflon but without the safety issues.

I am finally getting to use non-stick pots and pans again and it feels great. The food flakes right off after cooking with them, making clean up time a snap. You don’t need to use grease and oil on the pans to avoid the “stick” issues so food cooked on these is healthier too.

After years of making eggs in bacon grease I am happy to say that all there is in our scrambled eggs now is eggs!

The Green Gourmet line is also a very nice looking set of pots and pans so you won’t want to hide them away in your cabinets.

I am recommending them to all my friends. Cuisinart GG-12 GreenGourmet Eco-Friendly Nonstick Hard Anodized 12 Piece Cookware Set

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Winning by Losing Book review

Jillian Michaels, well-known personality on the TV show “The Big Loser” has written the best-selling book Winning by Losing – Drop the Weight, Change Your Life.

The Editorial Review describes this book as “a comprehensive, inspirational, and real solution to your weight problems. Taking a triple-threat approach, trainer Jillian Michaels identifies and illuminates the three keys to health and lasting weight loss so that you can become a winner in mind, body, spirit, and life. Focusing on both the psychological aspects of being overweight as well as nutrition and fitness, Jillian’s program is designed to help you safely shed weight fast.”

Consumers who have read this book have all stated that reading this book is akin to having Jillian talking directly to them in a conversational and no-nonsense approach to diet and exercise.

There are three phases to this book: Self, Science, and Sweat. Self teaches you how to build a support group and revamp your negative self image in order to filter out those individuals in your life that are harmful to your health.

Science teaches you how to calculate your BMR and AMR so that you can create a weekly caloric regimen specifically geared towards your body. Jillian also helps you to determine what type of oxidizer you are (slow, balanced, or fast) so that you can determine the ratio of carbs, proteins, and fats that your body needs. A list of foods is also supplied that are optimal for your body type and weight loss goals.

Sweat involves a detailed 12-week fitness workout along with an index of specific workouts with alterations for various fitness levels.

The author provides you with a simple equation to calculate the calories you need per day and, adding this to your activity levels, you can easily find out what you need to eat to lose a certain amount of weight each week.

If you’ve seen Jillian on The Big Loser, she is a tough trainer. But she also has first-hand knowledge about the struggles and challenges associated with losing weight. Her story is a familiar one, and her book is a testimony to the fact that anyone can aspire to achieve a successful diet and exercise program if they set their mind to it.

Winning by Losing: Drop the Weight, Change Your Life

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Pocket Pedometer

Pocket Pedometer

If you have enjoyed reading the book “Pedometer Walking,” you should have a pedometer on hand. One such product is the Pocket Pedometer by Omron.

The pedometer’s features include:

* Measures steps, aerobic steps and minutes, calories and distance
* Separately displays aerobic steps and minutes walked more than 10 minutes continuously
* 7 day history lets you review a full week of exercise
* Features include large display, clock, detachable belt holder and security strap

In addition, here is a description of the software that accompanies the pedometer:
“The included Omron Health Management Software provides a blood pressure and pulse graph that lets you see how your values are trending over time. A morning/evening comparison graph tracks your morning and evening systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate.

You can also view your most common values and identify variations by time frame with the frequency distribution graph. The software is simple to use, and it supports multiple users. With just one click, you can download data via the HJ-720ITC’s USB connection and see graphically displayed measurements on your computer screen in seconds.”

Users of the Pocket Pedometer comment that it is quite compact and can comfortably fit in a pocket, it accurately count steps, and estimating distance.

The software is also easy to use. You simply attach the pedometer to your computer and upload the data. You can look at your total number of steps by day, the number of steps at an aerobic rate, and distance walked. There are also estimates of calories burned and grams of fat lost, based on you weight and age. You can also look at all statistics by day, week, or month.

Another user reports that the CSV file shows that there are over 100 data fields for each day. All 48 fields are hour-by-hour breakdowns of total steps and “aerobic” steps. The level of detail allows a number of analysis possibilities whether you are using a spreadsheet such as Microsoft Excel, or professional statistical analysis software. While this sounds technical, tracking your progress enables you to set new goals to achieve.

Walking is possibly the best form of exercise there is. While it is something we all do on a daily basis (getting us from point A to point B), the pedometer allows you to consciously focus on and maintain an exercise regimen based upon the number of steps you take each day. In other words, it motivates you to change an otherwise normal routine.

No matter what form of exercise you incorporate into your daily routine, this pedometer can give you the confidence and discipline to widen the scope to achieve a healthier you.

Pocket Pedometer - find them on Amazon.com

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Pedometer Walking Book Review

Stepping Your Way to Health, Weight Loss, and Fitness

We all know that walking is the best form of exercise there is. It doesn’t cost anything, yet it yields immeasurable results.

Mark Fenton and David R. Bassett’s book, Pedometer Walking, is truly unique. According to the Editorial Review: “Covered in this guide is a history of step counting - Jefferson was a fan, and a pedometer was designed by Leonardo da Vinci - advice on choosing a pedometer, and a guide to starting a pedometer program, with looks at successful ones in the US, Australia, and Europe. Aside from the pedometer itself, “Pedometer Walking” may be one of the most important exercise tools in years.”

Pedometer Walking is a very welcome and timely book by experts. Quality pedometers, by simply counting your daily steps, are excellent and clever tools to motivate, measure, and improve your personal daily walking habits.

The book is packed with practical advice on how to take full advantage of walking for your health with a reliable pedometer. It stimulates vascular health, improves blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, and contributes to the prevention and treatment of many chronic diseases.

This 6-week program encompasses the goal of achieving 10,000 steps a day. In a study that was done in Japan, it was found that individuals who walk 10,000 steps a day “tend to have a normal weight compared to those who average 6,000 steps a day.”

Thus, each week you increase the number of daily steps taken. Pedometer Walking teaches how you can reach each week’s goal by incorporating “steps” into your daily routine. By utilizing the tips and suggestions in the book, readers can find unique ways to add additional steps to their daily walks. This book allows you to take a conscious and deliberate approach to better health.

For those who have actually practiced the technique, they have seen results not only in their appearance and strength, but are losing weight as a result. This book also
helps you to select a good pedometer, how to use it accurately, and how to determine the total number of weekly steps.

As one doctor commented about the Pedometer Walking book, “It can stimulate many to improve the quality of their daily life and easily adopt a more active and healthy lifestyle by regularly walking with a pedometer.”

Pedometer Walking: Stepping Your Way to Health, Weight Loss, and Fitness

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Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes Review

Teresa Tapp and Barbara Smalley have authored a well-known book entitled, “Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes.” The “T-Tapp” method has been widely regarded by readers as the quickest and most effective form of exercise there is.

Here is an Editorial Review and Product Description of Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes:

“Created by renowned fitness expert Teresa Tapp, the revolutionary T-Tapp Workout reshapes your body while it fires up your metabolism. All you need is four square feet of space and just 15 minutes a day in order to see a dramatic loss of inches.”

”Teresa Tapp’s signature 15-minute workout, or the extended 45-minute workout, (on DVD) you can achieve the following:

• lose a clothing size–in just two weeks
• flatten your belly without doing a single crunch
• develop strength and improve bone density without lifting a single weight
• build sleek muscles and improve posture
• lower blood pressure and cholesterol the natural way
• improve blood-sugar levels in type 2 diabetes

The no-impact workout is safe for those with shoulder, hip, knee, neck, and back concerns, and is also effective for those with conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, lupus, chronic fatigue syndrome, and multiple sclerosis.”

This book provides you with all the instructions a busy mom or working professional needs to get in a good workout at the beginning of your day or after the kids have gone to bed. It is low impact and will clear up virtually any and all issues you may have with pain and soreness in your body.

Teresa Tapp demonstrates the moves you need to get your body in shape and provides real-life examples of people who have implemented T-Tapp into their life with amazing results.

If you are skeptical about any exercise program, now is the time to check out Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes. You will become hooked with the T-Tapp method. The majority of readers have concluded that this book is the path to a healthier you.

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The Best Life Diet Review

You may have seen Bob Greene on the Oprah show. It was he who helped Oprah with her diet, and his new book The Best Life Diet has been touted as one of the best “diet” books written today.

If you’ve ever been on a diet or tried multiple diet plans, it can be quite discouraging if you haven’t achieved your weight loss goal. What sets The Best Life Diet book apart from all others is that it addresses the reason behind weight gain and over-eating. Referred to as “emotional eating,” Bob Greene asserts that in order to understand your weight, you have to understand your life.

This concept is not entirely new, but the manner in which Bob Greene approaches it is. This book emphasizes all the things that conspire to make us overweight. Since most people find the biggest issue they have is controlling their eating, this book illustrates how diet takes center stage in our lives today. Based on a wide variety of satisfying, nutrient-rich and easy-to-find and prepare foods, this book shows how diet and eating can actually be one of our greatest pleasures in life.

The Best Life Diet program is divided into three phases. The first phase is designed to ease you into a program of healthier eating habits and exercise. The second phase is the weight-loss phase with increased emphasis on “clean eating” by eliminating six empty or problem foods from your diet. Phase 3 is the “lifestyle” phase of the diet, which is geared toward lifetime fitness and eating plan rather than a diet. Recommended daily eating plans (including a 7-day diet diary of Oprah) and recipes are also included.

For those who have read this book and have followed the three phases, they have concluded early on that they live to eat rather than eat to live. They have also come to the conclusion that the reason behind their eating habits has more to do with what is going inside their heads rather than what is happening to their bodies.

If you have been struggling with your weight, this 304-page book recognizes that losing weight is a difficult challenge. According to the editorial review, The Best Life Diet “acknowledges that it is not simple laziness but a complicated web of social rituals, cultural expectations, and habits that drives people to gain weight. Bob Greene is able to attack the problem of weight loss realistically and offer not a short-lived, quick-fix formula, but a long-term program that accounts for the challenges and constraints of the real world.”

The Best Life Diet Revised and Updatedis available on Amazon.com

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Pilates: Body in Motion Review

When Pilates was first introduced, it became all the rage among dance and exercise enthusiasts. Now, with Alycea Ungaro’s new book, Pilates: Body in Motion, you can take advantage of this most popular form of exercise in the comfort of your own home.

The Editorial Review for this book states that Pilates is “The most authoritative, step-by-step guide to Pilates available on the market. Popular for decades with dancers, athletes, and celebrities, the Pilates Method is the perfect equipment-free workout for a stronger, leaner, fitter body.

With great emphasis on precision and awareness, not only is Pilates great for the body, but for the mind as well. Using step-by-step mat-work exercises and a wide range of programs, from beginner to advanced, Pilate: Body in Motion is the only practical guide that shows you all of the proper steps to follow and how to avoid common mistakes in your conditioning.”

Alycea Ungaro gives a brief description of the origins of Pilates as well as an introduction to Pilates’ terminology and principles. She explains why some movements are considered “Beginner” and some are “Advanced.”

In addition, she lays out the Introductory Program, a series of six or seven of the most basic Pilates movements done with modifications. The Beginner’s Program is the introductory program, in a more traditional form. For Intermediate and Advanced programs, she uses guides which show all the exercises in order. Moreover, it gives the reader a sense of how each exercise flows into another.
The exercises themselves are explained with photographs linking breathing to each mini-movement and text to explain what to do. The photographs in this book, as well as the pages themselves, are perfect. Color photographs are included to make it easy to see what you’re supposed to do without being too distracting.

Alycea Ungaro also includes Circle and Wall exercises. These smaller, shorter routines can be incorporated into your day when you don’t have time for a full mat workout.

The reason why this book is so popular can be found in the Alycea Ungaro’s introduction: She says that “Life wreaks havoc on our bodies. Our routines and habits cause us to consistently overuse specific muscles.” Pilates can be an antidote to that. She points out that Pilates is “not a mystical cure-all” and that it is not supposed to replace other forms of exercise but rather complement them in order to help you to “look better, perform better, and, above all, feel better.”

Pilates: Body in Motionis available on Amazon.com

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Eating for Life Book Review

Eating For Life

The best-selling author of “Body for Life,” Bill Phillips has come out with another hit book called Eating for Life.

The Editorial Review states that “Phillips, who’s widely regarded as today’s most successful fitness author, has firm beliefs which go against the grain of today’s popular weight-loss methods. ‘Diets, all of them, are potentially dangerous, most always dumb and ultimately a dead-end street!’ he insists.
Phillips encourages a safe and sound solution which includes eating balanced, nutrient-rich meals, frequently throughout the day. Rich with common sense and science, Eating for Life has rhyme and reason. It is specific. There are very clear dos and don’ts which help people enjoy food and improve their overall fitness.”

The book is divided into three parts. Part one describes how modern society has trained us to eat incorrectly and how a few simple changes can turn weight gain into weight loss.

Part two has full color recipes that follow the guidelines of part one. It breaks down the recipes by meals with dinners followed by desserts, breakfasts, lunches, mid-meals, and nutrition shakes. It has plenty of creative ideas and successfully finds ways to make each dish interesting.
Many of the recipes also include a photo of the actual ingredients required, which is an easy way to know at a glance whether everything needed is on hand. The end of part two includes sample meal plan charts, blank plan charts, and grocery lists.

The appendix contains stories of people who have had amazing success with the Body for Life program.

The Eating for Life book has been touted as the best “cookbook” available for dieters. The recipes are easy to prepare (with pictures of meals) and delicious, too. Bill Phillip’s approach to eating has taken on an entirely new concept in this book.

This book provides the reader with a variety of recipes for healthy eating while, at the same time, affording anyone who wants to lose weight the tools and resources needed to achieve their goals. Consumers who have utilized the recipes in this book have commented that their meals have become more enjoyable not only to prepare but to eat as well.

A diet that is fun? This is a unique concept!

Eating For Life

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