Facebook Fittest Cities in the USA

Just read a great article on the top cities for staying shape, based on Facebook searches. Now this may seem an arbitrary way to define a healthy city, but it brings up a major point we at Healthify are trying to make: working out should be social! They looked at all the cities and tried to figure out which ones had the most people using social media in connection with staying in shape.

While the top cities don't really interest me, what gets me excited are the points about how to make your fitness and wellbeing more social. There are many great ways to stay in shape, but by putting yourself out there on Facebook or other media with pictures and social interactions you have a much higher chance of actually achieving your fitness goals. This is according to a University of South Carolina study that basically said those who tweeted about their weight loss were much more likely to actually succeed. Here is that article

This all being said, GET SOCIAL! Get your friends on facebook together and form a group where you all post about healthy eating and working out. Or keep it from your friends and join one of the many existing groups of fitness people out there.

4th of July and roof deck season!

I love all things America so it should come as no surprise that the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays!

It is also a great time to get out that BBQ to celebrate and perfect time to hit up some local rooftops!

We had a nice lunch break yesterday from work at the Little Goat Bread and even managed a celebrity sighting of the founder! It's always fun to run into people like Stephanie Izard in their natural setting. I will say the sandwiches were fantastic and the roof deck was an awesome atmosphere.

Lunchbox Series: Shrimp & Corn Summer Salad

While we are busy with TechWeek Chicago Launch our friends at ELM Street Nutrition have a post for you!

I highly recommend making a homemade lunch at least half of the week. Not only will you save a lot of money, you will likely save many calories and enjoy a more nutritious meal. One of my go-to packed lunches in warm weather is a summer salad. It’s easy to assemble, highly customizable, and you can include virtually every food group in one meal.

However, If you’re anything like me, you think the actual lettuce part of a salad is the most boring part. I always feel obligated to include lettuce in my salads, but I’m never really that happy about it. I also enjoy cold pasta salads, but am often disappointed in the lack of vegetables and other add-ins that are included. Enter my Shrimp & Corn Summer Salad. In each bite you will get some pasta and some greens, but neither dominates the meal. It’s delicious and refreshing, and will keep you energized throughout the entire afternoon. Try making this recipe soon, and let me know what you think!

Shrimp and Corn Summer Salad

Serves 4 – Great for leftovers!

Salad Ingredients:

2 swiss chard leaves, stalk removed, and sliced finely

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 cobs of yellow summer corn, kernels removed from the cob

2 cups of dry pasta – I used quinoa pasta

1 cup of  small fresh mozzarella balls, halved

2 cups of frozen cooked & deveined shrimp, defrosted

Dressing Ingredients

1/2 lemon, juiced

4 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

2 TBSP red wine vinegar

Salt & pepper

Directions

Combine first 3 salad ingredients, raw, in a large bowl. Cook pasta according to directions, drain, and pour into bowl. The warm pasta will cook the vegetables just slightly to soften. Pour in dressing to taste, mix, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Add in shrimp and mozzarella, stir again, add more dressing if needed. Eat immediately, or even better, refrigerate for even longer to let the flavors come together. Lasts in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Healthy tip: When you bring your own lunch to work, don’t get stuck at your desk all day! Walk around the block for 15-20 mins before or after eating.

Food & Fitness: Mix it up

A guest post by our friends at ELM Street Nutrition

If it is a possibility for you, I encourage you to incorporate as much variation throughout each month when it comes to both food and fitness.

I often fall into a rut when it comes to food. It becomes too easy to eat the same breakfasts, lunches, and dinners throughout the week…especially when I am short on time. While this is certainly fine because I am fueling my body with nutrient dense foods, I often just go through the motions when it comes to eating, and realize I’m not actually enjoying the plate in front of me. We also benefit much more from eating the widest variety of foods in order to soak up the full range of nutrients available to us.

The same goes for fitness – when we fall into workout routines over the long run, our fitness level plateaus. In order to continue to increase fitness levels and get the maximum benefits from the sweat we put in, it’s important to mix it up and keep our bodies guessing.

Have fun with trying new fitness and foods! Not only will you decrease boredom and burnout, but your body will thank you too. Summer is a perfect time for this.

Some seasonal food & fitness variations I am looking forward to this summer:

1. Grilling – Anything and everything on the grill just tastes better. Even simple veggies and fruits like corn on the cob, pineapple slices, and portobello mushrooms.

2. SUSHI – I crave sushi when it’s hot out. My newest favorite maki roll includes Yellowfin tuna, avocado, jalapeno, and mango. Swap in brown rice, and pair with some steamed edamame and a bowl of juicy cherries.

3. Eat more fresh fruit – Watermelon,strawberries, and cherries never tasted so good.

4. Try a new fitness class – If you are lucky enough to live in a city like Chicago where there are TONS of workout studios, make it your mission to take new classes. Next up on my list: Revolution Spinning in Evanston. So many fun looking spin options!

5. Join a summer sports league! I am loving Monday night basketball with the Chicago Sport and Social Club. With refs and real rules, it feels like I'm right back in high school…almost.

6. Get those around you pumped to try new foods and workouts too. A support system is crucial and highly effective for creating sustainable change. Cook a new nutritious recipe with a friend. Kick off a healthy summer with your co-workers through an in-office workout session with our friends over at Healthify.

7. Take your workout outside! Soak up that Vitamin D and fresh air. I absolutely love running in the summer time and enjoy exploring new routes. Trail running anyone?

Kenny Chesney Concert

Ever been to a large outdoor tailgating event and felt like this guy?

Well I was back home in Pittsburgh this weekend for one of my favorite country music stars', Kenny Chesney, annual outdoor tailgate party . And what a weekend it was. It's always great to meet up with my old high school buddies and enjoy the hot weather by the river. But staying healthy while having fun? Now there is a challenge. Here are a few of my tips on how to conquer a great weekend at the tailgate.

1. WATER. You will hear me say this one over and over again, but water really is key. Almost every bad thing you do to your body is helped by drinking more water. And guess what, standing outside in the 90 degree heat drinking beer is going to dehydrate you (even if it is coors lite...). This weekend was as hot as any, and good thing we planned ahead and brought a few gallons of of water to the tailgate. Keep your friends hydrated and happy!

2. Bring something fresh for eating. While of course there will be hotdogs, hamburgers and chips, what's wrong with a little watermelon or strawberries? Even better, impress your friends and make something creative involving alcohol and fruit. At least the fruit part will be healthy!

3. Move your body! It's nice out, it's a great place to run around and catch a few footballs. And when the concert starts...DANCE! Get up and have some fun! This is the best way to burn off some of those extra calories at concert and it's fun.

$$$ cost of your bad habits

Every wondered how much money those bad habits of yours are costing? Well check out this article from BankRate. It gives a some very clear and almost scary details of the overall financial damage your bad habits are causing. The top three healthwise are smoking, drinking and unhealthy eating.

Smoking
Yearly cost of $2,555
Compounded over 30 years: $201,994

Drinking
Yearly Cost of $1,560
Compounded over 30 years: $123,331

Eating Unhealthy Food
Yearly Cost: $432 to $4,879
Compounded over 30 years: $34,153 to $385,725

So what to do? Because you are looking at the next 30 years you need to make small incremental changes. The biggest move is to quit smoking...and while difficult will probably make the largest health and financial impact in your life. The second move is to simply have a drink or two less a week. This will cut your calories and spending fairly significantly. And, come on, do you really need that extra rum and coke to have fun? The last is to cut back on unhealthy foods. Again it's always better to do things in moderation.

Healthy Executives

I just read this article from Business Insider about 14 tech execs who could probably kick my butt. It made think of how companies build corporate culture around athletic activities. It also made me realize how this kind of culture is built from the top down. At the bank I used to work for we had a yearly ice hockey game against another division. Granted I worked on trading floor, this was one the most competitive sporting events I had ever seen!

But what this event really did was give us a reason to practice hockey and stay in shape so we could take down that other division. This team bonding and group training helped us overall and was driven mainly by our leaders, who happened to be former college hockey players. But overall this top down athletic event created a culture of health and wellness at my company that was completely unintentional and awesome. Even the non hockey players picked up on this and started to plan other competitive things like 3 on 3 basketball tournaments or 5k challenges.

These are all great things you can start doing for your company right now! But what you need to do is have it be driven by a manager who simply wants to stay healthy and play a sport. So find a manager who enjoys playing some sport and start organizing your own in office challenges! Or call us at Healthify and we'll help you to organize some on site fitness events!