the woRD on fitness...Incorporating nutrition and fitness into your everyday, healthy life!

The Little Things Count

Many times I hear people say they want to lose weight, get healthy, lower their cholesterol, and fit into their clothes. For some reason, it seems like people often forget that each and every decision they make about food and activity contributes to their success or failure. When we're baking in the kitchen, those licks of the spoon and cookie crumbs don't count. We keep making excuses instead of following through on that daily exercise. We focus on the prize, but fail to make the little dec

Coconut Oil: Beneficial or Just a Fad?

And so it begins, another trendy weight loss tool, or is it?Coconut oil has recently gained popularity as a tool to improve heart health, thyroid function, the rate of metabolism, and immune funtion. Just one teaspoon of this oil contains a whopping 12 grams of saturated fat, which is the type of fat that is known to be converted into cholesterol in the body. Just because of that one detail, I was immediately skeptical of this new fad. After doing a little bit of research on this topic, it se

Summer Vegetable Salad

1 tomato1 avocado1 yellow pepper1 green pepper2 carrots2 Tbsp olive oil1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar2 Tbsp chopped fresh basilChop first four vegetables and mix together. Add carrot shavings, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and fresh basil. Stir and enjoy!This recipe really is just a jumping off point. You could add any vegetables that you have sitting in your refrigerator or take away and vegetables that aren't your favorite. Also, you could experiment with different herbs. This is easy, delicious,