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Mastering the Art of Regression: Body Awareness & the Pushup

jasonmachowsky

4 min

Mastering the Art of Regression: Body Awareness & the Pushup

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Making an exercise harder is easy: do more reps, choose a heavier weight, go faster, etc. But some of the most “basic” exercises such as pushups or squats are beyond the ability a number of people. And I’m not just talking about the ability to do it…I’m also talking about the ability to do it right. My time working at Hospital for Special Surgery and Hamilton Health and Fitness over the past year has given me an even greater appreciatio

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One for the Weight Gainers…

jasonmachowsky

3 min

One for the Weight Gainers…

Image: photostock / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Obesity is an epidemic and because of this, most of the research out there focuses on weight loss. However I wanted to provide a shout out to those who have trouble gaining weight. While many of us may view “hard gainers” (the title given to those who need to work to gain weight) as people with a “good” problem, talk to any of them and you will find out that they have just as many frustrations involved in gaining 15 to 20 pounds as

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Spring Cleaning…and Tips for Restocking Your Pantry

jasonmachowsky

1 min

Spring Cleaning…and Tips for Restocking Your Pantry

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net The weather is getting warmer, birds are chirping, April showers are falling and spring cleaning is in full effect for many of us throughout the house…kitchen included! During this time we may be looking to renew our commitment to eating better by tossing out all of the high sugar, salt laden tempting foods lurking in our fridges, freezers and pantries. Soda, cookies, candy bars, chips and highly processed frozen meals/pizzas to name a f

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Newton’s Laws of Motion…and Physical Activity: Law 1

jasonmachowsky

2 min

Newton’s Laws of Motion…and Physical Activity: Law 1

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Newton was a smart guy. Knew a lot about physics and why things move. Little did he know that I would take is exquisitely simple, yet effective laws of motion and apply it to not just why things move…but why we move, or not. Today is his first law, which states: “Every body [he always knew!] persists in its state of being at rest or of moving uniformly straight forward, except insofar as it is compelled to change its state by force

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Three of the Most Despised, Yet Misunderstood Words in Health and Wellness Discussed: Part 3

jasonmachowsky

3 min

Three of the Most Despised, Yet Misunderstood Words in Health and Wellness Discussed: Part 3

Image: imagerymajestic / FreeDigitalPhotos.net These words are used so often in the field that either myths about their meaning have arisen or the images associated with their use creates a sense of frustration in those who are trying to live a healthier lifestyle. But when we dig down into their origins and true meanings, we’ll see that the words themselves can provide a renewed sense of meaning to our journey towards eating better and being physically active. Today’s word:

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Three of the Most Despised, Yet Misunderstood Words in Health and Wellness Discussed: Part 2

jasonmachowsky

5 min

Three of the Most Despised, Yet Misunderstood Words in Health and Wellness Discussed: Part 2

Image: Idea go / FreeDigitalPhotos.net These words are used so often in the field that either myths about their meaning have arisen or the images associated with their use creates a sense of frustration in those who are trying to live a healthier lifestyle. But when we dig down into their origins and true meanings, we’ll see that the words themselves can provide a renewed sense of meaning to our journey towards eating better and being physically active. Today’s word: Moderati

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Three of the Most Misunderstood Words in Health and Wellness: Part 1

jasonmachowsky

3 min

Three of the Most Misunderstood Words in Health and Wellness: Part 1

Image: nixxphotography / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Over the next few blog posts, I will be discussing three of the most commonly despised, yet misunderstood words in the health and wellness field. These words have been used so much in the field that either myths about their meaning have arisen or the images associated with their use creates a sense of dread in those who are trying to live a healthier lifestyle. But when we dig down into their origins and true meanings, we’ll se

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The Power of Support

jasonmachowsky

3 min

The Power of Support

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net First, a simple question: If you haven’t already, please go to Facebook (or click on the icon on the right) and like Death of the Diet! Why am I asking this right now? Because I’m starting to finally realize the power of support, especially from people who care about you and your efforts. (Note, this was written in 2012 as I worked on writing Death of the Diet) Over the past month or so I’ve been letting it “slip” (or just pl

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The Truth Behind “Super”foods

jasonmachowsky

1 min

The Truth Behind “Super”foods

Are Blueberries an affordable Superfood? Image: Michelle Meiklejohn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Becca, my fiancee, came across this article and I thought it was fantastic. It discussed the idea of “superfoods”, and addressed which foods are really “worth” our bang for the buck. Unsurprisingly, most of the exotic foods were either overpriced, lost much of their nutrient value in transit, or both. Instead of these catchy but overpriced foods, most of the recommended “superfoods”

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Diets…When Science Meets Gimmick

jasonmachowsky

3 min

Diets…When Science Meets Gimmick

Image: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net I’ve been in Florida on vacation the past few days and I came across an article in a local newspaper describing a “dark chocolate” diet run by a psychotherapist that involves: Drinking shakes, eating high-quality dark chocolate as snacks and a “reasonable” dinner resulting in around 1500 calories a day for men, and 1200 calories for women. A series of behavior modification sessions with the psychotherapist designed to have you

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There’s No Such Thing as Failure…Only Feedback

jasonmachowsky

4 min

There’s No Such Thing as Failure…Only Feedback

Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net We all make mistakes. Sometimes we miss a workout. Sometimes we have that cookie we knew we really did not need or want. Sometimes we just wanted those French fries. These things happen, but the more important factor than the mistake itself is our RESPONSE to the mistake. We can’t think of a single mistake to represent failure. We must look at it as feedback and as an “improvement opportunity”. Let me give you a very recent per

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Three Tips to Make New Years’ Resolutions STICK.

jasonmachowsky

2 min

Three Tips to Make New Years’ Resolutions STICK.

Image: Kookkai_nak / FreeDigitalPhotos.net My post on making S.M.A.R.T. resolutions at Food Network’s HealthyEats.com inspired me to take the “resolution” advice two steps further. I wanted to provide insight not only about how to make effective New Year’s Resolutions, but also how to make sure they STICK. Your resolutions should be goals that you are striving for every day, every month of the year until you reach them or modify them. In other words, they should not be a w

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Cutting Cravings via “Distraction”

jasonmachowsky

1 min

Cutting Cravings via “Distraction”

Image: Karen Shaw / FreeDigitalPhotos.net I had an interview a couple of weeks ago with an editor at Fitbie (MSN’s health and wellness site) and she asked me to recommend some great “distractions” to prevent cravings, particularly at work where we tend to not have much to do for some reason?!? Most of the answers and ideas I gave are nothing new…in fact, most people know the answers…it’s just a matter of doing them! But in case there’s a few you may not have heard of, check

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Losing Weight…One Pound at a Time

jasonmachowsky

1 min

Losing Weight…One Pound at a Time

Image: maya picture / FreeDigitalPhotos.net During a time of year when everyone is focused on not gaining weight (enter the egg nog, ham, latkes, kugel, etc.), why not focus on actually losing weight? Contrary to popular belief, the holidays are not 45 days long, or whatever that period from Thanksgiving to New Years Day is. It’s about 4 to 5 days: Thanksgiving, Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or enter your religious observation here including Festivus), New Years and one

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Why are most diet and fitness programs’ results NOT typical?

jasonmachowsky

3 min

Why are most diet and fitness programs’ results NOT typical?

This is something that has bugged me for ages. So many diet, fitness and supplement programs (written, infomercial, etc.) are put out into the world and they are gobbled up (Turkey Day pun intended)…to the tune of over $10 billion dollars per year. I forget the exact number, but some ridiculously high % of the NY Times best sellers are usually diet books. Yet the vast majority of the claims on these programs and pills are appended with a seemingly harmless little “*”…until

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Taking Leaps…

jasonmachowsky

3 min

Taking Leaps…

Leaning Into It 🙂 I just took a big leap and am starting my first real monthly newsletter! For those that joined, expect the November edition next week! Before hitting the “Send” button I had butterflies in my stomach because I knew I would be reaching out to friends, family, colleagues and clients that I may have not talked to in months or years! I kept thinking, “What will they think? Will they reject my newsletter? Should I do it?” Then I clicked “Send” and felt 10,

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Halloween Tips for You and Your Kids

jasonmachowsky

1 min

Halloween Tips for You and Your Kids

What’s Scarier: Vampires or A Sack Full of Candy? Image: digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net Halloween can be a scary time when it comes to making healthy choices for you and your kids. No matter what we do, there is an endless parade of sugary snacks available either coming from our homes or that of our neighbor’s. We know that hiding won’t save us from monsters, just like avoiding the candy will surely mean it catches us in the end. Instead, face the “candy monster” (no r

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jasonmachowsky

3 min

How Can We Eat More and Lose Weight?

I WANT TO KNOW: What are your experiences with small, frequent meals? If they have helped you, how do you think so? If not, what situations are you facing that is preventing you from having small, frequent meals or how have small, frequent meals not been beneficial to you? @JMachowskyRDFit, Facebook.com/JMWellness Since losing 35 pounds in 2005 by eating more and eating more often, the idea of restriction and “having willpower” has always fascinated me. Before getting into

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jasonmachowsky

3 min

Why Nutrition and Exercise “Plans” Are Not Enough

When some people find out that I am a registered dietitian (nutritionist) and personal trainer they ask me to write a quick ‘program’ that they can follow on their own to help them lose weight, improve their performance, etc. Like suddenly they will automatically know how to correctly perform all of the exercises I list or how to effectively integrate all of the new foods that I “recommend” into their lives. Most people want the magic bullet, the easy way out. That’s why

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jasonmachowsky

2 min

Why Long-Term “Dieting” Doesn’t Work

The NY Times article, “Why Even Resolute Dieters Often Fail” is an excellent example of why small, sustainable changes are the key to long-lasting weight loss. Going on a “diet” implies something to be done for a period of time and then stopped. Sure we may lose weight during a period of restriction/control, but have we fundamentally changed our relationship with the food that we eat? If we haven’t, then odds are we will regain that lost weight once our diet is over. While

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