Lacking the money to reach your fitness goals? The recession has been hard on everyone, especially black women. Fitness equipment manufacturers, fitness clubs and the rest of the fitness industry hasn’t been immune to the downturn either. Because of the recession fitness equipment sales are down as are fitness club memberships are down for the first time in 20 years. Americans just aren’t willing to spend the money on keeping fit like they once were:

Economic hard times have Americans downsizing their workout equipment, trimming their workout budgets, and shifting their workout venues, according to a sporting goods industry survey.

“The fitness industry was not immune from the effects of a tough economy,” said Tom Cove, president of the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA), a global organization which conducted the poll.

SGMA represents over 1,000 sports manufacturers, retailers and marketers around the world. They have published their study, Tracking the Fitness Movement, for 10 years.

The 2009 edition puts U.S. wholesale sales of fitness gear and equipment sold for use in home, clubs and institutions, at $4.2 billion in 2008, down from $4.7 billion the year before.

So how do you manage to keep your workout going when your pockets are lighter? Very easily actually. Follow these simple tips and you’ll be burning the fat and saving money:

1. Join the YMCA – YMCA memberships are based on your income and are significantly lower than traditional gym memberships. Their facilities are right on par with for profit fitness clubs and the YMCA also has many free and low cost fitness/nutritional and sports activities. It’s also great if you have a family as there are many activities for kids and the whole family to enjoy.

2. Hit the Park – I live in the city with the largest park system in the country and I’ve been making full use of them. Walking, running, even strength training in local parks is a great way t get you workout on without spending any money. It’s also nice to be out in the elements enjoying the fresh hair. Fall is upon us so make sure you have the proper gear to keep warm as your’re exercising outside.

3. Invest in Dumbells, an Exercise Ball and Exercise Mat – If you have dumbells, an exercise ball and a workout mat you have all you need to get in a good workout for little money. Whatever weight machine you used in the gym, you can mimic with the aforementioned fitness equipment.

4. Break Out the Workout DVD’s – It’s time to dust off those old Jane Fonda or Donna Richardson workout dvd’s. It may seem a little corner to go bouncing around your living room with spnadexed, leg warmered, head band wearing fitness gurus of the 80’s and 90’s, but hey – burning calories is burning calories. If you currently don’t own any workout dvd’s you can get them for cheap on Amazon.

While the recession is has been difficult for many black women, we shouldn’t allow it to derail out fitness goals. If you’re serious about getting fit their is a way to make it happen without a fitness club membership, home fitness equipment or without breaking the bank in the general.

- The majority of Americans now support a public option in health cae – Washington Post

- Roland Burris won’t vote for health care reform if a “strong, immediate” public option isn’t in place to compete with private insures - The Washington Independent

- CBS News asks if quality, affordable health insurance is possible at $900B?

- Black Women’s Health Study reveals ‘prudent’ diet linked to lower breast cancer risk for normal-sized women – The St. Louis American

- The Grio says Black men need to wake up to the facts of our women’s health

- TheLedger.com talks about fighting AIDS at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

- Boston University lands $9 million dollars to continue a black women’s health study – Boston Business Journal

One of the best lower body workouts – ever. Lunges will tone up your hips, thighs, glutes and have you looking like you’re Serena Williams…tight, toned and sexy.

While Lunges are a great workout, many people don’t have the proper form when doing them and can really hurt themselves. So today on Sweet Potato Pie we are going to give you step by step instructions on how to properly execute Lunges via About.com:

1. Stand in a split stance, with feet about 3 feet apart. You want both knees to be at about 90-degree angles at the bottom of the movement, so adjust accordingly.
2. Hold weights in each hand (or place a barbell behind the neck) for added intensity.
3. Bend the knees and lower the back knee toward the floor, keeping the front heel down and the knee directly over the center of the foot.
4. Keep the torso straight and abs in as you push through the front heel and back to starting position.
5. Don’t lock the knees at the top of the movement.
6. Perform 1 to 3 sets of 10 to 16 reps according to your fitness level and goals.

Lunges Video Tutorial:

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Cnn.com had an excellent article discussing Why We Eat Too Much an How to Gain Control. The three reasons they gave are all reasons I cna relate too and are the main reasons why I’ve had such a hard time droping the weight this go around:

1. You’re not getting enough sleep

Missing out on your zzz’s not only puts you in a mental fog, it also triggers a constellation of actual metabolic changes that may lead to weight gain. A lack of shut-eye harms your waistline because it affects two important hormones that control appetite and satiety–leptin and ghrelin…According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, people who slept only four hours a night for two nights had an 18 percent decrease in leptin (a hormone that signals the brain that the body has had enough to eat) and a 28 percent increase in ghrelin (a hormone that triggers hunger), compared with those who got more res

How to get control:

When we’re exhausted, we hunger for just about everything in sight, especially if it’s sugary or high in carbs. That may be because these foods give us both an energy boost and comfort (since lack of sleep is a stressor), Knutson says. To quell the urge for fattening foods and still get the energy kick you need, reach for a combination of complex carbs and protein.

2.  You’re sabotaged by stress

Constant stress causes your body to pump out high doses of hormones, like cortisol, that over time can boost your appetite and lead you to overeat. “Cortisol and insulin shift our preferences toward comfort foods–high-fat, high-sugar, or high-salt foods,” says Elissa Epel, Ph.D.

How to get control:

When we’re exhausted, we hunger for just about everything in sight, especially if it’s sugary or high in carbs. That may be because these foods give us both an energy boost and comfort (since lack of sleep is a stressor), Knutson says. To quell the urge for fattening foods and still get the energy kick you need, reach for a combination of complex carbs and protein.

3. You’ve got fatty foods (literally) on the brain

We’re hardwired to hunger for fatty, sugary, salty foods because, back when our ancestors were foraging for every meal, palatable eats meant extra energy and a leg-up on survival, says Dr. David A. Kessler, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and author of “The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite.”

How to get control:

Avoid eating your favorite treat if you’re in a particular mood, if it’s a certain time of day, or if you’re in a specific place; this will prevent you from creating a triggering link between those feelings or locations and that treat, Kessler says. And since the smell and sight of fatty, sugary foods is pure temptation, try to keep yourself from passing the bakery or ice cream shop you can’t resist.

Read the rest of the article. I can definitely relate to the first two reasons. The lack of sleep combined with high levels of stress had me craving  every fatty, salty, sweet thing I could get my hand on. I learned that eating protein helped quell my hunger and drinking lots of water helped kill the cravings for salty/sweet things. It’s been helping, especially as I get my stress levels down an have ben geting more sleep.

Can you relate to this article?

What are your strategies for dealing with sleep and stressed induced hunger?

While I may be able to eat myself thin I doubt very seriously I can think myself thin. The folk over at Blackdoctor.org seem to disagree however:

Exercise is only half of the equation; what you eat is the other half. Your attitude towards food can either make or break your weight loss regime. Follow these simple rules to slim down.

The Way to Eat

Eat MUFA. Monounsaturated fats (MUFAs for short, pronounced MOO-fahs) come from the healthy oils found in plant foods such as olives, nuts, and avocado. Include a MUFA at every meal. Incorporate a serving of one MUFA-rich food every time you eat.

Have a clear calorie goal. Consume four 400-calorie meals a day. Significant weight loss requires calorie control. For the average woman, 1,600 calories per day is ideal because it’s low enough to create weight loss while maintaining energy and preserving calorie-burning muscle.

Eat often. Have a meal every 4 to 5 hours to help control your blood sugar and hunger and keep your metabolism in high gear.

The Way to Think

Manage stress. This emotion causes a spike in the hunger-stimulating hormone cortisol, sending you straight for the sweets. And when cortisol is high, extra calories are deposited directly as belly fat.

Ask for help. Among people who have permanent weight loss, 70% reported having strong social support, compared with only 38% of those who lost and regained weight. Recruit others to join you (or encourage you), or sign up for an online support group…Keep reading.

The “mangae stress’ tip I can relate too. Not only will you eat yourself fat if you’re reeally stressed, but no matter how much exercising or eating right you’re doing the weight willnot come off.

Talk about frustrating.

As far as asking for help, studies have shown that black women in particular lose weight in groups, but not so well solo, so if you have some freinds you can join up with so so. Hell, make a game/competition of it. Loser has to by everyone dinner…or something.

I have a serious pet peeve when I see black women in the gym using three pound weights to complete a weak workout. Many times I’ve seen trainers tell women they should use light weights and high reps to sculpt their bodies. This is a joke. Or women who forgo weights altogether for fear of looking like a man. Also a joke.

Weight training should be an intergal part of black women’s health and fitness regime. BUT proper weight training is key. Throw out the light weights and start lifting heavy. Here are a few tips on how to properly use weights to sculpt your body:

1. Perform dumbbell exercises that recruit as many big muscle groups as possible.

Dumbbell lifts like squats, deadlifts, rows, presses and cleans, snatches and jerks require a lot of big muscle groups to complete the movement. Plus, using big muscle groups allows you to use heavier weights. Using more muscle with heavier weights means more muscle!

2. Perform dumbbell exercises that require a great deal of energy.

Heavy grinding exercises, explosive exercises and combo matrixes require a lot of energy for completion. Expending more energy means less fat!

3. Perform dumbbell workouts in such a manner as to simultaneously build muscle, improve cardio-respiratory endurance and burn fat.

Doing workouts like super sets, timed circuits and peripheral heart action training, you can make your dumbbell workouts SUPER efficient. You’ll get the most out of your training time by attacking your body on many fronts!

Since black women gain muscle faster then other groups of women, with proper training and using these techniques, you can have the sexy physique you’ve been dreaming of in record time.

Is my ass really that big?

So, my mother has been really ticked with the way I’ve been looking lately and insisted that I purchase me at least one new pair of jeans. I’ve been avoiding trying on clothes because I know I’m the size of cow. But I acquiesced…knowing that I’ve been holding on to my one pair of too tight jeans because that is the only pair that I can squeeze my butt (that is now the size of Brazil) into.

So I walk on over to New York & Co. and look at jeans. I flip through the jeans and notice that the size 14 looks like it will fit my brazil size ass.

And low and behold I try them on and…they…fit.

SIgh.

I went to several other stores and their size 12’s definitely didn’t fit..so that only left the 14’s.

SIgh.

Mind you I left the mall without any jeans that day because I REFUSE to buy a size 14 jean. I about died when I had to buy size 12 jeans a couple of years ago and promptly tossed them out once I was back to a size 8. Now I’m a size 14 and well…I won’t be purchasing any new clothes until I’m at least a size 10. So there’s my weight gain loss update.

On a lighter note. Here is Casper our resident semi-professional fighter/personal trainer talking to us about the weight loss benefits of chilies. Be sure to comment and show Casper some SPP love:

Hello again ladies, My last video post didn’t come out to well due to the touchiness of Wordpress, but that’s OK lets move on.

Fun With Chillies

I don’t want to bore anyone by breaking down body mechanics, So I would rather stick to the fun and light hearted stuff. Easy tips that generally help out. One of those things is a favorite of mine. Chili’s! I love hot peppers and I growem myself. The odd thing is that I don’t like my food spicy I just like eating chili’s, crazy huh?

Anyways the active ingredient in chili’s that sets the roof of your mouth on fire is called capsicum. This stuff has a great way of heating things up and I mean that literally. You see when you eat those chili’s the nerve receptors light up like timesquare and your body thinks somethings burning so immediately it turns on the waterworks to try and douse the fire. Hence the runny nose and sweat.

Now I eat raw hot chili’s and this has a great fat burning quality, I do it because I am addicted to the burn AKA you get an endorphin rush, and the hotter the chili the more the rush AND I am out of my mind. But you don’t have to be crazy like me, adding some cayenne pepper to augment a dish will help.

Now unless your gonna eat a naga morich pepper every hour don’t expect the fat to just melt away cause it ain’t. And eating that giant bowl of pasta with a little cayenne isn’t gonna cut it either. (kinda like the sumo guy at the food court polishing off the 14 inch pizza and sipping on a diet coke, because this somehow compensates)

I will say is that if you start eating some super hot peppers every hour throughout the day you will shed some pounds, I have seen it with my own eyes. But that takes some and mettle and persistence that not even I have. Eventually though your body is clever and will figure out whats going on, you will develop a tolerance and the effectiveness will plateau, as with all things.

So ladies bring on the FIRE.

And as a friend of mine says:

” If your ever at my house and I say “here try this” DON’T DO IT”

Business Day has a good article about all of the bad habits people have that are keeping them fat:

The experts have identified seven common diet mistakes most people make and how to fix them.

1. Underestimating how much you’ve eaten

Studies show overweight people tend to underestimate significantly how much they eat, and the bigger their portions, the more their calorie calculations go off track. One recent investigation by Dr Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think (Bantam Dell), found that people who supersize fast-food meals actually underestimate the calorie content of their burger and fries by as much as half.

2. Discounting the effects of peer pressure

Findings from the Framingham Heart Study reveal that when one person in a family or network of friends gains weight, others tend to gain weight too, perhaps because it becomes more socially acceptable to be chubby.

3. Distracting yourself from eating

Wansink’s studies show that environmental distractions, such as watching television, talking on the phone, reading while eating and eating with others, can be a big disconnect. In one study, he learned that even stale popcorn can lead people to overeat at the movies, not because they’re hungry, but simply because the bucket is there. This occurs as much due to the fact that you’re not paying attention to what you eat, as to a habit you’ve developed of multitasking while munching, he says.

4. Eating too many different foods

The more choices, the more you tend to eat — just think of all the temptations at a food buffet and the overwhelming desire you have to sample it all.

5. Not weighing yourself enough

“We have exhaustive evidence that people who weigh themselves daily lose more weight than those who don’t,” says Dr George Blackburn, associate professor of surgery and nutrition at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and author of Break Through Your Set Point: How to Finally Lose the Weight You Want and Keep It Off (Collins). People who watch their weight are more likely to closely monitor their eating and exercise behaviours and regain control of their diets quickly if they gain weight.

Keep readng the rest of the article. There’s some great information and tips there.

Weighting yourself daily is something I do and something I’ve recommended before on this blog as a way to maintain your weight. People have a tendency to ignore the tightness of their jeans, but if you see the weight go up on the scale a couple of pounds you’re more likely to adjust your diet or workout to lose the weight as opposed to waking up 20 pounds heavier trying to figure out how you got there and how you’re going to drop the pounds…again.

Now I know I’ve been guilty of all of the above habits. However, as far as peer pressure I am usually the biggest in my group of friends, so you’d think that being around the skinny crew would make me slimmer – yeah not so much – lol. Although I will say that I’m from a big city (by big I mean the average person is chunky) and that makes me the “skinny” girl here, so it’s easier to be heavier and not stress about it as much.

So, which of these bad habits is keeping you fat?

How do you work your way around them?

If these aren’t your bad habits what are the habits you have that’s preventing you from losing wight?

Here’s a healthy sweet potato pie recipe, great for dessert and perfect for holiday dinners .

Mock-Southern Sweet Potato Pie*

There’s nothing fake about the flavor in this heart healthy treat.

For the Crust

• 1¼ cup flour
• ¼ tsp sugar
• ⅓ cup skim milk or soy milk
• 2 Tbsp vegetable oil

For the Filling

• 1/4 cup white sugar
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 3 large eggs, beaten or egg substitute
• ¼ cup canned evaporated skim milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups sweet potatoes, cooked, mashed

Yield: 16 servings

Serving size: 1 slice

Each serving provides:
Calories: 147
Total fat: 3 g
Saturated fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 40 mg
Sodium: 98 mg
Total fiber: 2 g
Protein: 4 g
Carbohydrates: 27 g
Potassium: 293 mg

Keep reading

African American women are especially affected by heart disease. They have a higher mortality or death rate than white women and black men under the age of 55 years. The mortality rate from coronary heart disease is 69% higher than for white women. In addition, the first heart attack occurs at an earlier age in black women and is more likely to be fatal than is the case in white women. And pre-menopausal women who have hypertension, which is more common in black women, have 10 times the heart attack risk of those without high blood pressure.

Risk Factors in African-American Women

Black women have the highest rates of what are called risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the country, when they are compared to men and women of their own race as well as other races. When you have a risk factor, which means that you are unusually likely to develop CVD, as opposed to people who have none. In addition, the more risk factors you have, the greater are the chance that you will have an adverse event involving the cardiovascular system such as a heart attack or a stroke. It has been well documented that African American women have the highest rates of the following risk factors:

* Smoking: 26% of black women smoke
* High blood pressure: about one-third of black women have hypertension
* Obesity: two-thirds of black women are overweight or obese
* Physical inactivity: the majority of black women do not exercise regularly

In addition, diabetes, which causes so many heart attacks that it is now considered a cardiovascular disease and a CVD risk equivalent, is found in a very high percentage of African American women.

Warning Signs for Black Women

Pain in the chest is a classic symptom of an impending heart attack, and it means that your heart is literally crying out for help. It is called angina. Black women do not experience it as commonly as white women, for reasons that are not entirely clear. It may also occur in locations other than the chest such as the back, arm, and even the jaw. It may or may not be associated with activity. If it does occur, it may be misinterpreted as indigestion or an upset stomach. The best advice is, don’t take a chance—go to the nearest hospital right away to be checked to make sure you are not having a heart attack. This is crucial, because half of the people who have a heart attack die on the first occasion. You may not get a second chance if you are having a heart attack and don’t get immediate medical attention. So use 911—that’s what it’s there for. Better safe than sorry. Shortness of breath, a fast heartbeat, excessive sweating, unexplained weakness and tiredness, nausea and dizziness may also occur.

High blood pressure may not cause any signs or symptoms warning you of its presence until something happens, such as a stroke or heart attack. For this reason, it is called the “silent killer”. You really do need to get that blood pressure checked by a doctor, and more than one time. When hypertension does cause symptoms, they may include headache, dizziness, rapid heartbeat (palpitations), or blurred vision. But don’t wait until these symptoms occur, because by then, dangerous complications stemming from damage to major organs may already be in progress.

Stroke is caused when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted, and it can also be caused by blood clots in these arteries or whenever a brain artery is ruptured or bursts, causing cerebral hemorrhage, which commonly occurs in black people who have hypertension. Strokes generally occur suddenly, often without warning. Some of the warning signs may be sudden numbness or weakness of the limbs or face, especially on one side, sudden confusion, difficulty speaking or walking, difficulty focusing the eyes, and headache. If any of these things happen, you should get to the hospital right away, because brain damage progresses within minutes and is usually permanent and irreversible unless treated very quickly. Call 911 immediately. You don’t even have time to get dressed.

Conclusion

It is not possible in this small space to give more than a comprehensive overview of the problems, but hopefully, you have gotten the most important message of all, which is to get yourself checked out by a doctor and to heed the advice given.

From What Every Woman Should Know About Heart Disease from Blackdoctor.org