East West Information

The prospect of Americans raiding Canadian pharmacies for cheaper prescription drugs is raising the spectre of drug shortages north of the border.

The college's board voted earlier this month to order the review of spinal manipulative therapy for children under the age of 10, according to a public notice.

Although fewer Canadians over 50 are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, cases among younger adults are increasing.

The post Weight loss: Why diet is NOT enough appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

Summer is the season for having fun, but it is full of unwelcome temptations when you’re trying to lose weight and maintain your beach body. Sweltering weather can entice us to lounge around to keep cool rather than being physically active. And hard-to-resist junk food shows up at so many special events or even just when you hear the jingle-jangle of the ice cream truck coming down the street. The good news is that summer also offers you lots of enjoyable ways to burn calories and eat well. At home or on vacation, you can keep your beach body and stay on track with keeping your summer weight loss motivation.

Here are a few of our favorite tips for summer weight loss motivation :

1. Play time.

Remember when you spent your summer days outside, playing tag, catch, hopscotch and other simple, active games? They are still fun ways to enjoy time with the kids in your life while you burn calories. And if your daily exercise is fun you are much less likely to binge on treats afterward than if you work out in a gym, according to a 2005 study in Marketing Letters.

2. Hit the links.

According to golftips.com, playing 18 holes of golf while pulling the clubs in a cart burns about 350 calories. But if you’re not a golfer, you can still enjoy the fun (and get some summer weight loss motivation!) by hitting balls on the driving range for an hour or playing a round of no-skill-needed miniature golf. Along the way you’ll burn off up to 210 calories.

3. Get dirty.

Gardening is a low-impact exercise that helps you maintain your strength and flexibility. Better yet, you get a steady supply of fresh, nutritious fruits and vegetables to enjoy whenever you want. A study in the Journal of the Academy Nutrition and Dietetics showed that people of all ages who grow even a little of their own food tend to eat more fresh produce, a key component of your healthy diet.

4. Boogie down.

Dancing, fast or slow, to the sounds of the music you like, burns 200 to 225 calories in a half hour—talk about some FUN summer weight loss motivation. Even better, when you dress up in your favorite summer outfit and move your body to the rhythm of a live band or DJ, you reduce stress and improve your mood. Dancing, according to a study in the European Journal of Sports Science, decreases stress hormones in our bodies and raises our self-confidence.

5. Partner up.

Working out with someone who gives you encouragement and support increases how much you will exercise, report researchers in Scotland. Find a buddy who loves to dance, swim, ride a bike or any summer activity you enjoy and you will be more likely to keep up with your daily fitness goals.

6. Wash your car.

Grab your hose and bucket and while give your vehicle a fresh and shiny look you’ll burn 150 to 200 calories in 30 minutes. You’ll save money you’d spend at the local car wash, you’ll keep cool, and you’ll keep your metabolism going strong. And you’ll feel good every time you get in your car.

7. Shop the farmer’s market.

The nearly 9,000 farmers markets across the U.S. are fully stocked in summer, according to the Agricultural Marketing Resource Center. That means you get to bring home all kinds of freshly picked produce at its peak of flavor for your daily servings of non-starchy vegetables. Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini and string beans all taste best when eaten just a few days after picking. Look for delicious summer fruits too, including peaches, melons and berries (all SmartCarbs), to enjoy with your meals and snacks.

8. Fire up your grill.

Cooking over an open flame adds lots of satisfying flavor to your meals without loading on extra calories. Make quick and easy summer Flex meals by grilling lean proteins, like chicken or seafood, and tasty vegetables such as zucchini, bell peppers, onions, and eggplant. Looking for new ideas on what to grill? Check out our story on 7 Foods That Taste Better Grilled >.

Stay motivated all year long with the help of a Nutrisystem meal plan >

The post Summer Weight Loss Motivation: Realistic Tips for Keeping Your Beach Body appeared first on The Leaf.

Ontario must increase funding and staffing at the province’s nursing homes to help prevent future health-care serial killers from harming the most vulnerable, the final report into former nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer’s crimes recommends.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump says it will set up a system to allow Americans to legally import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada, weakening a longstanding ban that had stood as a top priority for the politically powerful pharmaceutical industry.

The man who became the second confirmed Ebola case in Congo's major crossroads city of Goma has died, possibly without ever knowing he had the virus, officials say.

On today’s solo episode, I’m chatting about the five fitness mistakes I commonly see. You can probably guess what a few of them are, but hopefully there are a couple of surprises in there, too.  

Download a copy of the full transcript here.

Let me know if you like these short episodes! I’ll still include some longer interviews but if you like these short ones, it will give me the opportunity to put new episodes out more often. 

5 common fitness mistakes

So you’re working out consistently, but not seeing results. Or maybe you were seeing results and have suddenly plateaued. Maybe you feel blah about your routine. It might be one of these fitness mistakes holding you down.

In today’s episode, I’m sharing some of the things I’ve seen in clients and have also experienced myself! There are so many easy steps in this episode that you can use this week to tweak your routine. Please let me know in the comments which one of these resonated the most with you.

Resources from this episode:

If you want to try some new classes, click here to get 21 days FREE of Les Mills On Demand. 

How to create a workout plan (PDF download is here)

Registered Dietitians:

Emily Field

Anne Mauney

Kim McDevitt

Some of my favorite fitness YouTube channels:

Jessica Valant

Pumps and Iron

The Fitness Marshall

If you’re working out at home this summer or traveling, click here to get 21 days FREE of Les Mills On Demand. 

Thank you so much for listening and for all of your support with the podcast! Please leave a rating or review if you enjoyed this episode. If you leave a rating, head to this page and you’ll get a little “thank you” gift from me to you. 

You can listen and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play.

The post 036: 5 common fitness mistakes appeared first on The Fitnessista.

The commission investigating the actions of serial killer nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer and how Ontario's long-term care home system failed to detect her eight murders over a decade will present its report Wednesday.

The Abbotsford woman who calls herself "Dr. Lipjob" has been sent to jail after defying a court order to stop injecting Botox and dermal fillers.

The United Conservative government will hold forums on issues with the Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) program outlined in a report released Tuesday which the NDP says is a way to delay coming up with solutions. 

A gym without a medicine ball is like a basketball court with no hoops, yet often they get overlooked. Medicine balls are wondrously simple...

The post The Top 10 Total-Body Medicine Ball Workouts appeared first on Anytime Fitness Blog.

Meet Mike Turner, also known as Ironman. Not even a kidney stone could stop him from coming to work. In 36 years, he's never called in sick.

A second case of Ebola was detected in the eastern Congolese city of Goma, a Congolese health official said.

This watermelon feta salad is fresh, fragrant and full of flavor. Easy to make, this is a perfect make ahead ...

The post Commercial yogurt: Is it really “yogurt”? appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

The post The next Wheat Belly 10-Day Grain Detox Challenge begins Wed Aug 14th! appeared first on Dr. William Davis.

If yours is anything like ours, the office is like one big fat trap that can negatively affect your weight loss.

Scary stuff considering that most Americans spend more of their waking hours at work than anywhere else. All that office time isn’t just giving you money, it could also be giving you fat.

According to a study, the average American worker spends 47 hours per week at work—a little more than nine hours per day. If you’re sleeping seven hours each night, that’s still an hour more than you’re spending not at work. That office time could be making your weight loss journey harder.

Healthy hint: A Nutrisystem plan goes perfectly with your busy schedule because all of the weight loss meals and snacks are healthy and perfectly portioned, so you don’t have to worry about getting stuck in a fat trap. Click here to get started and see for yourself! >

Avoid these nine fat traps and stay on track to your quick weight loss goal:

Fat trap #1: You clock in and stay glued to your chair.

You may have heard that “sitting is the new smoking,” and that’s because the average American under the age of 60 spends six to eight hours per day sitting, according to the American Heart Association. That amount of sedentary time increases risk for chronic disease and even death, and if it’s interrupted, it can keep your body from burning fat. Scientists at the University of Missouri found that enzymes in the blood vessels of your muscles that are responsible for burning fat actually “shut off” within a few uninterrupted hours of sitting.

So get up! Walk to talk to a coworker instead of messaging them on email, walk to get a glass of water. In one study at Stanford, researchers found that people who walked on a treadmill or path outside gave more creative responses on a test designed to measure creative thinking than those who took the test while seated.

Fat trap #2: You eat lunch at your desk.

Same idea, but working through lunch actually compounds all-day sitting by making your lunch less satisfying. Multiple studies have shown that “mindful eating,” where weight loss dieters focus on being aware of the food they’re eating and the act of eating it, has helped people lose weight without focusing on calories. No need to ask, “How many calories should I eat to lose weight?” Eating while distracted means you’ll need more saltiness, more sweetness and more crunch to feel satisfied with their food.

To try this practice, put your work away while you eat: Switch off your monitor, put your phone down and focus on the colors, flavors and textures of your midday meal. You could be less hungry in the afternoon and could also help your blood sugar. In a three-month study from Ohio State, patients with Type 2 diabetes significantly lowered their blood sugar through this technique.

Fat trap #3: Group lunches at a local restaurant.

Heading out with coworkers can be a great way to network, blow off steam or just take a pleasant break from the office. However, be mindful that restaurant portions can be much bigger than your weight loss plan allows—and you might not recognize it. According to a study in Nature, Americans correctly guess the amount of food in a portion only about half the time. (Nutrisystem is known for offering perfectly portioned meals so you don’t have to guess. Click here to see how it works >)

If you can, be prepared: Look up the menu (and calorie count) online before heading out, so you know what fits your plan before you arrive. If the calorie count isn’t available online, know that most restaurant portions are too big by about half: Cut your order in half right when it arrives and plan to take the rest home.

Fat trap #4: You skip lunch.

It may seem like a great way to cut a bunch of calories and get back on track, but skipping a meal can cause your metabolism to slow, according to Nutrisystem weight loss dietitians. Translation: Your body is burning fewer calories at rest, so while you may have eaten less, you’re shedding less in the long run.

Nutrisystem dietitians suggest eating every three to four hours to maintain energy, keep blood sugar steady, and keep your metabolism churning at full steam.

Fat trap #5: You start the day with a big, creamy latte.

Even with two percent milk, a large latte from a popular coffee chain can have 250 calories—more than half of what most weight loss diet plans recommend you get from your whole breakfast.

If you need a boost, stick with black coffee. It could actually help you burn more calories. Some foods are thought to increase thermogenesis—the production of heat in the body—and this results in increased calorie burn. Caffeine was found to boost thermogenesis in one study from 2012, meaning that if you drink it, you’ll be burning more calories than if you didn’t. The study also notes that caffeine could give you more energy, so the added calories burned may be offset by this energy.

Fat trap #6: You don’t keep a water bottle at your desk.

When you’re dehydrated, researchers at the University of Utah say your body can burn up to two percent fewer calories at rest. Also, your mind often signals “hungry” when you’re really just thirsty, so not drinking water during the day can make you feel like you want a diet-busting snack, when in reality all you need is a cold sip.

Keeping water at your desk can also help enhance your weight loss efforts: In one 2003 study, scientists found drinking two liters of water daily can increase your calorie burn by 400 per day. That 400-calorie difference means you could lose a pound in less than two weeks—even if you changed nothing else. If you have the water before lunch, even better: In a study from Virginia Tech, subjects who drank two eight-ounce glasses of water before weight loss meals lost 36 percent more weight over a 12-week period than those who didn’t drink. That could also be because the subject seems were fuller from the water and couldn’t eat as much.

Fat trap #7: You keep a dish of candy on your desk.

It’s nice for people that come in for a meeting, but bad for your waist line. When temptations are close by, you’re more likely to indulge: In a study involving a candy dish, scientists found that people ate 1.8 more pieces of candy per day when the bowl was placed on their desk as opposed to two meters away. So do away with the dish or share the candy in a common area instead.

Fat trap #8: It’s your coworker’s birthday … and there’s cake.

Remember how Americans are bad at eyeballing portions? The same study found that they’re even worse when judging portion sizes of snacks and sweets. So if you’re going to join the celebration, be aware—grab a really small piece that fits your plan and savor it, eating mindfully to maximize satisfaction. Or better yet, enjoy one of your sweet Nutrisystem treats while everyone else indulges.

If you have trouble with willpower, check in with your weight loss goals before going. Keep photos or quotes on your phone or desk you can easily reference to strengthen your will power and remind yourself what you’re after. Just be sure that any photos you choose are realistic. In one study from the Netherlands, dieters who consistently looked at pictures of models who were TOO thin engaged in more “goal-inconsistent” behavior than those who looked at normal-sized models.

Fat trap #9: You deal with stress by snacking.

When the afternoon blahs hit—or a deadline looms—the vending machine starts calling your name. However, the snacks behind the glass won’t help you feel satisfied: They’re carb-heavy, nutrient-lacking snacks that will only make you crash soon after.

Nutrisystem dietitians recommend eating a snack that combines fiber with some healthy fats. Both of these nutrients will help you feel full fast and stay feeling full longer. Both can help you lose weight faster, too. Try pairing an apple with a low-fat string cheese or cut veggies with a measured portion of hummus. Eat mindfully, so you’ll feel more full and then, if you can, step outside for a moment: A dose of sunlight can increase your levels of serotonin, a “happy” hormone. You’ll return to your desk full, refreshed and ready to tackle anything. Click here to find convenient, healthy snack options that have all of these recommended nutrients to get you through the day >

Want to know additional ways to lose weight? Check out these 4 Ways To Lose Weight This Week >

The post 9 Fat Traps at the Office You Need to Avoid appeared first on The Leaf.