Baby Boot Camp Homework

Have you been planning on coming to Baby Boot Camp class but got too busy last minute? Would you like a quick set of easy exercises you can do at home without equipment?

Try this to make up for a missed class:                                  

20 squats
20 lunges
20 push ups
20 mountain climbers
50 jumping jacks

=> repeat 5x

Homemade Beef Jerky

Do you like to have a quick protein snack on hand but don't like to buy jerky from the store because of all the incredience in it? Make your own. It is easy to make and it tastes delicious!

You will need:
1 flank steak (I used London Broil)
0.5 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
dash pepper
1.5 tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

• Slice the steak lenghtwise, with the grain, into 1/4" strips (freeze it, then partially thaw to cut it). 
• Combine all remaining ingredients & stir to dissolve sugar.
• Let meat stand in mixture for 20 to 25 minutes (or overnight in refrigirator). 
• Drain & arrange in a single layer on a rack set in a shallow baking pan. 
• Bake in a very slow oven - 150 degrees for about 6 hours, or until meat is dry & chewy, but not brittle. 
• Store in a tightly covered container. 

Enjoy! Next time I am going to try turkey jerky and let you know how it went.

OPTIMAL WEIGHT GAIN DURING PREGNANCY

Because pregnant women are "eating for two" it's easy to lose track of or ignore weight gain during gestitation. Not a good idea. For the first time since 1990, the government has weighed in with new guidelines on how many pounds women should gain during pregnancy. This is in line with previous studies that have determined that babies born to overweight mother are at greater risk of premature delivery; these infants are also more likely to become overweight or obese as they grow up.

The new guidelines, issued by the Institute of Medicine in late May, make the following recommendations for optimal weight gain during pregnancy:

• Underweight women with a body mass index (BMI) lower than 18.5 should gain 28-40 pounds.

• Women with a BMI between 18.5-24.9 should gain 25-35 pounds.

• Overweight women (with a BMI of 25-29.9) should gain 15-25 pounds.

• Obese women (with BMI of 30 or higher) should gain 11-20 pounds.

The new guidelines also call for better nutrition and exercise counseling for pregnant women and, most importantly, stress that pregnancy is not a time to lose weight. Rather, women are encouraged to get to a healthy weight prior to conceiving.

Source: September, 2009 IDEA Fitness Journal

Note: Are you not sure what your BMI is? You can visit the place where we do our monthly measurements -Nutrishop in Huntington Beach on Adams and Brookhurst and they will measure it for you for free on their special Tanita scale.