If you’re interested in seeing how many steps you take daily, you may want to try your luck with this contest!

Until June 1st, Shape Magazine will give away 50 New Lifestyles Yamax Digiwalker Pedometers ($25 value.) According to the website, this pedometer came out on top of 10 other pedometers that were tested for accuracy.

To enter, simply fill out your full name, mailing address, day and evening telephone numbers, and your e-mail address for a chance to win.

Remember, you have until JUNE 1st to enter, so what are you waiting for? Try your luck! A digital pedometer can be a very useful tool when exercising, walking, or simply to see how many steps you take in a day and how many calories you burn as a result.

Good luck!

If you intend to work out in warm weather, there are a number of things you need to do to ensure you won’t end up suffering from heat stroke or exhaustion.

First and foremost, it’s important to keep hydrated before, during and after exercise. Drink water about 30 minutes before exercise, and every 20 minutes during exercise. When you’ve finished, drink as much water as you need to to quench your thirst after exercise.

By ensuring you are drinking plenty of water, you can keep hydrated and avoid heat stroke. Of course, there are a few other things to keep in mind to avoid heat stroke when exercising in warm weather.

The type of clothes you wear to exercise can hinder or help your body’s cooling off process, so take care not to wear anything that will not allow your body to sweat freely. Restrictive clothing can actually make you heat up further, and if your body can’t sweat to cool you off you risk heat exhaustion.

If it’s REALLY warm, you may want to consider foregoing exercise for the day, or lowering the intensity of your normal workout (especially if you’ll be exercising outdoors or in a building with no air conditioning.)

With these tips in mind, you can help to avoid heat stroke while exercising in warm weather.

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I came across a very informative article today that talks about how to gain lean body weight if you are a bodybuilder.

According to the article, those of us who want to build lean body weight need to focus on CALORIES, but more specfically, caloric breakdown; i.e., how many calories come from fat, protein, carbs, etc. The nutrient and caloric density of the food you eat will also impact the amount of lean body weight you amass.

The article then goes on to explain a simple formula that will help you determine how many calories you need to eat per day to maintain your body weight. If you gain a lot of weight but all of it’s body fat, NOT lean body weight, you aren’t really doing anything to improve your current health levels.

To find out specifically how to gain lean body weight, please read the above article for more information. Let me know if it helped you in any way!

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While you should alway strive to get the majority of your nutrients from food sources, it wouldn’t hurt to take a daily multivitamin supplement as well.

As a matter of fact, taking a multivitamin daily can help ensure you are getting all of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals you need for your body to thrive.

According to this article from the Harvard School of Public Health, taking a vitamin supplement daily that contains folic acid can “help prevent neural tube defects in newborns…[and may] lower the risk of heart disease, colon cancer and breast cancer.”

The article also maintains that taking a multivitamin with vitamin D or an extra vitamin D supplement “can lower the risk of colon and possibly many other cancers.”

Of course, you don’t want to take TOO many vitamins that you don’t need. If you take a look at a vitamin bottle, you’ll notice a “recommended dose” for the supplement. Ensure you do not take more than the recommended dose of any vitamin or mineral supplement, as too much can actually do more harm than good.

Overall, it can be beneficial to take a multivitamin supplement every day to ensure you are getting all of the nutrients you need - just be careful not to take too much.

(Photo Credit: Alexander Kalina)

Let’s face it - we have busy lives! The last think most of us want to do after a long day at work is come home and cook a 4 course meal. Thankfully, these easy and delicious broiled scallops take minutes to prepare; what’s more, because they are broiled (not fried), they’re a lot healthier than you might think!

For an easy weeknight meal, turn to these delicious scallops to satisfy your hunger pangs. (Original recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 pounds scallops

1 tablespoon garlic or garlic salt

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

First, melt the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Turn the broiler on and place rinsed scallops in a shallow baking dish; pour melted butter on top. Sprinkle with garlic, garlic salt and/or lemon juice.

Broil scallops for 6 to 8 minutes (you’ll know they are done when the scallops start to turn a golden color.) Remove from broiler and serve immediately. If you’d like, you can serve with extra melted butter on the side for dipping, or place scallops on a bed of rice for extra flavor.

This recipe is quite simple, and there are an endless variety of alternatives you can do to make this meal extra-special. Enjoy!

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Even for sufferers of chronic illnesses, it’s usually safe for the elderly to begin an exercise program. While you should always speak to your doctor before beginning to exercise, many illnesses can actually improve with regular physical activity. What’s more, just because you are aging doesn’t mean exercise should stop!

To get started, always make sure your clothes and shoes are sturdy and fit comfortably. For older men and women who aren’t used to being active, start slowly at first and build up from there.

Warm up with light stretches or walking before beginning any physical activity. To begin, you may want to limit yourself to 20 or 30 minute light aerobic activity such as walking, swimming or bicycling. When you finish your routine, cool down by lightly jogging in place, stretching or taking a slow walk around the block.

This goes for anyone, but especially older people - if you are feeling ill on a day you were supposed to exercise, skip exercising until you are well again!

If you are interested in specific exercise routines for the elderly, this page has several routines you can perform every day of the week. Pick a few that look interesting and test them out!

(Photo Credit: Trish Parisy)