Until recently, most experts didn’t think weight training was valuable for cutting body fat. In the 70s and ’80s, health experts pushed aerobics and didn’t think resistance exercise promoted health.

Studies during the past 10 years found that weight training builds muscle, improves cellular health and promotes fat loss.

Researchers from East Carolina University found that weight training increased fat use in abdominal fat during and for at least 40 minutes after exercise in young men. In obese men, three months of weight training increased fat breakdown by stimulating adrenaline receptors in fat stores. (more…)

Aisha Tyler would surely win the Biggest Tomboy in Hollywood Award. In her new movie, Death Sentence, in which she co-stars with Kevin Bacon, she begged to fire a gun and do her own stunts, but was told — very firmly, we imagine — to sit down.

Next, she’ll appear as an ice-cold assassin in the goofy table-tennis comedy Balls of Fury. Here is an excerpt from a recent interview with Aisha Tyler in which she has revealed some details about her diet and workout.

Do you do your own stunts in the movie? Absolutely! Sometimes they wouldn’t let me. I’m like, “I want to do it,” and they say, “Lady, sit down!” All through Death Sentence, I was like, “Please, let me shoot somebody.” (more…)

I have been a big fan of foods high in fiber for, well, longer than I care to remember.

For a list of foods high in fiber and high fiber diets, check out High Fiber Diet Plan: The F-Plan Diet, High Fiber Food List, and Sources of Dietary Fiber and Weight Loss.

But what about other sources of fiber such as Gnu Foods Flavor & Fiber bars? As you probably already know, eating an energy bar can make you feel more victimized than victorious: The vitamin taste hardly merits the sizeable fat and calories. (more…)

Many people avoid nuts because they are high in fat and calories. However, nuts are good for the heart and provide fiber that can improve digestion and prevent constipation and possibly colorectal cancer.

Spanish researchers showed that people who are on a diet should not fear nuts in their diet and that they actually prevented weight gain.

A study of nearly 9,000 men and women living in Mediterranean countries found that those who consumed nuts at least two times per week were less likely to gain 11 pounds or more during a 28-month study. (more…)

Old School Rules Don’t knock Jane Fonda! According to a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, you can scorch as many calories in an aerobics class as you can on a treadmill.

Researchers calculated the calorie burn of 28 women ages 18 to 34 during hour-long step, Tae-Bo, spinning, and pump (aerobic weight-training) classes.

They compared those numbers with what the women burned in an hour running at 5 mph. The results: Women in the pump class burned only 480 calories, but steppers, Tae-Boers, and spinners torched 576, 584, and 593, respectively. (more…)

Katherine Heigl has slimmed down quite a bit since her days on the cult TV show Roswell. According to a insider, she “learned to cut her meals in half and rely on things like Diet Coke and cigarettes.”

In fact, Katherine, up for an Emmy for her heartbreaking turn as Dr. Izzie Stevens on Grey’s Anatomy, was spotted lighting up during an Aug. 10 lunch with fiancé Josh Kelley in LA. (more…)