Ask Joe Weider

Tip of the Week: Chew your food!

I realize this is something your mother probably told you to do more times than you care to remember while growing up, but it was good advice then, and it's good advice now.

In today's fast-paced world, we rarely take the time to sit and savor our meals, instead grabbing on the go, eating and running, and choking down a quick bite. Not only is this far from an ideal way to acquire nutrition, it can also cause you stomach distress and hamper your fitness goals.

When you don't chew enough, chunks of food enter your stomach, which is designed to process nicely masticated pulp. Bigger chunks means more stomach acids are needed, which means indigestion. And if the pieces are too big, they can then be passed along from the stomach in a state for which the intestines aren't prepared. The end result is wasted food, upset stomach and a sluggish feeling as your digestive tract works overtime to no avail.

Rather than go through all of this, may I suggest you simply follow the advice your mom gave you all those years ago?

Q: I'm a 48-year-old woman who takes yoga classes three days a week and jogs twice a week, so I feel like I'm in fairly good shape. Still, there are a few areas of my body I would like to see change — specifically, my arms and butt. What's the most efficient way I can train these two areas, as I can't devote much more time to staying fit than I already am?

Joe: I commend you for being so dedicated to a fit lifestyle. Five workouts a week, no matter what kind, is something I believe everyone should strive to achieve. Yet while your workouts may be bringing you cardiovascular fitness, flexibility and a degree of strength, they aren't quite meeting your needs when it comes to muscular development. For this, nothing beats bodybuilding.

While I would normally prescribe an intensive glute-thigh workout and an equally voluminous arm routine, I'll respect your wishes for brevity and suggest a single exercise that's suited to your exact needs.

It's a composite exercise that involves squatting and curling as one movement.

Take a pair of dumbbells you can curl for 15 repetitions and stand with them hanging at your sides with your heels shoulder width apart and your toes pointing out slightly. In one motion squat down while curling the dumbbells so that when you're in the bottom of the squat the dumbbells are at shoulder level. As you rise back up lower the dumbbells slowly until you're standing with them at your sides again.

Do this for five sets every other day, and you should start seeing the fruits of your labor within a month.

Q: My girlfriend wants to become a vegetarian, and I'm wondering if it's possible for her to get enough quality protein in her diet. She's very active, so she definitely needs her protein.

Joe: This is a very good question — one that I've been asked before. I'm not a terribly big meat-eater myself, although I do love my fish. You didn't mention if she will be keeping fish, eggs and milk in her diet. If so, there's nothing to worry about.

If not, though, can she get enough protein in her diet? Yes, I believe she can. I think the bigger concern is that she makes sure to eat a wide variety of protein-rich vegetation to ensure than she gets the full complement of amino acids in her diet. The problem with vegetable protein as opposed to animal protein is that it's often deficient in one or more of the nine essential amino acids, which are the ones our bodies cannot produce.

By pairing up certain foods, she can overcome this issue, though. For example, the old standby meal in many Latin cultures — rice and beans — contains all the essential aminos.

Between soy products, nuts, seeds and legumes, along with whole grains, I'm sure your girlfriend will do just fine. Of course, a little fish wouldn't hurt every now and then.

Joe Weider is acclaimed as "the father of modern bodybuilding" and the founder of the world's leading fitness magazines, including Shape, Muscle and Fitness, Men's Fitness, Fit Pregnancy, Hers, Golf for Seniors and others published worldwide in over 20 languages.To find out more about Joe Weider, write to him and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.

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