DAVID KIRSCH IN A NEW YORK MINUTE

Find more of the moves by David in The Ultimate New York Body Plan.

It’s that time of year again. Back to school, back to work, and back to the fast beat rhythm of our crazy busy lives. In a matter of days, it will seem almost impossible to retain any of the healthy lifestyle changes you may have made over the summer. Like healthy eating … If you made an effort to eat fresh and healthfully, you’ll no doubt, be challenged by the reality of your schedule and the tempting convenience of fast food in due time.

So, how do we do it? When there’s no time to cook, how do we make dinner fast and healthy?

For those who enjoy eating out, I share my “do’s” and “don’ts” of dining out in an earlier post. These are great tips that I encourage you to take with you on the road

And for the average day, when schedules and budgets force us to rely on quick and convenient options, it’s important that we prepare ourselves to make smart choices about how to fuel up

I can hear some of you saying: “I don’t have time to cook. I don’t want to cook. I don’t know how to cook.”

Believe me, I understand your dilemma. Cooking a totally balanced dinner isn’t always the easiest option for you or me. So here are a couple of quick tips for preparing healthy and cost-effective meals fast. As always, my goal is to arm you with the information you need to make smart choices and to keep you looking good too!

Kirsch-over your kitchen
Open your cupboards and your refrigerator doors and get rid of all of the junk food, fattening snacks, starchy carbs, sugary desserts and the rest of the unhealthy ingredients you may have accumulated. Head to the store and stock up on healthy ingredients like the ones I’ve included on my personal grocery list. Keep these fresh and economical items on hand at all times.

David’s 15-Minute dinner: Spicy Wasabi Salmon Burger

Find a couple of 15-minute meals you can depend on
Just think: The amount of time it takes to heat up frozen pizza can be used to make a fresh and healthy meal for yourself. Take a look at my core menu of “New York Diet”-approved, 15-minute meals that anyone can prepare. They are high in protein, low in fat and low in calories which means you’ll look great eating them! Download recipes here.


And, if you do enjoy cooking but aren’t sure if your favorite dish is truly good for your body, check out this new tool at Nutrition Data which creates a complete analysis of the recipe, from fat content to sodium content and everything in between. FitSugar, one of our favorite blogs reported on this valuable new tool!



Eliminate temptation. Open your refrigerator and your cupboards and TOSS OUT the crackers, snack chips, ice cream, cheese, pasta, fatty meats, sugary fruits and desserts you see. If you feel guilty about tossing out that much food, donate it all to a food bank or soup kitchen.

Got a question for David? What’s standing in the way of getting the body you were born to have? Write to David, describing your situation.

Lifting and firming butts has always been considered one of my specialties. Karolina Kurakova called me the “Master of the Ass” after getting to this!
as featured in ELLE, Feb/2008

I gave People Style Watch a few pointers for their article: “Get Your Best Butt!”

For more of my butt-kicking exercises check out: One on One Training Series: Butt and Legs DVD. This program is divided into three 15-minute workouts, making it a quick, focused and effective workout for sculpting hip, legs and butt. My signature medicine ball and stability ball are also available at the DKW Store.



Flex your butt muscle with my lunge with a kick!
1. Start with feet shoulder-width apart. Knees slightly bent. Hands on your hips.
2. Do a “curtsy lunge”: Step back on a diagonal so your right leg goes behind and across your left. Bend knees down into a lunge.
3. While coming up from the lunge, lift your right leg up and kick out to the right side.
4. Repeat on left side. If time permits, do 10 reps for each leg.

Got a question for David? What’s standing in the way of getting the body you were born to have? Write to David, describing your situation.

I'm all for restaurants diversifying their menus to meet the demand for healthy fast food, but this smoothie boom is one to watch out for. Over the last few months, big chains like Dunkin Donuts and even Starbucks have added smoothies to the menu and joined the likes of Jamba Juice and juice bars across the country who have been trying to convince us that smoothies are a smart and healthy alternative snack or a meal replacement.

They are not.

Most smoothies contain fruit, yogurt and sweeteners such as honey, and as a result, have a high caloric density from the sugars – both the naturally occurring sugars from fruits and those from sweeteners – which love to settle on our waistline.

Earlier this summer, ABC's “Good Morning America” covered the calorie counts in popular smoothies offered at several large chains and concluded that these drinks have more fat and calories than you'd think. Most of the drinks profiled contain calories ranging from 300 to 700+ calories. That's more calories than a piece of chocolate cake!  

A better ‘fast food' solution

For those of us counting calories, smoothies are on the list of “A, B, C's” to be avoided. The good news is that a cool, creamy shake is here to save you! It was during my work on The Ultimate New York Body Plan when I developed this line of signature Protein Plus shakes. They are a truly healthy meal replacement and “fast food” alternative.

Here's a quick comparison between a 16 oz. chocolate smoothie and my chocolate shake

My One Of A Kind Protein Meal Replacement offers the perfect the mix of protein, carbs, healthful fats like flaxseed and MCTs ( a class of fatty acids that are rapidly absorbed and burned as energy) , fiber and vitamins, and is free of artificial sweeteners. As a meal replacement, it is equivalent to a complete breakfast, lunch or dinner at only 180-190 calories!

Liv Tyler, the celebrated actress and a long-time client, uses my protein shakes whenever she needs to avoid temptation or to moderate her diet when in “maintenance” mode. She'll drink a shake for lunch and then eat whatever she wants for dinner to balance out periodic indulgences.

When you're in weight loss mode, I recommend drinking a shake for breakfast and dinner. When in maintenance mode you can do what Liv does: Use the shake to compensate for an indulgence.

While there are many protein formulas in the marketplace, I've worked hard to develop my own formula to satisfy taste, appetite and nutrition expectations. Our team at David Kirsch Wellness Co. has also created a menu of One Of A Kind Shakes. One of these shakes even made it on the menu at New York's famous Shake Shack . While you won't find their ice cream version on our menu here, you can follow these recipes to achieve a delicious and nutritious equivalent that will energize your day! Download my One Of A Kind Shake recipes here.

Plan your snacks! Take a minute to plan out good foods that will help set you on your way. Let me suggest two great sources of protein and fiber – the essentials for maintaining healthy weight: 10 almonds or a ½ cup of edamame. The almond's fiber structure will help block the body's absorption of both fat and carbs. The edamame (soy beans) is the only vegetable to contain all of the amino acid building blocks, making it a complete protein. Edamame also contains isoflavones , which are currently being studied for their potential to help stave off breast cancer, and for their positive effect on bone health. To save time and ensure you always have healthy bites, prepack your snacks over the weekend and take them with you throughout the week!

Got a question for David? What's standing in the way of getting the body you were born to have? Write to David, describing your situation.

“We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?  Actually, who are you NOT to be?”

Nelson Mandela, 1994

“Are we there yet?”

That familiar phrase that many-a-back-seat rider annoyingly yelled out on a childhood roadtrip sometimes comes back to haunt us. If you’re like many of my clients, you started your summer journey to get a “beach-ready” body. You lost some weight; you bought new clothes, you felt sexier; only to now find yourself back on the scale right where you started, wondering what it’s going to take to get there. Welcome to the club.

We all struggle to stay the course during the ultimate season of rest and relaxation. While the social influences of summer compel us to get in shape, it’s one of the toughest times to stay in shape as working out and eating healthy don’t always fit with our idea of the “vacation we deserve.”

But, that’s no excuse! As I write in my book Sound Mind, Sound Body, living healthfully can be enjoyable. And when you enjoy it, exercise and eating right come so naturally that it no longer feels forced. So, with 6 weeks until Autumn there’s plenty of time to get back on the road to getting the bodies we were born to have.

On last week’s post, I provided fit tips from Glamour magazine, September, 2008, and a downloadable 30-minute circuit inspired by my work with Heidi, Anne, and Kim. This week, I’d like to share my tips for dining out with greater confidence.

Eating out? Keep it Kirsched!

Imagine enjoying beautiful meals without experiencing the side effects of overindulgence? It can be done! Some of my clients including top supermodels have paid me to go out to eat with them, asking me to show them the path to Sound nutrition heaven – the gates beyond which only the purest of proteins and carbohydrates are allowed admission. We’ve conquered the most “dangerous” restaurants, enjoying some of our favorite foods while staying the course. Below are my personal tips on dining out healthfully. Remember: Smart dining habits can help you lose weight and add years to your life.

DAVID KIRSCH’s DOs and DON’Ts of Dining Out
If you eat out, be mindful of how and why you are eating, and you will be able to eat out intelligently and safely.

DO

• Eat before you eat out. Enjoy a Protein Plus Shake or hard-boiled eggs to take the edge off.
• Drink water with lemon or lime.
• Send the free food back to the kitchen.
• Save alcohol for your main course (if you need it!) Follow every drink with at least two drinks of water.
• Skip the appetizer or stick to a small salad with dressing on the side.
• Order lean protein plus veggies or greens as your main course. Eat a sensible portion size – typically no bigger than the size of your hand, of grilled, broiled, or poached fish, chicken, turkey or lean sirloin.
• Tune into your inner sense of hunger. Eat slowly. Savor every bite. If you focus on the sensory experience of eating, you’ll feel sated sooner and, as a result, eat less. Stop when you are full.
• Don’t look at the dessert menu.
• Finish your dining adventure with a long walk after dinner!

DON’T

• Avoid any menu item that is “sautéed,” “fried,” “pan roasted” or has “cream sauce.” If the dish has sauce, ask for it to be served on the side or without sauce.
• Eliminate what I call the “A, B, C’s …” of a high-calorie diet:
• Alcohol – Wine typically contains 110 calories. A mixed drink has more calories than a slice of chocolate cake!
• Breads
• Starchy Carbs including these seemingly healthy Carbs:  Carrots, potatoes, rice, pasta and corn all contain high amounts of carbs and rank high on the glycemic index.
• Coffee
• Extra Sweets and Sodas
• Fruits (they are high in fructose, a type of sugar), and Most Fats (saturated and trans fats so no red meat, pork, bacon or other fatty meats)

For more tips on eating well

Download:  “What to Eat and When” for a sample 24-schedule of what to eat during maintenance mode. Pick up a copy of Sound Mind, Sound Body, for “Tips for Different Eateries,” the ”Indispensable Kitchen List,” and a library of healthy recipes. Download more Kirsch-approved recipes at WNBC4’s Today In New York’s Fitness Challenge …

The path toward wellness is long and, at times arduous. It is filled with potholes in the guise of fast-food restaurants, stressful jobs, and demanding relationships. In addition, we all have demons that, if we allow them, will sabotage our plans and take us off course. If you’ve fallen off the wellness wagon, ask yourself: What are the three things standing in the way of getting to the body I was born to have? Jot them down. Then, I challenge you to look in the mirror and tell yourself: “I can overcome these; I will feel a difference.” Recognizing, embracing, and thwarting these personal temptations will take you to new heights.

Got a question for David? What’s standing in the way of getting the body you were born to have? Each issue, David will help a community member solve a fitness challenge. Write to David, describing your situation.

“In a New York Minute, everything can change.”
Don Henley * the Eagles * 1989

Powerful lyrics sung by one of my favorite artist’s -- Don Henley, of the Eagles -- reminding me to treasure the good things we have in life because they could be gone tomorrow. They are our family, our friends ... Those things we’ve worked hard for or dedicated ourselves to ... But how many of us treasure perhaps, the greatest of these: Our bodies ... inside and out?

With our crazy busy lives it feels like it’s never been more difficult to take care of ourselves. We’ve rationalized the excuses, the primary one being: No time. I face this challenge as much as anyone, but as those of you who have read my books, worked out to my videos or survived my boot camps at the Madison Square Club or on the beach in the Hamptons know, I believe there is no excuse big enough to not make personal wellness a priority. No matter how busy you are, how old you are, or how out-of-shape you are, there is No Excuse for not taking care of YOU.

So, where are YOU on your priority list? What are you doing right now to get the body you were born to have?

I know it’s not easy. I have spent more than 20 years helping time-starved New Yorkers and celebrities alike, kick-start healthy weight loss, curb addictions and live healthfully. It can be done.

In fact, just this week, I started working with New Yorker Janen Glenn, the winner of WNBC4 Today In New York’s Fitness Challenge. You can follow the progress of my work with Janen (see the video clip) who is going through a 2-week makeover, following principles in my book: The Ultimate New York Body Plan.  I welcome you to follow along at WNBC’s daily blog on Janen.

If you’ve had the chance to check out my fit tips in Glamour (Sept/2008) and Glamour.com, your first reaction may have been: “Wow! I want their bodies!” But what I really hope is that you saw that every body is one of a kind, even among the Hollywood elite. Getting “fit” is not about looking like someone else. It’s about getting to the body you were born to have.

I want YOU to feel good in YOUR body! Let me know how I can help you on your journey.

If your life is really moving at warp speed, more than ever, you need to initiate healthy regimes quickly and thoughtfully. Start by making a list of things that prevent you from eating right and initiating (or sticking with) a fitness regime. This list will help you become more aware of negative triggers and renew your focus on taking care of YOU. What’s one thing you can do this week to start taking care of YOU? Honor yourself. Give yourself permission to be your top priority. And block out time to do so … even if it’s just a “minute.”

BONUS! Check out my 30-minute circuit workout at Glamour.com, inspired by my work with Anne, Heidi and Kim!