You’ve seen her whip contestants into shape on The Biggest Loser. Now celebrity personal trainer, Kim Lyons is taking on diabetes with her new workout DVD series, Start Fitness Now: Beating Type 2 Diabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), diabetes now affects nearly 24 million people in the U.S. – up more than three-million in about two years – and obesity is a major risk factor for the type 2 diabetes epidemic. I recently spoke to Lyons about all this. She tells FatFighterTV, it’s time to turn things around now.

Diabetes-friendly workouts
One of the first things I wondered about these DVDs was how these workouts were different than others. What makes them specifically for diabetics? Lyons says they eliminate the exercise intimidation factor.

“A lot of the workout videos that are out there right now are very high intensity, and they’re the kind of videos that are going to draw in people that already exercise, whereas people that have diabetes or are struggling with obesity issues or both are going to really be intimidated by that,” Lyons tells FatFighterTV. “This is kind of a way to get people started and help them get off the couch. There are even workouts where they can sit down and get moving. A lot of people don’t even know they can exercise while they’re sitting down.”

Can you really get a good workout if you’re sitting down? Yes and no, says Lyons. The DVDs are designed for beginners, so while they may not benefit someone who already exercises, working out while sitting down may be just the right place to start for someone who’s new to physical activity.

Doctor’s orders
The workouts were developed with the help of Dr. Shaila Singh, a Diplomat of the American Association for Family Physicians (AAFP) who has managed type 2 diabetes and weight loss in patients for over 22 years.

“Recent research has really brought to light that you can almost halt the disease progression; you can change it, even,” says Dr. Singh. “People who have type 2 diabetes really can [stop being] type 2 diabetic just by exercise and healthy diet modification.”

Lyons adds, “I think it’s just really important to give those people hope and let them know that, yeah, you absolutely can change your life – just 20 minutes a day.”

Beyond the DVDs
Along with the DVDs, there is also an online support program that includes nutrition tips, recipes, and Q&As about diabetes with Dr. Singh, all at StartFitnessNow.com.

Giveaway
To tie in with American Diabetes Month, The Start Fitness Now: Beating Type 2 Diabetes 3-DVD set is giveaway #2 in FatFighterTV’s Winter Workouts (indoors) giveaway series. Again, the workouts are designed for diabetics who need to start a fitness routine, or other exercise beginners.

To enter for a chance to win, just tell me why you want to try these workouts… or if you want to give them to someone as a gift, why you think that person would enjoy them.

See you in the comments!

Contest runs through midnight EST this Friday, November 13, you have to have a U.S. mailing address to enter, and we will use random.org to pick the winner.

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Rebecca from Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat? is bitter and has written an open letter to Heidi Klum about it. See what’s got her all worked up here. Enjoy her little rant… and your weekend. Happy Halloween!

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One of the most popular posts here at FatfighterTV is an interview I did with fitness model, Jamie Eason, about her diet – foods she avoids, her splurges, and her grocery list. Now, check out this video she sent of her making her “Oh Baby” Carrot Cake Protein Bars – you can also read the recipe below. And make sure you stop by Jamie’s new website for more recipes, exercise tips, and modeling pics!

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Oh Baby!” Carrot Cake Protein Bars

Ingredients:
Non-fat no-stick spray
1 cup oat flour (ground oatmeal found in the health section of your grocery store)
2 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice (optional – more like spice cake)
3 egg whites
¾ cup Splenda
½ cup fat free Ricotta cheese
2  4 oz. jars or packs of baby carrots (instead of shredded carrots)
2 scoops vanilla whey protein (look for a low sugar, low fat and low carb variety)
1 cup quick cooking oats (optional for added carbs and energy)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray an  8 x 8 pyrex dish with non-stick butter spray.
In a large bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg.
In a medium bowl, mix egg whites, Splenda, ricotta and baby food until well combined.  Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix well.  Finally, fold in the quick cooking oats (optional) and stir until just combined.
Pour batter into the pyrex dish and spread evenly.  Bake 28 – 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool and cut into 16 pieces – 4 x 4.

Nutrition per serving:  2 small squares
94 calories  (132 cal with oats folded in)
1.25 g fat  (2 g fat with oats folded in)
10 g carbs (17 g carbs with oats folded in)
10 g protein (11 g protein with oats folded in)

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You know her from the hit show – Work Out – on Bravo. Now you can win a cool Jackie Warner gift bag with this fitness DVD, Jackie’s shake mix and a hat. The DVD features Jackie’s 20-minute upper body, lower body, and core workouts to help you burn fat and tone up.

How to enter to win – how about some Sky Lab dreaming? Sky Lab is the luxurious but booty-kicking week-long fitness retreat Jackie runs just four times a year. Check out all the details here… then come back and tell me… if you splurged on something like this, what would you look forward to the most? Me – it would have to be the view! Definitely.

A few contest details – it runs through midnight EST this Friday, April 3, you have to have a U.S. mailing address to enter… and a random number generator will pick the winner.

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Have you seen this?

Rebecca at Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat? says she’s got 10 reasons for picking up a copy. Which ones have you hitting the magazine stand? I’m all about numbers 1, 3, and 6. Go Valerie!

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Have you seen this?

Rebecca at Does This Blog Make Us Look Fat? says she’s got 10 reasons for picking up a copy. Which ones have you hitting the magazine stand? I’m all about numbers 1, 3, and 6. Go Valerie!

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[Disclosure: I received a complimentary sample of this product. I only post giveaways about products I honestly like, or those I think FatFighterTV members would enjoy.]

She’s trained super stars like Cindy Crawford and Jennifer Garner to get in tip top shape before their big events. Now celebrity personal trainer, Valerie Waters, shares her techniques in her book, Red Carpet Ready. I have three copies to give away!

I thought since the Oscars are just around the corner – Sunday, February 22 – it would be fun to talk about movies instead of the usual diet and fitness stuff on FFTV. It’s my B-Day week and I can do what I want, right?

So, which movie would get your vote for Best Picture… and why? Tell me in the comments below to enter to win a copy of Red Carpet Ready.

The nominees:

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Frost/Nixon
• Milk
• The Reader
• Slumdog Millionaire

I can’t believe I’ve only seen one of the five! I need to get to the theater fast!

Remember, we will have a different giveaway every day this week here at FFTV. The contests run through midnight EST this Friday, February 13 and I will announce the winners over the weekend. Also, you have to have a U.S. mailing address to enter… and a random number generator will pick the winners.

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This year, we cheered as the world’s heaviest man lost 500 pounds then got hitched, we wondered why some of our favorite foods suddenly looked smaller, and worried when the worst foodborne outbreak in a decade spread across the country. Here’s a look back at the year’s headlines in food, fitness, and fat – The top 8 of ‘08:

Hold the tomatoes, hold the peppers…
Tomatoes and peppers were pulled from store shelves and restaurants when a massive salmonella outbreak started in April. It took the government several months to figure out what caused it, making many people question our nation’s food safety system. When it was over, 1,400 people had gotten sick across the country.

F as in Fat
The obesity epidemic continued to climb – up in 37 states – with predictions that 86-percent of Americans could be overweight by 2030 if things don’t change soon. The epidemic brought sobering news about how obesity is affecting children with an influential physicians’ group urging young kids to take cholesterol drugs, and a new report showing the arteries of obese kids can be just as clogged as those of a 45-year-old.

Happy Anniversary (the BIG 5-0) to the Hula Hoop
It was the Hula Hoop’s anniversary – the golden one already? Seems as though it’s come, well… full circle over the years.  Just one year after it came out, the company that makes the hip toy sold more than 100 million Hula Hoops. Fifty years later, the hoop is regaining its popularity as a fun and challenging way to exercise – it’s even a featured activity on Nintendo’s new Wii Fit.

World’s heaviest man marries
First, Manuel Uribe made headlines when he lost 500+ pounds (he used to weigh 1,234 pounds). Then the world cheered him on as he married his longtime girlfriend in Mexico in October. Uribe has not left his bed for six years. His doctors want him to lose a total of 1,000 pounds.

Diabetes doubles
Diabetes is skyrocketing in the United States. A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the rate of new cases of the disease has nearly doubled over the past 10 years. The main reasons? The growing number of obesity and sedentary lifestyles. About 1.6 million people age 20 or older were newly diagnosed with diabetes just last year.

Show me the calories
Calorie counts started popping up at restaurants across the country as laws passed in New York City, California, and Philadelphia requiring them to post calories on their menus. Fast food chains like KFC, Taco Bell, and Long John Silver’s also announced they would start putting calories on menu boards in their restaurants nationwide.

Honey, they shrunk the food…
With the cost of ingredients and fuel for delivery going up, some food companies are making their products smaller but selling them for the same price – giving us less, instead of raising their prices. Shrinking products include Breyers ice cream, Mini BabyBel Cheese discs, some varieties of Yoplati yogurt, and Sun Chips Garden Salsa snacks.

Oprah up again
Oprah has been yo-yo-ing for years and this year, she’s back up again. Winfrey says she now weighs 200 pounds and has “fallen off the wagon” when it comes to healthy living. She’s gained 40 pounds back since 2006. She’s expected to talk candidly about her weight on her show in January.

Did you remember all those?

What will 2009 hold? Sign up for FatFighterTV’s daily updates for the very latest. Plus you’ll get the FREE e-book, “Recipes and Tips for Healthy, Thrifty Meals”

[Photo Credit: stock.xchng]

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If you’ve seen Oprah lately, you may have noticed the Queen of Talk has gained some weight… again. In the January issue of O magazine, Winfrey says she now weighs 200 pounds and has “fallen off the wagon” when it comes to healthy living.

She tells the Associated Press she’s mad at herself for gaining back 40 pounds since 2006, and says a thyroid problem made her develop “a fear of working out.”

“I’m embarrassed,” she writes. “I can’t believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I’m still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, ‘How did I let this happen again?”’

Winfrey says her goal is no longer to be thin – instead, she wants to be strong, healthy and fit. She is expected to talk candidly about her weight on The Oprah Winfrey Show in January.

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If you’ve seen Oprah lately, you may have noticed the Queen of Talk has gained some weight… again. In the January issue of O magazine, Winfrey says she now weighs 200 pounds and has “fallen off the wagon” when it comes to healthy living.

She tells the Associated Press she’s mad at herself for gaining back 40 pounds since 2006, and says a thyroid problem made her develop “a fear of working out.”

“I’m embarrassed,” she writes. “I can’t believe that after all these years, all the things I know how to do, I’m still talking about my weight. I look at my thinner self and think, ‘How did I let this happen again?”’

Winfrey says her goal is no longer to be thin – instead, she wants to be strong, healthy and fit. She is expected to talk candidly about her weight on The Oprah Winfrey Show in January.

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• Oprah is “mad, embarrassed” at 200 pounds
• Refuse to Regain winner!
• Refuse to Regain – How to keep the weight off (listen up, Oprah!) and win the new book!
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• Top 8 of ‘08 – a look back at the year’s headlines in food, fitness, and fat