Club Fitness Toys for Tots and Drive for Miracles

Club Fitness is all about the children this holiday season! We have 2 great charities that we are participating in and excepting donations for. Lets make this a wonderful holiday season for our local children!

The first is Toys for Tots. Bring in a new unwrapped toy and drop it in the gift wrapped box located next to the office door and you can be entered into a drawing to win a free month added onto your existing contract!

The second charity is The Drive for Miracles Radiothon benefiting the OSF Children's Hospital! The radiothon will be held on December 8th, 9th, and 10th . Our Social Media Director Shannon Toft will be volunteering and answering phones during the telethon in the lobby of the new Saint Francis Children's hospital wing! The Collection canister for this charity is located in front of the changing rooms and looks like a parking meter.

11/18/2011 Coffee Talk with Jessy

A note from Jessy Hamawi, Club Fitness Nutritionist and Personal Trainer

If you came to talk to me at the Club, you know that I stick to my philosophy and nutrition approach. Before that, I shifted many of my strategies in order to best target these 3 main objectives: health, workout performance (supporting my training), and body composition (keeping lean and optimizing fat loss). One element that has always been a key to my success is my happiness as it relates to my diet. It’s not just about carbs and proteins and calories – it also has to be about whether or not, on a whole host of levels you actually enjoy your diet. Call me crazy but I want to enjoy preparing and eating my super clean healthy food.

Food is not just an energysource. Food is also about enjoyment, creativity, expression and social interaction. We should enjoy the creative process of preparing our meals as much as we enjoy eating them and sharing them with our friends and family.

So having these 4 goals in mind: health, workout performance, body composition and happiness, I have decided to stick to my nutrition approach. Before joining the staff of Club Fitness , I was sharing my progress and recipes that inspired me from a great read by Michael Pollans book In Defense of Food. 

Every once a while I will be posting my own thoughts and talking to you guys on a personal level, but for a start here is a quick sum up the rules to my approach:

1. Eat foods from the superfoodslist, and avoid processed food as much as possible.

2. Eat as many fresh veggies as possible.

3. Complex carbs and fruit in moderation.

4. Try to include protein in every meal. This does not mean that you have to eat meat with every meal. You can use a protein supplement or you can get your protein from other whole food sources.

5. Drink water as your go-to beverage. Avoiding processed foods also means avoiding artificial sweeteners and soft drinks.

6. Dairy in moderation.

7. 1-2 glasses of dry red wine a night if you so choose.

If the word “moderation” throws you into a fit of panic and uncertainty – relax. This is about balance so eat for energy not for storage. Most portion sizes are huge. I often easily split a single restaurant portion meant for just 1 person. Use your hands to measure your portions and you won’t go wrong.

As a general rule:

1. Meat portions should be the size of the palm of your hand (2 palms for guys).

2. Veggies – 2 hands cupped together (but basically you can eat as many veggies as you like).

3. Bread – 1 slice of whole wheat bread per meal.

4. Potatoes ,Pasta, Rice, Oats etc – 1 cupped hand (cooked).

5. Fruits – I enjoy fruit 1-2x per day – a piece in the morning and a piece for a snack later in the day.

Cheat days are out – moderationwill also apply towards deserts and sweets. I am not in the habit of eating deserts on a regular basis anyway, and I may choose to enjoy a small piece of dark chocolate with my coffee now and then. Obviously you have to strike a balance between your diet and your goals, but we can enjoy a treat now and then.

So to sum up this post:  Use your hands to control your portions and everything in moderation.

Have a great weekend and leave some comments for us to read :)

Here is again a short list of some superfoods:

Protein – lean red meat, salmon, fat free greek – plain yogurt, black beans, tempeh, kidney beans, low fatcottage cheese, chicken breasts, turkey breasts, protein supplements (whey protein isolates, milk protein isolates, or rice protein isolates)

Veggies and Fruits – spinach, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, oranges, mixed berries, lettuce, bananas, grapefruits, cucumbers, kale, collards,

Other Carbs – mixed beans, quinoa, whole oats, amaranth, brown rice

Good Fats – mixed nuts, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, fish oil, flax seeds (ground), coconut milk,

Drinks – unsweetened green tea, water

The Essentials for Post-Workout

You just finished one of your best intense workouts. Do you know what—and when—you need to eat in order to maximize your results? The answer is in this article. With my earlier article focusing entirely on what to eat before exercising, I’d be remiss to not explain what you should be eating after your workout.

What’s the point of eating after exercise?

It’s all about two things: recovery and storage. You need to recover the losses you undertook during the exercise, and your body is simply better at storing that recovery fuel right after your workout. Sure, you can eat later—but the benefits won’t be as good.

The sports medicine pros at ESPN explain it: “athletes need carbohydrate and fluid to replace glycogen and water losses during the exercise. The muscles store more glycogen immediately after exercise than they do later”.

We’ll talk about what to eat shortly, but generally you want to stick to carbohydrates and protein. Why, exactly? Protein provides the amino acids necessary to rebuild muscle tissue that is damaged during intense, prolonged exercise. It can also increase the absorption of water from the intestines and improve muscle hydration. The amino acids in protein can also stimulate the immune system, making you more resistant to colds and other infections. While you might find some advice that suggests carbs will serve you fine on their own, one study found that athletes who refueled with carbohydrate and protein had 100 percent greater muscle glycogen stores than those who only ate carbohydrate. Insulin was also highest in those who consumed a carbohydrate and protein drink.

The Re-Hydration Essentials

There isn’t a ton of information on drinking water after exercise, and for good reason—it’s simply obligatory. That’s always your #1 priority, especially if you’ve gone for a run and haven’t had access to any water during it.

If you want to get really scientific about it, it is recommended weighing yourself pre- and post-workout, and using the difference to replace fluid losses. For example, drink 20-24 fl oz of water for every 1 lb lost. Of course, most of you will just hit that water bottle with abandon.

When to eat

Do we need to eat right away? You might say no, not exactly—you probably want to get some fluids into you, towel off, get changed, take a quick shower—whatever your normal post-workout routine is.

But the first 15 minutes are crucial: the enzymes that help the body resynthesize muscle glycogen are really most active in that first 15 minutes. The longer we wait to eat something, the longer it takes to recover.

If you can’t get to some proper food within those first 15 minutes, make sure you get something in your stomach within an hour, maximum,post-workout. You won’t get much increased storage at all if you wait longer than that.

What to eat—with real suggestions

Ah, and now the crucial question, where we move away from talk of abstract carbohydrates and protein, and into actual suggestions for the kind of things you should scarf down post-workout.

Sports drinks are better during a workout, but juices are better afterwards, when our body needs those carbs. One crucial notion is digestion: if our bodies aren’t used to processing food after a workout, it might be difficult to digest solid foods right away, especially after some long, serious endurance work. Columbia University comes at us with some real food suggestions: “eat a few slices of turkey on a wheat bagel, or have a large glass of protein fortified milk. The most important nutritional strategy post workout, though, is fluid replacement. Drink water, juice, or carbohydrate rich sports drinks to replace what you sweat out.” All good advice, although be careful of sports drinks that function more as sugar-delivery systems than workout tools.

The final bit of advice

Eating after exercise takes some time to get used to. Remember that if you’re working out just 2-3 times a week, it’s not as fundamentally important to concentrate on your post-workout recovery. But if you’re working out nearly every day—it’s essential.

And don’t think of your post-workout food as a proper meal: the portion sizes should never get that big: it’s a small amount – a fist-sized quantity, low-fat chocolate milk works very well. The goal is not a post-exercise meal. It’s really a post-exercise appetizer to help the body recover as quickly as it can. That’s a strange-but-perfect way to think about it: a post-exercise appetizer.

Keep these general principles in mind, eat clean and healthyabove all.

Article by Jessy Hamawi, Peoria Club Fitness Nutritionist and Personal Trainer

Jessy's Healthy Pumpkin Protein Bars

Club Fitness nutritionist and personal trainer, Jessy Hamawi, is cooking up these amazingly healthy pumpkin protein bars that will be available tomorrow at the gym for free! This is one of the great ideas Club Fitness and our nutritional program offer! We care about our members and show them how nutritional eating to lose weight and stay fit can easily be incorporated with great foods! If not signed up to workout tomorrow then hurry and call ASAP! This healthy treat will not last long!  

If  not a member and interested in joining our personal training gym to get healthy  then call 309-689-1400 or email info@peoriaclubfitness.com!

Jessy's Pumpkin Protein Bars

Ingredients

½ C Brown Sugar Blend

1- 4 oz. jar baby food applesauce

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 ½ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. ground clove

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

4 large egg whites

1- 15 oz. can of raw pumpkin

2 C AP flour

2 scoops vanilla whey protein

½ cup almond milk

½ C chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1.     Preheat the oven to 350.

2.     Spray a 9 X 13 Pyrex dish with non-stick spray.

3.     Combine first 11 ingredients and mix well.

     4.     Add the final 3 ingredients (4, if adding walnuts), and mix until incorporated.

5.     Spread batter into the Pyrex dish and bake for 30 min.

Nutrition (without walnuts): 1 square = 47 calories, .7 g fat, 8 g carbs, 3.7 g protein

Nutrition (with walnuts): 1 square = 63 calories, 2.3 g fat, 8 g carbs, 4 g protein

Recipe by Jessy Hamawi, Club Fitness nutritionist and personal trainer

Cardio Routine in 30 Minutes!

You think you’re too busy to get a whole workout? Think again: If you work out 3 or 4 days a week for only 30 minutes a day, you will still improve your cardiovascular health, burn calories, and tone muscles. Remember, the harder you push yourself the greater the benefit, and the better you will feel when you’re done. Below are just ideas for a cardio routine on a rainy or sunny day.

1. Ride a stationary bike. Pedal with a medium and challenging resistance, increasing speed and resistance gradually. Do not pedal like a maniac! Doing so might seem like the best way to get a good workout, but you will burn more calories if you stay between 70 and 80 revolutions per minute (RPMs) with increased resistance.
2. Walk on a treadmill. Take rapid, long strides aiming for a pace between 3.5 and 4.0 miles per hour. You’ll burn more calories and get a better workout if you power walk instead of running at a very slow pace. Increase the incline on the treadmill 10 minutes into your workout, while maintaining the same speed.
3. Run on a treadmill. Warm up for 3 minutes, increasing your pace from a jog to a comfortable run. Following the warm up, run 1 minute intervals then recover at a slow run for 1 minute. Repeat.
4. Use an elliptical trainer. Set the machine to a medium or high resistance and ramp position. Try to reach 70 to 85 percent of your target heart rate. It can be tricky to get a good workout on the elliptical trainer if you don’t know how the machine works. You’ll burn more calories with increased resistance.
5. Use a stair climber. Use the “Aerobic Workout” setting that is programmed into most machines. Increase resistance so that you are breathing hard, but never sacrifice your form. Keep the body upright with hands lightly touching the machine, or for a greater challenge don’t touch the supports at all. Leaning heavily on the handlebars so you can go faster only decreases how hard the legs must work, cutting the calories expended.
6. Get a cardio workout in the house on a rainy day. Run up and down your stairs 5 times. Next, do 2 sets of 25 crunches and 20 push-ups. Then stretch for 1 minute and repeat the whole cycle.

Article by Jessy Hamawi, Club Fitness Nutritionist and Personal Trainer

See what Ethel has to say about Peoria Club Fitness!

Meet Ethel! We absolutely love this member! She joined the club many years ago and is 81 years old and you would never believe it! Look what a healthy lifestyle can do! Have to watch till end.. she is so wonderful!

 

Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup

It’s time for soups and stew to warm our bodies with the cold raining weather outside. When I got home from work last night, I wasn't as hungry as usual so I decided to make a delicious soup with all the tomatoes I had in the fridge.

Easy. Prep & Cook Time: ~60 minutes

Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients

6 plum tomatoes, cut into large chunks

2 pack of cherry tomatoes

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp dried thyme

3 - 3 1/2 cups chicken stock

pinch of chili flakes

1 tsp paprika

1 tbsp Worcester sauce

1 tsp white sugar

3/4 cup of light cooking cream

a handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped

Olive oil

Salt and cracked pepper

Directions

1.      Preheat the oven to 395F

2.      Spread the tomatoes on a tray lined with parchment paper, sprinkle with thyme, salt, cracked pepper and coat with olive oil

3.      Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, then turn on the broiler function (grill on top) and roast for another 5 - 10 minutes.

4.      In the mean time, sauté the onions in a little olive oil; add the garlic and cook for a few more minutes.

5.      Add the paprika, chili flakes, Worcester sauce and the roasted tomatoes with all their juices.

6.      Add the sugar and stock and simmer for 10 minutes.

7.      Now take a hand blender and liquefy the soup

8.      Add a bit of cream, basil, season to taste and cook for another few minutes just to infuse all the flavors

9.      Serve and enjoy ;)

Fact or Fiction?

Can you answer these questions correctly?

1.  Cardio burns more calories than strength training.
2.  You can reduce cellulite through exercise.
3.  Crunches are one of the best moves to target your abs.
4.  Exercise immediately improves your ability to learn.
5.  The morning is the best time of the day to exercise.
6.  Lifting weights quickly to increase the burn.

Answers:
1. Fiction – Strength training burns as many calories as cardio during your workout, but it also continues to burn calories due to a rise in your metabolism for hours afterwards.

2. Fact – Cellulite is fat, so exercising and the right nutrition will burn calories and cause your skin to look smoother as the fat cells deplete.

3. Fiction – Most crunches primarily involve the hip flexors and the upper abdominals, but do not do much for the underlying or oblique abs. Focus on more full-body core exercises.

4. Fact – Research has tied physical activity to improved attention and memory, and increases production of the stem cells that develop new brain cells.

5. Fiction – Muscle strength and body temperature both peak somewhere in the afternoon, allowing you to work harder with less effort. You have also eaten a few times already so your body has additional fuel to pull from. Having said that, the best time to train is the time you’re actually able to fit it into your schedule…that’s the most important!

6. Fiction – When you lift quickly you are using momentum instead of your muscles to help you lift, and you increase your risk of injury. Lift slowly, and you will get more burn for your buck!

More Jigsaw fun with Halloween and Healthy Pumpkins!!

Don't forget to zoom out when playing to see all the pieces!

Jazz Up Your Salad!

Forget about your traditional iceberg lettuce topped with bottled salad dressing!
Fresh salads can be fun and easy to make - not to mention nutritious!
Most salads are made with a variety of fresh vegetables containing vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which are essential for our health and may even prevent disease. Most salads are also low in calories and fat-an important part of any well-balanced diet. Salads can be much more than just vegetables! They can be eaten as a side dish or as an entire meal.

Check out these tips for jazzing up your lettuce salad: 

1. Start out with some fresh lettuce - the darker green it is, the more nutrients it has.
Try mixing several kinds of lettuce, such as:
• Spinach • Cabbage • Romaine • Chicory • Butterhead • Watercress • Red Leaf • Fennel

2. Add a variety of fresh veggies!
• Artichoke • Mushrooms • Asparagus • Onion • Beets • Parsley • Broccoli • Tender Parsnips
• Carrots • Peppers • Cauliflower • Radishes • Celery • Scallions • Corn • Sugar Snap Peas
• Cucumber • Tomato • Ginger • Turnips • Jicama • Water Chestnuts • Kohlrabi • Frozen Peas
• Leeks

3. Experiment with new flavors! Add some untraditional salad ingredients to jazz up the flavor:
• Strawberries • Dried Cranberries • Pecans • Grapes • Pineapple • Almonds • Apples • Olives
• Pine Nuts • Mandarin Oranges • Peanuts • Soy Nuts • Raisins • Walnuts

Quick Lettuce Tips...
 
• Use lettuce as soon as possible after purchase.
• When storing, remove wilted leaves and only wash prior to using.
• As with all produce, the outer surface may carry dirt and bacteria. After removing the outer leaves, wash your hands before rinsing and chopping the inner leaves to prevent contamination.
 • Use a salad spinner for lettuce leaves or other veggies. Your salad will taste fresh without the excess water from washing, and it will last longer when stored.

• Keep unwashed lettuce in a perforated plastic bag in the vegetable crisper.

Top it off with a light and flavorful dressing!
 
• Choose an oil-based dressing more often than a creamy one.
• When choosing a creamy dressing, try a "light" version.
• "Fat-free" types can be higher in sodium and lower in taste!
• Try making your own homemade dressing.
• Use low-fat cottage cheese instead of dressing.
• Stick to 2 Tbsp of any kind of dressing.

Go easy on the "extras"
 
Some additions to salads can add too many calories and fat.
Here are some things to use sparingly:
• Bacon • Fried Noodles • Croutons • Egg • Pasta and Potato Salads

Make it a meal! 

Any salad can become a meal by adding a source of protein to it. Try these:
• Grilled Chicken • Grilled Pork • Steak Strips • Shrimp • Salmon • Garbanzo Beans • Black Beans • Kidney Beans

The Importance of Stretching

We all have been told that we must stretch before and after every workout. Yet many of us have no idea what stretching does for us, and don't bother to do it. Worse still, we rush through a quick stretching routine that is not only ineffective but sets us up for potential injuries. Proper stretching does play a very important role in both overall health and performance in workouts or sports.

The importance of stretching for our bodies?
One of the primary benefits of regular stretching is that it can help prevent muscular imbalances. Because no one has perfectly symmetrical muscular development, and we all tend to use one side of the body more than the other, we create a situation in which some muscles must overcompensate for others. This leads to muscular weaknesses and underdevelopment in some areas of the body. Stretching regularly helps to lengthen tight overused muscles and strengthen underused muscles. Correcting musculoskeletal imbalances can help ease everyday aches and pains, improve posture and alleviate lower back pain.

What is the best way to stretch?
It is possible to actually injure oneself form over-stretching, so it is very important to practice good form. Experts recommend that you stretch slowly, and only as deeply as you can comfortably go, and that you hold the stretch for 15 to 30 seconds. It is important that you feel the stretch through the muscle and not in the joints.

Stretching cannot directly improve sports performance. Rather, a regular routine of stretching will help to increase flexibility that offers a degree of protection from injury over time. Flexible muscles also recover quicker from injuries, and stretching gently can even help to speed the recovery process. Most fitness experts recommend that you only stretch after your muscles have warmed up.
Stretching incorrectly can cause injury in itself, so be certain to research some safe stretches for each muscle group. Additionally, when you are stretching, you should always move slowly and gently into the stretch. Remember, you should never feel any pain while stretching- if you do stop or reduce the intensity of the stretch immediately. When practiced correctly, stretching is an essential part of any fitness regimen and can help you to avoid injury, increase flexibility and better posture.

Article Written by Peoria Club Fitness Nutritionist and Certified Personal Trainer Jessy Hamawi

Do you know about the Hy-vee NuVal system??

Did you know Hy-vee Grocery stores offer one of the greatest ways to shop healthy at a glance!! Take a look at the NuVal system and make nutrition an easy choice for you and your family to eat right!

About the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System

You know that making better food choices is essential to good health, but it can be confusing and time-consuming. Now the NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System is here to help.
Developed by a recognized team of nutrition and medical experts from leading health organizations and universities, the NuVal™ System is a food-scoring system that helps consumers see – at a glance – the nutritional value of the food they buy.
How the Scoring Works
The NuVal™ System scores food on a scale of 1 to 100. The higher the NuVal™ Score, the higher the nutrition. It’s that simple.
Because the NuVal System applies the same nutritional criteria to all foods, you can now quickly and easily compare the nutritional value of foods not only within a category (vegetables) but also across categories (vegetables and veggie burgers).

 

The Science Behind the NuVal™ System

The NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System is powered by a patent-pending algorithm (the Overall Nutritional Quality Index or ONQI™) that summarizes the nutritional quality of foods and beverages into a single number. It was developed over a two-year period by an independent team of nutrition and medical experts from leading universities and health organizations.
The NuVal™ System considers more than 30 nutrients when developing a Score – including carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. It accounts for how these nutrients influence health outcomes and how they relate to recommendations from the USDA dietary guidelines and Institute of Medicine Dietary Reference Intakes.

 

How the NuVal™ System Benefits You

The NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System helps you cut through the clutter of nutrition information so you can make informed decisions about food quickly, easily and with confidence.
Should you buy the wheat rolls or the potato bread? Which salty snack is more nutritious for your family? These are the decisions that the NuVal™ System can help you make – in mere seconds – as you’re walking down the supermarket aisle.
A Different Approach to Nutrition
We realize other nutrition ranking systems are being promoted in the marketplace and we believe it is important for you to understand how the NuVal™ System differs.
It is truly independent. The team of recognized nutrition and medical experts that developed the ONQI™ algorithm behind the NuVal™ System was entirely funded by Yale-affiliated Griffin Hospital without support from manufacturers or other parties interested in promoting specific foods. Ownership and ongoing oversight of the algorithm remains in the hands of Griffin Hospital.

• It provides complete and easy-to-use nutritional guidance. The NuVal™ System summarizes the overall nutritional value of food into a single number. Our 1-100 scoring range enables consumers – at a glance – to see and compare the nutritional value of the foods they buy.
• It uses a robust scoring model. The NuVal™ System considers more than 30 different nutrients and nutrition factors – and their impact on health outcomes – to determine a food’s Score, so it gives a robust and fair account of a food’s true nutritional value.
• It applies to all products in a grocery store. Our goal is to score 100% of the 50,000+ products in the average grocery store – including private-label products. And because the NuVal™ System applies the same criteria to all foods and beverages, consumers are able to compare the nutritional value of products both within and across food categories.
• It links price and nutrition. For every product on the shelf, consumers can see and compare (side by side on the same tag) exactly what they’re paying for how much nutrition. This is a key benefit to consumers as the economy squeezes family budgets.

NuVal™ Scores in Stores

NuVal™ Scores will be displayed right at the point of purchase – on shelf tags, aisle signage and other communications. At a glance, you’ll be able to see and compare the nutritional value of products as part of your regular shopping routine.
Store managers and associates trained in the NuVal™ System will be available to answer questions and help you use NuVal™ Scores while you are shopping. There also will be a variety of informational materials about the NuVal™ System available in your local store.
Eventually, almost every product in our supermarket will have a NuVal™ Score. Scores will roll out by category (produce, protein, salty snacks, etc.), so if you don’t see NuVal™ Scores in your favorite aisle yet, know that they are coming soon.
Want To Learn More About NuVal™?
Click here to visit the Nuval™ Nutritional Scoring System website.
NOTE: The Nuval™ website will open in a new browser window. If you have a pop-up blocker installed in your web browser, you may want to turn it off. The Nuval™ website is not managed by Hy-Vee, Inc.

Original source from https://www.hy-vee.com/my-hy-vee/default.aspx

Hidden Fat Content in Your Diet

Do you obsess over every calorie you consume, but do you worry about the fat content? Fat grams are just as important to consider as calories, and you may be surprised at which foods have a shockingly high fat content. It's probably no surprise that greasy cheeseburgers, French fries, and pizza are loaded with fat. But did you know that even certain vegetables and healthy fish can have a high fat content? Keep in mind that fat is an important part of a healthy diet and not all fats are bad. The fat content of a given meal should be evaluated just as closely as its calories.


Fat Content in Your Diet: How Much Fat Is Okay?
It's important to pay attention to how many fat grams you eat each day to make sure you're getting just the right amount of fat in your diet and no more. The AHA recommends that no more than 30 percent of your daily calories should come from fat. Based on the average daily total intake of 2,000 calories, this means we should eat less than 65 grams of fat each day.
There are two kinds of fats, commonly considered "good" and "bad" fats. Saturated and trans fats are bad, as they contribute to a number of health problems, like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Unsaturated fats can actually protect your body from some of these conditions. Still, that doesn't mean you can eat them without limit because too much of any fat, or of any food for that matter, can lead to weight gain.
When tracking the fat content of your meals, make sure that most of your fat intake is in the form of unsaturated fats, that less than 20 grams are coming from saturated fats, and that hardly any are from trans fat.
 
Fat in your Everyday Foods

Think of the foods that frequently make up your daily meals. Have you ever considered their fat content? Here are some commonly eaten foods:

• Average fast-food hamburger: 36 grams
• Average fast-food fish sandwich: 24 grams
• 10 French fries: 8 grams
• One ounce of potato chips: 10 grams
• One slice of cheese pizza: 8 grams
• Two ounces of bologna: 16 grams
• One hot dog: 14 grams
• Three slices of cooked bacon: 10 grams
• One ounce cheddar cheese: 8 grams
• One cup whole milk: 7 grams
• Two tablespoons of peanut butter: 14 grams
• One teaspoon of butter or margarine: 4 grams
• One serving of most breads, bagels, and cereals: about 1 gram

If some of those numbers don't look that bad to you, pay attention to the amounts and serving sizes of each of them. When was the last time you ate only one ounce of potato chips, just 10 fries, or a single slice of pizza? So think about the fat content before indulging.
 
Surprisingly High-Fat Foods
While the high fat content of certain foods is no surprise, you may not realize that many other foods are loaded with hidden fat:

• Movie theater popcorn (because of the way it's processed)
• Packaged meals with added sauces, butter, or oil
• Highly marbled red meats, including some cuts of beef and lamb
• Chicken and other poultry if the skin is eaten
• Salad dressings

Perhaps the biggest hidden sources of fats to watch out for are prepackaged snack foods and meals. They often contain dangerous trans fats - frequently listed as partially hydrogenated oil or vegetable shortening in the ingredients - because they give these foods a longer shelf life. Trans fats are particularly unhealthy for your heart and cholesterol levels and should be avoided as much as possible.

Article written by the Club Fitness Nutritionist and Personal Trainer Jessy Hamawi