Mike Colombo understands pain.
And the physical therapist has volunteered to help Weighty Matters bloggers work around it.
"We are orthopedic physical therapists specializing in bones, joints and muscles," said Colombo, with ProActive Physical Therapy (www.proactivept.com).
"We like to integrate functional movement into our programs."
If you're trying to lose weight, and have pain when you exercise, shoot us a question on the Weighty Matters blog at go.azstarnet.com/weightymatters and we'll forward it to Colombo.
Colombo's addition to our team means we've got an array of experts volunteering to help us all lose weight: personal trainer Gabe Nagy, who will offer suggestions and answer questions on exercise; Junelle Lupiani, a Miraval Resort nutritionist specializing in weight management; Mary Ann Brody, a chef from Kissed By An Italian (kissedbyanitalian.com), who will convert our recipes into low-cal ones for us; and semi-retired pharmacist Carl Johnson, who can answer questions about the impact of particular drugs on weight gain.
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That's an impressive array of people willing to answer our questions on our way to reaching our goal of health.
Check out the Weighty Matters blog, submit your questions, give us tips and suggestions, and join us in the battle to lose weight and gain health.
Meanwhile, here's a tasty recipe from celeb chef Rocco DiSpirito's upcoming book "Rocco's Great American Meal Makeovers," due out in February. It gives a healthy makeover to a normally cream-laden dish, cutting the fat from 60 grams per serving to just six. Despite the name, he also ditched the vodka, saying it added calories but little flavor.
No-cream/No-cry Penne a la Vodka
Servings: 6
• 12 ounces whole-wheat penne
• 2 1/2 cups low-fat, sugar-free marinara sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 7.1-ounce container 2 percent fat Greek-style yogurt
• 1 cup chopped fresh basil
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions, about 9 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large, nonstick sauté pan over medium, combine the marinara and red pepper flakes and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally with a heat-resistant rubber spatula, for about 5 minutes, or until it is reduced and slightly thickened.
Remove the marinara from the heat. In a small bowl, stir about 1/2 cup of the marinara into the Greek yogurt until it is smooth to temper it, then whisk the yogurt mixture back into the marinara in the sauté pan.
Drain the pasta and add it to the pan, tossing to coat. Add the basil and season with salt and pepper, if necessary. Sprinkle with Parmesan.