Weighing In - Megan's Lifestyle Overhaul

My long time friend Megan, asked me about a new diet and eating plan about three months ago. When my friends come to me with their questions about health I ask them a few questions of my own.



Since being "thin" is just part of being healthy, most people miss the boat on why they should loose weight. Afterall, there are many studies that tell us people with weight problems suffer from health issues because of it. My friend Megan, who is nearing her forties, recently came out of her doctor's office with the knowledge that she's developed Type II diabetes. (Here is a link to the American Diabetes Association's Website with infor on Type II diabetes if you are interested) I asked Megan the following questions...

• Are you losing weight to look good in a smaller size blue jean or because you want to live a healthy life and watch your children and future grandchildren grow.


• Are you losing weight to show your daughter that constant dieting is the way to live her life, or are you trying to teach your family to live their lives with a mindset on lifelong fitness?


• Are you losing weight to teach your son that a woman's body has to look a certain way to be attractive, or are you doing it to teach him to support his future family's goals to be healthy and fit?

Megan gave me "that" look!

It took her about a month, but she came to me asking me for a few no nonsense tips to lifelong health. I gave her the book You Staying Young to help her educate herself while we started the process.

In the past month she's been walking three times a week, she bought a pedometer like the one I talked about in my blog here and she's up to 10,000 steps a day minimum, more on the days she walks. She's also added in resistance training with this resistance band set that I use.

Yesterday we woke up early to go to the beach and walk. I noticed a new glow, her normal demeanor drags in the morning but she was up and happy when I got to her house. She had made whole wheat pancakes with berries for her family and she was ready to hit the designated walking trail. I wondered how many others had noticed the difference.

"You look great!" I complemented her during our walk. "How much weight have you lost this month?"

"I stopped weighing myself," she explained. She'd noticed that her three year old daughter woke up every morning, went to mommy's bathroom and stood on the scale. She decided to get rid of it! Instead, she takes her weight from her monthly doctor's appointment and she goes on how she feels and how her clothes look on her! (Her last doctor's appointment showed her 12 pounds down from two weeks prior; the day she was diagnosed with Type II diabetes)

One month into her healthy lifestyle, Megan felt great and she did it all the natural way. Focusing on lifelong health and fitness as her goal, she'd improved not only her health, but the health of her family.

Blogger Bake Off - Bake Bread for those who need it

I feel I am really lucky. I live in society where I may not be wealthy, but my family has food, a home and a chance for a happy life. There are those that don't have the chances we have, please help them out. Add a widget to your blog, or donate and give a little bread to those who really need our help.

Everyday Hero Award

I'm thrilled today to have won the "Everyday Hero" award from Wellsphere. This site is a great resource for anyone who is trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, and being recognized by Dr Rutledge is a great honor.

Thanks to whomever nominated me, and thanks to Dr Rutledge and his crew for the award.

Exercise your right

Today, along with my regular glute/leg routine I exercised something else; I exercised my right to vote. I'm lucky enough to live in a state where early voting has already started and I took advantage of it.

Trying to do what is best for my environment, I ran to the polling office instead of burning fuel to get there. When I got there, voting card in hand, I took a few minutes to cool off before I walked into the room. I'm proud to say that I had to wait in line for over 30 minutes to vote. Like myself, there were many people there waiting to cast their ballot.

While who I voted for was my choice and not the topic of this blog, I want to assure that you have the opportunity to voice your choice. If you live in the United States, please don't forget to exercise your right to have a voice in our country, as well as exercising your body.

Basketball Mania - Play your way to fitness!

Today, my youngest son (15) played in an out-of-town basketball tournament. I love those tournaments. Early mornings filled with anticipation and game after game of cheering, clapping and sometimes even yelling at the refs!

I also love playing basketball, so it's no surprise that one of our early family fitness activities was basketball. We'd run up and down the court with our children bouncing balls. Playing four square with a basketball to help the boys master hand-eye coordination and develop ball handling skills. (Wiki article on four square can be found here if you need a reference on four square)

As our children grew the games became more about running with the ball around cones and shooting or we'd play shooting games that helped strengthen young arms. Basketball quickly became one of our favorite past times.

Now that I've hit the big 40, I still count basketball as one of my favorite activities and a great way to get a good workout while having fun with my family. The running up and down the court is an excellent workout for my legs, and heart. Shooting drills gives my arms a unique workout and the side to side motion following another player on the court help strengthen core muscles, tone inner and outer thighs and help me with my balance as I age.

My three boys are older now but our games are still filled with fun and laughter. The next time you want to try a new and exciting workout, grab a few friends and try a game of basketball. It's a wonderful way to play your way to fitness.

Easy and Cheap Weight Loss

A very close friend of mine came to me recently for weight loss help. She has spent most of her life slightly overweight and wanted to reverse the trend before she hit 45.

While her overall health concerned her, she was also worried about the cost of any fitness plan. With the US economy on shaky ground I'm sure that most of us have that worry.

As we sat down and discussed her options, we both decided that fitness walking was her best option to help her improve her overall health.

Her walking workouts include one 30-minute walk three times a week, paired with several short walks a day and a general plan to add a few extra steps to help her try to achieve 10,000 steps per day. (Which is aprox. 5 miles)

• 30 minute walks - These are easy to achieve and we decided it was best that she do these in the morning since her evenings were packed with her kid's activities. Two days a week she woke up 30 minutes earlier, and then on Sunday she walked before she went to church.
• Short Walks - These are short walks up and down the street every day when she gets her mail, when she gets to work she does one lap around the inside of her office and at lunch she eats a light lunch then walks for 10 minutes in a local park or at the mall.
• Extra Steps - I suggest this to everyone since I find it really helps me increase my steps per day. Park as far away from the store as possible when you shop, when you go to the mall take an extra lap around to window shop. None of these extra steps add more then a few minutes to your trip. It may seem small, but if you add an extra thousand steps into your day that adds up to over three miles in one week.
  

Walking is a great way to loose weight and it helps you to look and feel great! Best of all, it's free!

Setting Health and Fitness Goals - The Blueprint to a Healthy You

Because October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month , I always take this month to rethink my fitness goals for the past year and the one to come.

I have purposefully chosen this month to think about my overall health because I've seen how breast cancer can affect a family. My wonderful mother-in-law and her mother were both diagnosed with breast cancer. In a previous blog, "Reasons to be Fit" , I discussed my commitment to running in breast cancer awareness runs and my overall fitness commitment because my grandmother died from breast cancer. This month has special meaning for me because I like to think that this month I take the time to commit to myself and my body to assure a life of health.

This year as I looked over my fitness goals from last year I realized that many of my friends don't make similar goals. The failing to plan is one of the reasons I feel that many people falter in their goal to lifelong fitness. After all, a builder uses a blue print to plan a house, shouldn't we all come up with a blueprint for our bodies?

My blueprint for lifelong fitness:

I will probably discuss my blueprint in more detail later, but I felt that if I was making this a priority I should challenge you guys to do the same. Why is this important? We all know that if we go to the store without a plan we buy anything that looks or sounds good. If we go to the mall without a goal we over shop and if we fail to plan for a life of health then we won't make it.

My blueprint is actually very detailed but I'm not going to bore anyone with everything on it. (If you've known me for more then a minute you'll know I'm a planner!) Here are the major areas of my healthy-life I felt I needed planning.

• Nutrition - I don't believe in eating by accient, I plan meals to assure the optimum health benefit for me and my family. We do allow a once a week "blow it" meal and a "One treat a day" philosophy, but overall we all stick to a plan when it comes to the food that nourishes and feeds or bodies. I've always thought of food as the "fuel" for my car. If I drove a high-performance sports car I'd put top-of-the-line fuel in it. My body is a high performance machine and I like to treat it as such.

• Aerobics - I love my heart. Cardiovascular fitness is how I prove it to my body. I want to be around to play with my grandkids and my great grandkids. I focus my heart health on a few high intensity aerobic workouts a week and daily low intensity sessions to help me keep that muscle healthy.

• Weight Training - This is something I have to really focus on. Weight training is not a natural joy for me, so I've had to add it in doing this I enjoy like kayaking, or making myself hit the gym to focus on my "problem spots." (See my usual Tuesday blog) Now that I'm entering the age where my bone density could become an issue, I know this one element of my overall fitness plan has to be a regular focus of mine.

• Mental Health - It's taken a hurricane to make me realize how important this is, but over the last month I've realized how much we need to make sure we take care of the "touchy-feely" side of ourselves. While I've always taken Yoga for the toning/flexibility aspects, now I realize that I need the relaxation and calming factor too.

I challenge everyone to take a few minutes today and look at your fitness goals for the next year. Write them down and place them somewhere to help you remember that your blueprint to a healthier, more fit you is a commitment to a life of fitness.

D is for Vitamin D - The ABC's of Good Nutrition

My quest to assure that my family and I have the best nutrition possible has led me to look into the importance of Vitamin D. Fifteen years ago my mother broke her foot walking in the mall. Nothing fell on her, she didn't kick anything, she was simply walking in the mall and her foot broke. In the years that followed she would break her ribs coughing and her pelvis when she bumped into a door. The diagnosis of osteoporosis didn't surprise us.

Now the treatment is much more complex and my mother's bone density has increased in the last few years. This is due to her commitment to following her doctor's orders and doing her nutrition research on increasing bone density with proper nutrition.

Vitamin D has many health implications. According to the Vitamin D Council ...

vitamin D deficiency is a major factor in the pathology of at least 17 varieties of cancer as well as heart disease, stroke, hypertension, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, depression, chronic pain, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, muscle weakness, muscle wasting, birth defects, periodontal disease, and more.

To assure you get enough vitamin D you can to these things.

• Vitamin D-rich food

Eating a diet rich in vitamin D is easy and very tasty! Salmon, Shrim and Shitake mushrooms are just a few of the great ways to get Vitamin D. Milk is also normally fortified and has calcium to help build those strong bones.

• Supplement with Vitamin D

Always talk to your doctor before starting a supplement to make sure it's right for you and that you are taking the best vitamin possible.

• Safe Sun

Sun is probably the easiest way to get a daily dose of vitamin D. A quick walk in the park or a game of vollyball with your kids and that is taken care of. If it is overcast or if you are wearing sun block then you might absorb as much as you think. It's important not to let yourself burn while spending time in the sun.

While making sure you get enough vitamin D might not be as fun as eating chocolate, if your goal is lifelong fitness you should make sure you get enough of it.

Tight Ass Tuesday

Tuesday is one of my favorite workout days. Now that I set this one day to focus on my legs/glutes I find that my legs are looking stronger and my jeans are fitting very nicely! Because I have a very busy day ahead of me I made sure my workout was a very early morning one.

I hit the gym and found my favorite elliptical machine open. I like this machine because I get a good few of the pool. Normally there are swimmers in the pool, but today I was able to just look at the water and enjoy the relaxing sound that the small waterfall makes.

I made sure I alternated my direction on the elliptical machine to assure I warmed up my legs/glutes properly.

Exercise: Leg Lifts
Sets: 3
Reps: 12

Exercise: Glute Kickbacks
Sets: 3
Reps: 12

Exercise: Butt Lift Bridge
Sets: 3
Reps: 12

Exercise: Back step lunge
Sets: 3
Reps: 12

Setting a regular day for certain body parts has really helped me save time in the gym. The results of my commitment to "Tight Ass Tuesday" have really improved the tone and strength in my legs and glutes.

C is for Chocolate - The ABC's of Good Nutrition cont'd

When I heard that chocolate was good for you, well I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. If there is one thing I can't do without, it's chocolate.

Any girl knows that there is nothing better then a good piece of dark chocolate to get you through a break-up with that much loved boyfriend, but now science has proved it. According to HealthCentral.com dark chocolate releases endorphins in our brains raising our serotonin levels. What does that all mean to us? It means that a little chocolate helps raise the level of the hormone that keeps us from feeling depressed. (Of course JK Rowling knew this when she made chocolate the cure for a dementor attack)

Along with the psychological benefit, dark chocolate helps our bodies physically. WebMD tells us that dark chocolate helps to lower our blood pressure. Of course we can't go crazy eating a whole bag; just a small piece is enough to lower mildly elavated blood pressure.

Dark Chocolate is also an antioxident, helping us fight off heart diesease. Women have known for years that a little chocolate was good for our heart, just look at the sale of chocolate around St. Valentine's Day!

Dark chocolate is also very high in mono unsaturated fats. Acording to the American Heart Association, these healthy fats can help you lower your cholesterol when eaten in moderation.

It is important to remember that dark chocolate, not milk chocolate or even white chocolate, is the only way to get the added health benefits. That is fine with me since I'm a dark chocolate fiend.

When adding anything new to your diet you should consult your physician. This is especially true if you have any underlying health concerns.

My favorite food of all time can lower my choloesterol, lessen my chances or heart disease and improve my mood! Now when we toast to our health, we can do so with a chunk dark chocolate.

Making sure your teen athlete eats for success

I'm always amazed at my three boys. They are the most beautiful (yes guys, beautiful) people in my life, and honestly, I'm amazed my DH and I were able to produce three awesome guys.

All of my three boys play sports, and like my guys, they've chosen very different athletic endeavors. The oldest (almost 20) is my cross country runner, middle loves football and soccer, and the youngest loves basketball. While all three of them have always been devoted to working out, one thing I really have had to focus on was developing those awesome eating habits that gave them the fuel to improve their game, and the nourishment their growing bodies needed.

For most parents, nutritional choices for young adults seem easy to make, but often times, left on their own, our children make poor choices. Here are a few guidelines I've followed over the years to help assure that my guys can make good choices.

• Education -

Never tell your young adult that he/she should eat something because it's good for them. Take the opportunity to explain why it's good for them. Early on I explained to my long distance runner what a good carb was and why he needed them, I made sure he was well read on the benefits of diet for long distance runners. Later, when I had a football player who needed a little extra muscle mass, I found a great book on natural weight lifting, and I made sure he was well read on some of the "supplements" that his friends started using like creatine and plant sterols. We openly discussed the pros and cons for both short term and long term goals, and I knew he was on the right path. My youngest (now 3 inches taller then I am) learned much from his brothers, but he also had to learn how to nourish his body for these insane growth spurts he's been experiencing. We've become well read on how to nourish our joints as well as nourishing our muscles.

• Professional Help

I made sure all three of my boys had the opportunity to work out in a gym early on, but I also made sure they speant a little time with a nutritionist to help them understand why natural foods were so much better then overly processed foods. I have told my boys many times that they can't become the best athlete possible without the best food possible, but it helps to have someone who is a professional in the field help them along the way.

• Modeling

Not the ruway kind, but as the demonstrating kind of modeling is vital. You can preach to your child "eat right" but if you don't "model" that behavior, chances are your children will not practice that behavior.

• Documentation

Food journals are incredible tools for loosing weight, but they are also a great way for the young athlete to see where they might be stumbling. Going back into your eating journal will help you recognize patterns if you are not seeing the improvement you want. I also worked to help my guys log how much water they drank daily. It's a good way to make sure your teen stays well nourished and hydrated.

TeenHalth.org has a wonderful resource for parents and young adults if you are looking for a place to get started in your nutrition journey with your athletic child, and of course, if your child is starting any sport he/she should get a good physical from a trusted physician.

I am still amazed that we had a hand in the outcome of these three wonderful guys, but by teaching them how to take care of themselves, we've assured that long after we're gone they'll still be on the road to fitness.

Wordless Wednesday

The last couple of weeks have been tough for us in Galveston County. Going home was a wonderful treat. I think of Dorthy and the "Wizard of Oz." There is really no place like home.