Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving!  Many of us will be surrounded by good food, family and friends.  So I thought we could all use some healthy Thanksgiving inspiration!  Maybe some of you Pinterest people will even try some of this!  J

Don’t give yourself a hard time about the food!  Enjoy Aunt Marge’s sweet potato casserole and Grandma Betty’s pumpkin pie! 

 

And have a wonderful and safe holiday!

Positive Thinking

You may be thinking, “What does positive thinking have to do with fitness, health and wellness?!”  My answer:  EVERYTHING!!!  Our day to day life is filled with negativity.  Negative thoughts.  Negative behaviors.  Negative people.  And we all know those kind of people.  The ones who are down and out about everything and never have a kind or encouraging word to say about anything or anyone.  So add in our health, our weight and our advancing age and it can become very discouraging!  That’s were positive thinking comes in!  When negative thoughts pop into your head about how challenging it would be to start a new workout or make some dietary changes, turn them into positive ones!  You CAN do it!  You WILL do it!  Successful people are the champions of positive thinking.  If someone has a goal and they think they can’t do it, well then they won’t.  It’s pretty simple. 

 

These positive vibes are also essential in our relationships.  Don’t be the Negative Nelly and constantly be telling people what’s wrong.  Focus on the POSITIVE!  Have you ever come into work in a great mood and someone totally zaps your mojo with their Debbie Downer attitude?  Don’t be that person!  Be kind to one another!  Encourage each other!  Make someone else feel good!  Build each other up!  Because we all know that life is FULL of hardships and trials.  We don’t need any help in that area.  But we DO need more positive thinking! J      

 I have two challenges for you today. 

• The first one is for yourself.  When a negative thought comes creeping in your head (and it will), push it away and change it to something positive.  Example:  You are feeling ultra guilty for pigging out last night and eating a whole pizza and finishing off your kid’s Halloween candy.  Everytime you think of the extra 15+ pounds you need to lose you get more and more mad about your feast last night.  STOP!  Today is different.  Everyone (that’s right, EVERYONE) makes mistakes.  Decide you are going to do better today.  One meal will not make you give up!  You have all weekend to make better choices!  This was a minor setback and you WILL lose that weight!  You are worth it and YOU CAN DO IT!!!              
• The second challenge is to help someone else out.  Say some nice, kind and encouraging words to someone.  Example:  You run to the store after work tonight.  In front of you in line is a mom with two bratty kids.  They are screaming.  They have runny noses.  You are very annoyed.  It’s Friday and you just wanted to pick up some milk and go home and relax!  Release all of those negative thoughts and step out of your comfort zone for a minute.  Put yourself in someone else’s shoes.  Smile at the mother and tell her something nice.  Maybe you tell her that her kids have nothing on yours when they were that age and you try to make her laugh.  Or maybe you tell her that you hope she has a great rest of her weekend.  Or maybe you try to distract the kids with a smile and a wave.  Whatever it is…..you reach out and are nice to someone! 

Positive thoughts and words are POWERFUL!!!!  You could be the difference in making someone have a crumby day, a cruddy day, an okay day, a pretty good day or an AWESOME day!  

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL weekend!!!

Pain

We’ve all heard the saying about working out:  NO PAIN…..NO GAIN!  And while there is definitely some truth behind it, you need to be able to differentiate between the various types of pain in order to stay safe and make the most of your workout.  Here are three types of pain that we may experience during exercise:

1. Exercise Related Lactic Acidosis – During exercise, muscles metabolize or use sugar (glucose) for energy.  They use the glucose in your blood stream and also their own little storage houses called glycogen.  When you start exercising at a higher intensity, muscles begin to use glucose inefficiently.  This causes different chemical reactions to occur.  Lactic acid is created as a byproduct of these reactions and quickly builds up in the muscles.  You may experience this sensation by feeling a burning in your muscle or muscles.  These muscles may also become very fatigued and it becomes almost impossible to continue exercising at that level or intensity.  Lactic acidosis during exercise is not harmful and no treatment is necessary.  The body very quickly flushes away the excess lactic acid.  Think about someone who is new to exercise.  They go to do a set of pushups.  They do six and their arms and chest start to burn and shake.  They do two more pushups but that’s all they can physically do.  They stop.  The burning goes away.  That’s exercise related lactic acidosis. 
2. Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) – Experts describe DOMS as the gradual muscle pain, soreness and discomfort experienced in the 24-72 hours after a workout.  The soreness is believed to be caused from microscopic tears in the muscle fibers.  These tears seem to be worse and cause more soreness from the eccentric or lengthening phase of an exercise.  Although it can be a little alarming and scary for new exercisers, DOMS is a completely normal process.  Even seasoned athletes and intense exercisers get sore.  It’s how the muscles grow and they get stronger.  Think of the pushup example.  This person may end up being sore in their chest area.  And that’s perfectly okay!
3. Musculoskeletal Injury – Serious damage can occur if someone isn’t safe during exercise.  These injuries can be very painful and lead to permanent damage if ignored or left untreated.  Sprains, strains, stress fractures, tendonitis, shin splints, etc. are all very painful injuries that can occur while exercising.  And while DOMS can be painful, it is usually not present at rest.  Back to our pushup example.  If this person started having intense pain in the shoulder area and continued to have pain even after rest, then they may have injured it.   The best thing to do is see your doctor if you are unsure.      

So after reading this….is the saying still true?!  Maybe?  Sort of?  Sometimes?!  Only you can be the judge!  You need to know your body and understand your body’s personal threshold for pain and tolerance.  And if there’s ever anything that’s a sudden or sharp pain, stop what you’re doing.  You don’t want to risk getting an injury in order to complete a workout.  Be smart and be safe!!!  J

Have a WONDERFUL weekend everyone!!!

No Shave November

In October the world is draped in pink for breast cancer awareness.  So it seems only fair that dudes get a month too!  Welcome to No Shave November!!!

No Shave November is very simple.  Men are to put away their razors and let their facial hair grow for the entire month of November.  Even some women are getting in on the action these days and letting their underarms and legs grow wild!  And although many men are participating in this event just for fun, the original concept is to raise awareness for men’s prostate health.  The CDC says that excluding some forms of skin cancer, that prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, no matter your race or ethnicity.  The American Cancer Society has many ways to donate to help raise awareness for prostate health!  So think about how much you spend annually on shaving supplies and donate that same amount to them!  And when December 1st gets here…..have fun shaving off the beard!  J

Have a great weekend!

Sugar

It was great seeing everyone this past week at the Wellness Checks!  We had many people notice our sugar board and had tons of questions about it so I thought I’d elaborate on some of the info!  If you missed the board it looked like this:

It’s a little shocking to see how much sugar is in the drinks we enjoy so much, isn’t it?! 

 

Here’s the deal about sugar……….  Sugar is a naturally occurring source of energy.  In moderation, our bodies need it and use it.  The kicker is the word MODERATION!  When we consume too much sugar, it enters our bloodstream and our bodies release insulin to get rid of it.  The excess insulin causes the sugar to be stored as body fat.  Yuck.  Let me tell you a little story to make it easier to understand……

 

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago…..there were people.  And the food in their land was very hard to come by.  They had to travel to find their food.  If they weren’t hunting it down….they were searching the world and gathering their food.  These people had bodies that were made to move and run and be used.  And their bodies were also created to store fat.  Since food was so hard to find, they needed to store any extra food they ate as fat.  That way in leaner times, their bodies still had an energy source to use.  And they all lived happily ever after.  Only that’s not exactly the end of the story.  Because things got easier for the people.  Cars were invented.  Stores popped up.  Food became bountiful and readily available!  But these people’s bodies didn’t change.  They’re still made to move.  And they’re still made to store fat to be used later as energy.  But later never comes.  L

 

Several months ago, a few of us at the Rec Center took a Sugar Free Week Challenge.  No sugar or artificial sweetener of any kind.  None.  I’m not going to lie.  It was awful.  Awful!  But it opened my eyes to how much sugar and artificial sweeteners are hidden in our foods.  Pastas, breads, lunch meat, soups, condiments, etc.  If we’re already consuming all of these hidden sugars, imagine what that does to our bodies when we consume stuff that we know are full of sugar (desserts, drinks, cookies, etc.).  And think you’re better off consuming sugar free and diet foods and drinks?  Nope.  These are filled with chemicals.   Aspartame aka Equal, Saccharin aka Sweet-N-Low, Sucralose aka Splenda.   These are not only dangerous chemicals to ingest, but they’re created to be sweeter than sugar.  Making you want even MORE sweets.  (By the way….studies show that people who switch to diet drinks actually gain more weight in the long run.)  Don’t believe me?  Google it.  It’s some really nasty stuff!

 

CONFESSION TIME!!!  I don’t want anyone to ever think that I’m sitting here behind my desk feeling all high and mighty.  I am human.  I make tons of mistakes.  And I was a diet soda addict for YEARS!!!  This past summer I decided to give up diet drinks to see if it helped me with some health issues I was having.  And boy did I see a difference!  Almost immediately!  And I haven’t gone back.  I haven’t had a diet soda since June.  And for those of you that know me…..you know this is HUGE deal!  I LOVE Diet Mountain Dew!!!!  But I love myself more.  And if it’s harming me….I had to give it up.

 

So what can you do?! Drop the artificial garbage and keep track of your sugar intake. I said it earlier…..MODERATION!!! I love desserts and sweets just like anyone else. Do I eat M&M’s and doughnuts? Yep. But not every day.  J  Sugar is a VERY broad topic and there is tons more I could have put in here. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to email me! And be looking for more memos about sugar in the future!  

 

Have a WONDERFUL weekend!  And enjoy trick or treating! J