Motivating Seniors (this includes your mom!)

Working with the senior population can be very rewarding as you see some major differences in endurance and strength in only several weeks. Stronger seniors equal less dependent seniors and this is critical as we enter the last years of our lives. I'm sure everyone has tried to get our loved ones to exercise more only to get resistence about busy schedules, lack of knowing what to do, and whatever other excuses people send our way. Seniors aren't easily motivated but it can be done. As more and more of our population ages the importance of an active lifestyle is being looked at in a different light. I feel that using small group training or having an exercise partner garners the most motivation. Too many fears seem to crowd the minds of seniors when exercising alone. It's an interesting subject and one that I believe needs further discussing. How do you motivate your loved one to exercise?

Revisit Your Goals

Im writing under the assumption that you currently write down your goals. If you don't start doing it. You can truly create a new life based on what you can vision your life being. But what I find is that people write goals and those goals vanish, never to be found again. In January you get fired up again and write a new list only to see that list disappear once again. So we put ourselves on the hamster wheel of goal setting. Starting with great intentions only to be disappointed by our own forgetfullness (laziness?). It is absolutely necessary to go back to your original goals and rewrok them and evaluate where you are. 3 months or 6 months after you set up a game plan to better your life. Oh yea, its late June and I just pulled out my goals from January. Half the list is done! However I need to rework the other because I'm setting myself up for failure!

Obama's Call to End Childhood Obesity

Without making this post about politics (go to the huffington post or drudgereport if you want to blog about politics) but more about what our government can do about childhood obesity I will say that I think this initiative is a step in the right direction. Being somewhat of a constitionalist I still hold onto the belief that we the people our the government, but Im digressing a bit. Lets get to this initiative, "Lets Move", which hopes to end childhood obesity in our country. A pretty lofty goal but hell why not go for it?!
As more and more healthy people (people who exercise, eat right, and manage stress)come to the realization that they are fronting the costs of lifestyle diseases (diabetes, heart disease to an extent, some cancers, etc costs an approximate $147,000,000,000 A YEAR towards our health care!!!)I feel that this will create social pressure similar to what cigarette smoking has become. Point blank obesity isn't cool nor do I think it ever was. The new initiative will bring grocery stores to the inner city, make places like convienence stores carry healthy food, update the childhood nutrition act, and work with groups interested in promoting childrens health. All this sounds great but I still have some reservations.
My biggest reservation is that it's going to be government run! I know I did say I wasn't going to make this political, but either democratic or republican run I think we know what happens. First the government says it will need 90 days to study the problem and then make recommendations. Are you serious? Study the problem? Our nation is huge! I think the president's cabinet should make a trip to Disney World and just observe the obese parents feeding their obese children to see where this problem mainly lies. Anyway more studies won't solve this huge issue personal responsibilty will.
This brings me to education and the root of this problem. Mainly that obesity in many ways has become a socio-economic issue, with the poorer neighborhoods not investing in their childrens health. The best thing the government can do is to immediately make health education, physical education, and basic nutrition education a REQUIRED course in not only our schools but in adult commuity centers as well! In fact I'll go so far as to say when a person with a lifestyle disease needs medication then they should pay a tax out of pocket that goes towards our childrens future. If the President is going to invest $10 billion over the next decade then it's my belief that most of this cash should go toward our schools and communities in order to try to prevent the next generation of America's children, rich or poor, from growing up obese in the first place. I certianly remember with clarity that smoking was not a good thing when I was growing up. The fear that was instilled in me at an early age proved to be a very successful mechanism for me growing up. The same can be done with nutrition and physical activity today. FEAR is not a bad thing!
Ultimately personal responsibility needs to be displayed by the parents of our great country. Once this happens then I think we can start to truly solve this problem until then no matter how much money is directed towards this issue it will never be solved.

Have a Parnter? An Accountability Partner that is...

How are your new goals for 2010 going? Are there some goals that you have set that are already forgotten about? Hopefully everyone reading this article has set at least one goal for themselves this year. The trick now is to change your behaviors to reflect the desired outcome. Although this sounds easy, in reality adhering to behavioral change is much more difficult. It’s the reason why there are a million infomercials each January promising instant weight loss if you buy their product. Simply put no fancy gadget will ever get you the desired results you deserve. Hard work, goal setting, and accountability will.
Here is the Oxford English Dictionary definition for accountable: subject to the obligation to report, explain, or justify something; responsible; answerable. To be held accountable for something means you need to report to someone. It is very important that when you are setting your goals you add in an accountability partner. For this to work there needs to be an understanding from the accountability partner just what his or her role will be. So what is the role and who makes a good accountability partner?
To begin I believe anyone has the power to hold you accountable. However be careful who you choose. I would highly recommend a professional who has experience with goal setting (both short and long term). Many people will ask a friend, co-worker, or family member to hold themselves accountable. This usually starts well but ends up losing steam as time goes on. These people can offer some great insights but in reality they have their own lives to live and will have a difficult time giving you objective advice.
As a fitness professional we hold our clients accountable for daily exercise and proper nutrition, however the professional you hire will depend on what area of your life you’re trying to improve. Your accountability coach will not only set your short and long term goals but will also help you improve your commitment, confidence, and transform your bad habits into good habits. This is a sure fire way to achieve results in areas of your life that you normally have come up short. If you don’t have the means for hiring an accountability coach find someone (preferably someone you’re not close to) who is also looking to be held accountable. This will work only if both parties are truly willing to improve and both parties are objective in their feedback. Plan weekly or bi-weekly meetings and stick to that approach for at least a year.
Remember when you first map out your future that you are setting your goals according to the tried and true SMART method. This acronym simply stands for S- Specific, losing weight is not a goal, losing 20 pounds is. M- Measureable, for us that means a weekly weigh in to measure your weight loss. A- Attainable, The goal has to be something that is truly achievable, certainly most people can lose 20 pounds if they need to. R- Realistic, losing 30 pounds of fat in a month is not realistic (the human body can safely only shed up to 3 pounds of fat per week). T-Timetable, your goals should have a timeline in order to create a plan of action based on the outcome you want (losing 15 pounds in 3 months is realistic and has a timetable in order to achieve your goal).
I’m a true believer that human beings can and should always work on self-improvement. This can be in any area of your life: health and fitness, mental capabilities, emotional awareness, spirituality, relationships, community involvement, etc. However, to achieve success in any of these areas it requires work and time. One aspect of improvement is having accountability for your actions. Having a team of experts around you will make you unstoppable with where you want to go and be in life!

The flu vs The common cold

How do you know if you have the flu or the cold when you first start feeling bad? Although both produce misery the flu is much more serious and should be taken as such. Each produces syptoms that include a fever, cough/sore throat, stuffy nose, and fatigue. Lets take a closer look to see which produces what. The fever is a classic flu syptom, this usually comes on suddenly and can last from a few days to a week. For the common cold a fever rarely occurs. This to me is the biggest indicator whether or not your coming down with something serious. A cough or sore throat is also a tell tale sign you have the flu (the cough tends to be dry and hacking), in a cold the throat can flare up but this tends not to be a serious issue if one at all. The stuffy nose appears occasionally with the flu but for the common cold it's the smoking gun! With both the cold and flu fatigue will set in but for the flu this may last several weeks where as with the common cold the fatigue is usually brought on by poor sleep (due to poor breathing) and doesn't last nearly as long.
So do we exercise when we have the common cold or flu? Ethically I think it's wrong to spread your viruses around, however with the common cold moderate exercise shouldn't be an issue at all and I even have heard of people feeling better following a bout of exercise. So get out the sanitizer this winter and protect yourself as best you can so you don't have to end up with any of these syptoms. With the flu- JUST STAY HOME!

5 Ways to get beyond the holidays without any weight gain.

As a trainer I’ve encountered hundreds of clients who come to me for help during the holidays. The fear? Holiday weight gain. Despite the joy that this time of the year brings many people feel stressed and end up emotionally bankrupt by New Years. This typically can lead to a quick derailment of your fitness and nutrition plan. So in order to prevent your train from falling off the tracks I’ve found these five behaviors to be extremely effective.
1.) Maintain perspective. A study published in 2000 by the NIH suggested that the typical American gains one to two pounds during the holidays. This is good news as many Americans believe that they typically gain 5 to 10 pounds during the holiday. To put that in perspective, you would need to consume an extra 8750 calories per week and not exercise at all to gain 10 pounds. However, the bad news from the study indicates that many Americans don’t lose that weight once they gain it. For example, if you gained 2 pounds during the holidays and didn’t gain one pound during the rest of the year after 10 years you would be 20 pounds heavier. Not good. Don’t stress and believe your going to gain a massive amount of weight just because you attend a few extra holiday parties.
2.) Put your weight loss goals on hold and focus on weight maintenance instead. With the holidays come stress and a busy schedule. Trying to juggle our schedules and maintain a healthy lifestyle is difficult enough, never mind sticking to your weight loss goals. Better yet this will give you practice so when you’ve reached your goal weight you’ll have the mindset necessary to accomplish what many people fail to do, Maintain their weight.
3.) Stay active. When people feel overwhelmed they tend to stray from some of their healthy behaviors. For many of us this means less exercise or scrapping it all together. I hear way too many people say, “I’ll just wait until January 2nd to start exercising again.” Exercise is one of the healthiest outlets to reduce stress in our daily lives. Not only will exercise help us with our stress levels but it will also help us balance out any bad eating habits you may have during the holidays. Structured exercise is great but even walking and taking the stairs can help us stay active.
4.) Visualize your social situations. Athletes use visualization all the time, in fact this is a major reason for being a winner. If you can visualize your holiday parties or any other function you may be at ahead of time you can stop behaviors before they occur. Think about who will be there, where the food is, what you’ll eat. When you put yourself in the actual situation your subconscious brain will kick in and you will behave accordingly. Take a few minutes during the day of the event, close your eyes, and simply visualize the evening. This works miracles!
5.) Get an accountability partner. Having a person to report to has an amazing impact on your behaviors. This is why we have coaches in life! If you can’t hire a fitness professional find a friend or a fellow employee. I tend to believe spouses don’t make great accountability partners. Set weekly goals and stick to them. There has to be good communication between you and your partner as it’s not always easy to confess your bad behaviors. This tip is probably the most effective measure for you to slip up during the joyous but hectic holiday times!
Good luck and stop making excuses for yourself!

Salad Dressings

Ahhh...Salads, probably one of my favorite meals. Not only healthy but loaded with great taste when properly designed. Most people ruin the nutritious aspect of their salad when they begin to add on loads of high fructose corn syrup dressing on top. So here is three simple recipes that will make your salads taste even better!

All ingredients should be placed in a small container with a lid and shaked vigorously

Classic Vinaigrette:
2 Tbs. Dijon Mustard
3 Tbs. red wine vinegar, freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt (or sea salt)
2 tsp. honey
1 small shallot, minced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Balsamic Vinaigrette:
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. fresh thyme
1 Tbs. dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Sesame Ginger:

1 Tbs. sesame seeds
2 Tbs. reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 Tbs. rice wine vinegar or cider vinegar
1 Tbs. minced ginger
1/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 Tbs toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup canola oil