The Body and Mind

Motivating Seniors (this includes your mom!)

2010-06-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

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

2010-02-10T10:04:00.000-08:00

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...

2010-01-25T11:06:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-13T04:52:00.000-08:00

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.

2009-12-17T14:15:00.000-08:00

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

2009-09-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

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

Younger Next Year

2009-09-22T07:29:00.000-07:00

I'd like to review the book Younger Next Year written by Chris Crowley and Dr. Henry Lodge. This book is a huge proponent of not only exercise but strenuous exercise. This I like! The major premise of the book is that as we age we don't need to become inmobile, fat, and lose our libido. There is a prevalent mindset in our society that looks negatively upon aging. One of the major pieces of advice that the authors give is to exercise frequently, in fact they recommend exercising 6 days a week! Think about that, they are recommending 50 year olds, 60 years olds, and even seventy year olds to get 6 days of regular exercise in per week. Although that sounds like a lot, it is truly only 6 hours per week., or only 3.5% of your time. The book gives guidelines or "Harry's rules". These are the unbreakable seven rules to follow: 1. Exercise 6 days a week for the rest of your life. 2. Do serious aerobic exercise four days a week for the rest of your life. Do serious strength training, with weights, two days a week for the rest of your life. 4 Spend less than you make. 5. Quit eating crap! 6. Care. 7. Connect and commit. The connection I see in those rules and the rules you need to have in everyday life is one of discipline. To build into your life a system that enables you to be consistent with your exercise and food will not only add years to your life but quality years, like skiing into your 80's, golfing into your 90's, or running, biking, hiking, etc until you die. The idea that as we age we become useless just doesn't fly anymore. If you want to live a powerful life it starts with today and tomorrow and the next day. Be consistent and stay committed and it will be impossible to fail!

What's the Deal With My Motivation???

2009-08-21T03:06:00.000-07:00

The dog days of summer are in full swing. I know it seems like summer has arrived only a few weeks ago but that’s the peril of life in New England. Soon summer will give way to one of my favorite seasons, autumn. I have found that during seasons of change most people feel the urge to refocus on familiar goals. These changes are not uncommon to us: start exercising and eating healthier, rededicate ourselves to our work, or re-establish and deepen our relationships with friends and family. But before we can establish where we want our lives to go I believe it’s vital we understand why we want to be there and then we can start with the actions that will lead us to our successes. It’s my hope that I can help you the reader understand your motivation in regards to your own health and help you on your journey through life.
The best way to think about our motivation is to divide it between extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the person performing the behavior. In the case of someone trying to lose weight a good example is when you start to lose weight and see the numbers on the scale change. Other real life examples include compliments about our appearance, new looks from our loved ones, and a new piece of exercise equipment. This form of motivation is extremely important when one is beginning a new exercise and nutrition plan. Although this form of motivation makes us feel good long term adherence to your own health must come from the other form of motivation.

Numerous studies have shown that in order for our behaviors to become ingrained in us the motivation must come from the inside, or intrinsic motivation. This form of motivation can be best thought of as the here and now of what we are doing. People who are intrinsically motivated know their “inner” self and truly understand what makes them tick. These people find enjoyment and pleasure in the process Rather than looking at exercise as a chore these people are successful because they have a tough time in life if they are not physically active. This is mindset and offers us all a deeper meaning in understanding our physical bodies.
Now that we know the difference in how we are motivated it may help you understand what your motivation is. My guess is that most of us fall into the extrinsic category of motivation. At times this form of motivation buoys us and feeds our self-confidence. But what happens when our spouse gets used to the changes? When your colleagues stop commenting on your new appearance? When your weight has stabilized and the scale doesn’t go down anymore? Do you think that this type of motivation will make you successful a year from now, how about 2 or 3, or even 10? Answer that question honestly and it’s nearly impossible to continue with lifelong adherence to your exercise and nutrition program.

As an exercise professional I’ve enjoyed working with a variety of clients. I have found that the most successful clients have a deep connection between their physical beings and the importance on their health by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and get upset when they miss a workout or eat poorly over a weekend. These individuals get it and their health and quality of life benefit from their behaviors. So, please ask yourself if just losing that extra ten pounds will make you happy because people will start noticing or because you will truly feel the benefits of being healthier, lighter, and will start enjoying your physical self on a day to day basis.

More Media Misinformation and Why I Cancelled My Time Subscription Years Ago

2009-08-12T06:26:00.001-07:00

There is a reason why I stopped subscribing to Time a while ago. Somewhere in the past the editors sold out truth for sensationalism in order to sell more copies. The most recent cover and story by John Cloud is a perfect example of the blatant misinformation that has muddied Time's reputation through the years. The article at best details the importance of nutrition in regards to weight loss. You won't get much of an argument from me there. However, the article at worst keeps up the myth that overweight individuals use all the time as their personal "excuse", "Exercise has never worked for me and isn't important". Let's ask these questions first, do any of these people exercise consistently? If so, what is their definition of consistent? Do they truly change their nutrition or do they feel that they can eat anything they want? When they do exercise are they really exercising or are they hitting a couple of machines and call it a day in order to make themselves feel good? Lets start at the beginning of the article and tear into this poorly written piece. Paragraph 3- "More than 45 million Americans now belong to a health club, up from 23 million in 1993. Of course, some people join and never go." Really?? Some?? How about most! If you a regular at a gym year round and have been since 1993 then you know that there are not more but in many cases less people working out CONSISTENTLY, unless it's January of course. Not to mention the amount of gyms going out of business, so much so that financing for gyms are just above restaurants on the high risk lending list. Just ask Bally's and the numerous local clubs that seem to confine the same strip mall with a different name year after year. Paragraph 5- "But like many other people, I get hungry after I exercise, so I often eat more on days I work out than on the days I don't. Could exercise actually be keeping me from losing weight" WOW! What a revelation! You are hungrier after you exercise? Really? I wonder if that's because you just depleted your glucose and glycogen levels (energy) and need to replenish them. Try an apple, banana, or a protein shake and skip your 600 calorie indulgence because you worked so hard. Of course exercise makes you hungry but it doesn't mean we can't make better choices. Is Mr. Cloud really assuming that everyone who exercises eats like crap once their done, does he also believe that if your born in poverty who can't retire rich? Maybe he's recreating the predestination argument he made in one of his college papers? He makes the same "because you exercise you eat more" argument in paragraph 7. Paragraph 11- "That's 60 to 90 minutes on most days of the week, a level that not only is unrealistic for those of us trying to keep or find a job but also could easily produce, on the basis of Church's data, ravenous compensatory eating." It has been my pleasure to work with a wide variety of clients in my career. The successful ones lead a life of discipline that despite family and work obligations not only get 60-90 minutes a day but couldn't imagine living without those exercise minutes! If weight loss is so crucial that your life depends on it I think working out 5 hours out of the 168 hours in a week isn't such an impossibility (that's 2% of your time a week). Paragraph 16- http://exercise.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=exercise&cdn=health&tm=362&gps=398_1053_994_555&f=10&tt=12&bt=1&bts=1&zu=http%3A//www.obesityresearch.org/cgi/content/full/9/5/331 here is the study he references. Although his numbers are correct its tough to determine the overall metabolic effect increased muscle mass has on our daily rate of energy expenditure, here is another study that suggests muscle mass increased the participants BMR by 283 calories in the first 18 weeks of the study (Van Etten, L.M., Westerterp, K.R., Verstappen, F.T., Boon, B.J., & Saris, W.H. (1997). Effect of an 18-wk weight-training program on energy expenditure and physical activity. Journal of Applied Physiology, 82, 298-304). Feel free to analyze the studies but the fact of the matter is that those who strength train regularly and eat soundly loss weight. Not only that, but they actually look good, which of course boosts self-confidence. Paragraph 19- The paragraph I take most offense to, "All this helps explain why our herculean exercise over the past 30 years- all the personal trainers, StairMasters and VersaClimbers; all the Pilates classes and yoga retreats and fat camps- hasn't made us thinner" WTF?? Lets rephrase this to make it more of the truth, "....over the past 30 years- all the unqualified and incompetent personal trainers, The StairMasters and VersaClimbers that collect dust and laundry; all the poorly designed Pilates classes and poor yoga retreats and fat camps with desserts-hasn't made us thinner" Now I feel better. The section "Self Control is Like a Muscle" is a good section; however just a quick observation in paragraph 26 he compares a public school and a private school and claims that the kids at the private schools exercise more during school hours but are more idle after school compared to the public school. His claim is that the kids are too tired to move after school because of all that hard work. Could it be because they are actually doing their homework after school? Just a thought. In the final section of the article in paragraph 31 the author goes on to claim that for ten of thousands of years human beings did low level physical activity for long periods of time. If you followed our last 10,000 years of physical activity I wouldn't define it as low level. I don't know about you but if you would go hunting for hours on end (hunter gatherer) or clearing fields and planting/harvesting crops all year long (Pre-modern/neolithic) I wouldn't think they would've defined it as low level. Once again the words are slanted to make us believe something different. The most die hard exerciser still pales in comparison to our ancestors daily energy output. This is the major reason why not adding exercise to our daily activities decrease our individual metabolism. He concludes his article with this paragraph "In short, it's what you eat, not how hard you try to work it off, that matters more in losing weight. You should exercise to improve your health, but be warned: fiery spurts of vigorous exercise could lead to weight gain. I love how exercise makes me feel, but tomorrow I might skip the VersaClimber- and skip the blueberry bar that is my usual post exercise reward." My response to this is that he assumes everyone who exercises does it in fiery vigorous spurts. It seems as though the article written is somewhat written because he hasn't achieved that famous "model body complete with 6 pack abs" and blames his exercise program for it. Memo to John- Not only is consistent and correct exercise important for your physique but timely and impeccable nutrition goes right along with it. In the second paragraph you say since you have been exercising your weight has returned to a normal 163lbs. That is called weight management and is a different issue than weight loss. I challenge you to stop exercising and continue eating as you do and see where your weight is in 6 months. To sum up I believe it is highly dangerous to a society dealing with an obesity epidemic to give more misleading information and to further confuse the general public as to the benefits of exercise and its relation to weight loss.

Identifying the Procrastinator

2009-07-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

When we think of ourselves and what we've done on the earth most of us would give ourselves good grades and usually think of ourselves in a positive light. Now how many of us think of ourselves as procrastinators? Usually we don't, but usually we are. I'm not talking about big projects or big moments but more of the small things we'd like to get around to doing. I'm guilty as charged! However, I've been doing better in the last few months by using a few simple techniques. The first technique I've done has been to write innumerable lists and notes. This is particularly helpful with many of the small tasks that seem to slip past. Once a task has been finished I simply eliminate it from or even consolidate the list. The second one is to delegate. Be careful!! Don't tell people what to do but ask them politely along with a reason of why your delegating, this can obviously be done at work but even sometimes more importantly at home. Delegation works both ways so be prepared to help as well if needed. Third and probably most important is to figure out whether or not the task actually needs to be done or if you can just eliminate it from your things to do. Sometimes we often make things up that have actually little to no bearing on the outcome of events!!! The bottom line is if we don't do the small things they eventually grow into bigger problems and slowly build into unneeded stress that when piled atop of big events can cause unwanted headaches, fatigue, anxiety, and lack of sleep to name only a few. Take care of business!

Uncut Rough and Buffer Zones- What That Means for You!

2009-06-29T13:08:00.001-07:00

Recently the local country club has stopped cutting a greater expanse of rough in order to cut down on costs. For golfers this means a lot less room for error, their buffer zones just got eliminated. When they get in trouble it's a lot more difficult to recover. I use this analogy in order to create a visual representation of how we can help ourselves from ever getting to a point where our confidence level has been depleted and our physical bodies have taken the beaten. POINT #1- Know what weight/body fat your comfortable at. Once we have our goal you must set up your program to achieve your goals (Seeing a fitness together fitness expert would be a great start! But if you have the motivation and accountability you can find other means) Point #2- Now that we know what exactly we need to do the tough part is execution, you need to execute positive behaviors daily that have an influence on your goal, there are truly no excuses if the desire to achieve your best physical self is your goal. Point #3- Now the buffer zone analogy and the point of this post...MAINTENANCE!!! Achieving our goals are great but way too often I have encountered clients that have hit goals in the past only to return to their previous self or worse!! This is a good example of yo-yoing which we all know is not healthy for obvious and not so obvious reasons. We now need to cut that tall grass in the rough so we have some margin of error (whether it is that slice of pizza or the clamcake at Iggy's). Develop a five pound or 1% body fat buffer zone so when you stray from your physical routines it's not as disruptive to your overall confidence levels. Let's face it the way we look has an impact on how we feel, allow yourself some room for error and you'll have a fighting chance of maintaining your comfort level with yourself.

Are You An Emotional Wreck??

2009-05-14T14:14:00.000-07:00

I'm currently skimming through my copy of YOU! The Owners Manual by Oz and found an interesting bit of information that I have been dealing with a lot in the last year with a few of my clients. The problem I'm seeing is that I'm hearing a lot of people tell me that their hormones are causing weight gain. In truth they are correct, but digging deeper their emotions are the chief culprit. For example, Oz uses an example of stressed out baboons. Highly stressed mother baboons have more difficulty producing healthy children, the stress produces an abnormal high secretion of cortisol which in turn damages the hippocampus, this then affects learning and memory in their offspring. The destruction that abnormal cortisol levels cause on weight gain has been well documented (good article - http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/weightgain.htm ). However, the issue I see is the control we actually have over our hormones simply by controlling our emotions. The emotions we have have trigger the hormonal change (which is a survival instinct), this we must deal with. The fact is by keeping our internal dialouge with ourselves honest and the stress that we're dealing with in perspective can have enormous benefits for us physically. So next time your having a fit over whose cutting you off or the annoying family member be sure to think of how you handle that emotion internally. It could have a heavy effect

Have you started your food log?

2009-03-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

Start logging your food intake. It will help tremendously with your understanding of how much your really putting into your body. Do this for 4 weeks and notice the difference of what you put into your mouth. I'll start with yesterday.....

3/18
bagel w/ egg and cheese, medium coffee (skim and 1 sugar)
sandwich (whole wheat bread, turkey, spinach, onions, and peppers)
apple, small coffee (skim milk and 1 sugar, 16 oz water
16 oz of water
salad with lemon and oil dressing, whole wheat pizza (pesto, mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, artichoke, and portabella mushrooms)

....not nearly enough water, I'm also feeling dehydrated of late. I wonder why??

To Lead, Start With Yourself

2009-02-25T07:18:00.000-08:00

I'm currently reading a new book by Seth Godin on leadership called Tribes. It got me thinking about a few things and a natural law that holds so much truth that it overflows with truth. That there is absolutely nothing we can control (not our partner, not our friends, not society)! Period. Truly the only thing we can control is our thoughts that take place within the 6 inches between our ears. Self-Actualization and positive affirmations are one tool that our brains have that can enable to change mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually throughout our journey of life. Reading books such as Think and Grow Rich and The Power of Positive Thinking are timeless classics that demonstrate this significant power we have within ourselves to change the aspects of our lives that we are having difficulty with. Back to leadership, one of the best ways to lead whether at home, at work, in any organization is to model the way. Model that behavior that you deem appropriate and others will follow, people yearn for good leadership, and right now our society is lacking leaders who are willing to take risks and think beyond their immediate needs. I think that the situation we are in with the economy, the flat world, and the technology breakthroughs we've seen in the last 10 years offer us enormous opportunities to grow as individuals/organizations and take it upon our selves to lead in some way, whether that is at home or at the office or more importantly in our community. You have nothing to lose but a lost opportunity to actualize your dreams and desires in this one life we live. Take the challenge and lay out one area in your life that you need to change, make this your mission, lead yourself first and then seek out opportunities to lead others with the gift you gave yourslef. Set goals, set a plan and get out and do it, then do it again and again, this is power, this is a life fulfilled!

Look at those ABS!

2009-02-19T17:23:00.000-08:00

I love this drawing by Andreas Vesalius, but besides the intriguing art it shows something more revealing. The drawing shows the gap from the bottom ribs to the pelvis. In this area sits most of our vital organs, it's also the intersection between the upper and lower body. Seeing how our abdominals crisscross this section of our body the amount of function the abs must display is vital for our well being. In preparation for a seminar I'm giving this weekend it's amazing how much information is out there on the abdominal and core training, much of it good but some also misleading. Without getting into a research paper on how to train the abs effectively trainers, athletes, and those of us who like ourselves enough to exercise need tp keep a few things in mind. 1) It's great to do pilates as a supplement to our workouts but we shouldn't rely on just pilates (or any ab exercises where we are strictly on our backs, the only other time we're on our backs is when we're sleeping or maybe doing something else.......like laying on the beach!) in order to a.) first stimulate the abs by turning on our proprioceptors meaning b.) we shouldn't forget that an effective ab workout must involve movement undertaken while standing, lunging in all three planes of motion, and perhaps while incorporating some sort of squat movements either on two legs or on one. 2.) Now to contradict myself (we often don't maintain a prone position unless we are sleeping) different variations of planks I have found can be very useful to strengthen the abdominals. 3.) Weak abdominals may not be just related to weak muscle fibers but can also be due to poor neural conduction to our organs in the midsection (our brain doesn't differeniate between muscle and organs but only the signals they recieve in differing areas along the vertebral column, look at Vesalius' drawing again and you can see that most of our organs lay next to our abs. Pain or improper function, due to bad nutrition, in our pancreas or liver may contribute to less then healthy abs). To sum up, don't rely on just crunches and come to my seminar to learn more, there is a lot more!