A pound of cure

If an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, doesn’t it make sense to prevent obesity related diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease before they start rather than try to “cure” them after they start?

Visit   http://fitnesssquadron.com    to find out how to prevent obesity related diseases and live a longer, healthier life.  Do it for the ones you love but mostly do it for yourself.

If you already have these diseases, we can help you manage them as well.

http://fitnesssquadron.com

October 23, 2009 · fitness blog · 10 Comments
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,  Â· Posted in: cholesterol, exercise, fat loss, healthy diet, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, triglycerides, type 2 diabetes, weight loss

Fighting food cravings

We have all experienced that intense urge for something, anything, not necessarily sure what, but usually something unhealthy.  Chocolate, ice cream, chips, doughnuts.  If you are trying to lose weight giving in to those cravings can really set you back. 

The best way to fight those cravings is to try not to go without eating for too long.  Eating smaller amounts more often can cut back on hunger pangs and reduce cravings.  Also, find low calorie healthier alternatives to the foods you normally crave.  This way you are prepared when the urge strikes. 

If you know you like chocolate, try drinking a chocolate protein shake or only eat a small piece of chocolate rather than a whole bar.  Share the rest of the bar with family or friends.  When the urge for something sweet hits, eat a container of yogurt or a piece of fruit. On of my favorite snacks is a protein smoothie.  I puree fruit, mix it with yogurt, a little water, and vanilla protein powder.  It has the texture of a melted milkshake but much healthier. 

Another good idea is to set aside one day a week as a cheat day.  This way you can indulge in something totally unhealthy without feeling guilty, knowing that tomorrow you will be back to your healthy, virtuous self.

Click here to learn how to lose weight and get in shape the healthy way

October 12, 2009 · fitness blog · 35 Comments
Tags: , , , , , , ,  Â· Posted in: diet, fat loss, food substitutions, Uncategorized, weight loss

My daughter running half marathon for cancer

My Daughter is running  the Walt Disney Half Marathon on 9 January 2010 to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training. She is trying to raise $5000 by November. She is running this half marathon in honor of one of her high school classmates, Sara Cooper, who died from Non-Hodgkin’s Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma in her senior year.

Please donate to help save lives.  No amount is too small.

Go to her page for all the details.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/md/wdw10/tadkins96h

August 27, 2009 · fitness blog · 23 Comments
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Soft drinks as one of the reasons for high triglycerides

Several years ago, my husband, who can be the king of unhealthy, having grown up in a house where they ate eggs, bacon, gravy, and biscuits for breakfast nearly every morning, spent 2 months in the hospital with the worst case of acute pancreatitis that his doctors had ever seen. Acute pancreatitis is inflammation of the pancreas and is caused by, among other things, high triglycerides. At the time his triglyceride level was over 300, his bad cholesterol was really high, and his good cholesterol was really low. Like I said he liked to eat eggs every morning but also he drank Mountain Dew like it was going out of style. Mountain Dew along with other soft drinks is nothing but around 250 calories of high fructose corn syrup per 20 ounce bottle. So 4 of those a day is around 1000 nonnutritive sugar calories.

When he came out of the hospital, he decided to change his evil ways. He started working out. He began to eat healthier. He gave up the eggs and started eating Honey Nut Cheerios. Ate smaller portions. Stopped eating seconds and thirds and gave up Mountain Dew and started drinking more water. His numbers began to change. His good cholesterol came up a little each time. His bad cholesterol came down a little each time. But the best news was his triglyceride level was approaching normal again.

But last year he started to fall off the wagon. He stopped exercising and even though he still ate healthy he began to drink less water and more Mountain Dew.

Last week he went to the doctor after his fasting lab for his blood work. She was not happy and wanted to instantly put him on medication. His good cholesterol was up. His bad cholesterol was down. However his triglyceride level is back up to over 300 and his blood pressure is up as a result. This is a recipe for disaster as he well knows. High triglycerides leads to acute pancreatitis, stroke, and also can cause liver failure. High triglycerides leads to fatty liver, which leads to inflammation of the liver which leads to cirrhosis of the liver.

He refused the medication and his doctor gave him 6 months to get himself back in shape. Of course the first thing he had to do was give up the Mountain Dew which is quite obviously the cause of the whole problem. Your body stores whatever it has too much of and doesn’t know what to do with as triglycerides. Well of course 1000 calories of high fructose corn syrup is more than your body can handle.

Anyway he is back on the wagon. Off the Mountain Dew and back into an exercise program. So in 6 months he goes back to get the new test. His doctor is going to be so impressed maybe she’ll start recommending lifestyle changes instead of pills.

Next week, if my back feels better we start back on Power 90, Tony Horton’s precurser to P90X.

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August 19, 2009 · fitness blog · 52 Comments
Tags: , , , , , , ,  Â· Posted in: cholesterol, diet, high cholesterol, Natural health, natural treatment, P90X, triglycerides, weight loss

The meaning of fitness

Fitness is a matter of perspective and means different things to different people.  To me it means to be as healthy as you can be given your given set of circumstances. For me, fitness is about maintaining a healthy weight and avoiding unnecessary and avoidable illness such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol.  I hope to avoid having a stroke or heart attack at too young of an age.  Or maybe at any age. 

My goal is to help other people achieve whatever their version of fitness is.  For you maybe it means having washboard abs or rippling muscles.  And most of us would probably like to have that but for some of us that just is not reality. 

I suffer from a back injury and fibromyalgia so, on any given day, I may be barely able to walk.  But I do what I can when I can.  And even though I will probably never have washboard abs, I am in good shape for my age and circumstances.  My blood pressure is good, my cholesterol is good, and my weight and BMI are good.  So I am grateful for that and I want to help other people because I know so many people even younger than me who are not as fit as they could be.  Obesity is running rampant and so many people are stricken with avoidable illness because they need a healthier lifestyle.  And the sad truth is that most of the time, doctors don’t stress this approach. After all if they can put you on a pill they can keep you coming back and putting money in their pocket because you never learn that you could fix the problem all on your own and avoid all that time and money at the doctor or at the pharmacy. 

Advertisers, doctors, and pharmacies are getting rich from our lack of knowledge on how to take care of ourselves.  Fast food places and junk food manufacturers are getting rich at the expense of our health so ultimately doctors, hospitals, and drug manufacturers get rich off of our lack of health.  We as a nation need to eat healthier and get more exercise.  Even if you only walk a half a block today that is a half a block closer to your goal. Even if you have to start with a 3 lb. weight  if you keep at you can work up to a 5 or 8 or 10  And the more you do the more you are able to do.  Start slow and work your way up to being as healthy as you can be.

August 13, 2009 · fitness blog · 5 Comments
Tags: , , , , ,  Â· Posted in: arthritis, back pain, diet, fibromyalgia, healthy diet, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, weight loss

Lower your blood pressure and cholesterol naturally

It amazes me how many people take for granted that as you get older you will be on medication for high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol.  They think that it is an inescapable part of growing older. Doctors and pharmaceutical companies reinforce this with adverting.  Doctors even more so when the first thing they do is to write you a prescription rather tell you that you need a lifestyle change.  That you need to eat healthier and get more exercise.  What they also don’t tell you is that the medication they are putting you on can be more dangerous than the condition they are prescribing it for.  These medications can in and of themselves cause strokes and heart attacks.  Plus you risk liver damage because the drugs are processed through your liver and can cause damage.  Statins, such as lovistatin and zocor, can cause severe pain and muscle cramps. Since drug treatment rather than healthy changes is being pushed at us by drug companies and doctors people just assume that this is the only way to treat it 

People will say “Its genetic, everyone in my family has it.”  Well everyone in your family probably shares the same bad eating habits as well.  Anyone is “genetically” predisposed to have it if they consume enough of the things that cause it and don’t get enough exercise to flush it out.  It is “genetic” in my family as well.  My father had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and ultimately had two strokes before he died.  My youngest brother had both and had a heart attack at age 50 and died from one at age 59.  My older brother had a heart attack in his 50’s and is now on medication and has liver damage as a result.  My sisters are on medication as well.  Everyone has it but me.  The one thing they all have in common is really bad eating habits.  Too much junk, too much fast food, too much salt, and they are overweight.  I eat healthy, exercise regularly and my weight is at a healthy level.  I am 51 years old.  My blood pressure is 110/75 and my cholesterol is at 176. No meds for me. 

High blood pressure and high cholesterol are not an inevitable part of aging.  These conditions can be avoided by merely taking care of yourself.  By simply deciding that your health and living a long healthy life are more important to you than too much salt, deep fried foods,  fast foods, and other fatty, salty non-nutritive foods. In moderation these foods are fine but if you eat them on a daily basis your health will suffer for it eventually.

If you have them already these conditions can be treated with no medication. A lifestyle change is all it takes.  I have seen first hand what it can do.  Three years ago my husband’s cholesterol level was up over 300.  His triglyceride level was through the roof.  However his doctor told him that he could control it through diet and exercise and fish oil pills.  After spending 2 months in the hospital with severe pancreatitis caused by his triglyceride level he decided that he was ready to make the change.  He gave up his customary breakfast of eggs and sausage and started eating Honey Nut Cheerios.  He cut back on his portions and ate healthier foods realizing the risks if he continued to eat the way he always had.  He began taking fish oil pills and a multivitamin regimen.  His started exercising.  His cholesterol dropped from over 300 to around 220.  His good cholesterol came up and his triglycerides came way down.  He did all of this the natural healthy way with no drugs involved.  I myself brought my level from 190 to 176 just by beginning fish oil pills.

Aside from the dangers of the drugs themselves the problem is that people rely on the drugs and continue to fill themselves with unhealthy foods and don’t exercise. As a result they can never come off of the drug because they didn’t fix the problem which was their unhealthy eating habits.  The longer you are on the drug the more your chances of having an unhealthy response to them.

August 4, 2009 · fitness blog · One Comment
Posted in: healthy diet, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Natural health, natural treatment, Uncategorized, weight loss

changing your eating habits

Cutting calories from your diet can involve two processes.  One is simply to eat smaller portions.  The other is to exchange one high calorie food source for something that is lower in calories and healthier.  Your diet is made up of choices.  It’s up to you whether you make good ones or bad.  Just remember that the bad choices are the ones that put the weight on so making too many of them can have a negative impact on your ability to lose weight.
At mealtime, don’t overload your plate.  Using a smaller plate can help with this because it takes less food to fill it up.  Eat your food slowly.  It takes around twenty minutes for your brain to tell your stomach it has had enough.  If you eat too rapidly you will be overfull before you get the signal to stop.  Wait for a while before you go back for seconds.  The signal may not have come through yet and by waiting you may realize you don’t really want it after all.

Drink plenty of water in between your meals.  Water not only fills you up but it keeps your system cleansed, aids in the digestion of your food, keeps your skin well hydrated, and helps flush the fat out of your system.  Foods that contain plenty of water such as fruits, vegetables and clear soups are also good.  They assist in getting your daily supply of water and are generally more nutrient dense since water has no calories.

Make a note of the foods you eat daily.  Cut back on saturated fats such as butter or margarine, foods containing simple sugars or high fructose corn syrup, and foods that are high in calories, low in nutrients.  Make every calorie count by eating nutrient dense foods such as fruits, vegetables, and complex carbohydrates.  Foods like carrots, apples, and whole grain breads contain plenty of fiber which helps fill you up while giving your body the nutrients it needs. 

A twenty ounce bottle of cola contains around 250 calories of nothing but sugar.  If you are drinking two of these a day that’s 500 empty calories.  For the same 500 calories you could have eaten four large garden salads full of nutrients and drank two glasses of water.  Cutting cola and other simple sugar drinks from your diet can have a big impact on your weight.  Try drinking flavored waters that contain no calories if you need something with more flavor to it.

An average serving of French fries contains around 350 calories and one third of your daily fat allowance.  By contrast, a baked potato with one tablespoon of margarine has only 140 calories.  By substituting the baked potato you would have cut 210 calories from your calorie intake for the day. Simple substitutions such as this are the key to cutting calories and eating healthier.

A healthy diet is simply a matter of being smart about your food choices and quantity you eat on a regular basis.  At first it may seem hard to give up those low nutrient and empty calorie foods. In time, though, you will feel better and look better and the choices become easier to make.  You won’t lose all your weight overnight but gradually it will come off and it will be easy to maintain the loss because you are changing the habits that make you overweight with new habits that will make you healthier.  You learn to make the smarter choices on your own so that they simply become a part of you. In time you make healthy choices without even thinking about it. 

To find out about nutritional content of food

The Complete Book of Food Counts, 8th Edition

July 26, 2009 · fitness blog · No Comments
Tags: , , , ,  Â· Posted in: diet, fat loss, food substitutions, healthy diet, Uncategorized, weight loss

Eats of Eden: RAW BREADS AND CRACKERS CLASS

Eats of Eden: RAW BREADS AND CRACKERS CLASS

July 12, 2009 · fitness blog · One Comment
Posted in: Uncategorized

Proper lifting techniques

As I mentioned in the last article you should always use proper lifting techniques. I thought I might list what those techniques are.

  1. Plan the lift carefullly and get help if you need it. Don’t try to be strongman.
  2. Place feet shoulder width apart. this provides a stable base.
  3. Keep the object close to your body. This increases stability so that you are not having to continuously reposition increasing your likelihood of injury.
  4. Tighten your stomach muscles. This helps to support your back.
  5. Lift with your legs. Leg muscles are much stronger than back muscles.____________________________________________

     

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July 12, 2009 · fitness blog · One Comment
Posted in: back pain, joint care

Dealing With Lower Back Pain

At some point in their lives most people suffer from lower back pain. The pain can be mildly annoying to downright painful. In any case you need to find the best and safest way to treat or deal with the pain so that you can get on with your life in some normal fashion

There are many causes of lower back pain. Simple strains of muscles or ligaments are the chief cause. Injury from a fall or car wreck can lay you low for months. Watch out for small boys overflowing sinks onto tile floors or algae laden river rocks (my husband still won’t take me fishing). Osteoarthritis is a primary cause as we age.Herniated and bulging disks are the absolute worst of all the causes to have.

Doctors of course love to write prescriptions for everything. So their answer is usually a prescription for the latest muscle relaxer or pain killer. The problem with this is that a lot of times the doctor never bothers to investigate the cause of the pain or to properly explain to you how to prevent it from happening again or at the very least how to keep the pain at a minimum. Drugs have side effects attached to them. They can leave you groggy or lethargic. They can be
addictive. They can become non-effective after a time. And the real truth is they
don’t fix the problem they simply cover up the symptoms.

For many back conditions such as arthritis and bulging disks, there is no fixing
them. The most you can do is keep it under control because you are most likely stuck with the condition for life.

There are numerous therapies for these conditions.For many people these therapies work great even if only for a short time. For others, these therapies show little if no results. Many doctors use spinal decompression therapy. It is similar to medieval torture in that they attach weight to you and stretch out your back in an effort to separate and straighten the spinal column. For me, this therapy was highly ineffective.

 Another therapy that is much used is steroid injections into the spine. This therapy may take several sessions and even if it works it is a temporary solution.

 When I developed a bulging disk last year and found out I have osteoarthritis, I was desperate
for a solution. I went from taking 3 mile hikes in the woods to barely able to walk.
For months I could barely move. I did several therapies that had no effect and continued to be laid low with severe pain. At night, I woke feeling as if someone was poking my spine with an ice pick. Once I got up I could not sit or bend without agony.

I paid a visit to my local clinic after the pain specialist basically told me it was all
in my head. The physicians assistant that I saw explained my condition to me very clearly and laid out details of what I should and should not do to keep it under control.

She told me that whenever I overdid it or did things I should not do that the area around
the bulging disk became irritated and when it did then it became swollen and caused the bulge to press against the nerves in the spinal column which produced the pain. Basically what I was looking at was an altered lifestyle. I had to come to terms with the fact that many things I had once done I could not do now or had to do differently.

  • Do not stand or sit for too long at a time. Standing for more than 10 minutes made my back feel like someone slammed me with a sledgehammer. Over time I have become able to stand for longer periods.
  • Do not lift heavy objects. Of course heavy is different for everyone but you know your limits or you soon learn them when the pain comes after you overdo.
  • Do not do sit ups. It is better to do curl-ups or crunches as they put less stress on your lower back.
  • Do not lift both legs off the ground while on your back. This puts too much stress on your lower back.
  • Do not lift both legs in the air while lying on your stomach.
  • Use heat and ice to relieve pain. Use heat for 20 minutes to relax the muscles and then do 20 minutes of ice to reduce the swelling caused by the heat. It is good to use ice after a workout to help reduce the chance of inflammation and swelling.
  • Use proper lifting techniques.
  • Stretch and exercise to keep the muscles flexible and strong.
  • Walk regularly as this helps the muscles stay strong and in shape and keeps your bones strong and healthy. Walk as far as you can daily. The distance will increase as you do it because you will be stronger.
  • Take each day as you find it. What you did yesterday you may not be able to do today but you might tomorrow. You will improve over time so don’t get frustrated.
  • Take a good vitamin and mineral supplement. And also a glucosamine supplement. Glucosamine helps to repair damage to cartilage. SAM-e has also been shown to help reduce pain.
  • Don’t over do!! Overdoing will irritate your back and may keep you down for days. If
    your back begins to hurt it is time to take a break and give it a rest.  
  • Do not do a lot of high impact things like jumping and running. If you have arthritis or disk problems your back’s ability to absorb shock is impaired. Any stress will irritate it and may cause pain for a while. 

    •  

As I mentioned above stretching and exercise are vitally important to improving your muscle strength and flexibility. A quick search will provide many sources of sites that have exercises for the back .
Some of these are:

http://physicaltherapy.about.com/od/backpain/ss/BackExercises.htm

http://www.ehow.com/video_4400224_stomach-exercises-back-physical-therapy.html

I find that if I do my therapy exercises regularly, my back feels much better and I am able to do more without pain.

So if you suffer from low back pain, try to find out what the cause of the pain is and then find the safest, most effective way to fix it or keep it under control. Above all take it easy and try not to make it worse.

July 5, 2009 · fitness blog · 91 Comments
Posted in: arthritis, back pain, joint care, middle age, natural treatment, seniors