Healthy B.P.M.

Imagine this; you’ve decided to sign up for a weight loss program. You’ve done the research, talked to the counselor/trainer/coach and you like what you hear. The program seems to be sound, it doesn’t make outlandish claims or promises and you’re convinced that this is the one. With checkbook-oops debit card in hand you march into their office and prepare to sign on the dotted line. A healthy new you is on the way. Suddenly you hear the voice of the counselor/trainer/coach you’ve been speaking with and the excitement mounts, this could really be a turning point for you. Next thing you know you’re face to face with the person that’s about to take you to optimal wellness, and your heart sinks. Your Counselor/trainer/coach is obviously overweight. I’m not talking about 5-10 vanity pounds; I’m talking about a good 50-60 pounds overweight. What do you do?Do you now doubt the validity of the program? If it were so great why isn’t it working for counselor/trainer/coach, are they using it, does they have a medical condition that keeps them from using it? There are a ca-zillion questions coming to mind. Somewhere in the recesses of your confused psyche you’re telling yourself not to judge, but dang nabbit you can’t help it. Not wanting counselor/trainer/coach to see your obvious distress you try to make polite conversation as you fill out the required forms. Here’s the $60 million question: are you going to go through with it?

Monday, Monday the start day of most diets. Yes, I used the “D” word. Most people start a diet on a Monday. Is that supposed to be the official fresh new beginning day? It seems to me that if you’re really serious about healthy eating and losing weight you’d, a) not start a diet because you’ll probably stop it eventually and b) start now. Now there are some exceptions to point b. If it’s a day or two before Thanksgiving or Christmas you might as well wait, unless you’ve got resolves of steel. Or, if you’ve just checked into your cabin on a 7-day cruise you’ll feel like jumping overboard if you don’t partake in some of the goodies.This is the real world and timing is everything. I’m not advocating that you go into a feeding frenzy during vacations and holidays or event your own holidays to prolong your plans. Just be realistic and know your limitations. You know the old saying about cutting off your nose to spite your face? Once that healthy eating plan is well in place there will still be tempting times and occasions when you’ll backslide. Find the balance, indulge moderately and don’t like the backslide expand your backside. Take care and be well.

I’ve gotta fess up, I’m hooked on Dancing With the Stars. With every samba, quick step and jive I imagine me out there gliding across the floor. Can you imagine the workout those routines give you? Unless you’re seriously chowing down in your trailer during rest periods, how can you not drop some pounds? Then there’s the skimpy costumes. Most leave little to the imagination and you do want them to fit. Sashaying with a too tight waistband will cut your breath off and leave you at the mercy of crotchety old Len.The celebrities and the pros put in some serious time for our votes and the all mighty mirror ball trophy, a svelte body should be a given. You may not be ready to don the spandex and sprinkles, but you can still get your groove on and burn the fat.Dancing is great for breaking up the monotony; and there’s no need to worry about the judges scoring you on your technique. There’s nothing that gets your heart pumping like dancing and you don’t have to be good; you just have to move. Studies have shown that ballroom dancing is almost as effective at working your heart as running. And don’t get hung on all ballroom, it also doesn’t matter what kind of dancing you’re doing, the simple act of moving your arms and legs around is enough to get a great cardio workout.

I know I’m about to piss off some people but here goes anyway. Why is it that women will pencil into their budgets regular hair and nail appointments but balk at the idea of paying for a person trainer? Oh they will pay, but not what the going rate is. Now you may be inclined to think that the going rate is unreasonable, but who’s to say. Trainers charge by the hour, hair stylists and nail techs charge by the job. I guess it all depends on your priorities. And I’m certainly not bashing hair stylists and nail techs. My daughter is a stylist in Dallas and I want her to have all the business that she can handle. My point is that there should be balance (there’s that word again).Pampering is a good thing and I think everyone should do it, in whatever form pleases you and that you can afford. Pampering doesn’t always have to mean the girly kind of stuff either. It can be a walk in the park, reading your favorite book, music, meditation or just watching the game uninterrupted. Me time is preventive medicine. Too often we get caught up in the hurry up and do everything at one time game and forget or neglect to take care of ourselves. Forgive me, I digress.What good is a slammin hairdo if you can’t climb a flight of stairs without huffin and puffin? And those perfectly manicured nails will look really great while you’re clutching your chest because of the pains you’re having. Balance and self care, that’s all I’m saying.

I had a crazy idea while working out over the weekend. Crazy in the sense that it wasn’t the safest thing in the world to try, but with a little modification I thought it might work. As you know treadmill walking is a tried and true method for burning calories, and toning the lower half of your body, BUT…it gets kind of boring after awhile. I decided to shake it up a bit, by walking sideways. Not the best idea. I believe my treadmill was the first one off the assembly line and is devoid of any padding or sound structure, so I lowered the speed to 1.6 in hopes of walking at a steady, even pace. Still not a good idea. Trying to keep up with the machine resulted in my feet getting twisted and me flying off the end. The next light bulb that went off was to try and walk backwards. Slightly better footing but it took too much concentration, and my form and technique was horrible. Basic walking, primarily targets the quadriceps, (front of the thigh) and for a balanced workout you want to work the opposing muscle group, the hamstrings (back of the thigh). Other than wanting to add some spice to my workout, I needed to work my hamstrings, abductors and adductors (outer and inner thighs) as well. Still believing that lateral and backwards walking was a good idea, I decided to hop off the antiquated treadmill and just go for it on land.I use in home walking DVD’s and tapes, walk outside and sometimes grab my workout music harking back to my fitness instructor days and make up my own routines. Trust me I’m getting to the point. Here’s what I came up with and it works with whatever method of walking on land that you choose. After walking forward for approximately five minutes, walk backwards for two minutes, then straight ahead for three. Alternating this way for about thirty minutes. This is a good way to add intervals to your workout, boosting intensity. When that becomes comfortable add a lateral walk by simply walking sideways at the same intervals, in place of, or in addition to walking backwards.

From time to time I’m asked about different supplements, weight loss and energy enhancers. And from time to time I test them so as to give first hand feedback. This time Sports Beans, manufactured by the

Jelly Belly Candy Company,  was the product in question.

They’re advertised as energizing jelly beans and come in one ounce packs. The flavors are fruit punch (the one I bought), lemon lime, berry blue, and orange. For .99 I thought what the heck I’ll try them. Package directions instruct you to eat a pack 30 minutes before activity, take additional ones as needed to sustain energy, and replenish with a pack after activity. Oh, and always take them with water (too late). There are approximately fifteen sports beans in a pack, I ate them twenty minutes ago (6:45pm EST) ; we’ll see what happens.

The taste was a combination of sweet and salty. Sweet first, then the salty hits you at the end. Sports Beans are a part of a study on competitive athletes at UC Davis, along with two other carbohydrate supplements. Researchers want to know if these super sugary treats actually boost performance during physical activity. It makes you wonder if this is just a marketing ploy to sell more Jelly Bellies. It’s now 7:54 pm and I’m still waiting for the rush. Maybe I should have tried the Berry Blue.

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Urban legend or not? I’ve heard and read that Janet Jackson the seemingly sanest member of the Jackson clan has had some surgery. No not the kind that made MJ show up on all the worst of plastic surgery lists; but having one or more ribs removed to appear thinner. First the mill said she had the lower ones removed, then low and behold I read (honest I did) that she had ALL of them removed. This is one of the stories where you tell a friend then she/he tells a friend and before you know it the story has become down right stupid. Having one rib removed would make you think that the person is slightly obsessed with their appearance. But for someone to say she had all of them taken out, c’mon. Number one, how can that be anatomically possible? Don’t you need the ribs to kind of hold your innards (yes I said innards) in place? The whole point is at what point do we cross the line of striving to be healthy and fit to being ridicuously fixated with appearance, and what kind of example are you setting? Accepted or not celebrities are role models and should think about the signals they send. This falls into the “hot mess” category.

What do you do when you have an uncontrollable desire to eat? First you make your way to the fridge, the first stop on the road to mindless eating. Standing in front of the fridge your eyes glance quickly over the shelves. Shiny bits of sliver topped containers holding yesterday’s gastronomical delights await the soon to be feeding frenzy. Then you yank the freezer door open for a thorough surveillance of its icy delicacies.Mindless munching rules stipulate that no stone be left unturned, that means the cabinets are next. They too are scoured intently. “Umm what do we have here? Fruit cocktail, that’s kinda, sorta, healthy right?” It’s only a small can and only 109 calories, so you eat it. The next shelf reveals another goodie, sugar free, fat free pudding, healthy and chocolate no less. “In less than two minutes this creamy concoction will be mine all mine.” A couple spoonfuls before it sets won’t hurt. (2 TBS 22.5 calories) “Into the fridge you go. But before you close the door a piece of leftover grilled chicken catches your eye. “What the heck the chicken is low fat and I need the protein. (81 calories)By now you’ve admitted that you don’t know what you want to eat. Your rational mind is telling you to “run like the wind” out of the kitchen; better yet out of the house. Then you remember reading that brushing your teeth is a ploy to keep you from munching. “Colgate here I come.”

By choice or by chance you’ve landed on Healthy B.P.M and let me be the first to welcome you. My name is Sandra L. Garth and I live in Saginaw, Michigan. I’ve been active in wellness education for the last twelve years and tried every diet known until I finally figured out what really works. (Of course I’m gonna tell you).

Are you wondering why after thousands of crunches you still seem to have trouble tightening your midsection? Doing hundreds of crunches won’t give you the abs you want, but a proper diet and challenging ab moves over a sustained period of time will. To achieve the tight midsection you are looking for, you must aggressively make your abs stronger, burn the fat covering them up and clean up your diet.

Once you have begun following a healthy diet that includes lean proteins, high fiber/complex carbohydrates, plenty of water, vitamins/minerals, and fruits and vegetables; now we can talk about some ways to ignite your core!

Your core is the power center of your body. If you have a weak core, you are vulnerable to injury. One way to strengthen your core is to work out on the stability ball. Working out on the ball creates an unstable environment similar to athletic circumstances and builds your core to allow for more powerful, whole body moves. Trainer Gunnar Peterson couldn’t agree more. As creator of the popular DVD’s Core Secrets and author of G-Force: The Ultimate Guide to Your Best Body Ever (Regan Books, 2005), Peterson is known for whipping celebrities (Brooke Burke), professional athletes and regular folk into shape. “The stability ball challenges your balance skills and your abdominals in every direction,” he says. “The key is to fire up your muscles in ways they haven’t worked before, so they’ll have to adapt and change.” Well, if it works for Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz and Madonna, why not give it a try?

Lets look at just three very challenging moves on the exercise ball that will lead to stronger, leaner, sexier abs!

PENDULUM WITH BALL

Start by sitting on a mat and place a stability ball between your legs (at your calves/ankles). Squeezing the ball in place, lie back onto the floor, and extend legs straight up into the air. Keep knees slightly bent and arms out to the sides for support.

Keeping upper body and glutes stationary, lower your legs down to the right, as close to the ground as possible. Return to start and repeat to the left side to complete one repetition. Depending on your fitness level, perform 2-3 sets of 10-20 repetitions. Feel the burn!

Special Instructions: Make sure your back stays firmly planted and that your legs swing in line with your hips (not above or below them).

BALL CRUNCH

Here is the remix on your tired old crunches! Start by lying face up on a large exercise ball with your lower and middle back supported, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Cross your arms over your chest. To pump this move up a bit, place your hands lightly behind your neck as shown, or make it even harder by extending your arms overhead.

Raise only your head and shoulders as you contract your abs to move your upper body towards your pelvis. Slowly return to the starting position. Depending on your fitness level, try to knock out 2-3 sets of 10-20 repetitions.

CRUNCH WITH MEDICINE BALL

Start out lying face up on a large exercise ball with your lower and middle back supported, knees bent and feet flat on the floor. Hold a medicine ball securely overhead at arm’s length.

Raise your head and shoulders as you crunch your ribcage toward your pelvis. Keep your arms straight so that the medicine ball is overhead. Contract your abs at the top of the movement for a one-count. If this is difficult for any reason, variate the move by keeping your head and shoulders on ball like in a normal crunch and hold the medicine ball at your chest and just roll up with the ball. Perform this exercise for 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions.

Now, remember that the diet plays a CRITICAL part in getting your abs in shape. Clean eating, and consistent cardio coupled with core training (added to every strength training workout) should yield visible results in 4-6 weeks!

Stay tuned for more ways to pimp your abs!

Abs, Medicine Ball, Weighted Ball, Jennifer Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Madonna, Pimp, Stability Ball, Brooke Burke

It’s lunch time folks and you want to eat healthy. Most of us head on over to the salad bar because its much better on our waistlines than Wendy’s or McDonalds. Now here is where things go awry…we start adding high calorie, low nutritional value items to our salad!

Listen to this, certain types of lettuce are even better for you. Iceberg lettuce is a standard on most salad bars but it offers very little nutritional value. More greener, leafy varieties such as romaine start your salad out packed with nutrients. The typical salad bar is full of items that are definitely not healthy, like high fat dressings, calorie laden tuna salads, high fat cottage cheese, baby corn (starch), sugary jello mixtures with dates and other high calorie fruits in heavy fructose syrup.

Picture this, a Classic Cobb Salad with chopped bacon, egg, blue cheese, avocado, and creamy dressing, or standard restaurant Chef Salad loaded with Swiss cheese, roast beef, eggs, and dressing can contain more than 1,000 calories and 80 grams fat! For some people, that’s more than half their day’s worth of calories (and all their fat). You would have woofed down more calories than a McDonalds Big Mac and regular fries! What a way to shoot your diet in the foot.

Joy Bauer, a leading nutritionist shared with Katie Couric on the Today Show “5 rules to make the best low-calorie salads” Joy says “don’t give up on salads; they’re loaded with nutrition and can be satisfying and delicious. Follow my guidelines for making a perfect low-calorie salad — and you’ll never have to worry again.

1. Pile on leafy greens
2. Load up on plain veggies
3. Add a few lean proteins
4. Indulge in one high-calorie “extra”,
5. Go easy on dressing

I also came across a good video on CBS Early Show with Hannah Storm and R.D. Terri Glassman with audience members challenged to prepare a good salad on stage! Check it out here

Salad Bar, High Fat Salads, Salad, Katie Couric, Joy Bauer, The Today Show, CBS Early Show, Hannah Storm, Terri Glassman, diet, Lowfat Salads

Most of us don’t think twice about refilling our water bottles all day long. Some even keep those bottles for weeks at a time. We wash them out with hot soapy water in hopes of keeping them clean. We feel greener by saving the plastic right? Well, The International Water Bottle Association says the bottles are not made to be reused and can not be washed in a dishwasher because the neck is so small, soap and water can not thoroughly clean it.

Once we drink the water out of the bottle it is no longer sterile. The water we refill them with is not sterile. You could possibly get sick from reusing a water bottle for extended periods of time. The symptoms are similar to having a bad case of food poisoning. Bacteria gets into the bottle from your mouth as you backwash. Back washing is common and hard to prevent. These germs could stay in the bottle even after washing with soap and water.

Best thing to do is just drink out of a glass when possible, since most bottled water is just tap water anyway. If you have to refill your water bottle clean it thoroughly and store the water in the refrigerator. Bacteria grows slower in the cold, so try not to keep your refilled bottles out in the heat.

water bottles, bacteria, refill bottles, Aquafina, water bottle making you sick

As most of us visit our local gym, we are unaware of the dangers that lurk amongst the various cardio and fitness equipment. What you don’t want is to be exposed to a deadly strain of staph bacteria, called “methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Its been all over the news lately as cases of exposure are turning up in the most unlikely places, such as schools and gyms. But this should be expected as germs thrive in these types of environments that allow them to transfer quickly and grow uninhibited.

According to Fiona Duffy, Germs in your gym bag, we are exposed to germs in many ways in the gym. One way is sharing towels. Sharing towels has been linked to the spread of this new type of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in athletic and sports teams.

“Community-acquired strains of MRSA are quite different from the hospital type,” says Dr Sally Bloomfield of the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene in London.

“They have acquired the ability to produce a potent tissue toxin called Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL), which can lead to skin and soft tissue infections, including flesh-eating forms.

“These bacteria can infect the young and healthy. Transmission via close contact, sharing towels and sports equipment is a significant risk factor.”

More than half of us carry the ‘old type’ of Staphylococcus aureus on our skin. Anyone with broken skin - cuts, wounds or abrasions - is at risk of contracting a staph infection from someone else.

You can also pass on threadworm parasites and infections such as diarrhoea and tummy upsets through towels, says Professor Jean Emberlin of the University of Worcester.

Bridget Coila’s article, Gym germs: why common diseases flourish in your gym and what you can do to avoid them, disclosed that the human papillomavirus (i.e., the virus that causes plantar warts) is another disease-causing organism commonly found in health clubs. These warts appear alone or in clusters on the bottom of the feet. Even in a seemingly immaculate gym, these organisms can dwell in unexpected places. “The most common place people pick up warts and athlete’s foot is in the locker room. It doesn’t matter if it has a carpeted or tile floor. The second place is in shower stalls. Another place most people don’t suspect is alongside indoor pools, but a lot of foot fungus is found there,” Adams says.

Preventative actions: If using a towel to wipe machine handles or place over seats in the gym, don’t use it to wipe sweat off your hands or face - there’s a danger of picking up other people’s germs. Use separate towels for your body and the equipment.

To avoid the spread of fungal infections, don’t use a towel that’s been used on your feet or underarms or had contact with the floor. Wash gym towels after every use at 60 degrees - or 40 degrees with a bleach-based powder.

“Please wipe down the equipment”: We all have seen this sign, but do we really wipe after each use? Well now more than ever your life depends on it! Recent investigations have revealed after testing local health club equipment; high levels of staph, fecal matter, molds, and other germs were found in visually clean facilities. Don’t assume that your gym is clean because they have commercials on tv. You have to always assume that germs are present and do what you can to protect yourself.

Should I just avoid the gym? One should not use the germ phobia excuse as reason to skip the gym as a whole. Being forewarned is being forearmed. When it comes to protecting yourself and your immune system from these grimy germs, all it takes, for the most part, is common sense, meaning, don’t touch your eyes, ears or nose while at the gym. Good hand hygiene is a must, making sure to wash hands thoroughly before and after gym use. By attending the gym regularly you’re likely to have a stronger immune system than someone who does not work out, therefore, you can resist germs better than the general population.

You are also less likely to have an infectious disease to pass along to a fellow gym rat. By taking simple steps like these we not only are protecting ourselves, but others around us.

Gym etiquette is no longer just restacking weights and allowing someone to work in with you on sets, but now it is wiping the perspiration drops you left on the head rest and refraining from spitting in the water fountain.

So next time when you see the laminated sign, “Please wipe down after use” staring at you as you approach the treadmill or hit the mats for some abdominal crunches,

Staphylococcus, HPV, Super Germs, Infections, Germs in the Gym, Hygiene, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Gym Safety

What is this obsession with how much stars weigh? I was reading an article on ifit&healthy about how much weight Angelina Jolie has lost. I will say that compared to a couple of years back, she has trimmed down quite a bit. When asked about her weight she routinely shrugs off the anorexic concerns and insists she has always been thin.

I think we are so concerned with how much the stars weigh so we won’t have to focus on our own problems or issues with weight. It is easy to point out the “dot” in someone else’s eye–but we need to focus on the “plank” in ours. Many women and some men obsess about their weight in unhealthy ways. I can’t imagine what it would be like to go to a grocery store and see your face and body plastered on every magazine; stating you have anorexia!

But of course I am a hypocrite as I am the first person to pick up one of those rag mags in the store. Maybe this obsession is rooted in the media and the images that are constantly portrayed as “beauty” on the screen. Unfortunately we allow them to dictate to our young girls how they should look and the horrible cycle continues…

Anorexia, Angelina Jolie, Thin Celebrities, Weight Obsession, Celebrities, Weight

Tired of wrestling with your kids every night at the dinner table to eat their vegetables? Unfortunately kids are made to dislike vegetables. We all know how important it is to get our kids to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables, especially when more kids are becoming obese. I watched an episode on Oprah dedicated to this challenging issue for parents. One of her guests, Dr. Oz, says there’s a very good biological reason why it’s so hard to get kids to eat their vegetables. In fact, they are hardwired to not like them. Dr. Oz says when our prehistoric ancestors searched for food, their children were most susceptible to poisons, which often taste bitter. So instead of liking something bitter—like broccoli—children tend to crave sweet and bland foods like dairy or chicken nuggets.

Children also have a biological reason not to like certain foods. Flavorful fruits and veggies may actually taste differently to kids than they do to adults. “An older adult has 3,000 taste buds,” Dr. Oz says. “A kid has 10,000.”

Dr. Oz says we run into problems when we don’t allow our taste buds to mature. “That’s the big challenge we have in America—we’ve infantilized our taste buds. When a 3-year-old wants hot dogs, a burger, fries, a shake, cola, that’s not abnormal. When a 30-yr old likes those foods, we’re in trouble.

It is interesting to note that celebrities face the same issues at the dinner table as we do. Oprah had Jessica Seinfield, wife of comedian Jerry Seinfield, on discussing her new book, Deceptively Delicious. Jessica spoke about how discouraged she was when fixing healthy meals for the kids - and them not eating it. This prompted her to find a way to slip vegetables into every meal - without them knowing it!

What is so facinating and amazing is that Jessica’s recipes are not just for the kids. There is a wonderful brownie recipe that is to die for! Check out more exerpts and recipes from show here.

I hope this story has inspired you to be more creative in the kitchen in order to win the dinner table war!

Kids, Eat your vegetables, Deceptively Delicious, Jessica Seinfield, Kids Corner, Oprah