I joined a health club two months ago. I didn't think walking the dogs really counted unless I was running with them - like a real cardio work out, lots of sweat and all. Yuck. That's why I always loved yoga - no sweat.
I splurged and got a trainer for a few weeks to get me rolling with a routine that will shape/firm me up and also address cardio. It's been great for me but my dogs walks have been abbreviated. I keep thinking I'll jog with them - well, maybe.....soon.....or not.
My club has tons of classes included with your membership. So I signed up for Zumba. Whoa, what a workout - get the resuscitator! And sweat? Yep, Soaking wet. Here's a video of what Zumba is all about in case it is as new to you as it was to me. Note the lack of senior citizens in this video! And for techies in the crowd here, one hour of this burns between 490 - 620 calories per hour, depending on how much hopping you are doing throughout - I tend to fade toward the end of class, but it is such a hoot! My hips can not believe I am making them do this! ha! The music gets progressively faster as the hour (yes, an hour of this) goes on - the steps get faster. It all means I laugh more! Keeping up with the instructor has eluded me so far but I know I'm improving. I don't watch the clock, just my heart monitor!
Do you Zumba? Does this look like fun to you?
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Sunday, May 29, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Drinking Hormone Disruptors? Are Your Kids?
With warmer weather comes the need to stay hydrated while out and about. I cringe because I see so many people STILL buying plastic water bottles, by the case, and still traveling about with them, hopefully the bottles do make it to a recycling can, but sadly most don't.
I don't know if anyone reading this got the alerts last summer about NOT leaving the plastic water bottles in the car to get all hot, and then taking it home to the fridge? Don't do this! The plastics leach chemicals into the water under normal conditions, but when heated? Whoa. It is toxic soup - and loaded with hormone disruptors. Do you really NEED hormone disruptors? I've always wondered how the water bottles arrived in the stores - like in air conditioned trucks? Doubtful. That plastic bottle, the whole case of them I see in some grocery carts, could have been subjected to heat already.
There are bottles to buy, like the one in this video, that have a tiny filter built in - perfect for while you are on the road. So as we approach a long holiday weekend, give some thought to how you might help end this bottled water insanity. If you haven't made the commitment to do without buying plastic bottled water yet, please keep reading.
Hormone disruptor in your precious water can begin to produce any number of seriously life threatening diseases. I know I write a lot of articles with dire warnings of continued UNinformed choices leading to potential health issue as a warning, and hopefully some people are taking these articles to heart and making changes. This is sure one I would make, not just for yourself and your health, but for Mother Earth!
I don't know if anyone reading this got the alerts last summer about NOT leaving the plastic water bottles in the car to get all hot, and then taking it home to the fridge? Don't do this! The plastics leach chemicals into the water under normal conditions, but when heated? Whoa. It is toxic soup - and loaded with hormone disruptors. Do you really NEED hormone disruptors? I've always wondered how the water bottles arrived in the stores - like in air conditioned trucks? Doubtful. That plastic bottle, the whole case of them I see in some grocery carts, could have been subjected to heat already.
There are bottles to buy, like the one in this video, that have a tiny filter built in - perfect for while you are on the road. So as we approach a long holiday weekend, give some thought to how you might help end this bottled water insanity. If you haven't made the commitment to do without buying plastic bottled water yet, please keep reading.
Hormone disruptor in your precious water can begin to produce any number of seriously life threatening diseases. I know I write a lot of articles with dire warnings of continued UNinformed choices leading to potential health issue as a warning, and hopefully some people are taking these articles to heart and making changes. This is sure one I would make, not just for yourself and your health, but for Mother Earth!
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Emotional Eating - Overeating Pt.3
My apologies to my Japanese friends if I blow this term - HARI HACHI BU. It means the equivalent of stop eating when you are 80% full. Imagine! 80% , not 100%. And why does this matter? Because we can easily eat - that automatic shovel thing going - until we get a signal that we are full. Well the truth is, you were full long before you GOT that signal. Someone wasn't paying attention.
Bang. Overeating. Simple. Eat slowly and do Hari Hachi Bu. Of course it helps if the portions on your plate are what they should be. A serving of meat or fish - the size of a deck of cards. Yep, that's it. More than that is overeating. I've written before about Americans eating too much meat thinking well, golly wiz, we need the protein! Not that much of it though. The rest of your plate (next to the card-deck-size meat/fish portion) should be veggies, not the starchy ones though like the typical baked potato, french fries or mashed.
The plate sized steak with a baked potato on the side - ouch. Killer food combo. And yet there are restaurants out there pimping just that and Americans flock to them. If you do go one, order a smaller steak and a larger salad and skip any potato. Unfortunately so many restaurants offer you a yummy steamed veggie in lieu of the potato - ugh, please! No Wonder people don't eat their veggies! Put some balsalmic vinegar on it at least. You can ask for that on the side in most places. Even a tablespoon of some salad dressing - anything in moderation - to get you eating more veggies.
If you LOVE steak, why not try making steak salads at home? Cut the meat very thinly and put it atop a plate of greens (any!) add other veggies, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, whatever you have in the fridge, even broccoli, steamed asparagus. A huge plate of this will satisfy both your appetite and nutritional needs.
This is also a great way to cut back on meat consumption altogether. Since I buy only organic meats these days, I don't buy as much since it is expensive. So meat is a treat when we eat it. And if it is used more to flavor than as a stand-alone, you can cut back and save. This is also a reason why Asians (until they come here and eat like Americans) are always thinner than us, not to mention the whole less cancer, less heart disease angle - and that's huge, don't you think?
And sometimes it's not just Hari Hachi Bu. Hubs likes meat a lot more than I do so I have to slip bits of meat into things every once in awhile so he doesn't fear becoming a vegetarian. Steak burritos are another way to use little bits of steak. I make it mostly beans and veggies but if you look closely, ah, yes, there is a bit of steak in there! In his, not mine.
When the stomach is empty, it lays in folds, sort of collapsed. When food comes in, it starts to expand. Obviously when we eat beyond the Hari Hachi Bu point, we have totally expanded the poor stomach beyond it's natural comfort zone and so we feel "stuffed". We are. Badly. The strain of having to digest all that food - the stomach does one food at a time and you have to know it is looking hard to find the GOOD stuff - is quite a strain on the whole body.
Here's what most people don't get. This strain digesting an overabundance of food isn't limited to "just" the stomach. The cells network (it is fascinating when you study cellular biology) and this strain (it is more like panic) the cells are going thru dealing with all the food is passed along to the other organs, including your ticking heart. Think of this simply - picture a stampede in a stadium - one exit, panic spreads quickly until everyone is screaming to get out. (Maybe this doesn't sound overly scientific but I love simplifying with metaphors.)
Of course you aren't aware of all this going on inside of you - you just feel stuffed. But over-eating is a serious thing and it takes it toll over time. You cannot put your cells and organs through this daily without something breaking down eventually. This is where you hear diseases and symptoms are PREVENTABLE - yes, indeed! So much of the reason people take drugs and go to doctors is nobody told them how and what to eat. They just ate.....and ate til they felt full.
Make it easy on yourself. (this means all of yourself - your inside self)
Eat less!
Seriously less.
Get absolutely stingy with yourself and your portions and decide a new level of satisfaction that can be reached without stuffing.
Hari Hachi Bu.
Bang. Overeating. Simple. Eat slowly and do Hari Hachi Bu. Of course it helps if the portions on your plate are what they should be. A serving of meat or fish - the size of a deck of cards. Yep, that's it. More than that is overeating. I've written before about Americans eating too much meat thinking well, golly wiz, we need the protein! Not that much of it though. The rest of your plate (next to the card-deck-size meat/fish portion) should be veggies, not the starchy ones though like the typical baked potato, french fries or mashed.
The plate sized steak with a baked potato on the side - ouch. Killer food combo. And yet there are restaurants out there pimping just that and Americans flock to them. If you do go one, order a smaller steak and a larger salad and skip any potato. Unfortunately so many restaurants offer you a yummy steamed veggie in lieu of the potato - ugh, please! No Wonder people don't eat their veggies! Put some balsalmic vinegar on it at least. You can ask for that on the side in most places. Even a tablespoon of some salad dressing - anything in moderation - to get you eating more veggies.
If you LOVE steak, why not try making steak salads at home? Cut the meat very thinly and put it atop a plate of greens (any!) add other veggies, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, whatever you have in the fridge, even broccoli, steamed asparagus. A huge plate of this will satisfy both your appetite and nutritional needs.
This is also a great way to cut back on meat consumption altogether. Since I buy only organic meats these days, I don't buy as much since it is expensive. So meat is a treat when we eat it. And if it is used more to flavor than as a stand-alone, you can cut back and save. This is also a reason why Asians (until they come here and eat like Americans) are always thinner than us, not to mention the whole less cancer, less heart disease angle - and that's huge, don't you think?
And sometimes it's not just Hari Hachi Bu. Hubs likes meat a lot more than I do so I have to slip bits of meat into things every once in awhile so he doesn't fear becoming a vegetarian. Steak burritos are another way to use little bits of steak. I make it mostly beans and veggies but if you look closely, ah, yes, there is a bit of steak in there! In his, not mine.
When the stomach is empty, it lays in folds, sort of collapsed. When food comes in, it starts to expand. Obviously when we eat beyond the Hari Hachi Bu point, we have totally expanded the poor stomach beyond it's natural comfort zone and so we feel "stuffed". We are. Badly. The strain of having to digest all that food - the stomach does one food at a time and you have to know it is looking hard to find the GOOD stuff - is quite a strain on the whole body.
Here's what most people don't get. This strain digesting an overabundance of food isn't limited to "just" the stomach. The cells network (it is fascinating when you study cellular biology) and this strain (it is more like panic) the cells are going thru dealing with all the food is passed along to the other organs, including your ticking heart. Think of this simply - picture a stampede in a stadium - one exit, panic spreads quickly until everyone is screaming to get out. (Maybe this doesn't sound overly scientific but I love simplifying with metaphors.)
Of course you aren't aware of all this going on inside of you - you just feel stuffed. But over-eating is a serious thing and it takes it toll over time. You cannot put your cells and organs through this daily without something breaking down eventually. This is where you hear diseases and symptoms are PREVENTABLE - yes, indeed! So much of the reason people take drugs and go to doctors is nobody told them how and what to eat. They just ate.....and ate til they felt full.
Make it easy on yourself. (this means all of yourself - your inside self)
Eat less!
Seriously less.
Get absolutely stingy with yourself and your portions and decide a new level of satisfaction that can be reached without stuffing.
Hari Hachi Bu.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
The End of Bloating?
I have been reading about Celiac disease - it's a gluten intolerance that many people have on a severe level, like my friend Sandy, but many others may have an intolerance but don't realize it. It may be a much milder reaction.
I was one of those people. I began an experiment eliminating wheat, rye, barley and oats from my diet for a few weeks. This included not having bread or pasta made from those items either. Surprisingly, there ARE other breads and crackers and pasta out on the market now.
We don't eat much bread anyway, but I tried a loaf of bread made from other grains. The toast was excellent. We had rice noodle pasta with an oriental stir fry - quite good.
Anyway, the perk was no bloating after eating. I don't eat that much at one time anyway, so I often wondered why I suffered with occasional bloating. It was directly corresponding to when I had bread rolls with dinner, or a day with just too much whole wheat this and that. Strange. There is a bit of push going on to eat whole grains. While they are considerably more nutritious than processed grains, with more fiber as well, eating too much of them isn't good either. They convert to sugar so moderation needed.
I kept researching this gluten intolerance. It's not like I wanted to have this disease or anything, and my symptoms are really so mild it may have continued to go unnoticed but for my 2 week elimination trial. I discovered in my studies that many people have an intolerance to wheat - some have had relief from arthritis by eliminating it, others just "feel better", and some people swear they have more energy NOT eating grains.
When you really watch what you eat and keep track of how you feel afterward, you may realize a food elimination trial is worth the effort. Maybe it's cheese, or milk, or perhaps, it's wheat you want to do an elimination trial on? From what I've been reading (and hearing) I think there could be a lot more people who suffer thru minor discomforts due to gluten intolerance or food allergies they are not aware of. The trouble with minor problems, if they are not paid attention to, the potential for these symptoms to develop into a full-blown disease are increased.
I will continue to eat regular bread from time to time, or regular pasta, certainly not together at the same meal and will sprinkle it thru out my week but it really had such an impact on me I thought I'd share this. The point is, if you have a symptom - even if its something as benign as bloating after eating - pay attention. It should not be happening. It's your body re-acting to what you ate. Listen up!
I was one of those people. I began an experiment eliminating wheat, rye, barley and oats from my diet for a few weeks. This included not having bread or pasta made from those items either. Surprisingly, there ARE other breads and crackers and pasta out on the market now.
We don't eat much bread anyway, but I tried a loaf of bread made from other grains. The toast was excellent. We had rice noodle pasta with an oriental stir fry - quite good.
Anyway, the perk was no bloating after eating. I don't eat that much at one time anyway, so I often wondered why I suffered with occasional bloating. It was directly corresponding to when I had bread rolls with dinner, or a day with just too much whole wheat this and that. Strange. There is a bit of push going on to eat whole grains. While they are considerably more nutritious than processed grains, with more fiber as well, eating too much of them isn't good either. They convert to sugar so moderation needed.
I kept researching this gluten intolerance. It's not like I wanted to have this disease or anything, and my symptoms are really so mild it may have continued to go unnoticed but for my 2 week elimination trial. I discovered in my studies that many people have an intolerance to wheat - some have had relief from arthritis by eliminating it, others just "feel better", and some people swear they have more energy NOT eating grains.
When you really watch what you eat and keep track of how you feel afterward, you may realize a food elimination trial is worth the effort. Maybe it's cheese, or milk, or perhaps, it's wheat you want to do an elimination trial on? From what I've been reading (and hearing) I think there could be a lot more people who suffer thru minor discomforts due to gluten intolerance or food allergies they are not aware of. The trouble with minor problems, if they are not paid attention to, the potential for these symptoms to develop into a full-blown disease are increased.
I will continue to eat regular bread from time to time, or regular pasta, certainly not together at the same meal and will sprinkle it thru out my week but it really had such an impact on me I thought I'd share this. The point is, if you have a symptom - even if its something as benign as bloating after eating - pay attention. It should not be happening. It's your body re-acting to what you ate. Listen up!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
The "Dieter's" Dream Food and MORE
Drum roll, please.........
It has two times the protein of any other seed or grain....
It has FIVE times the calcium of milk (plus it has boron which is a trace mineral that helps transfer calcium into your bones....
It has two times the amount of potassium as bananas, three times the reported antioxidant strenth of bluebuerries, Three times more iron than spinach....
and there is MORE
It's rich in Omega 3 & 6
And perhaps best of all, can you say FIBER?
What is it?
CHIA SEEDS! Yep. Cha-cha-cha-chia - the stupid little chia seed pet thing you could buy at Walgreens was really a terrible waste of a mighty powerful seed with a glowing history of health benefits!
"Chia" is the Mayan word for strength. These little seeds go back to ancient cultures who used them as mega-energy food, especially for their running messengers who would carry a small pouch with them. It gives an incredibly sustaining surge of energy. You can store them dry for 4-5 years without any problems, unlike flax seeds that may turn rancid.
Now for dieter's, oh gosh this is a goodie and I've seen my clients success with this (even though they were as skeptical as you probably are reading this). When added to food, it bulks up the food, displacing the calories and fat without diluting the flavor of the food. You've added in nutrient-rich superfood goodness which also hydrates and sustains you - great deal here!
Chia slows the impact of sugars on the system if eaten together. It also creates a physical barrier between the cars and the enzymes which break them down and this slows the conversion of carbs into sugar. They also work like a broom, sweeping through your intestinal tract, helping to dislodge and eliminate old accumulated waste in the intestines.
Here's a brief list of conditions that Chia can help relieve or support:
Weight loss
Thyroid conditions
Hypoglycemia
Diabetes
IBS
Celiac Disease
Acid reflux
Lowering cholesterol
Pretty impressive for such a little seed. You can buy them in a bag for around $8 - get them on-line if you don't have a health food store nearby. The most common way to eat chia is to first soak the seeds. They absorb 9-12 times their volume in about 10 minutes.
1/3 cup of chia seeds to 2 cups of water. Sitr it well and leave it in the fridge in a sealed jar. It makes a gel that you can use in about 10 minutes. This will stay good in the fridge for about 3 weeks.
Add this chia seed gel to smoothies, salad dressings, puddings, yogurt or anything. There is very little taste to chia so it won't really interfere with the flavors you have going on. You can also just eat two spoonfuls of it daily too.
With the seeds dry, you can sprinkle them onto salads, granola, veggies or whatever. You can throw seeds into soups and stews to thicken them up, add them to bread baking, omelettes or meatballs. There are recipes on line, but I find it so much fun to just add them into things casually. As for baking tho, most of the recipes I've seen say to use the chia GEL - remember these seeds absorb water up to 9-12 times. If you tend to be dehydrated at all, I would recommend highly just using the gel and you won't have any problems.
I read "The Magic of Chia" by James Scheer and there is a whole chapter in the book about seed foods being great buffers for cancer. It wouldn't surprise me in the least. The nutrient breakdown of this little chia gem is frankly awesomely overwhelming in a super health kind of way. Why did we ever stop eating them in the first place? Hmmm. More and more we need to look into our human food history I think, don't you?
Here's a video with a demo for you. The guy doing it is a marathon runner in training. Don't let that keep you from incorporating this powerhouse of a seed into your life. I found that it made my morning yogurt or smoothie provide HOURS more for me before hunger tapped again - and I'm using it now for my workouts in the gym for endurance. It really works!
It has two times the protein of any other seed or grain....
It has FIVE times the calcium of milk (plus it has boron which is a trace mineral that helps transfer calcium into your bones....
It has two times the amount of potassium as bananas, three times the reported antioxidant strenth of bluebuerries, Three times more iron than spinach....
and there is MORE
It's rich in Omega 3 & 6
And perhaps best of all, can you say FIBER?
What is it?
CHIA SEEDS! Yep. Cha-cha-cha-chia - the stupid little chia seed pet thing you could buy at Walgreens was really a terrible waste of a mighty powerful seed with a glowing history of health benefits!
"Chia" is the Mayan word for strength. These little seeds go back to ancient cultures who used them as mega-energy food, especially for their running messengers who would carry a small pouch with them. It gives an incredibly sustaining surge of energy. You can store them dry for 4-5 years without any problems, unlike flax seeds that may turn rancid.
Now for dieter's, oh gosh this is a goodie and I've seen my clients success with this (even though they were as skeptical as you probably are reading this). When added to food, it bulks up the food, displacing the calories and fat without diluting the flavor of the food. You've added in nutrient-rich superfood goodness which also hydrates and sustains you - great deal here!
Chia slows the impact of sugars on the system if eaten together. It also creates a physical barrier between the cars and the enzymes which break them down and this slows the conversion of carbs into sugar. They also work like a broom, sweeping through your intestinal tract, helping to dislodge and eliminate old accumulated waste in the intestines.
Here's a brief list of conditions that Chia can help relieve or support:
Weight loss
Thyroid conditions
Hypoglycemia
Diabetes
IBS
Celiac Disease
Acid reflux
Lowering cholesterol
Pretty impressive for such a little seed. You can buy them in a bag for around $8 - get them on-line if you don't have a health food store nearby. The most common way to eat chia is to first soak the seeds. They absorb 9-12 times their volume in about 10 minutes.
1/3 cup of chia seeds to 2 cups of water. Sitr it well and leave it in the fridge in a sealed jar. It makes a gel that you can use in about 10 minutes. This will stay good in the fridge for about 3 weeks.
Add this chia seed gel to smoothies, salad dressings, puddings, yogurt or anything. There is very little taste to chia so it won't really interfere with the flavors you have going on. You can also just eat two spoonfuls of it daily too.
With the seeds dry, you can sprinkle them onto salads, granola, veggies or whatever. You can throw seeds into soups and stews to thicken them up, add them to bread baking, omelettes or meatballs. There are recipes on line, but I find it so much fun to just add them into things casually. As for baking tho, most of the recipes I've seen say to use the chia GEL - remember these seeds absorb water up to 9-12 times. If you tend to be dehydrated at all, I would recommend highly just using the gel and you won't have any problems.
I read "The Magic of Chia" by James Scheer and there is a whole chapter in the book about seed foods being great buffers for cancer. It wouldn't surprise me in the least. The nutrient breakdown of this little chia gem is frankly awesomely overwhelming in a super health kind of way. Why did we ever stop eating them in the first place? Hmmm. More and more we need to look into our human food history I think, don't you?
Here's a video with a demo for you. The guy doing it is a marathon runner in training. Don't let that keep you from incorporating this powerhouse of a seed into your life. I found that it made my morning yogurt or smoothie provide HOURS more for me before hunger tapped again - and I'm using it now for my workouts in the gym for endurance. It really works!
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