The Top 2 Exercise and Nutrition Tips of All-time!

I want to share some tips with you today that pretty much sums up what all of us need to do to get lean and stay lean for life.

It doesn't get any simpler than this… but simple works!

TOP 2 EXERCISE TIPS


* Invest in a Whole Body Workout: This means doing a five-exercise circuit (designed to work your upper body, lower body, and core) at least three times per week with a day of rest between workouts. Alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each a double-leg (e.g. squat), push (e.g. push-up), single-leg (e.g. lunge), pull (e.g. row), and core (e.g. plank) exercise. Perform up to 4 rounds without rest for a killer 20-minute total body workout.

* Harness the Power of Intervals: Interval training is scientifically proven to burn nine times more body fat than ordinary exercise and elevates metabolism for up to 48 hours following your workout. Perform cardio intervals on non-strength training days three times per week. Selecting your cardio exercise of choice, alternate between 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest and repeat this 30 second interval eight times for four total minutes followed by a one-minute rest. Repeat for up to 20 total minutes. This routine works best on a jump rope, treadmill, elliptical, stationary bike, or for body weight cardio exercise that you can do at home like running in place, mountain climbers, burpees, or jumping jacks.

TOP 2 NUTRITION TIPS



* Eat Early and Often: Eat immediately upon waking and then every two to four hours to starve fat and feed muscle. By continuously fueling your furnace, and eating some animal protein (meat, eggs, cheese, etc.) at every feeding, you'll also keep your metabolism revved up throughout the day and prevent overeating.

* Think Fiber First When Consuming Carbs: Eat an unlimited amount of fibrous, cruciferous green veggies to fill your belly both during and between meals. For optimal fat-burning, try to limit fruit and other carbohydrate consumption to within 1-2 hours post-workout when your body best tolerates starches and sugars.

Live by these 2 training and nutrition rules and you will have a body to be proud of... I guarantee it ;)



No Xcuses just Xtreme Xercise for Xtreme Results

A. Lamail Spain

Come In Like A Lion with Your Fitness- How to Shovel Pain-Free

I have been told that usually March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, and with the looks of things we are in the first couple of days and he is as furious as Scar from The Lion King. We’re officially in the midst of one worst winter storms here in Charlotte. I must admit, if there’s one thing that bothers me the most about the winter (besides the sickly cold and lack of natural light), it’s the number of people who hurt themselves shoveling snow. I can’t tell you how many clients of mine have tweaked their backs in their zealous attempts to keep a clear driveway.

Today I am going to reveal my top safe shoveling secrets. For those of you who do not live in Charlotte like me, you still need to know this information too. Why? Because with the global epidemic that is climate change you really never know when snow is coming your way. I was in Montana this past holiday season and the townies were talking about how they had suffered one of the worst winter storms in his 25 years of living there.

So, without further adieu, here are my top five safe shoveling tips:

1.) Perform a Proper 5-Minute Warm-up Before Shoveling

Just as very few people properly warm-up before intense exercise, so do many people fail to get their bodies ready for the rigors of shoveling snow. Let’s face it, snow, especially when it’s wet, is a real beast to move around. And if your body is tight and cold then you will dramatically increase your chances of short or long-term injury.

I have created a great shoveling specific five-minute warm-up to get your body ready to rock. There is a special emphasis on opening up the hips and chest to save your back and shoulders, the two most commonly injured areas of broken down shovelers:

Perform each exercise in the following warm-up circuit at a slow, controlled tempo for 50 seconds with a 10 second rest and transition between exercises. Do this warm-up indoors to better increase core temperature and total body blood flow:

Exercise#1- Stationary High Knee Run
Exercise#2- Jumping Claps (modified jumping jacks with arms moving across chest level, palms facing)
Exercise#3- Alternating Forward Lunge, Overhead Reach, and Twist
Exercise#4- Alternating Lateral Lunge with Opposite Hand to Toe Touch
Exercise#5- Prisoner Squats (hands behind head with finger interlocked)

2.) Split Your Stance When Shoveling

Back pain is probably the biggest complaint for avid shovelers. In most cases, a sore or tight back stems from restriction at the hips (see the warm-up above to best remedy this). More specifically, using a parallel stance puts your lower back at a greater risk of injury due to the greater likelihood of excessive flexion of the lumbar spine that often leads to back spasms in the short run and herniated discs in the long run. However, the simple switch to shoveling with a split stance, where one leg is forward and the other leg is back, will not only help prevent this hyper flexion while bending over and moving snow, but will also actively stretch and open up those tight hips at the same time. Be sure to keep things in balance by doing an even number of shovel strokes with both legs forward by alternating every 10 reps or so.

3.) Point Your Toes In Same Direction of Shoveling

Just as I instruct my athletes to pointing their toes in the new direction that they are intending to run in whenever they are changing direction, so is true for someone that is shoveling their driveway. This is a continuation of the last tip. Even when you split your stance, you can be susceptible to injury whenever you perform a rotating back extension (e.g. a shovel toss to your rear). So, to further bolster your body, be sure to always shovel snow in the direction that your toes point to minimize excessive spinal rotation that can literally wrench your back.

4.) Shovel EQUALLY to BOTH Sides

This is a further continuation on the last two tips. Another big mistake people make is that they always shovel to their strong sides causing further strength and flexibility imbalances that can put your body at greater risk for injury. So, we now know you want to split your stance and shovel in the direction your toes are pointing, but you should also be sure do an equal amount of shovel tosses to your left AND right. Do 10 shovel tosses to your left with your left leg forward and then do 10 shovel tosses to your right with your right leg forward. Repeat until your driveway or sidewalk is crystal clear.

5.) Buy a Condo

This is my personal favorite, and no, I’m not joking. The great thing about a condominium/apartment community is that they do all of the outdoor maintenance for your home, including shoveling. This has saved me so much extra stress and time, and if it is a viable option and you live in a harsh winter climate, make the smart move and get a condo. It’s hard to get hurt shoveling if you never shovel.

The aforementioned tips will go a long way in keeping your body as bulletproof as possible during the next blizzard. Seriously, it’s not really cool to get hurt shoveling. It’s a sign of an even bigger problem: being overweight and/or highly de-conditioned. And if you do get hurt shoveling, be sure to lie when some asks why you’re in a wheelchair. Just tell them you got hit by a snow plow truck, it makes for a better story and your co-workers or friends won’t rip on you for the rest of your days, ha!


Charlotte, NC Boot Camp and Personal Trainer

Celiac Disease: An Interview with Rita Jackson

Tell me a little about yourself and how you were diagnosed with Celiac Disease.
My name is Rita Jackson and I have had Celiac Disease for 10 years now and have been on a gluten free diet for 9.5 years. Having Celiac Disease, has been a true BLESSING for me because it has saved my life. How, my body is not subjected to eating the additives and chemicals that are being added to our foods, which forces me to eat and be healthier. But most of all God has allowed me to educate others about the importance of what types of foods they are eating.

I was 36 when I began experiencing some itching on the palms of my hands. I didn’t pay that much attention to it, because after a while it went away. By the end of the week the itching began to spread to my legs, but the odd thing about it the itching would arise at the end of the day when I undressed. The itching was to intense, I was visiting the emergency room at least 3 times a week connected to a Benadryl IV. As time went along, my health took a turn for the worst, because my muscles and joints were being attacked, I was experiencing fatigue, and I lost 17 pounds in about a week and a half, which caused me to be somewhat immobile. His went on for months. I was diagnosed with Lupus, which turned out to be misdiagnoses. So, it was back to the “drawing board” for me. While all this was going on I was eating only eggs, drinking water and some milk because I had a strange felling it was something I was eating. I made an appointment to see another doctor who ran some allergic reaction tests using my blood. When the results came back it stated I was allergic to grass and wheat. I was astonished to know I was allergic to wheat, because I had been eating wheat all my life. When I questioned the doctor about me having an allergic reaction to wheat, his response was, “Some people do and it’s not a big deal.” I was not satisfied with that answer, so I began searching the internet for answers, and posed the question to my sister in-law who is a nutritionist, who discussed going on a gluten free diet, and told me about Celiac Disease. Well, this went on for 3 years, with no real diagnoses, until 2003 when I moved to Durham North Caroling and a doctor in Chapel Hill performed an intestinal biopsy that determined I had Celica Disease. (Although, I had helped the healing of my intestinal lining, I still posed signs of this disease.)


What are some of the challenges that you have had to face with dealing with Celiac Disease?
When I was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease the biggest challenged I faced was eating out at restaurants and at parties. I was so afraid to eat anything because of suffering intense itching and abdominal pain, due to gluten and other food additive cross contamination. I was afraid to question the waiter or waitress about items of the menu because I felt as though I was imposing upon them. (That ended soon) The second challenge for me was attending parties of all kinds. People would serve food that I knew I couldn’t eat and which was a drag, so I would end up drinking water, because I could not drink any the sodas or alcoholic beverages served. (I solved this problem by eating before I went to the parties or bringing my own food.) The third challenge is having more joint pain now than before which at times can cause slight physical limitations. Another is I have to read every food label before purchasing the item even if it is listed gluten free, because some companies change their ingredients from time to time. Finally the biggest challenge for me was finding gluten free foods, the cost, and purchasing gluten free foods that tasted good with out wasting my money. I can’t even express how much money I spent over the years on gluten free products that tasted awful, but if I had to estimate I would say over a $1000.00 or more.


Walk us through a typical day before you were diagnosed with Celiac Disease?
Before, I was diagnosed with Celiac, I was eating healthy, every active. I was able to eat anything I wanted, especially my favorite (BREAD). I guess you can say my life was “normal” to me because I had very little limitations in what I could eat and physically do. I was able to go out to any restaurant with friends or family to eat, and did not have to think about what I was going to eat.

Did you find it a difficult transition from a wheat-based diet to one free from wheat?
When I was first diagnosed I found it very difficult to transition from wheat and gluten based diet. One of challenge I faced was finding the right type of pasta with the right type of consistency I could make Lasagna and macaroni and cheese with. But the biggest challenge was finding the right bread. I went many 8 years without eating bread because I could not find bread that tasted good. I just find two types of breads last year that are perfect to my liking.

How is it different now that you know what to do or how to eat?
I’m not literally starving myself anymore, because I have a wide variety of foods to choose from, ingredients to cook with and cookbooks to show me how to make delicious nutritious meals and deserts. Also, I know which products to purchase now with out wasting my money.

What is the typical grocery bill like for someone that has Celiac Disease?
The typical grocery bill for me in the beginning was about $100.00 and went down to $80.00 to $74.00 and continues to go down. I have learned where to shop and call grocery stores, health food stores and check Glutenfreemall.com to see if any of their gluten free items are on sale. One other thing that really helps is Glutenfreemall.com offers points from products purchased that can be used towards purchasing other foods. This cuts the cost a little.

How did you learn how to maneuver around altering your lifestyle since having Celiac Disease?
Maneuvering has come a lot easier now for me than it use to be. Restaurants are offering more gluten free meals now which make it easer to go out with friends and family as long as it’s a restaurant that serves gluten free food. Going to parties is also easier now, because I just brought two or three items to the party that I could eat. I still have to be careful to avoid cross contamination at restaurants and at home.

I know when I went into the local grocery store to shop for Gluten-free products, the only thing that I was able to find was two margarines and some brownie and muffin mix. How difficult is it to shop and does it gets better with time and experience? In the begging it was difficult to find gluten free products, I was finding a few items just like you did and that I didn’t know how they tasted. But within the last 2 and half years it has gotten easier because more grocery stores are sailing gluten free items and some grocery stores have their own gluten free products now at reasonable prices.

Do you eat out a lot? How do you plan for trips or vacations?
I eat out every once in a while. I have to admit that sometimes when I do go out to eat, I am still scared that I might encounter some cross contamination. I only go out once every three months and sometimes it’s not that much. As far as vacations and trips, I carry my own salad dressing with me for salads and I take a lot of my GF non cook foods with me and snacks, I look up restaurants before hand that serve gluten free foods, and I have cards in different languages that explains I am on a gluten free diet and if they have anything I could eat.

What about your social life has it changed since being diagnosed with Celiac Disease?
My social life has changed a little, I don’t get asked out to dinner by girlfriends as much as I use too, unless I choose the restaurant. One of the most difficult problems is if I do go out to eat with friends and a “new” person comes with us and doesn’t know about my condition and ask me why I can’t eat a certain food, and I explain to them why, the others act as though they are irritated with me because they don’t want to hear about it anymore.


What would be some advice or encouraging words that you would like those that are reading this interview to know about Celiac Disease and how to deal with it?
I would like for everyone to know that having Celiac Disease is not a “curse’ but a Wonderful Blessing that saved my life, because I love to eat and I could be worse off if I had not been diagnosed. The best way to deal with celiac disease is to get more than one or two support systems. Find a doctor that knows about the disease and don’t accept more than one or two diagnosis that doesn’t connect with your symptoms. Search the web for celiac groups, chat lines ask companies if they could mail free samples of foods to taste and, attend gluten free food fairs.

What grain alternatives do you like cooking with?
I like cooking with Tapioca flower and rice flower.

I know we have talked a bunch before this interview about Celiac Disease, and you are the primary reason why I have taken an interest with learning more about this disease and trying to write and educate others out there about this disease. How did you get so knowledgeable about Celiac Disease? Did someone help you with gaining so much incite with Celiac Disease?
I had to do all the research myself, and I have not stopped because more information about Celiac Disease and celiac products is continuously brought forth every day. I spent about 3-5 hours online looking up information about celiac disease and companies that sold gluten free products, and now I spend about 3 hours or 2 looking up information and downloading new information and taking this information and creating it into a small pocket size booklet that I can carry around with me.

Where could someone go if they wanted more information about support groups or information to learn more about Celiac Disease?
If someone wanted to know more about this disease they should go to GlutenFreemall.com has books and your can subscribe to their newspaper for up to date news regarding Celiac, http://www.glutenfreeclub.com, celiac.com, glutenfree.com and glutenfreeraleigh.com. They can also attend workshops in their areas that teach about Celiac Disease.

Off the top of your head could you give those that are reading some quick tips or recipes or strategies that you have found that are successful that you use with preparing your food?
One food product that I missed the most besides bread was cake. I purchased an Xpress machine I saw on TV. Some of you may have seen it. This machine has allowed me to make individual cakes shaped like tacos with no oil or butter. I use Pamela’s gluten free cake mix and take out the oil and just use one egg and water. The Xpress machine uses air to make the cake rise. This cuts out a lot of calories and makes the cake fluffy.
There are so many foods items I can make with these individual cakes, such as Suzy Q’s I slice each cake through the middle and top with whip cream and replace the top portion. I also do the same and make it into a Chocolate Strawberry Short cake, just add whip cream and strawberries. My mother and I also came up with a healthy Crunchy Vegetable Shrimp Salad. You need sweet purple onions, celery, cucumbers, carrots, and shrimp and gluten free Italian salad dressing. Allow the vegetables to marinade in the dressing over night, do the same for the shrimp in another container. Next drain the dressing off the shrimp and vegetables and mix them together. Serve over a bed of lettuce. I have SECRET gluten free chocolate chip recipe but it will remain a secret.

On cooking, what is your favorite gluten free recipe - is there something you regularly eat at home, or a reproduction of a gluten-full dish you are particularly proud of?
My favorite gluten free recipe is the Crunchy Vegetable shrimp Salad. I am proud of my chocolate chip cookies right now, but I just devised a gluten free stuffing for Thanksgiving. I use two gluten free products to create this stuffing.)

I know that we have talked in length about the “trial and error” that you painstakingly had to go through in regards to finding foods and brands that you liked over those that either tasted nasty or just wasn’t that good to use for prepping your food. Are there any brands that you highly recommend over others?
Cause Your Special cake mix and pancake mix, Dr. Schar Classic Gluten-Free Rolls (Hamburger Buns) The Grainless Baker Gluten-Free Hoagie/Submarine Buns, Pamela’s Gluten free cake mix, and brownie mix. WaldenFarms.com salad dressings, Gluten-Free Pasta Tagliatelle, and Glutano’s pretzels. UTZ chips (the salt content is too much for me.) Perdue chicken in the individual packages is gluten free.

Is there any food that you particularly miss?
Yes my mothers Thanksgiving stuffing, and macaroni and cheese.

Would you go back to a wheat-based diet if you could?
No, I enjoy the foods that I eat now, because they are healthier and eating this way helps me to pay more attention to my diet.

What is your favorite piece of cooking equipment?
Last year I purchased a coking set from Salad Master that helps retain the nutrients in my foods. I also like my rotisserie.

Do you have a favorite cookbook (apart from your own, of course!) or do you tend to cook by eye?
I tend to cook a lot by eye. I love to experiment in the kitchen when I have the time.

What is always in your fridge?
What is your single most-used ingredient? As far as gluten free products that are in my fridge, Smart balance butter, gluten free corn meal, rice flour tapioca flour, Hormel gluten free lunch meats, lettuce, and other vegetables, and gluten free yogurts.

What do you serve at Thanksgiving (or other major festival, such as Christmas, which would be the big food festival here)?
For the holidays, I serve Butter Ball gluten free turkey, collard greens and cabbage mixed together, gluten free corn bread and stuffing, gluten free mac and cheese, gluten free potato salad, and for desert gluten free chocolate cake, and sweet potato pie. For other occasions, I use me rotisserie to cook chicken, and then I add BBQ sauce on it and let it cook for 10 minutes in the oven. Any food product I add to my food must be gluten free.

Do you ever have a culinary disaster?
I use to have a lot of culinary disaster, but now I have very few. Most of the time, the disaster occurs when I am trying to create a new dessert.

How do you research a recipe book?
Do you start with a theme, or does a theme become apparent as you find interesting recipes? I usually search for a theme.

Do you - or your family - get bored of testing the same dish over and over?
Yes, this has occurred many times, which is why it is important to devise many recipes to keep me from skipping to many meals, and to keep my husband from eating too many processed foods.


What trends do you see for the future of the gluten free world?
I see that there are going to be more gluten free products sold in grocery stores and gluten free restaurants, and gluten free foods sold at lower prices. I was hoping for a home test to detect celiac disease, which is going to be on the market this year.

Do you think it is getting easier?
Yes have celiac disease is getting easier in certain aspects, such as learning how, and where to eat. The physical aspect can be challenging at times when coming across contaminated food.

10 HABITS TO ADOPT FOR A SUCCESSFUL NEW YEAR’S RESOULUTION

The Thanksgiving has come and gone, grandma’s peach cobbler pie has been consumed and we have stuffed ourselves to the point that we now look like the turkey that was on the table. Santa Claus and all his elves are back at the North Pole preparing the list to check it twice for this year. Now here we are, 2009, at a time where millions of Americans have dedicated themselves to trying to make lifestyle changes to start off the New Year. Every New Year's we go through our personal closets (figuratively and literally) to make some alterations to better our current circumstances for the new year. Whether the resolution is to get out of debt, to spend more time with loved ones, or to quit smoking, these resolutions have one thing in common: they are goals to make our lives better. I will say that half of those million have decided to make one of their New Year’s Resolutions center on losing weight or enhancing their appearance for 2009.

Unfortunately, this ritual commitment to self-improvement has been widely viewed as something of a joke--in part because most peoples’ New Year’s resolutions attempts fail before they even get started. After years of watching others--or themselves--excitedly commit to a new goal, only to abandon the quest by March, many come to conclude that New Year's resolutions are an exercise in futility that should not be taken seriously.

Where or who started New Year’s resolutions?

The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

The New Year has not always begun on January 1, and it doesn't begin on that date everywhere today. It begins on that date only for cultures that use a 365-day solar calendar. January 1 became the beginning of the New Year in 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would more accurately reflect the seasons than previous calendars had.

The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of entrances. He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new. The Romans began a tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year's Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became more common New Year's gifts.

In the Middle Ages, Christians changed New Year's Day to December 25, the birth of Jesus. Then they changed it to March 25, a holiday called the Annunciation. In the sixteenth century, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar, and the celebration of the New Year was returned to January 1.

Making New Year's resolutions does not have to be futile--and to make them is not silly; done seriously, it is an act of profound moral significance that embodies the essence of a life well-lived. Consider what we do when we make a New Year's resolution: we look at where we are in some area of life, think about where we want to be, and then set ourselves a goal to get there. We are tired of feeling chubby and lethargic and unattractive, and want the improved appearance and greater energy level that comes with greater fitness. So we resolve to take up a fun athletic activity--like fitness boot camps, an aerobic or spinning class--and plan to do it three times a week.

I have set some resolutions for myself, however, what I did was change my mental verbiage in believing that these are not resolutions but simply some goals that I want to accomplish throughout the year. We set goals all the time. Daily goals are met throughout the course of a day i.e. meeting a deadline at work for a major project, setting up a presentation to ask for a raise from your boss, planning your day around trying to get home in time to watch American Idol, or planning to get that house that you wanted or dreamed of. All of these are similar to a New Year’s resolution but we don't see them in that light. So, we are accustomed to setting and meeting goals; however, I think that when we look at resolutions, they seem to take on a life of their own. By setting goals you have a road map to where you would like to start and how you will like to get there.

Before I get into this goal setting process, I just need to get something off of my chest. I know a lot of people think goal setting is just a cheesy, useless thing. Unfortunately, these people just don’t get it and frankly if you are one of those people, please do us both a favor and stop reading this article and go buy another useless weight loss book or pill because I simply cannot do anything for you. I can only help people who want to learn. I simply cannot help people who already think they know it all and think they are too good to take some time to figure out what the heck it is that they actually want to accomplish. The bottom line is that the most successful people out there, and I mean not just weight loss success, I am talking business, lifestyle, etc., are shamelessly goal driven. They know exactly why they want to do something and harness that super motivation to figure out what and by when they want to go about accomplishing that. Furthermore, they plan and prepare for every possible roadblock they will encounter in their path to success. This is what I want to teach you how to do today, so let’s get to it! To assist those reading this, I have come up with 10 tips to get you started for this New Year:

Aim low. It goes without saying that most New Year's resolutions are easier announced (or written) than done — but if you set the bar too high, you're doomed from the start. Instead of a sweeping declaration like "I will lose 30 pounds by April and finally fit into that dress," target a goal that's more attainable, like losing 10 or 15 pounds.

Start with one resolution. If you try to make too many, you may not accomplish any. Don't overload yourself. It's difficult enough for the average person to follow through on one ambitious New Year's resolution; why on earth would you saddle yourself with three or four? Choose the most pressing issue at hand — losing weight, finding a girlfriend, improving your relationship with your parents — and concentrate on that. Trying to do everything simultaneously practically guarantees failure across the board.

Reward yourself. Following through on a New Year's resolution is rarely easy, so a little Pavlovian conditioning goes a long way. (You know Pavlov and his salivating dogs!) If you've resolved to shop less, stroke yourself for not buying those shoes by springing for a steaming hot cappuccino at the mall. If you've resolved to be losing 10 pounds, reward yourself with one meal that is your favorite comfort food.

Wait until spring. Sometimes the best way to accomplish a New Year's resolution is to make it at a time of year of your choosing, rather than the one dictated by the calendar. May 1 is a good alternate date, since the change of season will neatly coincide with the change you're hoping to accomplish in yourself.

Make your resolution very specific. "Don't say 'I want to lose weight'— instead, say 'I want to lose three pounds a month so that I look hot in my new swimsuit come summer,'".

Be serious about your resolution. If you don't take your resolution seriously, it is a waste of time to make one.

Write your resolution down and post it in a visible place. Out of sight is out of mind. Remember that saying? If you see your goal every day, it will be in the forefront of your mind.

Don't let yourself quit. Even if you slip up once or twice, you shouldn't abandon your resolution.

Enlist the support of friends and family. Bring others in on the resolution so you have a support group to help you accomplish your goals.

Tell everyone you know. One school of thought says New Year's resolutions are best kept to oneself, but look at it this way: the more people to whom you announce your resolution (say, to get out of your dead-end job by spring), the more people there'll be to prod you along if you fall behind. There's no shame in seeking help if you can't accomplish your resolution on your own.

The last two bullet points are the main ingredient in accomplishing your goal. Group support and group involvement are key. Two heads are better than one and the power of synergy is great! This is where social support and accountability come into play. “Birds of a feather flock together “. Like minds think and accomplish things together. Join a support/ interest group, or better yet a fitness boot camp because then you will have a support group that you will first began to become close with and then become accountable to because of the bond that you have established with that particular group.

The clients who have had the most success with us have undergone their transformation with the support of other friends or family members. This is so critical, especially since most of the poor food and drinking choices that sabotage one’s progress occur on the weekend, when most people hang out with their friend and family. If they are committed with you and your goal to get fit and look better, you can put yourself in a much better position to realize the success your desire and deserve. The last thing anybody needs is sabotage or peer pressure from those closest to you, so get them on board and get them on board early.

Finally, remember Rome wasn’t built in a day. The little things add up. The power of momentum will catapult you to greatness and success. The goal is to accomplish a New YEAR’S resolution, not New month, or New couple of months, or New Spring Break resolution; therefore, continue to work at your goal and believe that the small changes ARE AND WILL pay off in the long run even though right now you may not see them.

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare. The hare was quick to come out of the blocks and sped past the tortoise; however, the tortoise keep on pushing through and making small progressive accomplishments until it won the race, shocking the hare and the world with its accomplishment. You too need to think like the tortoise don’t start off strong to find yourself no where to be found at the end of the race, frustrated and disappointed with where you were at the end of 2009. This is a marathon/ endurance race not the 200 meter sprint. Pace yourself and remember that you will get your crown if you work your goals that you have set forth. Don’t worry about tomorrow, or the next week, or next month just get through today with accomplishing whatever the goal is that you have set out for TODAY. You can’t make it to the top of the ladder without first taking the first step!

GOOD LUCK.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

Celiac Disease and Autism

Americans spend about $2 billion per year on gluten-free products that assist not only individuals that have an allergic reaction to the protein that is in wheat, barley, oats, and rye, but also those individuals that have been diagnosis with such mental health diseases as autism and ADHD (attention deficient hyperactivity disorder). Over the past year or so, manufacturers in the US have sold over $2 billion worth of products with "gluten-free" claims according to Nielson Co.

As posted previously, gluten is found in everything from commercial baked goods to pastas, to medications and lipsticks, to kids toys such as Play Doh. Celiac Disease is an autoimmune disease of the small intestines caused by the body's reaction to the gluten protein gliadin. The only treatment is a diet free of gluten based ingredients.

We will shift gears a little today and look at how a gluten-free diet assist those with autism.

Proponents of the gluten-free diet say that many children with autism have gastrointestinal difficulties that make it hard for them to digest certain grains properly. There are different possibilities for ways in which this could affect children with autism. The most studied theory is that eating gluten leads to high levels of protein by-products, called gluteomorphines, in some children with autism. These by-products may then affect behavior like a drug would. Specifically, in these children, gluteomorphines could reduce their desire for social interaction, block pain messages, and increase confusion. If gluten is taken out of the diet, the idea is that this will reduce the level of gluteomorphines, and behavior will improve as a result.

What is the theory behind it?

Gluten is broken down in the intestines into several by-products, including one called gluteomorphine. These by-products are much more common in the urine of children with autism than in children without autism. Some scientists have concluded that they are leaking from the intestines into the blood of these children. Many research studies report that children with autism often have gastrointestinal problems, including intestinal leakage. The argument is that, if gluteomorphine is being absorbed into the general circulation in children with autism, then it could affect behavior. In support of this theory, there is evidence that blocking at least some of the action of gluteomorphine improves the behavior of children with autism. Moreover, recent evidence of a genetic mutation common among children with autism has been traced to a gene involved in gastrointestinal function

Does it work?

The effectiveness of elimination diets in improving the behavior of children with autism has only recently been scientifically researched. This research has almost always examined diets that are both casein- and gluten-free.
One well-controlled study focused on children with autism who had abnormally high protein by-products in their urine, and therefore were more likely to be sensitive to casein and gluten (see What is the theory behind it?). One group of these children was fed a strict casein- and gluten-free diet for 12 months. This group had significantly fewer autistic symptoms than the remaining children, who were not fed this diet. Another well-controlled study of casein- and gluten-free diets focused on children with autism regardless of the level of protein by-products in their urine. Overall, the study found no significant differences in behavior between children on the elimination diet and children on regular diets, although individual parents reported behavioral improvements. This overall lack of effect in the second study could be because the elimination diet only lasted 6 weeks, or because the children were not pre-selected according to the level of protein by-products in their urine.

Regardless, in both cases, the tested diets were casein- and gluten-free, so it is not clear whether it was the elimination of casein, gluten, or both that resulted in any improvements. A third study that did examine the effect of a gluten-free diet on the behavior of children with autism did not compare children on the elimination diet with children not on the diet. Therefore, even though there were improvements seen in the behavior of children on the diet, these may also have occurred over the 5 months of the study without the elimination diet.

The current thinking is that there is at least some evidence showing that a gluten-free diet, when combined with a casein-free diet, can help improve the behavior of some children with autism. Although the casein-free diet combined with a gluten-free diet is popular, there is little evidence to support or refute this intervention and reviewers have determined that meaningful conclusions cannot be drawn from the existing literature.

Is it harmful?

The major health concern for a child on a gluten-free diet is whether the child receives adequate nutrition. A recent report showed that the protein and nutrient intakes of children with autism on casein- and gluten-free diets were not different from those of children with autism on standard diets, but there was a trend towards lower calcium and copper intake in children on elimination diets (11). As a result, some researchers suggest that all children on elimination diets should be under the care of a nutritionist or physician (1).

Resources

Cookbooks as well as casein- and gluten-free diet starter kits for children with autism can be found at: http://www.gfcfdiet.com/.

The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network provides many resources to help children live with a gluten-free diet: http://www.foodallergy.org/.

Several books that might be helpful in understanding the casein-free diet approach are:
Diet Intervention and Autism: Implementing a Gluten Free and Casein Free Diet for Autistic Children and Adults: A Guide for Parents by Marilyn Le Breton and Rosemary Kessick. 2001. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

How to Eat Well Again on a Wheat, Gluten and Dairy-Free Diet by F. Crosthwaite. 2006. Merton Books.

Special Diets for Special People: Understanding and Implementing a Gluten-Free and Casein-Free Diet to Aid in the Treatment of Autism and Related Developmental Disorders by Lisa S Lewis 2005. Future Horizons.

The Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook: The Ultimate Guide to the Gluten-Free, Casein-Free Diet by P. Compart and D. Laake. 2006. Fair Winds Press.

article taken from this website http://autism.healingthresholds.com/therapy/gluten-free-diet

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

Study Shows Regular Exercise Might Prevent Onset Of Diabetes In Black Women

Taking a brisk walk several times a week for exercise appears to reduce black women's risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study published this month in the American Journal of Epidemiology, Reuters Health reports. Few studies have been conducted on the benefits of exercise among black women, according to Reuters. For the study, Julie Palmer of Boston University and colleagues used data from the ongoing Black Women's Health Study that followed 45,000 black women from 1995 to 2005.

Researchers found that those who said they walked for a minimum of five hours weekly for exercise were one-third less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who did not walk. The risk of being diagnosed with the disease was significantly lower among women who said they regularly took a brisk walk even when taking into account possible contributing factors such as age, income and diet. The study included a large number of obese women and they too appeared to have a lower risk for developing diabetes if they exercised regularly.

Palmer said, "This is important, because it suggests a way to reduce diabetes risk even among the women who are at highest risk of the disease," adding, "The finding that brisk walking for a few hours a week or longer reduces diabetes risk may be the most important finding of all. This is something almost all women can do in the course of their daily lives."

Researchers also found that women who watched television for five or more hours a day were 86% more likely to develop diabetes than those who watched less than one hour per day (Norton, Reuters Health, 12/18).


An abstract of the study is available online.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Personal Trainer in Charlotte, NC

A Fitness Dream Deferred: Making Your Fitness Dream A Reality

Langston Hughes, the African-American poet, wrote a poem in the early 20th century entitled A Dream Deferred. The poem is as follows:
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like as raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore-
And then rot?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over–
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?

The word deferred is define as to exempt temporarily from induction; to put off action or delay; keeping something from occurring until a future time; decide to do something later on; procrastinate; postpone; yield respectfully in judgment/ opinion; to refer.

I propose What Happens to a Fitness Dream Deferred? You may ask how this relates to fitness or wellness. The theme of this poem has to deal with postponing one’s deepest desires can lead to destruction. This can be seen in the clients that I work with on a daily basis. They come in with a goal i.e. weight loss, performance enhancement, or muscle mass gains; however, during the course of the journey, the goal becomes postponed never to be reached.

The questions in the poem are all rhetorical questions, because they intend to answer themselves. The question “What happens to a dream deferred?” appears to be answered with nothing but more questions. But if we analyze each question we get an idea of what the speaker really believes about dreams/goals being postponed. At the same rate, clients who have a goal may experience a dream deferred. The “dream” that the speaker is describing can be translated to a fitness goal, not just dreams experienced during sleep. The dream is important to the client’s life. But what dream is it exactly? The poem does not choose the dream but leaves it up to the reader. Nevertheless, the speaker’s position is clear that any important goal that must be delayed can have serious negative affects. As we look at each question we find out what those affects are. With each question the speaker offers a possibility of each negative affect.

The first stanza “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun”: a raisin is already dry, and as a raisin, it is a good thing, useful and nutritious, but if a raisin is left in the sun to dry up, it becomes hard and impossible to eat; its value sucked out, it no longer serves its useful, nutritional purpose.

The goal is central to what makes the client a valuable member of society, their self-worth. But suppose that person with the goal is told they cannot fulfill it just yet; they must wait until the trainer decides when they can lose the weight, or the nutritionist decides when it is time for them to change their diet.

What if the client has to take some other fitness goal that he/she lacks interest in i.e. the client comes in wanting to loss weight but the trainer decides for the client that they will work on functional training? What if they have no idea how long it will take to lose the weight (which usually is the case when most clients come in)? And what if they feel that perhaps they can never lose the weight or reach the goal? What happens then?

Surely, their aspiration to attain their goal will dry up, if they are not allowed to develop it. If the goal does not dry up, maybe it will “fester like a sore-/ And then run.” If you have a sore, you want it to dry up so it will heal, but if it festers and runs, that means it is infected and will take longer to heal. The goal that festers becomes infected with the disease of restlessness and dissatisfaction that may lead to gaining more weight, dropout, burnout, doubt, self- worthlessness, resentment, or even striking back at those who are deferring their goal.

Perhaps a goal put off too long is like meat that had rotted. Dead animal flesh that some people use for food will turn rancid and give off horrible odors if not used within a certain period of time. If the goal is not realized in a timely fashion, it may seem to decay because it dies.

The goal may “crust and sugar over-/Like a syrupy sweet?” If you leave pancake syrup or honey unused for several months, and you go back to fetch the bottle, you might find that there is crusty accumulation on the top of the bottle and the contents are no longer unable. Lack of use had formed that crust, that hard material that is no longer useful because no longer pliable. The goal forced to sit idle hardens into an unusable substance of thoughts that have separated themselves from the goals, and formed idle destructive thoughts that are crusted over to despair, doubt, anger, and hatred.

The second stanza is not a question bet merely a “maybe” suggestion: maybe the goal just sags like trying to carry something heavy. A heavy load makes one walk slowly, makes one clumsy as they try to move under the load. The goal not realized may become heavy to bear, because it still weighs on one’s mind with musing like “what might have been”, “if only”, “I guess I’ll never know”, “the one that got away.” All these useless thoughts that dip back into the past, weigh heavy on the mind that has had to defer a goal. This sagging under a heavy load might lead to depression and mental lethargy.

The last stanza returns to the question again, but this time instead of a simile, the speaker employs a metaphor of an explosion. What explodes? Bombs explode and cause great destruction. If all the other possibilities of a deferred goal are bad with some worse than others, then the last possibility is the worst. If the person whose goal is deferred loses all hope, they might “explode” with their despair. Never to revisit or accept whatever the current outcome of fitness has left them or more importantly festering over to other areas of life in which they want to achieve but associate the failure from this goal into those areas of their life.

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