New Year’s Resolution 2012 = I Want To Lose Weight = DIET = DIE + A ‘T’
Call it what you will, a diet is a diet! Be it high fat, low fat, high protein, low protein, carbs, no carbs, lemon juice water, cabbage soup, paprika, grapefruit, or simply standing on your head while you eat, etc., a diet means some type of food restriction to reduce your daily calorie levels.
But in reality, the word diet means ‘ way of life’. You decide your way of life and how you want to eat. Be it for weight loss, for health or simply because of a belief, you eat to sustain your body; whichever body you wish to have. Your diet will reflect in your body.
The secret? All diets work! Yes, all diets work as long as you stay on the chosen ‘way of life’. The problem is with most, they want this ‘way of life’ only for a short period of time, just to return back to their old ‘way of life’ and their old ways of eating and moving (or lack there of).
The reality? Life changes, people change, seasons change, moods change which will all affect your ‘way of life’, your diet. If life were constant and beautiful and only healthy foods were marketed and available to us, we would not have a ‘diet’ problem but life is not that perfect.
So, take a diet with a grain of salt; be wise and be smart. If a diet restricts Mother Nature’s gifts of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, then really assess its quality as this was the food of our ancestors before the big food companies came to town.
My food mantra: If it comes from the farm, eat it; as it leaves the farm, judge it!
Ab exercises burn the fat away – This is a myth. Fat loss is 90% nutrition. We can’t spot train! We exercise to increase muscle tissue which strengthens our bodies and helps to increase metabolism. An increased metabolism will aid in overall calorie and fat loss, but never isolated in one area of the body.
Next is the more Ab work the better – Abdominal muscles are not much different from other muscle groups and should be trained similarly. Would you do 100 reps everyday of bicep curls or squats? No you wouldn’t! Use different exercises to strengthen different areas of the abs, but use an appropriate volume. 3-4 sets of 10-20 reps.
Then there is the myth that crunches & sit-ups are the best exercises for the abs – These 2 popular exercises flex the spine, meaning they bend and round the back forward. Firstly, we don’t need to do these movements in everyday life – flex the spine -therefore it is not a functional movement. Secondly, most peoples’ posture is already rounded, hunched forward. Why reinforce this stressful position? Thirdly and most importantly, it has been proven that spinal flexion exercises, like crunches, are actually harmful to the discs of the spine. We want to train our abs to be strong for real life and athletic movements. When we walk, pick things up, reach out and carry things, the role of our abdominals is to support and stabilize the spine. Some example exercises are the plank and all it’s variations, roll outs and certain rotational movements like the woodchop. All these are safer and more effective ways to work the abs.
Fall is here and so are comfort foods. It is that time of year the slow cookers come out of hibernation and that we turn to hot, high carb comfort foods. Canadians look forward to long and cozy fall days along with the foods that come with these; baked pies, great pasta meals, chilis, homemade bread with butter and warm soft mashed potatoes.
Whatever your comfort food is, chances are it comes with lots of calories and the potential for weight gain; not the best combination to start the long winter. Because we tend to be less active in the winter months due to less time outside, it is also time to eat less calories throughout our day.
Tips to help you avoid the “Pitfalls of Cool Weather Comfort Eating”:
- Try to plan you supper ahead of time. The most damage we do is when we get home from work just to rip the fridge door off and the easiest thing to prepare is pasta; and lots of it. By planning and preparing your supper the night before, it will be ready to go.
- Take time to get new recipes for your slow cooker. This handy kitchen appliance can help you eat healthier through out the winter months as your supper is ready when you get in the door.
- Do some batch cooking on the weekend and freeze a few meals for quick and easy prep. The slow cooker can also work overtime on weekends, helping you to prepare meals ahead of time for the week to come.
- Make sure to always eat breakfast; no matter how rushed you are. It is your best meal of the day. People who eat breakfast regularly have lower body weights.
- Make sure that your lunch and supper meals contain half (1/2) the plate of vegetables; these can be low cost root vegetables, cabbage, coleslaw or try a favorite legume recipe. Vegetables tend to be costly during the winter so try some new recipes with seasonal low cost vegetables; oven baked root vegetables are delicious.
Knee pain occurs for a variety of reasons. High impact activities such as running, jumping or quick stops and starts (especially on hard surfaces) can cause wear or tears in the meniscal cartilage (the cushions that separate the femur from the tibia) over time and lead to osteoarthritis. Another very common cause of knee pain is related to improper tracking of the kneecap or patella across the knee as it is bent and straightened under the pressure of our body weight. Ensuing friction and stress forces can lead to inflammation and degenerative change of the patellar surface.
Many sports injuries occur due to trauma of the knee joint when struck from the side of the leg. This can lead to dislocation of the knee joint and cause the ligaments that hold the bones together to tear or stretch. Surgery is often needed for such injuries and recovery may take a long time.
Most knee pain may be avoided by wearing proper shoes for running or jogging and making sure the muscles around the knee are flexible and strong enough to support the knee joint. Correcting imbalances in the strength of the muscles that support the knee can often help reduce knee pain that is felt with activity. Foot posture is also a contributing factor to misalignment of the kneecap and a custom set of foot orthotics can often reduce or eliminate knee pain for some individuals.
Taking a single blood pressure reading using an electronic home blood pressure cuff will provide a snapshot reading, which may or may not give a true account of the person’s blood pressure control. This is due to the fact that during the day, an individual’s blood pressure will vary according to physical, emotional, dietary and metabolic factors.
Therefore, the average daily blood pressure is a more accurate means to determine whether or not a person’s blood pressure is within the normal range (non-diabetics: systolic pressure less than 140 mm Hg., diastolic less than 90 mm Hg.; diabetics: systolic pressure less than 130 mm Hg., diastolic less than 85 mm Hg.). This is accomplished by taking the average of two or three readings at different times of the day, over a period of one week. It is recommended that at each sitting, the blood pressure be measured two times, five to ten minutes apart, sitting quietly during the interval between the two. If the second pressure is markedly less than the first, take the average of those two readings.
Individuals with abnormally high average blood pressure readings should consult with their physician regarding any potential investigations required as well as possible treatment.