Lead a Fit and Healthy Life
Fitness/Exercise
Childhood Obesity
02 months ago
What every family needs to know about childhood obesity
A recent study by FIT — a partnership between WedMD and Sanford Health — found parents would rather talk to their children about sex, drugs and alcohol than their child’s weight issue. In fact, the study found parents of children ages 8-17 admit to avoiding the weight conversation altogether.
Until recently, many parents didn’t think childhood obesity was a problem, said Kim Lederhaus, pediatric nurse practitioner at Affinity Health System in Neenah.
“I think that a lot of times they thought that this would just kind of cure itself as (children) grew up and kind of grew out of the condition and thinned out,” Lederhaus said. “I think it’s hard because a lot of parents didn’t really know it was an issue and now it is more of an issue, and a lot of the parents might be obese themselves. For them to start broaching the subject with their child makes them also have to take on the fact they may also have the same issue their child has.”
But, simply put, childhood obesity, which affects nearly one in three children, is dangerous and is a topic that needs to be addressed for the health of children and families.
Be the Change you wish to see…with your kids!
02 months ago
Parents: Save Obese Kids by Getting with the Program Yourselves
COMMENTARY| The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, or so we’ve heard for years. It’s a generalization, of course, but most axioms that persist contain a grain of truth. As it turns out, apples and grains might just be part of the solution to nipping childhood obesity in the bud: A recent study indicates that if parents work on their weight, their kids are more likely to become healthier and, yes, less likely to be obese.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to most folks. For years we’ve heard it’s important to model the behavior we wish to see in our youngsters… it goes to follow that the same applies where their diet is concerned.
The study, made in conjunction with the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the University of Minnesota, looked at the habits and environment surrounding obese kids. Kerri N. Boutelle, associate professor of pediatrics and psychiatry from UC San Diego and Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego, notes that parents’ own weight loss “was the most important predictor of child weight loss.”
It makes sense. If parents eat more salads instead of french fries, take the stairs instead of the elevator, and keep healthy snacks instead of Cheetos in the kitchen, their kids will learn from their example. More than that, if Mom and Dad emphasize that healthy living is fun and preferable to wheezing and sitting on the sidelines while everyone else is having fun, their children are more likely to adapt similar viewpoints. They’ll see their parents as success stories, and, the way children do, will learn from their parents’ example. Unfortunately, it works with negative behaviors, too.
Obesity and Malnutrition
02 months ago
Americans are overfed and undernourished. That’s right, the most obese children and adults in the country are also the most nutritionally deficient (1)!
How can those two things possibly co-exist?
The mistake is to think that if you eat an abundance of calories, your diet automatically delivers all the nutrients your body needs. But the opposite is true. The more processed food you eat, the more vitamins you need. That’s because vitamins and minerals lubricate the wheels of our metabolism, helping the chemical reactions in our bodies run properly. Among those biochemical processes greased by nutrients is the regulation of sugar and burning of fat. The problem is that the standard American diet (SAD) is energy dense (too many calories) but nutrient poor (not enough vitamins and minerals). Too many “empty calories” confuse the metabolism and pack on the pounds.
Does She Look Bulky To You?
12 months ago
I think these pictures are the way most women fear looking like if they lift weights. I am not saying that these women look good or bad — it’s just not the ideal picture of what most women out there think they want to look like and for so many, they attribute lifting heavy weights/strength training with looking like this or bulking up.
Female Body Builders: Martin Schoeller Captures A Different Face Of Beauty (PHOTOS)
Toned, tanned and rippling with muscles, these body builders present a whole new face of female beauty.
The eye-catching gallery is a collection of some of the world’s top female body builders, captured by photographer Martin Schoeller.
He said: “‘I am trying to show the vulnerability that I see and feel in the subjects when I am with them, to get to the complex emotions behind a mask of extreme physical expression.
But let me share this picture with you From the CrossFit Games site of Camille LeBlanc. Does she look bulky to you?
Think 12.2 favored the bigger athlete? Camille Leblanc-Bazinet hit 99 reps
A Return to Running Shoes
02 months ago
by Stephy
in Fitness/Exercise
Super fun night last night for a great cause. A bunch of the CrossFit Impavidus crew came out and we laughed, danced and a few, drank. I had one drink — and let it rest.
Yesterday, I did do the 12.2 workout but stuck with the 30 reps to get me a score. It’s not worth me feeling like crap for this competition so I am going to do what I feel is in my best interests. So, 30 reps with a 45lb bar of Snatches. Done!
Today, I went for a run with Scotty. 2.5 miles to help him prep for his first 5K. It was cold and windy but we bundled up and did it. It felt great to run. I haven’t run solidly in a while. I even grabbed my real running shoes instead of my minimalist ones and you know what — it felt great. I don’t care what people say, I think I am going to return to running in my running shoes…
Akrasia – A weakness of will
03 months ago
Happy Presidents’ Day Everyone! Just because it’s a holiday, doesn’t mean your body gets one – so make sure you get fitness in – take a walk, do some yoga, mobility whatever it is. You can even find a ton of good videos to follow via youtube to get some ideas. If there’s a will, there’s a way.
I am going to lay it all out here and say I have lost focus with my eating and it’s frustrating me because I want to be on the right patch but seem to lack the will power needed to skip the desserts that have come my way lately. I’m not completely off the grid — still being gluten free but a small snack or taste here of sugary greatness has been my weakness lately. I feel like crap afterwards and it affects my sleep. So, why do I do it?
The other day Mark Sisson talked about akrasia - weakness of will; acting in a way contrary to what you know is right. We all know eating crap food is bad for us — so why do we do it?
I particularly related to what he said about wheat and sugar. As soon as I have something with sugar, I want more sugar. Just something to think about as you take a look at your own triggers….
3. You’re addicted to wheat.
Wheat contains opioid peptides that may be able to activate opioid receptors in our bodies. You know what else activates opioid receptors? Opium, morphine, and heroin. (I’ve never tried any of them, but I hear they can inspire some real devotion from their users. See: Trainspotters, Requiem for a Dream.) I know that may sound glib, and I’ll be the first to admit that research into this is still very preliminary. You won’t find any ironclad evidence on PubMed that wheat is addictive. But the thinking goes that rather than hitting you like a ton of bricks and rendering you speechless from the sublime triggering of your opioid receptors, wheat addiction manifests as a stubborn lingering thing.
Evidence does exist, however limited. One older paper (PDF) that identifies multiple opioid peptides in wheat gluten, suggests that they are capable of binding to brain opioid receptors via a “plausible biomechanical mechanism,” and deems them of “physiological significance.” Dr. Emily Deans, of Evolutionary Psychiatry, has actually used naltrexone – a drug that blocks opiate receptors – to curb wheat cravings in celiac patients who are trying to kick the “habit.”
Wheat plays a huge role in the diets of industrialized nations. If you’re reading this, you probably grew up eating it. You may still be eating it from time to time – and that may be at least partly responsible for your urge to eat that slice of bread.
4. You’re addicted to sugar.
Similarly to wheat, sugar has addictive properties. A review of the rat studies shows that rodents will become quite addicted to sugar rather quickly, at times even choosing it over pharmaceutical-grade cocaine. There’s evidence that the addictive properties affect humans, too. As with wheat, naltrexone has been shown to reduce the rewarding properties of sugar in people. When you block the opiate receptors in the brain, sugar simply isn’t as rewarding and you’re not driven to consume as much of it.
Sugar appears to be addictive in both rats and humans. You, being a human, could very well be drawn to make bad decisions about sweets because you are addicted to them.
Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/8-reasons-why-you-act-against-your-own-better-judgment/#ixzz1mvhKuSgb
It’s Tough to Help Kids Lose Weight
03 months ago
Why is it so hard for kids to lose weight?
“I have had to deal with teachers who hand out Skittles, candy bars, lollipops and giant frosted sugar cookies to the children in class … before 10 a.m.,” McDonald says. “I think this is setting kids up for failure and un-teaching the healthy habits I have instilled.”
The fact that doughnuts and cupcakes are given out as a reward after soccer practice or dance class is a paradoxical hurdle in the fight against childhood obesity. As doctors and parents struggle to encourage healthy behaviors, our sugar-filled, sedentary surroundings resist every step.
Think about it, says Dr. Stephen Daniels, chief pediatrician at Children’s Hospital Colorado. Every day kids are exposed to advertising about fast food instead of home-cooked meals. They’re surrounded by vending and soda machines at school. They have hundreds of channels on TV, own three video game systems and live in neighborhoods that were built without sidewalks.
Choosing To See Things Differently
03 months ago
I am still recovering from my big party weekend but had a great workout still – upper body workouts are a specialty of mine. I looked up at the leader board that CFI has on the board that lists top 10 athlete workout times and I am on the board with most of the workouts that focus on the upper body. Which brings me to something that f’d with my mind a bit over the weekend…
I saw this picture and the first thing that came to my mind was how big I look. And my mind raced around all the work I do and I still look like a big bulky girl. It is not how I see myself so it really screwed me up mentally. I called my sister Dee who talked me down from all the negative self talk I was doing. A picture does not define me. I will never be a small dainty girl with tiny arms and I really have 2 choices — fat big arms or toned big arms but Big Arms are not negotiable. It’s how I am built — upper body strength, broad shoulders, tiny waist and legs and as Dee said — I have to get over this internal shit of being a chubby fat girl who is so self conscious about how I look.
I am 41 years old and still have the same insecurities that I did when I was a teen. Sad isn’t it? Part of it is — I don’t want to be a disappointment to people out there. People that see me get up early all the time and work hard on my fitness and I still don’t look like Jillian Michaels. I know that even Jillian doesn’t look like Jillian but it’s hard to get the images out of my head of what my ideal vision of fitness looks like. I don’t want people who are look at the work I do to look at a picture like that and say oh man — all that work and she looks like that. YES i know I am being an Eeyore – but sometimes I get down on my progress and where I think I should be vs. the reality of where I am. I also think there really is something to that whole body dysmorphic stuff because what I hear from my friends is not what I see many times.
I know I have to change the voices in my head — as I have written about before but it’s not like a snap of the fingers and poof they are gone. It’s constant battle and commitment to SEE things differently – to challenge the negative thoughts in my head. I have triggers and weak moments when those Eeyore thoughts are louder than the ones that drive me to push through.
We all have our triggers & I’m learning to prepare for them so I can push thru without it holding me back.
Calling All Diet-Coke aholics – Give Up the Soda
03 months ago
I gave up soda almost 2 years ago. I was what I refer to as a Diet Coke-aholic so it was a VERY big deal and my family still likes to talk about how much soda I drank. Gotta love your siblings to help remind you of where you came from right? I remember deciding to go to 1 soda a week as a ‘treat’ to finally deciding what the heck –let’s just ditch it. When I thought about it all — there was hardly a day since I was a teen that I didn’t have one and all those chemicals were in my body daily. It was a scary thought as I was beginning to look at ways to live healthier. I have never looked back. Occasionally I have one mixed with a drink when I go out to a bar etc– but it’s not often.
3 Surprising Reasons to Give Up Soda
By now, it’s probably fair to say that most Americans know soda isn’t a health-promoting drink. Over the years, the carbonated beverage has been blamed for the obesity epidemic and rising healthcare costs. Some public health experts have even called for asoda tax to help deter people from drinking so much of it. While love handles and diabetes are obvious problems associated with soda, drinking the sweet carbonated beverages harbors hidden threats, too.
