Lead a Fit and Healthy Life
Posts tagged Health/Nutrition
What you eat is as important as how much you eat
01 year ago
by Stephy
in Health/Nutrition
The Billionaire Who Is Planning His 125th Birthday
There is much to learn from this man. What you eat is as important as how much you eat — and can help ward off disease and illness.
One morning in early January, David Murdock awoke to an unsettling sensation. At first he didn’t recognize it and then he couldn’t believe it, because for years — decades, really — he maintained what was, in his immodest estimation, perfect health. But now there was this undeniable imperfection, a scratchiness and swollenness familiar only from the distant past. Incredibly, infuriatingly, he had a sore throat.
“I never have anything go wrong,” he said later. “Never have a backache. Never have a headache. Never have anything else.” This would make him a lucky man no matter his age. Because he is 87, it makes him an unusually robust specimen, which is what he must be if he is to defy the odds (and maybe even the gods) and live as long as he intends to. He wants to reach 125, and sees no reason he can’t, provided that he continues eating the way he has for the last quarter century: with a methodical, messianic correctness that he believes can, and will, ward off major disease and minor ailment alike.
Gary Taubes on Dr Oz or shall I Say in Oz?
01 year ago
via The Dose of Intervention and the Land of Dr. Oz | Gary Taubes | Gary Taubes.
Gary wrote Why We Get Fat and Good Calories, Bad Calories and makes a whole lotta sense! Going on Dr Oz’s show is big for this type of thinking and approach to nutrition so although it may have been more parts entertainment — it will stir a few people out there to seek out more information on eating the healthy way..
Today marks my appearance on the Dr. Oz Show, which was, let’s just say, an interesting experience and leave it at that. It was the show, though, that (finally) prompted me to address an issue I’ve wanted to address for quite some time.
The Dr. Oz Show is one part health advice and discussion and quite a few parts entertainment, as Oz’s producers kept telling me in the days before we taped the episode. To make for what they consider good television they played me up as the second coming of Atkins – a persona that my wife likes to refer to as “meat boy” — while Oz got to play the role of the harvest king, extolling the healing virtues of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. This made it more difficult than I would have liked to get across the important messages from my books, but television is television and I certainly knew what they had in store for me.
My message and the message of Why We Get Fat was not that we should all be eating nothing but animal products – and certainly not the unappetizing meat and eggs that Oz’s crew prepared as props — but that carbohydrate-rich foods are inherently fattening, some more so than others, and that those of us predisposed to put on fat do so because of the carbs in the diet. That’s why I called the book Why We Get Fat rather than some variation on The Miracle 24-Hour (or 14-Day or Three Week or Three month) Diet Cure, which is more the norm for lay books in the nutrition genre.
You may be on to something with that Gluten thing you talk about…
01 year ago
My mom called me yesterday and said –and I quote — ‘you know, Stephanie, there may be something to that gluten thing you have been talking about’ and she went on to tell me how she has eliminated wheat and other gluten rich foods for about a week or so and then had a muffin about 2 days ago –sure enough, she started to feel super fatigued, got a very bad headache and had to lie down…then came the stomach issues and she still doesn’t feel right. Ya think I may be on to something!! Oy! I guess sometimes it takes finding it out on your own to believe it.
And anyone can do that — try going gluten free for a week or 2 and see how you feel? 14 days in the grand scheme of things isn’t really that long if you think about it –and the payoff could be huge!
I recently found out one of my co-workers had also changed her life due to an illness and began a ‘paleo’ like eating approach and now is entering into the realm of wellness coaching. I gotta tell you — I have known her for about 4 years, not closely but we had talked. I had no idea what she was going thru but recently noticed how great she looked and younger! Like me, she had also put in the work to transform her life — Taking a look at what you eat and how you live your life really is the magical fountain of youth that people talk about and talking with her felt like talking to me — it felt like ‘home’ if that makes sense. She wrote a really good blog post about Gluten that I want to share:
Gluten seems to be everywhere these days. From our food to our news sources to our celebrities (Thanks Gwyneth and Chelsea), gluten is everywhere. So what’s the deal with gluten? And should you kick the habit?
Weightlifting helpful for obese kids
01 year ago
In-Your-Face Fitness: Weightlifting helpful for obese kids
And this is exactly why CrossFit has a CrossFit kids program —
It goes without saying that children who are obese would benefit from aerobic exercise. However, they’re likely to find the idea of going for a jog or spending half an hour on a treadmill about as appealing as watching Congress debate the fine points of tax policy on C-SPAN.
Fortunately, there’s an alternative form of exercise that plays to the strengths of plus-sized kids: weightlifting.
It may sound like an unconventional suggestion, but I’m not the only one making it. There’s even some evidence that for this demographic, weightlifting is a more effective gateway to a healthy lifestyle than traditional aerobic exercise.
Deadlifts & Pull Ups and Fun – Oh My!
11 year ago
Have you seen some people who work out all the time and you can tell they are super strong but they still have the extra weight around their mid section? This used to be me. It was so frustrating too. I just couldn’t get my head around how this could be — I know I am putting in the work, how come I am not seeing the results that I expect?
What I realized is after a point it’s all diet related. You have to change up what you are eating — not even the amount. I wasn’t eating more than I should — it was WHAT I was eating that was affecting me. Going ‘paleo’ has made a huge difference in the physical aspects of my body — you will have to take my word for it because I’m not putting up half naked pics of myself! Sorry Charlie!
Within the first 20 days of eating this way – I lost 7lbs but now that I have been almost exclusively wheat/dairy/gluten free — my body looks leaner. Coach Conan at Crossfit Impavidus told me that the only way to really get a six pack is to do CrossFit and/or High Intensity Interval Training and go Paleo — PERIOD. The way I look at it is that unless you are training full out — you do have to live your life — so eating ‘paleo’ overall is definitely the way to go — but if you have pizza or ice cream or a drink on occasion — just get back on the Paleo train the next day. You may suffer a few days following it – but if it’s worth it to you, then do it.
On to my workout this morning —-
We had upper 60s-70 degree weather here yesterday and it’s again on the docket for today! Can’t complain about that so part of our warm-up was outside –which I may have bitched about initially but I loved it! Can’t wait for spring…
Warmup
20 Jumpin Jacks
3 200m Runs (run, run, sprint)
Dynamic Stretching
Skill
Handstands — ok I am so inept with gymnastics. I swear that if I was under the guidance of a Gymnastics coach, they would totally kick me out of the program. Coordination & Balance is key in Gymnastics.
Guess what challenges me daily?? Coordination and Balance. Fear Not — I will work at it.
WOD
15 155lb DL
5 Blue Band Assisted Pull Ups
12 155lb DL
10 Blue Band Assisted Pull Ups
9 135lb DL
20 Blue Band Assisted Pull Ups
6 135lb DL
10 Blue Band Assisted Pull Ups
3 135lb DL
5 Blue Band Assisted Pull Ups
I started with the 155lb DL — but after the 2nd round, my form was compromised so Conan jumped in and we took off 20lbs so that I could maintain proper form while doing the DL. I am so happy they are focused on form over weight. I have hurt my back working out partly because when we would do my AM boot camp, we were not allowed to scale back if we felt it was too heavy for us to continue on. Form should always be first priority especially when the weight gets heavier. One wrong move, say hello to muscle relaxers and pain killers.
Bob Harper say it ain’t so –
11 year ago
Don’t buy into the hype people -
Quaker Oats ain’t good for you Just because Bob Harper is Hockin it –http://bit.ly/fQL0T2
Zapping Sugar Cravings
01 year ago
Hair-Raising Stats on this “White Plague” and How to Reduce Your Need for Sweets
Sugar is caustic, plain and simple, especially the white, refined versions, which demolish health with staggering ease. Most foods consumed today, processed and homemade alike, contain added sugar. While the more natural sweeteners such as raw honey, maple syrup, and dehydrated cane sugar juice are gentler on our body chemistry, they still contain a high concentration of these simple carbohydrates. When over-consumed, sugar provokes a whirlwind of regulatory functions in the body that race to rebalance the system after sugar’s body-blow, especially for pint-sized kiddos. Replacing unhealthful sweeteners with more wholesome choices is a good first step to a more nourished body. The second and often more challenging step is reducing cravings and breaking the habit of daily sugary desserts. Although it may take a bit of work, I assure you, it can be done!
Western diet associated with depression
01 year ago
Western diet associated with depression : Winston Chung : City Brights.
My brother sent me this yesterday from San Fran — and although the paper only suggests that a ‘western diet’ may contribute to some people’s bout with depression — I am going to to say that I definitely think it does. So much has been studied about the effects of wheat and modern agriculture on us humans that it’s hard to deny. You also feel like crap when you eat it — and if that’s the main staple of what you eat — how can you not be depressed. Mind/Body connection is something no one can deny –
A 2010 paper suggested that a ‘western diet’, composed mostly of meats, pizza, chips, hamburgers, white bread, sugar, flavored milk drinks and beer, was correlated with higher odds of depressive disorders in women. Conversely, a ‘traditional diet’, which was mainly fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and whole grains, was associated with lower odds of depression or anxiety disorders.Just as donuts and burgers are American, walnuts and fish aren’t a common stateside staple. The latter are where you might find omega-3 fatty acids, and supplementation with these ‘good’, polyunsaturated fats proved superior to placebo in reducing depressive symptoms in a randomized, controlled trial of over 400 subjects. A study published last month found an association between omega-3 deficiency and depressive and anxious behaviors in mice.
The Food Gods Speak: Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser Dish About Walmart, National Security, and Chicken Nuggets
01 year ago
Last week, food movement legends Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma, In Defense of Food) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) sat down together with Evan Kleiman, host of KCRW’s Good Food, for a fascinating conversation that covered all of the major food stories of the past few months. For those of you who couldn’t make it in person, but want to know when Pollan last ate a chicken nugget, whether Schlosser thinks that Walmart’s new healthy food initiatives are for real, and what they think are the most important things you and I can do to make a difference right now, here’s my recap of the highlights.
