Fitness, Family and the Future Health of our Youth

This weekend iHealthchic will help sponsor a youth triathlon put on locally by the Girls in Motion organization. Girls in Motion has the following mission:

“Girls in Motion is a not-for-profit organization that trains college age women to mentor preadolescent girls with the goal of promoting positive body image and preventing obesity and eating disorders.”

At iHealthchic.com, we support this important mission and think this group is doing a tremendous job in making a difference in the lives of Dallas area youth, one person at a time. That’s why we’re looking forward to volunteering at their “Trick or Treat” youth triathlon this weekend, October 26, 2008, at Greenhill School in Addison, Texas. 

Exercising together with your children and training for a race is a wonderful family activity that gets you moving, enjoying the outdoors and setting/achieving goals.  This weekend, my friends and I participated in a youth and adult triathlon. There were close to 500 children and over 500 adults who participated–in all shapes and sizes!  It was loads of fun and the camaraderie and support was contagious.

My 13 year old recently did some research for a school project on the obesity epidemic in America. What he learned is that in 20-30 years, it is estimated that only 10% of our population will be at normal weight. The remaining 90% will be split between overweight and obese. It isn’t too late to turn this epidemic around, however it will take a united effort at the family level, the school level, and at the government level. For more information and ideas on healthy eating, school lunches and family fitness, you can visit these sites: 

• Experience Life Magazine-A Better Bag Lunch

• Experience Life Magazine-Tracking Childhood Obesity

• Mayo Clinic- Childhood Obesity

• KidSource-Childhood Obesity

• ShapeUp-Tips for Family Fitness

According to the Mayo Clinic, one of the best ways to positively impact your family’s health is to be a positive role model yourself. Here are their “Cliff Note” recommendations:

• Eat nutritious foods.
• Don’t bring junk food into the house.
• Control your portion sizes.
• Save treats and high-calorie snacks for special occasions.
• Turn off the TV.
• Be physically active every day.
• Stress the importance of healthy lifestyle choices, rather than a number on the scale.

That’s it, short and simple. This is what our local Girls In Motion organization is trying to achieve through their mentoring program. There are programs like this all over the US. Search online to find a similar organization nearby–or better yet–lead by example at home and in your neighborhoods. The statistics are astounding. It’s time to make a difference NOW.

Be the change you want to see.  And, have a GREAT week.

By now you know that “serendipity” is one of my favorite words…and that a great day is one that begins with no alarm clock, a cup of green tea sipped leisurely, followed by a nice long run with my ipod. 

I am really enjoying the new “genius” feature on itunes which puts together songs I haven’t listened to in a while. I enjoy music. All kinds of it. It can be so moving and powerful.  Today’s compilation was  “serendipitous”! I THOUGHT I had selected one of the saved “genius” compilations.  By mistake I had pressed songs to play in alpha order begining with  “O’s”…what I heard for that hour or so was a wonderful, odd mix! Usually I pick moods or certain tempo music. Today was one surprise after another and ALL “perfect” for various reasons.  Right in the middle of my run, I even heard a version of Pachelbel Canon with the sound of ocean waves in the background. It was beautiful fall morning. I almost felt like I was getting my beach fix!   Then, as I headed down the last stretch into my neighborhood, “Perfect Day” (Josh Bates) came on. It was a perfect end to a perfect run. 

Here are a few of the “P” songs I heard:

Pachelbel Canon 

Paradise (Ana Serrano)

Peaches & Cream (John Butler Trio)

Perfect Day (Josh Bates)

And the “O” song I started with?  Jason Castro’s version of “Over the Rainbow” with his ukulele.

Happy Saturday. Stay strong.

Or so the saying goes…but I have to say I certainly agree!  This weekend I raced in a sprint triathlon with 6 other girlfriends. Some I work with, some I work out with, and some I just met.  Regardless, we entered this race with different aspirations and goals–to win, to place, to better our last time, to finish, to conquer and overcome….but most of all to have fun and celebrate life.  We met at Jayne Ann’s at 4:45 for last minute prep and our “before” shot. We were excited, anxious, tired (me…yawn) and ready to take on this experience.  We couldn’t have had better weather. The pool was comfortable–not too hot and not too cold.  The weather warmed up enough so that no additional layers were needed after the swim. The bike route was hilly and beautiful. And the run was off road, through some woods, on trails and along side a small lake.

You know the poem that talks about friends who come and go. Some are for a lifetime and some for a period of time. No matter how long, each brings a special gift.

My Saturday morning friends are amazing. One has a fear of water…and yet, that does not stop her from swimming several times a week and racing.  One of them has never run before, yet she put everything she had into this race, finished it and did fantastic. Another one I want to be like when I grown up. She runs a 6 minute mile and has a rock hard little bod.  Several of these ladies beat their best times and set personal records. Another one still looks like an amazing beauty after an hour and a half of strenuous racing!  These ladies are so motivating, so encouraging, so STRONG!

Here’s to a great weekend, a lot of fun, girlfriends who rock & more PRs!

Rule out recess, that is. This is one of my sore spots when it comes to children.  WE are responsible for the future of our youth.  We teach them all kinds of things from values to attitudes to how to eat. But somehow, in this “no kid left behind” world, we have become too focused on so called “enrichment” classes and activities to the point that childhood obesity has become an epidemic.

We CAN do something about school lunches. if you cannot influence the offerings, then at least you can send something from home. And, that’s definitely a step in the right direction.

But what about the other side of the equation?  The equation that’s been proven time after time after time: our bodies are meant to move.   We work & perform better.  We think better.  Our bodies heal better.  We feel better…when we are active.  And so do our kids.

No longer do schools have physical education every day…how sad is that? And recess–a physical and mental break which is key on many levels– is often dependent on a slew of factors.  Sadly, an article in Dallas Child magazine says close to 40% of our nation’s schools have reduced or are thinking about eliminating recess from the school day.   My daughter’s elementary school only has PE 2-3 days a week, where the goal is some activity for at least 20 minutes.

Gone are the days when our kids learn various sports in school PE. I learned all my sports that way! In today’s world, the knowledge comes from parents getting kids into extracurricular sports outside of the schools. And while that combats the issue some, it isn’t an option for many under-privileged families.  With parents working, kids are often left to the entertainment of TVs and computer games…and a lot of artificial, nutritiously empty, processed food.

Whole Foods has a wonderful program that is free for schools to participate in. It helps kids log miles that they walk/run in quarter mile segments. In Texas, there is a kick off celebration and 6 months later, a final lap celebration. The children who successfully complete a log that equates to a “marathon” (26 miles) earn a free T-shirt and finisher’s medal. I think it’s a great program for the education, goal setting and physical aspects. My daughter is participating for her 4th year.  The program also comes with a food calendar to count daily fruit and vegetable intake.  It’d be easy to implement in your area and Whole Foods would be happy to help.  We participate as “independents”!

Take a stand and speak up. For your kids or the kids in your neighborhood.   Be a role model.  Let children see you being active and invite them to join you.   And let me know what’s working for you!

This is a fight worth fighting.

Isn’t it interesting how much we take our bodies for granted until something happens to remind us of the importance of good health?  Take bone health, for example. Hypocalcemia, or low blood calcium, can lead to a number of problems including muscle spasms and neuromuscular excitability.  Whereas hypercalcaemia, or high blood calcium, can lead to high deposits of calcium phosphate in your tissues and that can actually lead to organ failure or disfunction. Calcium plays an important role in your muscles responding properly. So, if you aren’t taking in enough calcium, after a while you begin to lose bone mineral density. And that, my friends, is not so good.  See, us ladies lose 8% of our bone mass a decade due to aging and hormones. For the guys, it’s 3%. When we lose levels of circulatory estrogen, we are at risk for developing osteoporosis.  The places that experience the biggest decline? The ends of our long bones–so that means the vertebral column, our hips and jaws. Translation: those spots are at greater risk for fracture.  The sad facts are that 1 out of 2 women and 1 out of 4 men will get a osteoporotic fracture after age 50. And worse yet, is that 1 out of 4 hip fracture patients die within a year afterwards. This is usually from pulmonary thrombosis due to lack of movement.  Did you know that a person loses about a year of bone mass in just 1 week of bed confinement? Wow…! But take heart, the good news about all of this is that bones regnerate quickly. (Our bodies truly are AMAZING.) What helps?  You guessed it: physical activity and resistance /weight bearing movements. Hit the gym or do some plyometrics at home, my friends. It will do your body good. Add a healthy diet to the mix and you have the perfect recipe for healthy and longevity.  And if you are have nutrional Qs, seek the counsel of a good nutritionist or dietician.

Be healthy,

Lisa

According to the American Physical Therapy Association, there are multiple ways you can prevent back injuries–as well as many ways you can hurt your back.  Take care of your back by keeping it in good shape by:

Lifting with your legs–bend your knees and keep your back straight. Try not to twist.

Sit carefully and make sure you have good back support…it’s really not the best thing for your back at all, so be sure to get OUT of your chair and move around!

Watch your weight so you don’t put excess stress on your back.  Exercise regularly, stay active, and eat a healthy diet low in fats and processed foods and high in fruits and veggies.

Drive in comfort and ergonomically correct by selecting a position where you rknees are slightly bent and your back is arched. And, like sitting in a chair, stop frequently and get out and MOVE!

You only get one back.  Take care of it and it will thank you.

According to Sanjay Gupta, M.D. and a host of other scientists who’ve done studies on dieting success, those dieters who kept a food diary lost twice (yep, that’s “TWICE”) as much weight as those who didn’t.  According to the August 4 issue of Time magazine ( www.Time.com ), the latest study to confirm this was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (this August). It tracked close to 1700 overweight or obese adults across the country who were at least 25 years or older.  All of the participants were encouraged to eat less, have weekly group sessions and exercise moderately–as well as keep a food log.  The most effective method “hands-down” was keeping a record of what was eaten.  In 6 months, the food log dieters lost an average of 18 lbs vs. 9 lbs lost by the non-journaling dieting compadres.

Writing down what you eat helps not only track calories and keeps you honest, but it also helps identify some habits that need adjusting. 

The Times article shared a useful site:    http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/ that provides a free food log and other helpful tools. Another site for calorie count information is www.nutritionaldata.com and other free sites to log your eats include www.myfooddiary.com,  www.dietagenda.com/ , or www.fitday.com/ . Many of these include calorie information as well as log and sharing/motivational communities.

The best part of all of this is that every inch lost from your waist or every pound you lose has positive impacts in so many areas: helping to control high blood pressure, reducing your risk of diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Plus, your joints will thank you and your sleep and energy levels are likely to improve.

And if you need some additional motivation, check out Dara Torres’ pix in this Aug. 4th Times issue. She’s 41 and kickin’ tail!

You’ve got to love plyometrics. The exercises are simple, you just use your bodyweight in most cases, and you can perform them anywhere. They’re explosive movements and can be very high-intensity. Please don’t attempt plyometrics if you are injured, healing from an injury or are overtrained. Plyometrics can be very effective to your training routine so long as the exercises are done correctly, with safety and injury prevention as your primary concerns. 

So, how do they work?  Well, plyometric drills/exercises excite the elastic component of the muscles so that the muscles are trained to react powerfully and explosively. By performing upper and body plyometrics several times per week, upper and lower body power has been shown to dramatically improve power and performance.  Usually, you see them incorporated into agility type of training, like in football. However, they are making their way into mainstream training. If you try them, you will see why.

My favorites are the jump squat, box jump/step down, plank walk (up and down on bosu ball, block, or stairs), and the jump lunge. They totally kick my butt. The goal is to perform them for 30-60 seconds.  For a couple illustrations on execution, take a look at these videos on You Tube:

YouTube Video #1

YouTube Video #2

YouTube Video #3 (if you can stand the music selection, you will see a decent workout example!)

     Remember, it is important to alternate upper and lower body plyometric exercises with weight lifting so that both the upper and lower body do not get overworked on a given day.   Good luck and GET STRONG!