Nutrition is Key

Friendly's, a diner-like restaurant that I used to go to as a child, has created this new "meal." Here are the nutrition facts: 1500 Calories, 870 Fat Calories, 79g Total Fat, 38g Saturated Fat, 180g Cholesterol, 2090mg Sodium, 101g Carbs (www.consumerist.com). Frankly, I do not believe this should be legal. This goes beyond the popular argument that "healthy food is more expensive." Even though I disagree, I understand that people who do not know how to shop for healthy things may think it is more expensive. However, this is gluttony at its PRIME! No one needs this many calories at one meal. No ones NEEDS this much cheese or sodium in one day. When the human body has too much sodium (you only need 1500 mg per day), the body holds onto water. When the body retains too much water, hypervolemia, the heart has to work harder to pump the extra volume. HELLO HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. Unfortunately, we get so "salt shaker happy" and bring this "silent killer" onto ourselves. You see, there are no signs of high blood pressure (unless you spike quickly); it is a gradual process that injures your kidneys and weakens your heart while you shove burgers in your face. Drink fluids, eat fruits and vegetables, do not eat packaged/frozen dinners, and do not add salt to anything you eat. Focus on getting the most nutrients per bite; food is fuel, not comfort/friends/love/deserved..... it is just food.

Today I did not do P90x. I am moving and must spend my evening packing; however, tomorrow I will get back on track. Have a good evening....

*B*

Week 2

This morning, yes I woke up early and began my week with P90X. I did the chest & back video and then finished with the "Ab Ripper X" video. I still do not have a pull up bar, but I like my resistance bands. They are gracefully draped over my coat closet as one enters the house; very welcoming. My wrists did not hurt today like they did last week. The video consisted of quite a few varieties of pushups. I focused on form not quantity; meaning, the harder style push ups, like military and diamond, were too difficult for me to do today. I stayed on my knees, completed the workout with the group, and felt the burn... No wrist pain though! Tomorrow morning is the dreaded plyometric workout. At least that one is not on a Monday =)

Healthy thought for today: Basal cell carcinoma is the most common form of skin cancer today. Did you know that it does not develop from CONTINUED exposure to the sun like squamous cell? Basically, those family vacations I took as a child, and weeks of summer camp, in which I did not wear sunscreen, may actually be the cause of basal cell carcinoma later in life for me. Most doctors recommend SPF 15 daily and SPF 30 if you are going to be in sun for longer than 20 minutes. Did you know that a T-shirt only offers SPF 7??? Also, there is a thought that kids are OVERPROTECTED now and have vitamin D defficiencies because they rarely drink whole milk and they wear too much sunscreen. HELLO people, this is because they never run around and play outside and you let them play videos all day long while eating oatmeal cream pies.... no citation of that though; that was me. Have a good evening.

Healthfully yours,

*B*

*Picture from Savanna, GA.

Indeed I Did

Ok, so I came home from painting my new house and ended up doing KENPO X. This was kickboxing, but not like the Billy Blanks Tae Bo videos I used to do. My heart rate was up and my legs were shaking at certain points. Very impressive. I finished the entire week this week. WEEK ONE COMPLETE. Since I blogged longer this morning, I am going to call it a week. See you Monday! Maybe pictures this week??

Legs and Back - Day 5

Last night I got home around 8:00pm and completed the Legs/Back workout. So far, this is one of my favorites. I am not a plyometric/jumping fan. I like sprinting short distances in intervals, but that cannot be done in a living room. There were some different variations of lunges last night that REALLY hit deep into the glutes. LOVED them. He (Tony Horton) also led us through back exercises. Again, I still have not purchased a pull up bar, so I have been using the bands on the top of a closet door in my house. I may or may not get the pull up bar. I am leaning more towards purchasing higher resistant bands (cheaper, and I like the feel of them more than pull ups!!!). Today is supposed to be Kenpo and tomorrow REST. I, however, am switching the two. I am painting my house today and that will be enough workout for me for the day. There is a fine line here. I am already having a hard time being motivated to actually complete these videos every day. I do not want to rearrange the actual program they have set up; however, real life = real life. There are 90 DAYS of planned exercise so I think I will be alright. I did not lose any weight at all, but that is not why I am doing this; also, I have only been following these video for five days. I was already active, but when I started working night shift, I became inconsistent. Thankfully, I am back on days; I work Monday through Friday 7:30 - 4:00. I would like to research a group of people who work night shift AND workout consistently; they should write a book. The change in circadian rhythm and rearranging of regular life was VERY difficult for me.

Healthy thought: Did you know that millions of Americans have been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and millions are walking around undiagnosed? Our diets have crippled our pancreas' ability to produce enough insulin to keep up with the sugar running through our circulation. Basically, insulin is a carrier to bring sugar from the blood stream into the cells. Eventually, the glucose/sugar in the blood causes kidney, eye, and other circulation problems. Did you know that EXERCISE increases the body's sensitivity to insulin? Did you know that muscles use the glucose in your body? Some people who are on the brink of diabetes (pre-diabetic) may be able to stop this progression NOW with healthy lifestyle changes. Let me know if you have any questions. Have a fabulous weekend.

Healthyfully yours,

*B*

Thank you American Diabetes Association!

Yoga Day 4

Did you know that a 20oz. Pepsi has enough sugar to fill 17 sugar packets? Would you take that many sugar packets, pour them into a glass of water and drink it? I think not! Sugar actually increases the acidity of your body, increasing fatigue. Next time you grab a Coke or Pepsi because you want a little "pick me up," think again; that decision will come back to haunt you via an energy crash.

P90X was good tonight. I really wish work/schedule was allowing me to work out in the morning this week. I do not like working out in the evenings. The yoga video is great. I have never done yoga until this. I find it challenging enough that I can count it as a work out; however, I also feel stretched and relaxed afterwards. The worst part was the pressure on the wrist. My wrists were quite tired/sore. I wonder if that is something that get stronger; I have been doing push ups for along time and it is inevitable that my wrists will be sore the next day. Goal for tomorrow is to exercise BEFORE work. Let us see just how that works out.

Plyometrics - Day 3

Today was, indeed, the dreaded plyometric workout. I was not able to work out this morning before work because family dinner went too late into the evening last night. However, I made it a priority to complete the workout today when I got home. My overall impression of the plyometric workout is that it is very good for athletes who need to train those fast twitch muscle fibers. My heart rate was definitely increased and I felt that it was a great cardiovascular workout. However, my downstairs neighbor probably did not appreciate my jumping and leaping; that means that I was not graceful in my landing. I have so much to learn/train. My knee did start to hurt about 45 minutes into the workout. From that point on I lowered my impact and just did the squats or lunges without jumping. I also did the ab ripper X video after plyo; HARD!!!! My hip flexors were fatigued already; leg lifts and scissor crunches were very difficult. My cheap apartment carpet ripped in a small section from my, apparently too intense, leaps and jumps across the living room. My dog did not appreciate my spastic behavior either. He kept barking at me; again, another reason for my down stairs neighbor to despise me.

Healthy thought of the day: I was doing some more research on the food pyramid today. Honestly, I am not a fan. I think that there is too much emphasis on the whole "6-11 servings" of grains. They only recommend half of your grains to be whole grains and actually give you permission to have refined grains for the other half. I know that they are trying to be realistic; I did have a fabulous yeast role at my parents last night. HOWEVER, half of our grains? Really? I Like the Harvard Public Health Pyramid. They actually include refined carbohydrates in the same category as sweets. They are genius! Of course, they ARE Harvard.

Healthyfully and unrefined,

*B*

P90X - Day 2

Yesterday woke up earlier than necessary. I wanted to make sure that I had time to get ready for work. This morning, I decided that I was too tired for plyometrics (a lot of jumping and hard core cardio) so my plan was to do it when I got home from work. However, my boss and I ended up talking too long after work; I also have dinner plans with my parents tonight. I ended up doing the shoulders/arm video and I will do abs and plyometrics tomorrow MORNING. I loved tonights arm video. My shoulders, triceps, and biceps are all fatigued. Again, some of the leader's side comments are cheesy, but the workout was good. There are some new types of bicep curls that he teaches the viewer. I also did not know there are multiple ways to complete tricep kick-backs.

Healthy thought of the day... Sometimes, you should just get up with the alarm and do your workout BEFORE work. Stay tuned tomorrow. PLYOMETRICS!!!

Healthyfully yours,

*B*

Also, I did a ton of research on diabetes prevention today. I am excited to send you all the links; however, family dinner awaits and I must go get ready.

P90X - Day 1

This morning was the first of my 90 day attempt to complete the infamous P90X series. I have done the workouts before, but never consecutively in the order/duration of the program's design. This morning was chest/back and abs. Besides his (the leader in the video) poor sense of humor at times, the over all rating of today's workout is a 8 on a scale of 1-10. I have to go get a pull up bar; I adjusted and did the variation with the band on the top of a door in my living room. I really like that this is adaptable to ALL LEVELS and can be done AT HOME.

Healthy thought of the day is to watch how much excess sugar you drink/eat. Most people are becoming more aware of this and switching to diet drinks. However, did you know that artificial sweeteners actually increase your cravings for real sugar? I already have a sweet tooth; I do not need extra help craving sugar. I still have a diet soda every once in a while, but, please, drink more water than diet soda!

Have a healthy day, *B*

Wellness = Lifestyle

I have taken a new position at the hospital I work at; I am now the Wellness Educator. From trauma ICU to wellness there are quite a few differences; especially funding. Trauma ICU is in the spotlight. Wellness is not. However, if our hospital would invest in the wellness of our employees, the cost of health insurance each year would be decreased drastically. In my other post regarding overweight nurses (here), I discussed the irony of the unhealthy healthcare professional. I never thought this would be my future career this quickly. So my health thought for today is, "A healthy lifestyle is an investment." Sure, health food may be more expensive, but in forty years when you are dependent on beta-blockers, anti-diabetic medications, and Plavix, you may regret not spending a little more on salad.

Healthfully Yours,

*B*