The following recipe is from Dr. Anna Maria Levine, who is a terrific cook, runner, and blogger as well! I met Anna Maria when she was only about 8 or 9 years old…wow, admitting that is humbling and makes me feel way older than I want to be right now. I wanted to tell you how I met her before I shared with you her wonderful recipe and her great blog Recipes Remembered… [Read more...]
Graduation 2012
We are very grateful. One year ago today, my husband James finished chemotherapy and radiation for Stage IV head and neck cancer. The treatment was brutal. Essentially, 7.5 weeks of radiation and the mouth and throat don’t mix. Last Friday, my husband had his PET scan to determine if there were any active cancer cells. Thanks be to God, his scans were clear. As of right now, he continues to be in remission. We are all so very thankful.
What a long year it has been. There were very few surprises for us regarding the treatments. The doctors were very honest and upfront with James about what was going to happen. There was no effort to sugarcoat anything. They told him when things were going to get bad, when they were going to get really bad, and when they were going to approach the unbearable. Unfortunately, their predictions were very accurate. [Read more...]
If you want to get serious about losing weight, get serious about what you eat…then take care of the exercise piece.
I have said on this website before that in terms of weight loss, diet is more important than exercise. A recent study confirms my claim. Before I share results of the study, I want to clarify what the “Rule of 70 ”(my term) means. After considering both my personal experience and consulting many sources on the subject (including my good friend and personal trainer Karrie Ryan and sports physical therapist Alan Tyson), I feel quite confident in my assertion that weight loss (and to some degree maintenance) is 70% what we eat and about 30% what we do.
What I am not saying is that exercise is only minimally important. I believe it is hugely important, actually. But that has as much to do with what it offers outside of the scale. If you want to be healthy, you need to exercise. If you want to be strong as you age, you have to exercise. If you want to be happier, try exercise (for the natural endorphin affect-I swear by it). However, if weight loss is your primary goal, look first to what you are eating and then to exercise. [Read more...]
Spring is in the air!
As a runner, I love the spring. Some days it’s cool and other days it”s warm, but with every run outdoors it seems the trees grow greener and the sky bluer-at least here in North Carolina. This spring has been an especially pleasant one in Charlotte where, although it has been cooler than usual, the colors are lovelier than I can remember (also rainier than ever). I spot certain signs of spring that give me hope for the warmer days ahead…and some signs I don’t welcome at all. Following are 5 signs of spring that tell me, whether I like it or not, that summer is right around the corner… [Read more...]
The best way to get more vitamin D is from the sun.
I recently asked friend and physical therapist, Alan Tyson, “If there was one supplement you would recommend to your otherwise healthy patients, what would it be?” You may or may not be surprised by his answer… it’s vitamin D. He told me why it is so crucial and so I have highlighted his reasons and suggestions below. Very soon I will write another post which will explain how vitamin D affects performance in athletes.
Why Is Vitamin D Important?
Vitamin D plays a key role in the absorption of calcium. When we don’t have adequate vitamin D stores, our body cannot absorb enough calcium from our diet that it needs, and this results in calcium depletion. This depletion works to take calcium from our bones to maintain normal blood calcium levels and can often cause muscle and bone pain as well as muscle weakness. This can ultimately lead to osteoporosis. [Read more...]
A different way to work out during pregnancy…The Pregnancy Project DVD.
The following is a guest post from Kallah Oakes who is pregnant with her second child. I saw Kallah when she was only a few weeks along, and she told me she was planning on using The Pregnancy Project DVD throughout her second pregnancy. I had not heard of this method, and so asked if she could share with us a little about how the exercise program works and how she is faring (she is almost six months pregnant now). I wished that I had learned about this kind of exercise when I was pregnant as I think a lot of the running that I did was hard on my joints, etc.! I was especially interested in what she says about our mindset during pregnancy in regards to exercise. It’s good to workout but we shouldn’t be “results oriented” while we are allowing a child to grow inside! So true!
Enjoy…and let us know if you have used the DVD and how you rate it! [Read more...]
Sometimes sleep trumps exercise
I overheard a conversation the other day while I was at Target. Two women were in line behind me and one of them was telling the other that she recently had gained about 4-5 pounds and she was contributing it to lack of sleep. The other woman was surprised to hear her friend blame lack of sleep on her weight gain, but the eves-dropper (me) wasn’t. Many people know that sleep is important for things like cognitive functioning, moods, and general health, but there are many who don’t realize that a lack of it can also contribute to weight gain. [Read more...]
As a Catholic, I try to live the three days leading up to Easter in a way that unites me to Christ in a more intimate way. I do this so that on Easter I can truly celebrate His gift of salvation. Exercise, during these three days, takes on a different meaning for me….my workout is less physical and more spiritual. [Read more...]
I just finished reading TIME’s recent health blog in which they asked 10 fitness/nutrition experts from various backgrounds to talk about their plans for healthy eating and living (to read more click here). I found a lot of food for thought, but basically I related to their idea of simple living, functional fitness, and not-too-complicated eating. I drew from some of the highlights of the article and commented on why I liked what they had to say…
Who: Will Gadd, pro-outdoor sports guru [Read more...]
Push Ups – Some New Twists to an Old Friend (and some extra core work as well)
This push up routine was much harder than I thought it would be!!
I tried Alan’s push up routine the other day. I love push ups because they work the core and the arms without using weights or equipment. I was very surprised how difficult some of these variations on the standard push up are…try them at home! [Read more...]
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