Well it’s that time of year again with New Year’s resolutions staring you in the face. We have probably all vowed to be thinner, heathier, happier, and richer. Now we just have to find the time, energy and the willpower to actually follow through. Are you going to allow this to be another year you fall short or are you going to step up get proactive and be the master of your own destiny? It all begins with the first step, that first call, the first anything. Remember your best you waits for no one. The time is now, seize the day, its go time. Blah…blah…blah. You’ve probably heard it all before, but does this actually work?
In a few short weeks fitness facilities around the world will be buzzing with those seeking to improve their physical status. For some of us this is a lifelong journey of self-fulfillment, a commitment that has emblazoned exercise onto our lifestyle DNA not unlike eating and sleeping. Without it we wouldn’t quite feel our selves, well at least not our best self. For others it is a new endeavor full of hope and promise. Whether you are new to exercising or rather familiar you know what it takes to get into shape, to lose that weight or build that muscle.
On October 26 the World Health Organization released a sweeping review listing processed meat as a group 1 carcinogen. For those keeping track that puts processed meats in the same category as cigarettes and x-rays. This category means sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity to humans. Red meat in general was listed as Group 2B meaning possibly carcinogenic. So, what does this mean for you? Is this the end of hot dogs at the ballpark? Is it time to become a vegetarian and if not what are really the risks?
Have you been considering getting yourself a personal trainer? Trying to shake-up your workouts a bit? Well, being a personal trainer in the Los Angeles area of course I’m going to say this is a great idea. Every day people come to me because they want to give a jolt to their results or maybe want to try something new. Not every situation requires private sessions though, sometimes a group style class will get you the workout you want, maybe make some new friends and the price is generally more affordable.
While Type 2 Diabetes is not actually contagious it has reached epidemic levels and not just in America, but worldwide in developed and developing nations. Once known as adult onset diabetes it is now becoming frightenly more common among children and teenagers. Between 2000 and 2009 the occurrence of childhood diabetes rose 30%. Overall in the United States 30 million Americans now have diabetes with type 2 being the most prevalent form.
We’ve all likely heard the term muscle memory at some point or another. Trainers and coaches like to throw it out all the time, but what is muscle memory anyway? Do people with big muscles really have more memories stored away? And what about people with minuscule muscles are they memory gig deficient. Has a scrawny guy just not lived enough? Wouldn’t it be funny if the bigger your muscle got the more of an information repository you’d actually become.
If you are like most ageing American’s you likely started to notice waking-up stiffer, tighter and maybe even with some back pain. Perhaps this has even been ongoing for a while now. In the last few years I noticed this myself, the likely culprit wear and tear from years of competitive sports. Even mostly sedentary people have back issues only in their case it’s usually from a weak core and poor postural habits.
Unless you’ve been sleeping under a rock, a big rock you know that exercise is extremely beneficial to your heart, builds muscle and bone density and aids weight loss. Science is now showing us the effect exercise has on the brain, your brain, my brain, any brain for that matter and the results are pretty amazing.
Okay, so you exercise several times a week making sure to do resistance exercise as well as cardiovascular training. You cleaned up your diet cutting back on empty calories, too much sugar, processed foods and now eat plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables. You’re a rock star, a beast even, but wait your work may not be done. Now you need to sleep, and by that I mean get an adequate, uninterrupted, consistent, amount of sleep. No more burning the candle at both ends either, 4 or 5 hour nights, that’s not going to cut it. I once had a physiology teacher say, “every hour of sleep you skip you can take off the end of your life”.
If you are like me and well frankly like most people I know you probably have an occasional and maybe, not so occasional craving for carbs. Who doesn’t enjoy the texture, the flavor and the sheer joy of eating a plate of pasta, or bread or potatoes, I definitely do. It’s unfortunate that those same delicious comfort foods are also leading us to higher levels of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity. If you are on a low carbohydrate diet, for better or worse, you probably already swore these off. Well, what if I was to tell you that you can still enjoy these foods and not only would they improve immune function and digestive health, but also help you lose weight. Yes, carbs helping you lose weight. There is a catch though, all be it a doable one, you have to change the way you eat them.
As the USDA rushes to make changes to their food pyramid, many of us already have. Many Americans have taken up low carb or very low carb diets such as The Paleo Diet, South Beach Diet or even Atkins. Still others though not restricting carbohydrates eat a large amount of protein as well. With more and more evidence exhibiting that obesity, diabetes and heart disease have all increased with elevated carbohydrate intake it’s no surprise that consumers would alter their diet and animal protein consumption would fill the gap.
Are you still somewhat traumatized from all those years of having a parent or teacher telling them to quit slouching and stand or sit-up straight? I still remember in Catholic school having nuns include posture grades in our report cards. For reasons I will cover shortly this could be some of the best advice we received in our early years.
I was watching Hawaii Five–O the other day when in a scene one of the stars (character name Steve McGarrett) cut a large piece of butter and plopped it into his coffee. When asked by the squeamish character Danny what the heck he’s doing he explains it as a Navy SEAL trick to boost cognitive function, alertness and energy. This practice with historical origins in Ethiopia and Tibet using tea with yak butter is now being brought to you by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Dave Asprey.
Undoubtedly you are familiar with one or more of the USDA’s food pyramids guiding us to a supposed healthier lifestyle. Well, the USDA and Department of Health and Human Services have posted their new dietary guidelines for 2015 on their website health.gov. These, the very same fat phobic institutions that as far back as 1980 gave us carbohydrates as the base (largest portion) of their vaunted pyramid are now back with a new improved guideline.
If you watch Dr. Oz, The View, or any of a zillion different websites you have likely heard of Caralluma Fimbriata along with all the claims about its amazing weight loss properties. Caralluma Fimbriata is a succulent plant (type of cactus) that grows in India and Sri Lanka and into North Africa. It has been eaten for centuries in these countries. The buzz around this plant stems from the historical use of it by hunters and tribesmen to control hunger and thirst while on the hunt. The effects are claimed to last an entire day and all with increased endurance.
Who hasn’t at one point or another enjoyed the guilty pleasure of a film about a perhaps misunderstood brooding bloodsucker giving into the temptation of a certain substance flowing through the veins of a ridiculously attractive nubile victim. Well, new research suggests maybe vampires had it right all along, a regular dose of youthful blood and you can be young and forever beautiful.
