Tag Archives: health

Anti-Aging: 1 Wild Salmon

Slow down the aging process by controlling inflammation and eliminating  free radicals from your body through your diet!

WILD SALMON





Definitions

Antioxidant:   protects the body from damaging molecules called free radicals.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids:  the most anti-inflammatory substance that exists; A class of fatty acids found in fish oils, especially from salmon and other cold-water fish; has many health benefits including:

  • lower blood pressure
  • lower triglyceride levels
  • brain & heart health
  • radiant & youthful skin
  • encourages a better mood

PCBs:  Short for polychlorinated biphenyl.  Compounds used as lubricants, heat-transfer fluids, and plasticizers. The manufacture and use of PCBs has been  restricted since the 1970s because they are very harmful to the environment, being especially deadly to fish and invertebrates,and stay in the food chain for many years.

Salmon with Lemon and Dill allrecipes.com

Ingredients

  • 1 pound salmon fillets
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted
  • 5 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • sea salt to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
  2. Place salmon in the baking dish. Mix the butter and lemon juice in a small bowl, and drizzle over the salmon. Season with dill, garlic powder, sea salt, and pepper.
  3. Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until salmon is easily flaked with a fork.
Please share good Salmon recipes you love!

Confession Session

One thing I love about personal training is the food confessions that take place on weigh-in and measuring days!

I get to hear all about the splurges from the week!

My family takes a 90/10 approach to eating.  

90% of our eating is for the purpose of growth, health and recovery. 

 10% is to enjoy food because it’s YUMMY!

MY FAVORITE 10% FOODS

PIZZA       

Lucy’s MAC & CHEESE 🙂

BREADS   CHIPS

my  STARBUCKS “coffee” drink

CHOCOLATE

and ICING!



I’ll share a little secrete with you:  When I was in college, I often kept a tube of icing stashed in my purse, so whenever I needed an icing fix, I would just pull it out and enjoy!

I’ve since wised up and DO NOT recommend you do this!  LOL

CONFESSION TIME

Ok, it’s your turn.  

What’s your favorite cheat foods?


POST WORKOUT RECOVERY SHAKE

It is super important to feed your body after a workout!  You must give it the fuel it needs to repair.  To keep your metabolism kicking after you exercise, you need to eat a proper post-workout “meal” within 45 min of that workout.  That can be hard to do, and that’s why I love a good supplement shake.  This is one of my favorites!
Chocolate Almond Protein Shake
Blend:
1/2 of a banana
High quality chocolate protein powder- BUY NOW
1 cup Almond milk
1 TBS Almond Butter
Perfect for the body and yummy to your tummy!

SPINACH, BANANA, OJ – OH MY!

CHOCOLATE or SPINACH tonight?
I’m so happy right now!

I was NEEDING something sweet.  I set out looking around the house for chocolate.  I might have hidden away for myself for just the right moment.  I usually have chocolate stashed.  

No such luck.
Then I opened the fridge and had a stare down with a large container of organic spinach I bought today at the store. NOT the same as chocolate, but I decided to use those leafy greens and turn them into a sweet treat.
DEE-LISH!!! I’m serious
1 cup orange juice (or just water)
1/2 banana
a little honey
 a lot of spinach

Put it all in the blender
and BLEND.

This satisfied my sweet tooth, filled me up and awarded me with good amounts of
vitamin K, vitamin A, magnesium, folate, manganese, iron calcium, vitamin C,
vitamin B2, potassium, and vitamin B6!

Oh, and I also got some
protein, phosphorus, Vitamin E, zinc, dietary fiber, selenium, niacin, omega-3 fatty acids, and copper!
These are my goodies from the spinach alone!  If you don’t believe that this spinach smoothie could taste good, I have proof:  Withholding ALL information about the ingredients I used, I had my husband take a sip.
He said, “Sure, I could drink this.  It is good.”
My son responded, “YUMMMM Mom, that is good!”

There you have it.
Go fill your belly with a nutritionally packed sweet treat and share what you did!

WHAT IS HAPPENING WHILE WE SLEEP???

I want to start by saying “Thank you” to my dog- Apple– for modeling for us today.
When we sleep our body repairs!
    • Exercising:  during resistance training, the muscles actually tear.   While sleep, the muscle rebuilds stronger to adapt to the new load demanded of it.

 

  • Sickness: during sleep, extra protein molecules are produced that help the immune system to strengthen and mend after being compromised by pollutants and infectious bacteria.

 

 

  • Growth:  we can’t forget that kids do a lot of growing during those important hours of sleep.

 

New studys are suggesting that getting the right 
amount of sleep may…
  • improve memory the brain appears to restructure and reorganize memories- they become stronger
  • improve inflammation– research suggests that people who get fewer hours of sleep—six or less per night—have higher blood levels of inflammatory proteins
I look like I need sleep!

  • improve performance- A study conducted by Stanford University looked at college football players.  Those who got 10 hrs of sleep for 7-8 weeks had improved sprint time.  They also had less fatigue and stamina in the day.

  • improve grades- sleep deprivation impairs learning
  • improve attentionadults get sleepy with lack of zzzz’s, but kids get hyperactive, are inattentive and impulsive  (ADHD-like symptoms)
  • encourage a healthy weight when sleepy, hormones that increase appetite increase in the blood; studies also show that people who were well rested lost more body fat and those who were sleep deprived lost muscle mass

  • and decrease car accidentsin 2009, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that being tired accounted for the highest number of fatal single-car crashes where the driver ran off the road. A higher number than crashes caused by alcohol! Lack of sleep affects decision making and reaction time.
So how much sleep do we need to get these wonderful benefits?
 
according to Better-Sleep-Better-Life.com

Newborns (0-2 months old) 12-18 hours
Infants (3-11 months old) 14-15 Hours
Toddlers (1-3 years old)l 12-14 Hours
Pre-schoolers (3-5 years old) 11-13 Hours
School-aged Children (5-10 years old) 10-11 Hours
Teens (11-17 years old) 8-9 Hours
Adults 7-9 Hours
 So yes maybe I just want to show off my cute kids and my dog, but I also want us to look at our sleep time as HEALTHCARE!
 It’s necessary for us to be our best… to be on top of our game!
Apple seems to have sleep figured out.
 Let’s take our cues from her and get some!
Sweet Dreams

GREEK vs NON-GREEK YOGURT

I like 
YOGURT!

 

 smoothies. frozen treats. salads. breads. granola. mac & cheese.
-YES.  Sub it for the milk = YUMMY!

 
I like Stonyfield Organic
so my info about yogurt is specific to this brand.

 

 

It is a good source of protein, calcium, fiber, and is gluten free.  Stoneyfields yogurt has 6 added natural probiotics– awesome for healthy digestion and a strong immune system.  Sooooooo, should I switch from my regular organic yogurt over to greek yogurt?

 

Here’s the difference:
 
                                  Regular Organic Yogurt
  • good source of protein, calcium, riboflavin, phosphorus & magnesium.
  • low in lactose
  • supports a healthy digestive & immune system
  • restores beneficial bacteria that is killed off when taking antibiotics
  • the body digests yogurt faster and easier than milk
All Good!
             Greek  Organic Yogurt
  • very rich, thick and creamy
  • has 2x the protein compared to reg. yogurt
  • less lactose
  • fewer carbs
So, it is better if you are involved in exercising and losing weight!

 

ALWAYS CHOOSE ORGANIC!

 

                   Organic 
  • no toxic pesticides and herbicides
  • no GMOs
  • no Antibiotics
  • no Growth hormones

 

Go get some yogurt and enjoy.  
Let’s be creative in the way we use it and share!

I am ME Because…

In 1980, at age 2, I began having problems with asthma.  By the age of 4, it had gotten really bad.  I had weekly allergy shots and high doses of Theophylline  and Alupent.  I also depended on my rescuer inhaler regularly.  At age 4, I weighed 27 lbs.  When I would get up to 30 lbs, I would get sick and drop back down to 27 lbs.  One pharmacist said that he had never filled such high doses of this medicine for anyone.  This was necessary to keep me alive!  From ages 4-9 we visited the ER every couple of months.  For a long time I had asthma attacks every night.  My parents tell stories of nights that they could not wake me up to take my inhaler.  I remember being stuck in my dream trying to use my medicine while my parents, in reality, were splashing water in my face trying to wake me up so I could actually use my inhaler.
This experience created an extremely insecure child.  All I wanted to do was be normal… to run and play without stopping to use medicine because I couldn’t breathe!

1984 (age 6) Prior to the olympic games, my parents recorded – on VHS tape 🙂 – the movie about the 1976 olympic gymnast Nadia Comăneci She was the first olympic gymnast ever to score a perfect 10, and went on to score 6 more 10.0 and win 3 gold medals.  That became my favorite movie and she became my hero.  I wore that movie out, and boohooed every time I watched it.  I was so inspired by the gymnasts’ athleticism and my heart yerned to have the freedom to run, jump and move like they did… to be able to work hard and achieve great things.
That summer, I watched with all focus and attention, the great Marry Lou Retton score perfect 10s on both her floor routine and the vault.  It was beautiful, and I cried.  It still makes me cry today when I think about how that made me feel.

Well, I never became a great gymnast – I tried 🙂

but I was blessed with an incredible family who was “determined to not let their little girl think she was a sick kid”- my mom.

Recently, as I looked through my child hood pictures, began to see my life differently.  Yes, I was sick and could not even participate in a full class of P.E., but I did have a lot I COULD do.

I took 8 years of dance.
After 4 years, my father presented me with flowers.  This was a BIG moment!

I also spent my childhood out at the lake.  We had a barge… a floating, one-room “house” with bunk beds and a mini kitchen.  It was really cool… and seemed a lot bigger to me when I was young.

At age 7 my dad taught me to water ski.

My Grandma always had me out being active.  We road bikes a lot and kicked the ball around.  I remember her taking me to the tennis courts and teaching me how to play volleyball and basketball.

More moments that shaped me…


Pretty sure the 80’s threw up on me! LOL
It’s ok, you can be jealous of my hair and glasses.
One final influence I want to mention is my Uncle Ken- my dad’s brother.
He was a professional power lifter in the  70’s and 80’s… achieving 2nd in the world in with the deadlift!
He encouraged me and taught me never to say “I can’t”
I clearly remember a particular moment when I was in high school, at the gym with my dad and uncle.
In the middle of our workout, Uncle Ken loaded a 45 lb. bar with 45 lb. plates = total of 135 lbs. and told me to deadlift that!

I think I first chuckled and then I said, “I can’t do that!”  Then he corrected me and began to help me focus mentally.  To my surprise (and not his evidently) I was able to dead lift that weight… 1 time!  That was all I needed to do.  I learned a HUGE lesson that day.  I can do more that I think I can if I set my mind to it, stay focused, and work hard!  If there would have been a gold medal to be given at the gym that day, I’m sure I would have won it 🙂
I am who I am today because of my experiences.  In every physical activity I have ever done, I’ve had to overcome asthma and have had to work harder than anyone.  I’ve learned that if I stay focused and remain positive I can reach my goals.
Never say “I can’t” and never quit!
I thank God for the childhood I had and for giving me a family who wouldn’t let me be a sick kid!

The Dirty Dozen

This is the 2011 list of the fruits and vegetables that were found to contain the highest levels of pesticides. 
  1. APPLES – always make the list, have been found with up to 40 different pesticides- organic is best with all apple foods (juice, apple sauce,…)

  2. CELERY – more that 60 different pesticides have been detected

  3. STRAWBERRIES – always on the list, frozen contains smaller amounts of pesticides

  4. PEACHES

  5. SPINACH

  6. NECTARINES – imported nectarines test to have much higher amounts of pesticides

  7. GRAPES – especially imported – including raisins

  8. SWEET BELL PEPPERS – all colors

  9. POTATOES – over 35 different pesticides have been found by the USDA- sweet potatoes are a great alternative with far less

  10. BLUEBERRIES – even when they don’t make the list, cranberries and cherries are also high in pesticides

  11. LETTUS – including spinach

  12. KALE and COLLARD GREENS  – just in the last 2 years has made the list with a rise in pesticides


Other foods that need to be organic:

  • FATTY MEAT
  • MILK
  • COFFEE
  • WINE


Now, the GOOD NEWS:  There are lots of CLEAN foods free from pesticides that you don’t need to go organic with!

  • Watermelon
  • Grapefruit
  • Kiwi
  • Cantaloupe – domestic
  • Pineapple
  • Mango
  • Avocado
  • Onions 
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Sweet Corn
  • Sweet Peas
  • Asparagus
  • Eggplant
  • Cabbage
  • Mushrooms

Foods like Avocado have a wonderful protective skin.  
This will keep chemicals from getting into the food.
I always wash the outside of the avocado, for example, before cutting into it so I don’t drag any chemical that might be on the outside of the skin into the food.
Read more HERE.

THE TYE4® FOR PILATES

THE PILATES Tye4

I am loving this Tye4®! It gives the same type of resistance and assistance as the Pilates equipment, but can actually be taken anywhere. These bungees can add up to 20 lbs of resistance! We will be able to burn more calories in each workout and tone faster using the Tye4®. 
THIS ROCKS!