Fitness Friday: How to Beat Late Summer Heat

Here in my neck of the States, the weather has been super hot. The numbers on the thermometer are exacerbated by high humidity. Working out in such conditions can be risky if one is properly prepared, but keep in mind: low temps don’t necessarily mean you’ll be in a better place physically. 70 degrees with high humidity can still be dangerous.

Don’t find yourself in trouble before it’s too late. If the air which surrounds you is not cooler, or the sweat on your body isn’t evaporating to cool you off, your insides can cook – and your internal organs could begin to shut down.

How to tell you’re in trouble:

Nausea, vomiting, headache, weakness, an altered mental state (i.e. rambling incoherently) are all signs of some type of heat illness – which can lead to heat stroke. Body temps can spike up to 105 degrees (or more), and if your body’s sweating mechanism shuts down – you’re at risk for heat stroke, which can result in death.

What to do:

Water, water, water – NOT caffeine loaded drinks, or sodas, or beer. Drink a quart of water before an outdoor workout or a run, and drink a quart after. Drink even if you’re not thirsty. Thirst does not make or break what your body may deal with.

Exercise smarter, not harder:

• Runners: run between 4a.m. and 6a.m. Traffic is at it’s lightest and the air quality is best.
• Wear light-colored, loose fitting, absorbent clothing. Try not to wear clothing that can stay wet (i.e. spandex or cotton clothing).
• Avoid strenuous workouts, you can get overheated and dehydrated.
• Carry a frozen water bottle in the back of your shorts.
• Stick to shaded areas.
• Exercise moderately (or 60-70% of your max heart rate).
• Take breaks, walk.
• In addition to drinking the quart of water prior to and after your workout, drink two cups every 20 minutes.
• If the temps are over 90, workout at the gym where the AC keeps things cool.

If you (or your friend) find yourself in trouble:

• Cool off fast! (Toss yourself in ice water if you can).
• Cool, wet cloths.
• Sips of water, shade.
• Lie down, elevate the feet, get in front of a fan.
• If you are fire hot, and rambling like a confused mad man, call 911.
• The goal is to lower the body temperature as quickly as possible.

Just Do It

 

Workout of the Day!

Hey! Check out today’s WOD!

http://spfitdet.com/2013/08/21/wednesday-workout-of-the-day/

Only Your Best. No Excuses. Never Quit.

Monday Motivation: Wiggle It…Just a Little Bit

Did you know if your lifestyle is primarily sedentary (a lifestyle of no or irregular physical activity – you know…bed, shower, couch, desk, couch, bathroom, couch…), your metabolism just stops? The same thing happens when you slam the brakes on the car (or abruptly squeeze the wrong brake on the mountain bike).

James A. Levin, MD, PHD, (professor of medicine at Mayo) says the moment you go from walking slowly to sitting, your active calorie-burn rate (those calories burned when one’s body is at rest) drops from 3 to 1 per minute (I am certain I hit a historical low with negative numbers). At the same time, your triglyceride & blood sugar levels rise. Sitting for hours day after day after day after day reduces the levels of your “good” cholesterol (aka HDL), and your body packs on the pounds. The pounds aren’t sole effect: heart disease, diabetes, various cancers, longevity of life (or lack thereof), and your family are all at risk.

Dr. Levine came up with a program called NEAT (nonexercise activity thermogenesis…I like the anagram better). It’s super simple. NEAT forces you to rethink all of your habits and find new, more active ways to get through your day. Dr. Levine says if you move enough, you could offset the danger of sitting all of the time.

Nothing will ever take the place of a challenging workout. But if your lifestyle is one that barely moves, get up & wiggle it…just a little bit. You might be surprised what happens!

How to Get Your Protein & Make a Vegan Dinner (by Accident)

My budget is not as expansive as it once was (Starbucks is now a luxury, not a necessity….twitch…twitch), so I haven’t been buying snack foods and other crap like I normally would. This is difficult for me as I have a massive pretzel addiction (I can easily go through a big bag in 2-3 days…which will be curbed now. I just saw what that did to my food diary) and live right across the street from a party/convenience store. Sometimes I allow my single life to dictate much of what I do (i.e. I’m lazy and really hate to cook for one), which makes for poor eating choices more often than not (which isn’t all that great considering I peddle a boot camp class). However, I am committed to a healthy life and healthy lifestyle.

Those two do not happen if I’m screwing around, AND I cannot give honest feedback to people through social networks if I’m not educating myself with healthy choices. For instance, the subject of getting all your protein in for the day through food sources other than protein shakes came up. I’m a shake person, and I will have one or two a day (the other night I made a frozen shake…OMG!). I personally do not feel the need to remove 100% of the shakes out of my diet, but others do. So I thought, what the heck could I do to answer that question.

Prior to my workout, I started my day with McCann’s Steel Rolled Oats and Hemp Pro Fiber. The combo was “okay”, I’m just not 100% sold on the baby poo food green color. Truvia didn’t mask the color, nor did it mask the dry of the hemp (this is obviously going to be a work in progress).

After my workout I had Cheerios, ½ cup of Trader Joe’s Vanilla Soy Milk, Chia & Hemp seeds.

Later I had pretzels (#failure), a cup of coffee (brewed, not bough), and I think something else – for the life of me I cannot remember what….

Dinner Ingredients

For dinner I made lentils & split peas with curried TVP & NoOodles (side note: Quest’s Pastabilities are MUCH better). I weighed out a serving each of the lentils & split peas on the food scale, then boiled them with some garlic powder and cracked pepper. Once those were about finished, I cooked up the TVP according to the directions and added my own homemade curry powder. The color was perfect. Lastly, I added a package of NoOodles. I did not cook those to the package directions, rather added them to the curried TVP. They have to stay in the pan until they’re no longer white, but translucent. Then I topped it with some of the lentils & split peas. Kind of looked like I added vegetables. On the side, fire roasted diced tomatoes (another note: make your own. The canned ones are incredibly tart and taste like aluminum).

When I finished cooking I realized I accidentally made a vegan dish (yay me! Sorta…I still like cow).

My day kind of ended up like this:

Morning:
575 Cals
75 Carbs
23 Fat
27 Fiber
30 Protein

Pretzel Fail:
200 Calories
46 Carbs
0 Fat
2 Fiber
4 Protein

Dinner:
165 Cals
29 Carbs
0 Fat
11 Fiber
13 Protein

Overall:
940 Cals
150 Carb
23 Fat
40 Fiber (which brings Carbs to 110)
47 Protein

Did I do it? Not exactly. My protein intake is typically over 100. My caloric intake should be somewhere between 1,200 and 1,500. So, I’ll have an Isopure shake to top out the day.

It is possible. If you’re a grab & go person, might be a bit more difficult. But it’s totally possible, and if you’re a meal planner – this is a great option.

If you have any healthy protein intake suggestions, shoot me a note at spdiaries@gmail.com.

Tuesday Takeaways: Tackling Weight Loss Stalls

If you’ve been doing “all the right things” with eating well and exercise and your scale has been hysterically laughing at you for an extended period of time in a refusal to budge, don’t freak out. It’s a stall (otherwise referred to as a “plateau”), and quite normal in weight loss – and of course they’ll happen if you’ve wandered off your regiment into the land of “um…maybe….well…YES! CUPCAKES!”.

Speaking of Cupcakes
Have a day where you cheat a little. It’ll make you feel better emotionally and push aside some funky psychological thoughts. Also, healthy doesn’t mean food prison. By all means, eat healthy and every now and then grab a cupcake.

Drink It, Lick It, Eat It, Log It!
I know, preachin’ to the choir. Logging your foods tells you where you very well might be off nutritionally (i.e. you might have one healthy day and six cheat days, ahem!). It also keeps things visual, otherwise you’ll be grazing and picking all day long. Log everything for a week and see what you learn about yourself. You might be surprised.

Shake Up the Workouts
If you’re doing the same routine all week long, it’s time to make a switch. Hit the stair climber, try the treadmill, do the elliptical, try a few thousand meters on the row machine. You can do group fitness classes: Zumba, Spin, Kick Boxing, Outdoor Boot Camp, CrossFit.  If you are working out a lot and not seeing results, do the opposite. Take a rest day or two.

Changing things up will prevent boredom, keep your body on its toes, and will help you make your health journey a success!!

Monday Minute: Healthy Tips for Busy Folks

Studies show our current pace with work and family life does affect our health on a variety of levels. When you feel stressed, cortisol (a stress hormone) is released into your body. It creates an imbalance which can accelerate aging, promote weight gain, interrupt sleep, and create a large amount of other health issues: high blood pressure, body pain, anxiety, etc.

Exercise is a GREAT way to relieve stress, it de-clutters the brain (kind of hard to think about the next ten items on your to-do list when you’re holding a dumbbell over your head). If you’re pressed for time, and you’re stress level is out the door, try incorporating a few quick moves throughout your day to de-clutter the brain and improve your health. Not meant to be a replacement for a regular exercise routine, the suggestions below at least will help you get through the day little less stressed and help you not to chew someone’s arm off. 🙂

-Schedule breaks throughout the day. Take a brisk 10 minute walk outside.
-Purpose to make lunch a physical activity.
-Use the stairway at the office instead of the elevator.
-Wake up 5 minutes early and do some stretches, jumping jacks, squats.
-Walk, run, bike to where you have to go versus drive.
-For families, consider making dinner or a weekend meal picnic style at a park.
-Walk together instead of parking in front of the TV or the game station.
-Read a book.

Quick Tips: Resistance Tube (Bands) Exercises

Yesterday I posted a bit about working out with rubber resistance bands. Rubber resistance bands are great to add-on to your exercise routines, and they’re very portable. Just like dumbbells/free weights, the bands come in several different strengths from light to heavy strength and you can do just about every exercise with the rubber bands that you would normally do with free weights. A portable rubber resistance band kit can be found at your local sporting goods store or through Amazon, eBay, or other sporting & fitness gear web sites.

I’ve posted a few exercises you can try out when you get your own resistance bands below. Click the picture to download a PDF copy.

Boot Camp Sunday: How to Modify Push-Ups & Squat Thrusts

I learned a few things today:

• Suntan lotion is ineffective outside if you miss your ears (oops).
• Leg lifts on a faux concrete table make the bum hurt.
• Gloves are helpful if one desires to not have little pebbles crushed into the palms of their hands while dong long armed planks.

Today’s Boot Camp Workout (insert loud “tad-daaaah!” here):

My warm up was a road cycle to the park with a 12lb back pack followed by 1/2 mile brisk walk (twice around the track).

Circuit One	Circuit Two	Circuit Three
25 Squats x 2	15 Table Squat Thrusts x 3	Jump in Place 45 Seconds x 1
15 Chest Push-Ups x 3	15 Walking Lunges x 3	Run in Place 60 Seconds x 2
25 Step-Ups (small) x 1	20 Leg Lifts x 3	Long Arm Plank 60 Seconds x 3
20 Step-Ups (tall) x 3		Lap the Track x 2 (1/4 Mile)
Lap the Track x 2 (1/2 Mile)

Chest Push Ups
These are modified push-ups that do not involve the knees (aka: “girl push-ups”). You can use a table at home, a park bench, anything that is off the ground. You then plant your hands on the edge of the table or bench about shoulder width apart, and straighten your legs. Your body should be at about a 45 degree angle. Your butt shouldn’t be high in the air, your knees should not be bent (like the faceless guy to the left). Once you are in position, lower yourself down and push yourself up. Do this for 15 reps.

Table Squat Thrusts
This is a modified version of squat thrusts. I’m certain someone somewhere has a name for it, but until I’m notified of it, it shall be deemed Table Squat Thrusts. Plant your hands on the the bench of a picnic table (the part you sit on) or the last riser of a bleacher, box, or whatever other object you would like to use. Draw your legs up under you in squat position (you’ll look like you’re going to do a leap frog move). With your hands on the bench, drive your legs back so they are straight and bring them back under you to squat position (this picture here demonstrates how a regular squat thrust is done, just add a table or a bench). You can bring yourself up to standing position or stay in squat position.There is some impact on the knees, so if yours are a little crummy adjust how hard you drive your legs back.

If you have an exercise you’d like to do but your body is saying “NO WAY”, drop a line to spdiaries@gmail.com. We can find a modification for you!

POW (Post-Op Whiners)

Somewhere across the country there’s a secret collective of post-op dairy farmers. They haven’t been clear on their target market, or the cost of their product to consumers when it officially hits store shelves. One thing is clear: confidential sources have revealed they’re milking it for all it is worth.

Ugh.

Piece of advice: if you fell off the post-op salad truck, STOP posting, ‘What do I DO???” all over the internet. If you are a weight loss surgery post op for any length of time (two seconds, two months, two years, two decades), you know what you are supposed to do…unless of course you were hit on the head with fried Twinkies. Then you could be suffering from WLSPOA (weight loss surgery post op amnesia).

To avoid becoming a POW, try the following steps:

1. Talk to someone. You have a primary care doctor, you have a surgeon, you have a nutritionist. If any of these professionals have mysteriously vanished out of your life (alien abduction?)…FIND SOMEONE NEW. If you’re unable to do so then my assumption would be you reside on an island in total solitude, which means you have no access to communications and will not read this anyway.

2. If you know you’re eating habits are bad, and you know you have consumed that which you probably are not supposed to (like a container of crispy oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from Trader Joe’s), get over it. It’s summer. You can grow stuff. Even better, you can pay someone who grew it already.

3. If you have the phrase “I can’t afford to” flashing behind your eyelids in reference to item #2, hold your tongue. Chances are incredulously high you have, oh let’s see: all the cable channels, all the movie channels, a smart phone and a big ol’ plan.

I whine to a select few of my friends, none of whom give me one ounce of slack because they’ve been privy to my weight loss changes. I don’t complain online all that often. Usually I will talk to someone who puts me in my place. I also yell at people. Ask my friend Anne. I chased her bum back across the football field at boot camp a few weeks ago for short-cutting the track, later I made her do half leap frogs. My trainer gives me no slack at all-and it has nothing to do my picture he put on his car advertisement. It’s because he remembers when I was the fattest woman in the gym, how my stomach drug the ground during push ups, or how 40lbs made a world of difference in climbing 17 steps.

God, you have so much to celebrate. Don’t be a POW. Don’t focus on the prison and the chains…neither hold you anymore.

If that doesn’t encourage you, get stuck somewhere. I got wedged in that little space there between the bed and nightstand over the weekend to fix the carpet. I hadn’t laughed that hard at myself in a long, long time.