My new DVD is now available for purchase for $15. It is designed for prenatal and postpartum women, but can be used by any beginning exerciser.
www.createspace.com/263912
Friday, April 17, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sodas and Kidney Disease
This morning, there is a research article in Parade Magazine linking sodas or soft drinks to kidney disease. People who have 2 cans per day are twice as likely to develop kidney disease. Another reason to switch to something natural!
Peanut allergies and schools
This morning's news was about doctors being angry for schools going peanut free. They say children should be exposed to peanuts in order to not become allergic.
What an ignorant stand on the part of the doctor. A child that has a peanut allergy cannot be in the viscinity of a peanut without swelling up. This is a fatal allergy! A child could be standing in the lunch line, not picking up the peanut butter sandwich, but picking up what is next to the peanut butter, and then suddenly not be able to breathe.
Yes, non allergy sufferers should be around peanuts. They are a great source of inexpensive protein, too. So, the rest of us should enjoy peanuts and peanut butter AT HOME.
What an ignorant stand on the part of the doctor. A child that has a peanut allergy cannot be in the viscinity of a peanut without swelling up. This is a fatal allergy! A child could be standing in the lunch line, not picking up the peanut butter sandwich, but picking up what is next to the peanut butter, and then suddenly not be able to breathe.
Yes, non allergy sufferers should be around peanuts. They are a great source of inexpensive protein, too. So, the rest of us should enjoy peanuts and peanut butter AT HOME.
Toxic Fried Potatoes
A new study posted this week that potatoes release a toxic chemical when fried. It is causing cancer in lab rats. What's my point? French fries and potato chips really are evil. It's time to choose a different side order! Maybe this will put an end to the pointless sides in restaurants...once people finally catch on.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Calories In, Calories Out
So this week, the UK released their results on a very long term study about diets. The bottom line is this: exercise and take in less calories, and you lose weight. Keep doing it and you keep it off. Go figure! Nutritionists have been saying it for ages. It really is a math equation. You have to burn more calories than you take in in order to lose weight. It gets complicated when we start looking at ratios of protein, fat, and carbs, but look at it this way: everybody's body is different, and you have to do what makes you feel good. For most people, that means playing the balancing act all day long. Too many simple carbohydrates, and you're starving in an hour. Too much fat and you feel like you ate a lead balloon. Too much protein and you may feel bloated or sluggish. How do you figure it out? Start with a basic balance plan. Every meal has a handful of carbs, a handful of protein, and a dop of fats. How do you feel after? How long do you feel full? Work the equation until you feel great and can go about 4 hours without starving. Work in tons of fruits and veggies, and drink water all day long. Continue to reevaluate, and continue to feel great.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Pregnant and Exercising
Pregnant and Exercising?
If you are pregnant and you are in a fitness routine, modern science usually says you can keep up your routine within reason. If you have never exercised before, please consult a physician before starting any exercise routine.
There are many reasons to exercise while pregnant. Doctors agree that you need to keep your weight gain to a healthy number, and exercising women tend to gain little body fat during pregnancy. Gaining too much fat during pregnancy can cause extra stress after the baby is born. And she will be too busy tending to a new baby to lose weight right away. Besides that, a breast-feeding woman needs to keep her nutrition level high for the sake of the baby. All in all, not gaining too much is important. Check this approximate calculator to help you find an average for you. http://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy-weight-gain-estimator
Many doctors discourage running on hard paved surfaces, and some recommend no high impact at all. Many pregnant women find high impact uncomfortable. Actually, riding a stationary bike can be a good alternative for a while, swimming can be very comfortable for the extra tummy weight, and walking is always an option. Please remember that the baby needs oxygen, so you should never feel breathless or reach the anaerobic threshold while pregnant.
If you are a mind-body exerciser, make sure that you are doing a routine appropriate for pregnant women. There are many DVD’s on the market specifically for pregnant women. Denise Austin has one available on amazon.com. Plank position causes strain on the already stressed ligaments in the abdomen. This can cause extra tearing of the rectus abdominus, leading to diastasis recti (see my previous article on diastasis recti, as well as the community thread on the subject), so entering your average Pilates or yoga class is not recommended.
Weight lifters, the body does benefit from lifting weights. We want your body to be strong for delivery and for taking care of this baby. Again, we don’t want to stress the ligaments in the center of the body and we never want to hold our breath. So keep those things in mind as you lift. To play it safe, limit your standing weight-lifting exercises. If you feel dizzy, sit down right away. Walking lunges or split squats also cause extra strain to the ligaments around the pelvis. This area is mobile and stretching to make way for baby, so my recommendation is to stabilize this area during exercise rather than risk overstretching the ligaments here.
In general, the body is undergoing many hormonal changes that allow the body to stretch out to carry and deliver this baby. Therefore, we need to take extra caution with anything that will permanently strain ligaments and tendons. This can cause an injury that will make your pregnancy very difficult. After exercise, or even some time during an average day, sit down and do some easy static stretches like the V-sit. Make sure to take deep breaths and ease into each stress without strain or overstress. The sore back needs some easy cat stretches and rounded back stretches to ease some of its pain.
Always consult a physician before starting any exercise routine, and consult a certified personal trainer (www.acefitness.org for one near you) if you have any questions.
Carrie Harper
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
ACE Certified Weight Management Consultant
www.carriefit.com
Peertrainer Team: Carriefit
If you are pregnant and you are in a fitness routine, modern science usually says you can keep up your routine within reason. If you have never exercised before, please consult a physician before starting any exercise routine.
There are many reasons to exercise while pregnant. Doctors agree that you need to keep your weight gain to a healthy number, and exercising women tend to gain little body fat during pregnancy. Gaining too much fat during pregnancy can cause extra stress after the baby is born. And she will be too busy tending to a new baby to lose weight right away. Besides that, a breast-feeding woman needs to keep her nutrition level high for the sake of the baby. All in all, not gaining too much is important. Check this approximate calculator to help you find an average for you. http://www.babycenter.com/pregnancy-weight-gain-estimator
Many doctors discourage running on hard paved surfaces, and some recommend no high impact at all. Many pregnant women find high impact uncomfortable. Actually, riding a stationary bike can be a good alternative for a while, swimming can be very comfortable for the extra tummy weight, and walking is always an option. Please remember that the baby needs oxygen, so you should never feel breathless or reach the anaerobic threshold while pregnant.
If you are a mind-body exerciser, make sure that you are doing a routine appropriate for pregnant women. There are many DVD’s on the market specifically for pregnant women. Denise Austin has one available on amazon.com. Plank position causes strain on the already stressed ligaments in the abdomen. This can cause extra tearing of the rectus abdominus, leading to diastasis recti (see my previous article on diastasis recti, as well as the community thread on the subject), so entering your average Pilates or yoga class is not recommended.
Weight lifters, the body does benefit from lifting weights. We want your body to be strong for delivery and for taking care of this baby. Again, we don’t want to stress the ligaments in the center of the body and we never want to hold our breath. So keep those things in mind as you lift. To play it safe, limit your standing weight-lifting exercises. If you feel dizzy, sit down right away. Walking lunges or split squats also cause extra strain to the ligaments around the pelvis. This area is mobile and stretching to make way for baby, so my recommendation is to stabilize this area during exercise rather than risk overstretching the ligaments here.
In general, the body is undergoing many hormonal changes that allow the body to stretch out to carry and deliver this baby. Therefore, we need to take extra caution with anything that will permanently strain ligaments and tendons. This can cause an injury that will make your pregnancy very difficult. After exercise, or even some time during an average day, sit down and do some easy static stretches like the V-sit. Make sure to take deep breaths and ease into each stress without strain or overstress. The sore back needs some easy cat stretches and rounded back stretches to ease some of its pain.
Always consult a physician before starting any exercise routine, and consult a certified personal trainer (www.acefitness.org for one near you) if you have any questions.
Carrie Harper
ACE Certified Personal Trainer
ACE Certified Weight Management Consultant
www.carriefit.com
Peertrainer Team: Carriefit
Sunday, January 25, 2009
What a Week
and if you are not inspired yet, I would encourage you to open your eyes and see what we are living. There is finally someone who is taking the country's interest at heart. I do believe that where we are now starts the collaboration between two seemingly different ideologies to come up with a plan to help us start a new tomorrow. WITHOUT all the special interests....maybe.
I know this is a deviation from my usual rants on health, but my mental and emotional health has improved this week with the hope that things are going to change. That we don't have to destroy other lands to spread love and democracy. That we don't have to have a trickle down effect so that the CEO's get all the benefits while the rest of us wait at the bottom of the food chain. That we can open our minds to the possibilities that we don't have to do the same old thing with the same old results. We are being fleeced everyday by programs that don't work. We are being cheated by government offices that allow our families to injest poison legally. We are told that living in a clean world just won't work for us. Well, this week says that maybe we can. Maybe we can stand up to all of the big businesses that think they can spend our money irresponsibly. Maybe we can have a say about our own health care, our own bodies, and our own lives (isn't that in the constitution?). Maybe we don't have to see a gloomy future of nothing but war, cancer, and poverty.
This week, on the health front, was the first week that there was a legal stem cell trial done for a spinal ailment. Thank goodness it happened, and lives can be saved. It happened without a lot of hoopla or craziness. It's just the right thing to do to save lives.
Let's end the anger and animosity and just do it. Just live for tomorrow. For our kids.
I know this is a deviation from my usual rants on health, but my mental and emotional health has improved this week with the hope that things are going to change. That we don't have to destroy other lands to spread love and democracy. That we don't have to have a trickle down effect so that the CEO's get all the benefits while the rest of us wait at the bottom of the food chain. That we can open our minds to the possibilities that we don't have to do the same old thing with the same old results. We are being fleeced everyday by programs that don't work. We are being cheated by government offices that allow our families to injest poison legally. We are told that living in a clean world just won't work for us. Well, this week says that maybe we can. Maybe we can stand up to all of the big businesses that think they can spend our money irresponsibly. Maybe we can have a say about our own health care, our own bodies, and our own lives (isn't that in the constitution?). Maybe we don't have to see a gloomy future of nothing but war, cancer, and poverty.
This week, on the health front, was the first week that there was a legal stem cell trial done for a spinal ailment. Thank goodness it happened, and lives can be saved. It happened without a lot of hoopla or craziness. It's just the right thing to do to save lives.
Let's end the anger and animosity and just do it. Just live for tomorrow. For our kids.
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