Mama’s Meltdown Update!
Post by Pamela | April 16th, 2012
We are just past the half way point in the Mama’s Meltdown Challenge! In case you forgot what the Mama’s Meltdown Challenge is I’ll bring you up to speed. Mama Jean’s Natural Market kicked off a 6-month healthy living challenge on January 9. Participants were weighed to start and they check in monthly for weigh ins and informational seminars. There are prizes awarded each month for those "biggest losers" in their age and gender categories with a final grand prize to be awarded in June. The store keeps lots of information available out to help participants reach their fitness goals and mark products in the store and deli as “Meltdown Approved” to help participants make better choices.
The mid April status report is:
- 857 lbs. have been lost!
- 115 participants are still active, attending weigh ins and classes on a regular basis!
- The biggest loss since the first weigh in on January 9 is 55 lbs.!
I am so encouraged by these numbers.
First, people are still participating. The program is 6 months long, longer than those jump start programs you see promising to lose lots of weight in a short period of time. But it’s not about dieting it’s about making a change in how you live. While a few participants have fallen by the wayside (there were over 140 to start) many are still moving forward, accepting the fact that it takes time to make real and sustainable changes.
Second, participants are supporting each other outside of the meetings. A fitness journey is much harder when you try to go it alone. People are connecting not just at the classes and seminars, but on Facebook or for workouts. For example, I am privileged to have met 2 participants, extremely dedicated ladies, who have started holding each other accountable to 5 a.m. runs. I don’t even get up at 5 a.m. to workout!
Finally, the results are truly inspiring. I have been very fortunate to work one on one with a couple of the participants and see their results up close. Their custom programs are helping then get fit, lose inches and build strength without starving themselves or taking crazy supplements. They are finding new activities they enjoy and real foods to nourish their bodies. I couldn’t be prouder of their hard work and dedication.
June, and the final weigh ins, will be here before we know it. I can’t wait to see the final total and all those awesome before and after pictures. I love a good success story and we will have a whole room full of them!
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The Obesity and Autism Link
Post by Pamela | April 12th, 2012
Photo by Pawel LojThere is a new and alarming way the obesity epidemic is affecting children – before they are even born. A new study in the journal Pediatrics suggests that being overweight and having Type 2 diabetes dramatically raises the risk of a woman having a child with autism.
We’ve known for a long time that what a woman does during her pregnancy effects the health of her child. That’s why doctors are quick to prescribe prenatal vitamins and help her to quit smoking. We also know that being a healthy weight can have a big impact on a woman’s ability to conceive and having a complication free pregnancy.
The newly published study indicated another potential complication from being obese, having Type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure. After looking at a sample of 1000 children, the researchers found a 60 percent increase in the risk for autism if the mother had one of these three conditions. Obesity proved to be the most common risk factor.
The why is still being studied but there are 2 potential reasons. One could be these conditions increase inflammation, which affects the developing brain tissue. Another could be nutrients aren’t reaching the fetus due to the body’s inability to use insulin.
To me, though, the why isn’t as important as the what. The what is we have an obesity problem that is effecting the lives of women and children in ways that are bigger than a clothing size or being picked on. It is one more reason that our focus should not just be on weight loss, but real fitness and health. Weight loss is part of the equation for sure, but the diet industry focuses on short-term fixes and not real solutions to make women (and children) healthier. Diets need to go and nourishing and strengthening our bodies needs to be the focus.
The impact of not taking ownership of our health and fitness is being understood more and more. The government, insurance companies and doctors aren’t going to fix this problem. It’s up to you and me. It’s up to us as women to demand better food, easier access to sound health information and safe neighborhoods conducive to activity. I’m not asking anyone to subsidize my running shoes, just give me and everyone else a fighting chance to make our lives healthier and to give the next generation a healthy start.
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Fitness Book Club: The Blue Zones
Post by Pamela | March 29th, 2012
Welcome to the second installment of my Fitness Book club!! I hope you enjoyed this month’s selection The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who've Lived the Longest
Instead of discussing the book here, I want to share with you a change from the book I’ve already implemented in my life.
I’ve decided to take a Sabbath.
Not in a religious sense, but respecting the idea of day without work and, at least in my case, social media.
You see I work all the time, mainly because I love what I do. I always say fitness is not what I do; it’s who I am. Having my own business has led to me working 7 days a week. I train clients Monday – Saturday. When I’m not training I’m prepping sessions, meeting with clients and business associates, balancing the books, blogging, tweeting, pinning and Facebooking. I always feel like in some way I’m working and plugged in.
I read the Blue Zones on the way to and the way back from SXSW. At the same time my husband was reading The Art of Non-Conformity
It was as though the universe was trying to tell me something.
You need to unplug. For your own health and sanity you need to take at least one day away from the computer and away from work.
That is what I have done for the last 2 Sundays. No Facebook, no Twitter, not even checking in on Foursquare. No blogging or working on client programs. My one computer activity was one quick check of my email to make sure I didn’t have any cancellations for my early Monday sessions.
It’s amazing how it’s changed my day to step away from the computer. I am truly able to relax and recharge. My Sunday even seems longer. Somehow without the computer interference I feel able to fill those same hours with so much more.
My workouts have already changed in nature. Instead of having to get it done first thing in the morning, so I can work in the afternoon, I can be more flexible. Last Sunday morning it was too chilly to bike. No problem. Yoga, laundry, lunch and then walking around the Nature Center. I could be flexible because I had left the demands of writing, posting and prepping behind for just one day.
I also have more time to cook. In the morning, instead of checking email I put seitan on to boil before I made our Vanilla Coconut Protein Pancakes. After dinner I had time to make some curried seitan salad to eat the next day. The best part? I was enjoying cooking again because I wasn’t trying to do 20 things at the same time.
Fitness is about more than miles and push-ups. It’s feeling well in all aspects of your life. We put a lot of demands on our body and our mind on this journey. Even I forgot how important it is to take a rest stop now and again. The Blue Zones reminded me that, just like in weight training, recovery is just as important as the workout. To live a long life means taking your rest as seriously as your work.
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Does Your Doctor Prescribe Exercise?
Post by Pamela | March 22nd, 2012
image by Zac PecklerMy first session at SXSW this year was a discussion with the CEO of Aetna, Mark T Bertolini, about healthcare and technology. I was impressed with the discussion; he seemed to have some empathy and understanding of how frustrating navigating the red tape of the healthcare system can be. He himself had an accident that left him partially paralyzed and has a son who battled cancer. It appears to have given him a genuine desire to make heath insurance and healthcare work better.
I was also impressed with his support of prevention. He talked of stress reduction techniques and yoga as potential covered services. When he was asked about gym memberships, however, he didn’t seem to share the passion for paying for this method of treatment. Partly because it’s hard to prove the benefits of a gym membership. Thousands pay for one each month, but how many actually use it?
When the Q & A session opened up I was second in line at the microphone. My question, as best as I can remember since I was a wee bit nervous, was as follows:
How do fitness professionals like myself become part of the preventative health care team? How do I get physicians to refer patients to me and get that expense covered?
I found his answer frustrating and profound at the same time.
He pointed out, correctly, that not all personal trainers are the same. Some personal trainers are highly educated and dedicated to their profession. Others paid $99 and took a 10 question quiz online and “poof” became a personal trainer. Until we, as an industry, create standards for our profession we won’t be able to be a part of the system.
I was frustrated because I know the value of exercise as medicine and the roll it can play in disease prevention, preserving quality of life and saving money for the patient and the insurance company. I have clients who have been told by doctors to lose weight and exercise but when asked how to do those things, the doctors don’t have much advice to give.
I found the answer profound because he’s right. We have to start acting like professionals if we want to be treated as a professionals. I made the decision when I got certified to certify with the American College of Sports Medicine, one of the oldest and most respected certifying organizations in the country. But someone else can go through less rigorous work and examination and still call himself or herself a certified personal trainer-same as me. There is no licensure or standards outside of each certifying body. There is no quality control.
I’m not sure how to solve this problem. I can’t say a federal or state licensing procedure would solve the problem, although extra steps will often deter those who are in the business just to make a quick buck. There are many quality certifying bodies but to get them all to agree on the requirements to be a certified personal trainer might just take an act of Congress.
We have to do something as a team to make this happen. As much as modern medicine can do, it can’t seem to fix the real problems-sedentary lifestyles and poor eating habits. Doctors are unprepared to handle the questions since their medical training is woefully inadequate when it comes to exercise and nutrition. As a personal trainer, I am more than willing to step up to the plate and do whatever it takes to become a resource for doctors, helping them fill the gaps in their training. I’ll get more education, recertify or register with the state if that it gives me the ability to help more people live in healthy, happy and fit.
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Be a Rebel – Live Fit
Post by Pamela | March 19th, 2012
image by Thomas HawkAt the airport on my way to SXSW I had an epiphany. Despite being on my fitness journey for over 13 years it occurred to me (as I sipped tea and ate steel cut oats in the lounge despite the free cookies and wine) one of the biggest reasons why I’ve managed to defy the odds against keeping weight off.
I’m a rebel and I always have been.
I’ve never really been one to follow the herd. In fact, in my high school and college years I was more likely to do something if it made me stand out versus going along with the crowd.
- I hated New Kids on the Block in junior high.
- I wouldn’t go to the Rose Banquet (for the top 10 GPA holding seniors) in high school because it was assumed I would go not asked.
- I wore black lipstick in my senior picture. (No I won’t post it.)
- I’ve never seen the movie Titanic.
In fact, if something was going to make people uncomfortable the more likely I was to do it. I liked to push the envelope a bit, make people think and perhaps redefine their preconceived notions about the kind of girl who wears black lipstick.
Being fit in an unfit world takes that kind of moxie. The same girl who could say no to high school peer pressure has a better chance of resisting the societal pressures that lead to the unhealthy eating and sedentary lifestyle that is the norm in our world today.
I used to travel a lot for my job, usually with others on a project team. I always got teased and poked at about the way I ate. Whether it was the fact that I don’t eat meat (another choice that goes against the grain in the Midwest) or my food bag that I brought with me everyday, I was always explaining and defending my choices. If I hadn’t been so sure of my path, so sure of myself, it would have been very easy on these trips to just go with the flow and eat and drink as those around me did.
To be successful on this journey, I need you to be a rebel. Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo:
- Ask for modifications to meals when you eat out, you’re paying for the meal so make sure you get what you want.
- Demand healthier options in school and work cafeterias. They won’t do it until you let your voice be heard and vote on the choices you want with your dollars.
- Sit on a stability ball at your desk. Do the hula or bounce. Your co-workers may laugh in the beginning but in a couple weeks they will be joining you.
- Stand up instead of sitting down in meetings. Better yet, when you hold the meeting make it a walking meeting.
You have to lead the charge and shake things up. You may not change the status quo but you will change your life. Be a rebel, live fit.
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