Your Life Can Change In An Instant: How Prepared Are You? PART 4
The truck that slammed into me in late July did more than just send me to the hospital. It forced me to take a hard look at myself. My world was different….
Your Life Can Change In An Instant: How Prepared Are You? PART 3
It is fair to state that this year has been a particularly challenging year for me. Money became a critical issue because I have been unable to find a path forward as a speaker, writer, or consultant. The publishers…
Hormone Balancing Fitness for Women in Midlife
Before hormone balance can be a goal you need a clear definition of what it or hormone imbalance looks like! It’s never just hormones though is it? For the majority of women in midlife and beyond, there’s also a special condition, a joint issue, or a crazy schedule that also needs to be addressed.
If any of these describe you:
- You’re putting on weight lately no matter what you do
- You have belly fat even though you’re weight is OK
- You have cellulite on your thighs, belly, bum, or on your upper arms
- You can’t seem to develop any muscle tone in your legs
- You’ve got a saggy bum in spite of so many lunges and squats you can’t sit down
- You’ve turned up the exercise and eat carefully but still no results
- You’ve got saggy chest and neck skin
Plus:
- You have touchy joints from prior or current injuries
- You have had breast cancer surgeries
- You’ve had other invasive surgery or joint replacement
- You have a chronic condition
And potentially:
- You can’t sleep well
- Even if you do sleep you don’t wake up refreshed
- You have high levels of stress right now
- You’ve tested your hormones and you’re “normal” but don’t feel it
- You still don’t have any idea how to exercise “normal” or not
- You have depression or anxiety
- You’re taking medications for the above or other things with side effects
- Your digestion is off (even if you thought that was “just me”): You don’t poo every day at least once (more is better); You have rabbits or pudding instead of snakes, You have gas or bloating you just tolerate
And finally:
What you used to do doesn’t work any more.
Then this is definitely for you… if you want to change. Changing is the obstacle for a significant percent of women that express interest in change. If you aren’t willing to change habits, change beliefs, change what you eat and when, change how you exercise and when, then this will just be another blog. No set of exercises, videos, menu plans will ever help until you decide you are 100% in.
Throw Away the Textbook
Exercise for hormone balance is not your textbook exercise. “I’ve never heard that before,” is not a good excuse to dismiss something as true. How many research studies did you read last week about menopause, hormones, and exercise? They’re at anyone’s fingertips in today’s world. So holding onto old ideas without researching for yourself or finding a voice you trust instead of going by an outdated text is irresponsible. A published textbook is outdated by the time it goes to print. Research in this area is accelerating. Get help and get up to speed on research on hormone balance.
Approximately 6000 women a day go into menopause right now. That’s 2 million a year. Yet, 39% of all sports medicine and exercise research features females at all. It’s safe to say a small slice of that focuses on women in perimenopause, menopause, and post menopause and the hormones that influence and are influenced by her exercise.
It’s time to change the way we prescribe exercise during the change. If a woman begins perimenopause in her mid 40s and lives to her mid 80s she spends 40 years in menopause. Shouldn’t we be optimizing exercise for this large population of currently 38 baby boomer women, 25 million Gen X women and coming soon, an even larger number of millennial women? Fitness is either going to open a new level of health for women, who ultimately influence 80% of household decisions including health, or fail miserably. Conventional exercise prescriptions contribute to hormone imbalance.
Your hormone balance exercise
Start lifting weights focused on major muscle groups. Even if you swear by functional movement patterns, insulin, cortisol, and the half dozen more hormones that influence her fat and health are key for reducing risk of disease. Even if you want to tone those arms, you want to start with major muscle groups. Even if you want a flat belly, start with major muscle groups. Stop long slow exercise sessions and long endurance activity.
Increase your protein at every meal and eat regularly. Get to bed early and make sure you control your environment. If you love your wine or nightcap, you’ll want to stop that. All of these things kill testosterone, a key hormone for building lean tissue and libido. Testosterone gives you a kick of confidence too also important for libido.
These are but a few scenarios of exercise changes you can make for more hormone balance. Each woman has a unique set of health history, physical status, signs and symptoms that make her unique.
Excerpt from the original blog post by Debra Atkinson for Flipping 50
Debra Atkinson is the #youstillgotitgirl who is flipping 50 and changing the way thousands of women think about their second half. She’s the host of the Flipping 50 TV Show and the Flipping 50 podcast. As a master personal trainer, strength and wellness coach with over 30 years fitness industry experience, she works with women who are pro-aging with vitality and energy. She is an international fitness presenter, author of hundreds of articles and multiple books. Visit her website, flippingfifty.com
Your Life Can Change In An Instant: How Prepared Are You? PART 2
Sharing the introduction of my story of my “run in” with a seriously large pickup truck on July 24, 2019 with you, my reader, has opened up my thinking about not only what I hope to accomplish with this series, but it has also inspired me…
Your Life Can Change In An Instant: How Prepared Are You? PART 1
I am certain all of us have thought at one time or another: When a health crisis comes into my life I will certainly be able to come back from it – better than ever! This thought was present…
The Power of Knowing Your Why
If you want to get fit or stay fit, you need a good motivator — a primary reason why you want to exercise, eat right, and live a healthy lifestyle.
I talk to people about this all the time. Active adults have powerful, compelling reasons why they lift weights, run, swim, take yoga, ride their bikes, and more. Here are just a few most often cited:
- Playing with children/grandchildren
- Reducing medication
- Traveling
- Sports and hobbies
- Avoiding obesity, hypertension and falls
- Social interaction
- Better recovery from surgeries
- Treatment of chronic conditions like Parkinson’s, diabetes and more
- Being active without the risk of joint pain and hurting themselves
- Do any of these strike a chord with you?
Any reason is a good reason. In fact, you don’t really even have to have one. Most people, however, need to remind themselves of what truly drives them to lead a healthy lifestyle. It can give you a boost when you’re not feeling motivated and it can guide your choices about how to spend your time and energy.
Knowing your deeper WHY leads to better results and a more vibrant life. Fully connecting with your why will motivate you to make better choices with how you eat and maintain your health. Many people are not aging well, but they are living longer, which means that their quality of life may be less than optimal. You have to ask yourself what’s more important to you right now. If you’re going to live a long life, you may as well live a healthy life.
Knowing your motivation is vital, but motivation can only get you so far. Your habits and daily routines are more powerful than motivation. Your motives for being healthy will help you get started on your goals, but your habits will get the results that you want. Think of it like this: You have to work regardless of whether you feel like it or not, right? You can apply the same reasoning with regards to your health. You must work towards good health and wellness regardless of how good or bad you’re feeling. When you discover the power of what good health, wellness and being fit can do for you, you’ll ask why you didn’t embark on your health journey sooner.
Bottom line, don’t let a lack of good health prevent you from living out your best years. Protect your brain health, improve your strength, lower your need for multiple medications. Good health leads to happiness and you deserve to happy. Find your motivation and strengthen your good habits as you eliminate the bad ones.
Ron Kusek is Transformational Wellness Coach & Holistic Chef. He is certified as a personal trainer through the National Strength & Conditioning Association, as well as holding certifications with the Institute of Transformational Nutrition as a Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach, and a Functional Aging Specialist with the Functional Aging Institute. Ron specializes in functional aging for mature adults; he runs a home-based wellness program for women 50+ called the Lean & Sexy Fitcamp. He’s working to change the lives of the community in the Antelope Valley in a positive, holistic way.
To Weigh or Not to Weigh
Do you want to lose weight?
You might be asking should I weigh or not to weigh, that is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of knowing one’s outrageous weight, or to take arms against a sea of bulges by simply ignoring the scale and trying to eat less and exercise more. For some of us, the scale is a tool. For others, it’s the enemy.
So let’s say your plan is to lose 1lb a Week.
Some health and fitness professionals have made a compelling case for ignoring the scale, saying that measuring one’s percentage of body fat is the most accurate way to track one’s fitness level.
It indicates a healthy body composition, regardless of height and weight. I agree that you should know your body fat as a baseline for fitness.
Here are some body fat guidelines according to the American Council On Exercise
Body Fat Percentage for Women
- Athlete: 14-20 percent
- Fit: 21-24 percent
- Average: 25-31 percent
- Obese: > 32 percent
Body Fat Percentage for Men
- Athlete: 6-13 percent
- Fit: 14-17 percent
- Average: 18-24 percent
- Obese: > 25 percent
So why bother weighing yourself at all? When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to use any indication you can get that your efforts are paying off. It can take a couple of weeks before you see any difference in body fat. Your weight will change more quickly. Besides, there are relatively inexpensive scales that give you both your actual weight and your percentage of body fat.
My personal prejudice is to weigh yourself at least once every week or two. I do, and I find that facing my weight on a regular basis helps me stay motivated. Believe me, there have been times when I’ve dreaded getting on that scale. But I do it anyway because no matter what it says, I feel relief. I find it liberating. Why? Because now I know where I am and what I need to do next. It helps me maintain a healthy weight.
In my practice, I have helped hundreds of people lose weight. And many of them initially fight me about getting on the scale, and I understand this because I know that terror. Part of the process of losing weight is to prepare oneself to do it. If you are not psychologically ready to lose, stepping on the scale can be a real turnoff and actually deter you from losing weight. But once you’re ready, facing that number can jump-start your weight-loss program and keep you going.
I give my clients a baseline of their body fat percentage and get them to use the scale. Then we set up a diet and exercise plan. You can lose weight by diet alone. But dieting can reduce muscle mass along with fat. This becomes ever more important as we age. We can lose as much as 6 pounds of muscle tissue per decade as we age. And metabolism can slow down as much as 3 percent per decade. You can see that if left unchecked, you’re on a slow boat to obesity. Adding an exercise program may be all you need to turn this process around. Cardio exercise burns calories, and strength training raises your metabolism and builds lean muscle mass while you are losing. Losing about 1 percent body fat a month and one to two pounds a week is considered safe and realistic. Here’s the winning combination. Reduce calorie intake with diet, do cardio most days to burn calories, and strength train at least a couple of days a week to build muscle mass and increase metabolism.
So, I’ve made my case for using the scale as a tool, and I hope you’ll try it when you are ready. Regardless, to be or not to be at a healthy weight should not be in question.
Mirabai Holland MFA, EP-C, CHC is one of the foremost authorities is the health and fitness industry. Her customer top rated exercise videos for Age-Onset health issues like Osteoporosis, Arthritis, Heart Disease, Diabetes & more are available at www.mirabaiholland.com. Mirabai also offers one-on-on Health Coaching on Skype or Phone. Contact her at askmirabai@movingfree.com.
Bare Feet, Sandals and Summer Fun
As soon as the first warm spring day arrived, the flip-flops came out of our closets or we go to a retail outlet and buy a new pair. There’s nothing like being able to move the feet without the restraint…
Avoiding Burnout: Daily Balance with Bumbles
We have all heard that we should strive for balance in our life. Balance requires adequate sleep, food, movement, play, and acts of self-care. Most of us are lucky if we get 3 of those in one day. Lack of daily balance interferes with thinking, makes ideal weight almost impossible, and leads to anxiety, depression, and frustration. Most importantly, it decreases chances to succeed. Burnout was very recently made an official medical diagnosis, and it’s caused by a lack of daily balance. It is a proven result with medical consequences from living an out of balanced life.
My cat, Bumbles, proves that balance works every day. Bumbles was born in my home, so I’ve really seen him put this into action, which has given me far greater appreciation for the balance in my life that I strive for.
1. Breakfast is first. This is Bumbles’ highest priority until it’s done. He tickles my face with his whiskers if I try to sleep later with the intent of skipping it. Eating a healthy breakfast prepares me for my day, prevents that afternoon slump, and tends to make my portion sizes smaller during all my daily meals and snacks.
2. Meditation is Bumbles’ favorite in the morning, and a powerful form of self-care. As soon as he hears me pulling out the headphones to listen to Deepak, Bumbles is in position. He can So Hum it with the best of them. His present moment awareness has been achieved. Taking the time to calm my mind, become aware of the present moment, and allowing my brain to take a break from overthinking is a centering force that follows me through the day. When I’m working throughout the day, the only moment that matters is this one. It’s proven to be the best way to get things done quickly and easily. If I’m thinking about what’s next, I’m not paying attention to what I’m supposed to be focusing on now.
3. Then it’s time for work. He reigns over his kingdom, making sure nothing has changed overnight, and is sure to bap a few of his friends over the head along the way. He is also an aeronautical enthusiast that watches every bird that flies anywhere near the house with absolute fascination. I start work each day with enthusiasm and expectation and allow items to flow naturally without a sense of intense pressure or overwhelm.
4. He breaks for lunch and a short nap. There are numerous studies that show taking a short 20 to 30-minute nap in the middle of the day if you are tired can be extremely beneficial. In our work-obsessed world, we often judge ourselves as being lazy or not doing what we are supposed to be doing if we allow ourselves to rest, but appropriate rest is essential to normal body function. Even taking a short walk outside can be the slight break that makes the rest of the day much more beneficial.
5. Exercise… Bumbles loves to play fetch with super balls. He does about 3-5 high intensity chase and retrieves drills. He then does rope climbs, ramp runs, and several roll over on his back maneuvers. This is followed by a healthy dinner. Exercise does not have to be done in a gym. It’s convenient if that is the location you prefer, but exercise can be done in your living room, hotel room, in the back yard, through your neighborhood. Exercise can be done anywhere. If you need ideas, I am here to provide them.
6. Just chilling… Bumbles watches tv. He has a couch right next to it, and he especially likes it when Ellen dances. He limits it to about an hour though, because its treat time. We all need downtime, where we have left the cares of the day behind to be begun again tomorrow. It can be sitting and watching a beautiful sunset or meeting with friends. Having quiet time and play time during our day is essential for mental well-being.
7. Bumbles finishes his busy day spending time with friends, little man face scratches, and cuddling time with me. A normal bedtime routine reduces insomnia, promotes better quality sleep, and sets you up for a great morning. It’s best to strive to go to bed at the same time every night to even further the benefits of regular sleep.
And then it’s on to tomorrow.
Bumbles is happy, calm, at a normal weight, healthy, and just really happy to be King Bumbles. He’s achieved success at work, at meals, at present moment awareness, at play, at relaxation, and most definitely at rest. We could all learn a bit from Bumbles. I, as his human, have achieved the same results by following his plan. If your life is currently out of balance, and it’s impacting your life, weight, or health, then try starting with just one of the missing components. Ease it into your life in an enjoyable way until it becomes routine, and then move on to the next. Lack of balance didn’t happen overnight. Burnout and lack of balance are usually due to a lifetime of small habits adding up. Give yourself the time to regain balance. My recommendation…. just start with awareness.
Reprinted with permission from Heather Clawson, MD.
Dr. Heather Clawson is a nonclinical physician with a strong background in fitness, both before and after her medical training. She has the unique ability to take medical issues, convert them into fitness terms, and then deliver that information in an easy to understand way for the person in front of her. She’s been involved in fitness for almost her entire life, and she has extensive ICU experience, but she has chosen to use her medical knowledge on the other side of medicine — before a person becomes a chart, labs, and a room number. Visit her blog, heatherclawsonmdblog.com