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New You Healthy Lifestyle: The Power of Changing Your Mindset about Food

This week, I asked everyone to share a significant change in the way they were eating since starting the New You program, and to pick an area they had listed in their contest application as a major problem they wanted to solve. It was amazing to hear just how much had changed, and how easy it had been to make the changes.

A Change in Mindset
To date, they have been shown how to pay attention to their body’s hunger, satisfaction and fullness levels, the basics of nutrition, and how to balance all foods in moderation – as you’ve been reading in this blog. They have been encouraged to notice how different foods or beverages leave them feeling, and to stay conscious when they eat so they can remain in control. They have been discouraged from labeling any food as bad or criticizing themselves when they are challenged to pick healthy choices or in controlling portions.

They have not been put on a diet, been restricted in any way, or been told what to eat or not to eat. There has been no judgment about their choices, but instead a focus on feeling good physically and satisfied emotionally.

And the results within just six weeks are impressive, because no one feels pressured, forced or restricted. Instead they have changed their mindset and been given freedom to do what feels best and works best for them. With this approach, they have all easily, intuitively and naturally gravitated to healthier foods and beverages, low-glycemic balanced foods, smaller portions and more frequent meals. And they have done it by choice, not to win an award or to lose weight fast. Instead they have done it because it just feels and tastes so much better.

Here is a summary of what has changed during the past six weeks across the 4 groups participating in this New You 2010 program, including the contest group.

Portion Control is Now Easy
Nearly everyone struggled with portion control and wanted a way to manage how much they ate, particularly at night, when entering the program. When they first started paying attention to when they started to become full, many found it didn’t feel good and others discovered they had no idea really what fullness felt like.

Now, everyone has easily shifted to eating when they get hungry and stopping before they get full, with perhaps a couple of exceptions during the week, and even then they almost never overeat by that much.

As several people said this week, they just don’t want to eat beyond the point they are satisfied and it has become easy to simply stop. They have found, whether they journal or not, that they are remaining conscious of their hunger and fullness levels when they eat, which is changing their behavior naturally. Others pointed out that by getting enough to eat during the day and not getting too ravenous before dinner, they are more in control and don’t overeat at night. Some noted they are easily taking food home when they go out to eat, which is something they never used to do.

Choosing Healthier Foods is More Satisfying
When most of them filled out their applications, they wrote about the struggle to make healthy choices and many of them shared they weren’t sure if they had or even knew how to eat healthy meals. So many of them had dieted, and sadly diets are seldom healthy.

Now they are gaining confidence that they know what is healthy and are making healthy meals and snacks. They have been experimenting with the foods they already eat, and finding ways to make them more nutritionally balanced with other foods or by finding healthier alternatives (such as whole grain vs refined flour pasta). They haven’t had to change the way they eat drastically. Instead they have made minor modifications and begun experimenting with new recipes. As importantly, they are combining foods in a way they find most satisfying, so they don’t feel like they are being restricted or being put on a diet.

Many of them shared how much they were enjoying their healthier choices and how much better they felt physically and mentally. They are discovering how to balance foods that give them more energy, last a few hours, and taste so much better than what they used to eat. In the process, quite a few of them are getting excited about cooking, trying new recipes and checking labels to make healthier purchases. Some are figuring out better ways to plan their grocery shopping and prepare foods more effectively.

And, many of them are finding they want more fruits and vegetables, so we talked a bit about ways to more easily and quickly prepare vegetables. We will also have Katie Habib, our personal chef sponsor from In Home Cooking, do a class for us on ways to plan and prepare vegetables in April or May.

Excessive Overeating and Bingeing Seldom Happens Now
As I explained to the groups early on, there is always a good reason for overeating and bingeing. The trick is to uncover the subconscious trigger driving you to eat when you aren’t hungry or are already starting to get full. The first step in doing that is to simply observe with curiosity when you overeat and not judge it.

Very often the cause is an internal battle between beliefs you are carrying about food (such as food you shouldn’t have) and emotions caused by unmet needs (such as foods you love and have been deprived of). The drive to overeat and binge can also come from beliefs about wasting food, eating everything on your plate and deserving a reward. It can also be the result of using food to repress emotions and using food to cope with what is going on in your life.

Nearly everyone had been doing excessive overeating to one degree or another, and now it is very rare. They are seeing what is triggering them and they are either changing their beliefs, acknowledging their needs and finding ways to get those needs met, or they are coming up with strategies to avoid getting triggered in the first place. Several shared how amazing it was to them that they no longer graze after dinner or have any desire to eat foods in large quantities. They might have a little something at night, but just a bit, and very often they are happier having it with dinner as part of their balanced meal. As one person put it, there just isn’t “any desire anymore to overindulge”. Others pointed out that because they no longer feel restricted or deprived and instead have permission to eat what they want in a structured way, they are perfectly satisfied and don’t go looking for more food.

Beverage Choices Naturally Healthier
A number of people had been drinking a lot of soda or alcohol, which we haven’t talked much about in the groups. For a few it was a big issue, and they have specifically worked to uncover what is driving them to drink so much and to come up with strategies to reduce their quantities. And that has worked really well. For the others, they simply found they didn’t want as much of it and started drinking more water or seltzer water instead. For them, the change just naturally happened because it made them feel better. And for another, what naturally occurred was a greater desire for a higher quality drink than for quantity.

Addictions and Cravings Seem to Have Disappeared
For those who felt they had carb or sugar addictions when they filled out their applications, none felt they had these now. The cravings have disappeared, and many believed it was because of their balanced food choices and their ability to enjoy a little of whatever it is they love as a part of their meals or snacks.

If they want a cookie, they can have one. If they want chocolate, they can fully enjoy it. And since they are no longer deprived or beating themselves up for slipping, blowing it or being bad, these once forbidden foods don’t hold power over them. Instead, they are eating to be satisfied instead of indulging to make up for what they can’t have or didn’t get to have in the past.

What is also making a big difference for a number of them is breakfast. In the past, they were eating primarily carbohydrates and mainly simple carbohydrates (such as a breakfast of cereal, milk, fruit and fruit juice), which was fueling carb cravings the rest of the day. Now, by balancing their breakfast with more complex carbohydrates, protein and fat, they aren’t spiking their blood sugars first thing in the morning, and the desire for carbs has dropped off.

The Changes Don’t Feel Like a Sacrifice
As one gal put it, “it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice” to make healthy changes this way, and that is why they are all being so successful. Simply by having awareness when eating, a simplified understanding of nutrition and the freedom to make choices that feel best, they are willingly and intuitively making positive changes they will easily maintain long-term. They don’t have to rely on willpower to do as they should, because there are no rules and restrictions – just common sense that feels good.

Read What the Contestants Have to Say
Find out what the contestants have to say about their changes with food, which they usually add the Monday after this post goes live. Please feel free to add your own comments as you follow along.

To participate on your own or in a group, check out the contest website for details and tools at www.aHealthyLifestyleWorks.com/contest.

Have a fit and healthy week,
Alice

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Newburyport Needs some Fiber

 

 

We've all heard that fiber is a needed part of our diet, but many of you may not know it can also be an asset to your internet service.  Dictionary.com says it's "an essential character, quality, or strength" If newly elected city councilor at large Ari Herzog has anything to say about it, fiber will be an integral part of our lives, our virtual ones at least...  Councilor Herzog has spearheaded an effort to bring Google Fiber to Newburyport. He is simultaneously maintaining a blog, Facebook Fan Page, and Twitter outpost, all in an effort to woo citizens to vote for Newburyport to used as a testing ground.  

So what's all the fuss about?  Google says, "Our goal is to experiment with new ways to help make Internet access better and faster for everyone."Sounds pretty good to us... Here's what else google has to say.

 

 

 

Councilor Herzog has been collecting quotes from business owners and interested parties around the city, he was kind enough to pass along what others have had to say about why Newburyport would benefit from testing Google Fiber.

• The Tannery's co-owner, David Hall is fond of saying, “High speed cabling is to tomorrow what highway construction was to the 1950s: an essential part of business infrastructure. He added, ”Businesses will locate and thrive where there is a capacity for handling large volumes of traffic, this time, we are anticipating bits of information rather than cars.”

• "Newburyport Business is all about speed,” writes Melanie Wold, the managing editor of the new internet journal. “We want breaking stories uploaded onto the website and shot out to our readers as fast as possible. If Newburyport had high speed fiber optic service, Newburyport Business would be a faster service, offering more timely news. This would equate to a better service for our readers, and a more profitable business for us.”

• Mark Kavanagh, the director of the Newburyport Information Services Department says that implementing Google fiber would enable city departments to extend their services and communications with technological applications not possible with current limitations.  The benefits to the city, “may include inter- and intra-department bandwidth-intensive collaborative applications incorporating various forms of media, and live-streaming government meetings and other public events. This could further serve to promote and market Newburyport as a primary destination city for visitors and entrepreneurs alike.” 

• Don Skane, technology operations manager for the Newburyport School Department, adds that current classroom materials are limited to downloadable content because streaming videos and other multimedia applications are impossible with the current available bandwidth. As web content and usage increases, schools need to add more bandwidth to satisfy the demand. “We as a district are moving to more "software as a service" models and fiber internet will further increase the required bandwidth”.

• The internet is getting bigger, and newer applications, audio and video in particular, require faster bandwidth. Sarah Hayden, the interim executive director at PortMedia, recognizes the limitation of the status quo and supports the desire to bring Google fiber to Newburyport.  She says,"Currently we are streaming both for our delivery and for our users receiving it, and we share programming by both uploading from members' homes and downloading from other access centers. A faster connection would make streaming broadcast-quality video easier”.

• "As a local business dependent on the growth of Newburyport, we're always looking for projects to get behind that promote our city,” adds Newburyport Pedicab co-owner Blake Harris. “Google's fiber initiative will do just that. For residents, Google aims to provide a faster, more open, and reliable connection to the Web. When paired with the city's other great amenities, Google fiber will put Newburyport on the map for tech-savvy home buyers.”"We know that businesses in Newburyport are some of the most innovative on the North Shore,” Harris adds, “Employees at these companies would not only be able to create a new breed of web applications with Google Fiber at their fingertips, but with the newfound bandwidth, be able to better utilize bleeding edge technologies from across the world - effectively giving companies located here in Newburyport a leg up over their competition". 

• "I believe that Google’s broadband network would be a great asset to the city,” writes Art Currier of Currier & Associates. “This will allow us to be prepared for marketplace demands for increased speed and capacity in the face of exponential increases in the volume and complexity of information and communications.”

• Councilor Herzog point out that several years ago, Newburyport was a national test market for Comcast internet service, before it was rolled out across the country. He says, "If you remember connecting to the web with a dial-up modem, you recognize how much faster your cable or DSL modem is today. Google wants to increase today's speeds by a factor of 100 -- enabling us to do things with fiber that we can only dream."

Individuals, business employees, and community groups are asked to nominate the city; and if you visit http://fibernbpt.com you can read information how to do that. The deadline for all submissions is March 26.

Please visit http://fibernbpt.com for more ideas why Newburyport is attractive to Google, and to learn how you can join your colleagues to nominate the city. Please email fibernbpt@gmail.com with any questions.

Thanks to councilor Herzog for spearheading this effort and passing on the information to this article.  We hope that you'll vote so we can all get our fill of Fiber.

 

Photographing the Wildlife of the North Shore with Jim Fenton

Wildlife photographer Jim Fenton will present a slide program and lecture, "Photographing the Wildlife of Massachusetts' North Shore," at Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center on Wednesday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m.

Wildlife photography is as much an art as a science. Waiting in odd habitats under uncertain weather conditions for the perfect moment has its demands, but so does adjusting photographic equipment for the perfect focus and exposure.  Jim Fenton of Haverhill has established himself as a master at all the above in a very short time. In this presentation, Jim reveals the how, when, why, and where of his successful work at photographing wildlife.

 

Jim Fenton first began to seriously pursue nature photography in 2004.  In 2006, he entered his first national contest and earned second place in the 18th Annual Wild Birds photo competition.  He spends long hours silently observing his subjects, determining their habits and how they relate to their environments.  His images appear regularly in Mass Audubon publications.  As artist-in-residence at the Goldenrod Foundation Cottage on Plymouth Long Beach, Fenton created the images that currently appear in Plimoth Plantation's two-year exhibit, "Flight Path - Plymouth Long Beach."

This program is open to the public, appropriate for all ages, and free to Mass Audubon's members; non-members are asked to pay an admission fee of $4.  No pre-registration is required.

Mass Audubon's Joppa Flats Education Center, located at One Plum Island Turnpike in Newburyport, is a natural history education and visitor center that is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday and Monday holidays, 8:30 to 4.  Call 978-462-9998 for information about additional programs and events, or visit the website at www.massaudubon.org.

TRI FOR THE YWCA Indoor Triathlon, YWCA Greater Newburyport

Time still remains to register for the Tri for the YWCA, the First Annual Indoor Triathlon hosted by the YWCA Greater Newburyport and the Masters Swim Group on Sunday March 21^st, beginning at 8:00 AM.

 

Events will include: Swim: 10 minutes in 25 yard pool;  Cycle:  25 Minutes on spin bike; Run: 10 minutes outdoors weather permitting otherwise on treadmill or elliptical and will take place at the YWCA Greater Newburyport, 13 Market Street, Newburyport.

 

This event begins at 8:00 AM with 15 minute staggered time starts. Points awarded on % of goal distance covered for each leg.  Tri for the YWCA is open to all fitness levels. With the small heats of 8 people and with the events structured by minutes rather than distance, you can focus on your individual efforts and not be distracted by the crowd! 

 

Enter as an individual and try your best at all three sports or enter as a team and do the sport you like best! Registration deadline is Friday, March 19.  Registration fee is $35 individuals (includes T-Shirt), $50 teams (includes 1 T Shirt, additional T shirt can be purchased for $10).  

 

Register at the Membership Desk, YWCA Greater Newburyport,   13 Market Street, Newburyport.  Join us as we bike, swim & run for the fun of it!

12th Annual Budding Artists Show at the Newburyport Art Association

The Newburyport Art Association presents the 12^th Annual Budding Artist Show March 12^th to March 28^th in NAA's Sargent and Hartson Galleries.  This show continues to delight all who come to see the artwork created by junior High and High School students from all the surrounding communities. 

The judge this year is Kirsten Losee, who is the Director of Fine Arts for both Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School and Miles River Middle School.  Kirsten has been teaching visual art at the high school level for the past ten years. The awards will be presented at a reception for the artists, family and friends on Sunday, March 14^th, 3 - 5pm.

This exhibit is generously sponsored by The Newburyport Five cent Savings Charitable Foundation and the Artlink program.  Special thanks to Newburyport Framers who donated free frames and discounts on framing.

The NAA is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and exhibiting its members' artwork, providing art education for individuals of all ages and skills, and delivering outreach programs designed to benefit all who live or work in the greater Newburyport area. The gallery is located at 65 Water Street in Newburyport.  Hours are weekdays and Saturday, 11am -5pm, Sunday 1pm -5pm. Closed Tuesdays.  For more information call 978-465-8769 or visit the NAA website:  www.newburyportart.org

What's for Dinner? Newburyport Sour Dough!

Newburyport-Today is always looking for contributors to our continuing series "What's for Dinner" - as such we thrilled to stumble upon local resident Aaron's food blog, Unemployed Guy Vs. Farm Share. Aaron has been kind enough to agree to be a contributor to this series.  We hope you enjoy his first recipe. Check out his wonderful site for more local food inspiration. 

From Aaron's Blog - "I tackle the sometimes overwhelming bounty from the farm share that my wife and I support on the North Shore of Boston, as I try to find a job. We liked the idea of a healthier lifestyle, and supporting local agriculture. Now that I know my farmer and how much went into the food I receive, I don't want to waste any of it. This means facing a fridge full of vegetables which can be daunting, for me anyways.  As a result, over the last two years, as we have gotten closer to our food sources and become discerning consumers in our choices. Along the way we have found opportunities for gastronomic adventures that we want to share. There you have it, unemployed guy vs. farm share."
I don't bake much. Usually once a year I make a carrot cake for my wife's birthday. Occasionally I will make corn bread when I make chili. In an effort to make space in our cabinets a few weeks ago I made biscuits with self-rising flour. But making bread? That usually would be too intimidating for me to try. I'm happy heading down to the local bakery to buy a loaf when needed. But last week I took a pizza making class, and one of the take-home items was some sourdough starter. After spending considerable time online reading about how to care for the starter, I happened upon some recipes for a San Francisco "style" sourdough loaf. I can't make authentic San Francisco sourdough, the organisms living in my sourdough starter are native to Newburyport.

It turns out that baking bread is not that difficult. There are so many baking sites out on the web it is also easy to identify what you may have done wrong and find suggestions on how to fix it. In my case, my oven was too hot, and the top of the outside of the bread cooked too quickly, preventing the inside of the bread to rise, so it lifted out from the bottom creating a mushroom like appearance. I used some deceptive photography so this is not really evident in my photo. This also did not affect the taste. My bread was amazing, and I recommend getting a starter and making it yourself. I had a sense of accomplishment after making this loaf of bread. (And topped with butter it tasted splendid too!) On to the recipe...

Newburyport Sourdough Bread Recipe

2 cups of sourdough starter
2-3 cups of bread flour
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 teaspoons of sugar
2 teaspoons of salt

Combine the starter, sugar, salt, and oil in your Kitchen Aid Mixer. Stir together at the low speed until well mixed. Add about two cups of flour. The total amount of flour you'll end up using is dependent on the dryness of the flour and how wet your starter may be. Basically, mix until the dough is tacky and hangs on the dough hook. If you dough is sticky and falls off the hook add more flour. If you happen to add to much flour, just add some water until it has that tacky feeling. If it is slightly sticky to your finger, but pulls off and leaves no dough on it then you are good to move on.

Let the dough rise in a warm place, in a bowl covered loosely with a wet towel or covered in plastic. I use a slightly warm oven. Turn on the oven light to help during rising. My dough doubled in size in about 3-4 hours. At this point if you're going to bake immediately, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Add a pan of water to the oven as well. The humidity and steam is what gives sourdough bread its thick, brown crust. After it has doubled in size, punch it down and give it a few kneads. Wrap it over itself to form a nice ball and catch the gases on the inside. (If this sentence is confusing you'll have to watch this video to see what I mean).

Put the ball on the middle of a floured cookie sheet. Score the ball with a sharp knife. Create an "X" or "#". Throw it (safely) into your oven and cook for sixty minutes. With all the information I read about this type of bread, one warning I took care to heed was not to take it out early even if it looked done. I waited the full sixty minutes.

Let cool at least twenty minutes before slicing. Stuff is still aligning itself inside of the crust when it's out of the oven (or so I am told to believe). Slice, eat, and enjoy!

New You Healthy Lifestyle: Knowing How to Choose & Safely Progress with Fitness

Everyone in the New You groups have been making their own choices as to what type of aerobic activities they are doing to get exercise the past six weeks, and each week they are reaching most if not all of their goals.  I have guided them to set goals they know they can reach, to pay attention to how their bodies' feel with the level of activity they are doing, and to avoid overdoing it or trying to add too much more too fast.  I've told them to stretch the goal no more than 5-10% after reaching the previous week's goal, and if they feel they want to stay at their current goals to go with that. 

Starting Off Slow with Enjoyable Activities
Several people were so motivated by their initial successes, they got extremely ambitious and exercised for much longer periods of time, exercised every day, or both.  When I saw that, I encouraged each one of them to be careful and to scale back considerably.  While this is not the advice you would expect from a fitness expert (or personal trainer as I am), it is good advice.  Here's why.  When you overdo it, you set yourself up for an overuse injury, stressing your immune system or feeling overwhelmed at having to keep it up, and any of these can lead to getting derailed and losing your motivation to get going again.  I've seen this happen too many times with my clients, and I have learned that it is better to build up slowly and safely to maintain enthusiasm and consistency. 

A number of other people were picking activities they felt they should do, and while they have been motivated by the group accountability to stick with them it isn't enjoyable for them.  Doing exercise you don't like won't keep you motivated for long, so it is important to find activities you do enjoy.  Sometimes it is hard to know what that might be, especially if you are so out of shape you can't do much.  One gal finds exercise boring and uninspiring, but she loves sports like tennis.  So she is looking into getting Wii Sport to renew her tennis passion and get moving in a way that is safe for her current fitness levels.

Learning How to Pace Progression
At this point the groups need more guidance as they become more active, so that was the theme for this week's sessions.

I showed them a way to know how much exertion they were doing, so they could safely and effectively increase their fitness levels and progress from moderate paces to the point they can increase their aerobic capacity.  I introduced the chart below, which shows a commonly used scale for determining Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE).  This is subjective based on a talk test, yet it works really well when you don't have or don't feel motivated to get a heart rate monitor. 

As you can see, when you are below an 8 on the RPE scale, which corresponds to 85% of your maximum heart rate (on the blue band), you are in the moderate zone.  And between 60-85% of your max heart rate (or between 3-8 RPE) you are in the fat-burning zone.  At the moderate and moderately easy levels, this is considered heart healthy, and this is where you want to start when first exercising.  It is also the exertion levels where you get some of the greatest improvements in cholesterol, blood pressure and insulin sensitivity.  Whereas, as you move up to difficult and very difficult intensities you get the greatest fat loss benefit.  When you get into the anaerobic zone, above 85% of your maximum heart rate, you begin to overload your heart and increase your aerobic capacity.  This is a good thing, but only when it is done in bursts of very short intervals followed by longer recoveries back in the aerobic zone.  These bursts are called intervals, and they are very effective at increasing fitness levels and accelerating fat-burning. 

But, as I cautioned the groups, the goal isn't to just do interval training and higher fat-burning.  The goal is to build up to that point and then mix up the cardio with both days of moderate and longer periods of exercise and days of more difficult interval-based exercise.  You benefit from both and it allows for a mix of activities that are both intense and more moderate.  Furthermore, the body will adapt to whatever you do repeatedly, so it is best to mix it up with different intensity levels, types of activities and lengths of time. 

Everyone in the groups will now add their RPE levels each time they are active in their fitness journals, so they can see where they are and pace themselves to do a bit more every couple of weeks until they are able to sustain more difficult levels.  They can even start doing some periodic intervals in their current routines that will move them up a level or two in RPE, by adding short bursts (either by increasing their speed or their incline - like a hill) whenever it feels right to do so.

Balancing Core Elements of Fitness
There are four primary areas of fitness: cardiovascular, strengthening, flexibility and balance.  While there are different schools of thought as to which is most important and which you should start doing first, I explained to the groups that our primary goal is to establish a lifelong cardio foundation as the basis of a healthy lifestyle.  The health benefits of maintaining aerobic exercise are too numerous to list here, yet they aren't limited to just reducing the risks of diabetes and heart disease.  Moderate levels of aerobic exercise improve arthritis, depression, energy, stamina, sleep, osteoporosis, mental focus, stress, digestion and more. 

It is too easy to take on too much too fast, when you try to do cardio, strengthening, stretching and balance all at once, and very often it gets too overwhelming or too time intensive to maintain.  That doesn't mean that at some point, they won't be doing all of this - as I now do in my weekly routine.  But first I want them to develop a consistent aerobic practice they will stick with before adding in much more.  The only exception is stretching, which is important for them to begin adding in now if they haven't already done so. 

In time, they will also add in core strengthening (which often goes hand in hand with greater balance) and full body strengthening.  Some are doing a bit of this now, which is fine if it doesn't get in the way of having enough time for being aerobic.  I know many personal trainers would disagree with this approach, suggesting strengthening should come first or along with cardio, but I am a realist and focused on making sure everyone has long-term success at maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle.  I am less focused on having them build muscle now or achieve rapid changes. 

Those changes will come in due time and it won't hurt them to wait until they can successfully and incrementally add new things into their routine they can sustain.  I know from my own experience this works, even in my 40s.  I started off with cardio my first year until I had it down, and then I added strengthening the second year, and the third year I added Pilates.  Years later, I am doing all of them regularly, have maintained my lean body mass and continue to stay fit.  Sure I could have built up my muscles and gotten leaner faster, but I didn't lose anything by waiting a year.  Instead I found a way to incorporate strengthening into my routine because I didn't get too overwhelmed, and I've stuck with it into my 50s.  Not many can say that.

Preventing Injury Before it Happens
One other thing I addressed was injury prevention, which becomes a greater concern the older you are and the more out of shape you've become.  There is nothing worse than being derailed for months once you feel you are finally on track and making progress.

Again I had to learn this first hand by having an exercise-related injury from strength training, and I'm not alone in getting hurt exercising.  The problem is muscle imbalances, where some of your muscles are very tight and short and others are weak and long, creating imbalances around joints and across the body.  Some of the weakest areas are in the upper back and core.

When you have imbalances, which often occur from poor posture, prior injuries or being sedentary, you are prone to tearing muscles, ligaments and tendons when you become active.  This is most common with weekend warriors, but it also happens doing any new activity that pushes you more than your body is prepared to do. 

I am hoping to find a physical therapist in private practice who can offer preventive full body evaluations, so we know where their imbalances are and what physical therapy exercises can be done in preparation for strength training.  I used to have someone who did this for my clients, but that PT is no longer available.  So if anyone reading this blog knows of a PT who would be interested, please have them contact me. 

Read What the Contestants Have to Say
Find out what the contestants are doing with their fitness and how they are doing in making other healthy changes.  Please feel free to add your own comments as you follow along - or encourage the contestants to keep up their great progress!

To participate on your own or in a group, check out the contest website for details and tools at www.aHealthyLifestyleWorks.com/contest.

Have a fit and healthy week,
Alice

 

Sponsored: Big Win! Big Party! From the Newburyport Chamber

The Newburyport Chamber invites you to try your luck and maybe win $10,000!  The odds are fantastic!  Go in on a ticket with some co-workers or family or friends.  What would you do with your winnings?