Category: Health and Fitness

Source http://www.sonima.com/fitness/body-aches/

There’s no doubt that technology has its perks, from allowing us to work from all corners of the earth to meditating via an app at the touch of a finger. But despite the many advantages technology brings us every single day, it also has a downside—one that can be very painful if ignored. Americans suffer from a number of ailments relating to technology, including a type of back and shoulder pain that is now often referred to as “tech neck” (the repeated act of craning your neck forward and down over a screen, resulting in discomfort that can lead to strain and stiffness). The solution, however, isn’t to disconnect and revert back to powerless Pilgrim living. Instead, heed this advice from Sonima.com’s pain and anatomy advisor, Pete Egoscue: “If an activity is hurting us, take a look at the body. Pain is the body’s way of trying to tell us something.”

What is your body saying? It could be hinting at an imbalance. Maybe you’re not vertically loaded properly—meaning your head, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles aren’t stacking up right. Or perhaps you&r…

Source http://www.karpfitness.com/best-calorie-burning-activities/

  Q: What are the best calorie-burning activities? A: When it comes to cardio exercise we all know that it is essential to keep us healthy and in shape. But often people find it difficult to make time for a long cardio session. Let’s face it – we want a workout that will burn the most amount of calories in … Read More

The post Ask Shaun: What are the best calorie-burning activities? appeared first on Personal Training Vancouver.

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Source http://nextlevelfitness.com/are-you-a-cheater/

Absolutely.  And before you ladies get too upset, I’m talking about cheating on my diet, not my wife!

Yesterday was Easter Sunday, and my wife put together a delicious meal for us and a few friends.  Ham, buttermilk biscuits, sausage cheese balls, hash browns, homemade cinnamon rolls, two different egg dishes (one with cheese and turkey sausage, one with veggies and bacon), lemon poppyseed muffins and fruit.  After that we topped it off with a layered parfait dessert.  Coffee and/or mimosas were the drinks of choice.

Did I eat too much?  Oh yeah.  Did I stray out of my diet?  Nope.  You see, a proper healthy diet INCLUDES cheat days.  That’s right.  I didn’t say “tolerates cheat days” or “can handle cheat days.”  No, a proper diet includes them.  The trick is to only do them on cheat days, general rule of thumb being no more than once a week.

Two major reasons:

1. Cheat days help to keep you from feeling deprived of the unhealthy things that you love.  If you get to indulge in your “guilty pleasures” every now and then, then you don’t give in to your cravings when you aren’t supposed to.  It also gives you something to look forward to.<…

Source http://focuscenterfitness.com/rob-schweyer/

Rob Schweyer was born in Simcoe, Ontario Canada. A Professional athlete in both Hockey and Fast Pitch Softball since 1998. He has spent the majority of his career…

 

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Source http://www.foodpolitics.com/2016/09/food-is-getting-safer-baby-step-by-baby-step/

Chase Purdy writing in Quartz says “The system for catching dangerous pathogens in America’s food supply is finally working.”

Here’s the best evidence: the remarkable decline in cases of STEC (Shigella Toxin E. Coli).

Quartz quotes food safety lawyer Bill Marler: “You look back over time and, from 1993-2003, about 90% of my firm’s revenue was from E. coli cases connected to hamburger.”

What changed?  Regulation.

The USDA now considers STEC to be an adulterant and does not permit meat and poultry contaminated with it to be sold.

But then there’s Salmonella.  It is not considered an adulterant.  Why not?  Because it occurs so frequently that USDA considers it normal.  Cases of Salmonella have not declined as much as they should.

In the meantime, the FDA is diligently following through on its food safety rulemaking.  On August 24, it opened three more sets of draft guidance documents for public comment.

• <a href="http://links.govdelivery.com:80/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTYwODI0LjYyOTIwMTIxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDE2MDgyNC42MjkyMDEyMSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3MzM5MTgwJmVtYWlsaWQ9bWFyaW9uLm5lc3RsZUBueXUuZWR1JnVzZXJpZD1tYXJpb24ubmVzdGxlQG…

Source http://nextlevelfitness.com/week-3/

Ok, how are you feeling?  Did you do it?  If you’re response is “Did I do what?” then the answer is pretty obvious.  Did you get outside and do something fun last week?  I chopped up trees and cleared brush on my grandparent’s farm for several hours.  Not the usual outdoor activity for most but it must be effective.  My grandfather was out there doing it with us – and he’s 91!  Maybe he’s the one who’s got it figured out…

How about making decisions in advance and portion control?  Portion control started out being hard, but after about a week I stopped being hungry after one portion.  Perhaps my stomach shrank (to an appropriate size).

This week lets focus on drinking more water.  You may not have a problem with this, but most people do.  I didn’t say drink fluids, I said drink water.  Good, old fashioned H2O.  No carbonation, no flavors, do it in the naked form. Water curbs your appetite,  it’s good for your skin, it prevents many, many problems, and strengthens your immune system.  Johns Hopkins University did a study on water several years ago.  They concluded that 67 percent of ALL sickness and disease could be prevented by drinking more water!  Just think about that for a minute.

My workouts have been bumped up a notch.  I’m timing my breaks closely, generally 30 to 60 seconds.  This keeps my heart rate up which burns bodyfat during the workout.  Your phys…

Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/G1T8v02hU6k/

“Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.” ~Max Ehrmann 

If you looked at your broken heart and allowed for tenderness, you would feel better. Maybe not completely better, but there would be a softening. Compassion for yourself is soothing. When our hearts are aching, we need all the soothing we can get.

If you looked at your broken heart from the perspective of the loving mother within you, you would see that the only thing you need right now is gentle care. You need to wrap your arms around yourself and let everything be exactly as it is. When we fight what is, the pain only grows stronger.

When people who seek growth go through heartbreak, we want to fight through it when we just need to let it all go. We need to sob, we need to hold ourselves, and we need to tell ourselves we’re okay. That’s what it means to show up for yourself when you really need it. That’s self-love.

I struggled hard in my last breakup. I reopened the deep wound and falsity that I was worthless without his love.

I am someone who teaches self-lov…

Source http://refineryfitnesspdx.com/pumpkin-eater/

While today is incredibly hot here in Portland, I am so excited to move into Fall.  One of the reasons I love Fall is the abundance of pumpkin on the menu.  I love pumpkin just about any way possible.  Because it is so yummy and offers so many health benefits, I included it in two different recipes on the ReSet.

Checkout some of the different reasons I love pumpkin:

1. One cup packs two times the recommended amount of Vitamin A- important for good vision, strong bones and healthy skin and teeth.
2. Pumpkins and their seeds are rich in beta-carotene and other antioxidants to help prevent cancer.
3. Pumpkin is packed with fiber to help keep you regular.
4. Pumpkin seeds are rich in the amino acid tryptophan which is important in the production of the feel good neurotransmitter serotonin.
5. One cup of pumpkin is loaded with more of potassium than a banana.  Potassium is important to keep our muscles functioning properly after a hard workout.

Checkout this yummy pumpkin dinner recipe from the ReSet:

The Active ReSet phase starts on Monday, September 19th.  Follow this link  to join us in this journey to vibrant health. 

Pumpkin Quinoa Risotto

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa, uncooked (3 + 1/2 cups cooked quinoa)

1 large organic onion, finely choppe…

Source http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tinybuddha/~3/ccMvkCaOMXY/

“Explanation separates us from astonishment, which is the only gateway to the incomprehensible.” ~Eugene Ionesco

We are taught from a very young age that it is our responsibility to reflect on the motives behind our actions and behaviors. From the time we can form sentences, we are asked the questions: “Why did you make that choice?” and “What made you do that?”

These questions often follow bad behavior and punishment. Our parents were trying to teach us, with the best of intentions, that we are responsible for our own actions.

This is a necessary lesson for young children, who are discovering their autonomy and the consequences of their behavior in a social world.

To a certain point, we should be held responsible for our actions, by others and ourselves. A conscientious person practices self-reflection and recognizes the origin and causes of thoughts and feelings when possible.

But for some of us, myself included, it feels like every thought and behavior needs to be analyzed.

Self-reflection, rumination, and justification fill my day and keep me up late at night. In order to maintain a sense of self-control and discipline, I dissect every emotion I feel and every action I take, all the while building a psycholog…