Facebook is my new favorite hangout.
Really.
If you haven't heard of Facebook, you're really missing out. It's a new site developed to help friends connect. I'm not sure how it originally started, but it's exploded into a networking and reconnecting opportunity for millions of people.
Since I've been on Facebook, I've connected with many friends that I have not seen or heard from in a LONG time. I now know where my former highschool buddies are in life and what my old workout partners from other cities are up to.
Also on Facebook is a application that allows groups of people to join and discuss similar topics. For instance, there is now a group that has started for one of my new books: The New Rules of Lifting for Women.
Ladies and Gentlemen who have joined this group will be discussing the workout program, the diet program and the book in general.
If you're interesting in joining this group, or just joining Facebook to find old friends, you can check it out here:
Facebook NROL4W
I look forward to seeing you there! :)
(Note, to get to the group, you have to sign into Facebook, then it will take you to the NROL page)
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
Appetite reduction with standard multivitamin
An interesting study. Researchers report that a standard mutlivitamin and mineral can help women losing weight through dietary restriction to reduce their appetite and maintain their weight loss:
11/29/2007 - Multivitamins and minerals could reduce appetite in women on a weight reduction regime, while lower body weight and fat mass was more obvious in men, says new research from Canada.
The study adds to the body of evidence supporting adequate vitamin and mineral consumption for health, and is published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
Two studies were performed; the first looking at multivitamin and mineral consumption and body composition, and the second a double-blind, randomised controlled study compared appetite ratings recorded from the first study.
The first study, a cross-sectional survey of 267 men and 320 women aged between 20 and 65, used a dietary questionnaire. Lead researchers Genevieve Major from Laval University and collaborators from the University of Ottawa, and Pennington Biomedical Research Center (Baton Rouge) report that male consumers of vitamin and dietary supplements had lower body weight, fat mass, and BMI, compared to non-consumers.Similar results were recorded for women.
Moreover, women consumers of the supplements reported reduced hunger levels.
The intervention trial recruited 45 obese non-consumers of the supplements and assigned them to a 15-week energy restricted diet, supplemented with either multivitamins and minerals, or placebo. Energy restriction was achieved by reducing normal caloric intake by 700 calories per day. At the end of the study, the researchers report that all groups recorded weight loss, with no statistically significant difference between placebo and supplement groups. However, women receiving the supplements reported reductions in fasting and postprandial (after a meal) appetite ratings."Overall, this suggests that an appetite-modulating effect of vitamin and mineral supplements could be more significant in individuals characterised by inadequate intake in micronutrients," says Major.
"Appetite is increased in response to body-weight loss due to variations in hormone levels implicated in the regulation of energy balance such as insulin, leptin and cortisol," they wrote. "Since some vitamins and minerals are involved in the synthesis of these and other peptides and neurotransmitters that control food intake, a decreased micronutrient availability could affect peptide hormone levels and thus interfere with the signalling pathways that control food intake," they added.
Source: British Journal of Nutrition (Cambridge Journals)
"Multivitamin and dietary supplements, body weight and appetite: results from a cross-sectional and a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled study"
Authors: G.C. Major, E. Doucet, M. Jacqmain, M. St-Onge, C. Bouchard, and A. Tremblay
11/29/2007 - Multivitamins and minerals could reduce appetite in women on a weight reduction regime, while lower body weight and fat mass was more obvious in men, says new research from Canada.
The study adds to the body of evidence supporting adequate vitamin and mineral consumption for health, and is published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
Two studies were performed; the first looking at multivitamin and mineral consumption and body composition, and the second a double-blind, randomised controlled study compared appetite ratings recorded from the first study.
The first study, a cross-sectional survey of 267 men and 320 women aged between 20 and 65, used a dietary questionnaire. Lead researchers Genevieve Major from Laval University and collaborators from the University of Ottawa, and Pennington Biomedical Research Center (Baton Rouge) report that male consumers of vitamin and dietary supplements had lower body weight, fat mass, and BMI, compared to non-consumers.Similar results were recorded for women.
Moreover, women consumers of the supplements reported reduced hunger levels.
The intervention trial recruited 45 obese non-consumers of the supplements and assigned them to a 15-week energy restricted diet, supplemented with either multivitamins and minerals, or placebo. Energy restriction was achieved by reducing normal caloric intake by 700 calories per day. At the end of the study, the researchers report that all groups recorded weight loss, with no statistically significant difference between placebo and supplement groups. However, women receiving the supplements reported reductions in fasting and postprandial (after a meal) appetite ratings."Overall, this suggests that an appetite-modulating effect of vitamin and mineral supplements could be more significant in individuals characterised by inadequate intake in micronutrients," says Major.
"Appetite is increased in response to body-weight loss due to variations in hormone levels implicated in the regulation of energy balance such as insulin, leptin and cortisol," they wrote. "Since some vitamins and minerals are involved in the synthesis of these and other peptides and neurotransmitters that control food intake, a decreased micronutrient availability could affect peptide hormone levels and thus interfere with the signalling pathways that control food intake," they added.
Source: British Journal of Nutrition (Cambridge Journals)
"Multivitamin and dietary supplements, body weight and appetite: results from a cross-sectional and a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled study"
Authors: G.C. Major, E. Doucet, M. Jacqmain, M. St-Onge, C. Bouchard, and A. Tremblay
Friday, November 23, 2007
Hypoglycemia Attack
The Day Post-Thanksgiving (or Black Friday as some call it) has brought an important topic back to my forefront: HYPOGLYCEMIA and other blood sugar control disorders.
I've blogged about this topic in depth previously and even helped a few women (through the internet) determine a new method of eating so that this was not an issue for them. Today, a woman named April just emailed me and told me some of her experiences.
She wrote: " [Cassandra,] I happened upon your site and read your opening and some of your blogging. I am also Hypoglycemic, I have been for years but truly had no idea until about this same time last year, about 3 days after Thanksgiving 06'. I was so sick of feeling dizzy and not ever really having the energy to even get out of bed for two hours after I had woke up. I also never had much energy throughout the day and stayed dizzy, anxious and spacey (like someone had drugged me) all the time.I also had mega mood swings. I kind of though tfrom my lack of energy and near constant dizziness that I might be dying from some underlying illness or something, because the doctors always told me I was healthy; they did continuously test me for Diabetes and couldn't find any sign of it although I had many symptoms. About this time last year, I peeled myself out of bed but felt even worse than usual ( I now know that felt even worse that usual because I had eatena lmost an entire cheery pie before bed that nightbefore). I had already figured out that I needed to try to find a source of protein in the morning,because my fiance's doctor told him to do the same because at times he had similar symptoms to mine....."
For myself, I've learned to overcome these feeling of dizziness, shakiness and general lethargy, by doing just what April was told to do by her doctor: eat protein with every meal, keep my carbohydrate intake low and include fats as often as possible.
You see, for those with blood sugar disorders, even including the disease diabetes, the body does not process carbohydrates and use them at a constant rate for energy. In these people, the body cranks out too much insulin in response to carbohydrate foods, possibly because they have enhanced absorption of carbohydrate from the gut into the blood stream, or because their blood glucose (sugar) levels are maintained at a lower level that other people. This surge of glucose and insulin in the body leads to a plethora of symptoms including shakiness, lack of concentration, moodiness, headaches, and general lethargy. The body is designed to use the carbohydrates faster than is really needed, so in turn, a person is left yearning for more food very soon after eating a higher-carb meal with a lack of protein or fat.
Last night, even though I know better, and came armed with my own crustless sugar-free pumpkin pie, I indulged in my aunt's high-sugar, white flour crust pumpkin pie, and felt the effects of the sugar-rush right away. I felt disorientated, unhappy and very tired (and that wasn't from the turkey). Then, in about 45 minutes, I crashed hard and started shaking so bad that I had to eat again. This time I chose just turkey and greens, and immediately felt better, without feeling overcome by a large dose of sugar.
There's just something about sweets that irresistable to some people, and maybe for those people, sweets and other high-carb foods should just be avoided as if they produced some terrible disease (which, they actually can do).
For people with symptoms of hypoglycemia, the answer is not to stop eating or eat more carbs, it's to eat minimal carbs, increased about of protetin and plenty of fat. With regards to the latter two foods, stay away from processed foods and anything hydrogenated for the most optimal choices.
The body is a smart piece of machinery. If your car's CHECK ENGINE light kept coming on after you put cheap gas in the tank, wouldn't you start to question the gas you chose to put in your vehicle? The same goes for food: If, when you eat a food, you feel like you've been drugged (unless you purposely ate something that would make you feel that way...), you'd think you'd really start to question the food you put in your body! However, some people don't. They think they're sick, or their doctor tells them that they are, and they end up feeling the same way for years and years.
People: we're all engineered to eat a specific way. Don't let any doctor or nutritionist tell you that you should eat just as the FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID tells you to (with a basis of grains) if that way make you feel worse. Listen to your body and try new things until you get your food consumption just right for you.
For hypoglycemia, if you feel terrible after eating foods with a high sugar content, then STOP. Don't fear that protein is going to give you kidney failure or that dietary fat is going to cause your heart to have an attack because none of those items are based on any conclusive science. Eat for you, not for anyone else. Include these latter foods in your diet and stay away from carbohydrates... your body will thank you in more ways than one.
________________
From here on out, I will blog at least twice a week. It's been a busy time for me with my dissertation project. I cook all week and then catch up on work on the weekends. It's hard, but I'm sure my final data will be great.
Also, if you haven't yet seen it, please check out my new books on amazon:
1) The New Rules of Lifting for Women, by Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove and myself.
2) The Women's Health Perfect Body Diet.
Happy Post Thanksgiving.
I've blogged about this topic in depth previously and even helped a few women (through the internet) determine a new method of eating so that this was not an issue for them. Today, a woman named April just emailed me and told me some of her experiences.
She wrote: " [Cassandra,] I happened upon your site and read your opening and some of your blogging. I am also Hypoglycemic, I have been for years but truly had no idea until about this same time last year, about 3 days after Thanksgiving 06'. I was so sick of feeling dizzy and not ever really having the energy to even get out of bed for two hours after I had woke up. I also never had much energy throughout the day and stayed dizzy, anxious and spacey (like someone had drugged me) all the time.I also had mega mood swings. I kind of though tfrom my lack of energy and near constant dizziness that I might be dying from some underlying illness or something, because the doctors always told me I was healthy; they did continuously test me for Diabetes and couldn't find any sign of it although I had many symptoms. About this time last year, I peeled myself out of bed but felt even worse than usual ( I now know that felt even worse that usual because I had eatena lmost an entire cheery pie before bed that nightbefore). I had already figured out that I needed to try to find a source of protein in the morning,because my fiance's doctor told him to do the same because at times he had similar symptoms to mine....."
For myself, I've learned to overcome these feeling of dizziness, shakiness and general lethargy, by doing just what April was told to do by her doctor: eat protein with every meal, keep my carbohydrate intake low and include fats as often as possible.
You see, for those with blood sugar disorders, even including the disease diabetes, the body does not process carbohydrates and use them at a constant rate for energy. In these people, the body cranks out too much insulin in response to carbohydrate foods, possibly because they have enhanced absorption of carbohydrate from the gut into the blood stream, or because their blood glucose (sugar) levels are maintained at a lower level that other people. This surge of glucose and insulin in the body leads to a plethora of symptoms including shakiness, lack of concentration, moodiness, headaches, and general lethargy. The body is designed to use the carbohydrates faster than is really needed, so in turn, a person is left yearning for more food very soon after eating a higher-carb meal with a lack of protein or fat.
Last night, even though I know better, and came armed with my own crustless sugar-free pumpkin pie, I indulged in my aunt's high-sugar, white flour crust pumpkin pie, and felt the effects of the sugar-rush right away. I felt disorientated, unhappy and very tired (and that wasn't from the turkey). Then, in about 45 minutes, I crashed hard and started shaking so bad that I had to eat again. This time I chose just turkey and greens, and immediately felt better, without feeling overcome by a large dose of sugar.
There's just something about sweets that irresistable to some people, and maybe for those people, sweets and other high-carb foods should just be avoided as if they produced some terrible disease (which, they actually can do).
For people with symptoms of hypoglycemia, the answer is not to stop eating or eat more carbs, it's to eat minimal carbs, increased about of protetin and plenty of fat. With regards to the latter two foods, stay away from processed foods and anything hydrogenated for the most optimal choices.
The body is a smart piece of machinery. If your car's CHECK ENGINE light kept coming on after you put cheap gas in the tank, wouldn't you start to question the gas you chose to put in your vehicle? The same goes for food: If, when you eat a food, you feel like you've been drugged (unless you purposely ate something that would make you feel that way...), you'd think you'd really start to question the food you put in your body! However, some people don't. They think they're sick, or their doctor tells them that they are, and they end up feeling the same way for years and years.
People: we're all engineered to eat a specific way. Don't let any doctor or nutritionist tell you that you should eat just as the FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID tells you to (with a basis of grains) if that way make you feel worse. Listen to your body and try new things until you get your food consumption just right for you.
For hypoglycemia, if you feel terrible after eating foods with a high sugar content, then STOP. Don't fear that protein is going to give you kidney failure or that dietary fat is going to cause your heart to have an attack because none of those items are based on any conclusive science. Eat for you, not for anyone else. Include these latter foods in your diet and stay away from carbohydrates... your body will thank you in more ways than one.
________________
From here on out, I will blog at least twice a week. It's been a busy time for me with my dissertation project. I cook all week and then catch up on work on the weekends. It's hard, but I'm sure my final data will be great.
Also, if you haven't yet seen it, please check out my new books on amazon:
1) The New Rules of Lifting for Women, by Lou Schuler, Alwyn Cosgrove and myself.
2) The Women's Health Perfect Body Diet.
Happy Post Thanksgiving.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Halloween: To Treat or Not to Treat?
I don't know what to think about halloween anymore. When I was a kid, halloween was all about collecting as much candy from my neighbours that could fit in a large pillowcase and then, if there was time, go out for more. I remember one year I acheived a pillowcase-and-a-half, and it only took me a month to consume it all..... oh my.... (That's one of the reasons my cat's name was Candy). Yes, I was a typical child: I liked sugar and (I think) it brought me much joy.
Today I don't even like candy (my favorite used to sour soothers... not chocolate). In fact, I was in Target this afternoon purchasing a few things for my dissertation project, and marveled at the plethora of sugar-laden goodies available for a cheap price. I knew that all that candy was going to be given out tonight to eager children holding their pillowcases (or jack-o-latern candy bins), and they were going to love it.
My puzzlement with this whole holiday, is why did it turn into a candy and junk food feast? Should we really being encouraging children to eat more sugar and gawd-knows-what in such volumes? Is this really a good idea considering that most kids have body weight issues and attention-deficit disorders that are only exasperated by sugar? Yes, candy tastes good and kids should be allowed to eat it if they really want to because when they grow up, they can figure out if it's really good for them or not. (For me, I just knew candy was the pavement for the road to diabetes and excess body fat, so I choose not to eat it at all... really, at all.)
My current neighbourhood doesn't get any candy-grabbing monsters knocking at the door, but if they did, I wouldn't be like everyone else and hand out mini-chocolate bars. Instead, I'd offer small packets of raisins, or, if there weren't too many visitors expected, some healthy snack bar, such as a Larabar or a BeNaturals bar (fruit and nuts bar). I'd love to be able to give out fresh apples but there's the scare every parent has of razon blades shoved in the apples, or bags of cashews, almonds or walnuts, but again, peanut allergy-scares would cause them to become garbage.
What are you going to do this halloween? Are you giving out candy or do you have another better option for our insulin-spiked kids?
NOTE: My dissertation feeding study is going great. I've started the second week and my participants love to food and are impressed by my cooking skills. This project is definitely A LOT of work, but I'm so happy to be doing it. I'll keep you posted when I get partial data.
Cass
Today I don't even like candy (my favorite used to sour soothers... not chocolate). In fact, I was in Target this afternoon purchasing a few things for my dissertation project, and marveled at the plethora of sugar-laden goodies available for a cheap price. I knew that all that candy was going to be given out tonight to eager children holding their pillowcases (or jack-o-latern candy bins), and they were going to love it.
My puzzlement with this whole holiday, is why did it turn into a candy and junk food feast? Should we really being encouraging children to eat more sugar and gawd-knows-what in such volumes? Is this really a good idea considering that most kids have body weight issues and attention-deficit disorders that are only exasperated by sugar? Yes, candy tastes good and kids should be allowed to eat it if they really want to because when they grow up, they can figure out if it's really good for them or not. (For me, I just knew candy was the pavement for the road to diabetes and excess body fat, so I choose not to eat it at all... really, at all.)
My current neighbourhood doesn't get any candy-grabbing monsters knocking at the door, but if they did, I wouldn't be like everyone else and hand out mini-chocolate bars. Instead, I'd offer small packets of raisins, or, if there weren't too many visitors expected, some healthy snack bar, such as a Larabar or a BeNaturals bar (fruit and nuts bar). I'd love to be able to give out fresh apples but there's the scare every parent has of razon blades shoved in the apples, or bags of cashews, almonds or walnuts, but again, peanut allergy-scares would cause them to become garbage.
What are you going to do this halloween? Are you giving out candy or do you have another better option for our insulin-spiked kids?
NOTE: My dissertation feeding study is going great. I've started the second week and my participants love to food and are impressed by my cooking skills. This project is definitely A LOT of work, but I'm so happy to be doing it. I'll keep you posted when I get partial data.
Cass
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Low carb research in the works
It seems like I'm on the once a month blogging schedule. But, it's with good reason.
Since the beginning of the month, I've been working hard to collect participants, design the blood draw scheme, design diets and order supplies for my upcoming dissertation (PhD thesis) project at UConn.
For the past 3 years, I've been fortunate to work and research along side the great and all-knowing low-carb expert, Jeff Volek, PhD RD. With Jeff I've looked at the effects of low-carb (very low-carb to be precise) diets on individuals with the dyslipidemia of Metabolic Syndrome, and on weight-loss combined with resistance training.
My previous research experience at the University of Alberta in Canada revolved around how different types of fat sources affect blood cholesterol levels and cholesterol synthesis rates. In my MS, I did a human feeding study (translation = I cooked all meals every day for my participants) for a total of 4 months. It was tiresome, but a good experience.
I'm now combining my past experience with my current research to design one of the most interesting low-carb experiments that has ever been done.
What I'm doing is cooking all meals again (yes, I'm crazy) for 12 men aged 30-60, for a total of 3 months. This means that I'll be a slave to a kitchen again, cooking and preparing a total of 252 meals and 252 snacks each week. It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm really looking forward to it.
The design is such that I have created a 7-day rotational menu for 2 different low-carb diets that will last a period of 6-weeks each. One diet will be the typical low-carb diet that is rich in saturated fat, mostly from dairy sources (butter, cheese and cream). The other diet is the supposed "ideal" low-carb diet that is rich in monounsaturated fat and omega-3 polyunsaturated fat from olive oil, canola oil, fish and omega-3 eggs. Each man will consume one of the diets in a cross-over design with the first one of the diets being given between the middle of October and the beginning of December, and the other mid-February to the end of March (2008). Three weeks prior to all this food being given, each man will follow a self-selected low-carb diet for 4 weeks so that their bodies are all adapted to the carb-restriction.
The diets are also not "diets" in the traditional sense. The calorie level provided is actually going to be sufficient enough so these men do not lose weight because in previous published papers from our lab group, we are criticised because people lose more weight on low-carb and any beneficial effects seen from the diet are suspected to be just because body weight decreases so much. So, in my study, I'm keeping weight stable.
The overall purpose of this research is to finally define what type of fat a person should eat if they decide to make low-carb their lifestyle. Currently there are no recommendations, so this study may provide more insight into what one should eat.
In the study we're measuring body comp via DEXA before beginning any low-carb eating, pre-6 week low-carb feeding and post-6 week feeding. Also looking at fatty acid composition of the blood, blood inflammation, urine isoprostanes (a measure of oxidative stress), blood lipids, antioxidant status and standard chem panels (liver function, kidney function, etc).
So, with all these measures, my days are very busy. I usually get up at 5:30 so that I can be at the lab by 7am to manage subjects, take blood, collect urine etc, etc.
Soon, my days are going to be even more busy as I become a full-time chef. Like I said, it's going to be a tough job because the diets are so particular and precise, but I'm really looking forward to getting away from the computer and getting down and dirty in the kitchen.
As the days roll on I'll update my progress. Wish me luck because this ain't going to be easy (yes, I know "ain't" ain't a word...just threw it in there for fun ) :)
Since the beginning of the month, I've been working hard to collect participants, design the blood draw scheme, design diets and order supplies for my upcoming dissertation (PhD thesis) project at UConn.
For the past 3 years, I've been fortunate to work and research along side the great and all-knowing low-carb expert, Jeff Volek, PhD RD. With Jeff I've looked at the effects of low-carb (very low-carb to be precise) diets on individuals with the dyslipidemia of Metabolic Syndrome, and on weight-loss combined with resistance training.
My previous research experience at the University of Alberta in Canada revolved around how different types of fat sources affect blood cholesterol levels and cholesterol synthesis rates. In my MS, I did a human feeding study (translation = I cooked all meals every day for my participants) for a total of 4 months. It was tiresome, but a good experience.
I'm now combining my past experience with my current research to design one of the most interesting low-carb experiments that has ever been done.
What I'm doing is cooking all meals again (yes, I'm crazy) for 12 men aged 30-60, for a total of 3 months. This means that I'll be a slave to a kitchen again, cooking and preparing a total of 252 meals and 252 snacks each week. It's going to be a lot of work, but I'm really looking forward to it.
The design is such that I have created a 7-day rotational menu for 2 different low-carb diets that will last a period of 6-weeks each. One diet will be the typical low-carb diet that is rich in saturated fat, mostly from dairy sources (butter, cheese and cream). The other diet is the supposed "ideal" low-carb diet that is rich in monounsaturated fat and omega-3 polyunsaturated fat from olive oil, canola oil, fish and omega-3 eggs. Each man will consume one of the diets in a cross-over design with the first one of the diets being given between the middle of October and the beginning of December, and the other mid-February to the end of March (2008). Three weeks prior to all this food being given, each man will follow a self-selected low-carb diet for 4 weeks so that their bodies are all adapted to the carb-restriction.
The diets are also not "diets" in the traditional sense. The calorie level provided is actually going to be sufficient enough so these men do not lose weight because in previous published papers from our lab group, we are criticised because people lose more weight on low-carb and any beneficial effects seen from the diet are suspected to be just because body weight decreases so much. So, in my study, I'm keeping weight stable.
The overall purpose of this research is to finally define what type of fat a person should eat if they decide to make low-carb their lifestyle. Currently there are no recommendations, so this study may provide more insight into what one should eat.
In the study we're measuring body comp via DEXA before beginning any low-carb eating, pre-6 week low-carb feeding and post-6 week feeding. Also looking at fatty acid composition of the blood, blood inflammation, urine isoprostanes (a measure of oxidative stress), blood lipids, antioxidant status and standard chem panels (liver function, kidney function, etc).
So, with all these measures, my days are very busy. I usually get up at 5:30 so that I can be at the lab by 7am to manage subjects, take blood, collect urine etc, etc.
Soon, my days are going to be even more busy as I become a full-time chef. Like I said, it's going to be a tough job because the diets are so particular and precise, but I'm really looking forward to getting away from the computer and getting down and dirty in the kitchen.
As the days roll on I'll update my progress. Wish me luck because this ain't going to be easy (yes, I know "ain't" ain't a word...just threw it in there for fun ) :)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Supplement Coach
Last week I was in Miami (like I have the time, eh? lol) doing filming for the credible online supplement and nutrition site: http://www.supplementcoach.com/
I was asked to come down there along with Jose Antonio, PhD, Jeff Stout, PhD, Dr Hector Lopez, MD, Doug Kalman, PhD, Juan-Carlos Santana, CSCS, and world-class distance athlete Sonya Friend-Uhl, CSCS, to interview about various supplements and dietary practices used by athletes and non-athletes alike, such as creatine, caffeine, fish oil, low-carb diets, and beta-alanine.
The site supplementcoach.com was started by Melinda Mergen who had a dream and made it a reality. She wanted to help people obtain factual, scientific-based information about supplements and nutiriton without having to sift through hundreds of different books or weeding through some of the misinformation that is taking over the internet. So, she put together an easy to understand vehicle with which people could get this information without having to worry it was incorrect or a scam. The format it is presented is unique too: video files that have experts talking about the supplement or dietary practice. This makes it very easy to understand for those who don't want to always read tiny letters on a website.
Melinda is not only a smart business woman, but is very passionate and caring about what she's doing. She is truely dedicated to helping people understand supplements and diets so that they don't buy into something they don't need, or worse, take something that might harm them.
Melinda is also one of the most beautiful women I've met, both inside and out. As a model and a genuine caring person, she's one of the people that makes our world a more special place. I'm glad she asked me to join supplementcoach.com and I look forward to contributing more in the future.
In health, Cassandra
Now, back to my PhD!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
No excuses to miss a workout
My life is pretty crazy (hence the long days between posts). Not only am I doing my PhD project in just a few short weeks, I'm doing edits for the new book I wrote, supervising a diet trial for the new book, doing assays in the lab for other research projects, writing for other websites, peer-reviewing papers for journals, writing questions for a new sports nutrition text book, etc etc, ALL while managing my own home, working out every day, attempting to plan a wedding and trying to not ignore my fiance Justin. Oh, and let's not forget getting at least 7 solid hours of sleep a night; any less and I feel really bad.
So, due to all this craziness, I have to make shortcuts wherever I can. First, I have about a 40 minute commute to work (the University) each way. On that drive, I get in most of my phone calls to friends, family and whatever else is going on.
Then, to ensure I eat well all day long, I cook large batches of food at one time, eat almost the same thing everyday and bring all my food with me wherever I go. This saves me from running to a cafeteria and being forced to choose something that just doesn't fit into any woman's (or man's) diet.
Finally, most importantly, I make sure I'm ready and able to exercise at all times. Luckily, I can wear running shoes and workout clothes to my job. So, like right now, I'm dressed in my workout shorts, a tank top and a pair of crosstrainers that can be used either for running or lifting (I really don't run that much, but I do run stairs at the football stadium or do sprints on the track). This way, when I get a free hour from the labwork at the University, I can walk over to the gym or the track and get a workout in. Or, if I don't want to workout at the U, I can hit my other gym on my way home from work.
Now, since not everyone has the luxury of wearing workout clothes all day long, you can always keep your gym bag with clothes and running shoes in your car, or carry your gym bag with you to work, if you take the train. This way you have no excuse to miss a workout because you've got everything with you.
Exercise is one of the most important ways (aside from good food choices) to keep your body weight steady, to keep your energy levels high, to help you sleep better at night and to make you feel good all over from head to toe. Don't rely on anyone else to workout for you. Make it your priority to get exercise in your life at least 30 minutes each day, everyday. If you have a workout partner, great, but don't let that make or break your date with exercise. Also, if you feel you need a trainer to spark new motivation in your workouts, suck it up and dish out the cash for someone to show you new moves for a few weeks. Trust me, it's worth it.
So, in summary, to make sure you never have an excuse to miss an opportunity to workout:
1. Keep gym clothes and shoes with you at all times
2. Even better, wear your gym clothes to work
3. Have two gym memberships in different areas so you can make it to the gym no matter where you are
4. Don't skip the gym just because your workout partner can't make it
5. Hire a personal trainer, or seek someone to design a new workout for you if you feel bored with your current routine
If any of you have other ideas, please share it in the comments. We can all benefit from other's experiences.
From one workout nut to another.
Cass
So, due to all this craziness, I have to make shortcuts wherever I can. First, I have about a 40 minute commute to work (the University) each way. On that drive, I get in most of my phone calls to friends, family and whatever else is going on.
Then, to ensure I eat well all day long, I cook large batches of food at one time, eat almost the same thing everyday and bring all my food with me wherever I go. This saves me from running to a cafeteria and being forced to choose something that just doesn't fit into any woman's (or man's) diet.
Finally, most importantly, I make sure I'm ready and able to exercise at all times. Luckily, I can wear running shoes and workout clothes to my job. So, like right now, I'm dressed in my workout shorts, a tank top and a pair of crosstrainers that can be used either for running or lifting (I really don't run that much, but I do run stairs at the football stadium or do sprints on the track). This way, when I get a free hour from the labwork at the University, I can walk over to the gym or the track and get a workout in. Or, if I don't want to workout at the U, I can hit my other gym on my way home from work.
Now, since not everyone has the luxury of wearing workout clothes all day long, you can always keep your gym bag with clothes and running shoes in your car, or carry your gym bag with you to work, if you take the train. This way you have no excuse to miss a workout because you've got everything with you.
Exercise is one of the most important ways (aside from good food choices) to keep your body weight steady, to keep your energy levels high, to help you sleep better at night and to make you feel good all over from head to toe. Don't rely on anyone else to workout for you. Make it your priority to get exercise in your life at least 30 minutes each day, everyday. If you have a workout partner, great, but don't let that make or break your date with exercise. Also, if you feel you need a trainer to spark new motivation in your workouts, suck it up and dish out the cash for someone to show you new moves for a few weeks. Trust me, it's worth it.
So, in summary, to make sure you never have an excuse to miss an opportunity to workout:
1. Keep gym clothes and shoes with you at all times
2. Even better, wear your gym clothes to work
3. Have two gym memberships in different areas so you can make it to the gym no matter where you are
4. Don't skip the gym just because your workout partner can't make it
5. Hire a personal trainer, or seek someone to design a new workout for you if you feel bored with your current routine
If any of you have other ideas, please share it in the comments. We can all benefit from other's experiences.
From one workout nut to another.
Cass
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