Don’t Let Your Commute Make You Fat (or Worse)

Your long car commute may be killing you. The longer you spend in your car going to and from work the more likely you are to suffer from cardiovascular disease, says to a recent study soon to be published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Researchers looked at 4,000 drivers surrounding Dallas and Austin, Tx, and concluded that their experience definitely puts them at odds with a healthy lifestyle and, at worse, contributes to obesity, which can lead to other ills.

Of course that isn’t surprising. The more time spent in your car each day diminishes the amount of time you have for healthy activities, such as exercise. Car commuters also tend to eat on the “ride,” and their choices are likely to be less healthy than someone who takes time to have a healthy breakfast at home or, on the back end, prepares a healthy dinner.

Moreover, many auto commutes tend to be stressful, which is why the study singled out auto commuting and said the same effects don’t occur for those who commute by train or other public transportation.

Now, let’s be real: people who take long commutes usually do so because they have to to support themselves and their families. This study won’t change that. So what can you do to counter some of the detrimental effects of a long car commute? Here are some Fit! Live! Win! tips:

* Prepare a healthy breakfast the night before.  Even if you can’t eat it before hopping into your car, you’ll have a healthy option riding shotgun. That’s better than stopping for a donut or bagel with cream cheese every morning.

* Get up earlier and workout. Tough, I know. But get in a quick morning workout and you’ll be energized by the time you jump into your car!

* Park farther from your place of work. Especially this time of year. take advantage of the nice weather to walk from the farthest part of the parking lot, or a few more blocks away.

* Take the stairs. If you work on an upper floor, use the stairs. Even if you work on, say, the 25th floor and don’t want to (or can’t) walk that many flight, start by getting off on, say, the 20th floor and walk the next five. Then each week add another floor to the challenge.

* Join a gym near work. At least three days each week, use your lunch hour to break a sweat. Then grab a heathy wheat wrap of such and have it at your desk. You’ll find you have less of an appetite and feel fresher all afternoon.

* Listen to great music. There’s not much you can do about the wacko drivers you encounter during your commute but you can manage the stress of driving by listening to your favorite music.

* Don’t be a wacko driver! No matter what someone else does on the road, don’t let them drag you into their madness. If someone cuts you off, let them pass. If someone won’t let you change lanes, so what. If someone crowds your tail, let them pass, too. Commuting is stressful, and stress kills. So try your best to enjoy the ride!

Yet Another Reason to Re-Elect Obama..Michelle That Is

FLOTUS has been on it. She embraced Child Obesity as her cause and hasn’t let go. And she’s affected change. She’s caused companies that would just as soon sell a kid a sugar-filled soda to consider other, healthy options. She’s helped transform school cafeterias from fat-kid factories to places where a kid can at lest get a salad. And maybe most important, she’s gotten kids off the coach and onto playgrounds across America.

But it’s not enough.

Clearly. Today, it was reported that youth diabetes as “skyrocketed,” from 9% in 200 to 23% in 2008, according to the report. Of course, that’s the year President Obama took office (doesn’t it seem like last week?!). So there’s a real chance those numbers have changed since Michelle Obama has taken on the cause of getting kids (and their parents) to make better decisions about eating and exercise.

But why take the chance? Give Michelle four more years to keep us going in the right direction.

Slimming Down in Silicon Valley

Photo courtesy The Los Angeles Times

Growth in Silicon Valley isn’t all about and bank balances and stock prices. It seems that the lifestyle–round-the-clock workdays, along with cushy perks, has also added to waistlines in the nation’s hotbed of innovation.

Now, they’re starting to do something about it, says the Los Angeles Times in “Abs joining Apps on Tech Firms’ To-Do Lists.”

Employee wellness is increasingly vital to companies, organizations and municipalities, all seeking to managing soaring health-care costs and diminishing productivity. That’s why I launched Fit! Live! Win!, and why I no longer have to explain Why to potential clients, just How.

And that’s the fun part. Healthy living is easier than you think, and more fun that you might believe. Reach out to us (info@fitlivewin.com) and find out.

Challenge yourself!

Spice Up the Push-Up for More Gains!

When you workout regularly, it’s easy to get bored with certain moves–even old-school, true-and-true, still-effective moves like, well, the push-up.

It’s one of the simplest, most effective moves you can do. It strengthens your arms, chest, back and core. Even your legs and glutes get a workout. You don’t need any equipment, either. Or even a gym. Just drop and, as they say, give me 1o!

Or 20. Or more.

Last fall I vowed to start doing at least 50 push-ups a day for at least five days a week. Now, I’m up to 100 a day!

Okay, don’t be too impressed. I do four sets of 25, usually as part of a circuit involving at least two other moves.

It’s still hard, but needless to say, it’s easier than it was a few months ago. And still just as gratifying.

There’s a plethora of ways to spice up the push-up–including these 14 new push-up moves outlined by Men’sHealth.com. The Trunk Rotation, Walking Push-Up and the Plyo Push-up are just three.

It’s great to use the moves when you’ve been doing a lot of push-ups. Two of my last favorite (meaning they’re really hard) are extremely simple:

While in push-up position, alternately touch each shoulder with the opposite hand. (see pic) Do it in between each push-up for a set of 10.

Also while in push-up position, simply touch one hand with the other hand. Touch each hand five times, then do a push-up, until you’ve completed 1o push-ups.

These variations not only stave off boredom, but also activate different arm and core muscles for better definition and strength.

Challenge yourself!

 

Vogue Still Makes Me Want to Gag

Vogue just proclaimed it was joining the global effort to combat unhealthy images of women by saying it was banning anorexic models from the pages of all of it 19 worldwide editions.

Women’s advocates worldwide cheered. Rightfully so. For too long the fashion industry’s glorification of women too skinny to see when they are turned sideways. has led young women around the world to stick their fingers down their throats because they think they’re too fat.

Finally, Vogue, the industry leader among fashion magazines, says, well, go ahead and eat. ”Vogue believes that good health is beautiful,” Conde Nast International Chairman Jonathan Newhouse said in a statement. “Vogue editors around the world want the magazines to reflect their commitment to the health of the models who appear on the pages and the well-being of their readers.”

Bunk. The entire statement actually says Vogue would stop working with skinny models who are under 16 years old.  The brands worldwide editors said they would “not knowingly work with models under the age of 16 or who appear to have an eating disorder.” They said they’d ask casting directors to check IDs at photo shoots,  fashion shows, and for ad campaigns.

This was go news to former model Sarah Ziff, founder of the Model Alliance, which strives to improve working conditions for models. “Most editions of Vogue regularly hire models who are minors,” she said. “So for Vogue to commit to no longer using models under the age of 16 marks an evolution in the industry. We hope other magazines and fashion brands will follow Vogue’s impressive lead.”

Impressive? Please.

Sorry. No credit here for deciding to stop putting skinny jail-bait in your pages.

Yes, it is a step towards ending the industry’s too-long trend of telling young girls they’re too fat–no matter how they look.

A real step would be banning skinny models altogether.

But I guess Vogue can’t stomach that.

 

“…Many Black Women are Fat Because They Want to Be.”

Many Black men find large black women sexy. Still, the author says risking your health for a man is no reason to remain overweight.

“How many middle-aged white women fear their husbands will find them less attractive if their weight drops to less than 200 pounds?”

“…there’s a church, a liquor store and a dialysis center on every corner in black Memphis.”

“…it’s estimated that the total cost of America’s obesity epidemic could reach almost $1 trillion by 2030 if we keep on doing what we have been doing.”

I couldn’t stop reading Alice Randall’s brilliantly honest piece, “Black Women and Fat,” in today’s New York Times op-ed pages. Not because, quite honestly, I read I didn’t already know. Last year, I created Fit! Live! Win! because I am passionate about helping people live fit healthy lives (and, yes, because I think there’s a viable business opportunity in doing so). And as a black man, I am well aware of the health disparities that make, in my opinion, obesity the No. 1 killer of African Americans in the United States.

I couldn’t stop reading because of the Vanderbilt University writer-at-large’s brutal honesty. Her clear, stark words. Her siren-call to black women nationwide.

“The billions that we are spending to treat diabetes is money that we don’t have for education reform or retirement benefits…”

“My goal is to be the last fat black woman in my family. “

“I call on every black woman for whom it is appropriate to commit to getting under 200 pounds or to losing the 10 percent of our body weight that often results in a 50 percent reduction in diabetes risk.”

“We have to change.”

Amen.

Randall has taken the first step, committing to a life of exercise  (Zumba, treadmill, yoga and more) and better eating (“My quick breakfast is a roasted sweet potato, no butter, or Greek yogurt with six almonds. That’s soul food, Nashville 2012.”)

Forget the cultural bull we often hold onto as an excuse.

We have to change.

Starting tomorrow. Sisters, are you in? if so, follow my blogfor regular fitness and nutrition advice. If you’re in the Birmingham, AL area, join us on July 28 at Fit Fair ’12 at The Bridge, located at 100 Lexington St. It’s a one-day interactive event featuring fitness and weight-traning classes, healthy-cooking demonstrations, wellness seminars, motivational speakers and  sports competitions (bowling and three-on-three basketball tournaments.)

If you belong to a church, ask church leaders to subscribe to The Temple, an e-newsletter offering fitness and nutrition advice that is distributed through churches. You may do so by reaching out to info@fitlivewin.com.

Challenge yourself!

The Right No-Gut Milk for You (and Your Kids)

By Samantha Mark, CD, RDN

As kids, most of us were told to drink our milk every day, or it it seemed like it. Well, milk is still a great beverage choice, and it can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Pour yourself an ice-cold glass, add it to your cereal, blend it into a smoothie or enjoy it with a meal. A good goal is to aim for three servings of dairy each day, and you can start with milk.

The trick is to choose the right milk to benefit your diet. While 2% milk is a better choice than whole milk, 1% and skim (fat-free) milk get the gold stars.

Skim milk and 1% milk contain just as much protein, vitamin D and calcium as their full-fat counterpart. They can be used in the same ways and usually be substituted for full -fat milk. Fat-free milk is, well, fat-free and 1% milk only contains about three grams of fat.

In addition to calcium and vitamin D, milk contains multiple nutrients that can benefit your health including: vitamin A, and B vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin and B12.

According to the National Dairy Council, newer research is showing that consuming three servings of milk (or cheese or yogurt) as part of a well -balanced (and nutrient rich) diet may help to maintain a healthy weight.

If you are concerned about lactose intolerance, there are lactose-free milk products available. If you choose to switch to an almond, rice or coconut milk product, be advised that they contain less protein and could potentially have a higher sugar content, if they are flavored. The good news is they are usually contain as much calcium and vitamin D as other milk products.

Soy milk can be another lactose-free alternative; it is also vegetarian friendly. Soy milk contains almost as much protein as cow’s milk and is cholesterol free.

If you have little ones at home, try incorporating dairy products at meals and snacks to ensure they get enough servings.  And while you’re at it, have a glass yourself!