Be Great!

I love this commercial from Nike; if this is not encouragement to keep at your workouts when things get frustrating, I don't know what is!

Nike Commercial

Christmas Feasting!

Christmas is just a few days away, and we are all excited to see family and enjoy some great food.  For many of us though, this enjoyment and anticipation is slightly tinged by the knowledge that we may just in fact eat Santa Clause this Christmas!  Before we proceed to our merrymaking and eating, I wanted to share a few things I've found over the years that help me to enjoy my Christmas food but also not become over-stuffed by eating too much.

Eat breakfast or brunch.  It's never advisable to skip breakfast at any time, but especially on Christmas Day, it will help you to have a more normal appetite during the rest of the day.

Exercise in the morning.  Though you may be tempted to take the day off, this will actually help regulate your appetite for the rest of the day.  Instead of taking the day off from exercise, maybe do a lighter workout instead.

Skip the appetizers and have some water.  Don't get filled up on appetizers, but save room for the main meal.  Also, having water will keep your stomach feeling satisfied, but will also empty from your stomach in time for the main course.

Fill up your plate once at the main meal.  Don't go back for seconds, but save room for dessert!

Choose one dessert.  Choose your favorite and stick with it.

Ask for leftovers.  When you know you get to take some leftovers home, you won't feel the need to "sample" everything at your Christmas dinner. 

I hope some of these tips will come in handy for you this Christmas.  Have a very Merry Christmas!

Exercise, Nutrition, and Diabetes

Exercise has been encouraged for people with diabetes for a long time; an interesting study has recently been released (http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/12/19/diabetes-cure-diet-and-exercise-work-for-some/) showing some efficacy in advocating exercise and nutritional counseling for people who had Type 2 diabetes. In this particular study, participants had been living with their diabetes for an average of 5 years prior to it beginning. 

Over the course of 4 years, 4500 participants were observed.  They were randomly assigned to 2 groups - one group had very intensive (weekly) counseling sessions for 6 months that included very specific goals to meet in exercise and nutrition.  For the next 3.5 years of the study, they followed up with additional counseling sessions twice monthly.  The other group had a far less intensive counseling regimen, and only attended 3 counseling sessions per year of the study (for a total of 12 sessions over 4 years), and had no exercise or nutrition goals to meet.

The results were quite interesting; after 1 year of the program, participants who had intensive counseling sessions saw a partial remission of diabetic symptoms (on average losing 8.6% of their weight).  What this means is that they returned to a "prediabetic" state in which their blood sugar levels could be controlled purely through diet and exercise without taking medicine.  After 4 years, there was some attrition in this group, but a  statistically significant number still remained in partial remission (on average losing 4.7% of their weight).

In contrast, the group that received minimal counseling sessions saw 0.7% weight loss in the first year, that only increased to 0.8% weight loss after 4 years.  You don't have to be an expert in statistics to see that the general results of this study are promising -- the participants who understood how to manage their Type 2 diabetes through exercise and nutrition, as well as continued accountability to complete their program,  had a far better chance of experiencing remission.

Some final thoughts...

1.  This study included only counseling sessions to identify strategies for exercise and nutrition.  Would the results be better if participants were assigned to exercise sessions with a personal trainer or exercise physiologist who had experience in working with diabetic clients?

2. This study helps show that dramatic weight loss surgeries or diets are not the "only" way to recover from Type 2 diabetes, as many in the medical community would have us believe.  This is information that most of the legitimate fitness and nutrition communities have known for years, and it is great to have more studies showing the truth of it!

3.  If remission is defined in this study as achieving the "pre-diabetic state" that can be controlled without medications, but through diet and exercise, can you imagine the impact this information can have as far as medical insurance is concerned?  This could translate into lower out-of-pocket expenses for families, as well as lower insurance costs for small business owners who are trying to provide insurance for their employees.

4. Fruits and veggies are emphasized in controlling diabetes...hmmm....I might need to beat this dead horse more sufficiently in future blogs....

I definitely encourage you to read this article; it offers great hope for change.  I might be on the verge of being corny here, but knowledge truly is power.  When combined with the accountability and encouragement of others, putting this knowledge into practice can be key in reducing the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes.

The Healthiest States in the US: Where Does Yours Rank?

The Healthiest States in the US: Where Does Yours Rank?

If you are living in the United States, the above link provides access to a very sobering article about how our states rank in terms of healthy living, and what some of our major risk factors are for bad health.  We are unfortunately at a time in history where we are living longer lives, but our population is actually becoming sicker due to diseases that can be preventable; diseases such as, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease.

I encourage you to read through this article and think about some of you and your family's lifestyle habits.  Where do you and your family stand in terms of healthy living (i.e. dealing with stress, reducing exposure to unhealthy chemicals, etc.)?  Have you identified your eating habits and are you trying to change those that are detrimental to your health?  Have you begun an exercise regimen that you can stick with over the course of your life to maintain health?  Most importantly, what are you doing to spread what you know about the importance of exercise and healthy eating to others who may need your help in making serious life changes?

I think the most interesting part of this article was the last sentence, a quote from one of the contributors to the health report mentioned in the article, Dr. Tuckson.

"As important as insurance and access to medical care are, the key thing is to be controlling fundamental risk factors."

Our "fundamental risk factors" include anything leading to a sedentary lifestyle, namely, lack of exercise and healthy eating.  So I ask again, what are you (and I) doing to take personal responsibility for our health while helping others to do the same?