Posts Tagged ‘Common Injuries’

Weight Loss: Do’s and Don’ts

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

Many people come to us with the goal of losing weight,weight-loss21 but as we work with more and more clients we find that there are several common mistakes people make when trying to lose weight. In fact, some of these choices actually have the opposite effect and make people gain weight instead.  What’s most important to understand is:

You need to be healthy to lose weight, not lose weight to be healthy. Your body is a system of systems that all work together to keep your body healthy and in balance. So, if one system is out of balance it can affect your whole body. This is why a holistic approach to weight loss and improving health is so important. If your body is out of balance, you will have trouble losing weight and will probably feel a variety of other seemingly unrelated symptoms such as: energy highs and lows, fatigue, depression, neck or back pain, headaches, PMS and the list goes on and on and on. 

 

Read below to learn some things you should and shouldn’t do if your goal is to lose weight.

1.     Don’t : Skip Meals

Skipping just one meal puts your body in starvation mode. When this happens, you body panics because it doesn’t know when it will get food again so it stores your food as fat (a survival mechanism).


2. Do: Eat protein, carbohydrates, and good fat for every meal.

Learning your metabolic type (what ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fat your body needs to work best) is ideal. We can provide you with a simple questionnaire to identify your metabolic type.


3. Don’t: Assume more cardio will help you lose weight.

Depending on the health of your hormonal system, more cardio can actually make you put on weight. Imbalances in the hormonal system make it difficult to lose weight.


4. Do: Learn more about hormones and how deeply imbalances affect your health. 

You can sign up for our Hormone Health seminar (see our events page for more information) or contact us for a complimentary consultation. We can also recommend several useful books on the subject. 


5. Don’t: Do the same exercise routine over and over again.


6. Do: Add variety to your workout, and include exercises that help you with “working in” as well as working out.

Be sure to include weight training which boosts your metabolism and also “working in” exercises such as walking, yoga or meditation. 


7.  Don’t : Assume that “No Pain=No Gain”.

You can be doing your body more harm than good and could seriously injure yourself.


8. Do: Understand that “Pain=No Gain”.

It’s always best to have your exercise routine evaluated by a trusted Corrective Exercise Coach who understands the body and how to correct postural imbalances.  Contact us for more information.


9. Don’t: Assume that there’s a “One-Size-Fits-All” approach to getting healthy.

Just as we are all different on the outside, we are all also different on the inside. What’s key is to learn how to read the signals your body gives you (constantly) and to respond with what it needs. Only you ultimately have that information, we just teach you what to look for.


10. Do: Learn more about what your body needs so you can achieve your wellness goals.

If your not sure about one on one coaching, our Wellness 101 workshop is a great place to start. (See the events page for more information).

 

 Feel free to write in with stories or questions. We’d love to hear from you.

To your health!

 

Dorothy Lizak

Nutrition and Wellness Specialist

 

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To breathe or not to breathe

Sunday, June 21st, 2009

breathingTo breathe or not to breathe during an exercise that is the question.  You’re probably thinking… of course you should breathe during an exercise and you are correct.  However, did you know that most people breathe incorrectly when performing an exercise? Many times individuals breathe in when they should be breathing out and vice versa or they also hold their breath.  This is an important topic of discussion and within this blog article we will be discussing why breathing correctly is important as well as give you examples of when you should be breathing in verses out.

When taking a breath in, the body moves into what we call axial extension meaning that the body is expanding.  You can feel this by closing your eyes and taking a deep breath in, feel how your chest inflates and the spine gets taller.  Now, let the air out and feel your chest collapse and your spine begin to round, this is called axial flexion.  This is how the breath moves in our bodies naturally and it is this movement that needs to be replicated when performing an exercise.  There are exceptions to the rule and we will touch upon those later in this article.

Let’s take a body row for example.  When performing this exercise you hold cables in both hands, you pull with your arms by bending your elbows and squeeze the shoulder blades.  The proper breathing sequence for this exercise is to breathe in as you pull the weight back and breathe out as the weight moves back to the start position.  If you are not sure why look at the movement in a mirror.  As you pull the cables back your chest is expanding. Therefore you should take a breath in and when you move back to the start position your chest is collapsing therefore you should be exhaling.  Let’s take a lat pull down as our next example.  When do you think you should be breathing in verses breathing out…if you said breathe in as you pull down(chest expanding) and breath out as you move to the start position- arms over head (chest collapsing) then you are correct.

Performing proper breathing is vital to having a safe workout and what I mean by this specifically is that your body systems are programmed and have set ways of doing things naturally hence what naturally happens when you breathe in and out.  When you hold your breath or breathe improperly during an exercise neurologically as well as muscularly you begin to work against the body and this is how muscle spasms and injury can happen, not to mention breath is healing and helps to move stagnant energy.

Now, there are exceptions to the rule and these are for when you are performing difficult movements such as lifting heavy weight in a dead lift or performing power exercises such as weighted wood chops.  When performing such exercises there is a point of the movement that we call the “sticking point”- where there is a greater load placed on the body and in certain situations you want to breathe out at the sticking point regardless of axial extension or flexion.  For more information about proper breathing techniques during exercising visit a C.H.E.K. practitioner in your area or contact us here at Replenishing Soul.

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The power of the media and society

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

classroomI had the opportunity to speak to an 8th grade class on Friday about the importance of fitness and nutrition.  I must stay first off that I commend the teacher for having the desire to education her students not only about the importance of fitness as well as nutrition but her desire to educate them on the balance of these two important topics.

The class that I spoke to comprised of about 40 students.  I was amazed how all of them were interested in what was being said as well as being participatory.  The topics that I spoke about were on strength, flexibility, stability and endurance and the importance of cross training and proper supplementation.  I spoke heavily about nutrition and what balanced nutrition looks like.  We discussed specifically what makes up proteins, fats and carbohydrates and what each of these items do for the body.   The kids were great, they were answering questions and asking questions and the questions were amazing!

However, one thing that I noticed was how influenced these 8th graders were already by the marketing of our media and views of society.  Some of the questions that came up were questions about 6 packs (in regards to the abdominals) and splenda & diet sodas (regarding staying thin). The question that blew me out of the water though was the question of what is the difference between lipo-suction and gastric by-pass.  Now, the question in and of itself is a great one.  However, the student goes on to ask which of the two are better and what goes through my head is “why is an 8th grader asking such a question”?  Unfortunately, I did not have time to ask her why she was asking such a question at such a young age. 

Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile diabetes, obesity and an array of other health problems are affecting our young today. I am writing this blog entry to remind everyone who is reading this that the health of our youth is vital.  Families need to be educated as well as have discussions about healthy food options and fitness and families as a whole need to get healthy together.  Fun ways that a family can get healthy together are by cooking meals together, going to the park and playing, going on bike rides or taking hikes.  If you do not have proper education on nutrition or fitness find lectures and workshop in your area on such topics.  In addition, discussions about what being healthy is really about also need to take place. What I mean by this is that our young need to understand that just because someone has 6 pack abs does not make them healthy.  This subject becomes a difficult task because of how the media portrays “healthy” bodies. 

I want to thank the 8th grade class and their teacher for inviting me into their classroom.  I would love to see more schools and teachers doing this for their students.  The benefits that come from healthy nutrition and proper exercise are endless:  Improved cognition and concentration, decreased anxiety and restless and improved performance both in and out and out of the classroom.

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Exercise-One size does not fit all!

Sunday, March 29th, 2009

chest-press-picWe are brainwashed as a society that we need to join a gym, hammer out cardiovascular exercises daily and do strength training.  Well, we are here to tell you that this is not so.  Being a Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach I cannot tell you how many people walk into my office stating to me that they hate going to the gym.  My response to them is “then why are you going?”

What everyone needs to understand is that your body requires movement daily and how ever you enjoy moving should be the choice of exercise for you.  Picture this …your leaving your house, getting in your car and all that is on your mind is how much you don’t want to be going to the gym.  You have just fed your body/mind negative thoughts.  How can a body heal and re-energize if it is full of negative energy?

Generally, as a society everyone has behind the desk jobs, with little to no movement throughout the day, stuck in a cubicle with little to no natural sunlight. So, why not pick an exercise that you enjoy and fills you with positive healing energy and lifts your mood?

There are many forms of exercise that one can partake in.  Explore and do your research, play around with exercises that you might not ever consider or think you can do.  You just might be surprised how much you learn about yourself with trying something new. Explore cycling, skiing, yoga, mountain biking, swimming, tai chi, hiking, weight training, qi gong, tennis, golf, kick boxing/marital arts or maybe even dancing.

Regardless of the exercise you pick there are some general guidelines to exercise that one should be aware of.

  • 1. Have more than just one form of exercise. When you perform the same movements over and over this can lead to muscle imbalances, injury and pain. In addition having more than just one type of exercise gives your body the opportunity to not adapt to one single stimulus.
  • 2. If you find that you are always catching colds or getting sick easily you should limit or postpone intense exercise/training. The reason being is that the adrenal glands are most likely stressed and further intense exercise will cause your body to break down further leading to a weakened immune system and possible injury.
  • 3. No Pain-No Gain - if you have that mentality please get rid of it. Pain= No Gain the reason being is that your body gets stronger at rest not while exercising. The exercise is just the stimulus that triggers the growth and repair response that builds more muscle and increases metabolism.
  • 4. Since you live in a society that is constant go, go, go it is always a good idea to have one form of exercise that replenishes the body and helps it to heal. Exercises such as yoga, qi gong and tai chi are great for repairing the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) - this system is the REST AND DIGEST SYSTEM. This is the system that helps us heal and prevent disease. Massages are also a great way to relax the body and help muscles heal and replenish after being active.
  • 5. Explore circuit weight training- with circuit training you are not just getting the benefits of muscle tone and increasing your metabolic rate but you are also getting cardiovascular benefits. So this is a great way to get in your aerobic exercise without over taxing the body. And for you ladies reading this blog this form of exercise works well for us!
  • 6. Do your research! If you would like to get started in a gym with the help of a Personal Training make sure you interview them to know if they have a good understanding of the human body/Anatomy. Remember, strength training is not just about getting tone and fit it is also about correcting muscle imbalances. If you do not correct muscle imbalances or work with someone who understands the importance of correcting imbalances or how to look for them you will end up in pain if not injured. Trust me on this I am a Physical Therapist and have treated patients who became injured because their trainer not having appropriate proper education/training.

 

If you do not know what type of exercise you could benefit from or how intense you should or should not be working out contact us and we can help you. In addition we here at Replenishing Soul have a network of  Personal Trainers and Massage Therapists who we work closely with who are well educated and who we trust. 

Happy exercising!

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BEING WELL IN 2009

Monday, January 26th, 2009

Wellness is defined as “the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind” or “an approach to health care that emphasizes preventing illness and prolonging life, as opposed to emphasizing treating disease”. Doesn’t that sound and feel better than the pressure we put on ourselves to look a certain way and be a certain weight? When you set a path to wellness so many areas of your life becomes enriched because of the mind body connection. You begin to generally feel better and when you feel better you become more connected to your “self” and this sense of self begins to take away depression, fears, worries or frustration for situations that you would not have the strength to deal with in an unhealthy state. Wellness brings empowerment, security and a higher quality of life.

 
One of the first concepts we teach our clients at Replenishing Soul is that wellness takes time. We live in a society of quick fixes and instant gratification. We go through life year after year eating the wrong foods, not getting enough sleep, being ill or staying in jobs or relationships that don’t fulfill us yet we expect to get well and see changes in just days or weeks. When we don’t realize that our bodies need much more time to get back into balance, we get frustrated or feel as if we have failed and give up on our health goals. 

Wellness encompasses lifestyle and lifestyle encompasses what we eat, when we eat, sleep, stress, personal and professional relationships as well as understanding our purpose in life and knowing what we want and what makes us happy.  This is why wellness takes time, it is a process that never becomes stagnant, it is ever moving just like life.

 
Take the wellness challenge with us at Replenishing Soul.  We invite you to visit our NEW website at www.replenishingsoul.com and welcome you or someone you know and love to sign up for a FREE personal wellness consult.
 

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