Social media is not just a fun way to stay in touch with your family and friends. It’s also a valuable tool and resource for staying accountable to your health and fitness goals. Let’s put our love for social media to good use with these tips and tools on how social media can actually help you stay on track with your fitness goals and keep you headed down the right path on your journey.
1. Announce it to the world.
Shutterstock
When you share your goals with the world of social media, you are far less likely to stop or give up on what you are doing. Knowing that you’ve shared a goal online holds you accountable for actually following through with that goal and seeing the finish line. Be vulnerable and share your goals with your social media pals. Let them know you are scared or nervous—or even excited—and that you need their support to get through this. Why not invite them to join in with you?! Life is more fun with friends.
2. Participate in hashtag campaigns.
Shutterstock
Instagram especially is a great place to participate in fun hashtag campaigns like #motivationmonday, #transformationtuesday, #workoutwednesday #throwbackthursday, #flexfriday, and #staturday. This can allow you to share motivation or look at other people’s motivation to help keep you going. This is also is a nice way to track your progress beyond the scale as you begin to see yourself transform in the pictures you are sharing.
3. Create Pinterest boards.
Shutterstock
Pinterest is like the modern day magazine, so use Pinterest as a way to search for healthy recipes, meal prep ideas, workout inspiration, and much more. You can also create your own boards to share what you are finding, what you are loving, and what is working for you. It’s a great way to collect and keep things organized.
4. Find a group.
Shutterstock
Groups on Facebook are a great way to find other like-minded individuals and motivate each other. You can search based on specific interests, such as running or dance, or even search by the area where you live. Or you can start your own group as a way to gather some friends and stay motivated. Do daily check-ins, share favorite recipes, or even complain about how your workout was that day!
5. If you don’t post about it, did it really happen?
Shutterstock
Don’t be afraid to use social media as a way to document and track your daily workouts, nutrition, and progress. Ate an amazing salad for lunch? Post it! Took a really hard yoga class? Post it! Not only will it help you see your habits and create consistency, but chances are it will motivate someone else to get more active and healthy and join you on your journey.
Social media is just that…SOCIAL! A way for you to share with your friends and let them help you be the best you possible. So use it to your advantage!
Most of us know that heart disease and cancer are among the biggest killers in the United States. They’re actually numbers one and two, having caused 614,000 and 591,000 deaths, respectively, in 2015, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). But the third leading killer, which takes the lives of about 250,000 Americans every year—is one that few people have ever considered: medical errors. And in a bizarrely ironic twist, those deaths are happening at the hands of professionals who are trained to help us live a longer, healthier life.
To put this in perspective, medical errors kill more people than strokes, car accidents, guns, and drug overdoses combined. So why haven’t we heard about this before? In large part, it’s because the insurance billing system is organized around diseases, conditions, tests, procedures, and medication—all of which are assigned a number that physicians, hospitals, and labs can put on a form so they can get paid. It never occurred to the people who created billing codes to have one for mistakes.
Fortunately, a team of researchers from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine decided to look into this issue. They crunched numbers from four different studies that analyzed medical death data and cross-referenced it with hospital admissions rates. They concluded that in 2013, there were 35,416,020 admissions and 251,454 deaths from medical error—nearly one in 10 deaths that year.
Hitting Home
The whole issue of medical errors hit home in a big way a few weeks ago when my 82-year-old mother—who’s in amazing health—went to the emergency room, unable to catch her breath. The doctors thought she might be having a heart attack or that she might have had a blood clot in her lung. They gave her a battery of tests, all of which came back normal, and admitted her to the hospital. The next day, her symptoms weren’t much better. After more tests, the doctors decided that she was having an anxiety attack and sent her home.
A few days later, my mother, still short of breath, had a follow-up appointment and saw a physician assistant, who went through her record and identified the problem right away: she was having a reaction to a new medication she’d recently started taking—a reaction that could have killed her. No one at the ER and no one in the hospital had asked my mother anything about her medication (which shouldn’t have made any difference since all of it was in her electronic medical record anyway).
Good News, Bad News
The good news is that “most medical errors aren’t due to inherently bad doctors,” according to the study’s lead researcher, Martin Makary, M.D., M.P.H., in a University press release. In Makary’s view, “reporting these errors shouldn’t trigger punishment or legal action.” For the most part, he says, the problems are systemic and include poorly coordinated care, fragmented insurance networks, the absence or underuse of safety nets, and other protocols, in addition to unwarranted variation in physician practice patterns that lack accountability.
“Unwarranted variation is endemic in health care,” Makary said in the press release. “Developing consensus protocols that streamline the delivery of medicine and reduce variability can improve quality and lower costs in health care. More research on preventing medical errors from occurring is needed to address the problem.”
In my mother’s case, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where the system went wrong. But the bottom line is that she nearly became a statistic.
Unfortunately, the research Makary is calling for isn’t likely to happen anytime soon. And it’s all about the numbers. Since official data on medical errors isn’t being collected, medical errors as a category aren’t likely to show up on the CDC’s list of top causes of death. And there’s a strong correlation between that list and how much money and attention get directed to combatting those killers. As Makary puts it, “Right now, cancer and heart disease get a ton of attention, but since medical errors don’t appear on the list, the problem doesn’t get the funding and attention it deserves.”
Energy has become the holy grail of the modern world, its seekers attacking their pursuit with a zeal bordering on religious. Everyone wants more; no one has quite enough. What supplement, what pill, what superfood, what magic potion can we take to unlock the elusive mystery that is energy? Clients look to me expectantly, eager to hear my magical cure for their diminished vitality.
My answer typically leaves them sorely disappointed. Here’s the secret: Go to sleep! If you’re not getting adequate sleep (quality or quantity), you aren’t going to have energy. Period. End of story. No amount of food or activity level will fix that.
We are overworked, run down, and overwhelmed. We work more, sleep less, stress more, and seek solitude less. The “magical secret” in fact has little to do with nutrition and everything to do with slowing down for a change. Let yourself rest. Sleep. Meditate. Unplug from technology. Sit in silence. Breathe. Unsplash
Unfortunately, I can only imagine the scoffing and gestures that are being made toward your computer screen, reading some nutrition writer’s piece on how the only solution is to rework your entire schedule, cut back at your job, put away the technology, and find time for some extra shut-eye.
I know, it’s downright blasphemy, and ultimately, probably not too realistic, either.
Getting to the root of fatigue is crucial; you won’t unleash some store of untapped energy within you if your lifestyle isn’t conducive to it. However, those changes take time, and some may not ever happen. In the meantime, let’s take a closer look at nutrition, because there may very well be some foods in your diet that are making your fatigue even worse.
1. Refined (“Simple”) Carbohydrates
There are two main types of carbohydrates: simple and complex. Complex carbohydrates (grains, beans, and starchy veggies mostly) are made of these crazy-long chains of sugars; because they’re so big, they take a long time to break down and lead to more sustained energy.
Simple carbohydrates, on the other hand (like fruits, sweeteners, and the dairy sugar, lactose), are made of much shorter chains, which can be broken down and absorbed much more quickly. This causes blood sugars to spike and eventually crash even lower than before, particularly when eaten in large quantities. Shutterstock
Keep in mind, though, that simple versus complex isn’t the end of the story. Anyone who claims otherwise most likely hasn’t done all of their research.
A simple carbohydrate with lots of fiber (like berries) behaves more like a complex carbohydrate, in that it breaks down more slowly and can help with energy. A complex carbohydrate that has been stripped of its fiber (like white bread), on the other hand, behaves a lot more like a simple carbohydrate and can ultimately leave us feeling more lethargic.
Be wary of refined grains, sugar in all of its glorious forms, and sweetened beverages of all shapes and sizes (yes, even too much cold-pressed fruit juice). These foods not only increase feelings of lethargy but are more likely to lead to feelings of depression, which can further impact energy levels for the worse.
Instead, choose whole grains like quinoa, farro, wild rice, and sprouted grain breads; opt for whole fruits over smoothies or juices; and if you need a little added sweetness, try lower glycemic, nutrient-rich sweeteners like coconut sugar, local honey, and pure maple syrup. Remember, though, “natural” sweeteners are still simple carbs, so use them judiciously.
2. Low Carbohydrate Diets in General
On the flip side, getting enough carbohydrates is equally important. You see, all carbohydrates eventually break down in the body into glucose (otherwise known as “sugar”), which is our bodies’ preferred source of fuel. Shutterstock Our brains in particular run on these broken down carbohydrates. On top of that, we aren’t really able to store glucose in large quantities, so we need a pretty steady supply. Before you reach for that IV drip of soda, though, let me clarify that by “steady supply,” I mean getting small to moderate amounts at each meal.
Eat too much, and you’ll feel sluggish as your body struggles to process it all. Don’t eat enough, and you’ll feel low energy as your body struggles to fuel itself on, essentially, fumes. When I explained this to a client recently, she had a light bulb moment and asked in amazement, “Is that why when I cut out all carbohydrates for several months I felt…lifeless?”
Why, yes. Yes, it most certainly is.
Look, I’m not someone who has her clients shoveling carbs into their pie holes like there’s no tomorrow. Determining what amount of carbohydrates are right for you as an individual requires walking a fine line. Some people seem to thrive on slightly lower amounts, but as a clinician, I rarely recommend someone drop below 40 percent of their calories from carbohydrates.
Whenever I have someone in my office consuming less than that—even if the sources of the carbohydrates they are eating are extremely nutrient-dense and complex—I guarantee you the complaint that brought them into my office is lack of energy. And when they increase their carbs even slightly, they immediately feel more energetic. That’s no coincidence.
3. “Diet” or Low Calorie Foods
If low carbohydrate diets, from Atkins to keto and beyond, leave many people feeling extremely fatigued, the same can be said for most “diet” foods in general: Special K cereals, “ice creams” that claim to have 200 calories per pint, and half the frozen meals in your local supermarket are all prime examples. Everything is in 100-calorie packs (a number, by the way, that is completely arbitrary), and even now, decades after the low-fat craze, products use their lack of fat as a draw for diet-conscious consumers. Getty Images News / Spencer Platt
Generally, these products are marketed to women because we’re taught we should eat like birds or, in other words, barely at all. They are practically the caloric equivalent of chewing on air. They may literally fill up our stomach (generally because they’re pumped up with isolated fibers, water, gums, and thickeners), but they do nothing to nourish us. Basically, they trick our brains into no longer asking for food, but our cells are left still starving for energy. Food is fuel; if you don’t eat enough, you will feel tired. And cranky. That hangry feeling? It’s totally a thing.
It’s like if you were running out of gas in your car, but instead of stopping for more, you just poured water into the tank. Sure, the water will fill the tank, but your car most certainly ain’t gonna run on it. Do that enough and your car is as good as gone.
It can be challenging after a lifetime of dieting, but remind yourself that food is not the enemy. Give yourself permission to eat. Listen to your body; I can’t tell you how many times I say that. It’s dying to tell you how it feels, what it needs, and what it doesn’t.
4. Caffeine
Caffeine can absolutely help to alleviate fatigue in the short term, and it’s one of the safest, most effective “supplements” (or food compounds) when it comes to quick energy bursts.
This makes it particularly useful one hour (up to four hours) before an endurance workout. It also helps with concentration and focus, which are going to be compromised when you’re tired. However, it’s ultimately just a Band-Aid fix at best when it’s used chronically to cover up fatigue stemming from deeper issues. If you’re not getting enough calories or sleep (or if the quality of either of those two things needs improving) or if you’re experiencing emotional rather than physical fatigue, caffeine will actually only make matters worse. Shutterstock
This is especially true when caffeine is consumed in the afternoon or later, because it is more likely to interfere with sleep (and let’s face it, that is pretty much the last thing any of us needs). So, try to keep your caffeine habit confined to the early portions of your day. Remember, this includes all forms of caffeine—not just coffee—so that would also mean you need to curb your p.m. habit of reaching for chocolate, tea, certain soft drinks, energy drinks, and supplements.
If you do consume caffeine, stick to moderate to low doses and consider switching to green tea, which some say has a gentler effect on alertness. If your caffeine consumption is beyond that “moderate to low” dose range, take steps to cut back gradually rather than cold turkey to help your body adjust.
Most important, though, is getting to the root of the problem: a better night’s sleep, a nutritious diet, enough but not too much physical activity, and/or stress management. Am I a broken record yet?
5. Alcohol
Alcohol is a sneaky substance. First, it makes you feel drowsy because initially, it’s a depressant. This lulls you into a false sense of security and can make you doze off. Then, it continues to break down in the body, transforming from a depressant into a stimulant.
It can increase epinephrine (a stress hormone) in your body and ultimately lead to a more restless sleep. You may not consciously wake up during the sleep, but your body will not be adequately rested. And how do you feel after a restless night’s sleep? Shutterstock
Yup. Fatigued. Not to mention how chipper and energetic you feel with a nice hangover the next morning.
The honest-to-goodness answer to this conundrum is a highly unpopular one: Don’t drink. I know, I know. If that’s not happening, try cutting back gradually over time until you’re down to one or two drinks on special occasions, and pay particular attention to the amount of alcohol you consume close to bedtime.
If you’re having a hard time latching on to that motivation to change your drinking habits, try keeping a journal of how you feel physically and emotionally the day after drinking versus the day after a night spent not drinking, and see if you notice anything different between those two scenarios. How did you perform at work the next day? How rested did you feel? What kinds of foods did you gravitate toward? (Remember those simple carbs we talked about? They’ll only add insult to injury, but chances are, you’re more likely to go for them when you feel crummy.) It’s also crucial to seek support from those around you, so they know how they can help.
6. Any Food to Which You Are Intolerant or Sensitive
There is some controversy in this, but fatigue is increasingly being recognized as a symptom of food intolerances. This is most well pronounced and widely accepted when it comes to celiac disease and gluten intolerance.
Although gluten sensitivities are likely a little over-diagnosed (and over self-diagnosed) in this day and age, for the people who do have issues with gluten, the cognitive side effects are very real. And for individuals who feel neurological improvements on a gluten-free diet despite not having a diagnosed intolerance, consider first whether it’s due to the removal of gluten or simply the removal of many processed foods that do contain gluten, like bagels, cakes, and many takeout foods. Shutterstock
Beyond gluten, everyone responds to food and the environment uniquely, which can make it difficult to pinpoint intolerances. A good first step is a food and symptom diary, which involves meticulously keeping track of everything you eat and every symptom you feel. Keep one for as long and in as much detail as you can, and speak with an allergy specialist, gastrointestinal doctor, or registered dietitian to help you find answers to your concerns. These diaries can be quite a challenge to interpret on your own.
Ultimately, you may need to try an elimination diet to pinpoint exactly which foods are bothering you. Many exist, but all should be overseen by a professional well-versed in their intricacies. Some popular elimination diets include the Specific Carbohydrate Diet, gluten-free, low FODMAP, and GAPs.
Oh, and if you discover that you’re intolerant to a food? Stop eating it! Even though it’s tempting to have a cheat day or weak moment, the pain you’ll feel afterward won’t be worth it. The consequences may not be as severe as allergic anaphylaxis, but they still cause damage, even if you don’t feel it.
Make the change.
Again, even completely eliminating all of these foods will not fix fatigue caused by some underlying issue, but cutting back on them is certainly a step in the right direction. Then once you get the hang of which foods to watch out for, you can start paying attention to which foods make you feel like getting up and moving. AFP / MIGUEL MEDINA
The fatigue plaguing so many of us is unlikely to be caused solely by one thing. Sleep is a big issue, but physical activity, stress, technology, and yes, nutrition all play pivotal roles. We can’t tackle them all at once, and many people feel more comfortable starting with something relatively tangible and simple, like food.
In general, cut back on the processed foods and slowly incorporate more wholesome, minimally messed-with options. You’ll automatically start consuming fewer “simple” and low fiber carbohydrates and more “complex” and high fiber ones. It will also steer you away from packaged “diet” foods.
That one shift—simple but admittedly challenging for many (so go slow!)—could make a dramatic difference. And even if you aren’t suspicious of an actual food intolerance, go on and give that food-symptom diary a try! You may notice some connections between your diet and mood that you hadn’t realized before. And the more you know about how your body reacts to the choices you make, the better off you’ll be.
Ultimately, the more you practice listening to your body and how it responds to foods, activities, and other lifestyle factors, the more in tune you’ll be with what it needs, and the more you’ll be able to make choices that will leave you feeling your best.
What do you think holds you back from reaching your full potential when it comes to health and weight loss? If you sometimes feel as though you get stuck in a rut and then find it really tough to keep going, here’s how you can identify what’s holding you back from finally losing weight.
I’ve done a lot of hard things in my life but one of the toughest was finally losing weight. I know strong people who have jumped out of airplanes or dealt with unbelievable tragedies, are incredibly successful at work, or had to relocate their family every 18 months for years on end and still they struggle to lose weight.
Why? It certainly isn’t because they aren’t strong people.
Shutterstock
Having difficulty losing weight isn’t because you aren’t strong enough or a capable person. It goes much deeper than having the right skill set or being fearless.
Difficulty losing weight is often due to three factors that are holding you back.
1. Fear
There are two sides of fear when it comes to weight loss. At least there were for me.
First, you might be afraid to succeed, and second, you might be afraid to fail.
Ask yourself these three questions about fear of success:
Are you concerned about what your life will be like when you lose weight?
Do you worry about whether you will be able to maintain your weight?
Are you nervous about how you will look or whether you will have loose skin after you lose weight?
And then ask yourself these three questions about fear of failure:
Are you worried you will have to tell friends you once again quit a diet?
Do you feel as though this is your last chance and there is a lot of pressure to succeed?
Are you are fearful you can’t follow through and stick to your diet plan?
Shutterstock
If any of these strike a chord, then you might be afraid to succeed or fail. It’s okay to be worried about what the future holds. It’s not okay to let that fear hold you back.
2. Internal Conflicts
I hate to tell you this, but you can often be your own worst enemy when trying to lose weight. I was usually the one who held myself back by self-sabotaging my efforts or engaging in negative talk about myself. You might be doing the same thing.
You might be like I was and feel as though you aren’t worth putting the effort into losing weight, feel on some level like weight loss is a waste of time, or self-sabotage your own weight loss effort by eating junk food when you know better. Shutterstock
Internal conflicts can be tough to get over. I used an emotions journal that helped me track how I was feeling. For some people, a trained counselor can be a tremendous help in sorting out your true feelings about your self-worth and how weight loss fits into that picture.
3. Outside Influences
Weight loss isn’t just about you. Not unless you live in the jungle or on an island. Your weight loss journey is individual but it is very much influenced by those around you.
For instance, do you have a spouse or friend who offers you food they know isn’t on your weight loss plan? Have you ever been swayed into skipping your workout or eating something you didn’t plan on having because someone in your life talked you into making that decision?
I’d be surprised if something like those scenarios never happened to you.
Although you hope that your friends and family will be helpful when you are losing weight, there are times when they can unintentionally hurt your efforts.
To combat outside influences from holding you back, you’ve got to confront them. Have a serious talk with people who may be standing in your way. Let them know you care for them but you need them to support you.
Two particularly masculine ways of expressing anger during fights with a significant other—letting it all out or shutting down emotionally—may take a toll on your health, but in very different ways. A team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Northwestern University found that men who explode with rage are more likely than not-so-explosive men to develop cardiovascular problems. Meanwhile, men who bottle up their emotions are more likely to develop musculoskeletal problems such as muscle stiffness and back pain.
Robert Levenson, a psychologist at UC Berkeley, led the study. He and his team have been following a group of 156 heterosexual couples since 1989. Every five years, the researchers record the couples as they discuss their lives, focusing on sources of happiness and disagreement. The couples also fill out a detailed questionnaire about their health.
Experts in human behavior then watch the videos, carefully coding how the subjects express frustration and keeping specific track of their body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Some of the subjects display their anger more openly, knitting their brows, pressing lips together, tightening their jaw, and significantly raising or lowering their voice. Others do what the researchers call “stonewalling,” subtly stiffening their facial or neck muscles, giving their spouse the silent treatment, and avoiding or breaking eye contact.
Correlating the videos and health data, one thing became clear very early on: “We looked at marital-conflict conversations that lasted just 15 minutes and could predict the development of health problems over 20 years for husbands based on the emotional behaviors that they showed during these 15 minutes,” said psychologist Claudia Haase, who led the researchers from Northwestern.
Specifically, more volatile spouses had a higher risk of developing high blood pressure, chest pain, and other cardiovascular problems. And those who stonewalled were more likely as they got older to suffer from stiff muscles, back pain, and neck or joint stiffness.
Trying to identify the causes of specific physical ailments is notoriously difficult, so the researchers were very careful to exclude other factors that might affect health, including alcohol use, age, caffeine consumption, level of education, exercise level, and smoking.
The correlation between argument style and health is stronger in men, but according to Levenson, the overall results hold true for women as well. “Our findings suggest particular emotions expressed in a relationship predict vulnerability to particular health problems, and those emotions are anger and stonewalling,” he said in a UC Berkeley press release.
So what does this mean to you?
If you’re a hothead, you may want to think about meditation, therapy, or some other approach to managing your anger. Continuing to do what you’re doing might kill you.
If you’re a stonewaller, consider doing the opposite: Practice letting some of those bottled-up emotions out (but not so much that you cross into hothead territory). It’ll do you a world of good. The study was published in the journal Emotion.
The warm weather during the summertime can do wonders for workout motivation, but if you don’t fuel up properly, all may be for naught!
Few would speed down the Autobahn in a car with its low fuel light on, yet too often we expect our bodies to be able to power through a workout on an empty stomach. It may not always be convenient, but fueling up before a workout will aid in muscle recovery, decrease the risk of hypoglycemia, and ultimately lead to a better sweat session. Shutterstock
Carbohydrates
Carbs are our number one source of energy, so now is not the time for Atkins or keto. Twenty grams is a good rule of thumb before physical activity, which is the amount found in a piece of fruit, a cup of yogurt, or about three-quarters of a cup of cooked oatmeal.
Not all carbs, of course, are created equal. Some recommend quick-acting, low-fiber carbs just before the workout, because the fiber can delay your stomach from emptying and cause discomfort. If you go too low fiber, though, you can cause an insulin spike that may impede fat mobilization. Aim instead for a middle ground with low-moderate glycemic carbohydrates, such as oatmeal, quinoa, dairy milk, and apples. Shutterstock
Protein
Carbs may be the primary focus pre-workout, but incorporating small amounts of protein is also important. The amount and type of protein needed before a workout largely depends on your goal. A mere 10 grams is usually enough for fat mobilization, whereas 20 grams of fast-acting protein (like whey isolate) has been shown to enhance muscle synthesis.
Whey and soy proteins have both been found to aid muscle recovery particularly well. Powders can work, but whole food sources can also easily be used, such as a glass of dairy or high-quality soy milk (EdenSoy or WestSoy, for example), Greek yogurt, or baked tofu. Shutterstock
Fat
Fat is really the only nutrient that needs to be kept to a minimum before physical activity. High-fat meals and snacks take longer to leave the stomach, which can result in an unpleasant workout experience. It can also prevent the energy-containing carbohydrates you ate from getting into your bloodstream quickly enough, leaving your body low on usable energy.
Make sure you don’t just avoid the obvious sources of fat, like butter and oils, but also high-fat proteins such as nuts, seeds, and butters made from them; red meat; and cheese. Shutterstock
Putting It Into Practice
First of all, size does matter. The guidelines above are pretty universal, but the exact quantities should be adjusted depending on how far away the workout is.
Personally, I prefer a solid but not heavy meal about two hours before I work out. A peanut butter and apple sandwich, a hearty bowl of oats with nuts and fruit, or a whole grain pasta dish with three ounces of chicken breast and a cup of non-starchy veggies all work.
In fact, if the previous meal was within four hours of your workout time, you may not need anything else. With enough fiber and fat, a calorically adequate meal eaten three or four hours before a workout may be all you really need.
Sometimes, though, we get caught starving with less than an hour until a workout. Here, opt for something smaller and less complex, like a glass of low-fat milk, a quarter or half cup of edamame or roasted chickpeas (watch the fat), or low-fat Greek yogurt drizzled with a little honey. If you’re prone to cramping, choose a simple piece of fruit instead.
What it really comes down to is listening to your body and how it responds to the physical demands placed on it during the workout. If you cramp up easily, try a larger meal several hours before or something very small, like a piece of fruit, 30 to 60 minutes before. If you tend to peter out and get lethargic halfway through your workout, try something a little more substantial a little closer to the workout itself.
Don’t forget to stay hydrated, either. Your best bet is to hydrate throughout the day no matter what, but make sure you get at least two or three cups of water in the hour or two before the activity, especially when it gets this hot out.
(And remember, a good pre-workout snack is important, but so is eating a nutritious diet 24/7 so that your body is always fueled and ready to go!)
Now get out there and get moving!
The internet has been both a blessing and a curse for the endurance community. Because of the internet, we are now able to connect with thousands of other people across the world who can relate to our love of the sport. We can commiserate with people who can understand the stressors of a heavy training cycle or who can sympathize when we have to sit out a race because of an injury. We can draw strength and motivation from complete strangers—being able to follow them through training and celebrating with them when they overcome obstacles to achieve their goals.
But with this empowering community comes the onslaught of opinions from runners and non-runners alike, and the negativity can come right along with it. I’ve been a member of online groups for as long as I’ve been running, for me social media and running go hand in hand.
And I’ve seen a number of instances where runners are not always supportive of their fellow runners. There was the time when everyone was worked into a tizzy because one woman declared that slow runners don’t belong in marathons, and sadly, many agreed. There are those who shame others for sharing their race stats, claiming they are bragging, and those who shun runners for putting stickers on their cars.
But the most recent negative talk I’ve seen on the great world wide web is a topic I want to talk about today: qualifying for races.
In the running world, there are a number of prestigious races that runners must qualify for in order to race. One must qualify by either finishing a qualifying race in a specific time limit, or they must win an overall or age group title. Well-known examples of these races include the Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon, Western States Ultra Marathon, or even the Ironman World Championships in Kona.
Believe it or not, I’ve seen the school of thought among some runners that these races that you must qualify for are elitist and therefore unfair to the average runner. If you ask me, that is sort of a silly argument. To be elite implies that you are the best of the best, and so it only makes sense that a race that you have to qualify for would be elitist. I mean, that’s the idea after all, isn’t it—a race that includes only the best athletes?
So the question here is: Why is “elitist” considered a negative thing?
In a world where we pride ourselves on people overcoming obstacles and getting off of the couch and moving no matter how hard the struggle, why is it that we cannot also celebrate people who strive to overcome average limits and reach for “elite” status? Personally, I know many advanced runners who did start on the couch.
They struggled to get that first mile, then the second, then a 5K. Just like so many of us struggled in the beginning, or maybe still do struggle today. But some of these runners persevered through hours and months and years of training to go from non-athlete status to qualifying for races such as the Boston Marathon. And in my opinion, they deserve the recognition of running in a prestigious race. It is truly an honor for these people to participate in an event they worked so hard to qualify for.
Is it unfair that some of us may train our entire lives and still never make the cut to attend one of these races? Maybe, but let’s blame our genetics instead of pointing fingers at those whose legs do go a little (or a lot) faster than our own. Besides, we have countless other races that we are free to register for, no qualifying needed. And if we are going to be particular, most of the big qualifying races have alternative entry options besides qualification, such as lottery entries or charity bibs.
We are more than just a community, we are one big running family. And I encourage you to support other runners during every step of their journey, whether that is encouraging a new runner to break through the one-mile mark….or an experienced runner trying to achieve an elite goal.
Doctors recommend it. Personal trainers swear by it and fitness buffs love it. What is it? Exercise, of course. What do you do if you know you should exercise but hate everything having to do with exercise? Well, you’ve got several choices. You can keep hating it but exercise anyway. You can learn to tolerate it, or you can learn to enjoy—and even love—working out.
If you hate exercise but know you should incorporate exercise into your daily life, here are some things to think about.
Do you really hate exercise?
Shutterstock
So you think you hate exercise. I wonder if you really hate exercise or just the uncomfortable feeling you get when you exercise or the anxiety you feel when thinking about beginning an exercise program?
Think about it. Maybe it’s not so much that you hate exercise itself but you hate:
Being sweaty after working out
Getting out of your comfort zone
The worry that you can’t follow an instructor’s directions
The idea of exercise
Feeling like you don’t fit in
Spend some time analyzing why you hate exercise. You may find that you are just fearful of the unknown, don’t want to be uncomfortable, or are creating barriers in your mind where there are none.
Do you perform activities you hate?
Shutterstock
Just because you hate an activity doesn’t mean you never do it. Think about your daily life. Do you sometimes hate going to work, cleaning out your car, or taking out the trash? Probably. But you do those activities anyway.
Now apply the same principle to exercise. Sure you might hate the idea of exercise, but you know it’s good for you, so you just have to do it anyway.
Are you exploring all your options?
Shutterstock
Exercise is much more than running a marathon or spending an hour in the gym every day. There are many ways to fulfill your activity quota for the week.
If you are reading this article, you may hate to exercise but know you want to begin an exercise program. Be open to trying a variety of activities in your quest to find one or two that speak to you.
Here’s a list of some common and not-so-common ways to exercise.
Walking
Skating
Cycling
Yoga
Zumba
CrossFit
Rowing
Hiking
Gardening or yard work
Weightlifting
Vigorous house cleaning
Dancing
Shoveling snow or pushing a lawnmower
Swimming
Stair climbing
Kickball
Soccer
Football
Water polo
Tennis
You see, there are a lot of ways to fill your exercise bank without joining a gym or running. You just have to do it.
Are the payoffs worth the pain?
Shutterstock
Starting an exercise program can be daunting, especially if you think you hate it. But consider the pain versus payoff ratio for a minute.
Sure exercise can be painful, challenging, and not always fun. But the payoffs you get from regularly exercising for 30 minutes several times a week can last a lifetime. You will be more flexible, be able to walk or run without getting winded, look better, and reap the medical benefits of exercise such as reducing your risk of heart disease and lowering your blood pressure.
And if weight loss is your goal, exercise goes hand in hand with a healthy eating program. For example, I never lost weight on a diet until I committed to exercising. It wasn’t just the exercise that helped me lose weight, but the willingness to change my outlook on exercise and make healthy changes.
As a word of encouragement to you, when I started to exercise at 305 pounds, I too hated exercise. Or I thought I did. But I made myself walk for a few minutes every day. Before long I didn’t hate it quite so much and over time I appreciated the sweat and the uncomfortable feeling of being out of breath and discovered that the temporary pain of exercise was well worth the rewards.
Scientists have found that moderate beer drinking is associated with a number of very positive health outcomes. But the key word here is moderate, which we’re defining as one or two beers per day for men and one for women. Much more than that and you’ll increase your risk of developing the same conditions that moderate drinking could have prevented. Here are just a few reasons to lift your glass.
Reduced Cardiovascular Risk
Studies conducted at Harvard have found that men who have one beer per day (and women who have half a drink per day) have lower blood pressure than those who have no alcohol—or who have too much. Other studies have discovered that moderate beer consumption raises levels of HDL (the “good” cholesterol), which protects against heart disease.
Joe Vinson, a researcher at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, found that moderate beer consumption reduced the risk of heart attack by as much as 50 percent, in part by preventing atherosclerosis, narrowing of the arteries caused by the buildup of cholesterol and other gunk on the inside walls of arteries. Other researchers have reached similar conclusions. A team at the Mediterranean Neurological Institute in Italy say that moderate amounts of beer (1.4 pints per day for men, half that for women) could reduce heart attack risk by 25 percent. A team at another Italian institution, the Fondazione di Ricerca e Cura, found that men and women who consumed a pint per day lowered their risk of developing heart disease by 31 percent.
Important note: All of these studies emphasized that anything more than moderate beer consumption had the exact opposite effect—increasing blood pressure, atherosclerosis, and the risk of heart disease and heart attack.
Reduced Stroke Risk
Ischemic strokes are the most common strokes, and they’re caused by blood clots that can block blood flow to the brain, heart, and neck. Moderate beer consumption makes the arteries more flexible and improves blood flow, thereby keeping blood clots from forming, which reduces the risk of stroke by as much as 50 percent over non-drinkers, according to the National Stroke Association.
Anti-Cancer Properties
Hops, a major component in beer (darks and stouts more than lagers) contain a compound called xanthohumol, which researchers believe may reduce the risk of developing certain types of cancer, including breast and prostate. Scientists at the University of Idaho have identified two other chemicals in hops, humulones and lupolones, that appear to be able to interfere with the development of inflammation and bacterial growth. They’re now trying to make synthetic versions of those chemicals that could be used to create cancer-fighting drugs.
Dementia and Parkinson’s Prevention
Xanthohumol may also help protect the brain against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, according to researchers at Lanzhou University in China. Xanthohumol keeps neurons (cells in the brain) healthy by increasing the production of antioxidants, which fight off oxidative stress, a known brain cell killer.
Reduced Diabetes Risk
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health followed 38,000 middle-aged men and found that the guys who drank one or two beers every day were 25 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The researchers believe that the alcohol in beer helps increase insulin sensitivity. Xanthohumol may be at work here too.
Osteoporosis Prevention
Beer contains high levels of silicon, which is associated with bone growth. Researchers at Tufts University found that older people who drink beer in moderation had higher bone density than those who drank less. Higher bone density generally means fewer bone fractures and breaks. As with beer’s many other benefits, however, drinking too much will have the opposite effect—in this case decreasing bone density.
Cataract Prevention
You’ve no doubt heard the expression “blind drunk”—something that’s associated with too much alcohol. But a reasonable amount of beer (again, meaning a drink or two per day) may have the opposite effect.
Researchers John Trevithick and Maurice Hirst of the University of Western Ontario found that some of the antioxidants found in darker beers may keep the mitochondria—the part of each cell that generates the energy for the rest of the cell to do its job—in our eyes from getting damaged. Mitochondrial damage is associated with cataracts.
Digestive Aid
Beer stimulates the production of enzymes that help with digestion. Beer is also a source of soluble fiber, which keeps our intestines working smoothly. Moderate beer consumption may also decrease your chance of developing gallstones.
Reduced Risk of Kidney Stones
Since beer is mostly water, it dilutes your urine and makes you pee more often. It’s also a good source of magnesium. All three of those factors are good for your kidneys. And happy kidneys tend not to produce kidney stones. Dr. Tero Hirvonen, a researcher at the National Public Health Institute of Helsinki, found that moderate beer consumption reduces the risk of developing kidney stones by 40 percent.
Remember: The key here is moderation. One or two beers per day for men (about half that for women) could have some wonderful health benefits. But any more than that and you’ll actually increase your health risks.
Mornings can be rough! There may not be a superfood capable of miraculously imbuing you with the energy of the gods, but there’s no doubt that a nutrition-focused diet can do wonders. Here are my top 10 picks to get you started.
1. Green Tea
If your morning isn’t complete without caffeine, consider switching over to green tea or matcha powder (ground up green tea leaves).
2. Cocoa
Cocoa’s caffeine content isn’t the only component that provides a little pick-me-up. Chocolate’s flavanols (antioxidants) boost blood flow and the feel-good hormone serotonin. Go minimally processed for maximum benefit, like with raw cacao nibs and natural-processed cocoa.
Regular consumption of berries may support immune function, which is key to feeling your best every day. Berries’ high level of antioxidants can also help with brain function, while their rich fiber content works in the short term to sustain your energy all morning long.
Not all breakfast has to be sweet! Go savory with eggs, which have been shown to increase satiety and help us stay fuller longer. As an added bonus, all of the recipes below also incorporate mushrooms to give you a dose of B vitamins and selenium, both important for energy and overall nutrition.
For a more plant-based breakfast, seeds pack quite the punch. Pumpkin seeds, for example, are one of the most concentrated vegetarian sources of zinc, which is important for concentration, memory, and calmness. Flax and chia seeds, meanwhile, provide omega-3 fatty acids, which also support brain health and memory.
Seeds make easy and excellent additions to oatmeal and Greek yogurt, but if you want to try a fun alternative, go for some creamy chia breakfast pudding.
7. Beets
Many athletes use beets to help with muscle power and blood flow, two benefits that are sure to help get you out the door in the morning. Some skeptics think the research is a little overblown but still promising for our vascular health.
Beets lend themselves equally well to savory breakfasts such as the Whole Tara’s beet shakshuka, and sweet ones, like Ricki Heller’s pink breakfast bowl.
8. Ginger
This zesty, refreshing root supports energy metabolism and a healthy immune system thanks to vitamins B6 and C and the mineral magnesium. Some research even suggests that regular consumption could help with osteoarthritis-related joint pain to really help you hop out of bed in the morning!
Too often our breakfasts are either completely devoid of fat or they’re loaded with less healthy fats from breakfast meats. Nuts offer that happy medium and can help tremendously with morning satiety.
Okay, water isn’t exactly a food, but when it comes to staying energized and perky, nothing’s more of a killjoy than dehydration. Even mild dehydration can lead to headaches, impaired concentration, and negative mood; and many experts say that by the time you feel thirsty, you’re already heading down that path. Be proactive instead and start your day with a big glass of water!
Not even the best diet, however, can boost energy that is lacking due to poor sleep habits, high levels of stress, or stretching oneself too thin. Nutrition can be a powerful tool…just so long as it isn’t your only one!
