IAIA14 Training Course: Health Impact Assessment of Industrial Projects

A really interesting and engaging two-day training program on HIA of industrial projects is being offered as part of IAIA15 in Chile. Find out more about the course and book early to avoid missing out.

You can find out more on the training program on the conference website.

MOTIVATION MOJO

Have you found “Motivation Mojo” when it comes to improving your health?  It is truly up to us to find out what turns our switch on or off when it comes to fitness so that through this journey, we understand what we want and what we do not want.  Let me ask what motivates you in the image below:  left image, center image,right image, neither images, and why?

Stats: female, age 49 (almost 50), 2 vaginal births, 2 major surgeries (colon/double level cervical fusion), diagnosed early onset torticollis, wife, mother, grandmother

I am not going to wow you with a huge before and after weight loss story, or a long list of Ms. Bikini titles, but will share that my journey to health involves one of great physical and emotional adversity, and that taking care of my health, fitness, and being a woman of faith has been a huge factor in the woman you see in the above images. 

Some may not be motivated by visual images and respond more to the written word of motivation such as “YOU CAN DO IT”, “FIND YOUR STRONG”, or “BE YOUR BEST HEALTHY YOU”.  Regardless of what suits your motivational fancy when it comes to getting yourself going, the important thing is to “get yourself going.”   I will not tell you it will be easy, because there are days when it will be straight up hard.  Do not think that I do no struggle with the tough days of keeping it healthy…I do.  I want to relate to you on a very personal level, but at the same time really stress the importance of living the healthiest life that you can because we only have one with no playbacks. 

There has been so much controversy over the image of “health” which is why I opened with an interactive exercise of wanting to know your “mental game” when it comes to visual motivation.  I did not add the famous “what’s your excuse” tag, although I am a “no excuses” trainer and coach.  I do not accept that anyone is too busy to take care of their health, and that includes me.  I am one busy gal and if I have 20 minutes to fit something in, then I do that.  Exercise does not have to be some long, drawn out program lasting over one hour, and in fact studies have shown that the greatest benefit of exercise is achieved within the first 30 minutes and  further, 45 minutes of focused fitness is sufficient to maintain a healthy body.  Well, that sounds fabulous to me, and this year my goal is to keep my exercise sessions limited to 45 minutes and no more than 5 times per week. 

This year, I would like all of you to find your own “Motivation Mojo”.  Get out a piece of paper, and write down your active passions…fun things you like to do.  It is time to get off the couch, dance your pants off inside, hike outside, play games with the kiddos and dogs…what is it that makes YOU happy and will ensure that you keep coming back for more.  No more “exercise is a burden” stuff.  Let’s turn that around and create a plan that gets you on the road to healthy and maintains that journey for a lifetime.  Share your “Mojo” in the comment section and I look forward to reading and responding to all of your shares. 

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list.  If you are inspired, LIKE my entry, leave a comment and I look forward to responding!

                                                                            

Stay Healthy!



Darla

Public Talk at the University of Virginia on Friday, January 17

This Friday, I'll be giving an invited lecture at the University of Virginia, my undergraduate alma mater.  I was kindly invited by a medical student named Robert Abbott, and it worked out well because I was already traveling to Charlottesville.

The talk will be titled "Why Do We Overeat?  A Neurobiological Perspective".  Here's the teaser:

Obesity is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized nations, yet this is a relatively recent phenomenon.  In the United States, increasing obesity prevalence has paralleled a gradual increase of daily energy intake.  Why do most Americans eat more than we used to, and more than we need to maintain a lean state, despite negative consequences?  This presentation will touch on the neurobiology of action selection, the neurobiology of energy homeostasis, and why our central nervous system hardware may not be up to the task of constructively navigating the modern food environment.

The talk will be attended by medical students, but I also hope to have some doctors and researchers show up, as well as people from the broader Charlottesville community.  It will be a thought-provoking talk regardless of your background, and it will touch on some of my own work.

The talk will be held in the main medical school auditorium, MEB 3110, on Friday, January 17 at noon.  You can find driving directions and parking information by following this link.  You'll probably have to park in a parking garage, either the Lee Street or Central Grounds garage (directions in the link).

For a map of the UVA health system, follow this link.  The Medical Education Building is number 44 on the map, and the talk will be in room MEB 3110 on the 3rd floor of the building.

See you there!

REFLECTION

Many of you may be in the process of reflection, but truly it is something that should be done on a daily basis, and not only when the New Year rolls around.  The word itself screams to take a look at me/you/us and speaking personally, I include all areas of my life and not just my physical well-being.  I imagine a big mirror in front of me and gazing into that, I ask myself…am I happy with the person that I am physically, emotionally and spiritually? If any of the answers come up as a big negative, it is time to implement a change to create a better, healthier ME.  It is hard to deny the things that need fixing when I am staring back at me waiting for the action to make that happen.  Of course, I can close my eyes, put the mirror away, brush things under the rug, and procrastinate and get to it later…or not, and well, just continue to live in denial. 

I am a mover and a shaker, and strive to change, progress, and become a better me today than I was yesterday and that takes a choice.  Sure, I could avoid those things that need to be done, because maybe I want to hold onto some sort of drama, negative feelings about the past, or circumstance and continue to play the “blame card” of this is the reason I am the way I am.  I have learned in this journey of life, that this type of thinking results in a life of unhappiness, bitterness, resentment, jealousy, and paralyzes the brain to make appropriate healthy life choices.  Honestly, this type of thinking creates a person that is not a joy to be around unless the company being kept is another negative person also playing the victim card of life.  It is so important in our life reflection to also look at the type of people we associate with, and I always ask myself…does this relationship nourish my soul and grow me in a positive way as a person?

Reflection is huge in the scheme of life and change for the healthy.  It should cause deep thought into living our passions, being real with who we are, and having the ability to share that with ourselves and others.  There is too much hiding behind the crap of excuses, circumstances, and laziness to change and I apologize if that sounds offensive, as my intention is to motivate and never discourage.  Sometimes, a draft of really cold air needs to slap us in the face and wake us up to the reality of what is going on in our own life, and hopefully that leads to taking a step further to change what needs to be changed.  Otherwise, we continue to go along living a “fake” life, hiding behind “out of our control” drama, negativity, and looking for validation for unhealthy habits.  What is even sadder, is enablement of this type of lifestyle…YES, there are those who feed into the ugliness of negative and validate the behavior which enables someone caught in this shit storm to continue living this way. 

Reflection also causes us to see our physical self in a way that makes us happy or not.  What it comes down to is me/you/us and the mirror, standing naked before the reflection and staring back at the image, we need to ask “do I LOVE what I see”.  It is important to always love yourself at every level of health and as long as steps are being taken to become a healthier us each day.  If the answer to the question is “no”, then what steps need to be implemented to change this?  Be honest here and strive for the happiness that you want, the health that you need and deserve.  If you tell me that you are happy in an unhealthy state and if I shared that with you…how would that make sense?  The point I am trying to make, is that we all have our best healthy-self hidden inside what may be an unhealthy body today, but that does not mean that tomorrow needs to remain the same.   Reflection requires that hard honest look and further to take the actions necessary to bring about changes that move us in a progressive healthy direction. 

Reflection is not a fad or temporary fix, but part of the process to make a LIFESTYLE change and create a healthy body that will be maintained for life. Reflection causes us to get into our “mental game” and start putting the puzzle pieces together of what is wrong and how does it get fixed.  It all starts with what is going on between the ears, and once the reflection is honestly accepted, and the feelings that go with that, then changes can begin to create a healthier person, and then that lifestyle change will create a reflection that we will be happy to know for a lifetime.

Enjoy a beautiful and healthy Happy New Year!!!!

Me and My Mom

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list.  If you are inspired, LIKE my entry, leave a comment and I look forward to responding!

Stay Healthy



Darla

Free e-Book and Ideal Weight Program 2.0 Announcement

I'm happy to announce that we're releasing a free e-book titled Why do We Gain Fat, and How do We Lose it? An Introduction to the Science of Body Fat, by Dan Pardi and myself. This is a slimmed-down version of the longer, fully referenced e-book we offer as part of the Ideal Weight Program. In it, we provide a succinct overview of the science of body fat gain and loss, and the evidence base for our program.  It also contains a schematic that ties together the various concepts in visual form. You can download it from the Dan’s Plan site by following this link to our program overview page.

Ideal Weight Program 2.0 Upgrades

Over the last year, Dan and I have been working hard to improve the Ideal Weight Program, both in response to user feedback and our own ideas for development.  Here are some of the new features we offer in 2014:

1. Four-week meal plans and shopping lists for the FLASH diet and the Simple Food Diet, as requested by Ideal Weight Program users.  This is in addition to the recipes and cooking guides we already provide.  
2. The Protein Unit system.  Research suggests there's an optimal amount of protein for appetite control and fat loss, depending on your height, weight, gender, and physical activity level.  Our fat loss diets are high in protein, but how do you know you're getting the right amount?  We've created a calculator that does it for you automatically, and explains how to apply your personalized Protein Unit value easily and intuitively using real food. 
3. Diet plates.  These are visual guides to following our diets, based loosely on the intuitive USDA MyPlate design.  
4. Cheat sheets.  Put these on your fridge to remind yourself of your diet and lifestyle guidelines, and daily protein unit goal.
5. Updated guidance.  We've refined a few things in the diet guidance documents. 

At a time of year when many people want to shed excess holiday pounds and start down a leaner, healthier path, we offer the Ideal Weight Program 2.0.  The program comes with a 30-day no-questions-asked refund policy so you can try it without risk.  We think you'll love this program, but if it doesn't work for you, we're happy to refund your purchase price. 

Financial disclosure: I receive a portion of the revenue from the sale of the Ideal Weight Program.  I do not receive revenue from the sale of other products associated with Dan's Plan or the Ideal Weight Program (such as the Fitbit, cooking tools, and other programs).

Does the Vitamin and Mineral Content of Food Influence Our Food Intake and Body Fatness?

The Claim: We Overeat Because Our Diet is Low in Vitamins and Minerals

We know that animals, including humans, seek certain properties of food.  Humans are naturally attracted to food that's high in fat, sugar, starch, and protein, and tend to be less enthusiastic about low-calorie foods that don't have these properties, like vegetables (1).  Think cookies vs. plain carrots.

In certain cases, the human body is able to detect a nutritional need and take steps to correct it.  For example, people who are placed on a calorie-restricted diet become hungry and are motivated to make up for the calorie shortfall (2, 3).  People who are placed on a low-protein diet crave protein and eat more of it after the restriction is lifted (4).  Humans and many other animals also crave and seek salt, which supplies the essential minerals sodium and chlorine, although today most of us eat much more of it than we need to.  At certain times, we may crave something sweet or acidic, and pregnant women are well known to have specific food cravings and aversions, although explanations for this remain speculative.  Research suggests that certain animals have the ability to correct mineral deficiencies by selecting foods rich in the missing mineral (5).

These observations have led to a long-standing idea that the human body is able to detect vitamin and mineral (micronutrient) status and take steps to correct a deficit.  This has led to the secondary idea that nutrient-poor food leads to overeating, as the body attempts to make up for low nutrient density by eating more food.  In other words, we overeat because our food doesn't supply the micronutrients our bodies need, and eating a micronutrient-rich diet corrects this and allows us to eat less and lose body fat.  These ideas are very intuitive, but intuition doesn't always get you very far in biology.  Let's see how they hold up to scrutiny.

Read more »

10 Resolutions for a Healthy New Year

Hi friends! How were your holidays?  Very good here.  I did a recap of our Christmas day celebration on Honey We're Home if you want to take a peek.  Healthwise, I'm proud to say that I stuck to a good workout routine that definitely helped me not feel too bad about enjoying all the extra food I ate in the last couple of weeks.  I am ready to kick off the new year strong and was thinking about things we can do daily to change our health for the better today.

I'm not talking about general goals like, "lose weight", I'm talking specific actions that you can incorporate into your daily routine that hopefully become a habit and add up to some pretty big changes at the end of 2014.  

1. Control Portion Sizes  Sometimes we eat too much just because the sizes served to us in restaurants are so big that we forget what a realistic portion size looks like.   Drink sizes are huge, refrigerators are huge.  Have you looked at a fridge from the 50s and laughed at how tiny it compares to today's varieties?  Instead of eating straight from a bag or box (because it's hard to tell how much you're consuming), portion out your snacks into baggies or small tupperware.  Use smaller plates and understand that most portion sizes are about the size of your fist. 

2.  Don't Go Hungry  If you wait until you're starving to eat, chances are your food choices will be poor and you will overeat.  By balancing your meals and snacks evenly throughout the day, you are more likely to eat better and stay fuller longer.  Bring healthy snacks to work or keep them in your purse.  Things like nuts and apples don't need to be refrigerated, but if you have access to a fridge, you can bring cold snacks like cheese or Greek yogurt.

3.  Quit Smoking  Period.  We all know by now it's terrible for our health.  I've never smoked so I cannot say I understand the addiction or how hard it is to quit.  I do know that your family members probably wish you would quit because they want you alive and healthy for a long time.  I tell this to my parents all the time.  I have several friends who quit using acupuncture and/or hypnosis.  

4.  Get More Sleep  Stress and lack of sleep are so hard on a body physically.  Do what you can to wind down at night, so you can get the rest you need.  Getting off the computer, cell phone and turning down the lights can help get you ready for bed.  Sometimes I'll just get in bed before I'm ready to go to sleep, intending to read, then quickly fall asleep not realizing how tired I actually am.  

5.  Eat Breakfast My quick go-to breakfasts are oatmeal, toast with peanut butter, or Greek yogurt with granola.  My friend makes a protein smoothie for breakfast.  Whatever it is, it's good to get your metabolism going and start your day with calories and energy. 

6.  Eat More Veggies  Incorporating vegetables into our diet is important because they contain essential vitamins and minerals that offer protection against many diseases like cancer, heart disease, stroke and diabetes.  Try switching out one meal a week for a salad loaded with veggies or add a vegetable to one of your daily meals.  I like to snack on a handful of mini carrots or celery and peanut butter.  Baked Kale chips are awesome.  Edamame is delicious.  A veggie omelet is a good way to incorporate more vegetables and you can always toss some spinach into a smoothie. 

via Catapult Fitness

7.  Slash Sodium The recommended limit of sodium is a teaspoon (or 6 grams) daily. Besides contributing to water retention (i.e. bloating), sodium can raise blood pressure. Processed foods contain the most, so make sure to read labels. Lower sodium diets are linked to decreased risk of heart disease, but are also associated with lower hypertension and weight management.  via Reader's Digest

8.  Cut Out Soft Drinks  Soda, soft drinks, pop (whatever you call it) has no nutritional value and can pack on the pounds.  Giving up these drinks (without doing anything else) can reap great rewards in terms of weight loss.  I read at FitDay that estimates show that two cans of soda per day adds approximately 24 to 35 pounds of fat per year, depending on body size, age, habits, etc.. Some people (weighing in at 140 pounds) have reported that by giving up two cans of soda per day, without exercise, they lost 20 pounds in six months.  

9.  Drink More Water We talked about drinking water recently and how much is enough.    Ladies Home Journal found the benefits are: 1) younger looking skin and better complexion by staying hydrated; 2) helps lose weight by keeping you feeling satiated; and 3) boosts mood and brain power.  

10.  Get Active Even 10 to 30 physical activity has positive benefits like weight loss, improved mood and energy,  and better sleep.  The easiest way I've found to to incorporate exercise is by walking more.  It costs nothing and you can do it anywhere.  I park far away from the door at stores and take the stairs when possible.  If your weather permits right now, just open the door and walk around the block a few times.  Once you start this habit, it will feel so good that you'll crave more.  Even if it's difficult at first, the payoff is worth it and it gets easier!  

Here's to a HEALTHY and FIT 2014!