Category: Healthy Habits

The problem with believing everything you read

1/14/2014

If you've read my 'about me' page, you know that during the day, I am a bioengineer. I'm currently doing work on magnetic targeted endothelial cell delivery to stented arteries. During the day, I read journal articles, culture cells, analyze tissue and write up my findings in the form of manuscripts and grants, so I can get more money to keep doing what I'm doing. At night, I teach group exercise classes. It's a nice change of pace, and in most ways, completely different from what I do during the day. But every once in a while, my two worlds collide, and I can use my training as a scientist to take a look at the world of health and fitness.

To give you a little background, I don't follow a specific "diet". I try to make the best choices for myself, my health and fitness goals, and that might be different than the choices you make for yourself. In general, I'm not against "diets" - if you find something that works for you, I'd encourage you to stick with it. If you tell me you feel better and hit your goal weight by removing gluten from your diet - excellent! If you tell me dairy makes you feel bloated, then don't eat it! If you tell me that you eat 2 pounds of butternut squash to carb-load for your long runs while marathon training, so be it (oh, wait, that's me)! So when people ask me about the Paleo Diet, the only advice I have is to give it a try if you're interested. If you're goal is losing weight, you'll know relatively quickly if it's working for you. But, if your goal is to prevent heart disease, well, you may never know if it's "working".

Over the weekend, I came across a twitter post linking me to this article by Chris Kresser on MindBodyGreen. The title of the article is, "5 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Paleo". Since I do like to educate myself on the current health and fitness trends, and I admittedly don't know everything about the Paleo Diet, I wanted to read on. I don't have much to say about #2 through #5 on the list, but #1 struck a nerve with me.

Myth #1: "Our Paleolithic ancestors all died before they were 30."

Critics of Paleo often proclaim: “Why should we emulate the diet of our ancestors when they all died before they were 30?” While it’s true that the lifespans of our Paleolithic forebears were shorter on average than our lifespans today, those averages don’t consider significant challenges those ancestors faced that are largely absent from our modern lives. These include high rates of infant mortality, tribal warfare and violence, exposure to the elements, and lack of emergency medical care.

Studies show that when these challenges are taken into account, our ancestors (as well as contemporary hunter-gatherers) lived lifespans roughly equivalent to our own. But more important, they reached these ages without developing any of the chronic, inflammatory diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart disease or autoimmune disease that plague us today.

I didn't read the referenced study word for word, but I read it enough to know that the study is referring to "modal age", where a year is not the time it takes for the earth to circle the sun. It's an "age equivalent". So to say that our hunter/gatherer ancestors lived to the same age as we are living today is a little misleading. Also, in addition to a decreased rate in infant mortality, tribal warfare and violence, etc., we also have EXTREME lifestyle and environmental differences, when compared to our ancestors, making it difficult to isolate any specific reason for a change in disease prevalence. Furthermore, our knowledge today on chronic, inflammatory diseases is MUCH more than it was "back then", and to say that we can get a complete medical profile from our ancestors' remains is an insult to current medical research.

I think most people are in agreement that genetics play a large role in the development of some diseases. Let's not forget that our genetics have been shaped by our ancestors. Who's to say that the very diet our ancestors lived off of altered our genetics in such a way to make us more susceptible to certain diseases? It's a little "out on a limb", but the point I'm trying to make is that there is too much unknown to really draw any solid conclusions.

Do I think that switching from a "typical American diet" to the Paleo Diet can improve your health? Absolutely! There are a lot of really great things about the Paleo Diet, and I agree that your diet plays a huge role in your overall health. But, I'm not so quick to agree that wheat and dairy are the direct cause of chronic, inflammatory diseases like obesity, diabetes, heart disease and autoimmune diseases. I think we're making a lot of progress in figuring out how to best nourish our bodies, and it seems like the even the USDA is making changes in their recommendations. But, at the end of the day, it's probably best to take everything you read with a grain of salt (although not literally, because salt is bad for you, right?).

So what does FitYaf recommend?

Eat what makes you feel good
Don't eat what makes you feel bad
Move every day
Don't eat to the point where you're uncomfortably full

The problem with believing everything you read - FitYaf's recommendations

Anything beyond that depends on your goals, your personal situation and your genetics. But don't just believe me because you read it here - educate yourself! And Chris, no hard feelings - you are inspiring SO many people to get healthy! Keep at it!

What are your thoughts about the Paleo Diet?

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Friends of FitYaf - How I Became a Fitness Blogger: Melissa Bender Fitness

1/13/2014

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Melissa and I met when we were both participating on a dance team in Pittsburgh almost 10 years ago. We haven't seen each other in a while, but thanks to social media, we've kept in touch. Melissa now runs her own blog and YouTube channel which features full length workout videos. Her workouts are amazing and great for all levels! If you haven't checked out her videos, you're missing out! Give them a try - most of them don't even require any equipment! Thanks Melissa for sharing your story with us!

Friends of FitYaf - How I Became a Fitness Blogger: Melissa Bender Fitness

It started with a blog...

My fitness blog started in grad school. Graduate school was hard, and stressful. Jesse (my husband and blog videographer) and I went to grad school together, and we lived off campus. Our commute typically took us 1.5 hours each way. Our class schedule was equivalent to a full time job, before factoring in homework and reading assignments. Jesse and I also worked part time at a restaurant so time was short, and we were very busy.

Prior to starting graduate school, I was enrolled in a yoga certification program, teaching yoga 5X per week, and running with Jesse. I found that I really missed teaching. Sometimes in between classes I would teach yoga to our classmates in the park across the street, or even in the hallway outside of our classroom.

I was also experimenting with new workout styles. Running and yoga both take a lot of time, which I was very short on. Soon I was teaching these new workouts to my classmates, and I found that when I was teaching I felt much happier and more fulfilled.

At the same time I was getting more and more questions about what I did to stay in shape. When people found out that I didn't workout in a gym they were perplexed. How was I staying in that kind of shape at home and without lifting weights?

My background in yoga had helped me form a very holistic view of creating strength and balance in the body. In graduate school we had a wonderful anatomy teacher that expected us to do more than memorize muscles and planes of movement. We were required to understand the functional movements of each muscle, and which activities and motions would be limited if these muscles were weakened or paralyzed. We also learned which muscles were activated when moving your body through different planes and the biomechanics impact of inefficient movement patterns. We physically saw these muscles in our cadaver lab courses, which was very mentally and emotionally challenging for me, but expanded my understanding and appreciation of the human body.

Throughout this process, my workouts and my body were changing, and people continued to ask about my workouts. My passion for wellness was also being further cultivated in my courses as I learned how many diseases and illness processes could be prevented through healthy lifestyle changes. It occurred to me that many people didn't know what they could do to improve their health and fitness at home. So many people think that exercise only occurs in a gym, and it takes hours each day to get in shape.

As we entered our second year of graduate school, I was feeling tired. I knew that I needed to do something that was not school or work related for the pure pleasure of the pursuit. I wanted to help people on a larger scale, and share something that I loved and was passionate about. I wanted to right an occupational injustice that occurs when people think it takes a lot of time and money to be fit and healthy. Everyone has the right to a healthy and fit lifestyle, and that should be free. There is a lot of talk about prevention and wellness programs, but it is an emerging area. A lot of wellness programs have a mission, but they lack a method of sharing that mission on a large scale. I turned to my blog and youtube channel and I started sharing my workouts in the hopes of showing people that they could do this at home.

I started my blog in 2011, and since that time I have shared every workout that I do to get in shape and stay in shape. As of the time that I am writing this, that is over 450 different free home workout videos. I started my blog out of a passion for fitness, and I continued to share that love. I have been amazed at the response I have gotten throughout this process. Some people don't understand why I spend so much time blogging, but for me it is very rewarding. To see people make positive changes in their lives, their health, and their self perception is an amazing thing. I believe that fitness helps improve the quality of your life, your health, and your future. When people send me pictures of their results, or of themselves doing my workouts with their families I feel that I am making a positive impact on people's lives.

I am thrilled at the success my blog has experienced thus far. If you are a blogger, fitness or otherwise, my advice to you is to share something you love. Share something and be consistent. If your blog is driven solely by increasing your views it may be time to rectify your approach. Drive your blog by creating content that you are passionate about and offer your readers something that will benefit them.

If you want to spice up your workouts and try something new you can join me at www.BenderFitness.com

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and a special thank you to Jillian for asking me to share my story.

Have a great day!
Melissa Bender

Be sure to follow Melissa:
www.BenderFitness.com
www.facebook.com/MelissaBenderFitness
www.youtube.com/mdloughy

Which Bender Fitness workout will you try first?

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My first class at Unite Fitness cross-training studio

1/8/2014

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I recently started working with a company called FiTMAPPED, which is a comprehensive, fully searchable directory of fitness studios and gyms in NYC, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles, and NOW Philadelphia! I'm so excited to be involved with such a great community and help them get the word out about different options for keeping up with your fitness. Part of what I'm working on is putting Philly gyms - big and small - on the "fit map".

What better way to learn about gyms than to try them out on my own! My first stop on my Philly Phitness tour (see what I did there?) was Unite Fitness at 12th and Sansom, right in Center City. I've been wanting to try out this gym ever since I befriended Anne Marie Everhart on Twitter while training for the Philadelphia Marathon. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take Anne Marie's class, but I rallied up some of my favorite fitness friends and signed up for Juliet's class the day after Christmas. The class is designed so that you spend 25 minutes in the cardio room where you can choose from the stationary bike, treadmill or rowing machine, 5 minutes stretching, 30 minutes strength training, where this particular class featured exercises for your legs, back and biceps, and 15 minutes of yoga/stretching. At the end of the class, we'll have worked out heart, muscle and mind!

My first class at Unite Fitness cross-training studio

My friends and I chose the treadmill for our cardio workout, where we alternated between different levels of sprinting and hill work. While I often do speed work on my own, I never do hill work, especially on a treadmill. Although I KNOW the benefits of the hill work, I always choose something else to do instead. I really like how I was challenged throughout the 25 minutes - whether you're trying to burn calories to lose weight or take time off your next marathon, these types of workouts are going to help!

After some light stretching, we moved into another room, where we worked our legs, back and biceps. The workouts were setup in circuits, where we tried to see how many rounds of each circuit we could do in a predetermined amount of time. This part of the class seemed to move quickly, and before I knew it, we were on to yoga. I generally don't love yoga, but it was basic and quick, and just what I needed to stretch after my hour-long workout.

In general, I don't love it when the instructor for the class doesn't do the workout with the class, but I do understand that often in these small studios, instructors are teaching more than once class per day, and it would be impossible for them to do every class. After class, Juliet was happy to talk to us about membership and class-pack options, and also showed us how to use resistance bands to help with pull-up training! I have never used them before, but can totally see how helpful they can be! The studio even has lockers for you to use to keep your stuff safe during class! Overall, I had a great workout and I look forward to going back. I like the concept of the workout - it really touches on so many pieces of effective movement. While I wouldn't benefit from a membership, since I can realistically only make it there about once/week, I think it'd be a great option for anyone who needs a little push to help meet their goals! There are different programs you can sign up for, both nutrition- and exercise-based too!

There is also a location in Mount Laurel, NJ, and rumor has it there will be more popping up soon!

Have you ever tried Unite Fitness?

FOLLOW ME ON MY PHILLY PHITNESS TOUR:

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Friends of FitYaf - Lyci gets back in shape after becoming a mom

11/4/2013

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One of the things my husband first noticed about me was the way I pronounced "Florida" and "orange" just like his sister Lyci [Flah-ri-da & ah-range). It wasn't until about a year later that I finally got to meet her, and we've been friends ever since! She always used to talk about triathlons and races, which at the time were a foreign concept to me, but after all this time (and a baby), she's still going strong. Lyci is a mother to the most adorable little girl (no, I'm not biased, okay maybe I am), but she hasn't let motherhood get in the way of taking care of herself and keeping up with her racing. Her first postpartum race was a half marathon just 5 months after giving birth! Below Lyci talks about how her fitness changed while pregnant and what she did to get back into racing shape.

Friends of FitYaf - Lyci gets back in shape after becoming a mom

What motivated you to start running and racing in triathlons?

I grew up dancing and playing team sports, and continued doing so through college. When I graduated and team sports weren't as accessible anymore, I needed something with more structure to it than simply "going to the gym." I tried playing adult league lacrosse, but the schedule and location were just too complicated, so I only lasted one season. My husband had starting doing triathlons with a group at his gym, and he seemed to enjoy it, so I gave it a shot on my own. For me, my sport preference actually mimics the order of the triathlon, so it works out well for me. I love swimming and I tolerate running. Nine years later, creating a seasonal "race schedule" still keeps me (relatively) honest with my work out regime.

How did getting pregnant change your relationship with working out and fitness?

I definitely learned (relearned, I suppose, since we all "learn" this over and over again in our lives) about needing to be kind to yourself and listen to your body more. In the first trimester, I was exhausted all the time. It was pretty much all I could do to get through the workday without throwing up or falling asleep at my desk. Other than walking to and from the train on my commute and climbing stairs on job sites, there was no working out at all from about 7 weeks until I was through the first trimester. Then once I started working out again, I really had to figure out what was going to work for me, versus just going back to doing what I'd always done.

Also, for the first trimester, in addition to allowing yourself a 7pm bedtime instead of a 7pm gym time - eating something "healthy" like broccoli salad does no one any good if you can't keep it down. Now, I'm not advocating eating snickers bars all day long, but again - you're going to have to find what works for you. "Bad" calories are still better than no calories. If you end up eating a BLT for lunch four times a week (guilty) just to get through that first trimester, so be it.

Describe your workouts while you were pregnant, and how did they compare to your workouts before you got pregnant?

My definition of what I considered a workout definitely changed. One thing I did, that I would definitely recommend to anyone newly pregnant, was that I started doing squats when I brushed my teeth. After a few days of making a point of remembering to do it, it became an automatic part of my daily routine. Then, at the end of the day, even if I'd not managed to do anything else "active," I would have at least gotten 40-50 squats in. The nice part about it, too, was I think it really helped my body stay strong while adjusting to its growing size. I would NEVER have attempted just trying to do sets of 25 air squats at 8 months, if I hadn't been doing them all along. But, since I had, my legs and back had grown stronger as I grew larger.

Also, you'll probably have to be more open minded about fitness than you might anticipate. I love swimming, when I'm not pregnant. Everyone seems to rave about swimming and pregnancy; I hated it. And, as a "swimmer," that surprised me quite a bit. I just felt like I was trying to do laps with a little kid's swim bubble strapped on backwards. Not amazing.

The other not amazing thing during pregnancy, that I normally loved, was public transit. As I grew, so did my impatience and frustration with pretty much every single person I encountered on the crowded rush hour trains. My solution many times, weather permitting? Walking the 3 miles home instead. My mental state improved, and I counted that as my workout for the day.

How long did you wait to start exercising after giving birth? What did you do to ease back into the training?

I delivered in December, which can limit your fitness options, obviously. However, that December and January were luckily quite mild, and I discovered that I could put my daughter into the baby carrier and button my maternity winter coat up over the whole thing, baby and all. So, starting at only a few weeks post partum, we wrapped ourselves up nice and snug and took (usually) daily walks along the lakefront. I started with only a mile or two, but worked up to 5 or 6 miles pretty quickly. I wasn't walking for speed, so six miles usually took about two hours, but it got us both some fresh air (and helped my post-partum sanity quite a bit). As another bonus, she usually conked out quickly in the carrier and ended up with a 90+ minute nap. Since her little body was literally touching mine, I was never concerned about wondering if she was too cold.

I didn't start actually running again until about 10 weeks post partum, and I started with run/walk splits which were very heavy on the walk.

Side note: if you're a nursing mom, especially one who didn't previously have cups that runneth over, get a new sports bra! And, before you go for a run - pump. There was a car in my town growing up whose license plate spelled: PB4UGO. Great advice. In this case, the P stands for pump. (You should probably still pee too, though). Trust me on this one. You do not want cups that leaketh over, nor do you want to spend your whole run mentally curbing your urge to clutch at your aching chest. No one wants that kind of attention. The new sports bra will be well worth it.

How did training after having a baby compare to training before having a baby?

I signed up for a half marathon scheduled for the day after my daughter turned 5 months. It seemed doable, and like I mentioned earlier, having a race schedule keeps me relatively honest with my workouts. Having a baby made me even more so. Since my husband and I had to schedule around each other to make time for me to work out, I couldn't just "eh, I'll go tomorrow" my way through the week. If I had a run on the calendar, I was damn well going for a run. Not just sometime that day, either, but during the very specific time slot allotted between our schedules. Obviously, with a young infant at home, things still came up and by the end of training, if I was intending to get out four times a week, it was usually only two or three, but it was never none.

I will say that we were blessed beyond belief by having a pretty darn good sleeper that allowed both of us to ease into the life/parenthood balance much easier than most. If you're not blessed in the baby-sleep department (and I now have a new-found empathy for that; thanks a lot 8-month sleep regression that never ended), well, Godspeed. And drink all the coffee.

What do you think is a realistic goal as far as a timeline for getting back in shape postpartum?

I've always liked the saying "nine months to gain, nine months to lose." I think people definitely have unrealistic expectations of weight loss in general, let alone postpartum. It's easy to get frustrated when you're not losing as quickly as you'd like, or if you're stuck on a plateau. But, if you remind yourself that you certainly didn't get all the baby weight overnight, so you're not likely to lose (it all) overnight either.

And, again, this is one of those cheesy "remember to be kind to yourself" moments, because the number on the scale may also not be as compatible with how you think your body looks as you're accustomed to, either. Your body will certainly have changed, whether it's your hips, your boobs, or your belly (or all of the above) so you might need to adapt. You will probably have some rocking biceps in a couple months, though, so you've got that going for you!

How do you juggle fitting in you workouts with spending time with your baby, family and work?

We don't have extended family in the area, so fitting in workouts is definitely a team effort for my husband and me. He needs to be flexible with his schedule to give me the time to fit in a workout (I've never been a fitness DVD "person," so doing a pilates/yoga/bootcamp DVD while the baby naps just doesn't work for me), and I have to be committed enough to my workouts to respect the time that he's carved out for me and actually get myself out of the house. I am quite lucky to be working for a small architecture firm that has allowed me to come back part time (3 days, ~27-30 hours/week) after having had my daughter, and I am incredibly grateful for that situation. It does make "finding time" much easier. I'm less likely to feel guilty about going to the gym for an hour on the weekend because I'll have spent all day Tuesday and Thursday with her.

That said, we've discussed what we might consider doing if I went back to work fulltime to ensure that I still get to workout at least a few times a week, without feeling like I'm sacrificing time with the family. The ideas we've had are: swimming laps for 30 min while my husband is with my daughter for her swimboree class and going for a family jog on Saturday mornings.

What advice do you have for a fit/active woman who is pregnant or just had a baby as far as keeping up with her fitness?

Do air squats while brushing your teeth.
If you've never heard people say that women after childbirth are stronger at endurance sports than they were prior to childbirth, let me be the first to tell you. By the end of my half marathon training, I was only running twice a week. Once during the week, (never more than 5 miles), and once on the weekend, which increased by about a mile each week. Somehow, this worked. I actually took a few minutes off of my previous course time on that half. Having been running and doing triathlons for many years prior, this result from that training was shocking.
Your body is amazing: amazingly strong, amazingly resilient and amazingly capable. Just remember that.

Are you a mother? What are some of the ways you stayed in shape while pregnant or got back into shape after having your baby?