Sport Fitness & Physique

Posts Tagged ‘good health’

I don’t recommend nutritional supplements to correct problems (like insomnia), but rather to correct nutritional deficiencies. Supplements are not a panacea. They are not intended to replace sound nutrition practices. Instead, we wisely use nutritional supplements to ‘supplement’ our nutrition and provide our bodies with what our diet may be lacking.

For instance, in the case of insomnia or poor sleep, the first thing we look for is stress.

Photo Credit: italintheheart @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/italintheheart/

Gosh, I wish I knew…

I wish I knew what the newly passed National Health Care Reform Bill had in store for you.

In truth, I don’t even know what the newly passed legislation has in store for me or for my family!

I do know that there are now inclusions for folks with ‘existing conditions’ that were previously unavailable.  And, I also understand that children are now covered under their parent’s plans until the age of 26.

The previous health care model was not as forgiving or as understanding in this regard.

I suppose this is good news for many people -well at least a big ole’ bunch of college students anyway.

Of course, as of the writing of this post, President Barack Obama has yet to sign the new legislation into law.  However, it is widely anticipated that the President’s signatory approval is simply a pending formality.

If it truly is a ‘Done Deal,’ there is no telling what this new legislation will do for our country and its 150 million under-insured and non-insured citizens -let alone what it may not do or even the social calamity it may cause.

There is also no way of knowing how this government sponsored initiative might ultimately impact the citizens of this great nation.

We just don’t know…

Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/chi-liu/

However, no matter what the new Health Care Reform Bill does -or does not do…

Here’s what we really DO know!

We have long known that we are all ultimately responsible for our own Health.

We have also long known that and only we can make the Life altering Changes needed to improve our Health and Wellness!

We may not be able to turn back the recently passed Health Care Reform Bill, but here’s what we can do to greatly limit our need for health care and health intervention in the first place:

First-
Stay Healthy:

There is no better substitute for a healthy life than a healthy lifestyle.  Keep your immune system healthy and able to withstand all of the unhealthy toxins your environment throws at you. Eating well to support your efforts will ensure you live a long and healthy life.

Get in the habit of purchasing fresh, whole foods and limiting your intake of soy, breads, grains, pastas and dairy products. All of these foodstuffs are notorious antigens and allergens for a great percentage of our population.

Second-
Get Physical:

The more our bodies are challenged -the better our bodies respond.
It is no secret that the human body is an amazingly responsive and receptive machine.  The harder and the longer we push our bodies -the more our bodies tend to respond.   Don’t kill yourself -but please do get outside your comfort zone and push yourself towards a goal. Push hard and then take the time to properly recover.

Your body will only be strong and lean when it is tried, tested and forced to be strong and lean!

Third-

Be Consistent:

Find the physical activities that you enjoy!
This is SO important! If you enjoy it -you’ll most likely do it -and do it often enough to really make a significant impact.

Without intrinsic motivation -encouragement that comes from within -we just will not succeed.
Think long and hard about what it is that you would like to do for FUN!! -It doesn’t have to be an activity that you excel at -It doesn’t have to be an activity that you are particularly Good at….You only need to enjoy it!

If you enjoy it…you will stick with it…and you will continue to stick with it -your body will adapt and that is exactly what you need!

Consistency is the key!

So ……I may not know how to handle the newly passed Health Care Reform legislation….but I certainly DO know what it takes to be healthy, stay healthy and reduce your over-all health-care costs!

Take the above recommendations to heart….and see how well you can improve your health and wellness.

If you need help -if you need some guidance -I am only a click away!
Call on me to help you through any and all of your Health Care dilemmas.

To your Good Health!

Paul D'Arcy NSCA, CPT, Poliquin certified BioSignature Practitioner

In yet another weight loss study, researchers from the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, found that a carb-restricted diet was superior to a fat-restricted diet in overall health and wellness.

In the study, researchers found that -while each diet produced similar results in overall weight-loss…the low carbohydrate diet had the added benefit of substantially reducing the participants blood pressure and overall blood serum levels!

Lean meat, fresh vegetables and fruit 'in season' ...It's all you need!

Many of the low-carb diet participants even eliminated their need for blood pressure medications altogether!

That is notable!

In addition to improved health, lowered blood pressure and improved blood serum levels -the researchers found that even though the two groups lost the same relative amount of weight -the low-carb group actually gained muscle while they burned off their excess fat.

Which approach do you think is more efficient?

Would you just like to lose some weight?

Or …would you rather lose fat, reduce your blood pressure, reduce your cholesterol and improve your blood serum cholesterol levels?

The choice is yours….and I would like to help.

Contact me for a FREE, No Risk, No Obligation Assessment.

What do you have to lose?

To your Good Health!

Paul D'Arcy NSCA, CPT, Poliquin certified BioSignature Practitioner

Time to get serious now. Time to get real!

Only 6 more weeks until Spring -or Spring Break -or Spring Weather -or Warmer Temperatures….or whatever it is that motivates you to get busy, get lean and get healthy for the upcoming warm weather.

6 more weeks…

6 Weeks to Fitness

So what are  you going to do?

What are you prepared to do?

Are you going to starve yourself -deprive  yourself -limit your portions or take it to the extreme?

Are you planning to fast, to restrict, to limit the good and healthy foods your body needs?

It doesn’t have to go that way you know…

You do not have to starve, to sacrifice, to limit or to control what you eat.

We can do better….we can do more.

Give us an opportunity to show you how easy this can be.

Boating -Jet-skiing -Barbequing -Hanging out and Socializing….

Wouldn’t  you like to wear short sleeves -show of your arms? -Show some leg?’

Wouldn’t you like to wear shorts, skirts, anything light, cool and fitting for the season?

Well if so…you’ve got some work to do, right?

Let me help you re-balance your life -re-balance your body and replace your anxiety with a calm and refreshing feeling of control.

Contact me now…

Allow me to give you the life  you deserve.

Be well, be balanced and be blessed!

To Your Good Health!

Paul D'Arcy NSCA, CPT, Poliquin certified BioSignature Practitioner

“Athletes who want to decrease body fat and improve body composition should pay particular attention to dietary carbohydrate intake.”

Meat and Vegetables -All an Athlete needs for Nutritional Success!

This is the advice of Dr. Jeff Volek, Dr. Erin E. Quann and Dr. Cassandra Forsythe  -all registered dietitians from the University of Connecticut as published in the February 2010 issue of the Strength and Conditioning Journal (Vol 32; No 1).

In their comprehensive study, the researchers were searching for a dietary strategy that allowed athletes to improve their body composition -defined as a greater muscle tissue to body fat ratio -while improving their physical strength and mental performance.

The researchers discovered that the old axiom “A calorie is a calorie” was wildly false. That in fact, the sources of dietary calories had significant impact on both body composition and physical performance -even while maintaining the same caloric intake.

The researchers concluded that “…diets lower in carbohydrate were associated with greater fat loss and diets higher in protein resulted in better preservation of lean body mass (muscle tissue) during weight loss. Furthermore, these effects were independent of energy intake (calories eaten) and participation in exercise (caloric expenditure).”

So what constitutes a “low carbohydrate diet?”

Well, generally speaking consuming only lean meats, fresh fruits and fresh vegetables is close enough.

By eliminating dairy, grains, legumes (beans, peas, peanuts) and anything made with flour -you will have essentially established a very healthy, low carbohydrate diet.  There is really not much need to track specifics.  The ‘hunter-gatherer’ approach is one of the very best strategies towards a healthy body composition and improved physical performance.

For many folks…this seems extreme. But really, once you adapt to this strategy you will find that you have more energy, you sleep better and your clothes will begin to fit better too…

Just take a look at some of our satisfied customer’s testimonials here:

All of these folks have benefited from this exact same dietary strategy. We service powerlifters, bodybuilders, housekeepers, homemakers, construction workers, truck drivers and anyone else who desires better health, improved body composition, a slimmer waistline and improved self-esteem.

Just give us the opportunity to improve your health.

Your FREE BioSignature Assessment is easy to complete and requires No Commitment.

Give us the opportunity to improve your health, wellness and lifestyle.

I look forward to speaking with you soon!

To Your Good Health!

Oh, take the BioSignature Fitness Assessment Survey Here!

How much change is needed in your habits -to improve your health? – in your exercise routine -to improve your physique?  How much change is needed in your spending habits -to increase your wealth? And how much change is needed in your attitude -to increase your happiness?
Or here’s a better question…How much change is needed in your life -to increase your positive impact on the world?

How much?

How much change -is enough?

~~Not as much change as you think!

Just as a steady drip -becomes a trickle…

And a trickle -slowly becomes a stream..

Small Consistent Effort over Time...

And a stream -slowly and steadily carves its way through soil, sand and stone to become its own riverbed…

You too -only need  make small, simple and manageable changes to become your own raging river of health, wealth and happiness…leaving a sea of positive change in your wake and upon this earth.

What one small thing  -what one small change are you willing to make today -that will begin to carve the path of your own unique -yet mighty riverbed?

How much is Enough?

Just enough….that’s all    -Just enough.

Change just a little -change just enough…to begin carving your own unique path.

You can do it…and I am waiting here to help you.

Let me help.

To Your Good Health!

Paul D'Arcy NSCA, CPT, Poliquin certified BioSignature Practitioner

Get Stronger - Live Longer

Researchers from the University of South Carolina have found that total body strength correlates to longer life and better health.

Cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, bad cholesterol and insulin resistance are all far less likely to develop in strong, healthy bodies.

Eat Well: Fortify your body with fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, nuts and seeds.

Train Hard: Engage in strength training three to four days a week. Train your cardiovascular system with interval training at least twice a week.

Follow these simple tips to live a longer, healthier and happier life.

To your Good Health!

You really gonna eat that?

Soybeans have been in use for over 3,000 years, but they haven’t always been used as food -at least not for humans.

The Chinese first used the soybean as an inexpensive animal feed and to replenish nitrogen in the soil during crop rotation.

Soybeans were later fermented and used to make soy sauce, tempeh and natto -a popular fermented bean-like breakfast food, typically served over rice.

Fermented soybeans have very different nutritional characteristics and are actually quite healthy in comparison to the processed soybean.

Unfortunately, the processed soybeans used in products like tofu and veggie-burgers, Soy Milk and soy-based infant formulas are not very good for us at all!

These types of soy products are created by first adding calcium sulfate, magnesium sulfate or magnesium chloride to the coagulated soy-milk, allowing the mixture to curdle then pressing the mixture into blocks.

Aside from the chemical additives (which of course we don’t need), soybeans naturally contain phytates and phytates interfere with nutrient absorption in the human body.

Calcium, zinc, magnesium and iron are all essential nutrients that humans need to survive. Consuming soy inhibits the bioavailability of these essential nutrients, robbing our body of  health and wellness.

Additionally, soybeans contain isoflavones which mimic excess estrogen and can lead to estrogen-toxicity. The nasty little beans also have goitrogenic properties which interfere with proper thyroid function and trypsin inhibitors which stunt human growth.

Soy Milk and soy-based infant formulas have been linked to ADD, ADHD and Autism in infants, children and adults. Soy Milk has also been linked to exaggerated PMS symptoms in women, eczema, hives, swelling of the eyes & eyelids, generalized inflammation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and a whole host of other nasty side-effects.

Soy is often used as an alternative protein source, but again….soy fails to deliver.

Soy protein is missing L-lysine -an essential amino acid -which makes soy protein an incomplete protein and a very poor choice in this regard.

If you seek good health -avoid the soy!

There are no benefits to soy consumption and you just don’t need the nasty side-effects.

To your Good Health!

Here’s a Helpful, Healthful Tip for Better Health and Improved Body Composition:

Stop eating at least three hours before bed.

Your body needs time to rest, recuperate and rebuild.

These important functions occur primarily at night as we sleep, but are inhibited when the body has food to digest.

So let your body do what it needs to do.

Stop eating at least 3 hours before bed and watch your health improve and your waistline shrink!

To your Good Health!

The biggest challenge you will ever face when deciding to make lifestyle changes…is you.

You are your own biggest asset and your own biggest liability.

Your strengths are also your weaknesses.

In the field of brain research the Hebbian Theory states that: “Brain cells that fire together –wire together”

Brain neurons -hard at work -creating actions -creating your life!

All that means is, when we make the same choices over and over -the random chemical reactions in our brains begin to fire as if there is no other alternative -like they are not ‘random’ anymore.

It’s like we no longer have ‘choice.’

We seem to feel that we have to act in these same, predictable patterns, these same predictable ways -making the same predictable unhealthy choices.

So what used to be random…..is now “automatic”

We can also call these are our habits.

But in reality our habits are just the choices we make and the and actions we take…that’s all.  They can be changed.

We really can ‘re-wire’ the neurons in our brains to ‘re-fire’ in different order and in different sequence to create new and different actions, behaviors and habits.

We have that power! -It’s true!

I get all ‘goose-bumpy’ just thinking about it! (I am such a nerd)

So new habits may be difficult to get into and you may not ‘think’ you’re enjoying them but there’s more going on inside that head of yours than you may realize.

You’re fighting with yourself and there is a battle going on inside your brain.

Remember…..

“Brain cells that fire together –wire together”

Just start ‘firing’ new experiences and eventually those experiences will become habit and then……

–The sky is the limit!

You can ultimately do whatever you want to do.

(See? -now YOU have the goosebumps!)

To your good health!