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Stay Strong Immune Boosting Seminar

“Stay Strong” Immune Boosting Seminar

with Ricardo Boye N.D.

November 10,2011 5:30 pm -7:00 pm

YOU are YOUR first line of defense in fighting the cold and flu. This seminar is designed to give you the tools, through tips and strategies, to naturally boost the immune system and conquer the 2011-2012 cold
and flu season. We will unveil our new Immune-Boosting packages and treatments at this event and give the attendees the first opportunity to book these customized Immune-Boosting specials!!

Topics to be discussed:

  • Most Important nutrient to keep you healthy.
  • Exercise, nutrition, sleep and their roles in
    boosting the immune system
  • Special attention for kids – ear aches, fevers,
    and the ugly cough.  Are you prepared for
    the season’s challenges?

And many more interesting
topics!!!!!

Reserve your spot today as space is limited!!!!!!

Where: The Spa on Green Street

When: November 10, 2011

Time:  5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

Cost: $10.00 to reserve your spot, which will then be applied as a Spa
credit for use on the day of event.

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The Importance of a Well-Designed Fitness Program

My name is Gregg Hake and I am President of the Spa on Green Street and the Body Sanctuary, Inc. in Gainesville, GA. Our Fitness Director and Pilates Instructor, Barb Miller, returned from the 20th Annual Atlanta MANIA fitness show held recently with a renewed spark in her eye and an contagious skip in her step. Barb attended a number of advanced training sessions on cutting edge fitness techniques, but one that stood out to her was Chuck Wolf’s “Flexibility Highways in Motion.”

“Strength,” “flexibility” and “cardio” have long been buzzwords in the fitness industry and many of the training modalities emphasize one or the other in varying degrees. Some, such as yoga or pilates, consist of a healthy blend of strength and flexibility, while others, such as weight training, tend to emphasize strength and cardio fitness.

Mr. Wolf makes the interesting point that the fitness industry tends to focus on increasing strength, flexibility and cardio capacity but tends to overlook the controls that must be put into place to make such increases safe and manageable. Assist a client with stretching and various exercises, for instance, and you may increase his flexibility, but if you do not provide a corresponding exercise to augment his eccentric control to stop the flexion at the new limit and return back form that point, you risk creating an imbalance that can lead to injury.

A well-designed fitness program should match every increase in capability with a corresponding increase in control. We recognize at the Spa on Green Street and the Body Sanctuary, Inc. that wellbeing comes naturally when strength, flexibility and cardio fitness are in balance, but most importantly, when capability and control are well-matched.

Stop by the Spa on Green Street today for your complimentary fitness consultation where we match your fitness goals with a practical, doable program that balances capability with control. We have no membership charges, no contracts and we tailor every fitness program to your personal functional needs. All of that in an elegant, stately setting on historic Green Street!

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Embracing Health Radio Show #63 – Evaluating the Modern-Day Workplace; Cell Phones and Cancer; Exercise Eases Anxiety Disorders; How Food Companies Trick You Part I

Top of the morning to everyone!  Happy Monday and hope everyone enjoyed the weekend as this was the last weekend before the official start of  summer, and it’s been toasty already here in north Georgia.

A couple of things here for this week’s radio show — I talk about our modern day workplace and how researchers are looking into part of the equation to weight maintenance from the energy expenditure  side of things, also known more commonly as calorie burn.  Most of us think immediately to exercise, but this recent research report looked at forms of activity that have nothing to do with formal exercise.  Not to long ago, we had to move alot more as part of our daily lives — whether we farmed or worked in industrial settings or other forms of manual labor.  Now, most people work at desks like myself, and we have to rethink the modern day workplace to make up for this lack of  activity.   You may not think it adds to much, but  the body to expend many more calories that over months can add up to quite a bit, about 120 to 140 calories per day over weeks and months is alot.  The foods that we eat can then be more used for energy rather than stored.  I present this to simply add to your understanding of the whole issue that presents itself to us today regarding body composition.  It’s important to know the metabolic/hormonal complications as well as the lifestyle/calorie imbalances that have occurred too.

Next, some discussion on resistance training and how it helps generalized anxiety disorders, much more than aerobic exercise.  There’s something about stressing your body appropriately and how that affects your whole outlook and mood.  The take away is to include short bouts of some form of intense exercise into your fitness program.

Then we get into a recent World Health Organization warning about cell phones and their potential risk in cancer.  They have put cell phone radiation in the same category as dry cleaning chemicals and pesticides.  That’s something you need to know and consider for your overall health.

A recent poultry drug was pulled from the market – Roxarsone – because of its arsenic content.  From this point, I talk about chemicals in our food and our environment and give you some perspectives on minimizing risk factors for disease by chemical accumulation.

Finally, part I in a series of “How Food Companies Trick You Into Thinking that Junk Food is Healthy” —– you won’t want to miss this one from the desk of Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, MD – founder and medical director of the Bariatric Health Institute in Ottawa, Canada.

Enjoy, and have a great week!   

(click here =>) In the News: Less Active at Work, Americans Have Packed on More Pounds: What the Modern Day Workplace Should Look Like; Resistance Training Improves Generalized Anxiety Disorder; Cell Phone Radiation May Cause Cancer, Advisory Panel Says; Poultry Drug to Be Pulled From Market Due to Arsenic Concern; How Food Companies Trick You into Thinking Junk Food is Healthy

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5 Motivation Myths Debunked

When it comes to making great changes in our lives, there is so much more required than simply the power of our WILL.  Don’t get me wrong, willpower, defined as the strength to act or to refrain from acting in the pursuit of a goal, is absolutely essential in creating the changes that lead us towards acquiring that goal, whatever that goal may be.  Learning a new language, landing a new job, starting a new semester in school, overcoming an illness - all require proper attention and focus sustained over time if we are to be successful.  The question I would like to pose today is, when it comes to changing our health for the better by consistently eating right, resting right, exercising right – why is this one of the most difficult things to accomplish?  Where great self-discipline and self-control are easy to exert in other areas – maybe it’s a no-brainer for us to avoid getting to work late or to clean up the dirty dishes at the end of the day – when it comes to diet, there is so much more at work in our physiology from hormones to brain chemistry that help shape our behaviors.  Truly, a comprehensive plan for losing weight has to take into account not only our physiology, but the psychology as well.  I posted an article before on the interplay between these two aspects (click here).  Most of my seminars I’ve provided to date have to do with the physiology behind our health concerns, and though it is an absolutely critical part towards having success, I know it is only half the story.

I came across an article today that I’d like to share with your that I found to be wonderful in providing some key points in helping to shape our psychology for long-term success.  It goes along just nicely in what we have been instructing here at the Spa on Green Street/Body Sanctuary, where weight loss is so much more than calories in vs. calories out.  Enjoy the article and let me know if you have any questions/comments!

Ricardo

5 motivation myths debunked

By HOLLIS TEMPLETON
www.Fitbie.com

 Calories in, calories out-in theory, losing weight should be that simple. But we’re going to venture a guess that the reason two thirds of Americans are classified as overweight or obese isn’t because they can’t do basic math. Age, genetics, hormones, and the big one-a lack of will power-better explain the disconnect between wanting to lose weight and actually doing it.

 In fact, while 84 percent of people claim they’re trying to take better care of their health today than just a few years ago, 59 percent of people reported they don’t have the will power to change their habits, according to a recent survey by The Futures Company. Lack of will power is the number one barrier preventing Americans from living healthier lifestyles, ranking higher than a lack of money, time, desire, and a perceived lack of need, according to the survey. 

So what’s the secret to propelling yourself from an “ah-ha” moment to reaching a healthy weight? It’s all about the day-to-day. Focusing on lifestyle changes, heeding the right how-to advice, and finding support from a group of like-minded peers will help you stay on track better than if you focused on the impetus (a scary obesity poster in the subway) or the end result (fitting into your skinny jeans again). 

Here, we sift through motivation research and enlist the help of Andy Core, an exercise physiologist, motivational speaker, and author of the forthcoming book “Why Don’t I Do What I Know That I Should?,” to muddle through five motivation misconceptions-and provide the help you need to stay on track. 

Myth 1: Knowledge is power. 

The Reality: Information can be ineffective if you don’t know how to apply it. 

You’re overweight. And if you don’t lose weight, you’re putting yourself at risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and early death. The message is clear and it’s one that’s been hammered into our heads via every medium available. Still, even the most scientifically sound PSAs or flashiest billboards are void of a vital piece of information-how one actually goes about losing weight.

 ”Knowledge without application is guilt-inducing,” says Core, adding that over time, information overload can actually become demotivating. “In a way, it’s better not to know than to know and to not do,” he says.

 A better solution: “If you really want to move people-busy, working people-to change, you need to use direction versus information,” says Core.

 Research suggests that directions are more motivating than cold hard facts. When University of Missouri scientists analyzed data from 358 reports on the success rates of interventions designed to increase physical activity among 99,000 healthy adults, programs that focused on behavior change-feedback, goal setting, calorie and weight tracking, and exercise recommendations-were better predictors of success than cognitive-based approaches, those that focused on education and changing attitudes.

 Myth 2: The end result is what matters.

 The Reality: Enjoying the path to success is what helps you reach it.

 You know the Chinese proverb “The journey is the reward,” but you’ve probably never thought of it in terms of losing weight. The reward typically associated with a diet and exercise plan is watching your goal weight calibrate on the bathroom scale. But according to Core, thinking ahead to that magical day isn’t enough to motivate you to get there. “Starting with the end in mind is the fast track to failure in a health-improvement program,” he says. “You want to have goals, but your daily focus should be on gaining gratification from checking the box.”

 ”Checking the box” could mean finishing a workout, drinking eight glasses of water in a given day, or dedicating 10 minutes in the evening to laying out your gym clothes and making a healthy lunch for the next day, says Core. The important thing is that it becomes a positive experience that you want to repeat, he says, adding that setting up healthy lifestyle patterns helps you build the momentum necessary to reach a weight loss goal.

 In a Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise study, 136 women between the ages of 44 and 55 with BMIs of 25 to 38 took part in a weight loss program focused on adopting small changes in their diet and exercise patterns. Researchers made specific recommendations for daily caloric intake and exercise frequency and monitored participants’ weight on a weekly basis. After 4 months, the women had lost 6.2 percent of their body weight, on average, and reported being highly motivated by the improvements in mood, increased energy levels, and better sleep quality that resulted from increased exercise. Study authors concluded that feelings of enjoyment and interest in physical activity helped explain the effectiveness of the intervention beyond seeing a lower number on the scale.

 Myth 3: I am my own biggest motivator.

 The Reality: Social support is essential to reaching a weight loss goal.

 You could have all the gumption in the world, but it won’t get you far if you’re going at weight loss alone-or from inside a circle of friends who make unhealthy decisions, says Core.

 Research suggests that having obese friends can make you gain weight, too-and that your peers can help you lose weight or maintain weight loss. The trick to using social support to your advantage is surrounding yourself with the right company. “Ask yourself Are my family and friends encouragers, or are they part of the problem?” Core suggests. Think about your coworkers, too. “Working adults spend most of their waking hours at the office, so if the workplace doesn’t have your back, that’s a big roadblock to sustaining motivation,” says Core.

 And don’t forget about your online support structure. In a study published in the International Journal of Medical Informatics, researchers at University of Texas Medical School at Houston surveyed 193 members of the SparkPeople online weight loss community and found that 88 percent of respondents used the site for encouragement and motivation, while 59 percent used it as a source of information and 43 percent as an outlet for sharing experiences.

 Myth 4: Scare tactics work.

 The Reality: Messages that evoke strong emotion only work if you’re unaware of a threat.

 Scare tactics-from in-your-face ads depicting the consequences of obesity to a doctor’s chiding for your through-the-roof cholesterol-will make your stomach churn, but they’re not always effective at promoting a change in behavior, especially if you’re overweight and understand that unhealthy food and drink choices are part of the reason why. “If people are already aware-and most are hammered with information-it’s harassment at best and demotivation at worst,” says Core, explaining that guilt is not an effective motivator. “If the choice to change is pressured upon you by other people, then the long-term success rate is really slim,” he says.

 Consumers tend to agree. When researchers asked 142 obese adults about their opinions on things like public health initiatives, media campaigns, commercial diets, and fitness programs for a survey published in the journal BMC Public Health, they found that respondents preferred interventions focused on lifestyle changes rather than those that strictly promoted weight loss and rated programs that were judgmental, stigmatizing, or shameful as least effective.

 In a society overloaded with information, it’s hard to control the messages coming at you (ever tried turning off a billboard?), but you can seek out the positives. Look to weight loss success stories or case studies for inspiration, suggests Core. “As a motivational speaker, it’s like a holy grail for me if I can get someone to think If they can do it, maybe I can do it, too,” he says.

 It’s also important to surround yourself with powerful cues that will aid in making healthy changes, says Core. These can be things like checklists on your fridge, bathroom mirror, or smartphone or photos of yourself at a smaller size. These cues will help you stay motivated from within, says Core, explaining that dieters will be more successful in the long-term if they are fueled by self-determination and decide to make lifestyle changes without external interference.

 Myth 5: Failure is a sign of weakness.

 The Reality: Failure results from a lack of preparation or poor behavior patterns.

 If you hit a weight loss plateau or derail your diet over a holiday weekend, it’s not a reflection on your character and you shouldn’t beat yourself up over it, says Core, explaining that core values don’t drive motivation.

 ”Most people at some point in their lives have felt motivated to live healthy,” says Core. “Those same people have also felt unmotivated,” he adds, explaining that the two sometimes happen just days apart. “In a period of days, your core values, your metabolism, the way you were raised, and your life experiences haven’t changed.”

 What did change: your habits. Perhaps you stopped tracking calories or skipped a series of workouts and feel like you’ve completely killed your diet. The best way to power past a slip-up: “Think execution versus outcome,” suggests Core. “Reenergize and refocus on checking the box. Don’t focus on what good things happen if you do, or bad things happen if you don’t.” And to make weight loss goals-and mistakes-more manageable from a success/failure standpoint, don’t get too far ahead of yourself. “You don’t have to change your life; you only have to change your day,” says Core.

 For more tips, visit www.fitbie.com.

 © 2007 Belleville News-Democrat and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.belleville.com

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“Progressive Elimination of Processed/Junk Food in my House”

Hi Folks — here’s an email we received from Lisa Simpson, and I wanted to share this with all of you at our last Fitness in the Round meeting, but we ran out of time.  I think you will find it a great post, as she very carefully shares with us the process she goes through in ‘upgrading’ her kitchen —- we all know how it is (or how it should be!)……actually taking the time to go through the pantry, cupboards and refrigerator and removing the processed foods and replacing them with real, unadulterated whole foods.

Anyhow, I think you’ll find this article fascinating – I sure did!  We’d love to hear your comments below and to share with us your similar experiences.  If you are not logged on, then Click on ‘Comments’ on the top and a box will open up below.  If you are logged on, then you will see the dialogue box underneath the post already.  Enjoy!       

“Good morning! Hope to see you tonight at the Fitness in the Round!
 
I’ve been meaning to send you all an email about something I’ve been working on for a couple of months now… I thought I’d wait until I was done, but it’s taking longer than I imagined.
So I’m throwing it out there to see what you guys think :)
What is it, then?
Well… I’m in the process of eliminating all the processed/junk foods which have established residence in my pantry, fridge & freezer.
It started after I read a money saving blog actually. In her blog, the girl was talking about finding every possible way to cut costs, and she decided to eat up everything she had at her house before buying any more food. By doing this, she found that her house was stocked full of foods she bought herself (some repeatedly) that she would never eat unless pretty much forced to.
It got me wondering how much *crap* I had accumulated in the 3 years I’ve lived in my house and the response was: “oh boy!”.
 
We all talk about trying to eat healthier, buying fresh foods, etc and from what I can see talking to people around me, I was actually not that bad but still it shocked me. How did all that stuff get there? And how was I going to get rid of it?
Throwing food out is a big no no for me. So I ruled that out right away.
I thought about donating it, but after thinking about it, I didn’t like the rationale behind it (it’s not good enough for me, but it’s good enough for someone in need?)
[That reminds me of an article I wanted to send you -Breakfast is Not So Gr-r-reat When Your Only Option is Frosted Flakes http://civileats.com/2011/03/15/breakfast-is-gr-r-reat-unless-your-only-option-is-frosted-flakes/.]
 
In the end, what I decided to do was to slowly & progressively eat all of it and not replacing it.
It started with the freezer. Gone are all frozen meals. I didn’t have that many to start with, but after several months of eating made from scratch meals, they honestly tasted like garbage. I used to keep a few in the freezer “just in case” (aka. no time/energy to make dinner). I’ve replaced them with homemade meals. Sometimes I just cook double batches & freeze the extra… and voila.
Gone also are “prepared veggies” [I can add butter & seasoning myself, thankyouverymuch], frozen waffles, fish sticks…
The only foods allowed now in my freezer are meats, fish. unseasonned veggies, fruit & leftovers.
 
Then I went into my pantry & my fridge and it’s been a little harder.
The fridge was full of salad dressings, sauces & other condiments. It’s not the end of the world, but to give you an example, I’ve learned how to make ranch dressing from scratch. Tastes really good, I can prep it in less than 5 minutes and has about 18 less ingredients than the bottled kind. Slowly, I’ve been finishing the bottles & I’m not replacing them (well… except for ketchup! ha! and I’m still working on a barbecue sauce recipe)
 
The pantry didn’t *seem* like it had that many processed foods either but it’s proven my biggest challenge. How did I get to have that many packs of instant mashed potatoes, pasta sides, jarred sauces, etc? The worst part is that unless I really pay attention, somehow they find their way back into my shopping cart… I’m also now convinced that there’s crack in Mac’N Cheese. I haven’t found a logical explanation why I can eat the whole thing even though the bright orange color of the cheese powder mix grosses me out & if I think about it for a second while I’m eating it, I don’t like the taste of it. Yet, you can’t put it in front of me without me finishing the whole dish. I’m almost done eating through all the junk (at the rate of 1 item maybe twice a week or so) and it’s been a huge lesson for me so far. I’m thinking a lot more about it at the grocery store & before I check out, I take a look at everything that’s in my shopping cart and sometimes put stuff back on the shelves.
 
A long email to reach this conclusion -
I found that I manage what I eat better if I don’t have a lot of temptation in front of me.
It took a while to understand that I was sabotaging myself at the grocery store by slowly stock pilling.
Like everything else so far, it’s an ongoing, slow change & while I get frustrated that it’s not happening faster, it’s all going in the right direction, at least I hope so. :)
 
Have a wonderful day!

Lisa Simpson

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