PreDisposed, or PreDestined?



Courtesy: National Human
Genome Research Institute



Many people feel that they're just "going to be fat - it's in my genes."  Or, "My parents were that way, I'm destined to be that way."

Well, to try to be gentle but honest: you're WRONG!

Genes do play a role, but they are not the end-all be-all.  They may make things a little bit of an uphill battle for you at first, but you can over come that!

Genes may predispose you to be heavier or have a different metabolism, but that does NOT mean you are predestined with no choice but to be FAT!

Rise above it!  Rise above your genes!

Even the brain behind the Human Genome Project, Eric Lander, expressed his concerns that people would use genes as an excuse to not even try to be healthy.  He states:

"People will think that because genes play a role in something, they determine everything.  We see, again and again, people syaing, 'It's all genetic.  I can't do anything about it.'  That's nonesense.  To say that something has a genetic component does not make it unchangeable."

So say NO to Predisposition!  Start now to buck tradition, and be a rebel!  You CAN overcome your genes!  You can start right now claiming a new future and a new you.  See it, own it, be it!

~Katie

Mountain Madness

Hi guys!  

I've been trying, unsucessfully, to upload pictures and a post about eating healthy while traveling.  It was to be the lovely counterpoint to the previous post about coffee overload!  But, as I have been complaining about Blogger before, I'm having frustrating issues with it.  Hence, I have been moving old posts over to www.ADailyDoseOfNatural.wordpress.com now instead!  It's been fun reviewing old posts!  I hope you'll pop over and check some of them out again :)


So, in the mean time - here's the third post I wanted to share about my Seattle trip!

Hiking up a mountain.  I was so proud of us for tackling this adventure, and coming out smiling!  I felt like I really achieved something by doing this!  I debated using this post to share pictures, and pair them with information about the benefits of clean air and of the dangers of pollution; or types of exercise; or the role of pumping blood in carrying oxygen and nutrients to your body... but instead of preaching, I decided I just wanted to tell about our trip :)

It all started because of the late snow Washington received.  While they are used to cold winters, having snow dump late in May is not so common!  So the roads for many harder trails were blocked off due to this weather.  Our precious hopes of hiking the Gothic Basin were buried with the trails, under the white blanket.

I told Jen to simply choose some other "tough" hike for us to do!  I wanted a good work out!  After perusing through her hiking books, she settled on Mount Si.  It was rated a 5 out of 5 for difficulty.  Sounds good!

But fate would throw us a random comment that changed the course of our adventure.

While enjoying our food at Red Robin, we began talking to our server about all the fun outdoor activities the area has to offer.  We had not mentioned our hiking plans to this young man, yet he happened to tell us,

"I won't hike Mount Si.  It's overrated and everyone does it.  It's cliche."

Cliche?! 

I turn an evil eye to Jen.  "You were going to have me hike a 'cliche' trip!?  Where's the excitement in that?!"

In mock surrender, her arms fly up, "I didn't know!  You wanted a tough hike, it's a level 5!"  Humph.  "Fine then, I'll give you some from my binder to read over, and YOU pick a hike!"

We both laugh, and I am satisfied.  And our dinner continues.

That night, we return to her home, and she passes me several descriptions.  They all sound fun, but I immediately discard those with a rating lower than 5.  After all, if "everyone" hikes the Level 5 Mount Si, why would I want anything easier?

Then I come across this tantalizing description:

"Wimpy hikers, turn the page. This trail offers nothing for you but pain and heartbreak. If you think you've got the goods to scramble up more than 1000 feet per mile, read on. Mailbox Peak brings a serious burn to the thighs of even the best-conditioned athletes, but the rewards make it all worthwhile...

The trail leaves the road and turns near vertical, climbing ever-more steeply over the next 2.5 miles--the first 0.5 mile of road walking gains only a few hundred feet of elevation, leaving about 3800 feet for the last 2.5 miles. That means you'll be climbing about 1500 feet per mile, and most hikers consider anything over 1000 feet per mile to be steep!

...The trail climbs with ruthless focus--to get to the top in as direct a line as possible. As you move above 4000 feet, the forest falls away, the views open, and all pretense of switchbacks disappears. You'll now be scrambling up steep, open hillsides.

...Finally, after one last scramble through the rocky crown around the summit, you're there, standing beside the battered mailbox on the top of Mailbox Peak. After you catch your breath, pat yourself on the back--because if you're on the summit, you've conquered perhaps the most difficult hike in this book!"

This mountain, called Mailbox Peak because someone has indeed lugged a mailbox to the top, offers a 4100-foot climb to end at an over 4900-foot elevation!

I am SOLD!  And I have NO idea what I'm getting us in to!  But I am excited!  So early the next morning, we head out! 

There's a gentle rain in the morning, so we make sure to pack rain gear.  It's an intense hike, so we make sure to pack water and cool layers.  It goes up through the clouds and into snow, so we make sure to pack warm layers and trekking poles.

Quite a bit to carry, but for a day hike, it's not too bad.  We're anticipating a 4 hour excursion.

We park, and begin to climb a gentle hill.  We can feel our muscles waking, and our conversation becomes somewhat labored from the breathing.  But all in all, this is good!  We're pumped and confident that this will be a good trip!  After about 10 minutes... we realized we've just now come to the trail head.  We weren't even ON the trail!  Just the little gravel road to get to the trail.

Well, ok, so it was a good warm up.  Onward!  Into the trees we go!  And it is amazing - much like the rain forest, it is lush and green, with plenty of unique plants and a trickling little creek.  Then, as described in the guide book, "The trail leaves the road and turns near vertical, climbing ever-more steeply over the next 2.5 miles."  Our pretty little trail and gentle switchbacks disappear, leaving us with no trail, but figuring out our own way to scramble from white marker to white marker.

This is the best we could do with the camera to try to capture the steepness of this "path."

And this went on ad nauseum. me following Jen.  Our chipper conversation gave way to Jen sarcastically muttering "Katie picked this hike... I hate Katie, I hate Katie... no! No!  I love Katie, right?  yes, I think so..." until she turned back to look at me with a twinkle in her eye.  "Hey, I think YOU should lead, so I can burn holes in your back with my glare!"

I used what breath I had to laugh a snorting, panting laugh.  "Yeah, and perhaps knowing you're behind, ready to kill me for picking this one, will keep me moving fast!  Can't let you try to poke me with that giant spork you bought!"

We end up stopping multiple times to let faster hikers past, and to catch our breath.  We decide that speed is not our goal - we prefer to enjoy the hike, enjoy the scenery, and keep our jovial banter going.  After a while, we have to strip off a few layers, grab a handful of food, sip some water, and pull out the trekking poles - these babies are going to get us up there! 

About and hour and a half in, as we climb higher, we realized a fog was setting in.  While it didn't impede our trail, we could no longer look out at the amazing views below - we were pretty limited to the trees.  Then, all of a sudden, we looked around and saw that it was clear again!

Confused, I turn to gaze out at the valleys below... and understand where the fog came from!  It wasn't fog, but a cloud!  We had hiked through a cloud, and were now above the cloud line!

This gives us both another surge of energy, seeing that we've broken that high, and it looks like snow is starting to appear up ahead.  That means we must be getting near the boulder valley!  And near that will be the red trail markers - indicating a mere 500 vertical feet left!

By this point, most conversation has lulled, leaving us in the companionable sound of little more than our gasping and wheezing.  Oh yeah, and some wildlife critters, if you can hear that above the sound of your own heart hammering away.

We push each other on - well, more aptly - Jen drags me along... and finally, finally I see that precious red trail marker!  Two and a half-hours of non-stop exercise, burning my muscles and testing my lungs... We are nearly there!!

And that guide book comes whispering again.  "one last scramble through the rocky crown around the summit." 

What they neglect to tell you is how bloody difficult that last scramble is.  We have to cross over some of the rocks to continue on the path.  Thankfully, they are dry rocks, and stable for the most part.  It is tiring, but the view is amazing.

Once over the small boulder path, two options lie ahead of us.  Mounds of snow or more piles of rocks?  We watch some people climbing the rocks, and they look to be having a difficult time of it.  So we opt for the snow.

With each step, we thrust the poles deep for stability, and kick with our boot to try to flatten a little stepping place.  Up and up, I can't help but wonder how on earth we're going to get back down.  The rocks seem difficult, but the steep slickness of snow seems sickeningly precarious.  Though not normally bothered much by heights, I couldn't help but feel humbled by what was now probably nearing 3700 feet above the local area.

We are both beginning to slump, when Jen shouts out, "I see it!  I see the mailbox!  And people!  We're almost there!"  Thank goodness for that little boost!  We climb and clambour through the last part of rocky terrain, and make it to the peak.

Or, as Jen puts it, We Bagged A Peak.

I guess that's what it's called when you reach the summit of a mountain?  I am a climbing novice, so I just took her word for it!

Hot and sweaty, we plop down on the snow in our cooler layers, not affected in the least by the fact that it's a snow-covered cap.  Jen is so excited, that she kisses the mailbox!

I am too tired to try to lean all the way over with my face, and just opt to pat my new friend.

We chat lightly with some of the other climbers, take pictures for each other, and then pull out our snacks.  I check my watch - it's been almost 3.5 hours.  Given that we thought we'd be done in about 4, we hadn't packed very filling lunches.  I enjoyed about half of my trail mix, a Lara bar, and more water.  Jen finished off her trail mix and shared some of mine.

The other hikers said goodbye as they began their descent, and we waved them off on their journey.

Soon, the thought that our mothers may worry and the cold both began to settle in, and we decided we couldn't enjoy the views too much longer. It was time to figure out how on earth to get back down!

We gingerly made our way back down the rocky crown.  About 250 feet down, and we saw a lone gal making her way up.  Refreshed from our break, we exuberantly greeted her.  "You're almost there!! You can see the mailbox just around the next bend!" 

Then a thought occurred to me... this young lady had probably just spent the better part of 2 to 3 hours trudging up this mountain alone, and was going to get to the now-vacant peak with no one to photo her with the mailbox!

"Jen!"  I shouted ahead.  "She needs someone to take her picture!"  As tired as I was, I thought for sure we could make that last little bit again in order to help out a new friend.

With her infinite energy, Jen swiftly turned around and began bounding back towards me.  "Sure!"  She dropped her bag by me, traded it for my camera, and joined the new traveler.  "We'll be right back!"

Hmmm, well, I had planned to go with them, but I was not about to argue with the idea of sitting on a nice, flat rock and getting to take in the sight!  It was my own little meditation time!  I just enjoyed feeling the wind rush by, seeing the foggy cloud moving in, and listening to a few of the small creatures moving about.

Fifteen minutes later, Jen and our new companion are back!  We begin to pick out way across the rocks as we continue down.  Jen, the little monkey she is, has sure footing from years of hiking and rock hopping.  She's bounding down ahead of us.  I hang back with Kristen, and we move more cautiously.  Another hiker and his dog are heading up, and we say hello - promising him he's almost to the top!

On and on.  It seems going down the boulders is even slower work than hiking up the snow had been!  But the slippery snow is still scary to me.

Until we see the man and his dog coming back down.  He deliberately sits on the snow, shifts around a little bit, and pushes himself off!  Down and down he slides, whipping past us, and easily slowing at the bottom, no where near any drop offs.

We all exchange glances.

Instantly, like giddy kids, we make our way off of the boulder towards the snow, now moving laterally.  Jen, of course, is there first, and drops to her backside, and down she goes!!!  Kristen and I eagerly follow, laughing and whooping!

...and then we run back up and do it again!  Ahhh, renewed vigor!

Here's a small clip!

The rest of the descent was pretty standard.  We made it back to the trees, and had to very slowly make our way down.  While it burned the muscles to make the big steps up, it tested the knee joints cushioning the impact on the way down.

But, thankfully, it wasn't the same type of work to come back down.  We were breathing relatively easily, and so we were able to have a good chat with Kristen about where she's from, her hiking excursions, and sharing our stories.  We laughed and joked, inspired by having defeated this mountain.

Six hours from the time we started, we finally reach the trail head again.  Cheering and exhausted, we take a last picture, exchange email addresses, and head back to the cars.

***

So that's our story!  I hope you'll go out and create your own challenge!  It's a thrill to complete it!

~Katie

The Blessing of Health

"A wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings."

-Hippocrates

It is so easy to take health for granted.  We all have this thought of "I'm invinceble" or even just "this is how I am - those problems won't happen to ME."

But they can!  Rates of nutrition-related diseases are on the rise... from diabetes to heart disease, pre-mature aging to cancer.  And, while there is heated debate about if nutrition can cure these disease, there's at least agreement that they can lower your risk and decrease the severity!

So take a moment to soak in your blessing of health that you have.  It may not be perfect health, but you're here and able to read this post!  So that's something!  Now take a few more natural steps to health :)

Tick tock, tick tock!  I know it seems time consuming sometimes, but it's worth the effort and time to make your foods, or shop for healthy foods!



Ooo, how about an HOURLY DOSE OF NATURAL?  Can ya dig it? ;-)



Commit to caring for your body - it's the only one you get!  (Until we're far enough into the future that we're all bionic parts anyway.)

Have a great evening guys :)

~Katie





Healthy Eating Basics

Hola, mi amigos!

It's a lovely, sunny day, and I got a nice dose of sunshine on my lunch break! That always helps my mood!

Over the Mother's Day weekend, I got into a discussion with my dad about the confusing, conflicting, and chaotic world of nutrition. With one study contradicting another, a new recommendation switching an old one, and every "Expert" under the sun coming out with their own version of the "perfect" diet - you know, that one that will FINALLY work for you, and will solve all of your problems? ... it gets to be a very frustrating nutritional road to navigate!

I just wanted to throw out a few quick suggestions, though I would never claim to be the end-all-be-all-expert. They are my thoughts, and what I've seen to be true over my 10 years studying nutrition.

The biggest tip on picking a the correct eating/activity lifestyle:

DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!

What feels good, what fits your schedule, what are you going to stick to? If you don't like your food choices, you're not gaining energy, or you're stressing more about what to eat for dinner than anything else, it's not healthy! The best intentioned "perfect" diet will be no good if you're harming yourself with stress and anxiety!

Ok ok, that's vague - how do you pick WHAT will work for you?

To quote dietitian Marion Nestle: “The basic principles of good diets are so simple that I can summarize them in just ten words: eat less, move more, eat lots of fruits and vegetables. For additional clarification, a five-word modifier helps: Go easy on the junk food.”

And author Michael Pollan shrinks it down even further to his 7 word mantra: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” then clarifies real “food” as items closer to what they look like in nature, as opposed to things that have been processed, which he calls "Edible Food-Like Stuff" (or something similar.)

So if you get nothing else from this blog, let those two quotes give you some guiding light for how to take steps towards living a healthy lifestyle!

Good luck, and I'll see you back here soon! :)

~Katie

Hubby Making Progress!

I was sitting at my computer last night, minding my own business, clicking through my array of email messages, when my husband comes up, sounding very suspicious.

"Hun, you know how much I love you, and I think you're wonderful..."

Uhh, ok, where's this going?

"So, because I love you, I put up with all your crazies.  And I figured, I better offer to let you take a picture of my dinner before I eat any!"

Ahahaha!!  Awww, that's my man!

So this is the plate he proudly presented:

It's not a prefect meal, but it is leaps and bounds healthier than many things he tends to eat!

The back left if a slice of fennel (yep - straight up, vitamin C, cancer-fighting, licorice-tasting veggie!) with a nut pate on it.

Then he has brown rice with home-made red pepper curry sauce on it.

And finally, in the less-than-wonderful white bun, he has a "Rawtwurst" (nuts and seasonings to emulate a bratwurst!), organic mustard, and some of our home-made sourkraut!

STANDING OVATION!

And the best part?  He LOVED his dinner!  He was so happy on so many levels - that it's getting healthier, that he did it himself, and that it TASTED GOOD!

This coming from a man who almost soley based our apartment choice on the fact that there's a Taco Bell next door... he's come a long way!

So take your small steps, and take your time getting there!  These changes are life-time changes he's making, and they're sticking!  Hang in there, and you'll find amazing healthy ideas that just click for you, too!

~Katie

Superman Said It!

I just read this quote, and wanted to share because I loved it!

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible,
then they seem improbable,
and then, when we summon the will,
they soon become inevitable.”— Christopher Reeve

Here's to making your dreams inevitable!

Much love!

~Katie

Gettin' Muddy with Swamp Crackers!

Happy Birthday to my little sister!!!

To celebrate, I went for a run! *lol*

Sipping some hot drink to warm up before the run!
It was about 35 degrees at first!

Ok, not quite. Since she's a late sleeper, I figured I'd be able to participate in a 9am trail race. So, bright and early, I get up, brew some tea, snack on a little fruit, and drive out with my mom and my man to cheer for me for 4 miles!

Displaying my number proudly!

Disappearing into the crowd...

At 9am, the pack is off!! And within a mile, I'm muddy, wet, and grinning! I haven't run much on trails before, and boy is it different from my ol' treadmill! About 3/4ths of the way through, thoughts are running through my head, desperate for the end. But by the end, the endorphins kicked in, and I was grinning ear to ear again!

51:51 baby!

My time: 51:51. Not the best, but it was still a victory for me! Woohoo!

I get to the end, and they have sports drinks and bagels.... eh.... processed stuff. Thank goodness I had my natural foods with me! Oh, it was SO refreshing crunching into a sweet, juicy apple! And having some warm chai rooibus tea to sip in the 35 degree sun!

My fresh, crunchy apple by the trail map!

And, ok, I made another fun looking recipe from my recipe book :) They called them green wafers; I called them swamp crackers - especially since I added raisins to some and hazelnuts to others, so it looked like little bugs stuck in a green bed!

But these wafers were a great post-run snack - made of almonds, spirulina, and salt. Good stuff! I was getting some good protein, healthy fats, calcium, and of course sodium to help with what I sweated out.

A delightful morning, and a huge runner's high afterwards! And home in time to enjoy a big family brunch! This was one of my goals for the month - to run this race in less than an hour. Goal: COMPLETED! Before 10am, too!

How did you start your weekend? ;-)

Much love!
~Katie

HAPPY NATURAL NEW YEAR!!

It's time for a fresh new start! (pic)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


Welcome to 2011, my friends!! And what a wild ride 2010 has been! (And my New Years Eve was spent, among other things, making sock puppets... but that's it's own story! Haha!)

ADDN is now 1 year old (awww, happy birthday, little blog!) It was a great chance for me to work on some of my new years goals last year - to be healthier, to get back into writing, and to get more research done on food and nutrition. (Though, admittedly, I did slack more as the year progressed and work got busier.)

But what did 2010 have for you? What good things did you do that you want to build on? (Isn't that a more positive spin on the whole "I've been bad, and NOW I'll be good for the new year"?) Hopefully we've all made strides towards growth of one kind or another. Taken time to learn ourselves, to focus our lives, and hopefully love ourselves and those around us.

I know I have many non-food related goals for this upcoming year, but in the spirit of this blog, we'll still be sticking with natural health related topics, and aiming for a more natural, plant-based diet.

Rev those engines, it's time to GO! (pic)

So what's your reason for wanting to continue a wild ride on the health roller-coaster?

To age gracefully: be healthy enough to stick around for grandchildren, decrease risk of any numerous diseases or painful conditions, maybe even turn gray hairs back to their natural color?? (More about that in a future post!)

To be healthier now: to not be huffing and puffing after a simple flight of stairs? (Hey! I used to have that problem!), run a 5K, fit into a new pair of pants, have more mental and physical energy?

To help take care of the earth: promote agricultural animal care, support local farmers, cut out processed poisons, cut down on your pesticide intake, fight for a cause you believe in?)

To have more self confidence: improve the health of your hair and skin, drop some burdensome fat, smooth cellulite, be able to say "I DID IT!"?


(pic)



And what are the things that make that difficult to stick to your goal? Time? Convenience? Taste? Not knowing how to make new recipes? Lack of family support? Share your struggles - here or wherever you can! You have my constant support! (And understanding - In this fast-paced, Food Toxic society, it can be difficult to make the effort to change your eating and exercise habits. BUT IT'S WORTH IT!!)


What direction are your first steps taking you?

(pic)



Make a plan:
What do you want and by when?
What are the first three steps you can take on your journey?
What are the three biggest barriers to you meeting your goal?
What can you do to overcome those hurdles?
And if you trip, what are three ways to pull yourself back up quickly without getting completely trounced before so?

Think about it, write it down - maybe it's a s simple "First Step" goal such as walking daily, adding a green smoothie to your morning ritual; or more general (to be tweaked later) such as losing weight, running a 5K, deepening your self understanding - and share it! With us or whomever you are comfortable. Sharing your goals makes them more real to you (instead of a passing thought to be tossed aside at the first cookie!) PLUS, hopefully you'll start to gain support from your friends, and maybe someone who can help pull you up when you fall!

What future do you hold?

Make it happen! (pic)

And well, hey, if you're indecisive about a resolution, jump over to
http://moninavelarde.com/newyears/ and have fun playing with their pre-made resolutions ;-)

(pic)

Blessed renewals, and joyous journeys!

Sending love and prayers to everyone reading this :)

~Katie


P.S: all pics have a "pic" link to the original site where I found them

Amazingly Creative - and HEALTHY - Halloween Treats

Yesterday I said I was going to hunt down some good Halloween alternatives, and boy did I find a good blog!

I am almost afraid to post it, because it is so much more creative than anything I post here! ;-)  But I was just so taken aback by her innovate use of shapes, colors, and flavors, that I had to email and ask her if I could share it with you!  So THANK YOU, Angela, for letting me share the joys you have concocted in your kitchen!

I hope you will also enjoy some of the delicious, clever ways Angela puts together raw, wholesome foods that any one can appreciate over the fall season!  Test some of these options, and try to limit (or totally run screaming from!) processed monsters to keep your health going through the season!

So, I now introduce you all to The Happy Raw Kitchen's Healthy Halloween edition!

Check out some of the fascinating things she's put together:

Darlin Clementine Punkin



Boo!~Nanners



Bwaaaaaainz!



Ghosts in a Graveyard



Is that not the cutest clementine you've ever seen?!  Maybe I'd feel okay about passing those out if kids come knocking this year!

So huge thanks to The Happy Raw Kitchen for letting me share her glorious works!  Check out her Halloween blog post for the recipes and assembly instructions.  She's inspiring me to try to step it all up a notch on the creative scale!  Let's face it - fun food is more fun to eat!!

So, if you happen by my haunt this Halloween, you just may see some of these treats lurking about!

Wishing you all Festive and Fun Fall Feelings! :)

~Katie

Pre-Holiday Recommittment

Hi guys! It's been quite a while since I've posted - life has just been draining!! (All the more reason I really need to stick with healthy, natural foods!)

Admittedly, this last week got away from me, and it is SHOCKING how much difference the unhealthy eating has had on my energy!

Last week, 4:30am, that alarm goes off, I popped out of bed and headed for the gym for some lifting or running. This week, each day got progressively harder to wake up. Tuesday, I even got up, went to my eliptical machine, started... got about 5 minutes in, realized I barely had the energy for moving the thing on its lowest setting!! Got down, went back to bed...

What a horrible way to live! And don't most of us feel like that on a fairly regular basis? Just so much to do, low energy, feeling weak and brain foggy... Well I miss my "last week" feeling! So I am getting my food back in order, cleaned out my fridge, and am ready to rock and roll! Got my shopping list, and tonight I'll be off to the store to get all my wholesome goodness!

Ahhh, green smoothies, how I miss your morning energy!

An AMAZING looking pumpkin smoothie from DomestiFluff

The candy night is coming - Halloween looms! It is getting into holiday season, and the cold weather where we turn to comfort food. Enjoy it, love it, but stay in control! So start curbing your cravings, kicking natural food in to gear, and prepare your weapons! Asperagus spears, radish granades, and green smoothie oozies! We are approaching enemies lines!

I hope the month has been a good one for you all so far, and I will be back with some of my favorite recipes, and sites that I find inspiring!

~Katie

Raw Sister!

Happy weekend!!!

My dear sister came to visit for a day, and we agreed to go all raw for our meal! Salads are a wonderful healthy way to bulk up any meal: nutrient-packed antioxidant leafy green explosion! Yes!

But what would a meal be with just a salad?

So we decided to have some fun experimenting in the kitchen! We pulled out my Ani Phyo raw recipe book, and decided to try a Brazil-nut portabello bisque soup! Soup and salad. Quite the classic!

The soup turned out to be okay - I guess I'm not a huge mushroom fan ;-) But the base was a yummy Brazil-garlic blend, which was oddly hearty! So, we figured out a few ways we would tweak in for the future, then enjoyed what we had for the day!

Love my sister! <3

And what is a meal without dessert?? So we finished off our visit with a good ol' heaping bowl of banana-whipped ice "kreme." Frozen bananas and mixed berries processed into soft-serve goodness! Yumm!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend, too! Share some fun and food with family, and keep that motivation rolling!

xoxox

~Katie

Dave says we look far too happy for salads.... ;-)

Tabata, Anyone?

Happy Friday, my friends! I hope you have a good weekend planned - whether it's to be filled with chores, relaxation, adventure, or sleep - may you enjoy it and feel fulfilled in the end!

I went to the gym this morning, and tried out a new exercise style called Tabata! And what weird activity might that be??

Allow me to first make a disclaimer regarding exercise - I know most of us feel good enough to just jump into things, but just because I have to say this: See your physician before starting any kind of exercise routine. Also, I am not a personal trainer nor exercise physiologist, or anything like that! All I know about exercise is from personal study and experience. Use the info at your own risk ;-)

So Tabata: it's just a modification of the popular High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), a training type that bodybuilder.com calls "the best, quickest way to get in shape, lose fat, and annihilate your competition." Whoa! Well, I'm not trying to annihilate any competition that I know of!

Many personal trainers and coaches will encourage HIIT training to help maximize cardio time. Basically, you do small bursts of exercise, followed by a short rest period ("intervals".) For example, sprint ("High Intensity") for 10 seconds, walk 10 seconds, repeat these intervals multiple times. Or, use a bike, and do the same idea - power pedal 15 seconds, cruise for 10. Or use the stair stepper, or rowing machine, etc. (You may want to skip the treadmill, though, as usually changes in speed are lengthier to respond while the belt has to gradually slow!)

There are many different ratios for the bursts to the rest, but all HIIT plans share the same philosophy:

Seriously vigorous activity utilizes extra oxygen as you pant harder and get your heart rate up even higher, and creates an "oxygen debt" - which triggers different mechanisms in your body than when you have amble oxygen to use. This helps burn off the stored sugars you have in your blood and muscle, and will then utilize fat for energy. Since people are not likely able to sustain this very intense level of activity of prolonged heart rate and full-lung breathing - doing it in spurts is the next best thing. In theory, you don't need to do a long, steady workout to burn the same calories - plus, you get an "after burn" even once the exercise is finished, continuing to utilize fat stores for energy for some time after you have stopped!

In 1994, a group of scientists published a study in the journal Metabolism. They compared a group of people doing typical endurance training (ET) to those doing some HIIT. They found "the HIIT program induced a more pronounced reduction in subcutaneous adiposity (body fat) compared with the ET program" even though less energy was needed! When they corrected for energy costs (ie: if each group were to use the exact same amount of energy for their exercise), they saw that the loss of body fat was nine times greater in the HIIT program than the ET program!

Sounds good, right?

You can see Subcutaneous is the outer layer of fat. But visceral fat is some of the more dangerous fat!
Too much gunk around your important organs! Keep eating clean, and keep moving, and you can lose that "hard stomach" danger!

So what specifically is the Tabata Protocol? I am not sure how this is different than any other ratio of HIIT exercise, other than it incorporates a whole plan of building up time and keeping track of heart rates. But I figured it only takes 8 minutes, so I'd give it a try! (Though I forgot my heart rate monitor, so I just did the exercise to see how it felt and if I'd want to try more in the future!)

The plan:

5 minutes of warm-up

8 intervals of 20 seconds all-out intensity exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest
2 minutes cool-down

So I hopped on an elliptical machine at the gym, turned on the ipod to psych me up, and gave it a go! The first 4 sets - not too bad! Panting hard, quads burning, and lungs really working! But I was enjoying the speed. When you're watching the timer tick for a mere 20 seconds, that's mentally easier to deal with that seeing it slowly plod along to the 30 minute goal... all 1800 seconds of THAT exercise!

The recommendation is to just start with 2-4 intervals, and gradually work up - but I did the first 4 and just felt like going through all 8!

So I kept pumping - push 20 while I bump the resistance to level 13-15, then cruise for 10 seconds at resistance level 2-4...

By set 6, it was getting tough! But I'd come this far, by golly, I was going to make the last 2 minutes!!

*Pant pant, puff puff, BURN!*

And then... ahhhhh, cruising for 2 minutes at level 3... peace. When I finished, my thighs felt like I'd done a pretty decent workout focused on the quadriceps! Wow! And I was shocked how long it took for my heart rate and breathing to return to normal. (Guess I gotta work on that recovery health!) But it felt good! I love running, so I plan to continue working up to my goal of 5-6 miles; but when time is short, I think this will be a nice alternative practice to add to my life!

You want to "feel the burn"? Try some ratio of interval training! Push yourself, dig in, and see what ya got!

But don't forget that any activity is healthy, and all forms of exercise are beneficial - strength training is good for the muscles and bone density. Cardio in steady rates is good for endurance of the heart and lungs - plus helps you sweat out those toxins! ;-) And don't forget stretching! Flexibility is important for keeping a healthy range of motion, preventing injuries, and keeping circulation moving.

So whatever method you choose - get moving! Even if it's as simple as a walk at lunch. Or hey - next time you come to read a post here, stand up and do some stretching while you read!! Just get that blood moving, and take care of your body! And be excited - you can get a decent workout in 8 to 10 minutes if you really need to! (No, that won't totally make up for an otherwise chip-eating couch-potato existence... but baby steps to health can be addicting!)

Lots of love and lettuce chips!
~Katie