Yummy Sweet Lunch

Need a sweet fix but want to stay "good", give this tasty and healthy treat a try for lunch (great for anytime & on the go too):

1 medium Mission Carb Balance tortilla (120 calories & 13 grams of fiber) filled with:
   1 TBL of raw honey
   2 TBL of smooth peanut butter
   1 TBL of chia seeds (kind of smooth into the peanut butter)

1 large juicy apple cut up into slices


YUMMY, portable, and sweet treat!


Need more recipe ideas?  Healthy & Yummy Recipes

40 Day Family Challenge

I throw this out there for those of you interested in family bonding and development (or coworker bonding or friendship bonding)....Regardless of whether your are participating in any form of the Current Fitness Challenge(s), this 40 day challenge can be a great addition or a start in the right direction of maybe participating in the future.  I began a 40 day family challenge with my husband and two kiddos this week and it has been an awesome help to what have been "issues" for us as a cohesive unit.  Whatever do I mean?  Well in any relationship (family, friendship, work) there are friction issues that if left alone can cause huge blow up fires (just as is the case even just within our own little heads).  What we as a family decided to do is address these issues head on in a 40 day improvement challenge.  What does this have to do with fitness and/or health and/or weight loss?  EVERYTHING.  Anything causing stress in your life, impacts your health, fitness, and weight loss!

My 4 year old daughter and I drew up a 40 day chart (my little girlie girl provided the art work and I provided the details) of what we had individually agreed to earlier as our challenge commitments to our family and ourselves.  Each family member has two "habits" to work on daily for 40 days.  One habit is a bad habit they are trying to break free of and the other is a good habit they want to develop.  Most of these habits have to do with attitudes ;-) and all are something that impacts the family unit greatly (for the better if truly cultivated).  It allows for us to work with each other in support (and tough love if necessary) to grow the good habits and redirect the bad with good.  It is supportive, loving, and helpful for the entire family members' development individually and as a unit (as each person impacts the other, we all have to make changes to support the other members thereby together we progress).  My 6 year old son was very grown up in his selections and as a team we are off to a great start in bettering ourselves and our family.

Why am I sharing this and suggesting you give it a try?  Think about what is making your relationships sick?  What is stressing you out or wearing you out about what is not working in them?  If you had 40 days to work together within those relationships to "fix" both you and those individual(s), would that not impact your health?  Would that honest, loving support not better your fitness journey?

Decide=Act

 

 



Better Time Spent

Adapted from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young:

Trust in God enough to spend ample time with Him, pushing back the demands of the day.  Refuse to feel guilty about something that is so pleasing to God, the King of the universe.  Because God is omnipotent, and able to bend time and events in your favor.  You will find that you can accomplish more in less time, after you have given yourself to Him in rich communion.  Also, as you align yourself with His perspective, you can sort out what is important and what is not.

Don't fall into the trap of being constantly on the go.  Many, many things people do in God's name have no value in His kingdom.  To avoid doing meaningless works, stay in continual communication with God.  He will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; God will counsel you with His eye upon you. (Psalm 32:8)

Each Day = New Opportunities

 

Referred Pain, Trigger Point Symptoms & Techniques

Excerpts from The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook by Clair Davies, NCTMB

For Part 1 of this series: Trigger Points

Attachment Trigger Points

Exquisitely painful places are often found at or near where the muscle attaches to bone.  Travell and Simons believe these attachment trigger points are created secondary to central trigger points in the muscle belly.  Rather than being true trigger points, they may be only highly sensitized connective tissue that has been abused by the stress of continuous muscle tension.  Attachment trigger points are always under the control of centrally located trigger points, which should be the primary target of treatment.  Attachment trigger points generally cease to be tender when central trigger points have been deactivated.  In chronic conditions where trigger points have been in place for months or years, stresses at the site of muscle attachment are thought to cause degenerative changes in the joint (1999, 72, 76; Fassbender and Wegner 1973, 355-374).


Mystery of Referred Pain & Trigger Point Symptoms

The easiest theory to accept regarding referred pain is that the signals simply get mixed in your neurological wiring.  Sensory inputs from several sources are known to converge into single nerve cells at the spinal level, where they are integrated and modified before being transmitted to the brain.  Under these circumstances, it may be possible for one electrical signal to influence another, resulting in mistaken impressions about where the signals are coming from (1999, 56).  On the surface, this looks like bad design, but the displacement of pain seems too consistent to be accidental.  Janet Travell's great discovery was that referred pain occurs in very predictable patterns in everyone, with only small variations.  This predictability implies that there may be some evolutionary advantage to the referral of pain.  It's notable that referred pain occurs very often in or near a joint, where pain is most likely to make  you modify the activities or conditions that have created the problem (1999, 96).

The sensory symptoms created by myofascial trigger points take a variety of forms and they aren't limited to the sense of pain.  Symptoms of dysfunction -- such as muscle stiffness, weakness, edema, nausea, dizziness, and postural distortions, to name a few -- are even more diverse and include a number of surprises.

The defining symptom of a trigger point is referred pain.  Characteristically, referred pain is felt most often as an oppressive deep ache, although movement can sharpen the pain.  Referred myofascial pain can be as intense and intolerable as pain from any other cause.  It should be noted that the pain level depends more on the degree of trigger point irritability than on the size of the muscle.  Trigger points in the tiniest muscle can cripple you with pain.  Some common examples of referred pain are tension headaches, migraine, sinus pain, and the kind of pain in the neck that won't let you turn your head.  Jaw pain, earache, and sore throat can be expressions of referred pain.  Another is the incapacitating stitch in the side that comes from running too hard.

Sore legs, sore feet, and painful ankles are examples of referred pain.  Stiffness and pain in a joint should always make you think first of possible trigger points in associated muscles.  Pain in such joints as the knuckles, wrists, elbows, shoulders, knees, and hips are classic trigger point symptoms.  If you don't count headaches and backaches, pain referred to the joints is the most usual manifestation of myofascial pain syndrome.

Other symptoms such as numbness, tingling, burning, hypersensitivity, cold feeling distant body parts, reddening of the eyes, excessive tearing, blurred vision, a droopy eyelid, excessive salivation, persistent nasal secretion, goose bumps, dizziness, and even irregular heartbeat are some other results of trigger points.


Self-Massage Techniques

 It's important to realize that self-treatment won't all be smooth going.  There will be some difficulties to surmount.  You can make some kinds of pain go away very quickly but a long-established chronic problem can take a while to clear up.  This is because trigger points that have been in place for a long time have made pathways in the nervous system that tend to reinforce and perpetuate them (Travell and Simons 1999, 56-57; Yaksh and Abram 1993, 116-121).

Another reality is that trigger point massage hurts, though if done correctly it will be a pleasant kind of pain, a level of pain you can still relax into.  Trigger point massage may not be pleasant at first if you're a person who reactively avoids all pain.  If  you believe that all pain is bad that it's a dumb idea to make yourself hurt, you may not be willing to do enough massage on yourself to do any good.  On the other hand, if you try too hard to make massage work and do too much of it, your body will react against it and make your pain worse for a day or two.  Overenthusiastic use of hard tools for massage can result in bruising not only of the skin, but possibly also of deeper tissues, such as muscles and nerves.  When you have a lot of very active trigger points and work too long on yourself, you can come out of it feeling woozy or nauseous.  If you have widespread pain, don't try to take care of everything at once.  Work on your worst problems first and try to be patient with the method and with yourself.

Massage Guidelines At A Glance
1) Use a tool if possible and save your hands.
2) Use deep stroking massage, not static pressure.
3) Massage with short, repeated strokes.
4) Do the massage stroke in one direction only.
5) Do the massage stroke slowly.
6) Aim at a pain level of seven on a scale of one to ten.
7) Limit massage to six to twelve strokes per trigger point.
8) Work a trigger point three to six times per day.
9) If you get no relief, you may be working the wrong spot.

Saving your fingers, hands, and wrist means using good technique when working on trigger points.  You can Google such techniques and/or find them in the book referenced herein.  Aside from your body, there are a variety of massage tools available to assist your efforts as well such as the Thera Cane, hard rubber ball, tennis ball, and even a foam roller.  Remember to ice afterwards if you have particularly seized up muscles.

Note that if you do not change the work habits, posture issues, lack of exercise and/or stretching, overuse and/or muscle abuse etc., that caused your myofascial imbalance resulting in trigger point(s) in the first place then relief of your treated trigger point(s) will be short lived.

Even though I am posting excerpts from Mr. Davies' book The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook, I am by no means able to post every important facet on this subject and highly recommend you purchasing this book for your own reference...it is that good! Clair Davies' story is amazing as is his entire book. I am very grateful to his dedication and revelation of this subject matter!!!

Scoop on Fat Cells

Excerpt from Men's Health January/February 2012 issue:

Is it true that we can never really get rid of fat cells?
 
Although lipo is the only way to eliminate fat cells, you can shrink them by losing weight.  Think of your fat cells as plastic grocery bags filled with sticks of butter.  You can discard the butter and shrink the bag by watching what you eat and how you exercise.  Sleep is also critical:  Scientists in Canada recently found that dieters lost an extra 1.6 pounds of fat, on average, for each additional hour they slept at night.

*If you overeat or don't burn enough calories through exercise, your fat cells store more fat.  As a result, they grow larger and tell your body to build new cells.
*As your fat cells expand, they become inflamed.  Larger fat cells are also less efficient at releasing fat back into your body to burn as energy.  This may make it more difficult to shed pounds.
*When you lose weight, you draw fat from cells; but they'll never be as small or as efficient at releasing fat as before.

Measuring Results

Reminder for those of you on track with the Current Fitness Challenge today/tomorrow are weigh/measure days!!!

Measuring Results

For those of you who are getting fit in part for weight loss know that the scale is not the best way to ascertain your results. You can lose a lot of weight on calorie restriction focused diets, but what you are most likely losing is muscle mass. To lose fat and maintain muscle, the scale might take longer to move. It's not that fat weighs less/more than muscle (a pound is a pound), but fat takes up a lot more space than lean muscle mass....so, when you lose fat and increase lean muscle mass, the scale doesn't move a lot but the reduction in inches lost is quite substantial and easily measured. To be consistent and get the most out of your progress assessment, you want to try and use standard sites and procedures. All measurements and weight assessments should be done first thing in the morning after you go to the bathroom, before you eat/drink anything, and with as little to no clothing. If you are doing your weight assessments at a facility other than your home and/or at a different time of day, then it's best to do your assessments at the same time of day and under the same (similar) circumstances (e.g., before lunch every time as opposed to sometimes before, sometimes after). All measurements should be taken while standing upright and relaxed with feet together. All measurements should be made with a flexible yet inelastic tape measure. The tape measure should be placed on the skin surface without compressing the subcutaneous adipose (fat) tissue. Take duplicate measures at each site, and retest if duplicate measurements are not within .25 of an inch. Rotate through measurement sites before retaking measurements at any one site so as to allow time for skin to regain normal texture. When taking your measurements, look in a mirror if necessary, verify that the tape measure is horizontal and even along the measurement site (in other words, if taking the measurement of your hips, the tape measure should come straight around your buttocks and not droop anywhere making an uneven line). You only need to take the measurements of one side of your body (e.g., one bicep, one calf, etc.), but in doing so be sure to take the measurement of your dominant side (e.g., if right handed then of your right bicep, right calf, etc.). You may take measurements at other sites than what is listed below which is more than okay, just try and apply the logic that is presented in the sites listed below to apply to additional measurement sites.

Arm Midway between the shoulder joint and the elbow joint (mid-bicep)
Abdomen At the level of the umbilicus (belly button)
Waist If you desire a separate measurement for your waist other than that of your belly button then: At the narrowest part of the torso above the belly button and below the base of sternum
Buttocks/Hips At the maximal circumference of the buttocks
Upper Thigh At the maximal circumference of the hip/upper thigh, just below the gluteal fold (thickest part of your upper thigh)
Calf At the maximum circumference between the knee and the ankle (thickest part of your calf)

Other forms of measuring your results....How your clothes fit. There will be no mistaking the effectiveness of your fat loss plan if you are losing inches and going down in pant sizes! Don't let a slow moving scale give you a head trip if you are losing pant sizes. Seriously, would you rather weigh less and be in the same pant size or weigh the same and be two sizes smaller?

Another way to see your results is by taking before and after pictures throughout your fat loss journey. A picture can show you places you have trimmed down that you might miss when measuring yourself. The best way to go about this is to wear a swimsuit or shorts and sports bra (for women...no shirt for men) and take a front pic, back pic, and side pic. Take a before picture and then follow up with pics every 6 to 12 weeks until you reach your fat loss goals.

Post Links of Other Helpful Tidbits to Know:
Body Comp v Scale
Greater Muscle Mass = Higher Metabolism
Not Getting Results???
Body Composition
How Much Should You Weigh?
Skinny Or Fit??? You Decide...
Afternoon Bloat?
5 Pounds Of Fat

Persist for Strength

You Will Succeed

Excerpts from Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss

Congratulations!  Today is your day.  You're off to Great Places!  You're off and away!

Out there things can happen and frequently do to people as brainy and footsy as you.  And when things start to happen, don't worry.  Don't stew.  Just go right along.  You'll start happening too.

Except when you don't.  Because, sometimes, you won't.  I'm sorry to say so but, sadly, it's true that Bang-ups and Hang-ups can happen to you.  You can get all hung up in a prickle-ly perch.  And your gang will fly on.  You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch with an unpleasant bump.  And the chances are, then, that you'll be in a Slump.  And when you're in a Slump, you're not in for much fun.  Un-slumping yourself is not easily done.

NO!  That's not for you!  Somehow you'll escape all that waiting and staying.  You'll find the bright places where Boom Bands are playing.

On and on you will hike.  And I know you'll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course, as you already know.  You'll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go.  So be sure when you step.  Step with care and great tact and remember that Life's a Great Balancing Act.  Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.  And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?  Yes!  You will, indeed!  (98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting.  So...get on your way!