Seeing a Therapist is the Best Thing and Tips for Blue Monday

Recently I started seeing a therapist after a recommendation from my doctor, who is a naturopath.  For the last three years I have been struggling with ever more complicated and painful gut issues, as well as body pain.  I had succumbed to elimination diets, gut healing diets, you name it and while they worked short term, they never worked for long regardless of how strict I adhered.  After numerous blood, stool and you name it tests,  I mentioned my navel was distended to my doctor – she thought a hernia may be the problem and surgery a solution.  This is when I admitted that I was suffering with anxiety and panic attacks – that there was no way I could undergo surgery of any kind.  She recommended a talk to the practice’s therapist.  Within two sessions I was able to start eating all of the wonderful foods that had been giving me pain.  Those two sessions, and many more, have included hours of crying, coming to terms with my past and learning how to cope in the present.  So when I was contacted with an amazing opportunity to ask some questions of Dr. Gary Foster, Chief Scientific Officer at Weight Watchers about how to beat Blue Monday – I jumped at the opportunity.

Many of us have fallen victim to the wrath of winter and already have let our cold weather blues bust our goals for the New Year. The first ever Blue Monday – January 24, 2005 – was established as a marketing idea for a travel company to boost sales during the winter. Psychologist Cliff Arnall produced a formula based on factors such as weather conditions, debt level, time since Christmas, time since giving up on our New Year’s resolutions, low motivational levels and feeling of a need to take action. Some argue that there’s no such thing, but there’s no doubt that this is a tough time of year and –  this year’s Blue Monday –  January 26 – is a great time to talk about the things that get us down and how to get back on track.

If you are among the millions who started 2015 with a goal to be healthier, Dr. Gary Foster, Chief Scientific Officer at Weight Watchers, will be available to help you beat your cold weather blues, so you can achieve your winter goals. Dr. Foster will discuss:

• How your mood affects your commitment to winter goals
• The reasons why your brain gravitates towards food for comfort
• Tips to keep you on track for your winter goals

About Dr. Gary Foster, Chief Scientific Officer at Weight Watchers
Dr. Foster is a psychologist, obesity investigator and behavior change expert with more than 160 scientific publications and three books on the etiology and treatment of obesity to his name. Dr. Foster’s research interests include the prevention, behavioral determinants, treatments, and effects of obesity in adults and children. He was previously the Director of the Center of Obesity Research and Education at Temple University in Philadelphia and served as a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In his role as Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Foster oversees Weight Watchers science-based program, all clinical research initiatives, and continued program advances.

Not all of my questions were chosen to be answered but have a look at a few that Dr. Foster tackled:

 

 

Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy

I absolutely love this book for its illustrations, give me an anatomy book hands down any day and I am glued to the pages.  This book is broken down into specific muscle categories with clearly verbalized to the point execution notes, a meter for level of difficulty, variations and specific muscles targeted (yes the category may be chest, but there is more than one muscle in there!).

SO how will this book play out to the fitness neophyte?  Probably not too handy.  There are several brief tables in the back that breakdown some sample push-pull, split or whole body workouts, and if you aren’t sure what some of those mean…that is kind of my point. This is another great book for the fitness professional, someone working with a fitness professional, or anyone looking for more information on anatomy and how muscles work.

While Contreras believes all strength trainees should master their own bodyweight as a form of resistance training before moving on to free weights and other training systems, he is adamant that a person can maintain muscularity and fitness solely by performing bodyweight exercises. “As you progress to more difficult variations and increase the number of repetitions you perform with the various exercises, you will continuously challenge your neuromuscular system,” he explains. “Your body will respond by synthesizing more protein and laying down more muscle tissue. In essence, your body adapts by building a bigger engine.”

Featuring drawings, instructions, and descriptions of 156 innovative and unique exercises, along with a rating system to help you determine the level of difficulty of each exercise, Bodyweight Strength Training Anatomy goes far beyond standard pull-ups, push-ups, and squats to work every muscle in the body. Contreras, who maintains a popular blog at BretContreras.com, also has instructions on creating a customized, equipment-free workout program for building a stronger, more toned physique.

I received a copy of this book for review, I was not compensated in any way and the opinions expressed are freely given and my own.

Better Body Workouts For Women

Dean Hodgkin and Caroline Pearce team up to bring Better Body Workouts for Women to the market.  This book is chock full of material and that is quite honestly its downfall.  As a fitness professional even I found it hard to read, it was laid out almost like a text book though the charts and text did give way to photos and descriptions of exercises, but you would have to jump around a lot to build a workout plan.  From my experience the average fitness consumer would prefer something boxed and packaged, ready for use.  There is great information in here, but more than the average individual needs to be successful, however; if you are within the fitness profession, grabbing a copy of this book could not hurt.  It is written as well, if not better than a lot of those produced by certifying agencies.

In line with the review of this book I have been provided a great little article from another source, hopefully it steers readers down the right course:

Five Exercises to Avoid

From professional athletes to green gym goers, thousands of people find themselves injured each year when exercising.  To maximize your workout both safely and effectively, Dan Geraci M.S., Head Strength Coach at Hard Pressed, debunks the myths surrounding injury-prone practices.

“Incorrect form when lifting weights is one of the top contributors to sports-related injuries,” says Geraci.  “To prevent pulled muscles and other ailments, it is important to take age and fitness level into account as well as any neck, back or spinal issues you may have.”

Below are five exercises to avoid as well as alternative methods for a safer workout:

1. Box Jumps:  A compound movement that works the musculature of the hip and knee joints, this method also places excessive pressure on the Achilles Tendon which can lead to a rupture or tear.  Missing the box with an uncoordinated misstep can result in a twisted ankle or scraped shins while the repeated jumps on a hard surface can cause knee pain.

•  Alternative:  The leg press works these same muscle groups but can create stronger muscles without the negative impact of box jumps.  “The leg press targets the muscles around these joints as well,” says Geraci.  “This produces more explosive and higher jumps, often the reason many turn to box jumps in the first place.”

2. Dumbbell Chest Fly:  Without a spotter or when using heavier weights, dumbbells can be difficult to control properly which can potentially lead to catastrophic muscle tears.  Furthermore, most individuals use a shortened range of motion (ROM) for chest flys, which misses the mark for the most effective portion of the exercise.

•  Alternative:  Machine Chest Fly and cables can be much more effective and safe as these alternatives place you in the proper positioning to utilize a full ROM without leaving your muscles and joints vulnerable to free weight errors.

3. Walking Lunges:  Improper form is the main problem with walking lunges as the majority of people perform them incorrectly.  “Bad form leads to increased stress on the knee and places it in a vulnerable position,” says Geraci.  “Putting excessive force on structural components of the knee such as the Patella Tendon and the Meniscus can lead to injury.”

• Alternative:  Doing stationary lunges (and having a spotter) will keep the knee in the proper position and allow you to maintain proper form while reaping all the benefits of lunges.

4. Upright Rows:  This exercise puts the rotator cuff muscles in an extremely pinched space (referred to as the sub-acromial space).  In many individuals the Acromion Muscle is hooked or slightly hooked which leads to increased impingement.

• Alternative:  To work your traps in a similar method, use the Shrug and Pull technique.  This allows you to target the same muscles while moving the joint in a much more natural way, thus decreasing the chance of injury.

5. BOSU/ Stability Balls:  The extremely instable platform these balls provide can lead to a myriad of injuries.  They put you in a vulnerable state while performing movements that often times lead to injury when in completely stable environments.  Contrary to popular belief, doing exercises on these balls has no functional purpose outside of training the body to better perform these exercises while on a stability ball.

•  Alternative:  Perform the exercises in a stable environment rather than on the ball.  You will better target the primary muscles (i.e. chest for chest press) while not leaving your joints, muscles and tendons susceptible to injury.  Then, exercise your core muscles and abdominals separately.  “Working your chest with a chest press movement on a stability ball is a poor attempt at a two-for-one type of deal,” says Geraci.  “While killing two birds with one stone sounds good in theory, if it leads to injury you are worse off than when you started.”

Tips for Soothing and Shrinking Your Belly with the 21 Day Tummy

I received a copy of this book for review.  I was not compensated in any way, all of the opinions expressed are given freely and are my own.

Health journalist Liz Vaccariello brings a third book to the market with 21-Day Tummy: The Revolutionary Diet That Soothes and Shrinks Any Belly Fast, the latest in a chain of books written about weight loss and digestion.  While the book held no help for me because of its reliance on meats, eggs and limited dairy, however; page 105 has a sidebar of Vegetarians Welcome Here stating that vegetarians are used to making substitutions. It did hold some interesting hypotheses on what causes bowel pain and digestion issues, including pregnancy.  Research regarding the gut conditions of pregnant women shows that they undergo dramatic changes which explains a great deal of the complaints mothers have during and after birth, the high need for modification of diet and even the high incidence of elimination diet in treating breastfed children.

There are some quick tips given regarding the “Belly Buddies” that should be included in meal plans such as:

• fiber
• magnesium
• anti-inflammatory fats

Most of these may already be known, but the authors do go into greater detail into these categories, and they also include a quick reference list on page 95. At the end of the book there are “Belly Bully” tests which are propositioned as reverse elimination diets.  You add a certain amount of these foods to meals across a span of time and see if you have an adverse reaction.  Garlic and onions, my own nemeses are on this list.

There are recipes and meal plans given including make a head meals.  There are three phases, and a fairly lengthy bibliography referencing where some of the research for this book came from.  Convenient shopping lists are also provided and an index of recipes to make meal planning quicker.

Also present is a nice discussion of exercise and studies that conclude too much exercising not only impedes weight loss but it ruin the intestinal lining – a fascinating read and research but the test subjects were postmenopausal women, so it may not apply to all groups. Several studies are sighted that support the use of moderate exercise in maintaining a healthy weight and health GI tract.

This book definitely provide some interesting recipes and may be just what someone looking for an alternative way to manage their gut health is looking for.

Please read more about the book and its authors below:

Trim Tummy Fat – and Target Bloating, Gas and More – with 21-Day Tummy,

The Revolutionary Diet That Shrinks and Soothes Any Belly Fast

Treat Common Digestive Disorders While Dropping Pounds and Inches in Three Weeks

NEW YORK – October 28, 2013 – From burps and groans to discomfort and moans, millions of Americans have stomach issues. One of the most common? Extra weight – which frequently brings indigestion, painful stomach cramps, uncomfortable bloating, and other tummy troubles. Research shows that foods that lead to gastrointestinal problems are often the same ones that pack on the pounds. Reader’s Digest editor-in-chief and New York Times best-selling author Liz Vaccariello suffered from these embarrassing symptoms, so she followed her own gut and teamed with Kate Scarlata, RD, LDN to distill the latest science and create 21-Day Tummy, a new healthy eating plan that shrinks and soothes any belly fast.

 

21-Day Tummy, available now at www.21daytummy.com and in stores nationwide December 26, does what no other diet plan can do: it trims tummies while tackling the “big five” most common digestive problems that no one wants to talk about: heartburn, gas and bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and irritable bowel syndrome. The easy-to-follow plan focuses on carb-light, anti-inflammatory foods scientifically proven to balance gut flora, reduce inflammation, soothe the digestive system and shrink fat cells (“Belly Buddies”), while avoiding pro-inflammatory fats and high-fructose foods (“Belly Bullies”).

“When I uncovered research linking two of my own challenges – weight gain and digestive slowdown – I knew I had a fresh solution to a common problem. I’m amazed at how great I feel eating this way – my digestion is regular and I don’t suffer cramps or feel bloated anymore,” said Vaccariello. “It’s possible to lose weight and improve digestion at the same time, and 21-Day Tummy will show you how, leaving you healthier, happier – and more comfortable!”

21-Day Tummy includes:

• · Real-Life Success Stories & Advice – Reader’s Digest recruited real men and women who tried out the 21-day plan. All lost weight – up to 19 pounds – and belly inches. The grand tally of weight loss in three weeks: 90 pounds! They each reported major improvements in their digestive issues and most found that their gas, bloating, nausea and bellyaches disappeared. The top tester dropped 19 pounds in 21 days and completely stopped taking medications for acid reflux.

• · Recipes: 50 scrumptious recipes that incorporate Belly Buddies – foods that help shrink and soothe stomachs – such as Tomato-Ginger Flank Steak, Ratatouille Frittata and Strawberry Soufflé-lets.

• · Workout Plan: An optional equipment-free workout plan created to soothe and sculpt your belly with a mix of core strengthening, walking, and yoga exercises.

• · Belly Bully Tests: Guidelines on how to identify which Belly Bullies are problematic for your system and what you can reintroduce to your diet, so you can enjoy a variety of foods.

 

21-Day Tummy will help you target the foods and behaviors that challenge your personal digestive system and show you how to eat in a way that keeps you feeling great – and looking lean – for life.

 

21-Day Tummy

Pub date:  December 26, 2013

ISBN:  9781621451112

Hardcover/$25.99 

 

Available now at ReadersDigestStore.com and wherever books are sold.

 

About Liz Vaccariello

Liz Vaccariello is the editor-in-chief and chief content officer of Reader’s Digest, one of the world’s largest media brands, with 26 million readers. A journalist with 20+ years experience in health and nutrition, she’s also the coauthor of the New York Times bestsellers The Digest Diet, The 400-Calorie Fix and Flat Belly Diet!. Vaccariello regularly appears on national programs such as Good Morning America and The Doctors, and has been featured on The Biggest Loser, Today, Rachel Ray, and The View. Previously, Liz was the editor-in-chief of Prevention. She lives in New Jersey with her husband and twin daughters. Her blog, Losing it with Liz, lives on rd.com. She has over 3,000 followers on Twitter (@LizVacc).

 

About Kate Scarlata, RD, LDN

Kate Scarlata, RD, LDN, is a registered and licensed dietitian with over 25 years of experience in the nutrition and wellness field, specializing in digestive disorders. Kate completed her postgraduate training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate. The author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Eating Well with IBS, she has been interviewed in many national publications, including Ladies Home Journal and Fitness magazine. She lives and practices in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

About Reader’s Digest Association

Reader’s Digest Association (RDA) is a family of iconic brands that celebrate reading, sharing and doing among consumers on print and digital platforms. Our portfolio of products includes our flagship magazine Reader’s Digest; Taste of Home, the world’s largest circulation food publication; The Family Handyman, America’s leading source for DIY; and a suite of Enthusiast titles including Birds & Blooms, Country, Country Woman, Farm & Ranch Living and Reminisce. For more than 90 years, we have simplified and enriched the lives of a passionate readership by discovering and expertly selecting the most interesting content in family, food, health, home improvement, finance, and humor. Reader’s Digest casts a global footprint by providing products and services around the world through owned and licensed operations. Further information about the company can be found at www.rda.com.

Shamanic Gardening a Must Have Book for Creating Sacred Spaces

I received a copy of this book for review, I was not compensated in any way, all opinions expressed are my own and given freely.

“A shaman is one who walks in two worlds, one seen easily by everyone, another seen with the senses of the heart, deep recesses of the mind, and within the collective spiritual consciousness.”

I am not a gardener though I love the idea of gardens and spend much of my summer taking my children to local gardens. I hope to instill in them the importance of nature, of green spaces, and the environment. I want the to grow a love for the outdoors that will blossom as they mature.  As for the epitome of the bourgeois-  a green luscious lawn that takes up a lot of space growing nothing and usually tended by someone else for you- I abhor them. I would prefer to have a yard full of fruit trees and herb boxes around my windows so I could reach out and clip fresh cilantro for my salads (if you are one of the unlucky genomes that thinks cilantro tastes like soap, stay with me).

Shamanic Gardening awoke in me the magic of gardening.  Melinda Joy’s writing style joyously weaves a path for novice, and avid,  gardeners to follow.  If I were to take up gardening I would keep my Kindle handy and a digital version of this book on my carousel. You may wonder why someone who has no green thumb would love a book on gardening so much and I will tell you why.  It’s less about the garden and more about the process.  The opening of the book relates the author’s own history and credentials, how she studied for years with an elder of the Seneca tribe and how she was fortunate to grow up eating the fruits of the land.  The author Melinda Joy Miller is a feng shui master, cultural anthropologist, integrative therapist, medicine woman and Keeper of the Medicine Wheel of Peace teachings of the Senecas. She has been practicing and teaching permaculture methods for over thirty years. I’m a bit of a voyeur at times and I love to know about other people’s lives. how they live and connect to the rest of cosmos- but that is not what makes this book so great. 

After her own history comes the history of planting, plants and gardening techniques. Shamanic Gardening includes a cultural history of sustainable gardening, including gardening techniques used by Cleopatra, the Japanese, the Pueblo Indians, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, and many others. Learn how to make your soil healthy, how to find the right place for each plant and how to plant for different intentions such as “Planting for Nutrition” http://processmediainc.com/planting-for-health-shamanic-gardening-excerpt/ You can see an excerpt from the book and get a feel for the wonders contained inside Shamanic Gardening.

There are recipes, how to make essences, and a wonderfully full section on high nutritional edibles with requirements, uses, growth and history of each.  To connect with other fans of gardening visit https://www.facebook.com/ShamanicGardeningBook

And of course for more great information the blog here: http://shamanicgardener.wordpress.com/

This book truly awakened my inner gardener and binds together so many wonderful themes of conservationism, healthy eating, herbalism and love. Shamanic Gardening integrates sustainable ancient and traditional gardening methods with shamanic principles and modern permaculture. The practices, history, myths, recipes, and philosophies inside this book will enhance your relationship with nature, sustain the earth, delight your senses, and nourish your soul. A very interesting and definitely useful book to own. Pick up Shamanic Gardening Timeless Techniques for the Modern Sustainable Garden by Melinda Joy Miller

Shamanic Gardening: Timeless Techniques for the Modern Sustainable    Garden • ISBN: 978-1-934170-36-6 • eISBN: 978-1-934170-38-0 • 322 pages