The Many Health Benefits of Running a Marathon, and how the media contributes to the American obesity epidemic

Whether you set out to run a marathon or a "1-Mile Fun Run", Dr. Jordan Metzl describes the many excellent ways that marathon-running can be great for your health. His reasons include:
* Goal-setting to improve health and stay on track
* Good for people of all weights and body types
* Motivating, keeps you going and builds enthusiasm
* Benefits of cardiovascular health and conditioning
* Makes you feel good, about your body and your self
* They're FUN! and Exercise should be fun!

Watch his description of running as a sport for everyone, then read below for a critique of the interviewer (Uggh!) and how her questions contribute to the country's obesity problems!


This interviewing newscaster drives me nuts! Her attitude, exemplified in the questions she asks, reflects most Americans' lazy attitudes toward exercise.

First, she calls the doctor "an EXTREME athlete" because he runs marathons. This is ridiculous. Running an occasional marathon is not extreme. Kite surfing, sport climbing, and mountain-boarding are examples of extreme sports. Running is a healthy, natural sport that our bodies are born to do!

Second, she asks him if it's safe to participate in such as "extreme sport". The question we should all be asking, instead of this one, is "How safe is it to get NO exercise?" Most Americans do not get regular exercise. And most of those who do are not getting vigorous exercise, sufficient to improve their health.

Third, she asks the tooooo-outdated question about "No Pain, No Gain". (C'Mon! Has she interviewed anyone about fitness in the last 2 decades?). This now-considered-ancient Nike slogan had been used by lazy people during the 90s to justify why they didn't work-out. Thank Goodness Dr. Metzl puts that silliness to rest with his answer: Yes, exercise should involve small doses of pain, just enough to push ourselves and feel challenged.

Women's roles

This study looked at women't roles amongst married couples. What's interesting is to find how each spouse is happy, or at least, comfortable, with their roles. If women are cooking more often, are they more likely to be responsible for nutrition and healthy eating? Hmmm...

Back to the video topic...
What does a women's role include in the house?



Okay, so the clicker is shared- this is good. But what about other roles? Who makes the household healthy?
Exercise, sleep, nutrition and healthy eating- who is the more pro-active parent? Who sets the rules for a healthy household? How does a couple stay healthy?

These are big questions that aging researchers will slowly uncover.

How to Create Your best bikini body with healthful snacking

Ready to create a bikini body? Fitness trainer Valerie Waters shares her tips on healthy snacking to get your nutrition without puting on extra calories. Watch the video, then discover some underground methods of snacking your way to becoming a calorie-burning inferno!



So, if I eat all these extra calories from healthy snacks, I'll actually lose weight and tone up?... (does this make sense?)

Yes! How is this possible?
If we understand
1) Calories, portion control, and negative caloric intake and
2) Metabolism and portion size

Calories.
In the video, Miss Waters recommends keeping snack sizes to under 200 calories. This is absolutely true. Many Americans are gaining weight fast because they aren't counting the calories of their snacks or beverages, like the 800-calorie Frappuccino Grande with whole cream and extra syrup, or the bag of chips they "nibbled" on while they were on the phone.

How many calories should we be eating? What's an appropriate portion size? This depends on your body's needs, and whether or not you want to lose weight or just maintain it.

Americans eat too much. Countries with many overweight and obese persons display habits of eating poorly, eating foods that are high in calories but low in nutritional value, and who just eat too much.

Negative calorie balance.
If you want to lose weight, you must burn more calories than you eat. If you add more physical activity, and eat less calories than you use up, you will end up with a negative calorie balance.

When you eat foods that have many calories, it taxes your digestive system more than smaller portions. So, an ideal way to "snack your way to a fat-free body" is to make those healthy snacks your meals! Here's the "inside scoop"...

PREPARE your snacks and meals ahead of time. As a personal trainer for 18+ years, one trait common to all healthy people is that they PLAN their calories. They KNOW the nutritional content of the foods they eat. They plan. They cook. They store.

So, prepare healthy snacks, stash them, and eat them like small meals.

Only eat when your body feels hungry: do not "snack" when you are still full or not hungry.

When you eat a few "small meals", with fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and legumes (nutrient-rich but calorie-poor foods), then spread them out throughout your day...

It can be an effective way to control portions, burn calories, and tone up!

Stumble It!

Overweight beauty? An oxymoron?

The story has really got my attention. But here's the background to the story, if you haven't heard about this topic...
It seems that light is finally being shed on research that indicates that being overweight, over-fat, or obese is unhealthy, even if you exercise. Fitness does not negate the disease and health risks of fatness.

A beauty pageant contestant is getting press for her Plus-size figure.
Watch this video about her and check in with your own reaction:


Maybe beauty is only skin-deep, that health is based on one's mental attitude, and so on. But there is no denying the enormous evidence that fit, active adults are more likely to have all the great attributes that these contestants should have.

Exercise improves our sleep (quality and quantity), boosts energy, lowers blood pressure, contributes to a more positive mood, prevents depression, and many MANY more health benefits.

So, if beauty queens want to "weigh" the benefits of keeping a positive mental outlook, versus the immense benefits of exercise, the evidence is surely anecdotal and can't "weigh in".

Funny thing is...Individuals who are obese are the least active individuals in society. These stories about fit-fat lifestyles represent a very small percentage of people.

How do you feel about this story and this subject? What is your first reaction?

Hooray for Sunlight!

Happy extra-daylight!
I celebrated my first day of Daylight Savings by skiing at Sunlight Mountain. Actually, I realized later that it was a cosmic coincidence. But a fun day, full of sunshine and blue skies, and fun times skiing with a friend.

So, it's that time of year. We feel gifted with extra sun and daylight.
More fun, more smiles, t-shirts and shorts season is just around the corner...

Don't forget: more vitamin D (from the sun) = Stronger Bones!
So, wear your sunscreen, but know that...
Healthy bones need at least 10 minutes a day of sunshine!

Here's my friend, Kathy Kania, high atop Compass Mountain,
with Mt. Sopris peeking through the clouds in the distance. Stunning and inspiring!

I raise a glass of sunshine to your bones!
Keep Movin', Nina (Support and Coaching team Director at Higher Spa)