Fall Resolutions

For the first time in 17 years, the end of summer drawing near does not mean returning to school. I graduated from The Ohio State University in it's 400th Commencement and final 'quarter' this past June with my B.S. in Human Nutrition, specializing in dietetics. This has been a huge accomplishment and sense of pride for me, and man am I glad to be done! ;)

However, that time is coming around for many Buckeyes to head back to campus for fall quarter. That means late nights studying, crisp leaves in the oval, warm coffee in hand while walking around campus, and of course FOOTBALL!! :) All these things scream fall to me, and while I HATE to see summer go, I love it when fall rolls around.All the delicious smells and sights, bonfires and fairs, carving pumpkins and picking out costumes for Halloween.

 

 

With the change of seasons from summer to fall, I always made a 'goals list', usually pertaining to school.. 

Don't procrastinate
Study more
Get good grades
Pack a lunch
Go to the gym between class
Usually something like that. :)

So why don't we all welcome in the change of the season with a list of resolutions that are positive and attainable, to enrich our lives and better our health so we can be 10 steps ahead of the game by the time cold bleary January rolls around and we start thinking we ought to lose weight and eat better after all those Christmas cookies made our clothes too tight, and *gasp* bikini season is right around the corner again! ;)

Last year I made a resolution to stick with my lifting program for 8 weeks, even if I wanted to try something else. I got great results and felt stronger and leaner than ever at Christmas.

So grab your smart phone or tablet or pen and paper and jot down a couple goals that you want to work on. Make them specific!!

Go to the gym for 45 minutes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday before or after work
Try one new healthy recipe a week for dinner
Train for a 5k
Walk the dog every evening and make it a family affair
Replace pop at lunch with water
Replace the grande Starbucks Pumpkin spice latte with whip for a tall non-fat version! (I think I blog about the Pumpkin Spice latte every year ;))

try to skip ones like

eat better
go to bed earlier
lose weight

Make them specific and measurable!
Did you go to the gym? Have you drank any pop? Did you try new recipes?
The goals can be ANYTHING you want. No matter how small. If it's important to you, jot it down and make it happen.
Let others in on your goals! Tell your family and friends and coworkers. Get them to join you.
Surround yourself with positivity, write notes to yourself, post motivating pictures, prepare to meet your goals.
If you seem to make the same resolutions every New years and they always seem to fail, think about WHY, try tackling it from a different angle. Never make it to the gym after work? Go before, or during your lunch.

Good luck guys! Feel free to share anything on my facebook page as you make and meet your goals! Pictures, ideas, inspiration, anything! We're all in this together!

Happy end of summer! xoxoxo

Austin Stout's Top Ten Reason for Women on Weights!

I first met Austin in high school. He was several years younger than I was and a good wrestler. That was pretty much all I knew about him. Last year when I joined Metro Fitness in Delaware, Ohio, I ran into Austin again, and wow had he changed!! He is now the Fitness manager at the gym, and has changed quite a lot from the chubby wrestler I knew in high school. Through our passion of health/fitness/nutrition etc, we have made developed a friendship and Austin, knowing my passion for weight lifting and the results I've achieved through it, agreed to share his top ten reasons for us girls to skip the treadmill & head to the weight rack instead!


Meet Austin:

I have been involved in physical fitness and sports since elementary school. I started out playing optimist league football up untilmiddle school. I then played one more year of football in middle school before joining the wrestling team. That became my primary sport year around.  Since I was overweight, this became my base for fitness.  I was bit by the bug and haven’t let up since. I wrestled through high school, qualifying for the state tournament my senior year. I continue to volunteer as a coach for BuckeyeValley High School's wrestling team. Shortly after high school I continued to embrace my passion for fitness by getting into the competitive bodybuilding scene. I have competed in 5 competitions and won shows at the state andregional level. I recently competed in the National Physique Committee’s TeamUniverse National Bodybuilding Championship placing 4th in my weight division.Through bodybuilding I have learned so much from many knowledgeable individuals. The most important thing bodybuilding has taught is how to apply my book knowledge in a practical manner with my own clients. As a personal trainer and nutritional coach I enjoying sharing this knowledge with my clients and helping them meet their goals.

My Top Ten Reasons Women Should Weight Train

By: Austin Stout CPT, CNC

1. Weights Training Improves Body Fat Loss

Muscle needs more calories to function than fat. So by lifting weights, you build lean muscle mass, thereby increasing your body’s demand for energy. In essence you’ve increased your metabolism.

2. Lifting Weights Makes You Stronger In More Ways Than One

Everyone knows weight training improves muscular strength! Not only do your muscles get stronger, but so do your bones, ligaments, tendons and joints.

3. Lifting Weights Improves Your Flexibility

Improved range of motion and flexibility can be improved with weight training. This is beneficial not only in sports but when performing everyday tasks as well.

4. Lifting Weights Increases Your Sports Performance

Whether you play recreational sports for sun or play professionally, weight training will improve your performance.

5. Lifting Weights Makes You Sexy!

Nearly every female client I meet with wants to get “toned”. I hate to break it to you but spending the majority of your time on the treadmill isn’t going to accomplish this. When training will help you attain that shapely, firm look you are after. 

6. It will make you feel good!!

Weight training has the power to release large amounts of pleasure inducing endorphins. Not only does this make you feel good but it can fight the effects of stress and depression. 

7. May Reduce Your Risk Of Type II Diabetes

Weight training can help the body metabolize glucose more efficiently. This will lead to a better balance of blood sugar levels.

8. Lifting Weights May Reduce Your Risk Of Breast Cancer

Studies have linked weight training to a reduction in the risk of breast cancer. Add your clean eating plan in conjunction with this and you can reduce your risk even more!!

9. Lifting Weights May Reduce Your Risk Of Heart Disease

The heart is a muscle and like skeletal muscle, when you lift weights, it gets stronger too. A healthy heart is less likely to be at risk of heart disease. 

10. Improves Memory and Overall Cognitive Function

Recent studies have shown that weight training helps with memory and overall brain function. This comes in handy on those busy days when we tend to get scatter brained.



As a woman I know the weight room or weight rack at the gym can be intimidating. We often skip over it and head for the cardio equipment instead. But give it a try. You'll be glad you did! Weight lifting has given me by far the best results than when I ran my ass off every day and couldn't figure out why I didn't have the body I wanted. You have to have all pieces to the puzzle: cardio, strength train, & eat right. So, my healthy & hot ladies! Hit up your local gym & hit the weights! Or get your own and start out at home. Don't be afraid to keep increasing your weight, you are stronger than you think & will tone & firm, not "bulk up"!

Should the US tax soda?

Should US impose tax on soda?

For the first time in history, chronic diseases often brought on by poor personal health choices account for more deaths than communicable ones. We smoke, drink, and eat our way into poor health and then try to deal with the chaos after the fact. As a result, America spends billions of dollars on healthcare every year and children are developing 'adult diseases' like type 2 diabetes and hypertension in their grade school days. 

By taxing sugar sweetened beverages, we could save billions in health care costs and help reduce the climbing obesity rate. Much like the tax imposed on tobacco in the 1990s we've seen that taxing unhealthful items, making them more expensive to the consumer, can have a positive impact by encouraging people to steer clear of them. By taxing sodas just one penny per ounce, consumption should drop, along with incidence of disease and public health costs, while the money raised could be put to good use. The potential revenue from such a tax could help make healthier foods more affordable and help pay for other health

promotion and disease prevention programs and initiatives.

The processed (aka junk) food industry is obviously against such a tax, citing reasons like job loss and the right of the public to consume whatever they like. Beverage industries claim that a tax would not decrease consumption of these types of drinks nor would it have impact on our nation's obesity rate. The beverage industry is quick to point the finger at other sources of calories and sugar in our diets as blame for our nations current health crisis. Low income people having to pay more for soda or junk food may also see this tax as a bad idea, when they already struggle to buy cheap (nutritionally and in dollars and cents) foods. 

The tax on sugar sweetened drinks is another step in the right direction for a healthier future for America. When public health is the responsibility of the government they have the obligation to take steps such as these. This simple step seems to me to be a win-win situation. Consumption of a product that harms our health goes down, the money gained by this tax goes up helping to make healthier foods cheaper by subsidizing them. Just as with smoking, those who really want to drink soda everyday will continue to despite the higher price at checkout. It's those who decide to not buy pop for their children because of cost or bring a water bottle with their lunch instead that will benefit. Just this discussion will get some thinking about why is this a hot topic? What is soda doing to my health? Any small step with such great benefits cannot be ignored. 

Reducing Hidden Salt - Step toward a healthier America?

I received this assignment in my Community Nutrition class this quarter (my LAST quarter!!!) at Ohio State. Since Americans overconsume salt daily (along with just about everything else...) I thought I'd share! Plus it's been way too long since I've blogged! Sorry readers! Make sure to keep up with me on Facebook - I'm much more reliable on there! :)

This is short & sweet & to the point. One paragraph introduces, we get the 'for it' side, the 'against it' side, and my own opinion! Feel free to share yours!

Cut Sodium Content 25% by 2020

The Institute of Medicine is calling for the Food and Drug Administration to reduce the amount of salt in commercially prepared foods, which are typically loaded with sodium. The purpose of this recommendation is to help cut back the amount of sodium the average American is consuming and in return lower occurrence of cardiovascular disease and other health risks that plague our nation thanks to our over-consumptive diets.

The Institute of Medicine suggests that this proposal could save 100,000 lives a year just by lowering sodium in foods commercially prepared in a way that consumers probably won’t even taste. The average American is over-consuming sodium by 50% daily, about 3,400mg of sodium compared to the recommendation of 2,300mg from the federal Dietary Guidelines. This is double the 1,500mg recommendation for older people, people with high blood pressure, heart conditions, diabetes, or kidney issues by the American Heart Association. The majority of this consumption is coming from foods that already have the salt added, fewer than 25% of the average daily intake coming from the salt we add to our food at home. Companies have already been doing this voluntarily without seeing a decrease in sales, suggesting that consumers taste no difference in the product. The FDA’s involvement in making this a dietary guideline has become necessary because the food industry now adds more salt than ever to prepared foods. This gradual decrease would help the health of our nation without a second thought to the consumer.

The Salt Institute has taken a strong stance against the proposed sodium restriction as expected. They ask that legislation be halted or reversed in order to protect the health of Americans. President Lori Roman says that this could be Americans at risk for the dangers of a low-salt diet and that this violates the medical mandate to ‘first, do no harm.’ They stand opposed to 300 million Americans being treated as “lab rats in a risky trial”.
In my opinion, reducing the amount of sodium in commercially prepared foods is an excellent way to help Americans take a step toward a healthier future. Learning the risks associated with the diets typically consumed by the American people has really opened my eyes to how much our diets are to blame for the skyrocketing numbers of those plagued by health problems that they ate their way into. This is not a change that any one person will have to actually make on their own and one that will probably go unnoticed by our taste buds. The idea that this legislation would put people at risk for consuming too little sodium is absurd; the Salt Institute is simply trying to protect their profits while American people continue to eat themselves into disease, costly medical bills, and early deaths.