http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2012/05/15/saturated-fats-may-not-be-all-bad-latest-diabetes-research-findings.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AustralianFoodNews+%28Australian+Food+News%29

And a comment below this post hits the nail on the head:

The exercise more/eat less mentality combined with the low fat/high carb diet has been an epic failure. We need more influential strength coaches like yourself preaching this message! Keep it up Mike!

http://strengthcoachblog.com/2012/05/15/more-evidence-for-increased-fat-intake/

Check out this article for more:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2143477/Bring-butter–cheese-red-meat-milk-How-low-fat-obsession-harm-health-says-nutritionist.html?ITO=1490

Is it time to increase your fat intake? Does eating fat make you fat? This article looks into these ideas and more.

- (Patient) “At my gym they said I should ask you whether it’s okay for me to exercise.”

- (Doctor) “I get that question a lot … but nobody says consult a doctor before buying a recliner or a big screen TV.”

- (Doctor) “Side effects may include bloating and weight gain.”

All humor aside, take another gander at this … which compromises your health more in the long run? Beginning and continuing an exercise program, or purchasing a comfy recliner and flat screen that sits 15 feet from your fridge, a la the perfect storm, right?

Truth is, if I may be so bold, maybe we should all set a goal to live off of the health care grid, if you will. Check in with your doctor if you have questions about beginning exercise programs or battling a never-ending sinus infection, but just as “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, your goal is to do any and everything you can (including eating an apple a day) to “keep the doctor away.”

Our culture has become one of

if I am not sick or injured, I am apparently healthy.

This couldn’t be further from the truth. When in fact, the true definition of “wellness” is the idea that we are never in a place where we cannot become healthier than we are today. We can always strengthen our immune system, get more (consistent) sleep, reduce stress in some way or cut some sugar out of our diet.

Do not lose weight to become healthy, but become healthy to lose weight.

True health care reform, (regardless of what you hear pundits and politicians bloviate about) begins with the self … taking personal responsibility for your health and that of your family. You are the most important person on your personal health and medical team. Do not accept “if I am not sick, then I am healthy” as your personal health care standard … you, your mind and body, and your loved ones deserve better.

Then, if I may be even bolder, after taking responsibility for our own personal health and health care, we could begin holding our medical community to a higher standard. The next step could be reconnecting our health care/medical industry with the meaning of the word “health.” Have you been in a hospital lately and checked out the “professionals” that are taking care of patients?

I don’t want to throw all the doctors and nurses out there under the bus, but I genuinely worry about where medical education and “health awareness, advocacy and ownership” in our medical and nursing schools are trending these days. First and foremost, please search out professionals who practice what they preach. (And that includes fitness trainers and otherwise professionals as well.) You wouldn’t go to a bankrupt financial planner, why go to an overweight internist who probably has high blood pressure?

I am proud to say my wife is a registered nurse who worked in critical care for years before changing careers to be a full-time mom. In both contexts, she was and is an awesome example and advocate for living a healthy lifestyle. (I believe that is reason #744 I married her in fact.)

Maybe we will discuss in another post the difference between “health care” and “disease care” in our society, and how important it is to know the difference … but for now … please just enjoy the cartoon and go enjoy a big ole juicy apple while you are at it;)

Please read this if you have kids who are or you will probably play sports:

http://www.momsteam.com/successful-parenting/seven-reasons-against-specializing-in-a-single-sport-and-travel-team-play-at-ea

In it, she lists the top five regrets of those lying on their death beds.

“Five things many people regret at the end of their lives” …

1. I wish I had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I had not worked so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had kept in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

If there is one of these above others to reflect upon, make it #1.

When we are living the life and doing things we think we should be doing, we are acting out of rationalization, instead of inspiration. When making choices you believe you have to do, or should do, two things often happen:

1. First, we become disconnected from our mind, body, inner self and purpose for living
2. Secondly, we are attempting to live up to someone’s or something’s expectations. This usually leads to judgement, most often, of oneself.

These two results perpetuate a vicious cycle, in that as we begin judging and berating ourself with negative internal dialogue, we avoid the issue at hand. This may quiet the negative internal-conflict temporarily, but does not resolve the problem. By putting our challenges on the back burner and avoiding them, this increases the disconnect further. We see this resulting in avoiding uncomfortable yet necessary dialogue with loved ones, losing touch with our hunger cues, manifesting physical aches and pains throughout our body and ultimately becoming a victim of our experience.

Instead, replace phrases like, “have to”, “should”, and “need to” with “want to.” Each day, remind yourself that you do not HAVE to do anything. At some level, you WANT to act. You want the result of whatever choice you are making. This empowers you, allows you to own the choice at hand and puts you in an inspired position to act. If you make time to quiet your mind and listen for that often subtle inner voice, (shutting off the TV, getting off Facebook, going for a walk without head phones, turning your cell phone off) you can successfully navigate your actions according to where your spirit is leading you.

One of the first steps to doing this is what I call, “opening up” or “unleashing” your right brain. Your right brain is your future brain, your creative, explorative brain. We are all born “whole brained” people, and research actually shows that we are all born highly creative.

So why are so many people unfortunately convinced of the opposite of this fact? When does “right brain amnesia”, the conditioned inability to use the right brain begin to set in? Is our current educational system to blame?

In this 19 minute TED talk, Ken Robinson explores the challenge we face with a standardized educational system that he theorizes was developed for the industrial age, and is therefore, out of date.

Kids beginning school this year, (my oldest daughter is 4 years old and in pre-school this year) will retire in the year 2070 or beyond … we have no idea what the world will look like then. If we continue to educate in a left-brained fashion, focusing on the ideas and standards deemed important a century ago, the future may be bleak indeed.

Is the answer re-developing the balance of music and art with science and math? Moving around the class room while reciting facts instead of sitting in desks all day long? Robinson offers ideas for these and more in this TED Talk given in 2006. (I have worked with several educators recently and have been excited to hear many of these ideas are indeed being implemented in our schools.)

Of course I do not believe any of this will matter much if parents aren’t once again engaged at a deeper level with their children. I hope for all parents to view the nurturing of their children from conception through adulthood to be a significant part of their legacy, and a blessing bestowed to them from Above.

But I digress, if you have time, check this 19 minute video out, Ken is a great speaker with an excellent sense of humor. (I believe this is the most watched TED talk video circulating by the way.)

Final Thought

Consider your approach to your current set of goals, whether weight loss or getting “into shape.” Are you using your right brain? Are you trying new things? Are you unleashing your future brain, leaving behind the ideas or routines that may have worked temporarily in the past, but ultimately left you in the same (or worse) place than where you began?

The next REDDY TO LIVE Weight Loss & Healthy Lifestyle Program begins this month. In this small group coaching program, we explore a (w)holistic approach for managing your weight, eating intuitively and discovering the difference between what we should be, have to be and want to be doing when it comes to living the healthy life you deserve. By discovering this difference, we unleash a powerful motivator that leads to an inner peace that can only lead you to personal (and professional) success. Please click on the link above for more information about this program beginning in the St. Louis, MO area soon.

Also visit www.reddyhp.com for more!

So while we do often recommend the treadmill for some potentially wicked calorie burning intervals, be warned … it can get a little ugly … (especially if you attempt a pogo stick or a bike on the thing;) Enjoy.

(Thought you could use a good chuckle.)

The Vegetable Song is a short music video created by Si Bennett featuring anthropomorphic singing veggies that encourage the eating of vegetables.

Sure they do, and yes, that’s right, every once a blue moon, you may hear me or one of our coaches (politely) ask someone to sit down in order to do a core exercise … but don’t be fooled young Padawan, these two moves are tough, and will deliver some waist tightening, core improving results if mixed into your routine a few times a week …

First, let’s look at the a Seated Rotary Cable Press, also known as a Pallof Press. You can re-create this with a rubber band attached to a weight bench, door knob or held by your partner. Sit up straight, continue to breath normally, and perform 6-15 “presses’ while varying the speed and intensity of each, just as James does so perfectly below. (Begin with a lighter weight, and if done corerctly, you will really feel your waist, obliques/transverse abs area, and maybe even your glutes fire on this on. You can also do it standing and kneeling.)

Secondly, the Incline Bench Alternating Single Arm Kettlebell (or Dumbbell) Press, (yes a mouth full, but a calorie-free mouth full, so we like it and one you can duplicate with dumbbells. Though on this particular day, Jeanny was feeling perdy darned feisty, so I threw “bottoms up” kettlebells at her and she knocked out so well I had to get it on video. If you use a challenging enough weight, you will feel this in the opposite waist/oblique area of the arm that is doing the press. Perform one or two presses per side, alternating for 6-10 reps per arm. (The bench is best set at 30-45 degrees.)

Here is Scott Mayfield hitting a similar 1 Arm DB Alternating Press with 60+ lb dumbbells … so whether using bottoms up kettlebells (above) or some big weights like Scott does here, try this one out:

Mix these into your next training session … tell us what you think! Remember, the core is more or less an “anti-movement” muscle, it stabilizes your mid section and pelvis so the rest of the body can move around it. Note that both of these exercises, while wickedly effective, do not involve any sort of spine/neck/chest/lower back abusing crunching or flexing forward. And I will say it once again, if you are still doing crunches, you are living in the 1980′s, and while I love break dancing and hair bands, it’s time to move into the 21st Century with the rest of us.

Beyond self-expression?

I am a strong proponent of many success and motivational strategies that emphasize self-mastery, self-direction and of course our basic human need of self-expression. But how far can we really get by our-self? I believe the “can we be a “good person” just for the sake of being a good person” debate is an important one to consider. Can effective core values be centered around only ourselves? What much of the “self-help” and motivation literature seem to minimize or leave out completely is the inevitable transition from “self-help” to “God’s help.”

In the same breath then, when we consider this ”self-expression”, are we really just expressing ourselves? I have been playing competitive sports since I was 5 years old, and I am a stronger believer in the many vitally important values of athletic competition, most notably what is discussed below.

This article was recently given to me and I wanted to share it with you guys:

When you think about the word “competition,” do you picture two individuals or teams engaged in a furious struggle? Many people seem to think of it as such these days — and sometimes even with a touch of viciousness as good sportsmanship surrenders to a powerful drive to win.

The word “compete” is derived from the Latin com, together and petere, to seek. Aren’t we and our opponents in a sense “seeking together” to express our  abilities as fully as possible? Seen in this light, competition is one way to express our native God-given skills.

The heart often provides a better yardstick of success in competition than a final score. Numbers don’t always tell the true story. Which is the true victory: winning 5-4 in a sloppily-played game against a weak team, or losing 5-4  in a well-played game against one of the best teams around? The deepest satisfaction should come from a greater demonstration of competence — more of the alertness that comes from Mind, the joyful cooperation derived from Love, the consistency of Principle.

In God’s universe there can be no ruthless competition, no warring elements, for all is the one infinite Mind in which all ideas express total harmony. And the more we love and obey this Mind, the better our job of demonstrating this harmony will be. Paul the Apostle declared, “all things work together for good to them that love God.” (1)

These spiritual facts can have direct bearing on our attitude towards sports. We can view competing as a form of cooperating because two teams – or two individuals — are actually working together to test each other’s competence and prod one another to improve. Our goal in sports, as in every area of life, should be to express more of God’s qualities every day. And don’t we tend to progress more rapidly toward this goal when we have the challenge of competition to spur us on? From this standpoint, our opponents are friends, not enemies.

How should we treat these “friends” when we play against them? Just as we would treat any friend — with respect, friendliness, and perhaps with open appreciation for a well-executed play, but especially with a determination to show them the very best we have to offer and in turn to draw the best from them. For if we are not doing our best, we are not expressing our innate ability to the fullest. We’re not doing all we could to glorify God.

We can’t afford, either, to view our opponents with disdainful contempt. That’s how Goliath viewed the Israelites. Odds-makers would have favored the big fellow, but, as you know, haughtiness got him nowhere. We can’t afford to be like the Israelites either — psyched out and admitting defeat even before the opening bell. Instead we have to be like David, who didn’t indulge in comparing mortal appearances but dedicated this effort to showing the world God’s power.

Any appearance of overwhelming opposition isn’t something “out there” against we are helpless. A statement of Mrs. Eddy’s from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures can help remind us of this: “We must look where we would walk and we must act as possessing all power from Him in whom we have our being.” (2) It doesn’t matter if the apparent obstacle is a state champion opponent, poor weather conditions, a fluky turn of events (which tempts us to believe in luck rather than in God) — the circumstance can’t stop us from doing our best, can’t rob us of dominion. Courage and humility “bind the strong man,” the false mentality that argues limitation and suggests fear; for courage stands up to the foe, mortal mind, and humility stands aside and lets the divine Mind express its own glory.

Growth in Christian character is the single most important outcome of athletic competition. In addition to developing courage and humility, competition can promote our practice of other important qualities. Patience with fellow players and unwavering encouragement of them — especially when they seem to be struggling — exercise the kindness that builds true friendships. Someone eager to be given more playing time or to win more matches may need to show grater self-discipline and persistence, qualities essential to the successful practice of Christian Science. By wrestling with the discouragement and defeat, the young athlete has the chance to develop the steadfastness needed to persevere during life’s crises — even a faithful clinging to God, a refusal to fold under material pressures.

These are just some of the values of athletic competition. Anyone striving to better express God-given qualities through sports is a victor, never a loser.

1. Rom. 8:28
2. Science and Health, p. 264

- Mark William Hendrickson

(The Herald of Christian Science Vol. 33, No. 1)

 *Thank you so much to Susan Jackson for sharing this article.