Interval Workouts – What Are They and Why Are They Good?
Interval training is a type of exercise wherein you go from a high intensity to a low intensity workout and take brief periods of rest in between. Those periods of rest can be in the form of a lower intensity activity. For example, you can go from jogging vigorously for several minutes to walking around for several minutes. It is a way of training that takes you from high intensity to low intensity in a short period of time.
This is similar in kind to anaerobic exercising. Anaerobic exercise uses highly intense activity to promote strength, power, and agility in its users.
The main goal for interval workouts is to improve speed. When you improve speed, you improve power, agility, and certainly stamina. These types of interval workouts are typically performed by runners and swimmers to increase their cardiovascular performance.
There are several benefits to interval workouts:
Efficiency and Effectiveness
One of the biggest benefits is that interval workouts promote cardiovascular fitness in an athlete. Interval training provides the athlete with the opportunity to exercise or perform better for longer periods of time in varying degrees of intensity.
Fat Busters
Studies are beginning to show that utilizing interval workouts increases your body’s ability to burn fat long after you have stopped exercising. This type of workout is essential to boosting your metabolism. And we all know what happens when we boost our metabolism; we are able to burn calories for longer.
It seems to be that interval workouts do not allow the body to produce enough oxygen while working out. In some way, this affects your body’s ability to rev up your metabolism long after the interval workout has stopped.
Lactate Threshold
There is also something known as a lactate threshold when it comes to interval workouts. The build-up of lactic acid in the blood stream is a factor in utilizing interval workouts. When the body can momentarily rise above its lactate threshold during intense bouts of activity, this can be advantageous to an athlete. When lactate is removed instead of stored in the bloodstream, it will therefore not build up.
This can then increase performance, strength, power, and agility in, for example, a runner that has to go a long distance.
An interval workout is always best performed with the help and guidance of a professional and with the advice of a physician. Since the heart has to work hard for these high intensity workouts, professional advice and a physical exam are always recommended – just as in any other type of exercise regimen you may wish to consider.
Interval workouts are showing results in many ways such as burning more fat, improving performance, and duration of a workout.
These are some of the benefits of an interval workout.
Heart Healthy Snacks for Kids
It’s so easy to reach for a bag of chips or a box of cookies instead of something healthy, but if your children are like most, once you offer up a healthy snack your children will grow to love the taste. Here are some snacks that are good for your heart.
Old Classics:
* Ants on the log – Take a stalk of celery; cut it up into “logs.” Cover it in heart healthy nut butter (peanut or almond) and then sprinkle with raisins. A tasty, fun, heart-healthy snack.
* Banana boats – These are a fun alternative to s’mores around the campfire. Take a banana, slit the peel, keep the banana in but cover it with marshmallows and antioxidant dark chocolate chips.
* Wagon wheels – Take two circular whole-grain crackers, put fat-free, 1% or low-fat cheese in between and you have a healthy snack in the shape of a wagon wheel.
* Wagon wheels redux – A new take on the old classic. Slice up an apple on its side to create circles. Fill with low-fat turkey or low-fat cheese and you have a nice low-carb, gluten-free snack.
Make Your Own:
* Create your own tortilla chips. Take whole wheat tortillas, cut in strips, brush or spray with a touch of heart-healthy olive oil and bake in the oven at 400 degrees F until crispy. You can also add cinnamon sugar for a sweet treat.
* Bake your own fries. Take a potato or for an even healthier vitamin A-enriched snack, a sweet potato, and slice it into 1/8- to 1/4-inch strips. Again, brush or spray with olive oil and bake in the oven at 425 degrees. After 20 minutes, shake a little salt over them, raise the temperature to 450 and bake ten more minutes until crispy.
* Pumpkin seeds are packed with magnesium. While carving your pumpkin, set the seeds aside, rinse and spread them out on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking oil (try the omega-3 heart-healthy spray). Sprinkle with salt and roast at 250 for 45 minutes to an hour. Many recommend chili powder, Cajon seasoning or garlic powder on this tasty snack.
Make Ordinary Food Fun:
* Instead of just a fruit salad, try fruit kebabs. Or let your children make their own kebabs and share them with the family. You can use toothpicks or actual kebab skewers and add slices of banana, strawberries, kiwi, pineapple or melon to make a fun and festive heart-healthy snack.
* Consider turning boring veggie trays into a Halloween skeleton everyone wants to eat. You can build red pepper ribs, a cucumber slice spine, celery stick shoulders, baby carrot arms, cauliflower hands, a bowl of ranch dip for the face, black olive eyes and leafy kale as hair. And you can do the same for any holiday coming up — blueberries, strawberries and bananas are great for designing fun Independence Day treats and so on.
Sometimes substituting a heart-healthy snack for a junk food snack just takes a little creativity or a quick trip down the fruit and veggie aisle at the grocery store. If time’s running low, here are a few easy things to stash in your purse as heart-healthy snacks: a package of unsalted almonds or sunflower seeds, apples, oranges or grapes, baby carrots and hummus, whole grain crackers and low-fat string cheese, water.
A heart-healthy snack takes minutes to prepare and is full of vitamins, fiber and low in cholesterol. Consider taking a few minutes to prepare a heart-healthy snack for your children’s after-school snack, and you’ll find that a few small changes can make a big impact on your child’s health and eating habits.
Elegant Eggnog Dessert
1 can (13-1/2 ounces) Pirouette cookies
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
2 cups cold eggnog (This was prepared with commercially available eggnog and does not work well with reduced-fat eggnog.)
1 1/3 cups cold whole milk
2 packages (3.4 ounces each) instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 teaspoon rum extract
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup heavy whipping cream
Cut each cookie into two 2-1/2-inch sections and set them aside. Crush the remaining 1-inch pieces. In a small bowl, mix together the cookie crumbs, graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press this mixture into the bottom of a greased 9-inch spring form pan.
In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth using an electric hand mixer. Add the eggnog, milk, dry pudding mixes, extract and nutmeg and beat until smooth. In a small bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold the whipped cream into the pudding mixture; spoon this over the crust. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight.
Just before serving, remove the sides of the spring form pan. Arrange the reserved cookies around the dessert and press them gently into sides. Refrigerate leftovers, if there are any.Â
Good and Bad Fat – What’s Yours?
We have all heard the terms good and bad cholesterol and good and bad fat. Good cholesterol (known as HDL) is responsible for protecting against heart attack, heart disease, and the build-up of plaque in the arteries. Bad cholesterol, on the other hand, is responsible for building up too much plaque in the arteries’ walls and contributing to heart attack and heart disease and also stroke.
What does this have to do with good fat and bad fat? The old adage “you are what you eat” could possibly apply here. The type of fat you ingest – good or bad – helps determine your health and your weight.
Bad fats, also known as trans fats and saturated fats, contribute to weight gain and heart disease. Good fats, also known as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated, are needed for a healthy, happy heart and can aid in weight loss and maintenance as well.
There are several fats, which are and always have been good for you:
* Oily fish like salmon is an excellent choice to raise your good fat quotient
* Nuts and seeds
* Sunflowers
* Olive oil
* Canola oil
* Avocadoes
* Pistachios
* Mackerel and tuna
Just as there are many sources of good fats, there are also good reasons to focus on good fats in the food choices you make.
* Increase your good cholesterol
* Reduce your risk of heart disease
* Clean up your arteries
* Reduce the risk of stroke
* Reduce risk of heart attack
* Improve immune system
* Keep diabetes at bay
* Help maintain healthy weight
If you are not yet partaking in these healthy foods, perhaps the reasons above can help convince you to do so from now on.
Must of us know about bad fats. Bad fats will usually show up in processed foods, as well as fast foods of all types.
Eliminating trans fats and saturated fats from your diet and replacing them with some healthier omega-3 fats will greatly improve your health while helping to reduce your weight and maintaining it as well.
Butter, lard, palm oil, high fat cuts of meat, and baked goods are all examples of bad fats. “You are what you eat” certainly can apply when it comes to good and bad fats.
GAP Years for Girls: A New Wave of Good
There seems to be a universal shift, an awareness of sorts, taking place across the globe. Baby boomers as well as their offspring seem to be searching for more in their lives and what they can do better.
The quest for purpose and fulfillment seems to be universal, and thankfully seems to be apparent in the younger generation of women these days. High school students are more involved in causes than ever before.
What Is a GAP Year
A GAP year is often referred to as a time in a young girl’s life when she takes a hiatus from traditional learning and explores things outside her academic world. In search of purpose and fulfillment, a young girl sets out in search of herself.
Helping others, traveling, and community service are just a few examples of how a young girl can participate in a GAP year.
Typically, young girls after graduating high school will take some time off to explore and investigate their lives above and beyond the standard walls of a university. Traveling abroad is popular.
One of the basic premises of a GAP year is to encourage young women to find out about themselves while exploring new ways to address the world as a whole. All the world’s problems cannot be solved through traditional educational systems. By exploring through travel and hands-on experiences, young women get potential insight into the future of the world and how they wish to be a part of that.
A GAP year is beneficial in many ways.
Discovery
A young girl gets the opportunity to discover who she is by traveling and providing community service in much-needed areas of other countries. By participating in programs that help others, a young girl gains insight as to what she may want to do with the rest of her life and how that will impact the lives of thousands of others.
Explore
A GAP year provides a young girl with the opportunity to explore and expand beyond what she knows as her own smallcommunity. She gets to see first-hand how some other children may be living and how she can help when she creates her future.
Taking time off to explore, travel, and reach out gives a young girl the opportunity to settle into what she may see for herself for the rest of her life.
Growth
And, of course, with discovery and exploration comes the natural process of growth. Spirituality, altruism, and philanthropy are not traditional subjects in traditional classrooms.
Growing is part of the process when a young girl reaches out to embrace a GAP year. And, in her growth, comes the growth of the world.
Feast and Fast: Is the 5:2 Diet Just a Fad?
There is a new diet that has found its way to the shores of the US from the UK. It is called the 5:2 diet plan. Many are wondering what it is all about and if it is just another fad. Let’s weigh the pros and cons after we give you a little information about it all.
What Is 5:2?
5:2 is a diet that promotes a cycle of feasting and fasting. In the simplest terms, you eat normally but healthfully for five days a week while reducing your calorie intake severely for two days of the week. On the two “fasting” days, calories are restricted to 500 for women and 600 for men.
The proponents of this plan say that it can help reduce many health risks like Type 2 diabetes, insulin sensitivity, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. It is also thought to lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Restricting calories on certain days is believed to give your digestive system a rest so the body can repair itself easier and lower the risk of these unhealthy conditions.
Pros
Let’s look at some of the positive points about this diet plan. Fasting doesn’t mean going without food. It means eating 25 percent of your regular caloric intake. On those days, you will have to think more carefully about food choices. It can help you shop for healthier foods that are nutrient dense and full of fiber but not calories.
Intermittent fasting is believed to be as helpful as lowering caloric intake across the board. Doing it at intervals gives you more control than trying to limit calories each day.
The diet plan is flexible. You can choose which two days you want to fast. It is not a good idea to do two consecutive days, but otherwise you can plan around important events.
Cons
This diet is not for everyone. Those who are diabetic, children and pregnant women are just a few who shouldn’t participate.
You always think about food. This can be a motivator but for others it can lead to overeating on your normal days so that the fasting is negated.
Some are worried that the fasting portion will encourage eating disorders. Those who are most vulnerable to them could get caught up in the fasting and lower food intake on other days as well.
Some experts worry that this diet is not sustainable. Most people don’t normally fast as part of their healthy eating lifestyle. Exercising on fasting days can cause issues with energy levels.
The Verdict
Is the 5:2 diet a fad? That depends. When it comes to losing weight and getting healthy, what works best is what you can maintain and incorporate into your lifestyle for the long term.
Christmas Morning Soufflé
1 1/2 pounds pork sausage (You may also use turkey or chicken sausage)
9 eggs
3 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 day old challah bread (5 oz.) or other crusty bread
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Cook the sausage over medium heat for 15 minutes and crumble the meat as it cooks. Remove the sausage from the pan and drain it on paper towels to remove the excess fat. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs while the sausage is cooking. Add the milk, mustard and seasonings. Cut the bread into 1 inch cubes and set them aside. There will be about 4 1/2 cups of bread cubes. Add the bread cubes to the egg mixture and stir to ensure the eggs cover the bread evenly. Next add the drained sausage and cheese. Stir well. Lightly spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the mixture into baking dish and level it, but do not press it into the dish. Cover it lightly with plastic wrap and place it into the refrigerator overnight.
In the morning, preheat your oven to 350°F. Place the uncovered dish into the oven and bake for about one hour.
Diets Delivered: Are They Easier to Stick To?
What is it about the word “diet” that scares us so? Maybe it’s better to use another word in that space when we talk about limiting food and increasing exercise. Would that make them easier to stick to?
If you simply type “diet” into any search engine you won’t be spoiled for choices. They are everywhere and come in all shapes and sizes, just like people. We are fascinated with the many ways that can be found to create a plan to lose weight. That is the point of most diets – to lose unwanted poundage.
Why are there so many diets? For one, people are not all the same. You may lose weight easier with one method than another. Your neighbor may not like bread, and the Adkins diet or the South Beach diet may work well for them. Some don’t know how to eat better because they haven’t learned the basics. Different people need different levels of guidance.
Ease of Use
This is subjective. Before you (or we) answer the question of whether they are easier to stick to, ask yourself the following questions:
* Do I work well with a structured plan?
* Am I good at recording and keeping a food journal?
* Does accountability keep me motivated?
* Do I need a workout buddy?
* What foods do I like?
* Can I stop eating a certain type of food “cold turkey”?
* Do I know weight loss basics?
* Is the diet plan I want to follow tested?
Let’s face it – some diet plans sound like they were made up off the top of someone’s head because no one could physically follow them. Every plan sounds good when someone else is talking about it and showing results. The problem comes when they omit how hard it actually is and how long it will take for satisfactory results.
Get Your Head in the Game
Any diet plan is easier to follow when you change your mindset. This is how you think about the journey you are about to take. Instead of thinking of it as temporary, consider it a “lifestyle change.” After all, you don’t want to the weight to return so that means you will need to continue these new-found habits. Here are some tips:
Investigate each diet plan thoroughly – Know what it is asking you to do and the logic of it. For example, it takes a deficit of 3,600 calories to lose one pound. The body needs at least 1,000 calories to operate at sufficient levels. Losing 10 pounds in 10 days requires a significant slash in caloric intake as well as major increase in physical activity.
Make a plan – Detail how much weight you want to lose and in a reasonable time frame. Work with that instead of the supposed results that the diet plan reports. These stories always differ from person to person.
Keep a mental image – It can be an actual picture of a place you want to go or a picture of a thinner self. Use it as a reminder to keep you mentally strong.
Reward yourself – Instead of a once-a-week cheat day, use pounds lost as your guide. Have a sweet treat or go shopping every 10 pounds lost.
Diets are only as easy as the amount of time and preparation you put into them.
Creating a Heart-Friendly Home
Many times when we’re thinking about what to do that’s heart-friendly we think of things we can eat, such as whole grains or oats, or things we can do, like running. But what can a family do to make their whole home into a heart-friendly environment? Here are a few ideas.
Be Active
More and more people throughout the United States are becoming more sedentary. Instead of walking to the mailbox to check our mail, we’re checking email on our smartphones. Instead of playing tag, our kids are chasing each other on Mario Kart.
Consider taking the family for a bike ride, a hike in the woods, ice-skating or sledding, swimming or horseback riding. Within your house, have heart-friendly toys: pogo sticks are a lot of fun, have a jump rope contest, climb trees or teach your kids your old neighborhood games like kick the can, neighborhood-wide hide and seek, or organize a scavenger hunt. A scavenger hunt can be done inside the house as well on snow-bound or wet days. Be creative, and your family will be moving around before you know it.
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
Some people simply do better to skip the cookies and chips aisle in the grocery store and keep them out of the house altogether. Consider what kinds of health-friendly foods you and your family enjoy and keep the kitchen stocked with those. Also, can you serve turkey burger in your spaghetti instead of hamburger? What about in the tacos? With lower fat, turkey is an excellent heart-healthy choice.
What about switching from butter and unhealthy oils to Omega-3-heavy olive oil? Omega-3 is good for the heart and helps to reduce inflammation. Think about what kinds of heart-friendly ingredients you can use — oats, whole grains, flax seed, lean meats and fish, lots of fruits and vegetables and especially leafy greens such as kale and spinach are great for the heart.
Do you like nuts? Nuts are another great source of healthy fat and vitamins that make a great snack. And consider old-fashioned popcorn – pour a tablespoon full of olive oil in a pan and add about a half cup of popcorn. Be sure to cover it with a lid, shake it occasionally, and you’ll have a heart-friendly snack the whole family can enjoy.
Hobbies
Think about your hobbies. Aside from straight-up exercise, even hobbies that don’t involve sitting on the couch and watching TV can make a big impact on your heart. Researchers call these activities NEPA – non-exercise physical activity. Working in the garden, pottering around in the workshop, mowing the lawn, blowing the leaves, picking strawberries or mushrooms all increase your level of activity.
People with higher activities decrease their risk of heart attack or stroke, compared with more sedentary people. So consider what kinds of activities you and your family can involve yourselves in, and enjoy. Standing, moving and using your muscles even a little bit increases metabolism and keeps the heart revved up for health.
There are a lot of little things you can do to make your home a heart-friendly one. Consider your activities, hobbies, exercise and eating habits and think what you can do to become a little more active and eat a little healthier. Remember, change begins with little steps forward. Once these changes become habits, you’re on your way to a healthy new life.
Common Problems Children Have with Their Teeth
You might think cavities are the number one problem children have with their teeth but that, as they say, ain’t the half of it. Although children do have “baby teeth” they will grow out of and replace with permanent teeth, dental care is very important for children. Setting a good foundation of proper dental care will help stave off problems with permanent teeth that are more difficult to remedy. Here are a few of the more common problems children have with their teeth.
Tooth Decay and Acid Erosion
Tooth decay is a big problem that can be avoided. First, it’s important to only serve milk, breast milk, water or formula in a baby bottle — never put juice, soft drinks or other sugary drinks in a bottle. Not only can sugars cause tooth decay, but many of these sugary drinks are acidic and can cause acid erosion, which can wear off the enamel on the tooth.
Unlike a cavity, acid erosion erodes the entire surface of the tooth at once. So be sure to avoid any acidic drinks – this includes even diet soft drinks. Also, it’s important to be sure your child has enough fluoride. After a child reaches toddlerhood and is able to spit out toothpaste, it’s safe to begin using a fluoridated toothpaste. Finally, proper brushing – for at least two minutes in the morning at night, as well as flossing and regular dental visits, can make a big difference in your child’s dental health.
Difficulty Brushing
Smaller children need help. First thing, the sink is quite high for the little ones. Consider a step-stool or lifting them up to reach the sink. Be sure that they can move the brush around at a proper angle so they can reach all of their teeth and every corner of their mouth. It’s ok if you guide the brush for them so they can get the feel for what they should be doing. Some dentists, in fact, recommend that parents supervise or even assist with brushing until children reach the age of six.
Teething Pain
The unfortunate truth is that teething is painful. However, there are remedies to help alleviate the pain. Many parents recommend a cold wash cloth or even a frozen wash cloth. The cold sensation helps to numb the mouth and the washcloth is a good texture for biting. There are teething rings, plastic toys – any baby will tell you that there’s nothing like sinking your teeth into a good board book. And, you can also check with your pediatrician to see if an over the counter pain reliever such as infant ibuprofen at night.
Knock Out!
One of the biggest problems children have with their teeth is that they get knocked out. If this happens, be sure to bring as many pieces as possible to your dentist. He or she may not be able to replace the tooth in its entirety, but every little bit helps.
Proper dental care is essential for children. Knowing some of the more common problems can help you be on the lookout to avoid them – and as they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Laying a solid foundation of the most basic dental care, such as brushing twice daily for two minutes, flossing, avoiding sugary and acidic drinks and making regular visits to the dentist can make a big difference in your child’s life.
Blue Cheese-Apricot Bites
2 teaspoons butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon snipped fresh rosemary or 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, finely crushed
1/4 cup crumbled Gorgonzola, Roquefort, or other blue cheese (1 ounce)
1 ounce cream cheese
16 dried apricots
Snipped fresh rosemary (optional)
In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the walnuts and sugar to the melted butter. Cook and stir them for 2 to 3 minutes or until walnuts are lightly toasted. Stir in the rosemary in either fresh or dried. Cook and stir the walnuts for 30 seconds more. Transfer the nuts to a foil-lined baking sheet and allow them to cool.
While the walnuts are cooling, combine Gorgonzola cheese and cream cheese in a small bowl. Beat the cheeses with an electric mixer on medium speed until they are smooth.
Spoon about 3/4 teaspoon of the cheese mixture on top of each dried apricot. Sprinkle the cooled walnuts over the cheese mixture. If desired, garnish with additional fresh rosemary and then serve.
CBM Positivity Training – Could It Work for You?
Whether you’re a glass is half full or a half empty kind of person, everyone could use a bit more positivity in this sometimes bleak world in which we live. CBM positivity training could make the difference in your life.
Do you ever find that you open the newspaper and only read the negative articles? Do you focus on things that went wrong in your day, the driver who honked at you, or that negative comment in the meeting? CBM, or cognitive bias modification, works to train you to look for the positives.
Mr. Rogers famously advised children that when something awful happens like 9/11 or the Boston Bombings, always look for the helpers. Picasso painted the terrible Guernica bombings, but also put a flower in the center to symbolize hope. Focusing too long on the negatives of life can cause numerous problems. Pessimistic people tend to remember the negative things, and dwelling on the negative can lead to extreme pessimism, depression, stress and anxiety.
Some of the programs CBM offers allow people to practice focusing on the positives. One experiment features a grid of faces. For a specified time, participants stare at sea of mostly negative expressions on people’s faces until they can spot the person whose face appears to have a happy or positive expression. Click on that image, and then a new grid of the same people appears, scrambled. Once again the grid features a slew of negative expressions and one positive person.
Participants continue with this exercise for several minutes and the idea is that with practice, they’ll train themselves to look for the person with the positive expression as quickly as possible, ignoring the negatives. The idea is that this can translate to thinking more positively and focusing less on all negativity in life.
This could help in many areas. Are you a creative person who frequently encounters rejection? This exercise will help you focus on the positives in your life and the people who do appreciate your work. Are you in a job search? This will help you focus on the positives — the fact that you have an interview rather than the fear of flubbing it. Even for people simply new in town who literally need practice in finding a friendly face, whether at school or work or a place of worship, this exercise can help.
Studies show that focusing on positives and shifting negative biases can help people better cope with stress. Finding ways to cope with stress can lower rates of depression, improve health, give you greater resistance to the common cold, give you a better psychological and physical wellbeing, improve overall outlook, give better coping skills during hardships and times of stress, and reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. It can also help with weight loss.
So whether you’re a full-on pessimist or simply someone who occasionally focuses on that negative comment at work rather than the scores of other positives that happened throughout the day, CBM positivity training might make a big difference in your life.
Are You an Orthorexic?
You may have heard of anorexia, but what is orthorexia and should you be worried about it? They say that too much of a good thing is never a good thing and orthorexia is proof of that. Keep reading to find out more about this nutritional disorder.
Humble Beginnings
Let’s look at this scenario. You are looking to change your eating habits. Weight loss or just lack of feeling good may be the driving force. In your attempt at finding the right foods, you hit upon what works to help you achieve your goals. Unfortunately, the more you read about food and nutrition, the more you think about food – all the time.
Now, you worry about putting anything in your body that doesn’t conform to certain criteria. It has to be all-natural, no preservatives, no unhealthy fats or oils and the like. It takes you longer and longer to shop because you have to read every ingredient on the label and reject most of them. Eating becomes a chore but you can’t seem to stop yourself from obsessing over what might be lurking in your meat or vegetables.
This is a snapshot of what life might be like for an orthorexic. Unlike anorexia which means “no appetite,” orthorexia means “straight appetite.” When you add “nervosa,” you get “fixation on straight appetite” or “fixation on healthy eating.”
It doesn’t sound like a big problem on the surface, but deeper down you hit the issues.
What Does It Mean?
Orthorexia is not officially classified as a mental disorder like anorexia, but there is growing concern over the issue. Those who exhibit it so obsess over food choice and preparation that they can’t eat out. All food must be prepared by hand and strictly examined to be sure that it is free from chemicals, unwanted fats and the like.
Along with this is the intolerance of others who do not eat their food in the same fashion. It appears to be an obsessive-compulsive type disorder that can affect the daily lives of its sufferers. Attending social activities that surround food could be out of the question.
It is believed that orthorexics are of a certain type. Those in professions which depend on size and weight, like dancing, sports and fitness instructors, have experienced this disorder – along with those who deal with health, like medical students, nutritionists, dieticians and others. There is no evidence that this population is any more affected than society as a whole.
Are You Orthorexic?
It all depends on your perception of food. Are you constantly obsessed with preparation? Do you refuse to eat anything not prepared a certain way? Has your diet become extremely limited in what you can eat? Do you think about food all the time in this way? You could be orthorexic.
Consult your doctor or a therapist about your misgivings. It may not be classified as a true disorder yet, but that doesn’t mean you are not experiencing it right now.
Aerobic Exercise – Are You a ‘Non-Responder’
We have all come across that one person who eats whatever he or she wants and does not gain an ounce. We all also know how we feel about those individuals – a little resentful and perhaps a lot jealous.
We also all know people who can exercise for hours on end and not lose an ounce as compared to someone who can simply take a walk around the block and drop a few pounds.
What makes some individuals so special in the world of exercise? Perhaps it is not luck, how much they exercise, or what they eat. Perhaps, it is simply what their gene pool is made up of.
According to a study performed by the physiologist Dr. Claude Bouchard and his team at Louisiana State University, there are several different types of “responders.” There are low-responders, high-responders, and non-responders.
Over a period of approximately 20 weeks, Dr. Bouchard and his team made the discovery that certain individuals react differently to the same exercise regimen.
The experiment, involving the monitoring of hundreds of volunteers that were typically used to leading a sedentary lifestyle, told the tale. Monitoring the volunteers for how they processed oxygen and pumped blood throughout their bodies, as well as testing things such as pulse and blood pressure, were a big part of the experiment.
The experiment resulted in the discovery that somewhere between 10 and 15 percent of the volunteers did not respond to aerobic exercise while others had moderate success and yet others had a high degree of success. Doing further research will discover which gene could possibly be responsible for the outcome.
We all know that everybody has a different metabolism as well. Therefore, if you have been trying aerobic exercise with little or no results, it may simple be because you are genetically programmed to not respond to those types of activities.
While these studies showed physical improvement in the volunteers, some simply did not respond to the aerobic exercises the way that others did.
It is important to note that with any exercise routine, the advice of your physician and the training by a professional will go a long way toward seeing you reach your goal. Exercise, at least in the early stages, is not something you should approach on your own. Getting the help of a professional trainer is the best way to work around that non-responsiveness when it comes to any form of exercise.
After-Christmas Turkey Potpie Recipe
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup finely chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 cups cooked turkey, cubed
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed golden mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup frozen cut green beans, cooked and drained
Pastry for double-crust pie (9 inches)
1 tablespoon milk
In a large pan, sauté the carrots, onion, celery, thyme and pepper in butter until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Place the turkey and flower in a large resealable plastic bag shake to coat the turkey evenly. Add the turkey, soup and green beans to the sautéed vegetable mixture. Stir well to ensure the mixture is combined. Line a 9-in. pie plate with the bottom crust. Add the turkey mixture and set it aside. Roll out the remaining pastry to fit top of pie; seal and flute edges of the pie crusts. Cut several small slits in the pastry for steam to escape. Brush the top crust and edges with milk. Cover the edges loosely with foil. Bake the potpie at 350°F for 55-65 minutes or until it is golden brown. This recipe is best served warm.
Wardrobe Wisdom: Why Quality Beats Quantity
When it comes to a woman’s closet, there are often more clothes represented than are ever worn. Why is this? We fall for the fashion advertising instead of following the conventional wisdom that served our mothers and grandmothers well. Go for quality over quantity.
Wardrobe 101
What is your motivation? Most of us head out to do a little “retail therapy” without any idea of what we will bring home. Some of the items get a head shake when we pull them out later. What were we thinking when we bought that? The idea is to plan your wardrobe first and then shop.
Quality costs money but it doesn’t have to cost all of your money. One tip is to find what you need in a high end store and then search for the same items in a store that you can afford. Quality clothing lasts longer when properly cared for and can serve you well. Buy pieces that can be interchanged to make new outfits.
Before shopping, pare down your closet. Remove clothing that is:
* The wrong size for your current body
* Too trendy and not trending now
* Worn, torn or faded
* Scuffed (shoes)
* Not to be worn again (bridesmaid dresses for a start)
This should eliminate half of your wardrobe. We often hang on to favorite outfits that we haven’t worn in years and hope to wear again. Let someone else have it. It’s time to move on.
Everything in your closet doesn’t have to be the same color. Without a wardrobe plan, you may buy five black blouses that are all similar. Black is not the only color that looks good on you. Find colors that complement your skin and hair color. Start adding those to your closet.
Wardrobe Essentials
Every woman needs the following articles in her wardrobe:
* Three-piece suit
* Knee-length skirt
* Basic black trousers
* White blouse
* Basic black dress
Stick with a power color like black or navy for the suit. These basic items can be paired with sweaters, colorful blouses, various shoes and the like to form other outfits. In a pinch, you always have something for a job interview, a party and a funeral if you can’t afford to buy something else.
As you add to your wardrobe, keep in mind that anything you add needs to be versatile. Stay away from trendy pieces and don’t be afraid of adding color. For instance, to dress up your three-piece suit, try a gold blouse for night-time or a silky blouse of any color that can transition from day to night.
Always shop with an idea as to what you need to enhance your wardrobe. Match shoes to outfits instead of the other way around. This keeps things practical.