Physical Inactivity Impacts Health Care

A group of researchers used data regression models to examine the use of health care services by physically active and inactive people in Canada and their findings were quite compelling.

The results show that, compared to an active person, an inactive person:
• spends 38% more days in hospital
• uses 5.5% more family physician visits
• uses 13% more specialist services
• uses 12% more nurse visits

On an annual basis, additional use of health care associated with insufficient
physical activity is about:
• 2.37 million family physician visits
• 1.33 million other physician visits
• 0.47 million nurse visits
• 1.42 million hospital stays
(Estimates of social cost for the publicly funded health care system in Canada.)

A physically active lifestyle can have dramatic health benefits, reduce utilization of health care resources, and result in considerable cost savings. So get out there and just be active! And pass it on.

http://www.centre4activeliving.ca/publications/research-update/2009/sept-overweight.html

65% of Americans support a public health care option

What is it that our representatives in congress do not get about this? This stat is directly from the most recent New York Times/CBS poll released on September 24th and supported by several other polls.
http://www.examiner.com/x-17297-Rochester-Independent-Examiner~y2009m9d28-65-of-Americans-support-a-public-option-on-health-care

It's time to speak up. Call your representatives today!

Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ-07)
CALL: (202) 225-2435

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)
CALL: (202) 224-2235

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ)
CALL: (202) 224-4521

Gabrielle Giffords
CALL: (520) 881-3588

Make your voice heard and get it done...NOW!

Living Life Off Balance

We hear so much about creating balance in life – which has merit if your life is literally in crisis and chaos. But I propose that it’s good to stay somewhat off balance. When in constant balance, your life equilibrium is stationary, static, at a standstill, and you are trying not to let a sudden twitch or push shift the teeter totter too far in one direction. Therefore, nothing too exciting happens other then a minor blip on the screen, a small ripple in the pond, or a slight breeze. Where’s the vitality, excitement, energy, fun, novel experiences, adventures, bizarre laughable events, crazy life experiences, edgy stuff that happens when life stretches you to arenas you normally don’t frequent? Yes, it’s sometimes scary, sometimes invigorating, sometimes sad, sometimes joyful….but it’s always full. So, get out there and do something different, push yourself off balance. It’s all part of living life fully.

It's never too late to start making healthy lifestyle choices!

Changing how we live has been shown to be a much more powerful intervention for preventing heart disease than any medication. The "EPIC" study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine documented adherence to 4 simple behaviors (not smoking, exercising 3.5 hours a week, eating a healthy diet [fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and limited amounts of meat], and maintaining a healthy weight [BMI <30]).>Lancet, found that changing lifestyle could prevent at least 90% of all heart disease.

 Lifestyle intervention for many chronic diseases is more effective than medical intervention. So why is it so difficult for so many to be more physically active, to  eat healthfully, and stop smoking? It takes effort, energy, mindfulness, planning, and intention and can appear overwhelming.

Begin with small changes (a 30 minute walk 3-4 times per week), eating on a small plate and planning 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.  It’s never too late to start making healthy choices!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/lower-your-risk-of-heart_b_300292.html

Negative Split

I like to negative split...in competition and in life. Let me explain -

In competition you can even split, positive split or negative split - here's the difference :  

1.) even split (race at a pace that you know you can maintain for the distance, this usually will get you close to a PR).

 2.) positive split (starting faster then you can maintain and then slowing as the race goes on. When you go out too fast you borrow energy that your body cannot sustain and you correct by slowing down...sometimes significantly and occasionally ending in a complete blow up, with times that are less then desirable).

3.) negative split (starting s notch below where you know that you can sustain and gradually building with a bust out in the second half of the race and finishing strong). Negative splits almost always yield your best overall times. 

I like the negative split concept when I engage in a life endeavors or projects - a gradual build up of steam, cumulative combustion, and finish with an explosive bang!

What is your approach to competition and life?

There is no downside to prevention

That's straight from CDC Director, Dr. Thomas Frieden, and my sentiments also. It was announced last week by Frieden and Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, that $373 million will be made available to fund "Communities Putting Prevention to Work". Funded projects will include programs and policy to increase physical activity, improve nutrition, decrease obesity, and decrease the use of tobacco and exposure to second hand smoke.

We know that as little as a 5-10% weight loss can result in significant improvements in health. So, if you weigh 200 lbs, that's only 20 lbs. The obesity challenge is HUGE and $373 million doesn't have much girth, but it's a start. So we must all do our part and encourage and support our friends, family, colleagues, and community members to get active, stay active, decrease food portion size, and make nutritious food choices. Pass it on...

http://www.multibriefs.com/briefs/acsm/cdc.htm

Today it's about recovery

Rest and recovery is often the most abused aspect of training. As intensity and duration of training increase so must rest. This includes adequate sleep to allow the release of growth hormones to repair tissue damage from the day's training stress and it also involves active recovery days built into the training plan. Here's how it works -

Progressive overload (training stress) is needed to improve fitness. Training builds fitness by tearing down the body, but here's the caveat - only when the proper amount of stress is applied followed by rest and recovery. Theoretically there is a threshold (level of stress) for our cells to become stronger and more efficient. Too much stress, applied too soon, without adequate rest and the cell is considerably weakened and struggles for days and sometimes weeks to recover. Strenuous workouts followed by sufficient rest leads to what is called overcompensation, which allows the body to gain fitness. Thus the importance of a thoughtful and progressive training plan that includes the right dose of overload and recovery is critical to achieve the desired goals.

Today was a wonderful easy 18 mile spin on my bike for active recovery. And yes, fall is in the air here in Tucson! So get out there and enjoy it!

Living with Intention

Someone recently told me that I was lucky that my weight stays so constant. My response was,  I work at it, it's intentional, luck has nothing to do with it. By that I mean that I am mindful of what I eat, when I eat, and how much I eat. It's not an obsession with food, it's a lifestyle pattern that has evolved over time. I am also cognizant of the type and amount of physical activity I build into my day and week. Being physically active is a  priority, I enjoy it, I look forward to it, it energizes me. I schedule it and it is sacred time, it doesn't get canceled.

The morale of this story is that good futune or luck is not the reason one lives a healthy lifestyle. You choose a healthy lifestyle, it is by design, you can elect to eat healthfully and exercise regularily or you can elect not to. What do you choose?

El Tour Training Ride - Week 2

50 miles strong - average speed 18.0mph. Made it up some of the hills and hung on, but still getting dropped when the grade increases. Just completed first build week in the next 4 week cycle. With two months to go I am right on target. Increasing milage this week, which increases total training volume.

Syncardia is riding out together and there is positive vibe, support, and camaraderie among the group members, reinforcing the merits of group training.

Exercising with other people is motivating and boosts happiness

How do you feel when you are exercising by yourself as compared to when you exercise with with a group of friends? I know that I love group exercise, whether it's with my cycling buddies at Cactus Cycling or Syncardia, with my hiking group on Friday mornings, or swimming or lifting with a friend. Working out with others creates good energy, is motivating, distracts from physical discomfort, instills a sense of communal belonging, provides social benefits, and releases endorphins - those hormones that create euphoric sensations.

With all of these feel-good sensations derived from group exercise...it's a no brainer. So grab a friend and get out there!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8257716.stm

A simple flow chart to a happy life

What do you do when life isn't going quite right? Well, it's really quite simple...check this out -

http://www.typcut.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Areyouhappy_a2_web_1024-600x848.jpg

You have a choice - you can continue to do whatever you're doing or you can change something. Even small changes can have a dramatic impact on how you feel, your attitude, how you relate and interact with others, and your happiness quotient. So, if there is something in your day that's not going or feeling right, what will you choose to do?

Aging Baby Boomers Cost Hospitals $56 Billion

Alright, I'm talking about this, because I am an aging baby boomer....now let me clarify - the boomers did not cost hospitals $56 billion, they made hospitals $56 billion, the hospitals were reimbursed by the insurance industry. These were not baby boomers without insurance. Hospitals love boomers, they are a tsunami of osteoarthritis, stroke, respiratory failure, irregular heart beat, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder, blood infections, and congestive heart failure, knee and hip replacements, and heart bypass surgery, all of which are chronic conditions related to lifestyle choices. The 54-65 year old boomers are requiring an avalanche of medical care. This tipping point could significantly be reversed by selecting simple lifestyle choices like eating less, eating more healthfully, and being physically active everyday. It's time to start taking responsibility for our health and the run up of health care costs related to poor lifestyle choices. So what are you going to do about this?

http://www.ahrq.gov/news/nn/nn090909.htm

Ben's Bells

If you don't know Jeannette Mare and Dean Packard and their family...you should. They are the creators of the Ben's Bells Project in honor of their son, Ben, who died suddenly of Croup, before his third birthday. The Ben's Bells project promotes intentional kindness to help make the world a better place by making and distributing beautiful handmade bells. The project has distributed over 13,000 kindness bells through out Tucson and has traveled to New Orleans, Virginia Tech, and NYC this past 9/11 to share bells with others.

Learn more about Ben's Bells at http://www.bensbells.org and also donate to the project with your El Tour de Tucson charitable gift.

Here's Jeannette, Dean, and their son, Matt on the Silver City GABA Ride on Labor Day weekend, 2009.

Is good health contagious?

How social networks influence health (i.e. smoking, obesity, alcohol use, fitness, happiness, loneliness) is an interesting question. It's hypothesized that "health behaviors spread partly through the subconscious social signals we pick up from those around us", a form of emotional mirroring. For example, if you want to be happy, it appears that having many connections and daily exposure to many small moments of contagious happiness is key to improving personal happiness. In other words, good health (in this instance - happiness), is a product of your proximity to other healthy (and happy) people.

So, can we hypothesize that if you want to live a more physically active life having daily exposure to moments of contagious physical vitality and physically active people can make changes in your personal exercise and activity behaviors? Why not? I know that physically active and vital individuals inspire me, and in turn, my physically enthusiastic life and contact with others spread the impetus for a physically active lifestyle.

I believe we can each influence 1,000 other people to live a more healthful, physically active, and full life...so Pass it on! Make it viral!

Read more about contagious health behaviors -

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/magazine/13contagion-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=magazine

El Tour Training Ride #1

Syncardia rode together strong and yes, the pace picked up - averaging 17.9mph for 42 miles. Only got dropped once climbing out of Rincon Valley. Each week will be a gradual increase in milage for the next 9 weeks.

It was great to see so many cyclists out for the GABA sponsored ride. Fall brings a plethora of colorful jerseys out onto the roads...all preparing for one of the El Tour distances.

Taming the Fatigue Monster

You know the feeling...you get out of bed in the morning after a good night's sleep feeling listless, unfocused, with no pep to tackle the day, let alone a vigorous bout of exercise. It's easy for those of us who train seriously or anyone who exercises 5-6 days per week to experience significant and often continuous fatigue - a sure sign of overtraining and inadequate rest, and a call to re-examine the training plan.

I use a progressive plan, building total volume (exercise duration, frequency, and intensity) for three weeks and then incorporate an active rest week, cutting my training volume by at least 50%. This allows for physiological adaptation before applying additional stress (increased workload).

I have found as I have gotten older I require more rest and that I sometimes have to alter my training cycle to a two week build followed by the week of active recovery. It is also important to take at least one full day off from training per week and if necessary build in a second rest day or active recovery day. An afternoon power nap may aid recovery also.

Week 4 Strength Training

Completed the mid-point in my 8-week strength training program. After building cycling base miles for 3 weeks, week 4 is active recovery for cycling and strength training before starting the next build phase, gradually increasing duration and intensity of exercise. 

I feel as if I am gaining strength, but it is still too early to determine if this will translate to increased strength and power on the bike and of course improved performance.

Here is our trainer, Brenda, putting Tish and I through a set of exercises.

There are no miracle machines...period!

OK, you've heard about them... there is the Ab Coaster, Ab Circle Pro, Ab Energizer, Ab Rocket, Sauna Pro Belt, Torso Tiger, Bodyblade, the Burn and Thigh Max, Easy Shapper, the Hip and Thigh Sculptor....and dozens more - just check out the latest fitness equipment infomercial - all extolling bold claims for maximal calorie burn, spot reduction on the abs, hips, and thighs, and a fantastically fit body with only 10 mins a day.

Now, let's set the record straight - the recommended guidelines for exercise to promote overall health is 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity or 75 minutes per week of vigorous intensity activity, plus more is needed for weight loss and optimal fitness...and you can not spot reduce specific areas of the body.

Want more info -

http://www.acsm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=ACSM_News_Releases&CONTENTID=13310&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm

"Etre bien dans sa peau"

As the French say -" to feel good in your own skin". Someone said to me this weekend "only a woman with confidence would walk in with hair like yours." I guess this meant that he liked my hair - white and wild - or that I was a woman with confidence. Whichever... reflecting on this conversation I realize that I am a queen of "be who you are", or  just be authentic. The more you are at ease with yourself - your physicality, your emotions, your self expressions, your persona - the more you can reach out to others. There is no way to fully move around and experience the world unless you are comfortable and fully acquainted with yourself. This comfortability, knowing yourself, and being true to yourself allows you to speak freely, act freely, and be free. I am working on it. How about you?

Day 3 and Climbing

Brilliant blue skies, sunshine, and 60 degrees made for ideal cycling as we headed out for the Continental Divide, a nice downhill past Lake Roberts and through the pines and then the uphill that wouldn't stop. I felt like the little engine who could...I was not getting off my bike on those 10-12% grades. What a joy to see that Sag stop at the top of the climb, but the hills weren't over as we headed the next 20 miles to Pinas Altos.

I recommend the GABA bike tours - they are well organized with great support, full of fun-loving outdoor types, and it's always a joy to ride your bike through beautiful and scenic country. Check it out http://www.bikegaba.org/

Day 2 - Camp Thunderbird

Day two started out overcast and got colder and wetter as we climbed through the beautiful Mimbres Valley and into the Gila Wilderness. Lunch with hot chocolate was a welcome stop for the soggy cyclists. 10 more rainy miles to Camp Thunderbird, but not too cold as we were climbing steadily. After more hot chocolate and hot showers, the sky cleared and many of the true outdoors folks pitched tents for the night, opting out of the dormitory accommodations - that did have some interesting advantages. Then it was happy hour again and dinner in the lodge.

New Mexico by Bike

The 3 day GABA bike trip starting in Silver City, New Mexico provided excellent scenery, great cycling, and enjoyable companions. Our first day was a short and zippy 32 miles to City of the Rocks State Park in the high desert grasslands of New Mexico. After setting up camp it was happy hour and dinner. Tough day!

Week 3, Day 6 Strength Training

Feeling stronger and standing taller.

What are your barriers to exercise?

A national omnibus survey commissioned by the American College of Sports Medicine found that 94 percent of Americans feel a national physical activity plan is important in helping to avoid chronic conditions and diseases and that 97 percent of Americans think changes in the health care system must provide disease prevention through physical activity.

Yet less then 30% of Americans exercise at a level that is sufficient to induce positive health changes. We have been successful at increasing awareness of the benefits of physical activity on health, now our work focuses on the the next steps of behavior change.

Take this short quiz (and share it with your friends, family, neighbors, and colleagues) to help identify and understand what barriers may be preventing you from enjoying a more physically active lifestyle.

http://www.myexerciseplan.com/assessment/barriers.php

The Real Rap on HFCS

Is high fructose corn syrup really the bad boy of sugars? You might be surprised to find that HFCS does not contribute to obesity any more than other types of caloric sweeteners, that it is metabolized the same way as table sugar (they both enter the blood stream as glucose and fructose), and that there are no significant differences between HFCS and sugar (sucrose) when it comes to the production of insulin, leptin (a hormone that regulates body weight and metabolism), ghrelin (the "hunger" hormone), or the changes in blood glucose levels.

 The fundamental link between sugar, blood glucose fluctuations, and obesity is that Americans ingest TOO MUCH sugar – in any form – white sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, crystallized fructose, dextrin, honey, invert sugar, maple syrup, raw sugar, beet sugar, cane sugar, corn sweeteners, evaporated cane juice, glucose-fructose, granulated fructose, high fructose corn syrup, fructose, malt, molasses, and turbinado sugar.

 I try to limit foods that have any of these ingredients listed as one of the first three items. How about you? How are you going to reduce your sugar intake?

 http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=486