My top 10 health tips from 2015

There may come a day when I can no longer do this. Today is not that day!

It’s the time of year to look back at the year that is over or look ahead at the coming year. In today’s post I chose to select my top ten list of health tips from 2015. This list might not seem like a list of health tips, but I assure you, it is.

1. Practice mindfulness: think before you act - This may sound trendy but call it what you will – consciousness, awareness, being present in the moment – it is a practice that will serve you well in all the things you do. And it does take practice! In the workout world, repetition without awareness is simply movement without a goal. To make progress, movement is not enough, it must be purposeful and determined.
2. Make life-affirming choices - Decision-making can be an onerous task but if you keep this rule in mind, you will make the best decisions for yourself.
3. Show up - You can’t get anywhere in life if you don’t show up. Show up for your job, for your classes, for competitions, for appointments, for commitments. Showing up is the first step to success.
4. Exercise wherever and whenever possible: look at places to go as opportunities to exercise. Walk or ride your bike; take the stairs. Squeeze in some push ups and squats. Do what you can.
5. Eat at the table. Eat slowly, taste and enjoy your food - Eat when you feel calm and relaxed to get the most benefit from the food you eat. Ask yourself are you a stress eater or do you avoid food when feeling stressed. Neither is healthy but being aware is the first step to changing the behaviour.
6. Give up on self-defeating talk - Don’t listen to those negative voices in your head. They are wrong. Nobody progresses by listening to self-defeating talk. Keep things positive, including how you see yourself. Be patient and gentle with yourself.
7. Do the same thing different ways - Your body adapts to new movements after about 4 weeks. Adding intensity, time under tension (speed of movement), volume, load, and varying angles (increasing or decreasing leverage) are all ways to train the same movement in different ways. There are an unlimited variety of ways to perform pushups and squats, two of the boss fundamental bodyweight movements. Doing the same thing different ways equals success.
8. Mobility and flexibility are foundations – If they are weak, you will never be strong. Making flexibility and mobility the cornerstone of your practice will allow you to develop a strong flexible body. You will have fewer limitations as well as fewer injuries.
9. Ask yourself, what’s holding you back from being the best version of yourself? Identify the obstacles that are preventing you from progressing and then work on removing or overcoming those obstacles. It might be lack of flexibility, it might be time management, it might be inertia. Whatever it is, it can be overcome.
10. Always do your best – When working out, you might not always feel your best, but give it your best on that day and your efforts will pay dividends. When making food choices, do the best with what you have. You might not always be in an optimal place or situation to make the best food choices. Do the best with what you have.

Making this list was not easy. There are many more tips that I could have included. However, I hope I have chosen some that resonate with you. If you have favourite tips from the past year you would like to share, please comment below. And if you have ideas for blog posts for 2016, I invite your input. Until then, Have a happy and healthy New Year everyone! Santé!

What’s holding you back?

Are there skills you have not been able to acquire and you’re not sure why. Strength is an obvious hurdle but very often there is something else holding you back. If you can’t do a push up, you need to work on strengthening chest, shoulder, triceps, abdominals, and lower back. Pretty simple (though not easy). How about shoulder push ups? The most difficult version requires not only strength but flexibility as the body needs to fold almost in half like a jack knife. What about single leg squats? Now you’re talking strength, flexibility, mobility and stability.

To move past sticking points you must train your weaknesses. But first, identify what they are. I have limited range of motion in my wrists because my forearms are hyper-flexible in one direction and hyper-inflexible in the opposite direction. This fact severely limits my ability to do straight-arm strength exercises with my hands on the floor, exercises like the straight arm lever.

The physical training pyramid :

7. Endurance

    6. Strength

        5. Stability

           4. Flexibility

              3. Mobility

                 2. Nutrition

                    1.Rest/Sleep/Recovery

The bottom of the pyramid being the first thing that must be addressed before the next level in the pyramid. In other words, if you aren’t getting enough sleep nutrition, mobility, flexibility and so on won’t help you achieve your physical fitness goals.

Today I had a 90-minute personal training session with Sara-Clare of Agatsu in Montreal via Skype. I am working on skills that I will need in order to pass the Level 2 Kettlebell Certification and so I turned to Agatsu for training, the same people who trained me in Mobility and movement, Kettlebells, and overall personal training methods. The skills include: pistol squats, L-sit handstands and muscle-ups. Pistol squats are simple but again, not easy. Not if you lack ankle mobility and have tight calves and lateral hamstrings like I do.

Rather than flogging a dead horse by struggling to do pistol squats, I am going to be working on increasing my flexibility and mobility on a daily basis because these are the impediments to my progress. Strength comes after mobility and flexibility. These elements are slower to improve so they need frequent (daily) attention. In addition I will be neurologically programming my body to get into the positions I need to execute these exercises. I will accomplish this by regressing the movements, breaking them down, and holding those positions for repetitions. Learning which muscles must be activated is another key to successfully performing difficult movements. 

There are other tips that will help you get better at certain movements. The important thing is understanding there is a logical progression to achieving your goals. If you skip important steps, you will be less likely to succeed. There are building blocks and foundational movements that are fundamental to success.

Sometimes we need a knowledgeable and objective third party to help us identify what we need to work on and help us train for them. Anyone can benefit from a trainer, regardless of the level they are at. Sara is world-class and still has someone help her to keep improving. Irrespective of your level of training, enlisting the help of a trainer can help you evaluate your weaknesses and give you advice for improving on them. If you don’t know what’s holding you back maybe you need a coach or trainer to help you achieve your goals.

Curry Vegetable Barley Soup

This recipe was my introduction to rutabaga. I’d never had it before or could even say exactly what it looked like. Rutabaga is thought to be a hybrid of a turnip and a cabbage. Nutty and sweet with a mild flavor, rutabagas, it turns out, can be roasted, sautéed, baked, fried, boiled, mashed, and added to soups and stews. They can also be eaten raw as a snack or grated into salads or coleslaw. I had extra left over from making this soup, so I ate some raw and grated some into salads. Mashed, they complement potatoes, onions, and carrots, butter and salt and make a hearty, warming dish.

This soup is a hearty can be made with or without the curry and it will taste good. Add the curry if you like it hot, increase it if you like it even hotter.

4 tsp olive oil

1 onion

1 carrot

1 celery stalk

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

2 tsp Thai red curry paste

4 cups cubed peeled rutabaga

4 cups peeled winter squash

½ cup pearl barley

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

340 g mushrooms, sliced

3 cups packed fresh baby spinach

¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 tbsp lime juice

In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat half the oil over medium heat; cook onion, carrot and celery, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, about 8 minutes.

Add garlic, ginger and curry paste; cook, stirring for 1 minute. Stir in rutabaga, squash, barley, salt and pepper and 7 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until barley is tender, about 40 minutes.

Using immersion blender (or transfer to a blender in batches), purée until smooth. If using blender, return to pot.

Meanwhile in large skillet, heat remaining oil over medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until golden and no liquid remains, about 8-10 minutes.

Stir in mushrooms, spinach, cilantro and lime juice into soup. Cook over medium heat until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Nutrition (per serving):

Protein 6 g

Fat 5 g

Carbohydrate 37 g

Fibre  8 g

Sodium 437 mg

Potassium 951 mg

% RDI:

Calcium 12%

Iron 22%

Vitamin A 161 %

Vitamin C 62 %

Folate 32 %

Motivated to be strong

I sometimes get asked what keeps me motivated when it comes to working out. Or where do you get your motivation? Because it’s not something I give much thought to, I have to stop and think. Motivation is an elusive quality. But I do know that my motivation is to be strong and get stronger, keep fit and get fitter, and ultimately get better. If that’s my goal, it’s a moving target, which is why it works well as a motivator. You attain it but never really attain it.

Recently I read an article on motivation and it reminded me that one’s motivation for anything comes from what we desire. My desire is to move easily and not slow down with age, to move myself, as well as heavy objects.

When it comes to fitness, we need to realize that taking care of our bodies should be at the top of the list of things we need to do. It is our one body, it is all we have. You cannot expect it to thrive from neglect. There must be intention.

If you think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, our physiological needs come first, our basic needs of life: air, food, water, shelter, warmth, sleep etc. Once these needs are met, our need for movement and effort must be taken care of. Once upon a time this need was included in acquiring food, water, and shelter. Now that it is not we have to make a more conscious effort to attain even a minimal level of fitness.

If you want to know how to live a fit and healthy life, the first step is realizing that your functioning body and healthy state of mind not negotiable. It needs attention daily. The next step is doing one thing at a time until it becomes a habit, part of your daily routine.

Of course we all accept that life sometimes gets in the way. It is our job to rise above obstacles and move forward, to learn from these experiences but never doubt yourself. Challenge your doubts and ask yourself why do they exist? I find if I miss my morning workout, it is more difficult to get it done. I am not always motivated. I have to adjust and reset. Once I get started there’s no problem staying in the moment and enjoying the process because I know it is positive and taking me where I want to go. The workout is its own reward. Sticking with it, overcoming obstacles, it’s all part of the journey of finding and having strength.

Everything you do is a result of your choices. Embrace the knowledge that you are in the driver’s seat. Don’t just be stronger in spite of obstacles that arise, but because of them. This is strength; this is freedom.

Working out takes Effort and it needs to be repeated. Consistency is key, so keep at it. Don't have time for your full workout? Shorten it up. Doing something is better than nothing. When you are working out, give it your full Attention. Designate time and respect the process.

One last thought. We progress and improve by looking at what is stopping us from doing what we know we should. Looking at ourselves and seeing if we are making healthy, positive choices or negative ones. This is how we become motivated to do what’s best for ourselves and for those around us. Keep the right attitude for improvement. Start by doing and keep exploring until you find what works for you, and what you enjoy. Don’t wait for it to miraculously show up.

"Do something today that your future self will thank you for." That effort is never wasted.

Rethinking cow’s milk

Less than a generation ago, cow’s milk was a staple food in North American homes. Other dairy products were as well. But in the last 50 years, cow’s milk has been revealed to be a source of real concern for an increasing number of people. Several years ago someone wrote that humans are the only beings who drink the milk of other species. This gave me pause. And then I thought, well yes, that’s true, but humans do a lot of things that other animals do not. Things that go against nature. I dismissed the idea as academic.

With time, however, I have come to the conclusion that cow’s milk is causing far more harm than good. Although I have no issues with milk or dairy personally, I see more and more people suffering from its effects.

There are lactose-intolerant individuals who have to eliminate dairy from their diets to be healthy. Lactose-reduced products are becoming increasingly more popular. But they are not completely lactose free. There is no process to remove 100% of the lactose. Lactase is the enzyme we require to digest the lactose in milk. Some people do not produce lactase and so they cannot digest lactose and as a result they feel quite ill when they drink milk or consume products that contain dairy. Examples of distress include flatulence and abdominal discomfort, cramps and diarrhea.

It is not uncommon for some people to develop an intolerance later in life because although we may have been born with the enzymes necessary to digest milk, we may lose them as we get older. This is nature’s way and it makes sense because the enzymes are no longer required to break down the sugar in mother’s milk.

Most of the world’s population does not have the ability to produce lactase in the intestines. This lactase deficiency may affect from 70 to 95 per cent of Oriental, Black, Native American and Mediterranean adults and from 15 to 25 per cent of Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon descent.

Continued consumption of milk products by those with a lactose intolerance may also produce fatigue and a predisposition to catch colds, bronchitis and ear infections. The degree of severity of symptoms is highly individual.

Anyone who has a lactose intolerance is well advised to avoid all dairy products and all foods with lactose, whey or milk solids as a hidden ingredient. Yogurt and some cheeses are not as high in lactose so some individuals are able to tolerate small amounts. Best to avoid them altogether.

Some lactose intolerant individuals can safely consume butter which contains only small amounts of lactose. This small amount can be completely removed by clarifying the butter to make ghee.

There is a smaller segment of the population that is allergic to milk. Allergy and intolerance are not the same thing. Allergy refers to faulty immunity in the body; intolerance refers to faulty digestion. It might be the casein, one of the most allergenic proteins in milk. Or it might be the way that milk is produced and processed that is causing the problem. If we consider how cows are raised today by big-agricultural farmers, it is no wonder that people are getting sick. As well, pasteurization and homogenization reduce the nutritional content of milk. Pasteurization, although not a health-promoting process, is required by law but you can find unhomogenized milk in health food stores.

In general, people tend to develop allergies to foods that their ancestors have not traditionally eaten. Knowing this can be helpful in identifying offending foods. Allergy to milk is a frequent cause of chronic duodenal ulcers and colitis. Whenever these conditions exist dairy products should be suspected. (Allergy to grain is another common cause of intestinal distress.) Milk allergies may also cause arthritic symptoms. Other diseases that have been associated with milk include celiac disease, chronic diarrhea, various gastrointestinal, pulmonary manifestations and fibrosis.

"Drink milk" advertising campaigns notwithstanding, maybe it is time to rethink our habit of drinking cow's milk and products made from milk.