Nutrition 101

What we consume when we eat is simply called our DIET.  When people say they are going on a diet, that is funny to me, because using the word diet’s true definition means that person wasn’t eating before.  The politically correct term would be I’m altering or focusing my diet to support my goals in life.  In today’s frenetic fa(s)t-food world, the former can prove to be one of their toughest challenges.
Fueling the body and mind helps people perform optimally in day to day life.   Our energy levels and how we feel are directly related to what we put into our bodies.  Because of the dynamics of the human system is does not good to eat a balanced diet one day and go on a 6 day poor quality eating pattern.  Nor can we over eat and then say “I’ll work that off in my gym routine tomorrow,” well the body does not work like that either.
Their are 6 essential nutrients that our bodies cannot survive without, remove one for too long from a person’s diet and they will die, painfully.  Water, Protein, Fats, Carbohydrates, Vitamins, and Minerals are the six things a body needs to survive.  I”m gonna focus on 3 here..........
1. Carbohydrate – This nutrient is the royalty of energy production, as it provides the energy and fuel required during repetitive bouts of high-intensity exercise. It is stored in the form of glycogen in the muscles and the liver and is readily available when called upon.  The major caveat, however, is that the body’s storage tanks hold limited amounts of this fuel, thus predicating continual replenishment. 
This is especially true of what used to be known as “complex carbs,” (now referred to as “low-glycemic” carbs) such as whole grain cereals, pasta, brown rice, fruits, and vegetables.  Simple sugars (or “high-glycemic”carbs), such as those found in processed items such as soda, candy, snack foods, and even some starchy vegetables, may not provide the sustained level of energy release that is usually characteristic of complex carbs.
The carbohydrate classification models of complex/low glycemic and simple/high glycymic have been a topic of much debate and discourse in terms of blanket claims about their energy effects on every individual.  People tend to respond and adapt to food nutrients at a rate and level dictated by a cascade of individual differences.
The glycemic index – which rates carbohydrate sources by the effect they have on blood sugar –was originally designed to help diabetics control their blood sugars.  However, a multitude of factors play into this, including the amount of fiber it contains, how much is eaten, the amount of added fat, and the way it is prepared.
For more information on the glycemic index rating system, go to www.glycemicindex.com.
Without question, though, carbohydrates are the very best fuel for moderate and high-intensity exercise.  Additionally, they are the primary fuel source for the brain and all of the vital functions that it exhaustively executes. The complex/low-glycemic variety might be a better choice over the long-haul, but the simple/high-glycemic variety do provide glucose more rapidly for immediate post-exercise intake and can be beneficial, especially when combined with a small amount of protein.
The complex carbs are vital soon thereafter, as they contain many essential vitamins and minerals – or, “micro-nutrients” — that aid in recovery and assimilating food sources for energy and muscle building.  For instance, we know that carbohydrates can assist in sparing protein for muscle repair and growth, rather than allowing the body to use it as a primary energy source.
Recommendations for daily carbohydrate intake range from 50-60%, depending primarily upon activity level and calorie expenditure.  Obviously, athletes engaged in strenuous training, practice, and competition will require the higher end recommendation – and possibly a bit more.  This is especially true of the whole grain products, fruits, and vegetables, which we tell our athletes to get as much of as possible. This amounts to approximately 3 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight per day, which is a generous allotment, but is often needed by high-caliber athletes.
2. Protein — Some of the better sources for quality protein are lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, low-fat dairy products, beans/legumes, and a variety of nuts. Since our muscles and hormones are constructed with protein components, these quality protein sources are extremely vital for histological (i.e., tissue) growth and repair.
Protein is comprised of any number of the 21 amino acids.  Nine of the amino acids are termed “essential,” due to the fact that we must obtain them from food.   The remaining 12 are called “non-essential” because our bodies can produce them, if necessary.
A “complete” protein is one that contains at least 8-9 of the amino acid complex, and many of the foods mentioned above fall into that category.
Depending upon the scientific source you choose to embrace, daily allowances of protein for athletes range between .07 – 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight per day.  On average, 15-25% of the daily caloric intake should be composed of lean, high-quality protein.
Athletes must be cognizant of not displacing the high-priority carbohydrates with excessive protein, or they will negate their primary energy source.  This is why “more is not necessarily better” when it comes to protein intake. 

3. Fats – First off, fats are not necessarily the demons that the name implies.  While it is true that excessive amounts of fat – primarily saturated (solid at room temperature) and trans fats (hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils) – are unhealthy, other fats serve vital functions.
Unsaturated fats (liquid at room temperature), such as those found in certain vegetable oils like canola and olive, as well as those derived from nuts, seeds and fish, can have numerous health benefits.  Collectively, these make up the monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and linoleic/alpha linolenic fat categories that aid in the health of all of the body’s cells, can help reduce tissue inflammation, and have positive effects on the blood’s viscosity.
The bottom line on fats: Try to limit them to a daily recommendation of 25-30% of the total daily caloric intake – and keep most of that in the unsaturated fat category.

When it comes to what a person eats, the Wellness _Hero says this:  “garbage in, garbage out.”  The higher, more whole & natural a food a person puts into their body the better they will feel and be on the path to practicing daily wellness.

Physical Health - SLEEP

When focusing on just physical health, (1 of 4 parts of health) the portion that equals only 25% of the way a person feels, but all to often is the culprit of what people assume make up almost 80% of their health.  Now, when someone ASS U ME s  something, just, well u get it right?  Basically, physical health dominates in our mind because exercise, diet/nutrition, reducing the risk of disease or absence of disease (not being sick), and sleep fall under, not to mention personal hygiene & getting check ups from Dr./wellness professionals all reside under the umbrella of physical health.  All those topics are only 25%!!!!! Well, only, lonely sleep is the topic here......

The idea is to make small adjustments to our daily & weekly habits and patterns to improve upon something we already do.  This post  is about how sleep directly applies to physical health, but more importantly how can you make this work for you by being in the know and applying this life saving information about sleep.

Our bodies only repair, grow, & truly heal when we are sleeping.  If your are not as tall as you would like, it could be directly related to not sleeping to your bodies TRUE demands during your teen years.......Both the quantity & quality of sleep is vital to our well being, how efficient our body systems function, and to our state of mind.  When the mind is at rest during certain patterns of sleep, specific chemicals are released in the brain that allow the body to get its daily R & R.  Over time if not an adequate amount of sleep is not incurred, then the body is out of balance and something is going to give.  If your physical health is out of sync, then one of the other 3 parts (mental, emotional, and/or social) will DIRECTLY be effected in a negative way.  So, that is why people get cranky!!!

What is an appropriate amount of sleep and how can this apply to your routine and life? 

Well, 7-10 hours of sleep is needed for the body to fall into a sleep cycle of R.E.M (rapid eye movement) or “deep sleep.”  Is this ideal in our busy lives, as we hustle and bustle from day to day tasks?   A person needs to make time for sleep just like they would going to work, the body demands it for our health to be optimal.  The consequence for lack of sleep  is the shutting down of several body systems that signficantly lowers the quality of life, basically how you feel.  Its hard to be happy and well when your body is shutting down from not appropriate levels of sleep.  Just like when a heart attack strikes the vascular/circulatory system, not feeling well year after year increases stress levels and is hard to recover from because it takes several years of bad daily habits before the signs and symptoms are to great.  The pattern that has developed and turned into a chronic condition will be hard to reverse or change.  So regardless of where you are with your sleep, not is the time to improve it!

Your environment (aka sleeping area) has a major factor into your sleep.  Do you live in a rural or urban setting, how many sleep in your room &/or house, what type of support to the body and neck/head is their during sleep?  These are all important factors into your bodies ability to achieve a desired amount of  rest.  Even more important are you woken up during your sleep time?  Broken sleep patterns are the largest culprit to affecting the body to heal and rest.  How do you correct any problems?  Well its up to you, and small changes always work best.  A person cannot make up for lost sleep because the bodies systems operate in a dynamic way, but from this day forward a person can improve variables that led to better quality of sleep.  You have to decide what is right for you in your situation, you have control and the power to help yourself have a better quality of life. 

Only you can change your life for the positive, its all about personal choices.  If you do not take time for your HEALTH (physical, mental, emotional, & social) it will be our of balance and your body will respond by shutting down and making you feel like crap by lowering your quality of life.  That doesn’t sound like fun for me, so sometimes I just go to bed early and continue my life experience with an appropriate amount of sleep for me, just over 7 hours :).

Emotional Health.

Emotional Health

Feelings are attached to what we do, who we are with, and in this case, words.  I just started telling myself that its ok to sit down and write for others to not only get emotional about what they are reading, but they are reading my emotions.  See my dilema is to not be in front of a computer or some piece of technology, but to be outside experiencing emotional health, educating through personal interaction to express feelings regarding health and wellness, and pursing my happiness of the human connection to everything around us which empowers me to smile from ear to ear!

People can be connected in so diverse ways, and people who tap in to writing & reading others who have written will get emotional.  Its a new kind of emotion that truly hasn't been identified up to this point.  Less than 2 hundred years ago the printing press was just coming into its own and electricity wasn't even harnessed yet.   Now people feel connected to others from just witnessing a few key strokes and they have never met, but have shared their words and interpreted those statements & paragraphs to just be relative to their own experience.

The sensation of being in another presence and witnessing daily habits (not just words) with routines will yield a more powerful expereience if you are experiencing strong emotions about another person words....well here we go.  This will be a simple exercise to tap into emotional health, what this post is about.....

1.  Sit in a peaceful environment, where you can feel at ease, relaxed, and comfortable.
2.  Close your eyes for 15 min...& focus on your breath to clear your mind
3.  What types of emotions to you experience over the next 15 min...?

The practice goes much deeper then the simple 3 instructions, but if a person is to isolate one intention (breath), the clarity can be experienced in the mind, and emotions can be identified during this period of stillness as well.  Clearing the mind takes much practice and sitting still for 15 min. is not any easy task by any means.  If you have never focused on your breath here is a sub practice:

1.  Should utilize a belly breath style with in through nose & out through mouth with tongue gently touching your pallet.
2.  Two Types:
       A.  4-5-8....Inhale for 4 seconds, pause/transition for 5 sec., exhale for 8 sec.
      B.  Inhale and think one, pause/transition think one, exhale, think one, then think one on the pause before starting to think two for next inhale...repeat through #10 with no mistakes and you have strong mental health.

These simple, yet powerful breathing styles should not be undermined this is a very sound HEALTHY practice!  And aids a person in both mental and emotional health strength :)'

The 4 Parts of health...

When a person states they feel well or are healthy, what are they exactly referring to?  Well, a person's personal health is divided equally into four parts:  physical, social, mental, and emotional.  Typically the physical part is the main stream as it is further broken down into more parts that we associate with health.

Physical health includes personal hygiene, nutrition, physical fitness, sleeping, and state or condition of the body.  In the sub category, physical fitness, it is further broken down into the 5 components of health-related fitness.  Muscular Strength, Flexibility, Cardio-Respitory Endurance, Muscular Endurance, and Body Composition (fat to muscle ratio). 
As a Personal Trainer and Wellness Specialist I spend much time just trying to balance client's physical health as parts like the 5 components of health related fitness, but further add that sleeping patterns, and really understanding that a diet is just what a person eats.  Compounded that most people don't truly understand what a balanced diet really entails and that true health is established through a lifestyle not just quick fix solutions to look a certain way.

By balancing one part of your four parts of health is good, but when all four parts are in balance we use a term saying that a person has achieved WELLNESS!!  Of course this is dynamic, meaning that it is always changing and needs to be kept in balance with simple personal choices of how to live our lives........

Personal Statement about Physical Education (P.E.)

Physical Education Teacher was my passion & I loved it!  My passion continues here...

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    Maintaining personal health and being active have always been apart of my life.  Ever since I was a toddler I have loved to move.  Now as an adult, I find my lifestyle setting an example to others.  My friends and family are constantly consulting with me about exercise, nutrition, and positive ways they can make changes in their busy lives to increase their health-related fitness.  After realizing my current job was not a career for me, I took a step back to see what was most important to me and that is to be active and healthy for the rest of my life.  Teaching Physical Education to others is my dream job and that is why I am here at ILHS, to make my dream come true and to love what I do day in and day out. 
    Educational goals in physical education for me are simple.  Teach student centered learning and always put the students first in the decision making process.  A quality program consists of objectives that fulfill the South Carolina State Learning Standards and implements developmentally appropriate activities for everyone.  The standards include personal health and fitness, a safe and healthy environment, and resource management.  With these standards in place, no student should ever be left behind and every activity, game, or program can be adapted to include all students.  The benefits of health-related fitness concepts need to be identified and incorporated into every unit that is taught.  Students also need to be given the proper progressions starting in the elementary level and continuing on through high school that create a physically educated person.  School Districts need to work with all of their physical education teachers to ensure that all teachers are on the same page and working together to meet the district goals and state standards.  When a student is taught the same curriculum year after year it takes a toll on the attitude that a student has about physical education as being boring.  Assessments like portfolios, journals, and reflection papers need to be administered too, in order to check that the student is learning.  Testing (through self assessments, checklists, and rubrics) what I teach is crucial to the success of students.  If students are just playing team sports and do not understand how being physically active can improve upon a person’s quality of life then our children are not learning the basic fundamentals they need to have a for a lifetime full of activities they enjoy.  My overall goal follows exactly what the National Association for Sport & Physical Education (NASPE) who is governened by American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, & Dance (AAHPERD)) guides physical education teachers on what to teach, and that is to produce a physically educated person.

What does Physically Educated Mean? CLICK HERE.

    The first step in my career has already begun by finishing my degree in physical education.  My personal goals will guide me to be a front-runner in the field of physical education.  These beliefs have been embedded in me throughout my education at SUNY College at Brockport and I take them to heart.  I will be a leader and on the cutting edge of current information in the field of physical education.  To always stay current on teaching methods and research by being involved with my professional organization at the state and national levels.  My education does not stop even though I have earn my teaching certification, but is a continual process that is always on going. Keeping the big picture in mind and not getting lost in the details that students come first is always important.  Teaching involves many different hats (so to speak) and staying true to the dedication of creating a physically educated student is number one. 
    I want to make a difference in every student’s life that walks into my classroom (the gymnasium).  By incorporating the fundamentals of “new” physical education with the attitude of being highly motivated, caring, involved, and being a positive person I can impact every student and make contributions to the field of physical education.


Link to NEW PE Statement

AM Routine.

How best to start your day?  Well several questions to ask or more importantly what type of setting do you find yourself resting in?

I wake up, smile, and simply say thank-you for my day, thank you for allowing me to play :), & do a simple 30 sec. stretch.  The smiling adds to changing the way I think about an experience.   The first items a person consumes in the AM also dictates how the body will respond.  Water is an excellent idea as well as fruit, whole grains, & farm eggs.  Food jump starts you metabolism, so forget the coffee (thats for later in the early afternoon) & embraced the water!