Brittany - Overcoming Difficult Obstacles

Brittany, my amazing sister, has overcome a lot when it comes to eating and body image. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. Here's a look at her story:

Hey ladies! I am super excited to begin this adventure with all of you.  Just a heads up, I will be taking a slightly different approach than Robyn because of an eating disorder I have struggled with in the past.  For the majority of my college career I struggled with bulimia.  Not the purging kind, but starvation.  

It all started my freshman year.  I felt like I lost control on my food intake.  I would start eating and felt like I couldn’t stop.   The addition of alcohol to my diet also contributed to unhealthy eating.   I had definitely gained the “freshmen 15.”  I realized that I was gaining weight mid season and decided that I needed to do something about it, especially since I was redshirting and wouldn’t be getting in as much exercise as the rest of the girls on my team.   For the first time in my life, I started running.  I loved it! My butt was finally perky and I was loosing a little bit of weight.  I would only run a couple of miles a day, but it was my “Me time” and at this point, I think it was healthy.

My sophomore year (redshirt freshman), it was finally my chance to show everyone what I had.  I was still running on a daily basis, even after practice, and I was getting a little bit stronger in the weight room.  I earned the M2 position my team.  Here is where a new insecurity set in, playing volleyball 2-3 times a week in spandex in from of 5000+ people.  Towards the middle of season, one of the older girls (the other middle) started to lose a lot of weight.  She showed me this new app she had just got “Lose it.”  I had seen how obsessed she had become with calorie counting, but I thought, “why not try.”  Let me tell you guys, this was the dumbest thing I could have done!  And here is where my issues really started.  I started calorie counting like my life depended on it.  By spring I had really “figured it out.”   

Living on a college budget, there were few things I could buy that would keep me satisfied, and not leave me broke.   My diet consisted of oatmeal, egg whites, lunch meat and rice cake. Then one morning I walked out of my dorm suite and my suitemates pointed out that my stomach looked really flat.  I took this as encouragement.  I had only been consuming 1500 calories a day (maybe) while doing spring workouts and volleyball individuals.  I probably weighed 185-190 pounds when I first started this in January, and by Valentines Day I was down to 168.  I would weigh myself in the training room on a daily basis and the number kept going down.  Even one of the reporter from the newspaper noticed how thin I had become and interviewed me about earning the starting position and how good I looked. 

Little side note:  during season, after playing a not so good team in Louisiana, I decided that I wanted to run when we got back to the hotel.  Unfortunately for me my coach Dave walked by the hotel weight room at that time.  The next morning at the airport in front of everyone he called me out “Britt, why were you running at 10:30 last night after dinner?” I was mortified.  At that very moment our assistant coach turns to our trainer and asked about bulimia athletica. 

But I couldn’t have an issue like this, its not a problem, I was in control.  Or so I thought.  This is the point in my eating disorder that I have seen in many younger girls on my team and others that absolutely breaks my heart.  If someone is in denial, there is no way of helping her. 

I was feeling so confident with my self for the first time in my life.  But I was dropping weight way too fast and at this point it started to scare me but I didn’t tell anyone.  I just started pounding fatty foods.  Then when I noticed that I was putting weight on I would go back to eating less.  At this point rather than eating nasty fat free foods, I just made sure that I was eating every 2 hours (on the dot) and in very small portions.  I would chug a bottle of water before eating ANYTHING and chug one immediately after.  At this point it started to get a little stressful.  

Over the summer at home, I wasn’t as anal about what I would eat, I actually went back to my old eating habits.  

The minute I got back to Hawaii my junior year, I started up again.  My first things first, double days.  This is when I started to notice a problem in my self.  During double days we had to eat the cafeteria food, and was anything but healthy.  And what’s worse, Dave refused to let me run in between practices (during season I would always go on a 2 mile run after a 2 hour practice). And so anxiety set in.  By the second week of double days I called my mom panicking because I couldn’t look at any type of food without seeing a number.  I started having terrible mood swings and panic attack like symptoms. 

My close friends always expressed concern about my eating habits but I was in denial.  The spring of my junior year, while studying for an abnormal psychology class I finally accepted that I had a problem.  I was reading about different types of eating disorders, when I hit the section of bulimia.  A light bulb went off I my head.  I grabbed Alex, one of my closest friends and also roommates.  I said, “Alex, I think I have a problem.” His response “ No sh** Britt, I’ve been trying to tell you that for two years. “

I’d like to say that right at the moment, I was fine, but it wasn’t until I started dating Kenny that it really got better.  He would get mad at me when I would go back into my poor eating habits, and helped me map out a healthy way to eat and still lose weight.   I can thank him for that!

I have not tried to starve my self after eating for a long time now, although, while stressed or in situations where I feel out of control, I sometimes have to fight off the urges.

Now that you all know about all of my issues, I want to point out that I have to be really careful with trying to lose weight.  I will be doing a modified version of what Robyn is doing but I will be incorporating a lot from Women’s Heath Diet Book.  It’s not  diet at all, its just a simple break down of what you should be eating on a daily basis and for me its less about numbers and more about how I feel.  I will do my best to explain to the rest of you what I am learning and share fun tips.  Please ask if you have any questions, sometimes I forget to explain because like I said earlier, I can look at food and pretty accurately estimated the nutrition facts, it’s a curse.  

Is Alzheimer’s disease akin to type 3 diabetes?

Thanks Aunt Diane for sharing this with us...its a great thing to think about.

Is Alzheimer’s disease akin to type 3 diabetes?

By Deborah Kotz

|  GLOBE STAFF   OCTOBER 08, 2012

Is Alzheimer’s disease really a form of diabetes? Let’s call it type 3, because that’s what a Brown Medical School researcher dubbed it back in 2005 when she autopsied the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and found that they had signs of insulin resistance — an early indicator of diabetes.

Since then, however, we haven’t seen a sea-change in preventive treatments based on this idea. Those who carry the gene for hereditary Alzheimer’s aren’t given diabetes drugs to help stave off dementia. Nor are Alzheimer’s patients given insulin injections.

What has been getting attention, however, is whether we should make extra efforts to eat a low glycemic diet — which is low in processed foods, sugar, and starchy carbohydrates that cause quick spikes in blood sugar — to help protect our brains from developing those gunky amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s.

The September issue of the New Scientist advocates for changing our eating patterns with a frightening image of a cracked chocolate brain on its cover. (Chocolate consumption, though, hasn’t been linked to cognitive decline, much to my relief.)

New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman pointed out in a recent post that the latest studies provide some persuasive evidence linking diet to the development of Alzheimer’s. I’ve covered those studies too, including one that measured a smaller Alzheimer’s risk in people who eat a diet rich in fish, veggies, and fruit compared with those who eat a diet centered on processed foods containing trans fats.

But I’m not convinced that puts Alzheimer’s in the diabetes category. I asked Dr. Suzanne DeLaMonte, the Brown Medical School neuropathologist who did the initial studies, whether she still thinks of Alzheimer’s as akin to type 3 diabetes.

“I think it’s pretty clear that it is,” she said. “Alzheimer’s is insulin resistance in the brain, and those with diabetes have a two- to threefold higher risk of getting cognitive impairment and dementia, probably because of this.”

A large body of research has accumulated in recent years connecting the two diseases, and both have risen precipitously in the population — with a declining age of onset — along with obesity. Clinical trials have also tested the diabetes drug rosiglitazone (Avandia) for the treatment of Alzheimer’s, though with mixed results.

“Some patients had improved cognition, but others didn’t,” said DeLaMonte, and it’s possible that by the time dementia symptoms appear, it’s too late to reverse the damage to the brain caused by the insulin resistance.

The solution, she said, probably won’t come from any drug, at least for a while. Instead, it lies in prevention by making lifestyle tweaks where needed. First off, DeLaMonte said we should do what we can to limit our intake of nitrates — found in cured meats such as hot dogs and salami — because the latest research being conducted by her and others shows a strong association between nitrates and neural effects. Nitrates, when heated, form the amino acid nitrosamine, which impairs how cells interact with insulin, she said.

We should also take note of our calorie intake by reading all those postings in fast-food chains such as McDonald’s, Au Bon Pain, and Starbucks because gaining excess fat increases insulin resistance. Better yet, we should make our own food at home so we can avoid chemical preservatives and control how much oil gets drizzled on our vegetables and pasta. (And make that pasta whole wheat.)

Physical activity is also key, and I’m not talking about just full-blown exercise, because strolling along for about 15 minutes a day can make cells more responsive to insulin. (It probably won’t burn off many calories to help you lose weight or do much to condition your heart, so you need to walk faster and longer if those are also your goals.)

“Diabetes and Alzheimer’s are both related to aging,” said DeLaMonte, but aside from that small minority of us who inherit particular genes, “I don’t think they’re inevitable.”

Family Fitness

For the past few weeks my sister (Brittany) and I have been planning on starting a fitness journey together. As tall women we have both struggled, in different aspects, with body image and various health concerns. As we started to research and plan further we began looking at future health implications and health factors within our own family. To name a few: diabetes, cancer, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and high blood pressure. 

Light bulb!!! What a wonderful opportunity to involve the women in our family. We reached out to woman on both sides and the response was overwhelming. Our mom, Aunts, cousins and even friends will be joining us on our fitness and health journey. 

We feel that sharing our stories, successes, challenges and progress with each other and this blog will help maintain a sense of accountability and support! Please join in supporting and encouraging us over the next couple months as we work hard to change our lives for the better!

Having Trouble Losing Weight?

7 Reasons You Aren’t Losing Weight

by FitBodyHQ | April 26th, 2012

Why can’t I lose weight, why haven’t I been losing weight, why are the numbers on the scale not going down?

To lose weight you can do a couple of things, eat less or exercise more so that you burn more calories than you consume. If you are doing one or other of these things then you should be losing weight. I would recommend burning more calories than you consume as the best way to lose weight in conjunction with eating a healthy balanced diet.

The estimated average daily calorie requirement is 2000 for women and 2500 for men, this is just an estimate and will depend on your age, weight, height, body composition and levels of activity.

A healthy amount of weight to lose is approx 1-2 pound per week. If you are looking to lose weight this is what you should be aiming for but, yes there is a but, is it really weight you want to lose or, more likely,  is it fat that you want to lose? Losing weight does not necessarily mean you are losing fat, you could be losing a small amount of fat but losing lean mass as well, which is not something you want to do.

Here are some reasons why you might not be losing weight:

1. You are exercising more but also eating more as the exercise is making you ravenous or maybe you feel like you can eat more because you are now exercising.

It is quite normal to think OK I am now exercising  so I can eat that biscuit and it’s fine as I will work it off tomorrow etc but this may not be the case as what if you were eating too much before you were exercising.

Keep a food diary for a typical week (so don’t be on your best behaviour as it wont be a true representation of what you would normally be eating) and write down in it everything you eat and drink. You need to include absolutely everything as sometime people are unaware of exactly how many calories they are consuming. If you have only 1 small square of chocolate or 1 biscuit still write it down. At the end of the week you can add up the calories and divide it by 7 to get your daily average intake.

Another good way of stopping temptation is to note how many calories are in whatever your favourite treat is and then hop on the treadmill, elliptical, cycle etc and see how long it takes for you to burn that many calories. Now knowing how much work it takes to burn off you may think twice about temptation as you will have to burn those calories off on top of your normal work out.

2. You are using scales to judge your weight loss

Scales are the most popular way for people to judge if they are losing weight. I have seen it many times people saying they want to lose ??lbs (insert any number) and then they hop on the scales every week (in some cases every day) and get disheartened when they don’t see the results they want.

If you are not seeing a difference in the scales it could be for various reasons, maybe you are losing fat and putting on muscle (discussed further under umber 7 below). Or maybe you have reached a plateau (see number 3 below).

The best way to measure your progress is to take your body measurements, so hips, waist and chest measurements (if you want to take other measurements such as biceps, thighs, calves etc then do so as well) these will give a true indication of how your body is changing. The scales may not change much but you will know if you are losing weight by the drop in cm/inches around your body. Also have your body fat percentage measured, this can be done by a personal trainer, fitness professional using bio impedance machines or callipers or by using the weight and bio impedance machines in pharmacies and some other stores, the machines usually give a print out of your weight, height and also ahs an option for you can get your body fat % which involves holding the handles on the side of the machine. Once you have your body fat % you can then use this to decide a goal, i.e. how much body fat % you want to lose instead of how much weight you want to lose..

3. You have been following the same exercise plan for months

Maybe you have reached a plateau, this happens. Whether it’s the last few pounds you are trying to lose or if you still have a way to go if you haven’t changed your exercises then you can come to a standstill. Your body gets used to what you do, when you begin something new you get results as you shock your body you challenge it and it reacts, now once you have challenged your body it will start to adapt, it will start to become used to what you are doing. This is why you need to constantly challenge your body, your muscles etc. Similar to your brain if you don’t challenge your brain you don’t learn any more you stay at the same level of intelligence.

So keep your body guessing, this can be done by mixing up your routine, change your exercises, either by doing them in a different order or by doing a different exercise altogether (one that still works the same muscle group).

If you are jooging or running and doing it at a steady pace then add some high intensity intervals. So whislt working at your normal pace add in a minute of running or 30 seconds sprinting then go back to your normal pace then up the intensity again, keep alternating.

Other ways of challenging your body is to increase either the weight, reps or sets this will depend on your goals i.e. the number of sets and  reps  you do depend on if you are trying to increase strength, muscle size (hypertrophy), endurance or if you are just working on maintenance. If you keep your reps and sets the same then you should increase the weight as your body will get used to the weight and it will become easier and easier. The weight needs to be heavy enough that the last rep you do is the last one you can do, so you wouldn’t be able to do one more, not without losing your form.

Ladies, lifting weights will not give you huge bulging muscles, you do not have enough testosterone for this to happen, so don’t be worried about lifting heavy weights or working towards hypertrophy. Remember the more muscle mass you have the faster your metabolism and the more fat you can burn whilst doing nothing.

4. You have gone on a strict diet

If you have gone on a diet you could be preventing yourself from losing weight. Your body may be fighting back. In order to lose weight you need to eat and have a healthy and balanced diet. Your body needs calories (energy) to function, breathing, digesting food, your heart beating and many other automatic processes all uses energy to do it. If you start reducing your calories your body goes into starvation mode, it slows down your metabolism and starts holding on to everything you eat and stores it all to use as energy. If you are not eating enough calories your body will not use just fat as energy but also lean tissue. It is a lot harder to put on muscle than fat. Plus as soon as you start eating “normally” again, which you will have to do as diets are not designed to be long term, you will put the weight back on very fast and it will go back to all the areas you had fat before. This is because fat cells can never disappear, they can shrink (which is what happens when you lose fat), grow (when you put fat on) and increase in number (when you put on more weight than before) but once created they don’t leave.

5. You don’t get enough sleep

If you are getting less than 8 hours sleep per night then this can be affecting your weight loss. You will find that if you don’t have enough sleep the following day you may be craving more carbs and sugars in order to give you energy. Lack of sleep can slow down your metabolism so you also wont be burning off as many calories as you would if you had your full 8 hours.

6. You have started using the free weights/weight machines

Firstly this is great and everyone should be including strength training in their workouts. Strength training increases your muscles mass. Your muscles mass is what give you nice toned legs, arms, abs etc and your muscles will be firmer and you will be stronger. In fact the more muscle mass you have the higher your metabolism will be so you will be burning more fat even when you are doing nothing. Now the difference is most people think of weight loss in terms of how much they weigh on the scales when in reality  you should be looking at losing fat. If you lot 1lb of fat but gained 1lb of muscle you will see no difference on the scales but you will see a difference in your body measurements and fat %. This is because muscle is much more dense than fat, it takes up a lot less room in the body So out with the fat, that’s taking up a lot of room and causing bulges in places you don’t want, and in return add some densely packed muscle which will give you a lean and toned body.

Just in case you are reading this without reading number 3 I just want to repeat that ladies lifting weights, even heavy ones, will not get big bulging muscles (we don’t have the testosterone!).

7. You watch what you eat during the week but then weekends are time for you to indulge

So you are exercising and eating healthily all week but on the weekend maybe you end up going out more with friends or family, you go out for drinks or dinner. Or maybe it’s a time when you have pizza and a few sodas etc. There is nothing wrong with having a day off from your healthy eating but you still need to be aware of the amount of calories you are consuming. Don’t deny yourself life’s pleasures but remember you either have to factor in the amount of calories into your daily number, remember that it is the quality of food that makes a difference don’t go mad and pig out on processed foods, if you want pizza or burgers why not try making them from scratch. Or if you do like to indulge on the weekend do it for one day and factor in the extra calories into your weekly work outs that way you can spread them across the week.

My Progress

If you are not set up on myfitnesspal.com I highly recommend it!

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Don't Let Boat Season Sabotage Your BOOTY

ARGG!

Summer is near! The sweaters come off and the bikini's come on. Long days turn into endless hours outside, on a boat, the beach, camping or in the yard. And with that comes the beer, wine coolers, bbq and fruit. 

Entering the summer on a diet is difficult but not impossible. Now is the time we can start planning for these summer occasions. Here are a few recipes I think you'll enjoy

Tip: Drink LOTS of water, portion is key just because they have lower calories doesn't mean they have low sugar. Over indulging will never give you the results you want!

Drinks

New Age Bellini: This is perfect for in a cooler on the boat. take 1 bottle of New Age wine, 5 strawberries, 1 orange (peeled and sliced), and a lime. Combine ingredients and let sit for a few hours or overnight. 5oz serving has about 130 calories, 0g fat, 3g carb. 

Iced coffee: Using the coffee maker in your home brew coffee just like normal only double the amount of coffee grounds used. When this extra strong coffee is ready pour it into a pitcher filled with ice! Enjoy!

Light beer: many of these are less than 100 calories. Less filling.

Mojitos:  Blend of rum, sugar, crushed mint, lime, and seltzer. Just 149 calories per drink, the trendy mojito 

Martini: Have your martini shaken, not stirred. A study published in the British Medical Journal reported that shaking a martini doubles its antioxidant properties. Only 150 calories.

Food

Wasabi Soy Almonds: These are delicious and are ALMOST as good as snacking on satisfying chips. 

Edamame: Unshelled with minimal salt(120 calories)

Frozen banana: roll a banana in 1 tbsp dark chocolate chips and tbsp coconut, place in freezer until ready to eat! (150 calories)

Carmel apple: 1 cup apple slices dipped in 2 tbsp caramel topping (160 calories)

Hummus: cut up carrots and celery to dip in hummus, measure out about 1/4c (I like garlic hummus the best) 80 calories

Recipes

Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients/Directions:

Here is a good veggie side for all that like asparagus. Super easy too!! Heat oven to 450, wash your asparagus and lay out on a piece of tinfoil on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little EVOO, and then sprinkle sea salt, black pepper and a little garlic powder. Place in oven for 10min or until roasted and cooked. If you have the time you can cut up some whole garlic and place on top which is even better. If you’re feeling bad you can also sprinkle a little dash of parmesan cheese when it comes out of the oven.

Jicama, Tomato and Black Bean Salad

Ingredients:

• 3tbs fresh lime juice
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cumin
• 3tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1-15oz can black beans drained & rinsed
• 1 small jicama, peeled chopped
• 3tbs Diced red onion
• 1/4c. Chopped cilantro
• Salt and proper to taste

Directions:

Whisk together lime juice garlic and cumin, slowly whisk in olive oil as remaining ingredients and salt/pepper to taste. -Laura Bartlett Barajas

Spinoccoli Muffins 

If you're looking for a new spin on the turkey muffins/meatballs, these came out awesome. Calling them Spinoccoli Muffins (yes, after the famed Uno's Pizzeria Pie).

 ‎

Ingredients:

• 1 lb 99% lean turkey, 
• 1 cup of frozen spinach and 
• 1 cup of frozen broccoli cuts defrosted and chopped finely  
• 1 half of a yellow onion diced finely
• 4 garlic cloves smashed and chopped up
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1 tsp each dried basil, parsley, red pepper flakes
• 2 large egg whites 

Directions:

Mix it up with your hands and drop into muffin pan (came out with 11)

Inspiration

Here are a few HAPPY THOUGHTS for your day!

Dr. Seuss did something right when he wrote this. 

So true!