October 29, 2009
Hi Fitbuddies,
We lost our puppy last week. I say puppy however, Zeke was a 130 lb Rottweiler. Before he came into our lives, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that I wasn’t a dog person. He was a tiny fur ball when my husband brought him home tucked safely inside his coat. For the first 48 hrs, I did my best to resist him, but alas, I was hooked. That was in October of 1998. From there we watched him grow, and bark, and eat. Mr. Puppy was a big dog with a big bark. He would instantly let us know when someone other than family set foot in the driveway. Zeke was our sixth child. I was amazed at how well he understood what we said and how much personality he had. Rottweilers have a reputation for being vicious and ill tempered. To us, Zeke was a big baby. One who would gulp down a hot dog in 15 seconds flat.
Our furry child was a great protector and friend. I wish we’d taken more walks, ran more and played more. One thing is for sure I couldn’t have loved him more. Rest in peace Mr. Puppy. Take Care and Be Well.
In Health,
Sandra
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. Roger Caras
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o Training Tip - Just the Basics
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Exercise is an important part of our lives; and please stop rolling your eyes. I know you know this and I do plan to remind you, often. Staying in shape is one way to increase your life expectancy. (OK, now you’re sighing and rolling your eyes). Weight bearing exercises are important also for increasing muscle mass and bone density as you age. Let’s not forget that additional muscle mass helps to burn more calories. Most of us have learned what to do when it comes to exercising. The problem is where and when to get the job done. With a busy lifestyle, making time for exercise is a challenge; but not impossible.
Weight bearing exercises aren’t just for bodybuilders. As you age, especially once you hit the age of forty, you begin to lose muscle mass. For women especially, bone loss becomes a problem. When the body is in need of calcium, it can rob it from your bones. Building muscle not only increases their mass but your strength.
Here are five easy toning exercises that you can do anywhere, and whenever you have time. At home, or on vacation, you can do these easy yet effective exercises.
1. The Bridge Butt Lift – . Sounds like a plastic surgery technique but it is an easy way to tone your buttocks. Lay down with feet flat on the floor, legs shoulder width apart. Place your hands, palm side down, on either side of your body. Pushing with your feet, squeeze your gluteal muscles and lift your butt off the floor. Hold the position for a count of five to ten and release down to the floor. Ok, this isn’t one you’d do in the office, unless your office is in a health club, but you can do it when you get home.
2. Squats – Squats work the butt, the hamstring muscles and the quadriceps. If you aren’t sure of proper form, you can use a chair. Stand with feet shoulder width apart and feet firmly planted. Push your butt back as if you were preparing to sit in a chair. Keep your abs tight and your upper body straight. Once you reach chair level stop and hold the position for a count of two to five and release. At the lowest point, place all of your weight on your heels for balance and maximum toning.
3. Reverse Lunges – Lunges work the quadriceps muscles. They can be hard for people with knee problems. A reverse lunge still tones the right muscle groups but with less pressure on the knee. Stand with feet together and arms at your sides. Take one leg and move it backwards until you are in lunge position: front leg bent at a 90-degree angle and back leg extended until you are on the ball of your foot. From this position, lower yourself down until the back knee almost touches the floor. Hold for a count of two and return to starting position.
4. Pushups – This is a classic toning exercise that works all areas of the arms plus the chest muscles. If you aren’t comfortable or strong enough to perform a pushup on your toes, lower your body to your knees. Be sure your arms are tucked into the body and your back straight as you lower and lift your body. As an alternative, you can push away from the wall, which is a better method in the workplace.
5. Crunches – Abdominal muscles can be worked every day to build strength and muscle tone. Lying on the floor in sit up position, lace your fingers behind your head. Squeezing your abdominal muscles, lift your upper body until your lower back is about to come off the floor. Hold for two to five counts and return to starting position.
These five exercise moves can be done whenever you have time. With the exception of the Bridge Butt Lift, standard Push-Up and Crunches you can do them at work. The best thing about exercise is that its effects are cumulative. Even five or ten minutes at a time will work to your advantage. No excuses Fitbuddies get busy.
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o What’s On Your Plate - Acai
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The Acai Berry which is commonly pronounced a-sigh-ee, is a rather small, round, and black-looking purple. It resembles a grape or a blueberry, but is yet smaller and darker. This fruit has a large seed and minimum amount of pulp. The acai is touted as the next great weight loss wonder and is used in energy juices, some energy bars and a boatload of supplements. Manufacturers claim the acai berry's natural combination of antioxidants, essential fatty acids, phytosterols, and amino acids work together to help your body function better, process food easier, and burn fat more efficiently.
Once known only to natives of the Amazon Rainforest, the acai berry does appear to provide some antioxidant power and health enhancements. One website boasts that this wonder berry has 59, count em, 59 health benefits. I won’t bore you with all 59 details and some listed on one website are redundant; but here are the highlights:
- Prolongs Your Life
- Increases Your Energy
- Increases Your Overall Strength
- Helps You Maintain Healthy Blood Pressure
- Helps You Maintain Healthy Cholesterol
- Enhances Sexual Function
- Promotes Overall Wellness
- Supports Weight Loss through Fat Loss
The following claims at first blush are pretty tough to hold on to.
- Prevents Cancer
- Cures Osteoporosis
- Helps Improve & Even Cure Leukemia
- Prevents Allergies
With weight loss I’ve often advised that it’s the small things we overlook that often give us the greatest benefits. I think the acai berry fits into the small things category as far as cost and availability. However, its claims to prevent and cure certain diseases, to me, is a stretch. I would never advise anyone diagnosed with any serious illness or disease to try any supplement without consent of his or her physician. That’s just safety and common sense.
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o Recipe Corner - Low Cal Pineapple Pound Cake
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2 ½ cup flour
1 ½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup butter
¼ cup sugar
3 egg whites
1 TBS grated orange peel
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup non-fat yogurt
1 cup pineapple chunks
¼ cup orange juice
¼ cup sugar
Preheat oven to 375 °. Grease a 10-inch tube pan with butter. Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Cream butter and sugar. Add egg whites, orange peel and vanilla; beat well. Add flour mixture and yogurt alternately to sugar mixture and mix well. Pour half the batter into pan. Spread pineapple evenly over batter. Cover with remaining batter. Bake for 40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine orange juice and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Remove cake from pan. Pierce it with a fork and spoon orange juice mixture into holes and over the top of the cake. Makes 16 slices.
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o Think About This - Super Size Your Mind Power, By Jimmy New
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If you can super size your fries, thighs and guys; you can do the same with your mind and truly enhance your own mind power. (Then you can un-super size the rest).
Think about it. You are only here once!...at a time (that is if you believe in past lives, reincarnation and the like). So whether this is the only life you have, or one in a million, why not live it to the best it can be? It actually is an option we each have available to us by simply asking for it. I know, simply asking for it? Look at it this way...anything is simple once you understand it.
While my kids were in school, including the school of life while on the subject, I gave them the phrase, "Make It Make Sense." Whatever endeavor you are embarking upon, if it makes sense to you; you will get it, you will learn it and you will remember it. Consider the epiphany styled comment, "I get it!!!" That means that whatever it is, it now makes sense to you, and you really do get it.
Consider then that it makes sense that you can enhance the performance and ability of your own mind. This is a key feature in living this life to the best it can be. It is like your own personal playground! However, there are often stumbling blocks somehow, somewhere, embedded in our thinking mechanisms which hold us back from achieving not just all we want to do, but even a part of what we want to accomplish on a daily basis. Make more money, lose more weight, have better relationships, read more books, take more walks, more spiritual awareness...on and on right?
But guess what? Enhancing your mind power is a simple process when you make it make sense. It is best to have a guide or guides to follow. The market place is filled with a variety of approaches offered to you from self-help books, positive thinking programs, and dream interpretations all the way up to psychoanalysis. This factor alone can make the process seem daunting and overwhelming. But it's not, you just have to get started. Then, let it be the fun and "mind expanding" experience that will open doors for you which are not open now, even ones you are not even aware are holding you back. By taking action you well be well on your way to a brand new day. That sounds simple enough, doesn't it? You can start right now!
Have a good day and a great tomorrow!
Visualizing is one of the best techniques used in super sizing ones mind power. As an architect and homebuilder, I obviously am visualizing results everyday. If you can see it, you can make it happen. When it came to wanting to open up other parts of my "playground," I went here and I am having a blast! http://www.jimmynew.com So can you.
