Tag: fitness

Can a “Disability” be an Advantage?

Today I will mention something I never talk about, unless asked, but I get asked about it a lot. I only have two usable fingers in my left hand. The other fingers are just stubs. Many don’t notice it because I use my left arm just fine and I make no effort to hide my “handicap” from the world. I exercise with good form and even do pull ups unassisted at the gym. So when I decided to train with someone there who had been watching me work out for months, she was shocked. She had no idea I was…

What Can I Eat if Everything is Unhealthy?

What Can I Eat if Everything is Unhealthy? This is a common question I’ve been hearing a lot from students and clients recently. This confusion stems from the fact that much of the mainstream information we are getting on nutrition do not come from experts or scholars but from journalists putting a doomsday, fear mongering spin on nutrition (fear sells in journalism) or from salespeople trying to push a supplement or diet program for their company. Because of this, much of the information we get on nutrition is biased or false, so before you freak out that eating apples are…

My Experiment: Applying Yoga breath/Pranayama to Running and Athletics

So I tried this for myself. First I did the smaller hill which usually takes me between 27 to 30 seconds to complete. I stood at the bottom of the hill and cleared my mind. I started breathing the way I do in yoga class until I felt I had the long, slow and deep breaths down. Then I bolted up the hill. I found that if I could keep the long breaths going, I brought my time down to 26 seconds which is an amazing improvement for a runner. I also realized that it didn't feel like I was…

The Limitless Pill

Yet the proper exercise and nutrition regimen has been clinically proven, time and time again to prevent and sometimes cure most of the deadliest illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis and certain cancers. Being fit lowers the risk of many diseases such as Alzheimer's, depression, erectile dysfunction, fatigue and chronic pain. This fact is backed by countless of scientific studies. People who exercise have been cited in many studies to have a greater chance of being in a good mood, doing better on the job, and being more intelligent and alert.

The Switch Trick: How to Lose Weight Without Counting Calories

Happy New Year everyone! As I work with people, I realize how difficult it is for some to keep track of how many calories they consume so I have been trying to think of a simpler approach to weight loss. I came up with this method which is actually based on many studies on habit change and what we know about food. I call this The Switch Trick: I have always said that calories count and that if weight loss is your goal, you must burn more calories than you consume, but measuring calories can be a chore so here…

Don’t be Fooled by Labels

I am pleased to announce that I have passed my exams and am now a certified fitness nutritionist specialist! I hope you don’t mind if I start posting more blogs on nutrition as well as exercise and yoga. Proper diet and exercise go together and it is not possible to be truly fit and healthy without a combination of both. That being said, there is a lot of information about food  that is not based on sound scientific principles and they are mostly shared with the intent to sell a particular supplement or diet. Some dietary information is shared because…

Memoirs of a Chubby Kid Who Wanted to be an Athlete

I still recall my first week of high school. I spent the summer working out at a gym for the first time in my life. I wanted to take the next step and lose more weight so I joined the cross country team. Everyone else on the team was so fit. I struggled, barely being able to run. I wanted to be able to run like them, but I couldn’t. They could run for miles and miles. I barely jogged and walked the warm up.

But Will You? (Accountability)

Oprah lost weight by hiring a personal trainer who went with her everywhere she went and told her what she should and shouldn’t eat. I did the same thing but for a much cheaper price. I hired my son who is now eleven. I was getting chubby as my busy life was causing me to eat out too much and indulge on deserts that I mistakenly thought I “deserved” due to all my hard work. I knew I needed to stop this. I told my son that I would pay him five dollars for every pound I lost. Of course,…