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Weekend Wellness: 8 Hot Tips!

By Tammy Parkinson | May 1st, 2012 0 Comments

Often we meet potential clients who want to know how to slim down, tighten up, lighten up and feel more energetic…fast! This is especially common when the days get longer and the sun is out more ( i.e. think shorts, sleeveless shirts and more skin showing). Everyone wants to believe there is a Magic solution to dropping a clothes size over night. I tell ya if I could figure that one out, I would be writing you from my Yacht in the islands. Until the magic pill is safely invented, there are some down-right “musts” that can get you to your skinny jeans fairly quickly, as well as a good bill of health from your physician. Here you go…

Eliminate all white flour products from your diet. To take this a step further, eliminate white rice and potatoes too.
If you need a sweet treat daily (which I do most days) make sure it is no more than 5% of your total daily calorie needs for your slimming up goal. For example, if you are on a 1500 calorie diet, this would be a 75 kcal treat.
Eat every 3 hours; making sure you finish eating when are satisfied instead of full.
Have a lean protein source each time you eat (chicken, fish, turkey, egg whites for example).
Drink water…lots of it. Herbal tea can count as water too, however the more coffee or caffeine you drink, the more water you will need.
Always, always, always eat breakfast within 90 min. after you wake up. Your breakfast should consist of a high fiber source and at least 15 grams of protein.
Keep alcohol to a minimum during the slimming down phase…nonexistent is ideal if you are really serious, if you really want a good glass of wine, let yourself have one occasionally, and pair it with a very lean protein meal.
Sweat every day…and sitting in a hot car doesn’t count…get your heart rate working!

Of course there are about 100 other tips, but to get you started on a fast track to the beach, follow the top 7 nutritional tips and make the 8th fitness tip an absolute! Try these and let me know how you do!

Weekend Wellness: Antioxidants – What Are They and What Do They Do?

By Tammy Parkinson | April 17th, 2012 0 Comments

Often you hear the words oxidation and antioxidants…but do you know what they mean? Oxidation is caused from stressful environmental aspects to internal stress. Anything from smog, smoking, eating unhealthy foods and anxiety to intense workouts (which are needed), lack of sleep and general “life” can add to oxidative stress. Foods which carry “anti” oxidants help fight the oxidation process and in some aspects help us grow a bit younger internally! Let me go into this a little deeper…

We need vitamins and minerals to make the thousands of enzymes, hormones, and other chemicals that our bodies need to work properly. Vitamins and minerals have another crucial role to play in our bodies. They act as powerful antioxidants that ‘capture’ the free radicals in our bodies.

Free radicals are unstable oxygen atoms created by your body’s natural processes and by the effects of toxins such as cigarette smoke. Free radicals are very reactive and cause a lot of damage to our cells, but they are not all bad as we use free radicals as a part of our immune system to defend against invading bacteria. However, if free radicals damage our cells often enough they can cause genetic changes that trigger cancer. Also, if free radicals begin to ‘work on’ the cholesterol in your blood, they can cause the artery clogging plaque that leads to heart disease. It’s only in the past few decades that we’ve begun to understand how damaging free radicals can be and how important it is to have plenty of antioxidants in our bodies to neutralize them.

What are antioxidants?

There are three vitamins that are called antioxidants. They are:

Vitamin C
Vitamin E
Beta-carotene in the form of vitamin A

There are other substances that are not vitamins which also have antioxidant activity. These include:

flavonoids (which are the colored pigments found in fruit and vegetables)
trace minerals, such as, selenium.

How do antioxidants work?

Antioxidants are our body’s natural defense against free radicals. Antioxidants are enzymes that roam around our body’s cells looking for free radicals. When they find one, they take hold of it and neutralize it without being damaged themselves. The antioxidant enzyme stops the invasion and removes the free radical from our circulation.

In order for this to work effectively, we have to have plenty of vitamins and minerals – especially vitamin A, beta carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E and trace minerals – in our body to make the antioxidant enzymes that do the neutralizing. If we are running short on the right vitamins and minerals, we won’t be able to make enough of the antioxidant enzymes. This will let the free radicals do extra damage to your cells before they get captured. To be sure that you have the antioxidants and other nutrients that you need, taking an essential vitamin and mineral supplement is advisable.

Of course, getting these antioxidants in foods come even better! Here is a list of some of my favorites which top the list:

Fruits… Blackberries, red currents, raspberries, cranberries, strawberries, blueberries, orange, pineapples, plums and prunes. Apples are great too, especially red delicious.
Vegetables… Artichokes, arugula, asparagus, broccoli, beets, avocado, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, and spinach.
Other… Dark chocolate, red wine (especially Chianti), green, white and black tea, and surprisingly coffee (in moderation of course)!

For a great website I found which lists the scale of each antioxidant, check out:

http://www.dietaryfiberfood.com/fruits-vegetables/fruits-vegetables/

Healthy eating!

Weekend Wellness: Sharpening Your Dull Knife

By Tammy Parkinson | April 3rd, 2012 0 Comments

One of Body Firm’s Trainers, Aaron Odell is an avid cyclist. Aaron, along with a few others of us, work with a group of cyclists each Saturday and this was written for this group. I loved the message, so I thought I would pass it along as this week’s Wellness Tip. Whether you are cycling, running, hiking or doing an indoor fitness regiment, the dull knife concept is applicable!

THANKS AARON~

Read on…

What good is a dull knife?

What does this question have to do with cycling? I’m going to get a little philosophical here so bear with me…

If you never sharpened a knife it probably wouldn’t be a very good tool. Cutting would be, at best, frustrating and exceedingly time-consuming. I’m going to make a little creative leap here and say we are all a “dull knife” at times. Meaning, we all have a lot of inherent value and maybe are made for different kinds of “jobs”. Regardless of the job we’re meant to do or are best suited for, we all need sharpening.

For instance, in cycling we are just riding a contraption with wheels, it doesn’t MEAN anything if we are GOOD at it, MEDIOCRE at it, or the BEST in the world at it. Whatever way you look at it, cycling is a sharpening stone. It can be incredible tool for helping us deal with who we are and facing ourselves. I know that for me, I feel that cycling has sometimes made me face things I really didn’t expect to face or want to look at.

One of the biggest personal lessons I’ve received out of bike riding is that PAIN can make me FEEL WEAK. But FEELING WEAK is NOT weakness, and PAIN is NOT WEAKNESS. Since I did not like feeling weak, I would avoid certain levels of pain. But it’s simply a feeling, a signal to the brain, that I should be aware of and I can act upon it or not.

Our pain can be one of our greatest sharpening stones. It can make us pay more attention and it can give us our greatest opportunity for self mastery. Most of the time all of us look to escape pain in our lives. Emotional pain and physical pain as I’m sure you’ve noticed tend to worsen or stick around when ignored. So this week seek out some pain and search for a deeper understanding of it. Maybe you need to improve your habits of “self care” or “self maintenance”. Or possibly someone in your life needs forgiving. (Or maybe you need to forgive yourself for something…) Just remember that pain is never convenient but without it, we would be very unaware of ourselves and how we live our lives. If you can take ownership of your pain you can be unstoppable (on and off the bike).

Happy sharpening-

Aaron

Weekend Wellness: What Works and What Doesn’t?

By Tammy Parkinson | March 20th, 2012 0 Comments

“What is working for you?”

“What is not working for you?”

I had these two questions asked of me about a week ago. It is pretty thought provoking.

When we take a view of our day to day regiment, consider what you are doing that really “works” in your life. Let’s dial it in a little further and pretend you have a goal to lose 20 pounds and it is coming off, yet ever so slowly. There has got to be something you are doing right (even though it is happening slowly)…and it’s working well for you. What is it?

If you want to work even better, break it down and do more of it if possible! Maximize this edge.

Here’s another example; let’s say you want to increase your client base and although you have been getting new business, it is happening much slower than you need to pay your bills. Here again, you are doing SOMETHING right, so get clear on that and see what you can do to clean it even more.

Conversely let’s say in both situations something simply is NOT working for you. Can you define what that might be? Get clear on what you keep stumbling over and kick it out of your path! With your weight loss plan you realize that when you don’t eat for 4-5 hours, you become famished and over eat. So, what do you do? Make sure you have a snack with you and avoid going beyond 4 hours before you eat a meal. Watch the habits that derail your best efforts and make what doesn’t work, work!

With your client list, you realize when you let a week go by without follow up, your clients fall off the radar! So, stop that habit and follow up every few days, for example! You know in your gut what IS working and what IS NOT…define it then see your life blossom!

Weekend Wellness: Alcohol…for some, a hot topic yet a confusing one!

By Tammy Parkinson | March 6th, 2012 0 Comments

In my day to day nutrition work, I am repeatedly asked questions about the good and bad of alcohol, so I thought this would be a great topic to address! The questions range from what to drink, when to drink, how much to drink, what is the best drink/cocktail to have both calorically and nutritionally and everything in between.

Let me try to address these.

Ideally for optimal nutritional health, the perfect person would either have no alcohol or limit their intake to about 12 oz of sulfite free organic red wine a week.

However, I know very few perfect people. Most of us though are trying for perfection, so in that perfection, here would be some good guidelines and why.

Alcohol is equal to 7 calories per gram, so the calories can add up quickly; especially if there is a high calorie mixer such as in cosmopolitan drinks, mojitos, margaritas and plain old sugar laden soda mixers.

If your choice is to have a cocktail, a suggestion is to choose a “whiter” alcohol such as vodka or gin. I understand the darker the Spirit, the greater propensity to tax your liver as well as invite a hangover!

Mixers can make or break you calorically with cocktails, so try club soda with lemon or lime. This way you can hydrate at the same time since alcohol is dehydrating.

If you are a brewmaster, watch the calories here. You can range anywhere from a light beer touting 60 or so kcals all the way to a beefy beer near the 300 kcal range. You have 3 or 4 and you have had nearly your entire day’s calories in hops and grains! And you will feel particularly bloated!

If wine is your drink of choice, there are actually some redeeming reports on drinking red wine. Red wine has poly phenols which are known to help stave off cancer! However…a little goes a long way here. You only need about 2 oz a day to maximize this benefit! This is when the trouble beings too. A portion of sorts of wine is 4 oz. Now, for those of you who have those huge red wine glasses, get honest with yourself and pour in a measured 4 oz! THAT is a serving! Yeah, I know…

If you love whites the 4 oz pour equals the same. The slight difference in the red vs. the white is the white wine has a smidge more sugar, so be aware of that and how that could effect your blood sugar.

Speaking of blood sugar, have you ever had a couple drinks before bedtime, then around 2 am you wake up dehydrated and your heart pounding? Your blood sugar has dropped. A good rule of thumb with all alcohol is to have a lean source of protein around the time you are you having a drink. This will help stabilize your blood sugar. Another huge important not to be forgotten factor is to drink water before you start and in between each glass. (Hopefully having a max of two 4 oz servings)! You will thank me in the morning for doing this!

Spirits are all in good clean fun if taken in moderation and used responsibly (especially don’t drink and drive). Trying to have less…is more, on your waist line, your liver and your overall physical health! Especially when looking at the bigger goals in life of overall vitality and longevity.

Weekend Wellness: The Power of Positive Thinking

By Tammy Parkinson | February 21st, 2012 0 Comments

This past weekend my husband and I rode the Tour de Palm Springs Century. We were told it was one of the “easier” centuries bike rides (is that an oxymoron). We got up at 5:30 in the morning and were anxious to get on the route. We needed to drive a bit to the race start then navigate our way into town amongst the hundreds of riders to get the route map. In all the hype we ended up starting at about 7:30…right when the winds were starting; then all of a sudden we were in a high wind advisory. Well, one should be concerned if the first 20 or so miles were around wind mills…hmmm…that says something doesn’t it?!

Here we are at mile 10 or so with 30 mph winds at times…some gusts in the area up to 60mph. I cannot remember being that frightened in quite some time. I had to ride sideways as the wind was blowing across my body. We saw some riders turn around saying “there is no shame in quitting”…which there isn’t. Many were blown off the side of the rode!

Here is a valuable lesson I learned…there is an amazing power in the ability to tell yourself “you’re going to be alright.” For about 90 min or so I kept repeating “you can do this, it is ok.” My husband kept saying “this is no problem” to me; each of us focusing on mind over matter and believing it.

After 70 miles or so, we were close to where we were staying over the weekend, and were seriously considering stopping and calling it a day. It was always in us to finish, but admittedly there was a little voice encouraging me to stop!

After some food at the rest stop, we got our legs back and starting riding with some other riders who said they knew the way (side note: the route markers were only on half of the roads). Unfortunately, they didn’t know where they were going and we ended up riding about 5 miles out of our way and had to double back; only after my husband stopped under instinct, and reviewed the map again. Riding even an extra 2 feet is not something you want to do at that stage of the game! I don’t know how much further the other couple rode! Thank goodness for Brad’s instincts!

Finally we were on a direct route and had about 18 miles to go…one problem though…the sun was going down in the high desert and it was getting dark! In our day glow (which isn’t all that glowing at night I realize now), we decided to find sidewalks to navigate on. This was the safest but slowest way back. Unfortunately, at times, we did have to get on the road, keeping as far to the right as possible; praying cars would see us.

The happiest moment of my year (maybe decade!), I think, was seeing our car…we were alive, not blown over by wind gusts, not blinded by sand storms, not exhausted by cycling about 110 miles and not hit by a car or pedestrian in the pitch black night!

All I could think was “I am a stronger person” and wiser! There is a lot I won’t try again; like starting a long ride late or riding without reflectors. One never knows what will happen.

At the end of the day though, I held on to the power of the mind and what we tell ourselves sinks in to our soul and our cells. We believe what we say in our head.

When we tell ourselves what we want to believe, then it quickly becomes our reality. This goes for everything in our life. I can think of daily choices where the words “no, can’t, hard, challenging, stop, quit, and I don’t want to” are ever present on the tip of my tongue. This was and is a lesson to me that I want to pass along in hopes that we all can realize the power of “I can do this.” And then do!

Weekend Wellness: The Food Bar Breakdown

By Tammy Parkinson | February 7th, 2012 1 Comment

I write a nutrition tip for our cycling group and this weeks’ was about food bars. It occurred to me that the idea / concept of how to choose a “perfect bar” is a conundrum for nearly everyone! So, I thought I’d pass this along as my Weekend Wellness topic this week too!

There are many options of food bars and a lot of different ideas about what a person needs. We have gluten intolerance, lactose intolerance, raw food needs and sorbitol problems and a plethora of other dynamics. However, if we want to look at a very general idea of how to pick a food bar for weight maintenance and energy for fuel for a person who doesn’t have special needs, here’s a quick tip on what to look for as a food bar which is a mini meal…

Your carbohydrates for the purpose of what I stated above should be no more than 25 grams (30 tops). When you look at your fiber (which is labeled just under the carbohydrate category) we hope for the number to be 4 or greater. The sugar number (also is labeled just under the carbohydrate category) should be no more than half the carb number. For instance if your carbs are 25 grams, then your sugar should be 12 or less. The protein ideally should be half the carbs and/or equal or higher than the sugar number. The fat grams should be half the protein.

Here’s an example of a good looking bar:

Carbohydrates: 24 grams (96 kcals)
Sugars: 10
Fiber: 5
Protein: 15 (60 kcals)
Fat: 7 (63 kcals)

If you had a bar that looked like this…it would be ideal. The calories in this bar would be 219. That could theoretically fuel you for about 30 minutes of a 90 minute workout (if that was your goal). If you eat ½ of the bar, at the beginning of the workout, eat the other half 30 minutes later to keep you going strong. This is also a good bar to have as a snack between breakfast and lunch or lunch and dinner if you are in a pinch.

All of our bodies are different based on age, fitness level, heart rate capacities, and what we ate before the snack or workout as well as the day before…but I hope this is a general helpful tool for you!

A few of my favorites (which aren’t perfect…but close)

Perfect Food Bar light (little higher on fat, a smidge low on protein, but close) Probably the best tasting in my opinion, but the Grab the Gold is a close 2nd)
Luna Bar (a little high on sugar, but close..and might melt on a hot day)
Cliff Bar Protein (a little too high on calories, so you would have this in thirds and might melt on a hot day)
Balance Bar (might melt though on a hot day)
Grab the Gold (this one is the best!! But you need to order on line)

See the attached sheet breakdown provided by Grab the Gold.

http://grabthegold.net/

I hope this helps a little! (and doesn’t confuse you even more!)

Wednesday Wellness: Tips to Make a Healthy Meal

By Tammy Parkinson | October 5th, 2011 0 Comments

Sometimes, “life” is crazy busy and our perfect plan of cooking a healthy, vibrant week’s worth of meals goes awry. So here are some easy and healthy ways to make an “ok” meal even better! If nothing else, this might be the switch to get you started!

Try Dole and Mann’s frozen WASHED and unseasoned vegetables. Simply open the bag, dump into a skillet, add protein and dinner is served!
Replace processed meats with no-nitrite-added deli meats. Red and processed meats are believed to cause some cancers, so switching out the processed meats for more natural, lower sodium options is a healthy switch.
Switch to “thins” or light bread. Try Oroweat Bakery Light or Pepperidge Farm Carb-light. Some are 40-60 calories per slice.
Try a new vegetable several times a week. Studies show those who eat a wider variety of vegetables tend to be thinner!
Serve foods like soups, frozen yogurt, and cereals in a ramekin. This is true to a 4 oz serving!
Make junk food boring. If you are trying to cut calories but need some cookies, bars and pastas around the house (for the “kids…wink wink”) just choose a boring brand. The more options you have, the more likely you are to eat more of them
Replace sides like rice, potatoes and pasta with a second serving of vegetables.
Eat fish twice a week and ask for fish steamed, poached or BBQ’d if dining out.
Replace canned tuna with canned salmon; typically the salmon is higher in omega 3. Look first for the sodium content, make sure whichever you choose is packed in water, and use the salmon as a replacement 1-2 times a week.
Before you look at the calories on a label, train your eye to look at the serving size. Often, a package has anywhere from 2-4 servings, when our “stomach” thinks there is only 1!
Drink mostly calorie-free liquids. We want to watch the artificial sweeteners here too. However, a good choice is to sweeten your tea or coffee with stevia or truvia, add zest to your water with lemon, grated ginger or choose sparkling water.
Make your snacks fruit or vegetables as a staple. Adding a little bit of low cal hummus or bean dip is a good way to add protein, fat and fiber to the low carb nutrient dense veggies and fruit.
Whatever you are cooking, blending, baking or stirring, add in another handful or two of vegetables or fruit. This can make a meal for one into a nutritious meal for two with a lower caloric spin!
When you dine out, BEFORE you start eating, ask for half your meal to be wrapped up. We want you to eat every 2-3 hours, so by the time you get home, you can have the other half if you still feel hungry. Most likely you would have munched on something else anyway!
On the rare (I’m SURE) occasions you have pizza, ask for thin crust and half the cheese. They might even have reduced fat cheese. You never know until you ask!
Drink a glass of water before you eat. Studies show you can reduce your calories daily by several hundred without feeling deprived!

Some ideas from “Nutrition Action,” July 2011 edition

Wednesday Wellness: Focus On What You Want

By Tammy Parkinson | September 7th, 2011 0 Comments

When we are trying to better ourselves, or at least learn something new, where do we turn for information and inspiration? Possibly a book, a CD, a mentor perhaps.

This past weekend I was trying to improve technique (remember last week’s wellness?) and I found myself getting impatient, frustrated and (gasp) negative! I was thinking about the tools I have learned in my sport, the coaches’ advice and the support of my husband, yet the frustration mounted and my mind went to a down-beat spiral.

I decided to take a little alone time and work through my mindset. Again, I kept thinking of what I was doing and what I didn’t want to do any longer.

That was IT! I was thinking about what I did NOT want. I was focused on the NOT instead of what I DID want!

Words came into my head, like “strength,” “power,” “fearless,” and I quickly started to feel better.

However, there was still a little something I was disconnected from, something I still wasn’t working through, or hadn’t quite grasped. Again, I thought about all the advice I was given and then I started to realize my greatest teacher and support starts in my own mind. The words and emotions we tell ourselves are the catalyst to listening to the words others speak and the actions shown. We can be coached, loved, supported, and believed in (which is vital and necessary); however at the beginning, middle and end of the day, it’s the tiny voice in our mind which can strengthen those sentiments and words, or tear them apart.

I am writing these moments before I am about to try my sport again. I know what I want, I appreciate how I am supported and I realize what I can do, because of how I am supported and how I talk to myself.

Whatever you are moving through, however you want to get there, remember the words you tell yourself will unmistakably get you closer to or further away from what you want to achieve. Believe it; and then believe in yourself!

Wednesday Wellness | Practice Perfect Technique.

By Tammy Parkinson | August 31st, 2011 0 Comments

Bonnie Kathleen Blair (born March 18, 1964 in Cornwall, New York) is a retired American speed skater. She is one of the top skaters of her time, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, and in her Olympic career won five gold medals and one bronze medal.

Once interviewed, she indicated she never trained for power or speed, but technique. If she perfected her technique, then when race day came, she always knew she would skate her best.

In our daily habits, are we perfecting our technique, or are we always hoping to win the race, by being faster and stronger at any cost?

I’ve learned that when we push hard to “win” we usually compromise safety and often can injure ourselves at a devastating cost.

If we can tighten up our finesse, our technique by how we train, such as running in better alignment with our body, or slowing down our yoga practice to stretch our muscles safely instead of “pushing” the pose, or even fine tuning our “practice” of how we order our meals at restaurants, then we will get into such a rhythm of technique that when “race day” comes, everything else will fall into line safely and efficiently.

Since I learned this “mantra” of Bonnie Blair, I have given great thought to how I train when I water ski, cycle, workout with my trainer and when I practice yoga. It was a powerful statement for me to train a different way…in all areas of my life. I hope this can offer you some insight to your daily habits as well and as some say… “slow down to speed up”!

Posts Tagged ‘Tammy Parkinson’

Weekend Wellness: 8 Hot Tips!

Weekend Wellness: Antioxidants – What Are They and What Do They Do?

Weekend Wellness: Sharpening Your Dull Knife

Weekend Wellness: What Works and What Doesn’t?

Weekend Wellness: Alcohol…for some, a hot topic yet a confusing one!

Weekend Wellness: The Power of Positive Thinking

Weekend Wellness: The Food Bar Breakdown

Wednesday Wellness: Tips to Make a Healthy Meal

Wednesday Wellness: Focus On What You Want

Wednesday Wellness | Practice Perfect Technique.

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