Has Anything Changed?

Today, I felt the need to piggy back on Paul's previous post Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes.  It's such a simple, but extremely important message that is much easier said than done.  I have been saying it to myself on a daily basis and I finally put it in to practice!!

Our family lost a beautiful, strong woman this weekend and we miss her smiling face and gentle presence.  Nana was an amazing example of strength and perseverance and met each day with a positive outlook despite all she went through during her 94 years on this earth.  We are so thankful that Kylie and Will had an opportunity to know their great grandmother and learn from her.  She was so full of life and everyone she met fell in love with her. We love you Nana and you will always be in our hearts.

Nana and her great grand kids at her 94th birthday party

My usual reaction to stressful situations, such as the one this weekend, results in me getting sick and completely falling apart at the seams.  This was not an option. I needed to be strong for Paul,  his mom, and the kids. Perfect time to make a change.  Every time I felt my insides begin to unravel, I stopped myself and reflected on how truly blessed I am.  An amazing family, healthy, wonderful children, an unbelievable network of supportive friends, etc., I was able to stop my pity party and "man up."  This helped me redirect my stress and negative thoughts and I kept going.  I dealt with the pain head on and let the support and strength of my family members carry me and that was enough.  I stayed in the moment and while sitting around a fire pit Saturday night, I watched the kids play outside with their cousins surrounded by nothing but water and trees.  It was beautiful.  I was comforted by Mumford and Sons playing in the background and I reveled in the stories and laughter of one of the strongest families I know.  It was such a surge of positive energy and what life is all about. 

I hope everyone took Paul's post to heart and made one small change for the better.  It is so important on this journey we are all on together.  Let us know what changes you have made and how they have affected you.  I will leave you with an uplifting email we received on Friday.  Her energy is contagious and she is one of the most alive people I know:)  I know she will inspire you. 

Happy Friday to a beautiful and powerful Dawn,

Thanks for being wonderful and a inspiration to us all. Positive words and encouragement does wonders.

I DID a change and this change was the best change I have done in a very looooooong time and I feel happier and stronger than I have ever felt in a very looooong time. Bragging here, but I have gotten my lovely behind up at 4:30am everyday this week hitting the gym before work. Thanks for teaching me all the great weight lifting routines. I have your workout plan in my bag and use it at the gym. Thank you Dawn,

Have a great Spring break,

Positive energi,

Check out this great post from Brett Klika(www.brettklika.com).  He always keeps his outlook positive and his message will help you execute change if you haven't already done so!  Happy Hump Day!

Stay Strong,
Dawn

Nothing Changes If Nothing Changes

Listen to that again and let it sink in, "nothing changes if nothing changes."  I came across that saying last weekend and it really resonated with me. Not only do I struggle with this myself, I see it all the time in people who I talk to who want to see change in their health and fitness levels. It is as if we somehow feel that the thought of change is enough to set about this course of action that will fix whatever it is that we want fixed.

We all tend to fall into patterns in life, habits that help us get through our day more efficiently or with less stress.  Sometimes these patterns and habits are good things and truly do helps us in our daily lives.  However, sometimes these habits are nothing more than thinly veiled coping strategies that are preventing us from making change that we say we want.

Think about the last time you set out to change something, whether it was a new exercise routine, a new way of eating, or even a new budget, which is where I slip up most of the time.  Did it go something like this?  You buy a new book on the subject, maybe even talk to an expert in the field.  You make a plan and possibly even set some goals.  You are excited because you know everything you need to do to be successful.  You've got it all figured out this time.

Two weeks later you are in the same spot and nothing has changed? What happened?  You are beyond frustrated at the seeming failure of the program you tried and the experience hampers any future attempts at change because whatever it is you tried does not work for you.

But wait, lets back up and take a closer look. After you read the books, and talked to the experts, and set your goals, what happened?  Did you change anything?  Did you get up earlier and hit the gym, or make a nutritious breakfast?  Did you find a way to not sit at your desk for several hours at a time without moving? Did you take cash to the store so that you don't spend $50 over what you have budgeted?  What changed?

Nothing changes, if nothing changes.

The magic is in the action. I know it sounds simple, but you have to change things if you want to see change. The next time you set out to make a change still go through all the steps listed above, gaining knowledge, seeking out experts, make a plan, and set some goals, but be sure to add in some action steps as well.  What specifically is going to change?  What behavior, or habit?  Start small, it is amazing how something small can affect big change.  These small, quick, wins then grow into a cascade of positive change and before long you have far surpassed any initial goals.  But, it all starts with something changing.

So the next time you find yourself, once again, on the couch instead of working out, in the middle of a gastrointestinal flare up because you ate something you know you should not have, or are staring at more bills than you have money to pay and wondering how you got there again.  Remember.

Nothing changes, if nothing changes.

I leave you with a quote that I read all the time when I am about to try something that I am a little hesitant about.  It speaks to the power of change when you are committed to it.

"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now." 
Goethe

What to do about tight hips.

Paul and I focus a lot on nutrition when it comes to overall health, but we are also big proponents of mobilizing and stretching as a part of any successful exercise program.  I tell my clients all the time that the key to their success lies in what they do after the workout.  This is true from both a nutritional standpoint and a recovery one. Whether they have pain or are just sore, they know how to help themselves and they grab a foam roller, tennis ball, golf ball, or band and get to work.  I show them appropriate stretches for specific body parts and expect them to follow through on their OWN!!  They have an allotted time to work on the exercises and stretches with me, but that small amount of time is not enough.  It doesn't even scratch the surface.  If you have shoulder, back, hip, hamstring, knee, or foot pain, etc, you should be stretching and mobilizing everyday.  I know the clients that do"handle their business" because their pain lessens and in many cases stops all together.  I know it is easier said than done, but the pros outweigh the cons by leaps and bounds!  I feel like a broken record, but I am always telling people that they have the power to fix themselves. Extremely  tight muscles along with inflammation through a poor diet are a recipe for disaster and contribute to many of the aches and pains people experience.

Since many people come to me already with bad knees, it is my goal to figure out what is causing this pain and fix it.  In many cases, tight hips are the culprit and people see a huge difference in their pain within a week of stretching and mobilizing.  Here are a few of the exercises and stretches that I recommend to my clients who have extremely tight hips.

Foam rolling from top of the leg to right above the  knee.

Foam rolling.  It hurts so good!

Soft tissue work with tennis ball.  Apply pressure on tennis ball on the spots that feel really tight.

Hip/plank stretch on right leg.  We do this one a lot with our clients.

Hip/plank stretch on left leg.

There are so many different exercises and stretches and these are only the tip of the iceberg, but they will help dramatically.  It also helps to strengthen the muscles around the knee at the same time through proper movement, but we will save that for later.  Take some time this week and give your hips some TLC!  Your knees will thank you:) 

Take control of your own health and have a great "hump" day!

Join The Fight!

Our last post about the book, The Unhealthy Truth, got a lot of people talking and the common sentiment was, "What can we do?"  We suggested you speak with your dollar and make sure you buy products that you know to be free from the chemicals and additives that the major corporations use to produce nutritiously poor food cheaply.  We have several posts in the works to help you identify these foods, but in the meantime, Lisa Leake, over at 100 Days of Real Food, has started a petition at Change.org.  She is trying to get Kraft to remove the harmful artificial food dye that it uses in its American sold  Mac & Cheese.  In 36 hours the petition has received more than 170,000 signatures, including ours.

"The people" are becoming more aware of the importance of the quality of their food and are demanding better from the major food producers. Join the fight and "Be the change you want to see in the world."

On another note, we are looking for ways to monetize our blog without annoying ads that we do not have control over.  We are entering into affiliate agreements with companies and products that we use frequently and will have links to them on the right of our blog. No hard sell here, but if you are going to purchase some of these things anyway we would love for you to purchase them from our link, as we get a small percentage of the sale.  Our first link is with Perform Better, they sell exercise equipment and we have purchased all of our equipment from them including our popular foam rollers.  If you are in the market for your own foam roller or any other equipment for your home, check them out.

50 Nuggets From - The Unhealthy Truth

During our last 30 day clean eating challenge, we linked to a Ted Talk Video by Robyn O'Brien about our food system.  As I went to put the book on my amazon wish list, along with the many others I can't wait to read, I was compelled to just buy it, so I did.  Even though I am currently juggling two other books, a couple of classes, and a nutrition certification, I just had to read it.

Let me say from the outset that I am not anti government and I don't want this post to be some kind of political statement.  I feel strongly that we have the best system of government in the world, but along the way we, "the people", have lost control of that system.  Through apathy and lack of involvement in everything from the local PTA to national elections, "the people", have ceded the  power of the masses to a select few. This has wide reaching ramifications that can be debated in other forums, but for the purposes of this post, it has come at great cost to our health and the health of future generations.

Robyn O'Brien calls herself a reluctant crusader.  She had no intentions of taking on the establishment when one day she found herself rushing her youngest daughter to the hospital because of an allergic reaction she had to food.  She found out that her daughter was allergic to eggs and in the process of trying to find foods that she could eat that did not contain eggs, she ran head long into a food system run by multinational corporations that had profit margins first on their list of priorities and food nutrition and safety much further down.

Rather than go through the book chapter by chapter, I thought I would highlight 50 nuggets from the book that resonated with me.  There are hundreds more, which is why you should read this book.

1. The prevalence of peanut allergies doubled from 1997 to 2002 and has gotten worse since then.
2. In the last eight years there has been a 265% increase in the number of hospitalizations related to food allergies.
3. Both food allergies and food sensitivities are an overreaction by the immune system to a perceived threat from a protein in food.

Food Allergies cause immediate reactions and common symptoms include:

• rash or hives
• nausea
• stomach pain
• diarrhea
• itchy skin
• eczema
• shortness of breath
• chest pain
• swelling of the airways to the lungs
• anaphylaxis   

      Food sensitivities cause a delayed reaction and symptoms include:

• fatigue
• gastrointestinal problems, including bloating and gas
• itchy skin and skin rashes like eczema
• brain fog
• muscle or joint aches
• headache
• sleeplessness and sleep disorders
• chronic rhinitis(runny nose), congestion, and postnasal drip

4.. Allergies of all types are skyrocketing, to the point where we are now facing a genuine epidemic .
5.  The CDC and other governmental agencies are failing to fund studies to calculate the number of children effected.
6.  Related conditions, such as asthma, are also on the rise, which most experts believe indicates a widespread environmental problem affecting our immune system.
7.  The potential dangers of these conditions go far beyond the immediate discomforts of runny noses and itchy skin.
8.  Because of the long-term dangers of allergy induced inflammation, supposedly harmless allergic reactions may be causing long term health problems including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
9. Inflammation has been linked to any number of health problems and is a central aspect of autoimmune reactions including asthma, allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, and fibromyalagia.
10.  Skin conditions can be the first sign of a problem.  The skin is a persons largest organ, eczema, rashes around the mouth, knees, elbows, or armpits or dark circles under the eyes are all signs of an inflammatory reaction to some kind of toxic invader.
11.  Keeping that toxic invader away can bring relief from brain fog, crankiness, sleep problems, inattention, acne, and mood swings.
12. Your poop can tell you a lot about your digestion.  Runny poop means you are not digesting your foods properly.
13.  Chronic ear infections are often a sign of dairy allergies.
14.  Children are exposed to increasing levels of toxins, heavy metals, and pollutants in their environment, leading to severe imbalances in their immune systems.
15.  Bacteria can be good and bad.  Kids who were exposed to more germs, microbes, and bacteria early in life seemed to have stronger immune systems.
16.  Kids are overexposed to antibiotics which kill off bad bacteria, but also the good bacteria with it.
17.  Only 4 percent of the average American diet comes from "real Food": vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, fruit, and other natural items.
18.  80 percent of the average American diet calories come from white flour, sugar, and oil.
19.  Asthma is an allergy
20.  The non profit world, governmental regulatory agencies, and the corporations who produce food, seeds, pesticides, and insecticides are all involved with one another in intimate ways.
21.  The focus of the involvement within these groups is not for the betterment of the nation's health, it is purely for profit.
22.  It is very difficult to get companies to label packages clearly so that you can identify potential allergens.
23.  47 percent of products recalled for hidden allergens since 1998 were not announced to the public
24.  On average, five products each week are recalled because of hidden allergens; one third of these products are cookies, candy, ice cream, or snacks.
25.  Genetically Modified Organisms are organisms whose DNA has been modified by insertion of proteins from different organisms.  
26.  Genetically altered soy had its first widespread use in 1996.
27.  Peanut allergies began to rise by 20% each year starting in 1997.  Coincidence?
28.  Soy became one of the top eight U.S. allergens around the same time and in 1998 the year that GMO soy was introduced in The U.K. the rate of soy allergens jumped 50%.
29.  Soy has a high concentration of isoflavones which can increase the production of estrogen.
30.  Increased production of estrogen has been linked to breast  and other reproductive cancers, as well as thyroid disruption in women and testicular cancer and infertility in men. 
31.  Soy contains phytic acid a substance that interferes with mineral absorption
32.  Soy plays at least a small part in 20,000 to 30,000 products that are on the market today, whether directly as an ingredient or indirectly as a feed or nutrient source.
33. 92% of soy grown worldwide is genetically modified
34.  There are twelve GMO plant species that have been approved for commercial production in The United States: corn, cotton, potatoes, tomatoes, soy beans, sugar beets, rice, flax, squash/zucchini, papaya, and chicory.
35.  All of Europe and Great Britain, Australia, Japan, and even Russia have very strong labeling laws, requiring food manufacturers to make perfectly clear when a product contains genetically engineered ingredients.  We don't.
36.  Monsanto, a chemical company owns 90% of the US soy market in the form of it's GMO round-up ready soy seed.  Monsanto also makes the genetically altered corn seed that is widely used in many of the products we eat.
37.  Monsanto also makes RBGH - recombiant bovine growth hormone.  This hormone is injected into dairy cows to increase milk production.
38.  The RBGH label warns of "increases in cystic ovaries and disorders of the uterus," "decrease in gestation length and birth-weight of calves," "Increased risk of clinical mastitis."  Mastitis is a painful type of udder infection that causes cows to pump out bacteria and puss along with milk.  These cows then need to be treated with antibiotics.
39. Cows that receive RBGH live on average about two years while cows free of RBGH tend to live four to ten years.
40.  RBHG Milk has ten times the levels of IGF-1 (insulin like growth factor) then natural milk.
41. IGF-1 has been linked to hormonal cancers of breast, colon, and prostate and has been banned in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
42. The FDA has refused to label products that have been produced with RBGH and has restricted dairies that didn't use RBGH from labeling their products as RBGH free!
43. 80% of the corn grown in the United States is genetically modified.
44. The Food and Drug Administration does not require safety testing for genetically engineered plants.
45. There is a revolving door between the officials at the FDA and the executives of large chemical companies that have created these genetically modified crops.
46. The USDA uses tax payer subsidies to pay giant farms millions of dollars to grow these chemical-laden crops and makes small organic farmers pay fees to prove that their crops have no chemicals.
47. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener approved for human consumption by the FDA in 1981.
48. The American companies of Wal-Mart, Kraft, Coca-Cola, and the Mars candy company have removed artificial colors, preservatives, and aspartame in their products that they sell in the UK, because they have been banned there.  But not here.
49. In fiscal year 2009 our government allocated $600 billion dollars to the war effort, while granting 2.4 million to the FDA to "Protect the health of the American people."
50. Whenever you read or hear an "expert opinion" or "surprising new study" consider the funding source.

I had to stop myself at 50, but didn't even scratch the surface. I am pretty sure I lost most of the readers by now, but those who stayed with me you need to read this book.  It is not a fun book to read and it will make you question alot of what you thought you knew.  It will anger you and hopefully motivate you.  I have one more quote from the book, it was taken from a study published in October 1999 in The Lancet, Britain's most prestigious medical journal.  The study was done by Dr. Arpad Pusztai a genetic engineer who tried to share his findings on the danger of GMO's in 1995.

The situation is like the tobacco industry. They knew about it but they suppressed information. They created misleading evidence that showed that the problem wasn't so serious. And all the time they knew how bad it was. Tobacco is bad enough. But genetic modification, if it is going to be problematic, if it is going to cause us real health problems, then tobacco will be nothing in comparison with this. The size of genetic modification and problems it may cause us are tremendous. People should be made accountable for the crimes they have committed.

A comment was forwarded to us after we posted the TED talk that Robyn O'Brien gave and the nature of the comment was basically, "well what are we supposed to do?"  You can feel like you have no power to change things and again that is where this book serves as motivation to start your very own crusade.  Speak out with your dollar.  Support your local farmers market, buy the organic vegetables.  Yes they are more expensive, but so worth it. Industry responded to consumers in the UK because they demanded a better product. It is time we got more involved and made demands not only of industry, but of our government as well.

Twitter and a Food Fight

Happy Friday!

We wanted to share with everyone that we are now on Twitter. You can follow us by searching @Newdawninfo. We are new to the Twitter thing so be patient as we play around with it and figure it all out, but we look forward to being able to quickly and easily send out links to some of the cool and interesting things we see on the internet all the time that don't make it to a formal blog post.

We came across one of those things last night. It was Tweeted out by Michael Pollan, author of Omnivores Dilemma and Food Rules two great books if you have not had the chance to read them. It was a link to a web site called Tree Hugger that had the video below comparing the food industry to drug dealers.