inerTRAIN Blog

December 23, 2011

Happy Holidays from the inerTRAIN team!

December 20, 2011

The Restorative Power of Rest

Technology is increasing the pace of our everyday lives and the length of the day. Thomas Edison believed that people didn't need as much sleep as they were getting, and he developed the light bulb with the belief that most people wouldn’t need to sleep. The Internet and our transition into the Information Age have expanded upon this idea. Our hustling lifestyle means that people are staying awake longer at night, getting up earlier, and getting less and less sleep.

A lack of sleep is not only counter-productive, but it is also dangerous. For example, more traffic fatalities are caused by someone falling asleep at the wheel than by drunk driving. Arming yourself with information about the importance of a good night’s sleep and applying it to your life can dramatically improve your overall health and well-being.

Have you ever…

driven while drowsy or even almost fallen asleep while driving?
felt an overwhelming sense of fatigue all day, many days in a row?
had a lot of trouble holding your eyes open at work?
made mistakes at work or school because you were too tired to think straight?
been easily irritated with coworkers, friends, or family members because you're so tired?

If any of these are familiar to you, you are probably severely sleep deprived! How do you know if you are suffering from sleep deprivation? Easy. Do you need an alarm clock to wake you at your normal time in the morning? If so, you are sleep deprived.

Getting the right amount of sleep will do more for your life than any other health change you can make and is by far your most precious health habit. If you work on your sleep habits for three weeks you will say to yourself, “I never knew what feeling awake is actually like!” You will have much more energy throughout the day, will feel better, and will notice an improvement in your attitude. Plus, you will probably find that changing sleeping habits will be a bit easier than other habits you might want to change.

Here are some general guidelines to help you sleep:

Know your most productive time. Are you a lark, or an owl? Do you like getting up early in the morning, or staying up late? Are you more productive in the morning or late afternoon and evening?
Most people need at least 8 hours of sleep per night. Recent research has found that most people would do better on 10 hours. High school students should get at least 10 hours of sleep.
Use your bed only for sleep and/or sexual activity. Don't watch TV in bed. Try not to even read in bed. Get your mind to associate your bed with sleep.
Try to get to bed 15 minutes earlier each week. After a few weeks, you will discover how much sleep you actually need.
Try to keep your sleep schedule on the weekend. Avoid “sleeping in.” Doing so causes the Monday morning blahs.
Avoid napping. If you feel that you need a nap in the day, you are not getting enough sleep at night. Napping may actually interrupt your nightly sleep cycle. If you must nap, try not to nap for longer than 20 minutes.

The holidays are right around the corner, which can often be a stressful time of year filled with hectic travel schedules, frantic party planning, and shopping. However, this is also a great opportunity to take some time to unwind and work on getting plenty of rest. Go a step further and begin implementing changes to improve your sleep habits!

In Health,

October 10, 2011

Watering Your Fat Away

Most everyone I have worked with is borderline or chronically dehydrated due to a gradual failing thirst signal. As we age, we basically dry out. Feeling thirsty is the last signal our bodies use to tell us we need to drink water. Many other signals will occur first: body aches and pains, headaches, fatigue, intestinal discomfort, and even depression are some symptoms of long-term dehydration.

If you do not drink enough water, your body will retain the water it does have. Kidney function can suffer and waste products can build up in the blood. Your liver is called upon to flush out impurities. If your liver is busy cleaning things up, it cannot burn fat (burning fat is one of its main functions). Fat buildup occurs, water is retained, and your body weight increases.

Staying hydrated allows your liver to work at its optimum performance. More water allows your body fat to be burned faster. Fat burning is a dehydrating process. Your body needs the extra water to keep the fat burning machine running at full speed.

Now, the next time you are going to eat, ask yourself . . . are you hungry? Or thirsty?

Most people are in the habit of heading for the kitchen as soon as they sense messages from their stomach that say, “I want something!” The next time you are hungry, try drinking water instead of eating. You may find that a drink of water will satisfy your hunger. If you are still hungry even after drinking the water, have something to eat. But first, put your hunger to the water test!

Extra Bonus:

You can maximize calorie burning by keeping the water cold. A gallon of ice-cold (40-degrees Fahrenheit) water requires 123 calories of heat energy to warm it to core body temperature (98.6 degrees). This equates to 1 pound of fat loss a month and 12 pounds in a year only from drinking ice water!

Superhydration Procedure:

Superhydration means working up to drinking at least 4 quarts of ice-cold water each day. Large amounts of water are important for efficient fat loss. Please do not make yourself miserable. Just make a conscious effort to drink more water between meals and just a little water during meals. You do not want to dilute the digestive juices in your stomach during a meal by consuming too much water. So, try to drink most of your water between meals and in the earlier part of the day.

Day 1-3

Consume 64 ounces (2 quarts)

Day 4-7

Consume 96 ounces (3 quarts)

Day 8- on

Consume 128 ounces (4 quarts)

Purchase an insulated, 32-ounce plastic container with a straw. Carry it with you throughout the day. Continuous sipping is more effective than gulping down a glass now and then. Understand that super hydration will initially cause you to visit the bathroom more often than normal. Soon, however, your bladder will adapt and you will urinate less frequently (but in larger amounts).

Caution: Don’t be surprised if you have to get a drink of water after reading this post. And you should! Water is your body’s most precious nutrient. It is not only essential for life, but also for efficient fat loss.

In Health,

August 16, 2011

Fitness saves lives

Fitness is about more than looking and feeling good. For some, whose vocation is to save lives, it is critical to be in good physical shape for not only their own health and safety, but for those that they serve through their work. Today’s guest blog post by Rich Marinucci talks about the importance of fitness for firefighters.

Mr. Marinucci has worked with the fire service and emergency management for the past 33 years as a fire chief, author, faculty member, consultant, and advisor throughout the country and internationally. Additionally, he was the program director for the Everyone Goes Home program of the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, whose goal is to reduce the number of preventable firefighter fatalities. So, you can see that he is very passionate about this topic.

In Health,

The job of a firefighter requires individuals who are fit and healthy. The stresses of the actual work of a firefighter coupled with the unpredictable nature of the job create potential health hazards. Firefighters can be called upon to perform within minutes of awaking from a sound sleep. Weather conditions, toxic products of combustion, sick patients, and an unpredictable work environment add to the stress on the body.

In fact, statistics show that cardiovascular events are the leading cause of firefighter line-of-duty deaths. There is no way to change this, so the best way for a firefighter to survive and prosper is to be in good physical condition. Proper fitness will reduce the chances of injury, minimize the severity when an injury occurs, and shorten any required recovery or rehabilitation time.

Whether working as a career firefighter on 24-hour shifts (of some combination) or as a volunteer firefighter responding when needed, the schedule challenges many to stay fit. The irregular nature of the schedule challenges individuals to establish a routine. It takes a motivated individual to consistently exercise and to do the types of workouts that are most beneficial towards reducing the risk of becoming a statistic. Many departments offer assistive resources, such as workout equipment in the stations, but ultimately the responsibility belongs to the individual firefighter.

In most cases, the firefighters start their jobs physically fit due to hiring requirements. However, if they do not begin and maintain a regimen, they can fall into bad habits that can lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. Add to this issue the natural aging process, and the potential for something bad to happen increases.

Regular check-ups by doctors familiar with the stresses and strains of firefighting, good eating habits, and regular exercise that is matched to the job requirements can help with a long career and hopefully lead to many years of retirement. It is never too late to start developing good habits. If you can do it by yourself, that is great. If you need help getting started and maintaining your program, finding someone who can help put together a program and keep you on track is worth the investment.

August 12, 2011

Classic treats with not-so-classic ingredients

One of my clients brought in a package of Moon Pies the other day. The package says “Since 1917.” I found this interesting and when I looked at the ingredients the first five things on the label are as follows: enriched wheat flour, corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (trans fat).

When I did a little research, I found out that enriched flour was first produced in 1941 and that high fructose corn syrup was created in 1957, but was not produced on an industrial scale until the mid-1970s.

So, this product that has been around “Since 1917” and contains mostly these five ingredients (remember—ingredients are listed from greatest to least), three of which have not even been produced until 1941. So, what were the darn things made of before that?!

What is happening to our food supply in this country is pretty scary. Everything is being produced to be faster, fatter, bigger, and cheaper.

To quote Joel Salatin, owner/farmer of Polyface Farms in Virginia who feeds his livestock grass (the way nature intended), “No one is thinking about the ecological health of the whole system. If we put glass walls on all the mega processing facilities we would have a different food system in this country.” Check out some of his videos on YouTube.

Try to start seeking out the best food possible. Yes, it might be a little more expensive, but your health is worth it.