Be Healthy and Relax

Archive for September, 2007

Happy Sunday, all! I hope you have a strong stomach because this video gets a little hairy, literally. I found this video that puts our trusty fast-food products from McDonalds to the test. This is not a very scientific experiment in any means, but it sure says something about their food. It’s pretty amazing that many of us grew up on McDonalds or had some of these throughout our lives. I’m pretty sure images from this video will pop up in your head the next time you have that fast-food temptation, which I hope you don’t. The fries in this video are my favorite!!!

Eat healthy and don’t take any dieting advice from anyone that works at McDonalds!

In previous posts I have talked about the great advantages of eating a well-rounded breakfast in the morning. Check out my post, The Importance of Breakfast, if you haven’t yet. Since then I have given a very simple breakfast recipe that I use very frequently and have grown to love. Check it out, Power Breakfasts. The best thing about it is that it’s about a five minute preparation! This time around I have an equally simple recipe that will have you springing out of bed to start cooking!

If there is a day where you know you will exercise much later or just want a nice filling, yet simple breakfast… this is the one for you. It is a great breakfast that will allow you to start your day with a fully energized and attentive feeling until lunchtime comes around.

• 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal. Try for the unsweetened oatmeals, being that you can always sweeten it up yourself with healthier methods. Try adding 2 tsp. of brown sugar, 2 tbsp. of dried blueberries, and 2 tbs. of nonfat plain yogurt.
• Toast 1/2 of an English muffin or slice of wheat bread. Try adding an all natural jelly or jam on there.
• Scramble 1 egg. Try to rid the yolk and only keep the egg whites. This practically eliminates the cholesterol and fat from the egg.
• Have a coffee or tea. Either of these will naturally get you going on the right foot.

I have grown to love this breakfast solely because of the oatmeal. This recipe only shows one method to “customize” your oatmeal, but try experimenting, you might just find some nifty little combo out there. The great thing about oatmeal is that it is full of fiber to help keep off those cravings before lunchtime. Cereals have never seemed to do the trick as well as oatmeal does for me. Another plus with oatmeal is that it gives you long-lasting energy, which in turn keeps your blood-sugar under control. This is another reason why those pre-lunch cravings don’t hit you.

If you do happen to have a craving before your next meal, try reaching for a piece of fruit instead of that fatty muffin or bag of chips. The fruit will give you some extra fiber and carbs while keeping the calories down. Other than that, this should prove to be another awesome breakfast idea. Enjoy!

The decision to drink or not to drink is most often answered with, “Do I want to be unhealthy or healthy?” Many people tend to answer this question without much knowledge backing it; their verdict is determined by seeing the destruction it causes from news reports on TV or seeing the addictions that can come from indulging too much. Many people have not researched that there are actually benefits to drinking. The key to this equation is moderation.

What Is Moderation?

Depending in which part of the world, the amount of drinks per day can vary. In America, it is very common to determine two drinks per day as being moderate. Of course, moderation is also figured into your body mass and how alcohol effects you. Traveling down to Australia or parts in Europe, moderation is looked as high as about four drinks per day. This just shows you how wide spread this idea is, but it is still definitely an amount that is determined on a personal level.

• One drink is equal to a 12 oz. can or bottle of beer, or
• One shot of alcohol, either mixed or straight, or
• One 5 oz glass of wine

With this moderation, researchers have said that the consumption of alcohol in this manner betters your health and increases longevity. Keeping the balance is the most important factor in all of this. Too much alcohol can be very harmful and produce many long-term effects in the body. But, surprisingly, studies have shown that those that are abstainers to alcohol do not have the health advantages that moderate drinkers have. More often than not, those that have a moderate drinking habit are more self-controlled than those that don’t drink and those that drink excessively. Moderate drinkers are normally more active and can show constraint in many other aspects in their life. Finding that healthy medium is the goal of the game.

This last Tuesday I wanted to continue with the Top 10 Tuesday that Matt brought over from HowIWillBeRich.com, but instead got a little bogged down with the amount of work and school I had put on me.  Now I’ll make it up with the Top 10 being moved to Thursday for this week, woo hoo!  Here are the 10 health blog posts that caught my eye over this past week that I’d like to share with you all.  Check out all of the sites and enjoy!

• Over at The Final Sprint I stumbled upon a really interesting podcast with Dean Karnazes.  He is an avid runner that has authored The Ultra-Marathon Man. His words of inspiration speak to everyone, not just the runners out there!
• Her Active Life discusses the The Science of Sleeping Pills.  This article was interesting because it pointed many concerns with these pills.  Many of us will use these from time to time, so read this before popping another one.
• There are some really profound food tips over at Diethack in the article, How To Prepare A Healthy Family Meal.  Since there are so many conflicting dietting tips out there, it’s very difficult to know which one to belive.  This article lays out the basics so you know where to start before jumping into that next crazy diet.
• The folks at HealthMad are discussing the importances of spices in your diets in the article, Spice Your Day to a Healthier Life.  Check this one out and see how spices are just as, or even more important than all of those highly-expensive organic foods.
• Live Life…Organics & Your Health shows you a snap shot of how benefitial having fish around can be.  Check out this quick read, Fishes Are Therapeutic, and see how these little guys can brighten up your day.  I bet all of us could use them from time to time!
• I found a catchy little poem at The Diet Pulpit that easily sticks in your head.  See for yourself at Dieter’s Manifesto and see if these clever words can help you before your next snack craving.
• There’s a great article at Ririan Project called 10 Big Lessions from Little Kids that is sure to take you back.  It points out the smarts that our youth has that we tend to overlook as we get older.  See what you’ve been missing for so many years…
• I have always had one of my friends tell me that soccer is the best sport in the world.  Now, he can also tell me it’s a better workout than the running I love to do.  Check it all out at He’s Fit in the post, Soccer Is Better Exercise Than Jogging.
• Spine-Health.com points out some great tips we forget during our hussle and bustle while traveling in their article, 29 Best Travel Tips for Your Aching Back.
• I enjoy reading about different cultures, so I thought A Peek Into The Swahili Way of Life at Nurture Your Own was an awesome little picture.  It’s interesting to see the huge differences in diets in America and the rest of the world.  It almost seems like we try to eat like cultures such as this while shopping at natural food stores and searching for the most organic selections.

That’s the Top 10 from this week.  I hope you check them all out, they are some great reads!

Remember the good ‘ol days as children when we would use the same pair of shoes for whatever we did? Let it be for running in the mud with friends, going to a nice restaurant, or visiting the distant relatives; we did it all in those suckers! Some of us have added a few new additions in the wardrobe through the years, possibly now a pair for work and a couple dressier type shoes. Unfortunately, many of us will use these “work” or “casual” shoes for our exercises as well. They are seemingly harmless and very capable of completing the task of jogging a few laps around the track, of course, until you’ve done it! Many times it takes these painful experiences for us to break the mold and spend a little extra cash on that pair of running shoes you never thought you’d touch.

Luckily, before I began running I was very exposed to the fact from my father that having the right pair of running shoes makes all the difference in how you’ll feel after a workout. Some of us, on the other hand, are not always so fortunate of having this previous knowledge…

Earlier this year as I was continuing with my training schedule for my third half-marathon, I asked Matt if he would like to go to the track with me to do some running. Matt has never been a runner, and in fact, has come from a family that really does not want anything to do with running. This is the exact opposite of me, weird! Instead, Matt had been a very avid basketball player throughout high school and has continually gone to the gym. I was proud that Matt accepted, but I wasn’t so proud when I looked down at his feet and saw these, bright white things screaming back at me…

They were the pair of Nike Overplay basketball shoes I sold to him while I was working at my previous job many months before. Along with these, he wore a pair of thick, cotton socks. Those are a definite no no because of the friction they create on the skin. For his sake, he had the right idea of bringing athletic shoes to the track, but little did he know, he would be having some serious pain afterwards.

I ran a few laps with him to get him jogging at a comfortable pace, then eventually let him run alone. After two and a half miles, Matt had enough of the torture and decided it was time for him to quit. Peeling off the shoes, he soon discovered what the burning sensation was above both of his heels. With a mixture of both the shoes and cotton socks, two quarter-sized blisters had formed and popped, leaving Matt with a nice tender feeling. If this wasn’t enough, the next day, he noticed that the front of both of his legs were in pain and that it was difficult to walk. The dreaded shin splints had set in! *Play the “Psycho” scary music*

That weekend I introduced Matt to the world of running shoes, which just so happened to be at my favorite store, Road Runner Sports. While we were there I showed Matt the various types of shoes and the many machines they offer which help identify which one is the best fit for you. As we completed the machine test that showed his foot type (flat, normal, or high arch) and how much stability he’d need, we decided to have Matt purchase a pair of Asics Kayanos. These are running shoes that normally cost a little over $100, but he got lucky and found some on the clearance rack for $45.

As Matt was finally able to muscle off the pain, he strapped on those Asics and tried the same run around the track. This time he said he felt much lighter, the shoe felt snug and shaped his foot perfectly, there was no rubbing on the heel, and felt great overall. He never thought he would spend the money for running shoes, but it’s really more of a beneficial investment than you think, even if you aren’t a crazy runner out there every day. The benefits definitely outweigh the cons on this one, so think about this little story if this might be the case for you.

Later, I will write a post on the best types of running shoes out there for your foot type. It is very easy to get lost in those huge running stores, so I hope that it might help steer you in the right direction.