Tools to help with fitness

You don't need a lot of equipment to get fit, but there are tools out there to help you lose weight. Here's a review of some useful and popular ones recommended by me. Check with your doctor before changing your routine.

Pedometers are useful as they track how many steps you take. Doctors suggest you get to 10,000 steps a day to get fit. It will be surprising to see how few steps you take in a day and inspire you to walk more. The one I use is the Fitbit One Wireless Activity Plus Sleep Tracker. It has add on products such as the Fitbit Aria Wi-Fi Smart Scale and more.

I love reading and my favorite health books right now are anything by Michael Pollan, he is the leader, and very few people will dispute any of his suggestions or ideas. He advocates natural foods, slow cooking, whole foods and more. Nothing to hate there.

Also because of my current health requirements I love anything by Mark Hyman and Daniel Amen (in particular the Daniel Plan ). Both are well regarded leader in their field and their ideas are well thought out and convincing. If you hate shopping and cooking try some subscription services, there are lots out there Medifast has a lot of options and does all the work for you!

As for fitness tools, as suggested in my previous post Here's step one! Get moving I love the mini rebounder trampolines. There are also workout routines at Muscle and Fitness tips.

You could also use sneakers for walking outdoors. I love champion c9 sneakers, they are a consumer reports best buy and available at Target and you can't beat the price!

For weight management you can't go wrong with Weight Watchers any of their programs are top notch and work. They are also approved my the medical community and gimmick free.

An other tool to help if you aren't using a food plan such as Medifast or Weight Watchers is SparkPeople. It is more than just a food plan or fitness tracker, there is a lot of information and peer reviewed articles on the site. There are communities to help you with your journey and fitness challenges for a whole lot of conditions.

Again, you don't need a lot of tools and equipment to get started. But some of the above tools will make your life a lot easier as it takes a long time to get fit and maintain your fitness.

Good luck with your journey. Please comment below on your favorite tools for health and fitness, I'd love to hear about them.

@myHFjourney

Check out this site about sugar and weight 10poundpledge.com/sugar and lets give up sugar!

New Alzheimers study now recruiting for cutting edge treatment.

In the past year or so it was discovered that there might be a connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Apparently Alzheimer’s is affected by insulin and there is a significant correlation between high blood sugar levels and Alzheimer’s. Just one more thing you need to know if you are pre-diabetic, right? But all knowledge is a good thing, and it is good to know that ANY attempt you make to lower your blood sugar can help protect your brain as well. A good diet and exercise may ultimately help prevent cognitive delays, including Alzheimer’s.

In fact, the correlation between diabetes and Alzheimer’s is so high, that doctors are now referring to Alzheimer’s as a Type 3 diabetes. In an article published in November 2008 by the National Institute of Health, authors Suzanne M. de la Monte, M.D., M.P.H. and Jack R. Wands, M.D. conclude that "Altogether, the results from these studies provide strong evidence in support of the hypothesis that AD represents a form of diabetes mellitus that selectively afflicts the brain." (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2769828/)

Another article, by Edward R. Rosick, DO, MPH, DABHM, published in the November 2006 issue of Life Extension Magazine states that "The emerging connection between diabetes and Alzheimer's is yet another compelling reason for those who value their health to address issues of impaired insulin sensitivity before it is too late. Although diabetes is an emerging epidemic, it is also wholly preventable and reversible through strategies that incorporate dietary changes, lifestyle modifications, and nutritional supplementation."  (http://www.lef.org/magazine/2006/12/report_alzheimer/page-01)

Alzheimer’s is a topic very close to my heart as my Grandmother suffered from Alzheimer’s for many years. In the later stages of the disease, it became very difficult to care for her. She didn't recognize the friends and family who were taking care of her and was terrified of what they were doing to her and why they were there. She forgot how to execute basic functions like eating, going to the bathroom and other self-care skills. Sometimes she would get frustrated, violent or forceful in her attempt to understand what was going on around her.

Research has already determined that there may be a link between blood sugars and Alzheimer’s and currently there is a cutting edge study researching treatment for Alzheimer’s patients (http://alzheimersstudy.com/). The website states that "Currently three studies are underway to investigate whether a research drug called idalopirdine, given in addition to the Alzheimer’s medicine, donepezil, rivastigmine or galantamine, improves brain functioning in areas such as memory, thinking and reasoning." If you have someone currently taking Alzheimer’s medication, please forward information on this important research and treatment to his or her caretakers. There is even an online prescreener available to see if you might qualify. (https://alzheimersstudy.com/screener/ )

If you have trouble with high blood sugar, you now know how important this study might be to you. Please forward this post to anyone you know with friends or loved ones that suffer from Alzheimer’s. This may provide benefits to help the patient and patient costs are covered (even if you don't have insurance). Participation in the study will help progress this research through FDA approval and ultimately allow for the findings to be released for the benefit of the general public in managing this disastrous disease.

@myHFjourney 

It is so much harder to lose weight when you are older or overweight

When I was a teen I could skip a meal and lose a pound or two. Now in my middle age it is almost impossible to lose weight purposely and for long term weight loss. Lots of things are against you in middle age. I tell my kids that they should work on weight loss before they get very overweight.

Apparently a thrifty metabolism is against me. I read a news article that determined that some people have a thrifty metabolism that works against weight loss. Great, just what I needed, right? Thousands of years of evolution have worked so that I can retain weight, so I don't perish. Just what we need these days, right? These days where we almost never miss a meal and eat like we are celebrating every day.

Another recent news article says that exercise isn't to blame, of course I kind of guessed that. I've had bouts of major activity and develop muscle but don't necessarily lose weight long term. Or perhaps I am not keeping up the activity long term. The article suggests that simple carbohydrates are more of a problem. I am beginning to believe that they are right, that glucose and insulin are the problem for the metabolic conditions and the inability to lose weight when you are overweight long term. I've discovered that blood sugar is a major factor in the inability to lose weight.

I've heard of people who have weight loss surgeries but unless they keep working on weight loss you could get the weight back on. Even surgery isn't a guarantee for permanent weight loss.

Right now I am focusing on balancing my blood sugar, some days are better than others. And watching my refined carbs.

What do you think?

@myHFjourney