New Year Bet: 5 for 5

And... we have a New Year's bet on. 5 pounds, 5 weeks. 4 participants to date: R., J., Me, The Husband, and My Mom. Week one weigh ins should roll in soon. Buy-in is $5 to be given to the first person to lose and keep off 5 pounds for two weeks.

Gluten Can Kill You

I read an article called "Gluten: What You Don't Know Might Kill You," by Dr. Mark Hyman, that is a great motivator to kicking off my next gluten, corn and soy free year. The article mentions a broad, new study that found that gluten increases the risk of death from cancer or heart disease in those who are sensitive.

Even scarier, 99% of people who are sensitive to gluten don't know it. "This is ground-breaking research that proves you don't have to have full-blown celiac disease with a positive intestinal biopsy (which is what conventional thinking tells us) to have serious health problems and complications--even death--from eating gluten."

The article goes on to list 55 other "diseases" that gluten can cause: "These include

• Osteoporosis,
• Irritable bowel disease,
• Inflammatory bowel disease,
• Anemia,
• Cancer,
• Fatigue,
• Canker sores,
• Rheumatoid arthritis,
• Lupus,
• Multiple sclerosis,
• Almost all other autoimmune diseases.

"Gluten is also linked to many psychiatric (vi) and neurological diseases, including

• Anxiety,
• Depression,
• Schizophrenia,
• Dementia,
• Migraines,
• Epilepsy, and
• Neuropathy (nerve damage).
• It has also been linked to autism.

One of my favorite quotes from the article is: "We used to think that gluten problems or celiac disease were confined to children who had diarrhea, weight loss, and failure to thrive. Now we know you can be old, fat, and constipated and still have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.

Getting Cardio with Injured Knees

I found a short, but good Q&A on how to get in cardio exercise with knees that aren't quite up to snuff. A few of my family members are currently experiencing knee challenges.

How can I get cardio exercise if my knees are damaged?

Key recommendations:

• You can break up the cardio you get into smaller chunks
• Try swimming, cycling or other sports that take the weight off your knees
• Don't just think about traditional exercises. Cleaning the house and gardening count, too.
• Keep up strength training

• 

A Conversation on Staying Healthy

A nice conversation between Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Jillian Michaels on staying fit at 40. Light on content, but a nice little conversation. (Not that I am 40, but I am busy... one of the topics discussed quickly).

Conversation on Staying Healthy

1 Week Challenge

My mother has initiated another throw down, and a book is the prize at the end of the week. 100 sit ups and 20 push ups every day for the next week. My sister and cousin, L, are joining in, too.

Anyone else want to join in?

Simplifying Life

Some people, myself included, can gain weight when under stress. While there have been many articles on how to reduce weight gain related to stress, a friend posted a link to a nice article on simplifying life. Thought I would share the key highlights from the article "How to Live A Better Life with Less:"

Do Less
Have Less
Produce Less
Consume Less
Connect Online Less
Connect with others, and your passions, more
Edit, edit

Be Optimistic, Live Longer!

A new study came out that shows that optimistic women live longer. A quote from a study author:

"'Taking into account income, education, health behaviors like [controlling] blood pressure and whether or not you are physically active, whether or not you drink or smoke, we still see optimists with a decreased risk of death compared to pessimists,' says Dr. Hilary Tindle, lead author of the study."

Keep the hope alive! You'll live longer!