The Inspire Millions Challenge!

I read this post today by  Brett Klika CSCS and LOVED it!!  Let's just get up and move.. even a little will go along way!  Know the ingredients in your food.  We can do it!

Inspire Millions Challenge!

Americans are no longer chubby, portly, or overweight.

We are corpulent, obese, and rotund. We don’t move like humans are supposed to move.
We don’t eat like humans are supposed to eat. We are not just merely dying from this plight, we are suffering.
What would happen to a Cheetah if we fed it Cheetos and made it sit idle? It would get sick, it would get depressed It would develop pain, and die.
Why? Because Cheetos are not what Cheetahs are supposed to eat, and sitting idle is not what cheetahs are supposed to do.
As cruel as the above treatment may seem to an animal, many Americans live, embrace, and defend their “right” to this scenario. After all, there is a robust, nearly unchallenged industrial machine to support it. Unchallenged, until now.
This is a call to action.
A much higher calling than sculpting a six-pack, toning thighs, selling gym memberships or slinging miracle supplements.
It’s a call for our society to lift each other up off the couch and move.
It is a call to educate each other to eat food instead of chemicals.
It is a call to INSPIRE MILLIONS to stop suffering and live like humans are designed to live.
You don’t have to be a personal trainer, life coach, or physician to grab a loved one’s hand and say “let’s go for a walk”. How do you know if you are walking fast and far enough? When someone no longer needs to pull you off the couch to go for a walk. You don’t have to be a dietitian, nutritionist, or chef to select food that is actually “food” and not merely a chemically-induced taste. How do you know what “real food” is? The ingredients list should be the food itself. For meat, well, if you know what the animal’s name was prior to being on your plate, it’s probably safe to eat.

We don’t have to be hot, ripped, toned, shredded, sculpted, or beautiful. We need men, women, and children to get off the couch, stop eating poison, and get out of pain. Everyone can contribute. Do something today, right now to change the way you live or INSPIRE someone else to do the same. It may not happen overnight, it may take time. Person by person, household by household, city by city, state by state.
Working together, we can stand up and INSPIRE MILLIONS to be happy, healthy and pain free. After all, that’s how humans are supposed to live.

See more at:
brettklika.com
fitnessquest10.com

Run for Education Time!

Run for Education - Saturday, May 14, 2011

Join us for the 6th annual Run for Education in St. Ignatius.  There is a 5k and 1.5ish mile fun run/walk. Starts at 10:00am at the high school track.  Day of the race registration and pre-registration check in, starts at 9:00am.  I hope you will join us as this is a great family event that raises money for scholarships for local high school seniors.

5K Registration fee, all ages, unless in stroller (no shirt)------- $10.00 donation (or more if you want to!)

1.5 Mile Registration fee, 13 & over (no shirt) ---------------$10.00

1.5 Mile Registration fee, 12 & under (no shirt) --------------$ 5.00

Shirt prices are $12.00, if you want to purchase a shirt separately.  This year, shirts MUST be pre-ordered and will not be ordered after the run.

**Everybody that pre-registers, will be entered into a separate prize drawing, so get your entries in before day of the race!

Click REGISTRATION FORM to print out a registration form to sign up!

What are you doing Sunday, July 10th?

Anybody feel like doing the full marathon, marathon relay, or the 1/2 marathon that was rated the "Best Overall  Marathon in 2010" by Runners World Magazine?  The Missoula Marathon, on Sunday, July 10th is really is a fun family event!  Last year a few of us (including your sporty principal) ran the marathon relay and it was really fun.  Lots of laughs happened and many things that I will not forget!  It is a great team event that is not full of pressure to win.  I feel the 1/2 marathon is that way too.  The course is a nice, scenic course that is not too hilly.  If you have ever thought about doing a 1/2 or full marathon, this one is highly recommended!  It also has a Kids Marathon which I talk more about below.  If you have any questions on training for this type of event, feel free to email me!  I would love to help!  My training actually starts next week already.  I give myself PLENTY of time to train.  It takes that long for me to get running legs!

I am trying to get the word out to the parents/guardians about this years' Kids Marathon in Missoula!  This is the 5th year the Missoula Marathon has been going and it is such a success!  It has done so well that is has been featured in Runners World, as the Best Overall Marathon and won this years' State of Montana's 2011 Tourism Event of the Year award!  That is amazing achievement for only have been going since 2006!  Included in the Missoula Marathon & Half Marathon, is a Kids Marathon.  Don't worry, kids don't have to run 26.2 miles all at once!  What they do is print out a log sheet and keep track of the miles (or part miles) they run up until July 8.  They will want to run 25 miles by then, and on Saturday, July 9, they finish their marathon with a 1.2 run on the course in Missoula!  It is a great way to break a huge accomplishment into smaller parts!  I would LOVE to see St. Ignatius represented by having lots of kids participating!  Go to Run Wild Missoula for more information!  Also, email me to let me know your child(ren) is participating!

Diabetes Alert Day

Do you have Diabetes?  Do you really know?  What is your fasting blood sugar reading?  Yesterday, Tuesday, March 22, was Diabetes Alert Day and I thought it would be important to cover a little about this silent epidemic, as it is affecting more and more people everyday, young and old.  Did you know one in three adults are at risk for type 2 diabetes?  When you are sitting in the teachers lounge, look around, one in three of you may be at risk!  Even more astounding statistics, according to the American Diabetes Association, is there are nearly 26 million children and adults that have diabetes and 79 million more have prediabetes.  It is hard to believe, isn't it? 

Lets look at some risk factors:

• Are you overweight?
• And do you have a second risk factor such as inactivity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, poor eating habits, smoking, gestational diabetes, or if you are of a certain age, race, gender or if you have a family history of diabetes?

What exactly is diabetes?  It is diagnosed when your fasting blood sugar is 126 mg/dl or above.  Prediabetes is if your fasting blood sugar is between 100-126 mg/dl.

Some signs of diabetes: 
Type 1 (insulin dependent)

• Frequent urination
• Unusual thirst
• Extreme hunger
• Unusual weight loss
• Extreme fatigue and Irritability

Type 2 (insulin and/or pills for medication)

• Any of the type 1 symptoms
• Frequent infections
• Blurred vision
• Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
• Tingling/numbness in the hands/feet
• Recurring skin, gum, or bladder infections

*Often people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms! 

How do we help prevent or delay diabetes?  You should increase your physical activity.  Gradually at first, if you are new at it, and try to aim for at least 30 minutes per day, five days a week.  If you are overweight, start to work on losing weight.  The good news, you don't need to drop a huge amount of weight to start seeing positive changes!  Make a goal of losing 5-10% of your current weight to start getting the health benefits. 
Also, start eating healthier by reducing your portion sizes (Americas portion sizes are out of control!), and eating a diet with low saturated and trans fats and low in calories.  Easy way to do that? Fill the majority of your plate with veggies! 

Take this risk test provided by the American Diabetes Association to see if you are at risk for prediabetes.  If you suspect you may be prediabetic or diabetic, see your doctor right away to get on a plan.  If you don't think you are, see your doctor anyway, just to make sure! Remember, most Type 2 diabetics don't even know it until it is almost too late!

I'm Baaaack..

Sorry I haven't gotten to post anything lately!  We just got back from a trip to California and Arizona that was about 3 days too long! :)  As I was at Disneyland, walking around, I noticed how the majority of people are truly overweight!  The statistics are right, 63.1% of adults in the U.S. were either overweight or obese in 2009, according to the latest Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.  It was quite represented at Disneyland and also in the majority of the towns/cities we visited in California and Arizona.  Scary stuff.  I immediately put me and my family on a junk food detox and a healthy eating and exercising plan.  It will start tomorrow, so we will see how it goes over when I break the news tonight! 

Everybody, now and again, needs to look at their eating habits and notice if they are getting enough veggies in their diets.  I linked a great article about "taking the color challenge".  Check it out and see if you are getting enough color in your diet.  And no, a bag or four, of pink cotton candy does not count!

Click here to read about getting enough color in your diet!

FREE Cholesterol Check!

Gosh, February has flown by!!  I am ready for spring, but I haven't gotten all I want done for February yet!  I was in Ronan at a Dr. appt. and noticed they had these flyer's up that said, free lipid profile available!  FREE!  St. Joseph's is also doing a special only for the month of February (really only Fri & Monday left, sorry!), for $49.00 you get your lipid profile (cholesterol check), Complete Metabolic Panel, Complete Blood Count, & TSH, or Thyroid Stimulating Hormone lab tests.  The gal at reception said this is a GREAT deal, since these tests usually run about $300!

So.... remember how I was talking about heart health and how important it was to know your numbers!  Well there you go!  You can go to Ronan's clinic (right across from Les Schwab) on Friday or Monday at 8:30am or Polson's St. Joesph Hospital on Monday or Friday, at 7:30am.  Just remember to fast the night before starting at midnight!!  I attached the following link you can click on to get more information!

http://www.saintjoes.org/

Happy Heart Month!

“The name of the game is taking care of yourself, because you're going to live long enough to wish you had.”
-Grace Mirabella

February is known for being the month to celebrate Valentine's day, but did you know it is also is Heart Health month?  How is your hearth health?  Do you know your blood pressure and/or your cholesterol levels?  These are two important numbers, along with others, to help you know your heart health.  Cholesterol plays a major role in a person's heart health. High blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke. So what are the proper levels for total blood cholesterol?  The American Heart Association suggests the following:

Total Cholesterol Level	Category
Less than 200 mg/dL	Desirable level that puts you at lower risk for coronary heart disease. A cholesterol level of 200 mg/dL or higher raises your risk.
200 to 239 mg/dL	Borderline high
240 mg/dL and above	High blood cholesterol. A person with this level has more than twice the risk of coronary heart disease as someone whose cholesterol is below 200 mg/dL.

HDL Cholesterol Level	Category ("Good" Cholesterol)
Less than 40 mg/dL (for men) Less than 50 mg/dL (for women)	Low HDL cholesterol. A major risk factor for heart disease.
60 mg/dL and above	High HDL cholesterol. An HDL of 60 mg/dL and above is considered protective against heart disease.

LDL Cholesterol Level ("bad")	Category
Less than 100 mg/dL	Optimal
100 to 129 mg/dL	Near or above optimal
130 to 159 mg/dL	Borderline high
160 to 189 mg/dL	High
190 mg/dL and above	Very high

How do you reduce your cholesterol?  You need to reduce the amount of saturated fat, trans fat, cholesterol and total fat in your diet! If you have high cholesterol, it's very important to monitor and control high blood pressure, avoid tobacco, eat healthy, exercise regularly, & maintain a healthy weight.

Taking these steps will help to lower your cholesterol and blood pressure. This may not be enough, and you may have to visit with your doctor to see if medicine is right for you along with a healthy lifestyle.

Go to http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/  for more information. REMEMBER!  We need to start being PRO-active with our health and we need to be responsible for ourselves.