Strategies for staying healthy and fit while traveling

It can be difficult to stay fit while traveling, as there are many distractions and obstacles to overcome. However, if you keep a few pointers in mind, it is actually quite easy to stay on track with your fitness routine while on the go.

The main struggle that many people face when traveling is related to food. Airport or gas stations have largely bad choices—cookies, chips, and candy bars. The key is to plan ahead. Bring food with you. If you’re travelling by car, this is easy to do with the help of a cooler. It’s also important to research food options of where you’re traveling. You may even have the ability to cook your own meals in your hotel room, depending on your accommodations.

Another obstacle is working out while on the road. To make sure you stick with your fitness plan, it is crucial that you pack your workout clothes to hold yourself accountable. Do a little research on the hotel gym or local gyms to see what might work best for you. You can always opt to do body weight workouts instead. If you’re a runner, try to find some local trails and enjoy an added opportunity to see the city.

It’s also important to ensure that you’re monitoring your hydration, both for over hydration and dehydration. You need to make sure your body is getting sufficient electrolytes and sodium so that the moisture is absorbed by the body’s cells. If you’re on a long international flight, it’s important to get up every 30 minutes to move and stretch your legs. This will help prevent possible blood clots.

Travelling can be a stressful experience. You can mitigate this stress by recognizing your triggers and finding practices to manage them, such as meditation, getting a massage, or enjoying the outdoors. Make sure you get enough sleep and try your best to mimic your normal sleep ritual at home. By taking these simple steps, you can help to ensure you will stay fit while traveling.

A secret weapon in your health and fitness journey

Health and Fitness Apps

In today’s episode, we explore smart phone apps and their usefulness to support your health and fitness journey.   As background, I found it useful to solicit feedback from a user group in order to get a broader overview into the apps that many people are using concerning health and fitness.

Smart phones are great tools and we can use them to enhance our health and fitness. Many of the apps do continually change and often the functionality in one app is similar to the functionality in another app.

In this episode, we discuss the variety of food and nutrition apps which allow you to track your food intake, calculate and track calories and nutrients.   We also discuss the wide variety of fitness apps, such as those that are specific (running apps), those that provide exercise videos and training guidance.   There are also apps that act as timers for HIIT (high intensity interval training) and Tabata workouts. And let us not forget out mental health, and there are apps designed to guide you through the meditation process or those that provide white noise. While not necessarily apps, we also explore activity trackers that can sync to an app so you can have real time monitoring of your activity levels.

I encourage you to do the research and explore the wide variety of health and fitness apps that are available for your smart phone.

Lorraine’s commitment to health and fitness

Two years ago, Lorraine had turned 59 years old and was severely overweight. Her weight had gradually increased since her early 30s. Now, she had arthritis and fibromyalgia. She was finding it hard to move and couldn’t walk more than a quarter-mile without pain and stopping to rest. Lorraine felt horrible physically and this was affecting her mentally. She wanted to make a commitment to health and fitness, but didn’t feel that she had the ability to change on her own.

When a trainer opened studio near her home, she considered making a change. With her husband’s support, Lorraine went in for her first workout in June 2014. Her trainer suggested using My Fitness Pal to log her food intake, which she did. She began working with her trainer twice a week and was quickly seeing results. She previously believed it was impossible for her body to lose weight. Yet in her first week, she lost weight. This encouraged her to keep going.

Lorraine’s trainer soon had her doing step ups, resistance bands, light dumbbells, and body weight exercises. Lorraine also walked twice a week when she wasn’t working with her trainer. She began walking one mile, but progressed over time. In the two years since starting her fitness journey, Lorraine went from 301 pounds to 170 pounds. She has lost over 17 inches on her hips and 14 inches on her waist. She is soon walking in her second 10K event and recently began a Couch to 5K running program. Lorraine can now walk two to three miles at a time without stopping.

Lorraine needed focus and accountability. She knew what she needed to do, but she had not been able to do it on her own. She advises others to take small steps and handle one thing at a time. Whatever you are capable of doing, do it and keep building on it every day. Establish a plan and then execute. Don’t sit around and wait for motivation. Lorraine knows this is a true commitment to health and fitness.

A funeral for my fat | Sharee Samuels

The bone broth diet | Dr. KellyAnn Petrucci

Dr. KellyAnn Petrucci is our guest today for a great discussion concerning bone broth and intermittent fasting. Join us as we explore her new book Dr. Kellyann's Bone Broth Diet: Lose Up to 15 Pounds, 4 Inches–and Your Wrinkles!–in Just 21 Days.

Kellyann Petrucci, MS, ND, is a board-certified naturopathic physician and certified nutrition consultant with a thriving practice in the Philadelphia area. She is also a concierge doctor for celebrities in Los Angeles and New York. She is a regular guest on The Doctors, Dr. Oz, and national news programs, and she is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and MindBodyGreen.

Kellyann uses bone broth and the fasting process to help you burn more body fat, reduce insulin levels and lower inflammation.   She discusses how during a fast with bone broth for nutrition our bodies burn fat faster and experience benefits to the skin.

We discuss how you can set yourself up for success by knowing what to expect when your body experiences changes when adopting a different lifestyle or way of eating, particularly with intermittent fasting.   We explore the concept of building your plate with the right proteins, healthy fats and the right kinds of carbohydrates.   Refueling after a workout with the right foods, eating non-inflammation foods, healthy oils and berries are all factors in building the plate for health and nutrition.

Dr. KellyAnn Petrucci feels that the addition of bone broth to your diet is a healthy addition to your nutrition plan. She discusses the benefits to your energy levels and the positive, beautiful effects on your skin.   You can find out more from her website, Drkellyann.com.

Music: Ben Sound Royalty Free Music

Ayurveda meets western medicine with Dr. Kulreet Chaudhary

Creatine 101

A question about creatine came in from the Facebook group. Creatine is one of most studied supplements. But what is creatine and what does it do?

Creatine is actually a molecule that provides the phosphorous atom to our bodies, which is needed to create ATP. ATP is a power source for the body’s cells. When you supplement with creatine, it will give you more muscular energy, which can be especially beneficial for weight lifting. It has also shown to be protective for the brain and liver.

Many wonder if creatine is a steroid. Though it has qualities of a performance enhancing supplement, it is not a steroid. Creatine has no effect on the body’s hormones. It simply provides phosphorous and ATP. Through diet, you can get creatine by eating animal products. Some plant-based diets will have phosphorous, but not in the same density as organ meats and muscle.

So how much creatine should you be consuming? The standard dose is five grams per day. Eventually, the body will saturate and hit a peak with how much it can store. At first, you can try creatine “loading,” where you would take 20 to 25 grams to get to that saturation point faster.

Creatine does have one notable negative side effect in the sense that it makes muscles retain water. Though it will make your muscle mass appear greater, it will likely show as weight gain on the scale. The good news is that you cannot overdose on creatine. While consuming creatine, you should increase your water intake to help avoid stomach cramping. If cramping persists, there are other types of creatine that are water soluble and should help with this. The primary type of creatine is called creatine monohydrate. This is the most inexpensive and widely used.

Whatever type you choose, be sure to avoid creatine ethyl ester, as this type degrades in your digestion and never really gets into your system to make an impact. With all other types, you will be sure to see the real benefits of this widely studied and used supplement called creatine.

Should I take protein supplements post-workout?

Motivate Me | Lynette Renda

In this episode, we talk with Lynette Renda, the successful host of the Motivate Me! podcast.   As a form of coaching, Lynette interviews people who have incorporated a passion into their lives, and she encourages her audience to do the same.

Together with Lynette we discuss the art of motivation.   Motivation is one thing on the health and fitness journey that often plateaus. And when that plateau lasts for a while, it can be demotivating.   So how does Lynette apply motivation to her health and fitness journey?   We talk with Lynette about her number one tool to remain motivated.

A sense of community can be an important part of your health and fitness journey. For Lynette, it has been her number one motivating factor.   In fact, by reaching out you reap the benefits of several motivating factors, such as:

• The bond of shared experiences
• Friendship
• Encouragement
• Accountability
• Shared energy
• Confidence

Continually learning from a community of resources and experts, such as professionals in their field, listening to podcasts and joining social media groups is empowering.   Surrounding yourself and reaching out to others who share the interest will help you persevere in your endeavors.

Lynette Renda’s show, Motivate Me!, is interactive with the goal of having listeners learn from the experiences of others while focusing on helping people create a life that excites and fulfills them.   You can learn more about Lynette Renda through her website (motiatemepodcast.com).

Music: Ben Sound Royalty Free Music

Crack the obesity code

The Obesity Code: Unlocking the Secrets of Weight Loss is the new book by today’s guest, Dr. Jason Fung.   In this episode we talk about a variety of strategies to break through your body set weight, or what we often refer to as a plateau.

Dr. Jason Fung completed medical school at the University of Toronto and a fellowship in nephrology at the University of California. He founded the Intensive Dietary Management program in Toronto that provides a unique treatment focus for type 2 diabetes and obesity.

We discuss with Dr. Fung the role of hormones – such as insulin — and how they drive weight gain and obesity. He feels that only by understanding the role of insulin and insulin resistance can we achieve lasting weight loss. If excess insulin, not excess calories, is causing obesity, Dr. Fung feels the clear answer is in reducing insulin levels.

To do this, Dr. Jason Fung suggests the use of intermittent fasting to break the cycle of insulin resistance and to reach a healthy weight.   The Obesity Code outlines five basic steps to establish lifelong habits that will improve your health and control your insulin levels.   Additional information about Dr. Fung, The Obesity Code and the Intensive Dietary Management program can be found at intensivedietarymanagement.com.

Why am I always hungry? | Dr. David Ludwig