NEW QIGONG CLASS: A new 6-week Qigong class will begin on Wednesday, June 27 from 3:30-4:15pm. Please let us know if you want to join the class. We need to have a minimum of 5 participants to begin the class.
HOW MUCH WEIGHT IS IT SAFE TO LOSE (from Livestrong.com)
The amount of weight you can safely drop in a week is going to be different than how much your neighbor, spouse or even your sibling can lose. For each person, the answer depends on specific psychological issues, metabolic factors and athletic concerns.
Psychological Issues – Many times the success of a diet comes down to an individual’s mindset, and his relationship to food. For some people, being on too restrictive of a diet will only lead to eventual failure; think binge-purge, bound-rebound. For others, however, studies suggest that a fast initial weight loss is associated with better long-term outcomes. So if you are a yo-yo crash dieter, go slowly and target small incremental losses. But if you’re not? Then starting your diet off with a bang by aiming for higher weight loss targets may actually be better for you.
Metabolic Factors – Broadly speaking, the fatter you are, the greater the energy deficit you can afford to create. That means that a very fat person can lose more weight more quickly than someone who’s just slightly overweight. Someone who has a larger fat mass will also be able to drop more pounds before her weight loss plateaus for a given energy deficit.
Various studies have attempted to determine the exact calorie deficit required for maximum weight loss, but the results are simply theoretical, so I caution people against using any single one as a basis for their own goals.
Athletic Concerns – If you participate in sports or other athletic activities, you need to consider the effect that weight loss will have on your performance. A study published in the 2011 International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism suggested that in order to maintain strength and lean mass while dieting, an athlete should lose no more than 0.7 percent of body mass per week. That means a 200-pound person wouldn’t want to drop any more than 1.4 pounds in a seven-day period.
What’s Right For YOU – Trial and error is the only way to find what works for you. Start with a goal of losing somewhere between a half pound and three pounds in a week (less for smaller individuals, more for those who are larger or have higher body fat percentages). Be realistic about what you can achieve given your body type and lifestyle, honest about your intake and expenditure through activities, and re-assess as you see results.
Lastly: Remember that the scale isn’t the be-all, end-all. Weight is only one marker of progress — and sometimes a very poor one at that. Tape measurements, body fat percentage tests, strength, fitness, visual appearance, energy levels, and overall health and state of mind are just as important, if not more so.
EXERCISE FOR TRAVELERS
Excited about going on vacation? While traveling is fun, simply getting to a vacation destination—whether by plane, train, bus or car—often involves extended periods of immobility. Hours of inactivity associated with air travel—first in the airport waiting lounge and then on the plane—may leave you achy and sore before your vacation has even begun!
To help combat potential problems associated with traveling, try these suggestions below from IDEA Fit, written by Laurie Leiber, MPH
Seated Exercises: What can you do when you are virtually held captive in boarding lounges at the airport? Perform these exercises that all begin with the following sustainable seated posture. Return to this position between each seated exercise.
Place feet flat on floor, parallel, a few inches apart.
- Sit up on sit bones.
- Tip pelvis to bring it vertical (neutral spine position).
- Drop shoulders away from ears and lengthen back of neck.
- Breathe in, and on exhalation, draw in abdominals, engaging the core.
Figure-Four Stretch – Place one ankle on top of opposite knee. Hinge forward at hips, keeping spine neutral. Hold for 15–30 seconds, feeling a deep stretch on outside of hip. Repeat on other side.
Seated Twist (Not for People With Disk Problems) – Keeping knees and hips facing front, reach around to one side with both hands and hold onto back of chair. Breathe in. On exhalation, rotate rib cage and look over back of chair while keeping as much length in spine as possible. Hold stretch for 10–15 seconds. Return to start position and repeat, twisting to other side.
Shoulder Shrug and Roll. Inhale as you lift shoulders up toward ears. Exhale as you roll shoulders back and down, opening chest and letting shoulder blades come together. Continue sliding shoulders down the back, away from ears. Repeat 3–5 times.
Neck Stretch. With chin slightly tucked, let right ear drop toward right shoulder. Hold stretch for 3–4 breaths, letting weight of head stretch left side of neck. Gently release stretch and repeat on other side.
Rock the Baby. With right hand on left elbow and left hand on right elbow, hold folded arms out in front of chest. Draw right elbow as far as you can to the right to stretch outside of left shoulder. Draw left elbow as far as you can to the left to stretch outside of right shoulder. Repeat 2–3 times on each side.
Standing Exercises: Waiting to clear airport security is just the first of many times travelers stand in line in the course of a trip. Make good use of any waiting time with these standing exercises.
Footwork. Stand with feet parallel, 2–3 inches apart, balancing weight equally on both feet. Come up onto balls of feet, and slowly lower heels to floor, keeping weight centered. Repeat 8–10 times.
Prancing in Place. Use same start position as in exercise above. Come up onto balls of feet. Lower one heel to floor while keeping other heel raised. Alternately press one heel up as other heel comes down to floor. Repeat 12–15 times.
Knee Lift. Keeping hips level, raise one knee until thigh is parallel to floor. Maintain neutral spine, and balance in this position 15–30 seconds. Place foot back on floor and repeat balance on other side. (You can also balance on standing leg, slowly raising and lowering knee, touching toe to floor.)
Roll-Down. Bring chin to chest and slowly roll down, one vertebra at a time until spine is flexed forward, arms hanging toward floor. Bend knees slightly and roll up, stacking vertebrae one at a time, bringing head up last. Repeat 2–3 times.