Mental Health - eFitFamily

Yoga and Meditation for Holiday Stress Relief

December 1, 2011 by Missy Balsam

The holiday season is supposed to bring a feeling of light-heartedness and good cheer, but many of us fall prey to extra stress and tension brought on by this time of year. Family gatherings, buying gifts, cooking, decorating and a whole host of other things that can cause us to get stressed out, which can make us fall into unhealthy habits such as overeating, drinking, and lack of exercise. Taking time for yourself in the midst of the chaos for a yoga class or some “you” time can make all the difference in the world. Yoga allows us to stop, focus on our breath and our bodies, and become … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Exercise, Healthy Holidays, Inspiration, Mindfulness, Yoga Tagged With: coping with holiday stress, holiday stress, meditation, Yoga

Stay Fit While You Plan Your Wedding

December 1, 2011 by Rachel Ettinger

Sounds impossible, right? A few weeks ago, I got married, yay! Partially due to cost, and partially because I like control, I didn't hire a wedding planner. I decided I'd plan an out of state wedding, on my own. I like to stay busy...busy is an understatement. I'm sure everyone has been to a wedding right? Hopefully everything appeared calm, cool and collected. Mine did, at least from the outside. Behind the scenes there is alot of scurrying and rushing and coordinating. I don't like being late...and certainly all of our guests wouldn't care for it too much either. But let me tell … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Couples Connection, Healthy Eating, Women's Health

A Practical Organic Solution for Holiday Parties!

December 1, 2011 by Christy Seguin MBA, CPT

So........the holidays are bearing down upon us. And suddenly excuses for eating toxic junk that we normally wouldn't consider putting into our bodies are more omnipresent than fake Santas. Why is it that so many people gain so much weight between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Oh, you say, it's all the holiday food, parties, stress, cooking, gifts of goodies, treats at work, and on and on, ad nauseum. Really? Seriously? Come on now, how many parties do we REALLY go to? If you're a major social butterfly and the most popular kid in the class, you may go to, what, 10 holiday parties? … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Healthy Recipes, Nutrition

Finding A Great Fitting Sports Bra (Hint: It’s Easier Than You Think)

November 20, 2011 by eFitFamily Guest Author

By Cindy Prosser Your sports bra should be your best friend at the gym (yes, it's even more important than your iPod) so take care to make sure you're wearing the right one. However, your quest for a great fitting sports bra starts well before you ever get to the store or open up your web browser for some online shopping. Measure, Measure, Measure! The majority of women wear the wrong size bra. This leads to issues like back pain, shoulder strain and even headaches. Before you even attempt to start bra shopping, get out that tape measure. Some stores offer complimentary bra fittings, … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Women's Health

November Diabetes Awareness Month

November 7, 2011 by Laura Mak, MS

Exercise added to nutrition can minus type two diabetes, and result in healthy living altogether. Now that is a formula worth figuring out! Not only can this type of disease be prevented, but also can be eliminated. The month of November is Diabetes Awareness Month so I have found some interesting information to share with you regarding two types of diabetes. Diabetes is a growing epidemic in the US, not only for men, but women as well. One of the most common and growing types of diabetes is Type two, which is mostly affected by nutrition and exercise. The positive part … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Adult Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Physical Illness, Women's Health Tagged With: diabetes, diet and fitness guru, Fitness Expert, gestational diabetes, Healthy eating, healthy living, IFBB Fitness Pro, Laura Mak, Mak Attack Fitness, wellness, women's health

American Diabetes

November 1, 2011 by Elisa Choi

Diabetes is a merciless condition affecting no less than 25 million people within the United States. The seventh leading cause of death in 2010, this illness triggers kidney failure, heart diseases and stroke, blindness and lower-limb amputations, hypertension, dental problems and many other health issues. Statistics show one in every 400 children has a form of diabetes, while in adults this percent is much higher: 11% of people aged between 20 and 65 and 26% of elders suffer from this ailment. Both men and women are affected by this autoimmune disease, which manifests through excessive … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Physical Illness

Can Organics Reduce Your Risk of Diabetes?

November 1, 2011 by Christy Seguin MBA, CPT

What ISN'T in organic food is just as important as what IS in organic food! Setting aside the debate for a moment of whether organic foods have higher levels of nutrition content, whether they do or not is not nearly as impactful on health as consuming the toxic chemicals, drugs, hormones, etc. used to grow conventional crops and factory-farmed livestock. There is mounting evidence that exposure to these chemicals may actually have a CAUSAL relationship to diabetes. In a Finnish study released in August 2011, exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP's) demonstrated up to double … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Physical Health, Physical Illness

American Diabetes Month

November 1, 2011 by Kimberly Rodgers, LCSW, RPT-S

November is American Diabetes Month. The timing could not be more perfect considering the month begins as Halloween candy consumption time! We hope to motivate you to take small preventive steps for your family. Like many health issues, the 3 main ways to prevent any of the 3 types of diabetes are healthy eating, exercise, and maintaining an appropriate weight. Although there could be some genetic predisposition to the disease, our focus is on simple practical changes you can implement today to prevent diabetes and other health issues. If you or someone you know has already been … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Motivation, Physical Illness

Weight Loss For Diabetes Prevention

November 1, 2011 by Amber Day, RDH, CPT

Diabetes has become an epidemic in this country and is a disease that has become somewhat second nature to people because we hear so much about it so often. According to diabetes.org “25.8 million children and adults in the United States—8.3% of the population—have diabetes’’ (1). This statistic is astounding! For those of us whom are fortunate enough not to have this disease we must not loss focus the importance of not developing it either. Weight lose is of utmost importance in the prevention of diabetes! Physical activity and weight loss help the body respond better to insulin. By losing … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Exercise, Nutrition, Physical Illness

Guilt Free Holiday Season

November 1, 2011 by Loretta Mostofi (BS, Certiﬁcate III & IV Personal Training)

Well that time of year has come upon us so soon. With Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays just around the corner and the colder weather approaching, it is common practice for many of us to indulge ourselves with the festive season food. Holidays are a time of relaxing and spending time with family and friends. I don’t think you should feel deprived of enjoying the food that is on offer at this time of year. If you have read many of my other articles, you will know that I do not endorse dieting. The more someone tells you to not eat something, the more likely you are to crave that food and … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Family Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Healthy Holidays, Motivation