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Tuesday, October 4, 2011

STAYING HEALTHY, FOR MOST OF US, FOLLOWS THE SAME BASIC STRATEGY — moderation, moderation, moderation. Still, it’s no guarantee that something won’t afflict you sooner or later. When you get sick, it can wreak havoc financially and otherwise, and having a support system becomes critical. While researchers try their hardest to cure ailments (for the greater good or personal gain), it is up to us to be smart patients, and demand for what’s best for us.

Featured PostsSTAYING HEALTHY, FOR MOST OF US, FOLLOWS THE SAME BASIC STRATEGY — moderation, moderation, moderation. Still, it’s no guarantee that something won’t afflict you sooner or later. When you get sick, it can wreak havoc financially and otherwise, and having a support system becomes critical. While researchers try their hardest to cure ailments (for the greater good or personal gain), it is up to us to be smart patients, and demand for what’s best for us.

Featured Posts
More from this author
Road Biking Colorado National Monument
SheSpoke. Living her adult childhood
+12 more images
After a decade and a half of strictly mountain biking, I’ve made the transition over to the dark side. A friend of mine lent me her neon yellow Trek from the 1980s, and I’ve been commuting and playing around the urban trails of Denver for a few months now, excited at how light and fast it is. I’ve been a spectating fan of road biking since the early days of Lance, marveling at how anyone can pedal for six hours up and over mountains for well over 100 miles. I’m now starting to get it. Independence Monument, a beautiful product of erosion, in the background These bikes are light, and the pedaling is continuous uphill and you’re coasting downhill. In fact, on the downhill all you’re really worried about is running over a frightened rodent who will then send you flying through the air like the Greatest American Hero(ine). When I started riding 30+ miles on the road bike, (akin to riding 10+ intermediate miles on the mountain bike), I was looking for pai
More from this author
Quiet time on the running trail
Minnesota Transplant

“The gun goes off and everything changes … the world changes … and nothing else really matters.” ~ Patti Sue Plumer, American long-distance runner Running is an effective weight-management tool, and it smooths the rough edges on my stress profile, too. I know for a fact I am bitchier on days I don’t get exercise. When I need quiet time, I put on my Asics and dash out the door. I often run with my iPod, but when I’m in a pickle, I leave it behind and just pound the pavement while I think about my breathing. I distinctly remember a 6-mile run on a summer day five years ago. The day before, I had to lay off two staff members, and it felt like choosing which toes I wanted to have removed. I have no doubt that black day was more awful for the two women I laid off, and I don’t mean to minimize their experiences as I lament my role in middle-management. But (yes, but!) unless you’re Cruella DeVille, telling people you’ve hired and mentored
The Latest Posts in Health Recently posted on WordPress.com Subscribe

Watch the Fine Print When You’re Watching Your Weight
joycemcdonald
It’s okay to go off your diet once in awhile. We all do it now and then. Just be careful not to do it every day or so. Maybe once a week is good for you. The problem may not be how often we fudge a little, but what it is we choose when we cheat. You can stop by Starbucks for a cup of coffee or you can have Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) White chocolate Mocha with 2% milk and whipped cream. If you give in to the Venti, you will be taking on more calories than if you had a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese! You would be adding 580 calories and 15 grams of saturated fat. Of course you could have the Venti with non-fat milk and no whipped cream. That would be 130 calories less. Maybe you like Marie Callender’s Chicken Pot Pie. The 16.5 oz. package proudly says “only 520″ calories. If you read carefully that is for only half a pie! Eat the whole thing and you will have consumed 1,040 calories, more than a day’s worth of saturated fat, and an e

Scary, sick voice!!!
My Blogging Path
On Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 10:38 AM, I received an “Auto-Forwarded voicemail message from (xxx) xxx-xxxx”. And the email showed a “Transcribed Message” that was rated “Good” by me because they didn’t spell my name correctly, one word was incorrect and the rest drifted to incoherence. This is partially because the caller didn’t sound the same! His voice is steady, deeper and scary! It’s sounds congested as if he has a very bad cold in the sinuses. The pattern of his speech and word usage sounded like him. But I have a weird feeling it is NOT his usual “self”. OMG! What’s going on? Is he still really alive? What are you people pulling over my ear holes? Perhaps, he needs your boost/prayer because he has “special gifts”, which I senses/knew/test that we last saw each other in person. Again, his professionalism will be noted (in my “Akashic Book/s of Life”) for returning a long-distant phone

MMR Yet Again
Letting Off Steam
The Daily Mail will not let go of the mythical MMR-autism link. Their writer Sally Beck claims that:- New American research shows that there could be a link between the controversial MMR triple vaccine and autism and bowel disease in children. This is complete bollocks, to use a technical term. First it is not new research. The Times reported it back in 2006. It is instructive to compare the two articles. The Times wrote: The latest study, led by Arthur Krigsman, of New York University School of Medicine, involved 275 children. Serious intestinal inflammations were found in some of the autistic children and biopsies of gut tissue were performed on 82 of them. Of these, 70 are said to have shown evidence of the measles virus, which so far has been confirmed in 14 cases by more stringent DNA tests. Steve Walker, assistant professor at Wake Forest University Medical Centre, North Carolina, who analysed the gut samples, said the work mirrored Dr Wakefield’s study. All the children involved
+4 more images
OBSTACLE COURSE
snowbirdredux

Ice Surfer, Lake Michigan
Great Pictures Collection

Taking a look at eye safety – Part 1
Touching Base

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer
fnkyluda

Better Mood with Singing
+10 more images
Break for Intestines
Green Plate Dinners

Just Live With It: Losing The American Dream
Fidlerten Place
Whatever your political beliefs are, I would ask that you set those aside, if but for a short while. I ask that because I would like to take a moment to talk about the American Dream, which is something I believe that everyone can relate to. Of course, there are as many perceptions of what the American Dream is as there are people dreaming of it. Regardless of how those dreams are realized, I think that at the most basic level, most people seek to have a sense of prosperity, security and well-being. Each generation seeks to be just a bit better off than the one before, and hopes that their children will be just a bit better off still. As far as the American Dream goes, I know that I am very fortunate. Some might even say “blessed”, though that would not be my personal choice of words. I’ve worked hard and graduated college. I have a good job and even own my own home. I am not by any measure “wealthy”. I don’t keep up with the Joneses. But, I certainly do better than my fathe

Eating with Autism-1
Accidental Autism
One of my favorite measures of “well-being” is eating and appetite; when we are happy and contented, most of us enjoy eating and sharing meals with friends and family. When anxiety and depression set in, this simple and universal pleasure is lost to us. A recent piece in the New York Times shows families of all types eating together and enjoying the “feeling that everything is going to be all right, if only for the moment”. The photos are by Stephanie Sinclair and text by Sam Sifton. Our family, like many these days, does not gather together often enough because of international travel for work and the life styles of our extended families. We did recently have my husband and his three siblings gathered in our house and our daughter who has severe autism was able to join us. We had been warned by her staff at her group home that she had been unstable and dangerous after a recent medication change. They advised us not to bring her home for this gathering. What

Housing Priorities for Retiring Baby Boomers – Lifestyle and Health Related Issues Are Most Important
John Murphy Reports
Now that America has exhausted the first time home buyer with the various tax credits, it’s time we switch back to the real movers and shakers in housing – that of course is the massive generation known as the baby boomers. They are starting to retire at a rapid clip and their choices with regard to housing will have a major impact on markets across the U.S. Builder Magazine recently published an interesting article that highlighted some of the results from a baby boomer poll conducted by NPR, The Robert Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, the results of which may be found here. What’s great about the survey is that they break it in to two groups – those who have already retired and those who are still pre-retirement. In many of the questions there is a distinct difference between the two groups. There were notable differences of opinions with regard to good public schools, public transportation, or the ability participate in voluntee

CST#1
FitDre : Mobility.Athletics.Strength (MAS) by Andre Vazquez
If you’re approaching 30 or are already in your 30′s (like me) then you already know you GOTTA train your biggest and baddest muscle of all, YOUR HEART! Push and keep that thing ticking more effectively and efficiently when you most need it. Cardio Strength Training (CST) #1 uses the following template which can later be switched and swapped out for other exercises. It borrows from the book Cardio Strength Training by Robert Dos Remedios (plug). It’s one of my favorite templates to borrow. For this workout everything is 10 reps (change your reps according to your need/goals). You will run through the entire series about 5x in under an hour to burn anywhere from 500-800 calories. [Explode] Single Leg Power Step-Up Jump [Major Hip/Knee] OHP, Step-Up, Rev.Lunge [Push/Chest] Prone MB Passes [Pull/Back] LB Rows [All Core] SB Tucks/Pikes Abs: Bikes Scissors Side Plank Ups -Andre Vazquez MAS:FitDre Mobility.Athletics.Strength @FitDre www.fitdre.wordpress.com Become a LIKE

Switchout, 27 May 2011, Fighting Through the Blahs
Switchout Circuit Training
Switchout Circuit Training Arms (3) Triceps – press, dips, kickbacks Legs (3) quads, hams, squats Chest (3) center, lower, upper Shoulders (3) straight, straight, upper flat bench + eagle flies 1×15@bar // 1×10@95 // 2×10@115 + 2×10@5 // 2×10@10 T-handle + tricep press 3×10@45 + 3×10@35 quads + shoulder press 3×10@50 3×10@20 db dips 3×10 hams + kickbacks 3×10@45 + 2×10@15 // 1×10@20 DB incline bench + DB squats 3×10@20 + 3×10@20 Explanation :: The concept behind this exercise strategy is simple; while you are working one body part, the other is resting. There is no rest period between sets. By switching between exercises quickly, your heart rate remains high. This burns calo

One Day at a Time…
The Incredible Shrinking Lady
So yesterday I ran into an old friend of mine, and we went to dinner with our significant others. This was my first time at a restaurant since I started my diet two weeks ago. Background history: before the diet started, I was going out to dinner most nights of the week somewhere, so this diet has significantly reduced my outgoing money on food. (yay!) At the restaurant we had great conversations, and I had my challenges with wanting to eat some of the homemade, honey cornbread that came out on a griddle, but I still made it. Wow! I made it through the whole dinner without taking a bite of anything else. At this moment I am so happy that I had the will-power to do it. At the time last night I was ready to break the diet to have some ‘pownbread. Hindsight is 20/20. Tonight is the end of my 2nd week’s weigh in, and I’m really looking forward to it. Mathematically speaking, I should have lost about 4 lbs this past week with the amount of calories consumed, burnt and expe

A Hard to Swallow Subject
Hollani's Hot Topics
This weekend while cooking for several of my co-workers, I found myself praying, “Please Lord, don’t let this food make them sick!” If you’re like me, your are extremely paranoid with all of these recent food related illnesses. Cantaloupe – Listeria Ground Beef – E. coli (Ground Turkey earlier this year) Lettuce – Listeria Spinach Dip – Listeria Turkey Burgers – Salmonella Strawberries – E. coli Papaya – Salmonella Eggs (2010) – Salmonella It’s really quite scary when you think about it. Especially since I eat all of the foods I listed above. I’m especially bad at eating things with raw eggs in it (cookie dough, brownie batter – yea, I still sneak it a spoonful every now and then). I think about the families who’ve lost someone from one of these tainted products. How devastating is that? “My brother died because he ate cantaloupe for breakfast.” Is this the new norm? Washing food

Prevent breast cancer, with exercise.
Exercise doesn’t just lower the number on the scale, studies now show that it can also reduce breast cancer risk. Click here for more Information.

ACO Roadblocks, Courtesy of CMS
Uncommon Clarity
We recently reviewed an article outlining the current debate between the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the statutory restrictions placed on telehealth by CMS in certain rules effecting accountable care organizations (ACOs). In summary, ATA is asking that five Medicare requirements that effectively limit the use of telemedicine—by prohibiting reimbursement—be waived or modified. It is ironic that CMS is supporting unnecessary road blocks to ACO enablement, a care delivery methodology that is a cornerstone of the 2009 health reform legislation. At the core of the government’s support for ACOs is the idea that Medicare and Medicaid spending is unsustainable and a system that rewards providers for delivering the same (or better care) could be most impactful by better managing patients with chronic conditions, reducing readmissions and minimizing ER visits. Thus, it seems counterintuitive that new approaches to d





More from this author
Road Biking Colorado National Monument
SheSpoke. Living her adult childhood
+12 more images
After a decade and a half of strictly mountain biking, I’ve made the transition over to the dark side. A friend of mine lent me her neon yellow Trek from the 1980s, and I’ve been commuting and playing around the urban trails of Denver for a few months now, excited at how light and fast it is. I’ve been a spectating fan of road biking since the early days of Lance, marveling at how anyone can pedal for six hours up and over mountains for well over 100 miles. I’m now starting to get it. Independence Monument, a beautiful product of erosion, in the background These bikes are light, and the pedaling is continuous uphill and you’re coasting downhill. In fact, on the downhill all you’re really worried about is running over a frightened rodent who will then send you flying through the air like the Greatest American Hero(ine). When I started riding 30+ miles on the road bike, (akin to riding 10+ intermediate miles on the mountain bike), I was looking for pai
More from this author
Quiet time on the running trail
Minnesota Transplant

“The gun goes off and everything changes … the world changes … and nothing else really matters.” ~ Patti Sue Plumer, American long-distance runner Running is an effective weight-management tool, and it smooths the rough edges on my stress profile, too. I know for a fact I am bitchier on days I don’t get exercise. When I need quiet time, I put on my Asics and dash out the door. I often run with my iPod, but when I’m in a pickle, I leave it behind and just pound the pavement while I think about my breathing. I distinctly remember a 6-mile run on a summer day five years ago. The day before, I had to lay off two staff members, and it felt like choosing which toes I wanted to have removed. I have no doubt that black day was more awful for the two women I laid off, and I don’t mean to minimize their experiences as I lament my role in middle-management. But (yes, but!) unless you’re Cruella DeVille, telling people you’ve hired and mentored
The Latest Posts in Health Recently posted on WordPress.com Subscribe

Watch the Fine Print When You’re Watching Your Weight
joycemcdonald
It’s okay to go off your diet once in awhile. We all do it now and then. Just be careful not to do it every day or so. Maybe once a week is good for you. The problem may not be how often we fudge a little, but what it is we choose when we cheat. You can stop by Starbucks for a cup of coffee or you can have Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) White chocolate Mocha with 2% milk and whipped cream. If you give in to the Venti, you will be taking on more calories than if you had a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese! You would be adding 580 calories and 15 grams of saturated fat. Of course you could have the Venti with non-fat milk and no whipped cream. That would be 130 calories less. Maybe you like Marie Callender’s Chicken Pot Pie. The 16.5 oz. package proudly says “only 520″ calories. If you read carefully that is for only half a pie! Eat the whole thing and you will have consumed 1,040 calories, more than a day’s worth of saturated fat, and an e

Scary, sick voice!!!
My Blogging Path
On Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 10:38 AM, I received an “Auto-Forwarded voicemail message from (xxx) xxx-xxxx”. And the email showed a “Transcribed Message” that was rated “Good” by me because they didn’t spell my name correctly, one word was incorrect and the rest drifted to incoherence. This is partially because the caller didn’t sound the same! His voice is steady, deeper and scary! It’s sounds congested as if he has a very bad cold in the sinuses. The pattern of his speech and word usage sounded like him. But I have a weird feeling it is NOT his usual “self”. OMG! What’s going on? Is he still really alive? What are you people pulling over my ear holes? Perhaps, he needs your boost/prayer because he has “special gifts”, which I senses/knew/test that we last saw each other in person. Again, his professionalism will be noted (in my “Akashic Book/s of Life”) for returning a long-distant phone

MMR Yet Again
Letting Off Steam
The Daily Mail will not let go of the mythical MMR-autism link. Their writer Sally Beck claims that:- New American research shows that there could be a link between the controversial MMR triple vaccine and autism and bowel disease in children. This is complete bollocks, to use a technical term. First it is not new research. The Times reported it back in 2006. It is instructive to compare the two articles. The Times wrote: The latest study, led by Arthur Krigsman, of New York University School of Medicine, involved 275 children. Serious intestinal inflammations were found in some of the autistic children and biopsies of gut tissue were performed on 82 of them. Of these, 70 are said to have shown evidence of the measles virus, which so far has been confirmed in 14 cases by more stringent DNA tests. Steve Walker, assistant professor at Wake Forest University Medical Centre, North Carolina, who analysed the gut samples, said the work mirrored Dr Wakefield’s study. All the children involved
+4 more images
OBSTACLE COURSE
snowbirdredux

Ice Surfer, Lake Michigan
Great Pictures Collection

Taking a look at eye safety – Part 1
Touching Base

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer
fnkyluda

Better Mood with Singing
+10 more images
Break for Intestines
Green Plate Dinners

Just Live With It: Losing The American Dream
Fidlerten Place
Whatever your political beliefs are, I would ask that you set those aside, if but for a short while. I ask that because I would like to take a moment to talk about the American Dream, which is something I believe that everyone can relate to. Of course, there are as many perceptions of what the American Dream is as there are people dreaming of it. Regardless of how those dreams are realized, I think that at the most basic level, most people seek to have a sense of prosperity, security and well-being. Each generation seeks to be just a bit better off than the one before, and hopes that their children will be just a bit better off still. As far as the American Dream goes, I know that I am very fortunate. Some might even say “blessed”, though that would not be my personal choice of words. I’ve worked hard and graduated college. I have a good job and even own my own home. I am not by any measure “wealthy”. I don’t keep up with the Joneses. But, I certainly do better than my fathe

Eating with Autism-1
Accidental Autism
One of my favorite measures of “well-being” is eating and appetite; when we are happy and contented, most of us enjoy eating and sharing meals with friends and family. When anxiety and depression set in, this simple and universal pleasure is lost to us. A recent piece in the New York Times shows families of all types eating together and enjoying the “feeling that everything is going to be all right, if only for the moment”. The photos are by Stephanie Sinclair and text by Sam Sifton. Our family, like many these days, does not gather together often enough because of international travel for work and the life styles of our extended families. We did recently have my husband and his three siblings gathered in our house and our daughter who has severe autism was able to join us. We had been warned by her staff at her group home that she had been unstable and dangerous after a recent medication change. They advised us not to bring her home for this gathering. What

Housing Priorities for Retiring Baby Boomers – Lifestyle and Health Related Issues Are Most Important
John Murphy Reports
Now that America has exhausted the first time home buyer with the various tax credits, it’s time we switch back to the real movers and shakers in housing – that of course is the massive generation known as the baby boomers. They are starting to retire at a rapid clip and their choices with regard to housing will have a major impact on markets across the U.S. Builder Magazine recently published an interesting article that highlighted some of the results from a baby boomer poll conducted by NPR, The Robert Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, the results of which may be found here. What’s great about the survey is that they break it in to two groups – those who have already retired and those who are still pre-retirement. In many of the questions there is a distinct difference between the two groups. There were notable differences of opinions with regard to good public schools, public transportation, or the ability participate in voluntee

CST#1
FitDre : Mobility.Athletics.Strength (MAS) by Andre Vazquez
If you’re approaching 30 or are already in your 30′s (like me) then you already know you GOTTA train your biggest and baddest muscle of all, YOUR HEART! Push and keep that thing ticking more effectively and efficiently when you most need it. Cardio Strength Training (CST) #1 uses the following template which can later be switched and swapped out for other exercises. It borrows from the book Cardio Strength Training by Robert Dos Remedios (plug). It’s one of my favorite templates to borrow. For this workout everything is 10 reps (change your reps according to your need/goals). You will run through the entire series about 5x in under an hour to burn anywhere from 500-800 calories. [Explode] Single Leg Power Step-Up Jump [Major Hip/Knee] OHP, Step-Up, Rev.Lunge [Push/Chest] Prone MB Passes [Pull/Back] LB Rows [All Core] SB Tucks/Pikes Abs: Bikes Scissors Side Plank Ups -Andre Vazquez MAS:FitDre Mobility.Athletics.Strength @FitDre www.fitdre.wordpress.com Become a LIKE

Switchout, 27 May 2011, Fighting Through the Blahs
Switchout Circuit Training
Switchout Circuit Training Arms (3) Triceps – press, dips, kickbacks Legs (3) quads, hams, squats Chest (3) center, lower, upper Shoulders (3) straight, straight, upper flat bench + eagle flies 1×15@bar // 1×10@95 // 2×10@115 + 2×10@5 // 2×10@10 T-handle + tricep press 3×10@45 + 3×10@35 quads + shoulder press 3×10@50 3×10@20 db dips 3×10 hams + kickbacks 3×10@45 + 2×10@15 // 1×10@20 DB incline bench + DB squats 3×10@20 + 3×10@20 Explanation :: The concept behind this exercise strategy is simple; while you are working one body part, the other is resting. There is no rest period between sets. By switching between exercises quickly, your heart rate remains high. This burns calo

One Day at a Time…
The Incredible Shrinking Lady
So yesterday I ran into an old friend of mine, and we went to dinner with our significant others. This was my first time at a restaurant since I started my diet two weeks ago. Background history: before the diet started, I was going out to dinner most nights of the week somewhere, so this diet has significantly reduced my outgoing money on food. (yay!) At the restaurant we had great conversations, and I had my challenges with wanting to eat some of the homemade, honey cornbread that came out on a griddle, but I still made it. Wow! I made it through the whole dinner without taking a bite of anything else. At this moment I am so happy that I had the will-power to do it. At the time last night I was ready to break the diet to have some ‘pownbread. Hindsight is 20/20. Tonight is the end of my 2nd week’s weigh in, and I’m really looking forward to it. Mathematically speaking, I should have lost about 4 lbs this past week with the amount of calories consumed, burnt and expe

A Hard to Swallow Subject
Hollani's Hot Topics
This weekend while cooking for several of my co-workers, I found myself praying, “Please Lord, don’t let this food make them sick!” If you’re like me, your are extremely paranoid with all of these recent food related illnesses. Cantaloupe – Listeria Ground Beef – E. coli (Ground Turkey earlier this year) Lettuce – Listeria Spinach Dip – Listeria Turkey Burgers – Salmonella Strawberries – E. coli Papaya – Salmonella Eggs (2010) – Salmonella It’s really quite scary when you think about it. Especially since I eat all of the foods I listed above. I’m especially bad at eating things with raw eggs in it (cookie dough, brownie batter – yea, I still sneak it a spoonful every now and then). I think about the families who’ve lost someone from one of these tainted products. How devastating is that? “My brother died because he ate cantaloupe for breakfast.” Is this the new norm? Washing food

Prevent breast cancer, with exercise.
Exercise doesn’t just lower the number on the scale, studies now show that it can also reduce breast cancer risk. Click here for more Information.

ACO Roadblocks, Courtesy of CMS
Uncommon Clarity
We recently reviewed an article outlining the current debate between the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the statutory restrictions placed on telehealth by CMS in certain rules effecting accountable care organizations (ACOs). In summary, ATA is asking that five Medicare requirements that effectively limit the use of telemedicine—by prohibiting reimbursement—be waived or modified. It is ironic that CMS is supporting unnecessary road blocks to ACO enablement, a care delivery methodology that is a cornerstone of the 2009 health reform legislation. At the core of the government’s support for ACOs is the idea that Medicare and Medicaid spending is unsustainable and a system that rewards providers for delivering the same (or better care) could be most impactful by better managing patients with chronic conditions, reducing readmissions and minimizing ER visits. Thus, it seems counterintuitive that new approaches to d

STAYING HEALTHY, FOR MOST OF US, FOLLOWS THE SAME BASIC STRATEGY — moderation, moderation, moderation. Still, it’s no guarantee that something won’t afflict you sooner or later. When you get sick, it can wreak havoc financially and otherwise, and having a support system becomes critical. While researchers try their hardest to cure ailments (for the greater good or personal gain), it is up to us to be smart patients, and demand for what’s best for us.

Featured PostsSTAYING HEALTHY, FOR MOST OF US, FOLLOWS THE SAME BASIC STRATEGY — moderation, moderation, moderation. Still, it’s no guarantee that something won’t afflict you sooner or later. When you get sick, it can wreak havoc financially and otherwise, and having a support system becomes critical. While researchers try their hardest to cure ailments (for the greater good or personal gain), it is up to us to be smart patients, and demand for what’s best for us.

Featured Posts
More from this author
Road Biking Colorado National Monument
SheSpoke. Living her adult childhood
+12 more images
After a decade and a half of strictly mountain biking, I’ve made the transition over to the dark side. A friend of mine lent me her neon yellow Trek from the 1980s, and I’ve been commuting and playing around the urban trails of Denver for a few months now, excited at how light and fast it is. I’ve been a spectating fan of road biking since the early days of Lance, marveling at how anyone can pedal for six hours up and over mountains for well over 100 miles. I’m now starting to get it. Independence Monument, a beautiful product of erosion, in the background These bikes are light, and the pedaling is continuous uphill and you’re coasting downhill. In fact, on the downhill all you’re really worried about is running over a frightened rodent who will then send you flying through the air like the Greatest American Hero(ine). When I started riding 30+ miles on the road bike, (akin to riding 10+ intermediate miles on the mountain bike), I was looking for pai
More from this author
Quiet time on the running trail
Minnesota Transplant

“The gun goes off and everything changes … the world changes … and nothing else really matters.” ~ Patti Sue Plumer, American long-distance runner Running is an effective weight-management tool, and it smooths the rough edges on my stress profile, too. I know for a fact I am bitchier on days I don’t get exercise. When I need quiet time, I put on my Asics and dash out the door. I often run with my iPod, but when I’m in a pickle, I leave it behind and just pound the pavement while I think about my breathing. I distinctly remember a 6-mile run on a summer day five years ago. The day before, I had to lay off two staff members, and it felt like choosing which toes I wanted to have removed. I have no doubt that black day was more awful for the two women I laid off, and I don’t mean to minimize their experiences as I lament my role in middle-management. But (yes, but!) unless you’re Cruella DeVille, telling people you’ve hired and mentored
The Latest Posts in Health Recently posted on WordPress.com Subscribe

Watch the Fine Print When You’re Watching Your Weight
joycemcdonald
It’s okay to go off your diet once in awhile. We all do it now and then. Just be careful not to do it every day or so. Maybe once a week is good for you. The problem may not be how often we fudge a little, but what it is we choose when we cheat. You can stop by Starbucks for a cup of coffee or you can have Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) White chocolate Mocha with 2% milk and whipped cream. If you give in to the Venti, you will be taking on more calories than if you had a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese! You would be adding 580 calories and 15 grams of saturated fat. Of course you could have the Venti with non-fat milk and no whipped cream. That would be 130 calories less. Maybe you like Marie Callender’s Chicken Pot Pie. The 16.5 oz. package proudly says “only 520″ calories. If you read carefully that is for only half a pie! Eat the whole thing and you will have consumed 1,040 calories, more than a day’s worth of saturated fat, and an e

Scary, sick voice!!!
My Blogging Path
On Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 10:38 AM, I received an “Auto-Forwarded voicemail message from (xxx) xxx-xxxx”. And the email showed a “Transcribed Message” that was rated “Good” by me because they didn’t spell my name correctly, one word was incorrect and the rest drifted to incoherence. This is partially because the caller didn’t sound the same! His voice is steady, deeper and scary! It’s sounds congested as if he has a very bad cold in the sinuses. The pattern of his speech and word usage sounded like him. But I have a weird feeling it is NOT his usual “self”. OMG! What’s going on? Is he still really alive? What are you people pulling over my ear holes? Perhaps, he needs your boost/prayer because he has “special gifts”, which I senses/knew/test that we last saw each other in person. Again, his professionalism will be noted (in my “Akashic Book/s of Life”) for returning a long-distant phone

MMR Yet Again
Letting Off Steam
The Daily Mail will not let go of the mythical MMR-autism link. Their writer Sally Beck claims that:- New American research shows that there could be a link between the controversial MMR triple vaccine and autism and bowel disease in children. This is complete bollocks, to use a technical term. First it is not new research. The Times reported it back in 2006. It is instructive to compare the two articles. The Times wrote: The latest study, led by Arthur Krigsman, of New York University School of Medicine, involved 275 children. Serious intestinal inflammations were found in some of the autistic children and biopsies of gut tissue were performed on 82 of them. Of these, 70 are said to have shown evidence of the measles virus, which so far has been confirmed in 14 cases by more stringent DNA tests. Steve Walker, assistant professor at Wake Forest University Medical Centre, North Carolina, who analysed the gut samples, said the work mirrored Dr Wakefield’s study. All the children involved
+4 more images
OBSTACLE COURSE
snowbirdredux

Ice Surfer, Lake Michigan
Great Pictures Collection

Taking a look at eye safety – Part 1
Touching Base

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer
fnkyluda

Better Mood with Singing
+10 more images
Break for Intestines
Green Plate Dinners

Just Live With It: Losing The American Dream
Fidlerten Place
Whatever your political beliefs are, I would ask that you set those aside, if but for a short while. I ask that because I would like to take a moment to talk about the American Dream, which is something I believe that everyone can relate to. Of course, there are as many perceptions of what the American Dream is as there are people dreaming of it. Regardless of how those dreams are realized, I think that at the most basic level, most people seek to have a sense of prosperity, security and well-being. Each generation seeks to be just a bit better off than the one before, and hopes that their children will be just a bit better off still. As far as the American Dream goes, I know that I am very fortunate. Some might even say “blessed”, though that would not be my personal choice of words. I’ve worked hard and graduated college. I have a good job and even own my own home. I am not by any measure “wealthy”. I don’t keep up with the Joneses. But, I certainly do better than my fathe

Eating with Autism-1
Accidental Autism
One of my favorite measures of “well-being” is eating and appetite; when we are happy and contented, most of us enjoy eating and sharing meals with friends and family. When anxiety and depression set in, this simple and universal pleasure is lost to us. A recent piece in the New York Times shows families of all types eating together and enjoying the “feeling that everything is going to be all right, if only for the moment”. The photos are by Stephanie Sinclair and text by Sam Sifton. Our family, like many these days, does not gather together often enough because of international travel for work and the life styles of our extended families. We did recently have my husband and his three siblings gathered in our house and our daughter who has severe autism was able to join us. We had been warned by her staff at her group home that she had been unstable and dangerous after a recent medication change. They advised us not to bring her home for this gathering. What

Housing Priorities for Retiring Baby Boomers – Lifestyle and Health Related Issues Are Most Important
John Murphy Reports
Now that America has exhausted the first time home buyer with the various tax credits, it’s time we switch back to the real movers and shakers in housing – that of course is the massive generation known as the baby boomers. They are starting to retire at a rapid clip and their choices with regard to housing will have a major impact on markets across the U.S. Builder Magazine recently published an interesting article that highlighted some of the results from a baby boomer poll conducted by NPR, The Robert Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, the results of which may be found here. What’s great about the survey is that they break it in to two groups – those who have already retired and those who are still pre-retirement. In many of the questions there is a distinct difference between the two groups. There were notable differences of opinions with regard to good public schools, public transportation, or the ability participate in voluntee

CST#1
FitDre : Mobility.Athletics.Strength (MAS) by Andre Vazquez
If you’re approaching 30 or are already in your 30′s (like me) then you already know you GOTTA train your biggest and baddest muscle of all, YOUR HEART! Push and keep that thing ticking more effectively and efficiently when you most need it. Cardio Strength Training (CST) #1 uses the following template which can later be switched and swapped out for other exercises. It borrows from the book Cardio Strength Training by Robert Dos Remedios (plug). It’s one of my favorite templates to borrow. For this workout everything is 10 reps (change your reps according to your need/goals). You will run through the entire series about 5x in under an hour to burn anywhere from 500-800 calories. [Explode] Single Leg Power Step-Up Jump [Major Hip/Knee] OHP, Step-Up, Rev.Lunge [Push/Chest] Prone MB Passes [Pull/Back] LB Rows [All Core] SB Tucks/Pikes Abs: Bikes Scissors Side Plank Ups -Andre Vazquez MAS:FitDre Mobility.Athletics.Strength @FitDre www.fitdre.wordpress.com Become a LIKE

Switchout, 27 May 2011, Fighting Through the Blahs
Switchout Circuit Training
Switchout Circuit Training Arms (3) Triceps – press, dips, kickbacks Legs (3) quads, hams, squats Chest (3) center, lower, upper Shoulders (3) straight, straight, upper flat bench + eagle flies 1×15@bar // 1×10@95 // 2×10@115 + 2×10@5 // 2×10@10 T-handle + tricep press 3×10@45 + 3×10@35 quads + shoulder press 3×10@50 3×10@20 db dips 3×10 hams + kickbacks 3×10@45 + 2×10@15 // 1×10@20 DB incline bench + DB squats 3×10@20 + 3×10@20 Explanation :: The concept behind this exercise strategy is simple; while you are working one body part, the other is resting. There is no rest period between sets. By switching between exercises quickly, your heart rate remains high. This burns calo

One Day at a Time…
The Incredible Shrinking Lady
So yesterday I ran into an old friend of mine, and we went to dinner with our significant others. This was my first time at a restaurant since I started my diet two weeks ago. Background history: before the diet started, I was going out to dinner most nights of the week somewhere, so this diet has significantly reduced my outgoing money on food. (yay!) At the restaurant we had great conversations, and I had my challenges with wanting to eat some of the homemade, honey cornbread that came out on a griddle, but I still made it. Wow! I made it through the whole dinner without taking a bite of anything else. At this moment I am so happy that I had the will-power to do it. At the time last night I was ready to break the diet to have some ‘pownbread. Hindsight is 20/20. Tonight is the end of my 2nd week’s weigh in, and I’m really looking forward to it. Mathematically speaking, I should have lost about 4 lbs this past week with the amount of calories consumed, burnt and expe

A Hard to Swallow Subject
Hollani's Hot Topics
This weekend while cooking for several of my co-workers, I found myself praying, “Please Lord, don’t let this food make them sick!” If you’re like me, your are extremely paranoid with all of these recent food related illnesses. Cantaloupe – Listeria Ground Beef – E. coli (Ground Turkey earlier this year) Lettuce – Listeria Spinach Dip – Listeria Turkey Burgers – Salmonella Strawberries – E. coli Papaya – Salmonella Eggs (2010) – Salmonella It’s really quite scary when you think about it. Especially since I eat all of the foods I listed above. I’m especially bad at eating things with raw eggs in it (cookie dough, brownie batter – yea, I still sneak it a spoonful every now and then). I think about the families who’ve lost someone from one of these tainted products. How devastating is that? “My brother died because he ate cantaloupe for breakfast.” Is this the new norm? Washing food

Prevent breast cancer, with exercise.
Exercise doesn’t just lower the number on the scale, studies now show that it can also reduce breast cancer risk. Click here for more Information.

ACO Roadblocks, Courtesy of CMS
Uncommon Clarity
We recently reviewed an article outlining the current debate between the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the statutory restrictions placed on telehealth by CMS in certain rules effecting accountable care organizations (ACOs). In summary, ATA is asking that five Medicare requirements that effectively limit the use of telemedicine—by prohibiting reimbursement—be waived or modified. It is ironic that CMS is supporting unnecessary road blocks to ACO enablement, a care delivery methodology that is a cornerstone of the 2009 health reform legislation. At the core of the government’s support for ACOs is the idea that Medicare and Medicaid spending is unsustainable and a system that rewards providers for delivering the same (or better care) could be most impactful by better managing patients with chronic conditions, reducing readmissions and minimizing ER visits. Thus, it seems counterintuitive that new approaches to d





More from this author
Road Biking Colorado National Monument
SheSpoke. Living her adult childhood
+12 more images
After a decade and a half of strictly mountain biking, I’ve made the transition over to the dark side. A friend of mine lent me her neon yellow Trek from the 1980s, and I’ve been commuting and playing around the urban trails of Denver for a few months now, excited at how light and fast it is. I’ve been a spectating fan of road biking since the early days of Lance, marveling at how anyone can pedal for six hours up and over mountains for well over 100 miles. I’m now starting to get it. Independence Monument, a beautiful product of erosion, in the background These bikes are light, and the pedaling is continuous uphill and you’re coasting downhill. In fact, on the downhill all you’re really worried about is running over a frightened rodent who will then send you flying through the air like the Greatest American Hero(ine). When I started riding 30+ miles on the road bike, (akin to riding 10+ intermediate miles on the mountain bike), I was looking for pai
More from this author
Quiet time on the running trail
Minnesota Transplant

“The gun goes off and everything changes … the world changes … and nothing else really matters.” ~ Patti Sue Plumer, American long-distance runner Running is an effective weight-management tool, and it smooths the rough edges on my stress profile, too. I know for a fact I am bitchier on days I don’t get exercise. When I need quiet time, I put on my Asics and dash out the door. I often run with my iPod, but when I’m in a pickle, I leave it behind and just pound the pavement while I think about my breathing. I distinctly remember a 6-mile run on a summer day five years ago. The day before, I had to lay off two staff members, and it felt like choosing which toes I wanted to have removed. I have no doubt that black day was more awful for the two women I laid off, and I don’t mean to minimize their experiences as I lament my role in middle-management. But (yes, but!) unless you’re Cruella DeVille, telling people you’ve hired and mentored
The Latest Posts in Health Recently posted on WordPress.com Subscribe

Watch the Fine Print When You’re Watching Your Weight
joycemcdonald
It’s okay to go off your diet once in awhile. We all do it now and then. Just be careful not to do it every day or so. Maybe once a week is good for you. The problem may not be how often we fudge a little, but what it is we choose when we cheat. You can stop by Starbucks for a cup of coffee or you can have Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) White chocolate Mocha with 2% milk and whipped cream. If you give in to the Venti, you will be taking on more calories than if you had a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese! You would be adding 580 calories and 15 grams of saturated fat. Of course you could have the Venti with non-fat milk and no whipped cream. That would be 130 calories less. Maybe you like Marie Callender’s Chicken Pot Pie. The 16.5 oz. package proudly says “only 520″ calories. If you read carefully that is for only half a pie! Eat the whole thing and you will have consumed 1,040 calories, more than a day’s worth of saturated fat, and an e

Scary, sick voice!!!
My Blogging Path
On Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 10:38 AM, I received an “Auto-Forwarded voicemail message from (xxx) xxx-xxxx”. And the email showed a “Transcribed Message” that was rated “Good” by me because they didn’t spell my name correctly, one word was incorrect and the rest drifted to incoherence. This is partially because the caller didn’t sound the same! His voice is steady, deeper and scary! It’s sounds congested as if he has a very bad cold in the sinuses. The pattern of his speech and word usage sounded like him. But I have a weird feeling it is NOT his usual “self”. OMG! What’s going on? Is he still really alive? What are you people pulling over my ear holes? Perhaps, he needs your boost/prayer because he has “special gifts”, which I senses/knew/test that we last saw each other in person. Again, his professionalism will be noted (in my “Akashic Book/s of Life”) for returning a long-distant phone

MMR Yet Again
Letting Off Steam
The Daily Mail will not let go of the mythical MMR-autism link. Their writer Sally Beck claims that:- New American research shows that there could be a link between the controversial MMR triple vaccine and autism and bowel disease in children. This is complete bollocks, to use a technical term. First it is not new research. The Times reported it back in 2006. It is instructive to compare the two articles. The Times wrote: The latest study, led by Arthur Krigsman, of New York University School of Medicine, involved 275 children. Serious intestinal inflammations were found in some of the autistic children and biopsies of gut tissue were performed on 82 of them. Of these, 70 are said to have shown evidence of the measles virus, which so far has been confirmed in 14 cases by more stringent DNA tests. Steve Walker, assistant professor at Wake Forest University Medical Centre, North Carolina, who analysed the gut samples, said the work mirrored Dr Wakefield’s study. All the children involved
+4 more images
OBSTACLE COURSE
snowbirdredux

Ice Surfer, Lake Michigan
Great Pictures Collection

Taking a look at eye safety – Part 1
Touching Base

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer
fnkyluda

Better Mood with Singing
+10 more images
Break for Intestines
Green Plate Dinners

Just Live With It: Losing The American Dream
Fidlerten Place
Whatever your political beliefs are, I would ask that you set those aside, if but for a short while. I ask that because I would like to take a moment to talk about the American Dream, which is something I believe that everyone can relate to. Of course, there are as many perceptions of what the American Dream is as there are people dreaming of it. Regardless of how those dreams are realized, I think that at the most basic level, most people seek to have a sense of prosperity, security and well-being. Each generation seeks to be just a bit better off than the one before, and hopes that their children will be just a bit better off still. As far as the American Dream goes, I know that I am very fortunate. Some might even say “blessed”, though that would not be my personal choice of words. I’ve worked hard and graduated college. I have a good job and even own my own home. I am not by any measure “wealthy”. I don’t keep up with the Joneses. But, I certainly do better than my fathe

Eating with Autism-1
Accidental Autism
One of my favorite measures of “well-being” is eating and appetite; when we are happy and contented, most of us enjoy eating and sharing meals with friends and family. When anxiety and depression set in, this simple and universal pleasure is lost to us. A recent piece in the New York Times shows families of all types eating together and enjoying the “feeling that everything is going to be all right, if only for the moment”. The photos are by Stephanie Sinclair and text by Sam Sifton. Our family, like many these days, does not gather together often enough because of international travel for work and the life styles of our extended families. We did recently have my husband and his three siblings gathered in our house and our daughter who has severe autism was able to join us. We had been warned by her staff at her group home that she had been unstable and dangerous after a recent medication change. They advised us not to bring her home for this gathering. What

Housing Priorities for Retiring Baby Boomers – Lifestyle and Health Related Issues Are Most Important
John Murphy Reports
Now that America has exhausted the first time home buyer with the various tax credits, it’s time we switch back to the real movers and shakers in housing – that of course is the massive generation known as the baby boomers. They are starting to retire at a rapid clip and their choices with regard to housing will have a major impact on markets across the U.S. Builder Magazine recently published an interesting article that highlighted some of the results from a baby boomer poll conducted by NPR, The Robert Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, the results of which may be found here. What’s great about the survey is that they break it in to two groups – those who have already retired and those who are still pre-retirement. In many of the questions there is a distinct difference between the two groups. There were notable differences of opinions with regard to good public schools, public transportation, or the ability participate in voluntee

CST#1
FitDre : Mobility.Athletics.Strength (MAS) by Andre Vazquez
If you’re approaching 30 or are already in your 30′s (like me) then you already know you GOTTA train your biggest and baddest muscle of all, YOUR HEART! Push and keep that thing ticking more effectively and efficiently when you most need it. Cardio Strength Training (CST) #1 uses the following template which can later be switched and swapped out for other exercises. It borrows from the book Cardio Strength Training by Robert Dos Remedios (plug). It’s one of my favorite templates to borrow. For this workout everything is 10 reps (change your reps according to your need/goals). You will run through the entire series about 5x in under an hour to burn anywhere from 500-800 calories. [Explode] Single Leg Power Step-Up Jump [Major Hip/Knee] OHP, Step-Up, Rev.Lunge [Push/Chest] Prone MB Passes [Pull/Back] LB Rows [All Core] SB Tucks/Pikes Abs: Bikes Scissors Side Plank Ups -Andre Vazquez MAS:FitDre Mobility.Athletics.Strength @FitDre www.fitdre.wordpress.com Become a LIKE

Switchout, 27 May 2011, Fighting Through the Blahs
Switchout Circuit Training
Switchout Circuit Training Arms (3) Triceps – press, dips, kickbacks Legs (3) quads, hams, squats Chest (3) center, lower, upper Shoulders (3) straight, straight, upper flat bench + eagle flies 1×15@bar // 1×10@95 // 2×10@115 + 2×10@5 // 2×10@10 T-handle + tricep press 3×10@45 + 3×10@35 quads + shoulder press 3×10@50 3×10@20 db dips 3×10 hams + kickbacks 3×10@45 + 2×10@15 // 1×10@20 DB incline bench + DB squats 3×10@20 + 3×10@20 Explanation :: The concept behind this exercise strategy is simple; while you are working one body part, the other is resting. There is no rest period between sets. By switching between exercises quickly, your heart rate remains high. This burns calo

One Day at a Time…
The Incredible Shrinking Lady
So yesterday I ran into an old friend of mine, and we went to dinner with our significant others. This was my first time at a restaurant since I started my diet two weeks ago. Background history: before the diet started, I was going out to dinner most nights of the week somewhere, so this diet has significantly reduced my outgoing money on food. (yay!) At the restaurant we had great conversations, and I had my challenges with wanting to eat some of the homemade, honey cornbread that came out on a griddle, but I still made it. Wow! I made it through the whole dinner without taking a bite of anything else. At this moment I am so happy that I had the will-power to do it. At the time last night I was ready to break the diet to have some ‘pownbread. Hindsight is 20/20. Tonight is the end of my 2nd week’s weigh in, and I’m really looking forward to it. Mathematically speaking, I should have lost about 4 lbs this past week with the amount of calories consumed, burnt and expe

A Hard to Swallow Subject
Hollani's Hot Topics
This weekend while cooking for several of my co-workers, I found myself praying, “Please Lord, don’t let this food make them sick!” If you’re like me, your are extremely paranoid with all of these recent food related illnesses. Cantaloupe – Listeria Ground Beef – E. coli (Ground Turkey earlier this year) Lettuce – Listeria Spinach Dip – Listeria Turkey Burgers – Salmonella Strawberries – E. coli Papaya – Salmonella Eggs (2010) – Salmonella It’s really quite scary when you think about it. Especially since I eat all of the foods I listed above. I’m especially bad at eating things with raw eggs in it (cookie dough, brownie batter – yea, I still sneak it a spoonful every now and then). I think about the families who’ve lost someone from one of these tainted products. How devastating is that? “My brother died because he ate cantaloupe for breakfast.” Is this the new norm? Washing food

Prevent breast cancer, with exercise.
Exercise doesn’t just lower the number on the scale, studies now show that it can also reduce breast cancer risk. Click here for more Information.

ACO Roadblocks, Courtesy of CMS
Uncommon Clarity
We recently reviewed an article outlining the current debate between the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the statutory restrictions placed on telehealth by CMS in certain rules effecting accountable care organizations (ACOs). In summary, ATA is asking that five Medicare requirements that effectively limit the use of telemedicine—by prohibiting reimbursement—be waived or modified. It is ironic that CMS is supporting unnecessary road blocks to ACO enablement, a care delivery methodology that is a cornerstone of the 2009 health reform legislation. At the core of the government’s support for ACOs is the idea that Medicare and Medicaid spending is unsustainable and a system that rewards providers for delivering the same (or better care) could be most impactful by better managing patients with chronic conditions, reducing readmissions and minimizing ER visits. Thus, it seems counterintuitive that new approaches to d

STAYING HEALTHY, FOR MOST OF US, FOLLOWS THE SAME BASIC STRATEGY — moderation, moderation, moderation. Still, it’s no guarantee that something won’t afflict you sooner or later. When you get sick, it can wreak havoc financially and otherwise, and having a support system becomes critical. While researchers try their hardest to cure ailments (for the greater good or personal gain), it is up to us to be smart patients, and demand for what’s best for us.

Featured PostsSTAYING HEALTHY, FOR MOST OF US, FOLLOWS THE SAME BASIC STRATEGY — moderation, moderation, moderation. Still, it’s no guarantee that something won’t afflict you sooner or later. When you get sick, it can wreak havoc financially and otherwise, and having a support system becomes critical. While researchers try their hardest to cure ailments (for the greater good or personal gain), it is up to us to be smart patients, and demand for what’s best for us.

Featured Posts
More from this author
Road Biking Colorado National Monument
SheSpoke. Living her adult childhood
+12 more images
After a decade and a half of strictly mountain biking, I’ve made the transition over to the dark side. A friend of mine lent me her neon yellow Trek from the 1980s, and I’ve been commuting and playing around the urban trails of Denver for a few months now, excited at how light and fast it is. I’ve been a spectating fan of road biking since the early days of Lance, marveling at how anyone can pedal for six hours up and over mountains for well over 100 miles. I’m now starting to get it. Independence Monument, a beautiful product of erosion, in the background These bikes are light, and the pedaling is continuous uphill and you’re coasting downhill. In fact, on the downhill all you’re really worried about is running over a frightened rodent who will then send you flying through the air like the Greatest American Hero(ine). When I started riding 30+ miles on the road bike, (akin to riding 10+ intermediate miles on the mountain bike), I was looking for pai
More from this author
Quiet time on the running trail
Minnesota Transplant

“The gun goes off and everything changes … the world changes … and nothing else really matters.” ~ Patti Sue Plumer, American long-distance runner Running is an effective weight-management tool, and it smooths the rough edges on my stress profile, too. I know for a fact I am bitchier on days I don’t get exercise. When I need quiet time, I put on my Asics and dash out the door. I often run with my iPod, but when I’m in a pickle, I leave it behind and just pound the pavement while I think about my breathing. I distinctly remember a 6-mile run on a summer day five years ago. The day before, I had to lay off two staff members, and it felt like choosing which toes I wanted to have removed. I have no doubt that black day was more awful for the two women I laid off, and I don’t mean to minimize their experiences as I lament my role in middle-management. But (yes, but!) unless you’re Cruella DeVille, telling people you’ve hired and mentored
The Latest Posts in Health Recently posted on WordPress.com Subscribe

Watch the Fine Print When You’re Watching Your Weight
joycemcdonald
It’s okay to go off your diet once in awhile. We all do it now and then. Just be careful not to do it every day or so. Maybe once a week is good for you. The problem may not be how often we fudge a little, but what it is we choose when we cheat. You can stop by Starbucks for a cup of coffee or you can have Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) White chocolate Mocha with 2% milk and whipped cream. If you give in to the Venti, you will be taking on more calories than if you had a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese! You would be adding 580 calories and 15 grams of saturated fat. Of course you could have the Venti with non-fat milk and no whipped cream. That would be 130 calories less. Maybe you like Marie Callender’s Chicken Pot Pie. The 16.5 oz. package proudly says “only 520″ calories. If you read carefully that is for only half a pie! Eat the whole thing and you will have consumed 1,040 calories, more than a day’s worth of saturated fat, and an e

Scary, sick voice!!!
My Blogging Path
On Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 10:38 AM, I received an “Auto-Forwarded voicemail message from (xxx) xxx-xxxx”. And the email showed a “Transcribed Message” that was rated “Good” by me because they didn’t spell my name correctly, one word was incorrect and the rest drifted to incoherence. This is partially because the caller didn’t sound the same! His voice is steady, deeper and scary! It’s sounds congested as if he has a very bad cold in the sinuses. The pattern of his speech and word usage sounded like him. But I have a weird feeling it is NOT his usual “self”. OMG! What’s going on? Is he still really alive? What are you people pulling over my ear holes? Perhaps, he needs your boost/prayer because he has “special gifts”, which I senses/knew/test that we last saw each other in person. Again, his professionalism will be noted (in my “Akashic Book/s of Life”) for returning a long-distant phone

MMR Yet Again
Letting Off Steam
The Daily Mail will not let go of the mythical MMR-autism link. Their writer Sally Beck claims that:- New American research shows that there could be a link between the controversial MMR triple vaccine and autism and bowel disease in children. This is complete bollocks, to use a technical term. First it is not new research. The Times reported it back in 2006. It is instructive to compare the two articles. The Times wrote: The latest study, led by Arthur Krigsman, of New York University School of Medicine, involved 275 children. Serious intestinal inflammations were found in some of the autistic children and biopsies of gut tissue were performed on 82 of them. Of these, 70 are said to have shown evidence of the measles virus, which so far has been confirmed in 14 cases by more stringent DNA tests. Steve Walker, assistant professor at Wake Forest University Medical Centre, North Carolina, who analysed the gut samples, said the work mirrored Dr Wakefield’s study. All the children involved
+4 more images
OBSTACLE COURSE
snowbirdredux

Ice Surfer, Lake Michigan
Great Pictures Collection

Taking a look at eye safety – Part 1
Touching Base

Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer
fnkyluda

Better Mood with Singing
+10 more images
Break for Intestines
Green Plate Dinners

Just Live With It: Losing The American Dream
Fidlerten Place
Whatever your political beliefs are, I would ask that you set those aside, if but for a short while. I ask that because I would like to take a moment to talk about the American Dream, which is something I believe that everyone can relate to. Of course, there are as many perceptions of what the American Dream is as there are people dreaming of it. Regardless of how those dreams are realized, I think that at the most basic level, most people seek to have a sense of prosperity, security and well-being. Each generation seeks to be just a bit better off than the one before, and hopes that their children will be just a bit better off still. As far as the American Dream goes, I know that I am very fortunate. Some might even say “blessed”, though that would not be my personal choice of words. I’ve worked hard and graduated college. I have a good job and even own my own home. I am not by any measure “wealthy”. I don’t keep up with the Joneses. But, I certainly do better than my fathe

Eating with Autism-1
Accidental Autism
One of my favorite measures of “well-being” is eating and appetite; when we are happy and contented, most of us enjoy eating and sharing meals with friends and family. When anxiety and depression set in, this simple and universal pleasure is lost to us. A recent piece in the New York Times shows families of all types eating together and enjoying the “feeling that everything is going to be all right, if only for the moment”. The photos are by Stephanie Sinclair and text by Sam Sifton. Our family, like many these days, does not gather together often enough because of international travel for work and the life styles of our extended families. We did recently have my husband and his three siblings gathered in our house and our daughter who has severe autism was able to join us. We had been warned by her staff at her group home that she had been unstable and dangerous after a recent medication change. They advised us not to bring her home for this gathering. What

Housing Priorities for Retiring Baby Boomers – Lifestyle and Health Related Issues Are Most Important
John Murphy Reports
Now that America has exhausted the first time home buyer with the various tax credits, it’s time we switch back to the real movers and shakers in housing – that of course is the massive generation known as the baby boomers. They are starting to retire at a rapid clip and their choices with regard to housing will have a major impact on markets across the U.S. Builder Magazine recently published an interesting article that highlighted some of the results from a baby boomer poll conducted by NPR, The Robert Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, the results of which may be found here. What’s great about the survey is that they break it in to two groups – those who have already retired and those who are still pre-retirement. In many of the questions there is a distinct difference between the two groups. There were notable differences of opinions with regard to good public schools, public transportation, or the ability participate in voluntee

CST#1
FitDre : Mobility.Athletics.Strength (MAS) by Andre Vazquez
If you’re approaching 30 or are already in your 30′s (like me) then you already know you GOTTA train your biggest and baddest muscle of all, YOUR HEART! Push and keep that thing ticking more effectively and efficiently when you most need it. Cardio Strength Training (CST) #1 uses the following template which can later be switched and swapped out for other exercises. It borrows from the book Cardio Strength Training by Robert Dos Remedios (plug). It’s one of my favorite templates to borrow. For this workout everything is 10 reps (change your reps according to your need/goals). You will run through the entire series about 5x in under an hour to burn anywhere from 500-800 calories. [Explode] Single Leg Power Step-Up Jump [Major Hip/Knee] OHP, Step-Up, Rev.Lunge [Push/Chest] Prone MB Passes [Pull/Back] LB Rows [All Core] SB Tucks/Pikes Abs: Bikes Scissors Side Plank Ups -Andre Vazquez MAS:FitDre Mobility.Athletics.Strength @FitDre www.fitdre.wordpress.com Become a LIKE

Switchout, 27 May 2011, Fighting Through the Blahs
Switchout Circuit Training
Switchout Circuit Training Arms (3) Triceps – press, dips, kickbacks Legs (3) quads, hams, squats Chest (3) center, lower, upper Shoulders (3) straight, straight, upper flat bench + eagle flies 1×15@bar // 1×10@95 // 2×10@115 + 2×10@5 // 2×10@10 T-handle + tricep press 3×10@45 + 3×10@35 quads + shoulder press 3×10@50 3×10@20 db dips 3×10 hams + kickbacks 3×10@45 + 2×10@15 // 1×10@20 DB incline bench + DB squats 3×10@20 + 3×10@20 Explanation :: The concept behind this exercise strategy is simple; while you are working one body part, the other is resting. There is no rest period between sets. By switching between exercises quickly, your heart rate remains high. This burns calo

One Day at a Time…
The Incredible Shrinking Lady
So yesterday I ran into an old friend of mine, and we went to dinner with our significant others. This was my first time at a restaurant since I started my diet two weeks ago. Background history: before the diet started, I was going out to dinner most nights of the week somewhere, so this diet has significantly reduced my outgoing money on food. (yay!) At the restaurant we had great conversations, and I had my challenges with wanting to eat some of the homemade, honey cornbread that came out on a griddle, but I still made it. Wow! I made it through the whole dinner without taking a bite of anything else. At this moment I am so happy that I had the will-power to do it. At the time last night I was ready to break the diet to have some ‘pownbread. Hindsight is 20/20. Tonight is the end of my 2nd week’s weigh in, and I’m really looking forward to it. Mathematically speaking, I should have lost about 4 lbs this past week with the amount of calories consumed, burnt and expe

A Hard to Swallow Subject
Hollani's Hot Topics
This weekend while cooking for several of my co-workers, I found myself praying, “Please Lord, don’t let this food make them sick!” If you’re like me, your are extremely paranoid with all of these recent food related illnesses. Cantaloupe – Listeria Ground Beef – E. coli (Ground Turkey earlier this year) Lettuce – Listeria Spinach Dip – Listeria Turkey Burgers – Salmonella Strawberries – E. coli Papaya – Salmonella Eggs (2010) – Salmonella It’s really quite scary when you think about it. Especially since I eat all of the foods I listed above. I’m especially bad at eating things with raw eggs in it (cookie dough, brownie batter – yea, I still sneak it a spoonful every now and then). I think about the families who’ve lost someone from one of these tainted products. How devastating is that? “My brother died because he ate cantaloupe for breakfast.” Is this the new norm? Washing food

Prevent breast cancer, with exercise.
Exercise doesn’t just lower the number on the scale, studies now show that it can also reduce breast cancer risk. Click here for more Information.

ACO Roadblocks, Courtesy of CMS
Uncommon Clarity
We recently reviewed an article outlining the current debate between the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the statutory restrictions placed on telehealth by CMS in certain rules effecting accountable care organizations (ACOs). In summary, ATA is asking that five Medicare requirements that effectively limit the use of telemedicine—by prohibiting reimbursement—be waived or modified. It is ironic that CMS is supporting unnecessary road blocks to ACO enablement, a care delivery methodology that is a cornerstone of the 2009 health reform legislation. At the core of the government’s support for ACOs is the idea that Medicare and Medicaid spending is unsustainable and a system that rewards providers for delivering the same (or better care) could be most impactful by better managing patients with chronic conditions, reducing readmissions and minimizing ER visits. Thus, it seems counterintuitive that new approaches to d





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Road Biking Colorado National Monument
SheSpoke. Living her adult childhood
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After a decade and a half of strictly mountain biking, I’ve made the transition over to the dark side. A friend of mine lent me her neon yellow Trek from the 1980s, and I’ve been commuting and playing around the urban trails of Denver for a few months now, excited at how light and fast it is. I’ve been a spectating fan of road biking since the early days of Lance, marveling at how anyone can pedal for six hours up and over mountains for well over 100 miles. I’m now starting to get it. Independence Monument, a beautiful product of erosion, in the background These bikes are light, and the pedaling is continuous uphill and you’re coasting downhill. In fact, on the downhill all you’re really worried about is running over a frightened rodent who will then send you flying through the air like the Greatest American Hero(ine). When I started riding 30+ miles on the road bike, (akin to riding 10+ intermediate miles on the mountain bike), I was looking for pai
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Quiet time on the running trail
Minnesota Transplant

“The gun goes off and everything changes … the world changes … and nothing else really matters.” ~ Patti Sue Plumer, American long-distance runner Running is an effective weight-management tool, and it smooths the rough edges on my stress profile, too. I know for a fact I am bitchier on days I don’t get exercise. When I need quiet time, I put on my Asics and dash out the door. I often run with my iPod, but when I’m in a pickle, I leave it behind and just pound the pavement while I think about my breathing. I distinctly remember a 6-mile run on a summer day five years ago. The day before, I had to lay off two staff members, and it felt like choosing which toes I wanted to have removed. I have no doubt that black day was more awful for the two women I laid off, and I don’t mean to minimize their experiences as I lament my role in middle-management. But (yes, but!) unless you’re Cruella DeVille, telling people you’ve hired and mentored
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Watch the Fine Print When You’re Watching Your Weight
joycemcdonald
It’s okay to go off your diet once in awhile. We all do it now and then. Just be careful not to do it every day or so. Maybe once a week is good for you. The problem may not be how often we fudge a little, but what it is we choose when we cheat. You can stop by Starbucks for a cup of coffee or you can have Starbucks Venti (20 oz.) White chocolate Mocha with 2% milk and whipped cream. If you give in to the Venti, you will be taking on more calories than if you had a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese! You would be adding 580 calories and 15 grams of saturated fat. Of course you could have the Venti with non-fat milk and no whipped cream. That would be 130 calories less. Maybe you like Marie Callender’s Chicken Pot Pie. The 16.5 oz. package proudly says “only 520″ calories. If you read carefully that is for only half a pie! Eat the whole thing and you will have consumed 1,040 calories, more than a day’s worth of saturated fat, and an e

Scary, sick voice!!!
My Blogging Path
On Tuesday, October 4, 2011 at 10:38 AM, I received an “Auto-Forwarded voicemail message from (xxx) xxx-xxxx”. And the email showed a “Transcribed Message” that was rated “Good” by me because they didn’t spell my name correctly, one word was incorrect and the rest drifted to incoherence. This is partially because the caller didn’t sound the same! His voice is steady, deeper and scary! It’s sounds congested as if he has a very bad cold in the sinuses. The pattern of his speech and word usage sounded like him. But I have a weird feeling it is NOT his usual “self”. OMG! What’s going on? Is he still really alive? What are you people pulling over my ear holes? Perhaps, he needs your boost/prayer because he has “special gifts”, which I senses/knew/test that we last saw each other in person. Again, his professionalism will be noted (in my “Akashic Book/s of Life”) for returning a long-distant phone

MMR Yet Again
Letting Off Steam
The Daily Mail will not let go of the mythical MMR-autism link. Their writer Sally Beck claims that:- New American research shows that there could be a link between the controversial MMR triple vaccine and autism and bowel disease in children. This is complete bollocks, to use a technical term. First it is not new research. The Times reported it back in 2006. It is instructive to compare the two articles. The Times wrote: The latest study, led by Arthur Krigsman, of New York University School of Medicine, involved 275 children. Serious intestinal inflammations were found in some of the autistic children and biopsies of gut tissue were performed on 82 of them. Of these, 70 are said to have shown evidence of the measles virus, which so far has been confirmed in 14 cases by more stringent DNA tests. Steve Walker, assistant professor at Wake Forest University Medical Centre, North Carolina, who analysed the gut samples, said the work mirrored Dr Wakefield’s study. All the children involved
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Just Live With It: Losing The American Dream
Fidlerten Place
Whatever your political beliefs are, I would ask that you set those aside, if but for a short while. I ask that because I would like to take a moment to talk about the American Dream, which is something I believe that everyone can relate to. Of course, there are as many perceptions of what the American Dream is as there are people dreaming of it. Regardless of how those dreams are realized, I think that at the most basic level, most people seek to have a sense of prosperity, security and well-being. Each generation seeks to be just a bit better off than the one before, and hopes that their children will be just a bit better off still. As far as the American Dream goes, I know that I am very fortunate. Some might even say “blessed”, though that would not be my personal choice of words. I’ve worked hard and graduated college. I have a good job and even own my own home. I am not by any measure “wealthy”. I don’t keep up with the Joneses. But, I certainly do better than my fathe

Eating with Autism-1
Accidental Autism
One of my favorite measures of “well-being” is eating and appetite; when we are happy and contented, most of us enjoy eating and sharing meals with friends and family. When anxiety and depression set in, this simple and universal pleasure is lost to us. A recent piece in the New York Times shows families of all types eating together and enjoying the “feeling that everything is going to be all right, if only for the moment”. The photos are by Stephanie Sinclair and text by Sam Sifton. Our family, like many these days, does not gather together often enough because of international travel for work and the life styles of our extended families. We did recently have my husband and his three siblings gathered in our house and our daughter who has severe autism was able to join us. We had been warned by her staff at her group home that she had been unstable and dangerous after a recent medication change. They advised us not to bring her home for this gathering. What

Housing Priorities for Retiring Baby Boomers – Lifestyle and Health Related Issues Are Most Important
John Murphy Reports
Now that America has exhausted the first time home buyer with the various tax credits, it’s time we switch back to the real movers and shakers in housing – that of course is the massive generation known as the baby boomers. They are starting to retire at a rapid clip and their choices with regard to housing will have a major impact on markets across the U.S. Builder Magazine recently published an interesting article that highlighted some of the results from a baby boomer poll conducted by NPR, The Robert Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, the results of which may be found here. What’s great about the survey is that they break it in to two groups – those who have already retired and those who are still pre-retirement. In many of the questions there is a distinct difference between the two groups. There were notable differences of opinions with regard to good public schools, public transportation, or the ability participate in voluntee

CST#1
FitDre : Mobility.Athletics.Strength (MAS) by Andre Vazquez
If you’re approaching 30 or are already in your 30′s (like me) then you already know you GOTTA train your biggest and baddest muscle of all, YOUR HEART! Push and keep that thing ticking more effectively and efficiently when you most need it. Cardio Strength Training (CST) #1 uses the following template which can later be switched and swapped out for other exercises. It borrows from the book Cardio Strength Training by Robert Dos Remedios (plug). It’s one of my favorite templates to borrow. For this workout everything is 10 reps (change your reps according to your need/goals). You will run through the entire series about 5x in under an hour to burn anywhere from 500-800 calories. [Explode] Single Leg Power Step-Up Jump [Major Hip/Knee] OHP, Step-Up, Rev.Lunge [Push/Chest] Prone MB Passes [Pull/Back] LB Rows [All Core] SB Tucks/Pikes Abs: Bikes Scissors Side Plank Ups -Andre Vazquez MAS:FitDre Mobility.Athletics.Strength @FitDre www.fitdre.wordpress.com Become a LIKE

Switchout, 27 May 2011, Fighting Through the Blahs
Switchout Circuit Training
Switchout Circuit Training Arms (3) Triceps – press, dips, kickbacks Legs (3) quads, hams, squats Chest (3) center, lower, upper Shoulders (3) straight, straight, upper flat bench + eagle flies 1×15@bar // 1×10@95 // 2×10@115 + 2×10@5 // 2×10@10 T-handle + tricep press 3×10@45 + 3×10@35 quads + shoulder press 3×10@50 3×10@20 db dips 3×10 hams + kickbacks 3×10@45 + 2×10@15 // 1×10@20 DB incline bench + DB squats 3×10@20 + 3×10@20 Explanation :: The concept behind this exercise strategy is simple; while you are working one body part, the other is resting. There is no rest period between sets. By switching between exercises quickly, your heart rate remains high. This burns calo

One Day at a Time…
The Incredible Shrinking Lady
So yesterday I ran into an old friend of mine, and we went to dinner with our significant others. This was my first time at a restaurant since I started my diet two weeks ago. Background history: before the diet started, I was going out to dinner most nights of the week somewhere, so this diet has significantly reduced my outgoing money on food. (yay!) At the restaurant we had great conversations, and I had my challenges with wanting to eat some of the homemade, honey cornbread that came out on a griddle, but I still made it. Wow! I made it through the whole dinner without taking a bite of anything else. At this moment I am so happy that I had the will-power to do it. At the time last night I was ready to break the diet to have some ‘pownbread. Hindsight is 20/20. Tonight is the end of my 2nd week’s weigh in, and I’m really looking forward to it. Mathematically speaking, I should have lost about 4 lbs this past week with the amount of calories consumed, burnt and expe

A Hard to Swallow Subject
Hollani's Hot Topics
This weekend while cooking for several of my co-workers, I found myself praying, “Please Lord, don’t let this food make them sick!” If you’re like me, your are extremely paranoid with all of these recent food related illnesses. Cantaloupe – Listeria Ground Beef – E. coli (Ground Turkey earlier this year) Lettuce – Listeria Spinach Dip – Listeria Turkey Burgers – Salmonella Strawberries – E. coli Papaya – Salmonella Eggs (2010) – Salmonella It’s really quite scary when you think about it. Especially since I eat all of the foods I listed above. I’m especially bad at eating things with raw eggs in it (cookie dough, brownie batter – yea, I still sneak it a spoonful every now and then). I think about the families who’ve lost someone from one of these tainted products. How devastating is that? “My brother died because he ate cantaloupe for breakfast.” Is this the new norm? Washing food

Prevent breast cancer, with exercise.
Exercise doesn’t just lower the number on the scale, studies now show that it can also reduce breast cancer risk. Click here for more Information.

ACO Roadblocks, Courtesy of CMS
Uncommon Clarity
We recently reviewed an article outlining the current debate between the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding the statutory restrictions placed on telehealth by CMS in certain rules effecting accountable care organizations (ACOs). In summary, ATA is asking that five Medicare requirements that effectively limit the use of telemedicine—by prohibiting reimbursement—be waived or modified. It is ironic that CMS is supporting unnecessary road blocks to ACO enablement, a care delivery methodology that is a cornerstone of the 2009 health reform legislation. At the core of the government’s support for ACOs is the idea that Medicare and Medicaid spending is unsustainable and a system that rewards providers for delivering the same (or better care) could be most impactful by better managing patients with chronic conditions, reducing readmissions and minimizing ER visits. Thus, it seems counterintuitive that new approaches to d

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