Fitness & Wellness

When someone mentions foods that make you feel good, you might automatically think of those comfort foods, like a pint of ice cream, mashed potatoes and gravy or double chocolate, chocolate chip cookies. That’s not the type of food that really changes your body to help lift your spirits, but the type of food associated mentally with feeling better. There are actual foods that can help improve your mood in the long run. In fact, if your comfort food is a sweet, it’s probably prolonging your misery, since sugary processed food causes fluctuations in your blood sugar level, with lows leaving you sad and miserable.

Look for foods high in vitamin B6, tryptophan and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Nuts are a great food for lifting your spirits, particularly cashews, Brazil nuts and peanuts. Flaxseed also joins that group. The vitamin tryptophan in cashews converts to serotonin, which helps stabilize your mood and makes you feel happier and more relaxed, and the vitamin B6 helps with that conversion. Walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which helps make you less angry and happier. A study focused on changing the diet at a prison with a higher amount of violence and found it reduced the incidences dramatically.

Boost your brain power, fight cancer and improve your mood with berries.

Berries, particularly blueberries, have loads of phytochemicals that fight free radicals that come from our environment. Anthocyanin that makes blueberries blue, is one of the flavonoids that provide brain protection and also helps you feel good. One study compared the effects of drinking a placebo, to drinking a drink made of wild blueberries. The wild blueberry drink improved the mood for people, no matter what their age. Other fresh berries, particularly those that are deep red or purple, also have a similar effect. The same is true for vegetables that are deep red or purple.

Eating your greens helps you body and your mood.

If you have a bowl of leafy greens, you’ve got a bowl of fiber, magnesium, vitamin B6 and folate. As noted previously the B6 helps convert tryptophan to serotonin, increasing the amount the body gets. Serotonin is similar to antidepressants, so the more you have in your body, the lower the risk for depression. You’ll also find B6 in carrots, green peas, sweet potatoes and legumes. The folate (not folic acid, which people often confuse it with) in leafy greens also helps regulate the serotonin and magnesium has been used to treat depression for years.

• If chocolate was on your feel good list, you may be on the right track, but it has to be dark chocolate with a high amount of cacao, very little if any milk or sugar. It’s the polyphenols in cacao that make it good for your mood.
• You need foods high in vitamin C to produce neurotransmitters that are necessary to make hormones like dopamine, noradrenaline and serotonin, which make you feel good. Red bell peppers and citrus fruits and good sources.
• Many Americans have a deficiency of magnesium, which can cause depression. Eating a handful of pumpkin seeds each day can help replenish the magnesium.
• Increasing blood circulation can occur when blood vessels dilate. That can improve your mood. A cup and a half cups of coffee each day can help do that. The caffeine also increases the production of dopamine.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx

I encourage people to eat healthy and live a healthy lifestyle, which includes exercise. Some clients at Team Worx Fitness in Alexandria, VA, have asked me if OTC vitamins—over the counter vitamins—offer benefits. It’s easy to understand how you might think they help, since Americans purchase over millions of dollars worth each year, and even more if you include other types of supplements. Is it really healthy or is it just good advertising that drives those sales?

Supplements may not offer the benefits you hoped.

There are three studies recently completed at John Hopkins that looked into whether supplements were beneficial or not. They were all large, with the biggest study following 450,000 people. That large study showed OTC multivitamins didn’t reduce the risk for cancer or heart disease. The same was true of one of the smaller, yet significant studies. The last smaller study, which had only 5947 subjects, looked at multivitamins use and the potential for reducing mental decline. The study followed these people for 12 years and found they didn’t have any effect.

OTC products may not be bioavailable.

No matter how dedicated you are to taking your vitamins, your body may not get the benefits. That’s because it can’t absorb the nutrients it offers. Even if it’s a pure form of the vitamin, your body may not be able to use it because it’s not bioavailable. Lots of things determine bioavailability. How quickly the vitamin breaks down is one. If it breaks down too easily, it doesn’t have a long shelf life, but if it has a longer shelf life, you may find it in your toilet amidst the corn and peanuts that also don’t digest. Some drugs taken with vitamins limit their availability and some forms of the vitamin do too.

Taking too much of anything is not necessarily a good thing.

If you’re taking high doses of a vitamin, it can be toxic. While it may not kill you, if you take more vitamin C than you need, you’ll end up with diarrhea and urine rich in vitamin C. The real dangers come with fat soluble vitamins, like vitamin E, D or A. High amounts of vitamin E increase the risk of stroke. People who smoke and take high amounts of vitamin A or beta-carotene may increase the risk of lung cancer.

• Taking calcium supplements, particularly if you’re a senior, may actually be dangerous. It can cause calcium to build up in artery walls. You’re better off doing weight bearing exercises to help prevent osteoporosis.
• Taking multivitamins and thinking you’ve got your basis covered is just as dangerous. You need many of the phytonutrients to work in synergy for more effective benefits or even any benefits at all.
• Not all forms of the vitamin are bioavailability, meaning it doesn’t allow your system to use it. Many of the vitamin forms used in multivitamins are less expensive, but also less effective and harder to break down.
• Some vitamins may be important. For instance, vitamin D is extremely important, but many people have a deficiency, since they get little sun and it’s hard to get in food. Always ask your health care professional before you start taking any supplements.
• For more information, contact us today at Team Worx

Don’t throw away your opportunity to have the summer fun you deserve. Don’t let being out of shape, tired or feeling frumpy stop you from getting that tan, enjoying the sun and enjoying every minute of summer. How can you do that? You can get ready for summer, starting today. In just a couple of short months, you can make a huge difference in how you look and feel and by the end of summer, look forward to even more enjoyment over the fall and winter holidays.

In just two months, you can lose 20-pounds or more safely.

Not only will you lose weight by eating healthy, you’ll even look thinner by adding exercise to your daily routine. Exercise builds muscles and muscles burn more calories than fat tissue does, so the more you have, the higher your metabolism, burning more calories 24/7. When you exercise, it makes you look trimmer. One pound of muscle tissue takes up less space than a pound of fat. It’s similar to comparing the size of container for exactly a pound of feathers and a pound of steel. The one with the feathers will be a lot bigger. Even though you might lose 20-pounds, you’ll look like you lost a lot more.

Boost your energy while you build your strength and endurance.

Not only does strength training build muscles, when you combine it with endurance training it burns off the pounds quickly and builds your energy level. If the beach isn’t your destination, but a trip to the zoo with the kids is, having more energy may be just what you’re hoping to get. The more energy you have, the more active you’ll be and that increases the amount of energy you’ll have tomorrow. It snowballs.

Healthy eating should be a key priority.

Healthy eating isn’t dieting. Instead, it’s about making smarter choices when you eat. Most trainers agree that a great body starts in the kitchen. Your diet also affects your energy level and mood, so getting the most out of life also starts with diet. You’ll be amazed at how delicious healthy foods can taste. Don’t worry, you still can have a favorite treat occasionally, just keep portion control in mind and don’t make it too often.

• You don’t have to want to lose weight to benefit when you workout. You might want to tone all parts of your body. A toned derriere looks far better than a droopy one, and toned arms are better than batwings.
• Working out helps hide cellulite, just as a healthy diet does. Losing weight and building muscle tissue takes a lot of the pucker out of cottage cheese lumpy thighs.
• Don’t forget flexibility training. Your walk will be improved and so will your agility, but most of all, flexibility training can protect you from injury that can ruin a summer of fun.
• Make a bucket list of things you’d like to do this summer that are outside, active or show off your new energy or body. Make it a goal to check off at least five things this summer.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness

We’re headed for warmer weather and lighter clothing. You know, they type that shows all your arms, not just your hands. If you have a problem with arm jiggle or bat wings, then it’s time to start workouts for toning arms. Not only will you look better, you’ll feel better two and be able to have more strength in your arms, which can mean having more fun in the summer months without getting sore and tired. These exercises are excellent for people who recently lost weight, but still have the excess skin left.

Strength training is the key to having toned arms.

That flabby extra skin under your arm, often called bat wings, is easier to get rid of when you do strength training, especially with dumbbells. Forearm wrist curls, palm up and palm down wrist curls and bicep curls can help tone the muscle. Do tricep kickbacks or overhead extensions, too. If you’re doing these at home and don’t have weights, don’t worry. You can create a substitute dumbbell with a water bottle or soup can. Hold it in both hands, one on top of the other, over your head, bend your arms at the elbow as you slowly lower it behind your head at a 90 degree angle. Lift back to starting position and repeat.

You can do arm exercises at work.

If you have your own cubicle and a chair that doesn’t have rollers, you’re ready for a quick workout that can also be a good break. Do a chair dip. If you don’t know what that is, it’s simple. Sit on the edge of a chair with your heels touching and legs extended straight. Grab the side of the chair you’re sitting in and lift yourself forward. Once your bottom passes the edge of the chair, lower your body slowly until your upper arms are parallel to the floor and your elbow is bent at a 90 degree angle. Lift back up to seated position and repeat.

You can tone your arms as you watch TV.

Bodyweight exercises are great for toning arms. Push-ups or modified push-ups are a start. The standard push-up is excellent for toning arms, even if you’re doing the modified knee push-up version for beginners. You can work different muscle groups by just adjusting the placement of your hands either close together or further apart. If you’re watching your favorite television show, do a plank during commercials. Not only will a plank help tone your arms, but it also builds core strength, too.

• If you have access to dumbbells, do a bent dumbbell row. Bend at the waist pushing shoulder blades together and keeping your back flat. Your arms are straight down in starting position, then they lift the dumbbells to your chest and lower them again.
• Don’t forget the importance of a healthy diet when you’re toning your muscles. Your body needs the nutrition to build muscle tissue. Make sure your duet has plenty of protein, especially collagen, to improve skin elasticity.
• If you’re working out at home and want to take the workout a step further, but don’t have a lot of money for fancy equipment, get resistance bands. They’re inexpensive and store easily, but provide great muscle-toning benefits.
• Towel curls are also great arm exercises that use common items in your home. If you want a personalized program to get results faster, we’re ready to help you at Team Worx Fitness.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx

What’s the first thing you reach for when you feel under stress? If it’s a pint of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream or a bowl of mashed potatoes, you’re probably focusing on comfort foods. However, to truly relieve stress you need to focus on certain healthy foods, focus on getting more sleep and getting adequate exercise. All these things can lower your cortisol levels and cortisol is the primary hormone of stress. It’s key in the fight-or-flight response, but when you get too much, for too long, it can create stress, which increases your blood pressure and causes inflammation.

Lower cortisol by eating an anti-inflammatory diet, starting with foods high in vitamin B.

If you want to boost the vitamin B levels in your diet, look for whole grains that are fortified with vitamin B or opt for animal products like beef, chicken, eggs, organ meat or nutritional yeast. Look for foods highest in B12, such as organ meats, clams, sardines and tuna. B12 helps metabolize cortisol. B12 also helps support normal functions of nerve cells, and can boost your energy level, improve your memory and help reduce the potential for heart disease.

Omega3 fatty acids can help mellow you out.

Your body cannot make the essential fatty acids, which includes omega-3 and omega-6. You have to get them from food. You need both, but in a specific ratio. It should be a three to one ratio of omega-6 to omega-3. Unfortunately, today people eat 25 times more omega-6 compared to omega-3. Studies show that boosting the omega-3 and reducing the omega-6 back to the point where you have three times more omega-6 in the diet, can also reduce violent behavior, reduce inflammation and bring more peace of mind. Sources of omega-3 fatty acid include fatty fish like salmon, avocados, chia seeds, flax seeds, oysters and walnuts.

Eat foods rich in magnesium.

Avocados, bananas, broccoli, spinach, pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate and spinach are foods that contain magnesium. It also helps metabolize cortisol, reduces inflammation and helps relax both the body and mind. Magnesium helps regulate neurotransmitters. They’re the messengers that travel throughout the nervous system and brain. It’s also anti-inflammatory, reduces PMS and provides a host of other benefits.

• You need to balance your blood sugar levels to reduce stress, a spike in blood sugar can create stress. Food’s high in protein, like meat, fish, beans and legumes, are good to reduce stress.
• A lot of your immune system is based in your gut and the microbiome. In fact, those friendly microbes also affect your mood. Eating fermented foods help balance blood sugar, which is another aid, while it boosts your mood. Kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, and yogurt are good sources.
• If you need a quick fix to reduce stress, try a few pumpkin seeds or some dark chocolate that’s at least 90% cacao. They contain magnesium that will help you relax quickly.
• If you’re under stress, don’t make it worse. Avoid foods that are high in sugar, are simple carbs, soft drinks, food high in caffeine and alcoholic drinks.

For more information, contact us today at Team Worx Fitness