Interactive Health

This video shows 3 basic exercises, the PLANK, side plank and BIRD DOG to help abdominal endurance and low back health.

These exercises are safe and really important when you first start out to help protect you against lower back injury.

I also found out from watching this video that research has shown these exercises reduce the incidence of having a sore back, something I can relate to!

Just thought I’d update you on my weight gain post from a few days ago.

I had put on about 4 pounds resulting from a recent vacation. I’ve been back now for about 2 weeks and have lost around 2 pounds!

It wasn’t all that difficult. Basically, no alcohol, lots of water and back to eating my usual foods including fresh vegetables and chicken. It’s also been really nice to get back out walking my dog and doing my regular exercise routine.

I hope everyone is doing well!

As I walked through those doors I took a good look around. It was a massive room and … I was pleasantly surprised!! The first thing I noticed was not everyone was very slim, beautiful or young. The majority of the people there looked just like me!!! There were lots of privacy partitions, nobody stared at me, everyone was busy just doing their own thing.

The lady showed me around the gym pointing out pieces of equipment, which are apparently the most high tech in Western Australia. A couple of people came up to me, introduced themselves and shook my hand. The lady giving the tour told me they were personal trainers and everyone was there to help. So far so good, everyone was very friendly.

I was shown into a ladies only room that went straight from the changing rooms without even going into the main gym. Some of the equipment in this room had little personalised TV’s attached to them so I couldn’t even use the excuse of missing my favourite programmes on TV anymore!!!!!!

There was no high pressure selling from the staff and all I walked out of the gym with that evening; was some leaflets on times and prices and definitely a change in attitude - I felt motivated and positive.

I went home and showed my partner the leaflets and prices. My partner is also very overweight and has type 2 diabetes. He won’t take medication and for some reason won’t go to the doctors and definitely will not discuss the condition with anyone.

I knew this was it…. we both needed a complete lifestyle change. Not only did I want to improve the quality of our life but this change might actually save our lives. My partner is similar to me in that he lackes confidence and self esteem and he wasn’t sure Gym membership was what we needed. I gave him a good talking to that evening. I explained to him we would be able to motivate each other and after promising he could watch football for the next two weekends he agreed to go to the gym and ‘just have a look’ …………..

[ Stay tuned for the next installment ]

How you handle challenges in life can really impact how you cope with weight gain.

As you may have read from one of my earlier posts, we have been busy entertaining family from overseas. I mentioned that it is really hard trying to stay on course with your health and wellbeing goals during vacations and for me, that has become a reality.

Our visitors have since returned home and we are now settling back into our normal routine including diet, exercise and daily routines.

So this morning I stepped on the scales. I’ve put on almost 2 kg or roughly 4.4 pounds. Not really bad but not really good!

I could have gone one of two ways in dealing with this news.

The first and probably the one that most can relate to is diet. It seems to me that people who take this path really do struggle to maintain their weight long term. You put weight on, self loathing follows, you diet, feel good when you lose the weight for a short while, fall back into bad habits and the cycle starts over.

The second is to take it in, set a plan to manage your food and exercise. Let’s face it, most people are going to have times in their life where weight gain is an issue. The trick as far as I can tell is to know when to stop and take stock of where you might be heading if you don’t stop.

In my case, I knew I was probably going to gain a kilo or two over my vacation. I set limits on what I consumed on a daily basis but certainly still enjoyed my food and wine. But I knew that I had to keep a check on myself and that once the vacation was over that I needed to get back to my routine straight away and focus on maintaining my weight.

I am 36 years old and have never had a weight problem. Every so often my weight fluctuates but it’s never been drastic.

I’ll report back in to let you know how I go with getting back to my regular weight.

I am delighted to welcome one of my best friends to the iHealth team.

I met Ann many years ago while walking our then puppy, Sam at our local park. Across from us, we saw this lady walking three rather big dogs. Sam, a very small jack russell was rather nervous as a pup and a bit unsure of big dogs. We were probably more nervous than he was and somewhat apprehensive about this lady with her dogs coming anywhere near us!

Her dogs saw Sam and bounded towards us. I am pretty sure that the blood drained from my head at this point as I realized that my little pup was about to be attacked with certain death to follow. Thankfully, all three were gorgeous with our young pup and their Mum was this vibrant, lovely lady who beamed when she greeted Sam, then us! Yes, in that order. Ann is definitely a dog person.

Many doggie dates followed and we eventually all became friends. Our dogs meet regularly at Ann’s house and while he is still the smallest, he certainly holds his own with the big boys!

Ann recently decided that it was time to make some positive changes in her life and luckily for us, has agreed to share her journey with us.

I know you will enjoy reading her journal just as much as I do. So welcome to the iHealth family Ann!

By Ann

I first realised I really needed to get a grip on my health and weight issues last Christmas when I didn’t have a single thing to wear, I was dreading getting any invitations to a Christmas party/drinks and I didn’t want to take my dogs to the park for a walk anymore.

I have always been on the heavier side but as I approached my mid 40’s I looked in the mirror and knew it was out of control and it was going to be now or never. I needed to take action. I went to see my doctor as I was feeling very low and could feel myself sinking into depression. After blood tests the doctor advised me my cholesterol was starting to get high, my thyroid was low, my metabolism had stopped working, I had fat in my blood! And to top it all I was in full blown menopause.

The Doctor tried to prescribe anti-depressants for my low mood but I decided this was not an option for me and on researching my symptoms via the internet realised that exercise could be the cure I was looking for.

I have never seen the inside of a Gym and always thought they were places for people who were slim, young and very beautiful. I was terrified at the prospect of even walking in the door.

I pulled up outside and decided I would just grab some leaflets and prices to take home.

I walked up to the counter and the young girl asked me if I would like to have a walk around while I was there and have a look. I agreed to the guided tour, took a deep breath and followed her through the doors to what I thought would be my worst nightmare…………

[ Stay tuned for part 2! ]

Clinical Nutritionist Alexis Beck, shows Diet.com Video Host Sarah the secret health benefits behind cinnamon.

Tennis has never been a sport I could get into, this is probably because I rarely manage to connect racquet with ball!

If you have the ability to co-ordinate both items then you may enjoy this video from diet.com.

Have fun while learning drills that will keep you in shape.

You might have noticed that our posts have been few and far between over the last fortnight. Being a lone blogger can be challenging at the best of times but trying to take time off and run a blog is difficult to say the least!

We are currently taking three weeks vacation from work to show my partners Dad (from Texas) around Australia. It has been really wonderful showing him all the sights of our beautiful city and quite a buzz to see his reaction to many of the places he has seen.

But having visitors is a really difficult time for people who are trying to eat healthy and exercise regularly. Taking people out and about presents many challenges. For starters, you tend to eat out more. Things like going to your gym or following your exercise regime can pretty much fall away completely with the demands of entertaining your visitors.

We have been trying really hard to find a balance between socializing and living well. So here are our top 5 tips for staying healthy on vacation.

1. For starters, we have chosen to prepare lunches rather than go to restaurants. Gourmet sandwiches or wraps with plenty of salads, grilled chicken, turkey, tuna or any low fat lunch meats are a really healthy option. Our picnics have been a real hit with our American guest. So much so, he has taken quite a few pictures of his lunches to show the family when he returns home!

2. Because we are taking picnics, finding great spots to enjoy them is critical. So we have chosen places that require a little effort to get there. While we are certainly not breaking a major sweat, we are getting some exercise. It feels good to finally get to the top of that hill ( literally! ) and sit down to a healthy and yummy lunch.

3. Healthy options when dining out is getting easier now that restaurants have worked out there is a market. Avoid fried foods, request grilled instead. Ask your waitress to hold the dressings and look for dishes with lots of vegetables providing of course they aren’t prepared with cream or butter! Salads are a fabulous option but don’t go for a caesar salad, it’s one of the most unhealthy options on the menu!

4. Park the car and walk. Taking visitors around requires transportation and your car is probably going to get more of a workout than you are. Rather than park close to your final destination, choose a car park that’s a little further away and walk the final distance instead. Your visitors may complain but you are doing them a favor as well!

5. Water anybody? Being on vacation often means wining and dining and it’s easy to forget to drink plenty of water. Make sure you have a water bottle with you at all times and keep yourself hydrated.

Let’s face it, being on vacation means enjoying yourself and I personally don’t have a problem with changing it up over this period.

All you have to do is keep yourself in check and be aware of when your body is telling you to cut back, you will feel better for it during your vacation and reap the benefits after your visitors leave!

Find out how Biggest Loser Maggie King prepared for the season 5 finale final weight in. Watch her weight loss workout with Charles here.

Interesting video from diet.com discussing the link between cutting calories and weight loss.

Are all calories created equal? Find out by watching the video.