Dear Blood Test, You Made Me So Very Happy

Remember Blood, Sweat and Tears? If not, you can still read this post. It’s all about blood, stress and diet!

I recently won a free blood test from WellnessFX. The cool part? It included a consultation with a registered dietitian.

Maybe your reaction is, “Big deal. I get my blood drawn once a year during my physical.” Yes, but does your doctor actually take 20 minutes to explain what the results mean? And does your doc then make dietary suggestions? Aha, that’s the bonus.

I exercise quite a lot and take no prescription drugs, so I chose the RD for my consultation. But I could have chosen from their list of medical doctors, chiropractors, osteopaths or naturopathic doctors.

I drove to Ventura, California, for the blood draw, and was in and out in 15 minutes. A few days later I received my results, which of course, were only vaguely comprehensible to me (I do know how to read the cholesterol and iron bit, but that’s about it). The results categories were red, orange and green. I was green in nearly every category, which is the good color!

No magic here – the green is a result of exercise and a healthy diet (portion size and food selection). The only result of concern was my LDL – low density lipoprotein. That’s the bad cholesterol. For this, I blame my parents, as there’s a genetic component. I’m not a big ice cream or milk person, but I cook and bake with butter. So even though I don’t use a lot of it, during our consultation the RD still suggested I substitute olive or canola oil when possible. I’m putting her recommendations here because they are good ideas for everyone to consider:

Use unsaturated fats (olive oil, canola oil) in place of saturated fats (butter) when cooking.
Limit amount of butter added to food (1-2 teaspoons).
Avoid Trans Fats (hydrogenated oil, partially hydrogenated oil) often found in regular peanut butter, packaged baked goods, and fast food.

Decrease Your Stress or You’ll Be a Mess

She said my elevated bilirubin could be related to my self-reported high stress levels. Even though I do lots of exercise, I also have a lot of financial stress (anyone else paying out-of-state university fees?) and constant work deadlines. So I’ll consider yoga (probably won’t happen), more walks (probably will happen), or going to bed earlier (probably won’t happen).

Luckily the RD didn’t push me to take a bevy of supplements, as that wouldn’t be me, but she did suggest Omega-3 fish oil, which makes sense for someone who’s a vegetarian and over 50 (which I may or may not be)! Because I’m very picky, I went with the softgels from Pure Matters, a company that puts it right out there in their mission statement: “Our bodies and lives are the product of what we put into them. Our goal is to be the most transparent and holistic source for wellness and performance available.”

Omega-3 is good for your Heart. So are Tomatoes.

Whenever I remember that my body and life reflect my choices, it’s fairly easy to walk away from poor foods.

I wrote this post to encourage all of you to stay on top of your health. Get your blood checked. Move your carcass. Eat foods that are friendly to your body. Take supplements as needed. And be kind to those idiots who drive under the speed limit on a one-lane mountain pass when you’re late to work. Yeah, still working on that one…

Speaking of winners (me and you), have you entered our giveaway yet for a free one-year membership to Anytime Fitness? The deadline is 17 January, so get your entries in!

I was not compensated for this post. I was provided with the Omega-3 fish oil tablets from Pure Matters at no cost. All opinions, blood, stress and youthfulness are entirely my own!

You can get even more great health and movement tips by subscribing to our YouTube channel and blog. Please also follow us on Twitter: AlexandraFunFit and KymberlyFunFit and Instagram: KymberlyFunFit and AlexandraFunFit. Click now on the icons above or below. We make it easy to share, subscribe and have fun exercising!

Photo credits: CreativeCommons.org: Debs (ò?ó)? (tomato heart)

It’s National Women’s Health Week, so this post is all about women and how humor can affect their health. Since I’m a woman (so is Kymberly, but she’s out of town, although I don’t believe leaving town changes her gender), I’m going to talk about myself since it’s my second-favorite topic (My #1 topic is somewhere near the end of this post. Guess ya gotta keep reading).

We were once asked (really? just once?) if we were aware our jokes are corny. And prior to an interview the other day we were sent this potential interview question: “Your writing style is quite casual and humorous. Do you feel this unique approach resonates with your readers? Are you ever concerned it could affect your credibility?”

My answers are “sort of”, “maybe” and “it depends”. Growing up as a red-headed, freckled, smart, four-eyes (this term I’ve never quite understood – how can my glasses have eyes?), nail-biting, socially unconfident, flat-chested twin (am I missing anything here?), it didn’t take me past the first nap of kindergarten to realize that humor was the only thing that could save me (and getting cleavage and contact lenses as a teen). Since research has shown that humor can help with:

• Bonding with friends and family
• Reinforcement of group identity and cohesiveness
• Increased friendliness and altruism
• Increased attractiveness to others
• Happier marriages and close relationships

I figure I’m okay with corny, since it makes us all cohesive, and that’s the sticky tape that holds us all together.

As to the casual, credibility question, I guess I think you don’t have to be serious to be taken seriously. After more than 25 years as fitness writers, speakers, presenters, teachers, mentors and even award-winners, we hope people will see value in what we write. Even if that doesn’t happen, we still made you healthier if you laughed at stuff like this:

Getting on My Chobani Face

Don't YOU miss the 90s?

Thong-tards & Reeboks

Yeah, I’m a Healthy Hottie! I’m going to live a long time. I’ve already achieved my dream – embarrassing the heck out of my teens just by existing (and talking about my 80s and 90s workout wear). And while I’m living longer, it will be with less stress, more relaxation, zapped up dopamine and endorphins, and less pain.

Okay, did any of you ever see the movie “The In-Laws” with Alan Arkin and Peter Falk? The year that movie came out I had 4 wisdom teeth pulled. When I was coming out of the anesthesia, I got off my recovery bed, wandered into the operating room, asked where the party was, then went outside and tried to re-enact the “serpentine” maneuver. It’s here for your reference:

Click here to view the embedded video.

I believe I was captured and returned to the recovery room by my mom, who laughed her ass off. Was it a humorous outlook that made my brain override the pain of the surgery? What else could it have been, hmm?

For the record, I was wearing regular clothes, not an open gown. That was probably best, since my re-enactment was in a public parking lot. Also for the record, my #1 favorite topic is Clive Owen. Or Colin Firth. Or my kids. Depends on a variety of hormonal factors; theirs and mine!

Humor also has cognitive and emotional benefits, which I interpret to mean that if I have writer’s block on a post such as this, I can just grin away and inspiration and creativity will come to me. Or I’ll just bite my nails for a while. Oh, even if you’re not feeling overly joyful, pasting a fake smile on actually tricks your brain, so you get some health benefits anyway. I’ll wait while you try it.
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Did it work?

This post is part of a bloggers’ challenge. If you want to participate, just write a post between May 13-19 about a women’s health issue that is meaningful to you, then click on the picture below to link it up. Please feel free to leave your link in our comment section below too!

And smile! Or frown and stand on your head. Either way you’ll get healthier! And you do know that exercise makes you happier, right?

What makes you laugh out loud? Smile quietly to yourself?

Hi Fun and Fit:  I was hoping you could give me a place to start. I have not really exercised in 7 years (since I have been married) and I have put on A LOT of weight (probably over 100 pounds). I really need to get it off as I was told I am pre pre-diabetic. My doctor said I have time to change this course and I want to. I joined the YMCA and plan on starting a Zumba class because I love to dance.

Dancing is Fun.

Do you have any recommendations on anything I should purchase to help me? I keep seeing Emily wearing a wristwatch type thing  (in her blog, Family & Life in Las Vegas). Would this be beneficial to have? Also, before I met my husband and while in college I exercised. I remember I never had a time limit goal but I placed a calorie burn goal. Should I go back to doing that? It probably has really been 10 years since I started a workout routine and back then I hired a trainer but I don’t have that in our budget. Any advice would help. Thanks for any help you can give me  Cassie, Fenton, MO

Kymberly: Great questions! Do the activities you enjoy as those are the ones you will stick with. The main equipment I suggest is the right pair of shoes. Get what’s comfortable, workout-specific, and durable. The most expensive shoes are usually over-engineered. We are not fans of the rocker type shoes for indoor workouts. For now, do not worry about the heart rate monitor (what you saw Emily wearing in her posts).

Exercise Shoes - For Running....Away

My approach for beginning exercisers has always been to simply get out there and exercise as often as you can, as long as you can, as hard as you can. I am not big on counting burned calories since getting consistent, reliable feedback can be frustrating and demotivating when starting out. Nor do I necessarily suggest a time limit unless it’s for short bursts–pushing yourself hard for X seconds or minutes. More important at this stage is to create workout habits.

Alexandra: Since you already know you enjoy dancing, and you’ve found a class and joined a gym, I think the only remaining thing to do is make a specific plan. Mark it in your calendar. And list it as an appointment, not a class. People tend to keep appointments!
We wish you were in Santa Barbara, as we absolutely LOVE students like you: motivated, great attitude, and wishing to lead a healthy life. Here are our mega-amazing tips, and we hope you write them down:

• Find movement you enjoy
• Do a little more than the day before
• Don’t compare yourself to anyone, including your “former” self
• Be realistic and work toward your goal in increments
• Keep in contact with your doctor
• Be a tortoise, not a hare. It took 7 years to put the weight on so if it takes 3 years to lose it, you’re still ahead.

Pace Yourself

I could make a long list and frighten the hoo-ha out of you, but that about covers it. Of course, the unspoken question is your food intake. You will probably want to assess that too: what type of food and how much are you eating?

Kymberly: Experience compels us to say that the fewer RULES, REQUIREMENTS, and “SHOULDS” that you place between you and working out, the happier and more successful you will be in reaching your goals. Just move, move more, move a lot. Then come back for more fine-tuning advice.

We hope some of our previous posts will be helpful:

All Sizes Welcome
Be Your Body’s Best Friend
The “Best” Cardio Workout
Alexandra: Once you’ve established a routine for your dance/ cardio class, consider adding strength training. You’ll lose weight faster that way. If that advice sounds overwhelming, come back to this part later.

Hope this all helps. Keep us posted on your progress. Or move to Santa Barbara and take our classes!

Readers Who Have Been Where Cassie Is: What is your advice?

Photo credits: Creative Commons: Belly Dancing-davegolden, Teeth Shoes-Johansmith6814, Tortoise & Hare- Madmagz’ pictures