Healthy Stampeding!

Ten Health Tips to Ten Days of the Calgary Stampede!

 

Stampede is almost here!  Ten days of kicking up your boots!  Unfortunately it can also be the time of year that healthy eating and fitness goes out the window.  We have compiled some great tips to help you get through this season without hurting your health or losing sight of your goals along the way. 

1. Bring your own food or snacks to the grounds!  Having your own prepped meals is helpful year round but the grounds can be temptation to go way off your plan.  Snacks such as fresh vegetables and fruits can help you stay satisfied and adding in your protein and carbohydrates will keep your hunger abated.
2. Research healthy places to eat on the grounds.  Lately they have brought in some great healthy vendors to the Stampede so you do have options.   It’s not all deep fried foods there anymore!  There are gluten free options as well as fresh foods such as sushi, wraps and chicken that you can choose from.  Do your research and go prepared and know ahead of time what you will purchase.
3. Plan what you will eat and when!  All those deep fried foods can really derail your whole day so if you do plan to indulge make it a planned indulgence.  Plan how much you will have and plan the times so that you won’t get to a point where you grab anything in sight and end up with a stomach ache.   
4. Walk around!  Go explore all the exhibits and wonderful things to see instead of staying in one place.  You can burn off a lot of calories by just walking around for a full day so make the best of it. 
5. With that in mind go try line dancing!  Dancing can be one of the best fat burners out there and yeehaw what fun!  If line dancing is not your thing there are hip hop and pop options.  Whatever you love, they have. 
6. Bring a bottle of water with you!  Water in itself can help with food cravings because we don’t often realize we are dehydrated.  Dehydration can come across as hunger pains.  Also this helps when it’s an especially hot day and you start to find your energy depleting. 
7. Workout in the morning before you go to the grounds!  To avoid getting your workout plans way off track get it done in the mornings.  Your muscles will be prepped and ready to burn off fat all day! 
8. Prepare the week before!  If you do plan to indulge be prepared beforehand by upping your cardio and weight-training the week before.  Burn off calories and go into it leaner so you don’t find you put on excess weight by the end of the Stampede.  This is also a great thing to keep doing throughout the ten days to keep you on track. 
9. Everything in moderation!  Drinking especially!  The worst offender of over-indulgence is alcoholic beverages.  They can have hidden calories and needless to say alcohol is not the healthiest choice to our systems.  Try to avoid high calorie beers or sugar bombed juices mixed in.  Moderation means knowing when enough is enough. 
10. Remember that one day at Stampede is not likely to completely derail your healthy lifestyle!  When it becomes more than one day it can be detrimental.  Keep in mind that you can enjoy the day however you choose just make sure you choose to come back to those healthy habits as soon as you possibly can! 

Happy Stampeding Cowgirls and Cowboys!

Written by: Lara Schamotta 

The 5 Chiropractic Back Saving Tips for Spring Cleaning

By: The Canadian Chiropractic Association

Have you ever stared down your list of household chores and wish you had a magic wand? Not very many people seem to like cleaning the house; however, it is one of life’s necessities. The mundane nature of chores aside, some household activities require a great deal of bending, reaching and twisting that may increase the risk of musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries. Here are some tips to help you avoid injury while making your home sparkle.

1. Warm up

As an avid reader of our blog, you are well aware of the importance of warming-up the body before engaging in any type of physical activity. Preparing the body by taking a walk around the house or doing simple stretches can help prevent injury. The Resource section of the CCA website has a number of stretching ideas, or you can simply download Straighten Up Canada for a quick and easy routine.

2. Divide heavy loads

Laundry can feel never ending, and it might be tempting to do it all at once! But, it may be prudent to divide loads in smaller, more manageable piles to minimize the risk of injury. The same applies to carrying groceries from the store or car to the house. If you don’t drive, consider investing in a cart or trundle buggy rather than carrying heavy bags.

3. A little becomes a lot

Do you save chores for your day off and ambitiously power through your list? It may be sensible to make a weekly list and break it down to daily goals. Investing as little as 30 minutes every day to your household to accomplish a few tasks can decrease your stress and risk of injury or fatigue. You might be surprised at how much you get done in a small amount of time each day, and have more time on the weekend for fun activities with family and friends.

4. Maintain proper posture

Certain chores in particular can increase your likelihood of injury. For example, vacuuming and mopping the floors tends to encourage excessive bending, reaching and twisting. Rather than stretching out your arms and bending at the waist to do the job, hold the vacuum or mop handle close to your body and walk back and forth with it. Avoid excessive twisting and keep a relaxed, neutral spine while performing these activities.

5. Switch hands

Wherever possible, use both sides of your body (i.e. hands, arms) to complete your chores to avoid unwanted strain to your shoulders, neck and even back. While we don’t suggest chopping vegetables with your non-dominant hand, you might try cleaning the bathroom tiles or washing dishes by switching hands.

Please click the logo (above) to learn more about our Doctors of Chiropractic!

The Top 6 Running Injuries Seen By Physiotherapists

By: Leanne Loranger, PT

For many Canadians running is the leisure activity of choice. With the warmer weather, many people move their exercise programs outside. Some may even participate in weekend fun runs, fundraising races, and more serious running competitions and marathons. But even if you are running inside, on a treadmill, all that running comes with the risk of injury.

Running injuries often affect the legs, knees and feet.

Legs

1. Shin Splints (Tibial Stress Syndrome)
Inflammation of the muscles at the front of the leg, between the knee and the ankle. Shin splints can be the result of several issues. Among runners, shin splints are thought to be caused by overuse, running on hard surfaces or on hills and poor foot and ankle control that leads to over-pronation when running (excessive inward ankle rotation).2

Knees

2. Front of the knee (Patello-Femoral Syndrome)
Pain at the front of the knee, often caused by a combination of changes in the cartilage lining on the back of the knee cap (patella), pressure between the knee cap and the thigh bone (femur), or misalignment between the knee cap and the thigh bone.1  

3. Outside of the knee (Iliotibial Band Syndrome)
Pain on the outside of the knee caused by friction between the bones of the knee joint and the thick ligament on the side of the thigh (Iliotibial band). Thought to be made worse by weakness of the hip muscles as well as running downhill and running excessive distances in a week.4

4. Knee joint (Meniscal Injuries)
Although more common with sports that involve twisting motions through the knee (such as football or soccer) than with running alone, meniscal problems can be the result of repeated small injuries that lead to the breakdown of the cartilage lining of the knee joint which in turn causes inflammation.5 Although often not caused by running, meniscal injuries can be made worse by running, especially running excessive distances in a week.

Feet

5. Heel pain (Plantar Fasciitis)
Heel pain that is caused by repetitive minor trauma to the thick ligament on the bottom of the foot that supports the foot’s natural arch. Excessive weight, weakness of the small muscles of the foot that support the arch, poor footwear, running and especially a sudden increase in running distance/intensity are all thought to contribute to plantar fasciitis.3

6. Ankles (Achilles Tendinopathy)
Inflammation of the thick tendon at the back of the ankle. The Achilles tendon is the attachment for the muscles that help you to push off when running, walking and climbing stairs. Repeated minor trauma to the tendon that doesn’t heal properly can lead to inflammation, pain and stiffness.6

As you can see, many of these injuries are either thought to be directly caused by or are made worse by overuse, especially unfamiliar overuse (for example when you set out to run a marathon by well, running a marathon rather than gradually working up to that distance). This results in injury and inflammation.

How to prevent running injuries

Take a break!
Often runners are reluctant to seek treatment,7 perhaps because they don’t want to be told to put their training on hold, however that is exactly what needs to happen in order to fully recover from the injury.

Listen to your body.
Some authors have suggested that more experienced runners are less likely to suffer an injury because they are more likely to pay attention to their bodies7 and because they have built up their ability to run over time.

Check your shoes.
There are many schools of thought on the subject of which type of shoe is best for running and remarkably little evidence to support a specific recommendation. Anecdotal evidence does however seem to suggest that if you are struggling with a running injury, it might be time to replace your old running shoes.8

Increase your distance over time.
An increase in the distance run in a week seems to be associated with an increased risk of injury. When increasing your distance, good practice is to do so gradually and to be cautious about how many consecutive days you spend running.7,8

Cross Train
Maintaining flexibility and strength will help to prevent injury by maintaining a balance between muscles used for running and their counteracting muscles. When injured or on off-days some activities to consider include: cycling, swimming, water jogging and cross country skiing as well as weight training. Not all of these activities will be appropriate for every injury, for example cycling may aggravate an Iliotibial Band Syndrome.4 Your physiotherapist will be able to give you specific advice about what activities will allow you to be active without aggravating your injury.

How physiotherapy can help:

• Provide advice on exercise and stretching.
• Help address muscle strain and imbalance.
• Apply anti-inflammatory modalities such as ice or ultrasound.
• Provide advice for your return to running including recommendations about footwear and other supports.
• Provide advice for home management of the condition, both during the acute phase and to help prevent future injury.

Please click the above logo to learn more about our Physiotherapists today!

Incredible Mom Transformation! Leslie V!

 

 

 

Down 45lbs since July!  

"When I joined Endurance on 8^th early 2012 I was on an endless mental/emotional treadmill – thinking of where I wanted to be in terms of my health, my weight and my level of fitness.  I was wishing for change but not making real commitment to it; disappointed when I didn’t make any progress even though I didn’t change any of my behaviors!  I did my first FitCamp with Sam Medina and was very sore for an entire week.  But I went back and that was the start of my journey.  

I’m very grateful for Endurance on 8^th for the comprehensive training they offer.  It was the combination of workouts, nutrition tips and tools, accountability and check-ins with coaches, and the goal setting that have helped me to reach my goals…over 40lb weight loss since July (and nearly 70lbs down in total since my heaviest after having my son).  Huge praise and thanks to Dr. Kevin Ashby, Dr. Wendy Carvalho Ashby, Lani Pickering, Irfan Jessa and Lara Schamotta for getting me organized and into ship shape! 
 
This comprehensive program was the key to my success.  For as long as I can remember I always put things off or gave up half way through...this time there was no stopping me.  I committed to myself and my goals and I DID IT!
 
Watch out world…I’m just getting started now!"

By Leslie Velazquez

Spring Sugar Cleanse!

It’s time to clean house!!  By house I mean your body with a sugar free cleanse.  We will begin on Monday June 1^st and go until June 30th!  This cleanse entails taking out all processed sugars in your diet as well as any substitutes.  We are overloaded with processed sugars in our daily lives so this cleanse will give you a way to learn where the dangers are and how to teach your body to deal without its sugar fix.  Processed sugar can be extremely damaging to your health so it’s time to learn how it feels to be clean of it!  This cleanse is about learning where to look for bad sugars in your foods and finding a balance in your body.  You will feel full of natural energy by the end of this! 

The parameters to the cleanse are as follows:

-Like the page Endurance on 8^th Health Centre on Facebook and follow us on Instagram under “Endurance8health." 

-Check into Endurance on 8^th Health Centre on Facebook here  or comment on our Instagram posts.  Do this daily to keep yourself accountable and get the support of your friends!  To do this go to your status daily and simply write which day you are on and tag "@Endurance on 8^th Heath Centre".  It pops up if you’ve liked the page already.

-Absolutely no processed sugars (look for added sugars on all your foods and only have ones that have zero added). 

- Only natural sugars are allowed.  Fruit and natural sugars are allowed and encouraged.  They will help you with any cravings.  Fructose is the one you are avoiding but also try to choose low glycemic index foods instead of high glucose contents.  

-No substitute sugars are allowed.  All of these have more chemicals and are technically no better than processed sugar for you.  We will allow Stevia but only if you truly need it.  This is the only substitute sugar that has not been studied yet to prove or disprove any dangers. 

-Look out for added sugar in your dairy and remember anything over 4.7g to 100g of product is added sugar.  Anything under that is naturally occurring sugar and is fine. 

-Make sure to have a preparation day before you go cold turkey!  This means that you slowly decrease your sugar intake leading up to Monday June 1^st so the withdrawal symptoms don’t hit so hard that you have a relapse or binge. 

-This is NOT a weight-loss challenge.  If you are someone who checks your weight constantly put that scale away!  You may weigh yourself the day before June 1^st and not until after June 30^th.  Focusing on your weight can be discouraging and this cleanse is all about how great you will feel and the energy it provides! 

Do this for the performance of your healthy body!  

-Written by Lara Schamotta