January 27

12:43 pm

Friday Fitness: Work-OUT!

As many of you know, I generally do not watch much television. However, this past Tuesday evening, as I prepared to sit down early in efforts to watch The State of the Union Address on NBC, The Biggest Loser was on. This episode particulary caught my attention because one team (the “black team”) had been denied access to the gym. Particpants on the black team displayed a demoralizing distrust. The idea that they would be able to lose comparative weight at the next weigh in was daunting. The black team despartly feared the red team had a much greater advantage: the GYM.

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by Lisette Volz

January 26

4:36 pm

2 Comments

The Problem with Inspiration

Beware: this blog is going to start with me whining.

I don’t want to write a blog. I’m uninspired. Why do I have to do this? I don’t have time to come up with pearls of wisdom in between lectures, lecture development, consults and consult follow-ups. What am I, Andy Rooney? Blah, Blah, Blah. (Mr. Moore, if you are reading this, please read a little further before deciding whether or not to fire me).

The key word in my whine-fest above is uninspired. Being uninspired is a frequent fact of life. That is why the Tony Robbins and Dale Carnegies of this world have made such a good living. People will happily pay for inspiration and motivation. In fact, if there were a pill I could take that would keep me inspired or motivated, I wouldn’t hesitate to fill that prescription (even if the side effects included an eye twitch and skin irritation).

Since there is no such pill, I put my “big girl panties on” and pulled out some familiar tools that help ignite my inspiration. One of my favorite tools is the simplest of all – reading. I have a plethora of inspirational books on topics ranging from fear, spiritual enlightenment, gratitude, parenting, and emotional insight, just to name a few. They sit by my bed, pile up at my office and sometimes travel with me in the car (not to worry, I rarely drive and read at the same time). I don’t judge myself for not reading them all at once, or all the way through. I have found that just when I decide to pick one up, even if it’s for the briefest of reads, I always hear something that I was meant to hear. In this case – the case of the uninspired bellyaching, I picked up a book about imagining your life without fear. BINGO –inspiration!

My heart started racing as words jumped from the pages, entering my bloodstream with all the stimulation of a cup of espresso followed by a Red Bull. Being Fearless is exactly what I needed to hear. But alas, the very definition of a blog is a “brief diary-like entry on the internet.” I’ve moved way past brief, so my enlightenment about fear will have to wait until my next blog. (A cliff-hanger of sorts).

The point of all this? Inspiration doesn’t just descend on you when needed. It’s not like the proverbial “light bulb going off.” There’s not one switch that turns it on. Inspiration takes work. It takes effort. However, the payoff is amazing. It ignites passion, creates forward movement, and feeds the body, mind and spirit all at once. YUM!

What are your tools for inspiration? Make a list right now of strategies and tools that you use for inspiration to workout, eat right, and stay emotionally healthy. Do they include reading inspiring articles and books? Journaling or connecting with like-minded, goal oriented individuals? How about surfing the internet for new information on your passion (have you discovered Ted.com yet)? Do you collect a list of favorite mantras or moving quotes? Do you keep a list of your achievements readily available as a reminder of how far you’ve travelled on this fantastic journey?

What will you do to stay inspired today? Just waking up doesn’t count. Just going into work doesn’t count. Just working out doesn’t count. Go deeper. Go bolder. Make the effort — Because finding inspiration makes the journey much more interesting and worthwhile.

P.S. Mr. Moore, thank you for making me write this blog. I am grateful to have a career where cultivating inspiration is part of my job description.

by Alicea Glover

January 25

4:39 pm

1 Comment

Super Bowl Ready – H3 Game Day Receipes

The big game is coming up and we want to know if you’re Super Bowl ready?! Did you know Super Bowl Sunday is the second largest day of food consumption behind Thanksgiving? Enjoy the game and all your favorite football treats with this Super Bowl spread of healthy game day recipes!

BUFFALO CHICKEN TENDERS

INGREDIENTS:

4 (4 ounce) Chicken breast, boneless, skinless, trimmed and defatted, cut into strips or chicken tenderloins

¾ cup Corn starch

¾ cup Egg whites, or egg beaters

¾ cup Whole wheat flour

½ teaspoon Onion powder

½ teaspoon Salt

¼ teaspoon Garlic powder

2 cups Frank’s red hot sauce, or your favorite hot sauce

4 stalks Celery, cleaned, trimmed, cut into sticks (Optional)

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 375°F
Spray baking sheet lightly with pan spray.
Prepare chicken breasts, or tenders, as directed above.
In three separate bowls (medium size), place corn starch, egg beaters, and wheat flour in each of their own bowls.
Season the wheat flour with the onion powder, salt, and garlic powder.
Dip the chicken tenders in the corn starch first, shake off excess.
Next, dip corn starch breaded chicken tenders in the egg beaters.
Finally, dip the corn and egg beater breaded chicken tenders in the whole wheat seasoned flour and shake off excess flour.
Place on baking sheet.
Bake in oven for about 12-15 minutes.
Then warm hot sauce in sauté pan or microwave.
Toss fully cooked breaded chicken tenders in the hot sauce and toss until evenly coated with sauce.
Serve with H3 Ranch or H3 Bleu Cheese Dressing and a few celery sticks.

*Chef’s Note: These chicken tenders can be tossed with sweet and sour sauce, bang bang sauce or even barbeque sauce.

Number of Servings: 4
Serving Size: 4 tenders
Calories: 200
Fat: 0

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by Jessica Lynn

January 24

2:32 pm

No Comments

Focus

These days, mornings are definitely a challenge. Hala, soon to be 3, is a little “slow-moving”, to put it nicely. Whether it is changing her mind about what she wants to wear, resisting brushing her teeth, wanting breakfast before getting dressed or simply just not wanting to do anything just yet… she finds a way to stall. Her knew favorite word (which she can clearly say, but we’re still working on learning the meaning of) is “focus”. Whether it’s a toy that’s out of place, a question she recalls from the previous night (“What’d you have for dinner last night, Mama?”), or something her little sister is doing – her world is full of distractions.

Life can be full of distractions, can’t it? It is so easy to be pulled into conversation, “play” with the newest technology revelation, entertain that mind game in our heads encouraging procrastination, or wallow in feelings caused by a previous situation for far longer than anticipated. Much of our time can be wasted on these unnecessary side turns.

Just think, what if each and every moment of your day was filled with purpose? Don’t get me wrong… “down time” or “play time” can certainly be purposeful, so this wouldn’t be a life without relaxation or fun! How accomplished would you feel? How content? The only moments we are guaranteed are the ones we are living right now. So how can we strive, then, to focus on each moment with purpose?

Start each day with a mental review of your life vision and what you hope to accomplish for the day. A glass full of optimism wouldn’t hurt either.
Practice mindfulness exercises so that you can start each task with a clear and open mind. Be present in the moment. Don’t spend your time worrying on what lies ahead, or gravel in the past. The past is gone, now is here.
Establish a schedule that works with your daily energy flow. Assign “brain tasks” when you feel alert and focused, and plan your physical activity to give oxygen to the brain and stimulate its activity.
Anticipate the need for change. Four years ago my focus was directed mainly on my career, creating a retirement fund, things of that nature… Now, I find myself researching preschools and contributing to 529 plans. Identifying the need to change focus is different than losing focus – they should not be confused.

Take a moment to reflect on the past 5 years and look forward to the next 5… what’s different for you? What can you do today to help you focus on where you want to be five years from now?

Quote from Disney’s “Princess and the Frog”… a bit of advice from Tiana’s father:

Tiana:

Charlotte’s faity tale book said,

if you make a wish on evening star

it shoulda come true.

Tiana’s Daddy:

Hmmh, won’t you wish on that star, sweetheart?

- Yes, you wish and you dream with all your little heart.

But you remember dear Anawet,

that old star can only take you part of a way.

You got to help him with some hard work of your own.

And then…

Yeah you can do anything

you said you mind to.

Just promise your Daddy one thing?

That you’ll never, ever lose sign

what is really important.

from The Princess and The Frog

by Karla Williams

January 23

5:10 pm

5 Comments

shrimp quesadillas H3 Recipe: Squash Quesadillas

pictured Shrimp Quesadillas

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Zucchini, grated

1/4 cup Red onion, minced

1 tablespoon Parsley, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon Cumin, ground

1 teaspoon Tabasco

1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese

1 Each Whole wheat flour tortilla

PREPARATION:

In a food processor grate zucchini.
Place red onions and parsley into the food processor to mince.
Pour zucchini, onions and parsley into a strainer allowing the excess liquid to drain.
Once drained, pour mixture into a bowl, add cumin, Tabasco and cheese—combine well.
Lightly spray one side of the flour tortilla and place oiled side down onto a medium hot skillet.
Spread 1 cup of zucchini mixture onto 1/2 of the tortilla and fold the other half of the tortilla over the zucchini mixture.
Cook tortilla on the first side until it is golden brown then flip to the other side and cook until it has also browned.
When finished browning, place quesadilla on a cutting board and cut into 4 wedges.

*Chef’s Note: Serve with 1/4 cup black bean salsa, 1/2 cup Mexican slaw, or salsa. You may also add your protein of choice, such as chicken or shrimp, but this will slightly change the nutrition information. (Shrimp Quesadilla pictured) Enjoy!

Yield: 2 servings

Nutritional info:

Calories: 200

Fat: 3 grams

by Jeff Ford

January 22

5:55 pm

7 Comments

Coaching Corner: You Control Courage

When you get into a funk it can be very difficult to get out. We start to look at things we’re not doing right and tend to minimize the pursuits that we’re exceeding expectations at. We’ve all been there, where you catch yourself saying things like “Oh if I had only done this, or man if I had done it that way it would have all turned out.” If this hasn’t happened to you, you’re lying to yourself.

I know in my heart I’m guilty of this at times. Even over the course of a day. If you’re a person who expects nothing but 110 percent out of yourself expect this to happen. In fact what I am telling you today, anticipate it. All of you out there making behavior changes this thinking is typically inevitable if you’re stretching the status quo. The question is how do we shift the thinking?

I like to call this thinking the “un-controllable” blame game. When we start to go back in the past and get bummed out about things that have happened or didn’t happen, we start playing a game that allows for no winners. We begin analyzing outcomes and situations that are no longer controllable. We may even go so far as to let this effect our present.

As the simplest suggestion today, we have to have courage to look at only what we control. We can’t control the outside environment (or its terrible fast food restaurants), we can’t control how our friends act; we can’t solve someone else’s problems. We can only control ourselves.

I am a big believer in these two statements #1 We alone control our own happiness, If you want to change something, change it. #2 Whether you think you can or think you can’t your probably right. (At times, I’ve even go so far to believe that if you think you’re going to get a common cold you probably will … anybody been there?)

Takeaway from today: Don’t let yourself get into this unwinnable game. Re-focus your energy on the things you can do today and the things you can control in the future.

Fortunately enough, I am lucky enough to have a guest back this week (for a whole month) who gave me the courage to find this perspective. I wear a bracelet that she gave me on my right hand and look at it when it becomes necessary. It has symbol on it that means courage. My take: I need to have courage in my life to focus on the present, courage to succeed, but more importantly courage to fail and become stronger.

by Amy Kelderhouse

January 20

5:14 pm

No Comments

Friday Fitness: Double Up

We know the benefits of strength training but who wants to spend all day in the gym?! A great way to be efficient with your time—and challenge your strength routine—is to double up and combine exercises. By performing exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once we are cutting down on the number of exercises in our routine, but are also challenging ourselves with a more intense movement. Try out a few of these exercises below and make the most of your time in the gym!

Side Lung with Bicep Curl

Begin standing with feet shoulder width apart, weight in your right hand. Lung to the side with your left leg, then curl your right arm up toward your right shoulder. Lower your arm back down and come back to standing position. Perform 10-20 repetitions on this side and then switch weight to left hand for 2 sets.

Russian Twist with Shoulder Press

Sit on ground with back straight holding weight or medicine ball in from of body. Twist upper body down toward one side. Twist back up to starting position and press the weight straight up above head. Lower weight down then twist to the opposite side. This is one rep, perform 12 reps, 2 sets.

Plank with Row

Begin with weights on the ground right under the shoulders. Feet extended out into a plank position, body is in a straight line. Row right arm holding the weight back, bringing your elbow up and then lower back into the plank position. Perform the same movement with the left arm. This is one rep, do 10 reps for 2 sets.

Deadlift to High Pull

Begin with feet shoulder width apart weights in front of legs. With a flat back lower arms down until weights are to the mid shin. Rise back up to starting position. With arms in the same position pull the weights up to the chest, bringing elbows out. Lower back down to starting position, this is one rep. Perform 12 reps, 2 sets.

Incline Press with Reverse Crunch

Lie on back with weights at the chest and feet extended up into the air. Keeping the hips down, rise up into a crunch and press the weights up. Lower back down the starting position. Then using the core, lift the hips up off the ground for a reverse crunch. Lower back down, this is one rep. Perform 12 reps, 2 sets.

Follow Hilton Head Health on Pinterest to view pictures of each exercise!

by Bob Wright

January 19

1:26 pm

8 Comments

anna leigh Habits of Successful Weight Managers: A Triggering Event

My granddaughter, Anna Leigh

A triggering event is an event, situation, or may even be a comment that makes you think about something differently. The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), a study that I refer to often, has been collecting data for the past 15 years about the habits and characteristics of those who have been successful at losing a lot of weight (50 – 70 lbs.), and kept it off for a long time (5 – 7 years). They found that a number of the people in their database had what they referred to as a “triggering event”, an event that made them think about their weight in a different way and made managing their weight, or getting healthy more important to them than it had been before. The triggering event could have been a bad medical report, seeing their reflection in store window or mirror from an angle they hadn’t seen before, being unable to do something because of their weight, seeing a close friend or family member have a serious health problem or anything that made losing and maintaining their weight more important to them than before this event.

One of my favorite examples of this from the NWCR was a young, single father of a 4-year-old daughter. The daughter had some friends over and they were playing and talking and the father over heard one of his daughter’s friends say “your daddy is really nice, but he sure is fat.” While he knew he was overweight, he had never heard anyone say it so bluntly—and he said to himself at that moment, she is right, I am fat, and I am the single father of a 4-year-old daughter. That day he hired a personal trainer, joined weight watchers and now many years later, he is fitter, leaner and much healthier than before. While he always knew he should do something about his weight, it took that comment to motivate him to act.

I had what I consider to be a triggering event on Wednesday January 11, at 12:58 pm. Anna Leigh Fraser came into the world and changed my world forever. Yes, I am now a grandfather (papa) to a healthy baby girl. I am a pretty healthy guy, who has lived a pretty healthy lifestyle, but things are different now. I am already finding myself thinking, I want to be there when she graduates, gets married and has kids herself ( I literally just shed a tear, I am not making this up). I have been a grandfather for about a week and I am already looking ahead to being a great grandparent. So as important as health has always been to me, it’s much more important now. As much as I try to practice what we preach, I have to be a better practitioner. You might have heard me say one of my favorite quotes, “habits are caught not taught,” now I have someone else to “catch” my habits. My favorite phrase,” unwise, better, best,” has new meaning to me. The point is, the stakes have changed, and they changed the minute is saw her for the first time. I know I will be more conscious of my health because of her.

It is important to point out that not all of the successful weight managers in the NWCR had a triggering event—in fact, most didn’t. Having a triggering event is not a requirement for or a prerequisite for success, nor does it make it any easier to succeed. But it does provide a rallying point; helps focus your attention, put perspective on why it’s important to keep working toward and achieving your health goals. If you have had such an event, use it to keep you focused. If you haven’t had one, don’t wait for it—look for other sources of motivation and inspiration; but be on the lookout, you never know when that potentially life changing triggering event will occur.

by Alicea Glover

January 18

4:45 pm

No Comments

Life: In the blink of an eye

As someone who tries to be conscious of my eating and lifestyle habits, I often think about how the little things can lead to big change. Putting that same thought process on the concept of life, however, had me thinking. When was the last time you sat down to think about how one small action can vastly impact your life or someone else’s? Check out this infographic from Medical Billing and Coding. Not only did it make me want to be more mindful of all my actions but it also made me thoughfully reflect on my priorities.

Via: MedicalBillingAndCoding.org

by Adam Martin

January 17

4:57 pm

1 Comment

Vitamin D: Too much of a good thing?

New research is emerging that lends credence to limiting your Vitamin D intake to no more than 4,000 IU per day

I was shopping for a vitamin D supplement this past weekend and noticed that there was three options; 2,000, 5,000 or 10,000 IU per capsule. My economic mind reasoned that 400 capsules of 10,000 IU seemed to be the best deal. The directions on the back say to take 1 capsule daily with food. I was a bit concerned that 10,000 IU a day might exceed the upper limit.

Then, today I was given this article by Bob Wright. The study, conducted at the John Hopkins University School of Medicine, showed that in people whose vitamin D levels rose beyond normal had a greater risk for heart problems. Thus, it is important that you speak with a physician about your vitamin D levels so that you can be properly advised. Because, as study leader Dr. Muhammad Amer says, “at some point it can be too much of a good thing.”

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