Category Fit Attitudes

Sit Up Straight!

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

If you have a tendency to slouch in your seat, you need to pay attention! Poor posture has detrimental effects not only on the body, but also on one’s mood and general attitude.

Poor posture causes muscles in our neck and upper back to become overstretched, while causing other neck muscles and muscles in our torso and between our ribs to become cramped and overstimulated. The muscles in our chest become dominant, and pull our shoulders and upper arms inward and forward when we habitually adopt a stooped posture. This position puts a tremendous load on the diaphragm, and respiration suffers as a result. Even digestion becomes sluggish because the body cannot properly oxygenate and blood cannot circulate as well.

Poor posture can negatively impact your emotional state and confidence, not to mention how others perceive you. If you’re slouching right now, think of how you feel emotionally, mentally. Are you down, depressed? Now sit up straight and take a couple of nice, deep breaths. You should notice an immediate shift in attitude and mood.

Proper spinal alignment also has a positive effect on hormone levels. One Harvard study revealed that an erect posture, with shoulders back and spines nice and straight correlated with a 20 percent increase in testosterone levels and a 25 percent decrease in cortisol levels, while subjects who slouched experienced a 10 percent decrease in circulating testosterone levels and a 15 increase in cortisol.

Lastly, the way you carry yourself has immense bearing on how others perceive you. If you meet someone whose shoulders are pulled forward, your impression may be that the person isn’t the most motivated or energetic you’ve met. Yet if that person had a nice upright stance, with shoulders pulled down and back, your impression would probably be very different.

With some conscious effort, you can correct a hunched posture. Try this stretch at least a couple of times each day, and you will slowly begin to notice a correction in your posture. This is great for resetting the brain and creating more awareness of how you carry your body throughout the day.


AGAINST THE WALL

Stand with your back to a wall, feet together with heels touching wall, and arms hanging at your sides. Relax your shoulders, then pull them back so that they make contact with the wall. Stand in this position for 30 to 60 seconds, taking slow, deep breaths.
When you are ready to step away from the wall, keep your shoulders in the same position. Be aware of how you are breathing, and how your back feels when your shoulders are kept back.

poor-posture

Sponsored Kill Cliff Video on YouTube with Dr. Stacey Naito – Kill The Quit Campaign

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

Check out my video review of Kill Cliff Clean Recovery and Hydration formula!

This video, which is sponsored by Kill Cliff, was made in an effort to introduce people to the brand and also to promote the campaign concept of KILL THE QUIT. This clean recovery and hydration formula is refreshing, delicious, and replenishing, with its blend of electrolytes, vitamins, enzymes, and natural extracts like ginger root, green tea, and ginseng root. It has no artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners. It’s sugar free, gluten free, non GMO, and has only 15-20 calories per can.
Check out the Kill Cliff main campaign video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq79ZViqmHo

Quitting is not an option! KILL THE QUIT.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of KILL CLIFF. The opinions and text are all mine.

*******************************************************************

https://influencers.tapinfluence.com/assets/cogs/core-v4.js var ts=document.getElementById(‘ti-pixel-tracker’); var axel = Math.random() + “”; var num = axel * 1000000000000000000; var ti=document.createElement(“img”); ti.style.display=”none”; ti.src=”https://tracking.tapinfluence.com/trk/nIOOs/IBLNs/p.png?p=s9cM5″ + String.fromCharCode(38) + “i=AWb7N” + String.fromCharCode(38) + “ord=”+ num + String.fromCharCode(38) + “s=” + encodeURIComponent(document.referrer); ts.parentNode.replaceChild(ti,ts); new TAP.CogFrame(‘/v1/cogs/63b03d1a-e3f0-11e6-94bc-22000a66c666/comments’).drop({“program_id”:”79353220-96e9-11e6-a79c-22000a7d00a4″,”post_id”:”cb92a852-e49d-11e6-bb31-22000a66c666″,”host”:”api.tapinfluence.com”,”apiHost”:”api.tapinfluence.com”,”sort_order”:”desc”,”limit”:”20″,”offset”:”0″,”sort_by”:”created_at”,”protocol”:”https://”});

Are Diet Sodas Really That Bad?

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

no-diet-soda

Diet soda is often consumed by people who either want to lose weight, or maintain a normal weight. The ironic thing is that diet sodas actually increase a person’s chances of becoming overweight, by tricking the body into thinking it’s actually consuming sugar, which increases food cravings. A study conducted at the University of Texas discovered that consumption of two or more cans of diet soda daily caused increased waistline girth in subjects studied.

The main reason why diet sodas have damaging effects on the body is because they contain artificial sweeteners. The vast majority of diet sodas on the market contain either aspartame or sucralose. Aspartame has been linked to cognitive decline, mood swings, depression, dizziness and migraines, while sucralose has a negative impact on insulin sensitivity and gut health.

Even just drinking one can of diet soda each day can increase the risk of metabolic syndrome (diabetes, heart disease, and risk for stroke) by close to 40 percent. Diet soda also impairs kidney function. A Harvard study followed 3,000 female subjects who drank diet sodas, and found that those who drank more than two sodas each day had impaired kidney function.

As if that wasn’t enough, diet sodas cause damage at the cellular level, as well as erode tooth enamel. This is due to the very acidic nature of diet soda, which has a pH of 3.2. Chemicals such as sodium benzoate and potassium benzoate are added to inhibit the acidic quality of the soft drink, but these chemicals cause damage in mitochondrial DNA in our cells, and have been linked to numerous allergies and asthma in some subjects.

Lastly, most cans which house diet sodas are coated with bisphenol-A (BPA), which has a strong correlation with development of heart disease and reproductive issues.

If you absolutely can’t give up diet sodas entirely, wean yourself off of them gradually. After you have kicked the daily diet soda habit, you can incorporate a diet soda called Zevia, which does not contain aspartame or sucralose, into your diet.

Why The Gym Is Essential For Me

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

imgl0080-2-1

Though I consider myself blessed to have a full plate, my schedule requires me to move at a frenetic pace every single day, switching gears constantly, and trying to pack as much as I can into each day. My determination, organization and just plain stubbornness usually ensure that every single item on my to-do list gets done, and that certainly includes my workout regimen. I work out five to six days per week, and I also take 1 to 3 aerial classes each week. It’s downright challenging, fitting all of my workouts in, while also attending to my career, family, and personal responsibilities. So why not just abandon the crazy gym schedule? Not a chance!

When I go to the gym, I have a perfect opportunity to recharge my body. I push myself to train harder and heavier with each day, and I love getting to that point where I may question whether I have the energy or strength to complete the entire routine (I always do though). The time I spend in the gym is my personal time, ME time, and allows me to take care of myself without worrying about anyone or anything else in my life during that small pocket of time. It’s like putting the oxygen mask on myself to ensure that I will be able to help others. My daily workouts keep me on a consistent schedule and provide structure to my day.

Another wonderful benefit of training as hard as I do is that I get to beat the aging process. Instead of wishing for a magic pill to keep me young, I rely on regular exercise to do the job. One of the joke statements I often make is that I am aging like a fine wine. What amazes and inspires me is the fact that there are many people in the fitness industry who are doing the very same thing. The population may be aging, but the newer crop of people over 40 who have embraced clean eating and regular resistance training looks better than ever and enjoys better vitality and health than the over 40 crowd from previous decades. It can be quite a guessing game to accurately determine someone’s age by looks alone these days!

Try The Woodchop For Great Abdominal Conditioning

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

WoodchopOne of the most effective abdominal exercises is the woodchop. The woodchop movement is excellent for recruiting the obliques and has always been one of my favorite abdominal moves. This exercise can be performed with a dumbbell, medicine ball, kettlebell or cable pulley and can also be performed in reverse. For ease of explanation, I will describe the regular woodchop movement here, but if you are interested in performing reverse woodchop, your starting position will be at the floor or a low pulley.

– Your starting position will be standing with feet wider than shoulder width apart and toes pointed outwards slightly.
– Holding the weight (or high cable pulley handle) with both hands, rotate your body downwards towards the opposite knee in a diagonal arc. When doing this, your arms will be straight but without locking the elbows. Also, you will be rotating through your torso, keeping arms straight during the movement.
– Return to start.

I recommend 3 to 5 sets of 12 to 15 repetitions.

Why Zinc Is So Important

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

zinc-image

Here is an article which I wrote a few years ago and which still applies to general health:

Zinc is a vital mineral which is found in every tissue in the body due to its involvement in cell division. In the world of fitness and bodybuilding, zinc has a number of roles, including maintenance of normal hormonal levels, proper endocrine function, body composition, energy levels, optimal physical performance and protein synthesis. Thus it is crucial to maintain normal levels of zinc in the body when training or prepping for a competition.

Zinc is highly concentrated in meat, dairy and some seafood. This is why vegetarians most commonly suffer from zinc deficiency. So how can you tell if you suffer from a zinc deficiency? Common symptoms include an altered sense of taste which leads to cravings for sweets and salty foods. Other symptoms of zinc deficiency include low energy, infertility, low libido, memory problems, poor immunity and diarrhea.

A relatively easy way to test yourself to see if you are deficient in zinc is to do a taste test. Take 1 to 2 teaspoons of zinc sulfate (you can get this at health food stores) and add to a cup of water. If it tastes just like water, you are very zinc deficient. If you experience a slightly metallic taste, you are moderately zinc deficient. If it is strongly metallic and unpleasant, you most likely have normal zinc levels. Please bear in mind that this test is never as accurate as a blood test, but at least it will give you an idea of what your levels are.

For those of you who want to know the specific health benefits of zinc, here is a list of benefits.

Enhances Strength and Athletic Performance:

Zinc plays a major role in anabolic hormone production which makes it a key player in optimizing athletic performance and strength. When zinc levels in the body are normal, more growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 is released, which result in enhanced muscle growth and performance. Researchers have also noted that zinc enhances the conversion rate of androstenedione to testosterone, which improve strength gains during the recovery phase.

Enhances Reproductive Health and Fertility in Both Men and Women:

The cells of the male prostate require an extremely high concentration of zinc for proper function. To give you an idea of how much zinc is necessary in the prostate, male prostate tissue requires ten times more zinc than other cells in the body for normal function. There is a correlation between low zinc levels in men and increased risk of developing prostate cancer and infertility. There is also evidence to support the link between low zinc levels and low libido. Another implication with low zinc levels is its importance in maintaining optimal testosterone levels. Men with low zinc also tend to have low testosterone, which puts them at greater risk of andropausal symptoms.

In women, proper levels of zinc are essential for egg maturation and ovulation. Zinc also optimizes utilization of estrogen and progesterone and regulates their levels. During pregnancy, zinc plays a vital role in ensuring proper cell division in the growing fetus and helps to prevent premature delivery.

Essential For Taste, Smell and Appetite:

Zinc activates areas in the brain that process information from taste buds in the mouth and olfactory cells in the nasal passages. In addition, levels of zinc in the plasma influence taste preference and appetite. Many programs which treat anorexics use zinc to revive taste and appetite.

Makes Skin, Hair and Nails Healthy:

Zinc accelerates skin cell renewal which is why it is commonly used in diaper rash creams, acne treatments and creams which are used to treat dermatitis. It has strong anti-inflammatory properties and has a soothing effect on rashes, burns and blisters. Some shampoos contain zinc to help prevent dandruff. What you may not know is that zinc is important for healthy hair and that low zinc levels can cause hair loss, dull and thin hair, and loss of pigmentation.

Essential For Vision:

Zinc is found in high concentrations in the retina, but this level declines with advancing age, precipitating age-related macular degeneration which is characterized by a partial or complete loss of vision. Zinc also has a protective effect against the development of cataracts and night blindness.

Supports Cardiovascular Health:

Zinc is vital to normal cardiovascular function. When levels of zinc are low, the endothelial layer in blood vessels becomes inflamed and accumulates cholesterol deposits, both of which increase one’s risk of heart disease. Low levels of zinc can amplify the negative cardiovascular effects of diets which are high in fat and cholesterol, whereas adequate levels of zinc will inhibit the progression of heart disease.

Increases Insulin Sensitivity:

The presence of zinc is essential for normal function of most hormones, including insulin. Zinc binds to insulin and aids in storage in the pancreas as well as release of insulin in the presence of serum glucose. In addition, zinc is found in the enzymes which enable insulin to bind to cells so that glucose can be utilized for fuel, a process better known as insulin sensitivity. Why is this important? If zinc levels are low, enzyme levels drop, insulin sercretion drops and glucose remains in the bloodstream, a process which can lead to diabetes if it is chronic.

Improves Mood:

Dopamine, a chemical in the brain which boosts mood and energy, is partially regulated by zinc, so zinc once again plays an important role in the body. There is also evidence to support the theory that the presence of zinc boosts serotonin levels in the brain.

Supports Immune Function:

Zinc supports T cell function and is thus strongly tied with combating inflammation. T cells are responsible for mounting an immune response to invaders such as bacteria or viruses.

Has Potent Antioxidant Effect:

Zinc can remove toxins from the body and prevent accumulation of harmful compounds in tissues. This mechanism has a protective effect against the development of cancers, especially in the prostate, ovaries, pancreas, breast and colon. In addition, zinc prevents the buildup of heavy metals in the brain such as aluminum, which has been closely linked with Alzheimer’s disease.

If you suspect that you are deficient in zinc, you can supplement daily with 20 to 30 milligrams.

(Original post can be found here: http://www.rxmuscle.com/blogs/the-lab-supplement-school/7294-why-zinc-is-so-important.html?hitcount=0)

Fat-Bottomed Girls

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

If I see one more fat-assed female wagging her goodies all over social media and claiming to be a “fit chick”, I swear I will scream. It’s one thing to have a sumptuous, full set of glutes which either Mother Nature was kind enough to dole out or which a consistent glute training routine created. It’s another thing entirely to have a wide, chunky, FAT derriere and pretend that such a poor display of physical fitness can pass off as an awe-inspiring example of hard work and dedication.

Basically, fat-bottomed girls are a dime a dozen these days. I say this boldly because I have seen far too many Instagram accounts which feature women who are amply endowed in the posterior, yet not through hard work and determination, and who think that there is some value in collecting followers simply on the basis of their smutty, slutty images. As was suggested in the Queen song “Fat Bottomed Girls” from 1978, girls who would ordinarily fail to catch the eye of a man who wanted a quality mate would do in a pinch when it came to casual sex. The song celebrates groupies who would never have a chance at being around musical superstars unless they agreed to engage in sexual activities for a night or two.

We now live in an age in which a woman like Kim Kardashian (yes, I am picking on her) is able to attain CELEBRITY STATUS on the basis of questionable criteria:

1. She has a huge derriere, and it isn’t shapely. Well, I guess chunky is a shape.
2. She has a certain amount of sex appeal and isn’t shy about disrobing.
3. She’s rolling in money so she can essentially buy her way to the top.

This begs the question, what is her talent? I challenge EVERY female who possesses surplus adipose tissue in her nether regions and who has a massive social media following simply on the basis of that part of her anatomy to tell me what talent she could possibly have. Because even if she DID have a hidden talent, no male follower on Instagram gives a rat’s ass whether she was a gifted violinist at one point or that she almost completed a masters program in criminal justice.

Just keeping it real.

When You Can’t Make Yourself Like Someone

drstaceynaito Leave a comment

when-you-dont-like-someone

Have you ever been in a situation in which someone just rubs you the wrong way, and no matter how you try, you just CAN’T get yourself to formulate a positive opinion of the person? This has happened to me many times in my life. More recently, two people have triggered my intense dislike to the point where I had to block one of them on social media. Without disclosing the identities of the people involved, I will merely describe the situations I have experienced with each of them. The situation with the female has been more subtle, and as a result, I have made more of an effort to like her (to no avail). The guy in the second example has been enough of an ass that I am much more adamant about keeping my distance from him.

The female I referenced had been perfectly nice until one bodybuilding contest a couple of years ago in which we competed against each other. Suddenly, I was the enemy, and she became even more disgusted when I placed higher than her. I know she was utterly convinced that she was much hotter, and much more deserving of a higher placing. I was taken aback by her energy but decided to brush it off. Two and a half years later, I cannot bring myself to say hello to her, to like her social media posts, or to offer flattering commentary when someone makes reference to her and asks me what I think of her. I just can’t do it. It all stems from her attitude from that one contest.

As for the fella who rubbed me the wrong way, the pressure to like him stems from the fact that he is romantically tied to one of my dearest friends. I truly WANTED to like him, but from the moment I met him, his energy was so shifty that I took an immediate dislike to him. My gut instinct told me this guy was bad news, yet I knew that my love-struck friend wouldn’t be able to process any comments from me that revealed how I really felt, so I kept my mouth shut. Then an incident occurred in which he hurled an insult at me (peppered with profanity) which was uncalled for. I was so shocked that I became unhinged, and told him exactly how I felt about him. Of course my friend was unfortunately caught up in the middle of that exchange, and our friendship has been adversely affected as a result. I DON’T LIKE THE GUY, and I cannot force myself to feign acceptance and respect for someone I can’t stand.

I believe it is very unhealthy to harbor a hidden dislike for someone. While I understand that one must maintain composure in business settings, I will never compromise my feelings or beliefs, especially when I am treated poorly by someone. If someone doesn’t want to play nice in the sandbox, I will just find another sandbox to play in!