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No Excuses Calisthenics Training Video Series On RxGirl: Butt Kickers
No Excuses Calisthenics Training Video Series On RxGirl: Jumping Jacks
I Need An Oil Can
Lately I have been in CONSTANT pain from inflammation in my neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips and ankles which has me creaking like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. I wouldn’t mind it so much if the pain patterns were completely predictable, but there have been days when the pain has shifted from one side to another. No amount of massage or adjustment seems to calm things down either. Granted, I have not been as diligent about taking my daily supplements due to almost two weeks of international travel which threw my daily routine off track in a big way. Now that I am back in the States for a while now, I plan to get back into my daily rhythm which will hopefully cause most of my aches to abate.
As a result of the pain I was enduring, I had a massage last week while in Bali. It was an amazing deal at 120,000 rupiah (about $10 U.S.) for a full hour of shiatsu massage, so I jumped on it. What I had forgotten was that shiatsu massage can hurt like a mother^%#@$* due to its focus on trigger points and deep pressure. I was writhing in pain for the entire hour, but figured I needed the torture. Usually if my patients experience deep massage, I will tell them to take arnica or ibuprofen for the next 24 hours to address inflammation, but since I am a doctor (and doctors really DO make the worst patients), and also since I had no access to anti-inflammatory agents, I tolerated the pummeling I got and simply hydrated as much as I could. The next morning, I was in so much pain that I could barely walk, and I couldn’t turn my head at all. Stretching was almost impossible because my range of motion was terrible. Thankfully, my range of motion increased gradually as the day progressed and my muscles warmed up.
After dealing with such intense discomfort for a while now, I think I will take my own advice and resume my daily intake of antioxidants, glucosamine, and turmeric. For those of you who may also be feeling like a poorly oiled tin man, you might want to follow suit.
Check Out The Six Pack Fitness Bag Collection!
This collection is growing next year too, with a whole line of luggage! Please make sure to enter my discount code DRNAITO1014 If you order within the next day, and code DRNAITO1114 if ordering after that. You will receive 15% off your order.
I have used other brands of meal bags, and I honestly love Six Pack bags the best. This company has come a long way, and now they not only have Meal Management Bags, they also have Backpacks, Duffels, Briefcases, Women’s Bags and Accessories to help you keep everything in perfect order. They are top quality, fuctional and stylish. Get one!
What a great meal bag option for the fashionable gal!
The Protein Bar Battle
I am VERY picky about the protein bars I eat or recommend to others, so when I say that I dig Quest Bars AND B-Up Bars, that is saying a lot. Both brands are gluten free, soy free, very low in carbs, high in fiber, and offer 20 grams of protein per bar. I still remember when Quest had just started out, and had two flavors: Vanilla Almond Crunch and Peanut Butter Supreme, or as I had remembered them, the blue wrapper and the green wrapper. I loved the enthusiasm which Shannon Yorton Penna had in creating the bars and had a hunch the company would grow fast. Quest now has 16 flavors and has expanded to pasta, chips and clothing. Way to go Quest!
It was inevitable that a company would eventually throw down the gauntlet with a distinctive bar of their own. B-Up Bar is a new company with three awesome flavors and is taking off like a rocket, not only because they have great products, but also because the people in the company are friendly, professional and driven just like Shannon and the incredible team at Quest. I truly love both companies and eat both brands of bars, so I thought it would be interesting to look at the features of each brand of bar and also offer my feedback on them.
With Quest, there are TONS of flavors now (16) to satisfy all kinds of palates. They are free of sugar, gluten, and soy, and offer 20 grams of prebiotic fiber, so net carbs are very low. Quest Bars have 20 grams of protein and are sweetened either with sucralose OR stevia and erythritol. Here is the current list of flavors which are available:
Vanilla Almond Crunch
Peanut Butter Supreme
Chocolate Peanut Butter
Apple Pie
Cinnamon Roll
Chocolate Brownie
Strawberry Cheesecake
Mixed Berry
Coconut Cashew
Lemon Cream Pie
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Banana Nut Muffin
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Double Chocolate Chunk
White Chocolate Raspberry
Cookies & Cream
Like Quest, B-Up Bars are free of sugar, gluten, and soy, and offer 20 grams of prebiotic fiber, so net carbs are very low. B-Up Bars also offer 20 grams of protein, but they are sweetened with stevia, xylitol and monk fruit extract, all of which are natural sweeteners. B-Up Bars currently come in three flavors, but there will be more delicious flavors added to the group very soon. Here are the flavors:
Chocolate Mint
Sugar Cookie
Cinnamon Roll
I absolutely love the flavor of the majority of Quest Bars (the only one I am not crazy about is the Mixed Berry), and I definitely have my favorites (Peanut Butter & Jelly, Banana Nut Muffin, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough). My favorite flavors remind me so much of the food items they are named for that I am always tricked into believing that I am indulging in the actual food item. One thing I have noticed, though, is that over the span of a couple of months, these bars tend to harden up a lot, to the point where you can’t even bite into them without risk of chipping a tooth. This can be remedied by zapping the bar (WITHOUT the foil wrapper) in the microwave for a few seconds.
In contrast to the Quest Bars, B-Up Bars are chewier. I love the texture of the Sugar Cookie flavor because it seems softer and fluffier than the other two flavors. My favorite B-Up Bar flavor is Chocolate Mint because the mint flavor is pleasant but not overpowering, and the chocolate chunks break up the soft texture of the bar nicely. It seems that I digest B-Up Bars slightly better than the Quest Bars, but this isn’t enough for me to stop eating Quest Bars!
I noticed one other odd thing after spending a few weeks eating mostly B-Up Bars. When I went back to the sucralose-sweetened Quest Bars, I detected an aftertaste which I didn’t really like, so I guess my palate had adjusted to the natural sweeteners found in B-Up Bars. To be honest, I prefer the sweeteners found in B-Up Bars slightly more because they are more palatable. When I tried a stevia and erythritol sweetened Quest Bar after this discovery, I didn’t pick up any aftertaste.
In conclusion, I love both brands of bars and would recommend them both to friends, family, fans, clients and patients.
If It Fits Your Macros Trend…Is It For You?
I love My New Dcore Pixel Tights!
These tights are fantastic! You can order them directly from Dcore:
http://dcore.com/product/Pixel-tights-grey-rasberry
They fit so well, are made with a sturdy yet comfortable material, and the design is fashion forward. Get a pair!
Great Leg Shot From Zoltan Vegh Shoot, 7th September 2014
Don’t Bully Your Coach
Before I dive into this topic, I want to make sure that everyone understands that this is meant to be general, and is not directed at anyone in particular. But because I have had numerous conversations with other coaches and trainers recently who have described behavior in their clients which I find unacceptable, I thought this was a good topic to cover in my blog.
First of all, when you hire a coach or trainer, you are hiring that person for his or her knowledge, education and experience. When you challenge fee schedules that are in place, and expect the coach to give you bargain basement pricing just because you are short on funds, or because you don’t see why you should pay that much for someone else’s time, it is insulting to the coach. In addition, coaches and trainers are trying to run businesses and have expenses which need to be covered. I recently saw a quote on Instagram which I loved: “If you think a professional is expensive, wait until you hire an amateur.” Please keep this in mind when you are selecting a coach, and have respect for what they offer.
If a coach is designing a customized plan for you, do not expect the plan to be ready within minutes. It takes time to create a customized plan for a client, so please be patient. Once you get your plan, please do not ask incessant questions, especially if they are presented in the middle of the night. Since I am a physician, I understand what it means to be on call all the time, but I will not put up with a 2 am text asking me whether it’s okay to substitute swing lunges with seated leg curls!
Another sure way to aggravate your coach is to be non-compliant, whiny, and intent on changing every aspect of a well designed plan. Why even hire a professional to help you if you are dead set on being a person who uses the word CAN’T all the time? If you trust, admire and respect your coach, then let your coach work his or her magic and help you to reach your goals. Otherwise, you are wasting both your time and energy and those of your coach. Allow your coach to guide you and be your motivator, and speak up if you are faltering in your efforts or if your self-confidence is flagging. Let your coach be truly that: a coach.
dr. stacey naito's blog 