STOP THE PAIN SO YOU CAN TRAIN

How many of you train through pain from time to time? How many times does it lead to an injury or the need to take several days off? There is no way I would be able to maintain my training at the level I do if it were not for the attention I give to the physical health of my body on a daily basis. I can't stress how important it is to both take care of your body before you get injured, and to treat an injury at the first sign of aching. I have avoided at least one major surgery and multiple injuries just by listening to my body and getting help the first moment I know I need it. I consider myself extremely lucky that my husband is a physician that specializes in sports medicine. He, along with his talented physical therapists at Peak Wellness in Greenwich, always have my back! As soon as I feel anything that concerns me, I get myself to Peak Wellness and get it cleaned up before full blown injury sets in that hampers my training or incapacitates me. The scariest area of my body, for me as a runner, is my hip. I've put in a considerable number of miles and I've had some serious hip issues. I'm certain that I would have eventually needed a hip replacement if I continued on my recklase course and didn't seek help. Not only do the specialists at Peak Wellness treat injuries, but they also are performance specialist that work with professional and Olympic athletes at the highest level to improve physical performance. In fact, my stride analysis results in gait retraining and an overhaul in my stride length that massively improved my performance times while virtually eliminating my hip pain symptoms. When I strained a calf muscle, I had it treated the same day and was able to hop on a bike the very next day. With one more physical therapy sessions, I was back to running by the end of the week. An injury like that could have taken several weeks to fully recover from if I tried to just lighten my load for a few days and keep trying to push through the pain. 

People who are reluctant to seek early intervention and view physical therapy as a prescribed service after you're already decently hurt, have it all wrong. Physical therapy should be used not only as a first line treatment for injuries, but to prevent injuries from worsening and to keep your body in the best possible shape. Many times injuries occur because of imbalances in our bodies. Sometimes I can tell my ankle is locked up or my hip is out. Instead of waiting for a pain, I seek treatment the moment I question myself to be sure I don't get injured. This type of body awareness has taken me years to achieve and I still haven't perfected it. Those of you who work out on a regular basis should consider at least a monthly appointment to make sure your body in correct alignment and to treat any minor aches, pains or soreness you have. Once you do, your body will thank you. You too will become body aware and know when you need to get yourself help before it's too late. If you're looking for a therapist, I swear by the team at Peak Wellness and encourage you to reach out to them before you have no choice (203-625-9608). CRUSH TIME!! 

HALLOWEEN DOESN'T NEED TO BE SOOOOO SCARY!!

Let's face it, Halloween can be a little scary at all ages. When we're little kids we're scared of ghosts and goblins. When we're older, Halloween brings to us a new type of fear... the fear of TEMPTATION!! The temptation to sneak your kid's candy! Some of you may say... "Not me. I don't crave sweets. I crave more salty and savory foods." Well, I have news for you guys too... Halloween marks the beginning of "Fat Season" (as some people I know call it). It spans from Halloween through New Years Day. It all starts with the candy on Halloween and continues on with football Sundays, Thanksgiving, holiday parties, Christmas, and New Years. I'm here to tell you that it doesn't have to be so scary. We'll all indulge in some way during this time. You can help to get through this time of year without packing the pounds by following these 4 simple tricks:

1. Maintain your workout routine. This speaks for itself. Just because your social life becomes a little more robust, don't thrown the towel in on your workouts. Staying consistent at the gym will help you stay disciplined and help to shed off those extra calories. 

2. Choose the lesser of all evils. Instead of eating all of your kids halloween candy, buy some dark chocolate covered raisins or almonds. If you're into Football Sundays and you have a particular food you like, find a healthy version and offer to bring it. Instead of the spiked egg nog or a pre-mixed "specialty" drink, have a lighter drink with less sugar. 

3. Keep your portions in control.  You must never go to an event starving or thirsty. That is a recipe for disaster. You can't think straight when you're hungry. You will be sure to make bad decisions and over eat. Go heavy on the vegetables (for those of you who know me, you are probably laughing), generous on the meat, try to lay off the carbs, and only taste dessert. 

4. Treat yourself...just a little! If you have a guilty pleasure or something you look forward to every year, it helps to take the edge off if you carefully treat yourself without overindulging. Just watch your portions. If it's cake, have a half slice, not half the cake! We are all entitled to an indulgence once in a while. 

You can participate and enjoy all of these events and maintain your weight if you're smart about it. So take the fear out of Halloween and enter this holiday season with excitement! CRUSH TIME!

AMAZING HEALING DRY NEEDLING!
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I don’t know what I’d do without my husband!! It’s true. Although that statement sounds romantic, it’s not meant to be. It’s a fact. For those of you who don't know, my husband is a physician who specializes in sports medicine. So, I mean it when I say that I would not be able to do what I do if it weren’t for him. For the last several years, I’ve struggled with my hip. Without his intervention, I would probably not be able to walk properly and eventually might have needed a hip replacement. Thanks to him and the work he does on me (let’s call him “Doc” for now since that’s what everyone calls him), I’m able to run, train, do everything I want to do athletically, and so much more without any pain. A few years back, “Doc” started using a special needling technique to reduce pain and trigger specific muscle in my right hip. I had amazing results with this. It managed to calm my muscle spasms down around my hip joint and eased my pain tremendously. I didn't know it at the time, but he was using a technique called “dry needling”. I bring this up to you because dry needing has now become widely popular. The technique has been used on my hip from time to time over the past several years, and it always seems to do the trick. Dry needling (sometimes known as intramuscular stimulation, IMS) is a technique used in alternative medicine to ease muscular pain. Although it looks similar to acupuncture, dry needling focues on one “trigger points” rather than meridians like acupuncture does. It’s growing in popularity and one of the many techniques “Doc” uses on me to help me stay healthy and do what I love to do. If you’re interested to see how dry needling can help you, make an appointment at peak wellness (peakwellness.com, 203-625-9608, @peakwellnessgreenwich) and see for yourself!  CRUSH TIME!

STRETCH YOUR COMFORT ZONE

We all have our comfort zones in every aspects of our lives. We have comfort zones for our friendships, for our workplace, for our intimate relationships and of course for our workouts. It is always easiest to stay within the boundaries of our comfort zones. If we stay within those limits, how can we grow as people? You probably know the point you get to when you're working out and tempted to back off just a little bit to retreat into the boundaries of your comfort zone. Yet, if you're careful, it's in those moments that you can build the most strength from pressing closer to your limits. So much of what we are able to achieve is mental and our levels of comfort have a lot to do with mental strength. For example, when I train, if I'm going to do a heavy set of squats, there is no way I will be able to get through it to completion if my mind isn't 110% in it, I'm completely focused on what I'm doing, and I literally attack the set with commitment and intensity. It's SO easy and I'm tempted every day to back off because no-one really wants to do the really hard work. I can just hear my husband standing over me shouting encouragement "Like big Ronnie Coleman says 'Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy ass weight!'" It's funny, but my point is that you need to take control of your mind, psych yourself up and push yourself and your limits in order to grow. This is true in all aspects of your life. If you push your boundaries within your relationships and force yourself to do something that may not be the most comfortable, you give that relationship the potential to grow. If you carefully push your limits in your workouts, you give your body the chance to grow stronger. While doing all of this, regardless of what aspect of your life you push your limits, you grow as a person. Your mental toughness becomes even more powerful as you continue to push yourself to be a better and stronger you. Trust me in saying that it makes it all worth it. This month, try to find one area of your life where you can push your limits and stretch the boundaries of your own comfort zone. CRUSH TIME!

HOPE + FAITH = POSITIVITY
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Hope and faith are intertwined. Both concepts are a huge part of my everyday life at the moment. For those of you that don't know, our daughter Kelsey is in the NNICU and will be there for some more time. She's so beautiful, and basically healthy. But a problem with her intestines is holding her up. Everyday in the NNICU brings something different. While we're confident Kelsey will be okay, some days are difficult. Everyday, and especially on the harder ones, it's so important to hold on to hope and keep faith. It's the only way I know to get through these times. Not only applicable to major life hardships, I believe that hope and faith are important to have every single day. Why? Well, whether we realize it or not, hope and faith keep us moving forward. We all have goals of differing degrees, and we all face set backs. Your goals may have to do with work and getting a promotion. They may have to do with athletics and achieving a certain status or qualify for something. They may have to do with overall fitness and health such as achieving a certain weight for ascetic or health reasons, or a certain physique for a competition. They may have to do with a relationship, such as saving your marriage. They can even be as simple as getting to the grocery store at the beginning of the week so you're not frantic on Monday preparing your kids lunches. Whatever your goals are, you have them. Most of us have many. No matter how big or small your goals are, you won't reach them without the hope of successful achievement and the faith to take even the very first firm step in that direction. Perhaps hope and faith together equal positivity. Therein is the key to remaining positive--holding on to hope and keeping your faith. Lately I've learned that this holy equation may work in reverse as well, wherein one can discover within positivity both hope and faith. I find such positive energy from the endless love and support from my husband, parents and children. There's also, as you can all imagine, my workouts. Lately I'm hitting the gym pretty hard. I draw such an incredible feeling from every workout session. While nothing can compare to the hope and faith my family fills me with, my workouts are different. They are an intensely personal source of positivity. So everyday, find your hope and faith. Find your positivity. Right now for my sweet, strong and beautiful Kelsey... Go baby girl! CRUSH TIME!!!

THE SWEETEST NEWS!
My only news this month is the sweetest news... Kelsey Christine McRedmond Colker was born on Friday, April 20th. She was earlier than expected, and weighted 6lbs at birth. She is the most precious little girl, and we love her so much. Enjoy the month and be so very grateful for what you have! For my strong, brave and tough Kelsey... It's CRUSH TIME!!

DO THE D!

What do I mean by "D"? Vitamin D of course. Do you take a vitamin D supplement? I most certainly do, and I'll tell you why! First of all you need Vitamin D for healthy bones and teeth. Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that that supports the health of your immune system, brain and nervous system. It helps to regulate your insulin levels and support lung function and cardiovascular health. No wonder why we were always told to drink our Milk! So, how do we make sure we are getting enough Vitamin D? Since Vitamin D is a pro-hormone and not a vitamin, we don't produce it naturally and we must take it in through our body. There are two ways to get Vitamin D naturally. You can have a diet high in dairy or you can expose yourself to sunlight. Unfortunately, it's not that simple. The issue is that you'd have to drink more milk and consume more dairy than you can probably stomach to get enough Vitamin D. Furthermore, if you focus on exposing yourself to too much sunlight, you expose yourself to other risks such as malignant melanoma (and wrinkles - YIKES!). So, I choose to get my levels tested every few months to be sure I'm getting enough Vitamin D. If my levels are off, my sexy doctor (my husband of course) adjusts my dosage. I mentioned IV treatments a few months ago. This is something I swear by, and you can bet I have Vitamin D in those IV treatments! I encourage all of you to evaluate your Vitamin D levels this month and get yourself on track if you're not already!  If you'd like to do what I do and have your levels tested or try an IV treatment, contact Peakwellness in Greenwich at 203-625-9608 (https://www.peakwellness.com/contact/). Do the D! CRUSH TIME!

DID SOMEONE SAY CARBS??
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Yes... CARBS! Most people assume I don't allow for any carbs in my diet. Well, those people are wrong! I just front-load my carbs, meaning that I have carbs in the beginning of the day usually before my workout. My typical breakfast (yes, at 4am!) is a protein shake and oatmeal. So I actually always have carbs, but usually just in the beginning of the day. The rest of the day, other than the minor carbs I get from my veggies, I avoid them especially  in my last meal of the day. The reason this works is because all of my major activity is behind me once I reach dinner. So, I just don't need the energy from carbs anymore. When you have too many carbs at night, your body doesn't have a chance to use them for energy and instead turns them to fat. When you front load your carbs, your body is able to use them for immediate energy throughout the day since that is when you're active. In addition, when you wake up, your glycogen stores (from carbs) should be depleted, and that's precisely the time to refuel. Remember, it's not about eliminating or making unsustainable changes. It's all about making modifications that can be carried out for a lifetime of health and happiness. CRUSH TIME!!

Still Just Eating Egg Whites and Not Whole Eggs?!

I was out to brunch with a few friends the other morning and two of them ordered egg whites. I have to admit, I was surprised. I guess I didn't realize how many people still view whole eggs as a fattening food that will raise your cholesterol. It's actually the opposite! First of all, the egg yolk contains many nutrients that your body needs such as choline, vitamin B-12, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin B-6, iron, vitamin E, zinc, folate, selenium, and phosphorous. The egg yolk is where the majority of all the nutrients of the egg are contained. It's true that the yolk also contains the majority of calories and omega-3 fatty acids, but that's what we want! Remember, fat doesn't make you fat! Eating a diet containing healthy fats will actually help you loose weight even if you are consuming slightly more calories. If you consume more healthy fats, you will actually burn off more body fat. If you eat whole eggs instead of egg whites, you will actually be getting more nutrients, have more energy and stay fuller for a longer period of time. 

Concerned about your cholesterol? You shouldn't be. It's true that a large egg yolk contains about 185 mg of cholesterol in each yolk and doctors used to recommend to avoid eating too much cholesterol. However, current research shows that sustained cholesterol levels in the blood are actually produced in the liver as a result of poor genetics and a diet high in carbohydrates, and not from the cholesterol we eat. 

Eggs are one of my favorite foods! I have been eating about 6 eggs a day for the last 6 years or so. My health is great, I haven't gained weight (in fact I lost a good amount of weight when I started adding healthy fats to my diet several years ago when I switched from eating egg white omelettes to whole eggs), and my cholesterol numbers are outstanding. So, take it from me... Do your body a favor and try skipping the toast, bagel, english muffin or home fries instead of the egg yolk. Go for the whole eggs next time. And never forget it's CRUSH TIME!