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Becoming a mom and your body….What they didn’t tell you….and perspective

12/14/2020

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I remember feeling so skinny after giving birth to my first child.  I no longer had that huge protruding belly.   I even left the hospital with such a flat stomach ( so I thought..) No longer would I have to be envious of people wearing belts!  Woohoo!  As soon as I got home, I quickly went to try on my old jeans.  Ouch!  That surprise hurt.  I may have been several inches away from buttoning them.  My perspective was I felt so thin after being so huge.  Just goes to show you perspective is an amazing thing.  When I was having my first baby they didn’t tell us the things that we might find helpful like you will have a flabby hanging belly for awhile, or you will get hemorrhoids from pushing making it impossible to sit for a few days, or your vagina will be swollen and you will have to wear a frozen diaper for a few days.  How about telling  you that you will get severe after birth cramps the next few days as your uterus contracts, or you will be so exhausted you will become dumb.  You know, things like that. 

Did anyone tell us that suddenly our bodies would no longer be ours?  If you nursed for sure it wasn’t yours. Even if you didn’t, the sudden realization that you are completely responsible for another human is a sobering awakening to your new reality.  Trying to navigate and juggle taking care of babies and toddlers and taking care of yourself is really hard.  I remember when my son was 1 year old and I decided I needed to get back in shape.  I took him to a gym with  daycare.  It had a glass divider and as I was leaving for the short hour down the hall to attend a fitness class, my heart sunk as both his arms and face were pressed on the glass, mouth wide open screaming “mama!!”with crocodile tears streaming down his face.  Like I was leaving him at an orphanage.  God it was awful and was my first and last class for a long time.  I then tried running with a double jog stroller for my oldest and middle.  I was desperate for activity and didn’t care that sippy cups would go flying every minute or two. Those years were a struggle for me to keep some semblance of fitness and self preservation.  However, I wouldn’t trade them for anything.  It was an honor and blessing to be able to stay at home with my kids before they were in school.  Again perspective is an amazing gift to reflect on our blessings.

Today, 25 years after my first, the struggle for fitness is different in many ways.  More on this to come...  I have researched and learned so much about health and wellness over the years but I still must keep it in perspective. I won’t ever again look like I looked in my twenties but that is ok.    As my sister and I say, we must keep fighting the good fight!

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Lockdowns are not the answer

11/17/2020

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As we are in the midst of a global crisis we realize there are not many things we can truly control.  We can blame, we can accuse, but that is truly counterproductive.  We can however control how we may respond to contracting a virus.  We can control our health to a large extent.  Are you eating well?  First and foremost nutrition is key to our health. Are we eating whole unprocessed foods like fresh fruits, veggies and healthy proteins?  Secondly are you getting exercise each day?  Teenagers require 60 minutes of activity per day every single day.  They aren’t getting it.  Trust me I am a physical education teacher.  I know.  Especially during this remote time they are not getting enough exercise (as a whole generation).  As adults, we need exercise at a minimum of 5 days per week.  It doesn’t have to be intense but we need it to stay active which helps to build our immune systems.  

The pandemic has boldly outlined our need for health awareness globally.  The data strikingly shows how poor health can have disastrous effects with the covid 19 virus in particular.  What are you personally doing about this to protect yourself?  A virus is insidious by nature.  We can’t just wear masks and hide forever.  It will spread from living organism to living organism because that is what it does. Perhaps instead of trying to lock down and hide we stand up and take control of our own health.  Go to your gym, eat well, watch your weight.  We can control these few things to help us combat what many of us will unfortunately, inevitably contract.  Did you know obesity kills over 300,000 Americans per year?  Did you know heart disease kills approximately 655,000 Americans per year?  That is 1 in 4!!  These are numbers that are astounding yet why aren’t we taking more action towards combating these?

 In my humble opinion, lock downs will further throw us into a desperate situation devoid of the opportunity for growth, collaboration, healing, and unity.   We are human beings who according to Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist and philosopher, require 5 classifications of needs in order to achieve self actualization and therefore be able to contribute to society.  

The first need is physiological.  This is the need for shelter, clothing, water, air and sleep.  Right now many humans because of the covid lockdowns are not able to meet these basic needs.  The second is safety.  The ability to earn enough money to feel safe in our future.  Again the lockdowns are creating failure for many in this aspect. People are losing savings, businesses they have grown, getting laid off, etc.  The third are social needs, which as humans we are social beings requiring love, relationships and social interaction.  Again the lockdowns destroy that part of being human.  Esteem needs and self actualization are the fourth and fifth categories which we can not achieve as the lower three are not being met.  

Let us protect the weakest amongst us, give knowledge, education, and the means to the  rest of us to learn how to make our own bodies healthier.  Review the data that we have amassed from the past 8 months to see that we can fight this in a manner that can protect our elderly and weak yet allow the stronger to persevere and achieve using common sense and creating a strength that no one can take away.  Create your own health and wellness.  Teach your kids to be healthy by following your example.  

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Covid19 and obesity

4/22/2020

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The World Health Organization reported that in 2017, 2.8 million people died from obesity.  On this day 4/22/2020 it has been reported that there have been 178,371 deaths from Covid19 complications.  Besides age being a risk factor, they are also saying there is a direct link to deaths from Covid19 and obesity.  This should not be a surprise to anyone actually.  I'm not taking away from the heartbreak of deaths from this horrible pandemic, but I am hoping the United States is going to wake up to a more severe epidemic that is obesity.  2.8  million!!!  Only a mere 12% of our population is metabolically healthy!  We have become weak and sick from the food we are eating each and every day.  Unfortunately, I fear we will eventually get back to the status quo and will go on with our lives, treating obesity like it is just an inevitable side effect of life.  Our billions of dollars spent on autoimmune diseases, cancer, diabetes and metabolic diseases due to obesity seems to be overlooked by most.  Is it because it is a slow death and not a quicker one like a virus?  Is it because of our relationship with the foods we eat?  Is it that we can't fight big food companies and their power?  These are questions I ponder as I sit at home working on online teaching and trying to keep a gym operating during quarantine.  There are opportunities for growth in all disasters.  My hope from this tragedy is that we all grow in knowledge and awareness of what we put in our bodies and how it effects our health in so many ways......
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Opportunity amidst COVID19

3/20/2020

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What a crazy, unsettling time is upon us.  It is so scary to not know what our future brings and if we will have access to supplies, necessities, and non essential items.  For those of us with small businesses what will this mean for our future? I keep taking a deep breath myself and trying to stay calm and realize that generations before us, for as long as humans have existed, have dealt with worse!  Plagues have always been around and technology and resources have never been this available.  

I was reading facebook and my thoughts are it brings out the best and worst in people.  So many are generous and grounded yet others are negative and angry. Parents are faced with homeschooling their children which can be a real challenge.  I am also a teacher so believe me I know what it is like to have some of these kids stay focused and learn. However, I also know how much they actually crave learning.  Students in high school want to learn life skills more than anything at this point. How do I pay my taxes? How do I write out a check? How do I interview? How do I shake a hand properly?  I teach this stuff in my classes because it is valuable. We have gotten away from the basics in our society in our quest for the best education possible. Sometimes the best education includes life skills, social graces, morals, and learning how to do things around the house.  Even older kids will value a list of things to do to help during this time. Talk to your kids, ask questions, learn from them. I miss my students. They make me laugh everyday and I learn so much from them. Give them general guidelines for the day. Do a home project and make them help!  Why are we so reticent to have our kids work with us? We need to make them work. We are in this together!

I am going to be posting workouts of the day on my youtube channel for students during our social distancing time.  I hope families also join in! Check it out…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7ZOfEZCvB0&t=120s


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Activity and Aging

3/3/2020

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Getting back from Florida this weekend and back into the groove.  I love going to some warm places in the winter as a getaway. As many of you know Florida is a very popular snowbird spot. From the gulf coast to the east coast, retirees abound.  I was looking around and I thought how nice it must be for these couples or singles to enjoy their later years being in the warmer climate. It brought to my attention how important our health is so that we can have that life later.  Some people were playing pickleball, tennis, golf, walking, riding bikes etc. If we don’t take care of ourselves now we will not have the opportunity to retire and be active in whatever it is we would like to do. 
 The oldest of the baby boomer generation turn 75 this year.  This is my parents' age group. We are supposedly the first generation to not live as long as our parents.  Our diets and lifestyles need to be taken more seriously. I look at my life and luckily love what I do, however the thought of retiring and enjoying my time on my own schedule is so appealing.  I want to make sure I am healthy and can live an active lifestyle when I get to that point. Consider how hard and long we work our whole lives and for what exactly? When I ask myself why people don’t stay active, I wonder what they say to themselves.   Here are some of my thoughts on staying active as we age…

  1. Use it or lose it.  How can one complain about losing mobility, muscle tone, flexibility etc., if they aren’t attempting to try to stay fit?
  2. We are given this amazing body with one opportunity to treat it well.  If we don’t, it will fail us sooner than later
  3. I want to play on the floor with my grandchildren!  And I want to be able to get up afterward.
  4. I want to enjoy nature in my older years so walking on the beach, in the woods, or up mountains with unsteady ground is going to happen.  I need to have strong muscles and good balance to maintain this.
  5. I don’t want to be a burden to my children so will stay as fit as possible for as long as I possibly can. ​
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Quick Easy Recipe Idea

2/11/2020

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Picture
Have any of you ever gone to Life Alive?  This is an unbelievably delicious and healthy place for a great lunch.  I have gone a few times and each time I go I wish I had the recipe for their delicious sauce they put on their dishes.  Sarah and I found this recipe online that is so close to their ginger nama shoyu sauce and it is so quick and easy to make!  Check this out from Sarah Fit Life Alive Ginger sauce .  Last night I put some of this sauce on kale, quinoa, and roasted sweet potatoes for my lunch  today and it was AMAZING! The key for me to eat healthy is to plan and prep. It is not easy to eat clean if you are rushed, hungry and have nothing to grab quickly.  I’m trying to stay focused this week as next week is Florida and vacation!!
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February 09th, 2020

2/9/2020

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Welcome to my blog!  I haven’t written in such a long time but a topic recently inspired me to write.

About Me
I am a proud mother of 3 young adult kids,  a daughter, a sister and a friend.. I am a  physical education teacher, business owner, fitness instructor, personal trainer, athletic trainer, EMT, and realtor! My goal is to talk about what we go through as parents, and as women in this crazy life.

So back to my current inspiration.  In my profession, I follow many fitness, health and wellness professionals.  I am a seeker of information because I am passionate about what I do. One thing that I find humorous and somewhat irking are the myriads of so -called 20 something year old  fitness experts. Sorry ladies but just because you have a kick ass body in your 20’s does not suddenly make you a fitness expert. Working out in the gym a few days a week does not entitle you to give people advice.  Can they view your cute selfies on Instagram? Certainly they can but don’t give advice to us who have been in the trenches. It's one thing if you have gone to school and trained to be a fitness consultant but even then in your 20's your body is at it's peak.  Until you are postpartum with loose skin suddenly appearing where there was once tight abs don’t tell us how easy it is to get a six pack.  Until you are sleep deprived from a vomiting child, ankle deep in dirty diapers and wondering how you will even get to take a shower during the day, please don’t show us your iced latte selfies telling us how you got a great productive two hours in the gym today. Until you have hit your 40’s and your metabolism seems to have shit the bed, don’t tell us that we can eat 6 meals a day and still have a rockin body. 

I want to see and read from real live women who have gone through tough times and were able to crawl, scratch or climb through.  Life is real and life is tough. I want to be the best that I can be and learn from others who have been through stuff. Quite honestly it’s hard to look at these pictures, which by the way are mostly filtered, photo shopped, and at angles that are super flattering, and not feel bad that you just polished off an entire bag of family sized potato chips.  We are all human beings doing the best we can. Let’s celebrate that we are real and work through our trials and successes together, not comparing ourselves to an unrealistic image. Let’s celebrate age and wisdom and life experiences. 

So instead of me going through post after post of posers in skimpy crop tops and leggings, I am going to continue to do the work, keep up the fight and live the best life I can live.  Join me on my journey and if you feel unhappy with yourself ask yourself what it is you don’t like, take note and write a goal on how you will change it. Make the goal specific and measurable.  For example if you feel you have gained weight and don’t feel as good as you could don’t just say,”my goal is to lose weight.” Set a specific weight loss goal and write down how you plan to accomplish this and in what time frame.  Our first goal should always be to accept and love ourselves first. Congratulate yourself on your successes in life and then move on to get yourself to feeling the best you can. Every day look at your goal and work towards that. If you have poor eating habits and you would like your goal to be eating healthier then pick a specific action you will take each day or week to accomplish this goal.  

Do not live your life waiting to be happy, be happy in your journey.  

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Fitness is Great but Nutrition is Key

6/1/2017

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As a fitness instructor and physical education teacher, I am obviously focused on my students’ ( both younger and older) activity levels and their physical fitness.  I don’t proclaim to be a nutritionist, however, nutrition to me is such an incredibly large piece of the puzzle that I would be remiss in not stressing the importance of this to all my clients and students.
I was accused by my husband of being judgmental several years ago when we took a family trip to Disney World.  I couldn’t help commenting on the amount of motorized carts being used by obese, young people who could no longer walk.  It wasn’t being judgmental necessarily, it was utter sadness that we Americans are unknowingly making ourselves sick with our Western diet.  When I was little if you saw a really fat person, and you were a typical unrefined rude young kid who didn’t know better, you would gawk.  However, now I find that people will gawk at fit people and fat people are the new norm.
We are experiencing a health crisis in this country that is out of control.  It is not just one particular illness we are dealing with, it is diabetes, cancer, arthritis, colitis, and many other chronic diseases that are not caused by  some crazy virus or flu or some horrible strain of mosquito but these horrifying illnesses are caused by the very thing that we love to do - eat.  It isn’t the fact that we eat, because eating is historically known for its social basis and elemental comforts as humans. Eating is a social urge stronger and more frequent to humans than sex.(Fox, n.d.) It is very often shared.  It is It is how a mother nourishes her child.  So it is not that we love to eat, It is the fact that we eat crap.  We, as Americans, have been exploited and duped, perhaps even unknowingly if I give these large food companies the benefit of the doubt.  Maybe they didn’t know that by making processed foods with additives, chemicals, and artificial ingredients that is was actually, slowly killing us.  
Childhood obesity is at a steady 17% in our country affecting 12.7 million children and adolescents. (“Childhood Obesity Facts | Overweight & Obesity | CDC,” n.d.)  Armed with this disturbing knowledge, I began a program last year with my freshman Fundamentals of Fitness classes.  This class is a requirement for high school freshmen and it mostly entails the basics of learning how to workout in a safe, balanced and effective manner.  I decided nutrition was essential to this course.  I began with having the students log their food intake for a week in a journal.  The results were pretty devastating.  The majority of these students ate hardly any fruit or vegetables in the course of a week. Eighty percent ate mostly starches like pasta and pizza and processed mac and cheese day after day.  
Why is this happening?  Do parents not care?  I don’t believe that.  I believe parents don’t know.  They don’t have the knowledge that what they are giving their kids is setting them up for a life of struggles mentally and physically.  We live in a fast paced society where typically both parents work full time.  In 2016 67.9% of married couples had both parents working. (“Employment Characteristics of Families Summary,” n.d.) Even if one parent isn’t working we as a society are overbooked, over-stressed, and over-worked.  We therefore have made eating an offhanded thing we think of on the way home at night.  We will pull over and grab fast food or a frozen pizza.  Something quick and easy. Instead of a healthy nutritious breakfast as a start to the day, kids are stopping at Dunkin Donuts or other local donut shops grabbing a “coffee”.  I put coffee in quotes because in essence it’s really cream and sugar with a bit of coffee added.  
Let’s start to slow down and make our dinner times meaningful with our families.  Let’s start to nourish our bodies and our children’s bodies with good, whole food that we cook every night.  Let’s stop the progression of the fat and sickness running the nation to an awareness and knowledge that food is medicine or poison.  Pick yours…

Resources:

Childhood Obesity Facts | Overweight & Obesity | CDC. (n.d.). Retrieved May 29, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html
Employment Characteristics of Families Summary. (n.d.). Retrieved June 1, 2017, from https://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.nr0.htm
[No title]. (n.d.). Retrieved May 29, 2017, from http://www.sirc.org/publik/foxfood.pdf

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Make Feeding your Family your job and do it well

2/21/2015

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Statin Drugs can be a hidden enemy

1/28/2015

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The more I read about statin drugs to control this country's cholesterol, the more discouraged I become with our Medical Community.  Some of the most intelligent people alive can't see the forest through the trees.  We are a country handing out statin drugs left and right to everyone who exhibits elevated cholesterol without delving deeper into each person's 
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    Lynn Archambault is a professional health and nutritional trainer from Pepperell MA. She has owned Arch Fitness since 2009 and helped countless people achieve fitness goals that had otherwise eluded them.



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