Health Benefits From Weight Lifting For Men and Women

There are plenty of health benefits that come from picking up weight which both men and women can benefit from. If you would like to improve on your musculature system then try doing resistance exercises. Studies show that the musculature system is improved by that type of exercise in both men and women. When you do strength exercises and training, also known as free weights then youll be surprised as to all the benefits that youll get from the training.

If you find yourself having lower back problems and pain then strength exercise can help prevent it and it can also prevent osteoporosis and loss of body mass. Weight lifting and training helps the muscle conditioning and contributes to it so that way it overall improves your bodys strength and stability. When you start focusing on muscle conditioning you will be increasing your bone strength plus its density. Weight lifting also makes your connective tissues, muscles and your tendons strong. As you start to age, you will feel the benefits from weight lifting.

Your neck muscles, back, shoulder, abs and your hips all influence the way you stand and the way that you sit. When you have strong muscles then your posture will improve and you will be able to stand and sit up comfortably. It improves your stability and your balance. If you are having problems with balancing your body as you stand or sit then you will greatly benefit from weight lifting.

Many people today struggle with stress. Sometimes stress is caused from health problems and other times just by diet and not enough exercise. When you start to weight lift then youll notice that it reduces stress. When stress is reduced; then youll also be able to sleep better at night and in time, you might not feel any stress at all.

The bodys muscles start growing when you weight lift. Muscle mass is made up of more dense and not fat and this will help your body with looking thinner plus you will also look leaner. Your metabolism will get a boost as you exercise and do weight lifting which will help with burning up calories and that helps you with weight loss. After you start having a routine with weight lifting then youll begin to notice that your waist is decreasing and that overall, you are feeling much better. It also improves your self esteem.

Never weight lift alone and more so if you are just beginning. Work with a trainer that is experienced in this area. If you dont know of anyone that can help you then visit the gym and see if they have someone that can help and explain to them your situation. Make sure that you also drink plenty of water whenever you are lifting weight. Before starting any type of health program or weight lifting program always check with your doctor and clear it with your doctor first.

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Update from Amy

My goodness, how the time has flown!  It has been nearly two months since Ive checked in, and a lot has happened since.  I had mentioned a little while back that we had goals of saving for and buying a house, well... that day has come and gone.  We started looking for houses in late February with the help of Kevins dad who is a realtor in a town two hours away.  After looking for several weeks, trying unsuccessfully to put offers in on four different houses, we found the house and had our offer accepted the next day!

We are currently in escrow and getting ready to close before the end of the month.  In the meantime, Ive been slowly boxing up our apartment (Kevin thinks Im crazy because he prefers to pack the day before in absolute chaos.  On our last move we had to pack and move in two days, so Im determined to have my long, organized, well boxed up move this time!).  We have also been traveling to and from Spokane (my hometown where we moved from 8 months ago) for friends birthdays and most recently a bridal shower.

During the last few weeks, we have also been going through having a family member of Kevins have heart issues and a quadruple bypass surgery.  Because of this, I was finally able to have Kevin watch Forks Over Knives, which I have long felt would be the most efficient and convincing way to get him to change up his bad eating habits.  We watched it together alone, and then later that week with his family member before their surgery.  The combination of seeing a loved one go through these issues and considering the documentary, Kevin made bigger changes than Ive ever seen him make towards his health.

He is now eating plant-based with mostly fruit, vegetables, beans, and whole grains along with hitting the gym and being more active.  He has told me that he doesnt plan to completely cut out anything from his diet, but will have his favorites (burgers, pizza, sandwiches) rarely.  For him, I think it is the idea that he can have those things if he chooses that will keep him going.  I couldnt be happier.

During our visit to Spokane this last weekend, we enjoyed a long hike to the top of a small mountain with my parents, and kept to eating plant-based.  My nutritarian mom was thrilled to have Kevin eat her meals while we were visiting.  She made sure to include extra broccoli in the chickpea teriyaki we had for my broccoli-loving husband.  She also made her delicious waffles before we headed home on Sunday (recipe here).

Isnt my puppy just adorable!?  I miss her and my parents a lot!

Near the end of our visit, on Sunday, Kevin visited with our friends, Dannielle and Ian, who are getting married in two months, while I fit in time to see another dear friend.  Kevin talked to them about his changes and his family member that was going through surgery.  Once Kevin left they too watched Forks Over Knives and sent us the following pictures of their fridge, saying that they are going to give it a shot!  Kevin and Ian now have a challenge going on to weigh in each week up until their wedding in June.  If one of them quits the progress, the other will get to pick their 3rd round draft pick in Fantasy Football.  (For those who dont play.... it would be really bad to have a kicker or defense picked for you so early.)  Its fun to see their motivation!

Dannielle and Ians fridge after clearing out the bad.

Dannielle and Ians garbage with all the no-nos.
(I bet that salsa was old, because it is fine in my book and they got more of it in the picture below.)

Their fridge after stocking up from shopping.  Look at all those colors and all the green on the bottom shelf!!!

Here is their full countertop of delicious produce!

Rather than be competitive, I think Dannielle and I will take a more encouraging route by sending snapchats of our meals to each other.  Just like everyone, they have their own challenges of making changes and sticking to them, including very busy work and social lives.  Im so excited to see them start this and am looking forward to cheering them on through their progress.  More than anything, I am dancing around with happiness that I might not be the only lone nutritarian in my age group of friends!

The next few weeks will be just as busy as the last two months have been in preparing for moving to our first house.  Im hoping once the move settles down (and I have my own space for an office/craft room), I will be able to post more and share some recipes Ive been loving lately.


Health and Happiness,

Amy

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Caffeine From Friend to Foe

Hi Everyone!  I have a special treat for you today: a guest post from my mom!  For those of you who have been around the blog a while, you probably have seen a few of my moms comments, or heard tales of her amazing Nutritarian cooking.  Unfortunately, she isnt dropping in to share a recipe.  Its even better... she is writing today about how she went from a chronic dieter with an IV of diet cola, to a happy Nutritarian, free of caffeine addiction.  Hope you enjoy!

Caffeine Friend or Foe?

Greetings dear readers of Amy’s Blog!  First of all, I would like to thank each and every one of you for following along on my incredible daughter’s journey through the blogging world.  She is amazing, but I think you already know that.

Amy has asked me to tell my story about caffeine addiction and how I have now come to be caffeine-free.

My story starts with a can.  Yes, a can.  For you see, as a young person I thought coffee was the most revolting thing on the face of the earth.  Of course, in my mind, that was where caffeine came from, coffee – not a can where diet coke or pepsi lived. 

During my young adult life, I was always dieting, or I was pregnant, that was about the gist of it.  Gosh, that makes it sound like I have a million children, but truthfully, there are only three.  My husband and I got married at 19, and I was a mother by 22, so between and after kids this dieting thing has really been my whole life.  I was never hugely overweight, but I was never where I wanted to be, so Weight Watchers became my place of belonging once a week for years and years.  Sometimes I wonder if I just went to meetings to have a break, as I was a stay at home mom.

Me in 2005, on a Caribbean cruise with a bottomless soda package.  The packages cost around $30 back then for a week, and I always got my moneys worth.  I have a kitchen drawer full of these cups from the multiple cruises and soda packages I had over the years.  Now, on cruises, I enjoy the free unsweetened iced tea and lemon water, as well as a few fun alcoholic drinks.

During these years, because I was dieting, my best friend became that can of diet pepsi or coke.  I really wasnt a brand snob; it could be whatever was on sale that week at the grocery store.  I put away so many cans and bottles of diet, that I wish I would have bought stock in the companies, as I am sure I single-handedly raised profits by a large margin.

Me again on the same cruise in 2005, soaking up the sun on deck with my best friend, Cindy.  
We are both notoriously clinging tight to our diet cokes!

My best friend, Cindy, and I were equally addicted to this substance, so much so that when all the information came out about its link to cancer, we were so hooked that we would joke that we would just someday be side-by-side having chemo.  It is truly sad what a powerful addiction this caffeine is. While it is not necessarily the caffeine in the diet soda’s that is the cancer causing agent, it is the caffeine that is the addiction element.

As I got older, I learned of all the wonderful things we now had to add to coffee that made it an extremely luscious concoction.  Cream, sugar, flavorings, and chocolate!  It was not revolting as I had remember.  I thought it was wonderful!  I started having flavored coffees along with all of the diet colas I was drinking daily.  It is a wonder I managed to sleep at all!

Then, three years ago, I watched the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead on a whim.  Something about it moved me.  I knew there was a reason I came upon it that day.  I showed it to my husband, who had been suffering with an autoimmune kidney disease for ten years prior to that.  He had been put on all sorts of drugs, naturopathic remedies, and even reflexology, but we never looked that closely into nutrition.  We decided he needed to try juicing.  I knew it would be impossible for him to do this alone, so we were off on this journey together.

Dont we clean up well?  Although a little sun-baked, we are as happy as can be and excited for a formal dinner on our cruise in the Caribbean.  This was just 2 1/2 years after juicing and switching to Eat to Live without any caffeine.  At this point we had both lost a bit of weight and were earning our energy and health back through proper nutrition!

For me, the first day of juicing went okay.... UNTIL the lack of caffeine made me so sick I thought the world had come to an end.  I had a migraine that beat all others I have had in the past (I was a frequent sufferer of migraines).  I felt so ill that I threw up, taking refuge in my bed for the rest of the day.  It was as if I had the flu.  In the end, I was very lucky it seems, as some people have more than a day of this horrible detoxing stage.  The next day I was shaky, but the other symptoms started to subside.  

It was all my withdrawal from caffeine.  I had survived, and after realizing that it is crazy to be drinking something that would cause the body to react in this way when denied it, I gave it all up and never looked back.  At first, I missed the habit of it, but after a while, knowing that I was really taking care of my body for the first time, it has become a distant memory.  I dont want it at all.

After a few days of juicing, my husband and I started to follow Dr. Fuhrman’s eating plan and it wasnt long before my husband’s kidney disease was also a distant memory.  Ten years of his existing on many kinds of horrible medicines was gone just by putting wonderful nutritious whole plant foods into our bodies.

My husband and I visiting Antigua this year (2014).  Without caffeine, I find that I have more energy to go on adventurous cruise excursions and still have energy at the end of the day for the onboard formal dinners and nightly entertainment.  Can you tell we LOVE cruising?!

During these last three years, we learn and grow every day regarding this way of eating.  No more dieting for me; our time is now spent enjoying the health that eating whole foods gives us.  Caffeine, which used to be my best friend, is now the foe, and I celebrate the fact that I did it!  I got off a socially-acceptable addictive drug that held tight to me most of my adult life.  Was it easy?  No!  Was it worth it?  YES!

Here are Doctor Fuhrman’s thoughts on coffee.

To anyone wishing to get this addiction out of their life, I wish you luck and love.

Kitty

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Happy Fall from Amys Nutritarian Kitchen!

I have mentioned probably about a million times on this blog how much I love fall... I love pumpkins and apples and crisp temperatures and cozy blankets and rainy days.  But, before I start sounding too much like a "Basic B*tch", Id like to share some of our new houses fall/Halloween decor I have recently put up.

Last Wednesdays decorating started with stopping by my favorite farm stand for some pumpkins.  The three big pumpkins were $10, while each set of three little pumpkins were $1.  $12.  Not bad for so much fall color!  I sent this picture to my husband before heading home.  
I bet he was thinking "So it has begun..."

The mini pumpkins went perfectly on our front living room mantle.  This room doesnt have much in it to begin with (which I am currently working on, but that is a post for another day).  The one extra white (pokemon) pumpkin went on a coffee table for decoration.  In case you are wondering, the three pictures above are of old Tacoma, WA (30 minutes from where we live).  Kevin estimates that the two on the right are early 1900s, while the left is a bit later around the 1930s.  Several months ago my work was going to get rid of these out of someones office who had left the company years ago.  I snagged them and they fit our front room perfectly.  

Here is where the three larger pumpkins went along with some purple string lights, spider web net, a metal pumpkin patch sign, and a scarecrow.  Other people on our block go all-out for Halloween with fake gravestones in their yards, strobe lights, and black lights, but I think for our first year owning a home, this will do.

Here is bit of a better view with our porch light on.  Poor Kevin that first night after I put up decorations.  We were cozy in bed when I remembered that I forgot to turn off the purple lights.  I wasnt sure how warm they might get against the spiderweb and if that could be a fire hazard, so Kevin went out and turned them on.  What a gentleman!  Hehe!  I think I will work on getting a timer for the lights that we can use later for Christmas lights this winter.

Here is a closer view of the fall wreath that I made for the house a few weeks ago.  I purchased all of my supplies from Michaels for only $20 and put it together myself.  Not bad when the pre-made wreaths at craft stores go for $30-$75 depending on their size.

What things are you doing around your place to enjoy the spirit of fall?


Health and Happiness,

Amy

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Savory Smokey Oats Recipe from The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook

Generally, our Sundays during football season are always spent in sweatpants, watching football and our Fantasy Football scores, while Kevin anxiously waits for his homemade pizza, and I spend time prepping meals for myself for the week.  This generally consists of cooking a large pot of grains like brown rice, wheat berries, barley, millet, quinoa, etc.  I also make sure I have enough beans to eat throughout the week, whether this be planning to eat quick-cooking legumes like lentils or black eyed peas, having stocks of canned beans, or cooking a crockpot full of a certain bean.

This Sunday, I made quinoa and cooked a crockpot of garbanzo beans for the week.  The nice thing about these two staples is that I know Kevin will happily eat both of them, with different add-ins than me of course!

I also decided to pre-make a breakfast/any-meal-of-the-day dish from Ann and Jane Esselstyns new cookbook The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook called Savory Smokey Oats.  I recently got this book on my Kindle after listening to Chef AJs telecast with the two Esselstyn ladies discussing the recipes featured in the cookbook.

Now, I dont have heart disease, nor do I plan on getting heart disease in the future, but after hearing them discuss some of the delicious recipes, I just couldnt resist!  Plus, my work graciously just sent me a $25 gift card to thank me for my efforts in organizing our office Health Fair last month, so in a way I was able to get the cookbook for free!

So far, I have made it through reading the introduction, breakfasts, lunches, soups, and spreads/toppings.  I still need to make my way through the appetizers/sides, salads, salad dressings, dinners and desserts (I cant wait!).

I have really enjoyed all of the personality and family-feel they have put into the cookbook.  You can really tell that these are the recipes these ladies have in their arsenal of regular meals for their families.  I just hate cookbooks that dont have that practicality and familiarity in them.

I also really like the versatility of all of their recipes, especially the hummus.  They encourage you to use their no-oil, no-tahini hummus in and on anything and everything.  I plan on making some of this hummus this week with my cooked garbanzo beans for the week.

Now on to the Savory Smokey Oats!  This recipe caught my eye because I LOVE oats, but have always associated them with sweeter tastes and breakfast time.  This recipe breaks the oat mold for sure!  This Sunday, I was in the mood for a savory breakfast, but didnt want to spend the time chopping and cooking potatoes and veggies, so I went with the savory oats.

Due to copyright issues, I obviously wont be posting the recipe, but I will provide a link to the recipe and let you know how I tweaked it a bit.

Savory Smokey Oats
Time: 5 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking
Servings: 4 servings (double recipe)
Authors: Ann Crile Esselstyn and Jane Esselstyn
Recipe Link: Google Books

Amys Notes:
I followed the recipe exactly as directed, but doubled the recipe.  I steamed chopped kale on the side to add at the end of the recipe.  Near the end of cooking, I thought the steel-cut oats seamed a bit soupy, so I added 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats (1/4 cup for single batch), and cooked for an additional 5 minutes.  This allowed it to thicken up perfectly and come together like I imagined from the picture.

I served my oats with a bit of black pepper and my favorite Louisiana hot sauce.  With the hot sauce, it became the perfect savory breakfast dish.  The flavors blend together nicely, and I can just imagine that this is going to taste great reheated the next day!

So far, I would give this cookbook a thumbs up, especially when it comes to recipes with no-oil and VERY minimal to no added sodium and sweeteners.  All of the recipes are very approachable and seem to be adaptable to different family tastes.  Even if you dont have heart disease, this cookbook should be on your shelf to help you prevent heart disease in the most delicious way!

If you would like to purchase this cookbook AND support Amys Nutritarian Kitchen, by clicking this link you will be directed to Amazon and a little bit of the book sale will go to me for advertising.

Health and Happiness,

Amy

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