Tag: fitness

Tracy’s triumphant fitness consistency

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Wellness & Fitness

Tracy’s triumphant fitness consistency

Monday January 15 2024

Tracy Wagasa Shirao poses for a picture while holding dumbbells at Thabiti Fitness and Health Center in Syokimau on January 5, 2024. PHOTO | BONFACE BOGITA | NMG

Tracy Wagasa was reluctant to give up her version of a healthy meal plan. But her coach convinced her to ditch intermittent fasting and other methods that promise weight loss within weeks.

The 30-year-old switched to portion control and calorie deficit eating, but never misses a meal.

“I am conscious of what I eat. Instead of having French fries every lunch time, I changed to eating them once a week,’’ she says.

Ms Wagasa’s weight loss journey was inspired by her sister when she left for Australia to study for a Master’s degree.

“We were very close. Coming home every day without her presence left a void that I had to fill.’’

At the same time, she was uncomfortable with the way she looked in the photos she took. She had previously started going to the gym in 2019, intending only to lose a few kilos, but instead, she says, “I kept gaining, which demotivated and finally stopped going altogether.’

Read: How we achieved 2023 fitness goals

When Covid-19 broke out, she had even more reason not to go to the gym.

But since resuming last year, the advocate of the High Court of Kenya says she has lost more than 20 kilo.

weights

Tracy Wagasa Shirao does renegade row workout exercise at Thabiti Fitness and Health Center in Syokimau on January 5, 2024. PHOTO | BONFACE BOGITA | NMG

“I was so curious to see if it could work for me because I have several friends whose transformation journeys I had witnessed.’’

She recalls going to her local gym after work and paying for a membership to get started.

“I was fortunate to have a coach who has been with me all the way. Simon Mwangi (the coach) is the building block of my consistencies,’’ she adds.

Imposter syndrome

It is better said than done, Ms Wagasa says of her early experiences.

“The first day at the gym was strange, I looked at myself in the mirror and wondered what I was doing there. It did not look achievable, I felt discouraged, especially when they did my body composition analysis.’’

She goes on, “I was so intimidated when I walked into the gym and saw other fit women still working on what I can only call their perfect bodies. I had no sense of belonging, I had no idea of where to start.’’

But her trainer would not let her wallow in her self-pity.

“Simon reminded me to always show up. I have always been consistent, trying my best to just show up and do what I can, even on the days when I don’t feel like it.’’

Read: Claire finds sweet relief at the gym

Hours of cardio sessions helped her loose the excess fats.

“I feel more confident than ever,’’ she laughs. “Honestly, if I had known this is what confidence looks like, I would have started working out long before this. It has become a lifestyle. It’s almost like breathing for me,’’ she sighs.

For Ms Wagasa, being fit means more than just looking good, “the mental benefits are exciting, I did not expect to see the gym as a therapy facility and not necessarily because I am going through something.’’

The benefits have grounded her in the journey, ultimately allowing her to release frustrations and gain clarity on things she needs.

Lifestyle change

She has also had to change her perception about weight lifting.

“For a very long time I was one of those people who were very sceptical about women lifting weights, so I had to get used to being comfortable as one of them. I had always been of the opinion that “you must be muscular”.’’

“I also had to adjust my daily routine where I cannot be lazy, I have to show up at the gym, it’s something that has become compulsory,’’ she adds.

Besides that, Ms Wagasa says she has made healthier choices. Even after a good weekend, she needs to balance and release the toxins in her body.

legwork

Tracy Wagasa Shirao does leg extension workout exercise at Thabiti Fitness and Health Center in Syokimau on January 5, 2024. PHOTO | BONFACE BOGITA | NMG

“I never thought drinking meant anything until my trainer occasionally challenged me when I came back after a good weekend out. The struggle was real,’’ she says clearing her throat.

Read: Calisthenics: I help women get strong, flexible and more aware of their bodies

“I am not just living; I am living consciously.’’

It’s never an easy task in any trail.

“I have had my fair share of indiscipline and a lot of mental dialogue as to why I have to do it. Everything about my lifestyle had to change.’’

Did weight gain affect her?

“Honestly, I have never received external shame or made uncomfortable. I was always the inflictor of body shaming to myself because I had a lot of self-doubt. I never felt good and beautiful enough even when no one gave me reasons to doubt myself,’’ she says.

Hoping on the Stair Master machine, she lets her twisted braids down.

“Even when you are working out, you can still look good. I will always put on lipstick, sometimes I wish I could have been born with red lips. You can trust me to have my mascara and my lipstick on. It’s almost like my identity,’’ she laughs.

Launching gym wear

Ms Wagasa also describes her gym attire as improved: “I started with promotional shirts. Then I didn’t see the need for proper gym sets because of my size.’’

Read: Exercising after thyroid disease

She is now almost ready to launch her line of gym wear. “The way you look does contribute to your attitude in the gym,’’ she says.

Her biggest concern now, she adds, “I don’t want to lose any more weight, it has become a trend.’’

Is she a morning person?

“I have respect for those who work out in the morning, I don’t like interfering with morning routine. My body takes time to adjust in the morning as opposed to evening when I have had a lot of movements,’’ she laughs.

Despite her success in fitness, Ms Wagasa insists, “I would strongly advise beginners to get a trainer who’s going to be with you all the way, it’s going to make a big difference. Find a trainer who can get you fit, not just lose weight.’’

“Having the right mindset is not easy. Choose a system that motivates you to stick with it. Make friends at the gym so you have accountability partners. Do the right things consciously to get the results. That means eating well, complaining less and actually doing what the programme tells you to do,’’ she advices.

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#Tracys #triumphant #fitness #consistency

Steve needed to get fit before brain surgery to treat his epilepsy. Now he’s running half marathons

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A feeling of anxiety, the taste of metal and then the strongest deja vu — that’s how Warrnambool primary school teacher Steve Guthrie learnt to know a seizure was coming on.   

Each year more than 12,000 people in Australia are diagnosed with epilepsy, and not all seizures are the clonic and obvious “fits” characterised in film.

Some involve staring at a focal point, repetitive movement, or a change in conscious state.

In Mr Guthrie’s case, he learnt as an undiagnosed epileptic child to get to safety before the “dizzy spell” overtook him.

But when as an adult those warnings stopped coming, his life changed dramatically.

He was presented with a choice: to live a life constricted by multiple daily seizures, give up driving and maybe his job, or to have a section of his brain removed — an operation that might free him from seizures altogether. 

The road Mr Guthrie chose saw him shed 28 kilograms and achieve a 24-kilometre half marathon along the Great Ocean Road. 

The Great Ocean Road Running Festival takes place in Victoria along the coast of the Southern Ocean.(Supplied: Great Ocean Road Running Festival)

Scarring on the brain

At eight months old, Mr Guthrie contracted meningitis that, unbeknown to his family, caused permanent damage via scarring on his brain.

“I was suffering from non-tonic clonic seizures or complex focal epilepsy,” Steve said.

“They’re described as dizzy spells, and being such a young age, I just thought that was what everyone goes through.”

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#Steve #needed #fit #brain #surgery #treat #epilepsy #hes #running #marathons

After Breast Cancer: Fitness and Nutrition Tips

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When you finish treatment for breast cancer, you might have a mix of feelings. Going through treatment is physically and mentally exhausting, with many side effects from chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and immunotherapy. Once the treatment phase is over, is there anything you can do to boost your odds of staying cancer-free?

The answer is YES. There’s a lot you can do in your everyday life — in addition to taking any meds your doctor prescribes to help prevent recurrence and keeping up with your screenings.

Cancer experts have long advised breast cancer survivors that the same healthy lifestyle habits that have been shown to lower your chance of developing breast cancer in the first place are also likely to cut the risk of breast cancer recurrence. In the past, that advice was based mostly on expert opinion.

But more recently, studies specifically done on breast cancer survivors have added weight to that opinion. These findings suggest that regular physical activity and a healthy diet that is high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans and low in processed carbohydrates and high in fiber can help guard against breast recurrence and death.

You’ve Got to Move It, Move It

Being physically active has clear benefits.

Women who got regular physical activity before their cancer diagnosis and after treatment are less likely to have their cancer come back or to die compared with those who were inactive. That’s according to a 2020 study from researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY. 

The study focused on 1,340 women with breast cancer and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) physical activity guidelines for adults, which are to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity every week. In the study, women who did that were less likely to have their cancer come back than those who were inactive. They also were less likely to die over the 2 years of the study period. Even those who were considered to be “low active,” meaning that they came close to meeting the recommended activity levels but didn’t quite get there, had improved survival, as well. 

Fitness Tips for Breast Cancer Survivors

Your body has been through a lot – from the cancer itself to the treatments for it. No one is expecting you to run a marathon unless you want to. But don’t underestimate the power of regular movement.

 

Start small. Even a daily 15-minute walk has benefits. “You don’t have to do a lot of intense workouts to benefit,” says Karen Basen-Engquist, PhD, the director of the Center for Energy Balance in Cancer Prevention and Survivorship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. “It can be hard to begin exercising when you’re experiencing fatigue related to cancer treatment, but moving just a small amount most days can help you reach the point where you can do more.”

Tell your doctor. You may have glossed over the guidance you often see in fitness magazines: “Consult your doctor before starting any exercise program.” Don’t ignore that advice this time. Check with your treatment team to see how much exercise they feel you can handle at this point in your recovery.

Set realistic expectations. If you were running an 8-minute mile before you started chemotherapy, don’t expect to be able to match that pace 3 or 4 months after your last dose. And that’s OK.

Don’t stress your bones and joints. This is especially important if you’ve had bone loss related to chemotherapy. Instead of running or high-impact aerobics, which could add to your risk of fractures, start with walking. Or try swimming, a no-impact way to work your muscles and your cardiovascular system.

Be aware of your ability to balance. If you have neuropathy (tingling or numbness) in your feet or hands after chemotherapy, that can affect your balance. Be careful about activities where you might risk falling. Instead of running on a treadmill, for example, you might prefer to work out on an exercise bicycle.

Make time for strength training. It can make a difference in your daily life. “While we can’t say whether or not it improves overall survival, the evidence shows that breast cancer survivors who do strength training see improvements in their fatigue, quality of life, and physical functioning,” Basen-Engquist says.

What to Eat: Leafy Greens and Smart Carb Intake

What about food? The good news is that the general principles of healthy eating are also beneficial for breast cancer survivors.

Two recent studies suggest that a healthy diet can help breast cancer survivors live longer. Both studies involve data from about a quarter of a million women who took part in two large observational studies called the Nurses’ Health Studies. The studies followed these women, all of whom were under 55 and cancer-free when they began, for up to 30 years. By 2011, about 9,000 of the study participants had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The first study found that women who ate the greatest amounts of fruits and vegetables after their breast cancer diagnosis had an overall lower risk of dying during the course of the study compared to those who ate the least amounts. 

When the researchers dug deeper, they found that it was leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts that were driving most of the benefits. Women who ate almost a full serving of cruciferous vegetables daily had a 13% lower risk of dying from any cause during the study, compared to those who ate almost none of these vegetables. And women who ate almost two servings of leafy greens daily were 20% less likely to die, compared to those who ate almost no greens.

Carbs were key in the second study – specifically, what kinds or types of carbs women ate. It found that high glycemic load carbs — those that cause your blood sugar to spike, like sugary beverages, processed foods like chips and doughnuts, and fast food like cheeseburgers and french fries — posed an increased risk. Breast cancer survivors with high glycemic load diets were more likely to die of breast cancer than those who ate lower glycemic load diets. They also found that women who ate high-fiber diets had a lower risk of death than those who ate diets low in fiber.

The bottom line: Eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. 

“Taken together, the research suggests that women diagnosed with breast cancer may benefit from eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and eating less rapidly digested foods sources, such as whole grains and non-starchy vegetables,” says Nigel Brockton, PhD, vice president of research for the American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR). 

And there was good news for fans of tofu and edamame: Despite past concerns that the estrogen-like properties of soy might contribute to breast cancer, evidence now shows that the opposite is true. “If anything, soy has a beneficial effect and may even reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence,” Brockton says.

Maintaining a Healthy Weight 

In general, getting regular physical activity and eating a healthy diet can help keep you from gaining too much weight, something that researchers have also found is important after breast cancer. 

“There is strong evidence that a higher body mass index after diagnosis is associated with poorer outcomes in breast cancer,” Brockton says. “Avoiding weight gain and doing your best to stay at a healthy weight is important.”

Overall, Brockton says that the AICR’s recommendations about diet and physical activity for cancer prevention are still wise advice for breast cancer survivors to avoid a recurrence. These include:

  • Maintain a healthy weight.
  • Be physically active.
  • Eat more whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes (like beans).
  • Avoid sugary drinks and limit your intake of fast foods and processed foods high in fats, starches, and sugars.
  • Limit red meats like beef, pork, and lamb.
  • Avoid processed meats and alcohol.

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#Breast #Cancer #Fitness #Nutrition #Tips

After Breast Cancer: Fitness and Nutrition Tips

Post By Health , , ,

When you finish treatment for breast cancer, you might have a mix of feelings. Going through treatment is physically and mentally exhausting, with many side effects from chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and immunotherapy. Once the treatment phase is over, is there anything you can do to boost your odds of staying cancer-free?

The answer is YES. There’s a lot you can do in your everyday life — in addition to taking any meds your doctor prescribes to help prevent recurrence and keeping up with your screenings.

Cancer experts have long advised breast cancer survivors that the same healthy lifestyle habits that have been shown to lower your chance of developing breast cancer in the first place are also likely to cut the risk of breast cancer recurrence. In the past, that advice was based mostly on expert opinion.

But more recently, studies specifically done on breast cancer survivors have added weight to that opinion. These findings suggest that regular physical activity and a healthy diet that is high in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans and low in processed carbohydrates and high in fiber can help guard against breast recurrence and death.

You’ve Got to Move It, Move It

Being physically active has clear benefits.

Women who got regular physical activity before their cancer diagnosis and after treatment are less likely to have their cancer come back or to die compared with those who were inactive. That’s according to a 2020 study from researchers at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY. 

The study focused on 1,340 women with breast cancer and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) physical activity guidelines for adults, which are to get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity and 2 days of muscle-strengthening activity every week. In the study, women who did that were less likely to have their cancer come back than those who were inactive. They also were less likely to die over the 2 years of the study period. Even those who were considered to be “low active,” meaning that they came close to meeting the recommended activity levels but didn’t quite get there, had improved survival, as well. 

Fitness Tips for Breast Cancer Survivors

Your body has been through a lot – from the cancer itself to the treatments for it. No one is expecting you to run a marathon unless you want to. But don’t underestimate the power of regular movement.

 

Start small. Even a daily 15-minute walk has benefits. “You don’t have to do a lot of intense workouts to benefit,” says Karen Basen-Engquist, PhD, the director of the Center for Energy Balance in Cancer Prevention and Survivorship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. “It can be hard to begin exercising when you’re experiencing fatigue related to cancer treatment, but moving just a small amount most days can help you reach the point where you can do more.”

Tell your doctor. You may have glossed over the guidance you often see in fitness magazines: “Consult your doctor before starting any exercise program.” Don’t ignore that advice this time. Check with your treatment team to see how much exercise they feel you can handle at this point in your recovery.

Set realistic expectations. If you were running an 8-minute mile before you started chemotherapy, don’t expect to be able to match that pace 3 or 4 months after your last dose. And that’s OK.

Don’t stress your bones and joints. This is especially important if you’ve had bone loss related to chemotherapy. Instead of running or high-impact aerobics, which could add to your risk of fractures, start with walking. Or try swimming, a no-impact way to work your muscles and your cardiovascular system.

Be aware of your ability to balance. If you have neuropathy (tingling or numbness) in your feet or hands after chemotherapy, that can affect your balance. Be careful about activities where you might risk falling. Instead of running on a treadmill, for example, you might prefer to work out on an exercise bicycle.

Make time for strength training. It can make a difference in your daily life. “While we can’t say whether or not it improves overall survival, the evidence shows that breast cancer survivors who do strength training see improvements in their fatigue, quality of life, and physical functioning,” Basen-Engquist says.

What to Eat: Leafy Greens and Smart Carb Intake

What about food? The good news is that the general principles of healthy eating are also beneficial for breast cancer survivors.

Two recent studies suggest that a healthy diet can help breast cancer survivors live longer. Both studies involve data from about a quarter of a million women who took part in two large observational studies called the Nurses’ Health Studies. The studies followed these women, all of whom were under 55 and cancer-free when they began, for up to 30 years. By 2011, about 9,000 of the study participants had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The first study found that women who ate the greatest amounts of fruits and vegetables after their breast cancer diagnosis had an overall lower risk of dying during the course of the study compared to those who ate the least amounts. 

When the researchers dug deeper, they found that it was leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts that were driving most of the benefits. Women who ate almost a full serving of cruciferous vegetables daily had a 13% lower risk of dying from any cause during the study, compared to those who ate almost none of these vegetables. And women who ate almost two servings of leafy greens daily were 20% less likely to die, compared to those who ate almost no greens.

Carbs were key in the second study – specifically, what kinds or types of carbs women ate. It found that high glycemic load carbs — those that cause your blood sugar to spike, like sugary beverages, processed foods like chips and doughnuts, and fast food like cheeseburgers and french fries — posed an increased risk. Breast cancer survivors with high glycemic load diets were more likely to die of breast cancer than those who ate lower glycemic load diets. They also found that women who ate high-fiber diets had a lower risk of death than those who ate diets low in fiber.

The bottom line: Eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. 

“Taken together, the research suggests that women diagnosed with breast cancer may benefit from eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables and eating less rapidly digested foods sources, such as whole grains and non-starchy vegetables,” says Nigel Brockton, PhD, vice president of research for the American Institute of Cancer Research (AICR). 

And there was good news for fans of tofu and edamame: Despite past concerns that the estrogen-like properties of soy might contribute to breast cancer, evidence now shows that the opposite is true. “If anything, soy has a beneficial effect and may even reduce the risk of breast cancer recurrence,” Brockton says.

Maintaining a Healthy Weight 

In general, getting regular physical activity and eating a healthy diet can help keep you from gaining too much weight, something that researchers have also found is important after breast cancer. 

“There is strong evidence that a higher body mass index after diagnosis is associated with poorer outcomes in breast cancer,” Brockton says. “Avoiding weight gain and doing your best to stay at a healthy weight is important.”

Overall, Brockton says that the AICR’s recommendations about diet and physical activity for cancer prevention are still wise advice for breast cancer survivors to avoid a recurrence. These include:

  • Maintain a healthy weight.
  • Be physically active.
  • Eat more whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes (like beans).
  • Avoid sugary drinks and limit your intake of fast foods and processed foods high in fats, starches, and sugars.
  • Limit red meats like beef, pork, and lamb.
  • Avoid processed meats and alcohol.

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#Breast #Cancer #Fitness #Nutrition #Tips

Dead Man Walking? Smartphone Data May Predict Mortality Risk

Post By Health , , , , , ,


Nov. 3, 2022 — Maybe you’re on a leisurely neighborhood stroll or roaming the aisles of a grocery store. Chances are, your smartphone’s along for the trip, too — perhaps as a podcast player or a digital security blanket. 

But what if that phone could gather data from your everyday cardio activities to predict how long you’ll live?

There may not be an app for that just yet, but researchers from the University of Illinois laid the groundwork for the possibility in a study published recently in the journal PLOS Digital Health.

“It’s well known that people [who] move more — and move more vigorously — live longer,” says Bruce Schatz, PhD, an expert in medical informatics at the University of Illinois and a co-author of the study. “We ended up trying to see what you could tell from walking motion that had some medical significance.”

Schatz and his colleagues pulled data from more than 100,000 adults ages 45-79 in the UK Biobank, a biomedical database in the United Kingdom. Participants wore wrist sensors around the clock for a week while they went about their daily routines, and researchers reviewed data from 12 consecutive, 30-second walking intervals for each study participant.

The researchers analyzed participants’ walking intensity and used it to predict their risk of death every year over a 5-year period. 

Because the data was collected from 2013 to 2015, the researchers were able to check the accuracy of estimates against death records. The team’s predictions closely matched participants’ actual mortality, although the model was slightly more accurate for the earlier years than at the 5-year mark. 

“It’s not giving you, personally, ‘You have 5 minutes to live,’” Schatz says. Rather, “What’s the likelihood that you’ll die in 5 years, or in 2 years?”

However, if an app capable of predicting your death date becomes available, Larry Hernandez, of San Antonio, TX, will be ready to try it. The 42-year-old is a private health insurance advisor, and such technology could be an incentive for his clients to improve their fitness, he says. 

But Hernandez is also familiar with tracking his own metrics. He’s lost 60 pounds since beginning a running regimen in 2015 and continues to log a 5K daily on his Apple Watch. 

If “today’s activities or yesterday’s activities actually got me another, extra year of life,” Hernandez says, “that’d be awesome.”

Stepping Toward Universal Health Care

The wrist devices worn by participants had accelerometers, which are built into even the cheapest of smartphones. These motion sensors are key to making health information accessible to the masses, Schatz says.

Smartwatches and other wearable fitness trackers are becoming increasingly popular — about 1 in 5 U.S. adults regularly wear them, according to a 2019 Pew Research Center survey — but aren’t affordable for everyone. However, 97% of Americans own a cellphone and 85% own a smartphone, according to a 2021 estimate from Pew.

The practical possibilities of using the formula created by Schatz and his colleagues are vast. A hospital system, for example, could potentially monitor most of its patients at once through their smartphones, and be alerted to changes in their walking patterns that may indicate a medical problem — all without disrupting patients’ lives.

“It’s the population screening that’s significant. It’s the catching things early when you can still do something,” Schatz says. “There’s a real opportunity here to do something for large numbers of people.”

Vienna Williams, MPH, sees an opportunity for employers. As director of the International WELL Building Institute in New York City, she helps companies from Hilton to Uber prioritize employees’ well-being.

“Wearables and sensors, they help us to really understand modifiable behavior, and that’s where we have the opportunity to intervene,” Williams says, noting the institute already uses such technology to help clients understand employee health trends. “The most important question that these things help us answer is, where do we have room to change our behavior in ways that we know help our health in the long term?”

An app that could predict likelihood of death could also help eliminate health disparities simply by being accessible to everyone with a smartphone, regardless of socioeconomic status. Even in countries with emerging economies, such as Brazil and Indonesia, a median 45% of people own a smartphone, according to a 2018 Pew Research Center survey.  

“The benefits of being physically active are not disputable,” says Jan Carney, MD, associate dean for public health and health policy at the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine in Burlington. “But the rates of physical activity among the population [are] uneven.”

The work of Schatz and his colleagues contributes to the goal of health equity, Carney says.

“Making such a simple, practical technology, you can have a lot of people in a given community know what their own activity levels are,” she says.

Future studies should be more racially and ethnically diverse, Schatz says. Although study participants reflected the U.K. population, the majority were white. Schatz’s team plans to continue its research through the National Institutes of Health’s All of Us Research Program, which aims to enroll more than 1 million people.



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