Weight Debate

Your pelvic floor muscles support the rectum, vagina, and urethra in the pelvis. Toning these muscles with Kegel exercises will help you push during delivery and recover from birth. It also will help control bladder leakage and lower your chance of getting hemorrhoids.

Important
Pelvic muscles are the same ones used to stop the flow of urine. It can be hard to find the right muscles to squeeze. It is best to see a doctor, nurse, or physical therapist to learn how to do Kegel exercises correctly. Kegel exercises are most effective when you have received proper instruction from a doctor. Here are some tips to be sure you are exercising the right muscles:

• 1. Try to stop the flow of urine when you are sitting on the toilet. If you can do it, you are using the right muscles.
• 2. Imagine that you are trying to stop passing gas. Squeeze the muscles you would use. If you sense a “pulling” feeling, those are the right muscles for pelvic exercises.

Kegel Exercises
It is best to start doing your Kegel exercises lying down. This is the easiest position. When your muscles get stronger, you can do Kegel exercises sitting or standing anywhere you like.

• 1. Tighten the pelvic floor muscles for a count of 3, then relax for a count of 3.
• 2. Repeat 10 to 15 times, 3 times a day.

News Article
Face of Defense: Personal Trainer Provides Fitness Advice
By Sgt. Laura M. Bigenho, USA
Special to American Forces Press Service

CAMP VICTORY, Iraq, Dec. 18, 2007 – A master driver assigned here with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Task Force Phantom, became a licensed personal trainer in 2001 and has been helping others achieve a healthy lifestyle ever since.

Photo on right…
Army Staff Sgt. David Marr, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Task Force Phantom, shows Army Pfc. Jonathan Lipinski, chemical operations specialist, 355th Chemical Company, how to keep balance while performing an abdominal exercise at Camp Victory, Iraq. In addition to being a master driver, Marr is a licensed personal trainer and has been helping others achieve a healthy lifestyle since 2001. Photo by Sgt. Laura M. Bigenho, USA.

To reach a healthy state, Army Staff Sgt. David Marr said, it is important to understand the aspects of fitness.

“Fitness is your body’s ability to withstand use over a long period of time,” the Ithaca, N.Y., native said. “Knowing the different aspects of total fitness will assist you in getting where you want to be.”

Cardiovascular enhancement, muscular strength, quality nutrition, mental strength, discipline and happiness all are key aspects, Marr said. But due to their complex nature, fitness will be different for everyone. “Depending on how you were made, everything won’t apply to you,” he said. “Not everyone was born with the same chemical and structural set-up.”

Knowing your genetic makeup and family background is key to understanding fitness, Marr said.

“People react differently to exercise. “Genetics play a key role in that reaction,” he explained. “We’re genetically engineered to do different things.”

Marr said that explains why some of the healthiest people cannot acquire perfectly toned abdominal muscles or slim down their legs. Retired professional cyclist Lance Armstrong – now on a United Service Organizations tour with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – is one example. Despite having an overall healthy appearance and higher-than-average fitness level, Marr said, Armstrong lacks visible abdominal muscles that other athletes easily acquire.

“Genetic engineering really is everything, but there are things you can do to help change it,” he said.

One way to start is by monitoring food intake, he said. Everything someone puts into his mouth effects the way his body appears and functions. Vitamins and minerals, he added, are two elements our bodies require to be their best.

“If you take a scientific composition of what’s in dirt, your body is a direct replica of what dirt is,” Marr said. “(Your body) needs the exact same minerals that come from dirt, so make sure you’re focusing on your mineral as well as your vitamin intake.”

In addition to watching daily mineral and vitamin intake, monitor everything else, he said. Limit but don’t eliminate carbohydrates, sodium and fats. Stock up on leafy greens, lean protein and low-acid fruits.

“Look at food labels and know the serving sizes,” Marr said. “Understand what you’re giving your body and how it’s affecting you.”

Performing various exercises also is important.

“By design, your body is a lazy machine,” Marr said. “Know what muscles you’re working and switch it up, because your body finds shortcuts when it’s doing the same thing.”

Army Pfc. Jonathan Lipinski, a 355th Chemical Company chemical operations specialist, and Army Pfc. Dulce Tejeda, a generator mechanic with HHC Task Force Phantom, said they both work out regularly and try to switch up their routines each time.

“We work out as a unit five times a week,” Tejeda said. The Oxnard, Calif., native’s goal is to have “six-pack abs,” but she’s learning to accept that despite her hard work, it’s possible she may never have them. “I’m learning to just accept my body for what it is,” she said.

Lipinski said he maintains his fitness level by running, lifting weights and watching what he snacks on.

“Everybody wants results fast, but they’re not going to come fast,” said the Las Vegas native. “I try to watch what I eat, but it’s hard here, because you work so hard that sometimes you just want to eat anything.”

Marr said to be patient and results will come.

“Be active, have fun, watch what you eat, and over time you will see results,” he said.

Source: www.defense.gov/news/

Studies clearly demonstrate that participating in regular physical activity provides many health benefits.

Many conditions affected by physical activity occur with increasing age, such as heart disease and cancer. Reducing risk of these conditions may require years of participation in regular physical activity, but… other benefits, such as increased muscular strength, increased cardiorespiratory fitness, and decreased depressive symptoms and blood pressure, require only a few weeks or months of participation in physical activity. Some health benefits associated with regular physical activity:

Children and Adolescents
Strong evidence -

• Improved cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness.
• Improved bone health.
• Improved cardiovascular and metabolic health biomarkers.
• Favorable body composition.

Moderate evidence -

• Reduced symptoms of depression.

Adults and Older Adults
Strong evidence -

• Lower risk of early death.
• Lower risk of high blood pressure.
• Lower risk of coronary heart disease.
• Lower risk of stroke.
• Lower risk of adverse blood lipid profile.
• Lower risk of colon cancer.
• Lower risk of type 2 diabetes.
• Lower risk of metabolic syndrome.
• Lower risk of breast cancer.
• Prevention of weight gain.
• Weight loss, particularly when combined with reduced calorie intake.
• Improved cardiorespiratory and muscular fitness.
• Prevention of falls.
• Reduced depression.
• Better cognitive function (for older adults).

Moderate to strong evidence -

• Better functional health (for older adults).
• Reduced abdominal obesity.

Moderate evidence -

• Lower risk of hip fracture.
• Lower risk of lung cancer.
• Lower risk of endometrial cancer.
• Weight maintenance after weight loss.
• Increased bone density.
• Improved sleep quality.

Water, whether you consume it in the beverages you drink or in the foods you eat, is essential for life and good health. Because water has zero calories, drinking water instead of a sugar sweetened beverages is one way to limit caloric intake for weight management. Carbonated water is also calorie free, as long as caloric flavors or sugars have not been added. If you want to reduce your caloric intake from beverages, you should do the following:

• When you are thirsty, think water first instead of caloric beverages.
• When you are dining out, order water with meals instead of caloric beverages – water is usually free.
• When you eat at home, serve water or low calorie beverages with meals.
• Don’t stock the fridge with sugar sweetened beverages. Instead, keep a jug or bottles of cold water in the refrigerator.
• For a quick, easy, and inexpensive thirst quencher, carry a water bottle and refill it throughout the day instead of drinking sugar sweetened beverages.

Not everyone likes the taste of plain water. Here are some suggestions for other low calorie options:

• Make water more exciting by drinking carbonated water or adding slices of lime, lemon, cucumber, or watermelon, which add flavor with few calories.
• Add a splash of 100 percent juice to plain sparkling water for a refreshing, low calorie drink.
• Choose diet beverages sweetened with artificial sweeteners instead of sugar sweetened drinks.

People should also be encouraged to be role models for their family and friends by choosing healthy, low calorie beverages.

Another way to determine if your weight is placing your health at risk is to measure your waist.

Your waist measurement does not determine if you are overweight, but it does indicate if you have excess fat in your abdomen. This is important because extra fat around your waist may increase health risks even more than fat anywhere else on your body.

• Women with a waist measurement of more than 35 inches may have an increased risk for obesity related diseases.
• Men with a waist measurement of more than 40 inches may have an increased risk for obesity related diseases.

The Agriculture Research Service (ARS) scientists and their university colleagues reported in the April 2006 issue of the Journal of Nutrition that some natural compounds in Bing cherries (Bing cherries are rich in antioxidants) may help fight gout (a very painful form of arthritis), the inflammation of arthritis, heart disease and cancer.

Results were based on tests of 18 healthy men and women volunteers, aged 45 to 61, who ate a total of about 45 fresh Bing cherries throughout the day for 28 consecutive days.

The volunteers were instructed not to eat strawberries or other fruits and vegetables, or to drink tea or red wine 2 days before the cherry breakfast. These foods are high in antioxidants and may also fight inflammation, so this could have interfered with the ability to determine the specific effects of the Bing cherry antioxidants.

Blood samples indicated that levels of three telltale indicators of inflammation – nitric oxide, C reactive protein and a marker for T cell activation – termed “RANTES”, dropped 18 to 25 percent by the end of the cherry-eating period.

Blood samples taken four weeks later indicated that volunteers’ RANTES levels continued to decline. But their nitric oxide and C reactive protein levels began to increase. Natural chemicals in cherries apparently work selectively, suppressing production of some of the body’s inflammation-linked compounds, but not others, the researchers learned. For example, they found no significant decrease in levels of more than three dozen other markers of inflammation.

(Inflammation is a basic way in which the body reacts to infection, irritation, or other injury. The key features are redness, warmth, swelling, and pain.)

Source: www.ars.usda.gov