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Interview: JoLynn Braley of The Fit Shack
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(This is the sixth in a series of interviews with the top women fitness bloggers I could find!)
JoLynn writes at The Fit Shack where she believes the mind, body, spirit are all involved with making the change to a healthy lifestyle.
I recently asked JoLynn some questions about her blog:
1) Why did you decide to start your blog or how did you start it?
Wow, this could turn into an entire post when you get into why and how I started it, so I’ll keep it short – I decided to start The Fit Shack after reading some inspiring posts online from Probloggers and combining that with my passion for spreading the word on processed foods, that was my initial reason.
I’d already learned through my experience with the 6-Week Body Makeover lifestyle plan that when you go back to basics (whole foods) that not only do you lose weight, but you also have tons of energy; hence my desire to inspire and inform my readers of how great life can be once you get off of those processed, dead foods.
In the beginning I was mainly focused on informing and inspiring my readers to get off the processed foods filled with sugar, white flour, additives, excess sodium, and other gunk – the foods that bog you down, slow your metabolism, cause food cravings, and do not help you lose weight.
2) What do you think is the biggest obstacle that keeps women from engaging in a regular fitness routine and/or from living a more healthy lifestyle in general?
I think that the biggest obstacle for women is that many women do not treat themselves as well as they treat the people in their life that they love. Somewhere along the line women picked up the thought that it is “selfish” if you put your own health and fitness first, when in actuality you are doing everyone else a favor by doing so!
The fitter, stronger, and healthier you are, the more you have to give to others. Therefore you are cheating your loved ones when you don’t take care of yourself first, because when you’re in poor health you are limited in the amount of care, love, and time you can give to them.
3) What do you consider to be the most unique or helpful thing about your blog?
I approach weight loss from a complete mind-body-spirit perspective, which makes my blog unique since I am not simply giving out diet advice – I don’t believe in diets and I do believe in creating a healthy lifestyle that brings all of these pieces together. I also put a lot of focus into the mindset that is needed to be successful and stay motivated to live a healthy lifestyle.
Additionally I freely share my own experiences with emotional eating, sugar addiction, weight loss motivation and such, all at the same time walking a balance between professionalism and engagement. The Fit Shack is a family friendly blog and I am very focused on giving a positive and inspirational message at all times.
Thank you for interviewing me today Trisha, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Thank you very much for participating JoLynn!
Please take some time and visit JoLynn’s blog: The Fit Shack!
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Related Posts:
- Interview: Angie Schumacher of Women’s Diet and Fitness
- Health
- Learn from the best women fitness bloggers!
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Women’s Health Weekly Review: June 22 – June 28
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Osteoporosis
A study in the journal Radiology indicates that an ultrasound of the heel may be used to predict if someone has a greater chance of fractures due to osteoporosis: Simple ultrasound exam may predict osteoporosis risk
Pregnancy
Some new guidelines regarding blood clot prevention for pregnant women were released: New blood clot guidelines for pregnant women
“Pregnant women who receive treatment for substance abuse early in their pregnancy can achieve the same health outcomes as pregnant women with no substance abuse”: Treatment for cigarette, alcohol and drug use in pregnancy improves outcomes for mom and baby
Pregnancy may help protect against bladder cancer
Ovarian Cancer
This is interesting – Ovarian cancer’s specific scent detected by dogs – I’ve heard of other cancers being able to be detected by dogs, now some researchers have “trained dogs to distinguish different types and grades of ovarian cancer, including borderline tumors. They found that the odor of ovarian cancer does seem to differ from those of other gynecological malignancies, such as cervical, or endometrial cancers, suggesting that a particular, distinguishable scent is associated with ovarian cancer. They additionally found that early-stage and low grade ovarian cancers emit the same scent as advanced tumors”. I don’t think they plan on actually using dogs to check people for it. Given how serious an ovarian cancer diagnosis is though maybe they should consider until someone finds another way to detect it early.
This isn’t really anything new as far as I can tell: Symptom screening plus a simple blood test improves early detection of ovarian cancer.The CA125 test has been around for a while and by itself isn’t really helpful and still, the other symptoms are so vague.
Other
HealthGrades releases Fifth Annual Women’s Health in American Hospitals study. Women who give birth at top hospitals have 76 percent fewer complications for C-Section, 51 percent fewer for vaginal birth
I’ve been meaning to include this link for a while – there is lots of reproductive health information here: http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/
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Related Posts:
- Ovarian cancer news review
- DOG scans may test for breast cancer someday.
- Blood test to detect breast cancer
June 27, 2008
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Friday Favorites
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Happy Friday!
Foot Cancer
Yes, you read that right. That’s what I said: Foot cancer. According to a BBC news story “cancers of the foot and ankle are often missed or diagnosed too late” and “survival rates from these particular cancers are poor”. Read “Are you hiding cancer under your socks?” to learn what to look for and to protect yourself from foot cancer.
Disney!
Actually this is more of an autism story than a Disney one, but since I love Disney World, especially EPCOT I had to put it in my Friday Favorites: Autism, Talking Turtles, And The Magic Of Disney.
Weight Loss
Earlier this week I posted about how There’s no magical way to lose weight. You may also be interested in reading the FTC’s Weighing the Evidence in Diet Ads.
And speaking of fitness JoLynn Braley made her first video post this week: Your Weight Loss Mindset – First Video Post!. She did really well with it! And I’ll tell you one thing – that’s something you’re never going to catch me doing! I’m way too shy. If I were to make a video post, I wouldn’t be in it myself! Maybe I’d make a video post of my cats!
Business Stuff
Dr. Patsi at Biz Tips Blog discusses the 3 Biggest Problems for Internet Marketing
Arachne Jericho lists 5 WordPress Plugins That Make Life Easier – I need the ‘No Self Pings’ one real bad!
Crystal Clayton asks “How long can your business last without you?” if you need some time off? Discussion at: Gone Fishin’.
Ethical Marketing
Want to learn how to be a supporter of ethical marketing and Consumer Rights?
Motivation
Need motivation? Find out How to Love Doing Anything!
Cute Stuff
Scroll down to the bottom of this post for a cute picture of a baby bonobo: ‘Love, Sex, and Lies in the Jungle’
and lastly:
Congratulations!
To me and DazzlinDonna! To Donna because her blog SEO Scoop Is 4 Years Old Today! (Not today any more, but the 26th, when the post was written.) To me because I won the random drawing she held! I won an online press kit template. And I swear I didn’t comment just to win something!
Have a great weekend!
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Interview: Monica Shaw of SmarterFitter
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(This is the fifth in a series of interviews with the top women fitness bloggers I could find!)
Monica Shaw writes at SmarterFitter where you can find “Less diet, more brain”. Her web site is “designed to help people make smart fitness decisions based on hard data”.
I asked Monica the following questions about her blog:
1) Why did you decide to start your blog or how did you start it?
Smarterfitter.com grew out of my personal interest in fitness and food. I’m a science nerd who likes to know the details. I’s not enough to know that “flax seeds are supposed to be good for me, so I’ll eat them.” I want to know why flax seeds are special, and furthermore, I want to read the science behind the claim. The more I know, the smarter my choices, it’s plain and simple. Writing about all this stuff is a great way for me to remember the things I learn and share it with a community of like-minded geeky folk. “Wait, I’m not a geek!” some might say. Anyone who wants to understand the logic behind the choices they make is a geek in my book. Science geeks, art geeks, DIY geeks, archaeology geeks… all geeks are welcome at smarterfitter.
2) What do you think is the biggest obstacle that keeps women from engaging in a regular fitness routine and/or from living a more healthy lifestyle in general?
I can’t speak for all women, but I know that the biggest obstacle for me is having the willpower to overcome challenges in my environment. The modern world makes it tough to lead an “active life”, with cars being the main mode of transportation and packaged-meals being the main delivery device for food. This is changing, but ever so slowly. I’m lucky enough to live in London, a big city where it’s possible to get almost anywhere by bike or on foot. But there’s still pressure
all around. Social events almost always take place at the pub, a fixture on almost every street corner in London. Turning down a pint or a bowl of hot chips is tough in a society where drinking is the norm. It makes us feel either deprived or like a social outcast. Ick. Nobody likes that. Maybe the real obstacle is less about willpower than it is about perspective. I’ve certainly had to change
my perspective on my environment by learning to embrace the things that encourage good habits rather than fuss over all of the negative influences. It’s a similar mantra to AA’s serenity prayer:God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.I’m not religious, but there’s some truth to that. Still, there’s no avoiding onslaught of tempting cake and chocolates that arrives with every coworker’s birthday. But if we create the right environment and get our habits straight, it’s a lot easier to avoid overindulgence and love ourselves for making the choice that we know will make us happy.
3) What do you consider to be the most unique or helpful thing about your blog?
As its name suggests, smarterfitter is all about using our brains to get fit. My hope is that smarterfitter encourages people to make smart, rational choices based on real evidence rather than false promises for “rapid weight loss” or some similar claim. That was the goal in starting the blog, though I should really listen to my readerson this one. Most people tell me the best part about the blog is the food. I’m a vegetarian and my meat-eating readers say the recipes give them good advice for cooking with veggies (I forget that this isn’t obvious to many!). So much for my geeky intentions. But that’s okay; food is my obsession and I love to write about it. I’m just glad other people like it to.
Please take some time and visit Monica’s blog: SmarterFitter!
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Related Posts:
- Why people don’t eat better
- There’s no magical way to lose weight
- Interview: JoLynn Braley of The Fit Shack
June 26, 2008
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Interview: Spin Diva of Family In Shape
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(This is the fourth in a series of interviews with the top women fitness bloggers I could find!)
Spin Diva has a very informative blog called Family In Shape. She is an AFAA Certified Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor and attends the University of Maryland University College. Her blog’s goal is to inspire families with ideas to help them lead a healthier lifestyle.
I recently asked Spin Diva a few questions about her blog:
1) Why did you decide to start your blog or how did you start it?
I decided to start a blog for several reasons. First, I really love to learn all that I can about health, fitness, wellness, food and exercise, etc. I can’t guarantee that it will all stay in my head the first time around, but I figure the more I read the more I’ll learn. Second, I like to share what I do know and what I have learned from other experts in the field of health and fitness with my readers. What’s the point in learning all this information if I’m not going to use it to help someone else? Finally, I like to write. I find that when I put on paper the thoughts that creep into my mind, I am able to focus and sleep better. My mind is clear of all my crazy thoughts and ideas. I took the opportunity to start blogging when I was asked to be a guest blogger on the Time4Learning web home school blog. This opened up other opportunities and then I participated in an online blogging course which lasted 6 weeks. This was the beginning of my current blog, Family In Shape, which focuses mostly on fitness and nutrition. Still I find myself wanting to talk about things other than health and fitness, therefore I created a blog called Early Morning Peace. This is where I just talk about anything that pops into my mind.
2) What do you think is the biggest obstacle that keeps women from engaging in a regular fitness routine and/or from living a more healthy lifestyle in general?
Motivation. This is the key to everything we do. From getting up in the morning, to cooking dinner and showering. You have to be motivated enough to commit to work towards your goals. I’m a Personal Trainer/Group Fitness Instructor, an online college student, military wife, mother of four busy kids ages 17, 14, 6, 19 months. My goals are to get my degree, to live a healthy lifestyle, to teach my children well and live long enough to see great grand children. The list doesn’t end there. Without motivation I would never reach my goals. We (women) give, give, give and somewhere along the way we stop taking care of ourselves. But you have to be motivated enough to dig a little deeper and push yourself a little harder everyday. Sometimes we have to say no to the world and yes to ourselves, even if only for one hour each day. I wish I could reach through my blog and inject that drive, that energy that tells someone, “go for a walk, take a bike ride.” Since I can’t physically do this, I hope I can provide enough information for people to become motivated and take back control of their wellbeing.
3) What do you consider to be the most unique or helpful thing about your blog?
One of the things I like about my blog is that its very non-technical. When I train people I talk to them so they can understand me, not so they can see that I know the name of a particular muscle. I’m not there to impress anyone, just to help them improve their health and reach their goal. The same goes for my blog. Sometimes something happens in my life that I can share with others and usually I find solutions which I also share. I am an optimist and see the glass as half full. For every negative event, there is a positive result and that is what I try to share with my readers. Just because I gave in to the cookies and milk monster cravings doesn’t mean that it’s all over and I should throw in the towel. My blog gives clear ideas for fitness, nutrition, ways to relax and have fun. I also like to include the kids in many if not all of the activities. Children learn from our own leadership–if we live a healthy lifestyle they will carry that on through their lives. I may not ever be a size 6 but while I exercised, ate healthy foods, limited not so healthy foods, etc… my kids were watching and learning. That to me is better than being a size 6–which I haven’t been since I was 16
I am most excited when someone leaves a comment saying that I’ve helped them make a change for the better.
Please take some time and visit Spin Diva’s blog: Family In Shape!
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Related Posts:
- Interview: Crabby McSlacker of Cranky Fitness
- Interview: Sally of InDenialHealth.com
- Interview: JoLynn Braley of The Fit Shack
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