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: Lauren of laurensfitness.com
- Interview: Crabby McSlacker of Cranky Fitness
- Interview: Angie Schumacher of Women’s Diet and Fitness
June 25, 2008
Interview: Sally of InDenialHealth.com
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(This is the third in a series of interviews with the top women fitness bloggers I could find!)
Sally has a great blog at InDenialHealth.com. She uses humor, experience and good advice to help motivate and encourage people to change to a healthier lifestyle.
I asked Sally the following questions about her blog:
1) Why did you decide to start your blog or how did you start it?
Actually, my blog started out life in another form as a health and technology site. This came about due to my profession as an e-health administrator. What we started to notice was that our stories on health and trying to find motivation were really popular. Our technology stories eventually gave way and we made the big decision to start a new site with a new name and new direction. This coincided with me getting older and realizing that I’m finding it harder to stay motivated with my health journey. In actual fact, aging is probably one of the most important motivational factors we have to getting fit and healthy but for most women it’s put on their list of *Must Do’s*!
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?
Themselves. Women put everyone and everything before their own wants and needs. Kids, partners, work, home and family are all more important to them and that’s why we are so amazing!
Unfortunately, we are wired this way as part of a primal instinct to protect. This can be very challenging living in a modern world and I think many women put the thought of their health in the back of their minds and just hope that nothing bad happens. And it works for a while, until it doesn’t anymore. The irony is that the very best thing we can do for our family is to make sure we are well, happy and healthy.
3) What do you consider to be the most unique or helpful thing about your blog?
Our blog is a little different in that we recognize for many people, being healthy or coming to terms with a health condition can be challenging and often people try and live in denial, hence the name!
We hope that indenialhealth.com can provide information that is helpful to others without all the hype that you often find on health related sites. Our wish is that we can really connect with people who are either coming to terms with the need to be healthy or those who are still working towards making positive change.
Please take some time and visit Sally’s blog: InDenialHealth.com!
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Related Posts:
- Interview: Crabby McSlacker of Cranky Fitness
- Interview: Angie Schumacher of Women’s Diet and Fitness
- Interview: JoLynn Braley of The Fit Shack
June 24, 2008
Interview: Lauren of laurensfitness.com
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(This is the second in a series of interviews with the top women fitness bloggers I could find!)
Lauren blogs at laurensfitness.com, plays professional volleyball in Europe and is a Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer from Australia. She is also beginning a Masters Degree in Strength and Conditioning.
I recently asked Lauren a few questions about her blog:
1) Why did you decide to start your blog or how did you start it?
Currently I can’t personal train because I play Volleyball full time in Europe. I missed it, and I wanted to be able to do it again in some form. I find there are a lot of misconceptions and a lot of terrible info out there. I want to make sure people get some correct information on body and fitness, and hopefully open up their mind to a few more concepts. Not to mention bust some myths as well, there are a lot still going around the fitness industry that boggle 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?
Simply realizing that you can always find time to exercise. 30 minutes 3 times a week is all you need to get some gains. Time is used as a factor for women not being able to exercise, but in reality it is just a matter of changing their mindset around to find the time and schedule it into their routine.
3) What do you consider to be the most unique or helpful thing about your blog?
Probably the rehab stuff that I talk about on the blog. I find that is my most popular area, and one that is a little more hard to find. I’m finding people are getting a lot of use out of my fascia release and soft tissue posts. It’s an area that a lot of people don’t even know exists, but can bring them a wonderful pain free and mobile existence!
Please visit Lauren’s blog at laurensfitness.com!
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Related Posts:
- Interview: Spin Diva of Family In Shape
- Learn from the best women fitness bloggers!
- Interview: Angie Schumacher of Women’s Diet and Fitness
There’s no magical way to lose weight
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I found out from a blogger friend of mine that there is a new fad diet called Sensa that involves sprinkling so-called ‘tastants’ on your food. They are supposed to make the food taste and smell better and then result in you eating less.
It sounds to me just like another scam to make money off of people desperate to lose weight – the 6-Month Starter Kit costs $210!
Is it magic?
They claim that you can eat whatever you want and don’t need to change anything with your eating or exercise habits. They even say on their site: “There are no food restrictions, and no change in lifestyle. … And you can continue to eat all your favorite foods!“.
That alone – even if some people do lose weight with it – should sound some alarms. Eating healthy foods and exercising isn’t just for losing weight. The nutrients found in foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains are needed for us to stay healthy. Cardiovascular exercise helps us to keep our hearts strong and strength training helps us to maintain muscle mass and to strengthen our bones.
Peer review?
Additionally, I don’t see any mention of the research for this product being published in a peer-reviewed journal, only a very brief summary of a clinical trial. No details of the methodology are included. It is only mentioned that the control group “was given a placebo — crystals that looked like Sensa Tastants, but unlike Tastants, did not enhance smell or taste”. If the ‘placebo’ tastants had no taste or smell, then obviously everyone in the study knew if they were in the test or the control group which could of course skew the results.
What’s in it?
According to the site the ingredients of the tastants are:
1. Maltodextrin (a thickening agent and sweetener)
2. Tricalcium Phosphate (an anti-caking agent)
3. Silica (inert, as far as I can tell)
4. Natural and Artificial Flavors
5. FD&C Yellow 5
6. Carmine
7. Contains Soy and Milk ingredients
Apparently nothing in them needed FDA approval and seem only to do what they claim – add flavor and smell to the food.
Evidence based science?
The guy who is selling this stuff (Alan Hirsch) founded and is the director of the ‘Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation‘ which I believe conducted the ‘research’. I don’t have any other information about this foundation to be able to evaluate the scientific legitimacy of the foundation or its research.
Worth mentioning also – <sarcasm>
his research must be legitimate since he was interviewed by the ‘Prestigious’ medical journal ‘Alternative & Complementary Therapies’</sarcasm>
, as it stated on his foundation’s site.
Smell and appetite
On a personal note – the basic idea of sensa is that if you make food taste and smell better, people will feel full faster and eat less. I have never had a good sense of smell and have alway been pretty skinny. I attribute part of my thinness to my inability to smell. If your sense of smell is strong it seems to me that the smell of good food increases a person’s appetite, while for me – I can hardly smell food and so I don’t get hungry when I’m near it.
Around the blogosphere
Other bloggers who have already written about this include JoLynn Braley and Mike Howard. I would love to hear what medical bloggers like Dr. Val and science bloggers like Orac and those at Denialism would say about sensa, as they have written about weight management and obesity issues.
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June 23, 2008
Interview: Crabby McSlacker of Cranky Fitness
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(This is the first in a series of interviews with the top women fitness bloggers I could find!)
Crabby McSlacker and Merry Sunshine write an excellent fitness blog called Cranky Fitness. Crabby knows how difficult sticking to a healthy lifestyle can be and offers lots of practical advice to make it easier.
I recently asked Crabby a few questions about her blog:
1) Why did you decide to start your blog or how did you start it?
I have a LOT of opinions about health and fitness, and my family and friends were getting really tired of hearing them.
Sample conversation:
Mom: “Guess who I saw a the grocery store today, do you remember Alice who used to live…”
Crabby: “Coffeemate??? Mom, when did you start using Coffeemate in your coffee, don’t you know it’s full of transfats?”
Mom: “So Alice ended up divorcing her husband and went back to college and you know what she’s doing now?”
Crabby: “It says “Fat Free,” sure, but just look at all these hydrogenated oils in the ingredients! How can they get away with…”Anyway, my family and friends seem relieved that I now have Cranky Fitness, which is probably a better outlet for my griping.
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?
The biggest obstacle is that living a healthy lifestyle is a pain in the ass.
Unfortunately, despite all the cheerful magazine articles, it’s really hard and time consuming to get in shape, shop for and cook with healthy ingredients, force yourself to eat broccoli instead of brownies, get enough sleep, avoid products that will kill you eventually… the list goes on and on. Sure, some aspects are fun sometimes, like eating a ripe peach or going on a beautiful beach walk with sunny skies and a cool breeze, but that’s the exception, not the rule. It sometimes takes going to the gym when it’s the last thing you want to do, or eating a healthy salad instead of a cheeseburger. It’s not always fun and easy, and so why would you stick to it unless you’re extraordinarily motivated? Most people just aren’t.
3) What do you consider to be the most unique or helpful thing about your blog?
Well, while we do try to provide useful information occasionally, we’re quite irreverent and whiny and silly and opinionated. Whether this is “helpful” or not is debatable, but I can certainly say we’re unique! Oh, and we have the BEST commenters–often that’s where useful information can be found when we’re just spouting off and being goofy.
Please take some time and visit Crabby and Merry’s blog: Cranky Fitness!
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Related Posts:
- Interview: Angie Schumacher of Women’s Diet and Fitness
- Interview: Sally of InDenialHealth.com
- Interview: JoLynn Braley of The Fit Shack
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