Little Elissa

Howdy all!

I’m Armen, Melanie’s husband.

At 18:45 on Oct 13, 2009, Melanie gave birth to our first child; a beautiful, healthy baby girl weighing in at 8 pounds 2 ounces.

She’s called, Elissa.

Both Melanie and Elissa are doing really well. She probably wouldn’t tell you this, but I can tell you that Melanie’s habitual healthy eating and exercise routine, though very simple, has paid off!

I don’t know if she’ll ever share her pregnancy and labour experience, but she was so well prepared she did amazing through the whole thing! I couldn’t believe my eyes!!

Anyway, I just thought I’d let you know.

Would you do something for me?

Melanie has absolutely no idea I’ve written this. But, I was thinking it might be nice to do.

I was thinking it would be nice to hear from you. I dunno, maybe wish her well in this new adventure of being a mum, or thanking her for what she does here, or whatever.

I just imagine it would be really encouraging for her to see how much she’s appreciated by you, so that when she’s out of hospital and comes home, it’ll just be like an unexpected present waiting for her at home from you

So go on. Leave a little comment, and say hello to Elissa, too!

P.S. Melanie wouldn’t let me take our camera home, so the above is a photo taken from my phone just a couple of hours after delivery.

sxc.hu: bies

Okay, okay, so I may have exaggerated a little with the title!

But, I think it’s pretty neat that household chores could be contributing to my overall health and fitness levels! Get this… if you do four or more household chores per day, it can help you burn over 50,000 calories in one year.

That’s a great way to keep fit, healthy and toned!

Apparently, the average British woman spends more than 16 hours a week cleaning her home – that’s the equivalent of 2 hours and 23 minutes a day!

But, you need to be thinking “elbow grease” here!! Sorry to say guys and gals, moving around the house like a snail does not count!

So, here are a few tips to help you get a good workout at home…

Firstly, try to plan your housework so you constantly have to run up and down the stairs. That’s an easy way of getting a bit of cardio into your housework.

Warm-up
Crank up your fav music and begin with a bit of light housework, such as straightening curtains and cushions, dusting the tops of wardrobes, tidying magazines and newspapers into racks etc.

Do this for up to 5 minutes, until your joints feel looser, but you’re not breaking into a sweat.

Triceps circles
Do 10 circles in one direction, then 10 circles in the other direction. You can use this motion when washing windows, cleaning the bath, polishing, etc.

Remember, the more you put into this one, the more you’ll get out!

Glute squeezes
Squeeze your buttocks together as hard as you can for about 10 seconds every couple of minutes as you carry out the ironing or washing dishes.

For the ladies, don’t forgot those kegels—associating them with a task you do often is the best way to remind yourself to do them every single day.

Body stretches
Give yourself a really good stretch every time you reach up to dust the tops of shelves, organise kitchen cupboards or rearrange your bookcase.

Also, when you’re vacuuming, try to put some extra muscle into pushing the vacuum forward and then pulling it back again, the key is to move slowly so you’re getting a good stretch.

Squatting
Squats are one of my favorite exercises. Why not combine them with a little laundry at the same time?

Slowly squat down when you need to pick up dirty laundry, remembering to keep your back straight, push yourself down a little further to make your legs work harder, then up again. You could include one squat for each piece of laundry you need to pick up.

Arm extensions
Give the floor a good scrub with a hand brush or cloth, rather than using a mop. To get the best from this workout, exaggerate your arm movements.

Another good one is to place your laundry basket on the floor when you’re ironing, this way you’ll constantly have to bend and stretch to reach the clothes on the ground.

Cool down
Don’t forget to include a 5 minutes cool down period. Straightening the bed clothes or reaching to put away dishes will work well here.

Bonus tip: cooking from scratch burns way more calories than simply popping a meal in the microwave!

So, get a little creative in the kitchen with all that peeling, chopping and whisking. Why not have a go at making your own healthy bread? Kneading dough is hard work you know!

Calories burned per hour

Check out these estimates for calories burned per hour taken from Weight Loss Resources:

• Walking at a moderate pace - 287 calories/hour
• Vacuuming - 193.7 calories/hour
• Dusting - 173.6 calories/hour
• Painting, inside projects - 66 calories/hour
• Gardening, weeding - 287.8 calories/hour
• Mopping floors - 193.7 calories/hour
• Car washing - 234 calories/hour
• Cleaning windows - 180.3 calories/hour
• Ironing - 113.1 calories/hour
• Wallpapering - 133.2 calories/hour
• Chopping wood - 415.5 calories/hour
• Walking up and down stairs, moderate - 516.3 calories/hour

What are your tips for making housework into a full-on workout at home?

sxc.hu: stylesr1

Are you a couch potato?

How long do you think it would take to get control over your fitness and start seeing results?

There’s no doubt, getting fit can seem like a bit of an overwhelming process. I’m beginning to contemplate this very thing myself… with only a few days till our first child arrives, I’m entering into the unknown territory of post-pregnancy body!

It’s definitely going to test what I’m made of. I talk about this stuff a lot on my blog, but I often ask myself do I really know what it’s like to be on the other side??? Well, I soon will!

Anyway, the video below really caught my attention. It shows how KingExtreme turns his beer belly into a six-pack in 365 days.

I think a video like this has real visual impact…

What do you think of his transformation?

I’m sure you’ll agree, recording your progress is a great way to recognize small achievements and maintain motivation, whether your goal is weight loss or muscle building.

So, how can you track your progress? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Get snap happy!
Follow KingExtreme’s example and take a picture of yourself every day for a year, wearing similar clothing each time, then put it together in a video to show your progress.

2. Measure up
Make a record of body measurements each month and keep a spreadsheet with this info:

• Bust: measure around the widest part
• Chest: measure just under your bust
• Waist: measure a half-inch above your belly button or at the smallest part of your waist
• Hips: measure around the biggest part of your hips
• Thighs: measure around the biggest part of each thigh
• Calves: measure around the largest part of each calf
• Upper arm: measure around the largest part of each arm above the elbow

3. Use the scales
Step on the scales each week and track your weight using an excel spreadsheet. When you have enough data you could turn the info into a graph for similar visual effect to the video.

4. Not so technical
If you don’t want to get this technical, try using your favorite pair of skinny jeans, a ring on one of your fingers, notches on your favorite belt, your favorite swim suit, or whatever method you find useful.

So, how do you track fitness or weight loss progress? Share your ideas with us!

sxc.hu: lusi

The guidelines have recently changed concerning eating peanuts during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Here in the UK, the advice was that peanuts and peanut products may need to be avoided during pregnancy and breastfeeding if your baby was at high risk (i.e. had a parent or sibling with allergic conditions such as hay fever, asthma and/or eczema).

This was precautionary advice, based on the concern that by eating peanuts there may be a transfer through to the developing infant, which could affect whether they would develop a peanut allergy in childhood.

However, following a major review of the scientific evidence, this advice has been revised.

The review has shown no clear evidence that eating peanuts during pregnancy, whilst breastfeeding, or during early infant life influences the chances of a child developing a peanut allergy.

As a result the Government have now revised their position:

Pregnancy/breastfeeding:
If mothers would like to eat peanuts or foods containing peanuts during pregnancy or whilst breastfeeding, they can choose to do so as part of a healthy balanced diet, irrespective of whether they have a family history of allergies.

Introducing peanuts:
If mothers choose to start giving their baby solid foods before 6 months (after talking to a health visitor or GP), they should not introduce peanuts or other allergens such as nuts, seeds, milk, eggs, wheat, fish or shellfish before this time. Furthermore, when these foods are introduced, they should be introduced one at a time, so that they can spot any allergic reaction.

Diagnosed allergy:
Where a child has already been diagnosed with another kind of allergy (e.g. eczema or an allergy to foods other than peanut), or if there is a history of allergy in the child’s family, mothers are encouraged to talk to their GP, health visitor, or medical allergy specialist before giving peanut to the child for the first time, because they are at higher risk of developing peanut allergy.

So, in short, if you want to eat peanuts or foods containing peanuts during pregnancy or breastfeeding, you can choose to do so as part of a healthy, balanced diet, regardless of whether your child has a family history of allergies.

To find out more:

• Food Standards Agency
• Committee on Toxicity

Do you have similar guidelines in the US for avoiding peanuts during pregnancy or breastfeeding?

You may also be interested in Are Peanuts Healthy?

Have you tried Alli, or considered using it to lose weight?

I’m certainly not a fan of taking pills and potions as a quick fix solution, but I know that for some people these are an option and they can work.

So, I thought it was worthwhile taking a closer look at Alli today.

What is Alli?
Alli is the reduced-strength version of orlistat (Xenical), a prescription drug used in the treatment of obesity.

It’s approved for over-the-counter sale to overweight adults (BMI of 28 or more), and is meant to be used in conjunction with a low-calorie, low-fat diet, and regular exercise.

So, with it being so easy to access, is Alli really your answer to losing weight permanently?

How does Alli work?
Alli encourages weight loss by decreasing your absorption of fat in the intestines, this in turn reduces the number of calories you absorb.

Lipase is an enzyme found in the digestive tract, which helps break down dietary fat into smaller components to be used, or stored, for energy. Alli works by disabling lipase–this prevents the enzyme from breaking down the fat while it is in your digestive tract, and therefore the undigested fat continues through your intestines, being eliminated in your bowel movements.

The idea is that you take Alli with fat-containing meals, up to three times per day. It is said to prevent absorption of around 25% dietary fat.

How much weight can I expect to lose?
Alli could result in an average of 3 pounds lost in a year. This is in addition to the approximate 8 pounds you could expect to lose from diet and exercise alone.

Unfortunately, only a small number of studies have evaluated the effectiveness of Alli, and in fact, many of the weight loss estimates are based on studies conducted on its prescription-strength counterpart, Xenical, so it’s unclear how relevant these would be.

Are there any side effects of using Alli?
As with most drugs, there can be unpleasant side effects when using Alli. It’s recommended you eat no more than 15 grams of fat with each meal–by eating higher amounts you may experience some of the unwanted effects:

• Urgent bowel movements
• Diarrhea
• Gas 
• Oily spotting

You should also be aware that the absorption of certain fat-soluble vitamins (A, D and E) is reduced when taking Alli, therefore you need to be taking a daily vitamin supplement to prevent nutrient deficiencies, if you decide to take Alli.

You shouldn’t take Alli if:

• You are a healthy weight
• You are taking cyclosporine
• You have had an organ transplant
• You have problems absorbing food
• You are taking blood-thinning medication or have diabetes or thyroid disease–discuss with your doctor first

So, how long should I take Alli?
Personally, I think Alli may have a beneficial role for some people for the first 6 months of weight loss. But, you must try to see it for what it is, it is a helping hand towards modest weight loss, not a quick fix solution.

How should Alli fit into my lifestyle?
If you decide Alli is right for you, you need to make a consistent effort to change your eating habits, and add exercise to your daily routine. This is the only way it can be effective long-term.

I would strongly advise that you see your doctor first before starting to take this weight loss pill, and if necessary ask to be referred to a registered dietitian, who will work out a suitable eating and exercise plan, specific to your individual needs.

Despite the fact that this drug is available without prescription, I believe a considerable amount of support is necessary if you are to change your eating habits for life. This is where a qualified health professional can help. 

Remember, drugs can never deal with the underlying reasons for your initial weight gain.

What do you think of Alli? Would you consider using it if necessary?