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Should Obesity be Classified a Disease?

Ok. We all know that being obese has certain medical complications (If not check out the above diagram). According to the LAtimes on June 18, 2013 the American Medical Association has declared obesity a disease. The move by the American Medical Assn. board means that one-third of adults (78 million) and 17% of children (12 million) in the U.S. have a medical condition that requires treatment. Hmmmmm.

I really would like to hear your feedback regarding this decision. Do you think obesity should be considered a disease? I thought  obesity just meant being at least 30 pounds overweight. What will happen with health insurance rates if in fact one-third of adults and 17% of children in the U.S will need treatment?

I used to be 30 pounds overweight and so has many other people but I wouldn’t say that I had a disease. I was able to workout and eat right to lose the weight. Since this decision was made many reputable sources have removed their definition of what a disease is.

How are you fueling your tank?

Which picture do you think most people are fueling their bodies with? The left or right? 

How do you like the images above? Pretty cool right….Well Yes and No. We all have heard of the term “You are what you eat” and it is a really true statement. The two pictures above really puts this saying into perspective. It took me a while to realize that the kinds of food that I ate either had a negative or positive effect on my health and physical performance. I’m not perfect, there are sometimes I will eat junk food when hanging out with close friends or if I am celebrating an occasion but I am sure to get back on track the next day.

Foods that are whole and natural are full of vitamins and nutrients that supply our bodies with energy and the fuel it needs for maximum performance, weight loss, and healthy blood sugar levels. Foods that are processed such as fast food, potato chips, cookies, and sodas does just the opposite. The body is not designed to digest processed, junk and fake foods and when it does most of all of it is stored as fat. Yes, this food can be worked off but you would probably have to triple or even quadruple your workout times just to burn off the calories. Is it really worth it?

Ultimately, it is ok to have cheat food from time to time but we should not make it apart of our daily eating routine. Some people like myself have it bad. Once I start eating bad its kind of tough to turn it off therefore I don’t do it much. On another note, some people can have one slice of pie and be perfectly fine after that. Fast food nutrition should make up a very minimal part of a healthy diet. Fast foods and junk foods are high in fat, sodium and sugar, which can lead to obesity and a wide range of health problems, including diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

Benefits of healthy eating

• Eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may reduce risk for heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.
• Eating a diet rich in some vegetables and fruits as part of an overall healthy diet may protect against certain types of cancers.
• Diets rich in foods containing fiber, such as some vegetables and fruits, may reduce the risk of heart disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes.
• Eating vegetables and fruits rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may lower blood pressure, and may also reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and help to decrease bone loss.
• Eating foods such as vegetables that are lower in calories per cup instead of some other higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.

Negative Effects on junk food

Junk food is often high in sugar, salt, white flour, and fat, particularly saturated fat. It is often heavily processed and prepackaged, making it easy to prepare and consume. A few examples of foods often considered to be junk food include fast food, sweets such as ice cream, candy, donuts, and prepackaged treats, soda, and potato chips, among many others. Most people have no trouble identifying junk food; it is when they want to stop eating junk food that the trouble starts.

The first effect of eating junk food is its impact on energy levels. Many people skip breakfast or other meals throughout the day, choosing instead to grab a quick snack or a soft drink. The junk food causes energy levels to spike, which people like, but then energy levels will quickly plummet, sending one back into the kitchen for another quick snack. In addition, junk food can cause moodiness, and make it difficult to get enough sleep at night, so energy levels are never restored to normal.

So I encourage you today to start thinking about the foods that you eat and how they will benefit your health and your physical performance before you eat it. If you are about to eat a piece a cake, think of all the nutritional benefits that it has…… which is probably zero unless it is a Paleo cake :). If it doesn’t have any benefits then you may want to choose a better alternative.

Thanks for reading as always,

-LJay

3 Year Anniversary!

It’s been 3 years since the blog was created! Woah does time fly by. We all had some great discussions on previous blog post over the past years and I want to make this year even better. I am asking for your feedback on topics that you would like to read about in the future. If you have any other recommendations that can improve the blog, I want to hear those too. 🙂 I really appreciate all of my readers and want to make your experience on the site as interesting as possible. 

Leave a comment and use the poll below.

A Day That Will Never Be Forgotten

This is probably the most depressing blog topics that I have written about in two years. As many of you are aware, two explosives were detonated at the finish line during the Boston Marathon today 04/15/2013. I am not writing this blog to report the news and give you politics or the facts, however I am writing this to express my condolences to those that are no longer with us and those who are severely injured. All of our prayers and thoughts at LJay Health goes out to families of the victims, the Boston community, running family and the nation as a whole.

The Boston Marathon is like the Super Bowl for many runners and everyone works very hard to get there. Unfortunately the glory and victory was taken away from the athletes who ran the marathon today. Who would have ever thought that someone would intentionally plant explosive devices at a marathon, it definitely caught everyone off guard.

I have ran 5 marathons to date, 30 miles this past Sunday and running the Boston marathon was in my future. Considering the events that happened today, I am not really sure how I feel at this point in time. It is really a heart felt moment for myself and millions of other people. It is important that we not live in fear but to be very cautious in everything we do.

One thing that we can take away from this tragedy is to remember to cherish life and be there for one another. I want to leave you with a quote that I was inspired by especially after today.

Live, Love, and cherish Life. Make friends, memories, and plans. Your life is about you, but life is not about you. Fall in love. Love the fall and winter and spring and summer. Ski, skate, sing and dance. Smell the rain and the chocolate chip cookies. Take all the time you need, but don’t waste it. Catch the big one with your dad. Go on a trip with your mom. Love children, for you were once one. Learn from your elders, and one day you’ll have their wisdom. Seek the truth. Find it in yourself, others, and in your faith. Be patient and gentle. Most of all truly live.

Leave a comment and let me know how you are feeling even if its just to vent.

 

More Natural Whole Foods

It’s always interesting to see the studies done on processed foods and how they compare to natural whole foods. In the photo above the watermelon aged as time went by representing that it is a natural food from the earth. On the flip side, the burger and fries did not age as time went by and as a matter of fact it looked exactly the same 180 days later.

When we eat processed foods like burger, fries, vending machine foods, cookies, chips, soda etc our bodies have a hard time processing the food as energy therefore stores the food as fat and toxins in the body.

Foods that are natural, whole and from nature like fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, and lean meats are better absorbed by the body and used as fuel for energy.

Why not look good from the inside out rather than from the outside in. Incorporating more natural food in the diet helps improve skin tone, eye sight, improve chronic diseases, and helps with sleep patterns.

I use to have bad skin before eating more natural foods and would be so focused on buying skin care products and going to see the dermatologist to apply chemicals to my skin. Nothing would really work, I saw a little improvement but didn’t get the results I wanted. When I started eating foods like spinach, broccoli, carrots, nuts, berries and fruits and drinking water I started to notice that my skin tone improved drastically. Blemishes were gone, oily skin reduced, and pimples didn’t appear anymore.

What kind of improvements have you noticed while eating whole foods?

Remember eat to live and not live to eat. Correct the issues starting from the inside out and make this a great year to improve your health!

Thanks for reading as always,

LJay Health

Jax Bank Marathon

Completed the Jacksonville Bank marathon this past Sunday 12/16/2012 in Jacksonville, FL! It was a great race with a flat and shaded course. I used this race as a training run for the ING Miami marathon in 6 more weeks.

The day afterwards my body was sore and I was walking like tin man (very slow) but today feels awesome and I am back to normal.

I stopped more frequently for water during the race because the sun came out and drained everything out of me. But my time was still pretty good considering.

This makes for marathon number 2 and will be completing number 3 next month!

What are some of your 2013 goals? It can be nutritionally, physically or both. Please share!

ING Miami Marathon

I am slowly gearing up for the ING Miami Marathon. This will be my 2nd full marathon (26.2 miles) and I am excited about the awesome scenic route of Miami. I think that this will be a great way to start the New Year and set the expectation for my 2013 race year. I have 8 weeks left until the big day Sunday, January 27, 2013. My training schedule includes 4 runs a week in which Saturday’s are my long runs consisting of 14+ miles. I am using a running plan by http://www.runnersworld.com/training-plans/marathon-training-plans.

Goals: My goals for the race is to finish in 3 hours and 30 minutes, and to drop to race weight which is about 10lbs I will need to lose in 8 weeks. Losing the additional weight will help my body last longer and relieve the stress on knees and legs during the long distance.

The Course: The race will start in downtown Miami (Biscayne Bay) and then head over the first Causeway (2 miles) unto South and Miami Beach. After running on South Beach runners will head back over the Causeway (2 miles)back into downtown Miami and then all the way down into Coconut Grove and turn around heading to the finish line.

Participants: This year (2012) there were almost 4,000 marathoners and over 16,000 half marathoners. With that being said, they are expecting an even bigger turnout for 2013 since ING NY Marathon was cancelled. Runners will be coming from all over the world to run this race and mingle with other runners.

Recommendation for 1st time marathoners: My best advice to prospective marathoners looking to run a marathon is to be consistent with training and put in the time. Nutrition is equally important and both go hand and hand. If you have a marathon training schedule you should try and follow it as much as possible but don’t beat yourself up if you miss a day. Also, please please please listen to your body and avoid injuring yourself.

If you are thinking about registering or want to know more about the race there is still time to sign up and I am including the link to the website: http://www.ingmiamimarathon.com/

Ill be sure to let you know how the race goes! To keep up to date with my training and day to day prep, follow me on Facebook or Twitter @ljayhealth. Both links are also found on the left side of this page!

Happy Thanksgiving!

On behalf of LJAY HEALTH, I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks so much for following and reading my blog. I am thankful to have all of you as a great support system and fitness family! Enjoy your feast, workouts, family etc!

Share with us, what are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?