Oct 24 2012
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Uncategorized

Breast Cancer Self Checks: Take Your Health Into Your Own Hands

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We are all aware of what breast cancer is and the devastating effect it can have on everyone involved. But what we really need to be more aware of is our own breast health and our own bodies.

Full transparency: Getting cancer is a huge fear of mine. I’m not afraid for my health in any other capacity – I find hand sanitizer a joke, I’ll eat after people I’m not even Facebook friends with and my 5 second rule is a good 5 days- but I am petrified I’m going to get some sort of cancer. Maybe because it strikes all types of people. Obesity related diseases I can control, lifestyle related diseases are easily avoided, but cancer can strike anyone, anytime. Add to that the fact that I don’t have health insurance (thank you, freelance work and finding a personal need to have a career I enjoy) and it’s pretty much on me to do everything I can to prevent that C-word: Healthy diet, regular exercise and regular self exams.

Know the facts: About 1 in 8 U.S. women (just under 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.

Prevention is key. Do a self breast exam once a month.

Do you even know how? Not many women do.

First: Stand with your shoulders straight, hands on your hips. Look in the mirror for:

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Oct 20 2012
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Uncategorized

SUBWAY’s Get Fit Like the Seahawks Winners!

I had to.

We know how you guys get fit like the Seahawks (and how fantastically fit they are all looking this year), but what about the little ones?

I was asked to helped judge the SUBWAY FRESH FIT “Get Fit Like the Seahawks” Video and Poster Competition, and the winners have been chosen! And I must say, my faves took the top prizes!

The two grand prize winners, Emily, 3rd grade, Lakeland Hills Elementary and Elizabeth, 4th grade, Lawton Elementary, each received an awards package including an autographed Seahawks football, tickets to the November 4 Seahawks game vs. Vikings (jealous!), $500 in SUBWAY Cards, and a $1,000 fitness grant for their school to purchase new equipment and education resources.

Runners up in the contest, each receiving a $100 SUBWAY Card and tickets to the November 4 Seahawks game vs. Vikings (still jealous!), are: Killian, 2nd grade, Martin Sortun Elementary; Ivy, 1st grade, James Sales Elementary; and Zac, 3rd grade, Frantz Coe Elementary.

“It was great to reward the students for their initiative, creativity and active lifestyle,” said Seahawks president Peter McLoughlin. “These students are committed to staying healthy and fit and have set a great example for their friends and families.”

Check out these healthy kids, and their prize winning entries here:

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Sep 22 2012
10 Comments
Fun Stuff, Giveaways

How Do You Get Fit Like the Seahawks? (And Giveaway!)

Obesity rates in my lovely state of Washington have almost doubled in the past 15 years. 11.1 percent of children and adolescents in Washington are considered obese. Why? Because our children eat crap and they don’t move enough. Simple as that.

Local SUBWAY restaurants are working hard to make feeding your child healthy options a little easier and in addition to their healthier, lighter offerings are taking it a step further. SUBWAY is teaming up with my future ex-husbands The Seahawks to tackle (ha!) childhood obesity with a fun contest that rewards students for eating healthy and staying active. Through Oct. 1, all students are invited to share how they “Get Fit Like the Seahawks“.

“We are excited to broaden our partnership with SUBWAY restaurants through the FRESH FIT Video and Poster Competition,” said Seahawks president Peter McLoughlin. “We want students to share their success stories and how leading an active lifestyle helps them to succeed.”

Just like the Seahawks (Go Hawks!), all athletes have to work hard to keep their body in tip-top condition. The Hawks want to see how students stay in shape. Public, private and homeschooled students ages 5 to 14 are invited to share their own fitness game plan, through a poster or video, for an entry in to the SUBWAY FRESH FIT Video and Poster Competition. Contest entries will then be judged by a local panel (which includes me!) Every entry gets a $5 gift card to SUBWAY, and a select few stand out entries will be selected for some sweet swag:

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Sep 13 2012
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Fitness, Fun Stuff, Reviews

Kelly Turner Fitness Approved

Kelly Turner Fitness approved is an inside joke with my boyfriend. If I eat anything bad he will jump up and point and yell “That’s not Kelly Turner Fitness Approved!!” So I’m going with it.

Part of my job is to play product guinea pig. I can’t, in good faith, tell you something is The Shit, if it’s a piece of shit, no? So, when I get assigned articles about the greatest gear for XYZ, I gotta try it for myself. And every once in a while, I get some amazing things I can’t not rave about. So, eat it, Julie Andrews, here are a few of MY favorite things:

First off: Passport to Prana 

I didn’t get this to review, but wrote it up and would totally spend my own money on it. Not only is it an awesome value ($30 is close to the drop in for ONE class) for the attention span challenged like myself, you can try a variety of instructors, studios, styles and atmospheres. I’m serious, someone local do this with me. Also a great gift idea.

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Sep 10 2012
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Nutrition, Recipe Remix

How to Perfectly Prepare a Spaghetti Squash

This is a spaghetti squash.

Say hi.

I’ve got nothing against some good starchy carbs, but a heaping plateful of spaghetti, even if it is whole grain, will put you in a calorie coma. Spaghetti squash is a great alternative. Anyone that tells you it tastes like spaghetti or that no one will know you used it is a dirty liar, but it’s delicious and you can eat as much as you want for hardly any calories. You bake it, scrape it with a fork, and the squash comes out in nice little noodles. I swear.

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Sep 03 2012
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Nutrition, Recipe Remix

Carbs for All! Pumpkin Pecan Loaf Recipe

Carbs get a bad rap, but in reality only certain carbs should be avoided. In fact, your brain runs 100% on carbs, so if you stop eating them, your brain turns to mush and your mood turns worse. Choosing the right carbs is what is important. White carbs like pasta, rice and bread are so bleached and processed the nutrition is stripped from them. Not only that but they turn to sugar immediately, causing a spike in your blood sugar. I call this the Chinese Food effect: you can eat your weight in Chinese food, feel like you are going to explode, but an hour later you are hungry again looking for something in the fridge. Why? Cause the food is so heavy in sugar and fast burning carbs that your blood sugar levels drop, causing you to crave more food and overeat. Whole grains (not “multigrain” and not “made with whole grains” but 100% whole grain foods like brown rice, whole grain pasta and whole wheat bread) do the opposite- they stabilize blood sugars so you stay fuller, longer and they haven’t been stripped of their nutrients so you get a healthy dose of vitamins, nutrients and the food freebie fiber.

I love carbs. There is nothing better than having a big slice of sweet, delicious, warm carbs and a cup of coffee in the morning. Usually to get this, people will head to Starbucks to order a latte and whatever stale, sugar coated scone is left in the fingerprint smudged case. “It says bran!” you say. “It’s healthy!” Hardly. Just because it has one healthy ingredient doesn’t mean the rest are healthy, too. (While we are on the subject, the multigrain bagel is also clever marketing – it’s not whole grain.)

Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could go somewhere and order a delicious treat and know that it is not only yummy, but completely healthy? You can’t, cause that doesn’t make anyone money, so you must make it yourself. That’s the only way you can truly control what goes into your food, and into your body.

TRAChealth sent me some chia seeds to try out for www.sweatlist.com, and by some, I mean 30 bags, and at a 2 tbsp serving size, it’s going to take me a million years to get through this stash. And so…I bake!

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Jul 23 2012
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Fitness, Q and A

Q and A: Good stretching Recommendations

Cause it just feels so good…

Q: Hi, I am a 64 year male with good health but not in great shape. I was hoping you could recommend a video on stretching to improve my flexibility. Something I could follow along with in the mornings. Thanks. -Patrick

A: Congrats on working on your flexibility- it is sorely overlooked for something that can have such a huge impact on your everyday life. This is something that drives me crazy: everyone needs to stretch, yet there aren’t many workouts or fitness classes devoted to 20+ minutes of good old fashioned stretching.

There are a ton of great DVDs you can try, but there are also a lot of free alternatives, like OnDemand if you have Comcast cable and on the Internet.

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Jul 18 2012
1 Comment
Reviews

BodyRock Makes Dreams Come True

I’m gunna tell you an I swear to god it’s true story and not an it’s kind of true but since I’m on the internet and no one will know for sure I’m going to exaggerate story.

I’m a celebrity gossip readin’ gal, and one day, I wanna say a little over a year ago, I saw a pic of the Kardashians walking, and Kylie was wearing a BodyRock sports bra: bright pink with flowers, a gold zipper down the front and shiny crystals around the neckline under a loose white tank. I instantly fell in love. Bible. I immediately looked it up: The Sophie bra. I drooled a bit, and went about my very important life.

Over that year, somewhere along the way I received a BodyRock sports bra to review for some article somewhere floating out there on the internet. When the package arrived I was STOKED to see a gorgeous turquoise and white sports bra with a deep V that made my cleavage stop traffic. I love it, and still wear it, but felt a little pang of sadness that it was not my darling Sophie.

Flash forward to an article assignment from FitDay about fashionable workout clothing, and Sophie was first on my list. I emailed, crossed my fingers and my prayers were answered.

Come on- even the packaging is cute

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Jul 17 2012
3 Comments
Fitness, Motivation

Indomitable Soles Set Sights Higher Than Just Finishing the Washington Ragnar Adventure Relay

Oh, you thought you were cool cause you got a little muddy during a Warrior race?

If you really think you’re a road warrior, try devoting 2 whole days to running 190 miles, and sleeping in your van, not because they’re homeless after spending all their money on Lulu, but so they don’t miss a step of the race  Now that’s an athlete.

I’m excited to announce the ultimate race of all races, the Ragnar Relay is coming to Seattle!

In case you are unaware, Ragnar Relay is an adventure race, and the next big stop for the series is in home sweet home Washington State. The 190 mile overnight team relay race starts in Blaine, WA on Friday, July 20, and then winds along the coast, crosses  over Deception Pass and onto the coast of Whidbey Island, finally ending  in Langley on Saturday, July 21. All 5 years, the Ragnar Northwest Passage race, Good old Washington’s leg, always draws a big crowd. This year, race organizers anticipate more than 4,000 runners making up some 388 teams.

This. Is. Awesome. What’s better than gathering a van full of your crazy friends and take turns running through the entire state? When one gets tired, needs a beer, or has to check Facebook, you trade off.Teams contain the young and old, the avid athlete and beginner runner, and everything in between. For some, this is just a race, but for others the Ragnar Relay means so much more.

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Jul 11 2012
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Fun Stuff, Reviews

I’m Lazy and Cheap, but with Gaiam, Still Fashionable

Everyone lives in workout clothes nowadays, even if they haven’t stepped foot in a gym. Workout clothes are getting more and more fashionable so women can wear them all day long and not be accused of being homeless. Sweatpants are somehow acceptable if they are stretchy and called yoga pants, and the boyfriend’s old, tattered t-shirts have now been replaced by adorable sports bras and skin baring tanks.

Fine by me: I rarely get dressed. I wake up and immediately start working. Then, I’ll throw on some gym clothes, workout, and go back to working. You wouldn’t believe some of the ridiculous half pajama/half gym outfits I come up with- and dare to leave the house in. When you work from home- yoga pants is dressing UP for the day.

I find people cut me some slack when they find out I’m a fitness writer. You must work out CONSTANTLY, they say. Yoga pants are like your WORK UNIFORM, they joke. It’s motivational you wear workout clothes all the time, they gush. If only they knew it just happens to be the outfit I fell asleep in the night before. BUT- if the clothes are cute, bright and well put together, you’re stylish, not lazy.

Gaiam gets that. I love Gaiam. Gaiam is the O.G. of fitness. There is something sweet, ethereal and calming about Gaiam. Eco-friendly, sophisticated- I feel calmer and lighter just talking about them. That’s why I featured them in an upcoming article on FitDay.com about gym to street style. Why not save money, and be presentable at all times, by buying clothes that can fit easily into your workout wardrobe AND your regular wardrobe?

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