By Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D., CSSD “I religiously track my food and exercise. I’m eating 1,300 calories (the number my tracker told me to eat if I want to lose 2 pounds a week). I’ve been following a strict diet and the scale hasn’t budged. My friends tell me I am eating too little. I…
Whether traveling for business or pleasure, chances are that many of us will find ourselves in an airport at some point in the coming months. While travel days can sometimes be chaotic as you try to get to the airport on time, haul luggage in and out of the car and make sure you have…
Q: I am getting ready to compete in my first half marathon. In my training, I have been following the advice of friends who are runners and consulting books/websites. Race day approaches, and my resources instruct me to begin “tapering.” What does that mean? Good luck with that race! And, may we suggest that you…
Some athletes are still on the “see-food diet.” They see food and they eat it. Others are a bit more mindful about how they nourish their bodies; they put thought into selecting high-quality foods that invest in good health, quick healing and top performance. They commonly report they have taken their diets to the next…
In the search to maximize training and improvement performance, many are now looking at what is done during recovery as a component of the entire training/performance routine. Many recovery modalities have been touted as the answer to post-exercise fatigue and reduced performance. There are three potential benefits that may be considered: immediate recovery (right after…
Periodization is a programming tool where individuals, typically athletes, implement training cycles that take several things into consideration including when peak performance is needed. Periodization is an organized and purposeful approach to training that considers both the physical and physiological adaptations that need to occur while reducing the risk of overtraining. Any individual training for…
While race day or game day itself is often exciting, unpredictable and public, the training that prepares us for the big day can be anything but. The grueling, tedious and monotonous nature of preparation, typically done away from public view, can make sticking with a training program difficult. In this article, we consider the mental…
Recently, I received a letter from my health insurance agency regarding a free online service which provided supportive self-help tools for health. It caused me some concern when they referred to high blood pressure and high cholesterol as common conditions. While these may be common conditions, the risk of developing many of these can be…
You may have heard the term ?chronic inflammation? but may not know what it is or why it is important. Inflammation is an immune system response to harmful agents or damaged cells and is usually termed acute or chronic. Chronic inflammation refers to a more gradual, prolonged inflammatory response that involves progressive changes in various…
Sedentary behavior, or sitting, is a common health-related behavior in adults. Research has shown that prolonged sitting increases the risk of heart disease, type-2 diabetes and some cancers. Sit-to-stand workstations are becoming common in offices to help workers reduce their sitting time. This study examined time spent sitting at work, and after work, in office…
Sitting for a long time is very common, with some people sitting for nearly 13 hours a day. Too much sitting is bad for your health and can lead to a lot of diseases and early death. For that and other reasons, governments around the world recommend 30 minutes of regular physical activity each day….
Professional soccer teams often blame mental fatigue when they lose. Until now, sport scientists had not tested the effects of mental fatigue on soccer performance. It also was not clear whether physical and/or technical aspects of performance might be affected. In this study, the investigators assessed the impact of mental fatigue on tests of soccer-specific…