Here are 5 simple ways to cut 250 calories:

1. Drink plain coffee instead of a sweetened coffee drink. Flavored coffee drinks are delicious but filled with way too much sugar. Drop 250 calories (or more) when you stick with plain coffee or tea instead of sugar-filled coffee drinks.
2. Jog for 30 minutes. Want in on a little secret? The hardest part about a simple 30 minute jog is the act of getting your shoes on and walking out the door. It’s true.
3. Exchange 20 oz of regular soda for water. You know that soda is filled with tons of sugar, so why are you still drinking it? Every time you crave an ice cold cola picture swallowing spoonfuls of white sugar. That’s probably the easiest way to weight gain. Stick with water and kiss those extra calories goodbye.
4. Swim laps for 30 minutes. If your response to my jogging suggestion was ‘I have bad joints’, then you are in luck. Swimming is one of the best aerobic activities you can do, and it is impact-free. When you swim you recruit your entire body, a process which requires lots of energy—AKA calories.
5. Eat an apple instead of a cookie. Do you always go for something sweet after dinner? While your first instinct may be to reach for a cookie or a bowl of ice cream, why not consider what nature has to offer? Fruit is sweet, natural and lower in calories than traditional desserts.

Everyone knows that they function better when they’ve gotten a good night’s sleep the day before; moreover, regular high quality sleep can have an incredible positive effect on your overall health.  After much research I have compiled a list of the top 15 reasons to make proper sleep a priority in your life:

1. Reduced Stress – When you are sleep deprived, your body goes into a state of high alert – meaning that your blood pressure rises and production of stress hormones like cortisol increases. Not only does high blood pressure put you at risk for a host of health problems, more stress hormones actually make it more difficult for you to fall asleep when the time comes. Furthermore, regular sleep makes it easier to cope with life’s stressful situations.

2. Weight Control – It has been proven that people who get less than seven hours of sleep each night are more likely to be overweight or obese, and that lack of sleep has a negative impact on the balance of hormones that control your appetite.

3. Alertness & Productivity – Regular sleep increases your alertness and energy levels, causing you to be more productive and engaged the next day. Furthermore, regular sleep helps to keep you safe and aware.

4. Memory Boost – Memory consolidation happens while you sleep; during the night, your body processes the previous day and makes connections between events, sensory input, feelings, and older memories. Depriving yourself of sleep can lead to memory loss and related problems.

5. Reduced Risk of Depression - The amount of sleep you get has a direct effect on your serotonin levels, and people with a serotonin deficiency are much more likely to suffer from depression. Therefore, getting at least eight hours of sleep a night can have a direct effect on your brain chemistry and mood.

6. Stronger Immune System - Being sleep deprived can literally make you sick – by weakening your immune system so that your body has a harder time fighting off viruses and infections. Regular sleep can not only help you recover faster, it can prevent you from becoming ill in the first place.

7. Improved Physical Appearance – The term “beauty sleep” has very real connotations, because while you sleep your body restores and regenerates itself, including your skin and muscle tissue. Lack of sleep speeds up the aging process, resulting in dull skin, wrinkles, and dark under-eye circles.

8. Heart Health – Sleep deprivation has been linked to an increase in blood pressure and cholesterol, which are major risk factors for heart disease and strokes (among other things).

9. Diabetes Prevention – People, even otherwise fit and healthy individuals, have developed insulin resistance (a symptom linked to the onset of Type 2 diabetes) after being deprived of the deepest stage of sleep for only a few nights – an effect comparable to gaining twenty or thirty pounds. It goes to follow that regular sleep can help prevent diabetes.

10. Brain Power – Regular sleep allows your brain to process information more quickly and completely; your mind can comprehend new concepts more quickly and you will be more intellectually acute overall with plenty of rest. Learning new skills will also be easier, as your concentration is improved.

11. Increased Coordination – If you participate in any sports or other activities that require coordination and physical fitness, a good night’s sleep will ensure you are at the peak of your abilities. Your ability to work out and build muscle and endurance is also enhanced with consistent rest.

12. Overall Safety - People who get regular sleep are significantly less likely to engage in risky behaviors and substance abuse, as well as to use potentially harmful prescription drugs and other chemical sleep aids.

13. Better Moods – Lack of sleep tends to result in crankiness and a general negative and pessimistic mood; sleep deprived people can be unpleasant to be around and anti-social; on the other hand, more healthy sleep can lead to more positive interaction with others and increased happiness.

14. Heightened Creativity – Many artists and other creative types have come up with their best ideas and insights during their dreams or immediately after waking up from a deep sleep. Moreover, studies have suggested that sleep is key to creative problem solving – and the phrase “why don’t you sleep on it?” has become a popular adage for a good reason.

15. Longevity – Studies have shown that individuals who get a full night’s sleep (between seven to nine hours) on a regular basis tend to live longer lives – probably due to all the health benefits listed previously.

Have you ever been frustrated over a lack of results from your workout routine?

If so, you are in good company. Even the most seasoned athletes experience times when their results plateau.
When you continue to put in the same effort day after day with little or no results it is safe to say that you’ve hit your own fitness plateau.
Your body adapts quickly to any repetitive routine. The definition of ‘insanity’ is to do the same thing over and over while expecting different results. This holds true for your workouts. When your results stop then it’s time to do something new.

There is good news – the following 4 tactics are guaranteed to crank your workouts up to the next level and to deliver the fast results you want.

1: Focus on Negatives
Each time that you do a weight lifting repetition you are utilizing three types of strength. These are:

1. Positive strength: the motion of lifting the weight.
2. Static strength: holding weight in a contracted position.
3. Negative strength: the motion of lowering the weight.

Most people completely miss the benefit of the negative in each repetition by allowing the weight to drop quickly with little control. It is understood that the negative portion of a repetition is just as important as the positive portion, and possibly more important.
Focus on the negative portion of each repetition by lowering the weight very slowly. Concentrate on the negative contraction, and make each repetition count.
If you are advanced, then use a training partner to assist you in moving heavier-than-normal weight into a contracted position, then lower it very slowly.
Another way to utilize negative repetitions on a machine is to lift the weight using two limbs but then lower it with just one. For example, use both legs to lift the weight on a leg extension machine, but then lower it back down slowly using only one leg.

2: Do a Drop Set
Drop sets have long been used to fight off exercise plateaus. This technique is great for adding muscle strength, endurance and for increasing the cardiovascular benefit of your workout – resulting in more fat burn.
Here, in a nutshell, is how to do a drop set: When you perform an exercise to exhaustion, don’t stop there. Drop the weight by 80% and do another set.
You could take it a step further by dropping the weight twice, making it a double drop. Or drop the weight three times for a descending drop set.
Use this technique only once or twice per workout, on the final set of the exercise.

3: Modify the Exercise
There are certain exercises that are considered ‘staples’ in the gym.
The squat. The lunge. The chest press. The shoulder press. The bicep curl, etc.

While you shouldn’t throw these exercises out the window, find creative ways to modify the familiar motion in order to challenge your muscles. Try these exercise modifications:

• Squat on a Bosu ball or balance board.
• Place a weighted bar across your shoulders and do walking lunges.
• Use an exercise ball for chest presses instead of the bench.
• Do a full squat between each repetition of shoulder presses.
• Do a shoulder press between each repetition of bicep curls.

4: Use Active Rest to turn each workout into High Intensity Interval Training
Every minute of your workout is an opportunity to increase intensity and to burn more fat. Don’t waste precious minutes with long rest periods between exercises.
While it is important to catch your breath if you feel winded, most of the time you would benefit more from an active rest than a passive one. Perform one of the following activities for 30 seconds between exercises and turn your regular workout into High Intensity Interval Training.

• High Knees with Alternating Punches: Alternately bring each knee high to your chest in a quick jumping movement while alternating forward punches at shoulder level.
• Burpees: Start in a sanding position and bend at the waist. Once your hands hit the floor, push your entire body back, extending your legs until they’re straight and you’re in the push-up position. Go down for a push-up, and when you push yourself up, jump slightly to bring your feet back near your hands. Finally, jump in the air with your arms fully extended over your head.
• Side-to-Side Jumps on Bench: Stand on one side of an exercise bench. Place the foot closest up onto the bench, jump up and switch feet, then land on the opposite side of the bench.
• Mountain Climbers: Place your hands wider than shoulder-width apart on the ground in a push-up position. Bring one knee to your chest and then back to the starting position, alternate each leg quickly.
• Side-to-Side Ab Twists: With feet close together, jump and twist your legs left to right – holding your abs tight. Keep a bend in your knees and swing your upper arms with each twist.
• Medicine Ball Squat Jumps: With feet wider than shoulder-width apart hold a medicine ball at chest level. Squat down until your knees are at a 90 degree angle. Explosively jump up, raising the medicine ball straight over your head.

Are you one of the millions that make a New Year’s resolution every year to lose weight and you always end up breaking it?  Maybe you need to change the way you approach your resolution.  Instead of thinking that coworker’s birthdaycupcake has broken your resolution, just get back on the wagon.  Think of your resolution as a work in process.  Perfection is not the only way to reach your goal.  Sure, perfection is fabulous. But if you have that cupcake, just get back on the treadmill and eat perfectly the rest of the day and the day after.  One strike does not mean you’re out.  It’s only a small setback.

Here are a few tips, to help you reach your goal.

1# Don’t set your goal too high.  Baby steps.  If your goal is to lose 15 pounds, start with 5.  Once you achieve that, than set your goal to lose 5 more.  The smaller goals are more obtainable in a shorter period of time and you’ll have a lower chance of getting frustrated and quitting.

#2 Don’t make 100 New Year’s resolutions.  It’s hard to concentrate on multiple tasks.  Put all of your energy and focus into meeting one goal.  You’ll have a better success rate if you don’t spread yourself so thin.

#3 Tell everyone about your resolution.  They will help you stay on track by asking you how you are doing with it, encouraging you not to cheat, and scolding you if you do cheat to get back on the wagon.

#4 Reward yourself.  If you are doing a great job, set a time length or mini weight loss goal to treat yourself to something like a hot tea at the local café or a buy yourself a present at the mall.

#5 Choose a better time to start your New Year’s resolution rather than a date dictated by the rest of the world.  Some people tend to make it to the gym more often when it’s not so cold outside and have more chance of success with a Spring start!

Girls On The Run, has now become an international organization training 8 to 10 year old girls to run a 5k in a 10 week program while teaching them about good self esteem and life skills through fun activities.  Created by Molly Barker in 1996, Girls On The Run has grown from a group of thirteen girls to tens of thousands of girls in 150 cities across the US and went international in 2000.

At the first sound of elementary school girls running 3.1 miles, one might say, “That doesn’t sound like much fun?  Why would they want to do that?”  But Girls On The Run manages to disguise the running with games and activities that also teach the girls important life skills.  The girls learn about positive thinking, good self esteem, and healthy self image as well as saying no to drugs and alcohol, how to deal with bullies, and the harm of gossiping.  They learn of other ways to deal with stress, when some would choose to turn to food.  The girls also learn about giving back to their community by organizing and performing a community project.

“This is my second season coaching Girls On The Run and it’s so rewarding.  Watching all of these girls grow and excel is amazing and the best volunteer work I could ever do.  It’s priceless,” says Beth Mills.   To find out more about Girls On The Run, please visit www.girlsontherunofnova.org

The health care debate was a long and tedious one,  but like it or not, many items in the new Health Care Reform Bill will take place between now and 2015.  Surprisingly, most Americans are completely unaware that September 23, 2010 was the day several health care items went into effect.

Here are 5 Things That will Affect You Today, and 3 Things You Should Keep Your Eye On:

Consumers can now:

1.  Receive cost-free preventative services. “New” plans must cover preventative treatments such as costly vaccinations, colon-cancer screenings, diabetes tests, cholesterol tests and flu shots.   For more detailed explanations of what qualifies as preventative services, go to www.healthcare.gov. (Note: when they refer to “new plan” they mean a plan you sign up for after Sept 22nd. Existing plans are exempt, but there are new limits on how much your costs can rise from now on.)

2.  Under the Affordable Care Act, if your plan covers children, you can now add or keep your children on your health insurance policy until they turn 26 years old.  Who knew the Feds would make it easier to “mooch” off your parents?  Children can live away from their parents, even be married (as long as you are under 26) and still be on your parents health plan.  BUT…the child is NOT covered if their employer offers a health insurance plan that they would be covered under. There are a couple details with how to enroll, you can get those answers at www.healthcare.gov.

3.  Access to out-of-network emergency room services: In the past, some health plans would limit payment for emergency room services provided outside of a plan’s preselected network of emergency health care providers, or they would require that you get your plan’s prior approval for emergency care at hospitals outside of its networks. This could mean financial hardship if you get sick or injured while away from home. The new rules prevent health plans from requiring higher copayments or co-insurance) for out-of-network emergency room services. The new rules also prohibit health plans from requiring you to get prior approval before seeking emergency room services from a provider or hospital outside your plan’s network.

4. You can choose the primary care doctor or pediatrician you want from your health plan’s provider network and that you can see an OB-GYN doctor without needing a referral from another doctor.

Insurance Companies Can No Longer:

1.  Deny Coverage to Kids With Pre-Existing Conditions. This condition only applies for children under 19, AND doesn’t apply to individuals who may have been “grandfathered” into.   A grandfathered individual health insurance policy is a policy that you bought for yourself or your family (and is not a job-related health plan) on or before March 23, 2010 (the date that the new law was passed).

2.  The Affordable Care Act prohibits health plans from putting a “lifetime” dollar limit on most benefits you receive. The Act also restricts and phases out the “annual” dollar limits a health plan can place on most of your benefits—and does away with these limits entirely in 2014.  Previously, insurance companies could put annual and/or lifetime limits of how much money could be spent on you in a particular year.  This is no longer the case.

3.  You have the right to Appeal any Claims the Insurance Company may have denied payment on. If the insurance company reviews your claim and denies a second time, you have the right to have your claim reviewed by an independent reviewer who does not work for the insurance company.  Again, I advise you to go to www.healthcare.gov to better understand this provision.

As more information comes to light about the new Healthcare Rules and Laws, we hope to share them with you.

A good friend of mine, Dr. Lorraine Johnson of trackmom.com, told me about a really useful technique she like to incorporate. She begins her “New Year’s Resolution” immediately after Labor Day.  At first, I thought this to be an odd practice.  But after studying her concept more deeply, and actually attempting it on my own, I now see the genius.

For most of us, our year doesn’t actually begin in January, rather it begins in September.  I understand what our calendars say, but think about it.  September is when the randomness of summer once again gives way to the routine.  For many of us, September is when the summer camps and  vacations end and our kids school year begins.

In fact, it can be argued that January isn’t a change at all from December, but by comparison, September is a totally new world from the frolic and frenzy of the summer.

So as the world demands you to “get back into your routine”, I challenge you to “get back on the wagon” now!  Why wait 4 more months to do what is probably better suited now?

Think about this…if you started a 90 day fitness program now, say a Body For Life or P90X program, imagine where you would be come December?

BUT I HAVE EVEN A BETTER IDEA!!

Instead of stressing for 90 days, start today and take 10 days off the 9o day program and make it an 80 plan!! If you look at your calendar, that gets you looking and feeling great just in time for Thanksgiving.  Now you can can eat whatever you like over the holidays and not feel at all guilty about it!

If an 80 day commitment sounds too daunting, I have a simple 7 day Solution, that only requires 2 simple steps to jump start your New Resolution.

1.  For 1 week (7 Straight Days) Drink Only Water! This means no soda, no juice, no milk, no coffee/tea, no alcohol.  (If you need something warm, choose an herbal tea.)  I won’t bore you with a lecture about the benefits of clean water, but suffice it to say, this simple step may take a bit of getting used to, but after only 7 short days, you will have no idea how alive and awake you will feel. You can thank me then.

2. Start a solid multivitamin program. Visit your local Whole Foods, health store or give me a call for good suggestions.  Your program should include a multivitamin and preferably an Omega 3 Supplement as well.

Start with these 2 baby steps and then consider introducing another wellness component into your lifestyle.

If you have questions, do not hesitate to contact Dr. William Booker at Dr.Bill.Booker@gmail.com, or visit our website www.CapitolRehabOfArlington.com.

Active Release Technique: Athletic Injuries & Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

What should you do if you think you have carpal tunnel syndrome? It is recommended that you identify a provider who is trained in Active Release Technique, ideally one who incorporates a functional rehabilitation program. In order to achieve long-term results, the patient must be instructed on home care and self-care exercises that address how to strengthen weakened muscles as well as how to release the overactive muscles as well.

To read this complete article, please click here.