• I Hate Cellulite!
• 10 Steps for Sticking to It
• AHA Dietary Guidelines for Healthy American Adults:
  a statement for physicians and health professionals
• Conditioning for Golf
• Posture Pointers
• DailyOM

I know, who doesn't, right? What is that stuff? Why do some people have cellulite and others don't? How does one get rid of the unsightly bumps and bulges?

There is a plethora of useful information available in books or video and on the internet, all selling the best ways to get rid of it. But, if you were thinking it might be as easy as popping a pill, think again. Cellulite is fat - fat cells, to be more precise, containing fat, water and toxins that your body is neither able to utilize nor dispose otherwise, pushing through the cell walls into the middle layer of skin and so shows through to the surface. Creams can't make it go away; pills aren't going to dissolve it. If you want to rid your body of cellulite, you need to lose fat and detoxify your body. Period.

Sorry, I know that isn't what you wanted to hear. But, there are things you can do to expedite the disappearance of cellulite. In addition to your exercise regimen, which will force your body to utilize the stored fat, add lots of water and clean, raw, organic foods to your diet. This helps the body in flushing the toxins stored in those cells. Then you might want to try skin brushing (here's another link on skin brushing). You'll find that doing so has many useful benefits, namely, increasing circulation, removing dead skin cells thereby revealing a smoother complexion, stimulating the glands of the lymphatic system to more easily and efficiently remove toxins, and even aiding digestion. Remember, your skin is your largest eliminatory organ and keeping it healthy helps to keep the rest of your body healthy. Therapeutic massage can also help to increase blood circulation and elimination of toxins.

And, in keeping with good physical health is good emotional health. Studies show that a clear mind is better in tune with the body. For the combination physical and emotional healing, I recommend such alternatives as Hypnotherapy, Yoga and Network Spinal Analysis. Hypnotherapy delves into the recesses of your mind and the places in your physical body where it has stored the pain of memory and emotional hurt. The breathing techniques and emotional healing involved in all three modalities are paramount to whole-body healing and cleansing. I would also recommend Reiki for anyone who is feeling under the weather or is downright sick, despises medicine or has found that it isn't working, and/or has not found a working alternative to his/her pain. EFT is another emotional healing solution using acupuncture points without needles. Remember, NATURAL is best and worth trying first!

Now you're exercising again, and it feels great. Of course, it felt great last year, too, when you went to the gym every morning for almost the entire winter! If it feels so great, why do you keep quitting? You may be able to make your physical activity more consistent by using some of these tricks.

1. Start Looking at Exercise Differently. “This is the big one, from my perspective,” says James Gavin, PhD, sport psychologist and professor at Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. All movement is exercise. People need to give themselves more options. Take the dog for a walk, bike to the store, take five-minute stretch breaks. If you don’t count something as exercise unless it happens in the gym, goes on for 40 minutes or requires a shower afterward, you’re missing some of your best opportunities to stay active.
2. Think small. This advice can be hardest for people who expect the most from themselves. Why bother walking around the block when you should be running your usual four miles? Because when you don’t have time to do all four miles, a brisk hike can keep you from feeling that you’ve failed.
3. Set an Agenda. It helps to challenge yourself with a learning or performance agenda, says Gavin. Set a goal, such as increasing the speed, frequency or duration of your activity. Maybe it’s time to train for a marathon—or take a walk up the hill in the backyard without getting winded. (It’s perfectly fine to think small for your performance agenda, too.) Your trainer can help you determine appropriate goals.
4. Get off the Beaten Path. Have you ever tried snowboarding? Bowling? Swing dancing? Body surfing? Chi kung? How about reversing your power walk route? Exercising at a different time of day? Physical activity isn’t boring, but how you participate in it can be.
5. Use Your Brain. The active mind needs to be engaged, says Gavin. If you’re new to exercise, dissociative tactics, such as listening to music, watching TV or playing computer games may help you stick with it—but stay aware of sensations that could signal injury or overdoing it. As you become more experienced, associative strategies, such as focusing on your breath or concentrating on the movement of your body, can help you enjoy exercise more.
6. Get an Accountability Partner. Minneapolis lifestyle coach Kate Larsen suggests finding a friend, mentor or coach to keep you honest. You can either exercise with your partner, or simply check in with him or her to report your progress.
7. Plan to Stay Active. Don’t decide “in the moment” if you can make the choice beforehand, says Larsen. Plan to park farther from the office and put your walking shoes in the car the night before. Plan to take that new yoga class next week, and call the babysitter now.
8. Face Your Fitness Foes. Does vacation throw your exercising schedule out of whack? Do projects at work overtake your activity time? Do injuries sideline you? Boredom? Fear of success? Fitness foes can be beaten once they’ve been identified. You can change your vacation style, set work limits, get guidance for injury-free activity, find new challenges, or face your fears with counseling and support.
9. Go Tribal. Even if you are introverted, the presence of others in your exercise environment can be motivating. We pick up on other people’s energy, Gavin points out. We get into the tribal rhythms of being fully alive. Choose places and times to exercise where and when other people are active.
10. Use a Script. We tell ourselves things like, “Skipping this one little walk won’t matter all that much,” according to Larsen. Next time, be prepared with an answer for this excuse. Use images of past successful experiences to remind yourself of how good exercise makes you feel. Or repeat a simple phrase to yourself, such as, “Every little bit makes a big difference.” If you use planning, flexibility and imagination, you won’t ever need to feel like a dropout again.
    

• Elimination of cigarette smoking
• Appropriate levels of caloric intake and physical activity to prevent obesity and reduce weight in those who are overweight (BMI > 30)
• Consumption of 30% or less of the day's total calories from fat
• Consumption of 8% to 10% of total calories from saturated fat
• Consumption of up to 10% of total calories from polyunsaturated fat
• Consumption of up to 15% of total calories from monounsaturated fat
• Consumption of 20% to 25% of total calories as protein
• Consumption of 55% to 60% of total calories as complex carbohydrates
• Consumption of less than 300 mg/day of cholesterol
• Consumption of no more than 2.4 g/day of sodium
• For those who drink and those for whom alcohol (ethanol) is not contraindicated, consumption should not exceed 2 drinks (that's one to two ounces of ethanol) per day.

Whether you're new or experienced on the golf course, a sport specific conditioning program can give you an edge. Even if a training program doesn't help your score, it could keep you on the course rather than on the sidelines with a nagging injury, says Dawn Norman, MA, athletic trainer and golfer.

A good golf conditioning program emphasizes strength and flexibility, according to exercise researcher Wayne Westcott, PhD. The conditioning goal for golfers is a strong and flexible musculoskeletal system that maximizes swinging power and minimizes injury risk. The golf swing is one of the most complex and unnatural actions in sports, so it's difficult to design sport-specific exercises. However, research has found that improved muscle strength and joint flexibility can increase swinging speed and enhance driving power.

The best way to begin conditioning for golf is to ask your trainer to design a program or recommend someone who can. The following guidelines will help you understand the rationale for the program your trainer designs, and enable you to do your part in the conditioning process.

1. Define Your Season. Your sports training program should be divided into pre-season, in-season and post-season (or late season) training, according to Norman. Another option is to use a simple three-by-three schedule, changing your conditioning program every three months. If you forego formal training sessions during the season, make sure you still follow an at-home program.
2. Avoid Common Injuries. Golfers have a high injury rate in the shoulders and back, as well as the hips, elbows and wrists. You can reduce your injury potential by paying close attention to these areas in your conditioning program and by practicing proper swing mechanics with a golf professional.
3. Watch Your Rotators. You should do rotator cuff stretches on the golf course before you start playing, says Norman, since the injury-sensitive rotator cuffs do a considerable amount of work during the golf swing. Ask your trainer for a good exercise to use before your game.
4. Keep Up Your Cardio Work. Although cardiovascular endurance plays only a minor role in golf performance, it plays a major role in your health. Strive for at least three 30-minute sessions per week, every week.
5. Get Strong. Westcott recommends three strength workouts per week during off-season months and two sessions per week during the playing season. Each session should include 25 minutes of strength training and 10 minutes of stretching.
6. Train Progressively. Changing the number of reps and sets, the intensity and the rest time will enhance the effectiveness of your program.
7. Include All Your Muscle Groups. Your leg muscles are responsible for producing power and initiating your swing; your midsection muscles transfer force from your legs to your torso to accelerate your swing; your torso muscles produce the actual swinging action and are critical for club head speed; and your arm muscles help determine both club control and club head accuracy.
8. Select the Right Exercises. Your trainer can help create the right program for you. A sample program might start with the leg press, chest cross-over, pull-over, lateral raise, biceps curl, triceps extension, low back and abdominal curl; add neck extension and flexion, and forearm supination and pronation in the second three months; and add the leg extension and leg curl in the third three months.
9. Never Underestimate Stretching. Stretches for the hamstrings, lower back, upper back and shoulders are particularly relevant to golfers.
10. Be Careful With Weighted Swings. Westcott explains that performing with a weighted golf club or trying to duplicate the golf swing with resistance equipment can be more harmful than helpful. The best practice drill for improving this highly skilled movement is done at the driving range under the direction of a qualified golf professional.

The quality of your posture can make a big difference in your life. Good posture can make you look and feel younger, stronger and more confident; and can help improve your breathing, advance your sports performance, decrease your risk of injury and improve your biomechanical efficiency. And, over the course of your life, good posture can prevent painful physical strain in your joints.

How can you tell if your posture needs improving? Physical therapist Deborah Ellison lists these tell-tale signs:

• collapsed arches
• an elevated hip or shoulder
• one side of the body rotated forward or back
• pelvis and hips tilted to the front, back or side
• rounded back
• drooping chest and shoulders
• head jutting forward

These are indications that your body has gotten locked into poor movement patterns for any of a number of reasons, including muscle imbalance, compensation for injuries, ergonomic problems or poor alignment during fitness and sport activities.

Changing Habits

It is possible to change poor postural habits. Try these tips:

1. Find Neutral. Your personal trainer can help you recognize what neutral alignment looks and feels like. This is a position in which the spine is best equipped to deal with external stress. You should be able to move into neutral alignment while sitting, standing and moving.
2. Remind Yourself Frequently. Suki Munsell, PhD, a registered movement therapist in Corte Madera, California, suggests that you create ways to remind yourself to do posture checks throughout the day, such as setting a sports watch to alert you hourly. Ellison recommends posting printed reminders on your desk or bulletin board.
3. Vary your position. Counter the damaging effects of constant sitting by standing as much as possible. Standing in correct alignment requires much less muscular effort than sitting with proper form does. Try using a drafting table so you can work standing; stand up or lie down frequently when you are watching television or talking on the phone.
4. Develop Your Hip Muscles. Weakness or inflexibility of the hip muscles that attach to the pelvis may impact the alignment of your pelvis and lower back. Seek an exercise program that includes flexibility training for the hip flexors, extensors, abductor, adductors and rotators.
5. Perform the Right Abdominal Exercises. Learn exercises that train the abdominals to hold the pelvis in neutral alignment. Do more active stabilization training, rather than just traditional torso curls and sit-ups.
6. Extend Your Back. Learn how to correctly perform back extension exercises - while standing, on hands and knees, prone on elbows or prone with arms extended. Research has shown that these exercises often improve or eliminate back pain.
7. Don't Ignore Your Upper Body. Seek exercises that help reintegrate the natural coordination and rhythm between the shoulder and shoulder girdle, and strengthen the scapular and arm muscles.
8. Consider Alternative Exercise Formats. Yoga and exercises based on the work of Joseph Pilates emphasized alignment and controlled movement of the spine, which can greatly improve your postural habits.
9. Visualize. Munsell suggests that you visualize giant redwoods that stand erect with great dignity for hundreds of years; or imagine growing taller as you stretch your arms above your head. While you walk, concentrate on your posture and imagine yourself moving in perfect alignment.
10. Check With Specialists. Postural problems can have a serious negative impact on your health and quality of life. In addition to your personal trainer, you may want to consult with a podiatrist, an orthopedic specialist, a physical therapist or a chiropractor.

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