Don't Drop Out of the Race! 5 Ways to Decrease Your Risk of Dying Early

Pittsburgh Cure Sarcoma 5K

Did you know that you can decrease your risk of dying? You can take action to improve your health and decrease your risk of preventable death. 

In the United States alone, up to 40% of annual deaths from each of the five leading causes of death could have been prevented. You can actively make changes to decrease your risk of dying from:
1. Heart Disease 
2. Cancer
3. Chronic Respiratory Disease
4. Stroke
5. Unintentional Injury

In Healthcare we focus on the Three Levels of Prevention:
1. Primary Prevention: healthy people make changes to their lifestyle to decrease the risk of developing a disease or sustaining an injury. 
2. Secondary Prevention: treating an existing illness or risk factor to prevent further complications or progression of the disease/injury. 
3. Tertiary Prevention: teaching people to manage long term health problems to prevent further decline and maximize quality of life. 

As a Fitness Blogger and an Occupational Therapist, I am actively trying to promote the Primary Prevention Level of Healthcare. If I can help improve even one person's health, happiness and quality of life than I have done something with my life that I can be proud of. I share workouts and nutrition tips, but there are other changes you can make to improve your health and extend your life. 

What are you willing to do for a healthier life? You're on my blog, so that means you are probably already exercising, or interested in starting a fitness program. That means you are moving in the right direction!

5 Steps You Can Take to Decrease Your Risk of Dying from a Preventable Disease:

1. Exercise Consistently: Exercise decreases your risk of everything from Alzheimer's to Diabetes, Stroke and Cancer. Those who exercise consistently are more likely to be at a healthy body fat percentage, which further decreases your risk of dying from a preventable cause. Exercise helps control Blood Pressure, and regulates Blood Sugar and Release of Hormones. 

Maintain strength, cardiovascular health and flexibility to keep your body in optimal health. While you are at it consider signing up for a 5K to support an important cause: Pittsburgh Cure Sarcoma 5K. 

2. Provide Your Body Proper Nutrition: A poor diet limits the amount of nutrients you are consuming. Choosing a variety of nutrient dense foods provides your body with the proper sustenance to maximize it's ability to function at it's optimal level. Eating a balanced diet also promotes a healthy body weight and muscle/fat ratio. 

3. Decrease Your Risk of Accidental Death: Wear your seat belts and helmets! Do not misuse drugs (prescription or otherwise). Educate yourself on any risk factors involved with your job or hobbies and take action to improve your safety. 

4. Complete Regular Screenings to Monitor Your Risk of Developing an Illness: Biometric screenings, Regular Checks of Blood Pressure, Complete recommended Cancer Screenings. 

5. Limit Exposure to Hazardous Materials: Avoid tobacco use, second hand smoke, and exposure to chemicals. 

Taking care of your body doesn't only decrease your risk of dying, it also improves your quality of life. You're worth the effort! What healthy habits have you incorporated into your life? If you've made a change or want to share you story comment below, or tag me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (@BenderFitness). 


Sources: Up to 40 percent of annual deaths from each of five leading US causes are preventable

Potentially Preventable Deaths from the Five Leading Causes of Death — United States, 2008–2010

Week 1 Bikini Prep Workouts: Rose's Update

Hi Everyone!

Last week I announced that my friend Rose is going to be the first Bender Fitness ambassador. She is now completing my 12 week Bikini Competition Prep Workouts and blogging about her experience on her site: My Change for a Ten. 

She has also been posting great updates, including her daily workout link, her food journal, meal photos and grocery shopping trip ideas on her Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MyChangeForATen. 

You can follow the workout schedule with Rose here: Bikini Competition Prep Workouts: Month 1. 

BenderFitness Bikini Prep Program Month 1 Results: Melissa

Rose's Updates:

Rose reports that she is feeling great. She feels that her eating has been on point, and keeping a food journal has been helping. Her stomach feels flatter already, and her energy is better. 

Links to Rose's daily updates on her blog:
Day 1: CrossRoads for 2015
Day 2: Flying High
Day 3: On the Right Track
Day 4: Looking Back & Forging Forward
Day 5: Soaring in the Heavens
Day 6: Mind Body Spirit

Prior to starting my workout program Rose has been blogging about her weight loss progress. She has lost 45 lbs so far, and makes charitable donations to celebrate every 10 pounds she loses. 

In the past she has organized a Yoga Fundraiser called Down Dog for Cats to support an animal shelter, spent time feeding the homeless with the Monday Night Mission on Skid Row (as well as getting sandwiches and food items donated), and collected Books for Children among others. 

At the conclusion of the 12 Week Program I will be filming a workout with Rose, and taking a Flying Trapeze class with her. The flying trapeze class has been one of Rose's dreams since she lived in NYC several years ago. She hasn't taken it yet because she doesn't feel strong enough. By the time she finishes my 12 Week Program I think she will have the strength and confidence to achieve her goal. 

I will keep posting weekly updates on Rose's progress, so be sure to check back, and follow her Facebook and Blog pages. 

Have fun! 
Melissa


PS You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Jesse has also been posting Sneak Peek workout videos on his Instagram account (@BenderCrosby1) and I am hosting a 30 Day Instagram Workout Challenge: @BenderFitness 

Rose (middle) with Richard Simmons after taking one of his workout classes

Everything You Need to Know About Protein Supplementation

Everything You Need to Know About Protein Supplementation

Written by: Jon Shoop

Hello Melissa Bender’s fans and followers! 

My name is Jon Shoop, I am a sports nutritionist and own some nutrition stores in the United States. Melissa and I have been working together for a couple of years with vitamins and supplements for her personal health and fitness. 

As many of you know, she really has enjoyed and benefitted from the supplements I’ve sent her and my recommendations on what to take and at what time of her daily schedule. I have been in the supplement industry for over three years with countless client success stories and thousands of people’s feedback on different supplements. With so many different opinions and thoughts on what to take and when, it can be extremely confusing and eventually can become frustrating. 

Melissa has asked me to start writing about some different topics for her blog to hopefully benefit all of you out there who may not know all that much about the numerous supplements on the market. This is my first blog post for her and I am excited about it! 

Sidenote: I am not a doctor, consult with your physician before starting any exercise or supplement regimen, especially if you have pre-existing conditions.

The first topic we wanted to cover is protein supplementation:

Protein is the main building block of muscle tissue. 

A complete protein source has all 20 amino acids in it. Protein can come from animal sources such as beef, milk, chicken, eggs, most protein powders, and every other animal you can eat. It can also come from plant sources such as peas, brown rice, and quinoa. All animal sourced protein has all 20 amino acids while the various different plant proteins contain some, but not all 20 amino acids. If you are looking for a complete protein source go with an animal sourced protein such as whey, casein, egg, milk, or beef. Or you will need to find a plant based protein that has a blend of different plants so as to combine their different amino acid profiles, such as a protein that contains both pea and brown rice will give you all 20 amino acids when combining those two plant sources.

Different people have different protein needs and requirements. 

Generally speaking, someone who is active and works out 3+ times a week typically needs a higher protein content throughout the day. Also, diet and goals play a big role in quantity of protein needed. 

For example, someone who is trying to lose weight would be sufficient at getting 0.8 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Let me illustrate further: a 200 lb man is trying to lose weight. He would be fine at getting 0.8 X 200 = 160g. So a 200lb man getting 160g of protein per day is a fine amount. 

For someone trying to gain weight, they should shoot for 1-1.2g of protein per pound of body weight. For example a 200 pound man would be good with: 1-1.2 X 200 = 200-240g of protein needed. You can use those numbers to find out your protein requirements. 

Another good rule of thumb I like to use is 1 gram of protein per pound of DESIRED body weight. For example, a 200 lb man wants to lose 50 lbs and get down to 150lbs, so he starts by making sure he gets 150g of protein daily.

I also have a few recommendations on when and what types of proteins to take. 

Proteins breakdown at different rates in our body’s digestive system. This is due to certain proteins being comprised of shorter or longer chains of amino molecules. A fast digesting protein for example is whey protein. A longer and slower time releasing protein source is casein.

Typically I am faced with two different scenarios of people who supplement protein:

The first of which is the person who just takes a protein shake after workouts and at no other time of the day. For this person, a whey protein isolate is a very good choice. The reason why this is a good choice for this individual who just has a shake after workouts is because after workouts we have a critical time frame to help our body’s recover and repair from what we just put it through for maximum uptake. To accentuate this time frame of recovery, a whey isolate protein is the best option. Whey isolate protein is very fast digesting and absorbs quickly into the bloodstream so this is why specifically whey isolate protein is best for this type of person.

The second scenario is of the person who has a protein shake for snack or meal replacement and/or after workouts. For this scenario I would recommend a blended (multi-sourced) protein. The first and main ingredient of the compound being a whey isolate protein, blended with some egg and casein protein in it as well. I call these blended proteins, “dual use” types because they are going to be good after workouts because of whey isolate as it’s main ingredient. The second aspect of this type of protein is its versatile function throughout the day when used as a meal replacement or snack. 

You as the consumer would want something more whole-food like that takes longer to breakdown and digest, keeping you more full for longer, as a normal meal would. Milk, egg, casein, and some plant proteins are all going to be slower digesting proteins than whey isolate. The slower the digesting the longer it will keep you full. So when a blended protein has whey isolate, egg, milk, and/or casein proteins in it, it makes a good option for someone who just wants one protein that is a good fit for all their uses.

I hope this was informative and helped clear up any questions you amazing people have in regards to your protein supplementation! The next topic will be up to you guys so ask away and I will pick one or more questions or topics to discuss in each article.

Thank you for your time, if you have any more questions feel free to reach out! Stay tuned for more articles.

Jon Shoop

If you liked this article you might also enjoy:

Healthy Protein Blended Chocolate Coffee Frappucino

Two Protein Pancake Recipes

You can read more about Jon and his background in Nutrition, Health, Fitness and Competition Training at: 

http://totalnutritiontyler.com/jon-shoop-store-owner/

If you would like to place an order or get more information please message him at: www.facebook.com/tnmansfield

If you have questions for Jon post them in the comments below, or on my Facebook page: www.facebook.com/MelissaBenderFitness

Bender Fitness: #ALSIceBucketChallenge

Hi Everyone!

By now you have probably seen the #ALSIceBucketChallenge tag show up all over your social media. My sister nominated Jesse and I, and we have accepted the challenge. I have nominated every Bender Fitness follower to participate in the challenge (as well as a few of my best friends!)

This is how the challenge works:

1. You have 24 hours after being nominated to complete the challenge.

2. You decide to complete the Ice Bucket Challenge and/or donate to ALS.

3. Nominate others to complete the challenge and continue raising funds and awareness for the ALS Association. 

4. If you accept my challenge I want to see it! Tag @BenderFitness on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and #ALSIceBucketChallenge #BenderFitness #TeamBender

In case you aren't familiar with ALS it is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects neurons of the brain and spinal cord. The progression of this disease leads to loss of ability to initiate and complete muscle control, and eventually death. The affected neurons are necessary for movement, breathing, speaking. The disease starts out with muscle weakness that can affect the limbs, speech, swallowing and breathing. Eventually, the neurons can no longer send signals at all and these abilities are lost. 

Average life expectancy after diagnosis is 2-5 years, although there are people who live much longer. 

Currently there are no ways to stop or cure ALS, although there are some promising therapies that have slowed down the progression, and even a few cases where the progression has ceased or reversed. Occupational Therapists often work with people living with ALS to help them maintain their functional abilities, and adapt their environment to help them continue to live full lives. 

This is an important cause. Please consider making a donation in any amount and/or joining in on the Ice Bucket Challenge. Jesse and I are donating, and both completed the challenge. 

Donate here: ALS Association Donation

Bucket List Experience: Skydiving! (with video!)

Do you have a Bucket List? If you don't you should make one. It is a great strategy for improving your life satisfaction and happiness. 

Having a list can help you make your goals a reality. They can be big or small. Crazy or mundane. It doesn't matter what you put on your list, as long as it's something important to you, that you want to do before you die. 

A Bucket List is a reminder of the things that are important to you. You won't feel like life is passing you by when you reflect on all of the experiences you have had (and are going to have!)

My bucket list is ever changing. I love adventures, life experience and travel. To me those elements are imperative to a happy life. 

Last weekend I got to cross Skydiving off of my bucket list. For my sister's birthday I wanted to do something exciting. I offered her a list of options, and to my delight she chose skydiving. Jesse and Jason didn't want to miss out, so the four of us embarked on our newest adventure. 

We went to SkydivePA for our jump. We all jumped tandem (attached to an instructor). My instructor's name was John, and he did a great job of making sure I knew what to expect each step of the way. He also took my photos/video as we jumped. The entire staff was friendly and knowledgable. If you're ever in PA and feel the urge to have a life experience you should check out SkydivePA.

I loved the Free Fall. It was amazing, fun and exhilarating. Once we were under the canopy it became surprisingly still and quite. It was serene and meditative. I had a feeling of complete calm and presentness that I associate with particularly zen running or yoga experiences. 

One of the major goals of yoga and meditation is to increase presentness and focus on the moment you are living in. During that time you exist in the moment, and have no worries about the past or future. That was my experience of skydiving. When you watch the video below you will see that I couldn't stop smiling.  I was so thrilled to be having that experience that I wanted to focus on every second of it. 

If you've ever though about Skydiving I highly recommend it. Everyone in our group loved it, and wants to go again. I would love to do the training classes. The word "Amazing" doesn't do justice to the experience. 

I hope you all enjoy the pictures and video! I'd love to hear what's on your bucket list. Post in the comments below or tag me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

Melissa 

Post by Melissa Bender.

How to Eat Clean: 5 Tips for Success

Clean Eating. It's a phrase many people throw around, but when you talk specifics with people it turns out it means something different to everyone.  For example, to a body builder the fruit in the picture above might not be "clean" because it has sugar in it.  

Everyone approaches clean eating differently. If you want to lose weight caloric expenditure must be higher than caloric intake (this is true no matter what you eat. Binge eating "clean" foods is still binge eating.) I also want to stress the fact that there is no evil food. There are foods that are higher in nutrients and foods with low nutritional value. 

This is my approach to clean eating. The more closely I stick to eating clean the better I feel, and I see much more definition in my body. I have been re-focusing on incorporating these techniques into my diet, and I am already seeing results. Check out 5 Rules to Improve Your Nutrition and Diet for more healthy eating ideas. 

Clean Eating means eating food which is minimally processed, and as close to it's natural state as possible. Eat whole foods: lots of veggies, lean meats, nuts and fruit. At it's heart, this is the key to clean eating. 

This means that you have to put a little bit more preparation and planning into your food choices. 

1. Prepare: If you are hungry you often want to grab the first thing that's available. Keeping healthy options on hand will improve your chances of success. 

• Cook in Bulk: Prepare extra food ahead of time. On Sundays I cook a large baking dish full of chicken (sometimes fish), and a dish full of vegetables. I can use these in my lunch, on a salad, in pasta, or as an easy addition to any dinners I might cook during the week. 
• Plan for Healthy Snacking: If you are a snacker keep food items on hand that you enjoy and can eat in appropriate portion sizes. Raw Almonds or other nuts, Fruit, Greek Yogurt, etc. You can pre-portion out ingredients for your favorite smoothie.
• Choose Foods that you Enjoy: You are not going to stick to a meal plan if you don't like what you are eating. Don't be afraid to experiment with healthy variations of your favorite recipes. Pinterest can be a gold mine of fun and healthy recipe ideas. You can check out my "Healthy Delicious" Pinterest Board here for some fun ideas. 

2. Portion: Making healthy choices doesn't make you exempt from eating realistic portion sizes. Just because an item is healthy doesn't mean it's low in calories. Two of my favorite foods in the world are Natural Peanut Butter and Avocados. Both foods have tremendous health benefits. Neither is a low calorie food. 

• Check Portion Sizes: When you are first getting used to portion sizes don't be afraid to measure. Keep in mind that measuring is a tool. If measuring food is a trigger to compulsive eating behaviors for you, please skip this one. Having a healthy relationship with food is more important than having an exact portion size. 
• Approximate Portion Sizes: Meat/Protein should be around the size of your palm, or the size of a deck of cards. One serving of cheese is about the size of your thumb. Vegetables should fill about half of your plate or two cupped hands. 

3. Check Labels: Take a quick peek at the ingredient list. I also check the sugar and sodium content of pre-packaged foods. Many otherwise healthy foods are overloaded with additional salt and sugar. (This is especially true of dried fruits and trail mixes. Dried fruit is already high in natural sugars, and many companies add significant amounts of sugar to the fruit during the drying process.)

• Look for ingredients you recognize. For example, I prefer Peanut Butter where the only ingredient is Peanuts.
• Ingredients are listed in order of quantity. Whichever ingredient is listed first is present in the largest quantities. If sugar is the first or second ingredient it's a red flag to me that the food item is not as healthy as it may seem. 

4. Organic/Gluten Free/Grain Free does NOT Automatically Mean Healthy: Just because it has a label, doesn't mean it's healthy or low calorie. Cookies are still cookies, even if they are organic and gluten free. It doesn't mean you can't enjoy them, but remember the term "organic" or "gluten free" does not make it a magic cookie. Keep your portion sizes reasonable. 

5. Stick to the Basics: Incorporate protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, and proper hydration into your diet. 

• Try to include a vegetable at every meal. For me, the easiest and fastest option is fresh spinach.  I put spinach in salads, smoothies, wraps, sandwiches, pastas, spaghetti sauce, or as a side dish. 
• Eat Carbohydrates: They are necessary for your body and brain to function correctly. You can get your carbs from fruits and vegetables, from grains or from a combination of both. Food=Fuel. 
• Eat Lean Protein: Protein helps keep you full throughout the day and helps your body build muscles. 
• Eat Healthy Fats: Healthy fats have been scientifically proven to improve endurance during workouts. They also help your hair and nails look their best. Healthy fats decrease your risk for a plethora of diseases (heart disease, stroke, and hypertension just to name a few!) Olive oil, avocado, coconut, nut butters, and nuts are great sources of healthy fats. 

Spaghetti Squash over Fresh Spinach with Tomato & Spinach Marinara Sauce and Chicken. 

There is no secret to healthy eating. The trick to it is finding a healthy approach that works for you. I don't eat whole foods all the time, but I make sure they are the foundation of my diet. Today I ate a donut (gasp!) and I don't feel guilty, or that I had to "earn it" or "work it off." I don't eat donuts every day. I do eat vegetables, fruits, nuts and lean meats every day. I exercise and try to make healthy choices.

Bored of Your Exercise Routine? 15 Fun Ideas for Active Rest Day

How many times have you heard people say exercise is boring? Sometimes you need to switch up your routine, get out of that rut and try something new. 

It can become easy to put in the same exercise DVD every day, or go to the gym and do the same workout on the same machines. If you've been following my blog for a while you know I switch my workouts up every day. I like the challenge of new experiences. I especially like Active Rest Days. 

Active Rest Days are days when you aren't doing your "normal" workout routine, but you're staying busy, getting your body moving, and having fun!

Here are some ideas to make your active rest day more fun! If you have some ideas I haven't mentioned please post them in the comments below or on my Facebook page!

Hike or Trail Run

1. Go Hiking or try a Trail Run. Going outside can energize you! You can go alone or with a group of friends. Do a quick search to see if you have any outdoor organizations in your area. We have a company nearby that hosts a variety of hikes and outdoor activities from Yoga Hikes, to MicroBrewery Hikes and everything in between. It can also be a good way to make new friends!

Go To a Park and Play

2. Go to a Park and Play! (While you're there you can try my Quick Playground Workout). 
If you have kids, nieces or nephews, they will be thrilled if you join in on the fun and play with them! 
When my niece and nephew come over we enjoy "Playing Yoga," going to the park, and "Warrior Training." When we play yoga we take turns demonstrating a pose and having the others try it. Kids make up some fun (and challenging!) moves if you give them the chance! Warrior Training is basically fun exercises we do together to build up strength like their favorite superheroes. 

Go Swimming

3. Go Swimming! Swimming is a fantastic workout for your entire body. It's low impact, great for your cardiovascular system and it's fun!

Go to the Zoo

4. Go to the Zoo. You get to meet animals and spend the day walking. 

Ice Skate or Roller Skate

5. Go Ice Skating or Roller Skating. It's fun, and you can go with a group of friends! You can burn as many calories as you do jogging and it's a full body workout. 

Dance!

6. Go Dancing. It doesn't matter what type of dancing you do! Put on some music, get moving and have fun! Swing Dancing is one of my all time favorite things to do. 

7. Go Rock Climbing. You can do this inside a gym or outdoors. It's a challenging (but fun!) full body workout. Search for rock climbing gyms near you. 

Zip Line

8. Go Zip Lining. It's fun, it's an adventure and it can be physically challenging! Check out the video below for our zip line experience, and you can glimpse just a few of the obstacles we got to conquer along the way. We took my mom for her birthday and she loved it!

9. Go On an Adventure Tour. You might be able to find local tours for caving, spelunking, white water rafting, rappelling, or a variety of other fun activities! See if you can get a group of friends together for an adventure! 

Ride a Bike

10. Go on a Bike Ride. I love bike riding, it's fun, relaxing, you get to be outside and explore. Sometimes when Jesse is doing a hard run I bike next to him to help him keep pace. It's a fun way to get moving and enjoy yourself. If you don't have a bike look into bike rentals. Our city has downtown bike rentals, and most of our local parks rent bikes as well. 

11. Rent a Kayak, Canoe, or Row Boat. We live near plenty of rivers and lakes so this is one of our favorite warm weather activities. We also love to kayak and stay active when we go on vacation. It's a lot of fun, it's challenging, and it's a great core and arm workout. 

12. Go Boating and/or Parasailing. Be open to new experiences. They can energize you, make you feel alive, and challenge you in ways you don't expect!

13. Play Mini-Golf or go to the Driving Range. This is another of our favorite warm weather activities, and a good one to do with friends. 

14. Play Frisbee Golf. It's a real game, with rules and everything! One of our state parks has a Frisbee Golf Course set up. You hike through the woods as part of the course. You can always modify and play in an open field with friends. 

15. Bring your Yoga Practice Outside. Remember, your workouts don't have to be confined to your house or gym! Be creative, just getting into a new environment can stimulate your mind and body in new ways. 

In conclusion: Be Silly! Don't be afraid to have fun and get a little bit goofy! Try something new and different. What's on your to-do list?