Volume 2, Issue 1 January 2012

Resolutions, New Year, New You!

By

Jeffrey J. Davis, CPT, CES

HAPPY NEW YEAR! At the start of every year, resolutions are made and the slate is wiped clean. Whatever you didn’t like over the course of the past year is gone; forget about it. Learn from the lessons of the past so that you don’t repeat them and move on.

The most common resolution every year is weight loss. You won’t lose weight nibbling on small amounts of food; although portion control is important. In fact, your body will just think its starving and hang onto those extra pounds! Rather, to lose weight effectively and permanently, you need to eat; and eat smart. Here are 11 of the best foods for easy weight loss (provided by www.realage.com):

1. Yogurt -This creamy, tangy snack is loaded with calcium — and studies show that calcium may curtail weight gain by hindering the absorption of fat in the small intestine. 
2. Eggs – according to a study, eggs beat out carbs (donuts, bagels, etc.) when it came to helping feel full longer and helping beat back snack attacks later in the day.
3. Pistachios – like all nuts, pistachios offer lots of hunger-curbing protein and fiber.
4. Grapefruit – one study in particular revealed that eating half a grapefruit before each meal helped dieters shed more pounds than people who skipped the tart appetizer.
5. Avocado – researcher’s suspect that the unsaturated fat in avocados may ratchet up body levels of the hunger-halting hormone called leptin — a hormone that lets your brain know that you’re full, so you stop eating.
6. Mushrooms – replace the meat in your favorite recipes with mushrooms. You’ll automatically cut about 420 calories out of a meal.
7. Olive oil – contains a hunger-busting monounsaturated fat called oleic acid — which triggers a complicated process in the gut that ultimately tells your brain you’re full and makes you want to stop eating.
8. Whole grains – research shows this one move can help whittle your middle. We’re talking brown rice, quinoa, steel-cut oats, whole-grain cereal, and 100% whole-wheat bread and pasta. 
9. Red pepper – contain capsaicin — the heat-inducing compound in red peppers that, according to research, tamps down appetite and curbs food intake later in the day.
10. Fava beans – a lean protein source bursting with flavonoids.
11. Rice with veggies – Adding veggies to rice at lunchtime appears to slow stomach emptying, according to research. The end result, you feel full longer.

We eat to sustain life. Americans love to super-size it and we love our foods. You don’t have to stop eating foods you enjoy; just make better choices. In 2012, let’s learn how to eat smart together; and learning will ultimately promote behavior change resulting in a healthier lifestyle.

About the Author

Jeff is a local Health & Wellness Coach. He is a graduate of Wellspring School of Allied Health with certifications as a Personal Trainer and Corrective Exercise Specialist.

Kansas City, MO, Dec. 13th, 2011, The 100 Black Men of Greater Kansas City (100 BMGKC) hosted their 5th Anniversary Gala Event, honoring our chapter’s founders, community and civic leaders, members and mentees. Highlights of the evening are as follows:

• Recognized 100 BMGKC’s 8 founding members (Jeffrey J. Davis, Barrett Hatches, Keith Jones, Hank King, Larry Lester, Phil Spencer, Mal Warrick, and Anthony Williams)
• Inducted 7 new members (Ira Boydston, Chris Carroll, Will Dowdell, Keion Jackson, Terrell Jolly, Dolon Silimon, and Murray Woodard)
• Introduced 100 BMGKC mentee membership
• 100 BMGKC mentee remarks from Messrs. Perry Davis and Tyron Bridgewater

Awards presentations:

• 100 BMGKC Mentee of the Year – Dontae Carter
• 100 BMGKC Mentor of the Year – Roland Hemmings
• Community Leadership: Tyrone Flowers (Mentoring), Daima Scott (Education), Chief Darryl Forte (Civic)
• Keynote address: author Robert Jackson (member, 100 Black Men of Indianapolis)

At the end of the program, guests were invited to tour the Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts, Kansas City’s new state-of-the-art facility, and venue for the gala:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/arts/music/kauffman-center-for-the-performing-arts-in-kansas-city-mo.html

The coup-de-grace was the event being featured on a local newscast:

http://www.nbcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/100-black-men-of-kansas-city-holds-fifth-annual-gala-at-the-kauffman-center-for-the-performing-arts

Running isn’t for everyone. I do believe, though, everyone should find that one thing that they enjoy and is a positive release from the stress and drama that comes with living. We all need that quiet place where we can be free and the mind can be clear. This is one key to wellness and a key to happiness.

Since running isn’t for everyone, what is the alternative? Walking! As simple as it may seem, walking is very beneficial when done consistently and with sufficient duration. There are several benefits to walking daily (http://www.rodale.com/benefits-walking?page=0%2C7):

• It deflects diabetes. New research links brisk walking to a significant risk reduction for developing Type II Diabetes.
• It soups up your sex life. Sex and exercise go hand-in-hand.
• It saves you on gym costs. In this economy, people are cutting excesses, and that includes trips to the health club. In an American Heart Association survey, a quarter of the 1,000 people questioned had cut their gym memberships sometime in the previous six months. But no matter where you live, there’s a place you can pound the pavement or trek a trail, and 150 minutes of moderate-intensity walking a week can help manage stress and prevent heart disease. Moderate walking equals an average of about 100 steps per minute.
• It can get you off meds. Using data from the National Walkers’ Health Study, including more than 32,000 women and 8,000 men, researchers found that those who took the longest weekly walks, not necessarily accumulated the most mileage per week, were more likely to use less medication.
• It can help fade fibromyalgia pain. This chronic condition affects more than 4 percent of the population, and often involves pain, fatigue, and brain fog. A small study found that in women 32 to 70 years old, those who walked 60 minutes, performed light exercises, and stretched three times a week for 18 weeks reported significant improvements in walking and mental capacity, and were less tired and depressed.
• It helps you beat breast cancer. Women who walk regularly after being diagnosed with breast cancer have a 45 percent greater chance of survival than those who are inactive, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
• Strolling reduces stroke risk. Walking briskly for just 30 minutes, five days a week can significantly lower your risk of suffering a stroke, according to University of South Carolina researchers.
• It can save your mind. Italian researchers enlisted 749 people suffering from memory problems in a study and measured their walking and other moderate activities, such as yard work. At the four-year follow-up, they found that those who expended the most energy walking had a 27 percent lower risk of developing dementia than the people who expended the least. This could be the result of physical activity’s role in increasing blood flow to the brain.

Now you see how much walking can improve your life? Daily activity beats non-activity any day of the week. This is a clear example of less is more and as the old saying goes, “a rolling stone gathers no moss”. Let’s get moving and keep going daily. When you look back years from now, you will be glad you did.

      Who doesn’t love to shop? I know I do. As a self –proclaimed fashionista, I love to buy clothes for all types of seasons, events and especially for vacation. I love all types of materials; from cotton to silk and from leather to lace. I was recently at the mall in search of the perfect dress for the upcoming 100 Black Men’s 5^th Anniversary Gala & Fundraiser @ The Kauffman Center for Performing Arts. I excitedly told my son, that with the great new partnership with Men’s Wearhouse, they wouldn’t have to buy or rent a tuxedo for the event. He looked at me, frowned and said, “Can’t I just wear a cardigan?” After the initial shock and horror, I asked him did he understand what a black tie event was. I found myself explaining the proper dress attire for a variety of events.

     This is when I knew that somewhere along the way, we as parents have failed our youth. How many of us are taking our children to cultural events that require them to wear something other than jeans and a t-shirt or sweatshirt? How many of us are teaching our sons how to tie a necktie? How many of us are explaining to our sons and daughters what to wear to a job interview? How many of us are teaching our children that the first impression is a lasting impression? With that being said, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Are we just shaking our heads at our young men who are “sagging’, or are we saying to him, “Young man, pull those pants up!”

      I took this as a lesson for myself and would like to spread the word. Our children are fashionably challenged, we need to step up and step in to help them. I challenge each one of you today to take just a few moments and give a young person a short lesson on what the appropriate attire is for different social events. As Smokey the Bear’s fur coat would say, “Only you can stop atrocious attire!!”

     Have you ever watched someone run? You can tell a lot about a person by the way they run. Some people run so effortlessly, they just seem to glide by barely breaking a sweat. Others seem to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, struggling with every step along the way. Then there are the ones that run ahead, turn and run backwards while taking pictures of others; all while their backward pace is still faster than many of those running forward. You also have the ones that run and walk, stopping to talk with others along the way. Some people hold their heads up and are alert to their surroundings. Others run with their heads down, in total concentration, oblivious to anything around them. As I have observed this, I can only imagine that this is how they live their lives. Some go through life effortlessly with heads up and alert, while others are struggling just to make it. Some just do what their going to do in order to finish with breaks along the way, while others excel and have fun with it.

     Running has the power to change your life. Not only does it provide a very efficient way to burn fat, but it also forces your body to operate more efficiently too. It will make you fitter, healthier and even happier. The beauty of running is in its simplicity. In the end, running should be fun. When we run with presence, we are fully aware of our foot striking the earth, the rhythm of our breathing and the path in front of us. Runners are used to working with their inner experiences. To run long distances, they have to work through boredom & fatigue. Runners get used to dealing with adversities and obstacles.

     Running isn’t for everyone. I do believe, though, everyone should find that one thing that they enjoy and is a positive release from the stress and drama that comes with living. We all need that quiet place where we can be free and the mind can be clear. This is one key to wellness and a key to happiness.

As a team, the 100 Black Men of Greater Kansas City (aka The Running 100), raised $630 for the Susan G. Komen “Race for the Cure” with race participation from: Jeffrey J. Davis, Roland Hemmings, Ottawa Williams, Larry Lester, Marcus Craig, Anthony Williams, Ariana Williams, and Stephon Ford.