And make sure your dog doesn?t either!

My dog?Louie?found and ingested?rat poison?and I had to take him to the ER. In a case like this they make him?throw up?and then give him?activated charcoal?to absorb the rest of the poison. It was scary but Louie should be?fine??

What?s the lesson from all of this?

1. Make sure you have rat poison traps that are locked correctly
2. Scan your whole backyard and double check everything (which I thought I did)
3. Even if poison tastes good don?t eat it

I thought since we are on the poison theme and it?s the end of the year I would list?my top 8 foods to AVOID! (no particular order and could probably find more)

8. Processed Table Salt?? not all salt is created equal ??avoid processed table salt?because it causes your body to retain fluids and most table ?salt? is?iodized?and puts people at risk for abnormally large thyroid gland and cause?thyroid-related autoimmune disorders.?Excess iodine in the diet can also lead to nausea, headaches and unhealthy hormone levels.?Use either Himalayan or Celtic Sea Salt

7. Margarine ? the?vegetable oils?used to make regular margarine?s today have a high concentration of polyunsaturated fats and the process of hardening those oils to create the more solid structure of margarine, known as hydrogenation, generates artificial trans fats. (that?s not good)?Use grass-fed Butter or Ghee

6. Kids Cereal?? i won?t get all sciencey (made up word :)) sugar, lots of processing, and artificial flavoring ??Try Go Raw Cereal Sprouted Granola

5. Microwave Popcorn ? The?bag?itself contains chemicals and with ingredients such as partially hydrogenated soybean oil, palm oil, salt and?TBHQ? stands for ?Tertiary Butylhydroquinone.? It?s a dead giveaway that you?shouldn?t be eating this, if food companies have to use an acronym for a long chemical name on the ingredient label.?Make your own?

popcorn ? here are the ingredients to one ? (Food Babe?s Super-food popcorn)

4. Fancy Coffee Drinks?? Now that the holidays are around the corner we see even more of these fancy drinks. What we don?t see is the?50 grams of sugarin them. These can be addicting because of the sugar and caffeine.?Just stick to the basic drinks and celebrate the holidays another way??

3. Factory Farmed Meat (and fish)?You are what?they?eat, and if the livestock or fish that you?re grilling up for dinner is fed hormones, drugs and anunnatural diet?grown using?chemical pesticides and fertilizers, that?s not good news for you!!?Eat grass fed meat and wild fish

2. White Flour (i.e. bagels, most breads, muffins and pastries) I know it?s tempting but once you stop eating it you will find that you won?t be tempted as much. White flour is really nothing more than?refined carbohydrates?and can contribute to weight gain. Enriched white flour causes your body to scream through the ride of a sugar high roller coaster. ??Use Ezekial bread, sourdough bread or bread you can see the grains.?

(or just avoid it all together??

1. Soft Drinks or Diet Drinks?? We all know this by now???Sugar, artificial flavoring?blah, blah, blah?Drink water, tea or black coffee

I could go on and on with this list but it?s all about taking?small steps?and eliminating these foods/drinks that can set you?off trackto reach your goals.

If you have a soft drink a?few times a year there is nothing wrong with thatjust make sure it is not a daily or weekly occurrence.

Bottom Line:?Don?t poison yourself or your dog??

Have a great weekend!

Brian

Is breakfast really that important? ?It?depends?who you talk to?

Mainstream media and big cereal companies (e.g., Kellogg) have always stressed that breakfast is the most?important?meal of the day.

I would beg to differ.

Breakfast is the most?marketed?meal of the day. Why?

Because any company that convinces you to eat their cereal, bagel, or Pop Tart owns your breakfast, as most people eat the same breakfast daily.

nutrition | breakfast | fasting | Brian Gryn

Studies?show that due to our stringent breakfast routines, consumers have strong brand loyalty to certain cereals.

How about those?Tony the Tiger?ads that got tens of thousands of children to eat Frosted Flakes every morning for years?!

(I actually was one of those kids! Before I got into health.??)

Most breakfast cereals rank just behind cookies, candy, ice cream, and sugary drinks as a source of?dietary sugar.

Also, instant oatmeal and/or instant cream of wheat is highly processed as well.

So two questions:

1. Should we eat breakfast at all?

That is up to you? If you are eating something?processed?(bagel, muffin, pancakes, donuts, or pastries) or with large amounts of?sugar?(most yogurts or anything with??instant??in front of it) ? I would?avoid?breakfast, and have black coffee or green tea or?what I have.??

You can break your fast with a?healthy lunch?and save time in the morning.

Also, by skipping breakfast, you?balance?out your fasting and feeding times.

The human body is?designed?to go periods without food.

Most people think that eating first thing in the A.M. will give you the fuel to start the day, but your body has?plenty of left over fuel and?glycogen (when that runs out ? fat) stored inside of you.

Glycogen?is your most easily accessible energy source and can last for days.

If we?start eating?the minute we roll out of bed and do not stop until we go to sleep, we spend almost all of our time in a?fed state.

2. What do we eat for breakfast if you are going to have it?

Eggs?are a good choice, and you can get creative with how you make them (scrambled, omelette, sunny side up, etc.) and what you put in them (veggies, cheese, avocado, etc.).

Most importantly, avoid?anything processed or that you would throw in your?microwave. So no?bagel, muffin, or pastry with the eggs.

So the?bottom line?is that marketers and big corps want you to think that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, when it actually is just?another meal.

For a while, I was?convinced?as well, but after researching and skipping breakfast myself, I realized it wasn?t a big deal.

I had even more energy to work out and/or go to work all in a?fasted state.

Also, short-term fasting leads to?several changes?in the body that make fat burning easier. This includes?reduced insulin, increased?growth hormone, enhanced?epinephrine?signaling (adrenaline), and a small boost in metabolism.??

So figure out if?breakfast?is that important for you, and you will see that it?s not all it?s hyped up to be.

Have a great day!

As much as it is important to build strength as we age, it is just as important to maintain our mobility in our hips, ankles, hammies, etc.

And if you are not one to just stretch on your own, try adding yoga on any level to your routine. You will see great benefits ? not just in your body, but also in your mind.

Here are my top 3 reasons to add yoga to your routine:

Yoga | Brian Gryn

Yoga Increases Range of Motion

You might?have a tight muscle group or two?most frequently the hamstrings, glutes, pecs, and shoulders. You may?not realize the limitations any of these place on your?ability to train through a full range of motion. The more you train them through a limited range of motion, the more limited you become as a lifter?and a functional human being.

A well-designed yoga class emphasizes moves that open up virtually all of these problem areas, because everyone can benefit from opening up their rounded shoulders and tight hips. Also, as we age our posture gets worse and yoga can help counteract sitting at a desk all day.

Yoga Quiets the Mind

A quiet mind is a clear mind. ?In yoga it is imperative to focus on your breath and stay in the present. ?This will help benefit you in all aspects of your life. Most people are also attached to their smart phones, and its a great way to escape from the day to day grind and attempt to quiet your mind from the outside. The more you practice yoga, the better you get at clearing your mind. It is truly?movement meditation. And we all know the benefits of meditation for stress relief.

Yoga Strengthens your Stabilizer Muscles

A lot of traditional lifting exercises like shoulder press and chest press neglect the small, stabilizing muscles that a yoga practice can help build. That?s why you will occasionally see a strong muscular guy get owned in a class full of small, less muscular women. Doing down dog, straight arm plank (or side plank), and warrior variations can help strengthen the smaller muscles (rotator cuff, erector spinae ? low/mid back) that get neglected by traditional lifting.

Yoga Improves Balance

Balance often gets neglected in the weight/cardio room, but in yoga it is incorporated into most practices. This will improve your?neuromuscular coordination. Basically, it helps improve the communication between your brain and muscles. It helps with muscle isolation, too. During balance training, you have to maintain stabilization. You are forced to engage an individual muscle so that you are not using other muscles to help you ?cheat.? With single leg-type balance exercises, your glute medius is engaged and worked. Therefore, this helps with hip stabilization and core stabilization, improving your coordination and posture.

I prefer warm/hot yoga because it helps to get into the poses (injury prevention). Getting a good sweat helps rid the body of toxins.

I recommend going at your own pace, and don?t compare your practice to others in the class ? that is when you can get hurt.

So give it a go, and let me know how it goes.??

As we age, it?s important to find ways to maintain joint health and stay in shape! Playing basketball is fun and a good workout, but eventually we all get too old, and the last thing we want to do is get injured. So what is a healthy alternative?!? You guessed it? swimming! All you need is a Speedo, some goggles, and a well-maintained pool. If you don?t know how to swim, it?s never too late to learn.

But why swimming?!? ?Well, here are 5 reasons to jump in:

Swimming | Brian Gryn | Coach

1. ?Builds Cardio Fitness without Overheating

It engages every muscle in the body, including the heart, and improves blood circulation. This is among the few aerobic exercises that can burn a lot of calories without putting too much pressure on the limbs. Further, swimming tends to engage a large number of calories per stroke.

2. ?Reduces Stress and Clears the Mind

Everybody is always attached to their phones even when they are in the gym working out. ?Well there is none of that while swimming ? no texting, Facebooking, Snapchatting ? just you and the water. ?How refreshing!??? Also, splashing through the water tends to engage our bodies and minds, which induces the release of endorphins (your body?s feel-good hormones that help neutralize depression).

3. ?Improves Flexibility & Mobility

Most of us don?t do any stretching and end up losing our mobility as we age. ?Well swimming not only works our muscles but also stretches muscle fibers and ligaments. ?Reaching, stretching, twisting and pulling your way through the water is a great way to stretch without even realizing you are doing it.

4. ?Builds Most Muscle Groups

Swimming recruits all major muscle groups, including shoulders, back, abs, hips, and glutes. Water provides 12 times the resistance as air in every direction and helps build overall physical conditioning while being easy on the joints. I believe a combination of weights and swimming provides great balance for your joints.

5. ?Swimming Surpasses Limitations of Age, Availability and/or Serious Illness (might help you live longer too!)

You can swim your whole life, and it is equally suited for small children and elderly. ?South Carolina researchers followed 40,547 adults ages 20 to 90 for more than 3 decades and discovered that swimmers ? regardless of age ? were about 50% less likely to die during the study than were sofa sitters, walkers, and runners. (source: Prevention Magazine) ?Also, a person with physical disabilities can do water-based exercises they couldn?t do on land.

Are those enough reasons to grab a suit, goggles, and about 30 minutes of your time? ?Trust me ? give it a go and your body will thank you!??

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