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Nutrition Tips for the Holiday Season

It’s December and the holiday season has officially begun.
For many, the focus of the season is food and overindulgence. The average person gains 2 to 12 pounds from Thanksgiving to New Year ’s Day.
It is possible to enjoy the Holiday Season and practice moderation.
Simply, diet is discipline. I teach my clients that weight management is about negotiation, not deprivation. Allow the holiday season to be a time of weight management as opposed to weight loss.

Here are some tips to help maintain your weight and enjoy some holiday treats at the same time.
Set yourself up for success. If you are attending a function in the evening, eat balanced meals throughout the day with lean proteins and vegetables as your base. Go light on the fruits and breads. Save your calories for a serving from the sweet table or a cocktail. Do not skip meals and starve yourself for the sake of saving calories. You will overeat if you show up hungry!
Limit the alcohol. Most people drink themselves to a weight gain over the holiday season. Remember, the average alcoholic beverage is an average of 100-300+ calories!
Placement is key. Be social and move around. Try not to place yourself in front of the sweet table or cheese platter.
Don’t Deny. Have dessert, but take a small portion. Negotiation vs. deprivation.
Portion Control. Use the portion plate. Fill half the plate with veggies from the healthy veggie platter you offered to contribute and accompany with some hummus in place of high calorie dips.
Get moving. Increase your cardiovascular workouts in both frequency and duration over the holidays.
Chew gum. After you have enjoyed your meal or moderate appetizers, chew a piece of gum. Food just does not taste as appealing with the linger of mint.
If you do overeat, do not beat yourself up. Get back on track immediately and set realistic goals to stay motivated.

Allow the Holiday Season to be a time of celebration with friends and loved ones and the food is a compliment, not the main event. Practice moderation and book your consultation with me so that I can support you in attaining your goals in 2014!

Wishing you and your Family a safe and healthy Holiday Season!

Mary

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Achilles’ Tendon Injuries

The Achilles’ tendon is the largest tendon in your body and is located in the back of your ankle. It is a commonly injured tendon in the body. There can be many factors leading to injury:

– Excessive ankle pronation: All tendons like to used in a linear fashion. When there is excessive ankle pronation, this causes the Achilles’ tendon to be stressed on the one side more than the other due to poor biomechanics. Over time, this one-sided stress can lead to repetitive overuse injuries like tendinitis.

– Tight calves: Your calves are primarily formed by two large muscles (gastrocnemius and soleus) which attach to the Achilles’ tendon. If they are excessively tight, it puts undue stress (especially if you also have excessive ankle pronation) on the tendon and can also lead to injury

– Weak hips: Weak gluteal muscles can lead to poor biomechanics all the way down to your feet, affecting your Achilles’ tendon by placing undue stress on one side of your tendon, similar to excessive pronation.

– Previous ankle injury: Any previous traumatic injury (ie sprain, fracture) can lead to scar tissue buildup, loss of range of motion and stretch which can lead to altered ankle biomechanics.

– Sudden high impact activity increase: Increasing your activity too quickly can place too much stress on the Achilles’ tendon for it to properly heal after each activity session (ie. tennis, running, soccer, etc) leading to injury.

If you have any pain symptoms in your Achilles’ tendon, do not ignore them. Since Achilles’ tendon injuries are typically repetitive in nature, it could be a sign of an injury waiting to happen.

Proper biomechanics are key to treating and preventing this type of injury. Come into Form & Function and see one of our healthcare professionals to make sure your biomechanics are tip top shape!

Man Chun (Manni) Wong

Registered Physiotherapy

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Welcome SONIA VOVAN

sonia vovan, physiotherapist markham

I would like to officially welcome Sonia Vovan to our rehab team.  Sonia has recently graduated from the University of Toronto with a Masters in Physiotherapy, and will be taking on new patients starting this week.  Sonias  hours are Tue/Thurs 9-7.30 and Sat 9-2.  For Sonia’s full bio please click here 

 

By Dr. J 0 Comments Events, Uncategorised

Welcome SONIA VOVAN

sonia vovan, physiotherapist markham

I would like to officially welcome Sonia Vovan to our rehab team.  Sonia has recently graduated from the University of Toronto with a Masters in Physiotherapy, and will be taking on new patients starting this week.  Sonias  hours are Tue/Thurs 9-7.30 and Sat 9-2.  For Sonia’s full bio please click here 

 

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Osteoarthritis

As a large number the Canadian population ages, osteoarthritis will become an increasingly common condition. Here is some information regarding osteoarthritis.

What is Osteoarthritis?
Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition that involves the wear and tear of cartilage between joint surfaces leading to exposed bone on bone rubbing. It generally affects people in their 60s or 70s but can also occur in those 50s or younger. It most commonly affects weightbearing joints like knees, hips, neck and back.

Screen Shot 2013-09-19 at 10.13.28 AMSymptoms may include:
– Pain, especially prior to weather changes
– Stiffness in joints, especially in the morning
– Swelling
– Redness
– Feeling of heat around joints
– Loss of flexibility and mobility
– Tenderness
– Grating sensation between joint

Predisposing factors may include:
– Overweight
– Poor joint mechanics/alignment
– Prior joint injuries
– High impact or repetitive occupations
– Female sex
– Other conditions (like diabetes)
– Lack of regular exercise

Treatment of mild to moderate osteoarthritis involves tailored individualized exercise program that:
– Increase strength to protect the joint and minimize unnecessary rubbing between joints
– Increase or maintain flexibility to help keep joint fully lubricated
– Increase endurance to help increase ability to do functional activities
– Splinting or bracing to offset pressure on joint surfaces
Treatment of severe osteoarthritis often involves surgical intervention if conservative management is exhausted.

If you are experiencing osteoarthritic pain, come in to Form and Function to get assessed by one of our healthcare professionals. We can determine the state of your osteoarthritis and prescribe an individualized exercise program to help you minimize your pain and increase your function. Even if you are not currently experience pain, you may want to get assessed for proper biomechanics to help prevent the onset of osteoarthritis. Being proactive is much better than being retroactive!

Manni Wong
Registered Physiotherapist

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End of Summer Diet Clean up

Welcome to September! As we mark the end of summer and bbq season, a few of you may be unhappy with the scales! Fall is a wonderful time to get back to a healthy nutrition plan and shed bad habits and extra pounds. Here are a few basic tips to transition back to your healthy routine:
Increase your daily water consumption. 8 glasses a day is recommended to help detox and additional toxins you may have accumulated over the summer. Water will also help manage hunger cravings.
Include lean protein in your breakfast to help stabilize your blood sugar and set you up with energy for your day, a fruit smoothie made with yogurt, egg whites, or nuts and seeds added to oatmeal.
Increase fresh fruits an vegetables not only with your main meals but also as snacks to limit your intake of processed foods. Your daily consumption should be minimum 5, aim for 8-10!

Change your habits, replace your 3pm coffee or cookie with a brief walk or breath of fresh air.

Keep a food log. What you eat and what you think you have eaten often differ!

Schedule a Fall clean up with me and we will work together to create a Nutrition and Lifestyle Protocol just for you!

Get back to the gym and increase your exercise! Maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle is much easier when exercise is part of the recipe.

In good health,

Mary

 

 

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How well do you warm up

What do you do when you warm up?

Studies now show that dynamic warm ups (DWU) are better than static stretching (SS) and no warm up (NWU).  DWU have been shown to decrease injury rates and performance compare SS and NWU groups.  Conversely, some studies have shown that static stretching can decrease performance on tasks such as vertical jump.

Dynamic warm ups should feature progressive and continuous movements.  The goal of a DWU should be to: increase the suppleness of muscles and tendons, increase blood flow to the arms and legs, increase body temperature and enhance free coordinated movement.

An example of a dynamic warm up  can be body weight movements where intensity is progressively increasing.  For example, squats, airplanes, lunges, pushups, step ups, jumping jacks.  These exercises can also be paired with running drills – i.e. Track A’s, B’s, C’s.

Dr. Paul