Being the father of an incredible four year old daughter and expecting more in the upcoming months I wanted to share my experiences, and possibly offer some insight to fathers, or soon to be fathers and potentially some mothers out there.

Guys, having a child will completely change your lives. And you may have already been told this. But really, it’s true!

The hardest part for me was to finally realize that my life was no longer just my own. It took about 4 months of pain and struggle after my daughter’s birth to realize this. Until I “surrendered” to the new experience of fatherhood, I was in a constant battle of old self versus new and improved self. Who would win? It was pretty obvious that my newborn daughter, innocent and helpless, would soon gain victory over my life. I had mentally rationalized the surrendering, but a deeper part of me had not yet realized the change. When it did however, everything came together.

I can truly plead innocence regarding this delay in surrendering however:

From my perspective, for men, pregnancy can be a very surreal experience. Picture this: Its 7:30am, your wife walks out of the bathroom and the little pee stick has a blue “plus” on it. “Hurray!” I can recall some of my initial thoughts. “What does that mean to me? How will my life change? Will I still be able to go out and play squash twice a week?” But soon afterwards my thoughts turned to less selfish ones. “Will it be a boy or girl? How can I be the best parent possible? What will I have to do to get ready?”

But fatherhood doesn’t necessarily sink in just yet. Let’s not forget, this is not our body. At this point we are merely third party observers to this wonderful event. We can imagine. We can visualize, listen and discuss. But our bodies won’t be changing. Our hormones will still remain the same. There will be no morning sickness, no fatigue…but hey, that comes later. I felt like I was a coach on the sidelines helping the star player prepare for that all-important match! I was never entirely “in the game”. Yet I was still comfortable with that.

Here is what did keep me in the game: providing support.

During the first trimester my wife experienced a great deal of fatigue and morning sickness, which didn’t necessarily happen in the morning. Her body had become a human incubator for this tiny new life. That meant that she was going through intense physical change. Her body was working overtime; I was told that her blood volume was expected to increase between 40-50% during this time. Not to mention her change in hormone levels. Her diet had to be completely re-vamped in order to avoid the constant nausea.

For me, support came mostly in the form of additional household duties, which I learnt to stomach.

It was during this period that I discovered a new life skill and its importance: listening.

Now this is also a big one guys. And I don’t mean the multi-tasking listening that we are so great at. You know the one where your wife is standing right in front of you speaking, and you’re basically nodding and saying “uh-uh, no problem”, but what you’re really thinking about is what time the game is on tonight and how are you going to swing it despite the fact that your wife can barely function. I’m telling you, cut out all of that inner chatter and really pay attention to what she is saying, and maybe even to try to appreciate what she is experiencing. I know that this is hard, but if she feels that she is being listened to, then she will be happier, and if she is happy, then you’re happy. It’s quite simple.

As my wife entered her second trimester, not only did she feel human again, but she had her energy back, was keen on eating and felt on top of the world. This can truly be a wonderful time to take your relationship to new heights. Once your child is born, your lives together will never be the same. Therefore cherish it.

As exercise is important during regular times in our life, it has a special place during pregnancy. Women who exercise throughout their pregnancy will have a significantly decreased maternal exhaustion and less need for operative intervention during childbirth. Exercise will also help alleviate fatigue and excessive weight gain. It will improve circulation, enhance energy levels, and provide better sleeps. My wife was already exercising; therefore my role was to encourage her to continue with her program with a few modifications. Over time we decreased the intensity of her workouts, did more walks and focused on inner core strengthening exercises. This would prove to be vital during her recuperation after childbirth.

Into the third trimester, everyday activities became more difficult for her. My role as the supporter and listener became increasingly important. Any lifting was my responsibility. I spent more time sharing, discussing names, and just making her feel more comfortable.

It was important for me to attend the ultrasound appointments. Not only was it a great chance to share in this ongoing miracle with my wife, but it also brought me closer to being a real father. To see your child moving around inside is an incredible experience.

When the big day comes and your wife is giving birth, it’s time to put away everything and anything you’re doing because at this point your own life is only secondary. You are now officially the “yes man”. And after you have packed up your wife’s bag, be sure to bring yourself a series of snacks; you never know how long this could take.

The big payoff does come: This is when you, the father, are the first to witness the birth of your child. Yes your wife gave birth which is a gift in itself, but you’re standing right there watching everything, holding her hand, encouraging her, congratulating her. And if you’re lucky, like I was, you may even be the first to hold your beautiful child. You are officially a Dad!

In a matter of minutes, all of the efforts of listening, doing, being subservient, waiting, and nodding have all paid off. Now you’re holding the miracle of life. And this child is yours to care for, to share your values with, to teach them right and wrong, to help them out through all of their pains and struggles, and to share in their joys and successes. Everything else will seem so meaningless in comparison.

I have gladly surrendered my “old self” to that of fatherhood, and shall do it again, with pleasure. Here’s to being a Parent!

You can expect regular updates on general health, fitness, nutrition and spirituality. There are many aspects to this new site: testimonials, affirmations, articles by me and other health professionals and even a comments board.

Plus, I will soon have a password protected page designed specifically for clients of Citrus Health. This will include individual stats, workout programs, a nutritional library and other juicy recommendations.

Enjoy!

Let’s consider the active person: There is no doubt that a reduction in carb intake will impact their fitness performance. After all, carbs are sugars, sugar is energy. So, if I am an avid runner for example, I need to get in some serious carbs on a regular basis, otherwise my performance will truly suffer. With that in mind, it then becomes more complicated and difficult if we are tussling with the two goals of weight loss and improved or maintained fitness performance. The two almost seem diametrically opposed, right?

On the side of weight loss, when we overeat with carbs, not only do we fill the liver and muscle stores with necessary glycogen (good), but we also deposit additional glycogen into the fat cells (not so good). Conversely, when we reduce the carb intake, less goes to the fat cells (also good). But what happens if we reduce our carb intake too much? Well, this is where other problems arise.

You see, carbohydrates form the basis of our body’s energy system. In conjunction with our fat stores and muscle protein, they work together to provide the body with all of the energy necessary for daily active living, and moderate and high-intensity exercise. Based on the intensity-level and length of the activity, the carbs, proteins and fats will provide their respective percentage contribution to the body’s energy system.

Moving back to the runner, if we are performing at a mid to high level, the carbs may be contributing approximately 65% of the energy, fats are at 35% and muscle protein at 5% for an even 100%. What happens then if we are trying to exercise at this level for extended periods of time, or we don’t have sufficient carbs in our system? The carbs’ contribution percentage will then decrease, but the fat contribution doesn’t necessarily increase as would be assumed. Fats just don’t burn well without the presence of carbs. So, what’s left then…the muscle protein? Well, that’s not very good at all! Firstly, by utilizing more muscle protein we are essentially eating away our capacity to burn calories. And building muscle is no easy task, man or woman. Besides, it is crucial that we maintain or increase our metabolism as we age.

To dissect this further, while jogging, the runner’s muscles, which are composed of tiny cells, are undergoing millions of regular contractions. Each contraction requires energy. These cells, like little balloons, are filled with glycogen for energy. And this vital store house of energy is serving the simple purpose of physical movement: walking, running and jumping to name a few. These muscle balloons, or cells can easily get depleted throughout the day or after intense exercise. Imagine the balloon just shriveling like a raisin. We therefore need to feed it immediately after exercise, and as often as possible. Otherwise these tiny fuel tanks run low and can’t properly function. That’s why when we go on these low carbs diets we feel tired, lethargic, even irritated and ill. The body is just not getting the energy it’s used to.

Now, think of each of these tiny balloons once again fully engorged with energy, ready and willing to take on any physical and mental challenge! Think of it! With the right type of physical and nutritional conditioning, we can train the body to be carb-metabolizing machines! What a concept!

This conditioning is based on balanced eating involving proteins, fats and nutrient-rich complex carbs (and this means no sweet treats or processed foods). Equally important to this equation is portion sizes, meals frequencies, and regular exercising timed with the right pre & post workout nutrition. Does this involve hard work and discipline? This may be so. But this, I believe, is the healthiest and most permanent approach to successful fat loss. With that in mind, whether we are sedentary individuals, recreational athletes, or exercise at a higher level, it is essential that our eating patterns complement our activities.

So where do we start? Believe it or not, Health Canada’s Canada Food Guide is a great place to begin. It is recently updated and definitely worth looking at online, www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index_e.html. On the same token, speaking with a health professional specializing in nutrition and exercise is an excellent direction.

Here’s to living the high octane life!

But somewhere along the way something strange happened. Perhaps one, or many of our decisions took us into an unexpected direction. Maybe we fell in love, got married, had children, or there may have been a drastic career or life change. Maybe someone significant passed away and our vision was halted or altered.

‘What if?” we would ask ourselves. Does this current reality really make me that unhappy? What would have happened if my decisions would have been different?

A friend once told me: As long as we do our best with what we know and have at the time, then we can be content or satisfied with our efforts, regardless of the outcome. After all, how much control do we really have?

I try to view life not as a series of right or wrong decisions, but as a series of learnings, delicately intertwined, forming some beautifully complex design. These learnings are agents of spiritual growth, expressions to our virtues, or who we really are. Growth is not necessarily easy though. For me it requires constant efforts: enduring courage and discipline, the search for inner peace, and regular self-examination. “How happy am I? How am I with others? Which areas would I like to improve?” It’s almost like an ongoing refinement of our being.

Although our physical self is forever in a constant state of flux with an eventual end, our spiritual self remains unlimited, untapped and eternal. So we can then ask ourselves, “Why am I really here?” Yes, here…existing! “How will I seek to improve myself in order to serve the goal of growth?”

Now with spiritual growth and learning in mind, how will this new information change our goals, our vision, how we live our life during our day to day interactions with others? “How will my current actions and choices serve me in this new, expanded goal?”

These are profound questions and will take time to answer. Perhaps it is a whole lifetime of asking the same questions and getting new answers following each learning. So where do these answers come from? Maybe they are already there, within us. We just have to learn to extract them.

What if all of these imposing questions that we struggle with, and are yet to struggle with are just sitting, waiting to be drawn upon, from inside? What if inner peace was the path to these incredible, evasive answers? Would we sit and be at peace more often?

What if we were all at peace?

Although most back pains are caused by physical, anatomical reasons such as muscle strains, muscle imbalances and joint or disc herniation, stress, anger and depression also contribute to back pain or even be the cause. With back pain therapy, stretching and exercise have become essential components in decreasing and managing pain. It is found that relaxation therapy can also help reduce pain helping pacify mental or emotional stress. Components of relaxation therapy can include visualization techniques, breathing exercises or meditation. With this in mind, yoga is an effective practice for managing and relieving back pain as the physical and mental components are addressed in yoga: postures, breathing and relaxation. Points to Consider:

• Before beginning any activity or exercise visit your doctor or primary health care professional to rule out any serious complications.

• Speak with the instructor about your particular situation before the class begins. All poses can be modified and a qualified yoga instructor will know how to accommodate you.

• Start off in a Beginner level class. Only move the body to when you first feel the stretch, especially if you have discomfort before the class begins. As your back gets better you will gradually want to stretch a bit further.

• Any style is suitable such as Hatha, Sri Sri Yoga, Iyengar, Integral, Ashtanga, Sivananda, Viniyoga, Ananda, Kripalu or Anusara. Iyengar in particular uses props to help facilitate some of the poses. The relationship with the teacher, however, is more important than the style being taught as most styles derived from one of the main paths of yoga.

• Avoid Bikram or Hot Yoga in the first few classes as your body is more flexible in the heat and this may result in overstretching compromised areas. Avoid taking painkillers the same day you do a yoga class.

Top 5 Yoga Tips for a Better Back

1. Start your day with a low back stretch lying on your bed, knee to chin pose, Pavanamuktasana.
2. While at work, stretch your back by bending forward, arms over head towards the edge of your desk, modified standing forward bend, Hastapadasana. Stretch your neck with a chin tuck, used in many yoga poses to avoid straining the neck. Strengthen your back and thighs by standing straighter in mountain pose, Tadasana.
3. Hydrate your muscles and joints by drinking plenty of water.
4. Cleanse the body and mind of impurities by consulting with qualified health professionals.

Be an observer, as opposed to a reactor, of your thoughts and feelings.

- Dropped or raised foot arches

- Toe deformities

- Hip and pelvis muscle imbalances and tightness

- Patella-femoral tracking problems

- Meniscus tears or damage

- Ligament injuries

- Inflammation and arthritis 

Your physiotherapist has the expertise to find the indicated, specific corrective maneuvers, techniques and therapeutic movements based on a thorough biomechanical assessment, muscle testing and joint testing. With a sound training program, well coordinated with your Therapist, you will experience more rapid relief and less risk of re-injury. For relief of pain and inflammation and accelerated tissue repair and healing, electrotherapy (with the Electro-Acuscope), Acupuncture, and nutritional advice are very effective in combination with physical and manual therapy, and corrective exercises.  This integrative approach is broadly viewed as the treatment of choice.

Today I will keep the big picture in mind.

q       Sit tall, stand tall, avoid the slouch and stay loose.

q       Keep everything close to you and avoid over-reaching for things.

q       For every 20 minutes of sitting, do 5 minutes of something else.

q       Take a longer break in the middle of the day.

q       Take time at the end of the day to stretch and break bad habits

Dr. David Koivuranta, D.C., B.Sc., is the creator of Time Health Management, a workplace health and wellness company. While providing many workplace initiatives, Time Health Management implements proven ergonomic solutions including the Active Workplace Plan. To learn more, visit www.timehealthmanagement.com or email Dr. Dave at drdave@dkchiro.com. The full article can be received by contacting the author.

Today I will make a list of ten good things in my life.

Within our bodies are living cells, energy-burning machines. The energy which supports us is locked into the molecular bonds of a few basic fuel molecules: glucose, fructose, fatty acids, and amino acids. When these molecules are broken down they release energy. This means that with every function of our body energy is being used up. The food-derived energy stored in these cells allows us to move, to do work by muscle contraction, and to keep warm.

The energy requirement of any individual is determined by physical activity. Our energy balances shift with variations in food intake and activity level. A healthy, active adult will usually spend 1000-3000 Kcal per day of food energy (or approximately 33Kcal/Kg).

Daily physical exercise is beneficial and tends to promote normal body weight, with energy intake matching output. With food restriction or dieting however, the body is forced to become more efficient at utilizing energy. This tends to frustrate people seeking to lose weight as the metabolism slows down to conserve energy.

This means that the speed of our metabolism will dictate the rate at which we burn calories or energy at any given moment. If we burn calories, we burn fat, plain and simple. So how do we impact a change in our metabolism? We target the muscle tissue.

The more muscle we have the more calories we burn regardless of how active or how old we are. It’s live tissue and it’s there working for us and burning calories 24 hours a day – each and every day!

During our last issue we learnt how the amount of muscle tissue impacted our metabolism, consequently the rate at which we burn calories.

Other role players affecting our metabolism are:

1. Our eating habits – the greater the space between meals, the more the metabolism will slow down to conserve energy.
2. Our activity levels – this is important but it will not make a difference if we don’t match the intake to the expenditures.
3. Low-fat diets slowing down our hormone production and reducing the metabolic rate of the body.
4. Stress and overeating – stress can slow the metabolism down by placing extra stress and strain on numerous systems. Also, many people tend to overeat when “stressed out”.
5. Genetics – some people have higher metabolisms than others – you can’t change genetics but you can still win the battle!
6. Hydration – over 70% of our bodily functions take place in water. A lack of water will slow down the systems and cause unnecessary stress.

Interestingly enough however, we often blame our slowing metabolism on age. But this is not necessarily the case. It is more about the lack of muscle as a result of a decrease in physical stress imposed on the body.

So, to sum up, the major causes for a slowing metabolism are the following:

· We lose muscle due to the lack of physical stress from resistance training (weights)
· Our bodies cannibalize/use up muscle as a secondary source of energy because we cannot supply them with the ideal nutrition due to our “dieting” and meal skipping
· Our activity levels tend to decrease as we get older

Therefore our goal is to address those 3 issues, jumpstart our metabolism and transform our bodies into a fat-burning furnaces!

Muscle Growth Stimulation

The key to more permanently increasing the metabolism is through resistance training using weights. Only resistance training stimulates the growth of lean muscle mass. It can transform the body to be trim and curvaceous, or muscular, depending on our goals. For women afraid of bulking up, it will actually make their body profile smaller because muscle is more compact; marbling from the fat would otherwise occur. Here is the clincher: The more lean muscle mass versus fat, the more calories we burn while we sit, rest, and sleep.

It is crucial that the resistance program be progressive, otherwise the benefits are minimal. We have to force the body to improve its’ capacity, and the only way to do that is to consistently provide a stimulus or stress that is greater than what the body is used to.

Our workout goal is muscular failure or fatigue, and this is what stimulates muscular growth! This is when we can no longer, within the set, move the weight in a positive or lifting direction, the muscles begin to quiver, and we experience a burning feeling in the muscle.

What happens is that fatigue during resistance training causes temporary microscopic injuries to the muscle cells. As it repairs itself it adds additional, thicker fibres which strengthen the muscle, therefore it develops the capacity to cope better the next time it is challenged. The repair process takes huge amounts of stored energy; this is where we burn additional calories and fat, which can take days to do.
Once again, muscle failure or fatigue should be the goal during each set.

Well-Managed Nutrition to Feed the Muscles

Now comes the fun part of physical health: repair & growth, also known as: resting & eating. Weight training will lose its’ effectiveness if we don’t eat properly. Therefore, we must feed the body with foods that promote the growth of lean muscle vs. fat. These foods are delicious proteins, healthy fats, whole grain foods, and fibre.
When we store fat in our body it is because we are supplying it with more calories than it needs at a given time. Ingested sugars are transformed into glycogen for storage in the liver and muscles. It becomes readily used when performing activities. Any additional glycogen not picked up by the liver and muscles get stored in the fat cells for future considerations. The more conditioned our muscles are, the greater the storage capacity of the muscles and liver. Furthermore, the fat cells are more apt to release the stored fat when needed. Therefore it is important to exercise regularly as well as match our eating to our activity levels.

Below are some quick tips for well-managed eating.

1. Eat 5-6 portion-controlled meals per day
2. Take it easy on the starchy (white rice, white flour)
3. High on the leafy green vegetables
4. Make your plate colourful with veggies
5. Eat good fats and oils
6. Whole grain foods – GOOD (whole wheat, multigrain breads)
7. Sugars and junk foods – BAD
8. Drink 10-12 cups of water per day
9. One cheat day per week, on a workout day
10. Don’t eat after 7:30pm
11. All meals/snacks balanced, consisting of carbs/proteins/fats
12. Take it easy on the high glycemic items
13. Do not skip meals or wait 3-4 hours in between; bad for fat loss and muscular gains

Help Attack the Existing Fat

An increase in our cardio levels or cardiovascular output will complement our newly revitalized metabolic foundation. This should come as second nature now that we are energized by our eating and exercise. Here are some suggestions that should also be progressive:

· Take the stairs vs. the elevator
· Park further away from your location rather than closer (extra walking)
· Go for evening walks after dinner; this, helps stimulate digestion
· Take part in active lifestyles, leisurely bike rides, walks in the park, with the dog, household chores, pushing the lawnmower
· Jogging, biking, in-line skating, canoeing, backpacking
· Dancing, golfing on foot, tennis, pushing the stroller, swimming, snorkeling

The above-mentioned items do very little to stimulate muscle growth relative to resistance training. Therefore soon after we stop, the metabolism slows back down. Their biggest contribution revolves around the fact that the sum of their parts add up to significant caloric expenditures by temporarily increasing the metabolism.

It’s important to be disciplined when achieving our fitness goals. After all, this is OUR health, OUR future. Create a roadmap, a vision of where you want your health and fitness to be in 5, 10, 20 years. Establish a plan enjoy the trip.

So remember:· Get your energies in order in the morning
· Propel your desires
· Remain disciplined
· And access your goals one day, one step at a time

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Jeff Dubé is an Adler Trained Coach and Personal Trainer. As one of the founders of Citrus Health Inc., Jeff works at inspiring others to create and manage positive change in their lives, while they accomplish their “big picture” goals. Jeff has been assisting others in the health landscape for over 7 years.