Epigenetics

* I originally wrote this post in 2011, but updated now

In 2011, I  came across some information about something called the ‘Epigenetic Diet’. Now this seems to be more and more mainstream. This is not about weight loss; it is so much more powerful than that. Researchers are trying to prove that this diet may prevent cancer. Of course, this piqued my interest and I found myself researching it more.
Epigenetics research focuses on the effects that diet can have on the structure and the function of DNA. It was formerly believed that cancer is caused by a mutation in DNA, but scientists are finding that more than half of the cases are caused by changes in gene activity rather than the structure.
Ok, here is some quick science:  Your DNA is made up of a unique sequence of about 3 billion nucleotides. These are arranged into units called ‘genes’. Your genes contain all of the information needed to produce proteins necessary to create your cells and tissues to sustain your life. The process of creating a new protein in your cells is called ‘gene expression’ and your body closely regulates it. It is believed that mistakes in gene expression lead to illnesses like cancer. One of the ways of regulating gene expression is through epigenetics.  Epigenetics research focuses on the change of gene expression by means other than the change in DNA nucleotide sequence. This is where diet comes in.
So, what do I think of this? Well, I am neither a doctor nor a scientist but I think it makes sense. We learned back in basic high school biology class that our cells are constantly regenerating. So, as our cells change, what are they being built from? To me it makes sense that they are made using what goes into our body, whether that be food, medication, drugs, environmental pollution, etc. Since we can’t 100% control the environmental factors, I think we should pay great attention to what we can control. That means it is important to watch what you put into your body. Do not smoke or take drugs, limit alcohol (although in moderation it has positive benefits), make sure the medicine you take is really needed, watch out for dangerous chemicals in plastic, and avoid nitrates and chemicals in your food.
But the good news is that there is so much more you can ADD than to avoid. Food such as broccoli, blueberries, tomatoes, and grapes as well as flaxseed, chia, garlic, turmeric, cinnamon, green tea, and red wine are some examples of things that may be able to ‘turn on’ genes that suppress tumor growth and ‘turn off’ the genes that promote growth. Of course, none of this is proven yet but I personally believe that it will be some day. And from what I have been reading now in 2015, it does look like science is starting to prove this!. It definitely will not hurt to add these to your diet.
I eat broccoli, flaxseed or chia, blueberries, green tea, cinnamon and tomatoes everyday and  grapes and  and turmeric often, and of course enjoy a nice glass of red wine.

XOX

Taking a Social Media Diet

t is so easy to get caught up in the fake world of social media, it can be quite addicting. From FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) to finding positive reinforcement (how many people ‘liked’ my picture) to trying to find inspiration.
But often, too much social media brings us down. We are bombarded with awful news,
politics, hate, envy, and messages telling us that we aren’t good enough. We aren’t fit enough, we aren’t the perfect mom, the perfect wife, the most successful, etc.
Social media is not the real world. It is a make-believe space where people get to put up their best pictures, argue behind the safety of a keyboard, and show their best face. But social media can be wonderful too. It is a great way to connect with groups, actually find inspiration from real people, learn about community events, find new interests, and so much more. The trick is to find a balance.
First of all, I want you to clean up your accounts. You don’t have to ‘un-friend’ your actual friends, but the ‘unfollow’ option can be wonderful. So, the first step is to ask yourself how you feel after reading certain posts. Do you feel as though you aren’t good enough? If the post making you doubt yourself? Are you comparing yourself in a negative way? Is it stirring up bad emotions? OK, if this person is a true friend and is not a hate monger or racist or anything like that simply unfollow. Otherwise just delete that person. Who wants to be friends with someone who’s morals aren’t in line with yours. It is fine to be friends with someone with different interests and tastes, but morals and values are another thing.
So, we cleaned up your feed. The next step it to limit your usage. This includes social media, email and texts too. Here is how to do that:
1) Delete the Facebook App from your phone. This way you are not tempted to mindlessly scroll. This way you will be present to those around you when you are out. Save Facebook for when you are home and alone. It is quite rude to play on Facebook when you are with your friends or at work in meetings anyway. Trust me you aren’t missing much. You can go through all your friends at home later
2) Don’t check your phone first thing in the morning. Do something, anything, first. Sit and have a cup of coffee, meditate, workout, shower, etc. Don’t make it the first priority of your day to get online.
3) Put your phone away during meals. Even if you are dining alone.
4) Turn your phone to airplane mode when you workout.
5) Read real books and magazines rather than using your device.
6) Make real-life plans with the friends you chat with on social media with at least once a week.
And, if none of this works then maybe it is time to take a full social media fast. I did that last year and de-activated my accounts for a few months. It made a big difference to me.
Now go get outside and do something!

When is the "best" time to eat

The media can be so confusing. If you scroll your pages, you will see articles saying that you MUST eat 5-6 times a day to keep your metabolism going. Then you will see an article stating that you should eat only 3 meals to keep insulin levels low.
Who is correct? Well, they both kind of are. There is no one plan that works for everyone. We are all unique and our lifestyles have to work with this.
Some claim to eat a large breakfast, medium lunch, and a very small dinner. Others claim that breakfast can be skipped and it is fine to have a late and large dinner. Who is right? Again, both are.
This is SO confusing. I know. So, lets break down some of these:
1) Eating mini-meals during the day: This is a good idea if you find your blood sugar is always dropping. But, these meals should contain protein and a good fat source and you may find you may not need to eat as frequently. But lets say your lifestyle doesn’t allow for you to sit down for lunch. Or maybe dinner is spend driving kids from one activity to another. In those cases, mini meals may be best for your lifestyle.
2) No snacks: Ayurveda focuses more on when you should eat and how you eat (sitting relaxed) than what you actually eat. There are lots of dosha balancing foods, but that will be for another article. The circadian rhythm is also in play here. Traditional Chinese Medicine shows how your organs relate to your circadian rhythm and this a great argument for eating three meals a day. Also, having time between meals allows your insulin to lower.

3) The theory of ‘Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Peasant, and Dinner like a Pauper’ is based on eating your food during the times when you burn it off. This has been debunked, but if it works for you, stick with it.
4) The theory of eating ‘light to heavy’ is one I first read about from Dietician Kimberly Snyder in her book, The Beauty Detox. This book talked about the digestion process and it made sense to me. Plus it fits my life better. When my daughter was a baby, I ate my main meal for lunch and barely ate dinner. But since she started school, family dinner became more important to me. I enjoy having my main meal at dinner with her. This goes to the Ayurveda principles of ‘how’, although the ‘when’ in Ayurveda is usually the largest meal at mid day. When I am older and my daughter leave for college (no, no, no, not ready!), I will likely go back to my former way. But for now, this works for my family.
So, my point is that there is NO CORRECT ANSWER. We are all made up differently and have different lifestyles. These factors are also constantly changing. You are not married to any pattern. Flexibility is key to ALL areas of your life. So, if what you are doing now is working for you, keep with it. And by that I mean access your energy, hunger, family commitments. If not, play around. Don’t listen to what someone else has found success with. That someone isn’t you.

Ashwagandh

Ashwagandha is a shrub with yellow flowers that blossom into a small red fruit. It is actually in the same family as the tomato! It is native to India, Northern Africa and the Middle East, but is also grown in the United States today.
Ashwagandha is on a very powerful adaptogen herb used in Ayurveda. Adaptogens help our bodies cope with external stresses (i.e. toxins in the environment) and internal stresses (i.e. anxiety and insomnia). They help us to ‘adapt’ by modulating our response to stress or a changing environment.to our environment.
This herb is most well-known for its restorative benefits. In Sanskrit Ashwagandha means “the smell of a horse,” indicating that the herb give you the vigor and strength of a stallion, and has traditionally been prescribed to help people strengthen their immune system after an illness. It doesn’t actually smell like a horse though!
So, how does this relate to sleep? Studies have been showing ashwagnandha can lower blood serum cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone released by the adrenal glands that give us that ‘flight or fight’ response. In this modern world, most of us are faced with stress that raises our coritsol. When we have constant stress, our levels of cortisol remain elevated in the body. These leads to the inability to relax and sleep naturally, increased cravings, increased abdominal fat, and even affecting our thyroid.
There has been a few studies done on humans that sound quite promising. According to research published in the July-September 2012 issue of “Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine.”, a study of 64 people with chronic stress were given either placebo pills or 300 mg twice daily of ashwagandha root extract. After 60 days, those taking ashwagandha had significant improvements in cortisol levels. A January 2014 paper published in “Pharmacognosy Research” showed that healthy men who were given 250 mg of leaf and root extract twice daily for 3 weeks had improvements in reaction time and task performance, compared to those taking a placebo.
Ashwagandha even is being studied in cancer prevention/cancer fighting. From the Memorial Sloan Kettering website: “Ashwagandha is a popular Ayurdevic herb. Studies show that it has anti-inflammatory effects. Ashwagandha also relaxes the central nervous system in animals. Laboratory studies found that ashwagandha kills some cancer cells and enhances some immune cells possibly by damaging the cancer cells’ ability to generate the energy it needs to reproduce. Ashwagandha also reduces the level of an important antioxidant in tumor cells, which may enhance the ability of radiation therapy to kill those cells. However, this herb may induce abortion, so pregnant women should not use it.”

Yoga for a Balanced Body

To be fit and healthy, it is important to strength train, get cardiovascular fitness, and have flexibility. Strength training is so important for so many reasons and you may read about that here. But it is important to correct muscle imbalances and improve posture.
A muscle imbalance is created by a change in muscle length, strength and neuromuscular activity creating either a static or dynamic malalignment. A malalignment is an incorrect alignment of the joints in the body without moving.
So, how does this happen? Really it happens when one or some muscles are over active and one or some muscles are under active. This can come from doing the same activities day in or day out but it can also happen from sitting at a computer with your shoulders protracted forward and your neck at an anterior strain. I can bet most of us are guilty of that.
As far as over working some muscles and under working other, that can also be a product of moving in the same plane of motion all the time when our bodies are meant to move in all three.
The Sagital Plane is the most (over) used. Imagine your body is split in half making a right and a left side. We run, bike, walk, squat, lunge (most lunges), curl, etc in this plane. The Frontal Plane is the imaginary line splitting your body in front (anterior) and back (posterior) halves. Think of jumping jacks, lateral raises, and side lunges. The Transverse Plane splits the body in half at the waist. Think of twisting, throwing a ball , pivoting, golf, tennis.
What does this have to do with Yoga? Yoga takes your body through all three planes in both a dynamic and static setting. You move your body the way it is meant to and this can help mitigate over use issues. Sun Salutation B alone does this!
Lets talk about overuse in muscles. The most common Over Active Muscles in the body are:
Feet/Ankle: Soleus, Lateral Gastrocnemius, Peroneus Longus and Brevis (the muscles of the back and side)
Knees: Biceps Femoris (hamstring) and Tensor Fascia Latae (TFL) ( IT band issues )
Lumber-Pelvis-Hip-Complex (LPHC): Hip Flexors, Adductors (inner thighs), Abdominals, and Erector Spinae (back close to spine)
Shoulders: Lattisimus Dorsi and Pectoralis major/minor
Head and Neck: Upper Trapezius, Sternocleidomastoid (neck muscle), Levator Scapular (exactly how it sounds , it raises your scapular, think of when your shoulders reach to your ears when you are stressed)
So, to work on the imbalances it is important to train the Common Under Active Muscles, which are:
Feet/Ankle: Medial Gastrocnemius (the part of your calf that is closest into your midline), Anterior Tibialis (the muscle used to flex in dorsiflextion), Posterior Tibialis
Knees: Vastus Medialis Oblique (this is the muscle of the quads closest into your midline and one of the biggest causes of knee misalignments is when the Vastus Lateralis is so much stronger and pulls your knee cap outward)
Lumber-Pelvis-Hip-Complex Gluteus Maximus and Medius (yes, the butt muscles are weak on most people. A ‘big butt’ doesn’t mean it is big with muscle. Sorry but true), Hamstrings, Intrinsic Core Stabilizers (the ‘pilates muscles) , and Erector Spinae (and yes I see that I also wrote in for over active. This one can go either way depending on the person)
Shoulders: Middle and Lower Trapezius, Rhomboids, and the muscles of the Rotator Cuff (so yes, those exercises that make you cringe on Track 8 at Body Pump? Do them!)
Head and Neck: Deep Cervical Floor (and I mean your neck, not the OB/GYN definition!)
So, again, how does Yoga help? Yoga is a balance between the strength and the stretch. Each time one of the over used muscles is being stretched, the antagonist muscle (the opposite) is being strengthened. Like Pilates, Yoga uses the deep core muscles as well.
Muscle imbalances are fixed using Corrective Exercise. Corrective Exercise is defined as the programming process that identifies neuromusclar dysfunction and develops a plan of action and implements a corrective strategy.
Ok, stay with me…. Now the Neuromuscular System allows all muscles surrounding a joint to: Concentrically produce force, Eccentrically reduce force, and Statically stabilize the kinetic chain on all three plane of motion (as discussed above). Therefore we need the Nervous System and the Muscular System to communicate! And Flexibility improves this communication. Another score for Yoga!
So what happens if you choose to ignore muscle imbalances and flexibility issues? The body is designed to take the path of least resistance. Meaning that even with movement dysfunction, the body will still find a way to do the action. Think of a squat. If you cant get the ankle flexion needed your body does forward and if your hamstrings are too tight your knees may pull out. The body will do it, but not effective. This is referred to as Relative Flexibility and can set you up for injury
So, in a summary: Yoga takes your body through all planes of motion, helps to fix and prevent muscle imbalances, and improves your nervous system and muscular system synergy. So, get on your mat!
Namaste

Kookin' with Kaitlyn

I may need to thank Nick Jr. TV station for my daughter’s healthy eating. When my daughter was four and she loves a show on that station called ‘iCarly’. It is about a girl who, along with her friends, hosts an Internet show. My daughter thought that sounded so cool, so I suggested that she have her own show. And the idea of ‘Kookin’ with Kaitlyn’ was born. She is now almost 6 and she still loves this
Full disclosure, this was not a real show. We did not stream live. We did not even have a webpage. We used my Facebook personal and business pages. I took pictures of her cooking her recipes and posted it on my personal page. She gets so excited about that and loves to see it up on the computer. Then later in the evening, after we taste-test the recipe, with feedback from her, Daddy, and me, we would post the recipe on my Sharon Sherry Fitness page.
This is fun for her and she looks forward to it most weeks. Even the week our beloved family cat died, she insisted on ‘doing Kookin’ with Kaitlyn’ because ‘everyone wants to see the show and that is what Barney (our cat) would want me to do’. Her show helped her heal her heart.
Each time we made a new recipe, we spoke about what we were going to make. We usually got ideas from friends. (her own original recipe is posted below) Then we go to the store and have her pick out the veggies.. Yes, that is right, she is excited about the vegetables because she chooses them herself. I also let her choose the spices we use as well.
The meals we make are healthy, ‘clean’, gluten-free, low-carb, low in saturated fat, very low sodium, and full of many vegetables. Due to her age, I did not allow her to handle any raw meat, poultry or fish, no knives, and no open flames. She did everything else except for those items.
Her ‘show’ Kooking with Kaitlyn has turned her into a very healthy eater. But more than anything, it greatly built up her self-esteem and confidence. Plus it is a ton of fun for me!
Kaitlyn’s Own Chicken Recipe
4 breast of chicken
minced garlic
1/2 yellow onion chopped
1 eggplant cubed
2 yellow peppers cut
1/2 bag of Trader Joes organic frozen chopped spinach
Trader Joes flower pepper
Stew Leonards Italian seasoning spice mix
Trader Joes organic low-sodium vegetable broth
Place chicken in slow-cooker with garlic and pepper on top, add onions, add veggies, sprinkle seasoning, add a bit of broth to wet
Cook on low for 7 hours but put on high for first 30-40 minutes. Mix and fork-shred chicken before serving
Nutrition per each serving (makes 4) 250 calories, 23g carbs, 36g protein, 2g fat

First Figure Competion

Wow, it has been a long time since I posted. I have been training for my first Figure Competition since August and now I am 6 weeks out. At this point, there are lots of changes going on and more things to post.

I am nervous and excited. I spent a lot of time building muscle, which I did not have a lot of. I gained about 7 lbs of pure muscle though!! Now I am working on shedding body fat while keeping my muscle. I have an amazing coach, Joe Franco at Team Franco Bodybuilding. I am also working with IFPA Figure Pro, Theresa Evans, for posing lessons. I have my song picked out, my suit blinged up, competition heels, fake eyelashes, jewelry, cheap duvet cover to bring to hotel to sleep in after the spray tan, bikini bite to hold suit in place, and dark sweatsuit to wear over it. I still need to either pick out make-up of decide to get it done professionally.

At this point, my coach is making changes to my macros and my cardio each week. Basically my carbs get cut a tiny bit and my cardio increased a tiny bit. The point is to lose fat and not muscle. It is important to feed muscle.

My coach doesn't give his clients a 'cookie cutter' diet. Thinking you have to just eat fish and oatmeal is so old school. He gives me macro numbers to hit, and I choose the foods that work best for me. This is important because each person reacts differently to different foods. Throughout my prep, I used a huge variety of foods to hit my macros. Now as it gets closer, I am limiting myself to the foods that give me energy and do not cause any bloating. At this stage, my meals are most often made up of the following:

Shake: Shakeology. I have been experimenting with various shakes over the years and started Shakeology over the summer. Nothing compares to it and I even became a Beach Body coach myself in November. I have all four flavors. Vegan and regular.. and switch around. I use almond or coconut milk since skim milk bloats me. Soon, I will just mix with water though.

Carbs: Full discloser, I am gluten intolerant. I mostly use berries, oats, sweet potatoes, squash, rice cakes and apples. I sometimes use quinoa but that is also protein as well. And for an easy to transport me, I use brown rice wraps... but rarely do that. I eat TONS of veggies too, but the carbs in veggies are pretty low. Apples and rice cakes will be taken out soon though.

Protein: Throughout my prep I had a very large variety, but at this point I am down to the protein from my Shakeology, baked chicken, egg whites, and the occasional no-salt-added tuna. I cut out lentils and beans this week since they make me hold a little water weight. That is fine any other time, but not this close to the stage.

Fats: I used almonds and chia seeds for most of my prep, as well as some coconut, flax and olive oil. Mostly due to variety/boredom, I am now have avocado, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds for my fats. Eventually it will just be the avocado. After my show, I will bring back nut and seed butters ;-)

Other: Quest Bars and About Time Whey as needed to get to macros. PB2 to get the flavor of peanut butter in my shakes when the craving for it hits.

As soon as the show is over, I will go back to my usual wide variety of foods. These are just the foods that I find do not bloat me.

I plan to blog a lot more in the coming weeks that take me to the show. This is my first time and it has been the most amazing experience to far. I have learned so much about myself, worked so hard, met some incredible people, and I haven't even stepped on stage yet!

I hope you follow me on this journey. I post quite a bit on my Facebook page too. www.facebook.com/sherryfitness