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The Sequoia Advisor
 
 
IN THIS ISSUE                                                                February 1st 2010
  
  • Seriously Successful Weight Loss Strategies
  • Sit Up Straight or Else!
  • The Healing Power of Cats
  • Osteoporosis Support Group Meeting Feb. 2nd
  • Change Your Posture, Improve Your Health

    
Feel Better... Live Better

Seriously Successful Weight Loss Strategies

by Woody McMahon 

In The Mood to Lose

Think you need to lose some weight? Make sure to keep it safe and work
with your body rather than against it for better results. Here are seven
scientifically proven weight loss strategies
that are both safe and
effective. #7 is probably the most important of the group. Eliminate the
root cause of weight gain this time around and you will keep from repeating
the process next year.

 

 Clinically Proven Successful Weight Loss Strategies

 

1. Drink Lots of Water

Adequate water intake is vital to healthy weight loss. Drink enough water
to equal half your body weight in ounces per day. You may need to work up
to that amount if necessary. Pure water, not juice, soda, tea, milk,
coffee or sports drinks is important for losing weight. A lack of water
strains your kidneys and allows toxins to build-up in your body. The best
strategy is to place all the water you need to drink each day in clear
sight. Drink the water over the entire day until it's all gone.

 

2. Keep a Food Diary

Having to write down food choices makes you more aware of what is about to
go into your mouth. Food diaries create accountability and enable you to
track food choices while helping with portion control and meal planning.
Have someone review your food diary once a week to see how you are doing.
Keep using your food diary for up to three months or longer if needed.

 

3. Make Your Fitness Fun

Make all your fitness activities social. Find friends who will walk, lift
weights, go bowling, play tennis or toss a Frisbee. Keeping it fun helps
sustain long term activity habits. Try eliminating the self consciousness
about your weight and learn to be with people and love your body again.
When at the gym, effective weight loss comes from spending more time weight
lifting rather than cardio training to preserve muscle, increase bone
strength and speed metabolism.

 

4. Step on the Scale Once a Week

Step on the scale once a week and log it into your diary. Each time, use
the same scale and pick the same day and time to weigh yourself. Water,
muscle and fat make up the total weight loss you see on the scale. This
number is only a relative gauge and is not an accurate indicator of how
much fat you have actually lost. Your weight can also be significantly
affected by water intake, activity levels and time of the month and year.

 

5. Eat Regularly Every Four Hours

Effective weight loss comes from maintaining a stable blood sugar. Do not
skip meals or alter eating times unless absolutely necessary. Eating on a
regular schedule keeps blood sugar stable, hunger under control and
prevents overeating. It's good to have a meal or a small snack every four
hours. This keeps blood sugar levels balanced and hunger at bay.

 

6. Only Practice Focused Eating

Only eat when you can pay full attention to your food. Eliminate eating in
the car, at your desk, during meetings, at parties, watching TV or reading
a book or newspaper. All of these activities distract your attention making
it very difficult to get full food enjoyment. Instead, find a quiet spot,
put on some soft music and really enjoy your food.

 

7. Understand Your Need to Overeat

Most overeating is connected to stress and using food as more than just
nourishment for your body. Overeating can also be linked to depression,
food addiction, stress, anger, boredom and loneliness to name a few. Once
you understand how to stop using food in an unhealthy manner, your weight
will stabilize making weight loss and dieting a thing of the past.


Inactivity is the one of the causes of excess weight gain. Follow our
Fresh Start Healthy Weight! system and you'll reduce your weight and improve
your health at the same time. We provide the education, motivation and
accountability necessary to improve your health while helping you feel and look
your best. For a no cost consultation, please call Woody McMahon at
703-464-5171 or email to Woody@SequoiaHealth.com
 


 

Sit Up Straight or Else!

by Woody McMahon

"Sit up Straight"

Even today, just the thought of hearing those words strikes terror in the
hearts and minds of most adults. Growing up, your mother or father would
say over and over again "Can't you sit or stand up straight?" Most of us
tried but usually after a few minutes we would go back to our old, slumpy
self. Do you know why it was so hard to keep that upright posture? Beyond
the obvious cosmetic reasons, why is good posture so valuable for your
health?

 

Posture Basics

Good posture can be defined in many ways. Physical therapists say good
posture is "the state of muscular and skeletal balance which protects the
supporting structures of the body against injury or progressive deformity."
Well, that is quite a mouthful. More simply, good standing posture allows a
vertical line to be drawn through your ear, shoulder, hip, back of the knee
and ankle to the floor. Sitting would be a partial vertical line through
the ear, shoulder and hip with the knees bent and the feet flat on the
floor.

 

Why Good Posture is So Important

There is an old saying "form follows function." The architecture of the
body has bones connected to each other through joints with muscles and
other tissues acting as movers and supporters. If the muscles that support
the bones are kept strong and flexible, your body works the way it was
designed. If not then the first physical sign that your critical body
alignments have started to change is poor posture. The first physical
symptom is pain. So you get two warning signals that your building is
beginning to crumble, posture changes and pain.

 

The Health Benefits of Better Posture

The greatest single benefit of good posture is more oxygen to the body
with less effort by your lungs and ribs. Some studies say as much as 20%
more oxygen is taken in with every breath. Your brain is the single biggest
user of oxygen so increasing oxygen levels improves concentration and
memory abilities. Good posture makes it easier to breathe benefiting health
problems like asthma, COPD and allergies. Increased oxygen allows your heart
to work less
by beating slower with less pressure when more oxygen is
available in the blood. This is helpful in cases of heart disease,
arteriosclerosis, and high blood pressure.

 

How Posture Affects Health

The easiest example of how poor posture negatively affects your health is
through the simple act of breathing. As you read this article, take a
moment and try this experiment on yourself. Sit in a chair and slump down
like you might at the office or in front of the television. Now try and
take a really deep breath and notice how much effort it takes to move your
ribs. It requires a lot of energy to inflate your lungs with poor posture.
This time, sit on the edge of the same chair with your knees bent, feet
flat on the floor and your back straight and head up. Now take the same
deep breath and see how much easier it feels.

 

Evaluating Your Own Posture

There are several ways to evaluate your own posture. The first would be
to take a moment and stand infront of the mirror observing your body from
the front and side. See if you can draw that vertical line mentioned earlier
on your own body. Better yet would be to get a family member or friend to
take three pictures of you; one from the front, side and back. Now you
can easily see if a vertical line will hit all the right spots.

 

Correcting Poor Posture

Going from poor to good posture is easier than you might imagine. The
typical exercise program usually neglects proper posture and techniques;
special exercises that work the back extensors and middle and
lower trapezius muscles
are the best for postural correction. For more
information on postural exercises, ask your personal trainer or exercise
professional
at the health club.

 

Good posture is more important than just sitting up straight. Your posture
affects your breathing, spinal alignment, blood pressure, digestion and many
other bodily functions. Fresh Start Fit After 50! helps improve posture as well
as reduce stress, improve balance, strength, flexibility, energy and stamina.
After just a few weeks, you will feel like a new person. Call Woody McMahon at
703-464-5171 to schedule your no cost Fresh Start consultation. You can also
email to Woody@SequoiaHealth.com

 


 

Pets and People

 
The Healing Power of Cats
by Ingrid King
 
There are many stories of animals as healers. Research shows that simply
petting a cat or dog can lower your blood pressure. Therapy animals who
visit nursing homes and hospices bring peace and joy to patients who may
not have smiled in months. There are stories of horses who help people heal
emotional and psychological issues, stories about dogs who can somehow
sense cancer in people, even before doctors can find it, and dogs who can
tell when a person is about to have a seizure. At one time or another, all
pet owners have experienced the comfort of having our pets close by
when we are sick even with something minor like a cold or the flu.
 
Research has even shown that the frequency of a cat's purr can aid with
healing of bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles as well as provide pain
relief.
I've met a number of these healer kitties during my years of working
at veterinary clinics. They would work their magic in various ways - by
curling up next to a recovering cat or dog, by cuddling up to a worried
client in the waiting room, or by comforting a staff member who had just
assisted with a difficult case or a euthanasia. But none of these cats was
more of a healer than Buckley, the subject of my book
Buckley's Story - Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher.
 
Buckley would do all of the things mentioned above while she lived at the
animal hospital. After she came home with me, she became my assistant
Reiki practitioner. Reiki is an energy therapy that originated in Japan. As a
Reiki Master Practitioner, I transfer energy to my client by placing my
hands either directly on or slightly off the body. I work with pets and
with people, and I've found that animals, especially cats, are incredibly
receptive to the Reiki energy. Some even say cats invented Reiki. While
that may be a little far fetched, cats seem to intuitively how to utilize
the energy for their greatest good.
 
Buckley loved being in the Reiki room while I was giving treatments, and
as long as the person receiving a treatment liked cats and did not mind
Buckley's presence, she was allowed to stay. But just being in the room
was usually not enough for her? She became an active participant in the
healing session. She would get up on the Reiki table and often curl up
next to or on top of the client. I realized after a few sessions like this that
she intuitively knew where extra energy was needed, and the client would
often report an added feeling of heat or pulsing in the areas where Buckley
had been situated during the session. I often skipped the areas Buckley laid
on during a session and concentrated on others instead. I knew my little
healer kitty had it covered.
 
I think she also transmuted the energy in the house in general. All cats
do this to some degree. Cats are sensitive to energies and have the ability
to change negative energies into something peaceful and calming. Buckley
seemed to be a master at this. More people commented on the peaceful
energy in my house after she came to live with us than ever before.

Animals bring a spiritual component to healing as well. Buckley's intuitive
knowing during a Reiki session about where the energy was needed came
from a spiritual dimension. It takes many human Reiki practitioners years
of practice to achieve that level of intuitiveness.
 
How have the animals in your life helped you heal? I'd love to hear your
stories.
 
Ingrid King is a former veterinary hospital manager turned writer. She
publishes the E-zine News for You and Your Pet and writes and edits the
popular blog The Conscious Cat, covering topics ranging from conscious
living to holistic and alternative health for pets and their people. Ingrid
also offers individualized private consultations for pet owners. For more
information, please visit http://www.ingridking.com/.


 

Osteoporosis Support Group Meeting

"Healthy Bones Come From a Healthy Body" Woody McMahon

Topic: How Good Posture Prevents Fractures 

 Date :
Tuesday February 2nd


Time: 6 to 7 pm


 Place: Sequoia Health and Fitness, Inc
            483A Carlisle Drive, Herndon, VA 

Come dressed in comfortable clothes and bring water. For questions and
reservations please contact Woody McMahon at 703-464-5171 or email to
bebonestrong@sequoiahealth.com.

 


 

NEW Posture Correction Class Starts
in March


Good posture affects your health in many ways. A simple change to your
posture not only improves your health but can make you look and feel years
younger. Better posture strengthens the spine and reduces the risk of vertebral

fractures. In March, we are adding posture classes to our already extensive

Be Bone Strong! program offerings.


Be Bone Strong! continues to stay at the cutting edge in building stronger
bones and healthier bodies. We will continue to work with your doctor and
help you create and implement an effective osteoporosis treatment plan. Our
support, sympathetic ear and shoulder to lean on will still be there
eliminating the unnecessary fear and worry this condition can bring.

 

With the use of Skype, emails, phone calls and the internet, you can benefit
from the only complete osteoporosis prevention and repair program.
Video consultations, stress reduction activities, healthy eating plans and
functional weight bearing programs all available in the comfort of your own
home over your computer. 


Our unique three step process makes it easier to improve bone strength faster:

 

Step 1: Personalized Osteoporosis Lifestyle Assessment

Step 2: Comprehensive "Make My Bones Strong" Plan and Program

Step 3: Implementation Support, Motivation and Consultation


Follow The "Big 6 for Healthy Bones" and you can't go wrong:
  

1. Increase daily stress reduction activities. This helps lower cortisol and homocystein
levels while reducing calcium loss.
2. Safe and sufficient weight bearing exercise to stimulate muscle growth and balance. This is essential for increasing bone quality and preventing falls.

3. Dietary changes that balance protein with fruit and vegetable intake.
Fruits and veggies contain greater amounts of water, minerals and antioxidants with generally lesser amounts of animal protein to reduce total body inflammation.

4. Establish year round vitamin D3 levels in the 50-80 ng/mL (or 125-200 nM/L).
This should be confirmed by regular 25-hydroxyvitamin D testing.
5. Calculate optimum water intake for maximum hydration. Water is very important
in helping the kidneys regulate pH and detoxify the body.

6. Strategic Epigenome training program to speed bone healing. The most powerful
healing tool in the human body. 

 

Test your bone knowledge and take our Strong Bones Healthy Body Quiz at http://sequoiahealth.com/hbquiz_

 

To learn more about Be Bone Strong! Online or to schedule a free consultation, please go to
http://www.sequoiahealth.com/ and click on Be Bone Strong!

 

 

Continued Good Health,

Woody

Woody McMahon

The Sequoia Advisor
 
 

Sequoia Health and Fitness, Inc.
483A Carlisle Dive
Herndon, VA 20170  


Required Disclaimer: The material provided herein should not be construed as a health-care diagnosis,
treatment regimen or any other prescribed health-care advice or instruction. The material is provided with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in the practice of medicine or any other health-care profession and does not enter into a health-care practitioner/patient relationship with its readers. The publisher does not advise or recommend to its readers treatment or action with regard to matters relating to their health or well-being other than suggesting that readers consult appropriate health-care professionals in such matters. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication. The material and opinions provided herein are believed to be accurate and sound at the time of publication, based on the best judgment available to the authors. However, readers who rely on material in this publication to replace the advice of health-care professionals, or who fail to consult with health-care professionals, assume all risks of such conduct. The publisher is not responsible for errors or omissions. 

Copyright (c) 2006-2010 by Sequoia Health and Fitness
, Inc.

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