Diet and Health Articels

In the world of gymnastics Morgan and Paul Hamm are known for being fierce competitors. The twin brothers from Wisconsin are former world and Olympic champions and both are considered legends in the sport. However, you won't be seeing either tumbling for gold in Beijing this week. Not because they didn't qualify to compete, rather they will be watching the Games from their home just outside of Milwaukee because they possess a trait most of us could (and should) exercise more---humility.

Three days ago a teary eyed Morgan Hamm officially announced that the bone spurs digging into his left leg made it too painful for him to compete on the world stage. Consequently, he gave up his spot on the U.S. men's gymnastics team, thus paving the way for a healthy alternate to take his place.

According to Morgan it was the right thing to do:

"This has been an extremely hard decision for me to make. I've given everything I can to be ready to compete at this Olympic Games," Hamm said. "It's best for me to step down and have another athlete fill my position. This is something for me that's very tough because it's end of my career, and it's not the way I had planned it."

Coincidentally (though is anything really a coincidence when it comes to twins), Morgan's twin brother Paul, the reigning Olympic champion, was forced to withdraw from the Olympics on July 28 due to injuries. Back then Paul also issued an emotional statement saying if he wasn't going to be 100% healthy in time for the Games it would not be right for him to travel to China to represent the United States.

The Hamm's coaches and even their teammates were stunned by the news of the brother's withdrawal saying the men are "irreplaceable athletes and incredible gymnasts."

The team must now forge on without their leaders. (The Hamm brothers were the only athletes on the men's team with prior Olympic experience.) Both men made their first Olympic team in 2000 at the age of 17. Four years later they led the Americans to the silver in Athens, the team's first Olympic medal in 20 years. Athens was also the place where Paul was famously awarded the gold medal in the individual all-around competition, becoming the only American man in Olympic history to win the gold medal in that event. Which of course makes their withdrawal from what would have been their third Olympics even tougher to deal with. On top of that, prior to making this year's team, both brothers announced that they planned to retire from the sport after Beijing.

Injuries ended their careers earlier than they had anticipated. Though some say the brothers could still have competed in China, rationalizing that even at 75% the Hamms could easily out tumble athletes from other countries. They are just that good. But to me that's what makes Paul and Morgan world-class athletes and moreover, decent human beings; rather than sticking around for show they placed their pride aside and gave someone else the chance to make their Olympic dreams come true.

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Is journaling the secret to meeting your weight loss and fitness goals? I read an article through an online news site where one student talked about the success she had after taking a basic English course where she was required to journal her daily activities including what she ate and drank. She said it was amazing to recognize what she was and wasn't eating right and where she needed to make corrections.

People Don't Want to Know

I've kept a journal of what I eat, drink and the amount of activity I've performed. It's pretty tough to do because if you do it right, you have to face exactly how many calories you consume versus how many you burn. You have to really look at your choices and you can't just forget those pair of Oreo Double Stuff Chocolate cookies you snuck in earlier or that the daily mocha from Starbuck's with its 300+ calories is not so easy over look. In fact, at one point, I was drinking three to four of those a day and journaling made me take a long hard look at that and needless to say, I dialed it back.

Good Housekeeping magazine reported that most people who see what they are eating feel more accountable and will consciously make better choices. I know that journaling at the holidays helps me to keep track of not going back for that third or fourth helping while we sit around, laughing and talking all day.

Several years ago, we hosted a Christmas with over a dozen people in attendance. I was making food for days in preparation, breads, pies, cakes, and then of course the huge Christmas dinner that I served Christmas Eve. We were swimming in food. I made a point of writing down every bite I took to keep from nibbling through the preparations and overeating. It was hard and sometimes it made me feel more than a little ashamed of myself because I would go back again and again and I wasn't really hungry, I was just going for it because it was there.

Being Accountable

It's amazing what a little bit of accountability can do for your overall fitness. So, do you think journaling your calorie intake and outtake could make a difference in your fitness? Are you willing to give it a shot? Starting August 1st, I'm going to take the hard road and journal every meal, every exercise session; everything and I'll post it here. I'm going to use those 31 days of August to take a long hard look at my personal choices.

Are you up for the challenge?

Last night's 'So You Think You Can Dance' featured a closing number that had me back in my office and looking up the dance style called 'bollywood.' If you didn't see the performance (shame on you - just kidding), but you can see it here on You Tube.

Evolution of Bollywood

If you haven't heard of 'Bollywood' before it's a coined term that refers to the Indian film industry. The industry is booming and produces more than 900 films per year. Bollywood dance comes from the song and dance sequences in many of the Bollywood films. Think back to the great musical features of the 40s and 50s, now flash forward to the 21st century in Bombay, India and you have a dance style that evolves that mixes the elements of traditional dance with film magic.

Bollywood dance mingles jazz, modern, oriental, hip and even Russian step dancing with classical Indian style to really light up the performances. While on the surface, these dances look utterly simple, they require stern muscle control and flair to make them look so effortless. As demonstrated by dance pair Katie and Joshua last night, the wonderfully athletic dance is a real crowd pleaser.

Mia Michaels, a contemporary choreographer and sometime judge for the show, remarked that she was delighted to see world dances lighting up the stage. Their movements were so precise and effortless, yet performed with control. The success of marrying so many dance forms into one style will hopefully continue the trend not only on the show, but also for dance options here in the United States.

If you're interested in dressing up your own home workout routines, I found a couple of great Bollywood dance style workout DVDs that I'm going to be ordering from Netflix to check out. Let me know what you think.

• The Bollywood Dance Workout With Hemalayaa (2007)
• Bollywood Burn

The life of a writer is great, we get up in the morning, we sit down at the computer and we start typing. But anyone who writes a great deal sits in a chair, their shoulders hunched forward, their back is slightly arched and their arms are tucked closer to their body. This is not a natural position for the body to remain in for hours at a time. You don't really think about the stress this puts on your back, your neck and even your shoulders and your legs.

Get Out of the Chair

So when you spend a lot of time writing for a living, you also need to take the time to notice the unnatural way you are forcing your body to sit in for hours at a time and accommodate that. So here's my list of key things that I do every day to alleviate the stress on my back, my neck and my legs.

The Bum

Sitting in a chair for hours can actually be very painful on your derriere. Numbness is a real issue for me and I don't know if the chair I'm sitting in is too hard (yet a cushioned chair has the same effect) or if it's just like when you lay on your arm when you're asleep, the bum goes to sleep. I use my cell phone to set an alarm and every hour I get up from the chair and walk around. I walk around the house. I walk around the office. I get up and I move. Movement, loosens up the muscles, increases the circulation and helps reduce the numb sensation in the bum.

The Legs

Getting up and moving around is also good for your legs. If you sit too long in the same position, you may experience mild to moderate swelling in the legs. This is a noticeable effect of gravity combined by body position that allows water to settle on the lower extremities. When I flew to London a couple of months ago, 11 hours of sitting in those cramped chairs was just brutal on the legs. It actually took quite a bit of walking to get the circulation to relieve that pressure and discomfort.

Work tip: Consider every time you get on the phone for any reason, that you should get up and walk. This is another way I manage to do two things at once whether I'm talking for a short period or an extended period of time; I get up out of the chair and keep walking.

Come back tomorrow for more tips on back support and neck tension. Remember, when we talk about exercise for writers, we're not just talking about brainstorming ideas for you to write on. How do you take care of yourself after hours at the computer?

Dana Torres is a swimmer. She participated in the swimming trials for the U.S. Olympic team in Nebraska over the weekend, securing not only her place on the Olympic swim team, but setting a new American record in the 50-meter freestyle.

So Who is Dana Torres?

Flashback to 1984 when Dana, then just 16 years old competed in the Los Angeles Olympic Games and winning a gold medal in the 4x100 freestyle relay. In 1988, she competed in the Seoul Olympics where she earned a silver and a bronze medal. Torres initially retired in 1989, but then dove back into the pool to compete in the Barcelona Games of 1992 and won another gold for the 4x100 free relay. Then for the second time, at the age of 25, she decided to retire from competitive swimming.

7 years later in 1999, now age 32, a friend's nudge sent Torres back into the competition. She not only got back into training, she entered in the Sydney Games in 2000 and won not won gold medal, but two as well as three bronze medals.

When Dana became pregnant in 2005, she continued swimming to keep herself in shape. Her daughter was born in April of 2006 and Dana began training once again for the 2008 Olympics. This weekend, she has secured her position on the Olympic swim team at the age of 41 and she is the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympic games.

Wow.

Hats off to Dana Torres! I've always been a firm believer that physical fitness is about more than just working out, it's about being mentally and emotionally fit. Dana Torres demonstrates that growing older doesn't mean that you can't stay in top form, compete well and out swim kids half your age. I can't wait to see how she does in Beijing in August! Good luck!