Do you know your blood type?

A, O, AB, B, RH-... so many options!



"I think I am an A, but not sure."

"My Mom is an O so I must be."

"I am pretty sure I am the rare one."

Blood type is not something you want to apply guess work to. For medical purposes, there must be certainty and if you don't know or that information is not available when you have a medical emergency, extra (and potentially valuable time) must be taken in order to find out.

It's primarily important to know for:

* medical emergency care
* family health history
* treatment for some conditions
* prenatal care
* family planning

It is also beneficial to know for individualization in diet, (such as Eat Right for Your Blood Type) but not essential.



Eating According to Blood Type

There are many people who make the decision to eat in order to please their blood type. Certain blood types may be more prone to certain health conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease. Eating certain foods can help you prevent these health problems from affecting you. People with certain blood types may also become more satisfied by eating certain foods. Although some blood types should remain vegetarian, there are others which should avoid eating carbohydrates, for the most part. You may be able to live longer and feel healthier when you make the decision to go on a diet that is designed solely for your blood type.

The Evolutionary Story

•Type O – The oldest and most basic blood type, the survivor at the top of the food chain, with a strong and ornery immune system willing to and capable of destroying anyone, friend, or foe.

•Type A – The first immigrants, forced by the necessity of migration to adapt to a more agrarian diet and lifestyle, had a more cooperative personality to get along in crowded communities.

•Type B – The assimilator, adapting to new climates and the mingling of populations who represented nature’s quest for a more balanced force between the tensions of the mind and the demands of the immune system.

•Type AB – The delicate offspring of a rare merger between the tolerant Type A and the formerly barbaric but more balanced Type B.

It's not always easy to find out, but here are some avenues to pursue to find out:

Home Blood Type Test Kits at an affordable price. However my experience has taught me that many people buy home kits for blood type, hormone profiles, but do not use them and may not use them properly. This may be a good option if you want to know for dietary purposes but not for medical purposes. It is subject to error.



Your Doctor - Many people think ask or call their doctor's office or ask their doctor but are often surprised to discover that information is not in their file. Some people have reported that the information has been withheld from them if the doctor or staff beleives that you are asking for dietary purposes only. If you were born at the same hospital / medical centre where your family doctor is operating, you may have it in your file. If you have a history of fad dieting, yo yoing with your weight or symptoms of disordered behavior (as it relates to diet / exercise) then your doctor is doing his or her job by not giving you that information without asking further questions. However, you ARE entitled to know about your body.

Baby Book or Hosptical Birth Card - My parents kept everything from greeting cards to hospital birth card and my blood type was listed in my baby book. Not everyone had parent's who were scrapbooking fenatics or hoarders. But worth looking into.

Blood Donor Card - If you have ever given blood it is listed in the bottom corner of your blood donor card from Canadian Blood Services. This is a great reason to give blood also - you benefit from the information and someone else benefits from the gift of life. Check your community listings or search the internet for clinics coming up in your area.




Blood Test Clinics - This is not common, but they are starting to pop up. Due to a more integrated approach to health care, health promotion and preventative or proactive strategies, community blood testing clinics are popping up. They will even advertise them by mentioning benefits for knowing your blood type such as health benefits and personal dietary interests. That's progress!

Dunnville War Memorial Hospital is holding a Blood Test Clinic on Friday November 13th.

K

Healthy Contest Prep – An Oxymoron?

Originally published at www.precisionnutrition.com

Maybe you’re one of them? Maybe you’ve considered finding a coach and stepping on the competitive stage as a bodybuilder, fitness competitor, or figure model? Maybe you’ve considered a powerlifting contest. Or maybe you’ve considered running a marathon.

And maybe you think these are “healthy” things to do. Well, if so, there’s some stuff you need to know.


So pull up a chair and listen closely as natural bodybuilder, drug-free powerlifter, and Lean Eating Coach, Krista Schaus mentors you toward a healthy understanding of the competitive process.

-JB

Extreme Competition Unhealthy?

Men and women come to me from far and wide to get advice on how to get to the competitive stage in a “healthy” or “balanced” way. You see, that’s sorta become my thing. Yes, I’ve paid my dues as a high performance coach. And as competitive strength and physique athlete.

But I’ve also spent a lot of time learning about health and physiological function from some of the best in the business – like Charles Poliquin, Dr Berardi, and more. And I’ve made it my mission to help people find a way to balance out the two. To get maximally strong for power lifting, to get maximally lean for physique competition, to get maximally fit for running, while also protecting the body from injury.


Coach Krista - A Strong, Lean, And Fit Woman

Now, it might not seem self evident – at first – that these “extreme” activities like physique competition or marathon running are unhealthy. And it’s for this reason that most people see them the logical end to some otherwise healthy activity like lifting weights or jogging.

Yet, if you think about it, there’s nothing all that natural or healthy about running to the point that you can’t walk for 2 days after, or about dieting down to abnormally low body fat levels.

Getting Super-Lean and Managing Imbalances

For example, younger females typically carry around about 25-30% body fat; older women about 30 to 35%. And younger males typically carry around about 12-17% body fat; older males about 15-20% body fat.

So, attaining the body fat levels of a bikini model (12-15%) or a bodybuilder (5%) means struggling against millions of years of evolution. And the high volumes of training, coupled with the low quantities of food necessary to attain this level of leanness, are very stressful. Especially if the negative energy balance isn’t managed correctly!

The same is true with long distance running. Logging all those miles creates the same type of negative energy balance.

It’s for this reason that musculoskeletal injuries are common during pre-contest/pre-competition periods. As are hormonal problems like adrenal burnout, sex hormone depression, and much more.

I’ve seen so many folks come to me having prepared badly in the past due to due to lack of information or misinformation. They’ve damaged their metabolisms, hormonal systems, digestive health, sleep rhythms, their body images, and their relationships with food. It’s sad actually.

But don’t think that just because some people prepare for contests badly, it’s impossible to prepare well. After all, these problems are totally manageable. And that’s what I do. I enter into every contest preparation period with the idea that competing is never healthy. And then I do my best to manage the imbalances and unhealthy nature of competing.

Is Competing Beneficial?

Ok, so there are some risks with competing. But there must be some benefits, right? Well, that’s an important question. And the answer depends on you. In some cases, competing is totally beneficial. In other cases, it’s a bad idea.

Some of the most significant physical and personal growth myself and my clients have experienced has come from pushing beyond our comfort levels and beyond what we thought was possible. From challenge comes growth.

Indeed, everyone at some point in their lives…or many times… should find their equivalent of preparing and training for “the stage”.


Coach Krista in Bodybuilding Shape

But not everyone needs to choose this particular vehicle to expand their horizons and excel at a higher level. There are many vehicles for growth and various opportunities to challenge yourself. Physique contests, endurance events (triathlons, marathons) or strength/power events (powerlifting, olympic lifting) are just some examples of how you can prepare, push and peak.

But each of these examples involves risk, commitment, sacrifice and yes, degrees of imbalance.

And sometimes what we get in the end is very different than what we expected. Some see competing as the ultimate end point – only to discover it is just the beginning. There is no “end”. You just set your sights higher or focus your attention to different things and see things differently than you did before.

One of my favorite songs from the musical Wicked is “For Good.” And one of my favorite lines is: “I don’t know if I have been changed for the better, but I have been changed for good.”
This goes for competing. It will change you – whether it is a positive change is another question. And only you can decide the answer to this one too.

But, whatever you decide to do and however you decided to push yourself, you must educate yourself and be prepared for the good, the bad and the ugly. Plus, expect the unexpected. And get rid of any fantasy now that it is healthy, normal or easy.

A New Fitness Goal: Always Be 3-6 Weeks Away
Let me be really honest about something here. There are some folks who have an advantage when it comes to physique sports. Indeed, those who find getting ready for physique contests easy are those that are naturally very lean; those that walk around with a near contest-body year-round. In essence, they’re 3-6 weeks from being ready for a contest year-round.

Personally, that’s exactly what I aspire toward. Indeed, my goal has always been to be a well-rounded representative of what I value most – strength, leanness, health and fitness. What that means in concrete terms is that I want to be able to participate in or compete in anything health and fitness related at almost any time.

If I want to step onto a lifting platform – I’m only 3-6 weeks of training away
If I want to step on the stage – I’m only 3-6 weeks of training (& dieting) away
If I want to enter a CrossFit challenge – I’m only 3-6 weeks of training away
If I want to participate in a team sport – I’m only 3-6 weeks of training away. Maybe this is really what most people in the health and fitness world aspire toward. Maybe it’s not the contest per se that people find most important. Maybe it’s being strong, athletic, and lean enough to compete in any number of activities with only a little preparation.

Now, beyond the comfort (and ego boost) of knowing that you’re fit enough to participate in most sports at any time, there’s another huge benefit of always training for physical preparedness. When you’re training year-round and staying “3-6 weeks away,” your preparation phase is much less stressful on the body.

Think about it, if you only have 10-15lbs to lose for a competition it takes much less time (and much less of a huge lifestyle overhaul) than if you have to lose 30-40lbs for that competition. The negative energy balance doesn’t have to be as great. So, you can keep eating lots of nutrient rich foods while simply cleaning up the diet and ramping up the exercise program.

Health, Body Comp, and Food

Now, I’m not perfect. I have lost my period in the past during training. And I have battled overeating after a long period of contest preparation. But I learned from my mistakes. And I have a good system in place now.

First, I make sure that I pick my battles very carefully. For example, there are quite a few events I’d love to compete in each year. However, I have to prioritize the most important ones. If I try to do too many, or if I try to do an event if I’m feeling too burnt out from other work and life responsibilities, the mix will definitely kick me out of balance. So I’ve learned to just say no.

Second, I make sure that I always have a food plan in place for the “off-season,” for my “contest prep,” and for immediately after my contests. There’s rarely a time where I just “wing it.” Because winging it can get dicey. A little extra turns into a lot extra. And before you know it, you’re binging and out of control

PN – It’s My Secret Weapon

The best thing I’ve found for keeping me on track year-round; for both helping me maintain my off-season leanness and helping me avoid the post-contest rebound is Precision Nutrition.

No, that’s not me “selling out.” It’s me sharing my truth, based on my own experience and the experience of the competitors I’ve worked with.


PN V3 - Build The Body You Want

We’ve done intuitive eating, carb cycling, macro counting, quasi fasting, cheat meals, vegetarian fare, detoxes… and more. And PN has worked the best for the following reasons:

There’s a support system for you
Individualization is built in
There’s no counting calories, grams or weighing foods unless you need some troubleshooting
Improved body composition and health is the strategic outcome
I use PN year-round with some small tweaks and individualization changes as a contest approaches. My clients and athletes do the same.

The Wrap-Up

In the end, it seems to me that a lot of gym folks treat physique competition like recreational runners treat their local marathon. It becomes a holy grail of sorts.

In establishing this milestone goal, they forget that before rushing headlong into such an event, there’s some stuff to do. Some self-exploration is required. Some expert advice is to be sought out. And some serious sacrifices have to be made along the way.

So if you’re thinking about competing in your first physique contest – or your first powerlifting meet – or your first marathon, we here at PN encourage you to “just do it.” One caveat, though. Do it right!

DE Client Reaches New Heights - FULL CHIN UPS!

This is an unprompted email from a Defining Edge distance client. An amazing lady who clearly works hard in the gym and keeps her goals in mind. To keep it real, SHE did this with us as her guides. Only YOU can accomplish the seemingly impossible. No one does it for you. But we were happy to help.




I CAN DO FULL CHIN-UPS!!!!!!!

This is the FIRST TIME EVER that I have been able to do a full chin-up then come up and do 2 more!!!

What you guys need to understand is that
1) I have not done a chin-up nor specifically trained to do a chin-up in **months**.
2) The last time I remember attempting some, in May, I was saddened to discover that I had lost so much ground I could no longer do even a 5 second negative chin.
3) For at least 2 years I have tried with little success to progress to full chin-ups. Many trainers have had me do all kinds of chin variations (partials, negatives, legs supported, inverted rows, etc) but I was never able to progress to more than a few semi-chins at the very top of the range.

Until now.

YOUR program did this. There's no other explanation! Today was biceps and triceps day of my new Phase 3 program and I was able to duplicate this miracle event for each of my 4 sets. Furthermore, I can easily do a TEN SECOND negative - while whistling!

Frankly, I could not be more shocked or pleased! I cried!! It's like a GIFT that I received today on Day 3 of induction! I never ever saw it coming. I feel so encouraged I cannot tell you. WHERE are my egg whites and veggies?! Lemme at 'em!

When I saw chins were part of my new program I groaned that I hate them. Now I LOVE them!! I've got to build on this!! We're going to 10 full chins before 2010 - what do ya say??

Thank you thank you thank you!!! You guys are THE BEST.

YOU ARE ONE OF THE STRONGEST WOMEN I KNOW

worthy of a reprint. From my blog in early 2008



Strong women are those who know
the road ahead will be strewn with
obstacles, but they still choose to walk
it because it's the right one for them.
Strong women are those who make
mistakes, who admit to them, learn
from those failures, and then use
that knowledge.

Strong women are easily hurt, but
they still extend their hearts and
hands, knowing the risk and
accepting the pain when it comes.

Strong women are sometimes beat
down by life, but they still stand
back up and step forward again.

Strong women are afraid. They
face fear and move ahead to the
future, as uncertain as it can be.

Strong women are not those who
succeed the first time. They're the
ones who fail time and again, but
still keep trying until they succeed.

Strong women face the daily trials
of life, sometimes with a tear, but
always with their heads held high
as the new day dawns.

Brenda Hager

DE Client Keeps Pushing to the Next Level

BEFORE - Nov 2008 - 210 lbs



AFTER - May 2009 - 190 lbs

A recent Defining Edge client and Precision Nutrition Lean Eating graduate continues to push himself to the limit with Eric Cressey - well he's certainly pushing something!

An obvious glutton for punishment, Roger made an impressive transformation through a combination of the Lean Eating's daily lessons and tasks and a supportive community at Precision Nutrition and Definnig Edge's personalized protocols aimed to get him that 6 pack abs he asked for. In addition, Roger simply likes to learn as much as he can.

As you can see by this most recent Cressey Intern "Learning Session", Roger is thankful at least that he endured 3 months of Defining Edge strength and conditioning workouts. Otherwise he would have been a total embarassment.

Awesome work Roger! Keep the bucket nearby.