STAT Quick reads about health topics in the news One healthy habit
Heidi Lancaster, right, has lost 165 pounds over the last 21/2 years by changing her diet and exercising with friends and a personal trainer. MARK YLEN | TO YOUR HEALTH
A weighty achievement Albany woman loses 165 pounds, learns to value herself along the way By AMANDA ROBBINS or the longest time, Heidi Lancaster, 34, focused on everyone around her: her husband, her children and friends. It came at the expense of taking care of herself. In 2009, at age 32, she was addicted to food and weighed 381 pounds. “I don’t remember any day in my life when I wasn’t overweight,” she said. “I’ve always used food to deal with anything. “I put my children’s needs before my health so I didn’t have to deal with my weight. I’m sure most parents would think putting their children’s needs first is the right thing to do, but I was doing it so I didn’t have to take care of myself.” Then her life took a turn. She found herself with no husband, no children for the summer and friends who wanted her to focus on herself. So she did. And now, 21/2 years later, the Albany woman has lost 165 pounds from her 5foot-7 frame and gained a healthy lifestyle and self-esteem.
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Workouts, diets evolve Lancaster wasn’t keen on the idea, after a negative experience at a local gym in 2001. At that gym, each new member had to have a fitness evaluation from one of the trainers. After hers, Lancaster went to get her kids from the
– The Yomiuri Shimbun
Make mine water Watching their wallets and waistlines, Americans are ordering more free tap water when they eat out. That is cutting into the bottom lines of restaurants, which draw hefty profits from sodas, juices and alcohol. Beverage purchases have declined 6 percent since 2006, according to research company NPD Group, and more people are ordering water. In the past two years, orders of water have gone up 3.2 percent while purchases of sodas, coffee and other beverages have declined 3.6 percent. – The Orlando Sentinel
Breast-feeding advice
Start of a change In June 2009, Lancaster was approaching her second divorce and felt like her life was falling apart. Her three children from her first marriage were away for the summer with their dad. She was alone. As Lancaster thought about her kids — a daughter who’s now 15 and 11-year-old twins (a son and a daughter) — she realized that if they were so important to her, she needed to take care of herself so she could be with them longer. It was about then that two friends asked her to join them for morning walks through the neighborhood. In the past, she hadn’t accepted offers like that because she was prideful, shameful, embarrassed and felt as if she was without hope. This time, she said yes. “I’m not sure why I accepted this offer on this day, but I thank God every day that she offered and that ‘yes’ came out of my mouth,” Lancaster said. Every weekday morning that summer she and two friends would go for a walk and do low-intensity strength training before work. Though there were many days she would have rather slept in, it made a difference knowing that her friends were waiting for her. “I believe without a shadow of a doubt those two friends have contributed to saving my life,” she said. “Having a workout partner or trainer makes a huge difference.” By the end of that summer, Lancaster had lost 25 pounds. “This was a miracle to me,” she said, “but the weather was changing and working out outside soon would not be an option, so I had to bite the bullet and join a gym.”
The adoption of only one of five healthy lifestyle habits, such as not smoking and drinking moderately, can lower the cancer risk in males by 14 percent, according to the results of a long-term survey by the National Cancer Center in Japan. The center surveyed about 80,000 Japanese men and women aged between 45 and 74 over a 10-year period. The center set numerical criteria for five cancer risk factors — smoking, drinking, salt intake, exercise and body mass index. Cancer risks increased if the subjects exceeded those criteria. According to results of the survey conducted between 1995 and 2006, the more healthy habits subjects had, the lower their cancer risk. On average, the adoption of one healthy habit would reduce cancer risks by 14 percent for males and by 9 percent for females, the center said.
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gym’s child-care area and overheard the trainer telling others how disgusted she was by Lancaster’s weight. “I was mortified, hurt, embarrassed and determined to never step foot in another gym,” she said. But if she wanted to keep up her workout routine she only had two choices: Brave the Oregon weather or join a gym. “With great apprehension, I went to a different gym and signed up,” she said. “It’s ironic that I was terrified of the gym because now I miss the gym if I’m gone for more than one day.” Lancaster chose Fitness Experience in Albany and couldn’t be more happy with her choice. “I started to notice something at this gym,” she said. “People there weren’t judging me, they were encouraging. The staff was genuinely nice and helpful and cheering me on every step of the way.” She joined a variety of classes — body sculpting, spinning and gravity training — and started working with manager and trainer Brenda Spinney. “I started by monitoring her eating and activity levels,” Spinney said. “We worked together pretty closely for six months.” At first Lancaster just started to cut back and make healthier choices. As her workouts evolved, so did her diet. “The more time I spent in the gym, the more I learned about how to help my body, such as what to eat before a workout to fuel the body and what to eat after to help my body recover,” she said. Her current diet regimen is 60 percent carbs, 20 percent protein and 20 percent fat. “That balance has worked well for me,” she said. “Plus I like that I get to have carbs — good carbs.”
By the summer of 2010, Lancaster was down 45 pounds. She and her friends started talking about morning workouts again. “I loved my time with them (last year) and was so thankful, but something was missing.” Lancaster said. “Then it hit me: running.” Lancaster had told her friends the previous summer that she wanted to run a mile, but by summer’s end she’d only made it three-quarters of a mile. So in 2010, she tried again. “We started running a little bit at a time and within weeks I ran that first mile,” she said. “Never in my life had I ran a mile.” By the end of the summer she ran her first 5K. “It took me 55 minutes. Some people could have walked a 5K faster than that, but for me it was a run and I did it.”
Head games As Lancaster started eating healthier, running in the morning and spending evenings at the gym, her body was improving, but her mind wasn’t following suit. “I could push myself with exercise but when it came to how I felt about myself, there was something wrong,” she said. People would compliment her on her physique, but her mind wouldn’t accept it. “I was turning into a triathlete and I still felt like a miserable fat cow,” she said. At this point, Lancaster had already lost 100 pounds, but she couldn’t be happy for herself. “I actually felt fatter after losing 100 pounds then I did when I was heavier,” she said. She came to understand that her journey wasn’t just about her body, but about her mind and her spirit as well. SEE ACHIEVEMENT | A6
The American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed its position that women should breast feed for at least a year to get the best health benefits for their babies. The group said in a paper published in the March issue of Pediatrics that women should breast feed exclusively for six months and complement breast milk with food for another six months. Breast feeding promotes both health benefits and bonding between mother and baby, the academy said. But breastfeeding may not be as easy as it looks. While 75 percent of moms nationwide initiate breastfeeding, many don’t continue for the full year. Babies may not latch properly or mothers may find it hard to balance pumping and work, among other reasons. – The Baltimore Sun
Whole eating In a recent article titled “Fiber: The Bottom Line,” nutrition specialists at the Harvard School of Public Health concluded: “When you eat a healthy diet rich in whole grains, vegetables and fruit ... you’ll be lowering your risk of diabetes, heart disease, diverticulitis and constipation.” They go on to recommend we “choose foods that list whole grains (like whole wheat and whole oats) as the first ingredient.” Other documented health benefits associated with eating foods made with whole grains include a reduced risk for stroke and type 2 diabetes. Whole grains have also been shown to help control weight and blood pressure, and reduce the risk for colorectal cancer. – The Monterey County Herald