SparkPeople Member and Certified Running Coach
Nancy Howard has a degree in nursing. Her mission is to help others learn the process of living a healthy lifestyle and to let them know it is never too late to start. An avid runner, Nancy has competed in more than 100 road races since 2006, including 12 half marathons and Hood to Coast Relay--the largest in North America. She has lost 80 pounds--and kept it off--since joining SparkPeople in 2005. In 2009, she achieved two amazing goals: She became a Runners Club of America Certified Running Coach and ran the Chicago Marathon. She wants to inspire the world and let everyone know you don’t have to be an Olympian to run.
Read More of 's Blogs:
Could Your Sports Drink Be Ruining Your Smile?
As a runner, it isn’t too unusual for me to strap on my fuel belt loaded with four small bottles filled with my all-time favorite sports drink, Accelerade, as I head out for a long run. Not only does a sports drink supply my body with the necessary hydration, it also allows me to replenish the glycogen stores that I will deplete on my long runs, giving me the added energy to continue running.
Posted 4/8/2009 5:05:09 PM By: : 76 comments 16,065 views
Walgreens Take Care Clinics to Offer Free Health Care to Their Patients
As we all face the challenges of tough economic times, many of those who have found themselves jobless, sadly have lost their health benefits as well. With the rising cost of health care, many without benefits find themselves either paying out of pocket for a doctor visit or forgoing the doctor.
Posted 4/4/2009 8:39:36 AM By: : 113 comments 14,555 views
Take the Pledge to Walk by Participating in National Start! Walking Day
While many of us spent the past three to four months cooped up in our homes, now that spring has sprung, you may be looking for the perfect motivation to get up and moving. And what better way to start then to take part in the American Heart Association’s National Start! Walking Day which begins on Wednesday, April 8th.
Posted 4/1/2009 3:04:00 PM By: : 194 comments 15,379 views
Visualization: See Your Way to Your Goals
When I began my journey 4 years ago, I never thought too much about how long it was going to take to get to my goal. In the past whenever I gave myself a specific time frame to reach my weight loss goal, when the time drew nearer and I wasn’t remotely close, I felt discouraged and more importantly like a failure. Trust me, more times then not, it was only a matter of time before I was back to square one.
I believed that as long as I changed my eating habits and added in some good pockets of exercise the changes would happen. Which they did, but I had to realize I needed to keep my eye on the bigger picture and that was to totally change my lifestyle. This is where working on the mental side of my journey by developing techniques such as positive self-talk and visualization allowed me to achieve my goals.
Posted 3/28/2009 5:48:52 AM By: : 235 comments 32,948 views
Accentuate the Positive Self-Talk
Keeping a positive outlook on life can certainly be a challenge, especially when there seems to be so much negativity everywhere you turn. While I am slowly learning to master the art of dealing with stress, thanks to many of the suggestions from our members in an earlier blog, learning to project a more positive outlook in my life is the next step to taming the voice inside my head.
Posted 3/25/2009 4:00:00 PM By: : 112 comments 20,068 views
Trigger Foods: What are Yours?
Over the past four years on this never-ending journey, I have had to make many changes to keep me on this path. Some changes were much easier than others, but all changes, both big and small, have been necessary to keep me on course. One of the toughest changes was learning to how to deal with trigger foods.
So what exactly are trigger foods? Well, for me, they are the foods that once I start eating them it is very hard to stop. It’s as if I can’t seem to get enough; foods such as chips, candy, cookies, ice cream, brownies, etc. While I would love to say I have developed the discipline to eat these in normal sized portions, I still struggle with these foods if I bring them home. But that’s OK because I have devised my own plan on how I deal with this situation.
Posted 3/21/2009 5:58:28 AM By: : 386 comments 15,507 views
10 Screening Tests Everyone Should Consider
With health care cost rising at an alarming rate, having a list of common screening tests to ask your health care provider about may help keep you on the path of healthy living. While many of these tests are not diagnostic in nature, they do allow your doctor to determine if you are at greater risk for developing certain diseases or ailments.
Some of these tests are age specific, nevertheless, if you have a family history of a specific disease, such as colon cancer, breast cancer, or early onset osteoporosis, it is important to discuss your options with your doctor to determine what is best for you.
Posted 3/18/2009 1:10:07 PM By: : 91 comments 22,971 views
How Do You Cope with the Stress in Your Life?
One of the toughest challenges of this journey we call life is dealing with those issues that are not within our control. This year has certainly been one of those years. Not only has the economic situation hit close to home, but recently hearing news of friends and family members fighting for their lives has certainly caused me to step back and re-examine where I am at this point in my life.
While we can’t control many of the events in our lives, we do hold the power in how we deal and react to these stressors. We have the choice to let the stress control us or we can learn ways of helping us control the stress.
The sense of helplessness is certainly at the top of many of our lists of stressors. But there are ways that can help us through these obstacles. Below are a few measures I have incorporated into my life to help make the transition a little less stressful. I hope they will help you as well.
Posted 3/14/2009 6:01:20 AM By: : 195 comments 32,070 views
March is Colon Cancer Awareness Month
Ten years ago March was declared National Colorectal Awareness Month in order to help raise awareness to the second leading cause of cancer deaths here in the United States. Research has shown approximately 5% of the American adult population will be affected with this disease, however, early detection is essential for long term survival.
One of the most difficult factors physicians face is the notion that people do not like to talk about their bowel habits, whether this is out of embarrassment or lack of knowledge that any change in our bowel habits can be a sign or symptom that something may be wrong. But also know that the signs and symptoms (see below) can be quite vague so don’t panic if you are experiencing one or more, since there are many other ailments of the gastrointestinal tract that can be responsible for your issues. But, please don’t hesitate to talk with your doctor if you have any concerns.
In order to better understand this disease, we must first identify who may be at risk. Sadly, we all are, especially those over the age of 50. Below is a list which will help identify some of the other risk factors.
Posted 3/7/2009 5:00:00 AM By: : 103 comments 20,234 views
Confession of a Step Aerobics Drop Out
People often ask me why I run. Well for one, I have always wanted to experience the challenge of a good run to see where these old legs could take me, but more importantly it didn’t require much coordination on my part. All’s you have to do is lace up your shoes and head out the door. You run so far and head back home.
I can’t tell you how many times when I was stretching at my gym I would gaze in wonder in the glass enclosed studio as the throngs of women and men performed grapevines over and around their steps all set to the beat of some really great music. I mean who wouldn’t love to do that! The camaraderie in the class seemed like so much fun as they high-fived one another after each routine, dripping in sweat while taking swigs of water in between workouts.
Posted 3/4/2009 4:46:30 PM By: : 183 comments 43,599 views
Walking through the Fog of Perimenopause
If you are old enough to remember the1970’s TV series All in the Family, then you may also remember one of the classic episodes of all time in which Edith goes through "The Change." As a teen, I can recall this episode and thinking how funny it was to see Archie demanding Edith to change right now, while Edith scurried back and forth between the dinner table and freezer undergoing a frenzy of emotions from anger to tears.
Now that I am edging ever so closer to my 50s (still 2 ½ years away) I am starting to relate to Edith Bunker, although I refuse to wear the dowdy housedresses that were so common back in the day. I am just beginning to feel the subtle, although more frequent changes in my body. I must now face the fact the change is coming; there is no putting a halt to it. However, thankfully, some days are definitely better than others and unlike a 30-minute sitcom, I have months or even years to make the transformation. While I know this is all a part of the life cycle, the emotional roller coaster I am on is driving me, and yes, everyone in my family nuts.
Posted 2/28/2009 5:07:01 AM By: : 357 comments 61,921 views
Small Changes Can Lead to Better Health
So many of us are led to believe that in order to be healthy we must give up all the foods we love and exercise for hours on end to get the results we so long to see on the scale. But this mentality is very hard to maintain over a lifetime. Many of us find ourselves in the vicious cycle of good versus bad, however, I believe any time we are making the changes to move our health in the right direction, we are succeeding. Regardless of what the scale reads.
Posted 2/21/2009 5:23:00 AM By: : 91 comments 13,911 views
What is Your Passion?
For many of us when we embarked on this journey we succumbed to the notion that the best and quickest way to lose the weight was to participate in whatever exercise we needed in order to get the weight off as quickly as possible. It didn’t matter if it was an activity we enjoyed, it was just like taking medicine—you may not like it, but you knew you would get some benefit along the way. Therefore, like the Nike ad suggest we all need to JUST DO IT!
Posted 2/18/2009 12:04:35 PM By: : 115 comments 18,650 views
We are a SparkPeople Family
When I joined SparkPeople over three years ago I could have never imagined the great friendships I have formed all via a computer, keyboard, internet provider, and this fantastic site we have all grown to depend on to help us learn to embrace a healthy lifestyle--SparkPeople.com.
This site is truly unlike any other site. While yes there is Facebook and MySpace, most of us only allow those we previously know into our inner circle. But SparkPeople is not like that. It allows complete strangers to form bonds which are many times much more meaningful than ones we formulate in the real world. We are able to connect with those who have walked in similar shoes--others who have shared our frustrations as well as our victories. While many of us may never meet face to face, the bonds are there for a lifetime.
Posted 2/14/2009 5:55:51 AM By: : 119 comments 13,130 views
Is Getting Healthy a Hopeless Cause for Adults?
Last week while I was watching our local morning news show, one of the country’s leading pioneers of fitness, Dr. Kenneth Cooper, was giving an interview regarding the rise in childhood obesity, especially here in Texas. While I applaud his effort, I was taken aback when he stated he was giving up on trying to change adults, therefore, he was now focusing his attention on the next generation, our kids.
At first I was a tad angry--here was the “Father of Aerobics” stating he was giving up the fight for adults to get healthy. How could he? After all he was the first to coin the term aerobics back in the late 1960s. He was the one who led the crusade to get us all off the couch and moving and now he was abandoning the cause he worked so tirelessly over the years to change.
Posted 2/11/2009 12:10:49 PM By: : 117 comments 14,390 views
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