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What a day!! What a race!! Today was the 32^nd Crescent City Classic – over 20,000 runners and walkers lined up on Decatur to participate in this world class 10K race.  The gun and canon – yes, canon, promptly went off at 8:30 am after the Marine Corps Color Guards and Marine Corps Band finished the National Anthem.

Although at first rain threaten to make an appearance, not a drop came down before, during or after the race…which is good because everyone was enjoying the after the race festivities at City Park. The cloud coverage was welcomed, since you can work up quite a sweat running 6.2 miles.  The mixture of cloud, sun and the low 70s made for a gorgeous day for the race.

The Crescent City Classic attracts world class athletes who come to New Orleans to set world records but to me, the real heroes of the race are the people of all ages, sexes, shapes and sizes that come out to run and walk.  People really do come out in troves to participate…some dressed up, some pushing baby strollers and some pulling coolers filled with beer and jelly shots.

It really is one of the best races in New Orleans.  The course starts off in the Quarter, down to Poydras…around to Rampart and on Esplanade all the way to City Park.  It’s a very scenic route.

At the end of the race many people enjoyed some delicious jambalaya and a ‘few’ folks enjoyed some Abita beer.  Okay…most folks also enjoyed some Abita beer.  I guess they earned it after running 6.2 miles!

Congratulations to everyone who ran and thank you to the Crescent City Fitness Foundation and Times Picayune for putting this event together for the city each year.  You can get your race results here.

Below are the pictures I took. Also, check-out the Times Picayune Slide Shows.

What is one of the reasons why buying local food is better?

The answer was one of the following four answers

1. Locally grown food tastes better.

2. Local produce is better for you.

3. Local food preserves genetic diversity.

4. Local food is GMO-free.

From the blog post: Crescent City Farmers Market: Eat Healthy and Help the Local Louisiana Economy

Who is the Captain of the New Orleans Rugby Football Club?

The answer is Matt Upton from the blog post: We Chat With The Captain Of The New Orleans Rugby Football Club

The ability for what vitamin was discovered to cure the disease scurvy by a Scottish surgeon in the British Royal Navy, James Lind?

The answer is Vitamin C from the blog post: An Orange a Day Keeps Scurvy Away

Nearly 6 million American have what type of disease and don’t know it?

The answer is Diabetes from the blog post: Today is American Diabetes Association Alert Day

The winner this week is Richard Brown who won a $20 gift card to Smoothie King

We are joining great cities of the likes of Boston, San Francisco, Toronto, San Diego, Philadelphia and Nashville in holding a HealthCamp in our wonderful city of New Orleans.

HealthCamp is an unconference inspired by the popular BarCamp conferences, which are intended to allow people to share and learn in an open environment. It is an intense event with discussions, demos and interaction from attendees.

The purpose of the HealthCamp is to bring together health, fitness and wellness professionals in the Greater New Orleans area to share knowledge, network, and open dialogues around the challenges, issues, and concerns they face every day.  As well as, brainstorm, explore and discuss solutions, ideas and the latest innovations, policies and technology available.

An unconference means that the attendees are the presenters – this is a user generated conference.  There is no keynote speaker and planned agenda for the day.  However, we are establishing some guidelines and tracks.

HealthCamp NOLA will explore 4 different tracks:

Technology

Sessions in the technology track will vary from discussing improving or extending the efficacy of health care by embracing social networks, open standards, and the latest web and mobile technologies to new breakthroughs and latest technology available or being developed that will change the way health services are provided.

Prevention/Wellness:

Sessions in the prevention and wellness track will focus on discussing and addressing what can be done in our community to educate, assist, motivate and encourage people to take preventive measures to prevent diseases and health problems. What can be done?  What are the biggest factors affecting the members of our community? How can health care and fitness professionals best support and help each other? Etc.

Policy

Sessions in the policy track will focus and vary from discussing federal, State and city policy that impact health and wellness providers.  This could include anything from funding issues and concerns, privatization of local hospitals, and the impact of the Health Care Reform Bills recently signed by President Obama.

Business

Session in the business track is to discuss the state of health and wellness businesses, opportunities and entrepreneurship in the health and wellness industry.  What opportunities exist in New Orleans? What type of businesses already exist – what makes them successful?

This will be an extremely beneficial event to all health, fitness and wellness professionals in the Greater New Orleans area – the energy, opportunities and networking generated from unconferences can’t be compared to anything else you have attended in the past.

Our first priority in bringing this event to New Orleans is finding a location that can support 100-150 attendees.  A space with 4-5 classrooms.  The event will be held on a Saturday.

As soon as we have reserved a location, we will accept sponsorships.  Sponsors are critical to make this a free event for attendees.  The sponsorship will be used to pay for the food for the day, possibly the facility and t-shirts.  NO MONEY is made by the organizers of this event – this event is being organized by volunteers…currently myself and Tung Ly; assisting us is the HealthCamp Organizer Mark Scrimshire.

You can stay abreast of what’s happening by joining our Facebook Group and following us on Twitter.

Today, we have an inspirational interview with Jacques Courseault – a medical student at Tulane University School of Medicine and Co-Founder/Program Designer of Don’t Weight to Lose.

Don’t Weight to Lose (DWTL) is a 501c(3) non-profit organization designed by Tulane medical students, to promote long-term behavioral changes in terms of diet and exercise habits. DWTL ultimate goal is for each program participant to develop practical lifestyle changes without diet or exercise fads. They aim to promote small changes in nutrition habits, without sacrificing cultural characteristics in taste; and to increase physical activity, without needing sophisticated exercise equipment.

Q: Can you tell us a little more about Don’t Weight to Lose?

Jacques Courseault: Don’t Weight to Lose (DWTL) is a faith-based non-profit health and wellness organization based in New Orleans. Basically, Ryan Jupiter and I came up with this idea as first-year Tulane medical students. There was a program that I ran, as a personal trainer, called “Fat Tuesday,” where we offered free body composition and cardiovascular screenings at the Reily Center (Tulane’s gym). Ryan and I were working out one day and were discussing ways to bring a program like Fat Tuesday out into the community. After a year of research and development, DWTL was born. DWTL is now an 8-week program, held twice a year at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church. Components include physician speakers, health screenings, free exercise equipment, exercises classes and personal counseling from medical students. At this point, we have seen around 500 participants, and many noted significant health improvements.

Q: How does someone become a participant in the Don’t Weight to Lose program?

Jacques Courseault: Visit www.dontweighttolose.org and sign up for our newsletter. We release dates 2 months in advance for people to sign-up. If you don’t want to wait, we have tons of exercise and nutrition information available on our affiliate websites www.ExerciseMenu.com and www.DrGourmet.com. I am the Chief Editor of Exercise Menu, and Dr. Timothy Harlan is a chef turned Tulane Internist who developed Dr.Gourmet.com.  There is tons of great information on both sites.

Q: How much personal attention do the participants receive?

Jacques Courseault: One of the great aspects about DWTL is the personal attention that participants receive from our medical students. We have about 25 volunteer medical students that are trained in exercise and nutrition counseling, in addition to, what they are learning in medical school. Each student is assigned to three to five participants. Students review body composition readings, nutrition diaries and workout logs with participants during each session. There is really a strong bond that develops…

Q: You mentioned it’s faith-based health and wellness program – can you explain that a little more?

Jacques Courseault: Faith-based meaning that we address health issues from the mind, body and spiritual perspectives. Obviously, you have to take physical action, by increasing physical activity and making health food choices to improve your overall health. What is not so obvious is that many of these issues have a psychological and spiritual basis to them that should also be addressed. Having a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, I have designed this program based on particular theories to address behavior change. Obesity and other chronic diseases have also been linked to psychological disorders, such as stress and depression. Last but not least, is the spiritual component. Making sustainable lifestyle changes is difficult. By making the connection that God has blessed us with the gift of life and health, I try to teach our participants not to take this time we have for granted. In addition, the church offers a support network that provides encouragement when the temptation to revert back to previous ways arises.

Q: What inspired you to start Don’t Weight to Lose?

Jacques Courseault: I love New Orleans and the potential that this city has. Nothing can compare to the culture of this city. At the same time, I realize that overindulging in our food and leisurely activities can lead to serious health problems. So, I asked myself “How can we improve the health of this city and still eat great tasting foods and enjoy ourselves?” The answer is to teach small and practical changes that can drastically improve health. The people of New Orleans want to be healthy; however, it’s not always clear how to do that, especially with the day-to-day fads that pop up in mainstream media. Therefore, it is my passion as a personal trainer, physician and citizen of this great city to teach these practical changes.

Q: Have you reached out to former participants?  Have they maintained the new habits they developed during the program?

Jacques Courseault: Being a member of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church and from seeing previous participants at various health fairs or at other functions, we realize that our changes look to be sustainable. We have also received many testimonials about the positive changes people are noting in their lives. One participant reported at 40-pound weight loss, and we have had quite a few that reported 25 pounds or more. We are working to set up a screening session of all of our former participants to see if these changes have been sustainable as we hoped.

Q: How do you feel about the health and fitness scene in New Orleans?

Jacques Courseault: The health and fitness scene in New Orleans has notably improved after Katrina. The greatest improvement that I have seen is at City Park, with the addition of the new walking and biking tracks. New Orleans provides many avenues for outdoor exercise. One can walk through the French Quarter, bike on the levees, play pick-up soccer at Audubon or join any of the many run/walks that are held here each year. Unfortunately, there is a lack of indoor facilities. To address this problem, I have developed ExerciseMenu.com, which allows people to workout in the comfort of their own home. Resistance training, or weight lifting is important, but we can maintain better health if we regularly participate in outdoor activities.

Q: We hear you are graduating this year – what’s next for you? Will you be staying in New Orleans?

Jacques Courseault: I will never leave this city. I had a wonderful four years at Tulane University School of Medicine, but will now hang up the green and white for the LSU purple and gold. Starting in July, I will begin my residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. I love this field because I can combine my exercise passions with medicine, in order to help people maintain their physical health. I will also continue to make sure that DWTL contributes to improving the health and wellness of this city.

I got up this morning and kicked off my day two of my Arbonne Seasource Detox.  I decided to do a detox to end my lent with a “bang”!  Technically, since February 17^th – Ash Wednesday, I’ve been on a detox.  I cut out sodas, alcohol, chocolate, and mostly all red meat (I’ve had red meat 4 times in the last 5 plus weeks) – to include all meat on Fridays.  In the process, I ended up cutting out sweets, candy, chips (the brown rice chips I love) and added a lot more fruits and vegetables to my diet.

Yesterday, on my first day of the detox – you could say that “it” hit me pretty hard towards late afternoon.   I found myself running to the bathroom and feeling like parts of my insides were not very happy with me.  Frankly, I was shocked it got to me the way it did but Aaron pointed out “You have a pretty sensitive stomach to start out with”.  He made a good point. I do have a sensitive stomach.

Today, I got up and drank my second bottle.  The way it works – the Detox kit is a seven day detox system of seven potent 1oz bottles – one bottle a day mixed with one quart (32 ounce) of liquid.  In my case, I’m mixing it with light apple juice and water.  No way I could swallow it down with water only.  Not exactly the best tasting or smelling stuff…

I drank my entire “potion” before I left the house to go to the gym…I drank most of it while I was meditating, on an empty stomach.  I had to visit the bathroom while I was at the gym but it wasn’t too bad.  After lunch, Aaron and I went to get massages…I was doing just fine.

We left the massage place and headed to the grocery store on the other side of town.  Halfway there my stomach started acting up.  I’ll spare you the intricate details but we’ll just say that I barely made it and it was definitely not something I wanted to do in a public bathroom.

That was around 2:45pm…it’s past 8pm now – stomach is feeling fine.  Staying hydrated and maintaining electrolytes, I’m noticing to be extra important while on this detox.

I don’t know what’s in store for me tomorrow but for tomorrow and the rest of the week – I plan on looking closely at my schedule.  I don’t want to be caught somewhere out of reach of a bathroom.

What are my expectations on Day 7? No clue.  Will I feel “cleansed”?  Will I have more energy?  Will all the cravings be gone?  I’ll tell you on Sunday!

This week the prize for the Scavenger Hunt was for a $20 Subway Card.  Before I announce the winner – lets go over the questions and blog posts where the answers (and follow-on questions) could be found.

What is the amount of sodium considered adequate to promote good health in adults?

Answer: The amount is 1500mg to 2300mg.  The answer was in two blog post: Salt: A Teaspoon a Day is All you Need and How to Read a Food Label.

In Louisiana, 53 to 57 people out of every 100,000 are diagnosed with what easily preventable disease?

Answer: Colon Cancer.  The answer was found in the blog post: Get To Know More About Cancer – National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

What are the 4 Abdominal Layers: Transverses, Internal Obliques, External Obliques and ___________?

Answer: The rectus aka – the 6 pack. The answer was found in the blog post: Core Training: The Four Abdominal Layers

Who brought Kettlebells with them to America?

Answer: They arrived in America with waves of Russian immigrants in the early 1900s  The answer was found in the blog post: Exploring Beyond the Gym: KettleBell Training

Which Vitamin helps the body deal with free radicals which can cause tissue and cell damage?

I was looking for Vitamin A but other vitamins also applied.  Vitamin A and Your Vision

Now…to announce our winner – The Winner is Erica Best! Congratulations Erica.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to play next week.

With the passing of the Health Care Reform bill, hopefully more people are becoming aware of how policies (and laws) have an impact on the current and future health of our country.  It’s important that the right issues are addressed and supported.  One of the organizations in New Orleans that is researching, educating, and serving on Advisory Committees in service to our community is the Prevention Research Center at Tulane.

The Tulane Prevention Research Center (PRC) is one of 37 Prevention Research Centers funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  The Tulane Prevention Research Center studies the impact of physical and social environments on obesity and collaborates with community partners through policy, education and communication strategies to build healthier communities in New Orleans and beyond.

Here is a highlight of how PRC is serving you and the health of our community:

Healthy Eating Projects

Core Research Project on Neighborhood Food Environment

PRC core research project examines the relationship between availability and promotion of healthy and unhealthy foods and consumption.  The project explores whether changing the food environment is predominantly low income, New Orleans neighborhoods will result in improvements to residents’ food purchases, diets and change in weight status.

Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research Network

PRC is working in collaboration with the national Nutrition and Obesity Policy Research Network (NOPRN) to advance research on policy and environmental approaches to obesity prevention.

New Orleans Food Policy Advisory Committee

PRC serves on the New Orleans Food Policy Advisory Committee (FPAC), an advisory body to the New Orleans City Council which is made up of diverse members from the public, private, and civic sectors.  PRC directed research and advocacy for an FPAC initiative to improve access to grocery stores, farmers markets, and other fresh food retail outlets in neighborhoods.

Active Living Projects

Physical Activity and Policy Research Network

PRC is a collaborating center on the national Physical Activity and Policy Research Network (PAPRN).  This network works to identify physical activity policies and determinants, describe the process of implanting policies, and determine outcomes of physical activity policies.  The Tulane PRC will develop a community play index for playground and schoolyards.

Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities

New Orleans is one of 41 sites nationwide selected by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities Program.  The PRC will support the KidsWalk coalition to increase the walkability and bikeability of New Orleans, particularly around schools.

Bike Lane Research

The PRC received a Rapid Response grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to study the impact of new bike lanes throughout the city on ridership.

Safe Route to School Evaluation

The Safe Route to School Evaluation Study is examining the attitudes and possible barriers to children walking or biking to and from school. In collaboration with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, the Tulane PRC has collected community and school-level information thoughout planned sites in Louisiana.

The Lafitte Greenway Evaluation

The planned restoration of the Lafitte corridor includes pedestrian and bike path that will link 7 neighborhoods, parks, historic sites, retails areas and community spaces. The PRC received Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Active Living Research funding to conduct a two-year baseline evaluation of neighborhood residents’ physical activity levels before the renovation of the Greenway is developed.

(Source: Tulane Prevention Research Center handout)

The Home Workout and Do-It- Yourself (DIY) Routines

I eluded in my first post about Affordable Workouts in New Orleans that working out from home will be affected by your level of experience and motivation.  In regards to your level of experience, for example, for me to workout at home and create my own routines is pretty simple – I have enough knowledge and experience to put together DIY routines that will either provide me with full body workouts or target body parts.  I can also ensure I have plenty of interval training by mixing things up to get maximum results.  However, if you don’t have a full repertoire to rely on; you will need to do more homework, research and experimenting to find out exactly what will work for you.  We’ll gladly help with that!

Second – lets address MOTIVATION. Here are my recommendations to ensure you have and maintain your motivation to workout from home.

Establish Structure

Set your schedule.  Carve out the exact time you plan to workout.  Preferably it’s the same every day.  Let everyone in your life, your family, friends, co-workers…whoever has an impact on your time that from this time to whatever time on these days – that is your workout time. Yes, you should write this in stone.

Create Your Home Gym. Figure out where you are going to workout and buy the equipment you will need (more to come about equipment). Things to consider when selecting a space…if you plan on jumping up and down – you must make sure that you’re on a floor (preferably basement) that can accommodate that without destroying your house. You will likely need a TV or computer in the room.  You will need to de-conflict the use of the room with other members of the household based on yours and their schedules.

Say you plan to use the garage…how will you hold up in the New Orleans summer heat and humidity?!? Is there proper ventilation and cooling?

Write Out Your Weekly Workout Plan. The clearer you are on what you are doing on which day – the more likely you are to stick with it.  If you need to figure out what you’re doing last minute; it won’t take long before you find a reason to do something else.  This is why workout videos come with planners and specific instructions – it’s what helps people stick with the program.  You’re welcome to send me your plan each week!

Have the Proper Equipment: You definitely don’t need to go spend an arm and a leg on home gym equipment.  I recommend you start out with some dumbbells (3 pairs of 3 different weights), a mat, and an resistance band…may be a jump rope, medicine ball and exercise ball.  Eventually you can look into also getting a home pull-up bar and some other things you will come to realize you want. You can find all that you need at either Walmart or Sports Authority. My other recommendation is that you go to the store instead of ordering online…first because shipping for 3 sets of dumbbells is likely to run you an arm and a leg. But also because it will be good for you to see what other equipment is out there.  DO NOT get wrapped up into gimmicks – stick with the basics.

Walking, Running, Biking. Any one of those three or all three are also part of your home workout so don’t forget about them.  Figure out routes and distances that you want to either walk, run or bike.  Plan accordingly if you need to drive to a park to do it.

Set Realistic Goals. Don’t get into a home workout routine expecting crazy results after a week or two.  Look at this as a learning experience and adventure. Set your goals to sticking to your new establish routine.  Take it one day at a time and enjoy it.

This post is getting a little long – in the next post we’ll get into some recommended routines, videos to check-out and basic things to workout by!

Nearly 6 million American have diabetes and don’t know it.  Are you one of them??

Symptoms:

Type 1 Diabetes

• Frequent urination
• Unusual thirst
• Extreme hunger
• Unusual weight loss
• Extreme fatigue and Irritability

Type 2 Diabetes*

• Any of the type 1 symptoms
• Frequent infections
• Blurred vision
• Cuts/bruises that are slow to heal
• Tingling/numbness in the hands/feet
• Recurring skin, gum, or bladder infections

*Often people with type 2 diabetes have no symptoms

One in five Americans is at risk for Type 2 Diabetes. You can prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes through a healthy lifestyle. Change your diet, increase your level of physical activity, and maintain a healthy weight.

Diabetes is a very serious disease.  Today is American Association Diabetes Alert Day. Take the self-assessment test below and share it with others. Visit Diabetes.org for more information.

Lets have some fun with learning and revisiting the information on the Be Fit NOLA blog!! This blog contains very important information for your health and wellness – it’s easy for information to end up buried and forgotten on blogs and we don’t want that to happen so we’re going to keep things interesting.

Every week we are going to run a scavenger hunt.  Five questions that will take you from blog post to blog post – the scavenger hunt will be started with a question on Facebook and Twitter. The prizes will vary from week to week.  The people who answer all the questions right will be entered to win and the winner will be selected by a random number generator.  The Scavenger Hunt will run from Monday-Friday.  The winner will be announced on Saturday along with the answers.

Have fun learning more about living a healthy lifestyle!!

(hint, hint…we do have a search box in the right column…)