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The Alaska Club

TAC Board: The Alaska Club Blog

Why I Run

I have been asked many times why I smile when I run. Truthfully, I have no idea, and in fact, I don’t even know that I am smiling when I run 90% of the time. I can tell you that I have loved running for more than 30 years and sincerely hope I have at least 20 more years left in these legs. My running routine was acquired over time, but the smile comes naturally along with those jogging steps.
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3 Ways to Make Your BBQs Healthier

To make the most of summer, get together with family and friends for a barbecue. Instead of the usual hamburger, ribs, hot dogs, and sausages, you can be creative and make it healthier by grilling more fish, lean meats, fruits, and vegetables. By adding fruits and vegetables, you add more color, variety, flavor, and nutrients. You may be surprised to find out that grilling fruits and vegetables can actually enhance their sweet flavor.
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Pedal Your Way to a Better You!

Sick of high gas prices? What if I told you there was a way to save money & improve your health? How? Well, you need to kick yourself into gear and grab a BIKE! Regularly cycling can improve your life expectancy, aid in mental health, improve respiratory systems, reduce heart disease, and help your overall health and weight loss journey.
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How to Role Model Daily Exercise with your Kids

I am a mother to three children, who were all born within three years (2006-2009). I was in “advanced maternal age” when I had my first baby, so my husband and I went for it and had two more without thinking about it because we didn’t have time to waste. Parenthood is amazing in all the ways everyone promised it would be, except it isn’t always amazing for the workout routine! I am happy to share some strategies I employed to survive and stay in sort-of “good” shape and sane…. And also share some of my favorite moments doing events with my kids.
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From Mrs. Alaska Pageant to Breast Cancer Combatant

on Jun 10, 2022 12:00:00 PM By | Barbara DuBois | 0 Comments | healthy living disease breast cancer awareness
On May 14th, I had the honor of participating in the Mrs. Alaska 2022 pageant facilitated by the generous sponsorship of the Alaska Club. While I did not win the title, I won something that, in my view, is far more prestigious– the “Woman of Achievement 2022” award. This title is given to those who the judges considered worthy of recognition for their life’s accomplishments, and I am honored to have received it. When I entered the pageant, I was ambivalent about winning anything. Still, I felt drawn to the pageant’s emphasis on women having a strong sense of mission, physical fitness, and the resulting elevation of their self-esteem.
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Early Risers Get the Worm!

on May 4, 2022 2:39:17 PM By | Barbara DuBois | 0 Comments | healthy living exercise
Are you an early bird or a night owl? Most people are a moderate hybrid of these two choices but there are extremes in either direction. I, for one, am a semi-early bird. I get up around 6:00 AM, but I’m not exactly a fast mover when I do get up! My husband is a night owl, but he will get up long before I do anyway, except for weekends. Either way, daylight savings time is currently allowing us more time in the evening to spend hours outside. Plus, the additional light we have been gaining makes it easier to get out of bed early.
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Does Carbonated Water Affect Your Bone Health?

on Mar 21, 2022 2:25:21 PM By | Elize Rumsley – RD, LD, CDE, MS, PhD. | 0 Comments | Healthy eating healthy living
Sugar-free carbonated beverages are slowly taking market share from sugary drinks due to growing health concerns related to obesity and diabetes. But are sugar-free carbonated drinks safe for you? There is an ongoing debate about whether carbonation can affect bone health and increase the risk of osteoporosis, particularly in women.
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Loving Your Heart

Did you know that heart disease is the number one cause of death in the US? One person dies every 36 seconds from this condition.
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New Beginnings

on Dec 30, 2021 1:34:43 PM By | Barbara DuBois | 0 Comments | healthy living
I love new beginnings because there’s always the sense of fresh starts, rejuvenation and a new, better me. In short, new beginnings mean hope that I will feel, look and be healthier and happier than ever before. When it comes to New Year’s resolutions most people make them concerning health matters. Losing weight and quitting smoking always top the list. Let’s be honest, most people fail in their long-term efforts and slip right back to where they were as they ended the year. In fact, fully 95% of people who lose weight, gain it back again and oftentimes add weight on top of that. This year, however, we have a plan! Instead of talking about the abysmal failure rate of those who lose and regain weight, let’s take a look at what people did right to shed pounds and got healthier in the process. We can not only be that elite 5%, but we’re going to expand our percentages and be a positive influence on others! The goal is to not overwhelm oneself with huge goals but instead set short, doable, daily goals. Rather than making a monster goal that seems so unrealistically unachievable, let’s concentrate on one or two modest changes that can bring long term success. In Alcoholics Anonymous, the motto is always “One day at a time.” We don’t have to commit to a lifetime of changes. We only make the changes today. Each day, we start anew. After all, we only HAVE today.
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What Attributes to Afternoon Brain Fog?

Have you experienced a drop in energy at around 3 o’clock and can’t focus on your work? You dread to complete your task and you just can’t think clearly? You don’t have any medical condition, you know it is not a hangover, it is not lack of sleep, it is not a cold or low blood sugar, so what is the cause? Sometimes, there is no clear explanation, but certain foods can aggravate or improve your mental acuity in the afternoon. Here are some tips:
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Why I Wear Pink Every October

Although it was many years ago, this memory is crystal clear to me - I was 9-years old. My family and I were decorating the Christmas tree. Our dog Dandy was super excited about the tree, the family, and the festivities. Although she was not allowed in the living room, she could not contain her excitement and she ran into the room. She was circling us, jumping up and down on the furniture, and then ran into the tree on her escape route down the hallway to avoid getting in trouble. My mom reached up to catch the tree and then screamed as I’ve never heard her before. My 9-year-old brain thought she was mad at Dandy. I had a whole save Dandy speech in my head, "mom, she didn’t know any better and we got everything cleaned up, we'll keep her out of the living room, etc...." However, my mom’s scream was not about Dandy. When she raised her arms, she felt an excruciating pain in the left side of her chest. Later, a doctor’s appointment confirmed she had advanced breast cancer and would need a mastectomy.
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Is it Possible to Avoid Menopause Weight Gain?

on Jul 9, 2021 12:14:26 PM By | Elize Rumsley – RD, LD, CDE, MS, PhD. | 0 Comments | healthy living menopause weight gain
Around age 50, women go through inevitable hormonal changes. For most women, menopause comes with hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, irritability, and sleep disturbance. The stress caused by menopause in addition to other conditions associated with the aging process such as decrease in muscle mass, increase in fat mass and lack of physical activity can make it difficult for a middle-aged woman to maintain her optimal weight. In fact, it is common to see weight gain during this time, particularly in the abdominal area. So, what can you do to keep yourself healthy and prevent weight gain? Here are some tips:
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How to Lose Weight without Depriving Yourself

Every year, a great number of people make weight loss their New Year’s resolution. There is no question that for some people weight loss is a challenge. Too many fad diets are promising quick weight loss, but they are neither sustainable nor healthy. They are often very restrictive and remove an entire food group from the diet, commonly carbohydrates. The problem is that too restrictive a meal plan increases craving, a feeling of guilt and failure with each minor lapse, even eating even a piece of bread or, perish the thought, a slice of pizza. Eventually, people quit this diet and regain all the lost weight plus more. I see this scenario play out often in my dietary practice.
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Alaskans Have the Power to Live A Robust Life

on Dec 21, 2020 3:51:37 PM By | Barbara DuBois | 0 Comments | Getting Fit healthy living outdoors
When I was a little girl, I was fascinated with the story of Heidi, the little Swiss girl who was orphaned and sent by her aunt to live with her grandfather high in the Swiss Alps. There, she learned to tend to goats with the neighbor boy, Peter, drank fresh goat milk and ran freely in the mountain meadows. When she was sent to the city to go to school, she lived with a family who had a sick daughter named Clara. Clara and Heidi moved back to the alpine village to live with her grandfather where Clara recovered in the Alps, having found good health in the pure mountain air and the beckoning of the green meadows. The story’s emphases of living healthy and the rejuvenating influence of living in the mountains are good themes for this year.
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Good Eats & A Healthy Alaskan Harvest

on Nov 16, 2020 4:29:09 PM By | Barbara DuBois | 0 Comments | Grocery list Healthy eating healthy living
Now that the vegetable gardens have been harvested, and the rich berry assortments from our mountain meadows have been picked, we are ready for some scrumptious healthy eats!
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6 Tips on Staying Fit This Winter

on Nov 5, 2020 2:06:39 PM By | National Kidney Foundation | 0 Comments | workout healthy living fitness routine
The winter months can be a challenging time to stick to an exercise plan. The weather is colder, the daylight hours are shorter and other priorities can make it hard to establish a routine. While exercise in winter may be tough, it is very important for health.
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Back To School, Back To Your Workout Schedule!

on Aug 21, 2020 12:50:35 PM By | CooperJoint | 0 Comments | mental health healthy living fitness routine
“Where did the summer go? ” is perhaps the most asked question in August. Hopefully you had a great break and stayed active with your kids. If you’re like millions of parents around the country, your regular workout schedule either suffered or became nonexistent. In fact, it’s possible your running shoes never hit the pavement during those summer months. No worries, you’re not alone. It’s time to shake off the past, appreciate the time you spent with your children, and move forward. It’s time to give yourself back that hour a day dedicated to your health and well being, so you can continue to rock out this parenting gig.
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Member Testimonial: Brian Crouse

My journey began on September 22nd, 2019. My best friend called and during our conversation, she told me she had lost 80lbs in the last 8 months. She showed me a pic and she looked amazing. I was not about to have her show me up, so I asked "HOW?". She was eating healthy. She had cut out most carbs and sugars. I was 386lbs and had already thought about getting healthy; and this was the last straw.
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Less Screen Time, More Play Time

Just two weeks ago, I attended an education conference in New York City on learning and brain activity in youth and children. The chief concern at this conference was the preponderance of screen time, primarily cell phone usage, teachers witness among their students. While studies have not made a direct correlation to the rise of anxiety and depression seen among children and youth to electronic device habits, bullying and obesity have been positively correlated to cell phone usage by these groups. Consistent with these findings is a greater sense of social alienation found among children and teens who are now logging long hours on their electronic devices and becoming sleep-deprived in the process.
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How I Get Ready For Mountain Running Season

Believe it or not, spring is my favorite time of year to train. Despite coming off a long and fatiguing ski racing season, I am always excited to get back to springtime in Alaska. The weather is generally pretty amazing at this time of year- lots of bluebird days that make for great crust skiing in the morning, awesome trail running in the afternoon, and even better corn skiing in the evenings. With such perfect conditions its easy to get carried away recreating and neglect the body- especially when it comes to running. As someone who has struggled with countless overuse injuries throughout the duration of my career, its really important for me to build into my running progression. I’ve found that if I’m not careful about gradually increasing both distance and pace, my minor springtime tweaks turn into long-term injuries that prevent me from training/racing later in the summer. Picking out the right pair shoes from Skinny Raven also helps avoid injuries further down the road.
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A letter from the Get Fit Challenge Winner

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Beating the Burnout

on Dec 26, 2018 11:15:05 AM By | The Alaska Club | 0 Comments | friendship workout healthy living
You’re nearly there. You’ve almost made it through another year. Did 2018 feel like a whirlwind, or was it just me? Maybe you’re feeling charged and ready to take on 2019, maybe you plan to just keep chugging along or maybe you’re like many, and you’re feeling burnt out.
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Exercise as an elixir to disease

on Oct 18, 2018 11:03:04 AM By | Barbara DuBois | 0 Comments | Gym and Health Club Exercises healthy living injury disease
There is amazing news on the home front regarding exercise! It is no news that a sedentary lifestyle puts a person at risk for the “metabolic syndrome.” Metabolic syndrome, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a person who endures, “high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels.” This syndrome dramatically increases a person’s risk for a whole host of diseases that are lifestyle related: heart disease, cancer, stroke, osteoporosis, diabetes, to name a few. Incredibly, even mental health problems such as depression and Alzheimer’s have now been recognized as more frequently appearing diseases among the inactive.
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Combating the Change of Seasons

on Oct 8, 2018 10:12:41 AM By | The Alaska Club | 0 Comments | Nutrition mental health healthy living winter
The termination dust has settled, cruelly taunting that winter is indeed coming. The upcoming winter season offers little light, which can result in vitamin D deficiencies, which can be so severe at times, many develop seasonal affective disorder. The acronym appropriately spells out SAD. Symptoms of SAD can include anxiety, sleep deprivation and depression.
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You Can’t Run From a Sports Related Injury

on Sep 19, 2018 2:26:52 PM By | The Alaska Club | 0 Comments | health healthy living rest injury
As Alaskans, we push our bodies to the limits during the sunny months, trying to fit everything in before a blanket of snow and ice covers the ground. This constant activity can be hard on our bodies and there’s a good chance, as summer comes to an end, you’ve developed an injury.
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Can Someone Tell Me What Clean Eating Is?

on May 17, 2018 10:36:46 AM By | The Alaska Club | 0 Comments | Nutrition Clean eating healthy living weight loss diet
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New Year Resolution: Ditch the Fitness Resolutions

on Jan 12, 2018 10:35:47 AM By | The Alaska Club | 0 Comments | New Year's Resolution workout healthy living weight loss
New year, new you. It’s easy to tell yourself this will be the year you wake up every morning to work out, stop eating fast food and give up soda cold turkey. But after two weeks of a jam-packed gym post New Year’s, the crowd soon dwindles back down to the regulars and we find ourselves ordering a diet Coke in the nearest drive-thru. In fact, one-third of New Year’s resolutions don’t make it passed January.
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The Bear Facts on Healthy Living

on May 9, 2017 1:46:16 PM By | Barbara DuBois | 0 Comments | summer hiking healthy living
Like all Alaskans who spend any time outdoors, I have had my bear encounters…many of them right here in the Anchorage woods. One time I was walking in North Bicentennial Park (Bear Central Park) with my friend Rosie and engaging in some mindless chit chat, when Rosie abruptly interrupted me with a low-toned, ominously simple warning, “Barb, a bear.”
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