The Body Blog
Why Do Hormones Play Such a Big Role in Weight Loss?
If you are struggling to lose weight, it may be time to look at your hormones. It’s that time of year again – New Year’s resolutions abound and you have set a weight loss goal for yourself after all the holiday indulgence. But it is rarely just about diet and exercise. For women, weight loss has as much or more to do with hormones and hormone balance than what you put on your plate. If you are struggling to lose weight, it may be time to look at your hormones. The main players in female hormone dysfunction are cortisol, [...]
Love Your Lacrosse Ball!
How to use a lacrosse ball to help regain mobility in tight necks, shoulders and lower back There are lots of reasons you may experience tightness or pain in your muscles. It could be from over-use, a repetitive motion, sleeping funny, bad posture, or strain. A simple lacrosse ball can be super helpful in breaking up that tightness so you can regain mobility and alleviate pain. It is VERY important to remember that these exercises are only for general soreness and tightness. You should NOT use the lacrosse ball if you have an acute injury or soreness from surgery. [...]
Most Common Winter Injuries and How to Avoid Them
Almost all the leaves are off the trees, there is a base of snow blanketing the Sierra Nevadas, and the ski resorts are gearing up for visitors. It is officially winter in northern Nevada. And while our winters can be beautiful, they also pose an increased risk of injury. Whether participating in some backcountry snowshoeing, or just a slip and fall on the ice, winter gives us lots of opportunities for ouch! Here are several of the most common injuries we treat patients for in the winter, and some best practices for proactive prevention (say that five times fast!). [...]
6 Tips to Stay Healthy and Not Gain Weight During the Holidays
It’s that most glorious time of year, the holidays! But if you are a woman living on planet Earth, all that joy does not “just happen” - there is a lot we do as moms, wives, sisters and friends to bring the sparkle. And sometimes that added stress feels a little bit better while enjoying one of the cookies we’ve made (or bought and put on a plate). Stress (good and bad) combined with foods we do not usually eat can be a recipe for weight gain over the holidays. So here are six tips to help keep you [...]
How to Avoid Injury this Ski Season
It is no secret that the Reno-Tahoe area has some of the best skiing in the country. With 16 resorts just up the hill from Reno, there is a run for every skill level. Not to mention all the backcountry skiing opportunities in our area. While skiing can result in a host of injuries, the most common ones we see are knee ligament sprains and tears and lumbar strain. Just the general motion of skiing puts a lot of stress on your knees. The ACL and MCL are the most at risk for injury when there is a great [...]
Understand Why You Feel Crappy and How to Feel Better, For Good!
Many women come through the doors of Battle Born Health feeling just generally crappy. They have been struggling with feeling wired and tired and experiencing symptoms like weight gain or trouble losing weight, excess fatigue, no sex drive, and a gut that is a mess no matter what they eat. And the worst part is they have been to every GI doc, taken every supplement, tried multiple diets only to have no results or be misdiagnosed with perimenopause, general stress, thyroid issues, etc. I see a lot of misdiagnosed women who just feel like crap. They know they do [...]
How to Help Your High School Athlete Avoid Chronic Injury
In a previous article, I talked about recognizing growing pains in your young athlete. But when kids are growing and playing their sport, they could be faced with a chronic injury. So how do you tell the difference?Growing Pains vs. InjuryGrowing pains should be short in duration and not necessarily in tandem with the volume of sport your kid is playing. Your athlete could have a growth spurt during their season, and while we can’t predict growth spurts, we can anticipate them. Most kids get a little pooch or “spare tire” around the middle and then they shoot up. Feet [...]
I Work Out All the Time – Why Can’t I Lose Weight?
Six Reasons Women Struggle to Lose Weight You hit the gym or do a workout at least four times a week and still you are not seeing the results you want. Many women struggle with this exact problem. But working out does not automatically equal weight loss. There are many factors that determine weight loss, like changing hormones and lifestyle habits, such as sleep, that have a lot to do with that number on the scale going up or down. Six Reasons Women Struggle to Lose Weight There are six main reasons I see women struggle to lose weight, [...]
Don’t Ignore “Growing Pains” in Young Athletes
When my kids were little and acting strange or cranky, my husband and I would look at each other and joke, “Growth spurt.” And while it would be a cover-all when we did not have an answer for the change in behavior, we were not far off. From birth through puberty the human body goes through massive growth and changes – more than any other time in life. That rapid growth puts strain and pressure on joints, ligaments, bones and muscle to all grow and develop, and most times, they don’t all grow at the same rate. This can [...]
Do Detox Cleanses Actually Work?
Do detox cleanses work? I get this question a lot and it seems there is a new fad cleanse every week. The point of a detox is to clean out the junk in your body, but they only work if you don’t bring it back in. A detox works as a kick-start to clear toxins, but if you go back to old habits, you will go right back to where you were, or possibly be worse off. Detoxes should be the start of a new behavior and lifestyle change. There are detoxes that are limited and designed to give [...]
