Find Your Fit | Wellness, Fitness & Nutrition

Jessica welcomes Amber Sherrard (Intern Amber) to the WE Fit Wellness Team. Lowly Intern Amber will be interning at WE Fit Wellness for the next several months, so get used to her voice on the Find Your Fit podcast (aren’t all interns lowly?). Amber is a nutritionist and yoga instructor and will be sharing her knowledge with all of us over the next several months. Amber tells us about how she is adjusting to moving to Colorado Springs to work with the WE Team. She also tells us some of the Some of the outdoor activities she has enjoyed since her arrival in Colorado.

Jessica again, took a few minutes to thank our sponsors:  Push Beverages, the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB), and the National Federation of the Blind (NFB).

John (left), Joe (center), and Brandon (right) covered in mud after the Warrior Dash race

Kevan and Jess welcome Joe Shaw as the guest for this episode of the podcast. Joe Shaw is a family man, a blind entrepreneur, a fitness activist, and is active in the civic life of Nashville.  You’ve got to learn what Joe means by “bro logic,” and “bro science.” Those were certainly new terms to Kevan! “Know what I mean, bro?”

Joe was a weightlifter, he pumped weights from time to time until he got married, but then the doctor told him that his triglyceride level was absolutely off the charts and he should’ve been dead yesterday. Joe tells us that he runs with Achilles International and has run several half marathons and marathons since he has rededicated to a healthier lifestyle. He also does Crossfit 4 to 5 days per week. Joe also shares with us his steps on his nutrition and exercise journey as he moves to better wellness, not only for him but with and for his family. Joe talks about the importance of balance and we had a great discussion of the book “Standing on One Foot” by Dr. Kenneth Jernigan. The book is a part of the kernel book series published by the National Federation of the Blind in the 1990s and early 2000s. These books read easy and are definitely worth investigating.

For Fit Chat, Jess and Amber talk about some food trends for 2017, including technology in the kitchen like the smart teapot that can adjust the amount of caffeine in your cup, crickets as a source of protein in either cricket flour or protein bars called CROBARS, and lower alcohol consumption with “mocktails.” Jessica tells us why she does 108 Sun Salutations for the New Year. She also tells us what the significance  of the number 108 in the practice of yoga. Amber takes us through a Sun Salutation to complete this episode of Find Your Fit.

Find Your Fit Episode #25 Special Guest Marc Riccobono (President of the National Federation of the Blind)

President of the National Federation of the Blind, Mark Riccobono, joins the Find Your Fit Podcast Team for the first episode of 2017

Jessica and Kevan talk about the upcoming year.

Kevan started the year with a 5k race. This was the second year he completed the Rescue Run, which raises money to support the search & rescue for El Paso County.

Jessica and Kevan talk about continuing working with Maureen “Bassmaster” Nietfeld on the Breaking Blind YouTube channel. Jessica tells about some of the recent holiday video she and Maureen did for Breaking Blind. Then Kevan mentions one of his favorite Breaking Blind videos of 2016 was when Maureen did a demo of the AIRA Visual Interpreter technology, which uses Google Glasses as the interface.

AIRA is also partnering with the NFB, so stay tuned to hear more about this amazing technology.

Kevan reminds us of one of his favorite books that he read in 2016 was Eat Move Sleep by Tom Rath.

Marc Riccobono, President of the National Federation of the Blind, joins the podcast. Marc shares some things that he and his family does to stay fit and healthy. He utilizes a standing desk, tries to get the recommended 10,000 steps per day, and takes the family to the park. He also shares the tips about how to manage travel and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Marc mentions that he just got an air hockey table in his home. Then Jessica tells us about a Paralympic sport similar to air hockey, called Showdown. Marc shares some of the initiatives and events that bring health and wellness to the forefront in the NFB and lives of blind people. One program including a healthy focus is Youth Slam, which is the tenth year of its existence. An annual event that raises funds and encourages people to get active is a 6K race called the 6 Dot Dash. Jessica mentions that WE Fit Wellness and the NFB will be conducting research at the 2017 Washington Seminar; so stay tuned to keep up to date with the information about that research. Jessica and Kevan corner President Riccobono into participating in the 5th annual 6 Dot Dash.

Jessica thanks our partners, sponsors, and contributors: Push Beverages, The Colorado Center for the Blind, The National Federation of the Blind, and AIRA Visual Interpreter.

Jessica and Kevan welcome Nijat Worley back to update us on the progress he has made in his fitness journey. Nijat has lost 30 pounds since committing to a healthier lifestyle.

For Fit Chat, Jessica talks about how to stick to New Year’s resolutions. According to the University Scranton Journal of Clinical Psychology, 48% of Americans set New Year’s resolutions with a number of them being health or diet related. They also state that 78% of people that set diet & exercise related resolutions fail at the goal. After the first week there are about 75% of people still working towards the resolution; by the sixth week, it is down to 46%. The number of gym memberships increase by 12% in January. About 80% of those that purchase new gym memberships drop off by the second week of February. Jessica then tells us some tips to choosing and sticking to a healthy resolution. Consider whether it will fit into your schedule, your budget, and your interest. Also, break the goal down into smaller, more achievable goals. Try to have a friend that also wants to commit as well. It takes 27 days to form a habit, so stick to it at least a month to be more likely to be successful at your resolution. She also tells us that there is a FREE document on the WE Fit Wellness website about Tips and Tricks to Stick to Exercise and Diet regiments.

WE end with the song “Chicken Fat” written by Meredith Wilson and performed by Robert Preston. Both were involved in Broadway and the movie “The Music Man.” The song was used widely in schools in physical education classes in the 1960’s to encourage kids to stay active.

Happy holidays to all of the Find Your Fit listeners.

Jessica and Kevan welcome all listeners, talk about some of the things we discussed in this year’s episodes, and thank all of our sponsors, partners, and supporters.

United Association of Blind Athletes (USABA),

National Federation of the Blind (NFB),

The Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB),

PUSH Beverages, and

All Find Your Fit Listeners.

Kevan reminds everyone about some of our services and products like the WE Can Culture workshops, the Cardio Drumming Kits and Program, and the Total Fit Pack.

Jessica and Kevan welcome back Mel Scott from Blind Alive & Eyes Free Fitness. Mel updates us on how 2016 went for Blind Alive and what her plans for 2017. She will be releasing a ballet bar routine and several more audio described workout routines in the upcoming year, so stay tuned to see when they are ready. You can go to the Blind Alive website to check out their products and to purchase their programs.

Matt Simpson is a US Paralympian for the US Men’s Goalball team. Team USA Men’s Goalball won a silver medal in the Paralympics this year in Rio. Matt talks a little about 2016 and some plans for Team USA in 2017. The Atlanta Falcons have invited all of the Olympians and paralympians from Georgia to be honored at their game against the San Francisco 49ers. Matt tells us about the upcoming tournaments and international tournaments they will be participating in this upcoming year and working towards the next Paralympics in Tokyo in 2020. To stay up to date on the goalball schedule, you can visit the USABA website. Matt also tells us how the progress on the housing at the Turnstone training center is coming along. To help support the men’s and women’s goalball Olympians, you can donate at their website.

Maureen Nietfeld “Bassmaster” from the Breaking Blind Youtube channel returns to Find Your Fit. Maureen is also a home management instructor at the Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB) as well as a consultant for WE Fit wellness. Maureen tells us about the progress she made in power lifting and why she had to stop lifting heavy weight. She tells us that she is meeting one of her goals in 2017 by going back to school to get her degree. She is majoring in Human Nutrition & Dietetics and will get her Registered Dietician License. Kevan asks about some of the healthier meals she has some of her students make for the holidays. Maureen tells us one of her new favorite website/apps for recipes is Yummly. Jessica asks for tips to keeping healthy and active in the new year. Maureen tells us that she utilizes a tip she learned from the newsletter “The Greatest,” which is to spend about 10 minutes every morning mapping out her day to plan what she needs to do for her health and wellness.

For Fit Chat, Kevan looks back at our USA Paralympians’ performance in the Rio Paralympics. There were over 290 athletes and won 115 medals for Team USA in Rio. Jessica talks about the benefits of cranberries for the holiday season. The “Genius” reads from the article ”The Health Benefits of Cranberry Sauce: Polyphenol may Stave off Inflammation and Cardiovascular Disease” by John Erickson. Jessica then gives the recipe for the spicy cranberry sauce that she made for Thanksgiving. Kevan Then tells us about all of the events this year involving our team’s dogs. Jessica lost her guide dog of a decade, Pippin; and both she and Kevan received new Guide dogs from Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation.

Finally, Kevan gives some resources for people that may face any depression type feelings during the holidays. There is a Crisis Text Line: text GO to 741741. Also National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Or if you want, call us at the Fit Line at 1-866-543-6808.

Jessica and Kevan start out with a guide dog placement update.

Kevan gives a blog update. Brooke has contributed a blog about Kambucha Tea.

The WE Team welcomes Lyn Harwell to Find Your fit. Lyn is one of the founders of One World Everybody Eats (OWEE), Founder & CEO of Seed’s Community Café, community activist, and amazing friend.

Lyn talks about his journey and how he ended up here in Colorado Springs fighting for healthy food for everybody. He tells what “nutritionally vacant” food is and that most of the food people in lower socio-economic backgrounds have access too is nutritionally vacant. Lyn tells what the Seed’s Community Café stands for and does in and for the community. Seed’s is a nonprofit community café, which someone can come in and either pay for their meal, pay “extra” for their meal (so someone else less fortunate can have access to nutritional food), or contribute their time and work for a healthy meal. Lyn tells about “food insecurity,” which the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Seed’s also provides nutritional cooking classes, job training, and catering. Lyn tells us ways to reduce our food waste. The EPA has the Food Recovery Challenge, which challenges people to reduce their food waste and gives tips to do so. Lyn tells that Seed’s has gotten over 40 people back into living wage jobs since they opened. If you want to help support Seed’s here are some links below.

Seed’s Website

Seed’s Facebook

Indy Give

One World Everybody Eats (OWEE) is the umbrella over Seed’s Community Café and over 70 other community cafes all across the USA. You can find a café near you at the OWEE website.

In Fit Chat, Jessica & Kevan discuss the “neti pot.” The neti pot is a tool used for nasal irrigation. Here is what WebMD says about the neti pot and nasal irrigation.

Your Job – Tell us some of your yips, tricks, or recipes to keep your fresh foods from going to waste.

We sincerely hope you will enjoy this episode, share it with others please. Jason Romero’s message is touching, uplifting, powerful, hopeful and joyous. The first visually impaired man to run across America over 3000 miles in 60 days you’ll be inspired by his for guiding principles hope patients consistency and forgiveness learn more about his message and how your organization or company can have him come visit you at www.relentlessromero.com.

Jessica and Kevan tell us what they are thankful for during this holiday season and want to know what you are thankful for. Send them an email at [email protected].

Kevan congratulates a couple buddies from Tennessee, Joe Shaw and JP Williams, for completing the New York Marathon. Jessica tells about the Rimrock Marathon she ran in.

Both Jessica and Kevan talk about their experiences so far with going through training with guide dogs.

Jessica and Kevan welcome Jason Romero, who is a blind athlete. He has run many ultra marathons an has even ran across the United States, from California to New York. Jason will be running in the US Blind Marathon Championships in December.

The team thanks our sponsors and contributors, The Colorado Center for the Blind (CCB) and PUSH Beverages. Kevan reminds about the WE Can Culture Workshops and the Total Fit Pack and Cardio Drumming Kit available at the WE Fit Wellness website.

Jessica and Kevan tell us what Find Your Fit means and what it is all about.

Kevan and Jessica discuss a technique to eat chocolate (or anything else) without going overboard.

Jessica and Kevan have a chat with Rio Paralympic silver medalist, Matt Simpson from the USA Men’s Goalball team. Matt tells us what it was like in Rio and the whole Olympic experience. He walks us through their send off from Houston, arriving in Rio, competing in the Paralympics, and the amazing people of Brazil.

Matt lets us know that housing is completed at Turnstone in Fort Wayne, Indiana for USABA USA Goalball, so if you are interested in competing at the highest level in goalball, contact USABA to apply.

Jessica reveals that both she and Kevan will be getting guide dogs later this week. For Fit Chat, Jessica talks about some of the health benefits to owning and walking a dog.

Thank you to our sponsors PUSH Beverages and The Colorado Center for the Blind.

Jessica & Kevan, of course, updates us all on his ankle injury. Jess doesn’t show much pity for him.

Kevan tells how his snacking has changed during the NFL & MLB seasons. Jessica then gives other ideas how to stay active while watching the games.

WE thank our sponsors PUSH Beverages & The Colorado Center for the Blind.

Jessica and Kevan welcome Rachel Adams.

Rachel’s Bio: Rachel Adams is a Realtor, Public Speaker, Coach, Author, and Entrepreneur.  She is 32 years old, lives in Northern California, and is the CEO of 4 different companies.   In just 3 years in the real estate industry, Rachel had hit the top 1000 agents in the country for the Wallstreet Journal.  On the outside looking in, her life was perfect.  She had the perfect car, the perfect social life, and everything looked top knotch.  You could say she had the perfect “Facebook” life.  But as we all know reality isn’t always what it seems.  And then one conversation changed everything.  Rachel decided to start leading her life with full authenticity and intention and everything changed! She now travels around the United States teaching others and coaching on her life changing book and program, “Lost to Found in 90 Days“.

Rachel & Nina are offering our listeners the First 3 chapters of their book Lost 2 Found in 90 Days for free to see what the program will be like.

Here is the link to the Lost 2 Found in 90 Days Program: www.lost2found90.com/the-program

On this segment of Fit Chat, Jessica & Kevan discuss ways to prevent injuries during exercise.

Some of the tips are: stretching, warming up, stretching, cooling down, and oh yeah, stretching.

Jessica and Kevan welcome Amber Sherrard to the podcast. Amber will also be interning at WE Fit Wellness (and Find Your Fit). She is a registered dietician and a yoga instructor. WE are happy to have Amber on the team. Could you eat the same thing for breakfast for 3 years? Check out what Amber eats! You can also hear what “The Genius” ate too. Amber then tells us the effects of caffeine after not having any caffeine for three months.

Amber tells us about the new studio where she teaches yoga. The name of the studio she teaches at is Ambassadors of Light. It operates on an “open contribution” or “donation based” model. That means that if you take a yoga class, you pay whatever you can/want whether it’s $2 or $100. If you cannot pay, then you don’t pay. This way anyone has the chance to benefit from yoga regardless of the ability to pay. There are many “open contribution” or “donation based” studios across the U.S. They are growing in popularity. Some are listed below. If one is not listed in your area, just google “open contribution yoga” or “donation based yoga” in your area.

Ambassadors of Light in Louisiana

Black Swan Yoga in Texas

Align on a Dime in several locations in Louisiana

Cambio Yoga here in Colorado Springs

Everyday People Yoga in Oregon

Yogave Yoga in Maine

And MANY MANY more.

Kevan drops the updates on the hip injury and moves on to his new ankle injury. Sorry Charlie. How do you think it happened?

Kevan reminds everybody about the Total Fit Pack available for sale at the WE Fit Wellness website.

In Fit Chat Jessica and Kevan discuss a fundraising campaign by The Foundation Fighting Blindness. The campaign is called “How Eye See It” challenge. The challenge is to pick something you cannot imagine doing without vision and do that activity while wearing sleep shades or blindfold. This gives anyone that does the challenge and those that watch the videos the impression that life is impossible or difficult for people with blindness. The reality is that instead of using the same techniques as sighted people, blind people use other techniques to accomplish almost anything their sighted peers do. The entire concept is so ridiculous. To give a sighted person a blindfold, that more than likely doesn’t even know a blind person much less has any training in blindness skills, and expect them to be able to accomplish even the simplest task. The creators of this campaign didn’t even consider how much of a negative affect this will have on blind kids developing their ideas of what they are able to do with their life. This campaign reinforces the misconception the blind people are incompetent and incapable. WE support the efforts and philosophy of the National Federation of the Blind, which is that blindness is not the characteristic that defines a blind person and that they can live independent, productive, happy and full lives. The training centers that teach blind people with this philosophy like the Colorado Center for the Blind, Louisiana Center for the Blind, and Blind Inc. do amazing work by teaching blind people the skills to excel at their goals and in life.

A Listen Not to Miss – Find Your Fit Special Paralympic Episode. From Jessica’s Monumental Pikes Peak Marathon to Rio de Janeiro with guests Mark Lucas (United States Association of Blind Athletes), Matt Simpson (USA Men’s Goalball), and Letticia Martinez (USA Women’s Swimming)

Jessica and Kevan have Mark Lucas from United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) in the studio. They start with a discussion about Jessica and Mark’s conquering of the Pikes Peak Marathon as a team.

Mark tells his thoughts about how the USA goalball teams will do in the Paralympics in Rio this year. He also breaks down some of the organizations, governing bodies, and other entities that make up all of the Olympic and Paralympic movement. Here are some of the organizations with links:

The International Olympic Committee (IOC)

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC)

The International Sports Federation (IF)

The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA)

Matt Simpson of USA Men’s Goalball also joins us to discuss his upcoming trip to the Rio Paralympics.

Letticia Martinez of USA Women’s Swimming is pumped and ready to represent the USA at the Paralympic games.

Jessica and Kevan talk about media portraying able-bodied models/actors as people with disabilities. There are numerous articles about this topic. Here is one from BBC.

Kevan has a fond memory of dancing with Paralympic Snowboarder Amy Purdy (and her hips).

NBC has released the schedule for their coverage of the 2016 Paralympics.

It’s a family affair – Find Your Fit

Jessica and Kevan discuss their recent trip to California. They tell us about their beach trips and the importance of R&R.

They also experimented with AIRA: Visual Interpreters for the Blind. This is a service in which a blind user wears a pair of Google Glasses and connects to an agent via a cell phone data plan who then tells the person what can be seen through the camera on the glasses. The uses for this technology are endless. Jessica and Kevan are expecting to be part of an initial group to demo the service soon, so stay tuned for future episodes to hear all about them.

Also on this episode, we talk about food insecurity and some organizations trying to combat it like One World Everybody Eats (OWEE). We also talk about a local member of OWEE (here in Colorado Springs) called Seeds Community Café. Seeds is what is known as a community café. A community café is based on a “pay-as-you-can”, “pay-it-forward” model. There are currently more than 60 community cafés in the U.S. Seeds serves the Best Local Food in town! Seeds sources as much food as possible locally. Their menu changes every week to accommodate their No-Waste goals by using the freshest local ingredients to deliver healthy, affordable food. They also do catering, healthy cooking classes, culinary arts training, and more. Seeds is run by an amazing man, Lynn Harwell, and he will be a future guests here on Find Your Fit. Support Seeds, or any other community café in your area. You can find a list of these cafes here.

From insecurity to nutrition education. Jessica tells us about a program in St. Croix Valley Wisconsin called Better Bites. They work with food banks and other community resources to provide meals and nutrition education to low income families. WE applaud them for all the great work they do with all of the programs they provide.

WE give shout outs to all the athletes that have been selected to represent the United States of America in the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio. We have had some of these athletes as guests on previous episodes of Find Your Fit. Letticia Martinez is a swimmer and Matt Simpson and Joseph Hamilton are Goalball players for Team USA. You can check out previous episodes at the Find Your Fit page of the WE Fit Wellness website. According to the teamusa.org website, the NBCUniversal and the USOC networks will air 66 hours of coverage of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, from Sept. 7-18, that’s an increase of 60.5 hours from the coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, while TeamUSA.org andUSParalympics.org will provide comprehensive online coverage.

Jessica and Kevan talk about the importance of getting kids into exercise, physical activity, swimming, etc. from an early age. The genius brings up a video of a baby swimming, which reminds Jessica of Infant survival swimming. Survival swimming classes teach infants from 6 to 12 months of age to calmly float on their back until help can get to them if they accidentally fall into a pool for example. Older babies, from 12 to 18 months of age, learn to alternate back and forth from swimming to floating on their back for rest to get to safety. If you have a baby, this could be a very important skill to learn, so look for infant survival swimming classes near you.

The Prodigal Son returns to talk balance between the stress of law school and good nutrition and exercise.  Welcome, Nijat Worley.