LIVING LOUD LIVING LONG

You know how some fitness classes go too fast, or the movements don't fit your body? (Burpees, I'm talking to you.) 
Living Loud Living Long (L4) is partnering with Vivo starting today because they share our value of healthy fitness designed for where you are now. Fitness that fits you!
Join us. We're with you every step of the way in your journey to become your healthiest, happiest self. When you join us, you get even more than our supportive community. You can join our curated partner's communities, who share our values, who support you in your well living journey, for less. Vivo and L4 are proud to work together to bring you Vivo's virtual, live and interactive fitness program designed for people 55up delivered wherever you are via Zoom with a live trainer.​ ​

As a young girl, Sunniva was fascinated by exploring places few people have seen. Her passion for learning about nature and the farthest reaches of our world despite the challenges continues to grow and motivate her make a positive impact as a teacher, explorer, and voice for change.
Sunniva tells L4 about the physical and mental challenges faced when exploring in the Polar regions, especially the Antarctic, how she continues to explore as a 50up woman and how we can all use these lessons in our lives to be resilient.
We explore how getting outside the noise of our technology filled lives into the silence of nature can refocus and heal us.
Sunniva and Dr. Hughes discuss how being a female explorer has challenges, but how woman can help each other.
We talk about her new project in Canadian Arctic supporting the climate and collaborating with the Inuit people. We explore how together, regardless of who we are, what age we are or where we live, we can support nature through teaching, citizen science or as advocates.
"If someone gives you a hand up, put a hand down to someone else."
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About: Sunniva Sorby has multiple historic firsts as a woman explorer including team member for first all- woman group reaching the South Pole, first Canadian woman to ski to South Pole and first all-woman team to overwinter in the Arctic. Before becoming an explorer, she led and managed outdoor travel programs and taught outdoors skills. In multiple roles, she has been an advocate and teacher for women, and diversity as well as the climate. She was born in Tønsberg, Norway and raised in Montreal where she graduated from Trafalgar School for Girls and went on to pursue Economics at Champlain College & Bishops University, where she majored in Economics. Learn more about her: https://www.heartsintheice.com

The number one New Year’s resolution continues to be to lose weight. What about flipping this around and resolving instead to have a healthy body without focusing on weight?
How did weight come to be a universal focus when wanting to make a change to improve health?
Weight is easy to measure, and we’ve been told by many experts that if we don’t set a measurable goal, we can’t reach our goal. Without a number, our goal remains a fuzzy concept that quickly dissolves in the face of work and home life demands.
The focus on weight ignores several key health concepts. First, weight is relative. What really counts for our health is body mass index (BMI), which considers our weight, height and build.[1]
BMI = (divide weight in kilograms by height in meters)/height. Online conversion tools with allow you to convert metrics to pounds and feet. A normal weight is a BMI of 18.5–24.9. In some cases, serious athletes with more than average muscle mass may appear overweight using BMI. This can be checked by pinching your waist area to check for fat levels. More scientifically, you can measure waist to hip ratios by dividing waist size by hip size. For women, a waist circumference of 80 centimeters (cm) or 31.5 inches or less is considered healthy.
As we age, we lose muscle mass, which is replaced by fat and fibrous tissue.[2] Above 50 years of age we lose 15% of muscle strength each decade, which is largely due to loss of muscle mass.[3] This is partly due to hormone decrease but our behavior plays a role.
This loss is not inevitable. We can age in a healthy way by continuing to exercise to reduce muscle loss, build muscle and reduce fat increases.
How can you exercise so you age in a healthy way? Listen to our December podcast: “Episode 3 L4: Strong, Active, and Fabulous at 50up with Tina Tang, Fitness Trainer” to hear her tips and advice for 50up women.
Other ways to work in exercise even if you have a busy schedule or can’t get out of the house are to use phone apps or online videos or website, buy an under the desk exercise elliptical or desk bike or a desk walking treadmill. If you can’t access any of these, you can walk up and down stairs, walk to store, or do yardwork or work in a community garden. Always consult your physician before starting a new exercise program.
Happy, Healthy New Year, L4 friends!
 
[1] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321003
[2] https://aspenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jpen.2030
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3940510/

Usually at the holidays my worst health concern is to avoid eating too many cookies or pieces of pie. This year, we are in our second COVID affected holiday. There is an avalanche of information about how to have a safe(ish) holiday. Nearly every expert has a different opinion on what this means. I’m basing this post on questions I’ve been asked most often over the past couple of months.
Despite having, if anything, too many articles and posts on the topic, questions remain. The truth is that even scientific experts don’t have all the information they would like to make decisions. The best we can say as scientists is what is likely the case given what few facts we have right now. People who seek absolute answers will be dissatisfied with this seeming non-answer.
The fact is COVID has given us all a lump of coal in our stocking when we wanted a red and green tree shaped sugar cookie. All we want to do is spend some quality time with our loved ones, which can boost our mental health and, instead, we are faced with anxiety, frustration, and risk of illness.
One approach we can take is to meet outside. To make it fun, create a staycation ski-resort holiday family gathering with hot chocolate, mulled cider and cookies on your patio. Layer up and blast your heater if you have one. Another approach is to have a Zoom party with online games. This is perfect for connecting distant family who can’t travel. Here is a list of virtual games to make your gathering festive: https://www.bustle.com/life/zoom-games-holiday-party.
If you do want to gather in person here are few thoughts. The safest we get outside of having no human contact is being vaccinated and boosted and having a handful of family and friends who are also vaccinated and boosted and either tested or masked to our holiday event. On the opposite end of risk is not being vaccinated. We need to use what we know and take carefully considered risks based on our own situation and our loved ones situations.
Where can we get valid information to make decisions? I recommend the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
On this website you can find details about quarantining if you have been exposed or have symptoms, details about vaccines and approved treatments and a lot of other information. I understand some may not like the CDC. The next best place is to go to a large hospital website such as Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/symptoms-causes/syc-20479963 or the website of a university with a medical school, for example, Harvard Health https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/coronavirus-resource-center
Visit our website next week because you’ll find a treat waiting for you to help you with your New Year’s preparations.
I hope you and our whole L4 community have a healthy holiday!

It's that time of year when delicious food is every where. Our home smells of roasted turkey and pumpkin pie. A neighbor drops off apple muffins. What rich cinnamon goodness!
Just in time, we're launching our Healthy Bites food stories. Healthy Bites tells the story of sensory healthy food preparation, eating and nourishing your body. Healthy food can be visually enticing, aromatic, flavorful, quick, and modest cost. Many recipes are simple to prepare with limited ingredients.
What makes Healthy Bites different is our focus on how what your eating serves your body and makes it strong. Healthy Bites includes scientific research on the phytochemicals, anti-oxidants, vitamins and other important nutrients that feeds body and soul. We even include links out to the original research or medical articles so you can explore further on your own as you want.
Sure, you can find recipes in many places. What you don't get elsewhere is how that food fuels your strength.
Healthy Bites are only available to our Patrons. Articles are added throughout the year as they're  available.
To get access to Healthy Bites, sign up for our $15 per month Patron package on our PodBean Patron account- Click Here.
What better gift to give yourself and your community of 50up women?
By supporting L4, you help us bring you fabulous podcasts with inspiring women every month, our blog posts and other content as we grow and expand our mission-focused startup.