LIV

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Fat and HappyRevealing study finds black women don’t mind being overweight

Promises Made,Promises KeptHow to keep your New Year’s resolutions

Not All Sugar is SweetA diabetic shares her story

� LivingWELL • August �011

January 2012

2 LivingWELL • January 2012

WELLLIV

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Design DirectorJames F. Barnhill

EditorAndrew Losen

Jackie BergPublisher313.963.6694 Direct Line313.96�.4467 FAX

jackie.berg@michronicle.com

ContributorsRachel Garlinghouse

C.L. Price

Lanesha Townsend

L. White

The Michigan Chronicle lost a leg-endary leader in late December.

Longtime publisher Sam Logan was an inspirational leader, mentor

and friend to us all. The comforting Jewish statement that God is closest to those with broken hearts seems particularly apt as we go about our daily tasks here at the Michigan Chronicle with a heavy heart.

Though Sam Logan understood sadness, he never dwelled on it and reminded us to do the same.

Sam would want us all to not only keep living, but to live our lives well. And we plan to honor his memory by doing just that.

While we have been heartened by your condolences and many expressions of support, we are inspired by your faith that we will continue to advance the many fine traditions of the Michigan Chronicle Newspaper and continue to build upon the legacy that Sam Logan left in our capable hands.

In this month’s edition of LivingWELL we profile an inspiring mother-daughter duo who are helping to change our views on organ donation, discuss how the end of a love affair may lead to a beautiful friendship and promote the need to embrace change.

A good start for what appears to be a great year ahead.

Sam would like that. Live on, my friends, and live well.

Jackie Berg, PublisherLivingWELL

Grief and Gratitude

Real Times Media and Michigan Chronicle staff

Sam Logan and Jackie Berg

LivingWELL • August �011 3LivingWELL • January 2012 3

By Nick Chiles

In these incredibly difficult times, we can easily find our families dealing with stress-ors that perhaps we didn’t have to con-front a few years ago. Financial problems

can bring a whole lot of other troubles along with them—marriage and relationship conflicts, family tensions, divorce, abuse, addiction. But the director of the Yale Stress Center advises that we need to try to protect our children from stress as much as possible because they will become more likely to carry it into adulthood.

Dr. Rajita Sinha, director of the Yale Stress Center, did an interview with CNN in which she explained that children who experience significant adversity during childhood become more sensitized to stress and become hard-wired to react more strongly to stressful situa-tions as adults.

As parents, we certainly sense that stress can’t be good for our kids. Our instinct is usually to try to shelter them as much as possible from all the bad stuff that comes rushing into adult lives. But as they get a little older, moving into pre-adolescence and adolescence, we can start slipping a bit, telling ourselves that it’s healthy to let your kids know that the family is experiencing financial hardship, or that Mommy and Daddy are going through some relationship difficulties. After all, we shouldn’t lie to them, right?

Wrong, according to Dr. Sinha.

She says adolescence in particular is a vulnerable time for kids because that is when they are starting to isolate themselves from the family, meaning they have fewer sup-ports available to them. Sinha says we need to give children time to develop their stress systems, which will provide them with the tools to deal with adversity as they become older. But if too much adversity comes at an early age, those tools will remain stunted and not fully available to them, perhaps throughout their lives.

The good news is there are things that we as parents can do to make our children better able to handle stress in their later years. A big one is education. Children who are intellectually challenged in a safe environment like school and who are encouraged

by teachers to think abstractly will become better able to negotiate the bricks and mor-tars that will fly their way later on. Having friends and other supportive family members around can also be enormously helpful, according to Sinha. Giving them other tools to help them control their emotions, such as yoga and an orientation to look optimistically at the world, can also be extremely beneficial. And here’s a good one for rough and tumble dads like me: Safe, playful roughhousing can also give your kids the ability to deal with problems.

And the last piece of advice is surely one that I know would make my own children groan: Getting enough sleep every night is a big must.

Editor’s NotE: Author Nick Chiles, a regular contributor to mybrown-baby.com and a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, is the author of seven books, including the New York Times bestselling tome The Blueprint: A Plan for Living Above Life’s Storms, co-written with gospel legend Kirk Franklin.

THE BLOG LOGWe Have to Protect Our Children from Stress

4 LivingWELL • August �0114 LivingWELL • January 2012

Healthy Living News

While obese women are less satisfied with the weight-related quality of their lives than other women, black women claim to have a higher quality of life than white women of the same weight, says a new study. In addition, the study shows that black women are more concerned about the physical limitations than the psychological concerns of being

overweight or obese.

The study by researchers at the University of Alabama was just published in Applied Research in Quality of Life.

Studies show that being obese not only increases the risk of disease, disability and premature death, it also impacts quality of life. In the U.S., approximately 80 percent of black women over the age of 20

are overweight or obese. That is, they have a Body Mass Index (BMI) equal to or greater than 25. BMI is an average of weight and height. A person with a BMI greater than 25 is overweight. A

BMI greater than 30 means they are obese.

The University of Alabama researchers examined the link between BMI and weight-related quality of life in black and white obese women using data collected

between 2000 and 2010. The women answered a quality of life questionnaire covering five areas: physical function, self-esteem, sexual life, public distress and work.

The study revealed that as their body mass index’s rose, the women’s quality of life measurements fell. How-ever, there were notable dif-ferences in weight-related quality of life between black and white women. With

similar BMIs, black women reported higher quality of life measurements than the white women, with self-esteem being particularly high.

The study authors think that the relationship between weight and quality of life in black women may be related to body image and social norms. Because black women are more accepting of larger body sizes, they reported that their quality of life was not as adversely affected by being overweight.

Study researcher Dr. Tiffany Cox explained that there is a serious downside of not being concerned about being overweight.

“While the highest quality of life is desirable as an indicator of over-all well-being, black women’s perception of experiencing a high quality of life despite having a high BMI may also dampen motivation for at-tempting weight loss,” she said.

Dr. Cox thinks additional research is needed to further understand the rela-tionship between weight and quality of life in black women and how those

attitudes might adversely affect physical health.

Fat and Happy:Black women don’t mind being overweight, says study

“While the highest quality of life is desirable as an indicator of overall well-being, black women’s percep-tion of experiencing a high quality of life despite having a high BMI may also dampen motivation for attempting weight loss.”

LivingWELL • August �011 �LivingWELL • January 2012 5

By Lanesha Townsend

Love. Most of us remember, or are at this very moment, feeling the raptures of new love. But what about the other side? Many of us who’ve experienced the joys of love have also experienced the unfortunate fact that love doesn’t always last.

Even if you were raised on a rich diet of fairy tales, you know that “’til death do us part” and “forever” can actually be pretty rare things. Even staying with someone forever is no guarantee of experiencing lasting love.

The ending of love leaves us sad. Depressed. Angry. Confused. Swearing that we’ll never fall in love again. And wondering many things, such as why do people really fall out of love? Is there anything we can do to make love stay? Do some of us give up too easily?

Here are what relationship experts have to say about some of the common reasons people fall out of love:

Emotional Distance. A sudden need to distance yourself can topple a good thing if you let it. Ken Page, psychotherapist and author of the Finding Love blog for Psychology Today and founder of the Deeper Dating website, has identified a phenomenon that can destroy new love: Sometimes we unconsciously push a caring and available person away by inwardly diminishing his or her worth.

“When someone is available and decent,” Page explains, “something inside us knows that this person can get to our nest, our soul — the place where we care the most and can be hurt the most. And our unconscious gets panicked.”

If you find yourself breaking up with someone awesome for no good reason, check yourself; you might be acting out out of fear.

Lack of Effective Communication. Unwillingness to discuss relationship problems can kill a relationship. Once people start a great new relationships, many forget to communicate with their partner regularly. Guy Winch, Ph.D., author of The Squeaky Wheel: Complaining the Right Way to Get Results, Improve Your Relationships and Enhance Self-Esteem, says that people fall out of love because they don’t talk through their relationship peeves with each other.

“Research shows that couples who are able to voice complaints well and discuss them productively have greater marital satisfac-tion and much lower divorce rates than couples who are unable to do so,” says Winch.

If you’re in a newer relationship, iron out the kinks early on to keep love alive over the long haul. “It is much easier to address issues earlier in a relationship than later, just as it is much harder to mold cement once it has dried and hardened,” Winch adds.

The key word here, however, is “productively.” It usually doesn’t help to fight and blame your partner for all of the relationship’s problems. Couples fall out of love when they can’t find a way to make the partnership good for both people involved. Creativity and open minds are the stuff of lasting love.

Couples Grow Apart (or think they have). People change or get bored with each other. April Masini, the relationship expert behind AskApril.com and author of Romantic Date Ideas, says:

Why Do People Fall Out of Love?

“Over time, people can change — or more often, they become who they really are. Someone who loved his steady busi-ness career may suddenly realize he always wanted to be a stand-up comedian and throw caution to the wind to chase his dreams.”

People evolve; circumstances change — and sometimes, relationships can’t be sustained as aa result. But if you really know your partner down to the core, the changes won’t be as shocking.

“The kind of change that leads to love lost is always about a buried desire to be someone that’s repressed inside,” contin-ues Masini. “It’s important to really know your partner to avoid this lost-love syn-drome.”

In other words, don’t neglect someone you care about. You cannot get to know a person thoroughly right away — rather, it’s a lifelong journey. If you find yourself pe-rusing faraway rental homes and thinking, “He’s changed!” or “I’m just so bored with her,” think about holding on and digging a little deeper first. This can be the begin-ning phase of an entirely new level of in-timacy, if each person decides to learn to grow and try to give that partner what he or she needs most.

Love Does Change. Then again, love doesn’t necessarily have to last decades (or a lifetime) to matter. Romantic rela-tionships can also evolve into dear friend-ships — and that’s perfectly fine. Dr. Lissa Coffey, author of the book, Closure and the Law of Relationship: Endings as New Beginnings, agrees.

“We may come together for a certain period of time to help each other learn and grow, and when that has been accom-plished, we’ve gotten everything we were meant to get out of the relationship. Then it changes,” Coffey explains. “It doesn’t have to end; it’s just redefined.”

EDitor’s notE: Lanesha Townsend is a regular contributor to blackdoctor.org, a leading source for culturally relevant healthcare information. Blackdoctor.org is an editorial partner of LivingWELL Maga-zine.

6 LivingWELL • August �0116 LivingWELL • January 2012

By L. White

Gloria McKee and her daughter, Kisha McKee, have more in common than your average mother and daughter pair. In addition to both being highly motivated, hard working members of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority,

Inc., both women are currently on hemodialysis. Although this shared expe-rience does not relieve the challenges of dialysis, Kisha and Gloria can certainly relate as they both wait for a kidney transplant.

In 2005, Gloria started dialysis treatments and was fortunate enough to receive a kidney transplant in 2009, which unfortunately failed within a year. Not long after, in the summer of 2011, symptom-free Kisha suddenly needed dialysis when she found out her kidneys were hardly functioning and near complete

failure.

Although both Kisha and Gloria are able to live happy lives while on dialysis, they agree that it can be limiting.

“I go to dialysis three times a week,” Gloria explains. “I used to be an active person—I’m still active, but I haven’t been able to work again because of the time that dialysis occupies.”

Kisha’s situation is similar.

“I had to give up coaching basketball, which I really love,” says Kisha. At one point, Kisha was teaching, coaching basketball, and leading a church group in her spare time. “The minimal amount of time for nocturnal hemodialysis is 6 hours. It’s a huge commitment,” she says.

A transplant would allow the McKees to live happier, less restricted lives.

“Having a transplant would give me back part of my life,” says Gloria.

Kisha adds, “A kidney transplant would allow me to get back to the things that I can’t do now.”

Through their dedication to educating the community about organ transplantation and donation and their involve-ment with Delta Sigma Theta, the McKees have become part of a program offered by the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan (NKFM) and Gift of Life Michigan’s Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Education Program (MOTTEP) called Take the Pledge to Save Lives. Take the Pledge is an innovative program focusing on members of Black Greek Letter Organizations, which strives to increase the number of people who sign up for the Michigan Organ Donor Registry. The program is offered to members of participating African American sororities and fraternities and provides training to help members discuss chronic disease prevention and organ donation with peers. Take the Pledge is funded by a grant from the US DHHS, HRSA, Division of Transplantation.

“I talk to people all the time about being a donor,” explains Gloria. “I answer all of their questions and tell them that it’s their choice.” She contin-ues by saying, “I can certainly share with them what it means to be an organ donor, but words cannot fully express the meaning of giving life.”

Nearly 3,000 people are currently waiting in Michigan for all types of organs. Kisha and Gloria McKee are 2 of nearly 2,400 people in Michi-gan waiting for a life-saving kidney transplant, and may wait for as long as 5 to 7 years. Each organ donor can save up to 8 lives, and each tissue donor can improve the lives of up to 50 people.

For more information on Take the Pledge, call the NKFM at 800-482-1455. You can sign up for the Michigan Organ Donor Registry by visiting www.nkfm.org and clicking on “Michigan Organ Donor Registry” on the main page.

Kisha McKee, Gloria McKee, and Ashara McKee-Williams.

Dialysis Duo

Mother-Daughter hemodialysis patients advocate for organ donation

LivingWELL • August �011 7LivingWELL • January 2012 7

By C.L. Price

We make commitments to ourselves. Sometimes, we event share our goals with friends. But while we really want to fit into our skinny jeans laying in the back of the closet, smoke our last cigarette and quit our last exercise class, can our New Year’s resolve

last beyond the MLK holiday?

Sadly, for the majority of us, that answer is “no.”

New Year’s resolutions generally have less than a 30 day shelf life, according Kristen Neff, a leading researcher at the Univer-sity of Texas who has studied the topic.

“Too many of us set a goal and then set ourselves up for failure by engaging in self-defeating and self-destruc-tive behavior that makes it impossible to achieve success,” says the researcher. “And the more we beat ourselves up for not being able to do something, the more we think that it’s not worth doing.”

And that’s the beginning of the self defeating cycle far too many of us engage in the new year.

“Self-criticism is like a broken record,” says Neff. “It just keeps repeating itself. Skip your morning run and you begin to tell yourself that you’ve failed, reminding yourself that you’ve failed before and you are likely to fail again.”

This kind of punishment is self-defeating says Neff.

By framing your resolution in a different light, you can accomplish your goals. Think of a resolution like a dessert you deserve, recommends Neff.

If you think of yoga or jogging as a way to relieve anxiety and depression, you’ll feel better doing it. It’s not a punishment. It’s a reward.

If you think of forgoing a cigarette as a way to save money for your vacation, you’re more likely to resist the urge to smoke.

Our worst behaviors are often habitual, according to Neff. If you’ve made a habit of snack-ing in front of the TV, the act of watching TV automatically triggers the urge to eat, regardless of hunger.

In order to change the habit, you have to change the environment, she notes. So if you always snack in front of the television, you might consider reading a book after dinner rather than catching a show as a way to relax. If you smoke on the way to work, you might consider a form of transportation that prohibits smoking.

Changes must be incremental in order to be self-sustaining, cautions Neff.

“And when you do make changes, it’s important that you reward your behavior,” she concludes.

How to keep your New Year’s resolutions

Promises Made, Promises Kept

Continued on Page 11

� LivingWELL • August �0118 LivingWELL • January 2012

Not All Sugar is Sweet

By Rachel Garlinghouse

I was diagnosed with type I diabetes at age 24, and I often say that on that day, my whole family got diabetes.

As I learned to test my blood sugar, work an insulin pump, a device that is attached to my body provides me with insulin 24/7, count carbohy-

drate grams in food, and read nutrition labels, I also was evolving into a new person, one who took nutrition, exercise and healthy living seriously.

Before my diagnosis, I was thin and ate whatever I wanted when I wanted. (Yep, I was one of those girls that many love to hate who can eat whatever and not gain an ounce). I did exercise a few times a week, but I hardly put forth any sort of grand effort. My diagnosis not only led me to adopting two babies, both of whom happen to be brown, but it whipped off my rose colored glasses, forcing me to see the dangers that lurk in mindless choices.

Diabetes is a serious, life-altering disease for which there is no cure. Type I diabetes is sometimes called insulin-dependent diabetes, meaning, without injecting or pumping in insulin, I will die. Type 2 diabetes, the kind that is most prevalent in our society, is when a person is resistant to his or her own insulin or doesn’t produce enough insulin. While it can be hereditary, people who have poor diets, lack of adequate exercise and are overweight or obese put themselves at high risk for type 2 diabetes.

Diabetes comes with a slew of horrific potential side effects: kidney failure, amputations, blindness and other eye issues, numbness in the feet, dental issues, complicated pregnancies (miscarriage, birth defects, damage to the mother, etc.) and many more.

Trust me on this one true thing: diabetes is a full time job. A typical day for me includes testing my blood sugar eight to 10 times, exercising for thirty minutes, calculating the grams of carbohydrate in every meal and snack I consume, adjusting the rates of insulin programmed in my insulin pump, changing my pump set every three days, calling doctors’ offices and my in-surance company, paying medical bills and preparing healthy meals. I can easily have high blood sugar, which mimics the symptoms of a very bad case of the stomach flu, or I can have low blood sugar, which means I sweat, my heart races and I shake. Every single thing I do is affected by my disease.

The CDC states that 50% of Hispanic and African American kids born after the year 2000 will get type 2 diabetes in their lifetime. So when my husband and I adopted brown babies, their health was one of my most im-mediate concerns. Dealing with my disease every day is stressful, time-con-suming, expensive and daunting. Why would I do anything to push my child toward such a tough life? I once heard a talk show host say, “If your child is running toward something very dangerous, like an open fire, for example, what would you do? The answer is obvious you would step in and grab them before they got burned. Diabetes is that open fire, and you, the parent, can do something before it’s too late.”

LivingWELL • August �011 9LivingWELL • January 2012 9

1. Clean up your act. You cannot fill your home with junk foods and electronic entertainment (which you yourself enjoy) and then grow frustrated when your kids won’t head outdoors to play or insist on cheesy chips and chicken nug-gets for dinner. It starts with the parents, those who make the money and choose what to bring into the household.

2. Learn to read nutrition and ingredients labels and then teach your kids. Once you know what is in the foods you often buy, you can make informed choices as to

whether or not you will continue to purchase that food. The healthiest foods don’t come in packages, by the way.

3. Bargain shop. Healthy foods can be expensive, but you can do several things to help ease the cost. First, cut out something unhealthy that promotes a sedentary lifestyle, like an expensive cable TV package, and use the money to buy better foods instead. Second, start clipping coupons and printing them off the internet, and join sites like Penny Pinching Diva, Coupon Sista and Southern Savers, which do a great job of showing you how and where to find the bargains and discounts. Third, when you shop, write down how much a food item is per ounce (it’s usually on the price sticker), and then compare it to other stores. Shop where foods are the least expensive.

4. Make family activities active. Go for a walk, grow a garden with your kids, rake leaves, have a dance party in the kitchen. If you want to incorporate education into your activities, visit a Farmer’s Market and ask the sell-ers about their products, for example. Take your kids to places that are entertaining and require activity: a walk around a local zoo or a trip to the local park.

practical tips for keeping your kids out of the diabetes danger zone

5. Buy gifts that encourage movement. Bicy-cles, a backyard playground set, a small wading pool, hula hoops, jump ropes, a Sit-N-Spin, bas-ketball goals -- the possibilities are endless! For parents, purchase bike trailers or jogging strollers so you can incorporate your little ones into your fitness routines. Many of these items can be found on bargain websites, at yard sales or even free from families who have outgrown certain equip-ment.

6. Cook with your kids. Following a recipe can teach children all sorts of skills. Young children can learn about colors, textures, and following simple instructions. Older children will enjoy using the mixer, reading the recipe, measuring ingredients and adding in spices. Put on your favorite music and enjoy bonding and creating as a family.

7. Read about good health. I found several board books on fruits and veggies for my infant, and my toddler enjoys books about how food grows in a garden. Kids will love the Cat In the Hat book, “Oh the Things You Can Do That Are Good for You!: All About Staying Healthy,” a fun read that teaches good health habits. Reading is a way to bond with your children, teach them how to recognize letters and words, explore imagination and learn about subjects that are important to your family.

8. Limit electronic entertainment. My toddler loves to watch Thomas the Tank Engine, and I, like many busy parents, can get a few tasks ac-complished while she watches an episode. How-ever, I limit her to one television show a day, with the exception of Friday nights, when we watch a movie as a family. I have found that the more tele-vision she watches, the crankier and more disobe-dient she becomes. Kids were born to be active! If you have older children, sit down with them and negotiate a fair time limit on electronic entertain-ment time.

9. Make positive changes. When my church needed a snack coordinator for Bible School, I vol-unteered. I purchased healthier alternatives than what had been served in the past: homemade trail mix and cheese and crackers, for example. I served water instead of juice (which saved money and hydrated the kids). The kids loved the options and often asked for seconds and thirds. If you find a place, whether it be at one of your children’s sporting events, at your place of worship, or at your child’s school, where parents can volunteer, do so and promote healthy lifestyle choices.

10. Lead by example. As parents, we are the most powerful role models in our children’s lives. When they see us eating veggies or enjoying a walk, they are watching and learning.

Editor’s NotE: Rachel Garlinghouse is a regular contributor to mybrownbaby.com and the proud mother of two brown babies. She is a free-lance writer and college writing teacher.

THE BLOG LOG

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10 LivingWELL • August �01110 LivingWELL • January 2012

Healthy Living News

The finding that HIV treatment with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) can actually prevent transmission of the virus from an infected person to his or her un-infected partner has been named “Breakthrough of the Year” for 2011 by the journal Science.

The eye-opening HIV clinical study, known as HPTN 052, demonstrated that early initiation of ARV therapy in people infected with HIV reduces transmission of the virus to their partners by 96 per-cent. The findings end a longstanding debate over whether ARV treatment of HIV-infected individuals can provide a double benefit by treating the virus in in-dividual patients while at the same time cutting transmission rates, according to the journal. It’s now clear that ARV treat-ment can also reduce HIV transmission.

The results were called “astound-ing” by Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. HIV researcher. Others have called them a

“game changer” because of the near 100 percent efficacy of the intervention.

The editors at Science, the flagship publication of the Amer-ican Academy for the Advance-ment of Science, said in their announcement that in combina-tion with other promising clini-cal trials, the results have galva-nized efforts to end the world’s AIDS epidemic in a way that would been inconceivable even a year ago.

The HPTN 052 study is proof of a concept more than 20 years in the making.

“From the time the first AIDS drugs were developed in the mid-1990s, researchers have been working on the idea that antiretrovirals might make people less contagious,” said Dr. Myron Cohen, who led the study.

Cohen and his research team thought it was time to try and prove it. Eventually nearly 2000 couples at 13 sites in nine coun-tries joined HPTN 052.

In May of this year, four years before the study’s sched-uled completion, an outside monitoring board requested that the results be released immedi-ately because they were so over-whelmingly positive.

“Prevention of HIV-1 In-fection with Early Antiretrovi-ral Therapy” was published in August of 2011 in the New Eng-land Journal of Medicine.

Jon Cohen, a writer for Science, said in an article about the breakthrough, “HPTN 052 has made imaginations race about the what-ifs like never before, spotlighting the scientifically probable rather than the possible.”

Since their release, the study results have been reverberating throughout the policy community. U.S. and interna-tional organizations such as the World Health Organization, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, have incorporated or soon will in-corporate “treatment as prevention”–the strategy proved by HPTN 052–into their policy guidelines for battling the AIDS epidemic.

“While I am obviously thrilled to have this research recognized as the Science break-through of the year,” Dr. Cohen said, “witnessing the translation of this scientific discovery on a global scale truly is the best reward.”

The HPTN 052 study was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The complete list of top 10 scientific breakthroughs of the year are published online at news.sciencemag.org.

HIV “Treatment as Prevention” study science Breakthrough of the Year

“From the time the first AIDS drugs were developed in the mid-1990s, researchers have been working on the idea that antiretrovirals might make people less contagious.”

LivingWELL • August �011 11LivingWELL • January 2012 11

best diet app – period.

2. Nike training Club – Free (available on Apple devices) No need to pay big bucks for a personal trainer thanks to this free app. Inspired by world-class athletes and developed by Nike professional trainers, it offers more than 60 custom-built workouts.

3. Fooducate – Free (available on Apple and Android de-vices) This app won the Appstore 2011 best of the iPhone Health & Fitness category. It lets you scan and choose healthy groceries, see product highlights, compare products and select healthier alternatives.

4. iMapMyrUN – Free (available on Apple and Android devices.) The app description says it’s simple to use for all ages and ability levels, so no need to be a marathon runner! This app lets you track and log runs and workouts. Voice prompts give you updates on your progress during your workout.

5. Weight Watchers Mobile – Free (available on Apple and Android devices) If you’re already using Weight Watchers or plan to in the future, this app provides the convenience of con-necting to Weight Watchers wherever you go. Subscribers to Weight Watchers Online and eTools get access to the full suite of weight-loss tools included with their subscription. It’s also fully compatible with the PointsPlus program.

New mobile apps make it easier to keep your resolutions

There’s An App for That

Let us know how you use these and other health and fitness apps at: www.aHealthierMichigan.org LivingWELL Magazine will select blog posts for future updates in our publication.

6. Fitness Buddy – $0.99 (available on Apple devices) This app boasts more than 1,000 unique exercises. It aims to help you find the workout tracking process simple and easy so you can sus-tain motivation and enforce your commitment to your fitness goals.

7. Couch-to-5K – $1.99 (available on Apple and Android devices) This app has helped thousands of new runners get off the couch and train for a 5K. It requires only 20 – 30 minutes, three times a week, for nine weeks. Then you’ll be prepped to run 3.1 miles. The developers say the C25K training program is perfect for begin-ner runners or anyone looking to get or stay in shape.

8. Lose it! – Free (available on Apple and Android devices) This app lets you set goals and establish a daily calorie budget that enables you to meet those goals. You can record your food and exercise and stay within a set budget. The average active Lose it! user has lost more than 12 pounds, and more than 85 percent of active users have lost weight.

9. daily Ab Workout – $0.99 (available on Apple and Android devices) If you want to focus on achieving killer abs, this app focuses on strengthening and toning your tummy in just five or 10 minutes a day. It takes you through 30 ab-sculpting exercises you can do in your home.

10. Pocket Yoga – $2.99 (available on Apple and Android devices) This app gives you a personal yoga instructor. You can keep up with your yoga practice at your own pace and in the comfort of your home.

As an added bonus to the above apps, there’s a new device called MotoACtV that is a GPS fitness tracker and smart music player combined into a small, wearable device that will help you get and stay fit. It’s like having a personal trainer and DJ with you while you run, bike or walk.

And, if you’re the type of person who prefers to do your cardio outdoors, Michigan has plenty of beautiful parks and trails where you can use your fitness apps and devices during the winter.

Editor’s NotE: Michelle Gilbert is part of the Verizon Wireless Mid-west PR team and han-dles PR for the company in Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky. Connect with her on Twitter – @VZW-michelle.

It’s that time of year again. Time to delete the New Year’s resolutions we have no hope of fulfilling and revisit the ones we still hope to achieve. For

many LivingWELL readers, losing weight is at the top of the list.

Despite our resolve, the odds are against us according to studies that show that among the 70 percent of Ameri-cans who vow to lose weight this calendar year, only six percent of us will actually do it.

The newest smartphone apps can help you tip the odds in your favor, giving you new tools to keep your weight loss and fitness goals, according to Verizon Wire-less communications specialist Michelle Gilbert who blogged about her top 10 apps:

1. Calorie Counter & diet tracker by MyFitness Pal – Free (available on Apple and Android devices) With the largest food database of any calorie counter (more than 1.1 million foods), this app promises amazingly fast food and exercise entry that will help you shed the pounds. Developers even make the claim that it’s the

Photo credit Ricky Romero

1� LivingWELL • August �01112 LivingWELL • January 2012

bcbsm.com

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan is a nonprofi t corporation and independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

Leading Michigan to a healthier future.SM

When you carry a card from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, you get incredible value. Value that comes from having access to high-quality care, the largest network in Michigan and your choice of countless plans that give you the fl exibility to get exactly the right coverage for you and your family. So you can always feel confi dent that you’ll get excellent care wherever, whenever you need it.

More people carry it. More doctors and hospitals accept it. It’s one amazing little card.

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