Below is an article from Dr. Deidre Faust with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that I was honored to contribute to regarding 7 Fierce Mother’s Day Fitness Tips. Enjoy and Happy  Mother’s Day!

Getting into Shape Helps Your Family

By Dr. Deidre Faust

When it comes to maintaining a healthy body weight, relationships matter. So concluded a recent Harvard Medical School study, which found that an individual with overweight friends and family is much more likely to be overweight.

The finding makes sense: If I watch my older brother gobble down three Big Macs and park himself in front of the television, that becomes acceptable social behavior in my mind.

That’s why I have been very lucky, in the past year, to have a fantastic example in maintaining my own health and fitness. If your social network strongly influences decisions related to your health, then all any of us need to do is surround ourselves with healthy eating exercise junkies such as my mother, physician Kayt Havens. In June, I was gorging on sugars, starches and salt and leading a relatively sedentary lifestyle. Visiting home, I saw some amazing changes that Mom had created in her life – exercising regularly and intensely and eating lean protein and vegetables – and decided that her success was enough to push me toward better health.

Following her lead, I lost 40 pounds over six months. Even better, I can sense the changes that my new lifestyle is having on my own social network. I recruit exercise buddies at work and make sure my fiancée, Alice, and I don’t bring home too many cookies from the grocery store. If you’re on the tipping point of making changes in your life, think about this: The decisions you make about your health are already influencing the people you love the most. Shouldn’t they be the best ones you can make?

This above introduction was written by my son Lucas Havens. Can you imagine a better Mother’s Day present? Loving and taking care of ourselves changes the people around us.

But that’s not the whole story. Two years ago I was a postmenopausal, stressed 30-pound overweight mother. I needed help and support to make real changes in my life physically, mentally and spiritually. I wasn’t after a quick fix. I wanted transformation that changed the way I nourished and moved my body. Was it possible to look forward to exercise and love beautiful colorful food?

Then I met BJ Gaddour, co-creator and founding director of Workoutmuse.com. First, we were off to the grocery store exploring the perimeter, finding fresh vegetables and fruits. No more middle aisles for me, filled with products loaded with trans fats. We eliminated all sugars. The first three days were brutal. Then I began to notice changes. Within a week my joints didn’t hurt as much. It turns out sugar causes inflammation in our bodies – inflammation is connected with heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases. Removing most sugars remains the best gift I gave to myself for improving my mood and sense of self.

So first, eat yourself well. The right foods are medicinal and healing.

Then we started boot camp. I felt muscles in my body that I was sure had never been there before. I sweated, showed up and slimmed down. But not by myself.

Gaddour’s tips are simple but not easy. My son and I both had help and input from experts, and now you do, too. Have a great Mother’s Day!

Note: If you want to give it a try, there is a free Mother’s Day Bootcamp Workout at 9 a.m. Sunday at Get Sexy Bootcamps, 2612 S. Greeley St., Milwaukee. Space is limited. Go to http://getsexybootcamps.com to register, or call (414) 455-4332.

HEALTH TIPS

BJ Gaddour offers his tips for moms, moms-to-be and all of us children of mothers:

• Two or three key supplements: Take a daily whole foods multivitamin made specifically for women and a fish oil or EFA (essential fatty acid) supplement to cover your nutritional bases and to improve health, performance and body composition. Every other supplement is either unnecessary or simply a convenience item that can be replaced with a whole food alternative. Small addendum from Havens: Don’t forget your vitamin D3 as well.

• Perform three total-body metabolic workouts per week: A metabolic workout consists of a circuit of non-competing exercises for the upper body, lower body and core that work every muscle in the body and elevates metabolism for up to 48 hours post-workout. It combines strength training with cardiovascular exercise. For example, alternate between 50 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest for each exercise in the following five-exercise circuit: squats, push-ups, lunges, rows and hip extensions. Perform up to four total rounds for a 20-minute workout you can do anywhere.

• Think fiber when it comes to carbs: Focus on consuming nutrient-dense, high-fiber carbs such as fruits and vegetables every two to four hours. If you must have the other carbs, have them within one to two hours of intensive exercise when your body best tolerates starches and sugars without unwanted fat gain.

• Burn stubborn fat with cardio interval training: Intervals provide greater fat loss and fitness improvements in less time than traditional aerobic exercise. More specifically, high-intensity interval training causes a large release of catecholamines (adrenaline and noradrenalin), which mobilizes stubborn fat deposits. For example, alternate between 60 seconds of maximum effort and 120 seconds of active recovery. Perform seven total rounds for a 21-minute workout, not including a five-minute warm-up and cool-down.

• Go green to be lean: Consume an unlimited amount of green veggies such as broccoli, green beans, spinach, dark, leafy lettuce and peppers. Green veggies do not count as carbs or calories in my book and are loaded with vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and phytochemicals. They also help curb hunger and keep you full between meals. But avoid corn, peas, carrots, beets and potatoes because they negatively impact your blood sugar and have little nutritional value when compared with the greener alternatives.

• Roll out for longevity: A foam roller is a self-massage tool that will help improve your tissue quality, thus reducing unwanted aches and pain. Most joint pain is a result of scarring and adhesions in the muscles above and below the joint in question. Spend 30 to 60 seconds rolling out sore and tender muscle groups both pre- and post-workout to reduce soreness and accelerate recovery from workouts and daily stress.

• Find strength in numbers: Study after study supports that when it comes to achieving lasting weight loss and fully adopting an active lifestyle, social support and accountability remain the X-factor.

Kayt Havens is an internal medicine physician who is an associate professor of internal medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin and director of women’s health at the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Send your questions by e-mail to kaythavens@gmail.com.