Michelle answers:

1. In your own words, what did you learn about cardiovascular exercise? (Write at least 5 sentences.)

A) Cardiovascular exercise is all kinds of exercises that make you use (any kind of excercise) (makes) use all of your big muscles. It also makes your lungs and heart stronger and healthier. A lot of people like it because you can loose lots of weight and it also has a lot of health benefits. (lose)

(The question says 5 sentences – you have only 3).

2. 2. What are two basic nutrition concepts that you learned in this course? Please describe them in detail.

A) Two basic nutrition concepts that I learned in this course would be that fats are in all kinds of food. If you were to eat a lot of fatty foods then it can cause lots of damage to your body. (EXPLAIN WHY IT IS DAMAGING) Sometimes fat could be good and bad. (EXPLAIN WHY IT CAN BE GOOD) (fats can)
(New paragraph for protein).
Protein is very important for your body. (EXPLAIN WHY IT IS IMPORTANT) There are lots of food that have protein in them like meat, fish and eggs, but it’s also not good to eat a lot of it period here . (Leave out the but and start the new sentence with It’s not a good idea to eat a lot of it – – –
because leads to excessive acid production.
(it)

3. Why is it important to properly warm-up before exercising and cool down after exercising? (Write at least 4 sentences.)

A) Its really important to properly warm-up before exercising, and cool down after exercising because if you don’t you can get serious injuries,
period here . Start a new sentence with – You can prevent bone and joint disease, as you get older, by warming up and cooling down before and after each exercise session. (something like that.)

you can also prevent bone and joint diseases when you get older.
You can also become more flexible by doing stretching all the time.

(You will have only 3 sentences, they want 4)

4. How can strength training improve your physical level of fitness?

A) Strength training can improve your physical level of fitness by increasing your muscle mass and will help your body better achieve the same exercise the next time you do it. When you increase resistance with heavier weights, this stimulates the body to build more myofibrils. In this way you work with your body’s natural healing ability to achieve greater muscle mass and strength.

(check the spelling of myofibrils)

5. In general, why do you think it is beneficial for a person to be physically fit?

A) It is beneficial for a person to be physically fit because it helps your body inside and out. (EXPLAIN WHY)
It’s just a really good way to keep healthy.

6. Did you find it interesting to learn about sports injuries and first aid? What was the most practical thing that you learned about them?

A) I really didn’t care for the sports injury and first aid. I learned that no matter what sport you partake in you should always have some kind of protection on. ( ,such as – – – -)

7. Did you learn enough about stretching and flexibility to incorporate that into your own personal exercise regimen? If not, what more could you have learned that would be helpful?

A) Yes I thought I learned a lot from the stretching and flexibility to incorporate that into your own personal exercise regimen. I really am
(my) (sessions) (changes the wording)
going to use many of the stretching techniques.

8. How can cardiovascular exercise improve your health?

A) Cardiovascular exercise improves your health by increasing your energy, help you live longer, and reduce the risk of some
(helps) (reduces)
cancers.
(What about stamina, lung capacity and making your heart stronger?)

9. Do you understand the importance of cardiovascular health to a person’s overall health and functional abilities? Do you think most people in your community also understand the importance of having a healthy cardiovascular system? What cardiovascular exercises do you see people in your community performing in order to stay healthy?

A) Yes I really do understand the importance of cardiovascular health to a person’s overall health and functional abilities, but I don’t think that people in my community also understand the importance of having a healthy cardiov

Michelle answers:

Haha, I just read and atricle today saying now artificial sweeteners (diet colas, diet drinks, etc) are being linked to preterm births, so apparently those are on the no-no list now too. 🙂

Basically – drink plenty of water, and everything else in moderation. Don’t assume you “can’t” ever have things that are on the bad list. That would be like saying you can’t ever eat ice cream, or chips, or birthday cake. It’s commendable to commit to healthy eating – but indulging is part of enjoying life, as long as it’s well-balanced with good nutrition.

Natural sugars are not necessarily better. But they’re also not necessarily bad. An all-natural fruit juice will have lots of vitamins – but it’s not as good as fruit, which also has the same vitamins plus fiber, for a similar calorie content. But compared to something that’s a 10% juice “drink”, it’s not going to give you the same nutritional benefits… Although sugar/calorie content will usually be very similar. Sugar is not evil! But OVER-indulging in it is what’s bad for you.

I’m with you, I’m not good at just plain water. But, once I get to 48 oz a day, I let myself drink whatever else I want for the rest of the day. By the time I’m already well-hydrated, I can’t go too overboard on anything – my bladder won’t let me, LOL! But if I want a soda, I let myself. Or juice – I usually hate OJ but I drank a TON of it early on in my pregnancy. Fortunately, I do actually LIKE milk, so I tend to choose that quite often.

Honestly… Water REALLY is best. By far. Many herbal teas are also safe and a lot are caffeine-free (though I don’t care for tea, personally). Just do your best on your water, and don’t beat yourself up about your poorer choices. 🙂 You deserve a few indulgences, especially while you’re pregnant!!

Michelle answers:

Vitamin supplements are probably not the best thing in most cases. You don’t know what is already in the food and you can create an imbalance. For example, too much calcium is a bad idea.

The best thing you can do is feed a high quality dog food, and supplement with quality proteins and foods that provide Omega 3s. The supplements should not be more than 20% of the diet.

Dog foods all tend to be high in Omega 6 essential fatty acids and quite low in Omega 3s. A better balance of the two is much better for the development of the puppies. Canned sardines packed in water and eggs are your best sources of quality protein and omega 3s.

Iams did an interesting study on puppies fed a diet rich in DHA, one of the omega 3s. Here is a link to their findings. Http://www.iams.com/dog-article/dha_and_your_puppy.aspx

But please note that the study refers to a diet “rich in Omega 3s.” Nowhere did they say this study compared puppies fed Iams to those fed other diets. It is very difficult to get useful omega 3s through a kibble diet. These compounds are fragile. That is why fish oil and flax oil come in packaging that is opaque to protect from light, and bulk containers must be refrigerated after opening. Even if they manage to get it into the food and it survives the manufacturing process, they will degrade as the food sits on the shelf and even more once the bag is opened.

Michelle answers:

I’m afraid that Mera cat food sounds like rubbish. The ingredient list is terrible and puposefully non-specific so you have no idea what exactly you are buying. Not that it matters so much since you should not be feeding the cat any “cereals”, no unnamed “meats” and probably none of whatever “animal derivatives” are – ugh, my cats gak up animal derivatives when they have hairball. You don’t want any “vegetable protien derivatives” either, fancy name for gluten.

You do not say from which country you are posting. If you are in Germany surely they have some good canned cat foods with named meats as the primary ingredients.

If you live in a country where good pet foods are not available at all, your best option would be to feed your cat a raw meat/bones/organs diet. If this is the case, post more questions on raw diet for cats.

Here is a site that will give you a lot of tips on choosing a good food for your cat:
http://www.catinfo.org/commercialcannedfoods.htm

No Mera Cat for your kitty. Please!