How to Get Started with the Ketogenic Diet

How Going to the Gym Scared the Death OUT of me

I remember my first stint at the gym like I remember my first kiss: My heart was racing. Okay, that was the only similarity.

My first visit to a gym was far more traumatic than my first kiss

I was humiliated to even walk through the door. I felt the eyes of 32,230 judgmental, gorgeous women on me. I felt like everyone was staring at me and I could practically hear their thoughts: “Go home, fatty! Go home!” It was horrifying, and it almost made me cry. Anyone who knows me well knows I do NOT cry. That day, with every fiber of my being, I wanted to run out of that gym—which, ironically enough, would have pushed me in the direction of my goals. But I digress.

I was on a mission: I was pushing 260 pounds and I needed to commit. I had already joined Jenny Craig, and I was off to a great start. But I knew I was missing a key component. You know, exercise.

When you’re tipping the scale at twice the weight of your 7th grade son, fitness isn’t a topic you casually throw around. It’s something you hear “other” people talk about. You know the type: fit, toned women with perfectly coiffed hair and their mascara on fleek. Or men who sit in the sauna, flaunting their sizzling six-pack and perfect pecs. (Not that I’ve been in a sauna with men—promise!)

Anyway, it was always “other” people who were interested in fitness. Not for nothing, but I had interests, too—like challenging myself to eat three rows of Oreos and rearranging the remaining cookies in the carton so nobody would notice. Or like, digesting an entire Domino’s pizza during one or two episodes of MTV’s The Real World.

But fitness?

The First Step was Overcoming My Fears of the Gym

It was all new to me but still intriguing. It was like a foreign language I knew nothing about, but I figured: I could learn to do it—and maybe even master it. The first step, though, was to get myself into a gym.

The first day I showed up, I was already feeling judged. Most gym veterans have a name for people like me: I was a “resolutioner”—someone who came to the gym for a few weeks at the start of the New Year. Or maybe they figured I was someone who had been sent by their doctor after being told they were on the verge of suffering from diabetes and heart disease. I could imagine the trainers sizing me up as I waddled in, wearing an XXL tee shirt from Costco and a pair of my husband’s baggy shorts. At the very least, I’m sure they were thinking: “Someone get this heifer some proper workout clothes!”

I bit the inside of my cheeks to keep from crying as I walked into the cycling classroom for my first spin class—my first any kind of exercise class—ever. I saw the “others” busily setting up their bikes, and I sensed them giving me the side-eye while I desperately tried to remain unnoticed. I was sure I had a sticker that read, “Loser!” on my forehead, and I was mortified. Thankfully, the instructor recognized that I was a newbie and was kind enough to come over, introduce himself, and help me set up my bike. This was an absolute lifesaver for me. Getting proper guidance before your first spin class is worth its weight (!) in gold; getting it from a friendly instructor who goes out of his way to make you feel welcome—priceless.

My biggest fear at the start of the class was that I would fall victim to a sudden heart attack, and when that didn’t happen, it was replaced by another fear: that I must have done it all wrong because I was certain that heifers like me didn’t make it out of this kind of class alive. I was also fearful that maybe the instructor had decided to play his music particularly loud that day in light of my tremendous huffing and puffing. Nevertheless, I was grateful—both that I hadn’t keeled over dead and that I hadn’t scared anyone else off. I considered it a huge bonus that the lights were dim so nobody had to see me dying on a bike seat that was practically swallowed by my arse, which was about 10 times bigger.

Why Quitting Wasn’t an Option and What it Taught Me About Myself

When class ended, I remember a moment where I was proud of myself. I had followed directions to the best of my ability—and I didn’t quit. I didn’t even consider quitting, in fact, in spite of my extreme discomfort.

My pride passed quickly as I stepped off the bike to see a small pond of my own sweat circling the floor around me. I wasn’t the only one sweating, for sure. But I think I was the only one who had dropped a good 23 pounds of water weight in 45 minutes. I saw my classmates wiping down their bikes, so I took a cue and took care of my own. I don’t know if anyone tried to make eye contact with me. I was staring at the floor the whole time, embarrassed of how pathetic I thought I looked in comparison to the demi-gods all around. I was intimidated. I was humiliated. And yet, I was oddly exhilarated. I was ready to do it all again two days later. And I knew I would have to keep doing it, over and over again, if I wanted it to be fluent in the “body language” of fitness.

I was intimidated. I was humiliated. And yet, I was oddly exhilarated.

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Throughout my journey in this class—and subsequent others—I kept asking the question: How badly did I want it? Did I want it more than being fat? Did I want to be healthy? I thought of my children, my husband, and my own future.

But how badly did I want it?

Turns out I wanted it so badly that not only did I go back the next day, but I kept going back—day after day—until days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. I am happy to report that I continued my quest to conquer cycling, and even made a few gym friends in the process. As time went on, I discovered that “other” people—the beautifully coiffed and perfectly stacked specimens—were much friendlier than I would have guessed.

The lesson?

My own insecurities had been holding me back for far too long. I was as prejudiced toward “healthy” people as I assumed they were toward me. I perceived cyclists as hoity-toity, stuck-up perfectionists, when, in reality, they were kindhearted people, many of whom I am proud to call friends.

#noexcuses http://pic.twitter.com/4AFnyL4Bhj

— @MelissaKahn7 (@MelissaKahn7) January 24, 2017

The end result and my new lifestyle…

I lost about a third of my body weight with the help of that class and have an entirely different perspective now. I’m no longer the newbie, and my confidence is through the roof. But I’ll never forget how it felt to be the “other” woman—the one who feels like an outcast in a gym full of pros—and I am happy to remind my fellow gym goers to believe in the “other” men and women who have made the decision to walk through the door. It doesn’t take much to send positive energy to someone who appears to be a novice:

All you have to do is smile and nod and show up as one kind soul—one person who is not judging them for their beer belly, post-baby body, or fat-suit that they developed as the result of emotional eating or otherwise.

Consider making a NEW Resolution this Year

Set a goal to reach out and try to help if someone is looking confused and out of place. You may be the one smile they needed to see to keep going. You may be the one ray of light in a day that needs some sunshine.

It’s not just good etiquette; it’s the right thing to do.

Author Bio: Melissa Kahn

Melissa Kahn is a Jenny Craig brand ambassador and the proud founder of Run, Heifer, Run! —a fun-loving community of fitness enthusiasts dedicated to commonsense solutions for weight loss and healthy living. Melissa competes in triathlons now, having lost over 100 pounds, or the equivalent of 45 kilos of fear. She has maintained her healthy weight for more than five years—another proud accomplishment considering she’s yet to meet a cookie she doesn’t like. Melissa lives in Phoenix with her husband Dave (a pilot), four foul-smelling teenagers and two spazzy dogs who remind her that the glass blender is always half-full even when someone forgets the top.

from Dai Manuel: The Moose is Loose http://ift.tt/2kM45qa

Heart-Shaped Caramelized Onion and Brussels Sprout Pizza

Whatever your feelings about Valentine’s Day, can we just rally around a day to celebrate love? Here in the dead of winter with some serious goings on in the American political climate, we’re desperately in need of a love holiday. Not just romantic love, but straight up love-your-neighbor love. The kind that doesn’t care about skin color or ethnicity or orientation. The kind of love that doesn’t say anger-provoking words and instead is thoughtful and respectful. The kind of love that celebrates differences and lives in trust, not fear. The kind of love that is kind. Please say that kind of love still out there?

We’re desperately in need of a love holiday.

This Valentine’s Day, could it be less about the red roses and cheesy cards and more about the kind of love that extends grace to our neighbors? That welcomes people into homes and shares meals around a table? The kind of love that brings reconciliation despite long-held grudges?

We originally created this caramelized onion and Brussels sprout pizza as an idea for a fun Valentine’s Day dinner for two, accompanied by a lovely winter salad maybe. There’s nothing more fun than making shapes out of your food, right? But as we’re pondering world events as of late, perhaps it could extend as a symbol of that larger love, too? We’ll let you decide.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Make it a meal

Serve with a kale salad for a hearty meal.

Listen

We’ve got a Valentine’s Day podcast coming up!

Did you make this recipe?

We’d love to hear how it turned out. Leave a comment below or share a picture on Instagram and mention @acouplecooks.

Caramelized Onion and Brussels Sprout Heart-Shaped Pizzas

 

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by: a Couple Cooks

Serves: 1 pizza

What You Need

• 1 pizza dough (stand mixer or food processor methods)
• 3 large Vidalia onions (about 3 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional for the pizza
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus additional for the pizza
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 to 3 Brussels sprouts
• ⅓ cup canned crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• Pecorino cheese, to garnish

What To Do

1. Prepare the dough using either the stand mixer or food processor methods (you also can knead by hand; follow this video instruction for more). Follow the preparation instructions in the dough recipe if prepared in advance.
2. To make the caramelized onions: Peel, halve, and slice the onions as thinly as possible. In a very large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onions, which can mound in the skillet if necessary. Saute, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and reduce the heat to medium-low, finding a temperature that is not so hot that the onions burn but not so low that they do not continue to cook. Cook slowly, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes or so, until very reduced and dark brown, about 40 minutes. The onions will turn from translucent white to golden to brown to a rich, caramely dark brown color, and the volume will have reduced by at least 4 times.
3. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F.
4. Meanwhile, mince the garlic and thinly slice the Brussels sprouts.
5. When the oven is ready, stretch the dough into a circle (see this video for instructions). Cut a small divot into the top of the circle, then form the bottom of the dough into a point so that it forms a heart shape. Carefully place the dough on a pizza peel spread with flour or cornmeal. Since the heart-shaped pizza is a bit more fragile than other shapes, use a conveyor-type pizza peel to slide it into the oven if you can. If not, cross your fingers and slide quickly!
6. Spread the crushed tomatoes in a thin layer across the dough, then sprinkle minced garlic and add a bit of kosher salt. Top with mozzarella cheese and shavings of Pecorino cheese (use a vegetable peeler). Add dollops of caramelized onions, then sprinkle all over with Brussels sprouts and a few pinches kosher salt.
7. Transfer the pizza to the pizza stone on the pizza peel, then bake until the cheese is melted, about 7 minutes.

3.5.3226

 

 

A Couple Cooks - Recipes for Healthy & Whole Living

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How to Never Miss a Workout, Even When You Don’t Want to Go

If you want to become the kind of person who never misses their workouts, creating systems is the answer.

If you’re a busy parent, you know better than anyone that relying on motivation never works… (Life always finds a way to get in the way, doesn’t it?)

But what if you could take motivation out of the equation completely and start making a healthy lifestyle a “no-brainer”? Keep reading.

Make going to the gym a “no-brainer”

Motivation is like a flaky old friend that loves to drop in unannounced.

It comes knocking when you look in the mirror at the end of a long day, or get to the last hole on your belt…

And it’s right there cheering beside you when you finally decide, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH”.

But, as usual, it’s conveniently gone when you come home after a long day and need that extra push to get to the gym… Until next time.

We all know motivation is unreliable.

But when we plan for our goals, we assume our future-self will be motivated, inspired and ready to go when the time comes.

There’s a simple way to make your plans much more powerful, and make it much more likely you’ll get to the gym when you say you will.

BJ Fogg, the director of the Persuasive Tech Lab at Stanford University, said in an interview on habits,

We should assume that our ‘future self’ is going to be lazy with no motivation. We need to set up systems to make achieving our goals as easy as possible – even when our motivation is low.

When you plan to make a change in your life, assume your future self will have NO motivation. Assume your kids have been throwing tantrums all day, and you’re feeling run-down, tired, and unmotivated.

“Doing what you like is freedom… liking what you do is happiness.” #JustDidIt

Click to tweet

Now ask yourself:

“In THAT situation, how am I going to get to the gym?”

That’s where systems come into play.

(Note: There are also those days when you just really, really don’t feel like it, and we’ll talk more about how to overcome that below.)

A system makes a task simple, repeatable, and essentially a “no-brainer”.

And a successful system does this by taking all the decision-making OUT of the result.

For example: Going to the gym 3x a week in the morning.

Let’s be systematic about this and remove all the little decisions in the way of our goal.

If I plan to work out in the morning, I take 5-10 minutes the night before to:

1. Set my alarm for the morning and put my alarm clock across the room,
2. Put a water bottle beside my alarm clock,
3. Pack my gym clothes in a bag and put them by my bed,
4. Put my gym shoes by the door, and
5. Put my car keys by the front door

Getting up is the hardest part – but setting and moving my alarm helps me overcome that.

Now I know that as long as I take the 5-10 minutes to set my system up the night before, I’m much, much more likely to get into the gym the next morning.

This also works for eating healthy. Take the time to decide what you’d like to do (let’s say eating more vegetables instead of processed snacks), then add the food you need to get to your grocery list, wash and prep whatever you’ll need for the week once a week on a certain day, and then commit to your system.

Now you’ll have vegetables ready to go when you need them, instead of having to prepare them every time, making it much more likely that you’ll eat them.

James Clear, author and entrepreneur, tells us to ask ourselves,

If you completely ignored your goals and focused only on your system, would you still get results?

Once you perfect your system, you’ll be ready to do regardless of how you feel.

Remember, there will always be days when an unexpected wrench gets thrown in the middle. Your kids may have an emergency, you might stay late for work, or you get sick.

(I’ve written more extensively on consistency and how to deal with the unexpected on my website, and you can find a link to that below.)

But your system will make it much easier to overcome the expected obstacles – like a lack of motivation, feeling tired, or being unprepared.

At the bottom of this post, I’ve included 4 simple questions you can use to build your own system for any goal.

But even with your system in place, there are still those days when getting yourself to move is like moving mountains…

What if you really, really don’t feel like exercising?

On the days when I’d really rather lay on the couch or stay in bed, I tell myself one thing: Motion creates Emotion.

Contrary to popular belief, motivation doesn’t only come before action… Taking action can lead you to feel more motivated.

When you feel “stuck” and nothing can get you going, pick an extremely small task and work through it to completion.

This could be as small as standing up. Or going to the kitchen and drinking a glass of water.

Be very deliberate – even say it out loud. Pick a tiny task, and do it.

Then once that’s done, pick another. Keep taking tiny steps until you get to the thing you need to do.

This works for two reasons,

1. The act of completing little tasks creates a feeling of momentum – and eventually, motivation. And,
2. You’ll find it much easier to keep moving once you’ve already begun, and starting to move doesn’t take much.

You can even start with a task that has nothing to do with the thing you’re trying to get to. Once you start moving, break down the steps to your end goal into tiny pieces and work through those until you get there.

The next time you feel stuck, try this out.

4 questions to build your own “no-brainer” systems

There’s no one-size-fits-all system that you can use in every situation, but there’s a simple process you can use to build your own.

Take some time to think about this. It’s worth it to focus on building a clear process to achieving your goal, even if it takes a little longer to plan it out.

Once it’s in place, you’ll set yourself up to be more consistent long-term and more focused on what matters.

Build your own system by asking yourself these 4 questions

1. What is the result I want to accomplish?
2. What are all the things I need to be able to do that thing?
3. How can I prepare all those things ahead of time?
4. What obstacles might I face – and how can I overcome them?

Then test it!

Remember your goal is to take all the decision-making OUT of your end result, so that it becomes a simple step-by-step process to get there.

And finally, a way to supercharge this process is to add accountability. Having someone to check in on you, or share your wins with, is a proven way to keep you going through hard times.

BONUS: Dai actually has a Facebook group designed for this purpose. You can join the WLFM Tribe HERE. Share your challenges and WINS with a supportive group of people on the same journey towards health.

Once you take a little time to plan out your system, pay close to attention if it fails.

It might take a little tweaking to get it right, but when you fail you’ve simply discovered what doesn’t work and you are now closer to discovering what does.

If you’ve found this helpful, SHARE this article and COMMENT your biggest insight below. I’d love to hear what you think!

Author Bio: Ridwan Mao

Ridwan Mao shows busy men how to completely lose their belly fat, increase their energy and still have time for their families. His goal is to show you that a healthy lifestyle is possible even if you’ve been struggling with time, energy and motivation – and he spends all his time creating strategies to do just that. Become the man your family needs you to be. See how at www.ridwanmao.com

from Dai Manuel: The Moose is Loose http://ift.tt/2jEnHPG

6 Simple Steps for Being More Mindful when You Eat

6 Ways to Exercise When All You Want To Do is Watch Netflix

Physical exercise is of paramount importance in maintaining a healthy mental and emotional state as well as securing physical strength.

The endorphins that are released through exercise help to encourage us to feel happier, calmer, more confident and energetic. In fact, by simply moving more, we increase the desire, ability and enthusiasm to continue. It is often the first steps into physical exercise that are the most challenging and once this overcome, the greatest obstacle tends to be defeated.

The following article explains some ways that you can encourage yourself to move when physical exercise feels just too much.

6 Ways to Exercise When All You Want To Do is Watch Netflix

1 – Nutrition

One of the most common contributors to poor motivation levels and defeated energy and enthusiasm is improper fueling. If you have been waiting for your workout and the moment has come and it seems just too much, be aware of whether you have prepared nutritionally. Remember to eat an hour before exercise in order to have the necessary boost of energy and be considerate of your food choices. Although rigid fad diet plans such as high-protein, low carbs or raw food and clean eating plans can offer superb results, they can be too restrictive. Be aware of your likes, treat yourself occasionally but consider that a high-sugar, excessive carbs and minimal nutrient-rich binge is likely to wreak havoc on your exercise intentions. Eat well, see treats and ‘cheats’ as further motivation for movement and find a realistic balance that you can commit to.

It is also important to eat fairly quickly after working out too. It is best to eat within half an hour of your workout. You could first start with a small snack (maybe a grab and go beef tortilla), just after you finish, if you are coming home from the gym. Then you can properly refuel when you are home. If you get into a bad habit of not doing this, you will find that you will suffer on subsequent work outs. You may find recovery really difficult too. This can spiral out of control so its best to be really consistent and respectful of the need for good fueling before and after.

2 – Music

Music is recognized as being one of the most energizing and encouraging ways to get exercising when it all seems too much. Choosing songs that suit your taste, encourage you to push on and carry you through a high intensity workout will serve to be one of the most effective ways to spur on some movement. If you had promised yourself some physical activity and the thought now fills you with despair, try listening to a song or two that rev you up and demand you respond with some form of action. Even if it’s a dance in the kitchen or a wiggle from the sofa, the smallest amount of movement is likely to encourage a smile and possibly even lead to a greater desire to enjoy a full workout.

3 – Vary Your Exercise Routine

Vary your workout for an increased desire to move. If you are sat dreading the idea of slogging away on a treadmill in the gym, perk yourself up by committing to a new activity such as ice-skating, swimming or indoor rock-climbing. Any exercise plan that is repetitive and dull is inevitably going to fail and probably destroy your soul in the meantime and so recognize the activity that you enjoy, challenge your confidence in trying absolutely new experiences and excite yourself with the potential of meeting new friends, gaining new skills and reinvigorating your exercise enjoyment.

4 – Use Exercise to Socialize

Those who see exercise as a social opportunity are also more likely to maintain their commitment to movement. Whether you commit to a workout with friends or a lunchtime walk with colleagues, having company during your fitness endeavors will not only help to pass the time more quickly, but will ensure that others depend on your attendance and will prevent you from cancelling. Inevitably, you’ll have to return the favor on their sluggish days too.

There are many different clubs you could join to get your exercise fill. Whether you like running, climbing or boot camp style workouts there is a club for you that will help motivate and inspire.

5 – Motivational Images and Goals

Some people respond well to motivational images if their ambition is to change their physical appearance. Having a goal shape, weight or ability can be an excellent way to ensure that you commit to an exercise plan. Try to maintain realistic targets, particularly if the ultimate goal will take a significant amount of work. Some people who are struggling to maintain enthusiasm or focus their efforts use a celebrity image, a sportsperson physique or the achievements of a friend as their motivation and when getting up to move seems like too much of a challenge, a few moments of concentrating on such goals can be incredibly effective.

Do it now. Sometimes ‘later’ becomes ‘never’.

Click to tweet

6 – Go Easy on Yourself

There will of course be times when physical exercise is just not achievable. Whether it’s a health, emotional, geographical or logistical reason, there will be occasions when the obstacle can’t be overcome. Fear not, that’s not the end of the goal, nor is it a failure. It is important that you recognize that an unquenchable desire to not move is occasionally just your body’s way of demanding rest and rest is equally important as movement – as long as there is balance. Don’t promise to exercise for twice as long the following day or commit to two gym sessions to compensate, enjoy the rest and rejoin your fitness plan, no matter how small, full of rejuvenation, determination and focus.

Taking a down week where you do less intensity can also be beneficial overall to your workout routine. We all need a break from doing the same thing day in and day out, so make sure you schedule a week every so often to do a little bit less and to enjoy some proper recovery.

Author Bio: Kelly Crawford from HardBoiledBody.com

Kelly Crawford is passionate about health, well being, running and minimalist. As a competitive runner, she has insight into the struggles of balancing work-outs with good nutrition and injury prevention. She is a contributing writer for HardBoiledBody.com – a site dedicated to health, nutrition and fitness advice. Be sure to also connect with her on Facebook (http://ift.tt/2fR6zVY) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/hardboiledbody).

from Dai Manuel: The Moose is Loose http://ift.tt/2jAgjlH

FENNEL, GINGER + CHLORELLA SMOOTHIE

Heyo!! I am in Montrèal, livin with Evie for 6 weeks (and her amazing cat, Vivienne) before I am off to Iceland. I love Evie to death but her apartment is basically a single-room cement bunker with one sad little window at the ceiling. So I won't be able to post recipes I'm making while I am here. But at least here's one I made before I left for my trip. Stayed tuned for travel posts, if you dig those! I will also try to get creative and find ways to do decent food photography some days, but I will definitely be posting less in the next few weeks. :( 

CONTINUE READING...

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The Growing Role of Technology in Personalized Learning

By NICHOLE DOBO, The Hechinger Report

By design, some students go through two years of kindergarten in Middletown, New York.

People associate repeating grades with disastrous consequences. But in the Middletown City School District, the kindergarten repeaters often end up ahead of their peers in later grades — standout students who avoided getting forever labeled as performing “below expectations.” They’ve had the extra instruction they needed, when they needed it. The district has worked to remove the stigma of being “slow,” and has stopped moving children in lockstep through school in grade bands defined by age. They now focus on each child’s individual needs.

“We have proven the fact that all children can learn — and can learn well — under the right instructional circumstances,” said Kenneth W. Eastwood, the district’s superintendent.

About a decade ago, leaders in this public school district nearly 70 miles northwest of New York City decided to radically change the way they provide education to its diverse and academically challenged student body. They decided to “personalize” learning for every child, which means that they tailored lessons to each student’s needs, interests and learning pace. They gave each student access to technology that helps teachers customize their lessons. And they ended social promotion, so that struggling students are no longer shuttled along to the next grade level simply to keep them with the herd of similarly aged classmates.

The shift has coincided with improved test scores and graduation rates.

“I am overwhelmed with joy for my students because I know now they each stand a better chance of being a successful student,” said Regina Trout, who teaches the second-year kindergarteners at Maple Hill Elementary School in Middletown. “When they come to me knowing zero letter recognition — some might not even be able to recognize their own name. And at the end of the year, to just see their growth … I start to get teary.”

And it would not be possible, Trout said, without small-group instruction and the assistance of classroom technology that helps her deliver a custom-fit lesson for each student.

Personalized learning dates back to a Chicago lab school at the turn of the 20th century, but the concept is having a renaissance because of today’s more sophisticated technology — and the excitement and investment the technology has inspired. Last year, the founder of Facebook pledged to donate $45 billion to social causes, one of them personalized learning. And various technology companies — from no-name startups to behemoths like Pearson — boast of new programs meant to facilitate this style of education. Conferences for teachers from coast to coast brim with representatives from the multibillion-dollar technology industry, many of them promising to help teachers provide customized tracks for education.

“All of them are searching for that holy grail of tailoring content and skills to the weaknesses of each kid,” said Larry Cuban, an emeritus professor at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, who often writes about education technology on his popular blog.

What is personalized learning? It can look a little different in every school, in every classroom and for each student. Teachers create lessons that are challenging without being too hard, and that suit the individual interests of each child.

It’s easy to see why this is an attractive idea.

When teachers face 25 or 30 students, if they decide to teach in the conventional way of standing in front of the room and lecturing, then they must provide a lesson that will benefit the majority of the room — the average student. That leaves behind those who are below or above expectations. The best teachers find ways to help those students, but it’s a tall order. It takes a superhuman amount of work to find lessons that fit each student every single day.

That’s where technology comes in. Various products on the market today claim they can help the teacher create bespoke lessons for individual students, or otherwise make teaching more effective and efficient.

Some education technology developers, such as Knewton, say machines can figure out what students need to know and how best to deliver it. The computer system does this by constantly assessing how a particular student answers questions and what kind of lesson most engages that student. For instance, Waggle, a program powered by Knewton’s technology, serves students new tasks based on how well they did on previous tasks. Knewton’s claim to fame (and some are skeptical of it) is that it provides the right difficulty and the right presentation, and can find whatever style students seem to like best.

But for that concept to work, a child must spend a lot of time on the computer, feeding the system with data that the software uses to improve itself.

“You want to extend and maximize their time in the system,” said Jose Ferreira, Knewton’s founder and CEO.

There’s the rub: The idea of students, especially younger children, spending a lot of time on a computer worries some people.

And they suspect that education technology companies may be promising more than they can deliver.

“The words ‘personalized learning’ probably generate more heat than light,” said Arthur Levine, president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation and a former president and professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University.

The phrase “personalized learning” is now emblazoned on a wide variety of programs and products. Some schools say they have trouble figuring out what to buy. Many programs and products produce reams of “research,” but they’re just sales materials masquerading as effectiveness studies.

“You wouldn’t take a medicine that hasn’t been tested,” said Ryan S. Baker, associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania and the director of the new Penn Center for Learning Analytics. “But people will adopt a curriculum after just being pitched by a salesman. The things that are good are not the same as those that have good marketing.”

Baker thinks the real problem is lack of awareness about what’s available. There is a lot of good research about what works in education technology, he said, adding, “The problem is there is not a lot of good research about every system.”

The enthusiasm to be in on the latest and greatest thing in education can lead schools to try splashy programs that fail to take into account teacher training and valid research into how students learn. And the schools may then adopt and fast-track those programs without giving proper thought to what personalized learning entails or how to train their teachers to do this work.

“Don’t believe the sticker,” said Karen Cator, president and CEO of Digital Promise, a nonprofit organization that promotes effective use of education technology. “I shouldn’t say ‘don’t believe,’ but I mean double-check and see if, in fact, it’s marketing. Or does it actually follow the promise of personalization?”

It’s impossible to say precisely how many school districts, nationwide, are implementing personalized learning. But the popularity of education technology comes at a time when computer algorithms are creeping into just about every part of the day. Netflix provides suggested movies based on what you’ve watched in the past. Google’s search engine serves up more of what you’ve clicked on in the past. Social media sites suggest new “friends” and sources of information tailored to your connections.

Many say that for education to be truly personalized, the student should get some say in his or her learning, and teachers should be there to guide them — not just push them along based on whatever a computer algorithm determines is best.

“A lot of folks, when they say ‘personalized learning,’ they mean something about a technology platform that changes for [different] kids,” said Jennifer Davis Poon, director of the Innovation Lab Network at the Council of Chief State School Officers, a Washington, D.C.-based education reform advocacy group. “But in a more traditional setting, it is a very teacher-focused, teacher-driven type of instruction.”

And for Trout, the kindergarten teacher at Middletown, New York, her work reveals an instructional shift that goes beyond buzzwords like personalized learning — or the flash of new technology.

When students get what they need when they need it, and when they are treated as an individual, it makes all the difference.

“I see how the students grow,” Trout said. “I see their confidence level take off. They really become learners and ready for the process of learning.”

For more, check out this story about personalized learning and Common Core by Sarah Garland. This story was written by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for our newsletter to get a weekly update on blended learning.

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Can Personalized Learning Flourish Within A Traditional System?

By SARAH GARLAND, The Hechinger Report

Can students learn about what they like, at their own pace, and still pass standardized tests at the end of each year? It’s a dilemma facing a growing number of schools and districts that have jumped onto a new tech-fueled trend in education known as “personalized learning.”

The goal of personalized learning is to tailor lessons for individual students to help them master content on their own schedule, whether it’s faster or slower than their same-age peers. At its most extreme, personalized learning can also unfetter kids to study whatever they’re most interested in, although experts say most schools still require students to cover key subjects and skills.

The new educational philosophy has spread from Maine to Silicon Valley, propelled by new technology making it easier for a classroom of students to work on different tasks and by passionate proponents who see it as the future for an American education system that badly needs updating.

But as more schools, districts, states and even the federal government begin to embrace the idea, personalized learning is coming into conflict with an older movement in American education: standards-based accountability.

Grade-level standards – the content and skills students are supposed to master each year – and the end-of-year tests that measure them aren’t forgiving to schools and teachers who stray far from the predetermined path. The consequences of failing can include sanctions for schools and teachers, and even school closure, and now the standards are more rigorous with 40-plus states having adopted the Common Core State Standards.

The rigidity of the current standards-based system could present a problem as personalized learning tries to grow – although some hope advocates on both sides will find compromise that strengthen both ideas.

“There’s a conflict in the sense that the standards and accountability movement has focused on grade-level standards,” said Sara Mead, a partner at Bellwether Education Partners, a Washington, D.C.-based policy group, “and the idea that equity to some extent is based on getting everybody to master the same content at the same time.”

The standards movement, driven by fears that American students were falling behind their international counterparts, has dominated U.S. education reform since the 1990s. Reformers sought to raise the rigor of American classrooms and shine a light on achievement gaps between high-needs groups and their peers. Standardized testing, enshrined by the federal No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, became the method of holding schools to account to ensure they were helping disadvantaged groups catch up.

“The standards movement was intended as a way to say, hold up, if we are holding kids who are coming in more ready to learn to higher standards than kids who need extra help, then what we’re effectively doing is perpetuating the achievement gap over time,” said Kathleen Porter-Magee, a fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a right-leaning think tank.

“It’s helpful to have some common language that says here’s what fifth grade is, and here’s what sixth grade is,” she said. “The most disadvantaged students benefit from that.”

But the standards movement has faced a backlash in recent years after a majority of states, urged on by the federal government, adopted the controversial Common Core standards. A motley coalition of teachers unions, parents, and politicians and activists from both the left and right fought against Common Core and the new standardized tests linked to it. Common Core still stands in most states, but many have tweaked the standards and changed the name to something less politically charged. At the same time, the new federal education law passed last year has removed some of No Child Left Behind’s teeth.

Yet, though the standards movement may be weakened, it seems unlikely a freer approach to education in the form of personalized learning-for-all will take its place – or that it should.

“If you’re goal is self-actualization for the child, and you want them to discover what they’re good at, then personalizing learning sounds like it would be really wonderful,” said Daniel Willingham, a psychology professor at the University of Virginia who studies how cognitive psychology applies to schooling. “There’s a good argument to be made for a standard curriculum, though, especially if your goal is a civic citizenship, and children being able to get a job when they finish: If you want everyone to have basic numeracy and civic engagement.”

Most personalized learning advocates wouldn’t disagree. Although personalized learning supporters say they want even more changes to the current structure of standards-based accountability, many also are adamant that high standards are compatible and even necessary for their movement to keep up its momentum.

“We have to be careful with all this personalized learning where there’s still a floor,” said Brian Greenberg, CEO of the Silicon Schools Fund, which funds new schools that use personalized learning. “We don’t want to go back to a model of low expectations. We need to give those students more support to accelerate them. In a race, there’s still a trail vehicle to make sure no one falls back.”

The ideal, both according to personalized learning backers like Greenberg and supporters of standards like Porter-Magee, would be a system where the two education philosophies not only coexist, but strengthen each other.

Mead, who is a co-author of a report about the tensions between standards-based accountability and personalized learning, says, for example, that personalized learning might show the way for schools trying to catch up children who are far behind. “If you have a kid who is several years below grade level, what you should be doing is not teaching them grade-level content. You should be going back and filling in the gaps,” she said, “so that eventually they can reach grade-level standards, and get there faster.”

Joel Rose, co-founder of School of One, a personalized learning program in New York City now known as Teach to One, said that although standards – and specifically, the annual tests attached to them – are a challenge for his model, “having a fixed target we’re aiming for to make sure kids get over that line is critical.”

For now, personalized learning may clash with the grade-level standards and accountability regime, Rose acknowledged, but as the movement expands “it may also lead to looking at scores not on an annual basis, but in increments. We oftentimes look at kids who are on or above grade level when they enter middle school and then look at that same number when they exit middle school. By focusing less on the year-on-year state test scores, it enables allows us to meet kids where they are, with an eye on high school readiness.”

One proposal is standardized tests that kids take when they’re ready, over the course of three years, say, instead of every spring.

In the meantime, Brian Greenberg believes the best schools should be able to handle both.

“If we only teach kids at their instructional levels, kids who are below may never catch up and the kids who are ahead may never interact with their peers,” he said. “Common sense and compromise can be pretty powerful. There’s room for kids to learn a canon of knowledge that we want every one to learn, and to have some choice and agency in what they learn.”

To read about how personalized learning is growing in schools, check out this report by Nichole Dobo. This story was produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education.

 

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6 Practical Ways to Take to Reduce Stress in Your Life Now

Quite often, people who are stressed are so caught up in the problems which have initiated their stress, that they can fail to see the physical impacts which it is having on their body. Stress can have impacts in:

Understanding the Automatic Nervous System

To understand the role of stress on the physical body, it’s important to understand the nervous system. If you visualize your spine, there are two branches of nerves coming from it which are responsible for sending messages to the brain.

The sympathetic nervous system reacts voluntarily to external environmental factors and is responsible for helping you to react quickly to threats. For example, if you find yourself in a dangerous situation, your sympathetic nervous system will take over and use a fight or flight reaction to deal with that situation effectively. Once you are out of danger, your parasympathetic nervous system automatically takes over controlling your rest and digest functions, such as pumping adrenaline around your body to make your heart pump faster to help you deal with stressful situations. What is important to understand is that both the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system are interdependent and it also follows that mind and body are interconnected.

Evolutionary stress management

Our bodies have evolved over centuries to make sure that we can react effectively to extreme forms of stress. Our senses pick up on stressors and send messages to the brain which then triggers a physical response. In healthy people, the automatic nervous system remains on high alert which prevents the body and mind from relaxing. Moreover, if your ANS is constantly on alert to stressors, you are experiencing further emotional and physical stress on your mind and body due to this impairment.

Problems caused by stress

Stress and the ability to deal with it is not a negative thing indeed, it keeps us safe and out of danger. However, when the body’s automatic nervous system is impaired and permanently switched on, we are in a constant state of stress and there is little respite. This in turn can manifest itself in physical issues such as back problems like sciatica, muscle tension in the form of neck, back or shoulder pain, headaches and indeed cardiovascular and other disorders. Being stressed prevents our bodies and minds from relaxing fully and as such we are tense both mentally and physically.

3 Examples of Physical Restrictions caused by Stress

Below are a few examples of physical restrictions that can occur due to stress.

Lower Back

When you are stressed your whole body can become tense. If you are sitting at work or sitting in traffic this tension paired with being in the same position for an extended period can cause pain. You may find that this becomes a constant issue as your body has “reset” into this new position. For anyone sitting having to sit for extended periods of time, it is a good idea to break that time up if possible and move around every so often. Performing some stretches too to help reduce the problem area is a good idea.

Stomach

For some people stress can cause the stomach to cramp. The result can mean a range of stomach issues including Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Many people find that they can’t eat when they are stressed too or digestion is slow as a result of the tension. It can be helpful to try and do some meditation or try to relax before you eat.

Face and Jaw

A common response to stress can be to tense up and tighten the jaw. Some people even end up grinding their teeth in the night. Visiting a dentist, if teeth grinding issue, is important as teeth grinding can lead to a whole host of other issues including headaches.

Dealing with the impact of stress

Stress can often be a catch 22 problem.

The more stressed we are, the harder it is to prevent stress or control it and the more susceptible we are to reacting to increasingly small stressors becoming hypersensitive to them.

Therefore, it is important to first understand how our nervous system works and reacts to stress and this will help us to ultimately have greater control over the causes of our stress and its impact.

One of the first lines of defense for managing stress is breathing control and exercise. Stress results in restricted movement because tension causes pain and to reduce this, we also tend to reduce movement. Such restriction of movement can lead to further damage to our musculoskeletal frame.

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another. – W. James

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Therefore, it’s vital that when we become aware of stress, we also make sure that we fight against it by actively seeking to relax our muscles. One of the best ways of doing this is through use of gentle exercise such as the use of swimming along with sauna or steam rooms to relax muscles, yoga and tai chi and a range of deliberate learned movements which we can use at times of stress to relax body and mind. Gentle exercise can also make sure that breathing is much more controlled and regulated which can ultimately reduce the physiological symptoms of stress such as cortisol and adrenaline production. In turn the use of exercise can also reduce the psychological effects of stress.

So, taking small and determined steps towards introducing exercise into your daily life can make a huge difference to how your body deals with stress and its negative impacts.

6 Practical steps you can take to improve stress management and improve physical movement

1. Regular short walks of at least 30 minutes per day can reduce blood pressure and increase Stress relief and tolerance
2. Stretching exercises with the use of yoga can improve posture and relieve tension
3. Swimming for 20-30 minutes followed by sauna or steam sessions
4. Tai Chi can help with improving flexibility and muscle tone
5. Use of weights can increase strength and realign your musculoskeletal frame.
6. Cardio vascular exercise can help to counteract the harmful effects of adrenaline, and cortisol

Perhaps most important of all is that we should increase our mindfulness and focus on being present in the moment so we are better ready to deal with the everyday stresses that come our way before they become unmanageable.

Author Bio: Kelly Crawford from HardBoiledBody.com

Kelly Crawford is passionate about health, well being, running and minimalist. As a competitive runner, she has insight into the struggles of balancing work-outs with good nutrition and injury prevention. She is a contributing writer for HardBoiledBody.com – a site dedicated to health, nutrition and fitness advice. Be sure to also connect with her on Facebook (http://ift.tt/2fR6zVY) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/hardboiledbody).

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Healthy Superbowl Recipes That Will Wow Your Friends

With the Super Bowl a few weeks away, we start thinking of healthy-ish gameday recipes. From savory to sweet, here are our top 10 recipes for the big day that are centered on real food and wholesome ingredients. Each recipe has been friend-tested and approved; all are vegetarian, some vegan and gluten-free. We’d love to know your ideas! Let us know in the comments below.

1. Loaded Sweet Potato Rounds

Our number 1 favorite game day recipe are these loaded sweet potato rounds. Friends beg us to make them, and they’re gone in a flash. (Vegetarian, Gluten-Free)

2. Hot Wings Hummus Jars

Our new hummus flavor is made delicious with a simple addition: hot sauce. It’s creamy and tangy, and you can adjust the hot sauce to taste. (Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Vegan)

3. Roasted Delicata Squash Fries with Buffalo Sauce

Have you tried delicata squash? If not, please get on it now. This unique squash roasts quickly and doesn’t need to be peeled, which makes for easy prep. (Vegetarian, Gluten-Free)

4. Buffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Dip

One of our favorite recipes: roasted cauliflower covered in buffalo sauce. Pair it with a creamy, cooling blue cheese dip. (Vegetarian, Gluten-Free)

5. Mexican Loaded Sweet Potato Fries

What’s not to love about sweet potato fries loaded with Mexican toppings? The spicy cumin lime “crema” is made with tahini, so it’s dairy free. (Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Vegan)

6. Healthy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip

This cool, creamy ranch dip is made with Greek yogurt, minced shallot, and real herbs: not a packet. And it’s even better than the packet.

7. Very Verde 3-Ingredient Dip

Our newest dip is one friends go wild for. Funny enough, the main ingredients are green peas and cilantro — but even proclaimed “haters” loved it. Go figure! (Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Vegan)

8. Quinoa Black Bean Chili

This spiced, flavorful chili features quinoa, which makes it thick and textured. It’s one of our favorite veggie chili variations. (Vegetarian, Gluten-Free, Vegan)

9. Chipotle Vegan Queso Dip

It’s amazing that with no dairy, this dip tastes just like queso! It’s a recipe from our friend Lindsay’s cookbook.

10. Dark Chocolate Hummus

Last but not least, dark chocolate hummus. We’ve heard from many of you who’ve also loved this subtly sweet dip with fruit and pretzels.

 

A Couple Cooks - Recipes for Healthy & Whole Living

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