The Importance of Nutrition

By Tiffany Fuentes
Hello to all of you who know me and welcome to those of you who are reading me for the first time. I often call myself a food psycho, one as a disclaimer. I know being as particular as I am about my diet is hard work, but also because I know that many people don’t wish to know the ugly truths about the food we eat. But you don’t have to be crazy to make great decisions, eat well, and feel energized.

Food is a product, and unfortunately returns profits, which means that we the consumers are not in the best interest of those that handle, prepare and sell us our food.

I am more than happy to answer specific emails about anything and everything regarding food and wellness. I am a personal trainer at the Rye Y and can tell you that nothing you do in the gym is as important as the food you eat. It affects the energy you have to get out of bed, your concentration levels throughout the day, the texture and color of your skin, and most important your basic cellular function which is all musculoskeletal maintenance, efficient biological systems, including the removal of waste and toxins.

Stay tuned for more to come and please be sure to attend the opening night of our new Nutrition Integration Series this Friday. There is a four or nine week option, but the first night is an opportunity for all to come together and discuss the fundamentals of nutrition and the importance it has on your fitness goals.  The workshop meets Tuesdays OR Fridays from 6:00pm-6:30pm in the member lounge.   Click here for more details. I welcome you to join the first workshop, risk free and have an opportunity to sign up at the end of the workshop.

Email: Getfitwithtiff@gmail.com

Juan Takes Control

Juan Davila is a very familiar face at the Rye Y. As a member of the facilities maintenance team, Juan helps to keep the floors polished, the aisles clear, and the facility humming from morning to night. What members may not know is that Juan recently decided to “take control” of his health. A father to 12 and a grandfather to 18, Juan has a family history of diabetes and has witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of this silent disease.

Five months ago, Juan decided to enroll in a diabetes prevention program offered by his local church. The weight loss based program emphasized lifestyle behavior changes such as portion control and increased levels of exercise. Juan has since lost 30 lbs., significantly reducing his chances for developing Type 2 diabetes. “My mother has diabetes,” explains Juan, “and I realized I needed to do something about it, not only for myself, but for my kids too.” Juan – well done and congratulations!
 
If you'd like to learn about the Rye YMCA Diabetes Prevention Program, please click here or contact Tanya Potrzebowski, YDPP Regional Coordinator at 914-967-6363, ext. 206

Camp Counselors - In their own words - two videos

Rye Y Discovery Camp Counselors 



Rye Y Kinder Camp Counselors

Discovery Camp - A Camper's Own Words

Samantha on Crazy Hair Day

Interview with Samantha, Age 6

How many years have you been coming to camp?

Two

What group are you in?

Pioneers; Toco Toucans

What do you like most about camp?

I like everything.  The playground, lunch, swimming, field trips, gym games, and the counselors.  I like to have fun.

Why do you like your counselors?

They are very nice and very helpful.  They do the right stuff and they have fun just like the kids.

What is you favorite field trip?

The Beast Boat Ride.  It went really fast, we listened to music, got wet and got to see the Statue of Liberty.  I also got to sit next to my best friend.

Would you tell other kids they should go to the Rye Y Camp?

Yes, because its super fun and the YMCA rules!

What are you looking forward to the rest of the summer?

The field trips, all of them but mostly Splashdown Beach.

How can we make camp better?

If you had water slides everyday and story time.

Anything else you want to tell us about camp?

On field trips we have groups and we always have to stay in our groups and we do everything together and it is fun.  I love camp so much, YMCA Camp rules!  I love Elmo, Scott and all the counselors because they are so nice.

Summer Water Safety

Vickie Kourtelis, Rye Y Aquatics Director


Now that we have officially entered the summer here are a few tips to promote safety in the water whether it’s at the Y, an outdoor pool, or even the beach!

•Never let a child swim in the water completely unattended. If you aren’t in the pool with them please stay near them and actively supervise on land while they are swimming. Always try to have an adult accompany them in the water as at any given moment something can happen and they might need assistance.

•Communication between adults supervising the pool area is key! If you are going to be walking away from the water for a quick second communicate that with other adults so that somebody is supervising the children in the water

•Be cautious of surrounding swimmers! If in a panic, a distressed swimmer can latch on to surrounding swimmers for safety. Be careful of situations like these as children are sometimes not strong enough to help themselves under those circumstances.

 •Go over emergency procedures with the children (while in the car driving to the water, eating a snack, applying sunscreen, right before entering the water, etc.)

-If they are tired when swimming they can roll on their back and float OR swim to the closest wall to grab on.

-Treading water is a survival skill that they can use in case of an emergency.

-In case of an emergency don’t hesitate to scream for help loud enough to get the lifeguards attention. I suggest practicing this at home with the kids a few times. Go to a different room in the house and have them scream for help as loud as they can. Let them know if they are loud enough or whether they should be louder.

 •Practice makes perfect!!! Set aside 10 minutes every other day to do a mini lesson or just a couple of times during the week. Children like to PLAY in outdoor pools, not practice their freestyle, backstroke, etc. If you stay committed to the learning process through out the summer then they will improve a great deal.

•ALWAYS wear sunscreen and keep hydrated through out the summer.

•If you are at a private pool party make sure that there is a lifeguard on deck or that you are supervising right next to the pool.

•If at a pool with a diving board make sure to stress to the kids that they can’t jump until the person that jumped before them is at the wall and that there is nobody in their way.

•Practice swimming without goggles for a little bit each day so that they are comfortable swimming without them if there should be an incident when they fall in the water.


Please note that these are only a few tips to promote water safety in the next few months. For more tips or any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at Vickie@ryeyymca.org! Enjoy the summer!
 

We are Spartans

Ed Philipp, Rye Y Chief Operating Officer

A while back I wrote a blog post about staying motivated to lead a healthy lifestyle. One of the things that I mentioned was that I liked to appeal to my competitive nature to keep me motivated and that I was going to compete in the Spartan Race (www.spartanrace.com) on June 4th. I am happy to say that I trained hard and was one of the 73% of participants that completed the race. I am also happy to say that I was part of a team made up of mostly Rye Y staff that competed that day. While it was an extremely difficult race, all of us finished, albeit with cuts, bruises and covered in mud.

The race was billed as a 3.1 mile race with 10-12 military style obstacles that 99.9% of those that start finish, with the fastest time around 30 minutes. In my mind it was going to be like a 5k with mud and monkey bars. I figured if normally the winner of a 5K finishes in 17 min. and I can do it in 30 min, I should be able to finish this race in about 50 min. I couldn’t have been more wrong. The first thing I noticed when we arrived at Tuxedo Ridge Ski Area was that we weren’t going to be racing on the flat sections of the Ski Area, but rather on the mountain itself. I should have known that we would be running up and down the mountain, after all the race was at a Ski Area, it just never sunk in until I actually saw the course with my own eyes.

The race began at the base of the mountain which we were to run straight up. Half way up we were sprayed with water and had to jump over fire, the race was on. It was at this point I realized that there was no way I was going to last very long if I continued to run, so the race quickly became a brisk hike. Since most of the race was over rocks/boulders, up steep inclines and down equally steep declines, it would have been very easy to get hurt if I became too careless.

For the most part the obstacles were the “fun” part of the race; some of them were relatively easy such as the monkey bars, cargo net, 8 foot wall, inclined soapy wall, and tire carry. Others were difficult such as the balance walk, rock wall traverse and the spear throw. I failed on all 3 of these and my punishment was 30 burpees for each obstacle. As I said, for the most part the obstacles were fun; however, there were some downright insane obstacles.

The first insane obstacle was the 5 gallon bucket carry. We had to fill our standard orange Home Depot bucket ¾ full with gravel and carry it up the mountain about 200 yards and then back down. The bucket weighed about 25 lbs. filled and was awkward to carry. I actually had to stop a few times on the way up and down to rest; this is not something I readily want to do again. (I was amazed to learn at the finish that one of my teammates, Kaleena Ladeairous, carried two buckets in order to help out a teammate.) The next insane obstacle was the barbed wire mud crawl. Keep in mind that the website for the race said this was going to be 40 yards long, in reality it was 400 meters long and up the mountain. It must have taken me 20-30 mins to complete and I was completely covered in mud. At one point my sunscreen combined with sweat and got in my eyes, I was in such pain I couldn’t open my eyes and I surely couldn’t wipe them due to all the mud on my hands/arms. Thank goodness there was water being sprayed on us at that point and eventually I could open my eyes and see again. The final insane obstacle was the barbed wire ice crawl. You would think after going up and down a mountain on a warm June day that you would welcome the opportunity to crawl around in some ice, and I did. I was wrong though, by the time I finished the 40 foot crawl I was in pain from the cold. The good news was the finish line was near.

After another jump through fire, the only thing between me and the finish line were 3 “Spartans” armed with pugil sticks. I made it through all 3 without getting knocked over and finished…in 1 hour and 33 minutes. My teammates were close behind and I was able to cheer them on as they finished. What a sense of accomplishment we all had as we talked after the race (and that was before we realized only 73% of the racers finished the race and not the advertised 99%). I think all of us said the race was the hardest thing we had ever done, some on the team had run full and half marathons, and we vowed we would never do this again.
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Summer can be a learning opportunity

Next week YMCAs across the country are challenging kids and parents to stay academically sharp over the summer by celebrating Summer Learning Day on June 21. Many students lose more than two months of learning over the summer. Summer learning loss has the potential to be an enormous obstacle for kids when the school year begins next fall.

Here are a few resources suggested by www.summerlearning.org to make learning a part of your summer routine.

Visit your local library.  Libraries often sponsor reading activities during the summer and librarians can suggest grade level books that will interest your child. 

Take educational trips.  Several Westchester County libraries, including the Rye Free Reading Room, offer free museum passes to museums like the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum and the American Museum of Natural History.

Get outside and play.  Physical activity and exercise contribute to healthy development.

Keep a schedule. It makes sense to continue daily routines during the summer and to continue to provide structure and limits. The key is providing a balance and keeping kids engaged.

Prepare for fall.  Find out what your child will be learning during the next school year by talking with teachers at that grade level.  Preview concepts and materials over the summer.

Do good deeds. Students learn better and “act out” less when they engage in activities that aid in their socialemotional development, such as community service.

There are also several websites filled with activities and ideas for summer learning.  Here are just two:

The Family Education website has reading lists, science, math and arts activites for ages preschool through middle school.

http://school.familyeducation.com/summer/family-learning/36089.html

The Thinkfinity website is another resource with educational games and activities.

http://www.thinkfinity.org/summer-fun-activities

What are some of the summer learning activities that you enjoy with your family?