Filling oatmeal breakfast combo

Quick breakfast on the go.

Mix:

Two packets of fruit flavored oatmeal instant
1 scoop vanilla muscle milk
1/4 to 1/2 cup walnut or pecan pieces

Place mixture under Keurig and heat 2/3rds cup of water pouring into bowl.

Mix hot water with ingredients and add milk as needed.

Add 1 cup fruit - blueberry, raspberry, strawberry - previously rinsed in potable water.

This combo is nutritious and filling but diabetics should check the glycemic index of the breakfast combo.

If you take fish oil in the am it is good to take with this meal as the Omega 3 in the fish oil balances out the omega 6 in the nuts.  Also make sure to drink adequate amounts of water after this meal.

Please don't eat this if you have nut allergies or if any of these ingredients interfere with the effectiveness of medicines.

Mix and match lunch salad

Spinach Salad minus the fruit- N. Carlson

I've been asked to give my all purpose mix and match lunch salad combo for work.  The separate ingredients are brought to work and prepared just before eating.

One washable salad mixing bowl kept at work. Knife, fork and spoon.  Wash hands before preparing.

Salad mix (pre-washed) (1/2 bag):

• Baby spinach
• Spinach/arugula
• Kale mix with spinach or arugula 

Meat: Pre-cooked (eat cold or pre-heat separately) approx. 3 - 4 oz.  - cut in bowl

• Turkey (natural)
• Chicken (natural)
• Ham ( no nitrates)

Nuts: 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup

• Walnuts
• Pecans

Fruits:

• blueberries
• red raspberries
• black raspberries
• sliced strawberries

Dressing: (Activa Yogurt - small container)

• assorted fruit flavors (blueberry, cherry, strawberry, mixed berry)

Crunchies:

• Dried kale
• Dried pea pods (plain, pepper, other flavors)

Optional Extras:

• avocado
• Single scoop muscle milk vanilla dry powder
• fine grated cheese

Mix and eat.  

Tips:

Eat two to three times a week.  Vary the combination of ingredients to reduce boredom.  This is not necessarily a low calorie meal but it is very nutritious and filling. This preparation also has a good amount of fiber so go easy at first.  

Making Mac Monitors More ergonomically friendly

Mac screens have a few design flaws that make it problematic for individuals using the lower part of their bifocal lenses to view the screen.

1. The stand that comes with the monitor is not height adjustable.
2. The lower part of the screen has approximately 1.5 to 2 inches edging that makes it impossible to bring the screen down to desktop height.
3. The process to remove the stand and replace with a VESA mount is not intuitively obvious.  The video below is a great help. 

Video by Geoff Tripoli on the procedure to install a VESA mount on one of several Mac displays - 5:24 min.

Adding a VESA compatible stand will allow the monitor to be adjusted to accommodate a wider range of individuals. Total cost for the upgrade is currently less than $150 US.

Sitting for extended periods shortens your life - Annals of Internal Medicine

Empty bench - N. Carlson

A September 12, 2017 article in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Patterns of sedentary behavior and mortality in U.S. middle-aged and older adults: A National Cohort Study confirmed what other studies that relied on self reporting have shown.  Sitting for prolonged periods is not healthy.

Accelerometers were placed on individuals in the cohort to measure the total amount of sedentary time and the duration of each sitting period.  The number of deaths in the study participants were checked a median of four years later.  The study found that longer duration (greater than 60 to 90 minutes) of sitting sessions and a longer time spent sitting were associated with all-cause mortality.

The researchers recommended that, "physical activity guidelines should target reducing and interrupting sedentary time to reduce risk for death."  Survival rate was best for individuals who sat for less than 30 consecutive minutes.

Sitting too long can kill you - 46 seconds

Pull up bar for doorway

Fila pull up bar

While using up a cash back coupon at Kohls I picked up a Fila pull up bar.  I like to do push ups as part of my exercise routine but was finding it difficult to fit in pull ups without going to a local playground.

This pull up bar fits in the doorway.  Doorways are designed to be overbuilt with several pieces of wood above the door underneath sheetrock or paneling.  This allows the pull up bar to be stabilized.  I admit to some nerves as I used the pull up bar the first time.  After carefully putting the bar in place it held my 160 pound plus body with no problems.  Please carefully test this out with your weight at home to prevent injury. 

The pull up bar allows for multiple grip positions.  I am starting out slow doing a few reps every other day to get into condition.  I like simplicity of the design and the ease of removal.  It took approximately 15 minutes to assemble with tools in the package.

The bar can also be placed on the floor and used as a push up bar.  There are several manufacturers who make similar pull up bars with costs ranging from $30 to $100 dollars US.

Ergonomic design problems and opportunities

Lunch room chairs and table

Note the lack of leg room and the T molded edging in this table in a brand new office suite.  This design will improve office productivity by reducing the amount of time employees spend at lunch.

Inflexible Standing Standing

Stools at a table:  This is an improvement over the other standing table as there is some knee space and the chairs have backs.  It does not have enough adjustment to accommodate people of different heights.

A cublet to call home

Move up from a shared workstation to this low priced efficiency.  The station is a bit cramped but the ergonomics are not awful.  As a bonus, managers can check in on your progress with great facility.

Why sitting for prolonged periods is bad for your health

M. Carlson pumpkins - photo N. Carlson

I recently reviewed a Great Courses video on the negative health effects of sitting as part of a review for a research group conducting a multi-year study on the benefits of sit stand work stations.  Results of the study will be available in approximately 2 years.   The lack of muscle movement in the legs severely restricts the fat clearing from the blood vessels.  Moving each hour helps minimize the effects.

 

Why Sitting All Day is Killing You - The Great Courses - 3 min. 11 sec. 

Puzzle ergonomics

During the course of a series of ergonomic evaluations an employee showed me a puzzle area in a break room.  Most puzzles are put on card tables at a height around 28 inches.   This counter top was set at approximately 43 inches high.  This is in the range of the the average elbow height.

Working on puzzles can provide an excellent mental break from a task and allow for a bit of informal socialization.  Assuring that the surface height is appropriate will minimize ergonomic issues associated with working a puzzle. A standing height surface also provides a good break from sitting. 

 Benefits of Good Posture - 4 min.

The biomechanics of a jump shot

Photo of Stephen Curry's jump shot tweet from Daniel Makepeace

I was impressed with Stephen Curry's three point accuracy in the 2015 NBA finals.  Many websites have broken down the bio-mechanics of his jump shot.

The Physics of Basketball - click to enlarge

The shot angle of a basketball is very important.  In the final quarter of the NBA finals in 2015, I watched Lebron James shoot three pointers.  The angle of trajectory was much flatter than Stephan Curry's and appeared to be around 30 degrees.  Lebron James missed most of his 3 point attempts.

Basketball shot angle:  J Sports Sci Med. 2012 Jun; 11(2): 231–237. 

The above photo is from a journal article: Increased Distance of Shooting on Basketball Jump Shot by Okazaki and Rodacki

 

Stephen Curry Jump shot from ecbahoops.com

This is a diagram of Stephen Curry's Jump shot.

How to Shoot like Stephen Curry from Splash Lab

Resources for individuals concerned about the health effects of sitting.

Sit Stand on a budget

The Webs Premier Guide to Sitting Disease (http://www.beyondtheofficedoor.com/blog/the-webs-premier-sitting-disease-prevention-guide) provides the latest information on the benefits for reducing time spent sitting at a desk.  I appreciated the extensive section on low cost options for sit stand workstations.  

The University of Minnesota is currently following up on a sit stand study with the University of Arizona.  Results of the study are expected in two years.  Information on a preliminary study on the benefits of reduced sitting and and similar research at the University of Minnesota Duluth can be found on the DEHS ergonomic blog sit stand page.  

Concerns about properly designing shared work space (New WOW) have been covered extensively on this blog. Shared work stations need to be flexible to fit people of different sizes and allow for the accommodation of physical limitations. Properly designed sit stand workstations can help.