December 2004

IN THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

• Holiday Gift Ideas from Strong Women
• The Tufts Marathon Challenge
• Reader Questions and Answers
• What's better: squats or leg presses?
• Does tea count as water?
• From the Mailbox — Success Story
• Recipe — Brown Rice Stuffing

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS THAT STRENGTHEN WOMEN AROUND THE WORLD

If you are like me, you are just now starting to think about the holiday season and trying to come up with gift ideas for family, friends and close colleagues. What does gift giving have to do with Strong Women? Many of the extraordinary women who spoke at our fall Stonyfield Farm Strong Women Summits have books or other items that they offer that can make wonderful presents for loved ones. I very much encourage you to go beyond the local mall for holiday shopping this year and support some of these remarkable Strong Women. Below are short descriptions of the work of some of the speakers and gifts opportunities from them:

Zainab Salbi is founder and CEO of Women for Women International, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing women survivors of war, civil strife and other conflicts with tools and resources to move from crisis and poverty into self-sufficient and active citizens who promote peace and stability. Ms. Salbi is an Iraqi native who arrived in the U.S. at age 19. She founded Women for Women International in 1993 to help women war and civil strife rebuild their lives, families, and communities. Women for Women International has direct experience in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Kosovo, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Colombia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Women to Women International has a wonderful website (in the "Bazaar" section) with lovely gifts for the holidays, and the website links to Eziba.com. Women to Women International and Eziba sell handicrafts made by artisans around the world, while ensuring fair trade practices and supporting grassroots organizations.

Lynne Cox is a bold risk-taker who has explored the far territories of human endurance. She is the world's most extraordinary long distance swimmer, and has repeatedly proved this in the coldest and most treacherous waterways of the world. In 1987 she swam the Bering Strait, the channel that forms the boundary between Alaska and Siberia, opening the US-Soviet border for the first time in 48 years; and in 2002 she swam over a mile in 32 degree water to Antarctica. Her book "Swimming to Antarctica" is now one of my most favorite books of all times. I literally could not put the book down once I started reading it a couple of weeks ago.

You can order "Swimming to Antarctica" from your local bookstore or through Amazon.

Kathrine Switzer has always been a hero of mine. In 1967 she broke the gender barrier in the Boston Marathon, when she was the first woman to officially enter the race. And in 1974 she won the New York City Marathon. Through her work she has literally inspired millions of women to get fit. "Running and Walking for Women Over 40: The Road to Sanity and Vanity" was written by Kathrine and is my bible for getting women started on an aerobic exercise program.

You can order "Running and Walking for Women Over 40" from your local bookstore or through Amazon.

Kristine Lilly is an Olympic gold medallist and World Cup Soccer Champion. She has been the mainstay of the US Women's Soccer team since 1987! If you have any young girls who are soccer enthusiasts I encourage you to visit her website. She has a wonderful store on the site with great gifts.

Loretta LaRoche makes me laugh so hard every time that I see her perform. With irreverent humor and an innate sense of the absurd, Loretta helps people see how needlessly complex and stressful our lives can become. Loretta has a wonderful website. There is a store within the website that contains Loretta's books, videos and compact discs.

I hope that I have been able to make your holiday shopping a little easier.

THE TUFTS MARATHON CHALLENGE

Last year I ran the Boston Marathon to help raise support for our nutrition and physical activity programs here at Tufts University. Anyone who has run the race or who has cheered the runners on from the sidelines knows how exciting the race is for everyone involved. I am again training for the 2005 Boston Marathon as part of the "Tufts Marathon Challenge."

We have a limited amount of numbers available for individuals who are interested in joining our team. We will be using the marathon numbers to raise funds to support our nutrition and exercise research and outreach programs. Each person who receives a number will be required to raise a minimum dollar amount for the challenge. Members of our team will be supported every step of the way during the months leading up to the race. If you live in the area, we are organizing weekly runs and have training seminars for you to attend. If you live outside of the Boston area, we will give you support via email and telephone.

This is a rare opportunity to be able to run the Boston Marathon with an enthusiastic team and to help support our programs at Tufts. If you are interested in learning the details of joining our team and running the 2005 Boston Marathon, please contact us via email or our website. Numbers are limited and available on a first-come—first-serve basis, so please contact us as soon as possible if you are interested.

Q: I have the option to work out in a fitness center and take advantage of their equipment, or I can exercise at home using the adjustable ankle weights and dumbbells. I am confused as to which option is better. For instance, it seems as though using the leg press machine would be preferable to the wide leg squat. Can you provide some guidance?

A: If you have the option of either strength training machines at a gym or simple home-based equipment such as ankle weights and dumbbells, there are a number of things to consider. First, are you more likely to exercise at home or at a facility? Ultimately, compliance is the most important thing, so you should choose the location that will be most convenient and that you will enjoy the most. In regards to the specific exercise comparison, the wide leg squat is an excellent strength training exercise because it is dynamic and uses multiple muscle groups. It also helps with balance, body awareness, and using your core strength. The leg press, which also works several muscle groups, is great because it allows you to continually add more weight and progress over time. The primary advantages of the wide leg squat are that you can do it anywhere and that it emphasizes other areas of fitness, such as strength; the disadvantage is that progression over time can be limited. For the leg press, the disadvantage is unavailability for many, while the advantage is the option of continuous progression. This comparison is true for many of the home-based versus gym-based exercises; progression is often easier in the latter, but access and improved body awareness is present with the former. In the end you can't go wrong with either.

Q: I know I am supposed to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day. The problem is that I just don't enjoy drinking it and often fall short. I will occasionally drink flavored seltzer or caffeine-free diet cola, but mostly, I enjoy drinking tea Ð iced or hot. In the morning, I usually have tea with caffeine; the rest of the day, it is herbal tea. Does this "count" towards my daily water or fluid intake?

A: Drinking enough fluids each day is very important. Ideally, you will be drinking at least some of those fluids as water. However, the next best options are caffeine-free, sugar-free drinks. Herbal tea certainly falls into this category, assuming you are not adding any sugar. Also, keep in mind that if you are exercising, you should be drinking even more water throughout the day.

"I attended the StrongWomen Workshop last year at Tufts. I still do my program and am so very happy to report that after four years of getting declining bone density tests, even after taking Fosamax and Actonel, this year, after doing the Strongwomen program, my bone density actually WENT UP!!!! I am ecstatic to say the least. I was worried and did not want to have to take Evista as my doctor said might be necessary. So now that I have proved it to myself, I am very eager to launch my program in my town. I look forward to helping many other women recover their strong selves as I have! Many thanks for your work."

-- Emily