Page 28 April 2015 By Andrea Barkley As Valley temperatures begin to rise, many are looking for ways to lighten and tighten up in time for sundresses and swim trunks. Yet, when it comes to embracing an active lifestyle, Arcadians fall seemingly well above average. Residents are often seen walking their dogs, pedaling their beach cruisers and embarking on hikes and regular runs. Add the new yoga, spin, Pilates and other boutique fitness studios popping up around town, and the message is clear: We are an active bunch! With all this activity and mindfulness toward fitness, why are so many struggling to shed a few stubborn pounds? In my years of experience as a personal trainer and nutrition coach, here are the top seven reasons you’re not losing weight: 1. You’re not eating enough – The old adage of calories in, calories out holds some truth; however, it is easy to eat too few calories, causing your metabolism to slow in an effort to preserve energy and keep your vital systems running. Plus, real food is surprisingly low in calories. While enjoying a big salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar and topped with fish is a completely nutritious choice, an active individual will need more food throughout the day to make up the calorie deficit. 2. You’re not eating enough carbs – Lowering the amount of carbohydrate intake is a popular approach to weight loss, and for good reason. If you’re overweight and leading a near sedentary lifestyle, it makes sense that your body requires less fuel. But, if you’re strength training, bike riding, practicing yoga, playing with the kids and running a business, you’ve got to fuel up with carbohydrates. Try eating carbs at each meal that will fuel your active lifestyle and make you feel energized, like sweet potatoes, butternut squash, fruit and quinoa. 3. You’re not balancing your macronutrients – Whether you’re following a Paleo, vegan or vegetarian diet, it’s imperative to balance your ratio of proteins, fats and carbohydrates – otherwise known as macronutrients – for the day. Macronutrients are good for you, but they need to be eaten in the right proportion. You can do a quick Internet search for a macronutrient calculator and begin tracking your intake on a simple app like My Fitness Pal. 4. It’s time to mix up your workout – The body is efficient at adapting to repeat performances, so if you’ve been cycling the same workouts, creating variety in your fitness routine may be the spark your metabolism needs. Try lifting heavier weight, performing compound exercises that work multiple muscles at once, or swapping a few long cardio sessions for high intensity intervals. 5. You aren’t sleeping enough – Lack of sleep not only causes brain fog, it can cause cravings for excess carbohydrates, fat and sugar. Inadequate sleeps also creates a rise in the stress hormone cortisol, which has been linked to belly fat. Climb in bed as early as possible, leaving sleep-disrupting phones and tablets out of the room. Instead, try reading under the covers with ambient light to help lull you into an earlier and longer night of rest. 6. You need to have more fun – A great way to counteract stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine is to add a big dose of laughter and fun into your life. Engaging in activities that bring you joy increases healthy hormones like endorphins that can strengthen immunity and overall health. So, as important as it is to schedule a meeting and your workout, you must also schedule some regular fun. 7. You don’t actually need to lose weight – This is my favorite reason of all! When was the last time you looked at your body and just loved it in all its glory, despite your perception of its imperfections? In today’s heavily photo edited world, we’ve lost sight of what a real body actually looks like. So, if you feel healthy, eat nutritious foods, exercise, sleep well and have fun, take a moment of gratitude for your body and love it just the way it is. — Andrea Barkley is an Arcadia resident, trainer, private cook and writer. Andrea Barkley uses protein shakes as part of her diet. FOOD WISE A R I Z O N A’ S TA S T I E S T F U N D R A I S E R SM Scottsdalefest.org 37th Annual TUESDAY APRIL 7 through SUNDAY APRIL 12 2015 19 bands 100 restaurants $4 million donated ® TOP TIER SPONSORS as of Mar 2015 Coors Light Red PMS Cool Gray 11 Printed colours: 01 Phase # 23 January 2015 Client: Miller Coors File: CL Logo Stacked PMS Project: Packaging Artworker: WR Seven reasons why you don’t lose the extra pounds

Page 29 April 2015 By Heidi Staudenmaier More than 300 volunteers from the Arcadia neighborhood and beyond converged on the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church gymnasium (located on the corner of Indian School and 56th Street) on Saturday, February 28, to volunteer at the Arcadia Cares: Food for Kidz Packathon. More than 62,000 meals were packed for distribution to hungry children and their families in the area and internationally. Volunteers packed meals in assembly lines for one-hour shifts or longer. The packathon ran from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. People from age 3 to over 80 came to help. Neighborhood groups including Boy Scouts Troop 6; Daisy and Brownie troops; religious, school and business organizations; sports teams; families; and others in the area lent a hand. The Arcadia Cares committee initially hoped to secure between 150-200 volunteers to make the event successful. However, people poured into the gym on the morning of the event and the final count was over 300 participants. The individuals at each station assembled the various ingredients into an industrial grade plastic bag, which was then sealed and loaded into a box. The goal was 30,000 meals, but the count after the event revealed 62,708 meals packed in sealed bags, more than doubling the goal. The meals were placed into boxes, dated (they have a shelf life of three years), and shipped off by semitruck. Of the meals packed, 80 percent were donated to Valley View Community Food Bank for local distribution to shelters and other needy venues. The Food for Kidz organization will ship the other 20 percent to Nicaragua. “Few things are worse than not having enough food to eat,” said Steve Crofton, a member of the Arcadia Cares committee. “The neighborhood came together for the very worthy cause of fighting hunger and showed that Arcadia really cares about helping others.” The Food for Kidz model provides individually packed, highly nutritious and filling meals that include rice, soy, vitamins and dehydrated vegetables. The meals are reconstituted with water. In addition to the rice and soy based meals, volunteers also At Prince of Peace, volunteers packed meals of rice, soy and oatmeal for Food for Kidz. packaged meals with instant oatmeal and other ingredients for a healthy breakfast. Each meal provides a day’s worth of vitamins and nutrients to enable children to grow up strong and fight off diseases and sickness. The Arcadia volunteers put together 31,968 rice and soy meals and 30,740 oatmeal meals. To put this number into perspective, enough meals were packed to feed each spectator in a 60,000-seat NFL stadium. Ingredients for each meal cost 15 cents. Or, put another way, a $15 donation paid for 100 meals. One packed box contains 216 meals, which will feed a child for seven months at a cost of $32.40. All donations received before and during the event were used directly to pay for ingredients. Prince of Peace Lutheran Church Pastor Rick Sherrill served as the master of ceremonies for the event, by directing volunteers to their stations, encouraging their efforts, and announcing the meal tally after each shift to loud cheers from the participants. It truly was a neighborhood-wide event and plans are already underway to replicate the day, but the committee intends for it to be bigger and better next year. Inspired by the successful initial effort, Pastor Rick said, “This was a true community effort. It made my heart sing to see so many different people from a wide variety of community groups working alongside each other to fight hunger.” Critical to the event were the boys of Troop 6 who helped with the heavy lifting jobs, as well as the many Prince of Peace church members who organized and implemented the event. Food for Kidz started its volunteer efforts in Minnesota over 10 years ago and has helped coordinate packathon events in various locales, shipping millions of packaged meals around the world to hungry people. The organization provided all of the ingredients, equipment, supplies and on-site staff to assist with the Arcadia Cares event. “This is what Prince of Peace is all about,” Pastor Rick said, “bringing the community together in a spirit of joy and cooperation to serve others.” Over 60K meals assembled