energy.

Alabama Squad Adds 2 Players to the All-Star Team via the AHSAA

 

MONTGOMERY – Alabama and Mississippi all-star teams reported Monday afternoon for Saturday’s 30th annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Football Game at Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl. Alabama’s squad added two players Monday with one replacement reporting Tuesday.
Kickoff is set for noon Saturday with Raycom Media televising the game live over its Raycom affiliate stations in both states as well as in Memphis and Columbus (GA). The AHSAA Radio Network will also broadcast the game live over its radio network Saturday.
Spain Park 6-foot-2, 275-pound defensive end Douglas Henze replaced LaBryan Ray of James Clemens. Henze reported Monday. Jaylond Adams of Minor, who was added last week, dropped off the team due Monday and was replaced by Opelika’s Craig Lawrence. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Florence played fullback for the Class 6A state runner-up Bulldogs but will be likely used some at tight end as well.
St. Paul’s Episcopal defensive lineman Ryan Johnson is also expected to play some tight and for the Alabama squad this week.
UMS-Wright Coach Terry Curtis is serving as the Alabama head coach. Quarterbacking the squad will  Daulton Hyatt of Etowah and Bubba Thompson of McGill-Toolen Catholic with Blount’s multi-talented Kadarius Toney listed on the team as “athlete.” Toney, a Florida commit, combined for almost 4,000 total yards as the Leopards’ quarterback in 2016. Hyatt, heading to Arkansas, finished the 2016 121-of-184 passing for 2,240 yards and 25 touchdowns with only five interceptions.   Thompson led McGill-Toolen (13-1) to the 7A state finals – completing 26-of-39 passes for 280 yards in the 17-7 loss to Hoover. He finished 2016 with 211-of-387 passes completed for 2,984 yards and 38 touchdowns.
Head coach for Mississippi is Todd Mangum of Wayne County. 
Mississippi snapped a seven-game Alabama winning streak in the series last year with a 28-21 win at Hattiesburg (MS). Alabama holds a 21-8 edged in the series, however, dating back to 1988. The game was played in Mobile from 1988-2011 before moving to Cramton Bowl from 2011-15. The game was played at Southern Miss last year – the first time the game has been hosted in that state. Honorary captains include Kenny King for Alabama and Marcus DuPree for Mississippi.
   MISSISSIPPI SUPER RECRUIT: Among the top players on the Mississippi squad is 6-foot, 215-pound Clinton quarterback Cam Akers, who did not report with the team Monday but was expected to join the squad Monday night. He led Clinton to the MHSAA Class 6A state championship last weekend – finishing the season 173-of-280 passing for 3,128 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Clinton beat Pearl 49-35 to finish the season 14-1.  Also on the Mississippi squad from Clinton are running back Darius Maberry, a Southern Miss commitment, and defensive back Kam White, who has Iowa State at the top of his list.
West Point’s Everitt Cunningham, a 6-3, 240-pound defensive end, helped his team beat Laurel 29-8 to win the MHSAA Class 5A state crown.
TEAMS VISIT HYUNDAI PLANT: Both squads visited the Montgomery Hyundai automotive plant Monday night before settling in. The teams will conduct two practices Tuesday with the morning practice from 9 to 11 a.m., and the afternoon practice from 2 to 4 p.m.

The ultimate guide to keeping your diet during the holidays.

We know what you’re all thinking, keeping your diet during the most wonderful time of the year is not as easy as eating pumpkin pie. But we’ve done our research! The CDC and American Heart Association have come out with two awesome guidelines to help you keep up your diet through the holidays– And they are more simple than you think.

Let us start with a few pointers from the CDC shall we…

1. Holiday-Proof Your Plan by Planning Ahead

  • If your meal is served later than normal, eat a small snack at your usual mealtime and eat a little less when dinner is served.
  • Invited to a party? Bring a healthy dish along. Plenty of people will bring the sweets. (Be the change).
  • Don’t skip meals to save up for a feast. You’ll be really hungry and more likely to overeat (we’ve all done it, but you’ll be sorry about it later).

2. Outsmart the Buffet

When you face a spread of delicious holiday food, make healthy choices easier:

  • Make a small plate of the foods you like best. Portion control is everything.
  • Start with vegetables to take the edge off your appetite.
  • Eat slowly. It takes at least 20 minutes for your brain to realize you’re full.
  • Avoid or limit alcohol. If you do have an alcoholic drink, have it with food.

3. Fit in Favorites

Choose the dishes you really love and can’t get any other time of year, like Aunt Edna’s pumpkin pie (which has a lot less calories than pecan pie). Slow down and savor a small serving, and make sure to count it in your meal plan.

4. Gotta Keep Moving

You’ve got a lot on your plate this time of year (literally), and physical activity can get crowded out. But being active is your secret holiday weapon; it can help make up for eating more than usual and reduce stress during this most stressful time of year. Get moving with friends and family, such as taking a walk after a holiday meal. 

5. Get Your Zzz’s In

Going out more and staying out later often means cutting back on sleep. Sleep loss can make it harder to control your blood sugar, and when you’re sleep deprived you’ll tend to eat more and prefer high-fat, high-sugar food.  Aim for 7 hours per night to guard against mindless eating.

“Most of all, remember what the season is about—celebrating and connecting with the people you care about. When you focus more on the fun, it’s easier to focus less on the food.” 

See that wasn’t so bad! Now lets move along to what the American Heart Association has to say…

“This guide includes great tips and recipes to help you navigate the holiday season in a healthy way. Here are some simple ways you and your family can eat healthy. Visit heart.org/healthyeating to learn more.”

Include

• Fruits and vegetables • Whole grains • Beans and legumes • Nuts and seeds • Fish & skinless poultry, or plant-based alternatives • Fat-free and low-fat dairy products • Healthier fats and nontropical oils.

Limit

• Sodium and salt • Saturated fat • Sweets and added sugars, including sugar-sweetened beverages • Red meats — if you choose to eat red meat, select the leanest cuts.

Avoid

• Trans fat and partially hydrogenated oils

Tips

  • Choose wisely, even with healthier foods. Ingredients and nutrient content can vary by brand and preparation.
  • Compare nutrition information on package labels and select products with the lowest amounts of sodium, added sugars, saturated fat and trans fat, and no partially hydrogenated oils.
  • Watch your calorie intake. To maintain weight, consume only as many calories as you use up through physical activity. If you want to lose weight, consume fewer calories or burn more calories.
  • Eat reasonable portions. Often this is less than you are served.
  • Eat a wide variety of foods to get all the nutrients your body needs.
  • Prepare and eat healthier meals at home. You’ll have more control over ingredients.
  • Look for the Heart-Check mark to easily identify foods that can be part of an overall healthy diet. Learn more at heartcheck.org 

    **You can find delicious alternative recipes for family meals from the A.H.A. here.

 

7 Things Your Yoga Teacher Wants to Tell You

 

“I’ve taught yoga for over 10 years to students around the world and I’ve come up with a few things that every yoga teacher wants you to know. Don’t worry, I’m not here to yell or judge! But even if you’re hitting the mat a few times a week and holding every pose perfectly, you may not be getting the most from your yoga practice. Now, it’s easy to rattle off a long list of yoga no-no’s, but there are also crucial lessons your teacher is probably dying to share with you. Here are my big seven. Take notes and enjoy the ride!

You don’t need to practice yoga every day
It’s easy to fall so deeply in love with yoga that you want to practice non-stop. I hear you—but between travel, work, and family, you can end up depleting your body and mind of energy if you’re not careful. Instead, respect your body and remember that you’re often just as powerful taking time off as you are pushing yourself to the max. Find your balance.

There is no such thing as a typical yoga body
If you were to ask someone what a yogi looks like they’d probably say long, lean, flexible, and strong. Pop culture has definitely influenced that stereotype, but as a teacher who travels the world meeting yogis of every age, gender and race, I can tell you clearly—there is no perfect yoga body. Some of the most amazing yoga I’ve ever seen has come from bodies that were outside that stereotype. You can be curvy, slight, young, or old—yoga is for everyone.

A calming, restorative practice is just as powerful as a strong flow class
In this day and age, we go and we go hard. We rock jobs, run families, keep up on style trends and hit our workouts like a boss. There’s so much go-go-go-go that often the perfect remedy isn’t a wicked hard yoga class but one that will balance you out by slowing you down. Taking the time to breath, stretch, relax and meditate is crucial to giving us the mental strength to carry on at a high pace. So remember that these restorative style classes are a great compliment to your power/flow classes and that you don’t always need 90 minutes of sweat to feel restored. Sometimes all it takes is 20 minutes of focus, peace and quiet.

Enjoy being a beginner
I’m a total overachiever who gets frustrated easily when I can’t master a challenge. But yoga taught me that the journey is even greater than the result. Sure, being a beginner can be a bumpy, ego-bruising time. But it’s also a time when you’re excited, ambitious, and eager to soak everything in. Enjoy this journey, because it’s only a matter of time before you figure it out, master it, and long for something new that exhilarates you the same way.

You don’t need to be flexible to be good at yoga
If I had a nickel for every time I heard someone say, “I’m not flexible enough to do yoga,” I’d be able to afford a closet full of designer shoes. It’s like saying you’re too dirty to take a bath! The whole purpose of yoga is to help you with your flexibility. Give it time—yoga is here to help you out, not embarrass or demean you. And in the meantime, try these stretches to improve your flexibility.

Difficult poses aren’t necessarily better
Yoga has officially entered the age of Instagram, where people post mind-blowing pictures of incredibly challenging poses daily (and I certainly participate… that’s me in the picture above!). They may be inspiring or frustrating depending on your skill level, but here’s the thing: Harder doesn’t always mean better! One of the most common blunders is being over ambitious, pushing towards a pose beyond your current ability and then ending up hurt. Next thing you know you’re too injured to practice for weeks all because of one silly ego slip. Remember, the goal of yoga is to feel better and find balance. So if a simple standing pose and hip opener fills you up more than a foot-behind-the-head, do what works for you! That is your perfect form of yoga.

Yoga isn’t about how you look, it’s about you feel
This one is crucial! Forget the hard poses or the fancy-patterned leggings with matching bra. All of these things are fun, but at the end of the day all that matters is how you feel. Did the practice improve your mood? Calm your mind? Improve your energy? Awesome. Were you in sweatpants? Did you comb your hair? Did you set a world record of Chaturangas? Who cares! Stick to how you feel and you’ll shine no matter what.”

Taken from Women’s Health Mag: http://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/yoga-teacher-tips