Life Works - Nutrition & Fitness Coaching

05/24/2025

These look fun!

04/24/2025

An excellent visual of how keeping your blood sugar stable will help you achieve healthy, long lasting results!

04/03/2025

03/24/2025

02/19/2025

Completely unacceptable.

Absolute Failure from United Airlines Traps Wheelchair Rugby Team in Air Travel Hell ⁣⁣
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The Portland quad rugby team and members of three other teams, about 20 wheelchair users in all, were booked on a United flight from Louisville to Chicago Sunday night. We gave United hours of direct advance notice and told the gate staff we would need multiple aisle chairs and multiple staff to board. They didn’t listen.⁣⁣
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What ensued over the next 12 hours was the single worst travel experience I’ve endured in over 20 years of traveling the world as a Paralympian, athlete and wheelchair user. ⁣⁣
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When it was time to load, they had one aisle chair, and it took over an hour to load everyone. We then spent two hours sitting in the plane on the tarmac because United couldn’t get their de-icer equipment working.⁣⁣
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When it was all said and done, United forced us to deplane and reboard three times, claiming all along that we were still going to leave. They only had one staff assisting, so our 75-year-old helper was forced to help with transfers.
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The flight was supposed to depart at 6 p.m. By 1 a.m., United officially “delayed” the flight until the morning and issued hotel vouchers. With no accessible transportation, quads who couldn’t transfer themselves to a standard taxi had to spend all night in baggage claim. One person had a bowel accident. No one had access to checked luggage or checked mobility equipment. ⁣⁣
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Because I could transfer to a standard SUV, I finally made it to a hotel at 2 a.m. with my 7-year-old son. With United providing no information about how we would be able to get out of Louisville, I canceled my tickets and spent $850 to get me and my son a flight on another airline today. We don’t have our personal luggage. My rugby wheelchair and equipment are lost in United’s system. ⁣⁣
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It is a complete failure on the part of United. A total disregard for the needs or the safety of disabled passengers. ⁣The entire system of air travel for wheelchair users needs to change. It is broken and it is dangerous.
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Hopefully my son and I will make it home today. Hopefully everyone else will too. Our mobility equipment, who knows? ⁣⁣
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- Seth McBride (), NM Editor⁣ ⁣
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02/18/2025

What Science Tells Us About Trans Athletes:

Recent research continues to shed light on the participation of transgender athletes in sports.

A comprehensive 2023 review by Assistant Professor D.J. Oberlin at Lehman College examined the impact of gender-affirming hormone therapy on athletic performance.

Oberlin concluded that “an individual’s s*x does not determine their success or failure at any athletic event despite the high level of competition.”

The study also noted there are great variations among cisgender athletes, such as differences in height, weight, training, and more. That means in the general population there are bound to be people that are better at some sport than others, but no one seems to worry about those. "It is expected that about 2.3% of a normally distributed population is likely to fall above two standard deviations from a population mean,” Oberlin explained. “These exceptional individuals may be those who are gifted and excel at some sport or athletic performance.”

In 2024, the idea that trans women athletes have an inherent advantage over cis athletes was once again undercut by a study funded by the International Olympic Committee and conducted at the University of Brighton in England. It was published in April in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

That study found:

🏳️‍⚧️ Transgender women performed worse than cisgender women in tests measuring lower-body strength.

🏳️‍⚧️ Transgender women performed worse than cisgender women in tests measuring lung function.

🏳️‍⚧️ Transgender women had a higher percentage of fat mass, lower fat-free mass, and weaker handgrip strength compared to cisgender men.

🏳️‍⚧️ Transgender women’s bone density was found to be equivalent to that of cisgender women, which is linked to muscle strength.

Another common myth is the idea that boys or men might falsely claim a female identity just to compete in women’s sports. However, there is no evidence to support this claim. Transitioning is a deeply personal and often difficult process—not something athletes would do just to win a competition.

The reality is that trans athletes, like all athletes, just want a fair chance to compete in the sports they love.

Therefore, science tells us:

🏳️‍⚧️ After hormone therapy, trans women’s athletic performance aligns more closely with cisgender women.

🏳️‍⚧️ Competitive advantage is complex and influenced by many factors, including training, skill, and individual physiology—not just gender identity.

🏳️‍⚧️Transgender women are likely to be at a physical disadvantage compared to cisgender athletes.

Let’s stand for inclusion, celebrate diversity in sports, and ensure that all athletes are treated with fairness and respect. 🏳️‍⚧️

02/07/2025

12/19/2024