The Body by Design Blog - Fitness, Diet, and Personal Power

INTENSITY-by Lou Haskins

2010-11-07T15:42:00.003-05:00

If you have read any previous posts, you've seen there's a lot of info about getting motivated and exercising regularly.

If you've gotten to that 5th phase of behavior change; maintenance,
Congratulations!
It has not been easy, but you're now at that point where if you don't follow your schedule or miss a session, it nags at you. GOOD!

So, it seems only fair that I discuss what comes next after you've gotten fit.

An important point here: Your body adapts to whatever you're doing with it, or to it, good or bad

Adaptation has taken place; if you continue what you're doing, you'll maintain the level of fitness, strength and aerobic capacity you've worked so hard to achieve.

That's a good thing!

However, let's say you're really enjoying your new body, and you want to explore your maximum capabilities.
Maybe you have set a goal, such as a 6 minute mile, or a 300Lb dead lift, for example, but can't get there.

You've hit a plateau.

To get the results that propel you into the elite category in whatever sport or exercise you engage in, you must do two major things:

1. Exercise with enough vigor to cause your body go into acute hormonal expression.

Example; Resistance training- Click here on intensity to see an abstract of a scientific study that shows just how complex this issue is.

Here's a picture of me leg pressing 1270 lbs. This degree of intensity keeps me healthy and fit!

Not bad for a 71 year old geezer!

If you really want that intensity level, you'll need to educate yourself.
Not with commercial internet sites, or companies trying to sell you products, but by gaining a scientific knowledge base that allows you to make these changes.

Example:Running- improved times require increased VO2 max, Maximal Oxygen Uptake
Click here on the highlighted Maximal Oxygen Uptake for a definition and related articles.
A way to get the needed intensity after warm up, is to run at a comfortable pace, then SPRINT for 30 seconds, just as fast as you possibly can go!!
Then, throttle back to to an easy jog for about a minute. Repeat this cycle at least eight times, or until you are totally exhausted! Note: if you can do this more than eight times, you're not working hard enough during the intervals! (Or, you're a genetic freak!)
During these peaks, you should NOT be able to talk; you SHOULD be gasping for breath!

You will see improved performance!
The most popular name for this is called interval training.
It requires requires both aerobic and anaerobic systems of your body to adapt to the high demand.

WARNING!!!
These methods are NOT for the faint hearted! You should be fit before you try this!

OR, see a qualified trainer whose profession is helping you get results. For example, Body by Design Studio, sponsor of this blog!

2. Give your body enough time to recover and repair the microscopic damage caused by overloading the engaged muscles beyond their normal capacity.
This is an often overlooked componant of training.
If you train in these ways too often, your body doesn't get time to make the changes you're trying to acquire.
Fatigue, lowered immune system and lack of motivation can result.

So, you have to know your body and have spent enough time to be at a good fitness level, before these methods will produce favorable results.
Good luck and GOOD TRAINING!

How to Squeeze in That Last Ten Minutes of Exercise by Lou Haskins

2010-10-24T14:59:00.001-04:00

If you read the last post, you've upped your metabolic rate and have done some beneficial exercises in the car on the way home.

Instead of feeling sluggish and wanting to rest, you're ready to do something more!

The key here, is to fit some body motion into what you need to do for the rest of the day.

Exercise should not be considered a disruption, but rather a integral part of your routine.

A simple way to do that is with a stepper.

They are: small, inexpensive and have many variations. Some have a stand up handle bar instead of bands. They have counters and timers.

If you're busy with family, preparing a meal, or doing chores, you're expending energy. If not, jump on the stepper.

Almost everyone watches TV, so put it behind a couch or favorite chair.
It's a great way to get moving if you want to watch the watch the tube.

Keep a chart and record the minutes.
This IS doable!
You'll be piling up exercise minutes before you know it, without wrecking your routine.

Need Exercise? by Lou Haskins

2010-10-02T08:24:00.000-04:00

That 30 minutes of moderate to intense exercise each day, recommended by the experts, seems impossible to many of us.

That is, until you remember it can be broken down into ten minute segments.
By spacing it out throughout the day, it gets more manageable.

Previous posts gave some suggestions for morning and noon time, here are some ideas for the time after work.
First, get ready for some activity when you get home by priming your body during the drive home.

Just remember to be safe and use common sense.

During drive time, you can do more than just sit at traffic lights.

You can use the steering wheel to flex your arms and shoulders.
Squeeze as hard as you can and relax.
Push and pull on it. The steering wheel can take it.

Twist your trunk in the seat. Core strength and flexibility is the benefit.

Have you ever heard of a doctor named Kegel? Look him up. .
Once you start doing Kegel exercises, you may consider him your best friend!
Women and men can strengthen connective tissue and internal muscles (especially the pubococcygeus) in the pelvic floor. .
Among the benefits; improved sexual function (that's always a biggie for me) and increased support for all those internal organs that require strong connective tissue.

Biggest benefit - for many, incontinence is greatly reduced or eliminated!
It's easy to do, so what's not not like?
You can do hundreds of these exercises during drive time, all you have to do is bear down as if squeezing off your urine flow.

Your legs can benefit too! Just flex your butt, thighs and calves when your stopped.

But! You have to REMEMBER to do them! Visual cues in your car really help.

Put up a picture of some kind, or a chart you can check off, or a reminder.
Edison had it right.

What's all this doing for you?
Glad you asked! All this in the car provides muscle warm up, raises your metabolism and gets you mentally ready to be active when you get to your destination.

No more feeling exhausted and flopping with a snack! You'll want to move!

And you thought you were too busy to exercise!

Time for Your Nooner, by Lou Haskins

2010-09-05T23:15:00.003-04:00

How can you squeeze in a few minutes of exercise during the lunch hour?

Glad you asked! You have to plan for it!

Walking is wonderful!

We are made for it.

We're so worried these days about the least little hint of perspiration, or scent of an exercised body! Don't be!

A quick cleanup and changing your top gets you back at the desk smelling like, well, you!

What about lack of opportunity or space?

Got stairs? Stair climbing is a great way to build and tone your butt and legs. Get creative. There's a lot of ways to do steps. Lots of calories get burned and legs get slimmer!

Try standing up while you eat. The right type of lunch will make this easy and you burn calories and strengthen the little stabilizing muscles while standing.

Before you know it, you'll be a shadow of your former self!

A Kicked Up Veggie Stir Fry for Your Spicy Side

2010-08-22T21:29:00.000-04:00

Who says healthy recipes have to be boring? I know that when you hear "Veggie Stir Fry," some people (wrongly) assume the dish will be a boring combination of overcooked, soggy vegetables. But if you do it right you'll be making room in your regular recipe rotation for this spicy dish.

But be warned: this stir fry is s-p-i-c-y! Of course, you are at liberty to tame it down to your liking by using sweet peppers instead of red peppers and less cayenne and chili pepper seasonings. Although fall is just around the corner, which means you might be in the mood for something to warm you up on those chilly evenings.

One of the best parts about this recipe, aside from the bold taste, is all the nutrition packed into each serving thanks to the veggies. And with six different spices in the mix, you get a chance to really make use of your spice rack. The other great thing about Spicy Veggie Stir Fry with Noodles is that if you know your way around your kitchen, it all comes together in less than half an hour.

Now here's how to "Satisfy Your Spicy Side"!

    * 1 package Japanese (Udon) Noodles
    * 1 cup snap peas
    * 3 green onions chopped
    * 1 red pepper sliced
    * 1 cup baby corn

Dressing

    * 2 tablespoons sodium free beef bouillon
    * 3/4 cup warm water
    * 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
    * 1 teaspoon molasses
    * 1/8 teaspoon Ginger
    * 1 tablespoon Garlic Powder
    * 1/2 teaspoon Black Peppercorns, ground
    * 1 1/2 tablespoons Chili Powder
    * 3/4 tablespoon Cayenne Pepper
    * 1/4 cup Sesame Oil

Boil Udon Noodles uncovered for 8 to 10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.

Dressing: in a bowl and add 3/4 cup warm water and dissolve the beef bouillon. Once dissolved, add red wine vinegar, molasses, ginger, garlic powder, ground peppercorns, chili powder, cayenne pepper and sesame oil. (For a milder version, reduce the amount of cayenne pepper and substitute sweet peppers for the red peppers.)

Pour the dressing into a skillet and heat until it starts to bubble. Add the fresh vegetables and sautee them for approximately 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the Udon noodles and mix until coated.

Servings: 4

Nutritional Breakdown (per serving):

This dish is a little high in carbs, so I would reserve it for post-workout times, or occasion when you know you'll be needing energy in the following three hours.

Calories 407, Fat 17 grams, Protein 12 grams, Sodium 700 mg, Carbohydrates 56 grams, Fiber 6 grams

Don't Give it All Back While You're Away!

2010-08-17T06:43:00.000-04:00

That vacation you've been planning or the business trip you can't get out of can sometimes have a negative effect on diet and your fitness routine. In fact, sometimes it takes several days or a week to get back into the normal routine and feel like your self again. Although you're away from home and it's more difficult to follow your normal routine, you still shouldn't go all out and blow all the progress you've made. Try to get a little exercise everyday and limit the high fat and high calorie foods. Every little bit you can do for fitness really does help.

Surprize - Obesity a Big Contributor to the Energy Crisis!

2010-08-13T21:24:00.000-04:00

How surprised would you be to learn that the increasing obesity in this country is a significant contributor to our energy crisis? And no, I don't mean energy crisis in the sense "I just don't have the energy to work out", I mean our fatness is burning up a billion extra gallons of gasoline each year!

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new report on obesity and found that there was a 1.1 percent increase (an additional 2.4 million people) in the self-reported prevalence of obesity between 2007 and 2009, plus the number of states with an obesity rate over 30 percent has tripled to nine states. In 2000, there were no states that had an obesity rate of 30 percent or more. This obesity has caused more people to buy larger vehicles, which increases gasoline consumption in the U.S. and fuel consumption increases with more weight in cars from people.

A detailed study published in 2006 at Entrepreneur.com analyzed the amount of additional fuel consumed due to heavier drivers. One key finding was that almost 1 billion gallons of gasoline per year can be attributed to passenger weight gain in non-commercial vehicles between 1960 and 2002--this translates to .7 percent of the total fuel used by passenger vehicles annually. Researchers also estimated that over 39 million gallons of fuel is used annually for every pound gained in average passenger weight!

A 2009 study by the non-profit company Resources for the Future looked at the link between obesity and vehicle demand and found that from 1999 to 2005, a 10-percent increase in overweight and obese drivers reduced fuel economy of new vehicle demand by 2.5 percent. The study noted that as the overweight and obesity rates increased, so did the percentage of vans, SUVs, and pickup trucks purchased from 16 percent in the early 1970s to recently more than 40 percent. (Of course, other factors helped drive this market change, such as those crude, commercial-type vehicles becoming more refined and better tailored to commuter duties.)

These findings are sensible yet still surprising, and they drive home the point that the problems associated with obesity in the U.S. can run far deeper we ever realized.

(With thanks to Consumer Reports and the CDC for this information)

More people fatter now than in 2007

2010-08-07T21:41:00.000-04:00

It's official: We're getting fatter. The number of obese people in the United States has increased by 2.4 million since 2007, according to a CDC special report released Tuesday.

The report also says that 9 states – up from 3 in 2007 – now report obesity levels at 30 percent or higher (in 2000, no states were in that category). Not a single state has reached the 15 percent goal set in the CDC's "Healthy People 2010" initiative.

"Obesity is a major public health problem," said CDC Director, Dr. Thomas Frieden. "We need intensive and ongoing efforts to address obesity, or more people will get sick and die from the complications of obesity, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer."

In addition to the added number of obese people, the report also explored the costs associated with obesity and related conditions.

"In 2008 dollars, medical costs associated with obesity were estimated at $147 billon," Frieden said. "That translates into medical costs for people who are obese that were $1,429 higher per person each year, compared to normal-weight individuals."

Frieden, and Dr. Bill Dietz, Director of CDC's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, went on to say that national programs like the Let's Move campaign and state programs that address health-related infrastructure are steps in the right direction.

"Obesity is a societal problem, and it will take a societal response," Frieden said.

Barriers to Exercise-I Haven't Got Time in the Morning by Lou Haskins

2010-08-04T21:14:00.000-04:00

this blog discusses being healthy in America today.

TIME !

OKAY, you don't have time to exercise, eat right and get healthy.

Sooooo, let's complete the thought here.............you'll just continue gaining pounds, eating junk food and hardening your arteries.

I know, and you know, that is a recipe for misery and severe health problems..

It really is a matter of perspective. In earlier posts I mentioned the MENTAL shift; that change in attitude that causes people to realize if they don't do something, NOW, they will soon have a severe health event or worse!

Just like working a budget, many people who succeeded in making time for exercise inventoried themselves and analized how their time was actually being spent.

Carl Jung had it right.

If getting up ten minutes earlier was needed for the morning session, they did it. If lunch was a time spent sitting and eating, they changed that. Instead of coming home and frantically trying to be chauffeur, cook and housemaid, they found ways to integrate physical activity into the tasks.

Here are some real-world examples of people's successful methods to add that TEN stinkin' minutes into their busy day.

MORNINGS

1. She set the alarm ten minutes earlier and did breathing and stretching.
If you have to, go to bed ten minutes earlier. So what, if at first, you're in bed lying awake at night? Use the time to plan how you will go about improving your health.

2. He bought books and devised his own ten minute meditation/breathing/stretching/yoga/strength program.
You know better than anyone what you like to do; what you hate to do. If you own it, you're more likely to do it.

3. He stretched a bungee cord across the doorway.
By physically reminding himself that removing it was the signal to ride his bike to work, he did it. Breakfast became fresh fruit, a healthy meal bar and water on the way.

4. She bought a mini-stepper. After breakfast and before leaving for work, she watched TV news and brushed her teeth while stepping her way to fitness!

5. She planted a small garden. "It was so relaxing!"

For non-gardeners....Pulling weeds and raking and pruning gives the body and the mind a good workout. Enjoying the morning quiet time was an unforeseen bonus..

6. He challenged the kids to a duel. Who ever could beat dad on the balance board got to pick special things. (he came up with a point system for them to earn a much desired item) Guess who won.

So, get inventive! If you have decided you really want to improve your health, you WILL find a way!

A few notes for the purists. I'm well aware that some of these activities may be less than ten minutes (at first) and the intensity may not be great; but it's a funny thing about exercise. The more you do it, the more you want to do it, as well as making it more challenging.

Inch by inch, life's a cinch.

If you don't start, NOTHING will happen, right?

Also, don't fall into the trap of skipping breakfast to make time for activity. It has been proven many times over that those who eat breakfast can better manage their weight.

Keep a record of what you do. It is key to maintaining momentum. Put it on the refrigerator door. You KNOW you'll see it there!

Next post-some examples of noon time ten minute exercise breaks.

Barriers to Exercise-NO TIME! by Lou Haskins

2010-08-02T21:53:00.001-04:00

this blog discusses being healthy in America today

The late, great comedian, Rodney Dangerfield once said, " If I knew I was gonna live THIS long, I'd have taken better care of myself!"

Take this quiz and get a good understanding of why you're not taking better care of yourself.
Click on Quiz for full-screen size and printing.

Click on Quiz for full-screen size and printing


Courtesy of CDC (Center for Disease Control)

Time is there, you just have to prioritize it.

In the morning, before breakfast, take ten minutes to do some yoga, deep breathing, or if the kids are up, play with them before breakfast for that all-important ten minutes. It becomes a habit. Surely, you can find TEN minutes.
If you do it before you eat, your metabolism revs up and you burn calories more efficiently.

After all, we are descended from hunter-gathers. They didn't roll over in the cave and pour a cup of coffee and toast a bagle. They had to expend energy and go find breakfast; and often, it fought back!

For a good blog on food, read my friend Brenna, a registered dietitian who counsels diabetic patients.
You can find her at http://eating-simple.blogspot.com/
She sees the effects of poor diet every day. She can help.
Next up, more examples of ten minute exercise examples you can use in your daily activities.

The Time is Now!! By Lou Haskins

2010-07-30T09:54:00.000-04:00

this blog discusses being healthy in America today

I recently did a series of postings on how to make Behavior Changes, and why it is so difficult.

It seems logical to follow with this series; what is known by trainers as Barriers to Exercise.

The #1 reason for not getting the recommended amount of PA (physical activity) each day is.................?
drum roll please..................TIME!

So, when we GET time, we'll start, right? Unh Hunh! Yeah!

If you are seriously trying to do do something about you health and fitness, (action phase), don't let TIME get in the way, make it an ally!

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has updated its' recommendations for exercise Do you know that now, your activity can be broken down into segments?

Three 10 minute periods of activity a day can meet the minimum requirement of 30 minutes, at least 5 days a week, for physical activity.

Here's great link to the ACSM updated guidelines as well asMETs.
You really should be looking for this kind of info if you have moved into the planning or action phase.

http://www.bodyresults.com/e2acms_2007.asp

This site gives a terrific explanation of METs and how you can use them to boost your activity.

BTW, you'll notice it's now PA (physical activity) and not exercise. This reflects the more inclusive view that anything that gets you up and moving can be beneficial. For example, common chores like washing the car or doing housework. It counts! There's this system called METs (metabolic equivalents) that lets you keep track. Keeping a record is key.
A good place is on the refrigerator. You KNOW you'll be going there!

If you have kids, involving them makes it quality time, sets a great precedent for them, requires more calories and effort, but only a little more time. Kids love to help. Let them! They'll be grown and gone before you know it!

So, think about the ten minutes. Surely you can find ten minutes, right? Think about that and in the next post, I'll give you some real life examples of what people are doing to get PA of ten minutes, three times a day.

Have You Ever Taken a CPR Course? by Lou Haskins

2010-07-23T11:54:00.001-04:00

This blog discusses being healthy in America today

CPR - cardio pulmonary resuscitation, the first treatment for a person who has collapsed and is not breathing and/or has no pulse. It consists of an external cardiac massage and artificial respiration.

You can use this lifesaving skill any where, any time without any equipment help.
A lot of things have changed, so even if you had it years ago, you need a refresher.

And, for those who have never learned this simple skill, pray that someone you love never needs CPR while you are helplessly standing by.

The guilt can be overwhelming!

Make sure you get a course that actually has you practice on a simulated

person!

Reading about it is not enough if you find yourself in this high-stress situation.

Having CPR skills is something you'll NEVER regret!

It Isn't Hopeless! by Lou Haskins, CPT

2010-07-13T19:40:00.002-04:00

this blog discusses being healthy in America today

A couple of hours ago, I was a guest of Michael Perskin, MD, on Dr Radio.
http://www.sirius.com/doctorradio

His show is called Healthy Aging.
He had me as a guest because I'm a certified personal trainer and 71 years old.
I'm a healthy and fit; and the idea was for me to answer, with the doctor, caller's questions relating to exercise for older adults.

The first caller described her husband. He's 50, 5'9" and weighs 280lbs. He's had a heart attack and now has developed diabetes!
She was beside herself. No matter what, she couldn't get him to exercise or make positive improvements in his lifestyle.
I really empathize with them.
She married this man, has loved this man, had his children and is now watching him kill himself through inertia and inability to change.
Change! It is so difficult!
He most most likely feels stuck. He just doesn't think HE can do it-make the change.

If he and she should read this post, I urge you to review the earlier posts I've made on this site regarding this very subject, behavior change.

I have been there! This is me at age 60! Five feet, nine inches and 265lbs!
I didn't even feel like I had a problem, until it was almost too late!

Your body is capable of remarkable improvement, no matter what your present condition, if you just give yourself half a chance.

Don't blame it on your genes.

Don't give up because you've had bad experiences and exposures up to now.

Here's an analogy.

Your genes are like a gun.
It is what it is. You can't change it, it can be beneficial or harmful depending on what happens with it.

Our environment loads the bullets.
Now, that gun can be deadly.

     But, it is our unhealthy lifestyle that pulls the trigger!
   Stop committing suicide!
     Don't pull the trigger!

     Change your lifestyle!
     It's NOT hopeless!


                                        Here's a motto I suggest anyone can adopt.

                                           If HE or SHE can do it, I can do it!

Something's Fishy - by Lou Haskins

2010-07-03T10:46:00.001-04:00

This blog discusses being healthy in America today

As a young man in the Navy, I was stationed in Argentia, Newfoundland in 1964-68.

I was reminded of this recently when I got an email from a friend that served with me there. We reminisced about the great fishing.
It was pretty much unspoiled then, and we loved it.
One of the fun things to do was to fish for codfish. It was so simple and easy. You stood on the pier or shore, cast out a big spoon or plug lure and start reeling in. When everything stopped, and it felt like you had snagged a rock, you just had to keep reeling. After a couple of minutes, what felt like dragging an anvil, would turn out to be a 25lb codfish! (or bigger)

With white delicate meat, it made a delicious, healthy meal.

So, here's an updated healthy Mediterranean-style codfish recipe, complete with how to cook it and tell if it's done, courtesy of the Canadian Department of Marine Fisheries.

Notice the calorie, carbohydrate, salt and fat content in the nutritional analysis below the recipe-it doesn't get much better than that! And, the fat is healthy!

The header on the recipie, how to cook fish, applies to all types.
Most people tend to overcook fish, in which case, it gets dry and tasteless.
If that happens, throw away the fish and eat the pan! It will taste better!
BON APPETIT!

The Right Body in the Wrong Time by Lou Haskins

2010-06-09T07:23:00.002-04:00

this blog discusses being healthy in America today

The last few posts have dealt with behavior change, and why it's so difficult.

OK, time to deal with the LAST and most unpleasant component in the process, RELAPSE!

Misery loves company-it happens to almost everyone at one time or another. Take a look at this graph.

After about three months, only 35 to 40 percent of people trying to kick the habit are still clean. And, that's after detox!
Trying to control food is even worse! You can't abstain. You have to eat!
And, do you know anyone who wants to exercise after eating?
One good thing can be seen in this graph though, after about three months, most of us are well on the way to recovery.
When I was trying to quit my FOUR pack a day tobacco habit, I relapsed at least eight times. The only reason I was able to keep trying until successful was the process described in earlier posts where I had convinced myself that not to quit would ruin my health and probably kill me! Once you truly believe that, you'll keep trying until you do it. Losing weight and looking good is not a strong enough motivator.

If you relapse, it will begin with a bad lifestyle choice.

To aviod it happening, start by re-evaluating the people you hang out with.
Family? Well, you can pick your friends, but you're stuck with your family! Avoid the toxic ones!
Are these people you just share a behavior with?
Would these people support your effort to be healthier, or would they sabotage you?

Would they offer you a hit, a toke, a drink; take you to the Cheesecake Factory for your birthday, bake you a special dessert they know you really like and then be hurt because you don't want to eat it? Write down things like this that happened to you and who it was that did it. Forewarned is forearmed.
Change your location pattern. Take a different route home that doesn't go past the doughnut shop. Try different types of recreation activities, get involved with people leading healthier lifestyles. It's contagious!

You gotta be strong!

If, you weaken and give in to temptation, it's NOT the end of the world.

At this point it's easy to say, "I failed again! What the heck, I might as well give up."

NO!

The key?

GET BACK INTO THE ROUTINE THAT MADE YOU SUCCEED TO THIS POINT!

AFTER ALL, IF YOU DON'T KEEP TRYING YOU'RE GOING TO..................................?

The Right Body at the Wrong Time by Lou Haskins

2010-05-23T17:12:00.000-04:00

This blog discusses being healthy in America today.

In the The Right Body at the Wrong Time series, we are working through the six steps of behavior change needed to make a permanent, new healthier way of life. The last post covered step #5, maintenance.
This would be a good time to read the previous posts so you can relate to the earlier steps in the process.

In fact, step #6, permanent process is the last step in decision making.
Your brain is the means to achieving the final step.
Here's why.

To get to this point, step #6, you have:
Moved from ignorance and/or denial to awareness.
You have educated yourself and now understand just how crucial taking charge of your own health is.
You continue to research and learn about what it takes to be healthy in today's society.
You set goals and progressed to a state of healthful well-being.
You've seen amazing improvement in appearance, physical capability and medical health markers.
You have a support network that gives you feedback and encouragement.

At this point, success is achieved through vigilance.
You can actually eat a piece of chocolate layer cake with ice cream.
You can actually go a week without exercise.
However, your brain will NOT allow you to continue these behaviors.
That's because you have a NEW rnormal; a healthy lifestyle.
Whereas before you used to dread exercise, crave junk food and ignore well-meaning people trying to inform and help you; now, everything is reversed!

I call it flipping the switch.

To assist you with the permanent process, there are many tools.
Here are some examples.
Exercise log.
I put this together so that the three main types of exercise can be tracked on one log sheet.
Notice stretches are mentioned AFTER the exercise. That's because doing it this way builds muscle faster and lessens chance of injury.
Stretching a cold muscle is NOT a good thing. How many years have you heard that you should stretch first?

Ideas become accepted dogma simply because some expert or authority thinks it's logical, Others, including organizations join in, and it becomes accepted practice, even though no science has been done to prove it correct.
The correct order is: Warm-up, at least ten minutes. Then do the exercise you planned to do, and then stretch.
Your muscles will thank you for it, and there's less chance of injury.

For aerobic or cardio, about 80% of your maximum effort gets the best result.
For fat loss, the effort needs to be LESS, about 70%.
If you work too hard, too fast, the body taps into it's glycogen stores and uses carbs first, making fat loss more difficult.
That's why a good moderate to fast walking pace, about 3+ miles per hour is great for fat loss. The elliptical machines and/or rowers are excellent as well and have the added benefit of no impact; easier on the knees and ankles.

For resistance/strength training, 10-12 reps of weight that is about 20% of your intended goal gets the joint ready to go. Then, do as much weight as you can, for just a few reps! Intensity is the key to effective weight training.

Then, it's time for a good stretch. Each muscle group should be stretched right after you exercise it!

Here's another simpler log that helps you stay on the track.

Other exercise myths and misunderstandings will be covered in future posts.

The point is, keep these logs visible! On the door of the fridge, on your way out, places where seeing them will remind you to do the exercise..

Also keep track of what and how you eat.
Here's two examples, one detailed, the other more simple. Choose what works for you.

Personally, I hate calorie counting-for me all I have to do is see what's going in my mouth, and I can adjust to get the result I'm after-lose fat, gain weight etc. (This is after 3 years of educatiing myself on food)
The simple log plan? Just write down everything!
If you BITE IT, You WRITE IT!
You review your notes after, say, four days or a week and you'll be surprised.
Then, pick the bad food easiest for you to reduce or eliminate and start there.

Follow what has been discussed in this blog and you'll accomplish your goals.

There are many websites that can help, many with advertisers trying to sell you "special weight loss food".

DON'T fall for that!

The websites offer really good info, but you don't have to pay for any of it. You'll see as you navigate through the various areas.

So, in phase 6, Permanent Process, you're doing everything you need to do to be healthy and fit. It's part of who you are!

IT"S A BEAUTIFUL THING!

Next and last installment on the decision-making process and why it's so difficult, is the event we trainers NEVER mention to our clients as the they progress and become happier and more confident---
RELAPSE- it happens.
I'll tell you why, and how to deal with it.

The Right Body at the Wrong Time by Lou Haskins

2010-04-27T13:10:00.009-04:00

This blog discusses Being Healthy in America Today

This is another segment of The Right Body in the Wrong Time - we continue the discussion of making Behavior Changes and why it is so difficult.

In the previous posts, (see archive) we went through the first four steps in the decision making process that leads to permanent change, precontemplation, contemplation, planning and action.
This was the easy part!

Now, after all this self-education and awareness, we put ourselves to the test of steps five and six,
Maintenance and Permanent Process.
Many of us get to this point; now, you're going to see what it takes to make it your way of life!

This is where we want to be!
ON CRUISE CONTROL!!!
we can start and stop when we want, resume or even accelerate, and best of all COAST!

If it were only this easy! Just think, never worrying about what you're eating, never weighing yourself, not keeping volumes of charts and exercise schedules or calorie counting......why, everybody would look good and be healthy!

Just like these settings in your car's system, maintenance and permanent process allow you to do just that. The good habits become so ingrained, that they become second nature. You are so intellectually committed, you know that if you don't do this, your health will fail!

Maintenance- This is achieved best incrementally!

Earlier, I described a typical all-or nothing approach. The kind I had tried.
It usually fails.
After all, the idea is to feel good, NOT miserable! Also important, is making progress that turns into habit.
How do you do that?

Set attainable goals, write them down and refer to them, and chart your progress.

A real-life example that worked for one of my clients.

After the example we'll go through the elements that made it work.

(If you haven't read the previous posts in this series, The Right Body in the Wrong Time, now would be a good time to do so.)

This person was morbidly obese ( BMI 40). She had diabetes and metabolic syndrome.

Docs are now calling this diabesity.

I talked with her. Just listening is one of the most important things a trainer can do, btw.

She was worried and depressed; she had tried so many things and nothing had worked.

She was at the point where she knew if something wasn't done, a health crisis was imminent!

She said she lived in a second floor apartment; and, at the end of the day, climbing those stairs was really hard.

BEFORE any commitment by her, or formal training by me, I made a simple suggestion:

"When you climb those stairs, as you get to the top, step back and do one more. You can do that, right?"

She thought for a second, and said, " Well, yeah, I guess I could do one more."

"OK. Put up a piece of paper on the door, count those steps as you climb, each time write down how many you climb, and add one more each day," I told her.

"After two weeks, add them all up and you'll be surprised at how much extra exercise you got."

Off she went, looking determined, I thought.

A couple of weeks or so later, I saw her again.

After only two weeks, there was a noticeable weight loss in her face.

Even I was surprised! She was excited, and I was eager to have her tell me what happened.

She had lost seven pounds.

She was climbing more stairs than the original goal.

She was going for short walks.

She even changed her habit of going straight to the refrigerator when she entered the apartment.

NOW she had a chance of making the changes required to live her life instead of just existing! At this point, training by a professional would increase her chances of reaching Permanent Process, but is not absolutely necessary, because the criteria for sustainable change are being met.

They are:

1. Motivation-This person knew, as mentioned in previous posts, that a health calamity was near.

2. A simple initial task - that the person agreed she could do.

3. Keeping a record- right on the door at the top of the stairs, pretty hard to ignore!

4. Progression-incremental increase is easier. (inch by inch, life's a cinch-yard by yard, life is hard)

5. A sense of accomplishment-she's keeping the record and seeing her steps increase every day.

6. Control- The feeling of helplessness and being unable to deal with issues disappears.

The BONUS effect-there are often unexpected positive events that occur in the process, a cascade of good things that further motivate the person to continue to improve. She started taking extra walks and stopped eating as soon as she got home.

In this case, the previous behavior was to eat as soon as she got in the door. The heightened awareness and sense of accomplishment blunted that self- destructive desire and eventually eliminated it.

The HALO effect- When despair and depression are replaced with success, you feel so terrific, you can do anything! That's a good place to be!

The concept of ONE MORE-Getting in the habit of pushing yourself, just a little each time, pays big dividends.

At this point, a trainer can help her stay on track, give her support, info and resources to continue her self-education, and emphasize that only SHE can take charge of her health.

The trainer would make sure she did not focus on weight; that rate of loss ( 7 pounds in two weeks) would actually be unhealthy over time.

The trainer would also explain body composition; and why it is a better indicator of progress.

Reminder! As mentioned before, if the steps mentioned in previous posts are followed, it's possible to do this yourself!

A lot of us like the extra support, knowledge and motivation a trainer can provide.

That's OK too!

This person has since moved to Mississippi, and we've lost touch, but I'm confident she has the motivation, strategies and behaviors in place to lead a healthy and fit life.

I said in the last post I would include a picture of how I look now.
In the first pic, I'm 60 years old.

Now, at age 71, I'm healthier and younger.

At University of North Florida, I was tested at age 69, and met the standards of fitness for a man

35 years old!

Folks, I have been there! Let me help you take control and make the journey to health and fitness!

The next post will be about Permanent Process-how to put the whole concept of health and fitness on CRUISE CONTROL and fahgeddabout it!

White Bean Ratatouille

2010-04-16T15:30:00.003-04:00

White Bean Ratatouille - Healthy & Delicious!

Ratatouille is a dish of cooked vegetables that originated in southern France.

It is hearty and satisfying, like comfort food, with none of the guilt. This version contains white beans which add protein and have a wonderful texture. Serve it hot or cold, either way this dish is sure to please!

Yield: 8 servings

Here's what you need:

    * 1 large-size globe eggplant, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
    * 1 tablespoon water, for sautéing
    * 2 medium-size red onions, sliced
    * 3 medium-size zucchini, cut in 1/2 inch cubes
    * 2 red bell peppers, cut into 1/2 inch squares
    * 4 garlic cloves, minced
    * 1/4 cup dry white wine
    * 1 cup vegetable stock
    * 4 tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped (or 2 cans - 15 oz each – fire roasted diced tomatoes)
    * 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
    * 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
    * 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
    * 2 bay leaves
    * 2 (15oz) cans white beans, drained and rinsed
    * Salt and fresh group pepper, to taste
    * 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil

   1. Steam eggplant cubes for 10 minutes. Heat the water in a large-size sauté pan, add onions and cook, for 5 minutes.
   2. Add zucchini and bell peppers and cook, stirring often, for another 5 minutes. Add steamed eggplant and cook another 5 minutes, then add garlic.
   3. Add wine and stock. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-high and stir in tomatoes, parsley, thyme, oregano, and bay leaves. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   4. Add beans to skillet, stirring well to combine. Cook, uncovered, until vegetables are tender but not mushy and liquids have thickened, stirring occasionally for another 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
   5. Remove skillet from heat, remove the bay leaves, and stir in chopped basil.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 195 calories, 1g fat, 38g carbohydrate, 11.5g fiber, and 9.5g protein.

The Right Body in the Wrong Time - By Lou Haskins

2010-04-16T13:07:00.011-04:00

This Blog Discusses Being Healthy in America Today

This Segment:The Right Body in The Wrong Time.
We continue the discussion of making BEHAVIOR CHANGES, and why it is so difficult.

The last segment concluded with the statement, "The next funeral I attend may be my own!"

That realization came when I decided to get some term insurance to better protect my family. I figured a couple of hundred thousand dollars more would do. I went online and filled out a form for some term insurance. It was cheap!
A company rep called, and said they would send someone out to interview me.
They did.
I met him at the door.
He took one look at me, put a tape measure around my waist and said, "We'll be in touch."

True to his word, a few days later, I got a letter from the company telling me they declined to insure me.
Even this experience didn't really register, I was in denial (precontemplation).

But! A couple of days later my sister-in law stopped by. I opened the door wearing a favorite old terry cloth robe.

The Defining Moment!

SHE INNOCENTLY SAID, "Lou, are you playing Santa Claus this year?"

Wait! Santa is old and FAT! Hmmm...the truth HURT!

I went from the precontemplation to the planning and action phases in a hurry!
Only this time, a revelation came with it!
If I didn't change, the disastrous loss of my health was imminent!

I started with the internet. Anything and everything I needed and you need to make your chamge happen is there, and it's FREE!
It's important to point out here that the changes I made were done incrementally!
It wasn't easy, but now the driving force of knowing my health was at serious risk, carried me forward.

FOOD

Take a look at the link below. It's at the USDA (US Dept of Agriculture) website.
The amount of information there is mind boggling! We're paying for it, so why not use it?
It is a wonderful resource http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/

YOU BITE IT, YOU WRITE IT!
I kept a food diary - It should be two weeks or more, (everything that passed my lips !)
I gradually replaced simple sugar and calorie dense foods with whole foods containing more fiber.
I started reading every food label.
More importantly, I started eating a LOT less commercially manufactured food.
I took the salt shaker off the table.
I began to learn from reading labels and that self-education process I mentioned earlier; just how much BAD stuff was in what I was eating. I got a sense of how many calories I was eating.
The food diary was a real eye opener! Like everyone else, I didn't think I was really eating THAT much! Just that knowledge alone makes you start to scale back what you eat and how much.

Need a food diary?
Go to : http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/tnrockyrun/feedme.htm
Presto! There it is. Just print it out!
Go to the food pyramid: http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/tnrockyrun/feedme.htm
Make a copies of the food pyramid while you're there, and compare what's recommended to what you eat.
It's a good place to start. By the time you get to the final process, (the sixth decision making step), you'll be tweaking that food pyramid to suit you personally. One size does not fit all.
Just start writing down everything that goes in your mouth.
We do a lot of what's known as mindless eating. When you see what you eat written down, well, you'll be surprised!

Remember, there is no magic bullet,"special diet" or "clogged colon" cure!

You must take charge of your health!
During this process, you begin to feel in control. This is really important!
Instead of vague wishes to lose weight, or wasting your money on bogus pills or mail-order food, you are the one shaping the plan for yourself. That's why it works!
And, it costs nothing!

You're making a lifestyle behavior change. You HAVE to believe that NOT making the change will lead to really a bad outcome for you! If you don't think that, you'll be a short term success, with relapse waiting to happen.

A reminder here - we are not talking about losing weight, we're talking about being healthy!

I like to watch the TV show, Dancing With the Stars!

In 2007, former supermodel Paulina Porizkova was eliminated in the first round. I remember what her pro dance partner said about her, "She's deceptively unfit!"

But she looked good!

Being healthy is more than appearance or looking thin. Health is not the absence of disease, it's about having the strength and vitality to do the things you want, anytime you want, all your life.

So, now, if you are spending time each day learning about healthy food, and you are starting to take control of your eating, what about exercise?

With my new-found knowledge, I made up my own pre-breakfast yoga/strength routine and followed it every day (almost)
I began doing strength training.
Like food, exercise is best begun slowly and increased incrementally.

The failure scenario I described earlier, which I had done countless times, always resulting in re-gaining weight and being in poor physical condition, has to be avoided.

Start with the link here that takes you to the President's Council on Physical Fitness.
http://www.adultfitnesstest.org/
This is another wonderful free site that gets you into the action mode.

Here, I'd like to make a point. If you know you need to improve your physical self, and you've gone through the first three decision making phases, Precontemplation, Contemplation and Planning; up to now, it falls into the category of good intentions.

You CAN proceed to the Action phase and do it alone.
But, it would be like swimming an Olympic pool carrying a bowling ball-possible, but VERY difficult.
At this point, a good step for many people is to make an investment in your health and future with a premier establishment that employs qualified professional trainers; such as Body by Design Studio. (voted Best in Raleigh, 2009),

We'll talk about phase five, maintenance, and six, what I call permanent process.
Oh, and, the 7th phase, the one we don't LIKE to talk about.
At Body by Design Studio, you and your training professional form a team with one task in mind:
for you to meet your goals!

A qualified professional trainer will:
be results oriented,
have the knowledge to select only the exercises that work for you safely.
will allow you to make the most of your exercise time,
provide needed structure so that you don't get off track.

A qualified professional trainer knows fact from fiction and will not waste your time with fads.
When you get to the maintenance phase, you can, with confidence, go forward on your own, knowing that the resource is always there for you should you need a refresher.

So, let's recap to this point.
1. You have the right body, but it's in the wrong time.
2. Our Western lifestyle is dragging us down.
3. You have to get that "epiphany moment", the one that makes you realize that NOT to make serious changes in your lifestyle could result in a health catastrophe!
4. You think about, plan, and go into action by educating yourself and taking small incremental steps that breed success and let you realize you are the one in control.

For those interested enough to read this far, my picture, as I look today, will be in the next post.

Recipie: Green Smoothie

2010-04-08T20:33:00.003-04:00

Here's a smoothie recipe you may not have thought of before. Green smoothies consist of 3 basic ingredients: greens, fruit and water. Have fun experimenting with a wide range of varieties of both the greens and the fruit in order to reap the most benefit. You may be surprised to find that the simple combination of greens and fruit is quite delicious.  Servings: 1   Here's what you need...

    •    1 bunch (2 cups) red dandelion greens (feel free to use spinach or any other dark greens)
    •    1 cup strawberries
    •    1 banana
    •    1-2 cups filtered water

In a high speed blender mix the ingredients until smooth.

Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 199 calories, 1g fat, 47g carbohydrate, 10g fiber, and 6g protein.

NOTE; Don't worry. Even though it looks healthy, it really is delicious!

The Right Body at the Wrong Time by Lou Haskins

2010-03-30T11:37:00.001-04:00

This BLOG discusses Being Healthy in America Today

My thanks to the anonymous gentleman pictured above. It appeared as an illustration in a report that I read about Visceral Obesity. I hope he has been able to make the changes discussed in this BLOG, and is now healthy and fit!

This continues Part II: The Right Body At the Wrong Time-Why is Change So Difficult?

You can also go to Body By Design Studio website and Body By Design Studio Newsletter to learn more about us and read previous posts on this subject to gain context.

I ended the last post by stating that the planning and action phases, (3 and 4) of the decision making process was where the problems begin.

Let's take a typical example. You want to lose weight. This time, you REALLY want it to happen, so without further ado, one morning, you begin.

It would go something like this. (some of this is from my many failed efforts in the past, by the way)
This is a more or less male example. Ladies, you can fill in your terms and behaviors, you know what they are! : )

The Internal Dialogue - " I have got to get these extra pounds off! I look like a fat slob in these clothes! I'll look like a hippo when I go to the wedding! etc., etc. (you've been beating yourself up until things finally come to a decision climax!)

Your Plan - (such as it is) " I'll start tomorrow! No wait, that's Friday, and I've got stuff planned for the weekend-I'll start Monday.
No bread, No potatoes, No ice cream or sweets! I know that sweet stuff and all those carbs are the problem.
Exercise! I know I have to do that too! I'll get up an hour early and finally start using those running shoes I got six months ago! I'll run as far as possible and increase the distance each day! That's GOT to get results! Cigarettes, weed and booze? Well, gotta start some where, I'll get to those later.

Action
MONDAY
Morning- Man, it's been a busy weekend!
I went to a great party!
Hell, since I was going to torture myself anyway come Monday, I pigged out on all the good stuff, watched the games on TV and vegged out!

So, now, I got out there and ran this morning, man, that was murder! But, I did get in about a half a mile, better than I thought!
Let's see, with all this running, I don't have much desire to eat.
I'll skip breakfast, I really don't care that much about it anyway, and stop at the Starbucks on the way to work. Great! This is working already!
Later-Wow! I made it all day! With no carbs and just some rabbit food, and with plenty of Red Bull, I'm rockin!

Dinner time. With my serious calorie deficit for today, I can chow down tonight! I'll just be sure it's plenty of meat, whole grain bread and veggies; the wife's got frozen corn and some French fries ready to go.

Bedtime - Man, that air-popped popcorn tasted more like air than popcorn, but a couple of Slimjims helped. My total calories had to be 1/2 of what I usually eat!

TUESDAY
Morning Well, I did run today, but my legs are killing me! I don't think I even did as much as yesterday. Well, at least I'm staying on my diet, plus plenty of coffee; and I made it a latte today since I'm burning all these calories!

Noon I'm hanging tough! At the meeting today, cookies looked good and I wanted some, but I didn't touch them.

Dinner time. Told the wife all I want is bacon and eggs. I know from reading the Atkins Diet, I can eat as much of that as I want!

Bedtime Cantaloupe!
A Low Carb Diet, I read, lets you eat that kind of stuff if you're feeling really hungry

I weighed myself. I lost three pounds!

ENOUGH ALREADY!
Just writing this is reminding me how miserable I was when trying to lose weight in this manner.
This type of behavior and the variations of it will not allow you to achieve your goal!
There are so many things wrong that it's doomed to failure, it's just a matter of time.
Let's see....feeling deprived, can't eat your favorite foods or do the things you like, sore and achy all over.........

No Sane Person Wants That for a Lifetime!

Here's why this approach cannot be maintained.

First and foremost, the reason.
I want to lose weight - will not stand the test of time. That's why we always gain it back.
Remember when I said you have to convince yourself that not making the change would be a disaster? This does not come about by thinking you're getting a little fat, or wanting to look good for the beach or reunion.
A healthy and fit lifestyle has to be identified as the change that needs to be made. This doesn't come about easily.
Usually, the first time it crosses your mind is when your faced with your own mortality. " If I get through this, I'll never______________(fill in the blank) again!"
If you're young when you have this epiphany, it often passes, and you're back at the old bad habits.
A small, wise percentage of people take action then and there.

Usually, the next wake-up call is in middle age, when long time family, friends and acquaintances suddenly start dying or suffering injuries. Heart attacks, cancer, diabetes take their toll; bad backs, sore feet, digestive problems become common.
Let me remind you, NONE of these are caused by germs or bad luck.
(There will be a post on "bad genes made it happen" in a future blog post)

During this period in life, many more people take the hint and adopt healthier lifestyles.

I was not one of them!

I was 59 in this picture, fast approaching old age!

When I say I know how to help you be healthy and fit, I speak from experience!

Take a look at the picture at the end of this section to see what I look like now.

So here I am at 59, and I finally wised up!
People I know and love are dying, sick or disabled; and I'm feeling the effects of lugging around all this excess poundage.
I Finally get the message. The next funeral I attend may be my OWN!

to be continued

The Right Body in the Wrong Time - Part II, Why Is Change So Difficult?

2010-03-26T22:27:00.004-04:00

WHY IS CHANGE SO DIFFICULT!

If you're finding this blog for the first time, please go back to part ONE of this series to put this section in context.
If you've read part one, congratulations! You're entering the second of a SIX part decision making process.
Reading this has moved you from the Precontemplation Phase (1) to the Contemplation Phase (2).
If you continue through this process, you will be making one of the most important decisions of your entire life - taking charge of your own health!

But! Don't stop here!

So far, this is the EASY part!
Many of us think about it, not so many of us manage to follow through.

Take smoking, for example.
It's EASY to quit smoking!
I did it at least eight times!
The real problem is maintaining the change you want to make!
Before we discuss why this is, I invite you to regard the section below. It was developed by behavioral scientists to figure out the decision-making process; how people develop and sustain the behavior they desire when making the changes.

People like me are trained to help you make the changes in the least disruptive way possible, once YOU decide you are ready.
Take a look at the first two stages.

Precontemplation simply means you're not thinking about the subject, don't have a clue, or just don't care!
Some people in this stage can get very angry or defensive. They'll take comments you make as criticism, when, in fact, you think you're trying to help.
So, save your breath. People change when they are ready!

Until a person becomes convinced that change is needed, until you are aware you have to change, until you feel compelled to change, nothing will happen!
You may try a few times, but that is a desire to make a change. Without a plan and knowledge, the chances of permanent success are not good.
Until you fully embrace the idea that NOT making the change will be disastrous, nothing is likely to happen!

So, let's say you have reached this point, and you're contemplating.
What's next?
Here are the next two stages.

OK, so now your saying to yourself, "I'm really gonna DO this!"

About this time, "STINKIN THINKIN" starts to creep in.

"I've tried before and I can't stick to it."
" I really don't have time to do this."
" I don't want to go on the cardboard diet!"

This is only natural. After all, you know it's not going to be easy.
Who wants the miserable feeling of failure?
You have enough issues (we all have issues, don't we?) without adding others!

That's why educating yourself is so important!

If you take the time to learn about how the Western Lifestyle is KILLING us, the only possible conclusion you can make is, I HAVE to change my behavior to GET HEALTHY!

A word to those who are thinking, wait a minute! We are living longer than ever!

Define living, PLEASE!

Does it mean groaning every time you bend down?
Or, lurching an overweight body from chair, to car, to couch every day?
Or, sitting on the couch eating junk food for hours each day while watching TV?
Does living the Western Lifestyle, taking multiple meds, trips to doctors, heartburn, arthritis, fear of diabetes, an imminent heart attack or stroke really LIVING?

I call it EXISTING!

I had a discussion just yesterday with a dear friend. He's like a son to me, and 48 years old. He's Cambodian. When he came to this country as a teenager, he was unable to speak English. Now he has his own auto repair and sales business. He's doing extremely well.
He looked sad, and I asked him why.
His answer was, " All my other older friends die Lou! I tell them, NOT smoke, NOT drink, TOO fat! They don't listen!"
He had lost five friends in one year!

There's NO reason a person considered "elderly" can't live a HEALTHY LIFE and do ALL the things a person of THIRTY can do!
Re-read the above paragraph to understand the alternative!

Okay, I'm realistic. What once I did all night, now takes me all night to do once!
I admit it!
I'm 71 !!!
BTW, Soon, my bio will be available on this blog.

So, maybe an older person, say, over 60, can't do all the things as long, or at the same pace as one much younger; but any activity should be possible,
There should be NO physical limitations until and unless a specific medical condition requires it!
Avoiding this is what we are all about!

Remember, with proper instruction from a knowledgeable, qualified exercise trainer, and supervision from health professionals if you have existing health/illness issues, the nearly every human body is capable of remarkable improvement; no matter how bad the condition when you start!
The general media is beginning to popularize this, but scientists have known it for years. Now, almost every program structured to treat disease includes exercise, even cancer, arthritis, diabetes and most others. That's because any improvement in muscle tone and cardio-respiratory function improves your existing condition!
Does this sound like a lot of work?

RE-READ THE PREVIOUS PARAGRAPHS!

It really comes down to this - for the rest of my life:

Do I, live healthy and well?

Or, do I spend years suffering and in misery while circling the drain?

If you have read this far, you are now at the Preparation Phase (3) of the decision making process for change, and getting ready to implement the Action Phase (4).

Below are the last two phases, (5 and 6)

THIS time, your program will be successful!
It will be successful because YOU are taking charge of your health; and, I am going to help you.

You will plan during the preparation phase so that the action you take will result in you reaching phases 5 and 6.
I will say that I wouldn't have used the word termination for the last phase, it sounds a little ominous don't you think?
How about Permanent Process? I like that better!

Next, we'll discuss the planning and action phases, and why this is where most people get in BIG trouble and FAIL.

To be continued

Right Body - Wrong Time part I- by Lou Haskins, CPT

2010-03-22T10:31:00.003-04:00

Being Healthy in America Today

Part I of a 3 part post

Do you remember a parent or teacher telling you as a child to sit still and be quiet? There are many influences today that send the same message. Unfortunately, that lesson was too well learned, because today, our sedentary lifestyle is doing severe damage to our health.

To put this in perspective, let's consider what affected the health of our ancestors, the hunter gatherers. It's true they didn't live as long as modern man.
However, when they died, it was almost exclusively due to trauma and/or the infection that followed. Even if our ancestors weren't eaten by a predator, cause for injury was everywhere.
Life was tough in those days. Food was often scarce and physical activity was nearly constant.

Life didn't permit inactivity, and food was too scarce for one to get fat!

Now, let's fast forward to about 20,000 years ago, to what many anthropologists call the WORST health choice mankind ever made, agriculture!
How can a scientist make such a statement, you ask?
Well, it seems that as mankind devoted more time to herding animals and raising crops, we also assumed the associated risk of the many diseases caused by bacteria and viruses.
Instead of the hunter-gather tactic of moving away from a place as it became contaminated by waste and germs, people had to stay put until the crop grew.
Instead of being hunted, domesticated animals were now living (literally) with the people that cared for them.
Fossil records show that during this transition, people doing agriculture actually shrunk in size; about three inches. Their bones also show the effect of disease and poor nutrition due to less food variety. But, at least famines were less likely.
And, we humans are persistent! Collectively, we increased our numbers. We spread out across the world; now, no single local disaster could eliminate the human race.

However, during this period, the greatest cause for death became pathogens; Black Plague, Scarlet fever, Tuberculosis, Flu Pandemics, etc.
All the dangers of crowding together in a local space in this period were unleashed. Germs were the biggest threat to survival; but, we managed to out-breed the losses. Life wasn't very pleasant then, and was still too difficult to allow many people to get fat!

One hundred years ago, although it may be hard to believe, the average person used enough calories in his daily routine to equal TEN extra miles of walking compared to today's average American!
Until about 1950, only the privileged few had the means to be sedentary/overweight.

For the rest of us, life was still too strenuous.

After WWII and the Korean conflict, Americans entered into what's called "the Golden Age".
We had unprecedented access to food, security and leisure. The big thing was "labor saving devices"
I'm old enough to remember this period, it was GREAT!
Too great! We started eating more and doing less. What seems to be a normal lifestyle and diet today, is the opposite of what is good for us; almost the exact opposite of how evolution shaped the human race!
Take a look at the USDA graph pictured here.

The percentage of overweight/obese adults is very low in 1960 compared to the 2/3rds of adults overweight/obese today. What's even more compelling is the 1960 figure that shows NO overweight children. There were not enough of them to be statistically significant! And yet, today, childhood obesity is considered epidemic.

What's killing us today is not germs, but lifestyle!
Heart attack, cancer, stroke, diabetes, COPD etc., are primarily due to the "Western Diet" and inactivity!

Our bodies have spent millions of years evolving to make the most of every bit of food we consume, and to conserve that energy for when it is really needed.

So, don't blame your body, it's doing a great job (for a hunter gatherer)!

Ask almost anyone what is needed to be healthy, and they'll probably say,"Eat right and exercise". Easier said than done.
The next installment will explain why it's nearly impossible to do this in today's society.

Cure Your Hangover?

2010-01-01T08:54:00.003-05:00

Now that 2009 is over and the parties are done, are you ringing in 2010 with a throbbing headache? Well, that’s the result of the toxic byproducts of the alcohol (call ethanol) that you drank last night.

The reasons we feel so terrible after a night of drinking are complex. Part of the alcohol itself is converted to an evil chemical poison called acetaldehyde and that is responsible for many of the symptoms we feel. In addition, alcohol causes dehydration and numerous metabolic disturbance, especially of the kidneys.

Alcohol causes the kidneys to stop reabsorbing water, sending it straight to the bladder instead. Your brain then gets dehydrated and begins to shrink, stretching it away from the inside of your skull. Cue that piercing headache. Most of us don't drink enough water anyway, so if you then add loads of alcohol, it's going to make it a lot worse. Drink any fluids you like and it will help.

If you want to know more about just what causes hangovers, you can read this excellent article at howstuffworks.com

But are their hangover cures that really work?

Try all the remedies you want -- the sauna, greasy food, juice -- and if you're looking for a cure then: "The answer is no," said Dr. Brian Grosberg, director of the Inpatient Headache Program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

"No, no," agreed Dr. Joel Saper founder and director of the Michigan Head-Pain and Neurological Institute in Ann Arbor, Mich. "The best recourse is not to drink."

But headache experts have some good news for those who are afraid they'll accidentally overindulge next year. Most remedies people try for hangovers won't cure a headache, but some can actually prevent a hangover (better luck next year).

Below are some common hangover remedies and expert commentary on whether they have the potential to help the dreaded hangover headache.

A Prairie Oyster?

Unlike other alleged hangover cures, like egg sandwiches or coffee, prairie oysters are a concoction so revolting few bother to eat them, even if they have a hangover. Put a raw egg in a glass and add a dash or two of hot sauce, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and some salt and pepper.

Drink it in a gulp and voila… nothing. Headache experts say this classic remedy does nothing for a hangover, although it may inspire some people to prevent one.

"Thinking about that would make me not want to drink," said Grosberg. "It would be a non-alcoholic drink that night if a prairie oyster would be something I had to drink later."
Prairie oysters and many other hangover remedies around the world, such as rubbing lemons in your armpits, may make you feel nauseous, but experts say such nasty remedies won't make the hangover headache worse.

"I think it's the absence of doing the things that are right [that make hangovers worse]," said Saper. He said people should never drink on an empty stomach and pay attention to your individual tolerance and headache susceptibility, which is genetic. "It's biologically vulnerability in the way we metabolize and process the various chemicals in our body," said Saper. "A hangover headache is going to occur more frequently in people who are vulnerable to headaches."

Not All Alcohol Headaches Are Hangovers

In fact, some people who are sensitive to certain types of alcohol are likely to get a headache from chemicals -- such as congeners in rum or tyramine in red wine -- even if they don't drink enough to get a hangover.

"There are clearly certain alcohol products that are much worse. Things like vodka are a lot easier on the system than some of the amber colored drinks," said Saper.

Grosberg noted a true hangover is much more than a headache from drinking alcohol, but a physiological event with a constellation of symptoms: reduced appetite, nausea, shakiness, quickening of the heartbeat, sweating, also mood changes, depression and anxiety.

"The headache happens when the blood alcohol level is falling," said Grosberg.

Bloody Mary: Hair of the Dog That Bit You

Either out of addiction or intuition, some people swear that sipping more alcohol the day after a night of drinking reduces a hangover.

Since a hangover headache appears when the blood alcohol level drops, Grosberg said the old "hair of the dog" hangover remedy may have some fleeting truth to it.

"The problem is what do you do the day after? After you had that alcohol?" said Grosberg, who pointed out people are only delaying the drop in blood alcohol level that causes a hangover headache. "I'm not sure it's something I'd recommend."

Caffeine: Red Bull, White Tea or Coffee, Please?

Much more palatable than the prairie oyster, many hung over individuals turn to black coffee for relief. Today, some people go for a can of Red Bull for the extra caffeine, or take the moderate route with a bit of white tea.

But headache experts warn that caffeine can cut both ways when it comes to a hangover. In the right circumstances, it may help a headache, but in other circumstances it can start a headache.

"One of the things that happens is you dehydrate with a hangover. Alcohol is like a diuretic. It brings water through your system and you pee more," said Saper.

Since caffeine is also a diuretic, it might make the dehydration and resulting hangover headache much worse. If you try coffee, Saper suggested you also drink extra water to stay hydrated.

People who drink a lot of caffeine every day may also make their headaches worse. According to Saper, these people are typically caffeine-tolerant and may not see a benefit when they reach for coffee with a hangover.

But don't give up on the caffeine therapy too fast. Experts say it can help in people who drink minimal amounts of caffeine on a daily basis.

Neurologists don't completely understand the mechanism of a hangover, but Grosberg says a leading theory is that alcohol dilates blood vessels in the brain, leading to a throbbing headache.

In that case, "caffeine can provide relief because it causes a constriction of blood vessels," explained Grosberg.

Exercise to Cure a Hangover?

Yes, exercise. Some people swear a quick run will soothe a hangover. Sure, it can release endorphins, but headache experts warn it's not for everybody.

"That's an individual variability -- there are people who cannot exercise when they have an evolving headache," said Saper.

Saper explained if a person already has dilated blood vessels that are causing a headache, then increasing your heart rate with exercise may just make some people feel worse.

Exercising with a hangover could put you in worse shape in terms of dehydration, too, if you don't drink enough water to compensate for the sweat. The same could be said if someone didn't drink enough water after going for a schvitz -- time in a sauna or steam room -- which is said be a good cure for a hangover.

"On the other hand, there are people who can change their physiology by exercising, then it can ward off a physiological event (like a headache)," said Saper. "It's different strokes for different folks: some people will swear by it, some people will swear at it."

One thing Saper warns against trying is trying absolutely nothing and refusing medication.

"Clearly, we know these headaches evolve," said Saper. "If you can catch these physiological events early, then you are going to have the chance to lessen or shorten the event."

Pain Meds For a Hangover? Be Careful

Many people shuffle to the medicine cabinet the first thing of a hangover morning, but that doesn't mean your usual pain medicine will be safe. Acetaminophen products (such as Tylenol) can have dangerous interactions with alcohol, according to the American Liver Foundation.

However, taking anti-inflammation pain medicines such as ibuprofen, naproxen or mefenamic acid can help the headache.

In fact, these drugs, called NSAIDS, may actually help prevent hangovers in some people, according to Saper and Grosberg. The drugs work by inhibiting a hormone called prostaglandin, which is released during drinking and cause nausea and headaches the next day.

"Although that should be done in conjunction with speaking to your doctor," said Grosberg.

The water you drink with the pills will also help rehydrate you. Alcohol is so dehydrating that doctors recommend drinking not just water, but something with minerals and electrolytes either before or after your hangover.

Some hangover sufferers have say that Gatorade helps, as does those Pedialyte Freezer Pops which are designed to rehydrate children suffering from diarrhea. Grosberg said drinking or eating these may very well help before or after the hangover begins.

However, one of the most frequent misconceptions about what to eat on a hangover morning is to try a big, greasy breakfast.

Big Greasy Breakfast to Cure a Hangover?

Always order a bacon and egg sandwich or home fries the next day after a hangover? Doctors say grease can help delay the absorption of alcohol and therefore protect against a hangover.

But, "I think eating it after the hangover -- you've probably already missed the time to slow down or delay the effects of the alcohol," said Grosberg. Instead of waiting until the day after to address the hangover, Grosberg recommends moderate drinking and prevention.

"All of it is acting on prevention, jumping on it quicker," he said.

Before you go out partying again, he also reminds people that it doesn't always take a lot of drinking to get a hangover.

"Usually, the hangover headache isn't dose-related. The hangover is much more common in people who drink light to moderate amounts and indulge than people who drink a lot, frequently," said Grosberg.

"If you don't drink a lot all day and you indulge, you're more likely to get a hangover than if you drink often and throw back a few more one night," he said.

Good luck and better luck next year ;-)

Thanks to ABC News for much of this article's information.

Sit Down a Lot - Die Sooner and Fatter

2009-12-19T11:31:00.003-05:00

Our bodies were not meant to sit down a lot, but in modern life that's increasingly how we spend our time. In the past 18 months, several scholarly studies have begun to shed light on just how bad sitting around on our butts can be, but these papers haven't gotten much coverage because they're a little dry and too "sciencey" for the general press. Let me assure you: THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT INFORMATION!

Recently, Women's Health magazine did the best and most concise writeup on this information that I've seen, so I'd like to share some of it with you here.

According to a poll of nearly 6,300 people by the Institute for Medicine and Public Health, it's likely that you spend a stunning 56 hours a week planted like a geranium — staring at your computer screen, working the steering wheel, or collapsed in a heap in front of your high-def TV. And it turns out women may be more sedentary than men, since they tend to play fewer sports and hold less active jobs.

Even if you think you have an energetic lifestyle, sitting is how most of us spend a good part of our day. And it's killing us — literally — by way of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. All this downtime is so unhealthy that it's given birth to a new area of medical study called inactivity physiology, which explores the effects of our increasingly butt-bound, tech-driven lives, as well as a deadly new epidemic researchers have dubbed "sitting disease."

The modern-day desk sentence

"Our bodies have evolved over millions of years to do one thing: move," says James Levine, M.D., Ph.D., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and author of "Move a Little, Lose a Lot." "As human beings, we evolved to stand upright. For thousands of generations, our environment demanded nearly constant physical activity."

But thanks to technological advances, the Internet, and an increasingly longer work week, that environment has disappeared. "Electronic living has all but sapped every flicker of activity from our daily lives," Levine says. You can shop, pay bills, make a living, and with Twitter and Facebook, even catch up with friends without so much as standing up. And the consequences of all that easy living are profound.

When you sit for an extended period of time, your body starts to shut down at the metabolic level, says Marc Hamilton, Ph.D., associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri. When muscles — especially the big ones meant for movement, like those in your legs — are immobile, your circulation slows and you burn fewer calories. Key flab-burning enzymes responsible for breaking down triglycerides (a type of fat) simply start switching off. Sit for a full day and those fat burners plummet by 50 percent, Levine says.

That's not all. The less you move, the less blood sugar your body uses; research shows that for every two hours spent on your backside per day, your chance of contracting diabetes goes up by 7 percent. Your risk for heart disease goes up, too, because enzymes that keep blood fats in check are inactive. You're also more prone to depression: With less blood flow, fewer feel-good hormones are circulating to your brain.

Spending the day on your rear is also hell on your posture and spine health, says Douglas Lentz, a certified strength and conditioning specialist and the director of fitness and wellness for Summit Health in Chambersburg, Pa. "When you sit all day, your hip flexors and hamstrings shorten and tighten, while the muscles that support your spine become weak and stiff," he says. It's no wonder that the incidence of chronic lower-back pain among women has increased threefold since the early 1990s.

And even if you exercise, you're not immune. Consider this: We've become so sedentary that 30 minutes a day at the gym may not do enough to counteract the detrimental effects of eight, nine, or 10 hours of sitting, says Genevieve Healy, Ph.D., a research fellow at the Cancer Prevention Research Centre of the University of Queensland in Australia. That's one big reason so many women still struggle with weight, blood sugar, and cholesterol woes despite keeping consistent workout routines.

In a recent study, Healy and her colleagues found that regardless of how much moderate to vigorous exercise participants did, those who took more breaks from sitting throughout the day had slimmer waists, lower BMIs (body mass indexes), and healthier blood fat and blood sugar levels than those who sat the most. In an extensive study of 17,000 people, Canadian researchers drew an even more succinct conclusion: The longer you spend sitting each day, the more likely you are to die an early death — no matter how fit you are.

The non-exercise answer

So if exercise alone isn't the solution, what is? Fortunately, it's easier than you think to ward off the perils of prolonged parking. Just ramp up your daily non-exercise activity thermogenesis — or NEAT. That's the energy (i.e., calories) you burn doing everything but exercise. It's having sex, folding laundry, tapping your toes, and simply standing up. And it can be the difference between wearing a sarong or flaunting your bikini on your next beach vacation.

In his groundbreaking study on NEAT, the Mayo Clinic's Levine used motion-sensing underwear (hot, huh?) to track every single step and fidget of 20 people who weren't regular exercisers (half of them were obese; half were not). After 10 days, he found that the lean participants moved an average of 150 minutes more per day than the overweight people did — enough to burn 350 calories, or about one cheeseburger.

Fidgeting, standing, and puttering may even keep you off medications and out of the doctor's office. Think of your body as a computer: As long as you're moving the mouse and tapping the keys, all systems are go. But let it idle for a few minutes, and the machine goes into power-conservation mode. Your body is meant to be active, so when you sit and do nothing for too long, it shuts down and burns less energy. Getting consistent activity throughout the day keeps your metabolism humming along in high gear.

When you get out of your chair and start moving around, you turn on fat burners. Simply standing up fries three times as many calories as sitting on your butt, according to Levine. And, he adds, "NEAT activity can improve blood flow and increase the amount of serotonin available to the brain, so that your thinking becomes sharper and you'll be less likely to feel depressed."

Get your move on

Shake things up throughout the day by interrupting your sedentary stints as often as possible. "Stand up every half hour," says Neville Owen, Ph.D., of the University of Queensland. "If you have to sit for longer than that, take more extended and active breaks and move around for a few minutes before sitting back down."

When you're reading e-mail and taking phone calls, do it standing. Walk with colleagues to brainstorm ideas. And consider trading your chair for a large stability ball. "It forces you to engage your muscles, and you're likely to stand up more because you're not melting into a chair," Lentz says.

At home, it's simple: Limit TV time to two hours a day or less. Better yet, watch it from a treadmill or exercise bike. Among women, the risk for metabolic syndrome — a constellation of health woes including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar — shoots up 26 percent for every hour per day they spend watching the tube.

Not sure how much of a difference these mini moves will make? Swapping a more active approach for just a few of your daily activities can help stave off the one-to two-pound weight gain most women accumulate every year — and it can keep your metabolism buzzing the way nature intended it to.

Body mass, waist size do predict heart disease

2009-12-08T06:22:00.002-05:00

Measuring body mass index or waist size does accurately predict the risk of heart disease, Dutch scientists said on Monday.

A large 10-year study found that half of all fatal heart disease cases and a quarter of all non-fatal cases are linked to being overweight and having a high body mass index or large waist.

Body mass index and waist circumference are well known risk factors for cardiovascular diseases but the Dutch researchers said their work showed BMI and waist size could actually help predict the risk of dying from or developing heart disease.

"What this study shows is the substantial effect which (being) overweight and obesity have on cardiovascular disease, whether fatal of non-fatal," said Ineke van Dis from the Netherlands Heart Foundation, who led the study.

"In the near future the impact of obesity on the burden of heart disease will be even greater."

Dis and colleagues at the monitoring project on risk factors for chronic diseases at the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment measured both BMI and waist circumference in 20,500 men and women between 1993 and 1997.

When age-adjusted BMI and waist sizes were correlated with hospital records and cause-of-death data over 10 years, more than half (53 percent) of all fatal heart disease cases and around a quarter (25-30 percent) of all non-fatal cases were in people defined as overweight and obese.

Overweight people are defined as having a BMI of between 25 and 30 and obese people of 30 or more, according to the World Health Organization. BMI is calculated by dividing weight in kilograms by height in metres squared.

Waist circumference measurements in men were defined as between 37 and 40 inches for overweight and more than 40 inches for obese. In women these measurements were 31.5-34.5 inches for overweight and more than 34.5 cm for obese.

Obesity is increasing throughout the world and is now recognized as a major global public health concern.

"These findings underline the need for policies and activities to prevent overweight in the general population," Dis said in the study, which was published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.

Thanksgiving’s Most Diet Damning Dishes

2009-11-26T11:20:00.001-05:00

Everyone knows Thanksgiving can undo a diet. So how do you make sure there isn't more of you around the middle to be thankful for after the holiday?

One obvious possibility is exercise. Nutrition experts advise working out on the days before and after Thanksgiving, and, if possible, on the holiday itself. Taking a walk before or after dinner can help shed pounds. Maybe play a little touch football before sitting down to watch the game.

In my experience, Thanksgiving is absolutely the day where everybody should be exercising. Everyone should at least go for a big walk after Thanksgiving dinner. It's not optional on Thanksgiving!

On the food side, health-conscious hosts may avoid serving fatty dishes, but you can't control that if you're a guest at someone else's house.

You can take at least one step before the food arrives, when you are offered drinks: Get your enjoyment from the food and keep that alcohol to a minimum! Spend your calories on those dishes that you may not see again until next Thanksgiving.

Here are some specifics that we’ve learned over the years and want to pass on to you…

Turkey

The turkey is the centerpiece of the traditional Thanksgiving dinner, and while it certainly isn't the unhealthiest item on the menu, it does its fair share of damage to dieters.

While the first turkey decision many Thanksgiving diners face is white meat or dark meat, both can be part of a healthier meal.

First, let’s dispel a myth - It doesn’t make that much of a difference if you have light or dark meat. There's just a little bit more fat in dark meat. Some people avoid that and only eat white turkey meat, which I really don't understand. The difference is minimal, so people should select their meat based on taste. You should take off the skin, because the majority of fat is in the skin.

Preparation counts too, since adding butter or certain gravies to the turkey will raise its fat content, no matter what type of meat you're eating. Calorie-wise, most of the turkey meat is going to be lean enough that the concern shouldn't be there, it should be with the gravy that you might smother it with or the sides that are really packed with calories.

A serving of turkey is four ounces, so four to six ounces may be a wise limit, but turkey is probably not the biggest concern at the Thanksgiving table. I think it's better if you're indulging, even overindulging, to have a bit too much turkey than too much mashed potatoes or anything else.

Stuffing

Often going from the turkey's insides to ours, stuffing may be the number one culprit behind holiday weight gain.

Stuffing can be so unhealthy that Keith-Thomas Ayoob, an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, once devoted an entire magazine column to discussing its potential downsides.

"There's also no better name for this dish," he wrote. "First, it stuffs the bird, then it stuffs our bellies, then it stuffs our thighs. A culinary trifecta if there ever was one."

"Stuffing is often the most calorically expensive side dish you'd ever imagine," Ayoob wrote. He said fattier versions can contain up to 500 calories per serving.

He included a number of suggestions for a healthier stuffing, including leaving out the meat, using chicken stock (adding it slowly) instead of fat, putting small amounts of butter on the surface of the stuffing before cooking, using regular bread in place of corn bread, and adding vegetables like celery, onions, apples or pears to the dish.

Oh, and don’t actually stuff it into the turkey! It's leaner if cooked separately and it won’t be potentially loaded with Salmonella or other germs.

And one of his suggestions, for those who cannot do without stuffing and can't control how it's made, is to treat stuffing like dessert, since it has the calories of one.

"Save the best for last," wrote Ayoob. "Before you dive into that single portion of tasty but calorie-laden stuffing, hit the turkey breast and veggies first."

Potatoes

Whether sweet, mashed or baked, potatoes are a fixture at virtually every Thanksgiving dinner, but some varieties are far better for losing weight or keeping it off than others.

Remember, when you eat a potato, you're actually getting more sugar, more glucose, than if you ate table sugar.

The reason is that table sugar, or sucrose, is roughly half fructose and half glucose, while potatoes have a much higher concentration of glucose, which goes directly into the bloodstream when ingested.

Take it easy on the portions-- large amounts will increase blood sugar a lot. Don’t have a lot of potatoes!

When it comes to mashed potatoes, what I would suggest is to use the Yukon Gold potatoes and use fat-free buttermilk. They're very light and airy and offer fewer calories than traditional or instant potatoes.

Vegetables

Vegetables are always recommended as a healthy part of a balanced diet, but that doesn't mean that any dish with vegetables is a healthy one.

Dishes that include vegetables can also include heavy amounts of cream or butter for flavoring, adding copious amounts of fat to the vitamins and minerals. When one does that, either with canned soups or too much cream or butter, you're defeating the benefit that the vegetable has to your body.

Remember, a lot of our traditional vegitable recipes came about in the 1950s, 1940s, when we had a lot of canned food and didn't know what we know now about foods.

Vegetables can, of course, be part of the plan for a nutritional Thanksgiving meal, as can any healthy option you can make yourself.

In 2004, Molly Kimball, a sports and exercise nutritionist at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in Harahan, La., recommended that if you want a diet-friendly Thanksgiving meal, you "offer to bring a healthy dish such as a salad or vegetable, so that you know you're guaranteed to have at least one healthy option available to you."

Diekman said that ideally, two thirds of the plate should be filled with vegetables and whole grains -- which can be provided by the stuffing if it is made right -- with the other third devoted to meats and sauces. Following that rule of thumb, she said, keeps the plate -- and, therefore, the meal -- balanced.

Cranberry Sauce

Cranberry sauce is another fixture on the Thanksgiving table, so it might be reassuring to know it has some health benefits.

The sauce, however, can be laden with too much sugar -- though cranberries do need some. Cranberries themselves are very tart; generally, you need some sugar in the cranberry sauce. I don't think that's so bad a thing, and you can always use a sugar substitute too.

Pumpkin Pie

Some of the desserts served on Thanksgiving can be found year-round, but pumpkin pie is a fall tradition.

Fortunately, it also presents less of a challenge nutrition-wise than other desserts.

If you love the pumpkin pie, either take a small wedge or consider just eating the filling. The crust is where you get a lot of your calories.

You could do far worse than pumpkin pie. In fact, back in 2006, it seemed almost as if the agriculture department had Thanksgiving in mind when it set its guidelines, since the pie falls in line so well with allowances for discretionary calories.

Desserts

Pumpkin pie may be the most recognizable Thanksgiving dessert, but people are forgiving when it comes to adding variety to the end of the meal.

Brownies and pecan and apple pies are also familiar Thanksgiving desserts, and most people can typically find room for dessert, even if their explanation of where they found that space doesn't mesh with medical science.

Unfortunately, not all desserts can be as calorie-friendly as pumpkin pie. Probably the biggest challenge for a most people is the dessert piece of the meal. For example, calories can't be avoided in pecan, cream and mince-meat pies by simply not eating the crust.

But rising to the challenge doesn't necessarily mean skipping dessert since, after all, it is Thanksgiving!

10 Tips for Beating Winter Weight Gain

2009-11-17T20:01:00.003-05:00

While many of us welcome the winter chill, the change in seasons means more time indoors, more family gatherings and holiday parties, more temptations and less time for fitness.

Most of us gain at least a pound or so over the winter, but studies have shown that those who are overweight or have ever lost weight seem to be more vulnerable and may gain even more. Some weight fluctuations may be normal, but the pounds we gain during the colder months tend to linger long after we shed our layers and welcome warmer temperatures. This can set us up for a pattern of weight gain that eventually gets out of control, leading to obesity and other diet-related diseases.

Whether you’re overweight, at a normal weight or have recently lost weight, here are my favorite 10 simple ways to avoid winter weight gain.

Stock Up and Be Prepared

To help you resist the urge to order take-out or grab dinner from a drive-thru, make sure your refrigerator, freezer and pantry are well-stocked with a variety of healthful foods that make meal prep quick and easy. Stock up on fresh fruits such as Apples, grapefruit and oranges. Veggies such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and artichokes are low in calories and high in water content, which help fill you up faster. On top of that, cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage are cruciferous veggies rich in substances that can help reduce risk of some cancers. Low-fat dairy foods like skim milk and cottage cheese deliver highly absorbable calcium and protein that can keep you satiated. Also, choose lean meats such as turkey or chicken breast, soy foods like tofu, hummus, and 100 percent fruit juices like orange, cranberry or grape.

Fill your freezer with whole grain waffles and whole wheat English muffins, frozen fruits and vegetables (made without added sugar or fats), lean meats (such as flank steak or sirloin) and fish (like salmon).

Keep your pantry shelves well-stocked with low-sodium or no-sodium canned foods, including broth- or vegetable-based soups, beans, tomatoes and tomato sauces; canned fish like salmon and tuna; nuts, seeds and nut butters; beans; and whole grain pasta, cereal and rice.

Eat Six Times a Day - That Means Snacks!

As I’ve always said, eating six times a day is a better way to loose fat, but during the winter months, when you’re more prone to colds and the flu, healthy snacks in-between meals may be even more important. More frequent eating not only helps keep your metabolism revved up, but also provides more opportunities to get key nutrients and antioxidants into your diet.

Keep your blood sugar steady with two protein- and fiber-rich snacks a day from the key food groups — which include fruits, vegetables, grains, meat and beans — and low-fat dairy foods. That helps satiate you and can provide satisfying, nutrient-dense alternatives to the cakes, cookies and other high-calorie, high-fat fare typical of the holiday season.

Also, try to stick to small amounts of healthful snacks from all the key food groups. Some examples include: cups of unsweetened applesauce, containing 60 calories or less; low-fat granola bars, containing 110 calories or less; a 1-ounce serving of roasted unsalted nuts and seeds (28 peanuts, 18 cashews, or 24 almonds); 1 tablespoon of cashew or almond butter; and whole-grain cereal with at least 4 grams of fiber per cup and no more than 8 grams of sugar.

When in Doubt, Keep Track

The mere act of logging your food and beverage intake can help you lose weight, studies have shown. When you find you’re indulging more than you expected, keeping tabs on everything you eat and drink and how much and your exercise regimen is a quick way to get back on a healthy eating track. Got a weakness for late afternoon cookies? Logging your intake can alert you to times of day or meals that are challenging.

Until recently, we written food journals, but now we recommend free online calorie tracking sites like www.sparkpeople.com - its much easier and much more accurate. Your iPhone or smartphone can also help. Apps such as “Lose it” can be a great way to track your daily intake.

A recent study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found that using on-line calorie tracking was more accurate in terms of food intake than writing it down. It means you’ll be more likely to succeed with weight and fitness management.

Don't Overindulge at Grandma’s (or Anywhere Else)

Just because you’re off from work or going home to family does not mean you should abandon all diet restraint. In fact, having consistent dietary patterns on weekdays, weekends, holidays and during vacations greatly predicts long-term weight loss maintenance, according to findings from the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR), the largest prospective investigation of long-term successful weight-loss maintenance.

What you put in your suitcase can help you maintain your diet and fitness routine too. Simply packing your sneakers and scoping out fitness facilities at your destination can go a long way towards helping you get out of an unhealthy travel mindset.

And don’t cop out if there’s not fitness equipment where you’re going. Exercises like jumping jacks or running in place that can be done anytime, anywhere. You can even prop a chair against the wall and create a perfect platform for squats, steps ups, dips and push-ups — no dumbbells required.

Don’t Overestimate Your Willpower

Confident you can resist all the holiday party and food temptations? You may be setting yourself up for trouble. Surprisingly, a recent study in Psychological Science found that those who felt most confident in their self-control were, in fact, most likely to give into temptation. In other words, those who feel most secure in their ability to resist temptations tend to expose themselves to more indulgent or undermining food situations that can get them into trouble, researchers suggest.

At home, only keep foods whose portions you can control. If there’s a particular treat you like, buy single-serve portions, or keep them behind closed doors on a high shelf or in an opaque container. The idea is to make those temptations hard to reach.

To help you fight splurging when you’re not hungry, chew sugar-free gum, suck on a strong mint, have a breath strip or brush and floss. Before a party or other event, dampen hunger ahead of time with a protein- and fiber-rich snack such as 2 tablespoons of nuts and an apple or a string cheese and about five whole grain crackers.

Move It and Lose It

The dramatic drop in physical activity is one of the biggest contributors to winter weight gain. Cold temperatures and shorter days, combined with family, work and other obligations, make it tough to fit exercise into your schedule. But, exercise offers a triple defense against winter weight gain: It burns calories, offers a temporary distraction from food, and boosts your mood, which strengthens your resolve to make smarter food choices.

Exercise also bolsters your immune system. While it may not specifically help you lose weight, exercise is effective at helping keep the pounds off. Exercise can also provide a defense against depression or seasonal affective disorder by lifting mood and self-esteem.

You don’t need formal exercise to burn at least a few calories: Playing catch or running around outdoors throwing snowballs or sledding with the kids helps. Winter sports like ice skating, ice hockey, or skiing are also stay-fit options. Or just take a brisk walk — the cold air can encourage you to move faster and burn more calories.

Of course, for many people, winter becomes a great time to begin a formal personal training program. Your inside where it’s always warm and dry, you’ve got to be accountable to someone who cares about your fitness goals, and you’ll have months before beach season to get in great shape. Why not get a head start on your new year’s resolution and start now?

Pick Your Poison…So to Speak

The Holidays can be a minefield for overeating, so plan your indulgences ahead of time. A typical adult requires about 2,000 calories a day to maintain a healthy body weight. The average woman requires even less, about 1,700 calories a day in our experience. Of those, only about 150 calories are allotted for discretionary or extra calories that can come from any foods, including those made with added fats or sugars.

Don’t waste calories on foods or beverages you don’t love just because they’re there. Choose how you’ll spend those extra calories wisely. You may want a glass of wine with dinner, some butter on your bread, or some fried appetizers or cookies at your next holiday party. Just make sure the rest of your daily calories are coming from low-fat, low-sugar selections from the basic food groups.

Eat on Time

Eating most of your calories late in the day or at night (as opposed to during the day) is a recipe for weight gain. That’s how Sumo wrestlers have been packing on pounds for over 1,000 years.

Mice who were fed a high-fat diet when they should have been sleeping showed a 48 percent weight gain over six weeks, compared with a gain of 28 percent in those fed a high-fat diet at normal eating times.

Although more human studies should be done, researchers speculate that when you eat plays a big role in the development of obesity. Instead of loading up on food once or twice a day, spreading it out evenly throughout the day when you’re most active allows your body to efficiently burn calories, prevents overeating, and keeps energy levels up.

Get Vitamin D

More time indoors and fewer daylight hours mean less exposure to the sun’s rays that help our bodies produce adequate amounts of vitamin D (specifically D3). Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that helps control levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood to help the body build and maintain strong bones and teeth. It also increases the absorption of calcium and studies suggest that inadequate blood levels of vitamin D can contribute to the development of obesity.

Many people don’t even get 400 International Units (IUs) a day (the current daily value for vitamin D officially recommended by the U.S. government. In reality, many experts urge much more than that to protect against everything from osteoporosis, hypertension, cancer, and autoimmune diseases, it’s wise to up your consumption of vitamin D-rich foods and vitamin D3 supplements.

Good natural sources include fish such as sardines or tuna (canned in oil); skim milk; and fortified foods such as margarine and ready-to-eat cereal. If you eat few of these foods, or want more vitamin D than your diet can provide, discuss whether you should take supplements with your physician. A simple and inexpensive blood test can tell you definitively.

Step on It - The Scale I Mean

Most of the time, we don’t recommend getting on the scale too often, but this time of the year may be different! Weighing yourself frequently can help you avoid packing on the pounds and can be a good predictor of moderate weight loss, according to a recent review of 12 studies published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. People who step on a scale regularly are also less likely to regain weight they’ve lost.

People in the National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) — the largest, long-term study of people who have lost at least 30 pounds and kept it off — weighed themselves frequently. When you weigh yourself regularly, you're more likely to notice a couple of extra pounds and can take the necessary steps to fight them. On the other hand, people who stepped on the scale less often were more likely to report greater weight gain.

Some experts argue that relying on the scale too much can result in diet sabotage — some people may react negatively to slight weight gain. However, a daily morning weigh-in (in the nude, before you’ve eaten), weekly use of a tape measure, or trying on a pair of your favorite skinny jeans can be a good way to help fight weight gain in the winter — or any season.

Good Luck, and Happy Holidays!

The Fat Tax Comes to North Carolina

2009-10-25T13:37:00.003-04:00

North Carolina is poised to become only the second state (after Alabama) to impose a fat fee on its state employees by placing them in a more expensive health insurance plan if they're obese. I predict we won’t be the last, and I know that such plans for private business employers will soon be popping up everywhere.

Smokers will feel the drag of higher costs, too, as North Carolina state employees who use tobacco are slated to pay more for health insurance next year.

North Carolina officials, coping with a steady uptick in health-care costs for state employees each year, are aiming to improve state workers' health, which saves money in medical expenses.

"Tobacco use and poor nutrition and inactivity are the leading causes of preventable deaths in our state," said Anne Rogers, director of integrated health management with the N.C. State Employees Health Plan. "We need a healthy workforce in this state. We're trying to encourage individuals to adopt healthy lifestyles."

State workers who don't cut out the Marlboros and Big Macs will end up paying more for health care. Tobacco users get placed in a more expensive insurance plan starting in July of 2010 and, for those who qualify as obese, in July 2011.

Some state employees, though, are criticizing the planned changes. The State Employees Association of North Carolina opposes the tobacco and obesity differentials as invasive steps. "It's my understanding they're talking about testing [for tobacco use] in the workplace which, to me, would create a hostile environment," said Kim Martin, a sergeant at Piedmont Correctional Institution in Salisbury. "And it's an invasion of privacy. This is America, the land of the free. I don't think [body mass index is] a very good measure. I know some folks who would have a high body mass index because they're muscular." It’s interesting to note here that North Carolina will at the same time ban ALL smoking in prisons - even by inmates! I guess you’re out of luck Sarge.

The health plan covers more than 600,000 state employees, retirees and teachers at a total cost last year of $2.6 billion. Last spring, the legislature bailed out the plan with an infusion of $250million to pay the bills after rising costs and inaccurate projections left little money for claims. Over the next two years, the state general fund will pump about $408 million into the health plan.

Although officials have not yet estimated any potential savings from the obesity requirement, the higher costs for smokers could save $13million in the 2010-2011 budget year, Rogers said, emphasizing that the plan's priority is to improve health and save money in the process.

The idea of penalizing unhealthy lifestyles and rewarding healthy conduct is hardly new among insurance plans. Public health insurance plans in other states already penalize smokers or reward nonsmokers in insurance costs. South Carolina's state employees health plan is scheduled to add a $25-per-month surcharge on smokers in January. Elsewhere in the Southeast, Kentucky and Georgia impose surcharges, and Alabama gives nonsmokers a discount.

Weight checks

Alabama was out front on weight testing. Starting in January, state workers will have their blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and body mass index checked by a nurse. If they're in a risk category, such as a body mass index of 35 or greater or a blood pressure of 160/100 or greater, they are charged an extra $25 per month on their insurance premium. If they go to a health screening, either offered by the state or by their personal physician, then the $25 is subtracted, according to Gary Matthews, chief operating officer for the Alabama State Employees Insurance Board.

North Carolina will allow state workers with a BMI of up to 40 to keep the discount, although some experts consider anyone with a BMI of 30 to be obese.

Private sector employers appear to have been targeting tobacco and weight in their insurance pricing ahead of state health plans.

Two risk factors

"We're beginning to see a lot of employers extremely interested in this," said Tim Smith, president of BioSignia, in Durham, which provides for private employers a system of measuring employees' risk factors for the onset of chronic disease. The company presents only aggregate data to the employers and does not disclose information about individuals, Smith said.

Tobacco and obesity are leading risk factors for ailments such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and chronic breathing disorders. BioSignia is not under contract with the state health plan, but Smith said that employers like the state are trying to catch employees who are in pre-disease stages to save both lives and money.

Only a fraction of employers, though, offer financial incentives for healthy behavior or wellness programs, such as gym memberships or smoking cessation, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study last year. Differences in employees' education, health literacy and access to basic health care could affect the usefulness of financial incentives in reducing health-care costs over time, the study said.

The results are not yet in. The higher costs for smokers and the obese don't appear to have been in place long enough for any state to boast of a healthier workforce yet, according to officials in several states.

Where is the data?

"I don't know that any states have a lot of hard data on this," Rogers said.

The policies have generated a backlash among at least a portion of state workers. Some workers are anxious about the idea of tests for smoking. The tests involve examining a saliva sample for cotinine, a derivative of nicotine found in the system of tobacco users. Health plan officials recognize those concerns and are getting ready to take bids from companies that will perform the tests. The state plan has not yet developed a procedure to monitor members for the obesity standard due to take effect in 2011.

"We're going to have to work out those logistics," Rogers said, “…but the plan is hear to stay.”

More Ways to Look Foolish While Trying to Look Good

2009-10-03T15:58:00.002-04:00

Chances are someone you know has tried a weird weight loss product. From the 1990s' ThighMaster to the 1950s' vibrating belts, entrepreneurs have long known that the public is willing to look stupid if promised an easy way to lose weight.

Now, with 21st-century technology, people have only found more mesmerizing and ridiculous weight loss products.

Weird Weight Loss Product 1: The Hula Chair

Dance-exercise classes, such as Kukuwa dance, or Zumba, have gained traction in recent years. But one company hopes people who don't want to haul themselves down to the gym may want to sit in the Hawaii Chair for an exotic dance workout.

The Hawaii Chair, also popularly known as the hula chair, made its debut in comedy programs such as "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in early 2008. DeGeneres tried to pour a drink of water and conduct an interview while using the Hawaii Chair on its highest setting.

A person has two choices once they're sitting on top of the patented 2,800 RPM Hula motor made by T&L Perfect USA. They can either be thrashed around in an amusement park ride fashion or attempt to keep their head straight while the chair swivels their hips about.

Dr. Steven Blair, a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina, admitted he hasn't tried the Hawaii Chair, but he had some doubts.

"Obviously, it is possible to sit in a recliner and scarcely move at all. It's also possible to sit in a regular office chair and twirl around and around and you'd be burning calories, too, for free," Blair said.

Blair thought the chair might burn more calories than lying down, but he wasn't quite impressed and pointed out there are cheaper ways to burn calories while working.

"Standing, you'd be burning even more calories, and standing on one leg, you'd be burning even more calories than before," he said.

Instead of buying specially designed chairs, Blair recommended going out for a walk.

Weird Weight Loss Product 2: Vibration Plates

This is my personal favorite and gets my award for "exercise product most likely to detach a retina." Don't be deceived by the static appearance of this most curious of fitness machines -- it moves enough to make most users nauseous in about 15 minutes..

The Power Plate is priced at $4,500 (or a mere $2,499 for home models) and its manufacturers assure customers that the platforms only look like they're stationary. In fact, the plates are vibrating millimeters in distance back and forth under your feet.

"A person can stand on it and do a simple squat and still get a benefit from the vibration," said Julie Devin, marketing coordinator for Power Plate. "But it's intended for people to do exercises on it."

Devin explained the vibrations force the body's muscles to contract in order to keep the person's balance -- adding another level of work in addition to the muscles required to do a pushup, squat or stretch on the machine.

Standing on a whole body vibration platform as a way to shorten workouts is a scam that has already spread through Europe and now is hitting California (much like the H1N1 flu).

But Blair, the exercise science professor from South Carolina, remains skeptical (he's more tactful than me).

"I don't demean sitting less and standing more," said Blair. "But you'd spend a lot more calories, I think, even going for a walk than by standing on the vibration platform."

You'd also be a lot less likely to throw up on the walk.

Weird Weight Loss Product 3: Thermal Suits

Here's a blast from the 70's past. For better or worse, the "Rocky" movies brought mainstream America boxing fitness "secrets" such as eating raw eggs or jogging up stairs decades ago.

However, it took much longer for the public to glom onto the vinyl suits used by boxers and wrestlers to lose weight.

Makes and models vary from flashy silver suits to more subdued colors, but the point of every suit is to lose weight quickly.

What the buyer may not understand, or care to understand, is that they're really losing water weight through sweat.

"But they've been used forever. A lot of wrestlers use them in order to make weight, and I think that's how it filtered down to where the general public has seen it in athletes," said Richard Davis, co-founder of GoFit, maker of the GoFit Thermal Training Suit.

The vinyl suits make for great insulation, and little evaporation, when worn. Exercise long enough in the suit, and one might take off several pounds in water sweat.

"The premise and purpose behind it is weight loss, and the primary weight loss a user would experience would be water weight loss," said Davis. "Then again, if you go back and drink some water, you may gain it back."

Now, I can see some use in the suits for warming up muscles in very limited circumstances. For example, a relief pitcher might sometimes wear these things if they're trying to warm up quickly. As for weight loss, it would all be water weight. Once you start drinking it would come back, and the suits certainly don't speed up losing body fat.

Overall though these things are actually DANGEROUS!

People have DIED from heat stroke wearing these things, and the suits are counterproductive during a strength training workout. You're going to have more difficulty regulating your body heat, you're going to get tired sooner, and you're not going to get as far.

Weird Weight Loss Product 4: The Tongue Patch

Some people still take the "no pain, no gain" slogan to the gym. But it takes a certain type of bravery to take the theory all the way into the doctor's chair as he stitches a prolene patch to your tongue.

Dr. Nikolas Chugay, a plastic surgeon in private practice in Beverly Hills, Calif., (of course) developed the tongue patch as a temporary way to lose "20 to 40 pounds."

"The tongue patch is a prolene mesh [the] size of [a] stamp," Chugay said. "All you need is about four stitches to attach it to the tongue."

The prolene patch makes it uncomfortable, if not painful, to chew solid food. Chugay has implanted the patch in more than 10 patients, and sells a liquid drink mix (just protein powder meal replacement, but at a really high price) to the dieters to ensure more calories are cut.

Chugay said his drink is "about 700 calories per day, so it's a low caloric intake. It has carbs, proteins, fat, vitamins and minerals.

"Some people still manage to eat solid foods even despite of the patch, but it's a good way of helping people not to cheat," he said.

After a month-long liquid diet, Chugay will snip off the patch, releasing his patients into the world of solid food again.

Of course, who's not going to loose weigh on only 700 calories a day? Dr. Blair thought the approach seemed short-sighted for a person's general health, or even as an attempt to lose weight and he's right.

"If you make it painful to eat, maybe people won't eat so much -- in the short-term," he said.

"But it won't work long-term, unless somewhere in this world there is a crazy person who would wear this for their whole life," Blair said.

If you're that person, please email me now.

Why Do We Eat So Much?

2009-09-22T16:24:00.007-04:00

We all know we're supposed to eat healthy portions. So why is it that a rough day at the office or even just the smell of chocolate-chip cookies can cause us to throw our best intentions out the window?

Well, here's what we've observed over the years as to why so many of us overdo it -- and you can use this information to break the cycle and prevent an unwanted "pile-on of pounds".

YOU'RE NOT GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP

Missing out on your zzz's not only puts you in a mental fog, it also triggers a constellation of actual metabolic changes that may lead to weight gain. A lack of shut-eye harms your waistline because it affects two important hormones that control appetite and satiety--leptin and ghrelin--says Kristen L. Knutson, Ph.D., a research associate specializing in sleep and health at the University of Chicago's Department of Medicine.

According to a study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, people who slept only four hours a night for two nights had an 18 percent decrease in leptin (a hormone that signals the brain that the body has had enough to eat) and a 28 percent increase in ghrelin (a hormone that triggers hunger), compared with those who got more rest. The result: Sleep-deprived study volunteers reported a 24 percent boost in appetite. Short sleep can also impair glucose metabolism and over time set the stage for type 2 diabetes, Knutson notes.

How to get control:

When we're exhausted, we hunger for just about everything in sight, especially if it's sugary or high in carbs. That may be because these foods give us both an energy boost and comfort (since lack of sleep is a stressor), Knutson says. To quell the urge for fattening foods and still get the energy kick you need, reach for a combination of complex carbs and protein.

"If you're feeling tired, you want carbs. But go for high-fiber carbs for long-lasting energy," says Keri Gans, R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). "Fiber burns slower than simple sugars, and adding in some protein keeps you satisfied longer."

At breakfast, have whole-wheat toast with egg whites or a high-fiber cereal with fruit and a yogurt. And for a food-free way to perk up during the day, take a 10-minute walk outside. You also can prevent uncontrollable cravings in the first place by prioritizing a good night's sleep -- get seven to nine hours a night in a slumber-friendly bedroom (one that's as dark and quiet as possible and reserved for shut-eye and sex only).

A final tip: If you're plagued by sleep problems, ask your doctor for a referral to a sleep specialist.

YOU'RE SABOTAGED BY STRESS

Constant stress causes your body to pump out high doses of hormones, like cortisol, that over time can boost your appetite and lead you to overeat. "Cortisol and insulin shift our preferences toward comfort foods--high-fat, high-sugar, or high-salt foods," says Elissa Epel, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Department of Psychiatry and a leader of the UCSF Center on Obesity Assessment, Study, and Treatment.

Fat cells also produce cortisol, so if you're overweight and stressed, you're getting a double-whammy in terms of exposure. Overweight women gained weight when faced with common stressors such as job demands, having a tough time paying bills, and family-relationship strains, according to a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Cortisol, together with insulin, also causes your body to store more visceral fat, which is a risk factor for heart attack and stroke, Epel notes. What's more, stress makes it harder to stick with a healthy eating plan. "It's a reason why people go off diets," notes Marci Gluck, Ph.D., a clinical research psychologist at the Obesity and Diabetes Clinical Research Section of the National Institutes of Health in Phoenix, Arizona. Folks who normally restrict their eating, tend to overeat in response to stress.

How to get control:

Sure, real-life pressures can put you in nonstop-nibble mode. But working stress-reduction techniques into your busy days can really help. Yoga, meditation, and deep-breathing exercises are powerful tools that keep tension in check. And spending 20 minutes doing progressive muscle relaxation--alternately tensing and relaxing muscle groups--significantly lessens stress, anxiety, and cortisol, according to a study published in the International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders.

Exercise will also do the trick. "Try dancing to your favorite tunes, running in place, playing a sport, or taking a simple walk," says Elisa Zied, R.D., an ADA spokeswoman and author of "Nutrition at Your Fingertips." When you're feeling edgy, make a habit of turning to these activities rather than diving into your candy stash. If you're feeling completely overwhelmed by stress, talk to a counselor who specializes in stress management.

YOU'VE GOT FATTY FOODS (LITERALLY) ON THE BRAIN

We're hardwired to hunger for fatty, sugary, salty foods because, back when our ancestors were foraging for every meal, palatable eats meant extra energy and a leg-up on survival, says Dr. David A. Kessler, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and author of "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite."

So it's not just a lack of willpower that's tripping you up, but rather your outdated survival mode. In fact, when you eat fat-rich foods, your brain not only gets a signal that your body is satisfied but also forms long-term memories of the experience, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. What once helped early humans survive is now giving us ever-expanding waistlines.

Adding to the challenge to control overeating, the mere sight of food can cue up a craving. "[Cravings] are based on past learning and memories as well as the sight or smell of food, time of day, or location," Kessler says. "You'll walk down the street and start thinking about chocolate-covered pretzels because you've had them before on the same street."

How to get control:

Avoid eating your favorite treat if you're in a particular mood, if it's a certain time of day, or if you're in a specific place; this will prevent you from creating a triggering link between those feelings or locations and that treat, Kessler says. And since the smell and sight of fatty, sugary foods is pure temptation, try to keep yourself from passing the bakery or ice cream shop you can't resist.

Also, pay attention to what you're thinking when temptation strikes. "Once the brain is activated [by a craving], having that inner dialogue of, 'No, I shouldn't have that,' only increases the wanting," Kessler notes. Instead, focus on something you want more than that slice of cheesecake--from being healthier for your kids to feeling less winded when you walk to work--to help override the urge. If logic is out the window, indulge in healthier, high-protein versions of your favorites such as low-fat frozen yogurt with almonds when you crave a sundae or a fat-free protein shake when you need a chocolate fix.

YOU ATE IT ANYWAY, NOW WHAT?

Forgive yourself. "Having one overindulgent meal should not derail you from your healthful eating habits, while being too negative will make you more likely to throw up your hands in despair and overindulge at the next meal or several meals for days to come," Elisa Zied, R.D., says.

Give yourself a do-over. Blowing it at one meal or snack is not a convenient excuses to eat bad for the rest of the day and "start over tomorrow"!

Immediately start over with lean protein, veggies, whole grains, and fruit, and drink plenty of water, Zied suggests.

Learn from it. Think about what triggered your overindulgence--not to punish yourself, but to choose smarter next time. "If you keep a food journal, you might see you ended up pigging out because you waited too long to eat," Keri Gans, R.D., says.

Add on exercise. To feel in control again, simply tack on a few extra minutes to your regular walk, gym routine, etc. At the same time, "try not to think of exercise as a punishment for overindulging," Zied says. If you do, you'll grow to dread the gym.

The Best Insider Fitness Tips - Part 2

2009-09-13T13:53:00.005-04:00

Last time, I began sharing what are probably the simplest and best everyday fitness tips of all time. As you may recall, I pointed out how our fitness is determined, in large part, by a stream decisions we make every day, every hour and even every minuet We should constantly be asking ourselves this question: What is the best thing for me and my body right now? In the last blog, I covered 11 pearls of fitness wisdom that I hope you've already put into practice in your daily life. Now, here are the other 10 tips that I know you'll find useful, easy to implement, and highly effective.

#12. Drink a large glass of water before every meal. It may seem like a chore, but drinking a large glass of water before eating is a great way to partially fill you up and prevent you from overeating.

#13. When lifting weights, try slowing down the speed at which you lower the weight. Lowering weight in a controlled manner will add strength and tone to your muscles and decrease the chance of an injury.

#14. Eating right when you wake up is vital to breaking the fast your body goes into every night. 2- 3 hours after you eat your body shuts down your metabolism and acts as if it needs to store food. In order to communicate with your body that it is healthy, well fed, and not in need of extra fat storage you need to start your day off with a small meal and continue to eat small meals every 2-3 hours.

#15. Try the straight leg raise for a challenging ab workout. Lie on your back with your hands under your low back, legs straight out in front of you. With your lower back on the floor, exhale as you pull your legs straight up into the air. Inhale as you lower your legs back down to the mat. This exercise helps to strengthen and flatten your lower abs.

#16. Eat complex carbohydrates instead of simple sugars for a leaner body. Your body is in constant need of carbohydrates to be converted into glucose and used as fuel. When your body has extra glucose it will be stored as fat for later use. Complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, legumes, and vegetables, take longer to break down into glucose, and will therefore be less likely to be stored as fat than simple carbohydrates such as table sugar, or fruit sugar.

#17. Make sure that you are exercising in your "Fat Burn Zone" during cardiovascular workouts by checking to see if you can hold conversation without breathlessness. Your body needs oxygen to aide in fat burn, so make sure that you are breathing deeply.

#18. Want to spend 5 seconds a day to encourage weight loss? Drink a glass of cold water every night right before you get into bed. Your body will have to heat this water up to your body's temperature of 98 degrees, and it will have to burn a few calories in the process! This sets your body up to burn calories as you sleep! When you make this 5 second activity a habit, you will be excited to find yourself losing weight easier than ever before.

#19. Your body needs a variety of nutrients to function at its peak and burn fat. Find new, healthy alternatives to your daily meals, and substitute them frequently. Make sure that you are eating 5 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables every day, of different colors.

#20. Losing patience with exercise? The key to weight loss and fitness gains is to consistently give your body new challenges. Mix up your workouts every few weeks, and don't be afraid to try something new! Hire a personal trainer who can help you add new excitement to your fitness program.

#21. Water is needed for every function of your body, including the burning of fat. Try drinking a big glass of water in the morning, before meals, while exercising, and before bed. Drink up – it’s good for you!

Take the time to incorporate these tips into your daily lifestyle, and you will be pleasantly surprised with your results! To gain the most from these tips I suggest that you hire an experienced personal trainer who can guide you all the way to your goals.
Remember that healthy weight loss takes time, so be patient! Make an effort towards your goal everyday and don’t get discouraged! Now go get’em!

The Best Insider Fitness Tips - Part 1

2009-09-03T16:24:00.004-04:00

Who among us can truly say that they are as lean and toned as they ever want to be? Most people, even the fitness buffs, are in a constant fluctuation between their ideal body and a body that is not quite ideal. So how do we sway this struggle in our favor? Quite often the difference between the body that you have today and the body that you wish you had is made up of simple daily decisions.

#1.Eating small meals every 2-3 waking hours will increase your metabolism and reduce fat storage. Make sure that these are healthy meals containing balanced amounts of protein, carbohydrates and fat.

#2.The easiest way to effortlessly lose weight is to not eat three hours before bed. It has been proven that not eating three hours before bed reduces fat storage throughout the night.

#3. A great way to burn off excess fat is to walk or jog for as little as 15-20 minutes first thing in the morning. Performing a calorie burning activity right when you wake up is more effective since your body is depleted of calories, and is forced to pull energy from fat stores. A personal trainer can help you identify your ideal target heart rate for maximum fat burn.

#4. The average Venti sized Frappuccino weighs in at 530 calories. This staggering number equals 2.5 bagels or one third of the recommended daily calories for an average woman. Beverages such as this contain high amounts of sugar should be consumed rarely since the extra calories they contain are readily stored as fat.

#5.During your workouts do exercise that incorporate compound movements rather than simple ones. This will not only help in burning more calories, but will also tone more muscle at once! A few good compound movement exercises include: squats, clean and press, dead lifts, bent over rows, and lunges.

#6. Want to effortlessly drop 30 lbs in one year? Millions of people drink an average of 2 regular soft drinks a day, which is a total of 300 calories. When you add these extra 300 calories up over a year, they result in over 30lbs of weight gain! Say no to soft drinks, and say goodbye to your unwanted pounds!

#7. Fat free foods, when eaten in excess, will still be stored as fat! Fat free cookies and crackers are made up of a whole lot of SUGAR! Yep, the secret is out! Sugar is just as fattening of a substance than fat itself, when eaten in excess.

#8. Set fitness goals for yourself, write them down and post them where you will see them everyday. Your goal may be to lose 5 pounds, to lose 5 inches off your waist. Make sure that you are very specific with your goals, vague goals will get you nowhere. A qualified personal trainer can help you set your goals and guide you to them.

#9. Pump some iron! Did you know that 1 lb of muscle burns 30-50 calories per day, while 1 lb of fat only burns about 9 calories per day? The more muscle your body contains the more calories you burn each day. Resistance training has been called the fountain of youth – and it really is!

#10. Eat a small meal and wait 20 minutes before deciding if you need more food. This will give your stomach and brain time to communicate. If you have eaten enough food, your brain will alert your body and you will find that you don't desire anything more. If you are still hungry after this period, eat a small amount more and wait another 20 minutes.

#11. Make a habit of weighting and measuring yourself monthly and tracking your gains and losses. This will prevent gradual weight gain from creeping up when you least expect it.

You Can’t Crap Your Way to Fitness

2009-08-23T15:41:00.003-04:00

It’s that time of year again: Summer’s almost over and people haven’t lost the weight they promised themselves they’d loose last Summer, and desperation is setting in. You’ve probably heard the ads by now: Loose 5 to 20 pounds without exercise or diet just by “removing the wastes trapped in your colon wall like spackling inside a pipe…” It must be effective right? I mean, it’s expensive, uncomfortable and potentially fatal, so it’s a sure-fire solution.

Of course it’s all a sham. Nothing gets trapped in your colon - it’s not a sewer pipe. Just ask anyone who’s recently had a colonoscopy - and they have the pictures to prove it. Having a “blow out” won’t get rid of any fat, won’t make you any healthier and in most cases won’t even temporarily decrease your abdominal measurement by so much as a centimeter. Why?

First, a little basic biology. The colon, also called the large intestine, follows the small intestine and comprises the end of the gastrointestinal tract. Most nutrients from food are absorbed in the small intestine. The colon absorbs water and salts from the stool while it pushes it along through the rectum, which excretes it.

Laxatives and enemas, which promote bowel movements, have been around for at least 4,000 years and were famously practiced by the ancient Egyptians. That shouldn't be an endorsement; the ancient Egyptians also buried servants alive to attend to the mummified kings in the afterlife.

The golden age of the colon in America was in the late 19th century when—perhaps influenced by a new emphasis on hygiene and proper sewage removal—serious-minded doctors developed the theory of colonic autointoxication. The most famous of these was none other than Dr. John Harvey Kellogg (yes as in the breakfast cereal), and you can see his enema exploits documented in the movie “The Road to Wellville”.

The idea was that the intestines were a sewage system and that constipation, although never specifically defined, resulted in a cesspool within the body where food wastes would putrefy, become toxic, and get reabsorbed through the intestines. Some scientists also claimed that constipation caused fecal matter to harden onto the intestinal walls for months or years – 20 pounds or more worth, blocking the absorption of nutrients (yet somehow not blocking toxins). This latter claim that waste “sticks to the intestine wall like spackling on the inside of a pipe” is still made by charlatans to this day.

Constipation is indeed uncomfortable. But careful testing found that those symptoms associated with it and attributed to autointoxication—headache, fatigue, loss of appetite and irritability—were not a result of toxins but rather the colon expanding. The reason was mechanical, not chemical. A 1919 article in Journal of the American Medical Association by W.C. Alvarez, "Origin of the so-called auto-intoxication symptom" put these ridiculous ideas to rest once and for all. By the 1920s, colon cleansing was relegated to the realm of quackery.

Soon after, and still to this day, direct observations of the colon through surgery, colonoscopy, and autopsy find no hardening of fecal matter along the intestinal walls. And even in the most massive cases of constipation requiring a true surgical intervention (very rare) the record for feces removal is less than 5 pounds.

But, in this modern American life of comforts our ancestors could never imagine, you can't keep a crappy idea down.

Autointoxication makes sense today to those people who, for whatever reasons, believe that modern food is filled with toxins and that the pharmaceutical industry wants us to be constipated so that they can make billions of dollars unclogging us with harmful chemicals.

Those who advocate colon cleansing today present the exact same arguments as quacks of more than 100 years ago. Not surprisingly, they're still wrong. Their reasoning is spelled out on thousands of web sites that give no references to their claims that colon cleansing cures everything from arthritis to Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Inevitably these sites include testimonials, then the opportunity to buy the cure.

"It's all just nonsense," says Dr. Brian Lacy of Dartmouth Medical School, author of Making Sense of IBS: A Physician Answers Your Questions about Irritable Bowel Syndrome. With product prices often topping $100 (and spa therapies sometimes reaching $1,000) Lacy calls colon cleansing "a very expensive and potentially deadly enema."

Lacy approaches the topic logically. If stool is toxic, then the roughly 15 percent of American adults with constipation would have significantly higher rates of disease and death. They don't.

There have been real, honest-to-goodness studies on colon cleansing in recent years, he said, but they all have focused on the potential harm: abscesses caused by too much water, rectal perforation and electrolyte imbalance. All that water, usually tens of gallons, washes out the electrolytes that the colon was built to absorb. The water also washes away beneficial bacteria needed for digestion, and not magically only harmful bacteria, as the proponents claim.

Being regular can mean hitting the toilet three times a day or three times a week; there is zero evidence that more bowel movements will make you thinner or healthier. If you are constipated, then a laxative can make you feel better. Laxatives also aren't necessarily healthy. There are kinds that shock the bowels into moving, kinds that draw water into the intestines, and kinds that build bulk. Many doctors recommend the bulk-builders as the best course.

While colon cleaning can make some people feel better, it doesn’t make one any less fat, and it certainly doesn't cure any disease; it's no more effective at relieving discomfort than an enema; and it is tantamount to throwing money down the proverbial toilet.

The Worst Mall Foods You Can Eat

2009-08-11T18:27:00.010-04:00

Well, we’re back from our summer break now, and with the weather so hot I couldn’t help but notice how people are flocking to shopping malls –I was one of them. While I was there, I couldn’t miss the smell of food-court treats slamming my nose from the minute I walked in the door, so I know a lot of us will probably end up chowing down on our shopping trips – but be careful!

Here's the danger: Studies have shown that the more temptation people resist, the harder it becomes to continue resisting. That means after hours of being surrounded by tempting sales, special offers, and life-changing, one-time deals, your ability to resist the enticing edibles of the food court may be severely compromised.

And considering the calorie bombs we saw there, a lack of willpower in the presence of mall eateries can be a very dangerous thing. Based on what we saw, here are our nominees for "The Worst Mall Foods", with some eye-popping details from Men’s Health magazine:

"MOST FAT" in a Breakfast

Cinnabon

Regular Caramel Pecanbun

1,100 calories

56 g fat (10 g saturated, 5 g trans)

141 g carbs

47 g sugars

FAT EQUIVALENT: 8 White Castle Hamburgers

Cinnabon and malls are inseparable. But just because Cinnabon might be good for the Gap doesn't mean it's at all good for you. This dangerously bloated bun -- among these Fattiest Foods in America -- contains nearly an entire day's worth of fat and more than half of your daily allotment of calories. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so for god's sake don't eat this!

"MOST SUGAR" in a Drink

Smoothie King

Grape Expectations II (40 oz)

1,096 calories

0 g fat (0 g saturated)

266 g carbs

250 g sugars

SUGAR EQUIVALENT: 13 Dunkin' Donuts Chocolate Frosted Donuts

Smoothie King calls this a way to "snack right"; we call it one of the quickest ways to get fat! Even if most of the sugar comes from some form of fruit or fruit juice (in this case, ultra-sweet grape juice), the resulting blood-sugar surge (and inevitable energy crash) from this much sweetness may leave you struggling to find a stranger with some spare insulin you can borrow.

"MOST BAD STUFF" in One Bowl

Au Bon Pain

Large Macaroni and Cheese Stew with Bread Bowl

1,120 calories

42 g fat (19 g saturated, 1 g trans)

3,070 mg sodium

157 g carbs

SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 22 small orders of McDonald's French Fries!

Whether it's made from a giant fried tortilla or a massive hunk of sourdough, if your serving vessel is edible, you're asking for trouble. In this case, the bread bowl adds a belly-building 600 calories to what is already one of America's most decadent, over-the-top spoonables. If soup's your thing, you'll have a hard time keeping the sodium down no matter which bowl you order; good, old-fashioned tomato soup is as good as you'll do at Au Bon Pain.

"MOST CALORIES" in a Sandwich

Quizno's

Large Tuna Melt Club with cheese and dressing

1,820 calories

147 g fat (27 g saturated, 1.5 g trans)

2,020 mg sodium

85 g carbs

CALORIC EQUIVALENT: 12 Taco Bell Fresco Style Beef Tacos

Tuna off the grill or straight from the can is perfectly healthy; tuna drowning in mayonnaise, blanketed in melted cheese, and slicked with oily dressing is decidedly not. Not only does this sandwich carry with it nearly an entire day's worth of calories and sodium, it also contains as much fat as 49 strips of bacon. In fact, it's so bad that it was recently listed in Men's Health 20 Worst Foods in America for 2009.

The Cure for Back Pain? Lift More Weight!

2009-06-09T22:42:00.003-04:00

The answer to managing nagging back pain might prove counterintuitive: A new study suggests pushing those sore muscles with weight training and improving overall body strength could help, researchers say.

Weightlifting enhanced quality of life for back-pain patients by as much as 28%, says a study done at the University of Alberta and presented at the American College of Sports Medicine.

More frequent training led to better results. The research was done on 240 men and women who had had no back surgery, damaged vertebrae or nerve root problems. All had chronic, non-specific lower-back pain as a result of injury to soft tissue in the lower back.

"Why does increasing strength even make a difference?" asks lead researcher Robert Kell, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta. "Let's say you garden or go out for a full day of activities and come home tired. We are more apt to injure our backs if we are fatigued. By increasing overall strength, it makes it easier for us to complete activities of daily living."

Strengthening only one part of the body will not cut it, Kell says. The benefit comes from bench presses for the chest, lateral pull-downs for strengthening the back, and leg presses. All three were correlated with pain reduction. When strength increased in those exercises, pain and disability decreased.

"A lot of work is done with the upper body that is strenuous, so it's important to have strong chest and back muscles so you don't hunch forward," he says. "It's also important to have strong leg muscles, because if you reach down to pick something up and your legs are fatigued, you'll lift more with your back."

Anyone with lower back pain should consult a physician before proceeding with an exercise plan. For a long time, people had been advised to rest in bed when lower back pain flared, but that often led to stiffness and muscle weakness. Now many physicians recommend strengthening the stomach and leg muscles, walking and gentle stretching.

"Exercising is counterintuitive based on how you feel," Kell says. "It hurts, so you want to stop. We associate pain with something being wrong or getting worse, so we think we should rest more often. But really what happens if they get up and exercise with low back pain, the joints loosen up and feel better."

Back pain can prevent people from staying active and is one of the most common complaints that send people to doctors or emergency rooms.

A January report in the Journal of the American Medical Association discusses the prevalence of the injury, the costs, the risks and effectiveness of an array of treatments from surgery to spinal injections, and use of anti-inflammatory drugs. The report says that even in successful trials, "most patients continue to experience some pain and dysfunction," and it adds data suggesting that the current management of musculoskeletal disorders, much of which is back pain, is not highly successful.

Kell says his study offers some hope. "If you continue to strengthen the body, the pain will subside, either substantially or to a small amount, but it will subside," he says.

During the first three weeks of the 16-week study, participants worked out with low levels of weight and fewer repetitions to prevent further injury.

"It was nice gradual work in the beginning," he says. "Then when their bodies are ready for the stress, the last 13 weeks I used a heavier, more demanding program. I did not want muscle growth. I didn't want them to get bigger, I wanted them to develop strength.

"I started out using 55% to 60% of the maximum amount of weight. During the last three or four week period they were lifting 75% to 83% of maximum lift. Anything around 80% is considered strength training with a healthy person."

The Fitness Toilet - Seriously

2009-05-23T15:37:00.003-04:00

What More Can I Say About This Gem? The latest product from world-renowned over-the-top toilet maker Toto makes each trip to the bathroom like a visit to the doctor's office. It features a weight scale, a body fat meter, a blood sugar and blood pressure monitor as well as urine temperature measurement and analysis to help women keep track of menstruation cycles. Plus the whole thing can be networked to your PC via Wi-Fi. I’m not joking. And as for the cost of this beast? Well, you could train with us three times per week for over a year for less, but then what fun would that be?

Proven Fitness Tricks to Blast Off Fat Faster

2009-05-17T20:33:00.003-04:00

Tired of plugging away without seeing the pounds disappear faster? Here are some simple tricks that can help transform your usual regimen into the ultimate fat-blasting routine. Whether you use some or all of these gems, our insider tips will help you get the calorie-burn you deserve.

Know this: “You’ll be able to comfortably work out longer and harder if you’re cool,” says Len Kravitz, PhD, coordinator of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. “Being too hot stresses your body out, so you don’t perform as well.” Translation: You burn less fat.

Do this: Where thin clothing, even if you think you’re “too fat”! I promise you’re not. When exercising at home, put a fan in front of your workout area. Hitting the gym? Wait to use the cardio equipment that has a fan built into the console, or at least find the one under the ceiling fan.

Know this: “Wearing a heart-rate monitor makes it easier to burn more body fat by showing just how hard you’re really working,” Kravitz says. “Keeping your heart rate in the right zone prevents you from slacking off, so you make the most of every minute.”

Do this: Invest in a heart-rate monitor and wear it every time you exercise. We love Life Fitness’s new Dual Watch and Heart Rate Monitor ($60; at CVS stores nationwide). It’s simple to program and use and it doesn’t require a chest strap-just touch the face with your fingertips. And it comes in a variety of sizes, too.

Know this: “Warming up for five minutes before each workout helps you lose more weight,” says Heather Dillinger, an IDEA Health and Fitness Association elite-level personal-fitness trainer. “It not only makes your muscles more pliable but also increases their range of motion, so you end up using more muscle fibers as you exercise.”

Do this: Choose a warm-up routine that hits all of your muscles, not just your legs. The easiest option: Do three to five minutes of low-intensity walking while pumping your arms back and forth (you can do this on a treadmill too) or do the same thing on an elliptical machine.

Know this: “Saving your energy for the end of your cardio workout may prevent you from losing as much weight as you can,” says metabolism expert Dixie Stanforth of the department of kinesiology and health education at the University of Texas at Austin.

Do this: Instead of starting out slow and then finishing up strong, do your high-intensity cardio early in your workout. After doing your warm-up, try exercising at a high intensity for 15 minutes before slowing down to a more moderate pace for the last 15 minutes.

Know this: “Two smaller workouts can be more effective than one,” Stanforth reveals. That’s because every time you do high-intensity exercise, your metabolism stays revved for an hour or more afterward. Splitting up your workout boosts your metabolism twice, giving you additional calorie-burning time from the exact same routine.
Do this: Divide your workout (especially cardio) into two smaller, high-intensity sessions-preferably, doing one in the morning and one at night.

Know this: If you’re convinced that you’re melting fat while exercising, you’ll make a mind-body connection that will actually help you lose fat faster. In a 2007 Harvard study, participants who believed they were getting a good workout showed greater reductions in body fat than subjects who performed the same activities but didn’t feel like they were really exercising.

Do this: The next time you do anything active, remind yourself every few minutes that you’re giving it your all. This little mental move may motivate you to push yourself harder, leading to even greater fat loss.

Know this: “The less time you rest between sets when strength training, the more calories you’re likely to burn,” Dillinger notes. “Keeping rest periods short keeps your heart rate at a higher rate, which naturally increases the number of calories you’re using.”

Do this: The best rule of thumb is to take only a 30-second break between sets (meaning you’ll need a watch with a second hand – or a personal trainer)

Ditch Hydroxycut...Keep Your Liver

2009-05-02T08:42:00.004-04:00

O.K., so what’s worse than a diet product that doesn’t work? How about one that trashes your liver as well as your wallet!

Hydroxycut products, well-hyped dietary supplements used for weight loss, have been linked to liver damage and are being recalled, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

The FDA has received 23 reports of serious liver injuries linked to Hydroxycut products, which are also used as energy enhancers and as fat burners.

The reports include the 2007 death of a 19-year-old man living in the Southwest, which was reported to the FDA in March. Other serious liver problems reported included liver damage that resulted in a transplant in 2002, liver failure, jaundice, seizures and cardiovascular problems.

The FDA is warning consumers to immediately stop using 14 Hydroxycut products manufactured by Iovate Health Sciences Inc. of Oakville, Ontario, and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, New York.

The company is voluntarily recalling the following products: Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets, Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets, Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets, Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets, Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets, Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets, Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix), Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets, Hydroxycut Liquid Shots, Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink), Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed, Hydroxycut 24, Hydroxycut Carb Control and Hydroxycut Natural. Video Watch more on the FDA's concern »

According to the FDA, last year, Iovate sold more than 9 million units of Hydroxycut products, which were distributed widely to grocery stores, health food stores and pharmacies.
Health Library

"The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risks. Adverse events are rare, but exist. Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they experience symptoms possibly associated with these products," said Dr. Linda Katz, interim chief medical officer of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Liver damage is rare, but patients who experienced problems were taking doses recommended on the product label, the FDA said. Symptoms include brown urine, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, stomach pain, itching and light-colored stools.

The FDA has not determined what specific ingredients are responsible for the problems, because the products contain a variety of overlapping ingredients and herbal extracts.

Dietary supplements sold before October 1994 are not required to undergo any FDA review before going to market. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 required manufacturers to ensure a supplement to be safe before marketing. But manufacturers still don't need to register a product with the FDA or get approval before selling a supplement.

The agency can take action against an unsafe supplement once it's on the market. Since December 2007, any serious adverse event reported to the manufacturer must now be reported to the FDA within 15 days.

The Truth About Stretching

2009-04-18T12:37:00.003-04:00

You see them everywhere, people yanking an ankle behind their back before setting off on a jog. Gym-goers being urged by trainers to lie on the floor and put their legs over their heads. It looks like sensible preparation for exercise, but it really does much more harm than good. Not only does it increase the risk of injury, it may also hinder performance.

Research on 23 studies of athletes who performed stretching exercises before tests of sporting performance showed nearly all had a bad effect. One study showed that static stretching before a jump test reduced the maximum height by three-quarters of an inch. A review of six studies of stretching before exercise found that not one demonstrated it prevented injury. Ian Shrier, a Canadian epidemiologist who conducted both reviews, in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine, said: "At first people thought I was crazy." But other researchers have since reached similar conclusions.

The best way to prevent injury and prepare for exercise is to do a proper warm-up routine to get blood flowing to the muscles. Doing calf stretches before a run does not benefit the leg muscles because they are never stretched in the extreme position while running. Almost all over-use injuries are strains that occur when the body is in the normal range of motion and are the result of improper training not lack of stretching.

Dr. James Brown, a specialist in sports medicine and spokesman for the UK Association of Doctors in Sport, said: "Stretching before exercise probably increases the risk of injury. Your muscles are never going to get warm. Unfortunately you do still see people doing it everywhere. You won't see elite athletes doing it. They will do a warm-up. If you go jogging or go to the gym at lunchtime there is no need to stretch first. If one stretches at all, one should stretch after exercise or at a time not related to exercise.

WARMING UP

Start with a gentle warm-up, of the muscles you plan to use

Increasing blood flow to muscles gets them contracting the way they will need to for the exercise

Static stretching can stiffen muscles and dynamic (ballistic) stretching can cause immediate injury. Don’t do it!

If you still feel you need to stretch, do so only at a time when you are not exercising. Consider taking yoga to learn stretching techniques that may be useful.

10 Ways to Tell if a Fitness Product is Crap

2009-04-12T21:27:00.006-04:00

There are many weight loss and fitness products around, and by now I’m sure you’ve already noticed. They are advertised online and in magazines, available in stores, and shown repeatedly in TV infomercials. Sometimes they may be supplements or pills, sometimes equipment or machines, and sometimes books or entire programs. While the types of products may change, one fact remains consistent… the majority of them are complete crap.

This of course leads to one tiny problem. How are you supposed to know which are the ones to avoid? To help you answer that question, here are 10 foolproof ways of discerning whether or not a weight loss or fitness product is crap…

1. There is a celebrity involved.

If you see some type of ad for a fitness product, and there is a celebrity using it, endorsing it, or even just hanging around drinking coffee in the background… this product is crap.

It could be Chuck Norris and the Total Gym, or it could be Christopher Knight (Peter Brady) and the Ab Lounge… as soon as you spot someone who has their own Internet Movie Database page, you will know that this product shouldn’t be bought by anyone, anywhere, at any time.

2. It looks like a prescription drug

Xenadrine, Lipozene, Relacore, Hydroxycut…the list goes on and on. These sham products look like prescription drugs, have names that sound like prescription drugs, and many have prices to match. Many use “doctor” spokespersons or serious- looking announcers and say that these pills are only for use by “serious dieters”.

There are only four real pharmaceuticals approved for modest weight loss – and only one of these (Ali) is available without a prescription. Ali is also the only one of these occasionally advertised on TV. None of these are good for more than about a 7% weight loss under the best circumstances.

EVERY other pill you see on TV, radio or the Internet is WORTHLESS. They are just the same useless combination of vitamins, herbs and dietary supplements that have been sold to the unknowledgeable for years.

Believe me, real pharmaceutical companies have been spending billions for decades looking for the real fat-destroying pill. Rest assured that if they ever succeed, the news will be bigger than the discovery of a cure for cancer. You won’t hear about it on a commercial, you’ll hear about it on CNN and every other news outlet in the world. You’ll also need a doctor’s visit, prescription and probably $300- $400 a month to get it.

3. It guarantees results in X amount of time, or when used for X amount of time.

If some type of fitness machine promises “the body of your dreams in just 6 weeks guaranteed” or a weight loss pill says you’ll “lose 30 pounds in just 3 weeks guaranteed,” then it is and always will be crap. Unless your dream is to look pretty much just like you do right now, you will not have the body of your dreams in a matter of a few weeks.

The same goes for those products that promise results if you use their product for an unusually short period of time. For example, a sales pitch that goes “In just 8 minutes a day, you can have the slim sexy abs you’ve always wanted!”

Really the only thing you’ll be doing during those 8 minutes a day is wondering how you wasted your money on crap.

4. Tony Little is involved.

5. It’s available in “3 easy payments of $19.95.”

Well this one certainly narrows it all down, doesn’t it? If you are interested in losing weight, increasing muscle, or just getting in some form of better shape, and the product you think will help you achieve this goal costs “just 3 easy payments of $19.95,” now would be the perfect time to turn off the TV and run away.

Nothing available for 3 easy payments of anything will actually live up to whatever weight loss or fitness claims it makes. And yes, I feel perfectly fine lumping all of the “3-easy-payments” products into one category. Why? Because they are all crap. Every single one of them.

In fact, the only way any of these products could live up to their claim is if they claim up front to actually be crap.

6. It claims to chisel, sculpt, define or firm your body.

The words above don’t really exist. Well, they do, just not in the form they were just used in. See, they are not realistic verbs. They are gimmicky marketing verbs. Words used to give you this amazing picture in your mind of what you’ll look like after you buy this product. Too bad they are all usually synonyms for crap.

Here are the things you can realistically do to your body. You can gain muscle. You can lose muscle. You can gain fat. You can lose fat. That’s it. That’s all. That’s the entire list of physical changes you can make. You can’t “firm” your “buns.” You can’t “tone” your “problem areas.” Those phrases are the epitome of weight loss and fitness crap.

Weight training increases muscle. A proper diet and/or cardio activity decreases fat. That’s all. If you happen to gain muscle, and then happen to lose fat, you will very likely appear to look more “toned” and “defined” and “ripped” and “firmed.” While they all still sound a little suspect in my opinion, they aren’t as bad when used as adjectives. However, any product that uses any of the above gimmicky marketing words as a verb to describe what it will do to you is likely a rip-off.

7. There is an asterisk next to a testimonial or before and after picture.

This occurs in print ads, web sites, and TV commercials. You have to look real close. You know that part when someone is telling you something like “I tried every weight loss program and product around. Nothing seemed to work. But then I tried Product XYZ and just look at me now! I lost 40 pounds in just 6 weeks!” …that is your signal to look closely for an asterisk at the beginning or end of it.

Did you find one? If so, look towards the bottom of the ad for the asterisk’s meaning. 99% of the time it will say something along the lines of: *These results are not typical.

Yeah, it really does say that. Of course, you do have to possess the ability to read the last line of an eye chart in order to actually see it. But to their credit, if you could clearly see this product was crap, why on earth would you still buy it?

8. There is any type of a testimonial that includes a before and after picture.

Okay, maybe not everything showing before and after pictures and testimonials is crap, but the majority of them are. Quick weight loss just is not possible. Without the aid of a chainsaw and a dislike of one of your legs, you will not lose 30 pounds in 3 weeks like supposed users of certain weight loss and fitness products claim.

I know, the pictures look amazing and the stories sound true. Here’s the thing though, they are lying. Faked pictures are as common as can be. And during the rare time when they aren’t lying, they are just showing you one extremely rare example (usually followed by as asterisk) of the results people have gotten.

If a million people lost 5 pounds, and one person lost 20 pounds, who do you think they will feature in the advertisement? But then again, it’s mighty hard to sell crap if you do it the other way around.

9. It’s a magazine.

You know all of those fitness magazines? Well, for the most part, they’re crap. The same goes for the seemingly hundreds of “women’s” magazines that always seem to have a headline on the cover such as “Learn how to drop 10 pounds in time for bikini season” or “10 tips to slim down those thighs.” It’s all junk.

I mean, at some point it is possible that the information contained in these magazines could be okay. However, there is a finite amount of actual useful weight loss information in the world. In fact, there probably isn’t even enough to fill one whole magazine, let alone every issue of hundreds of magazines for weeks, months and years.

What does that mean? Well, it means these magazines keep putting out the exact same information over and over again, just slightly reworded.

This issue might have “20 weight loss secrets” and the next issue might have “20 diet tips.” It’s just the same junk repeated over and over again with just a slightly different look to it. This time low fat is the way to go. Next time it will be low carb. Five issues later it will be low fat all over again.

Avoid seeking weight loss and fitness advice from a source whose only goal is to sell next month’s magazine.

10. It implies that hard work isn’t actually required.

If there is a claim that you can eat whatever you want and some weight loss pill will “do all of the work for you,” it’s crap. If it shows you something and says “just look how easy it is!” be sure to replace the word easy with the word crappy.

No matter what your diet and workout goals are, the honest truth is that it will always require hard work. Constant and consistent hard work for that matter. Anything that claims otherwise or seems too good to be true will be crap 100% of the time.

So then, what’s left?

After putting every weight loss and fitness product through this list, how many of them make it all the way through? Not too many, huh? Really it’s just things like free weights, or a treadmill, or a gym membership, or good food. These don’t fit any of the above descriptions.

But then again, if these are the only types of “products” that make it through, maybe these really are the only types of “products” you really need.

The Worst "Mall Food" Ever

2009-03-23T16:55:00.004-04:00

The weather's getting nicer, but there's one indoor place you can't resist going to, sometimes on even the sunniest days: the mall. And whether you blame stress, shopping fatigue, or the irresistible smell of food-court treats slamming your senses from the minute you walk in the door, you'll probably end up chowing down at the mall during your shopping trip. Here's the danger: Studies have shown that the more temptation people resist, the harder it becomes to continue resisting.

That means after hours of being surrounded by tempting sales, special offers, and life-changing, one-time deals, your ability to resist the enticing edibles of the food court may be severely compromised. And considering the industrial strength calorie bombs we found this week, a lack of willpower in the presence of mall eateries can be a very dangerous thing. What follows is a list of the worst foods we discovered in our scramble to save shoppers serious calories. Proceed with caution.

"MOST FAT" in a Breakfast Cinnabon Regular Caramel Pecanbun

1,100 calories
56 g fat (10 g saturated, 5 g trans)
141 g carbs
47 g sugars

FAT EQUIVALENT: 8 White Castle Hamburgers

Cinnabon and malls are inseparable. But just because Cinnabon might be good for the Gap doesn't mean it's at all good for you. This dangerously bloated bun -- among these Fattiest Foods in America -- contains nearly an entire day's worth of fat and more than half of your daily allotment of calories. Reconsider your breakfast or snack options, but if you absolutely must eat something, make it Stix. Cinnabon Stix

379 calories
21 g fat (6 g saturated, 4 g trans)
41 g carbs
14 g sugars

"MOST SUGAR" in a Drink Smoothie King

Grape Expectations II (40 oz)
1,096 calories
0 g fat (0 g saturated)
266 g carbs
250 g sugars

SUGAR EQUIVALENT: 13 Dunkin' Donuts Chocolate Frosted Donuts

Smoothie King calls this a way to "snack right"; we call it one of the quickest ways to pack on extra pounds. Even if most of the sugar comes from some form of fruit or fruit juice (in this case, ultra-sweet grape juice), the resulting blood-sugar surge (and inevitable energy crash) from this much sweetness may leave you struggling to find that perfect gift for your friend's birthday. Drink This Instead: Slim-N-Trim Orange-Vanilla 20 oz

250 calories
1 g fat (0 g saturated)
46 g carbs
38 g sugars

"MOST SODIUM" in a Soup Au Bon Pain Large Macaroni and Cheese Stew with Bread Bowl

1,120 calories
42 g fat (19 g saturated, 1 g trans)
3,070 mg sodium
157 g carbs

SODIUM EQUIVALENT: 22 small orders of McDonald's French Fries!

Whether it's made from a giant fried tortilla or a massive hunk of sourdough, if you r serving vessel is edible, you're asking for trouble. In this case, the bread bowl adds a belly-building 600 calories to what is already one of America's most decadent, over-the-top spoonables. If soup's your thing, you'll have a hard time keeping the sodium down no matter which bowl you order; good, old-fashioned tomato soup is as good as you'll do at Au Bon Pain. Eat This Instead: Medium Old Fashioned Tomato Soup

200 calories
7 g fat (3 g saturated)
1,150 mg sodium
27 g carbs

"MOST CALORIES" in a Sandwich Quizno's Large Tuna Melt Club with cheese and dressing

1,820 calories
147 g fat (27 g saturated, 1.5 g trans)
2,020 mg sodium
85 g carbs

CALORIC EQUIVALENT: 12 Taco Bell Fresco Style Beef Tacos

Tuna off the grill or straight from the can is perfectly healthy; tuna drowning in mayonnaise, blanketed in melted cheese, and slicked with oily dressing is decidedly not. Not only does this sandwich carry with it nearly an entire day's worth of calories and sodium, it also contains as much fat as 49 strips of bacon.

Eat This Instead: Small Tuna Melt, no cheese, no dressing

500 calories
33 g fat (5 g saturated)
630 mg sodium
37 g carbs

5 Proven Ways to Raise Your Metabolism

2009-03-16T15:14:00.002-04:00

"Metabolism" is the name of the bodily system that converts food calories to energy needed to perform various tasks, like pumping oxygen to muscles during a long walk. Many variables contribute to your metabolism, including heredity, gender and age. But you can quicken yours; here's how.

Exercise more. When you walk, run, or lift weights, you increase the energy required of your body, which raises your metabolism then, and for hours afterward. "It's not a huge spike, but it definitely makes a difference," says Gary Miller, PhD, associate professor of health and exercise science at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Work out with weights. During weight training, muscle tissue is stressed; afterward, it's repaired -- which raises metabolism. A woman who strength trains three times a week for six months can build enough muscle to burn 100 to 320 extra calories a day, according to Robert Wolfe, PhD, professor of geriatrics at the University of Arkansas.

Practice portion control. This helps ensure you don't overload your metabolism with a surplus of unusable energy (that is, food). Use a food scale or measuring cups to identify proper portions. Or use your hand as a guide. A fist equals a serving of fruit, a cupped hand equals a serving of cereal or grains, two cupped handfuls equal a serving of leafy green vegetables and an open palm equals a serving of meat.

Eat smaller meals more often. Some experts recommend eating smaller meals throughout the day, known as grazing. "Grazing helps normalize blood sugar levels rather than producing three large spikes, which is what happens eating three meals a day," says Nick Flynn, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry at Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas.

Be Happy. When researchers from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, put people into a "metabolic chamber" (a small room that measures heat output in order to calculate a person's metabolic rate) and showed them funny videos, the subjects' metabolic rates rose by 10 to 40 calories. It's a small increase, but every calorie counts for those seeking weight loss, says lead researcher Maciej Buchowksi, PhD. It's also a lot more fun that doing lunges.

Are These 3 Foods Making You Fat?

2009-03-15T16:28:00.005-04:00

It's easy to let yourself be fooled into thinking the things you eat are healthy. Foods dressed in crafty packaging lead you to believe they will help you lose weight.

But do they?

The truth is that most of the time the only thing special about the so-called healthy food product is the clever marketing. Have you been fooled by the following foods?

So-Called Healthy Food #1: SALAD

Who doesn't get a self-righteous feeling when ordering a salad, right? Salads are healthy, and salads equal weight loss. Unfortunately, not anymore.

Salad in and of itself is a wonderful, healthy food. It is filled with nutrients and untouched by artificial additives. If only we left it at that.

Most salads on the menu today are loaded with fat laden extras. Croutons, tortilla strips, nuts, and even fried chicken (not the best source of protein). And let's not forget the salad dressing.

While you know that salad dressing isn't very healthy, you may not be aware of the staggering number of fat calorie packed in these dressings. Most people add between a quarter to a half a cup of dressing to their salad, and with the average creamy salad dressing weighing in at 8-12 grams of fat per tablespoon, you can see how an innocent collection of greens can quickly turn into a spare tire.

So-Called Healthy Food #2: 100 CALORIE PACKS

In the snack section of your local grocery store you've probably seen the attractively packaged "100 Calorie Packs." These light and airy snack packs send a subtle message that they are healthy and in line with your desire to drop the fat. I mean, how harmful can they be? Let's take a look at the snacks within the package. Here are the most popular:

Oreo cookies
Ritz snack mix
Planter's peanut butter cookies
Cheese Nips crackers
Chips Ahoy cookies
Shortbread cookie

Hmmm, that list sounds like junk food-doesn't it? These items are high in sugar, salt and fat, and they don't contain a grain of nutritional value. And let's be honest, most people don't eat just one pack...

So-Called Healthy Food #3: CEREAL

Can a box of cereal help you lose weight? That's the message being sent out by a handful of cereal brands, namely Special K. This cereal manufacturer has gone so far as to create the Special K Challenge, a program which claims to help drop 6 pounds in 2 weeks. The message that most consumers take away from the cereal commercials is "If I eat this brand of cereal then I will lose weight."

Wait, don't grab a bowl of your favorite cereal along with your skinny jeans just yet.

It's dangerous to think that any food item will promote weight loss, especially a food item that is high in simple carbohydrates. In the fine print you will see that the cereal claims to help lose weight when incorporated with a very low calorie diet, and that the cereal itself has no weight loss inducing power.

Making the Healthy Choice
As a rule of thumb ignore the bold claims on food packaging-the information you really need is listed on the nutrition label. Finding healthy food is simple when you use the following guidelines.

Eat Fresh: The healthiest food in the world is fresh, unprocessed whole foods. This includes fresh vegetables and fruit, whole grains and legumes, and raw seeds and nuts. These fresh foods supply your body with vitamins, minerals and enzymes that are priceless to your health. When it comes to meat, poultry and dairy choose products that are grass fed and hormone and antibiotic free.

Set Limits: Let's be honest. Just because something is edible doesn't mean you should eat it. A key to healthy eating is to identify which items to limit or even eliminate from your diet.

Cholesterol. The American Heart Association recommends that you limit your intake of cholesterol from food to less than 300 milligrams per day.
Saturated Fat. Your intake of saturated fat should be less than 7% of your total daily calories.
Trans Fat. It is recommended that you either eliminate trans fat from your diet or keep it under 1% of your total daily calories.
Sugar. Most of us consume way more sugar than we should. Make a habit of checking the ingredient list of the foods you eat. If sugar is the first listed ingredient then you know that item is packed with sugar.

Look at the whole picture: A healthy diet consists of taking in a combination of fats, carbohydrates, fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals each day. Remember that eating too much of even healthy foods can lead to weight gain. All of the foods that you eat should fit together to form a well-balanced, calorie controlled diet.
The bottom line is that you should eat to live not live to eat. Your body will thank you for it.

Want more ideas on how to get the body of your dreams without starving yourself or doing boring exercise routines? Contact me today to get started on a fitness program that will change your body and improve your health.