Holiday eating - stuff the turkey but not yourself

"Heed the still small voice that so seldom leads us wrong, and never into folly."
~ Marquise du Deffand

Uh oh, the best time of the year for the gaining weight gremlin is almost here - the holidays!! The oh so tempting scrumptious trifecta of holiday eating - Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah and New Year's. The smells, the good food, the overeating! Oh my! Some of us can gain a pound just thinking about it! Lol!

I'm here to offer you a survival guide to get you through the holidays with minimal to no weight gain. It can be done!! The key here as in all eating behaviors is moderation.

Don't overeat. That is the biggest holiday sin. Eat moderate portions and keep up your exercising (you are exercising, right?) and you'll be just fine.

Try to stick to lean meats (pile on the turkey!) and green vegetables but keep those plates of yams/sweet potatoes (although these in moderation are very good sources of complex carbs), stuffing, potato salad, mac & cheese, cakes, pies, sodas, candy and whatever other carb laden plates you might be tempted to have to a small portion instead! Very important, those holiday carbs are the weight gaining culprits. I'm not saying to not have them, no need to deprive yourself from these treats but just keep the portion small enough to satisfy your craving for their taste.

The trick here is to give yourself the reward for your discipline (especially if you've been and are working out hard) while not ruining all the progress you've made. The satisfaction you get from your show of willpower during the holidays should give you the confidence to get through any cravings any other time of year. Think of it as your end of the year discipline and willpower finals, don't fail the test!! You can do it. You can get through the holidays without overeating. I know you can.

Top 5 reasons to workout

"What progress, you ask, have I made? I have begun to be a friend to myself."
~Hecato, Greek philosopher

Why workout? There are many reasons but I'll give you what I feel are the top 5 reasons to get yourself into a consistent workout regimen.

Reason #5 - To reduce stress
Exercise is a great stress reducer. It helps the body get stronger and better able to deal with outside stress. It helps burn off some anxiety through exercise and it also helps you feel more tired at night which leads to better sleep.

Reason #4 - Weight reduction
Not much to say here, you and everyone knows the value of exercise in losing weight.

Reason #3 - Health
This normally should be #1 but I think you'll understand why I have this listed here when you see my #1 and #2 reasons. Exercise (along with diet in some of these cases) is key to heart and circulatory system health, to reducing cholesterol, reducing high blood pressure, improving lung function, strengthening bones and muscles, reducing anxiety, improving posture, raising metabolism, strengthening the immune system, prevention of diseases and conditions and so much more. Exercise along with proper nutrition is key to health.

Reason #2 - Self-esteem
Exercise helps your self-esteem as you see yourself getting fitter and stronger because of your own hard work. It is very satisfying to challenge yourself and find that what once may have been hard (say for example - 10 pushups), is now not only attainable but easily doable. It's a very empowering feeling. It shows you what you can do and accomplish if you set your mind to it and those are lessons you can apply to other aspects of your life. Seeing your muscles getting toner or bigger and your waistline getting smaller also makes you feel good about yourself. You feel more confident in yourself and can take great satisfaction in that you did that. Which leads me to...

Reason #1 - You
I put you as the #1 reason because you have to want to exercise for yourself. Not for anyone else. It is your stress, your weight, your health, your self-esteem. It all comes down to you wanting to do something about it. No one can do it for you. It is up to you to take a stand and say today is the day that I will make a change and not settle for anything less than the best for myself. Make today your day.

Dieting math: When 2 equals 8

"Energy and persistence conquer all things."
~Benjamin Franklin

Dieting is an interesting process. You sacrifice daily to see slow progress over the long haul. That's what it is. That's how you have to learn to look at it and accept that reality. There is no quick fix to dieting, especially if you have a lot of pounds to lose. Having not done it before doesn't help either because its something that will take discipline. So keep that in mind when you approach your dieting. Train yourself to become disciplined no matter how slow the results may come and keep at it! You will see results but like anything else, you have to keep at it. Falling off the wagon only slows your progress down and can even undo all your progress!

So, now that we know all this let's get to my dieting math of 2 equals 8. How can that be possible you ask? 2 can't possibly equal 8! Well, when it comes to dieting 2 can easily equal 8. ???? Confused? Good. Let's expand that further, 2 lbs. = 8 lbs. Are you figuring out what I'm getting at? If you've read my prior monthly blogs, you'll probably already know where I'm getting to...

When dieting, 2 pounds (what's considered a healthy, gradual weight loss) lost a week equals 8 pounds lost in a month. Doesn't sound like a lot but when was the last time you lost 8 pounds in a month? Keep at it and those 2 pounds become 16 pounds in 2 months, 24 pounds in 3 months, 32 pounds in 4 months, 40 pounds in 5 months and 48 pounds in 6 months so in 6 months that would be 2 lbs. = 48 lbs! Not bad for 6 months of sacrifice is it? Slow and steady wins the race, I guess Aesop had it right after all! :)

Remember, keep at it and you'll see results. Happy dieting! :)

The best workout

"Know thyself means this, that you get acquainted with what you know, and what you can do."
~Menander

What's the best workout you can do? Drumroll..... any workout is!

While for experienced trainees, more specific workouts are preferred and needed. For the beginning trainee, any exercise is good exercise. Just getting your body moving can mean a difference in your self-esteem, confidence, self-awareness and fitness level. A lot of beginners either have never really exercised or have not exercised consistently enough to see results so getting your body moving and into a physical workout routine is a huge step in the right direction. Sometimes getting started is the most important thing. This is especially important for seniors and obese people. Once you see how it makes you feel or how easy it was to make the time for it that you didn't think you had, it gets to be something to look forward to and not put off. Once you see results, then it gets better. However, working out in some fashion should be a lifelong pursuit. It shouldn't be just that thing you did for a few months before quitting on it.

Cardio, weights, martial arts, tennis, basketball, jogging, heck even ping pong! Anything that gets you moving and using your muscles is good for your heart and body. Just make sure you start slow and don't overdo it at first. Check out my blog post for July 2010 for tips on how to do your cardio and strength training and happy exercising!

Cardio or Weights? That is the question...

"Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow."
~Doug Firebaugh

To do cardio or not? To do weights or not? 2 simple questions that cause so much confusion to the new exerciser. Well, simple questions usually have simple answers. The answer to both questions is YES!!

Now to give you the longer answer. ;)

No doubt that some form of cardio is necessary. It helps your fitness levels, helps lower stress, strengthens the heart and lungs, boosts your metabolism and helps burn calories. All things that say that doing cardio is very important.

What type of cardio is best? Any that you do! Again, simple answer! ;)
Get your body moving - calisthenics, power walking, jogging, sprinting, circuit training, martial arts, stair climbing, rowing, bicycle riding, ellipticals, treadmills - all ways to work up a sweat and get you huffing and puffing in a good way. To lose weight, my suggestions would range from 3 - 5 times a week of 20 - 45 min. per day of moderate to high intensity cardio. The frequency of doing your cardio would of course be based on your individual goals, fitness level and what equipment you have or don't ahve at your disposal. As with any form of exercise, start slowly with 20 minutes of low to moderate cardio and build up slowly.

Now onto the weights. Some people love weights (like me!) and some hate it but it's a necessary part of working out. For some people who are more out of shape or are older, weight training can come after a few weeks of cardio. Using the cardio period as an adjustment period for the body to get used to exercise as weights work out the body in a totally different way. Typically though you want some sort of resistance training (weights, machines, bands, toning bars, stability balls, pilates balls) along with your cardio. Weight training has the same health benefits as cardio with the added benefits of toning muscles, strenthening bones, making you stronger, preventing or decreasing lower back pain and many more benefits to your overall health and fitness.

What type of weight training is best? Machines are easily accesible in gyms and are a good choice for that reason. Bands, stability balls, toning bars and pilates balls are all good for home use and for beginners to intermediates looking to tone. For building muscle, machines are good but nothing beats free weights. While machines follow a fixed path, they only activate certain muscles while you exercise. Free weights on the other hand activate the main muscle and many more smaller supporting muscles so they build the muscles in a more complete way.

I would recommend doing some light weight training along with your cardio at first and gradually increase the resistance/weight as you get stronger and the exercises get easier to do. For building muscle, you want heavier weights and lower reps in the 6-10 rep range. For toning, you want lighter weights and higher reps in the 12-15 (or even higher with light weights) rep range. Always exercise good form and lift correctly to avoid injury. There are many good sources to learn the proper way to do an exercise. A good personal trainer will analyze and correct your form to make sure it being done in a way that is safe but will maximize your gains from the exercise. Weight lifting puts a different stress on the body than cardio so I would start with weights every other day for a total of 3x a week (for example - Monday, Wednesday and Friday). So cardio every day Monday to Friday and weights on the days above. Weekends free. It will give you a good weekly workout and give your body some time to recover.

So, remember cardio and weights is the simple answer to what you should be doing. So, what are you waiting for? ;)

The scale lies

"The fact is, that to do anything in the world worth doing, we must not stand back shivering and thinking of the cold and danger, but jump in and scramble through as well as we can."
~Robert Cushing

Are you afraid of getting on your scale? Do you dread what it will say? Do you avoid your scale like the plague? Is it hidden somewhere out of sight only to be pulled out and used once a year or so? Well I say, don't be afraid of the scale (in fact that's my slogan as a Personal Trainer) because the truth is that the scale lies! Yes, it does its job and tells you your weight but its not the scales' fault that it only gives you partial truth. Confused? Lol. I'm sure you are interested in what the heck I am talking about! ;)

The scale only tells you your weight. That much we know. What most don't understand or aren't taught by most of the weight-loss centers, dieticians, doctors, well-meaning family members and friends is that the scale doesn't take into account other things such as your fat percentage, your bodymass to bodyfat ratio, your well-being, your fitness level or how your clothes fit.

I always tell my clients that the scale is a good tool to keep them honest but don't freak out by the numbers when they are working out hard because the scale will only tell them a partial story. I have a weekly weigh-in with my clients and then take their bodyfat measurements with bodyfat calipers and also select body measurements. Put all together, I then show them how and why their diet is affecting their bodyfat levels and I also show and tell them how their exercise is affecting their muscle and body measurements. To further explain, let's say the scale says you were 160 lbs. last week and this week after much hard work, you get on the scale and it still says 160 lbs. Most would find it discouraging. I would tell my clients to wait until we do their weigh-in and let's see what it says. A bodyfat loss of 2 lbs. with a muscle gain of 2 lbs. would mean that the scale wouldn't change but there would be a difference! It would be 2 lbs of fat lost that was replaced with a 2 lb muscle gain! That's progress that the scale would show. This is why I say the scale only gives a partial story.

When you are exercising, you will be toning and building muscle (especially at first) and the scale may say that you've gained a few pounds but it will be muscle. At that point, you are ahead in the game because the added muscle will help you burn extra calories and fat. So while the scale may not change or even go up, it is not the bad thing you might think. Instead, most people would see that and think that what they are doing is wrong and give up when in fact they were actually progressing towards their goal. Always, always, always keep at it with your exercising. Even if you plateau and have no changes in a week, you are improving your fitness level so there is still a positive to focus on.

I always tell my clients to go by how they feel (do you feel satisfied that you are working out and doing something for your health?), how their clothes feel on them and how they look in the mirror as a progress marker for their dieting and working out rather than the cold hard number on the scale. Never let the scale lie to you again! Now you know. ;)

The importance of a support system

"The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist, the opportunity in every difficulty."
~ L.P. Jacks


In last month's entry I spoke about motivation and how to stay motivated to achieve your desired results. Another major part that deserves its own posting is what I will be talking about here and that's having a good positive support system.

A lot of people fall into food and fitness traps because of a lack of a positive support system. Spouses, friends and of course family are all big parts of the equation in helping you to reach your goals. Lack of positive support and positive feedback leads to thoughts of "why am I doing all this for?", etc. and that is just not productive nor is it fair to you. Too many times people get to working out and dieting for other people and looking for acceptance, positive remarks, etc. It has to always begin and end with you, it is your body and health after all and no one, no matter how well intentioned can do it for you.

Studies show that a big reason for failure in diets and workouts, etc. is that spouses don't participate or get behind it because of insecurities, laziness, etc. Also, the spouse asks you to cook for them and of course, if they are eating non-diet food and you are cooking, well then you feel obligated to eat the same food, don't you? Now I'm not saying to not cook for your spouse! But, I want you to understand that this will be a temptation trigger that you will have to watch out for. Another failure reason is well intentioned family and friends who tempt you by inviting you out to places they know you will have a hard time fighting temptation at or home cooking of food items that are favorites. There will come a time when these temptations will be less but in the beginning it is up to you to let your friends, spouses and family know that you will need their help to fight temptation and to help you stay on track. Let them know that you are serious about your health and need their help keeping you focused and on track. Having the right support at the beginning is very important. It can be the difference between success and failure.

Most people have at least one person that they can count on in their support system and if you can't find that one person that will help you like you know you will need then it makes sense to invest in yourself with a good nurturing personal trainer and / or with a diet center like Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc. or both! Most good trainers can help you with not only all your fitness needs but with your diet needs as well.

It took a lot of factors and time to get you to this point of where you are unhappy with your body, fitness and health and using the same support systems and dieting / exercising methods will take a different approach from not only yourself but those around you. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to reach out to them in helping you along this journey because you will need every weapon and advantage you can give yourself to get yourself to where you want to be. It can be a very fulfilling and satisfying experience for everyone involved if they can help you reach your goals and you all may learn a lot about each other along the way. Positivity is the goal. Positivity of self. Positivity of mind. Positivity of health, fitness and body. You can do it. You just have to believe and get started!