My Fitness Coach Blog

According to an Associated Press article on CNN.com (”Looming Halloween sparks hunt for healthier treats”, October 6, 2008), about 30 percent of children ages 2 to 19 are overweight or obese. Some parents have decided to take the initiative to help curb the consumption of vast amounts of sugar and fat by switching to healthier treats, toys, and through “buyback strategies”.

Have you used any candy alternatives, and if so, what has been successful?

Of course, we know that not only children partake in the sugarfest–much of the collected candy winds up in workplaces and offices as well.

Do you have any strategies for dealing with the constant temptation this time of year?

This article is contributed by Kelly Kilpatrick, who regularly writes on nursing schools listing. She invites your questions at her personal email address: kellykilpatrick24@gmail.com.

It’s always better to coax someone into doing what you want them to do rather than force them to do it – you stay in their good books and the job gets done willingly and more efficiently. It’s the same story with your body – rather than punishing it by putting yourself through a brutal workout and then not providing it with the right nourishment to help sustain your exercise regimen, you must coax and cajole your muscles into developing the way you want them to by eating the right kind of food and drinking enough water. Here are a few diet pointers for those of you who’re looking to start exercising in an effort to get fit:

• Be Water Wise: If you’re working out for 45 minutes or more or if you sweat profusely while exercising, your body is losing not just water, but also electrolytes like potassium, chloride and sodium. This can lead to cramping and dizzy spells if you push yourself too hard without drinking the right liquids. While plain water is enough for those who do not sweat too much or for workouts under half an hour that are not too strenuous, longer or more rigorous exercise periods demand sports/energy drinks that you see professional athletes sipping at intervals. These drinks perform the triple action of hydrating your body, providing you with enough energy, and replenishing the salts that you’ve lost through your sweat.

•Be Protein Perfect: If you’re working with weights or strength training, your muscle mass is developed slowly using the proteins in your body. More muscles mean an increased metabolism and a faster fat-burning process leading to a slimmer you. So feed your body enough proteins to help build your muscles. Be careful not to overdo it though, because an excess of protein in your body means extra work for your kidneys.

•Be Carb Conscious: Carbohydrates are our body’s main source of energy; complex carbs that takes longer to digest and release energy slowly are the best kinds – whole grains, lentils, peas, legumes, nuts and seeds, and fruits and vegetables. While sugared and processed snacks are also forms of carbohydrates, they’re the worst things you could feed your body. They have zero nutritional value and are loaded with saturated fats which increase your cholesterol and put you at risk for heart disease and diabetes.

•Be Supplement Sensible: Besides the basic food groups, your dieting body needs supplements of vitamins B, C, D and K, minerals like magnesium, zinc and calcium, and all the nutrients that are found in most vegetables and fruits. Nuts and seeds that are not roasted are also rich sources of nutritional supplements.

I was in Trader Joe’s the other day, standing in the checkout line. Next to the register, there was a display of dark chocolate-covered graham cookies. I looked at it longingly, thinking how lovely it would be to purchase one and eat the contents on the way home.

I was feeling stressed and tired. I had less than 6 hours of unrestful sleep the night before, and felt overwhelmed by all of the items on my to-do list. I wasn’t hungry, exactly, because this competition diet is keeping me satiated, although never full. However, I was looking for something to quiet my mind and to give me a cheap rush of energy. But this time, it was easy to say no. I pictured myself working my butt off the last few weeks, and remembered I only have a few weeks to go in preparing for the figure competition. I couldn’t sabotage all of the sacrifice I had already made, and so I determined to forget the chocolate.

I realized how easy it would have been in the past for me to make excuses to eat the chocolate–I would promise not to eat much else the rest of the day, I would work out more, or simply, I would tell myself that I deserve a treat. But now, without the crutch of food, I knew I would have to figure out another way to deal with the fatigue and low energy. And so I did a very sensible thing–took a nap when I got home! I felt great afterwards.

I know a nap is not always a possibility in the middle of the day for everyone. But perhaps the next time you reach for something you shouldn’t, think about why you are doing so. Are you really hungry? Are you tired, stressed, annoyed, or fatigued? What would really help eliminate the root of the problem? Most importantly, how could you prevent such a problem to begin with? This is why ongoing self care is extremely important: go to bed earlier to ensure plenty of rest, cancel unnecessary meetings and obligations, practice meditation, eat well and exercise.

Engaging in coaching sessions can be a great way to begin to implement some self care techniques. Every week, you would identify a handful of goals…”I will be in bed by 10:30 5 nights this week”, or “I will exercise at least 20 minutes on 4 days this week.” Such exercises in behavior modifcation are small steps toward a giant improvement in your health. Please let me know if you would like a free, 30-minute coaching session with no obligation!

I’m doing an online training program with Joe Franco, a trainer and bodybuilder in PA. Almost every day, I update my blog to reflect my workouts, some diet issues, and any other related comments. Progress pics will come as soon as I start to feel comfortable

Anyway, if you want to see what I’ve been doing, here is my blog: http://danielleringblog.blogspot.com/

The state of California recently passed a law to ban the use of trans fats in restaurants (1). This is a huge step toward eliminating the unhealthy fat from the American diet. Previously, cities including New York City, Philadelphia, Stamford, and Montgomery County, Maryland have also taken the initiative.

Trans fat is the result of partial hydrogenation of oils. It’s a very shelf-stable fat that gives food a creamy or oily taste, and also helps preserve the appearance and condition of food. Trans fat is in many snack foods, baked goods and restaurant foods. It is very positively linked to heart disease (the leading cause of death in the U.S.) as well as obesity.

The best way to tell whether a food item has trans fat is to check the label. If the nutrion panel includes “partially hydrogenated vegetable/soybean/cottonseed oil”, then it has trans fat. In many cases, a package may claim that there is “No Trans Fat”. However, you still need to check the ingredients because the law allows a manufacturer to state this if there is less than 1 gram of trans fat per serving. Depending on how many servings you eat, you may be getting too high of a dose. Otherwise, it may be impossible to tell whether there is trans fat in your restaurant meal, or anything else without a label. The best thing to do is to avoid baked, fried, and snack foods as much as possible, and to eat fresh fruits, vegetables, lowfat dairy, lean meats and fish, nuts and whole grains.

For more information on trans fat, visit the following sites and enter in a search for “trans fat”:
American Heart Association
Center for Science in the Public Interest
Food and Drug Administration

(1) STEINHAUER, J. “California Bars Restaurant Use of Trans Fats.” New York Times, July 26, 2008.

Summer has a way of making us relax the more conservative aspects of our personalities. We wear less clothing, shed some winter routines and inhibitions, search for ways to get away from the grind. In our search for ultimate relaxation, some of us will also increase alcohol consumption.

Drinking a margarita poolside can feel like the essence of summer. And it’s not a bad thing to occasionally indulge in something icy, sweet and alcoholic. But be careful about how much you drink for two main reasons–overall health and excessive calorie consumption.

What is an acceptable amount of alcohol? The American Heart Association defines it as an “average of one to two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. (A drink is one 12 oz. beer, 4 oz. of wine, 1.5 oz. of 80-proof spirits, or 1 oz. of 100-proof spirits.)”

According to the American Heart Association, “Drinking too much alcohol can raise the levels of some fats in the blood (triglycerides). It can also lead to high blood pressure, heart failure and an increased calorie intake. (Consuming too many calories can lead to obesity and a higher risk of developing diabetes.) Excessive drinking and binge drinking can lead to stroke. Other serious problems include fetal alcohol syndrome, cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death.”

If the health issues aren’t enough to slow you down, here are the caloric facts:

Protein and carbohydrate have 4 calories per gram.
Fats have 9 calories per gram.
Alcohol (the least satiating) has 7 calories per gram.

A regular bottle of beer has 125-150 calories.
A bottle of light beer, 100 calories.
A 5 oz. glass of wine, 120 calories.
A frozen margarita, pina colada or daquiri, about 250-500 calories (or more depending on the size)

How many do you have when you go out? If you are exercising and eating well otherwise but not losing weight, you may want to lower your alcohol consumption.

Danielle

New research indicates that exercising while still overweight might not significantly lower your risk of disease and illness after all. Check out this article by Lindsey Tanner, AP Medical Writer, made available today on Yahoo: http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/fitness_heart.html

What is considered fat? According to the article referenced above, “A BMI between 25 and 29 is considered overweight, while obese is 30 and higher”. To determine your BMI (height vs. weight), an online calculator is available at: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/adult_bmi/english_bmi_calculator/bmi_calculator.htm. Please note that if you are very muscular, this number will be skewed.

An exercise and eating fallacy
Many of my clients believe that participating in regular exercise gives them free license to eat whatever they want. Of course, while exercising, you are burning calories. It may be tempting to replenish those calories with treats like cheese and crackers, margaritas, cheescake, etc. But weight maintenance/loss depends on a very simple formula: calories in must be equal to or less than calories out in order to prevent weight gain. While it is a simple formula, it is a difficult thing for many people to do. Temptations are everywhere.

A rule you can live by
Even if you are maintaining your weight, an excess of anything (but especially alcohol, sodium, trans fat, saturated fat, and chemical additives) can cause health problems. I like to follow this rule of thumb: eat healthy 80% of the time, and eat what you truly enjoy 20%. By the way, these two things are not always diametrically opposed!

An example: Let’s say I am eating 1800 calories per day for weight maintenance (your own calorie intake may be higher or lower depending on your physiology and activity).
Throughout the day, I would eat:
800 calories worth of carbohydrates (whole grains, vegetables, beans and fruits)
440 calories worth of lean protein (chicken, fish, lowfat dairy)
260 calories worth of healthy fats (olive oil, nuts, salmon)
300 calories of whatever I want: popcorn, dark chocolate, 1 glass wine, small slice of birthday cake, etc. The important thing here is portion control, especially if you are not counting calories or points every day!

You can track your calorie intake and energy output at sites like mypyramid.gov. Also see my post for April 28, 2008 under the Nutrition category for additional sites that are helpful.

Be well,
Danielle

Hello!
Here are links to the five resources I use very often:

USDA Nutrient Data Lab
Search on practically any food to learn its nutrition content, including calories, protein, fat, carbohydrate, sodium, etc.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

Calorie King
Similar to USDA above but with additional tools
http://www.calorieking.com/

Center for Science in the Public Interest
This is a nonprofit that advocates for nutrition and health, food safety, alcohol policy, and sound science. They publish great articles in their Nutrition Action newsletter (archives available online). You’ll be amazed at what you didn’t know about takeout, restaurant and processed food!
http://www.cspinet.org/

Cooking Light
Cooking Light magazine’s online version. They have hundreds of healthy recipes. Do an “Enhanced Search” on Recipe Finder and you can specify several things from ingredients to diet considerations.
http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/

MyPyramid.gov
You can literally spend hours here. Learn about how much and what you should have from each food group, develop a personalized plan, assess and track your current eating and physical activity habits, etc.
http://www.mypyramid.gov/