This might get controversial but hey, whatever.
What do you think when you see someone that is overweight? When you meet someone at work that has just started and they are overweight, what are the first thoughts that go through your mind?
This article talks about how there's various movements going on to fight overweight discrimination. Whether it be the fact that some overweight folks are forced to buy two seats on a plane, or some of the research that seems to show overweight people earn less than non-overweight people regardless of job performance and overweight people are less likely to get promoted.
The first thing that I want to mention is that two-thirds of the adult population is overweight or obese in the country. The last part of the above paragraph raises some questions on the issue of overweight people not getting promoted and earning less.
If two-thirds of people are overweight and obese does that mean that all the skinny people are managers, CEOs, supervisors, etc keeping down the overweight people?
When thinking back at job interviews I've had over the last number of years, I don't recall all (or even most) of the interviewers being skinny minnies. In fact, I believe that most of them looked "normal." Meaning that most had a few extra pounds on them.
So if this type of discrimination is going on, doesn't it sound like it's an issue of overweight people discriminating against other overweight people?
If that is the case, is the discrimination happening because the overweight interviewer doesn't really think of themselves as being overweight?
My point is that I don't think this type of discrimination is as clear cut as discrimination against race, sex, sexual preference, etc since this could really be about people not seeing what they themselves are first and foremost and then discriminating against others for what they themselves are.
But back to my earlier questions. I'll admit it. In the past if I saw someone overweight sitting at a restaurant just gorging themselves terms like "lazy, depressed, unmotivated, disgusting" etc. came to mind. And I'll admit, it might have even come to mind when I saw someone overweight just walking down the street. At the same time though, I tend to feel sorry for the person because I know what kind of health issues they are bound to have (if they already haven't gotten them).
But one thing that does make me feel a little better is when I meet someone who is overweight but asks questions about exercise and diet. They ask questions that make me believe that they want to educate themselves to lose weight to reduce the chances that they will have health problems if they continue at their current weight (and let's not forget, even though anti-dieters say you can be overweight and healthy, NOT being overweight significantly reduces the chances of becoming un-healthy).
When someone like that approaches me, I see someone with drive, motivation, adaptability, and a desire for change.
I'm not sure where this anti-dieting movement is going to take us, and although I never condone any type of discrimination, this one might be one of the toughest to get past since it involves so many dynamics and it involves so many people.
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
HFCS - Good or Bad?
I haven't talked much about High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) on here. I guess the reason being is because as of late, I've always thought it was bad stuff, avoid at all costs, etc.
I came across this article though that says sure, it's bad, but it's not any worse than regular added sugar (doesn't that seem like a very odd argument to make?).
We all know what sugar is, and that it's been around for awhile, and that in high doses, it's not good and it can make your kids climb the ceiling or do something else that is well,,,,not good.
But HFCS we know little about because we haven't been able to see the full effects of it over long periods of time. It's very hard to find a sugary product without HFCS. It has pretty much taken over and the "sugar" that is added to regular soda (at least in North America).
I had read a while back (and for the life of me I can't find the link) that when HFCS is ingested, there is no mechanism in the body to tell the brain that it's coming in. In other words, the brain has no idea that calories are being consumed to turn on the signal at some point that we are full and no longer need more calories. So basically, these calories just "sneak in" and your insulin and blood sugar don't even move. Which is different with regular sugar when the insulin and blood sugar levels will react accordingly. I don't believe this has ever been proven at this point though.
But, I found another interesting study here that tested the different in cholesterol levels for those ingesting a fructose-sweetened drink and a glucose sweetened drink and found that LDL cholesterol was significantly higher among the group that drank the fructose sweetened drink after a period of time. The study stated though that this was strictly a study using fructose and not HFCS so it's unclear if the results would be the same (I would hope that would be the next step for another experiment).
So it's still up in the air and a mystery as to what HFCS is really doing to us. My guess? Considering that humans don't have the best track record with man-made products such as hydrogenated products (that I discussed here), I have to believe we could be headed towards another train wreck once more studies look into it.
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I came across this article though that says sure, it's bad, but it's not any worse than regular added sugar (doesn't that seem like a very odd argument to make?).
We all know what sugar is, and that it's been around for awhile, and that in high doses, it's not good and it can make your kids climb the ceiling or do something else that is well,,,,not good.
But HFCS we know little about because we haven't been able to see the full effects of it over long periods of time. It's very hard to find a sugary product without HFCS. It has pretty much taken over and the "sugar" that is added to regular soda (at least in North America).
I had read a while back (and for the life of me I can't find the link) that when HFCS is ingested, there is no mechanism in the body to tell the brain that it's coming in. In other words, the brain has no idea that calories are being consumed to turn on the signal at some point that we are full and no longer need more calories. So basically, these calories just "sneak in" and your insulin and blood sugar don't even move. Which is different with regular sugar when the insulin and blood sugar levels will react accordingly. I don't believe this has ever been proven at this point though.
But, I found another interesting study here that tested the different in cholesterol levels for those ingesting a fructose-sweetened drink and a glucose sweetened drink and found that LDL cholesterol was significantly higher among the group that drank the fructose sweetened drink after a period of time. The study stated though that this was strictly a study using fructose and not HFCS so it's unclear if the results would be the same (I would hope that would be the next step for another experiment).
So it's still up in the air and a mystery as to what HFCS is really doing to us. My guess? Considering that humans don't have the best track record with man-made products such as hydrogenated products (that I discussed here), I have to believe we could be headed towards another train wreck once more studies look into it.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Liquid Calories Re-visited
Back when I was in high school, I worked at a grocery store stocking groceries, cleaning out meat coolers, and bagging groceries for customers.
I still remember one gentleman (who was extremely overweight) who would stand at the checkout and had every high calorie food there was in the place. Sugar cereal, candy, pies, anything you could imagine. Then the last thing he would take out of his cart was a 12 pack of DIET Coke. I always remember laughing thinking, "Oh, I guess the Diet Coke equals it all out."
But I came across this story that made me think a little more.
I've written in the past here on how easy it is to consume a high amount of calories just from one bottle of regular soda. Without even thinking twice, people are putting between 200-300 calories in their bodies from a 20 oz bottle of regular soda.
This article talks about how if someone simply eliminate that regular soda (and keep eating the rest of their crappy diet), they could stabilize or lose weight.
I was a little disappointed though in the article when it gave the results of how much weight was actually lost:
Losing less than two pounds over a period of 18 months doesn't seem all that big of a deal to me.
But I think the argument still holds that I mentioned back in this post that if you simply drop your regular soda intake (especially if you're consuming more than 2 a day) over time those eliminated calories will add up to less pounds around your waistline.
But maybe another benefit of dropping those liquid calories is that you're not priming your body for more sweet tasting foods. In other words, maybe it needs to be researched whether drinking regular soda then also leads you to crave the sweeter foods that also happen to be the high calories garbage that is out there.
In the end, I might have been laughing at the guy at the counter buying all the high calorie food to go along with his Diet Coke but, in a way, at least he wasn't consuming as many calories as he could have.
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I still remember one gentleman (who was extremely overweight) who would stand at the checkout and had every high calorie food there was in the place. Sugar cereal, candy, pies, anything you could imagine. Then the last thing he would take out of his cart was a 12 pack of DIET Coke. I always remember laughing thinking, "Oh, I guess the Diet Coke equals it all out."
But I came across this story that made me think a little more.
I've written in the past here on how easy it is to consume a high amount of calories just from one bottle of regular soda. Without even thinking twice, people are putting between 200-300 calories in their bodies from a 20 oz bottle of regular soda.
This article talks about how if someone simply eliminate that regular soda (and keep eating the rest of their crappy diet), they could stabilize or lose weight.
I was a little disappointed though in the article when it gave the results of how much weight was actually lost:
The specific results:
* A reduction in liquid calorie intake was associated with a weight loss of 0.55 pounds (0.25 kg) at 6 months and 0.52 pounds (0.24 kg) at 18 months.
* Among sugar-sweetened beverages, a reduction of 1 serving daily was associated with a weight loss of 1.1 pounds (0.5 kg) at 6 months and 1.54 pounds (0.7 kg) at 18 months.
* Of the seven types of drinks examined, sugar-sweetened beverages were the only type significantly associated with weight change.
* At 37 percent, sugar-sweetened beverages were the leading source of liquid calories.
Losing less than two pounds over a period of 18 months doesn't seem all that big of a deal to me.
But I think the argument still holds that I mentioned back in this post that if you simply drop your regular soda intake (especially if you're consuming more than 2 a day) over time those eliminated calories will add up to less pounds around your waistline.
But maybe another benefit of dropping those liquid calories is that you're not priming your body for more sweet tasting foods. In other words, maybe it needs to be researched whether drinking regular soda then also leads you to crave the sweeter foods that also happen to be the high calories garbage that is out there.
In the end, I might have been laughing at the guy at the counter buying all the high calorie food to go along with his Diet Coke but, in a way, at least he wasn't consuming as many calories as he could have.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Monday, April 27, 2009
Smokers: Stop Being So Mad
I've never smoked a cigarette in my life. From time to time I'll have a cigar, but the next morning, I regret it with that awful taste in my mouth.
When talking with smokers about why is it that they smoke and what benefit it gives them, one of the most common answers is that it relaxes them.
This article talks about a study that found that one solution to get people to stop smoking could be anger management classes.
The study states that when smokers were playing a video game and not wearing a nicotine patch, they were more likely to be aggressive in a task they could do after completing a round of the game compared to when they were wearing a nicotine patch and were less aggressive.
Which I think leads to the question: Are smokers just more angry compared to the rest of the population as a whole or, are non-smokers just finding different ways of releasing the aggression without smoking?
If I had to guess, I'd have to say it's the latter. For smokers, maybe having a cigarette was the first variable that they encountered when they started going through stress as a teen, and have basically just stuck with it. Maybe others that never smoked (but more than likely have gone through just a much stress as the normal smoking population) had other ways of managing that stress and aggression.
Or maybe there is something more to this that smokers in general are just a more aggressive group and their only outlet is a drag (is that term even used anymore?)
Oh, by the way, one activity that is a GREAT stress reliever and aggression killer is exercise...
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When talking with smokers about why is it that they smoke and what benefit it gives them, one of the most common answers is that it relaxes them.
This article talks about a study that found that one solution to get people to stop smoking could be anger management classes.
The study states that when smokers were playing a video game and not wearing a nicotine patch, they were more likely to be aggressive in a task they could do after completing a round of the game compared to when they were wearing a nicotine patch and were less aggressive.
Which I think leads to the question: Are smokers just more angry compared to the rest of the population as a whole or, are non-smokers just finding different ways of releasing the aggression without smoking?
If I had to guess, I'd have to say it's the latter. For smokers, maybe having a cigarette was the first variable that they encountered when they started going through stress as a teen, and have basically just stuck with it. Maybe others that never smoked (but more than likely have gone through just a much stress as the normal smoking population) had other ways of managing that stress and aggression.
Or maybe there is something more to this that smokers in general are just a more aggressive group and their only outlet is a drag (is that term even used anymore?)
Oh, by the way, one activity that is a GREAT stress reliever and aggression killer is exercise...
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Friday, April 24, 2009
Sugary Drink Myth for Children
I can't remember what my mother use to give me when I was a kid and I had an upset stomach, throwing up, etc., but when I saw this article, it made me vaguely remember that I think she used to give me a flat soda. I do remember when I was older being given Vernors (those outside of Michigan and Ohio probably have no idea what that is but, trust me, once you've had it, you'll find a way to get it shipped to your state) and that actually worked pretty well.
What we're finding out now is that, it's not a good idea to be giving infants that are dehydrated flat soda or very high sugar drinks (this seems like a no brainer but, I guess it's not).
The recommendation is for a parent to give a child a drink that does have some sugar in it as well as salt, but not to the level of the regular sodas that are currently on the market.
I think it brings up a good question: What did they do 300 years, 1000 years, and 40,000 years ago when a child was dehydrated and there wasn't a soda vending machine within 50 feet?
Have we forgot about the simplest form of liquid that we can use to hydrate ourselves?: Water?
Have a good weekend everyone.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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What we're finding out now is that, it's not a good idea to be giving infants that are dehydrated flat soda or very high sugar drinks (this seems like a no brainer but, I guess it's not).
The recommendation is for a parent to give a child a drink that does have some sugar in it as well as salt, but not to the level of the regular sodas that are currently on the market.
I think it brings up a good question: What did they do 300 years, 1000 years, and 40,000 years ago when a child was dehydrated and there wasn't a soda vending machine within 50 feet?
Have we forgot about the simplest form of liquid that we can use to hydrate ourselves?: Water?
Have a good weekend everyone.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Thursday, April 23, 2009
The Biggest Loser Gone Bad
Reality TV shows. It's been a very long time since I watched one. I remember way back in the day watching the very first season of The Real World. I actually kept up with that show for a couple of seasons. But then it occurred to me: How real is this? A bunch of young adults being put into a house/apartment to live FREE, don't really need to have a job, and just sit around and argue with each other all day (although, I'm guessing a lot of what is filmed is just plain boring and all we get to see is the fights, romance, etc.). Is that what really happens in "the Real World?" Once I answered no to that question, I pretty much stopped watching further seasons of that show and have never really watched another reality TV show since then.
Earlier this week in this post, I talked about how it was amazing that some of these contestants that were on the show The Biggest Loser had lost so much weight in such a short period of time.
Well, there's some contestants it didn't work out so well. In this article, it talks about how the contestant that won season one had originally weighed 330 pounds before going on the show, got his weight down to 208, and is now currently back up to 300 pounds.
In fact if you flip through all of the seasons that are listed in the link to the people that they show, most have put back on weight. Some within 10 pounds of what they weighed after the show, some, well, more than that.
Which again pretty much shows that the "realitness" (I just made that word up) of reality shows is not very real. Very simply television is there for entertainment. 99.999999% of us are never going to be put into a situation where we'll be locked up in a house, with a trainer badgering us from sunrise to sunset about our workouts and eating for 3-4 months.
The aftermath of where the contestants went with after the show was over is going back into the REAL "real world" where they have jobs, family, obligations, etc. and they are not able to focus 100% of their time on food and exercise.
But, what the show has done is inspired a lot of people to go out and lose weight WITHIN their normal environment such as stories like this.
In a way, this reality show has inspired more true reality than could ever be scripted on a set.
Thanks to Chris Standish for the link.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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Earlier this week in this post, I talked about how it was amazing that some of these contestants that were on the show The Biggest Loser had lost so much weight in such a short period of time.
Well, there's some contestants it didn't work out so well. In this article, it talks about how the contestant that won season one had originally weighed 330 pounds before going on the show, got his weight down to 208, and is now currently back up to 300 pounds.
In fact if you flip through all of the seasons that are listed in the link to the people that they show, most have put back on weight. Some within 10 pounds of what they weighed after the show, some, well, more than that.
Which again pretty much shows that the "realitness" (I just made that word up) of reality shows is not very real. Very simply television is there for entertainment. 99.999999% of us are never going to be put into a situation where we'll be locked up in a house, with a trainer badgering us from sunrise to sunset about our workouts and eating for 3-4 months.
The aftermath of where the contestants went with after the show was over is going back into the REAL "real world" where they have jobs, family, obligations, etc. and they are not able to focus 100% of their time on food and exercise.
But, what the show has done is inspired a lot of people to go out and lose weight WITHIN their normal environment such as stories like this.
In a way, this reality show has inspired more true reality than could ever be scripted on a set.
Thanks to Chris Standish for the link.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Unhealthy Foods Hijacking You
I'll admit that I just don't really understand addiction. I've never been addicted to something (at least not that I'm consciously aware of) so it's hard for me to grasp when a smoker says that they can't just give up smoking or a heroin addict saying that they just can't give up their drug addiction.
But what we're seeing on a large scale of addiction that beats them all is an addiction to food. I'd have to guess that it's more the norm to be addicted to food than not be addicted to it.
This article talks about how our brains can very easily become addicted to food.
Well, not really addiction. But Dr. Kessler (whose the former head of the FDA)says that millions of people fall into "hypereating," which is when you eat high calorie, high fat, high sugar foods even when you're not hungry.
Food now has become so processed with fat and sugar, that you basically don't even need to chew anymore. You just stick it in your mouth, roll it around a little bit and down the gut pipe it goes.
From the article:
It really is a true case of Pavlov's dog. You eat something, see it again, and eat it again even though you're not hungry because your brain said "that was good before, let's eat it again!"
More from the article:
Which is why the entire change to low-fat food back in the 80s and 90s is a complete disaster. Dietary fat makes you feel full. You pull that out, substitute it with sugar, and you can keep going and going and going.
And this paragraph I think is really interesting:
Think about it. How many times have you called up your friends and said "Hey! Come on over for a fun night of eating lettuce and carrots while drinking water!!" It's just the image that companies and advertisers have used to show that eating their products (as unhealthy as they are) is what will make a night out with some friends and enjoyable time.
The solution? Kessler states that you need to retrain the brain and to think "I'm going to hate myself if I eat this." But I can see that causing a big problem when you actually slip up and eat it, become depressed, and eat more of it.
But taking the same concept of where we eat something and see it again and eat it again even though you're not hungry and changing it to other habits like exercise, might be something to look into.
I like where this research is going though and I hope we get more information on how we can change those neurological sparks away from overeating and more towards healthy living.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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But what we're seeing on a large scale of addiction that beats them all is an addiction to food. I'd have to guess that it's more the norm to be addicted to food than not be addicted to it.
This article talks about how our brains can very easily become addicted to food.
Well, not really addiction. But Dr. Kessler (whose the former head of the FDA)says that millions of people fall into "hypereating," which is when you eat high calorie, high fat, high sugar foods even when you're not hungry.
Food now has become so processed with fat and sugar, that you basically don't even need to chew anymore. You just stick it in your mouth, roll it around a little bit and down the gut pipe it goes.
From the article:
At issue is how the brain becomes primed by different stimuli. Neuroscientists increasingly report that fat-and-sugar combinations in particular light up the brain's dopamine pathway — its pleasure-sensing spot — the same pathway that conditions people to alcohol or drugs.
Where did you experience the yum factor? That's the cue, sparking the brain to say, "I want that again!" as you drive by a restaurant or plop before the TV.
"You're not even aware you've learned this," says Dr. Nora Volkow, chief of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and a dopamine authority who has long studied similarities between drug addiction and obesity.
It really is a true case of Pavlov's dog. You eat something, see it again, and eat it again even though you're not hungry because your brain said "that was good before, let's eat it again!"
More from the article:
First, the team found that even well-fed rats will work increasingly hard for sips of a vanilla milkshake with the right fat-sugar combo but that adding sugar steadily increases consumption. Many low-fat foods substitute sugar for the removed fat, doing nothing to help dieters eat less, Kessler and University of Washington researchers concluded.
Which is why the entire change to low-fat food back in the 80s and 90s is a complete disaster. Dietary fat makes you feel full. You pull that out, substitute it with sugar, and you can keep going and going and going.
And this paragraph I think is really interesting:
Unhealthy food has changed in the other direction. Foods high in fat, sugar and salt tend to be cheap; they're widely sold; and advertising links them to good friends and good times, even as social norms changed to make snacking anytime, anywhere acceptable.
Think about it. How many times have you called up your friends and said "Hey! Come on over for a fun night of eating lettuce and carrots while drinking water!!" It's just the image that companies and advertisers have used to show that eating their products (as unhealthy as they are) is what will make a night out with some friends and enjoyable time.
The solution? Kessler states that you need to retrain the brain and to think "I'm going to hate myself if I eat this." But I can see that causing a big problem when you actually slip up and eat it, become depressed, and eat more of it.
But taking the same concept of where we eat something and see it again and eat it again even though you're not hungry and changing it to other habits like exercise, might be something to look into.
I like where this research is going though and I hope we get more information on how we can change those neurological sparks away from overeating and more towards healthy living.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
2,473-Calorie Popcorn
The new Yankee Stadium opened up for it's first game last week (and I'll admit, I smiled when I saw that they got killed 10-2 by Cleveland that day).
I've wrote in the past about a 4,800 calorie burger here, and also some other horribly high calorie foods sold at ballparks here.
This article talks about how one of it's items on the menu is a bucket of popcorn that has a calorie count of 2,473. You pay $12 for that thing and as the author of the article states, it looks more like a tank of popcorn rather than a bucket.
From the article:
But back to that popcorn. The thing about popcorn is that you can just sit there and eat and eat and eat and eat it and never feel like you're full. So when someone buys it, they just think "I'm sharing this with someone and we won't finish the whole thing." But the next thing you know, it's time for the 7th inning stretch and the entire popcorn "tank" in empty.
I guess the skies are the limit on where we are going to take the gorging of all this food consumption in our culture.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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I've wrote in the past about a 4,800 calorie burger here, and also some other horribly high calorie foods sold at ballparks here.
This article talks about how one of it's items on the menu is a bucket of popcorn that has a calorie count of 2,473. You pay $12 for that thing and as the author of the article states, it looks more like a tank of popcorn rather than a bucket.
From the article:
That’s the thing about the new Yankee Stadium: Not only is it the biggest, the newest, the most expensive and the self-described best – the homage to everything that was America – it gets away with it, charm intact, for one simple reason.
The New York Yankees are unapologetic in their embrace of that culture. They are the canyon of popcorn and the 1,410-calorie plate of nachos and the 1,360-calorie bag of peanuts and the 1,341-calorie cup of cheese fries, and their fans are still begging for a heart attack.
But back to that popcorn. The thing about popcorn is that you can just sit there and eat and eat and eat and eat it and never feel like you're full. So when someone buys it, they just think "I'm sharing this with someone and we won't finish the whole thing." But the next thing you know, it's time for the 7th inning stretch and the entire popcorn "tank" in empty.
I guess the skies are the limit on where we are going to take the gorging of all this food consumption in our culture.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Monday, April 20, 2009
Biggest Loser Transformations
Short and sweet this Monday morning.
I'm not a huge fan of the show The Biggest Loser (I've only seen one show and that's all I needed to see) but these pictures of before and after of various contestants on the show are pretty amazing and impressive. Losing over 100 pounds in a short 14 weeks is just incredible. Good job to all of them and I would hope they would inspire others to do the same thing.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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I'm not a huge fan of the show The Biggest Loser (I've only seen one show and that's all I needed to see) but these pictures of before and after of various contestants on the show are pretty amazing and impressive. Losing over 100 pounds in a short 14 weeks is just incredible. Good job to all of them and I would hope they would inspire others to do the same thing.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Friday, April 17, 2009
Simple Exercise Routines for Kids
The most important thing when it comes to creating exercise programs for kids is that it HAS to be fun.
Kids will get extremely bored if they have to do set after set of jump jacks, squats, lunges, etc (even though most adults SHOULD find those kinds of exercises "fun"...).
So here's one routine that they can do.
Most neighborhoods have fire hydrants about 75 yards from each other. Have your child just do a short jog between those fire hydrants for 3 laps just to get him/her warmed up.
Do about 10 squats and then do 5 forward lunges on each side just to get some dynamic work in there. Repeat this 2 more times.
Then, the child should stand at the edge of where one fire hydrant is, and then sprint all the way to the other fire hydrant. Sprint at full speed, not jog.
After reaching the other fire hydrant, have the child stop and walk back to the first fire hydrant. It should be a walk, not a sprint, or a jog, but a walk.
Once the child reaches the first fire hydrant, he/she should immediately turn around and sprint once more to the second fire hydrant again. Once reaching that second fire hydrant for a second time, walk back to the first fire hydrant.
Continue doing this for a total of 10 times (to start, try to add one each time you do this routine).
It really shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to do this workout.
Try doing this workout 3 times a week.
It's a short workout but very efficient and effective at reducing some of that body fat.
Oh, mom and dad, don't forget, it's okay to join in with your child on these sprints. Make it a competition as to who can get to the second fire hydrant first.
Losing body fat is a team effort when it comes to kids, so show your child that you are fully 100% supportive in what they need to do.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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Kids will get extremely bored if they have to do set after set of jump jacks, squats, lunges, etc (even though most adults SHOULD find those kinds of exercises "fun"...).
So here's one routine that they can do.
Most neighborhoods have fire hydrants about 75 yards from each other. Have your child just do a short jog between those fire hydrants for 3 laps just to get him/her warmed up.
Do about 10 squats and then do 5 forward lunges on each side just to get some dynamic work in there. Repeat this 2 more times.
Then, the child should stand at the edge of where one fire hydrant is, and then sprint all the way to the other fire hydrant. Sprint at full speed, not jog.
After reaching the other fire hydrant, have the child stop and walk back to the first fire hydrant. It should be a walk, not a sprint, or a jog, but a walk.
Once the child reaches the first fire hydrant, he/she should immediately turn around and sprint once more to the second fire hydrant again. Once reaching that second fire hydrant for a second time, walk back to the first fire hydrant.
Continue doing this for a total of 10 times (to start, try to add one each time you do this routine).
It really shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to do this workout.
Try doing this workout 3 times a week.
It's a short workout but very efficient and effective at reducing some of that body fat.
Oh, mom and dad, don't forget, it's okay to join in with your child on these sprints. Make it a competition as to who can get to the second fire hydrant first.
Losing body fat is a team effort when it comes to kids, so show your child that you are fully 100% supportive in what they need to do.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Simple Healthy Eating Tips for Children
I've had three days of writing about how the child obesity issue is starting to increase at an even more alarming rate than what has previously been thought.
What can we do to 1) for kids that are not overweight or obese yet, stop them from becoming so and 2) get kids that are overweight and obese from changing course?
Today I'll talk about some things that we can do on the eating part and tomorrow some suggestions on the exercise front.
First, parents, your kids are going to follow your lead. If you are eating junk, they are going to eat junk. If you eat healthy, they are going to eat healthy. So you HAVE to lead by example.
You can take things in small steps though.
1. Go through all the cupboards in you house and throw out all the junk food.
2. Throw out all your regular soda.
3. If you and your family are eating fast food on a weekly basis, stop.
Those are the first steps. If you can eliminate those three items, you're going to see some vast improvements in your waistline as well as your children's.
If you take all of those out, then at this point I don't even care about portion sizes of the other food you are eating.
I don't care if your kids have an extra helping of pasta, or mashed potatoes, or another piece of chicken or another homemade hamburger, etc. We'll worry about portion size later. All I'm concerned about at this point is getting rid of the junk from your diet.
Will the kids complain? Sure.
I noticed something recently with my dog. I've got her on some special medication for a little bit of time and the vet told me that her appetite would increase while being on the medication.
Prior to putting her on the meds, she ate her food, but was always picky. I would have to spice it up with some cheese or something and then she'd eat it.
But since I've had her on these meds, it doesn't matter. i put that food in her bowl with nothing added and she eats it like she hasn't eaten in a week.
Moral of the story is, your kids might complain about eating food without all that "junk food flavor" in it and may even pout and say they aren't going to eat at all if it's not going to be "junk food." But at some point, they're going to get hungry, and they'll eat what you give them.
Now this doesn't mean you can't give your kids junk food ever again. You need to make sure when you do, that it truly is a treat. Maybe after a week of not consuming any of the junk, you take a family for a walk or bike ride (stressing walk or bike ride, not drive) to a local ice cream place for that treat. But that's it. It's only a treat to be used very sparingly.
Start out with those three changes and don't worry about the rest for now. If you start with those three, then you've created a nice solid foundation for other improvements later on.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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What can we do to 1) for kids that are not overweight or obese yet, stop them from becoming so and 2) get kids that are overweight and obese from changing course?
Today I'll talk about some things that we can do on the eating part and tomorrow some suggestions on the exercise front.
First, parents, your kids are going to follow your lead. If you are eating junk, they are going to eat junk. If you eat healthy, they are going to eat healthy. So you HAVE to lead by example.
You can take things in small steps though.
1. Go through all the cupboards in you house and throw out all the junk food.
2. Throw out all your regular soda.
3. If you and your family are eating fast food on a weekly basis, stop.
Those are the first steps. If you can eliminate those three items, you're going to see some vast improvements in your waistline as well as your children's.
If you take all of those out, then at this point I don't even care about portion sizes of the other food you are eating.
I don't care if your kids have an extra helping of pasta, or mashed potatoes, or another piece of chicken or another homemade hamburger, etc. We'll worry about portion size later. All I'm concerned about at this point is getting rid of the junk from your diet.
Will the kids complain? Sure.
I noticed something recently with my dog. I've got her on some special medication for a little bit of time and the vet told me that her appetite would increase while being on the medication.
Prior to putting her on the meds, she ate her food, but was always picky. I would have to spice it up with some cheese or something and then she'd eat it.
But since I've had her on these meds, it doesn't matter. i put that food in her bowl with nothing added and she eats it like she hasn't eaten in a week.
Moral of the story is, your kids might complain about eating food without all that "junk food flavor" in it and may even pout and say they aren't going to eat at all if it's not going to be "junk food." But at some point, they're going to get hungry, and they'll eat what you give them.
Now this doesn't mean you can't give your kids junk food ever again. You need to make sure when you do, that it truly is a treat. Maybe after a week of not consuming any of the junk, you take a family for a walk or bike ride (stressing walk or bike ride, not drive) to a local ice cream place for that treat. But that's it. It's only a treat to be used very sparingly.
Start out with those three changes and don't worry about the rest for now. If you start with those three, then you've created a nice solid foundation for other improvements later on.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
A Postive Story on Childhood Obesity
This was a great article on a kid who realized he had to lose weight, and did it.
But that's not even the best part: he survived leukemia first.
Doctor's told him after he beat leukemia that if he didn't lose some weight, there was a higher chance that the cancer would return.
So far he's dropped from 320 pounds to 240 pounds. Granted, he's got some more to lose, but to drop 80 so far is a great success story.
Here's an interesting quote from the article:
It continues:
more...
finally..
The point I see, is that the getting the ENTIRE family involved in this is what helped this young man lose this weight (and also the main contributor for the weight loss of the other members of the family).
Think of it this way: How hard is it for an adult to quit smoking, if there's another adult in the household that is continuing to smoke? If someone is trying to quit drinking, isn't it going to be more difficult if another adult continues to keep beer in the refrigerator?
Granted, some people are able to quit smoking and drinking if another adult in the household continues these habits.
But I don't see how a child who is overweight or obese would be able to lose weight, stop eating junk, etc., without the other people in the household doing the same thing. Children eat what they are given, they follow what their parents do, etc.
Bottom line, when talking about the child obesity issue, we can't leave out the issue of obesity in the adult population from the conversation. If the family is the biggest contributor to the problem, it could also be the biggest piece of the solution.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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But that's not even the best part: he survived leukemia first.
Doctor's told him after he beat leukemia that if he didn't lose some weight, there was a higher chance that the cancer would return.
So far he's dropped from 320 pounds to 240 pounds. Granted, he's got some more to lose, but to drop 80 so far is a great success story.
Here's an interesting quote from the article:
Programs that involve the whole family, and encourage and support healthy eating habits and plenty of physical activity, stand the best chance for success, health advocates say.
It continues:
Once a week, for six months, the teens meet with one or more of the team members in individual or group sessions. They also participate in regular physical fitness sessions at least once a week or up to three times a week.
Parents have a schedule of their own, attending individual and group sessions every other week during the six-month period.
The sessions are aimed at teaching the whole family to build healthier habits into their lifestyle.
more...
Since Nick began the program, his mother, 53, a child care worker, lost 17 pounds. Nick's dad, Tony, 57, lost 20 pounds and their son Josh lost 30 pounds.
finally..
Nick Lieto says the family support, the accountability demanded by the weekly sessions and the encouraging staff members when he weighs in weekly, are most responsible for his success.
The point I see, is that the getting the ENTIRE family involved in this is what helped this young man lose this weight (and also the main contributor for the weight loss of the other members of the family).
Think of it this way: How hard is it for an adult to quit smoking, if there's another adult in the household that is continuing to smoke? If someone is trying to quit drinking, isn't it going to be more difficult if another adult continues to keep beer in the refrigerator?
Granted, some people are able to quit smoking and drinking if another adult in the household continues these habits.
But I don't see how a child who is overweight or obese would be able to lose weight, stop eating junk, etc., without the other people in the household doing the same thing. Children eat what they are given, they follow what their parents do, etc.
Bottom line, when talking about the child obesity issue, we can't leave out the issue of obesity in the adult population from the conversation. If the family is the biggest contributor to the problem, it could also be the biggest piece of the solution.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Delayed Gratification and Childhood Obesity
To stay with the theme of childhood obesity that I've kind of rolled myself into this week, this article talks about a study where it found that children that were able to delay gratification were less likely to be overweight or obese.
From the article:
The conclusions:
The correlation of the parents:
This really makes sense. If you have a mother that is overweight, then there's a good chance that she doesn't have the ability to delay gratification when she's hungry. This easily passes along to the child where mom just instinctively gives the child something to eat when the child complains about being hungry.
This is interesting in light of my review last week here of Eat Stop Eat. You hold off eating for 24 hours. After some time, this helps you hold off eating when not fasting and you start to feel a little bit of hunger. By fasting, you learn to control those hunger "pains" and not instantly go reach for a donut.
I'm NOT suggesting we start getting 4 year olds to follow intermittent fasting. But, if adults would start following this type of protocol, they would learn themselves how to delay instant gratification and thus would be more readily able to tell their kids "no" when they whine about being hungry and telling them that they need to wait until their next meal.
The behavior of parents is what is going to stick with their children, so maybe if we start changing the shape of how parents view instant gratification, we can change that same behavior in children. Something to think about.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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From the article:
In the study, a group of 4-year-olds was asked to choose candy, animal crackers or pretzels as their preferred food and left alone with two plates of different quantities of the food.
They could eat a larger portion of chosen food if they waited until the examiner returned. If they could not wait until the examiner returned, they could ring a bell to summon the examiner back into the room, at which time they could eat the small quantity.
Almost half (47%) of the 805 children failed the test, either by ringing the bell before a seven-minute waiting period elapsed, spontaneously beginning to eat the food, becoming distressed, going to the door or calling for a parent or the examiner.
The conclusions:
Children who had difficulty delaying gratification were about 30% more likely to be overweight by age 11 than those who could delay gratification, says study coauthor Dr. Julie Lumeng, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at the University of Michigan Health System.
The correlation of the parents:
The weight of the mother made a difference in the child’s ability to wait to eat, Lumeng adds.
“Moms who are overweight themselves have kids that are less able to wait,” Lumeng says. “No study like this one can prove causation, but there’s an association.”
This really makes sense. If you have a mother that is overweight, then there's a good chance that she doesn't have the ability to delay gratification when she's hungry. This easily passes along to the child where mom just instinctively gives the child something to eat when the child complains about being hungry.
This is interesting in light of my review last week here of Eat Stop Eat. You hold off eating for 24 hours. After some time, this helps you hold off eating when not fasting and you start to feel a little bit of hunger. By fasting, you learn to control those hunger "pains" and not instantly go reach for a donut.
I'm NOT suggesting we start getting 4 year olds to follow intermittent fasting. But, if adults would start following this type of protocol, they would learn themselves how to delay instant gratification and thus would be more readily able to tell their kids "no" when they whine about being hungry and telling them that they need to wait until their next meal.
The behavior of parents is what is going to stick with their children, so maybe if we start changing the shape of how parents view instant gratification, we can change that same behavior in children. Something to think about.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Monday, April 13, 2009
Chilhood Obesity Getting Worse
This article I found was pretty alarming.
A new study found that one in five American 4-year olds are obese. That's OBESE, not just overweight.
Here were the breakdowns by racial groups:
The article goes on to talk about why there are the bigger disparities between the racial groups:
One tool that a Native American tribe is using to help with the problem is setting up camps that focus on exercise but also follow in a Native American tradition:
Although I can appreciate the concept of keeping with a tradition within a certain racial group, I have to say, I hope they have those kids doing something more than just throwing something.
We need to get these kids exerting themselves more. How about a game where one kid throws the snowsnake and another kid sprints after it and retrieves it, kind of like playing fetch with a dog?
This is something that I think we all need to really be concerned about because if we don't get this under the microscope and come up with a plan to fight it soon, we're going to have a whole generation of youngster where it will be normal to have high blood pressure, diabetes, joint problems, cancers, etc., then to not have those health issues.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Facebook
A new study found that one in five American 4-year olds are obese. That's OBESE, not just overweight.
Here were the breakdowns by racial groups:
Almost 13 percent of Asian children were obese, along with 16 percent of whites, almost 21 percent of blacks, 22 percent of Hispanics, and 31 percent of American Indians.
The article goes on to talk about why there are the bigger disparities between the racial groups:
Flores cited higher rates of diabetes in American Indians, and also Hispanics, which scientists believe may be due to genetic differences.
Also, other factors that can increase obesity risks tend to be more common among minorities, including poverty, less educated parents, and diets high in fat and calories, Flores said.
One tool that a Native American tribe is using to help with the problem is setting up camps that focus on exercise but also follow in a Native American tradition:
To address the problem, her clinic has created activities for young Indian children, including summer camps and a winter break "outdoor day" that had kids braving 8-degree temperatures to play games including "snowsnake." That's a traditional American Indian contest in which players throw long, carved wooden "snakes" along a snow or ice trail to see whose lands the farthest.
The hope is that giving kids used to modern sedentary ways a taste of a more active traditional American Indian lifestyle will help them adopt healthier habits, she said.
Although I can appreciate the concept of keeping with a tradition within a certain racial group, I have to say, I hope they have those kids doing something more than just throwing something.
We need to get these kids exerting themselves more. How about a game where one kid throws the snowsnake and another kid sprints after it and retrieves it, kind of like playing fetch with a dog?
This is something that I think we all need to really be concerned about because if we don't get this under the microscope and come up with a plan to fight it soon, we're going to have a whole generation of youngster where it will be normal to have high blood pressure, diabetes, joint problems, cancers, etc., then to not have those health issues.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Friday, April 10, 2009
Home Opener Today
Today is blog free because I'll be spending it down at the ballpark watching my beloved Detroit Tigers in their home opener.
Have a good weekend everyone and enjoy your Easter.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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Have a good weekend everyone and enjoy your Easter.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Eat Stop Eat Review
This is going to be long but well worth it so make sure you read the entire thing and see what kind of FREE bonus I'm offering at the end.
In the beginning of January, I made a New Year's Resolution.
Looking at the state of the world, everything seemed so negative. The economies are tanking, people are being laid off in droves, technology is moving forward but, it seems we're kind of at a stand still when it comes to obtaining something earth shattering, and the waistlines of Americans just increased by at least 2 inches each person from the holiday feeding.
The resolution that I made to myself was to keep an open mind about any approach health and fitness related. Don't discard something simply because it doesn't follow what you've read in the past.
Really, this is nothing new to me. Back a number of years ago, I was following the same mantra that everyone else was: Dietary fat was bad, don't eat it. Dietary fat will turn into body fat. If you want to lose weight, take the dietary fat out of your diet.
But then I stepped outside that box and read a book called The Testosterone Advantage Plan. There's some great insight in that book and changed my tune on dietary fat. Dietary fat turns out to actually be essential and is part of the solution of reducing body fat, not the problem.
So I followed the eating plan and did the workouts. Nine weeks later, I was seven pounds lighter.
So I had come to a great discovery that when it comes to losing and gaining weight, it's not the dietary fat's fault, it's the extra calories that you consume that is the main issue.
I learned more and more. Learned about eating 6-7 meals a day instead of the standard three, learned about starvation mode that it was best to eat every 3-4 hours or your body was going to think it was starving and start eating off your hard earned muscle.
I learned about the importance of getting a good protein drink mixed with fast acting carbs after a workout to help fuel the muscle recovery process.
I learned that you should be getting roughly one gram of protein per pound of your body weight.
I learned that you need to do exercises that involve the movement of your biggest muscles such as rows, deadlifts, squats, lunges, bench presses, and pull ups.
I even re-evaluated concepts that I blogged about recently such as starvation mode and ketosis that I had previously shunned.
Back a number of weeks ago, I came across a book mentioned on another blog that I had never heard about, called Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon.
Basically, the book outlines an eating plan that is very very simple: Eat normal, but for one or two 24 hour periods a week, do no eat anything at all.
Let me say that again, no eating. Nothing. Nada. No can do. No consuming of calories (including calories from liquids) for 24 hours.
At first, I thought "No way, this guy is crazy. Starving yourself is the absolute worse thing you can do."
But, I remembered that I was going to keep an open mind and to read things that are outside of my "box" to at least see something from a different perspective.
So I bought the book, and read it in a couple of hours (it's not that long of a read).
Then I decided that I needed to use myself as a guinea pig with this approach and see what happens. So I started on my journey of fasting for 24 hours, twice a week and I was going to do it for four weeks to see what kind of results I would get.
But, before I reveal what my results were, there's one important part: You have to do resistance training 2-3 times a week. Doing this resistance training is what is going to preserve that muscle of yours. The resistance training could be anything from bodyweight exercises to full blown barbell squats. All that matters is that you do some kind of resistance training. Not long steady state cardio. Not an aerobics class. Resistance training (although intervals are fine to add in, and I found the I Hate Mike Interval Workout did a pretty good job).
A Typical Fast Day
Here's an example of a 24 hour period that I fasted:
Monday night around 8:30 pm - Had some lowfat cottage cheese and a TBSP of natural peanut butter
Before bed - A cup of Melissa tea
Tuesday Morning around 5:15 am - woke up, got ready for the day
7:00 am - started drink water, had a hot cup of green tea
8:00 am - felt hungry, had another hot cup of green tea
Drank in total about 4 liters of water during the day and whenever I felt hungry, made a hot cup of green tea
4:00 pm - Completed the I Hate Mike Interval workout
Drank more water
6:30 pm - taught my group class
8:30 pm - time to eat. Had a half a can of tuna rolled into a multi-grain pita and ate an orange
Before bed - 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese, a TBSP of natural peanut butter, a hot cup of Melissa tea
Results
Here's a breakdown by week of how much weight I lost:
After week 1: lost 2.5 pounds
After week 2: lost another 1.5 pounds
After week 3: lost another 2.5 pounds
After week 4: lost another 2.0 pounds
Overall weight loss: 8.5 pounds. That equates to a loss of over 5% of my bodyweight in 27 days.
Was it easy? At times yes, but at other times no but after a couple of fasts, you almost forget that you're not eating.
Even though I'm a bit regimented on what I eat on days I wasn't fasting, the overall concept of eating what you "normally" eat when you're not fasting and then simply adding some resistance training makes it a lot less stressful in that you don't have to count calories or measure things out or eat this or eat that. All you do is stop eating two times a week for 24 hours and then the rest of the time you just "act normal."
I'm sure this question has entered your mind: Won't I just gain the weight back when I stop cycling fasts?
After I was done with this experiment for four weeks, the following week I ate normal (and worked out four times during the week) and actually saw my weight drop another half a pound.
How YOU Can Lose Weight Like This
So here's the bottom line on what you can do to get results like I did (or even better): Buy Eat Stop Eat.
As an added bonus for buying the product, I will give you a FREE copy of my diary that I kept for the 27 days following Eat Stop Eat.
The diary will give you EXACTLY what I ate and will tell you EXACTLY what workouts I did. If you follow the guidelines set out in Eat Stop Eat as well as in my diary YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT. Whether you've got that 10 pounds of fat left that is just hanging on for dear life or have already lost a significant amount of weight and are stuck at a plateau or you're looking to start losing weight from scratch, this plan WILL work if followed properly.
Click on this link to buy Eat Stop Eat and after you purchase it (it's an e-book so you get the book instantly), forward a copy of the e-mail receipt to me at: eatstopeat@leanbodyfitness.com and I will send you a copy of my diary.
Workout Options
In my diary I list out exactly what my workouts were. You don't have to do exactly what I did. I was using equipment such as a lat pulldown machine, barbells, dumbbells, and a stability ball.
But there are some other options to programs you can do along with Eat Stop Eat that would be a great combination.
1. If you have no equipment available, I would suggest Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training Bodyweight Cardio v2.0 workout that you can find here.
2. If you have dumbbells available to you, I would suggest any of Craig Ballanyne's Turbulence Training Workouts that you can find here.
The workouts that you can buy from Turbulence Training are extremely affordable at less than $10 and are some of the most effective workouts I've ever done so you won't be disappointed.
3. If you live local to me, you can sign up for the NEW Lean Body Fat Loss Training Program that I'm offering that would be a perfect fit with Eat Stop Eat.
In Perspective
When I started following Eat Stop Eat, I realized that I was saving roughly $10-15 a week in groceries. So in the course of a month, I saved between $40-60.
What this means is that at minimum, the amount I saved in groceries paid for Eat Stop Eat and at best I actually saved $20 in groceries for the month after paying the cost of the book.
So if you bought both Eat Stop Eat and either Craig Ballantyne's Bodyweight workout or one of the other Turbulence Training programs, they would AT MINIMUM pay for themselves over the course of 6 weeks.
Final Thoughts
There was something very free about not eating all day. I had initially thought that I was going to feel weak and tired without eating for 24 hours but, it turns out that I never felt that way and after the first couple of fasts I actually felt MORE energized.
What it also can teach you is how to adapt to the feeling of hunger. Meaning, once you've fasted a few times, you noticed on other days that you're not fasting and have a busy day and scheduled eating times take a back seat, that after 8 hours of not eating, you're fine. You're not craving or "starving" like you have felt in the past.
This was an eye opening experience for me and quite frankly is without a doubt the best program that I've put myself on that has resulted in weight loss so consistently and SO QUICKLY.
Honestly, I am currently at the weight I was (although a lot leaner) when I was in high school (for those that know me know how long ago that was and for those that don't know me, I'll give you a hint: This guy was big on the music scene at the time...unfortunately..).
I'm going to continue experimenting with this approach some more to get an idea of how it affects other health issues like blood cholesterol and glucose levels so keep checking back to this blog to find out more.
And, I will continue to keep a diary of everything I eat (or don't eat) when following Eat Stop Eat, and all of my workouts and if there are any updates to the FREE diary that you get from me for buying Eat Stop Eat, you will get those updates at ABSOLUTELY NO CHARGE.
Give it a try and let me know how your experiences are with it.
Don't wait. Click here to order your copy right now.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
In the beginning of January, I made a New Year's Resolution.
Looking at the state of the world, everything seemed so negative. The economies are tanking, people are being laid off in droves, technology is moving forward but, it seems we're kind of at a stand still when it comes to obtaining something earth shattering, and the waistlines of Americans just increased by at least 2 inches each person from the holiday feeding.
The resolution that I made to myself was to keep an open mind about any approach health and fitness related. Don't discard something simply because it doesn't follow what you've read in the past.
Really, this is nothing new to me. Back a number of years ago, I was following the same mantra that everyone else was: Dietary fat was bad, don't eat it. Dietary fat will turn into body fat. If you want to lose weight, take the dietary fat out of your diet.
But then I stepped outside that box and read a book called The Testosterone Advantage Plan. There's some great insight in that book and changed my tune on dietary fat. Dietary fat turns out to actually be essential and is part of the solution of reducing body fat, not the problem.
So I followed the eating plan and did the workouts. Nine weeks later, I was seven pounds lighter.
So I had come to a great discovery that when it comes to losing and gaining weight, it's not the dietary fat's fault, it's the extra calories that you consume that is the main issue.
I learned more and more. Learned about eating 6-7 meals a day instead of the standard three, learned about starvation mode that it was best to eat every 3-4 hours or your body was going to think it was starving and start eating off your hard earned muscle.
I learned about the importance of getting a good protein drink mixed with fast acting carbs after a workout to help fuel the muscle recovery process.
I learned that you should be getting roughly one gram of protein per pound of your body weight.
I learned that you need to do exercises that involve the movement of your biggest muscles such as rows, deadlifts, squats, lunges, bench presses, and pull ups.
I even re-evaluated concepts that I blogged about recently such as starvation mode and ketosis that I had previously shunned.
Back a number of weeks ago, I came across a book mentioned on another blog that I had never heard about, called Eat Stop Eat by Brad Pilon.
Basically, the book outlines an eating plan that is very very simple: Eat normal, but for one or two 24 hour periods a week, do no eat anything at all.
Let me say that again, no eating. Nothing. Nada. No can do. No consuming of calories (including calories from liquids) for 24 hours.
At first, I thought "No way, this guy is crazy. Starving yourself is the absolute worse thing you can do."
But, I remembered that I was going to keep an open mind and to read things that are outside of my "box" to at least see something from a different perspective.
So I bought the book, and read it in a couple of hours (it's not that long of a read).
Then I decided that I needed to use myself as a guinea pig with this approach and see what happens. So I started on my journey of fasting for 24 hours, twice a week and I was going to do it for four weeks to see what kind of results I would get.
But, before I reveal what my results were, there's one important part: You have to do resistance training 2-3 times a week. Doing this resistance training is what is going to preserve that muscle of yours. The resistance training could be anything from bodyweight exercises to full blown barbell squats. All that matters is that you do some kind of resistance training. Not long steady state cardio. Not an aerobics class. Resistance training (although intervals are fine to add in, and I found the I Hate Mike Interval Workout did a pretty good job).
A Typical Fast Day
Here's an example of a 24 hour period that I fasted:
Monday night around 8:30 pm - Had some lowfat cottage cheese and a TBSP of natural peanut butter
Before bed - A cup of Melissa tea
Tuesday Morning around 5:15 am - woke up, got ready for the day
7:00 am - started drink water, had a hot cup of green tea
8:00 am - felt hungry, had another hot cup of green tea
Drank in total about 4 liters of water during the day and whenever I felt hungry, made a hot cup of green tea
4:00 pm - Completed the I Hate Mike Interval workout
Drank more water
6:30 pm - taught my group class
8:30 pm - time to eat. Had a half a can of tuna rolled into a multi-grain pita and ate an orange
Before bed - 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese, a TBSP of natural peanut butter, a hot cup of Melissa tea
Results
Here's a breakdown by week of how much weight I lost:
After week 1: lost 2.5 pounds
After week 2: lost another 1.5 pounds
After week 3: lost another 2.5 pounds
After week 4: lost another 2.0 pounds
Overall weight loss: 8.5 pounds. That equates to a loss of over 5% of my bodyweight in 27 days.
Was it easy? At times yes, but at other times no but after a couple of fasts, you almost forget that you're not eating.
Even though I'm a bit regimented on what I eat on days I wasn't fasting, the overall concept of eating what you "normally" eat when you're not fasting and then simply adding some resistance training makes it a lot less stressful in that you don't have to count calories or measure things out or eat this or eat that. All you do is stop eating two times a week for 24 hours and then the rest of the time you just "act normal."
I'm sure this question has entered your mind: Won't I just gain the weight back when I stop cycling fasts?
After I was done with this experiment for four weeks, the following week I ate normal (and worked out four times during the week) and actually saw my weight drop another half a pound.
How YOU Can Lose Weight Like This
So here's the bottom line on what you can do to get results like I did (or even better): Buy Eat Stop Eat.
As an added bonus for buying the product, I will give you a FREE copy of my diary that I kept for the 27 days following Eat Stop Eat.
The diary will give you EXACTLY what I ate and will tell you EXACTLY what workouts I did. If you follow the guidelines set out in Eat Stop Eat as well as in my diary YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT. Whether you've got that 10 pounds of fat left that is just hanging on for dear life or have already lost a significant amount of weight and are stuck at a plateau or you're looking to start losing weight from scratch, this plan WILL work if followed properly.
Click on this link to buy Eat Stop Eat and after you purchase it (it's an e-book so you get the book instantly), forward a copy of the e-mail receipt to me at: eatstopeat@leanbodyfitness.com and I will send you a copy of my diary.
Workout Options
In my diary I list out exactly what my workouts were. You don't have to do exactly what I did. I was using equipment such as a lat pulldown machine, barbells, dumbbells, and a stability ball.
But there are some other options to programs you can do along with Eat Stop Eat that would be a great combination.
1. If you have no equipment available, I would suggest Craig Ballantyne's Turbulence Training Bodyweight Cardio v2.0 workout that you can find here.
2. If you have dumbbells available to you, I would suggest any of Craig Ballanyne's Turbulence Training Workouts that you can find here.
The workouts that you can buy from Turbulence Training are extremely affordable at less than $10 and are some of the most effective workouts I've ever done so you won't be disappointed.
3. If you live local to me, you can sign up for the NEW Lean Body Fat Loss Training Program that I'm offering that would be a perfect fit with Eat Stop Eat.
In Perspective
When I started following Eat Stop Eat, I realized that I was saving roughly $10-15 a week in groceries. So in the course of a month, I saved between $40-60.
What this means is that at minimum, the amount I saved in groceries paid for Eat Stop Eat and at best I actually saved $20 in groceries for the month after paying the cost of the book.
So if you bought both Eat Stop Eat and either Craig Ballantyne's Bodyweight workout or one of the other Turbulence Training programs, they would AT MINIMUM pay for themselves over the course of 6 weeks.
Final Thoughts
There was something very free about not eating all day. I had initially thought that I was going to feel weak and tired without eating for 24 hours but, it turns out that I never felt that way and after the first couple of fasts I actually felt MORE energized.
What it also can teach you is how to adapt to the feeling of hunger. Meaning, once you've fasted a few times, you noticed on other days that you're not fasting and have a busy day and scheduled eating times take a back seat, that after 8 hours of not eating, you're fine. You're not craving or "starving" like you have felt in the past.
This was an eye opening experience for me and quite frankly is without a doubt the best program that I've put myself on that has resulted in weight loss so consistently and SO QUICKLY.
Honestly, I am currently at the weight I was (although a lot leaner) when I was in high school (for those that know me know how long ago that was and for those that don't know me, I'll give you a hint: This guy was big on the music scene at the time...unfortunately..).
I'm going to continue experimenting with this approach some more to get an idea of how it affects other health issues like blood cholesterol and glucose levels so keep checking back to this blog to find out more.
And, I will continue to keep a diary of everything I eat (or don't eat) when following Eat Stop Eat, and all of my workouts and if there are any updates to the FREE diary that you get from me for buying Eat Stop Eat, you will get those updates at ABSOLUTELY NO CHARGE.
Give it a try and let me know how your experiences are with it.
Don't wait. Click here to order your copy right now.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
"Natural" Diet Pill Not So Natural
Well, another flop on the supplement front. This article talks about how a diet pill that was promoted as having all "natural" ingredients wasn't completely accurate.
The violators are a supplement called Starcaps that promotes the use of papaya as an ingredient the help with weight loss actually has a dangerous pharmaceutical drug called bumetanide which can have some bad side effects.
What's even worse is that this supplement isn't the only culprit. The FDA found dozens of other supplements with pharmaceutical drug in them that are not declared on their ingredient list.
From the article:
But this is where my blood pressure rises substantially with how we deal with supplements in this country from this part of the article:
What this means is that as long as a company puts the word "supplement" on the bottle of a product, they can make any claim they want about what the product can do and don't have to provide a shred of evidence to back it up. The only time the FDA gets involved is when there is a health claim or substantial complaints about the product (like ephedra was investigated and subsequently banned in 2004 by the FDA).
There was a laughable (in my opinion) update to the law last year as the article states:
Oh big whoop. So the manufacturers have prove that the supplements they are providing actually have the ingredients in them that they claim and that there are no other ingredients, but they still don't have to show that any of those ingredients actually do what they say the product will do.
Sure, the law protects consumers into MAYBE not getting sick by taking these supplements, but it doesn't protect them from throwing money at products that, in my opinion are nothing more than placebos.
But, it's a hard climb to the top in trying to prove a $24 billion industry is nothing but a scam.
Sorry, that turned into more of a rant than I had originally intended too. Stay away from weight loss supplements folks. Just eat right, exercise and you'll get results in the purest of forms.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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The violators are a supplement called Starcaps that promotes the use of papaya as an ingredient the help with weight loss actually has a dangerous pharmaceutical drug called bumetanide which can have some bad side effects.
What's even worse is that this supplement isn't the only culprit. The FDA found dozens of other supplements with pharmaceutical drug in them that are not declared on their ingredient list.
From the article:
“A large percentage of these products either contain dangerous undeclared ingredients or they might be outright fraudulent on the ingredients and have no effect at all,” said Michael Levy, the director of the F.D.A.’s division of New Drugs and Labeling Compliance. “We don’t think consumers should be using these products.”
But this is where my blood pressure rises substantially with how we deal with supplements in this country from this part of the article:
Enacted in 1994, the main law on dietary supplements gives the F.D.A. jurisdiction only after the products go on the market. Rather than reviewing the supplements and approving them for sale, as the agency does with drugs, the F.D.A. is limited to spot-checking manufacturers and distributors, and testing products already on store shelves. Even the F.D.A. acknowledges there may be hundreds of other drug-contaminated weight-loss supplements for sale that the agency does not have the resources to identify.
What this means is that as long as a company puts the word "supplement" on the bottle of a product, they can make any claim they want about what the product can do and don't have to provide a shred of evidence to back it up. The only time the FDA gets involved is when there is a health claim or substantial complaints about the product (like ephedra was investigated and subsequently banned in 2004 by the FDA).
There was a laughable (in my opinion) update to the law last year as the article states:
Last year, the F.D.A. adopted new “good manufacturing practices” rules that require makers of dietary supplements to test the purity of each ingredient and the final product. Another new statute, which went into effect in December 2007, requires manufacturers to notify the F.D.A. of any reports of serious health problems caused by the pills. “The law adequately protects consumer health because it does have the monitoring system in place,” said Mr. Mister, of the industry trade group.
Oh big whoop. So the manufacturers have prove that the supplements they are providing actually have the ingredients in them that they claim and that there are no other ingredients, but they still don't have to show that any of those ingredients actually do what they say the product will do.
Sure, the law protects consumers into MAYBE not getting sick by taking these supplements, but it doesn't protect them from throwing money at products that, in my opinion are nothing more than placebos.
But, it's a hard climb to the top in trying to prove a $24 billion industry is nothing but a scam.
Sorry, that turned into more of a rant than I had originally intended too. Stay away from weight loss supplements folks. Just eat right, exercise and you'll get results in the purest of forms.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
The Original 300 Workout
Back awhile ago, I posted this workout by Craig Ballantyne on a great 300 workout.
I was at a seminar a few weeks ago where I found out the Original 300 Workout was actually only 3 exericses: Pullup, Pushup, and Squat. You did 100 Pullups, 100 Pushups, and 100 Squats and tried to get that done in 30 minutes.
Now i don't know if this workout was created by someone recently who is calling it by that name or whether this is actually a workout that was done 2000 years ago in ancient Rome.
I tried it out last week and it was pretty good. I made one slight adjustment in that I did inverted rows instead of pullups (I might be able to squeak out 50 pullups, but I'll be honest, there's no way I could have pulled out 100 of them).
How I did it though was I did everything in sets of 5 in circuit fashion. I did 5 inverted rows, 5 bodyweight squats, and then 5 pushups and then repeated that over and over again until I had done a total of 20 sets.
My time wasn't too bad. 14:30 the first day I did it, 13:45 the second time I did it.
I'll tell you what though, for a workout that lasts less than 15 minutes, I was drenched in sweat when I was done and boy did my upper body feel it the next day.
Another good example of how designing workouts effectively using the biggest muscles you've got can cut down on the amount of time that you have to workout but give you the same (if not better) results than if you worked out longer.
Give it a try and e-mail me at mike@leanbodyfitness.com to let me know how you did.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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I was at a seminar a few weeks ago where I found out the Original 300 Workout was actually only 3 exericses: Pullup, Pushup, and Squat. You did 100 Pullups, 100 Pushups, and 100 Squats and tried to get that done in 30 minutes.
Now i don't know if this workout was created by someone recently who is calling it by that name or whether this is actually a workout that was done 2000 years ago in ancient Rome.
I tried it out last week and it was pretty good. I made one slight adjustment in that I did inverted rows instead of pullups (I might be able to squeak out 50 pullups, but I'll be honest, there's no way I could have pulled out 100 of them).
How I did it though was I did everything in sets of 5 in circuit fashion. I did 5 inverted rows, 5 bodyweight squats, and then 5 pushups and then repeated that over and over again until I had done a total of 20 sets.
My time wasn't too bad. 14:30 the first day I did it, 13:45 the second time I did it.
I'll tell you what though, for a workout that lasts less than 15 minutes, I was drenched in sweat when I was done and boy did my upper body feel it the next day.
Another good example of how designing workouts effectively using the biggest muscles you've got can cut down on the amount of time that you have to workout but give you the same (if not better) results than if you worked out longer.
Give it a try and e-mail me at mike@leanbodyfitness.com to let me know how you did.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Monday, April 6, 2009
Ballparks Open Today
Around the county today, baseball parks open up for the first time this year to take on another 162 game season. Baseball's my favorite sport so I've been waiting for this day to come since last October.
I had mentioned a long time ago in this post about how ballparks were feeding people like they've never eaten before, and that the stuff they were feeding them wasn't the best.
I think I found something that topped that. This article talks about how a burger is going to be served at the West Michigan White Caps games this year that contains 4,800 calories.
You read that right. 4,800 calories. Take a look at the picture.
What's in it?
What do you get if you eat the whole thing by yourself? A FREAKIN' T-SHIRT! Great to see ballparks haven't quite hit bottom yet on their ingenious food inventions.
Thanks to Chris Standish for sending this along.
And let's see those Spartans bring home a basketball championship tonight.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Facebook
I had mentioned a long time ago in this post about how ballparks were feeding people like they've never eaten before, and that the stuff they were feeding them wasn't the best.
I think I found something that topped that. This article talks about how a burger is going to be served at the West Michigan White Caps games this year that contains 4,800 calories.
You read that right. 4,800 calories. Take a look at the picture.
What's in it?
The 4-pound, $20 burger features five beef patties, five slices of cheese, nearly a cup of chili and liberal doses of salsa and corn chips, all on an 8-inch sesame-seed bun.
What do you get if you eat the whole thing by yourself? A FREAKIN' T-SHIRT! Great to see ballparks haven't quite hit bottom yet on their ingenious food inventions.
Thanks to Chris Standish for sending this along.
And let's see those Spartans bring home a basketball championship tonight.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Friday, April 3, 2009
Recipe Friday - Pizza
No, the recipe for today is not pick up the phone and order a pizza.
This recipe looked really really good and had to share it. Mushrooms, red onions, garlic, cheese and basil leaves. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out.
If you ever come across recipes that you think would be great to blog on, please don't hesitate to send them my way. Just make sure they are HEALTHY recipes....
Have a good weekend.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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This recipe looked really really good and had to share it. Mushrooms, red onions, garlic, cheese and basil leaves. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out.
If you ever come across recipes that you think would be great to blog on, please don't hesitate to send them my way. Just make sure they are HEALTHY recipes....
Have a good weekend.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Walking 100 Steps For Moderate Exercise
We always here that people need to get 30 minutes of "moderate" exercise most days of the week to keep yourself healthy.
The problem has been that no one has really determined what the definition of "moderate" is.
This article talks about a new study that says "moderate" should mean roughly 1,000 steps in a 10 minute continuous period, or 100 steps a minute.
I've never counted my steps before when I walk or carry one of those pedometer things that count the steps for you so the other day when I was walking my dog I decided to count how many steps I was taking at the normal pace that I walk. In 60 seconds I walked 127 steps.
From the article:
I don't know about that. A brisk walk for who? Maybe I'm just a fast walker but, the pace of 127 steps a minute to me was more of a leisurely walk. If I took it up a notch to where I was trying to catch a bus, but cut myself short of running, I'm thinking I'd be somewhere between 150-175 steps a minute, minimum.
The actual study details aren't out yet so I can't verify what the training status of the subject were, what the methods were, how long the study lasted, etc.
But I still don't think we're any closer to determining what "moderate" is because it's going to vary so much from person to person based on their current health status.
At the same time, considering that we are talking about the "average" American, I guess it's very plausible that 100 steps in 60 seconds would be brisk enough to get the heart noticeably beating faster as well as a noticeable increase in a person's breathing rate for quite a large section of the population.
BUT, remember, after doing this for some time, your body will adjust and adapt, and in order to continue to get the same effects, you're going to have to increase the pace that you're going.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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The problem has been that no one has really determined what the definition of "moderate" is.
This article talks about a new study that says "moderate" should mean roughly 1,000 steps in a 10 minute continuous period, or 100 steps a minute.
I've never counted my steps before when I walk or carry one of those pedometer things that count the steps for you so the other day when I was walking my dog I decided to count how many steps I was taking at the normal pace that I walk. In 60 seconds I walked 127 steps.
From the article:
"It's a bit like a brisk walk," Marshall said. "If you can imagine you're late for a bus, you're in a hurry. It's not a leisurely stroll, it's a brisk walk."
I don't know about that. A brisk walk for who? Maybe I'm just a fast walker but, the pace of 127 steps a minute to me was more of a leisurely walk. If I took it up a notch to where I was trying to catch a bus, but cut myself short of running, I'm thinking I'd be somewhere between 150-175 steps a minute, minimum.
The actual study details aren't out yet so I can't verify what the training status of the subject were, what the methods were, how long the study lasted, etc.
But I still don't think we're any closer to determining what "moderate" is because it's going to vary so much from person to person based on their current health status.
At the same time, considering that we are talking about the "average" American, I guess it's very plausible that 100 steps in 60 seconds would be brisk enough to get the heart noticeably beating faster as well as a noticeable increase in a person's breathing rate for quite a large section of the population.
BUT, remember, after doing this for some time, your body will adjust and adapt, and in order to continue to get the same effects, you're going to have to increase the pace that you're going.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Ketosis
Ketosis is something that is part of the low-carb craz but, there wasn't really a lot of discussion on it when it came to fat loss even though it might very well be the biggest contributor to fat loss when on a low carb diet. So I'll try to break it down as to what it actually is.
This is a pretty good description of what Ketosis is but I'll see if I can summarize it.
During most of human history, carbs weren't part of the "normal" diet. We pretty much lived on what we hunted, fished, trapped, etc. There's not a lot of carbs in rabbit, deer, mammoth, or anything else that Fred Flintstone would have eaten.
The goal back in the day of Freddy's time was to still be able to function without a lot of food on menu each night. But the body needs glucose in order to keep the brain and other tissues functioning, keep alert, to be able to react quickly, etc. when out looking for food.
But if you're body is running on a bare minimum of glucose with no carbs to eat, it has to breakdown protein (muscle) in order to supply it with the glucose it needs.
But that would lead to a problem if the body kept breaking down all that muscle: You wouldn't have the strength, speed, etc to hunt down your next meal. (I wrote about this last week here when talking about starvation mode).
The breakdown of the protein into glucose happens in the liver. The liver needs energy in order to break the protein down into that glucose (a process known as gluconeogenesis).
What is the energy source used to power the liver for gluconeogenesis? Body fat.
So the liver breaks down body fat so that there is energy to break down protein to make glucose. But there is a byproduct of that breakdown of fat: Ketones
Basically, Ketones are a standby energy source for the brain when sugar is not around but it also works as an energy source for all the other tissue and muscle in the body.
This is best part: when the ketones kick in as the energy source, then the tissues, brain, heart, etc doesn't need as much of that glucose that was being broken down from protein in the muscle, hence, there is less muscle breakdown at that point going forward.
If you're on a low-carb diet, you even get the added bonus of eating protein, which that is converted first to glucose to be used for the energy and not the protein from your muscle. So you get the best of both worlds: fat being broken down to fuel gluconeogenesis but the protein that is being broken down is from the protein you're eating, not the protein from your muscles, thus you preserve your muscle mass while at the same time breaking down fat to convert the eaten protein into glucose.
What level of low carb will turn this whole process on? If you keep your carbs at no more than 60 grams a day, that should get you into ketosis and keep you there.
You can check the status of whether you're in ketosis as well by using Ketostix. Bascially, you pee on the stick, wait 15 seconds, and then compare the stick to the graph on the side of the box and that'll tell you what level of ketones are in your urine (ketones are expelled through either urine or breath).
Give it a try sometime and see what you think. It's going to be on my experiment list in the near future so I'll make sure to share the results with you.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
Facebook
This is a pretty good description of what Ketosis is but I'll see if I can summarize it.
During most of human history, carbs weren't part of the "normal" diet. We pretty much lived on what we hunted, fished, trapped, etc. There's not a lot of carbs in rabbit, deer, mammoth, or anything else that Fred Flintstone would have eaten.
The goal back in the day of Freddy's time was to still be able to function without a lot of food on menu each night. But the body needs glucose in order to keep the brain and other tissues functioning, keep alert, to be able to react quickly, etc. when out looking for food.
But if you're body is running on a bare minimum of glucose with no carbs to eat, it has to breakdown protein (muscle) in order to supply it with the glucose it needs.
But that would lead to a problem if the body kept breaking down all that muscle: You wouldn't have the strength, speed, etc to hunt down your next meal. (I wrote about this last week here when talking about starvation mode).
The breakdown of the protein into glucose happens in the liver. The liver needs energy in order to break the protein down into that glucose (a process known as gluconeogenesis).
What is the energy source used to power the liver for gluconeogenesis? Body fat.
So the liver breaks down body fat so that there is energy to break down protein to make glucose. But there is a byproduct of that breakdown of fat: Ketones
Basically, Ketones are a standby energy source for the brain when sugar is not around but it also works as an energy source for all the other tissue and muscle in the body.
This is best part: when the ketones kick in as the energy source, then the tissues, brain, heart, etc doesn't need as much of that glucose that was being broken down from protein in the muscle, hence, there is less muscle breakdown at that point going forward.
If you're on a low-carb diet, you even get the added bonus of eating protein, which that is converted first to glucose to be used for the energy and not the protein from your muscle. So you get the best of both worlds: fat being broken down to fuel gluconeogenesis but the protein that is being broken down is from the protein you're eating, not the protein from your muscles, thus you preserve your muscle mass while at the same time breaking down fat to convert the eaten protein into glucose.
What level of low carb will turn this whole process on? If you keep your carbs at no more than 60 grams a day, that should get you into ketosis and keep you there.
You can check the status of whether you're in ketosis as well by using Ketostix. Bascially, you pee on the stick, wait 15 seconds, and then compare the stick to the graph on the side of the box and that'll tell you what level of ketones are in your urine (ketones are expelled through either urine or breath).
Give it a try sometime and see what you think. It's going to be on my experiment list in the near future so I'll make sure to share the results with you.
www.leanbodyfitness.com
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